The women in Punjab are very fond of jewellery made of gold. Few of the jewellery pieces that are liked to be worn by the Punjabi women are neck pieces, rings, toe-rings, bangles, nose-ring, ear-ring and anklets. Few women also like to use ornament that is used to tie the hair. Most of the women and men of Sikh community prefer to wear a bangle made of steel on their wrist. The young girls and women are asked to wear Indian traditional clothes and especially the married women. With the change in times, women have brought changes in their clothing patterns by adopting modern clothes like Jeans, Trousers, Jackets, Shirts, T-shirts and skirts
Let’s have a closer look at some of the main traditional ornaments worn by men and women of Punjab.
Ornaments for Men
- Mukat or Mutakh – A head dress worn by Hindus at weddings
- Sarpesh – The jeweled aigrette worn in front of the turban
- Kutbiladar – An oval pendant worn over the forehead
- Kalgi – Plume in jeweled setting(Usually wears by groom in wedding)
- Turah-I-marwarid – tassels of pearls worn on the turban
- Bala – Its very large ring worn by Khatris, Sikhs and Dogras, they have a pearl strung on the gold wire of which they are made.
- Murki - The Smaller earrings of the same shape.
- Dur – A small earring with three studs.
- Birbali – A broad earring with three studs.
- Durichah – An ear-ring with pendant tassel
NECKLACES AND NECK ORNAMENTS
- Mala – a necklace of large beads handing down long and loose.
- Kanth-kanthi – this fits rather close to the neck, the pendant may be omitted. This is also worn by women.
- Nam – an amulet, round or star shaped, suspender from a twist of colored silk thread fastened round the neck by tying at the back, nearly like jugni.
- Tawiz - a square amulet, jeweled or otherwise.
- Takhti – a flat square plate engraved with figures etc.
- Zanjiri – a set of chains.
- Chandarmah – a large gold flat medal suspended by a single ring on a silk chair or cord.
- Bazuband – a broad belt-like ornament generally mounted on silk and tied on the upper arm.
- Nauratan – almost like bazuband, the ornament consisting of a band of nine gems set side by side and tied by silk ties.
- Taviz – an amulet worn on the upper arm.
- Anant – meaning endless, a large thin but solid ring of gold or silver, used chiefly by Hindus.
- Bhawatta – a square gold ornament, worn on the upper arm.
- Ponchi – a series of strings of shells or small gold elongated beads worn on the wrist.
- Kangan or Kara or Gokru – a bracelet of stiff metal, when the edges are serrated, it is called gokru.
Ornaments of Women in Punjab
- Shishphul, Chaunk or Choti phul – A round boss worn on the hair over the forehead, it is cut or indented so as to resemble a gold flower like chrysanthemum.
- Mauli – A long chain made of rows of pearls separated by jeweled studs, about 8 inches long hanging from the head on one side.
- Sir mang – A pendant worn on the head by Hindus.
- Bali or Goshwara – A set of rings worn on the edge of the ear.
- Bali Bahaduri – It has a large pointed stud in the center.
- Karnphul, Dhedu and Jhumka – All forms of tassel like ornaments, made with silver chains and little balls.
- Pipal-watta, or Pipal Pata – Its like a murki, but has a drop or pendant to it ending in a fringe of little gold pipal leaves.
- Kantala – A similar ornament like pipal-watta but this has a stud besides the pendant.
- Bala Khungri – A heavy fringed earring.
- Bala Katoriwalla – An earring with a bowl-like pendant.
- Khalli – Small earring;
- Jalil – A small earring with a small jeweled central stud.
- Phumni – Silk and tinsel tassels.
- Machh Machlian – A small gold figure of a fish worn as an earring.
- Tid-patang – A crescent shaped jeweled pendant. Along the lower edge of the crescent hangs a row of gold pipal leaves.
- Tandaura, Dedi – A huge star-shaped jeweled stud.
- Mor Phunwar – Pendant of jewels being an imitation of the figure of a peacock.
- Nath – a large nose ring, one side of ring being ornamented with a belt of jewels or a few pearls hung on to it.
- Bulak – a small pendant either worn hung to the cartilage of the nose, or else strung to a nath.
- Latkan – a sort of ornament of pendants put on to the thin gold ring called a nath, and hanging from it.
- Morni – a small pendant for the above, shaped like the spread out tail of a peacock.
- Laung – a small stud let into the flesh of the nostril on one side, generally of gold, with a pearl or turquoise on it.
- Phuli – a small ring with a single emerald, or other stone of an oval shape, as a pendant.
- Bohr – a dangling pendant of gold pipal-leaves.
NECKLACES AND NECK ORNAMENTS
- Chandanhar – a collar or necklace of a great number of chains.
- Mala – a plain necklace of pearls or gold bead, hanging down long.
- Champakali – a necklace like a collar with pendants, the pendants or rays are either of plain metal or set with stones.
- Jugni – a single jeweled pendant, hanging from a necklace of silk and elongated in shape.
- Mohran – a gold mohur or coin hung by a silk necklace.
- Haul Dil – a sort of amulet of jade cut in curves round the edge.
- Hassi or Hass – like a torque, a ring or collar of silver, thick in the middle and thin at either end.
- Guluband – a jeweled collar.
- Mohnmala – a long necklace made of large gold beads, with an interval of gold twisted thread between each bead.
- Atradan – a square jeweled or plain gold pendant attached to a silk chain.
- Kandi – a chain of silk carrying amulet cases.
- Silwatta – an amulet case, shaped like a small gold pillow or bolster, with two rings suspended from it.
- Ponchian – worn on the wrist, which are a several categories called kutbi, chuhadandi (the beads like a rat’s teeth), iliachdana (like cardamom grains) etc.
- Kangan - worn on the wrist are generally of gold.
- Banka – thick gold bracelets, mostly used by Hindus.
- Gajra – a flexible bracelet made of square gold studs mounted on a silk band.
- Churi – of several varieties generally made of a flat ribbon of gold or silver, bent round.
- Bain – long silver sleeve or tube worn on both arms, like a lot of churis fastened together.
- Band – an armlet, broad and heavy.
- Jhankangan – small hollow karas with grains introduced into the hollow to rattle.
- Anguthi – a ring set with stones also called mundri.
- Challa – a plain hoop or whole hoop ring, with or without stones, being of gold or silver, but the same all round, challas are worn on the toe also.
- Angutha – a big ring with a broad face worn on the toe.
- Khari Panjangla – a set of finger rings of ordinary shape.
- Shahelmi or Khari – a ring of long oval shape.
- Birhamgand – a broad ring.
- Panzeb – various ankle ornaments made with chains and pendants of silver, which clink together when the weaver walks.
- Chanjar – a large hollow ring which rattles when the wearer walks.
- Kharian-apir or khalkhal – like karas worn on the ankles.
- Khungru – a ring or ankle of long ornamental beads of silver worn on the feet.
- Zanjiri – a set of chains with broad clasp, also known as tora.