Regional drapes
The Tamil Nivi
The six yard Nivi as worn in Tamil Nadu, usually in silk or cotton with a wide contrast border.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for wearers, makers and the curious.
In Tamil Nadu the six yard Nivi is the everyday and festive drape for most women. The method is the standard one, with pleats at the navel and the pallu over the left shoulder. What marks the Tamil way is the cloth: temple-border silks, cottons from Kandangi and Sungudi, and wide borders that are meant to show.
Wrapped step by step
Each drawing shows the cloth so far, with the newest step outlined in gold. The figure is a front view; the wearer's left is on your right.
Step 1 Tuck the plain end into the petticoat at the right hip. Step 2 Wrap the cloth once round the waist so that it falls to the ankle. Step 3 Fold the cloth in front into even pleats, a hand wide each. Step 4 Tuck the pleats in at the navel. Step 5 Take the pallu round the back and across the chest to the left shoulder. Step 6 Pin the pleated pallu at the shoulder so that the woven design shows. Step 7 Straighten the hem so that the border shows clear all the way round. Finished The Tamil Nivi, seen from the front.
Where it comes from
Tamil women traditionally wore a number of drapes, including the nine yard style of some communities and the half-saree of girls. The six yard Nivi became the common choice through the twentieth century, as it did across India. It carries the older local taste for woven cloth with strong borders and a richly worked pallu, which come from the weaving towns of Kanchipuram, Arani and Madurai.
How it looks
The pleats are even and tucked in at the navel. The pallu is carried over the left shoulder and is often pleated and pinned for formal events. A Kanchipuram silk is arranged so that the border runs clear along the hem and the pallu shows its woven design. Cotton sarees for daily wear are draped more loosely, and some older women tuck the end of the pallu in at the waist while working.
Who wears it and when
Silk Nivi is worn for weddings, temple visits and festivals such as Pongal and Deepavali. Cotton is worn at home and at work. Brides in many Tamil families wear a nine yard or six yard silk, and the choice depends on the community and the family custom.
Sarees worn this way
Also part of it, and being written: Kanchipuram sari (The temple-border silk of the region.), Mysore silk (Often worn in Tamil Nadu too, for its plain colours and light zari.).
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryPallu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The drawings are simplified diagrams of the order of wrapping, not a lesson: how a drape is worn differs from family to family. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kandangi: RidahZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source