Mundu

What is Mundu?

The mundu is a cloth worn wrapped at the waist. Men and women in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, the Lakshadweep islands and the Maldives wear it. It belongs to the family of wraps that takes in the dhoti, the lungi and the sarong. Cotton is the usual fibre. Bleached yarn gives a plain white cloth; unbleached yarn gives a cream one, and an unbleached mundu is known as a neriyatu. A line of heavier weaving, the kara, sits close to the edge. The cloth is normally stiffened with starch before it is put on, which gives it a crisp, flat fall.

Where does Mundu come from?

The mundu is worn across a wide stretch of southern India and the Indian Ocean. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are its main homes on the mainland, and it is also day to day dress in Lakshadweep and in the Maldives. Its nearest relatives are the sarong, the dhoti and the lungi, cloths that are wrapped rather than stitched. Western clothing has spread through South India, yet the mundu has kept its place at Hindu ceremonies in Kerala and among some Hindu groups in nearby states, where men are expected in one. The sources give no date for its beginnings.

How is Mundu made?

A plain mundu is cotton, woven on a handloom; this handloom kind is called a khadaṟ mundu. Whether the finished cloth looks white or cream comes down to one step: bleaching the cotton, or leaving it as it comes off the loom. Near the edge the weaver sets in a band of thicker yarn. That band is the kara, and it may stay plain or be worked in colour, in one shade or in two. For a wedding or another ceremony, gold thread goes into it as kasavu. Starching comes after, and the wearer folds the cloth so the kara shows.

Colours, motifs and borders

Most mundus are white or cream, a plain ground that throws the border into relief. The kara is the one place for colour: a strip of a single shade, or two colours together, or an ornamental band. Gold kasavu along the kara marks a ceremonial cloth. The lungi, the loose everyday wrap of the same family, has a different mood, made in many colours and patterns, among them a saffron version. A mundum neriyatum takes two mundus with matching kara, one for the lower body and one for the upper.

How Mundu is worn

The cloth goes around the waist and is tucked in place. Two ways are common. A single mundu is wrapped just once, while a double mundu is folded in half first, so it sits thicker. Men may add a melmundu over the upper body, and a veshti, a small piece of cloth, is often carried on the shoulders for formal occasions. Women wear the mundum neriyatum, which pairs the lower wrap with a second mundu drawn over a blouse and left hanging from the left shoulder, much like a sari. This set is also called a set-mundu.

When Mundu is worn

Temple going and family rites are where the mundu matters most. Hindu men are required to wear one on entering a Goddess temple, and some well known Kerala temples, among them Guruvayur and Padmanabhaswamy, ask for a mundu and a melmundu; temple authorities sometimes make these available on the premises. Men wear the mundu at weddings, with a shirt or a melmundu. Kerala Brahmins add an utariyam for religious occasions. The lungi, by contrast, serves work and the house, and stays away from weddings and ceremonies.

Styles of Mundu

There are several forms. A mundu may be single or double. Among women's wear is the mundum neriyatum, a two piece set with matching kara, and Syrian Christian, or Nasrani, women have the chattayum mundum, a two piece dress that is white throughout and is still seen on Margamkali performers. The lungi or kaili, colourful and loose, is the casual version for both sexes in Kerala. A melmundu covers the upper body, and a veshti is a small cloth worn along with the mundu.

What Mundu means

Small rules of etiquette travel with the mundu. Muslim men keep the kara to the left; Christian and Hindu men keep it to the right. Muslim men often choose a coloured kara, while Hindu men are expected to wear the golden one. Beyond the rules, the cloth marks Malayali identity, worn for temple visits and ceremonies even where western dress has otherwise taken over. The sources record no Geographical Indication or other official status for it.

Questions people ask about Mundu

Good reading and sources

• Mundu on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data