Onnara

What is Onnara?

Onnara is a woman's underwrap from Kerala, worn by women of every age, mostly among Hindu women. It is a length of handloom cotton, about six by three muzham, tied firmly around the waist so it cannot slip loose. The wrap sits hidden beneath the outer garment, whether that is a pavada, a saree or a mundu, and does the work of an underskirt. In southern Kerala the same cloth answers to another name, thaar, and is put on in a simpler way. No colours or patterns are recorded for it: the point of an onnara is a secure fit, not show.

Where does Onnara come from?

The onnara belongs to Kerala, India's southernmost state, where it serves as the first layer of a woman's dress. The word itself maps the state: onnara is the usage of northern Kerala, while thaar is heard more in the south. The two are not exact twins, since thaar is tied in a simpler way and comes in several types. Beyond this, the sources say little about how old the custom is or how it began; what they record is its place as traditional dress for Hindu women across the state, kept on through a woman's whole life.

How is Onnara made?

The cloth is cotton, woven on handlooms, and cut to a set measure: six muzham by three. A muzham is a Kerala measure of length, about one and a half feet, so the piece works out to roughly nine feet long and four and a half feet wide. That width is what lets the wrap go round the waist and tie in its particular style, snug enough that it will not come undone by accident. No dyeing, printing or embroidery is mentioned for it; the craft lies in the weaving and in the tying.

How Onnara is worn

The onnara goes on first, beneath everything else. It is a dhoti, a sarong-like wrap, drawn around the waist and tied so snugly that it cannot slip loose by accident. Over it come the day's clothes: a pavada, which is a full skirt, a saree, or a mundu, Kerala's wrapped waist cloth. The tie is the whole skill of the garment. In southern Kerala, thaar is put on more simply than onnara, and several kinds of thaar are known.

When Onnara is worn

This is daily wear, not occasion wear. An onnara is the foundation layer of ordinary dress for women of all ages in Kerala, most of all among Hindu women, and it stays on through the day under whatever is worn outside. Its role is comfort and modesty, the quiet first layer beneath a pavada or saree.

Styles of Onnara

The main variation is regional and lies in the name and the tying. Onnara is the word of northern Kerala; thaar belongs more to the south. A thaar is worn in a simpler style than an onnara, and there are several types of thaar, though the sources do not list them. Both are cotton wraps serving the same purpose beneath the outer dress.

What Onnara means

Onnara sits inside the everyday dress of Kerala rather than its ceremonies. That a single underwrap carries two names, one for the north of the state and one for the south, shows how local Kerala's clothing words can be. The garment is tied to Hindu women's dress in particular, and to handloom cotton. No festival, award or official honour is recorded for it here; it survives as quiet infrastructure, the layer nobody sees that lets a pavada or saree fall as it should.

Questions people ask about Onnara

Good reading and sources

• Onnara on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data