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Traditional Ornaments of
Punjab
Rig-Veda, the
oldest book in the world, mentions ornaments worn by the gods. Rudra, a
Vedic deity, is described as "shining with brilliant gold ornaments" and
"wearing" an adorable, uniform necklace". According to this book the
demons also had plenty of gold and jewels and the kings and sages prayed
to the God for valuables of that kind. Kakshivat, the sage, prayed for a
son "decorated with golden earrings and jewel necklace".
No doubt
jewellery making is an ancient craft that goes back to the cave man and
its popular use in ancient India is well established.
 Jewellery
in India also has had social and economic implications. It is an
investment as also a saving for emergencies. The jewellery given to the
bride at the time of the marriage becomes her own possession called
stridhan, woman's wealth. This was in addition to the love of personal
adornment inherent in the women folk. But for mortal humans it also
symbolises the concept of immortality. Precious stones and precious
metals, distinguished by this classification from other substance have,
throughout the ages, stood for power and wealth. And this concept of
power and wealth, as imbibed through ornaments, seems to have remained
integrated in the psyche of the Punjabi women through the ages and
remarkably so despite a stream of war and rapine that marked the life of
the people of the land of five rivers with continuous
vicissitudes.
Ornaments, as symbol of power, wealth and feminity,
and also as an investment by the Punjabi women, are found in many
varieties and forms. B.H. Baden-Powell, in his book Handbook of the
Manufactures and Arts of the Punjab, published in 1872, lists 97 names
of ornaments used in Punjab. And this list is by no means exhaustive,
because an endless variety of ornaments are used in local parlance,
often only locally understood, and each little change in the size or
pattern of an ornament merits a different name.
The reason for
the prolification of names is the multiple variations of the same piece
of ornament. For instance, an ornament called sagi is a central head
stud that supports the phulkari or dupatta or other headgear. It is a
hemispherical boss with raised work, all over with floral patterns
carved out in horizontal circles, encased in lines and dots and dashes,
and a star in the centre. Now there are half-a-dozen varieties of sagi.
When at the top-centre a coloured stone is fixed in it, it becomes sagi
uchhi. Where several round beads are hung at the edge with silver
chains, it becomes sagi motianwali. When two additional sagis are linked
to the upper side they are known as sagi phul. A slight variation in its
complex shape turns it into sagi chandiari. When green or blue
enamelling is done on it, it becomes sagi meenawali. This ornament is
also known as sisphul, chaunk or choti phul.
In addition to it
there are more ornaments used for the head, followed by ornaments used
for the ears, the neck, the arms, the fingers, the anklets and the feet.
Thus the names of traditional ornaments used in Punjab may well run into
hundreds. According to the handbook of Manufactures and Arts of the
Punjab, there is a complete range of traditional jewellary worn by the
Men and Women of Punjab, not only for the enhancement of physical beauty
but also for the retainment of the traditional Punjab
culture.
Athough ornaments are much influenced by changing
fashions, their continuity remains alive by peridocial revivals. And
this is also true of the ornaments used by Punjabi Women, for many
discarded designs have recently been gaining a fresh popularity. Some
designs, however, remain always in vogue.
Gold has remained the
most valuable as well as the most prominent metal for making ornaments.
It was procured from several sources. According to Monograph on the Gold
and Silver Works of the Punjab, compiled by E.D. Maclagan, and published
in 1890, gold was procured from several sources. Its local source has
been several of the small seasonal rivulets that descend from lower
reaches of Himalaya and the Shivalik range of mountains. But the gold
found in the sand of rivers has been - quite insignificant, and has had
to be imported. The English, Australian and European gold was termed
locally as passa and it came in the form of a lump or ingot. Panna or
patra is the gold in the form of leaves. When old ornaments are melted
down and sold in lump they appear in various sizes and shapes with
various rates, and is known as desi passa.
Several types of coins
used to be melted and then made into ornaments in Punjab, such as
Russian mohar, Jaipur mohar and ashrafi, Dutch ducats, Aurangzeb mohar,
old mohars of Murshedabad and Farrukhebad etc. Russian gold was imported
largely in the shape of five-rouble pieces, known as battis. The purest
gold of all is known as kundan and is used for beating out gold leaves.
It is also very generally used in setting stones, whence the seller of
stones or murassakar is often known as kundansaz.
The interest in
getting ornaments of gold has not dwindled despite the fact that the
price of the gold has gone up more than three thousand times in
nearly a hundred years. One may not be inclined to believe that the
prices of gold ornaments as recorded in the North Indian Notes and
Queries of January 1892 were as under:
Kara sada, or plain
bracelet., 2 annas per tola of gold, of which 1/2 anna went to the
goldsmith; karajarau, orjewelled bracelet, one rupee per tola, of which
the goldsmith took half; gokharu or serrated bracelet, two annas a tola;
bahi or solid tube-like armlet, 6 annas per tola, of which the goldsmith
took half; paunchi or beaded wristlet, 12 annas per tola; bazuband, 12
annas a tola, of which the goldsmith got rupee one a pair.
After
gold, the next metal of priority was the silver. The only source of its
local availability was Waziri Rupi Mines in Kulu which have now been
worked for many decades. Most of the. silver, therefore, was imported
from Europe into Amritsar via Bombay. Chinese silver was also imported.
The coin most commonly melted for silver was the Nanakshahi or Sikh
rupee, the silver of which was very commonly used for ornaments. More
modern Sikh coins were known to the trade as Rajshahi and mainly
represented by Patiala coinage. The Nandrami rupee from Kabul was used
in the western districts, and was considered the next best silver after
the Nanakshahi. Shah Shuja's and Dost Muhammad's coins were also held to
be the best and were much in use in making ornaments on the frontier.
Silver prepared from melted ornaments was also in use.
The gold
and silver work, as far as the plain form of the article required, or as
far as it can receive the required pattern by merely hammering on to a
die or into a cold mould, is done by the sunar or gold-smith. If the
ornament has then to be ornamented with bossed patterns, it goes to the
chatera, the embosser and chaser. If jewels are to be set, the
enamelling at the back is done by a minakar, and then the stone is set
into the places prepared by the goldsmith by the marassiakar or
kundansaz, whose sole *ork consists in putting some lac into the
receptacle or hollow in the gold prepared to receive the stone, putting
on a tinsel or foil prepared by the bindligar and then pressing in the
stone, putting an a gold rim to keep it in place.
Who can resist
the spell that is cast by the sparkle of a precious stone, by the
mysterious glow of a pearl, or by the transcendent purity of gold . It
has been said the 'purpose of ornaments is to light a kind of fire in a
women's heart', it is, therefore, equally important to get ornaments
made of pure metal.
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