These colourful and elaborate wedding costumes are from the Rabari people of the Kutch area of North Western India. The costumes reflect strong cultural traditions and the importance placed upon the wedding as a joining of two families in an alliance, critical to the survival of their community. For the wedding, the bride's home is decorated with glittering mirrored embroideries. In the midnight ceremony, the bride and groom's outfits and the costumes of guests, from adults to children, all clearly identify the wearers as Rabari.

These garments are embroidered and made by Dhebaria women (a Rabari subgroup) for their immediate families. They are decorated with richly coloured square chain stitch in geometric floral patterns. Inserted mirror shapes are a feature of the embroidery of this region. The bride's skirt (ghagharo), worn only until marriage, and the groom's and boy's trousers (chorano), for example, are made from a warp-faced satin weave striped cloth of rayon and cotton (mashru), a pattern traditionally used for wedding garments.

Three of these garments of the Dhebaria subgroup, date from the 1950s, the little boy's ensemble from the early 1990s. The importance and rarity of these pieces has escalated since they are some of the last pieces of traditional Dhebaria embroidery available. In 1995 the Dhebaria elders banned hand embroidery, deeming it "too expensive." Today, among Dhebarias there is a prohibitive fine for making or even using these precious textile arts.

The costumes were brought to Australia in 2003, as part of an exhibition 'Resurgence' at Manly Art Gallery and Museum featuring textiles from the Kutch area which had suffered a disastrous earthquake in 2001.

Wedding outfit, groom's, 10 pieces, cotton /silk / wool /mirrors / glass beads /metal, made by Dhebaria Rabari embroiderers from the Kutch area, north western India, 1950-1960

A groom's outfit from the Dhebaria community of Rabari people consisting of headdress, turban, wedding robe, trousers, shawl, sword cover, and earrings.

The headdress (mod) is a padded rectangle of beading with silver paper backing, stiffened with 7 sticks, decorated with tufts of multi-coloured wool. The padded back of the beaded area is of quilted orange cotton. It is worn on the front of the head.

The fine red muslin turban (madrasi) has ends woven in gold metallic, blue, black and white thread in a simple stripe pattern with small geometric motifs.

The long sleeved, cream cotton wedding robe is loose fitting with the 'skirt' gathered onto the short yoke. It has a centre front opening that fastens with ties under the proper right side and a button at the base of the yoke. The robe is heavily embroidered in square chain stitch with a colourful pattern of geometric flowers and leaves with mirror discs around the yoke, hem and cuffs. The robe is hand sewn and unlined.

The loose fitting trousers (chorano) of warp-faced satin weave cloth (mashru) of rayon and cotton in red, black and yellow stripes with embroidered cuffs fastening with white plastic buttons. The cuffs are of green rayon and are heavily embroidered with a colourful pattern of geometric flowers and leaves with mirror discs. The trousers are machine and hand sewn and unlined.

A similarly striped cotton shawl (patolu) in red, black and yellow encircles the waist twice and ties at the front. The shawl has unfinished ends.

The sword cover (talvar miyan) is made of cream canvas and is heavily beaded and decorated with glass buttons and polychrome cotton tassels at each side. There is a broken red and green cotton cord attached to the top for fastening to the body. The cover is hand sewn.

There are two sets of earrings worn at the top and inner ear (bhungari & toliyo) which are decorative gold metal domes with shanks. The bhungari have a hole in the centre of each dome and the toliyo have small red glass 'jewels' in the centre of each dome.

These garments were made by the women of the Dhebaria subgroup of the nomadic Rabari people of North Western India. They are a symbol of exchange and identity in a strategic union between two families. The women will make garments for themselves, their sons and daughters. In 1995 the Dhebaria elders banned hand embroidery, deeming it 'too expensive' and from then on any user or maker would be heavily fined.

(Taken from notes by Judy Frater Dec2003)

Rabari wedding dress is one of the most elaborate in the world. For the nomadic Rabaris, marriage is the joining of two families in an alliance critical to survival of the community. It is a union celebrated with mutual contribution, and lavishly embellished with the wealth of women’s creativity and effort: traditional embroidery.

Wedding decoration thus expresses exchange as well as dazzling beauty. Above all, it expresses identity. A wedding proclaims the best of being Rabari. The bride’s home is decorated with glittering mirrored embroideries. In the midnight ceremony, her embroidered kanchali/ blouse and ghagharo/ skirt, only glimpsed beneath her woolen ludi/veil, the groom’s proudly displayed dress, and the uniform embellishment of guests, from adults to children, all identify them as unmistakably Rabari.

Among Rabaris, the maker and user are one. Women embroider their own and their sons' and brothers’ wedding garments. Fashion is very important in ceremonial dress, and, as all over the world, fashion has changed over time. Here the bride, groom and small child, of the Dhebaria subgroup, wear traditions of mid-20th century. Fashion includes choice of cloth and style of embroidery. The bride’s ghagharo/ skirt, worn only until marriage, and the groom’s trousers, for example, are made from a mashru (warp-faced satin weave cloth - rayon warp, cotton weft) pattern traditionally used for that purpose. The little boy wears an ensemble embroidered with the latest style of the early 1990s. This was the last of traditional Dhebaria embroidery. In 1995 the Dhebaria elders banned hand embroidery, deeming it too expensive. Today, among Dhebarias, there is a prohibitive fine for making or using these precious textile arts.

Purchased, 2004

No marks.

2004/99/1

1950