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| Sunday, 1 December 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Traditional dress sense The decision by a principal of a leading school to declare saris the
'attire of choice' for mothers visiting the school has roused a hornets
nest of sort, with many hailing the decision as 'much needed' and During colonial times the British made an attempt to impose Western culture among the people in Sri Lanka. They made it compulsory for the clerical grade and upwards to attend office in full European suit comprises of coat, trouser, tie and hat. The normal dress of the average Sinhales became coat and cloth. The higher strata in society took pride in slavishly imitating the West. Many Sinhalese discarded their beautiful meaningful names like, Sirimal, Savsiri, Madduma, Tikiri, Ehelamali, Hethumali and Subhamali. They went in for obscure and funny westernised names like Gabiriel, Girigoris, Haramanis, Gordianu, Lagodi, Righabet, Kathirina, Pesona etc. However our Tamil and Muslim brethren were less prone to Westernisation. The Muslims and most of the Tamils except the Christians did not change their indigenous names. With the dawn of the 20th century there was a national revival in Sri Lanka. As a result many Sinhalese dropped their Western names and changed over to indigenous names. Some discarded the Western suit and began to wear verti and banian. At the same time both the Sinhala and Tamil leaders looked for a national dress for the Sri Lankans. At the inaugural meeting of the National Reform Society held at Ananda College in Colombo on July 21, 1931 attended by G.P. Mallalasekera, W.A. de Silva, P. de S. Kularatne, C. Sunderalingam and others, it was resolved that - in the evolution of a national dress, cloth for men and sari for women should form the basis. Later cloth, nationals and shatakaya (shawl) was adopted as the national dress for men and saree for women. The national dress which resembled the dress worn by many Tamils at the time suited our climate and society. Soon intellectuals like Munidasa Kumaratunga, Dr. E.W. Adikaram, Prof. M.D. Ratnasuriya and political leaders like S.W.R.D Bandaranaike, C.W.W. Kannangara, J.R. Jayawardene, Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe and Leslie Gunawardene appeared in the national costume. On the other hand our women appeared in cloth and jacket, Osariya or the Indian saree and were more or less were averse to the Western frock. In due course many Sinhalese who wore the coat and the cloth changed over to the national dress. During the World War II days, due to shortage of textiles and other problems the rules were relaxed and government officers were allowed to wear shirts and trousers instead of full European suit. However the full Western suit remained the dress of the elite in Sri Lanka. Indigenous In 1945, the government which was looking for an indigenous garb since Independence, declared that Sharwani should be the national dress for the men. However Sharwani did not attract the general public. During this time the national costume too underwent a change and the shawl was worn only for special occasions like weddings. At present few wear shatakaya or shawl with nationals. In 1956 with the change of the government the Ministers and the M.P's of the MEP took their oaths in the national costume on the request of the Maha Sangha. It was a pleasant sight to see the Muslim Minister C.A.S. Marikkar and the majority of Tamil members too in Parliament in national dress. Since then till 1980s there was general consensus that the cloth and banian was the national costume of the men in Sri Lanka. It became the most popular dress among the commoners. Most of the Ministers, M.P's and some of the high officers wore the national dress for occasions. The times have changed. It is the fashion among the youth today to slavishly imitate the West. Although you could see some youth wearing coloured nationals here and there as a fashion, today the national dress is worn mostly by the politicians. Some sarcastically brand it as the "Kapati Suit". Convenient In the meantime another dress similar to the national costume has come to the scene. There are some who wear nationals with a tunic collar over the trousers. This costume however convenient it would be, does not reflect the serenity and solemnity of the national dress - the nationals and cloth. The men in the West wear coat, trouser and tie to suit the cold climate. People in tropical countries should wear a dress that would suit our warm climate and environment. Instead we could see men in Sri Lanka wearing waist-coats and double-breast coats in keeping with latest fashions in Europe, undergoing further inconvenience. I wore the national costume for my wedding. I was never uncomfortable as in the Western suit and was at ease all throughout the day. Will those who wear coats, trousers, tie and waist-coats or double-breast coats made of heavy woolen material undergo difficulties at weddings?. It is a common sight to see young men wearing full European dress for weddings, sweating and moving like puppets in front of photo studios on auspicious days. The national dress compared to the European suit is very economical. A national costume with best material for an occasion like a wedding would cost somewhere around Rs. 1000. The tailoring cost alone for a Western suit would far exceed that amount. An European suit made with so much expense could only be worn for a special occasion by an average man. It would be out of place for other occasions. After such limited use the style would go out of fashion. The national dress on the other hand would suit any occasions. Our ladies who wear the sari for weddings and other occasions seem to be more prudent than men in their dress. Although there is a tendency among the ladies in the higher strata to wear frock or jeans, the standard dress of the womenfolk in Sri Lanka is the sari. In fact recently in a leading school in Moratuwa, mothers of students who were wearing a dress other than the sari were prevented from entering the school premises. Although such an attitude that restrict the freedom of women could not be condoned - nevertheless it is believed that sari is the most beautiful and decent dress for oriental women. It is said that among the beauties who serve as air hostesses Sri Lankan beauties are outstanding because of the sari they wear. The dress that suits Sri Lankan ladies most is the sari. It suits our climate and culture. Although the frock suits young girls it does not suit not so young women whose shape change with the age. There is no more pleasant sight than a simple and serene kula kanthava clad in a white Osariya carrying a tray of flowers to the temple. It is true that there are variations in the national costume for men. Some wear long national banians and others make it short. Some wear a shawl and others do without it. Some have a collar for the nationals and others wear it without a collar. You get such variations in any costume. There is no doubt that we have to move forward with the fast changing world. For this purpose we have to make use of scientific and technological advances in the West. This does not mean that we should just imitate the West in every aspect. In this respect we could take a lesson from our brother and neighbour, India. Although India has made use of science and technology for progress, people in India jealously sustain their cultural values with a sense of pride. They always wear national dress on occasions. People in Sri Lanka, even the elite who use English in the household, go for indigenous names. This shows consciously or unconsciously we like to preserve our national identity. Although the trouser and shirt would be convenient for daily work, we should wear the national costume, for occasions to maintain our national identity. It is an anomaly when our womenfolk wear the sari for occasions, the men to appear in western dress. This is distinctly seen at weddings where the bride wears the sari but the bridegroom is in European suit. Today, where attempts are being made by various interests to cause division among people in Sri Lanka, the national costume which is a common dress of the two major communities, Sinhalese and Tamils - who have a close cultural affinity - would help to bring the two major communities together with a common national outlook. It is time to revive nationals and cloth that suits our country, society, climate and culture as the national costume for men and sari for women to foster national unity and enhance national identity. |
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many
more dubbing it as 'unfair', 'sexist' and 'Talibanish'. While there are no
laws defining school attire for visiting mothers, the question -what's
proper and what's not proper to wear to school becomes a pertinent issue,
as does the principal's decision to impose a 'sari rule'. How has the sari
come to play a leading role as the 'attire of choice' in the male code of
decency? W.T.A. Leslie Fernando takes an in-depth look at the national
dress of Sri Lankans, analysing the position of banian and cloth for men
and Sari for women and their suitability as national costumes.
