The dupattā is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

shawl A shawl (from fa, شال ''shāl'',) is a simple item of clothing from Kashmir, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folde ...

traditionally worn by women in

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

to cover the head and shoulders. The dupatta is currently used most commonly as part of the women's

shalwar kameez Shalwar kameez (also salwar kameez and less commonly shalwar qameez) is a traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South Asia, and Central Asia. ''Shalwars'' are trousers which are atypically wide at the w ...

outfit, and worn over the

kurta A ''kurta'' is a loose collarless shirt or tunic worn in many regions of South Asia, (subscription required) Quote: "A loose shirt or tunic worn by men and women." Quote: "Kurta: a loose shirt without a collar, worn by women and men from South ...

and the gharara.

Etymology

The

Hindi-Urdu Hindustani (; Devanagari: , * * * * ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the lang ...

word ''dupattā'' (दुपट्टा, دوپٹہ), meaning "shawl of doubled cloth," derived from

Middle Indic The Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Middle Indic languages, sometimes conflated with the Prakrits, which are a stage of Middle Indic) are a historical group of languages of the Indo-Aryan family. They are the descendants of Old Indo-Aryan (OIA; ...

elements stemming from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

, is a combination of ''du-'' (meaning "two", from Sanskrit ''dvau'', "two" and ''dvi-'', combining form of dvau) and ''paṭṭā'' (meaning "strip of cloth," from ''paṭṭaḥ''), i. e., scarf usually doubled over the head.

History

War of the Relics of the Buddha Sanchi Stupa 1Southern Gateway

Early evidence of the dupatta can be traced to the

Indus valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

, where the sculpture of a priest-king whose left shoulder is covered with some kind of a chaddar suggests that the use of the dupatta dates back to this early Indic culture. Early

literature has a wide vocabulary of terms for the veils and scarfs used by women during the ancient period, such as ''avagunthana'' (cloak-veil), ''uttariya'' (shoulder-veil), ''mukha-pata'' (face-veil), and ''siro-vastra'' (head-veil). The dupatta is believed to have evolved from the ancient

uttariya An uttariya () is a loose piece of upper body clothing. It is a single piece of cloth that falls from the back of the neck to curl around both arms and could also drape the top half of the body. An Uttariya is similar to a veil, a long scarf an ...

Use

The dupatta is worn in many regional styles across South Asia. Originally, it was worn as a symbol of modesty. While that symbolism still continues, many today wear it as just a decorative accessory. There is no single way of wearing the dupatta, and as time evolves and fashion modernizes, the style of the dupatta has also evolved. A dupatta is traditionally worn across both shoulders and around the head. However, the dupatta can be worn like a cape around the entire torso. The material for the dupatta varies according to the suit. There are various modes of wearing dupatta. When not draped over the head in the traditional style, it is usually worn with the middle portion of the dupatta resting on the chest like a garland, with the ends thrown over each shoulder. When the dupatta is worn with the

shalwar-kameez Shalwar kameez (also salwar kameez and less commonly shalwar qameez) is a traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South Asia, and Central Asia. ''Shalwars'' are trousers which are atypically wide at the w ...

, it is casually allowed to flow down the front and back. In current fashions, the dupatta is frequently draped over one shoulder, and even over just the arms. Another recent trend is the short dupatta, which is more a scarf or a stole, often worn with a kurti and Indo-Western clothing. Essentially, the dupatta is often treated as an accessory in current urban fashion. In addition to wearing the dupatta when going out in public, South Asian women wear the dupatta when entering a mandir,

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

. It is also draped around the head, save for the eyes, as protection against pollution or the sun. In the context of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, it was not considered adequate for use as a cloth face mask. A dupatta used as a covering for the head and face is called a

ghoonghat A ghoonghat (''ghunghat'', ''ghunghta'', ''ghomta'', ''orhni'', odani, ''laaj'', ''chunari'', ''jhund'', ''kundh'') is a headcovering or headscarf, worn primarily in the Indian subcontinent, by some married Hindu, Jain, and Sikh women to cov ...

in north India and Pakistan. In Nepal a dupatta or similar shawl is called a ''pachaura''.

Gallery

File:Covered in pink (13295718893).jpg, The dupatta's use as protection against dust or the sun File:Bedi Mahal-Lady with blue chunni.JPG, A

Punjabi Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

woman with blue chunni File:Dopatta.jpg, A dupatta shop in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

, Bangladesh File:A Dupatta Store in Aziz Super Market, Dhaka 07-01-2019.jpg, A dupatta shop in Dhaka, Bangladesh File:Bandhani Dupatta (5788125979).jpg,

Bandhani Bandhani ( hi, बांधणी, gu, બાંધણી) is a type of tie-dye textile decorated by plucking the cloth with the fingernails into many tiny bindings that form a figurative design. The term ''bandhani'' is derived from the Sans ...

dupatta File:A Day Out With Friends (12300991844).jpg, A Bangladeshi draped in dupatta File:Woman of Nepal (13060777254).jpg, A Nepali in a modern style of draping dupatta over the neck File:Sikh woman.jpg, A Sikh in a

salwar kameez Shalwar kameez (also salwar kameez and less commonly shalwar qameez) is a traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South Asia, and Central Asia. ''Shalwars'' are trousers which are atypically wide at the wa ...

References

External links

* {{Clothing in South Asia Scarves Bangladeshi clothing Indian clothing Punjabi clothing Pakistani headgear Robes and cloaks History of Asian clothing Islamic female clothing