A khalat (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: خلعت, from ) is a loose, long-sleeved outer

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

robe common in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and worn both by men and women, although in differing styles.

History

Historically, richly adorned khalats have been used as robes of honour. ''Khilat'' was also used to denote the ceremony of awarding the honorific robe. Such social aspects of clothing have been known in many societies. By the 19th century in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

the word ''khilat'' had come to mean any gift of money or goods the Government of India awarded in return for service from tributary princes, khans and tribal leaders.

Cultural variation

Central Asia

Central Asian khalats can be thin, decorative garments or thick, full-length robes that provide good protection from exposure to heat, light, and cold.

Eastern Europe

Khilat is one of many borrowings in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, where ''khalat'' has become a generic term for various robes. In Romanian the word is ''halat'' is used, meaning dressing gown,

bathrobe A bathrobe, also known as a housecoat or a dressing gown, is a loose-fitting outer clothing, garment (a robe) worn by people, often after washing the body or around a pool. A bathrobe is considered to be very informal clothing, and is not worn w ...

, smock,

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

, etc. A similar garment is known as

Chapan Chapan or chopon (; ; ; ) is a coat worn over clothes, usually during the cold winter months. Usually worn by men, these coats are adorned with intricate threading and come in a variety of colors and patterns. It is worn in Central Asia, inclu ...

in Turkic. The khalat () was also worn by Ashkenazi Jewish men in Eastern Europe before the early 20th century. These were long, close-fitting coats with shawl collars and pockets. Khlats were cotton garments meant for everyday wear; more luxurious versions were made of velvet or silk and worn for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

or other

holidays A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

History

Cultural variation

Central Asia

Eastern Europe

See also

References

Further reading