Sindhi Mojari (or simply Mojari) is a type of handcrafted

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...

produced in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. They are traditionally made by

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

s mostly using tanned

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

. The uppers are made of one piece of leather or

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

embroidered and embellished with brass nails,

cowry Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used wo ...

shells, mirrors, bells and

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...

s. The bonding from the upper to the sole is done by cotton thread that is

eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...

and enmeshes the leather

fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

s to strengthen the bonds. Some product range also uses bright and ornate threads. As it evolved through the centuries and is being produced by individual artisans, products vary in designs and colours. It encapsules

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...

, local ethos and ethnicity.

History

It is believed that one of the earliest examples of footwear worn on the Indian subcontinent is a sandal of wood, datable to circa 200 BC. During the 3rd and 4th Centuries in the Buddhist period, it was quite common to wear strapped sandals, and Indian kings wore sandals ornamented with precious jewels. Jain literature shows that leather was used for the making of shoes, which protected the toes from getting injured. Hides of cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep and other wild animals were used.

Origin

The Mojari originated under the Muslim rule in the Mughal Empire where it was decorated with colours, gems, and other ornaments as part of the Mughal Clothing. They are said to have been popularized under the Mughal King Saleem Shah as a result. In Pakistan, they are also commonly worn with Pakistan's national dress

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

References

External links

BBC Culture - Includes image of golden mojari of a 19th-century Nizam of Hyderabad

Khussa Shop - One of the oldest Khussa Store
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920145742/https://zarikhussamehal.com/ , date=2022-09-20 Folk footwear Indian footwear Pakistani footwear Mughal art Sindhi culture Indian leather industry

History

Origin

See also

References

External links