A sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western

frock coat A frock coat is a formal wear, formal men's coat (clothing), coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). ...

, it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, or a stand-up collar in the style of the Mandarin collar. It evolved in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

in the 19th-century as a result of the outer garment of the late Mughal period, the angarkha—itself evolved from the Persian cape, ''balaba''—being given a western style with a button-down front.

Etymology

The name of the attire is plausibly derived from Shirvan or Sherwan, a region of present-day

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, due to the folk dress of that area ( Chokha) which resembles the sherwani. Therefore, the garment may also be a Mughalized derivative of the Caucasian dress due to the ethnocultural linkages of Turco-Persian affinity during the Middle Ages.

History

The sherwani originated in the early 19th century. It was originally associated with Muslim

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

during the period of British rule. According to Emma Tarlo, the sherwani evolved from a Persian cape (balaba or chapkan), which was gradually given a more Indian form ('' angarkha''), and finally developed into the sherwani, with buttons down the front, following European fashion. It originated in 19th century

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 ...

as the European style court dress of regional Mughal nobles of northern India. It appeared first at

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

in the 1820s. It was gradually adopted by the rest of the royalty and

of the Indian subcontinent, and later by the general population, as a more evolved form of occasional traditional attire.

Description

The sherwani evolved from a Persian cape (balaba or chapkan) and was developed into the sherwani, with buttons down the front, following European fashion.

Use

The sherwani is now famous as a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

outfit, and it has always been popular as an outfit which can be worn on formal occasions. The sherwani signified the

dignity Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good. As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...

and

etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...

of the nobility, and it used to be the court dress of the nobles of Turkish and Persian origin. It is the national dress of

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# ...

for men. A sherwani carries a regal feel.

India

In India, the

achkan An achkan (, ), also known as ''baghal bandi'', is a knee length jacket worn by men in the Indian subcontinent. It is a similar garment to the angarkha. History The achkan evolved from the , a dress which was worn by people in higher social c ...

has been generally worn, which is much shorter than the sherwani. The achkan was worn on formal occasions in winter, especially by those from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

, Uttar Pradesh and

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. The achkan is generally associated with the Hindus while the sherwani was historically and is still favored by Muslims. The two garments have significant similarities, though sherwanis typically are more flared at the hips and achkans are lengthier than simple sherwanis. The achkan later evolved into the Nehru Jacket, which is now popular in India. In India, the achkan or sherwani is generally worn in combination with the '' churidar'' as the lower garment. File:Nehru Roerich.jpg,

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

(left) wearing an achkan with churidar. File:Rajput Sherwani 2014-04-23 04-27.JPG, ''

Achkan An achkan (, ), also known as ''baghal bandi'', is a knee length jacket worn by men in the Indian subcontinent. It is a similar garment to the angarkha. History The achkan evolved from the , a dress which was worn by people in higher social c ...

'' sherwani and '' churidar'' (lower body) worn by Arvind Singh Mewar and his kin during a

Hindu wedding A Hindu wedding, also known as (, ) in Hindi, () in Marathi, () in Bhojpuri, () in Bengali, () or () in Odia, () in Tamil, () in Telugu, () in Kannada, and ''kalyanam'' (, ; ) in Malayalam and other languages, is the traditiona ...

in Rajasthan, India.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, the sherwani is worn by people on formal occasions such as weddings and Eid.

Pakistan

After the independence of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

frequently wore the sherwani. Following him, most people and government officials in Pakistan such as the President and Prime Minister started to wear the formal black sherwani over the shalwar kameez on state occasions and national holidays. File:Muhammad Ali Jinnah sitting on the Chair of Governer General wearing a Sherwani.jpg,

, founder of

, is sitting on the Chair of Governor General, sometimes referred as Pakistan's Throne, wearing Sherwani.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, Sherwani was generally worn as the formal uniform of Mudaliyars and early Tamil legislators during the British colonial period.

Modern sherwanis

Sherwanis are mostly worn in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. These garments usually feature detailed embroidery or patterns. One major difference between sherwani-wearing habits is the choice of lower garment: while in India it is mainly worn with churidars or pyjamas, in Pakistan and Bangladesh it is mainly worn with a shalwar. Pakistani journalist, filmmaker and activist, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy appeared in sherwani when she won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2012 and 2015.

References

{{Folk costume Bangladeshi clothing Pakistani clothing Muhajir culture Wedding clothing Marriage in Pakistan Coats (clothing) Indian wedding clothing