Longyi
Encyclopedia
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, the Malay Archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
, and Juiz de Fora
Juiz de Fora
-Industry, Trade, and Culture:Juiz de Fora is the second most important industrial center in the state of Minas Gerais, despite being the fourth largest in terms of population. It was once the state's largest city, position which was held up until the beginning of the 20th century...
. In the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
(Bangladesh, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, and Sri Lanka), it is known variously as a lungi
Lungi
The Lungi , also known as a sarong , is a traditional garment worn around the waist in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Horn of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula...
, longi, kaili or saaram
Sarong
A sarong or sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a kilt by men and as a skirt by women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric most often has woven plaid or...
.
Design and style
In Burma, longyis worn by males are called paso , while those worn by females are called htamain . They are not strictly speaking unisex attire as the way they are worn as well as the patterns and makeup are different between the two sexes. Men's pasos in ancient times used to be a long piece of 20 cubits called taungshei paso and unsewn into a cylindrical piece as now. They wear the modern paso by making a fold on either side in front and tucking them together at the waist just below the navel. Women, on the other hand, always have a 3 cubit 1 finger span length but again unsewn in the old days like men's. They are worn wrapped around with a single broad fold in front and the end tucked in on one side or the other at the waist. Hemlines do rise and fall as the fashion of the day dictates although they are unlikely to go up above the knee. Longyis are generally sold unsewn but nowadays they are also available ready to wear; humans may even be sewn like Western skirts. Untying and re-tying a longyi is often seen in public with both sexes, women much more discreetly than men.Patterns and fabrics
Men's pasos are generally stripes or checks apart from plain colours and may be worn upside down or inside out with no difference. Women's htamain however has a black calico band called a htet sint for the waist; they wear more multicoloured and floral patterns too. Cotton is the basic material but all sorts of fabrics, both imported and home-grown, may be made into longyis. Tootal, georgette, satin and crepe have all been made into htamains. IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n batik
Batik
Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Batik or fabrics with the traditional batik patterns are found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and Singapore.Javanese traditional batik, especially from...
, although very expensive, has been very popular for decades; outfits of batik of the same design top and bottom were very popular in the 1980s.
For ceremonial and special occasions both sexes will wear their best silks; the most elaborate ones are known as a cheik , a beautiful and intricate wave or houndstooth
Houndstooth
Houndstooth, houndstooth check or hound's tooth , also known as dogstooth, dogtooth or dog's tooth, is a duotone textile pattern characterized by broken checks or abstract four-pointed shapes, often in black and white, although other colours are used...
pattern in several colour combinations from the weavers of Amarapura
Amarapura
Amarapura is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay. Amarapura is bounded by the Ayeyarwady river in the west, Chanmyathazi township in the north, and the city of Innwa in the south...
, and worn especially at weddings, almost invariably by the bride and groom in matching colours. Even the poor may keep aside some traditional silks for special occasions. In ancient times silks were generally worn by royalty and courtiers, the royal pasos and htamains richly embroidered with gold, silver, pearls and precious stones. Modern reproductions of these may be seen on the stage at zat pwès (theatrical performances).
Ethnic and regional weaves and patterns are plenty and popular. There are Rakhine
Rakhine people
The Rakhine , is a nationality in Myanmar forming the majority along the coastal region of present day Rakhine State or Arakan State. They possibly constitute 5.53% or more of Myanmar's total population but no accurate census figures exist. Rakhine people also live in the southeastern parts of...
longyi, Mon
Mon people
The Mon are an ethnic group from Burma , living mostly in Mon State, Bago Division, the Irrawaddy Delta, and along the southern Thai–Burmese border. One of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, the Mon were responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and Thailand...
longyi, Kachin
Kachin people
The Kachin people are a group of ethnic groups who largely inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Burma's Kachin State and neighbouring areas of China and India. More than half of the Kachin people identify themselves as Christians - while a significant minority follow Buddhism and some also adhere...
longyi, Inle
Inle Lake
Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar . It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of , and one of the highest at an altitude of...
longyi, Zin Mè (Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
) longyi, Yaw longyi, Seik Hkun longyi, Dawei
Dawei
-Transport:Only recently Dawei was connected to the rest of Myanmar by road and rail. There are plans to construct a deepwater port in Dawei. In November 2010, the Myanmar Port Authority signed a USD $8.6 billion deal with Italian-Thai Development to develop a deep sea port at Dawei...
longyi and more. Silk pasos, but not a cheik, that men wear for special occasions are called bangauk (Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
) paso. Kala (Indian) paso are often longer and are worn by taller persons; Kaka zin refers to a broad check pattern of black, brown and white worn by Indian teashop owners. Mercerised longyis from India are still popular as the fabric is more durable.
Versatility and convenience
The longyi certainly suits the climate in these parts as it allows some air to circulate and keeps cool in the hot sun. Silks are unique in keeping warm in the winter as well as cool in the summer. The longyi is also versatile in wear. Men often tuck the lower portions of their pasos at the top by bunching it in the front then passing it up between the legs round the back to the waist, known as paso hkadaung kyaik and rather like the dhotiDhoti
The dhoti or pancha is the traditional men's garment in the in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. A similar garment is worn in some rural areas of Punjab province in Pakistan, but the use is fast declining...
, usually for climbing and sporting activities instead of changing into shorts or trousers. Soldiers in ancient times wore their pasos in this manner either on their own or on top of a pair of trousers.
In rural areas men are often seen with a folded paso on one shoulder either for use when bathing (yei lè - lit. water change - longyi) or for use as a cushion for a carrying pole on the shoulder or a heavy load on the back. Women, when they bathe, simply wear their htamain higher by tucking it just under the arms to cover their breasts before removing the blouse; they may be seen using the htamain as a buoy in the river by trapping some air in and secured underneath by the hands. They use a man's paso or another piece of long fabric, rolled and coiled as a cushion on top of their heads in order to carry water pots, firewood, baskets and trays; it is the street hawker's customary way of carrying her wares.
Changing is done simply by stepping into the new longyi and pulling it up, at the same time loosening and dropping the old one, or the new one can be pulled over from the head down. However, even when in private, women change without every actually removing all their clothes. Instead, they will wear one htaimin while getting changed into a new one. A woman may be seen pulling her htamain up bit by bit as she wades deeper and deeper into a river without getting it wet. It is merely a matter of lifting it up in the bathroom or in bed for that matter. Washing and ironing cannot be simpler as they are cylindrical pieces of cloth, easily hung, pressed, folded and stacked with a bare minimum use of wardrobe space.
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