Santhals or Adivasis and their costumes:
In earlier days, Santhals cultivated cotton along with rice and some other grains. They were aware of spinning yarns in Takli. They used to spin yarns and give it to the local weavers to weave loin cloths. For a long time, the women wore the white sari with no coloured borders until they learnt how to colour the yarn. When they learnt about dyeing the yarn they either spun it themselves or bought it from the local market, then dyed it and gave the coloured yarn to the weavers. They used AAL as the main ingredient for dyeing with Harida and Danguapaan. The Aal tree is found in almost all forests of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The bark and root of the tree is used as textile dye. In Jharkhand and Odisha, it is mostly used by the tribal Santhals and Mundas.
The clothing of the Santhals came with a distinct checked pattern and wide borders. Based on these patterns, there are some saris and dhotis especially used in marriages. The saris and dhotis vary in sizes, they are described below in detail:
- Khanda Lugli: This sari is offered to the mother of the bride. Dyed yarn pattern- 2 ½ inch border on both sides of the sari, in warp direction and in pallu 3 wider stripes of 2 ½ inch.
- Sindur Lugli: These are plain dhotis and saris. They are dyed with turmeric and dried in the sun just one day before use. Worn by the bride and the bride groom during the main ritual of the marriage.
- Phuta Kacha: For the males, It has the typical Santhali checks on the body. This is offered to the match maker of the marriage and rest of the family members of the bride's family, if any. Other than marriage offerings, it is worn during many festivals and social gatherings like Guru Mahit, Bejha Tunj during Sankrant and Punei parab. In earlier days, the Kachas were available only in white base and dark maroonish checked pattern but nowadays coloured yarns like red, blue and green are used, both in warp and weft.
- Jhalah: For the females. This also has the Santhali checks on the body with some striped weave on the pallu. This sari is offered to the wife of the match maker and the female members of the bride's side. On special occasions, males and females wear Phuta Kacha and Jhalah respectively.
