Nivi (nīvī, निवी, नीवी) was a women's garment. It was a simple piece of cloth draped or worn around the waist, covering the lower part of the body.

Meaning

Nīvi in Sanskrit means a lower garment worn around a women's waist.[1][2][3]

Garment

Draping and wrapping were the accustomed forms of ancient Indian clothing.

Vedas describes contemporary clothes according to the use and style of wrapping. Uttariya refers to an upper-body garment, Adivasah as an over garment, and Vasa as a lower body garment. Hence Nivi could be categorized in Vasa, that was a simple rectangular piece of clothing.[4][5][6][7]

Style

Nivi drape

The ladies were encircling the nivi around the waist with tucked ends. It was an inner wrap for the lower body for women leaving the upper part bare. In old couture, it was also called 'nivi bandha.'[8][1]

Further information: Sari § Nivi style

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bhāratī: Bulletin of the College of Indology. The College. 1985. p. 79.
  2. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2018-06-07). "Nivi, Nivī, Nīvi: 12 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  3. ^ Kālidāsa; Wilson, Horace Hayman (1867). The Megha Dūta. Trübner & Company. p. 132.
  4. ^ Dr. Priti Mitra (November 1985). Indian Culture And Society In The Vedas. p. 87.
  5. ^ Das, Sukla (1980). Socio-Economic Life Of Northern India. Abhinav Publications. p. 150. ISBN 978-81-7017-116-4.
  6. ^ Hollander, Anne (1975). "The Fabric of Vision: The Role of Drapery in Art". The Georgia Review. 29 (2): 414–465. ISSN 0016-8386. JSTOR 41397188.
  7. ^ Dutta, Pradyot Kumar (1995). Life Style and Technical Occupations in the Vedic Age. Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar. p. 18.
  8. ^ Mahapatra, N. N. (2016). Sarees of India. Woodhead Publishing India PVT. Limited. p. 3. ISBN 978-93-85059-69-8.


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