Types of dress and vestments in Eastern religions

Indian religions

The distinction between ordinary dress and religious dress is difficult to delineate in India because the ordinary members of the various socioreligious groups may often be distinguished by their costumes. For example, Parsi (Indian Zoroastrian) women wear the sari (robe) on the right shoulder, not the left.

Hindu men frequently wear short coats (angarkha), and the women wear a long scarf, or robe (sari), whereas typical Muslim attire for men and women is a long white cotton shirt (kurtah) and trousers (pāʾijamah). Some Muslim women also wear a veil called the burka, which not only hides the face but also envelops the entire body.

Traditional Sikh dress is an ordinary kurtah and cotton trousers, covered by a long hanging coat (choghah). The male Sikh is recognized especially by his practice of wearing his hair and beard uncut, the former being covered by a particularly large turban and the latter often restrained by a net.

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The Brahman (Hindu priest) is distinguished primarily by the sacred thread (upavita), which is bestowed on him during his boyhood investiture and worn diagonally across the body, over the left shoulder, at all times. During the water offering to saints, it is worn suspended around the neck and, during ancestor rites, over the right shoulder. Devotees may also wear a tonsure that leaves a tuft of hair longer than the rest (shikha). The pravrajya (“going forth”) associated with some Upanishads (Hindu speculative texts) involved a ritual rejection not only of homelife but also of the upavita and shikha. Ascetics usually wear the ordinary loincloth, or dhoti, for meditation or Yoga, but there is also a tradition of naked asceticism. A teacher (swami) traditionally wears a yellow robe.

Buddhism

A major factor in the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia was the strong organization of its monastic communities (sangha). One of the main outward signs of the sangha, along with the tonsure and the begging bowl, has always been the monk’s robe; “taking the robe” became a regular expression for entering the sangha. The sangha was organized in accordance with the traditional code of discipline (vinaya), which includes the basic rules regarding robes in all Buddhist countries. These rules are all linked to the authority of the Buddha himself, but at the same time they have featured enough flexibility to allow for adaptation to local circumstances.

The robe (chivara) illustrates two main types of religious action, each symbolized by the character of the materials used. First, the wearing of “cast-off rags” was one of the “four resources” of a monk, being an exercise in ascetic humility similar to the other three, which are living on alms, dwelling at the foot of a tree, and using only cow’s urine as medicine. The use of rags was later formalized into making the robes out of separate strips or pieces of cloth, but the rough patchwork tradition was carried over into China, where hermit monks in modern times wore robes made of old rags. In Japan, robes have been preserved with designs imitating the effect of patchwork, and robes sewn from square pieces of cloth were nicknamed “paddy-field robe” (densōe). This latter term is reminiscent of an old Indian Buddhist tradition according to which the Buddha instructed his disciple Ananda to provide robes for the monks made like a field in Magadha (in India), which was laid out in “strips, lines, embankments, and squares.” In general, whatever the degree of formalization, the rag motif ensured that the robe was to be “suitable for recluses and not coveted by opponents.” The second type of religious action associated with the robe stemmed from the permission granted to monks to receive robes or the materials for making them from the laity. The presentation of materials for robes was thought to have the same beneficial karmic effects (toward a better birth in the future) as the offering of food. The practice meant that various good materials were offered as well as rags, and in due course six types were allowed on the authority of the Buddha—namely, linen, cotton, silk, wool, coarse hempen cloth, and canvas.

There are three types of chivara: the inner robe (Pali: antaravasaka), made of 5 strips of cloth; the outer robe (uttarasanga), made of 7 strips; and the great robe, or cloak (samghati), made of 9, 15, or 25 strips.

In order to avoid the primary colors, Buddhist robes are of mixed colors, such as orange or brown. Another common term for the robe, kasaya, originally referred to the color saffron, though this meaning is lost in the Chinese and Japanese derivatives, jiasa and kesa. The robe is normally hung from the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder bare, though some ancient texts speak of disciples arranging their robes on the right shoulder before approaching the Buddha with a question. In cooler climates, both shoulders may be covered with an inner robe, and the outer robe is hung from the left shoulder, as in China.

Sandals are allowed if they are simple and have one lining only, or they may have many linings if they are cast-off sandals. The rules for nuns’ robes are similar, but they also wear a belt and skirt. Some special vestments are worn by Tibetan Buddhists, including various hats characteristic of the different sects, such as Dge-lugs-pa (Gelukpa, the Yellow Hat sect).