Origin Ancient, continuous South Asian dress form
The kurta is a loose, collarless tunic worn across South Asia by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike, serving equally as ordinary daily dress and, in its plainer or more formal forms, as the garment worn to pray in a mosque, gurdwara or temple. Its wide, unfitted cut is shared across religious lines specifically because it carries no single tradition's exclusive religious marking on its own, making it a garment defined by occasion and modesty rather than by doctrine, unlike garments reserved strictly for prayer.
Facts
Identity
Category of DressA loose collarless shirt, part of everyday and devotional dress across South Asia. 1 Use
Worn ByWorn across South Asian religious and cultural contexts by Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims alike, without being restricted to one tradition. 1 History
Historical NotePredates and is independent of the sectarian dress codes attached to particular South Asian religious movements. 1 Material (class) Material (class) Origins
Origin PeriodAncient, continuous South Asian dress form 1 Physical Form
MaterialTraditionally cut from cotton or silk, falling straight and loose, either above or below the knee. 1 Connections
Associated With
This source names Asia directly: "collarless tunic worn across South Asia by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike, serving equally as ordinary daily dress and, in its plainer or more formal forms, as the garment worn to pray in a mosque..."
Source The Oxford Dictionary of World ReligionsJohn Bowker (ed.)
Related To
Sources
1. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
John Bowker (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1997s.v. dress, South Asian religiousView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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