Traditional Jewellery

Uttarakhandi jewellery is heavy, gold and full of meaning, worn most fully by a bride. The great gold nath, the rigid hansuli at the throat and the velvet-backed guloband are the pieces that define a Pahadi wedding look.

The nath, a large hooped nose ring, is the most important ornament of all. A Kumaoni bridal nath can be strikingly big, worked in fine gold and sometimes set with a few coloured stones or pearls, and its size and craft are traditionally a matter of family pride. It is worn with the pichora at every wedding.

At the neck sit the hansuli, a solid, curved torque that hugs the collarbone, and the guloband, a choker of gold plaques stitched onto black velvet. Ears carry murkhali or kundal, the wrists carry pahunchi and dhagula, and the feet carry silver paijeb, since gold is not traditionally worn below the waist. A married woman's forehead ornament, the sheesh phool or bindi with a chain, completes the set.

Much of this jewellery is not merely decorative. Several pieces mark marital status and are gifted at the wedding, and the metalwork was historically made by local sunar families. Today the older heavy designs are treasured heirlooms, brought out for ceremonies even where lighter modern jewellery is worn day to day.