Bangara - Badaga Jewellery

BADAGA JEWELLERY

Website of Wing Commander Bellie Jayaprakash@2005 - 2021

Badagas call the jewellery they wear as BANGARA. Photo of Gangamma Hethay of Kerban. Photo by JP

Badaga Jewellery

Badagas, especially the women, have some exotic and unique jewellery that they wear on their person.

It was a chance but a wonderful meeting with Mrs.Gangamma, aged 78 years, daughter of Karibajja Kari Gowder of Pedduva Kallatti who was associated with Rao Bahadur Ari Gowder (’Ari Gowda koottuda maathu adile, Koodi ebba ella bae muchindu unnippa ortara endu appa hegina’, she remembers ] and wife of late Kari Gowder of Kerben Village (Kotagiri) who passed away about 40 years back, at Mettupalayam in Feb,2007.

She was wearing traditional Badaga Jewllery - ‘Mookkuthi [nose ring] & Chinna [ear ring]’ which made me ponder and wonder about Badaga Jewellery and offered me the opportunity to take her snaps with these unique ornaments.

To my great pleasure, she also has the typical tattoo on her forehead called ‘ ASALU /ASILU ‘ a tradition which is completely extinct now. She told me that the tattooing was done when she was twelve by her mother. The soot at the bottom of mud pots used for cooking in those days, was scrapped on the rim of a silver finger ring and the circular impression was first made on her forehead before being ‘pricked’ with a needle, she says.

“ Madekkeya pitti eendhu masiya belli ungaradhoge ujji nethiga haakki , adu mele soonjiya kuthidha awai. Appara urichidhamane krichi butte..adutha asilu ollagenge kuthule” ( The black soot from the bottom of a mud pot is scrapped on the rim of a silver finger ring and an imprint is made on the forehead, over which mother would ‘tattoo’ with a needle. Since it hurt a lot I cried out in pain and Mom did not prick deeper and hence the tattoo is lighter).

Given above is this rare photo of Mrs. Gauri Ari Gowder, wife of Rao Bahadur HB Ari Gowder,and the eldest daughter in law of Rao Bahadur HJ Bellie Gowder, then the ‘uncrowned king of Nakku Betta’, was taken some 80/90 odd years back on her wedding day. Probably, she was the first Badaga woman to dress up in a saree for the wedding. She died very young (less than twenty) after delivery of her second female child - the epitome of beauty. Unfortunately, the baby also did not survive. The photo is given here to high light the badaga jewellery she was wearing.

The photo [from Prof : P.Hockings' book] below is about 100yrs old. See the Jewellery

Other "BADAGA' websites

Badaga Villages
Badaga Wedding in pictures

Badagas of the Blue Mountains

Badaga Songs on the WEB

Badaga Origin

Badaga Rare Photos

Badaga persons who made a difference

Badaga Villages [Hattis]

No articles, images and other material in this website can be reproduced without the written permission of

Wing Commander Bellie Jayaprakash B.E.(GCT,Madras Univ).,M.B.A (FMS, Delhi Univ) Contact : bjaypee@gmail.com ::

Badaga Jewellery

The main ornaments are the nose ring called ‘ MOOKUTHI ‘ and the ear ring known as ‘CHINNA’ . Chinna , literaly means gold but usually refers to ear rings. The type shown above is worn both by men and women. Of course, the ‘ BELLI UNGARA ‘ [silver finger ring] has a special place in Badaga tradition and considered to have medicinal / health benefits. On the occasion of death, silver finger rings form part of a ritual of ‘decorating the dead’.

Perhaps, it would be an interesting topic to research why Badagas have chosen these two particular designs for nose and ear rings that have not undergone any changes in ages. Is it due to their simple but very beautiful get up or are there some great hidden stories?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update :- 15 Feb 2010

I know that a lot of posts need updating, or…. rather, more material and info need to be added.

Here is more pictures of Badaga Jewellery from my wife’s collection who went hunting for original Badaga Bangara in Ooty and Kotagiri recently.

The surprise is that you can get the Badaga Jewellery with some exclusive designers in Bangalore, also.

Kivi Chinna -worn by men

Mookkuthi

: Chinna -ear rings

: Kada -Bangle

: Kada -Silver

: Bae -Bangles

: Designs on the Bangles

Badaga women also [used to] wear a kind of chocker called “SARATTADI“ that is a short chain around the neck with a biggish pendant. Then, of course is the ‘SERUPPINIGE‘ a silver necklace / chocker.

Courtesy Mr.Karia Gowder of Nattakal Village, I could take some pix of Seruppinige, Mani Maale, Sippu Bae etc, which are produced below :

Seruppinige

Gubbe (Maale) Mani

Kadaga - Sippu Bae with their unique designs

The other long chain with silver beads is GUBBIGE MANI . There are also ‘KAASU MAALE, KUSURU & KOLU SERUPPINIGE’.

SARATTADI

The picture of a Badaga woman [blue blouse – bottom left ] was taken by late Chantal Boulanger-Maloney [she was a social anthropologist specializing in Indian culture and I thank her husband Peter Maloney for permitting me to use it. You can see more pictures on Badaga by Chantal in her website [other pics are by me - Bellie Jayaprakash]. The next pix is that of Mrs.Gowri wife of Rao Bahadur HB Ari Gowder and to its right is Mrs. Nanji wife of Rao Bahadur HJ Bellie Gowder and mother of Ari Gowder. On the right extreme is Lakshmi Hethai from Chinna (Ooru) Hubbathalai. These pictures are chosen to show the ‘ SARATTADI ‘.