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Agarland is a decorativebraid,knot orwreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times, Garlands are used to decorate, especially around holidays.
From theFrenchguirlande, itself from theItalianghirlanda, abraid.[1]
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In countries of theIndian subcontinent, such as India and Pakistan, people may place garland around the necks of guests of honour, as a way of showing respect to them.[3] Garlands are worn by the bridegroom in South Asian weddings.[4]
Garlands were historically purely secular at first, sought for their fragrance and beauty and used for decorating houses, roads, and streets.[5] It is eventually applied toHindu deities as an important and traditional role in every festival where these garlands are made using different fragrant flowers (oftenjasmine) and leaves.[6] Both fragrant and non-fragrant flowers and religiously-significant leaves are used to make garlands to worship Hindu deities. Some popular flowers include:
Apart from these, leaves and grasses likearugampul, maruvakam,davanam, maachi, paneer leaves,lavancha are also used for making garlands. Fruit, vegetables, and sometimes even currency notes are also used for garlands, given asthanksgiving.
Wedding ceremonies in India include the bride and groom wearing a wedding garland. On other occasions, garlands are given as a sign of respect to an individual person or to adivine image.
Agajra is a flower garland which women in India andBangladesh wear in their hair during traditional festivals. It is commonly made withjasmine. It can be worn around a bun, as well as in braids. Women usually wear these when they wearsarees. Sometimes, they are pinned in the hair with other flowers, such as roses.
In ancient times,Tamil kings employed people to manufacture garlands daily for a particular deity. These garlands were not available for public consumption.
In contemporary times, each Hindu temple in southern India has anandavanam (flower garden) where flowers and trees for garlands are grown. Large Shiva temples likeThillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram,Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur, andArunachaleswara Temple, and those found inThiruvannamalai still preserve such nandavanams for supplying flowers for daily rituals.
Stone inscriptions ofRajaraja I atThanjavur gives details of patronage bestowed by royals to the conservation of nadavanams that belonged to the "Big Temple".[7]
Marigold andnitya kalyani garlands are used only for corpses in burial rituals. At social functions, garlands are used to denote the host.
AtSrirangam Ranganathar temple, only garlands made by templesattharars (brahmacaris employed for garland-making) are used to adorn the deityRanganatha. Garland and flowers from outside the temple grounds are forbidden. Sattarars have several disciplinary rules for many aspects of their profession, some of which include:
While making garlands, the sattarars keep flowers and other materials on a table in order to keep them away from the feet, which are traditionally viewed as unclean and unfit for use in a religious context. Material is always kept above hip level.
South Indian garlands are of different types. Some of them are as follows:
Each Hindu deity has a unique garland:
The tradition of garlanding statues as a sign of respect extends to respected non-divine beings, including ancient KingPerumbidugu Mutharaiyar II and the innovative colonial administratorMark Cubbon.[8][9]
A reference to a garland is found in the Nepalese national anthem,Sayaun Thunga Phulka. The first line reads, "Woven from hundreds of flowers, we are one garland that's Nepali."
InChristian countries, garlands are often used asChristmas decorations, such as being wrapped around a Christmas tree.[10]
It was the first time since independence that Cubbon has been honoured thus. The group strongly feels Cubbon deserves it; they credit him with being one of the architects of Bangalore and Mysore.
Collector K.S. Palanisamy led the district administration officials in paying respects to 'Perumpidugu' Mutharayar by garlanding the statue at Othakadai Junction in the morning.
Media related toGarlands at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition ofgarland at Wiktionary| International | |
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