Can we get some history and background on these adornments?
I know for a fact that they were not exclusively used for brides…
Let’s do some research.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
hi..........
i thought that they were used for brides i mean what else could they have been used for in the past beside jewllery to wear, either way i love teeka and jhoomer i think they are sooooo nice.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
Can we get some history and background on these adornments?
I know for a fact that they were not exclusively used for brides....
Let's do some research.
how do you know that for a fact? post some links! i wanna know too! :)
i googled it but theres really not much out there...
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
i'm just guessing here but i would think they come from mughal period? when the mujra dance was the popular form of entertainment and such jewellry was worn by the dancers.. also the mughal princesses and harem girls would be covered in these kind of jewels too, i think it was a sign of how important a woman was to the prince or king in comparison to the other women - the more he liked her, the higher her status in his eyes, and the more jewelry she wore? or am i watching too much mughal-e-azam!!? or it could be this stuff came from rajasthan, again where more jewelry is a sign of status.. although for some reason i always associate the jhumar with punjab, and not any other part of the subcontinent, it seems to be quite a punjabi thing to wear doesn't it? hmmm.. interesting topic!
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
thats not a bad guess, ambar... but were those girls deemed respectable or no? cos i'm wondering how it travelled from a mughal guy's harem girl to an everyday family's daughter on her wedding day... thats quite the transition... unless it was as simple as a fashion thing- other girls liked it and adopted it too!
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
I also think it is from the mughal era ... amber stole my thoughts. :p
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
the subcontinental history starts from Umra-o-jan-ada, shabbash. Muzna asked for research, not personal opinions. :p
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
how do you know that for a fact? post some links! i wanna know too! :) i googled it but theres really not much out there...
Historical movies will prove this to you. And ashtray, yes, I did ask for research, but I know that there is limited info out there.
There were many traditions that were carried out by the "not so respectable" characters that we have adopted.
For a simple example....
When I had wanted to have my nose pierced, my ammi strictly advised against it. Her position was two-fold...1. Educated people do not unnecessarily pierce their body parts and 2. Nose piercing is a sign of slavery.
When I pushed her to explain, she told me a story from the times of the pharoahs. She explained that when a queen caught word of her husband's fancy for another woman, she ordered for that woman to be pierced repeatedly in her ears. The idea was to make her unsightly so that the pharoah would no longer be pleased with her. The moral was supposed to be that multiple piercings render you ugly. (I have never substantiated this story.)
She also explained that the nose piercing is a sign of slavery or of being "owned" by someone. I believe the story also dates back to mughal times or even before when women were bought and sold and the nose-ring they wore identified them as belonging to this person or that.
There's lots to check out.....wish I had the time to do it all.
Much of this information is not recorded but just relayed from one person to another and really should be put down somewhere.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
Er.. no ones saying the subcontinents history began with mughal era.. we’re saying that perhaps a piece of jewellery comes from that era.. 
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
i always thought piercings were a sign of status.. like sometimes you go to a small town or village in india or pakistan and u see these older women with lots of piercings all around their ears. i thought it was their way of showing that they came from a richer or higher class of family in the village as the many piercings would allow them to wear as much gold as possible in their ears, hence showing they are of a high class... but, again, that is just personal opinion - not researched :)
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
muzna what your mother mentioned is what I read about those lip discs some african women from the suri tribe wear. they widen their mouths by sticking arched sticks as preperations and later cut their lips and place a disc so that it hangs and look ugly. This was done so that when other tribes attack them they do not steal the ugly women. If you have seen those hanging lips, they do look ugly, and is considered such by the suri tribesmen as well.
Jhoomers and nose peiercings date far back and are much older than the mughal era. You have to visit the taxila and mohenjo daro museums and see the ornaments dug up from those civilisations. Jhomer like jewelry and nose rings were prevalent during those times. Also, and this may be a personal opinion, a jhoomer or nath or nug does not look ghastly unlike the cut up lower lip, so i do not believe in the theory that it was done to make women unattractive.
The negatives connotations to the nath comes from the brothels of the mughal era. Loss of a prostitutes virginity was referred to as nath khulai, and i think it is still referred to as such in heera mandi. That does not mean that the nath originated in the brothels. It is because of this very reason that mothers in Pakistan do not let girls wear a nose ring, nose pins are, however, considered ok.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
So here is what I have found on the net:
Earrings and Jewellery in Ancient Times
At the time of Christ there was a view held among the sects that the use of make-up and jewellery was of demonic origin. The Ethiopic Book of Enoch states:
We see from this text that it was long ago held that ornaments and cosmetics were the product of the teaching of the fallen Host. This view has been attributed to the text in the New Testament which is found in 1Tim. 2:9-10.
- Abraham’s servant gave a ring (translated as earring) to Rebekah when he sought her as a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:22). However, at verse 47 it appears that it was in fact a forehead jewel as it was placed on her face.
It is thus beyond dispute that the patriarchs condoned this use of a forehead jewel.
-Indian Examples of the Origins
The clearest example of the original intention as an animistic fetish is found in the practice of the Kanphata Yogis of India, a sub-sect of Saiva ascetics named from the practice of splitting their ears and placing a large earring made of agate, horn or glass, about two and a quarter ounces in weight, in the ear as a symbol of their initiation. The Kanphatas of Bombay and Belgaum carry a trident as a symbol of the god Siva whom they worship. The most depraved are the hill Kanphatas who follow Tantric rituals and indulge in the orgies of the left handed Sakta cult. They are generally regarded as soothsayers and sorcerers (L P Tessitori Yogis (Kanphata), ERE, Vol. 12, p. 835).
Conclusions
The wearing of earrings is, along with the animistic origins of the Saiva and other Indo-Aryan religions, of great antiquity. There seems little doubt that the wearing of earrings by men, as well as women, was originally, amongst the Indo-Europeans, of an adherence to animistic or idolatrous practice involving elements of Chaldean theology, which spread both east and west. It was forbidden by a simple analysis of Genesis 35:4. Despite its eradication by Jacob, the wearing of earrings appears to have crept back into use during the Egyptian captivity. The cessation of the practice with Moses appears to have lasted for an indeterminate period with amulets in general going underground or, more correctly, under garment. Most of the Anglo-Saxon people no longer understand the origin of the practice.
The view of cosmetics among the early sects was that it was an art taught by Azazel or Satan at the rebellion of the Host. The Bible has no specific injunction against the use of preventative cosmetics or to oils and unguents or spices in that role. The attitude to attire is an appeal to sober and modest dress, being decorated by good deeds. The painting of the eyes seems to have been associated with false worship and adulterous behaviour. Once again, the fault seems to have been in the presentation and the attitude behind the fact.
The use of charms and amulets is forbidden and is associated with idolatry. In this way, decorative items of dress are restricted and amulets or such ornamentation is forbidden.
This use seems to be associated with a mindset that degenerates into idolatry or stems from it and hence the social degradation we see described by Paul in Romans 1 following on from idolatry.
The dress of a Christian is to be seemly and without suggestion of association with these idolatrous practices or with superstition generally.
Women and men are not to wear the apparel of the other and their behaviour is to be seemly.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
Some more…
Nose: The widespread use of nose ornaments in India today has created a misconception that wearing of these an ancient Hindu custom based on religious sanctions. Yet French historian-writer I.L.Blanchol says, “the Muslim ladies also perform certain vows in the name of renowned saints and make their children wear nathunis (nose rings).”
Going back to ancient Indian civilization, there are no nose rings on the stone and clay sculpture of Indus, Sanchi, or at Ajanta, Ellora and Badami. Neither is there evidence of the use of nose rings from the plaques, seals or coins excavated from Mohenjodaro, Harappa or the Kushan and Gupta dynasties. Similarly, the bronzes of the Apsaras of the 9th century, or the 11th/12th century Uma of the Pala period and Parvati show an absence of this ornament of the nose. Evidence of nose rings and studs appear only in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Thus, nose ornaments which are commonly worn as marriage ornaments today one can conclusively say, appeared around the end of the 16th century and are believed to have been introduced by the Mughals. The most common type is not a ring, but in the form of a stud known as phul. This is worn through a hole in the left nostril an secured by a screw fitting on the inner side. Its size varies from a small gold ball or diamond to a flat disc with a highly ornamental surface. Additionally, the stud may have small attachments like a fringe of hanging chains or small pendants.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
interesting stuff... muzna, you have mad research skillz! :)
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
More still…
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/25/stories/2006012500040500.htm
Unfortunately the ornaments that adorn the Indian women are not of Indian origin. Sangam Tamil literature remains silent to such ornaments. So is ancient Sanskrit literature.
Ancient Indian art never depicted a female form with the nose ornaments. Then the custom of wearing nose ornaments should have come with the invaders.
This custom of wearing nose ornaments was quite popular among the people of the Middle East. Historians opine that it was introduced to India by the Muslim invaders and that was in the 11th century.
It is strongly believed that the nose ornaments have their own scientific advantages. By piercing the nose to wear these ornaments the women protect themselves from all nasal infections. It also helps her to have a stronger sense of smell. Call it acupuncture treatment.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
So there is much on the nose rings and such....but nothing really that explains how the teeka and jhoomar came to be.
I will continue my investigation....can you all do the same? I suspect that mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers will have a few stories to tell....
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
COuld the teeka be a jewelled representation of the third eye kind of like the bindiyaa?
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
thats creepy! i hope not! :p
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
Ornaments for the head and face are essentially common to both the folk and the modern tradition. The main ornament for the head is the jhoomar, the modern form of which is believed to have been designed by Emperess Noor Jahan. Worn slightly tilted to the left of the head, it is in the shape of a pyramid, studded with stones or glass pieces, and with a fringe of beads or pearls at the base. The teeka is a pendant worn in the middle of the forehead and held in place by a string hooked into the hair. The pendant is generally a circular or crescent shaped disc intricately filigreed and set with stones. The supporting string may be a chain of gold or pearls strung on a silken cord. Sometimes in place of the teeka the whole forehead is covered with singhar patti, a belt with or without a medallion in the middle. Then there are hair pins, with floral motifs and tiny jingles on their heads, to crown the hair bun.
Re: Teeka & Jhoomer - The Origins
what website is that from, sabriya?