Indian Culture Clothing Essay

Throughout recorded time and probably even before, clothing along with food and shelter has been recognized as one of the primary needs of all people in all parts of world (Sulaiman and Quest, 2013). Traces of costumes found at the excavation sites of ancient civilizations across the world have played an important role in communicating the cultural aspects of the mankind in prehistoric times. These textile based evidences have reflected not only the variability in the costumes but also the underlining reasons thereof. The distinctive aspects of such evidences, frescos and painting have been important statement of the resources available, production processes prevalent in that period and social recognition conveyed through clothes and accessories.

It is known fact that tribes has important role in cultural diversity of any nation. The term “tribe” originated around the time of the Greek city-states and the early formation of the Roman Empire. The Latin term, “tribus” has since been transformed to mean, a group of persons forming a community and claiming descent from a common ancestor (Gregory, 2003). According to Majumdar (1962) a tribe is a collection of families or groups of families bearing common name, members of which occupy the same territory, speak the same language and observe certain taboos regarding marriage, profession or occupation and have developed a well assessed system of reciprocity and mutuality of obligations. Therefore, tribes have an important place in Indian society. Indian has the largest concentration of tribal population in Asia and it is the second largest in the world in terms of tribal population. Tribal people are considered to be the original inhabitants of sub continent having a very simple way of life. Tribes as a social formation may be identified in two ways, firstly as a stage in the history of evolution of human civilization and secondly, as a society organized on the basis of kinship ties which enables them to be a multifunctional