Khalat
A khalat (Persian: خلعت, from Arabic: خِلْعَة, romanized: khilat) is a loose, long-sleeved outer silk or cotton robe common in Central Asia and South Asia and worn both by men and women, although in differing styles.
History
[edit | edit source]Historically, richly adorned khalats have been used as robes of honour. Khilat was also used to denote the ceremony of awarding the honorific robe. Such social aspects of clothing have been known in many societies. By the 19th century in British India the word khilat had come to mean any gift of money or goods the Government of India awarded in return for service from tributary princes, khans and tribal leaders.
Cultural variation
[edit | edit source]Central Asia
[edit | edit source]
Central Asian khalats can be thin, decorative garments or thick, full-length robes that provide good protection from exposure to heat, light, and cold.
Eastern Europe
[edit | edit source]Khilat is one of many borrowings in Russian, where khalat has become a generic term for various robes.
In Romanian the word is halat is used, meaning dressing gown, bathrobe, smock, camouflage cloak, etc. A similar garment is known as Chapan in Turkic.
The khalat (Yiddish: כלאַט, romanized: khlat) was also worn by Ashkenazi Jewish men in Eastern Europe before the early 20th century. These were long, close-fitting coats with shawl collars and pockets. Khlats were cotton garments meant for everyday wear; more luxurious versions were made of velvet or silk and worn for Shabbat or other holidays.[1]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Stewart Gordon, "Robes of Honour: Khilat in Pre-Colonial and Colonial India". Oxford University Press, 2003, Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
%27.jpg){kind=link}
