Sarong
A sarong or a sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric may be brightly colored by means of batik or ikat dyeing. Many modern sarongs have printed designs, often depicting animals or plants. Different types of sarongs are worn in different places in the world, notably the lungi in the Indian subcontinent and the izaar in the Arabian Peninsula.
The unisex sarong is typically longer than the men's lungi.
Etymology
The term sarong is a loanword from Malay sarong, meaning 'to cover' or 'to sheath'. It was first used in 1834 referring to the skirt-like garment of the Malays. Sarong is the older Malay spelling, still used colloquially and persists in English, while sarung is the standardised form of the word.Variants of the term are found across Asia, such as Tamil , Arabic ; and Sinhala .
In West Africa, the word srong or sorong is found in the Akan language, and this word means "the highest point", in reference to the garment being fastened at the very top in order to secure it.
Overview
Sarong or sarung denotes the lower garment worn by Southeast Asian men and women. This consists of a length of fabric about a yard wide and two-and-a-half yards long. In the center of this sheet, across the narrower width, a panel of contrasting color or pattern about one foot wide is woven or dyed into the fabric, which is known as the kepala or "head" of the sarong. This sheet is stitched at the narrower edges to form a tube. One steps into this tube, brings the upper edge above the level of the navel, positions the kepala at the center of the back, and folds in the excess fabric from both sides to the front center, where they overlap and secure the sarong by rolling the upper hem down over itself. Malay men wear sarongs woven in a check pattern, while women wear sarongs dyed in the batik method. However, in Javanese culture, the wearing of batik sarongs is common and not restricted to a particular gender; sometimes they are also worn on formal occasions such as weddings.The sarong is common wear for women in formal settings with a kebaya blouse. Malay men wear sarongs in public only when attending Friday prayers at the mosque, but sarongs remain very common casual wear at home for men of all ethnicities and religions in Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, [|Sri Lanka], and much of the Indian subcontinent.
Regional variations
Arabian Peninsula
Sarongs known under a variety of local names are traditionally worn by the people of Yemen and elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula. Local names for the garment include,, izaar,, maqtab and . In Hadhramout, Yemen sarongs are called Saroon in the interior and the coastal region. In Oman, sarongs are called and are often white in color, similar to the Keralan mundu of the Indian subcontinent and it is usually worn under the Thawb. In Saudi Arabia, sarongs are known as izaar. Designs can be checkered or striped as well floral or arabesque, but double plaid designs from Indonesia are also very popular. In southwestern Saudi Arabia, tribal groups have their own style of unstitched, which is locally woven. This is also worn in northern Yemen. However, the tribal groups in Yemen each have their own design for their, the latter of which may include tassels and fringes. It is thought that this tribal resembles the original as worn on the Arabian Peninsula since pre-Islamic times such as the Shendyt. They are generally worn open and unstitched in such a way that the garment does not reach over one's ankles. Other, often imported from Bangladesh, are the traditional clothing of Arab fishermen of the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. It was the traditional garment for men before the introduction of pant-like pajamas and kaftans during the Turkish and European colonial periods. Tube-stitched, as well as open sarongs, are both worn, even informal dishdasha-wearing countries, as casual sleepwear and at home.Indian subcontinent
Sarongs, very similar to those of South-East Asia and completely different from the Indian subcontinent are widespread – in the state of Manipur, where they are called phanek and mekhela in Assam which are very similar to traditional attire of other South-East Asian nations. In the South Indian states of Kerala, they are called mundu and lungi or kaili if coloured, and in Tamil Nadu, they are called kaili or saaram or vetti or lungi and are usually worn at home. A standard lungi measures 2.12 by 1.2 metres.Unlike the brightly colored Southeast Asian sarongs, the Kerala variety is more often plain white and is worn for ceremonial or religious purposes. In Kerala, the brightly coloured sarongs are called kaily and the white ones are called mundu. The more formal, all-white dhoti is worn for formal and religious occasions. While there are dresses based on the mundu which can be worn by women, they more commonly wear the sari.
Sri Lanka
Sarongs are very common in Sri Lanka and worn only by men. It is the standard garment for most men in rural and even some urban communities. However, most men of upper social classes wear the sarong only for ceremonial purposes, as a convenient night garment or only within the confines of the house. The Tamil-speaking communities, the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Sri Lankan Moors people also call it or.Statistically, the number of people wearing sarong as their primary public attire is on the decline in Sri Lanka, the reason being that the sarong carries the stigma of being the attire for less-educated lower social classes. However, there is a trend toward adopting the sarong as a fashionable garment or as a formal garment worn with national pride, only on special occasions. Political and social leaders of Sri Lanka who want to portray their humility and closeness to the common person and their nationalism, choose a variation of the sarong nicknamed the "national" as their public attire.
Horn of Africa
Sarongs are ubiquitous in Somalia and the Muslim-inhabited areas of the Horn of Africa. Although nomadic and urban Somali men have worn them for centuries in the form of a plain white skirt, the colorful macawiis sarong, which is the most popular form of the garment in the region. Before the 1940s, most macawiis were made of cotton. However, since the industrialization of the market, they now come in many fabrics and combinations thereof, including polyester, nylon and silk.Designs vary greatly and range from checkered square motifs with watermarked diamonds and plaid to simple geometric lines. The one constant is that they tend to be quite colorful; black macawiis are rare. Macawiis in Somalia are worn around the waist and folded several times over to secure their position. They are typically sold pre-sewn as one long circular stretch of cloth, though some vendors offer to sew them as a value-added service.
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
In Indonesia the sarong is generally known as a kain sarung except for in Bali where it carries the name kamben, possibly etymologically related to kemben. The sarung or sarong is often described as an Indonesian skirt; it is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn by men and women throughout much of the Indonesian archipelago. The sarong is also commonly described as a unisex tubular skirt.The most common design of the Indonesian sarong is woven cloth with checkered motifs, usually used by Muslim men for salah prayer. This kind of sarong cloth is stitched together to create a tubular skirt-like lower garment. In Bali, sarongs are not stitched together as a tube, but remain as a piece of cloth to wrap around the waist and secured with a knot.
Other than common checkered motifs, other woven or print methods might be employed, such as batik, ikat, songket, and other kinds of tenun traditional woven clothes. Sarongs are used by various ethnic groups in Indonesia. They are made from a variety of materials such as cotton, polyester or silk. Indonesian women wear traditional costumes called kebaya as upper garments, while for lower garments they wear sarongs dyed in the batik method, with flower motifs and in brighter colors. However, in Javanese culture, the wearing of batik sarungs is not restricted to women on formal occasions such as weddings.
In 2019, in an effort to promote and popularize the sarong among its people, the government encouraged Indonesians to wear the sarong in public at least once a month. President Joko Widodo said the sarong is a significant element of Indonesian culture and that wearing it will be a sign of appreciation for sarong craftsmen.
Malaysia
In Malaysia, the sarong is known as a kain. The word kain is paired with specific words to specify its type and function such as kain pelikat, kain sarung, kain tenun, kain batik or kain samping or sampin. In the Malaysian state of Sarawak, it is called sabok and tapeh.Since 2017, special celebrations around Malaysia Day are held to encourage the wearing of sarong in public spaces as well as taking the railway system called the Keretapi Sarong.
Philippines
Similar sarong-like native garments from the Philippines are generally known as tapis in Luzon, alampay in the Cordilleran highlands, patadyong in the islands of Visayas and Sulu, and malong in Mindanao. They are worn by both men and women and can be rectangular or tube-like. They can be knee-length or ankle-length and come in various colors that are usually unique to the specific ethnic group that wove them. They can also serve as shawls or blankets. They were paired with close-fitting shirts or jackets known as baro or bayu.Among the Maranao people, the malong is featured in the folk dance kapa malong malong which shows the various ways that the malong can be utilized.
During the Spanish colonial era, the tapis was worn over a longer skirt due to the shortness of the tapis being deemed too immodest by the Spanish clergy to be worn alone. It evolved over time to become part of the traditional Filipino dress for women, the baro't saya.