#saṃghāti

[raffaellopalandri]

The Tyranny of the Trivial: Why My Wardrobe is Pure Function

Daily writing promptIf you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?View all responses For most, the daily ritual of getting dressed is a carefully orchestrated dance. They pirouette around their closets, agonizing over colour palettes, layering options, and that ever-present question: “Do I look well in it?” Photo by Max Mishin on Pexels.com But for me, the…

[atlaculture]

Cultural Fashion: Earth Kingdom Nuns

The Earth Kingdom nuns from “Bato of the Water Tribe” have pretty interesting designs. Their clothing and accessories are a mix of Buddhist and uniquely Tibetan elements.

First and foremost, the head nun of the abbey wears a pandita hat. As I mentioned in an earlier post, these hats tend to be tall and taper upwards into a triangular shape. They also possess a subtle v-shaped trim along the forehead area. For the particular panditas shown here, the lappets are shown pinned or bent upwards rather than covering the ears. I don’t know if the differences in design and material between various panditas indicates regional differences or different ranks within the monastery.

The cloths that all the nuns wear diagonally over their left shoulders are called Saṃghāti in Sanskrit. The Saṃghāti is the outermost layer of a monk’s total robes, which are called Kāṣāya (काषाय). The Saṃghāti is probably the most recognizable part of a monk’s garb across most Buddhist denominations.

The non-head nuns wear beads that hang from their hats and drape over their shoulders. There aren’t any monk or nun hats that look like this but I think it looks quite pretty. What they most remind me of are traditional Tibetan women’s headdresses, in which beautiful strings of beads are draped over the braided forelocks to frame the face.

Last but not least, the head nun wears Buddhist prayer beads known as mala (माला) in Sanskrit. I’ve covered mala before in a previous post of mine, so I’ll just quote what I wrote there:

Mala are used to keep track while one recites, chants, or mentally repeats a mantra; which are spiritual syllables or prayers. Mala help to focus one’s awareness and concentration during spiritual practice, as each bead is meant to be counted after each recitation of the mantra. Mala are usually composed of 108 beads, as 108 is a sacred number in Buddhism; although smaller malas composed of a number divisible by 9 are also common.

Judging by how long the head nun’s mala is, I’d say she’s wearing a full 108-beaded mala.

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