Accessorize

Malayalis LOVE gold and that's no joke! Gold sure makes its presence felt around here, for example, The jewel street in Thrissur is famous for having the maximum number of jewellery shops on a single lane, similarly MG Road in Cochin is characterized by a whole stretch of Gold Ornament shops standing right beside each other. The one occasion when people go all out to buy gold ornaments is definitely 'the wedding occasion'. Kerala brides make an effort to dazzle in gold on their special day.

The Keralite's love for gold can be traced back to the good old days. Some of the traditional ornaments continue to influence the gold designs and patterns like the Kashimala, Palakka, Nagapadom and Thalikoottam. Every household boasts of owning at least one of them. Some other popular traditional ornaments are Payyannur Pavithra Mothiram (ring), gold necklaces like Manonmani, Ilakkathali, Poothali, Palaykkamala, Mangamala, Dalamini, Chuttiyum Chelum and Puliyamothiram. Ear studs like Jimikki, Kannuneerthulli, Thoda etc; Bangles like Kappu, stones, pearl and enamel painted bracelets etc.

Irrespective of religion or caste, most women in Kerala wear gold ornaments and it forms an inevitable part of most religious and social occasions like marriages. The main ritual in the Kerala wedding ceremony is the thaalikettu, the tying of the sacred nuptial thread on which is stringed the 'thaali' - a tiny leaf shaped gold plate, which marks the sacred bond of marriage. The Christians have a little cross engraved on the 'thaali'.The most outstanding piece of the Christian women's jewellery collection used to be the enormous ring worn on the upper ear lobe.