In the ancient Sri Lanka only the kings and his immediate family members had the privilege of wearing elegant clothing. The king’s ministers and other officials also had uniforms reflecting their designations and the status in the society, but the clothes they wore looked much less exclusive and more ordinary than the attire used by the royal family.
The royal attire was specially made by tailors who came down from South India and they kept the art of making these distinctive clothing styles a secret. However, these Indian tailors used Sri Lankan help and with time the Sri Lankan helpers captured the art to a certain extent and later started to sew the designs themselves.
Emerging of Nilame Attire
At the dawn of the fifteenth century, a Portuguese colonial arrived on the island followed by Dutch and English colonials who invaded Sri Lanka during the 17th century. Although much of the island came under the domain of European powers, till the eighteenth century, the interior, up country region of the island remained independent, with its capital in Kandy.
Arrival of the Europeans played a huge part in cultural changes and a new Sri Lankan middle class was eventually formed which favored Western culture and ideology. The European dress code adopted by this new class changed the traditional concepts of the Sri Lankan society. This led traditional upper class Sri Lankan families to demand a better dress code and the result was the Sri Lankan Nilame Attire which combined Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage and style.
Nilame Attire
Nilame attire was reserved for the most upper class traditional Sri Lankan families and was made in silk or sheik textiles with embedded jewels and extensive embroidery work. Its colour described the wearer’s designation of work and the status in the society. The attire was completely made by the Sri Lankan helpers who captured the art from Indian Taylors who exclusively made attire for the royal family.
The place for Nilame attire in the recent past and today
In the 18th century with the down fall of the Kandy Kingdom the Nilame Attire was mostly replaced by western suits due to British colonial influence. Yet, the high class Sri Lankan families occasionally wore them at special occasions such as weddings and cultural events as a symbol of family status. The attire was then reserved only for the Kandian families who kept the right of wearing nilame attire to them.
As the time passed by, the youth of Sri Lanka got tired of wearing same old western styles and started to explore the use of traditional nilame attire as a groom’s wear at cultural weddings. Today, the nilame attire remains as one of the most preferred choices of the Sri Lankan groom and is worn by multi cultural people across the world breaking traditional boundaries of ancient Sri Lanka.
Special thanks: Mr. Ruwan Vidanage of Abharana Mandiraya
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