The artisan traditions of Kerala also catered directly to personal adornment including decoration of the idols worshipped in temples. These are jewellery, handlooms and embroidery. Jewellery in Kerala seems to have originated in connection with ritual and magical beliefs, though later it developed its aesthetics as an independent tradition. Rings were made in the old days out of the seeds of the Pala tree which is sacred to the patron goddess of the Hindus of Kerala. Moreover, rings were also made of tiger-claws and the teeth and hair of elephants. It was believed to be magical protection against wild animals. The memory of the first human settlements which involved clearing the forests and fighting the wild animals that infested them is preserved in these traditional amulets. Even when these unusual materials were used, the affluent used to set them in gold or silver. Later, a tradition of work in precious metals and stones evolved in the state. The flora of the milieu insensibly affected the designs. Gold was cast in the shape of pepper seeds or rice flakes and worked into chains. Green stones were delicately cut to the contours of the mango in miniature to form necklaces. The appeal of the traditional designs in the jewelleries of Kerala has been able to stand competition from the sophisticated designs of the modern type that has come into vogue during the last decade or so. |