Annara Mundu The medieval undergarments of women in Kerala, India

Until about fifty years ago, most of the women of present-day Kerala in India used to wear undergarments called onnara mundu that literally translates to ‘one and a half a loincloth’. This was essentially a loincloth made of thinner cotton fabric and tied in a particular fashion.

There used to be a little function for young girls on the threshold of puberty to move from a konakam or loincloth to the more sophisticated and feminine onnara mundu. It was one of our rites of passage. The onnara mundu did for the waist what the corset did for the upper body for women in the West.

The upper portion of the body was bare and so nobody really cared how ‘stuff’ grew :P All the focus was on the waist and downward. Hence the importance of the onnara mundu. It was tied very tightly around the growing waists of the girls to give them the trademark South Indian body shape as they grew older. But due to the fabric, it was very comfortable to wear and gave the wearer a sense of modesty. Let’s just say that it hugged to the body just like any modern-day underwear does. The main mundu would be worn over this. In fact, it was considered sensuous to spot the blurred outlines of a woman’s onnara mundu under her mundu when she passed by ;-)

During menstruation, women would place several rectangular pieces of thicker cotton inside their onnara mundu to absorb the menstrual discharge. Due to the general tight nature of the attire, the pieces wouldn’t move an inch thereby ensuring a clean and problem-free period. And these would then be washed, starched and dried for reuse until they looked worn out. I have tried the onnara mundu when I had my function as I mentioned earlier. It’s unbelievable how comfortable it is.