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Dejhoor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jawaharlal Nehru as a young boy and his mother Swarup Rani wearing dejhoor

Dejhoor (or Deji-Hor) is an dangling ear ornament worn by Kashmiri Pandits married women, from the day before they are wed in holy matrimony.[1]

The jewelry is placed in the cartilage piercing of the ear in a red thread and later the thread may be replaced with a gold chain known as an ath bought by her in-laws at their house. The thread or chain is about 8-12 inches. The bottom part is athur, which will be of gold, gold /silver threads or pearls, is added attached to the dejhoor. The ornament is not worn by Muslim Kashmiris [2] or any other Hindu community.[3]

Kashmiri Pandit lady in 1900

It symbolizes union between two Kashmiri Pandit families. The dejhoor ornament is always hexagonal and it symbolizes a yantra denoting Shiva and Shakti.[4][5]

An interpretation of the term Dij is that it represents "dvija" and is thus the female counterpart of a yajnopavita in the Brahmin community.

Its function is similar to that of a mangal-sutra or sindoor in other regions of India. However a dejhoor is provided by the girl's family and worn even after the death of the husband.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ A Study Of The Pandits Of Rural Kashmir, T N Madan, Asia Publishing House, I965, P. 89
  2. ^ Dr Farooq’s insensitive Dejhor remark aches displaced community: GLR, Daily Excelsior, May 6, 2024
  3. ^ Ornaments in India: A Study in Culture Trait, Jyoti Sen, Pranab Kumar Das Gupta, 1974
  4. ^ Simran Kaur , Amita Walia, Simran Kaur , Amita Walia; TJPRC (2018). "Significant Rituals of Kashmiri Pandits, A Perspective" (PDF). International Journal of Textile and Fashion Technology. 8 (4): 11–18. doi:10.24247/ijtftaug20183. ISSN 2250-2378.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Kanyal, Jyoti (14 February 2020). "Fashion Friday: Breaking down the Kashmiri Pandit look from Shikara". Retrieved 10 September 2021.