Jutti
Encyclopedia
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
of Punjab
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
i origin that is common in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. They are traditionally made up of leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
and with extensive embroidery, in real gold and silver thread in olden days, though now with changing times different juti with rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
soles are made available. Besides Punjabi jutti, there are various local styles as well, like Lahori, Peshawari, and Kasoori juttis. Today Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
and Patiala ("tilla jutti") are important trade centers for handcrafted juttis, from where they are exported all over the world to Punjabi diaspora
Punjabi diaspora
The Punjabi diaspora refers to the descendants of ethnic Punjabis who emigrated out of the Punjab region to the rest of world. Punjabis are one of the largest ethnic groups in both the Pakistani and Indian diasporas...
. Closely related to mojari
Mojari
Mojari or mozari is a style of South Asian handcrafted footwear produced in India and Pakistan....
s, introduced during the Mughal era
Mughal era
The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia . It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...
, juttis have evolved into several localized design variations, even depending upon the shoemaker. However by large, they have no left are right distinction, and over time take the shape of the foot. They usually have flat sole, and are similar in design for both women and men, except for men they have a sharp extended tip, nokh curved upwards like traditional mustaches, and are also called khussa, and some women juttis have no back part, near the ankle. Even with changing times juttis have remained part of ceremonial attire, especially at weddings, the unembellished juttis are used for everyday use for both men and women in most of Punjab.
Many Punjabi folk songs mention juttis, like Jutti kasuri peri na poori hai rabba sanu turna paiy and Jutti lagdi vairia mere'.
Overview
There is a wide variety of juttis available for both men and women. During certain festivals special juttis are also fitted to the feet of cows. Elsewhere in India, Juttis are commonly also known as MojariMojari
Mojari or mozari is a style of South Asian handcrafted footwear produced in India and Pakistan....
or while an alternative name in Pakistan is khussa, and they are now very popular in the West too. Like Mojaris, these are long shoes with the end curled upwards.They have been traditionally handed over generations with each generation contributing some variation to it. These are the traditional ethnic Indian Footwear.
They are usually made of fine leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
and are delicately embroidered with threads or bead
Bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...
s. Juttis are slip-on in style and are characterized by rising high to the Achilles' tendon in the back and covering the toes with a round or M-shaped heavily-embroidered upper shoe and leaving the top of the foot nearly bare. Some of them are hand-made and have been embroidered beautifully.
These ethnic shoes were worn by wealthy zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
s, chaudhary
Chaudhary
Choudhury is a term in Indo-Aryan languages, literally meaning "holder of four". Traditionally, the term is used as a title indicating the ownership of ancestral land, but in contemporary usage it is often taken as a surname or title....
, nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
, jagirdars Maharajas and Maharanis of India (esp. Punjab), various designs showcased in this category are inspired from the Mughal era
Mughal era
The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia . It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...
. All these are handmade by skilled artisans in remote corners of India.
Jutti is the traditional Indian footwear popular in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
, especially in Punjab and Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
. It also has its slightly different variations which are known as kussa or mojri. Beauty, vibrant color and utility are combined in these juttis of India. Rich golden threads and colorful beads are used to craft exquisite motifs in order to impart a royal touch on these juttis made of different shades of leather. People prefer wearing them on traditional occasions like weddings. Along with traditional dresses like sherwani
Sherwani
Sherwani is a long coat-like garment worn in South Asia, very similar to an Achkan or doublet, and is traditionally associated with the Muslim aristocracy of the northern Indian subcontinent....
or kurta pajama, juttis form the quintessential accessory. The following sites aim at tracing the evolution of juttis and their uses in comparison with other modern footwear, various kinds of juttis and the art of making embroidered and beaded juttis.