The jutti () or ''Punjabi Jutti'' () is a type of

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

common in

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and neighboring regions. They are traditionally made up of

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

and with extensive embroidery, in real gold and silver thread as inspired by royalty in the subcontinent over 400 years ago. Prior to that,

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

s of the northwest used to wear leather jutti

also called ethnic shoes. Now with changing times, different juttis with

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

soles are made available. Besides the Punjabi jutti, there are various local styles as well. Today

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

and

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

("tilla jutti") are important trade centers for handcrafted juttis, from where they are exported all over the world to

Punjabi diaspora The Punjabi diaspora (''pajābī pravāsī'') mainly refers to the descendants of ethnic Punjabis who emigrated out of the Punjab region before Independence of Pakistan and India. The Punjabis who migrated after the independence of both countries ...

. Closely related to

mojari Sindhi Mojari (or simply Mojari) is a type of handcrafted footwear produced in Pakistan. They are traditionally made by artisans mostly using tanned leather. The uppers are made of one piece of leather or textile embroidered and embellished with ...

s. Juttis have evolved into several localized design variations, even depending upon the shoemaker. However by large, they have no left or 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, curved upwards like traditional moustaches, and are also called ''khussa'', and some women’s juttis are backless. 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, mostly called Jalsa Jutti which is blackish in color. Many Punjabi folk songs mention juttis, like and .

Overview

There is a wide variety of juttis (pronounced 'jeut-tii' in Punjabi or 'jeu-tea' in Hindi/Urdu) 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

, while an alternative name in Pakistan is ''khussa''. 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 down over generations, with each generation contributing some variation to it. These are the traditional ethnic Indian footwear. They are usually made of fine

and are delicately

embroider Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

ed with threads or

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...

s. Juttis are slip-on in style and are characterized by rising high to the

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

in the back and covering the

toes Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being '' digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being '' pl ...

with a round or M-shaped heavily-embroidered upper, leaving the top of the foot nearly bare. Some feature extensive hand-done embroidery. It is believed that one of the earliest examples of footwear worn on the Indian subcontinent is a sandal of wood, datable to circa 200 BC. During the 3rd and 4th centuries in the Buddhist period, it was quite common to wear strapped sandals and Indian kings wore sandals ornamented with precious jewels. Jain literature shows that leather was used for the making of shoes, which protected the toes from getting injured. Hides of cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep and other wild animals were used.Feet and Footwear in Indian Culture, Jutta Hindu-Neubauer, Bata Shoe Museum Foundation, Toronto, Canada, in association with Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., p.171.

References

External links

* {{Punjabi clothing Shoes Indian footwear Pakistani footwear Punjabi culture Punjabi clothing Mughal art Indian leather industry

Overview

See also

References

External links