Editing Loincloth

{{Short description|Cloth worn around the loins}}
{{for|the American heavy metal band|Loincloth (band)}}
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{{Infobox clothing item
| image_file    = Loincloth.jpg
| caption       = Sketch of a loincloth
| designer      = 
| year          = 
| type          = Clothing that covers the genitals and sometimes the buttocks
| material      = 
| on_display_at = 
}}

A '''loincloth''' is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a [[Belt (clothing)|belt]]. It covers the [[genitals]] and sometimes the [[buttocks]]. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as '''breechcloth''' or '''breechclout'''.<ref name="nps">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080611100003/http://www.nps.gov/archive/tont/archeology/breechcloth.htm U.S. National Park Service]. Retrieved on 2009-12-22.</ref><ref name="native-languages">[http://www.native-languages.org/breechcloth.htm Native Languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702012034/http://www.native-languages.org/breechcloth.htm |date=2009-07-02 }}. Retrieved on 2009-12-22.</ref> Often, the flaps hang down in front and back.<ref name="native-languages" />

== History and types ==
[[File:Nezahualpiltzintli.jpg|thumb|A form of loincloth worn with a cape by [[Nezahualpilli]], {{circa|1500}}]]

Loincloths are worn in societies where no other clothing is needed or wanted. Loincloths are commonly used as an [[undergarment]] or [[swimsuit]] by [[wrestlers]] and by farmers in [[paddy field]]s in both [[Sri Lanka]] and [[India]], where it is called Kovanam in Tamil, {{Transliteration|si|ambudaya}} in Sinhala and [[kaupinam]] or langot.

The loincloth, or breechcloth, is a basic form of dress, often worn as the only garment. Men have worn a loincloth as a fundamental piece of clothing which covers their genitals, not the buttocks, in most societies which disapproved of genital nakedness throughout human history. The loincloth is in essence a piece of material, bark-[[bast fibre|bast]], [[leather]], or cloth, passed between the legs and covering the genitals. Despite its functional simplicity, the loincloth comes in many different forms.

The styles in which breechcloths and loincloths can be arranged are myriad. Both the [[Borneo|Bornean]] ''sirat'' and the Indian ''[[dhoti]]'' have fabric pass between the legs to support a man's genitals.

[[Image:Aztec5figure9.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Aztecs]] wore loincloths with or without other garments.]]

A similar style of loincloth was also characteristic of ancient [[Mesoamerica]]. The male inhabitants of the area of modern [[Mexico]] wore a wound loincloth of woven fabric. One end of the loincloth was held up, the remainder passed between the thighs, wound about the waist, and secured in back by tucking.<ref group=Note>Local names: [[Nahuatl]] {{lang|nah|maxtlatl}}, [[Mayan languages|Mayan]] {{lang|myn|ex}}.</ref>

In Pre-Columbian [[South America]], ancient [[Andean civilizations|Inca]] men wore a strip of cloth between their legs held up by strings or tape as a belt. The cloth was secured to the tapes at the back and the front portion hung in front as an [[apron]], always well ornamented.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} The same garment,{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} mostly in plain [[cotton]] but whose aprons are now, like T-shirts, sometimes decorated with logos, is known in Japan as {{Transliteration|ja|etchu [[fundoshi]]}}.

Some of the culturally diverse [[Indigenous peoples in Brazil|Amazonian indigenous]] still wear an ancestral type of loincloth.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

Until World War II, Japanese men wore a loincloth known as a {{Transliteration|ja|[[fundoshi]]}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arita |first=Eriko |date=2009-05-10 |title=Fundoshi: undercover revolution |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2009/05/10/style/undercover-revolution/ |website=The Japan Times}}</ref> The {{Transliteration|ja|fundoshi}} is a {{convert|35|cm||adj=mid|-wide}} piece of fabric (cotton or [[silk]]) passed between the thighs and secured to cover the genitals.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

== Loincloths by culture ==
=== Australia ===
[[Image:1981 event Australian aboriginals.jpg|thumb|Australian Aboriginal dance group wearing loincloths made from modern materials on stage at the [[Nambassa]] festival]]
Worn by adult males in some Aboriginal cultures. Called ''naga'', ''narga'', ''nargar'' (etc) from [[Yulparija]] dialect of the [[Western Desert cultural bloc|Western Desert]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Australian National Dictionary |date=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor=W. S. Ramson |edition=1988 |page=417 |isbn=0195547365}}</ref>

=== India ===
Unsewn [[Kaupinam]] and its later-era sewn variation [[langot]] are [[Clothing in India|traditional clothes in India]], worn as [[underwear]] in [[Akhara#Dangal|dangal]] held in [[akhara]]s especially [[Wrestling in India|wrestling]], to prevent [[hernias]] and [[hydrocele]].<ref name="Mahatyagi2007">{{cite book|author=Raman Das Mahatyagi|title=Yatan Yoga: A Natural Guide to Health and Harmony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IjpmZ3ysHTsC&pg=PA33|year=2007|publisher=Yatan Ayurvedics|isbn=978-0-9803761-0-4|pages=33–}}</ref> [[Kacchera]] is mandatory for [[Sikhs]] to wear.

=== Japan ===
Japanese men and women traditionally wore a loincloth known as a ''[[fundoshi]]''. The ''fundoshi'' is a 35&nbsp;cm (14&nbsp;in.) wide piece of fabric (cotton or [[silk]]) passed between the thighs and secured to cover the genitals. There are many ways of tying the ''fundoshi''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shop-japan.co.jp/english-boku/fundoshi.html|title=BOKUNAN-DO|website=www.shop-japan.co.jp}}</ref>

=== Native American ===
[[File:Two Mohave braves, western Arizona - Timothy O'Sullivan - NARA.jpg|thumb|Two [[Mohave people|Mojave]] men in breechcloths (1871)]]

In most [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribes, men used to wear some form of breechcloth, often with [[leggings]].<ref name="native-languages" /><ref name="AICB">Minor, Marz & Minor, Nono (1977). [https://books.google.com/books?id=FRr0XCFnMtgC&pg=PA73 ''The American Indian Craft Book'']. Bison Books.  pp. 72–73. {{ISBN|0-8032-5891-7}}. Google Book Search. Retrieved on 2010-07-15.</ref><ref name="ABI:">Mayfield, Thomas Jefferson (1997). [https://archive.org/details/adoptedbyindians0000mayf/page/83 ''Adopted by Indians: A True Story'']. Heyday Books. p. 83. {{ISBN|0-930588-93-2}}. Google Book Search. Retrieved on 2010-07-15.</ref><ref name="rootsweb">[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mosmd/indianmensclothing.htm Typical Indian Clothing (male)]. Retrieved on 2010-07-15.</ref> The style differed from tribe to tribe. In many tribes, the flaps hung down in front and back; in others, the breechcloth looped outside the belt and was tucked into the inside, for a more fitted look.<ref name="native-languages" /> Sometimes, the breechcloth was much shorter, and a decorated apron panel was attached in front and behind.<ref name="native-languages" />

A Native American woman or [[adolescence|teenage]] [[girl]] might also wear a fitted breechcloth underneath her skirt, but not as outerwear. However, in many tribes' young girls did wear breechcloths like the [[boy]]s until they became old enough for skirts and dresses.<ref name="native-languages" /> Among the [[Mohave people]] of the American Southwest, a breechcloth given to a young female symbolically recognizes her status as [[Two-spirit|''hwame'']].<ref>Conner, Sparks, and Sparks, eds. (1997) ''Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol, and Spirit: Covering Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Lore''</ref>

===Philippines===
{{main|Bahag (garment)}}

[[File:Visayans 1.png|thumb|[[Visayans|Visayan]] noblemen or warriors deliberately wearing only ''[[bahag (garment)|bahág]]'' to show off traditional, full-body tattoos (''[[batok]]''), from the ''[[Boxer Codex]]'', {{circa|1590}}]]

In the Philippines, loincloths of any sort are generally called [[bahag (garment)|''bahág'']]. It is often a single, long, rectangular cloth that is not tied with a belt or string and were made from either [[barkcloth]] or hand-[[woven textile]]s. The design of the weave is often unique to a specific tribe, while colors may denote the wearer’s social rank, such as plain white for commoners.<ref name="Belen">{{cite web |last1=Belen |first1=Yvonne |date=21 June 2014 |title=Loincloth (G-string, Bahag) |url=https://www.icbe.eu/cordillera-articles/675-loincloth-g-string-bahag |access-date=21 July 2021 |website=Grand Cañao}}</ref>

Throughout the [[pre-colonial Philippines|pre-colonial]] period, the ''bahág'' was the normative dress for commoners and the servile class (the ''[[alipin]]'' caste).<ref name="Lopez">{{cite book |last1=Lopez |first1=Mellie Leandicho |title=A Handbook of Philippine Folklore |date=2006 |publisher=UP Press |isbn=9789715425148 |page=385}}</ref> It survives today among some [[indigenous tribes of the Philippines]], most notably the various [[Igorot|Cordilleran]] peoples in the mountains of inland northern [[Luzon]].<ref name="Dalton">{{cite book |last1=Dalton |first1=David |last2=Keeling |first2=Stephen |title=The Rough Guide to the Philippines |date=2013 |publisher=Rough Guides UK |isbn=9781405392075}}</ref>

The ''bahág'' was also favoured by the pre-colonial [[Maginoo|noble]] (''tumao'') and [[Timawa|warrior]] (''timawa'') classes of the [[Visayan people]], as it showed off their elaborate, full-body tattoos (''[[batok]]'') that advertised combat prowess and other significant achievements:<ref name="Scott" /><ref name="Francia">{{cite book |last1=Francia |first1=Luis H. |title=History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos |date=2013 |publisher=Abrams |isbn=978-1-4683-1545-5}}</ref>

{{Blockquote
|text=The principal clothing of the Cebuanos and all the Visayans is the tattooing of which we have already spoken, with which a naked man appears to be dressed in a kind of handsome armor engraved with very fine work, a dress so esteemed by  them they take it for their proudest attire, covering their bodies neither more nor less than a [[Crucifixion of Jesus|Christ crucified]], so that although for solemn occasions they have the ''marlotas'' (robes) we mentioned, their dress at home and in their ''barrio'' is their tattoos and a [[bahag (garment)|''bahag'']], as they call that cloth they wrap around their waist, which is the sort the ancient actors and gladiators used in Rome for decency's sake.
|author=[[Pedro Chirino]] 
|title = ''Relación de las Islas Filipinas'' (1604)
|source=<ref name="Scott">{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=William Henry |title=Barangay: Sixteenth-century Philippine Culture and Society |date=1994 |publisher=Ateneo University Press |isbn=9789715501354 |pages=20–27}}</ref>
}}

One method of wrapping the ''bahág'' involves first pulling the long rectangular cloth (usually around {{convert|2|to|3|m|abbr=on}}) in between the legs to cover the genitals, with a longer back flap. This back flap is then twisted across the right leg, then crossed at the waist in an anti-clockwise direction. It then goes under the front flap, then across the left leg. It is twisted back across the back loop, above the buttocks. The result is the two rectangular ends hanging in front of and behind the waist, with a loop around the legs resembling a belt.

The native [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] word for "rainbow", ''bahagharì'', literally means "loincloth of the king".<ref>{{cite news |title=Glossary of Confusing Pinoy Expressions |access-date=21 July 2021 |work=Spot.ph|url= https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/54434/glossary-of-pinoy-expressions|date=10 October 2013}}</ref>

=== Europe ===
[[File:Clothing of the French Canadiens and the Milice reenactment 1.jpg|thumb|Clothing of the French Canadiens and the Milice reenactment]]
Some [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] men around {{BCE|2000|link=y}} wore [[leather]] breechcloths, as can be seen from the clothing of [[Ötzi]].<ref name="iceman.it/clothing">[http://www.iceman.it/en/clothing South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology]. Retrieved 2010-07-15.</ref> [[Ancient Rome|Ancient Romans]] wore a type of loincloth known as a [[subligaculum]].

The use of breechcloths took on common use by the Metis and Acadians and are mentioned as early as the 1650s. In the 1740s and 1750s they were issued to the Canadien as part of their war uniform and in 1755 they even tried to issue them to soldiers from France.

{{Blockquote 
|text=During their travels across Canada, the French [canadiens] dress as the Indians; they do not wear breeches. Many nations imitate the French customs; yet I observed, on the contrary, that the French in Canada, in many respects, follow the customs of the Indians, with whom they converse {{sic|?|everyday}}. They make use of the tobacco pipes, shoes, garters, and girdles of the Indians. 
|author=[[Peter Kalm]], 1749.
}}
{{Blockquote 
|text=Those who go to war receive a capot, two cotton shirts, one breechclout, one pair of leggings, one blanket, one pair of souliers de boeuf, a wood-handled knife, a worm and a musket when they do not bring any. The breechclout is a piece of broadcloth draped between the thighs in the Native manner and with the two ends held by a belt. One wears it without breeches to walk more easily in the woods. 
|author=d’Aleyrac, 1755–60. 
}}
{{Blockquote 
|text=During the week the men went about in their homes dressed much like the Indians, namely, in stockings and shoes like theirs, with garters, and a girdle about the waist; otherwise the clothing was like that of other Frenchmen. 
|author=Kalm, p. 558 
}}
{{Blockquote 
|text=The French familiarized themselves with us, Studied our Tongue, and Manners, wore our Dress, Married our Daughters, and our Sons their Maids
|author=Pontiac, Ottawa leader, 2.2.50-57
}}

== See also ==
{{Div col}}
* Similar Indian clothes
** [[Kacchera]]
** [[Langot]]
* Related Indian clothes
** [[Clothing in India]]
** [[Dhoti]]
** [[Lungi]]
** [[Veshti]]
* Similar garments
** [[Bahag (garment)|Bahag]]
** Breechcloth
** [[Fundoshi]]
** Loincloth
** [[Mawashi]]
** [[Perizoma (loincloth)|Perizoma]]
** [[Subligaculum]]
** [[Thong]]
* [[Perizoma (loincloth)]]
* [[Fundoshi]]
* [[Kaupinam]]
* Related garments
** [[Tallit katan]]
{{Div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group="Note"}}
{{clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Loincloths}}
*[http://www.ikanlundu.com/literary/borneo_loincloth.html  The Loincloth of Borneo]
*[http://www.wordnik.com/words/breechcloth Breechcloth on Wordnik, retrieved on 22.12.2009]
*[http://www.nativetech.org/seminole/breechcloths/index.php Breechcloth by Rick Obermeyer (Dec. 1990), retrieved on 22.12.2009]<!--spacing-->

{{Men's undergarments}}
{{Historical clothing}}

[[Category:Indian clothing]]
[[Category:Maya clothing]]
[[Category:Polynesian clothing]]
[[Category:Skirts]]
[[Category:Swimsuits]]
[[Category:Undergarments]]