Sarong
The fabric often employs woven plaid or checkered patterns or may be brightly colored by means of batik or ikat dyeing.
Sarong is the older Malay spelling, still used colloquially and persists in English, while sarung ([ˈsaruŋ]) is the standardised form of the word.
[4] Variants of the term are found across Asia, such as Tamil saram (சாரம்), Arabic ṣārūn (صارون); and Sinhala sarama (සරම).
[5][dubious – discuss] Sarong or sarung denotes the lower garment worn by Southeast Asian men and women.
In the center of this sheet, across the narrower width, a panel of contrasting color or pattern about one foot wide is woven or dyed into the fabric, which is known as the kepala or "head" of the sarong.
Malay men wear sarongs in public only when attending Friday prayers at the mosque,[citation needed] but sarongs remain very common casual wear at home for men of all ethnicities and religions in Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and much of the Indian subcontinent.
In Oman, sarongs are called wizār and are often white in color, similar to the Keralan mundu of the Indian subcontinent and it is usually worn under the Thawb.
It is thought that this tribal ṣārūn resembles the original izaar as worn on the Arabian Peninsula since pre-Islamic times such as the Shendyt.
Other izaars, often imported from Bangladesh, are the traditional clothing of Arab fishermen of the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
Unlike the brightly colored Southeast Asian sarongs, the Kerala variety (the mundu) is more often plain white and is worn for ceremonial or religious purposes.
However, most men of upper social classes (whose public attire is usually trousers) wear the sarong only for ceremonial purposes, as a convenient night garment or only within the confines of the house.
Designs vary greatly and range from checkered square motifs with watermarked diamonds and plaid to simple geometric lines.
They are typically sold pre-sewn as one long circular stretch of cloth, though some vendors offer to sew them as a value-added service.
In Indonesia the sarong is generally known as a kain sarung ('sarong cloth') except for in Bali where it carries the name kamben, possibly etymologically related to kemben (Javanese torso wrap).
[11] Sarongs from the Philippines are generally known as tapis in Luzon, alampay in the Cordilleran highlands, patadyong in the islands of Visayas and Sulu, and malong in Mindanao.
These wraps are mostly worn by women as beach cover-ups and do not usually resemble traditional Asian or African sarongs in size, pattern or design.
[20] If no ties exist, a pin may be used, the fabric may be tightly tucked under itself in layers, the corners of the main sheet may be wrapped around the body and knotted, or a belt may be used to hold the sarong in place.
The basic garment known in English most often as a sarong, sewn or unsewn, has analogs in many regions, where it shows variations in style and is known by different names.
[citation needed] Among the other actresses to don the sarong for film roles are Maria Montez, Gilda Gray, Myrna Loy, Gene Tierney, Frances Farmer and Movita.
Male stars who wore the manly sarongs on film include Jon Hall, Ray Milland, Tyrone Power, Robert Preston and Sabu Dastagir, as well as Ralph Fiennes in The Constant Gardener and Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair.
The 2005 documentary film Soldiers in Sarong, directed by Lokendra Arambam, depicts the women's resistance movement in Manipur, North-East India.
