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{{Short description|Traditional South Asian dress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2014}}
A '''langa voni''' (also called "''pavadai daavani''" in Tamil or "''laṅga davaṇi''" in Kannada) is a [[traditional dress]] worn in [[South India]] by girls between [[puberty]] and [[marriage]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Banerjee |first1=Shayoni |name-list-style=amp |last2=Bhardwaj |first2=Sunit |date=2020 |url=http://maitreyi.ac.in/Datafiles/cms/2020/magzine/Samvedena%20July%202020/E2.pdf |title=The Feminine 'Nature' in the Indian Texts and Tradition |work=Samvedana |volume=2 |issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BUcODAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Langa+voni%22+-Bharatpedia&pg=PT68|isbn=9781482870961|title=Anti-Aging Secrets on the Highway|date=20 April 2016|publisher=Partridge}}</ref> It is also known as the ''two-piece [[sari]]'' or ''half sari''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tamilnadu.com/fashion/pavadai-dhavani.html|title=Pavadai Dhavani|publisher=Tamilnadu.com|date=26 January 2013|access-date=21 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411214910/http://tamilnadu.com/fashion/pavadai-dhavani.html|archive-date=11 April 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Girls younger than this may wear it on special occasions.

It comprises a ''[[Lehenga|langa]]'' or ''paavadai'', a skirt which is tied around the waist using string, and a [[Voni (garment)|''voni'']], ''oni'', or ''daavani'', which is a cloth usually {{convert|2|to|2.5|m}} in length. The ''voni'' is draped diagonally over a ''[[choli]]'' (a tight fitting blouse, the same as that worn with a sari). Usually, the garment is woven with cotton or silk. A variant of this is the ''[[ghagra choli]]'' of [[North India]] (the difference between the two being the direction of draping the ''voni'' or ''dupatta''). The modern day "[[lengha-style sari|lehenga-style sari]]", worn by Indians across the subcontinent mainly for special occasions, is inspired by the langa voni.

==Dress==
[[File:Langaoni.JPG|thumb|A woman wearing langa voni]]
The half sari facilitates the transition from the childhood ''paavadai'' (skirt) ''sattai'' (blouse) to the ''sari'', the more complicated drape worn by adult women. Usually the langa (paavadai) and voni are brightly colored and contrasting to each other. At a glance, the half sari outfit can look similar to southern styles of sari because the drape travels in the same direction: tucked into the front of the skirt, then wrapped around the waist, and then draped over the opposite shoulder. However, the voni is shorter, and the wearer is not required to manually pleat the cloth, as is done when draping the sari. In addition, the voni is less restrictive, allowing the wearer to move her legs freely.

==Modern day==
The influence of western culture and the perception of the dress as inconvenient has led to the decline of the half sari as daily wear, in favor of the [[shalwar kameez]] or [[History of Western fashion|Western clothes]]. However, the langa voni has inspired the modern day "lengha-style sari" and has seen a comeback.

In recent years, however, the langa voni is gaining popularity among girls and young women as occasional wear due to attention in media and fashion. Once very simple, they can now be seen with extravagant embroidery, mirror or [[zari]] work, and bold colors like black and grey which were once considered inauspicious. There is also a greater diversity of fabrics being used in addition to the usual silk or cotton, including [[chiffon (fabric)|chiffon]], [[georgette (fabric)|georgette]], [[Crêpe (textile)|crepe]] and [[nylon]]. Full saris are sometimes woven so that the fabric, when worn, changes color or pattern at the hip, in order to give the visual effect of a langa voni.

==Significance in coming of age ceremony==
{{main|Ritu Kala Samskaram}}

In [[South India]], coming of age ceremonies or rites of passage ({{langx|te|లంగా వోణి|langa voni}}; {{langx|ta|பட்டு பாவாடை|pattu pavadai}}; {{langx|kn|ಲಂಗ ದಾವಣಿ|langa davani}}) are celebrated when a girl reaches puberty. She wears a langa voni given by her maternal grandparents, which is worn during the first part of the ceremony and then she is given her first [[sari]] by her paternal grandparents, which she wears during the second half of the ceremony. This marks her transition into womanhood.

The tradition of presenting a langa voni from the maternal grandparents in some communities begins with the girl's first [[naming ceremony]] ([[namakaran]]) and her first rice-feeding ceremony ([[annaprashana]]). She receives her last one at her coming of age ceremony.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Group of Tamil girls.jpg|The girl on the left is wearing the langa voni. The other two are wearing saris. The jewelled head-dress of the girl in the center is traditionally worn at marriage ceremonies or at rite-of-passage ceremonies performed when a girl reaches puberty. Tamil Nadu, c. 1870.
File:Pattu Pavadai.jpg|Girl dressed in langa and ravike, or ''pavadai sattai''
File:Langa Dhavani.jpg|Girls dressed in langa and ravike
File:Ugadi Celebrations.jpg|Schoolgirls dressed in langa and ravike for [[Ugadi]]. The woman is wearing a sari. The boys are wearing the [[kurta]].
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Ritu Kala Samskaram]]
*[[Ghagra choli]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}
{{Clothing in South Asia}}

[[Category:Indian clothing]]
[[Category:Hindu religious clothing]]
[[Category:Saris]]
[[Category:Culture of South India]]

Langa voni - Revision history

UteCansler at 22:07, 19 March 2026