# Silambu

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{{image frame|content={{Photomontage
  | photo1a = Silambu Anklets.jpg
  | photo2a = Chilambu.jpg
  | photo3a = Gaggara.jpg
  | spacing = 2
  | space = 2
  | position = right
  | color_border = white
  | color = white
  | size = 300
  | text = Top to bottom:<br> A collection of ''Silambu''s from Tamil Nadu. <br>''Chilambu'' used in [Theyyam](/source/Theyyam) of Kerala.<br> ''Gaggara'' used in [Buta Kola](/source/Buta_Kola) of Karnataka.}}}}

'''Silambu''' ({{langx|ta|சிலம்பு}}; {{langx|ml|ചിലമ്പ്}} /cil’əmpɨ̆/), or '''Gaggara''' ([Tulu](/source/Tulu_language): ಗಗ್ಗರ), is an [anklet](/source/anklet) worn and used in a variety of contexts on the Indian subcontinent.

== Etymology ==
According to Jeyaraj, the word 'silambu' is derived from the verb 'silambal', meaning 'to make sound'.{{Sfn|Jeyaraj|1999|p=39}}

== Description ==
The silambu is a hollow anklet filled with beads that produce noise when the wearer moves or dances.{{Sfn|Sambamoorthy|1976|p=6}} It may be worn on the ankle or the leg. When worn on the leg, it is termed ''kālchilambu'' in Tamil.{{Sfn|Sambamoorthy|1976|p=23}}

Some varieties of silambu are made of copper and use iron balls to produce sound.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Banerji|first=Projesh|url=https://archive.org/details/FolkDanceOfIndia/page/n106/mode/1up|title=The Folk-Dance of India|date=1959|publisher=Kitabistan|location=Allahabad|pages=189–190}}</ref> Others are made of silver.<ref>{{cite book|last=Marcuse|first=Sibyl|title=Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary|date=1975|publisher=[Norton](/source/W._W._Norton_%26_Company)|location=New York|page=476|chapter=Silambu|isbn=9780393007589 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/musicalinstrumen00marcu/page/476/mode/1up}}</ref>

== Importance ==

===In dance ===
[Nautch](/source/Nautch) performers wore silambu.{{Sfn|Sambamoorthy|1976|p=6}} [Kandyan](/source/Kandyan_dance) dancers may wear silambu.<ref name=":0" />
=== In art and literature ===

[Shiva](/source/Shiva) in his dancing pose [nataraja](/source/nataraja) sometimes wears a silambu on his ankle.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

[[File:Statue of Kannagi.jpg|thumb|A statue of [Kannagi](/source/Kannagi) holding a silambu.|alt=]]
The epic ''[Silappatikaram](/source/Silappatikaram)'' is structured around the character Kannaki's attempt to sell her silambu, and takes its title from the name of the anklet.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chakravarti|first=A.|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49665/page/n69/mode/1up|title=Jaina Literature in Tamil|publisher=Bhāratīya Jñāpītha|location=New Delhi|pages=51|date=1944}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201802/page/n19/mode/1up|title=The Śilappadikāram|date=1939|publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press)|pages=1|translator-last=Dikshitar|translator-first=V. R. Ramachandra}}</ref>

=== In religion and rituals ===
Silambu are sometimes placed on cows' legs during the [Pongal](/source/Pongal_(festival)) festival.{{Sfn|Sambamoorthy|1976|p=24}} In Tamil Nadu, a traditional dance called [kai silambu aatam](/source/Dance_forms_of_Tamil_Nadu) is performed in temples during Amman festivals in which the dancers wear or hold silambus in their hands, which make noise when shaken.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} 

Silambu is also used in ritual dance performances of southern India, such as the [Theyyam](/source/Theyyam) of [Malabar region](/source/Malabar_Coast) and the [Buta Kola](/source/Buta_Kola) of [Tulu Nadu](/source/Tulu_Nadu) region.

==See also==

*[Jewellery of Tamil Nadu](/source/Jewellery_of_Tamil_Nadu)

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==

* {{cite journal|last=Jeyaraj|first=V.|date=1999|title=Analysis of a Bronze Anklet from Kerala|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.chennai.102/page/n50/mode/1up|journal=Museum's Journal|publisher=[Government Museum, Chennai](/source/Government_Museum%2C_Chennai)}}
* {{cite book|last=Sambamoorthy|first=P.|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.chennai.82|title=Catalogue of Musical Instruments Exhibited in the Government Museum, Chennai|date=1976|publisher=Principal Commissioner of Museums, [Government Museum](/source/Government_Museum%2C_Chennai)|location=Chennai}}

Category:Types of jewellery
Category:Tamil culture
Category:Indian musical instruments

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Silambu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silambu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silambu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.