{{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 of Kerala.<br> ''Gaggara'' used in Buta Kola of Karnataka.}}}}
'''Silambu''' ({{langx|ta|சிலம்பு}}; {{langx|ml|ചിലമ്പ്}} /cil’əmpɨ̆/), or '''Gaggara''' (Tulu: ಗಗ್ಗರ), is an 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|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 performers wore silambu.{{Sfn|Sambamoorthy|1976|p=6}} Kandyan dancers may wear silambu.<ref name=":0" /> === In art and literature ===
Shiva in his dancing pose nataraja sometimes wears a silambu on his ankle.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Statue of Kannagi.jpg|thumb|A statue of Kannagi holding a silambu.|alt=]] The epic ''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|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 festival.{{Sfn|Sambamoorthy|1976|p=24}} In Tamil Nadu, a traditional dance called kai silambu aatam 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 of Malabar region and the Buta Kola of Tulu Nadu region.
==See also==
== 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}} * {{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|location=Chennai}}
Category:Types of jewellery Category:Tamil culture Category:Indian musical instruments