Under the latest and popular online series of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya entitled ‘Exhibit of the Week’ the Dod-Mala, A necklace made from silver beads collected from 1995 was exhibited.
The Community of Gaddi of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. It’s Measurement Length 43 cm, No. of beads - 47. displayed in the audience as The fourth Exhibit of the month of July, 2021 through official website, Facebook, Instagram and twitter page of the IGRMS.
In this regard Praveen Kumar Mishra, Director, IGRMS said that Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (National Museum of Mankind), Initially this series will focus on the masterpieces from its collection which are considered as unique for their contribution to the cultural history of a particular ethnic group or area. Dod-mala is a necklace made from silver beads resembling soap nut (ritha) locally known as dod.
It is possible that in ancient times, when the human beings used to decorate themselves with fresh flowers, fruits etc., they might have also prepared a garland of soap nuts.
The soap nuts produce a rumbling sound when rubbed together. The garland must have been a popular one. Dod-mala is prepared by means of hollowed round silver balls approximating the size of a soap nut.
Two half portions of a bead are prepared by stamping a silver sheet on a mould, then both the units are soldered at the edges, leaving a hole at the ends. The beads are then threaded with a cotton thread.
Usually a dod-mala is a two to three-stringed necklace, but the two-stringed dod-mala is common. At each end of the necklace a betel-shaped or a triangular plaque is provided which holds the strings of dod-mala together.
Each of these plaques has a small, twisted thread by which the necklace is tied at the back of the neck. Normally each string of necklace carries twenty-five to thirty beads.
This type of necklace is very popular throughout the area, even the men wear a dod-mala occasionally.