Settu Mundu or Kasavu Saree: What Is the Difference?

The settu mundu

The settu mundu is the older of the two, and it comes as a pair. The mundu is the lower piece, worn wrapped around the waist and pleated at the front like a long skirt. The neriyathu is the upper piece, draped over the blouse and taken over the left shoulder like a soft shawl. Both pieces are unbleached cream cotton, and both carry a matching kasavu border at the edge. Because it is two pieces rather than one, the settu mundu can be adjusted through the day. The neriyathu can be pulled tighter for worship, loosened for the sadhya, and rewrapped when a child needs to be picked up. In older Kerala homes, and in Namboodiri and Nair families in particular, the settu mundu is still the correct garment for temple visits and for the muhurtham of a Malayali wedding.

The kasavu saree

The kasavu saree is the six yard piece that emerged when the settu mundu tradition met the pan Indian saree in the late nineteenth century. Weavers in Balaramapuram and Kuthampully simply lengthened the neriyathu, joined it to the mundu at the loom, and produced a single continuous piece of cloth. What you gain is convenience. What you lose is that little bit of ceremony that comes from arranging two separate pieces on the body. The kasavu saree is the everyday festival garment in most Malayali homes today, and the one that most brides who are not from strictly traditional families now choose for the wedding morning.

How to tell them apart in a photograph

There are two quiet signs. First, look at where the neriyathu meets the mundu at the waist. On a settu mundu you will see a small fold or tuck where the two pieces are joined by the drape itself. On a kasavu saree the border runs continuous from the pallu to the hem. Second, look at the pleats at the front. A settu mundu drape often has fewer and narrower pleats than a saree, and the pleats tuck into the waistband of the mundu rather than a petticoat. Once you have seen the difference a few times, you will spot it immediately.

When each is worn

The settu mundu is worn for the most formal moments. The muhurtham of a traditional Kerala wedding. A visit to a family temple. A ceremony at home for a grandparent. The kasavu saree covers everything else. Thiruvonam morning, Vishu, the sadhya lunch, an evening reception in Kerala. Both belong to the same aesthetic and both are correct on almost any occasion. If the household is more traditional, lean towards the settu mundu. If the day is more everyday, choose the kasavu saree.

How to choose

If you have never worn either, start with the kasavu saree. It is easier to drape, it sits well without a great deal of practice, and it works across almost every occasion. Save the settu mundu for the day you have a helper in the house who can wrap it properly, or a friend from a Malayali family who has done it a hundred times. Our current Onam edit is all kasavu sarees, chosen for how they photograph on ordinary bodies in ordinary rooms. If you are looking for a settu mundu, message us on WhatsApp and we will send you the two weavers in Balaramapuram we buy from directly.

One last note

Whichever piece you choose, buy handloom. The mill made versions of both the settu mundu and the kasavu saree have flooded the market in the last decade, and they sit stiffer, feel colder in the hand, and lose their shape by the third wash. A handloom piece from a real weaver will soften into your body over years, and by the time your daughter is old enough to borrow it, it will fit her better than it fits you today.