08 March 2012

A Moment For The Langot


The langot, or langota, is a loincloth predominantly worn in India. It's used by kushti wrestlers in the Indian countryside who wrestle in specially-dug clay pits, and also by yogis and yoginis for it's superior support of the bodily core.

For those who like the look of the front of a rokushaku fundoshi, but prefer broader butt coverage; or for those who like the simplicity of the etchū fundoshi but like a more tucked-in look, the langot provides a nice balance of look, feel, support, and simplicity. It's tied around the waist much like an etchū fundoshi, then the apron (which is longer) is pulled from back to front, under the ties. Finally, the excess apron is pulled back between the legs and tucked into the langot at the small of your back, as pictured below. The effect looks like short trunks from the back and much like rokushaku fundoshi from the front. Lots more pictures after the jump!





the above is borrowed from http://designldg.wordpress.com/, a blog by photographer Laurent Goldstein which is replete with many more images of pehlwans (kushti wrestlers) wearing lagota and other images of rural Indian life. This is a copywritten image, however we include it here as an example of his photography in a small format and as a way to lead you to his personal website where you can appreciate more of his photographic works.


The sequence below shows a young man changing out of one langot into a turquoise blue one, and gives a pretty good idea of how the garment works:


And here is a good picture of a langot by itself, basically a wide triangle of fabric sewn into a long, narrow apron, with tapes to tie around the waist. Very similar to etchū fundoshi in its architecture, but from a different culture. Once again. perceived as completely modest by a society that does not have the body issues and nudity taboos that plague ours.



15 comments:

John said...

Great explanation and photos! That's just as good-looking as a fundoshi and I enjoyed the good-looking men in the photos, too. Just more proof that ancient civilizations got a lot of things right a millennium or more ago that we are just now rediscovering.

Anonymous said...

Looks great and I can't wait to try to make and wear on. downloaded from the web a more or less pattern and I'll dig in my fabric stash to fined the right stuff. I'll take a picture and post it.
Joe

LR said...

I have seen these before, but never knew what they were called. Now that I have several fundoshi, that I wear most everyday,now. I might have to do as Joe is doing back to the fabric store and make myself some of these.

Anonymous said...

or the thriftshop garage sale route and get an old sheet or two!

Joe

achilles said...

very sexy photos, and I love the colour, but the fabric seems thicker than fundoshi, as certainly there's not much teasing detail given away....shame.....i do like such clothing to hint at what lies underneath.

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if you would ever do any langot posts! I made one with the extra fabric I had when I made my first fundoshi. I love the way they look and feel, but the fabric was too this for a langot and it was a little too short. I'd like to give it another try sometime soon, though.

Anonymous said...

Any ideas where to buy one?

Ryan Rokushaku said...

I'm not real sure...try googling "buy langot?"

cris said...

Must admit they looks very fetching and obviously you can make the front go very low, as in the orange pictures, causing neat bunching. However think that with the very wide side strips its a little to feminine, a bit like a jock strap with the strap bit filled in.

Anonymous said...

Superbe site, superbes photos! j'adore porter ce genre de sous-vétement, je suis en France et je cherche à acheter un langota, mais impossible à trouver...si vous pouvez m'aider à en trouver un merci!

Dries said...

I whould like to make obe but can't find a pattern. Please help.

Ryan Rokushaku said...

Looks like you can order a pattern here:
http://missionofmaitreya.ecrater.com/p/19353493/lungota-pattern-make-your-own

It also includes a pre-made "example" langot (called a "lungota" by the seller)

mahasikhari said...

Langota is a good garment to wear for activities such as yoga, in particular seated asana. I have and often do practice in fundoshi but I find either langota or very narrow fundoshi work best due to pressure of the junction braid on the coccyx while in the seated position.

With both langota and fundoshi the pouch should be fairly tight against your scrotum to control sexual urges while in various yoga postures - yes I know that sounds contrary given the obvious sensual nature of both garments, but actually in the ancient context it is true.

It goes back to the REAL reason for practicing yoga which is not exercise - it prepares the body for transcendental engagement, i.e. prayer to the Supreme.

Robin Heilschild 【蓋面】 said...

I love those pictures!! xD
I'd love to find more information (and photos) about Langots. xD
I'd also love to have a body like what those guys have. xD
I didn't understand how to tie it up, but I don't lose anything attempting it. xD

VachalenXEON said...

India loincloth (Langot, Langota, Langoti) in Japan text is "ランゴータ" and "インドのふんどし".

I'm sure this India loincloth is available on sale in Japan site Heyg-heyg-ya in 600 円 cost.