When studying the religious encounters between Hindus and Muslims in India, the Vijayanagaran

empire in my view provides the most interesting case study. For in the case of other states/ kingdoms,
such as Delhi Sultanate or the Mughal Empire, both of whom were situated in the north closer to the
Islamic centers of culture and power, the success of Islam in terms of proselytization and exerting direct
control and influence was much more pronounced. Resultantly the resistance to adoption of Islamic
norms and modes of appearance and communication etc. was much less acute and the Islamicization
more visible and complete/comprehensive.
Conversely Vijayanagara is viewed as a Hindu state, the existence of which led to a preservation of
Hindu institutions and customs in Southern India quite in contrast to the areas of Northern and
Western India, which had come under Muslim influence in the thirteenth century A.D. (Kulke &
Rothermund 1990, p.184). And yet, as Philip B. Wagoner seeks to argue in his Sultan Among Hindu
Kings: Dress, Titles, and the Islamicization of Hindu Culture at Vijayanagara, even in the distant south,
a closer study reveals that if one moves beyond the restricted area of religious doctrine and practice to
examine the secular culture of Vijayanagaras ruling elite, one realizes that Vijayanagara was infact
deeply transformed by its interaction with Islamic culture (Wagoner, 1996, p.852). Wagoner points to
the recognition in recent years of the Islamic antecedents behind a number of characteristic cultural
manifestations of the Vijayanagara period in a diverse range of areas such as military strategy or
administrative and political institutions. More significantly he claims that these are just symptomatic of
a far-reaching process of systematic change in the elite culture of late medieval South India (Wagoner,
1996, p.852). The manifestation of this overarching cultural change can be seen in the architecture,
courtly dress and appropriation of the Islamicate modes of political language.

Wagoners basic premise is essentially a repudiation of the Orientalists interpretation of Vijayanagaran

history, which is best characterized by Sewells presentation of Vijayanagara as a Hindu bulwark against
Muhammad conquests. According to this Orientalist narrative, it was onslaught of the Muslim invaders
which would propel Vijayanagara to the status of one of the most prominent Hindu Kingdoms of its age.
In his A Forgotten Empire (1900) Sewell cites the persistent efforts made by the Muhammadans to
conquer all India (Sewell *1900+ 1962, 1) as the reason behind Vijayanagaras prominence and longevity
as a state. It was inability of the other weaker southern, Hindu states to withstand the Muslim onslaught
would lead the remnants of these crumbling states to rally to the Vijayanagaran standard and make
them the saviors of the south for two and a half centuries (Sewell *1900+ 1962, 1).
For Wagoner, this Orientalists narrative of history is outdated. In Wagoners view Vijayanagara, instead
of being a bastion against the spread of Islam was infact itself deeply transformed by its interaction with
Islamic culture. Infact, the appearance of Islamic-inspired form and practices, in a number of cultural
manifestations of Vijayanagara period, are symptomatic of a far reaching process of systematic change
in the elite culture of the late medieval South India (Wagoner, 1996, p.852-3).
Before delving into the vagaries of the religious encounters in the Vijayanagara empire it is instructive to
first look at the exact terms of reference of Wagoners argument. Wagoner differentiates the terms
Islamization from Islamicization. To define the later he draws on Hodgsons use of the term Islamicate
to refer more broadly to the social and cultural complex historically associated with Islam and the
Muslims, both among Muslims and even found among non- Muslims. The term specifically refers to
standards of taste or social and cultural standards as opposed to the narrow religious sense of the
term Islamic (Hodgson, [1974] 1977, p.59). As Wagoner illustrates, there are three aspects of the
process of Islamicization. The first elucidates its purpose, that of its use as a political strategy, by means
of which indigenous elites attempt to enhance their political status and authority through participation

in the more universal culture of Islam. The second aspect covers how this objective is achieved
through adoption of certain Islamic cultural forms and practices (pertaining) to the broad sphere of
secular culture, as opposed to the narrower domain of formal religion (Wagoner, 1996, p.854). Lastly,
he emphasizes that the process of Islamicization (as opposed to Islamization) does not necessarily
involve the replacement of indigenous cultural traditions and established forms in all contexts. While
the Islamicized form would be operative in the social domain, where its utility is more self-evident, in
the private, specifically religious ritualistic domain the indigenous analogue would continue to pervade
(Wagoner, 1996, p.854).

The first general manifestation of the Islamicization of Vijayanagaras dress appears in the adoption of
the Kabayi and Kullayi. The kabayi is described by Wagoner, in visual and historical testimony as a longsleeved, pullover tunic with front slit of variable length, with lower hem extending to a point
somewhere between mid-thigh and lower calf (Wagoner, 1996, p.859). Similarly the kullayi is a high,
brimless conical cap with rounded top made of silk brocade. The apparel was worn only by the King
or elites under Vijayanagaras sway. Significantly from our perspective it is to be noted that the Kabayi is
an adaptation of the Arab qaba while the inspiration for the kullayi derive(s) ultimately from some
center of Persian culture. Another important observation about the use of the kabayi is the fact that
though the kabayi may thus be understood as an elite garment, it was not, however, worn at all South
Indian courts, but appears to have been in use only at the court of Vijayanagara and its dependencies.
By way of contrast, in much of the South Indian littoral zone the traditional Indic dress remained the
norm even at the courts (Wagoner, 1996, p.859). For instance the Zamorin of Calicut in the 1440s, went
as naked as the other Hindus (i.e., did not cover his chest but only his loins) (Abdul Razzaq 1442-44,
305). The same is corroborated by evidence from Vasco Da Gamas chronicler. Furthermore as Wagoner

notes, both the kabayi and kullayi are new to South India in the Vijayanagara period (and ) their
adoption represents a radical departure from earlier traditions of Indic courtly dress (Wagoner, 1996,
860). What this shows is the conscious attempt by the Vijayanagara establishment to participate in the
international culture of the larger Islamic world. As the sphere or the littoral South Indian states was
much smaller there was no pull for them to Islamicize, while Vijayanagara saw itself as more of a player
at the larger international stage and Islamicization was just an attempt to conform to those standards.

Support for this view can also be deduced from the Vijayanagara kings adoption of the title Sultan
among Hindu kings. In an inscription dated from 352, the second ruler of Vijayanagaras first dynasty
(the Sanagama, c. 1330 1485) Bukka I (r. 1344 77) had himself described with the title humduraya
suratrana, translated as Sultan among Hindu Kings. This title continued to be adopted by his
successors for at least another 250 years. As Wagoner says this adoption of the title suratrana , a
Sanskritization of sultan is an attempt to identify with the larger Islamic world as a means of
proclaiming that the Vijayanagara ruler could actually be considered a Sultan, not in terms of relative
political standing, but in concrete terms of substance and style (and) differentiate its bearer from
ordinary Hindu (i.e. Indic) kinds by signaling his willingness to participate in the political discourse of
Islamicate civilization (Wagoner, 1996, p.862-3). During this period the Muslims had established
themselves to a position of prominence in South Asia. On the one hand north and central India were
under the dominance of the Delhi Sultanate. At the same even in South India, numerous Muslims states
like Gulbarga and Bidar and their successor states had established themselves on Vijayanagaras
borders. Thus given this situation it was natural that if a Vijayanagara ruler wished to be accepted not
just by his own subordinates, but also by rulers of other states in the broader Indic sphere whose
representatives were constantly at his court, he has to be equally sensitive to the norms and usages of

Islamicate modes of legitimation. Vijayanagaras involvement in the trade across the Indian Ocean
further extended the need to expand the rhetoric of South Indian kingship by glossing it in terms of the
Islamicate political lingua franca that dominated the world of the Indian Ocean (Wagoner, 1996,
p.862).
If the adoption of the title of Sultan among Hindu Kings is viewed in this light then it leads to a better
understanding of the reasons behind the adoption of the elements of the Islamicate system of dress
such as the kabayi and kullayi. The adoption of the kabayi, for instance, is the natural outcome of the
opposing attitudes to the body underlying the traditional and Indic systems of dress. For in the preIslamic purely Indic system of dress the body was viewed as an integral aspect of the person and, as
such, was held to reflect the inner state and qualities of the individual. The function of the clothing
being not to conceal the body, but to reveal, frame and accentuate its forms. Conversely, in the Islamic
framework, the uncovered body is considered to be naked and shameful, and the object of the clothing
is to cover this nakedness of man. Thus within the Islamicate cultural framework, the dress of the Indic
rulers would be considered barbaric and uncultured. Thus the Timurid emissary Abdul Razzaq contrasts
the Indic naked blacks, with lion cloths tied from their navels to their knees, with the Arab Muslim
traders living there , who wear fine clothing in the Arab fashion, and indulge in ceremony of all sorts
(Thackston 1989, 305). Similarly the custom in the Islamicate courtly ritual of presenting special items
of dress as gifts of honor, or khilat further accentuates the need from the adoption of not only the
kabayi but also the kullayi in the Indic world as a means of conforming with the larger political sphere of
the Islamicate world and ultimately make the Vijayanagara court ritual intelligible in terms of the
political lingua franca of the wider Islamicate world (Wagoner, 1996, p.867).
This fact is further emphasized by the prevalence of the traditional modes of dress along with the
adoption of the kabayi and kullayi. As Wagoner points out a significant body of material cultural

evidence attests to the continuing relevance of Indic-style garments for the Vijayanagara elite and
furthermore it suggests that in certain contexts the traditional Indic style clothing was preferred over
the Islamicate kabayi and kullayi. Here it becomes important to decipher, that if the Indic and Islamicate
styles are seen as having constituted distinct languages of dress, then were there culturally shared rules
of code use which entered into an individuals choice of which code to use in any given dress situation.
In other words, if the adoption of the Indic or Islamicate style of clothing as seen as analogous to
switching between one or the other language as a medium of communication, then what were the
socio-cultural contexts in which the individuals made the choice of preferring one over the other. In this
regard a dyed pictorial textile in the collection of the Association for the Study and Documentation of
Asian Textiles (AEDTA) in Paris provides an interesting clue. Although it dates from a later period, its
relation to Madurai, one of the most important successor states of Vijayanagara makes it relevant
evidence. What is to be noted from this is that when the royal personage depicted in the pictorial is in a
procession he is seen wearing what can be readily identified as a kabayi. Conversely when seated inside,
the royal figure is shown bare chested, wearing only a dhoti and upper (Wagoner, 1996, p.869-70). Thus
there is a clear differentiation of the social domains in which the two royal figures appear. Although
spatially both figures are located within the broad ambit of a palace their respective spheres of action
differ in terms of the specific combinations of settings, participants, and activities which define them.
(Wagoner, 1996, p.869-70). When the figure is in a ritualized leisure activity he is wearing the Indic
dress while when heading the military public procession he prefers the Islamicate version. Wagoner
differentiates between the two domains, as the residential and the performative domains or more
distinctly the domestic and public social situations. This latter distinction between the domestic
and public social situations, as Wagoner points out, has been drawn in South India since at least the
fifth or sixth century. The distinction as he goes on to explain is not between the private and public,
between personal and impersonal, but between domestic and public |between the inner circle or the

immediate kin within the fourt walls of a house and the larger circles of the extended family, the sub
caste, the caste and the society at large. It is this distinction which is represented by the AEDTA textile.
Thus there were systematic rules governing the choice between the Indic and Islamicate modes of dress
within the Vijayanagara dress system which were largely structured by this distinction between the
domestic and public domain (Wagoner, 1996, p.871).
Finally, the true import of the nature of Islamicization in Vijayanagara can be gauged from recognizing
the structural similarities between Islamicization and Sanskritization. As Kulke points out, there are two
aspects of the process which are particularly relevant for a comparison with Islamication. These include,
firstly, the use of Sanskritization as a practical strategy for social change adopted by lower-ranking
castes as a means of achieving a higher status and secondly, the abandoning of certain local cultural
forms in favor of practices and ideas associated with the Sanskritic culture of the more broadly based
Great Traditions (Wagoner, 1996, p.872). Again like Islamicization Sanskritization didnt necessarily
replace existing local customs, but co-existed along with them and further Sansikritization did not
necessarily proceed through emulation of the Brahmin class and the Sanskritic forms were not inevitably
restricted to those associated with Brahmanism. There is a clear parallel here between the attempt by a
states ruling elite to bolster its international standing by Islamicizing the culture of its court, and
attempt by the members of a little community to raise their collective status by Sanskritizing their
customs, beliefs, and pantheon. As Wagoner says both situations involve processes of universalization
in which certain ; local cultural forms are replaced by function analogues from a second, intrusive
culture of broader geographical extent. The aim of this is to advance the self interests of a particular
social group and which also inevitably leads to an increase in participation of the members of these
smaller groups in the larger and varied social arenas of the wider universal culture. And lastly, since
the adopted cultural forms do not replace but co-exist and add to the existing ones, the result is a more

complex ordering of tradition within the universalized culture. In other words, protocols, preferences,
and hierarchies have to be reworked.
However, there remains one significant weakness in the analogy drawn between the process of
Sanskritization and Islamicization. While the former operates primarily in the medium of religious
culture, since the motivating factors behind the later process of Islamicization are political rather than
religious, therefore Islamicization unfolds primarily through the medium of secular culture and is little
concerned with religious culture as such. Thus the adoption of Islamicized tiles and dress has primarily
political rather than religious overtones. And in the religious spheres the Indic styles continue to
dominate.
In conclusion, the strength of the process of Islamicization in Vijayanagara can be gauged from the irony
in the foundation story of the kingdom of Vijayanagara. According to Kulke, the accepted use of the title
Sultan among Hindu kings, by Vijayanagaras founding kings, the brothers Harihara and Bukka, goes to
disprove the claim that they had once converted to Islam a well known Vijayanagara period
historiographic account. The reasoning being that if they had actually converted and then apostatized
from Islam as is claimed in the historiographic account they would not have adopted the title of Sultan
among Hindu Kings, it being an uneasy reminder of an ignominious event. According to Wagoner this is
a misinterpretation of the facts based on Kulkes failure to draw the important distinction between the
religion of Islam and Islamicate political ideas and practices. Accordingly, Kulke errs in assuming that
the political meanings of the title sultan are overshadowed by the religious connotations. For wagoner,
the use of title sultan is primarily an assertion of the supreme military and political authority to the
exclusion of religious authority. Further, Kulke misunderstands the theme of the story as that of the
narrative of a religious conversion while Wagoner emphasizes that it is in reality a foundation myth of
the bij state, tracing the political authority of the kingdoms rulers to its founders supposed history of

service to the Delhi Sultanate (Wagoner, 1996, p.874) . Although a seemingly extraordinary claim given
Vijayanagaras supposed status as last bastion Hindu orthodoxy, the theme become comprehensible
when it is corroborated by the overwhelming evidence of the extensive Islamicization of the states
political and material culture. Thus when looked in the right light as a widely based and complex form
of cultural interaction rather than a simply religious phenomenon it becomes easier to identify the
extensive Islamicization that overtook Vijayanagara. And more importantly, it helps us to decipher and
understand that the Islamicate dress at Vijayanagara was a fundamental part of a broader, far reaching
process of Islamicization, through which selected Indic cultural form and practices were replaced in key
public contexts with analogues drawn from a more universal, Islamicate culture. Furthermore it is to be
noted that this process did not unfold due to some inevitable consequence of the onslaught of Islam
but on the contrary, as a result of conscious and deliberately calculated acts by creative individuals
seeing to maximize their opportunities in an ever widening world (Wagoner, 1996, p.875).

Bibliography
Kulke, H., & Rothermund, D. (1990). A History of India. Psychology Press.
Wagoner, P. B. (1996). "Sultan among Hindu Kings": Dress, Titles, and the Islamicization of Hindu Culture
at Vijayanagara. The Journal of Asian Studies, 851-880.