ADORNOGRAPHY AS ECOLOGICAL ARCHIVE AND CULTURAL NARRATIVE: HIMALAYAN TRIBAL ORNAMENTATION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND GENDERED AGENCY

Abstract

The primary aim of this paper is to introduce Adornography as a newly coined concept within the theoretical framework for understanding body ornamentation, especially jewellery worn by Himalayan tribal communities as ecological and cultural texts that embody living traditions. Traditionally, Adornment Studies have primarily concentrated on aesthetic or anthropological aspects. Adornography shifts the focus to examining jewellery as a repository of ecological knowledge, gendered embodiment, and sustainable lifestyles. This perspective incorporates insights from fields such as ethnography, environmental humanities, feminist material culture theory, and literary analysis to present jewellery as both wearable art and performative ecological record. Moreover, the semiotic analysis underscores that ornaments can be seen as wearable genealogies and ecological record-keeping devices.

This paper further examines the emergence and significance of eco-friendly jewellery within India's contemporary socio-cultural context, especially in the Himalayan region, highlighting how jewellery plays a role in shaping identity. Traditionally, it has been associated with wealth, heritage, and aesthetics. However, it can be argued that jewellery is currently experiencing a paradigm shift where sustainability and social responsibility are now central to its production and consumption. The present study explores Adornography, which is defined as well as established as an interdisciplinary, future-oriented framework, making it possible to lay a foundation for sustainable cultural preservation in the Himalayan socio-cultural context.