Nudity in India in Custom and Ritual. Author(s): W.

Crooke Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 49 (Jul. - Dec., 1919), pp. 237-251 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843441 . Accessed: 31/03/2014 05:01
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NUDITY IN INDIA IN CUSTOM AND RITUAL.

C.I.E., Hon. D.Sc. Oxon. By W. CROOKE, in tropicalcountries, THE costumeof the people of India, like that of all residents is generally scanty; but they cannot be describedas a naked people, or carelessof in NorthernIndia at least,they are careful personal modesty. On the contrary, to coverthose parts of the personwhichit is indecentto expose. Anyone whohas a covered come of out the waterat a bathing with singlesheet, seen women, dripping willremark the care and dexterity festival, withwhich theychangetheirwetclothing. it is true,up to the age of fouror fiveyears may be seen nude, and Little children, any attemptto cover the person,by a bead or some otheramulet hung fromthe oftenmade of silver,is waist, or, in the case of girlsby wearinga kind of fig-leaf, to publicopinion. intendedas a prophylactic ratherthan as a concession There are, or were in recenttimes, certaintribes among whom the habit of of such instancesis rapidlydisappearing absolutenudityprevailed; but the number of among the more primitiveraces as they gradually come under the influence from Hinduism. The case of the Juangsof Chota Nagpuris familiar the description of themgivenby ColonelE. T. Dalton.t The Semas of Assam are and photographs practically naked,as the small flap wornhangingfromtheirwaists cannot be said to hide theirnakedness,and the same is the case among some Bhlls of Gujardt.2 is more commonamong some of the wildertribes of the Nudity,or semi-nudity, South. Some of the Porojas or Parjas of the Vizagapatam and Ganjam Districts of fibre, so scantythat they are obligedto sit on the East Coast wear a loin-cloth on theirheels,fordecency'ssake, instead of squattingin the usual position.3 The fromtheirwaists,in Yanadis are almost nude,carrying palm-leafbaskets dangling whichtheycollectforest bulbs,dead rats or snakes,whichtheyeat.4 The Chenchus accentuatetheirnudityby wearinga narrowbark thread roundthe waist to hold theirarrowsand a knife.5 B3oth the Kldirs and the Vedans are said to have gone
" peopledescribed 1 Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal,155 et seq. The Phylliteor " leaf-clad withthe Bhillsor Pulindas,whilesome tribein the by Ptolemy(vii, 66) have been identified of the Vindhyan withthe Parna-Savaras, or " leaf-clad" neighbourhood rangemay be identified Savaras. Archceological Survey Reports, ix, 151; xvii,127 etseq. 2 Census Report, Assam,1891,i, 246; Bombay Gazetteer, ix,-Parti, 297. 3 E. Thurston, Castesand Tribes ofSouthern India, vi, 219. 4 Ibid., vii,432. 6 Ibid.,ii, 34.

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naked when they were firstobserved by Europeans.' Among the wild tribes of UpperBurmamenofthe Pa-hlaingKarens werenottaxed bythe nativeGovernment untiltheybeganto wearclothing, and, in orderto escape taxation,it was the custom foryoungmen to go about mother-naked until at least the age of twenty. In hot occaor only on ceremonial weatherWa men and womenneverwear any clothing, sions; at other seasons they wear a strip of coarse cotton cloth, an absolutely inadequate dress.2 Left to themselves, the Andamaneseand Nicobarese go stark naked,and do not coverthe head.3 The customwhichprevailsamonghighcastes,likethe Nayarsin Southern India, wherewomen wear no coveringfor the bosom, is startlingto a visitorfromthe North, wearsome kindof bodice. It is part of the generaletiquette whereall women in that part of the country, for a description of whichI am indebtedto Mr. F. J. and east Richards: " In the Tamil country, i.e., fromthe Kaveri valley southward a loinof the West Ghlitrange,the conventional dressof the upper classes is, first, cloth (vesh.i,the dhotiof the North),and secondly,a body-cloth(anga-vastiram). and a second The lower classes commonly wear only the perinealcloth (komanam) on the head, roundthe waist,or across cloth whichtheywear onlyforconvenience wornacross the shoulderand diagonally the shoulder. The body-cloth is ordinarily or fancy. Officials, across the body,but it can be shifted according to convenience Vakils or lawyers,and otherswho by official etiquetteare requiredto coverhead and body,wearthe body-clolth overthe coat, and also a turban, generally one ' made ' in the Tamil country up witha pithbasis. Social and religious etiquette prescribes that head and body down to the waist should remainuncoveredin the presenceof ' when he enters the more a superior. Thus, a Brahman should go ' bare-bodied sacred precincts of a temple,whenhe escortshis spiritualguide or Guru,and in the round his waist. If a presenceof his god or Guru he should wear his body-cloth a Court cultivatoror a cooly sees an official comingtowardsfr him, or on entering of Justice, it, he shouldtake his clothfromoflhis head or body,if he is so wearing 'the Presence.' A relic of this practice and tie it roundhis waist beforeentering of H.H. The Maharaja of Mysore, in the presence is no doubtthebasis oftheetiquette such as the Dlwan, Councillors, at whoseDarbars onlya fewof the highestofficials, to wear the body-cloth across the body orJudgesof the High Court,are permitted wearthis clothroundthe waist. and overtheshoulder: all others, not so privileged, The Tamil practice appears to be a compromisebetween Malabar custom and Muhammadan etiquette." In the ancient Tamil period "a full dress appears to have been the outward
Parti, Vol. i, Shan States, UpperBurmaand the (Gazetteer, (Sir) J. G. Scott,J. P. Hardiman, 545,510. 5 Census Reports,1901, 56, 198; 1911, 120; Journ. Roy. Anthrop.Inst., vii, 439; xii, 329
2

1 E. Thurston, India,iii, 12; vii,312. Castesand TribesofSouthern

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sign of a servantratherthan of a master; and the nobles put on only so much clothingas can be worn withoutinconvenience in a hot climate. In the ordinary dress of the Tamil woman,the shoulders, arms and body down to the waist were entirely bare,the drapery descending from the loins downwards to the ankles. The part of the body whichwas leftuncoveredwas generally adornedwith sandal and otherfragrant powders. The Naga womenappear to have been almost naked,like those depictedin the Amaravatisculptures. The courtesans worea piece of muslin which covered their body from the waist to the middleof the thigh; but it was suchfine texture that it hardly concealedtheirperson."'' In the Mysore ancientbasreliefs" womenare commonly arrayedin nothingmore than rows of ornamental chains and jewellery, pendentfrom -thethroatand loins-an attire,if such it may be called, worthy of the Age of Innocence; and becomingenough,it may be, on the golden-olive and nut-brown tints,that hardlyreveala blush,of Nature'svesture for the fair of these climes."2 Marco Polo writes: " You must know that in all this Provinceof Maabar thereis nevera Tailor to cut a coat or stitchit, seeingthat everybody goes naked. For decencyonly they do wear a scrap of cloth; and so it is withmenand women, withrichand poor,aye, and withthe King himself, except what I am goingto mention. It is a fact that the King goes as bare as the rest,
only round his loins he has a piece of finecloth. . . . The people of the country

go to battle all naked, withonly a lance and a shield."3 This Dravidian customof semi-nudity is foundamongsome of the forest tribes, a markof indelicacy; in fact, by whom,in the case of women,it is not considered the Gonds used to forbidtheirwomento wear the littlejacket (cholt). In Bastar, womenof this tribeare said to be givingup the customof exposingtheir however, bodies above the waist.4 -Abor and Kandh women leave the part of the body above the waist uncovered.5 The Pallan womenof Tanjore are-said to dress in this way, "a distinctivemark of their primitiveconditionof slavery,of which, no tracenow exists"; but thisis certainly however, a mistake, because the practice is common among the highercastes of South India, except foreiglerslike the BrThmans.6 Another Nambfttiri fact pointing in the same direction is that Tiyan women were not allowed to wear anythingabove the waist, except when under death pollution.7 A crisis arose in Travancore in 1858, when riots occurredbecause Shanan Christianconvertsgave up the practice of going about withoutan upper cloth.
2

ii, 100.

V. Kanakasabhai,The TamilsEighteen Hundred YearsAgo,117. B. L. Rice, Mysore, ed. 1897,i, 215. a MarcoPolo, ed. Sir H. Yule, lst ed., ii, 274 etseq,278. 4 R. V. Russell, Tribes and CastesoftheCentral Provinces, iii, 123,131. 6 Dalton,op. cit.,27, 301. 6 Thurston, op. cit.,v, 474; L. K. AnanthaKrishnaTyer, The CochinTribesand Castes,

I Ibid,op. cit.,vii,98.

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the lead of Sir C. Trevelyan, The matterwas settled by the Maharaja, following whichlegalizedthe practiceof these of Madras,byissuinga proclamation Governor modestyin dress.' to encourage theirefforts convertsin maintaining it women, particularly, India, in the carvingson BuddhistStulpas, In Northern But, waist.2 the would seem dancers cr attendants,are depicted nude above to GeneralMaisey," thereis no question as to the nudityof the women according in thissculpture; but it is quite a mistaketo supposethat nudityis the ruleamong glance,to be totally at Sanchi. Some who appear, on a cursory the femalefigures artists,represented Greek like the early nude, only appear so because the sculptor, however,whose thin drapery,over the lower limbs, by simple lines. In figures, is fullyshown."3 attitudesnecessitateit, the drapery The next stage is the wearingof bark clothing. There does not appear to be to this custom in Vedic literature; but the ancient Hindu ascetics any reference used to dress in this material,and so, accordingto Strabo, did the Hylobioi,who or ascetic,stage of life.4 seemto represent the Vanaprasthasor Hindus in the third, the Vindhyan through In the Ramayana epic Rama and Sita in theirwanderings hills woreraimentof bark; the Pandavas, exiled to the Himalaya, worethe same and in the PanjTbi tale of the Saiva cult of MahasuiDeoti, the Brahmarn clothing, aside his clothesand dons bark attire.5 Bark dressescontinuedto be Hfinathrows of the seventh at the timeof Harsha of Kanauj in the beginning wornin mourning centuryA.D.6 Its use has not quite disappeared in moderntimes. Withinthe years the Gadabas of the CentralProvincesused to wear a cloth made last fifty fromthe bark of the Karing tree,withhorizontalbands of yellow,red and blue.7 The hill Pandarams of Travancorelive in caves and hollow trees,and wear bark clothing.8 Poroja or Parja womenin the Vizagapatam and Ganjam Districtson the East Coast wear a scrap of bark or cottoncloth,about a footsquare, attached because to thewaistbya string; theysay that theyare obligedto wearthisclothing, some of theirancestorsjeered at Sita for wearingthis dress,and,she cursedthem that they should wear nothingelse.9 The Chinbonsof Upper Burma are said to wear -bark occasionally, but the majority of theni appear to wear nothing.10
ii, 222. vi, 365; V. NagamAiya,StateManual ofTravancore, Thurston, 33; Stupa of Bharhut, The 213; 206, xv, Plate Topes, The Bhilsa (Sir) A. Cunningham, 35. Sanchiand itsRemains, F. C. Maisey, op. cit.,22. Maisey, by Megas. India as described xv, 59; J. W. MeCrindle, 4 Manu,Laws, Xi, 102,106; Strabo, 30. The of Bharhut, A. Stupa 98, 102; (Sir) Cunningham, and Arrian, thenes Gazctteer oftheHimalayan 5 R. H. Griffith, ed. 1895,p.138f.; E. T. Atkinson, The Ramayana, of Tribesand Castes of the ii, 281; H. A. Rose, GTlossary Provinces, of theNorth-West Districts i, 405. Frontier Province, Punjab and North-West 6 Bana, Harsa Charitra, 173. 7 C. Grant, 1870,p. 33. Gazetteer, Provinces Central 8 Census 1901,i, 353; V. NagamAiya.op. cit.,ii, 417. Travancore, Report, 9 Thurston, op. cit, vi, 212 et.seq 10 Scott,Hardiman, op. cit.,Part i, Vol.i,.461
1
2

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Andamanesewomen are said to wear bark of the Celtis vestimentaria tree, but Sir G. Watt does'not mention this tree as a source of the clothing.' The use of bark clothingamongthe Veddahs of Ceylonseems to have generally disappeared, but among the Coast branchof the tribe dancersshould wear a petticoatmade of leaves and greentwigsof othertrees.2 -coco-nut is found, The chiefsourceof bark clothing, notin NorthIndia, Sterculiaguttata, but in the east and west of the southernpart of the Peninsula,in Ceylonand the Andaman Islands.3 In the norththe use of the bark of the Betula bhojpattra for literary purposesdates fromancienttimes,and it continuedto be employeduntil of paper was introduced the manufacture by Akbar,fromwhose reignits use for writing and the methodof preparing it has been lost.4 purposeswas discontinued, But birchbarkcontinued to possesssometraditional importance, as women in Bengal of the nineteenth in the beginning century used to wear charmswritten on it when theydesiredchildren.5 The uiseof leaves forclothing is morecommonthan that of tree bark,and like forthis purposeprevailsspecially in SouthernIndia. Among that,its employment the Tandu Pulayans of Travancoremen now wear the ordinary but the waist-cloth, name of thissectionof the tribeis derivedfrom distinctive the women'sdress,which consistsof the leaves of a kind of sedge, cut into lengthsa footlong and tied in a a stripof bark fromthe bushy tail behindand before. Young girlswear at first areca palm; later in lifetheyassume the dress of sedge leaves. Both are said to in Madras the be goingout of use, being replaced by cloth.6 In Britishterritory Vettuvan womenwear only leaves round theirwaists, and renewthem daily; in some cases this dress is so far varied that theirdouble fan-shaped apron of leaves is tied round the waist with a cloth girdle.7 Men of the Koraga tribe,who are the womenleaves woven together.8 regardedas foul outcasts, wear a loin-cloth, When F. Buchanan made his expeditionabout the year 1800, womenof the Korar or Koravd tribein Mysorestucka bunchof leaves into a girdleforeand aft. Some of cloth roundtheirwaists,but fewof the womenwere of the men had a fragment who are knownas able to procure this. Those of the same tribein British territory,
1

3 (Sir) G. Watt, A Dictionary of theEconomicProducts of India, vi, Part iii, 363. For of making barkcloth,see W. W. Skeat,0. 0. Blagden,The Pagan Races ofthe Malay methods Peninsula, i, 375 etseq. 4 Watt,op. cit., i, 452 etseq. 2nd ed., i, 155. 5 WV. Ward,The Hindoos, 6 CensusReport, Travancore, 1901,i, 341; V. Nagam Aiya, op. cit.,ii, 404; E. Thurston, Notesin Southern Manual ofMalabar (i, 148),calls Ethnographic India, 66; W. Logan, District Castesand Tribesof Southern thesepeopleCheruman (see E. Thurston, India, ii, 45 et seqq), and of wearing theircustom bark. mentions 7 Thurston, Castesand Tribes, vii,395 etseqq. 8 Ibid., iii, 428 et seq.

2 C. G. and B. Z. Seligmann, The Veddas, 34, 213, 337.

CensusReport, 1901,170.

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and Ritual. in India in Custom W. CROOKE.-Nudity

Yerukalis, seem to have adopted the normal Hindu dress.' Some leaf-wearing tribesare foundin Orissa. The Malharswear bunchesof greenleaves attachedto in Keunjhar a numberof stringsround the waist. Not long ago the leaf-wearers to accept cotton clothes; they were marked by wereinducedby a Britishofficer as a sign of theiradmissioninto civilized him on theirforeheadswith vermilion their bunchesof leaves, and the men took an then burned women The society. oath that they would neverallow theirwomento wear themin future.2 In the Andaman Islands womenof the Bojigngijisectionwear a bunch of five or six leaves in front; Yerawa womena loose tassel made of stripsof variouskinds while the Jarawa women a bunchingtassel of fibres, of bark; the Ongl-Jarawds are apt to be quite unclothed.3 and thisemphaofthe girdle, thewearing The use ofdressofthiskindnecessitates ofIndian dress. Early accountsofthe Maria ofit intheevolution sizestheimportance as consistingof a girdleof cowryshells dress sectionof the Gonds describetheir cords,attachedto whichwerea tobacco pouchand a naked knife.4 or of ten or fifteen to anotheraccount of the tribe in an early account publishedin 1866, According " on the east of Chanda Districtthe men wear no coveringfor theirhead or for go about with a battleaxe in their the upper part of theirbodies, and constantly of beads, to V hiich or forty withthirty strings hands. The womendeck themselves zinc adorn their wrists, and a some add a necklace of pendentbells. Bangles of chain of the same metal is suspendedfromthe hair and attached to a large boss connectedwiththis costumeis the stuck in her ear. But the greatestpeculiarity no clothes ofthe womenwearing districts, practicewhichprevailsin the moreremote round their waists, a a passing at all; instead of which they fasten,with string bunch of leafy twigs to cover them beforeand behind."5 Accordingto Dalton he always has round his,waist a girdle thoughthe Oraon man wears a loin-cloth " but it is no This is now a superfluity, of cords made of tusser silk or of cane: of a moreprimitive doubt the remn-ant costume,perhapsthe supportof the antique figleaves."6 At presentthe youngman's girdleis of twistedcottonthread dyed fromwhichkeys,a purse,and thorntweezersare of a creeper, black, or of the fibre hung,or a bamboo fluteis stuck in it.7 Chin womenin Upper Burma keep the and fromthree skirtin place by a brass or iron girdle,like the chain of cog-wheel, to fourpounds in weight. The men wear a stringround the waist fromwhicha strip of cloth hangs down in frontand is looped up behind,but in addition they
1 F. Buchanan, Canaraand Malabar. of Mysore, Countries the Madrasthrough from A Journey op. cit.,iii, 501. iii, 100; Thurston, 2 (Sir) W. WV. Orissa,ii, 68, 116 etseq. Hunter, 3 Census 1901,p. 50. Report, 4 Dalton,op. cit., 279. 8. 5 S. Hislop,Papersrelating Provinces, TribesoftheCentral totheAboriginal 6 Dalton,op. cit., 279. 7 Sarat Chandra 93. Roy, The Oraons,

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have a sort of apron,oftenornamented withbeads or shells,and reaching half-way to the knee,thisindicating a progressive in dress.' In the same way, development everywoman of the Halba, a cultivatingcaste in Raipur District of the Central Provinces, musthave a threadroundherwaist,whichin the old days probablyheld up an apronof leaves.2 This enables us to understand the importance of the girdle in ancienttimes,as is shownin the Buddhistsculptures, ofwhichCunningham, gives an account, one name for this article of dress indicating that it was made of the seeds of the Abrus precatoria, or Indian wild liquorice,and these were gradually superseded by beads made of the preciousmetals.3 The semi-nudity of some Ascetic Ordersat the presentday is familiarto all observersof Indian life; but the ancientpracticeof ascetics appearingnaked in public has been graduallyreformed by Britishlaw and by the growth of a healthier feelingamong Hindus. F. Bernier,writingabout the middle of the seventeenth century, statesthatnumbers ofthe Jauguis, or Jogis," are seenday and night seated or lyingon ashes,entirely naked: frequently underthelargetreesneartalabs, or tanks of water,or in the galleriesround Dejiras, or idol temples."4 Membersof one of the highestOrders,that of the Paramahansas, still go naked.5 When Professor Oman visitedthe greatascetic,Swami Bhaskarananda,he found himsitting naked, and the same ruleis followedby otherSaiva ascetics-Dandis, K1hikis,and Nanga Sannyasis,and by Vaishnava Bairdgis.6 Some years ago an applicationwas made to-the IHighCourt, Bombay, with the object of cancellingan order made by a or Gosvamisfrom Saiva Gosainls magistrate prohibiting walkingnaked in procession at the sacred city of Nasik in the Deccan, and it was pleaded that bathingnaked had alwaysbeen allowed at pilgrimages to Hardwarand Allahabad. This assertion is certainly untrueat the presentday. The applicationwas rejected.-7 The question of the originof enforced nudityin the various formsof ritual and magicis not freefromdifficulty.As Dr. E. SidneyHartland remarks, it may in somecasesbe based on the belief in the apotropaic powersattributed to thesexual organs.8 In many places high caste womenor girlsin timesof drought are in the a ploughthrough habitofdivesting themselves oftheirclothing and dragging at night the fields,men being carefullyexcluded duringthe rite.9 When rain fails the
Scott,Hardiman, op. cit.,Part i, Vol. i, 469; Part ii, Vol. i, 245. Russell,op. cit.,iii, 199. 3 StupaofBharhut, 37. 4 Travel in theMogulEmpire, ed. 1914,p. 316. Sketch 2nd ed., ii, 375; H. H. WVilson, Sectsofthe 5 W. Ward, lthe Hindoos, oftheReligious Hindu Castes and Sects, Hindus,i, 231 etseq; Jogendra Nath,Bhattacharya, 385; J. C. Oman, and SaintsofIndia, 162. Mystics, Ascetics, B Oman,op. cit.,161, 189, 206, 224; Rose, op. cit.,ii, 215; iii, 357; Wilson,op. cit.,i, 238 etseq. 7 Oman.,op. cit., 269. 8 J. Hastings, ofReligion Encyclopedia and Ethics, ix, 830. 9 Sir JamesFrazer,The Golden 3rd ed.. " The MagicArt," i, 275. Bough,
1
2

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Meitheisof Manipur,headed by their Raja, strip offall their clothes,and stand cursingeach otherin the streetsof Imphal, the capital town, while womenstrip into the river.1 The popular themselvesat nightand throwtheirrice-pounders is that the customof highcaste womensharing in the explanationof such practices ploughing, or of a Raja violatingthe commonlaws of decency, is such a subversion that Indra or some otherrain-god of the existing orderof things is movedto pity and grants the desired rain. This is clearly an ex postfacto explanation. The is a commonplace action of water as an agencyin causingfertility of folkbelief.2 or during the DivMI,or feastoflights, In the Panjab on a Sunday or Tuesdaynight, a child sits on a stool, whichis thenlowereddown a well. a barrenwomandesiring ofherclothesand bathing, she is drawnup again and performs After herself divesting with incantationstaught by a wizard. Should there the Chaukpi2rnd ceremony is performed about descending the well, the ceremony be any difficulty beneath a is performed sacredpipal or fig-tree. It is believedthat aftersuch a ceremonv the the Mana of both havingbeen exhaustedduring well runsdryand the treewithers, the girlsare clad in leaves to symbolize the rite.3 In similarcases of rain-magic in such ritesof rain-magic vegetation. We may suspectthat the performers divest themselvesof their clothesin the expectationthat the rain will immediately fall themthe thirsty and fertilize them,and through vegetation. As regardsthe custom of nudityby the religiousOrders,it symbolizes death and social rites. In the case of nudity of all family to this world,the renunciation the case is not so clear. Whenthe Bad5wI in ritual,ofwhichexampleswillbe given, used to make the ceremonialcircuitof the Kaaba at in the days of heathendom fromone of the religious clothes or borrowed Mecca naked, wearing communitie.s of worehis own clothes,they the holy city,the explanationis that if the worshipper became harimor taboo throughcontact with the holy place or function.4 This forthe disuse of beliefdoes not appear to prevailamongthe Hindus,and the motives clothes in religiousor magical rites seem to be varied: partly,the dread of the pollutionwhichmay arise fromclothingduringthe rite; partly,the traditionof purityattachingto the Brahmansof ancientdays, who lived as naked ascetics in it may be noted that the Nambultiri the forest. In this connection Brahmansof to lives to affect their ancient Vedic the who Malabar, regulate according rule,are, in the case of men,verysparingin the use of clothing,and do not seem to feel about almostnaked. On theother ashamedat beingseenwalking hand,a NambuXtiri in the ascetic (vanaprastha) stage of lifeshouldnot eat quite naked.5
108. T. C. Hodson,The Meitheis, Primitive i, 64 etseqq. Paternity, E. S. Hartland, of the rite is recordedin Panjab 3 Census Panjab, 1901, i, 164; anotherversion Report, iv, 58. and Queries, Notes 4 W. Robertson on theReligion 2nd ed., 481. Lectures oftheSemites, Smith, r L. K. Anantha KrishnaIyer,op. cit.,ii, 280, 286.
I
2

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Instances of nudityin magical or religiousrites are not uncommnon. At the famous ice-cave shrineof Amarnath," the undyingLord," a formof Siva, until recenttimes,pilgrims, men and women,on entering the cave used to stripoff their clothing; it was believedthat Siva wishedthemto appear nude and dance before him. The Maharaja of Kashmir, however,directedthat women were to cover themselves, but only with a single garment. At presentthe men enterwearing onlybreech-clouts, but wheninsideeach man divestshis neighbour of his cloth,and in the end all stand in the cave stark naked. According to VTigne, some pieces of birch-bark were used as fig-leaves. Dr. Neve states that the worshippers throw themselves nakedupon the ice blockin the cave whichrepresents Siva.' According to Sir WalterLawrence2 the riteis performed at thefullmoonof the monthSawan (July-August), when pilgrimsworshipthe snow lingam,which graduallymelts away afterthisfullmoon. "Strict Hindus,both male and female, will discardtheir clothesand put on shirtsof birch-bark beforethey enterthe cave." As regards the nude dance in honourof Siva, a legendcurrent in the Himalaya tells that the wives of the Rishis or deifiedsaints used to dance naked beforeSiva-Mahddeva.3 or so ago votariesof the goddess Sarasvati,goddessof learning, A century and of Devi, the mothergoddess, in ber formas Jagaddhatrl,"fostererof the world," used to dance naked in processionsat Calcutta.4 At the fair held at Devidhara in Kumaun in the lower Himalaya, the idol used to be draggedto the top of the bill by starknaked men.5 It is probablyan instanceof the taboo supposedto be caused by touchingsacred thingsthat, in the case of the Gond deity,Palo, whose forthe sacred spear-heads, the Katia imageis made of clothand used as a covering or Raj Pardhan, the tribal priest,who is entrusted with the task of makingthe image,mustlive in a separate house, mustnot approachhis wifeuntilthe workis finished, and whilehe is engagedupon it he mustremainnaked.6 Nudityis sometimesenforced in the performance of a vow, as is the case in Gujarait, whena child is attacked with small-poxthe mothervows to prostrateherself naked beforethe a from or distance thetemple.7 small-pox goddesseither from herownhouse at short Some of the Jain Orders prescribenudity for their priests. There are two the Digambara, " those clad only in the sky," the Svetambara,or " whiteOrders, or deified robed." In the case of the former the images of the Tirthakaras, saints, are have no eyes and wear no loin-cloth, and theirpriests confined to monasteries,
1 F. Drew, Jummo and KashmirTerritories, 222; (Sir) W. R. Lawrence, The Valleyof Kashmir, 41; Oman,op. cit.,268 etseq. 2 Op. cit., 265 etseq. 3 Atkinson, op. cit.,ii, 303. the dancingof David before 4 Ward,op. cit.,ii, Introd.xxix, xxxvi, 103, 137. Compare the Ark,2 Samuelvi, 14, 20. 6 Atkinson, op. cit., ii, 201 etseq. 6 Russell, op. cit.,iii, 100. 7 Bombay Gazetteer, ix, Part i, 371.

VOL. XLIX.

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the image has gold wheretheylive in a state of nudity. Amongthe Svetaimbaras eyes, and a representation of a piece of clothis carved roundits loins. In Mysore they the DigambaraYatis, or members of thesacred Order, wear a yellowrobewhich I The remarkable and the remove onlywheneatingfood. nude JainimagesinMysore theBombolas, priests of British District ofSouthKanara deserve mention.2In Mysore the Ladar caste,go about naked and offer goddessBhavanm.3 annual sacrifices to their The nudityritespractisedby the Sakta sect, worshippers of the femaleenergy, do not admitof description.4 rites. Womenwho desire Nudityin ritualnaturally is associated withfertility walk naked 108 times rounda sacred ptpal tree (Ficus religiosa), winding offspring a cotton thread round the trunk. Trees surrounded with such threads may be noticed at the bathingGhats in places like Benares, where,of course,the nudity in a nudestateis often doneafter worshipping partoftheriteis omitted. Thiscircuit M5rutIor Hanuman,the monkeygod, a fertility deity. Amongthe Kunbis of the CentralProvinces" a variationof the beliefis that p'pal treesare inhabitedby the Brthmanboys, and hence a woman sometimes takes a piece spiritsof unmarried of new threadand windsit roundthe tree,perhapswiththe idea of investing the spiritof the boy with the sacred thread. She will then walk roundthe tree as a of walkingroundthe sacred post, and hopes that symbolof the weddingceremony will cause her to bear a the boy, beingthen broughtto man's estate and married, son. But modestwoniendo not go naked roundthe tree."5 This theorysavours if the idea of propitiating and it seemsverydoubtful of Brahmanicalinterpretation, to believe in the mindofthe celebrant. It is preferable the spiritof a boy-ispresent the womanmakes the circuit in the course that,on the analogyof treemarriages,6 herself intocommunion of the sun ofthe sacredtreein the beliefthatshe thusbrings with it and imbibes some of its fertilizing qualities. In Bombay,womendesiring childrengo to a temple of Hanuman, the monkeygod, strip themselvesnaked stands and embracethe image.7 In the UnitedProvincesa womanwhois childless or ratherto rid naked facingthe sun, and invokeshis aid to cure her barrenness,
I BombayGazetteer, i, 462; Russell,op. cit.,ii, 100; ix, Part i, 105; B. L. Rice, Mysore, Rose, op. cit.,i, 104. 2 V. A. Smith,History 268. Hindu temple imagesare of Fine Artin India and Ceylon, draped,but thereare exceptions. Battal Bhaurammais the naked mother usuallydecently sitting naked is sometimes represented goddessof theDeccan; Sitala, the goddessof small-pox, and hair,"is naked, " he withthe flowing Mukutakesin, on an ass. In Bengal,Siva in his form or female xxiii,656. Ward,op. art.-BombayGazetteer, serpent deityin Buddhist so is a Nagimi, 26. Stupa ofBharhut, cit.,ii, 15, 104; Cunningham, 3 CensusReport, 1901,i, 529. Mysore, 4 H. H. Wilson, Nath Bhattacharya, op. cit.,409 etseqq.; WIVard, op. cit.,i, 247; Jogendra and Hinduism, 4thed., 184 etseqq. Brahmanism op. cit.,ii, 193 etseqq; Sir M. Monier-Williams, 5 Russell,op. cit.,iv, 32 etseq. The Golden 3rded., " The MagicArt,"i, 40; ii, 26, 56, 100,316 6 Sir J. G. Frazer, Bough, et seqq, 7 Panjab Notes and Queries, i, 87.

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her of the evil spiritwhichhas beset her and preventsconception.' It is perhaps due to the feelingof taboo fromwearingclothes in a sacred function, or as a fertility rite,that amongthe Oraonsthe novicesare naked.2 In SouthernIndia Ganesa, the god who favours enterprises of all kinds,is worshippedin secret by women; no males, not even babies at the breast, are admitted. They are starknaked duringthe rite,they must eat then and therethe made to the god, and no male is allowed to touch the sacred food.3 In offerings the Mother thesame Districtthe Pamba caste worship goddesses, Rengayiamma and Polayamma. Women are the chiefworshippers, and on one of the nightsof the Pongol festival, held at the winter solstice whenthe sun is believedto return from his southern journeyto bless the land, part of the ritualconsistsin womenexposing themselves.4 Women of the Kochh tribe in north-eastern and eastern Bengal Hudum Deo, a naked and extremely dance nakedrounda plantainstemrepresenting repulsivedeity,who is pleased to see nude womendancingbeforehim,and to hear of whichhe sends rain and good harvests. Males obscene songs,in consideration are strictly excludedat thetimeofthe ceremony.5Possiblywe may class as fertility as when a Kanaujia Brahmanboy ritescertaincustomsconnectedwith marriage, in the Deccan is investedwiththe sacred threadas an initiationritepreceding his is he and his father are to he and made on wedding, stand twostools stripped naked, witha piece of clothdrawnbetweenthem. At a wedding amongthe Kannadiyans, and traders in the MadrasPresidency, theinfant brideand bridegroom cattle-breeders are seated naked.6 Friar Odoric,who visitedIndia earlyin the fourteenth century, a at in the he saw naked woman Bombay Presidency marching states"that Thana a brideand bridegroom, who weredressedforthe occasion,but the morning before afterthe marriage they wentnaked as before. Whatevermay be the value of the would now be punishableundermunicipallaw.7 such exhibitions statement, of naked people are recorded in manyof the earlier Similarprocessions accounts are now seldom observed.8 At Sattamangalam,in of India, but such exhibitions at the festivalof the local goddess the South Arcot District,Madras Presidency, who controls Mariamma, small-poxand otherepidemicdiseases,the chiefriteis the of a goat at midnight, the entrailsof whichare suspendedroundthe neck sacrifice
1 North by the sun,see Sir iii, 35. On the beliefin conception Indian Notesand Queries, i, 68 etseqq. 3rded., " Balderthe Beautiful," Bough, J. G. Frazer,The Golden 2 Sarat Chandra Roy, op. cit.,242. 3 F. A. Hemingway, District Gazetteer i, 102. ofTrichinopoly, 4 Ibid., i, 118. For the Pongol feast,see J. A. Dubois, Hindu Manners,Customs and 3rded., 571 etseqq. Ceremonies, 5 Panjab Notes iv, 197. and Queries, 6 BombayGazetteer, op. cit.,iii, 207. Compare the Oraon xviii, Part i, 169; Thurston, the brideand bridegroom note2 above. Amongthe Wagogoof GermanEast Africa initiation, Inst.,xxxii,311. sit nude.-Journ.Roy.Anthrop. 7 Sir H. Yule, Cathay and theWayThither, i, 60. 8 Compare p. 245 above. in honour ofthegoddesses theprocession Sarasvatiand Jagaddhatri,

s2

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of a Tot!, one of the menial castes who act as village servants. He marchesstark of his village.' At the festival of the villagegoddesses naked roundthe boundaries in the Dharwar District,Bombay Presidency, two Madigas, village menials,strip in a the blood of the holybuffalo themselves naked and carryabout whichhas pot it as an offering to the evil spiritswhichabide at the been sacrificed, and sprinkle village boundary. At a later stage of the rite one of the Holeyas, anothermenial caste, of the Poturaja, or "buffalo king,'"section,stripshimself naked,ties a few leaves ofthenTm tree(Azadirachta indica)which, because ofits bitterness, apparently is sacred to the Mothers, roundhis loins,comes up running like a tiger,pounceson a lamb, tearsits throatwithhis teeth,drinks some of the blood,and thenrunswith the carcass to the village boundary, possiblyas a means qf expellingevil fromthe and community promoting fertilitV.2 as an essential, condition forthe performance Nudityis often regarded ofmagical rites. The Silari in Eastern Bengal is employedto carryout the ceremony of dispersinghailstorms. When he sees a stormapproachinghe runs out of his house almostnaked,and dispersesthe storm-cloud withhis magicwand.3 His colleague, of the CentralProvinces,when a stormis threatened, the Garpagarior Garpagaril imploresMahabir or lanuman, the monkeygod, to dispersethe clouds. If this appeal fails,he proceedsto threats,declaring that he will kill himself, and then he throwsoff his clothes. If her husbandhappen to be absent at such a criticaltime, his wifegoes and stands naked at the shrineof Hanuman.4 In the Trichinopoly when in the rainyseason tanks and riversthreatento bursttheirbanks,, District, menstand naked on the embankments;and iftoo mnuch rainfalls,naked menpoint firebrands at the sky, as in the case of rain-magic this nudityis supposed to ;5 shockthe powersthat send the rain,and to cause its discontinuance. In the Panjab the magicalpowerof healingdisease is oftenpractisedin a state of nudity. In the Sirsa Districta man can cure a horseattacked by a fitby takingoffall his clothes the animalseventimeswithhis shoe on its forehead. In the Jalandhar and striking Districtparalysisin cattle is cured by a man stripping himself naked and walking a wispofburning strawin his hand.6 The Oraontribesupplies roundtheanimalwvith of the rice harvestthey practise manyinstancesof similarpractices. At the tinme a solemnritefordrivingfleasout of the village,in the courseof whichyoungmen in rice straw,and marchroundthe stripofftheirclothes,bathe, wrap themselves where receive doles of food. A houses, they youthinitiatedinto the mysteries of naked and bringswaterfromthe sacred well of the Bachelors' Hall, stripshimself
VW Francis, Gazetteer Arcot South District, i, 98. BombayGazetteer, xxii, 810 et seq. In North Borneo a naked man wandersthrough a rite.-E. S. Hartland, Primitive touchhimas a fertility crowdand women Paternity, ii, 151. 3 J. Wise,Noteson theRaces,Castes, and Tradesof Eastern Bengal,369. 4 Russell,op. cit., iii,21 etseqq. 5 Page 244 above. 6 North Indian Notesand Queries, i, 136; ii, 64.
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the village. A similar custom prevails at the rite for expellingcattle disease.' The Sakuna Pakshis,a class of mendicants in the VizagapatamDistrict, carryabout roots of a plant whichare used as antidotesagainst the stingsof scorpions. This plant shouldbe collectedon a new-moon day whichfalls on a Sunday,and the man who seeks forit cuts his loin-string and collectsthe roots starknaked.2 Nudity is also essential in some formsof black magic and witchcraft. In Gujardt " to gain controlover a spiritthe Hindu exorcistgoes to a burial-ground alone at midnight on the dark fourteenth day of Aso (October),unearths the body of a low-casteHindu, and bathes in the river. After bathing,whilestill naked, he carriesthe body withina circlecut with a knifeor formedby sprinkling a line of water ; 3 thenhe goes on muttering charmsand evil spiritsof all kindscongregate round him.4 In Upper Burma, among the Taman tribe of the Upper Chindwin if a man wishesto turnhimself river, into a tigerhe urinateson the ground, strips himself, and rolls on the place whichhe has wetted.5 A strangetale is told in the United Provincesof a noted witch,knownas Lond or Nond Chamarin, a woman of the caste of leather-dressers.One day all the village womenweretransplanting rice, and it was noticedthat Lona could do as much work as all her companions put together. So theywatchedher,and whenshe thought she was unobserved she a bundle of seedlings some spells, and throwing strippedoffher clothes,muttered into the air, each settleddowninto its properhole.6 Possiblywiththe viewoffreeing the spiritofthe dead manfrom any contamination whichmay be producedfromclothing, some tribesand castes burythe corpse naked. Instances of this 6ustomare reportedfromthe Guravs, Kirars, Korkils, the Koravas, Malas, and Kunbis ofthe CentralProvinces and the Deccan; and from and Yerukulasof Madras.7 are of much interest.8 All the world Survivalsin ritual,rightly interpreted, sacerdotal and other vestments tend to followthe modelsprescribed over, religious by custom which is oftenimmemorial. Thus, in Egypt, the panther'sskin, the ancient attire of the head of a family,or of a noble in full dress, dates fromthe was habitual,and in latertimesit survived periodwhenthe use of skinsforclothing or fordignitaries as the obligatory vestment forcertainordersof priests, performing
Inst.,xliv,346. Sarat ChandraRoy, op. cit.,150, 221, 223, 254; Journ.Roy.Anthrop. Thurston, op. cit.,vi, 263 et8eq. 3 On thesemagiccircles of Northern Popular eiligonand Folklore see W. Crooke, India, ii, 41 etseqq. ix, Part i, 418. 4'Bombay Gazetteer, 5 Journ. Inst.,xli,306. Roy.Anthrop. 6 W. Crooke, and Oudh,ii, 171. Province8 and Caste8oftheNorth-West T'ribes 7 Russell, Monograph41, Bombay, Survey, iii, 180,491,564; iv, 35; Ethnographical op cit., ofBharatavarsa, Inhabitants iii, 498, 499; iv, 273; G. Oppert, op. ci't., p. 7; Thurston, Original p. 203. 8 R. A. Marett,"The Interpretation April,1919. Quarterly Review, of Survivals,"
I
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sacerdotal functionsof a prescribednature.' Similar customs are common in India. The Todas still wear bark clothingin some of theirrites.2 The custom in the worship of wearing as clothing the leaves of certaintreesand plantsis common of some Mothergoddessesin SouthernIndia. In the Salem District, at the worship of the sisterdeitiesknownas Dodamma and Chikamma, Koruba womenof all ages, by a vow, assembleat nightnear a sacred tank,divest who have bound themselves of all theirclothing, themselves bathe, and on ascendingthe steps fromthe water, leaves. Then put on loose jackets made of pungamor margosa(Azadircachta ilndica) fixinglightedlamps made of rice-flour in their dishevelledlocks, they march in forming procession roundthe temple. Theirnearestmale relations movewiththem, a sort of bodyguard to protectthemfromthe public gaze. When the thirdcircuit is accomplished they make obeisance to the deity. The rite is believedto ensure the birthof children.3 At the Periapalayam festivalin the Chingleput District, dress in a Madras, in honourof the Mothergoddess, Mariamma,the worshippers garment offreshly gathered margosaleaves attachedto theirwaistsbya string; and at the festivalof the village goddess in the BellaryDistrictin the Deccan, the processionis headed by a Madiga menial,who is naked save fora fewmargosaleaves.4 At Yellamma's Hill in the Belgaum District,Bombay, people undera vow appear naked beforethe goddess, tie margosa branchesround theirbodies fromshoulder to knee, walk round the temple clad in this attire,and again reverethe goddess formen.5 At clad in ordinary dress,a robe in the case of womenand a loin-cloth in the Nimar District,CentralProvinces,people who have made a vow Jekhapur discard theirclothing, put on aprons of margosa leaves, take a pot of waterfrom " she a wellin the village,ascend the hill by night, worship the goddess Jekhadevi, as a charmfor who fulfils prayer,"and pour the waterovertheirbodies,apparently rain or forfertility.6 Social or religiouscustom,or possibly in some cases the influence of taboo, enforce in the fields, wear the habit of nudity. The Miri Naga men,whenworking but necklacesand collaretsof beads; in the cool of the eveningtheywrap nothing themselves in blankets,but wear no loin-cloth. The women,though.theyseem to be usually coveredwhen in theirvillages with a shortskirtreachinghalf-wayto the knee,are said to doll all clothing whenat workin the fields.7 In the Goddvarl District,Madras, the Komati womendo the cookingin a state of nudity; those lest the touch who admit the practicesay that it is done forthe sake of cleanliness,
G. Maspero, The Dawn of Civilisation, p. 53, note 8. W. H. R. Rivers,The Todas,573 etseq. 8 F. J. Richards, District ofSalem,i, Part i, 121. Gazetteer ' E. Thurston, Ethnographical Notesin Southern India, 364 et seq.; Castes and Tribesof Southern India, vi, 106. 5 Bombay Gazetteer, xxi,613. 1 R. V. Russell,District Gazetteer, Nimar,i, 227. 7 Journ. Inst.,xxxii,454. Roy.Anthrop.
2

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of an impuregarmentshould defilethe food.1 The Poroja or Parja women of in Vizagapatam and Ganjam, on the east Madras coast, are said to wear clothing their houses, but leave it off when they go outside; "it seems that the tabu is directedagainst appearingin public fullyclothed,and not against wearingdecent sized clothesas such."2 Practices such as have been describedin this paper are naturallya fruitful legend. The Juangs of Chota Nagpur say that "ttheriver themefor setiological goddess emerging for the first time fromthe Gonasika river,came suddenlyon a rollicking party of Juangs dancing naked, and ordering them to adopt leaves on the momentas a covering, laid on them the curse that they must adhere to that costumeforeveror die."3 The Gadaba womenin Madras wear clothmade of tree fibrebecause Sita, consortof Rama, wore similarclothing in the forest; some of them laughed at her, and she cursedthem that ever afterwards they should wear no dress but fibrecloth.4 A Kanara storyruns that the headmenof a certain village were once upon a time taken naked for executionon the seashore; but in " trees and made themselves theirshametheygathered leaves of the " five-leafed aprons,whereupon theirguardsin pityreleasedthem,and sincethentheyhave worn else.5 The Devanga weaverssay that Vishnugave to one oftheirancestors nothing some fibres of the lotus flower that growsfromhis navel, and taughtthemhow to make clothes for gods and men; it was this culture hero who instructedhis descendantsin the art of makingfibre cloth.6
1 F. R. Hemingway, District Gazetteer, i, 55. Godavari, 2 Thurston, Castesand TribesofSouthern India, vi, 219. 3 Dalton,op. cit.,156. 4 Thurston, op cit.,ii, 245. Compare thestory ofthe Porojasor Parjas, p. 240 etseq. above. 5 Oppert, op. cit.,174. 6 Thurston, op. cit.,ii, 157.

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