Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 2 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 2 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
Some Gadaba women wear a bustle or dress improver, called irre or
kitte. This article of attire is accounted for by the following
tradition. "A goddess visited a Gadaba village incognito, and asked
leave of one of the women to rest on a cot. She was brusquely told that
the proper seat for beggars was the floor, and she consequently decreed
that thenceforth all Gadaba women should wear a bustle to remind them
to avoid churlishness." [129] The Gadaba female cloths are manufactured
by themselves from cotton thread and the fibre of silloluvada or ankudi
chettu (Holarrhena antidysenterica) and boda luvada or bodda chettu
(Ficus glomerata). The fibre is carefully dried, and dyed blue or
reddish-brown. The edges of the cloth are white, a blue strip comes
next, while the middle portion is reddish-brown with narrow stripes
of white or blue at regular intervals. The Gadabas account for the
dress of their women by the following legend. When Rama, during his
banishment, was wandering in the forests of Dandaka, his wife Sita
accompanied him in spite of his entreaties to the contrary. It was one
of the cruel terms of his stepmother Kaika that Rama should wear only
clothing made from jungle fibre, before leaving the capital. According
to the Hindu religion, a virtuous wife must share both the sorrows
and joys of her lord. Consequently Sita followed the example of Rama,
and wore the same kind of clothing. They then left the capital amidst
the loud lamentation of the citizens. During their wanderings, they met
some Gadaba women, who mocked and laughed at Sita. Whereupon she cursed
them, and condemned them to wear no other dress but the cloth made of
fibre. In a note on the Gadabas, [130] Mr. L. Lakshminarayan writes
that "although mill-prepared cloths are fast replacing house-spun
cloths in all communities, yet, in the case of the Gadabas, there
is a strong superstition which prevents the use of cloths prepared
outside, particularly in regard to the cloths worn by their women. The
legend (about Sita) is fully believed by the Gadabas, and hence their
religious adherence to their particular cloth. At the time of marriage,
it is absolute that the Gadaba maiden should wear this fibre-made
cloth, else misfortune will ruin the family. A bundle of twigs is
brought, and the stems freed of leaves are bruised and twisted to
loosen the bark, and are then dried for two or three days, after which
the bark is ripped out and beaten down smooth with heavy sticks,
to separate the bark from the fibre. The fibre is then collected,
and combed down smooth, and spun into a tolerably fine twist. It
is this twist that the Gadaba maiden weaves in her crude loom,
and prepares from it her marriage sari. According to a good custom
among these people, a Gadaba maiden must learn to weave her cloths
before she becomes eligible for marriage. And no Gadaba ever thinks
of marrying a wife who cannot prepare her own cloths. Men can use
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account