The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume 1 (of 2): or, complete guide to gentlemen intended for the civil, military, or naval service of the East India Company.Williamson, Thomas
History
The East India Vade-Mecum, Volume 1 (of 2): or, complete guide to gentlemen intended for the civil, military, or naval service of the East India Company.
Williamson, Thomas
India -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
The other nasal trinket is called a _bolauk_; it is flat, something in
the form of that article of furniture called a footman, and has a small
ring, with hook and eye, at its narrowest part, for the purpose of
appending it to the middle of the nose, by means of a gold ring passing
through the _septum_, or division between the nostrils; the ornament
lying flat upon the upper lip, and having its broad end furnished with
pendants, similar to those on a _joomkah_. It is inconceivable what some
women undergo for the sake of displaying their riches in this way! Not
only does the _bolauk_ interfere with the operations of the lips during
meals, but sores of the most unsightly description are often created, in
that very tender part to which the ornament attaches, by those
innumerable accidents, which not even the most constant vigilance can
prevent.
The neck is not forgotten among those lavish decorations of which the
sable ladies are so fond; it is furnished with various kinds of
necklace, of which I shall describe only the _chumpauk-gully_. This is
made of separate rays, each intended to represent a petal of the
_chumpauk_, (a flower indigenous throughout Asia,) and having a fixed
ring, or staple, at its butt, so that the whole may be strung close
together, perhaps to the number of forty pieces, or more. This ornament
is usually worn rather loose, that it may reach half way down the bosom.
The mounting is gold, or silver, according to the means of the wearer;
and the rays, or petals, are, in imitation of the _maung-teekah_; either
chrystals, set on foils, chiefly white; or they are precious stones, of
one color, throughout the ornament.
The _haunseah_ is a solid collar of gold, or silver, weighing from
perhaps, four ounces to near a pound. I have seen several that
approached the latter weight, and must have been highly oppressive to
the wearer; especially as they only came into use on high days and
holidays: the general standard may be computed at about six or seven
ounces. Being made of pure metal, they are easily bent, so as to be put
on and off. _Haunseahs_ are commonly square in front, under the chin,
for several inches, and taper off gradually to not more than half their
greatest diameter; terminating at each end with a small knob, cut into a
polygonal form: this ornament is sometimes carved in the Oriental style,
either for its whole length, or on the front part only.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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