Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/363

Rh of the head, or a little at the side of it. A piece of flat brass is another head ornament. It is stuck in the hair, which is tied in a knot at the crown of the head, at an angle of about 40° from the perpendicular, and its waving up and down motion as a man walks has a curious effect. Another head ornament is a piece of wood, about 8 or 9 inches in length and ¾ inch in diameter, with a flat button about 2 inches in diameter on the top, all covered with hair or coloured thread, and worn in the same position as the flat piece of brass. A peacock's feather, or one or two of the tail feathers of the jungle cock, may be often seen stuck in the knot of hair on the top of the head. A cheroot or two, perhaps half smoked, may often be seen sticking in the hair of a man or woman, to be used again when wanted. They also smoke pipes, and the old women seem particularly fond of them. Round the Saora's neck are brass and bead necklaces. A man will wear as many as thirty necklaces at a time, or rather necklaces of various lengths passed as many as thirty times round his neck. Round the Saora's waist, and under his fork, is tied a cloth with coloured ends hanging in front and behind. When a cloth on the body is worn, it is usually worn crossed in front. The women wear necklaces like the men. Their hair is tied at the back of the head, and is sometimes confined with a fillet. They wear only one cloth, tied round the waist. During feasts, or when dancing, they generally wear a cloth over the shoulders. Every male wears a small ring, generally of silver, in the right nostril, and every female wears a similar ring in each nostril, and in the septum. As I have been told, these rings are put in the nose on the eighth or tenth day after birth. Bangles are often worn by men and women. Anklets, too, are sometimes worn