The dress of the ordinary cultivator is most common-place and consists
only of a loin-cloth, another cloth thrown over the shoulders and
upper part of the body, which except for this is often bare, and a
third rough cloth wound loosely round the head. All these, originally
white, soon assume a very dingy hue. There is thus no colour in a
man's everyday attire, but the gala dress for holidays consists of a
red _pagri_ or turban, a black, coloured or white coat, and a white
loin-cloth with red silk borders if he can afford it. The Kunbi is
seldom or never seen with his head bare; this being considered a
bad omen because every one bares his head when a death occurs. Women
wear _lugras_, or a single long cloth of red, blue or black cotton,
and under this the _choli_, or small breast-cloth. They have one
silk-bordered cloth for special occasions. A woman having a husband
alive must not wear a white cloth with no colour in it, as this is
the dress of widows. A white cloth with a coloured border may be
worn. The men generally wear shoes which are open at the back of
the heel, and clatter as they move along. Women do not, as a rule,
wear shoes unless these are necessary for field work, or if they go
out just after their confinement. But they have now begun to do so
in towns. Women have the usual collection of ornaments on all parts
of the person. The head ornaments should be of gold when this metal
can be afforded. On the finger they have a miniature mirror set in a
ring; as a rule not more than one ring is worn, so that the hands may
be free for work. For a similar reason glass bangles, being fragile,
are worn only on the left wrist and metal ones on the right. But the
Dhanoje Kunbis, as already stated, have cocoanut shell bangles on
both wrists. They smear a mark of red powder on the forehead or have
a spangle there. Girls are generally tattooed in childhood when the
skin is tender, and the operation is consequently less painful. They
usually have a small crescent and circle between the brows, small
circles or dots on each temple and on the nose, cheeks and chin, and
five small marks on the back of the hands to represent flies. Some
of the Deshmukh families have now adopted the sacred thread; they
also put caste marks on the forehead, and wear the shape of _pagri_
or turban formerly distinctive of Maratha Brahmans.