In the Maratha Districts an essential feature of a wedding is the
hanging of the _mangal-sutram_ or necklace of black beads round
the bride's neck. All beads which shine and reflect the light are
considered to be efficacious in averting the evil eye, and a peculiar
virtue, Sir J. Campbell states, attaches to black beads. A woman
wears the _mangalsutram_ or marriage string of beads all her life,
and considers that her husband's life is to some extent bound up in
it. If she breaks the thread she will not say 'my thread is broken,'
but 'my thread has increased'; and she will not let her husband see
her until she has got a new thread, as she thinks that to do so would
cause his death. The many necklaces of beads worn by the primitive
tribes and the strings of blue beads tied round the necks of oxen
and ponies have the same end in view. A similar belief was probably
partly responsible for the value set on precious stones as ornaments,
and especially on diamonds, which sparkle most of all. The pearl is
very sacred among the Hindus, and Madrasis put a pearl into the mouth
at the time of death instead of gold. Partly at least for this purpose
pearls are worn set in a ring of gold in the ear, so that they may
be available at need. Coral is also highly esteemed as an amulet,
largely because it is supposed to change colour. The coral given to
babies to suck may have been intended to render the soft and swollen
gums at teething hard like the hard red stone. Another favourite
shape for beads of gold is that of grains of rice, rice being a sacred
grain. The gold ornament called _kantha_ worn on the neck has carvings
of the flowers of the _singara_ or water-nut This is a holy plant,
the eating of which on fast-days gives purity. Hence women think that
water thrown over the carved flowers of the ornament when bathing will
have greater virtue to purify their bodies. Another favourite ornament
is the _hamel_ or necklace of rupees. The sanctity of coined metal
would probably be increased by the royal image and superscription and
also by its virtue as currency. Mr. Nunn states that gold mohur coins
are still made solely for the purpose of ornament, being commonly
engraved with the formula of belief of Islam and worn by Muhammadans
as a charm. Suspended to the _hamel_ or necklace of rupees in front
is a silver pendant in the shape of a betel-leaf, this leaf being
very efficacious in magic; and on this is carved either the image of
Hanuman, the god of strength, or a peacock's feather as a symbol of
Kartikeya, the god of war. The silver bar necklet known as _hasli_
is intended to resemble the collar-bone. Children carried in their
mother's cloth are liable to be jarred and shaken against her body,
so that the collar-bone is bruised and becomes painful. It is thought
that the wearing of a silver collar-bone will prevent this, just as
silver eyes are offered in smallpox to protect the sufferer's eyes and
a silver wire to save his throat from being choked. Little children
sometimes have round the waist a band of silver beads which is called
_bora_; these beads are meant to resemble the smallpox pustules and the
_bora_ protects the wearer from smallpox. There are usually 84 beads,
this number being lucky among the Hindus. At her wedding a Hindu bride
must wear a wristlet of nine little cones of silver like the _kalas_
or pinnacle of a temple. This is called _nau-graha_ or _nau-giri_ and
represents the nine planets which are worshipped at weddings--that is,
the sun, moon and the five planets, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and
Saturn, which were known to the ancients and gave their names to the
days of the week in many of the Aryan languages; while the remaining
two are said to have been Rahu and Ketu, the nodes of the moon and
the demons which cause eclipses. The _bonhta_ or _bankra_, the rigid
circular bangle on the upper arm, is supposed to make a woman's arm
stronger by the pressure exercised on the veins and muscles. Circular
ornaments worn on the legs similarly strengthen them and prevent a
woman from getting stiffness or pins and needles in her legs after
long squatting on the ground. The _chutka_, a large silver ring worn
by men on the big toe, is believed to attract to itself the ends of
all the veins and ligaments from the navel downwards, and hold them
all braced in their proper position, thus preventing rupture.
On their feet children and young girls wear the _paijan_ or hollow
anklet with tinkling balls inside. But when a married woman has had
two or three children she leaves off the _paijan_ and wears a solid
anklet like the _tora_ or _kasa_. It is now said that the reason why
girls wear sounding anklets is that their whereabouts may be known and
they may be prevented from getting into mischief in dark corners. But
the real reason was probably that they served as spirit scarers,
which they would do in effect by frightening away snakes, scorpions
and noxious insects; for it is clear that the bites of such reptiles
and insects, which often escape unseen, must be largely responsible
for the vast imaginative fabric of the belief in evil spirits, just
as Professor Robertson Smith demonstrates that the _jins_ or _genii_
of Arabia were really wild animals. [650] In India, owing to the
early age of marriage and the superstitious maltreatment of women at
child-birth, the mortality among girls at this period is very high;
and the Hindus, ignorant of the true causes, probably consider them
especially susceptible to the attacks of evil spirits.