Badaga Jewellery
Website of Wing commander Bellie Jayaprakash
This website is dedicated to the memory of the Great Badaga Leader
Rao Bahadur H B Ari Gowder
My new Websites on BADAGA
Badaga Jewellery
[Thurston (Some marriage customs in South India) : {In the olden days} The tattooing of the forehead indicates that the Badaga girl of the Nilgiris is available for matrimonial purposes ]
The following motiffs of forehead & hands given below can be found in www.hesseltvandinter.com/downloads/spreads.pdf
It is with a great sense of honour I present her pictures to high light the jewellery on her person. Thank you Gangamma Hethe !
The following motiffs of forehead & hands given below can be found in www.hesseltvandinter.com/downloads/spreads.pdf
It is with a great sense of honour I present her pictures to high light the jewellery on her person. Thank you Gangamma Hethe !
The photo [from Prof : P.Hockings' book] below is about 100yrs old. See the Jewellery
Badaga Jewellery
The main ornaments are the nose ring called ‘ MOOKUTHI ‘ and the ear ring known as ‘CHINNA’ . Chinna , literaly means gold but usually refers to ear rings. The type shown above is worn both by men and women. Of course, the ‘ BELLI UNGARA ‘ [silver finger ring] has a special place in Badaga tradition and considered to have medicinal / health benefits. On the occasion of death, silver finger rings form part of a ritual of ‘decorating the dead’.
Badaga women also [used to] wear a kind of chocker called “SARATTADI“ that is a short chain around the neck with a biggish pendant. Then, of course is the ‘SERUPPINIGE‘ a silver necklace / chocker.
Courtesy Mr.Karia Gowder of Nattakal Village, I could take some pix of Seruppinige, Mani Maale, Sippu Bae etc, which are produced below :
Seruppinige
Gubbe (Maale) Mani
Kadaga - Sippu Bae with their unique designs
SARATTADI
The picture of a Badaga woman [dark blue blouse – left extreme] was taken by late Chantal Boulanger-Maloney [she was a social anthropologist specializing in Indian culture and I thank her husband Peter Maloney for permitting me to use it. You can see more pictures on Badaga by Chantal in her website [other pics are by me - Bellie Jayaprakash]. The next pix is that of Mrs.Gowri wife of Rao Bahadur HB Ari Gowder and to its right is Mrs. Nanji wife of Rao Bahadur HJ Bellie Gowder and mother of Ari Gowder. On the right extreme is Lakshmi Hethai from Chinna (Ooru) Hubbathalai. These pictures are chosen to show the ‘ SARATTADI ‘.
Kadaga
The bangle or rather bracelet around the wrist is known as ‘ KADAGA ‘ or ‘ CHIPPU BAE ‘ and the thick flat armlet just above the elbow made out of gold or silver is ‘ BAE .
When I took this picture of Kothiben Hatti Laxmi ‘Karuppi’ Hethai on 09-04-07 and mentioned that the photo has come out well, she mentioned with a great sense of humour, ‘ potto olange bandu ena maaduva, utti enbudhu tha kappu edhaga’. Thank you Kothiben Karuppi Hethe, it was wonderful meeting you !
Then, there are the anklets called ‘ GOLASU ‘ for girls and ‘ GAGGERE ‘for boys.
N Bellie of Achenakal writes to mention about HODETHARA, a chain worn around the hip of a year old baby on the occassion of MANDE BEESUVA [head shaving] ceremony.
Hits from 30 Nov 08 / 8.30 a.m