102 
shakha as it is called in Dacca is indeed as necessary of 
assumption during the marriage ceremonies as is the 
performance of that other Hindu custom of smearing a 
streak of vermilion on the forehead or down the parting 
of the bride’s hair or as the wedding ring of English 
women. Garcia da Orta’s curious statement quoted on 
page 67 is to be explained in the light of this custom ; 
his informants doubtless meant to convey no more than 
that among the better classes an essential part of the 
marriage ceremony consisted in placing chank bracelets 
onthe arms of the bride. The women of castes holding 
good social status appear however to have no great liking 
for the custom particularly if their husbands be well-to- -do, 
and I was informed that they frequently lay them aside 
temporarily in favour either of more handsomely carved 
ones or replace them when means permit by gold and 
jewelled ones. Chank bangles are occasionally orna- 
mented with gold and set with jewels ; the price of these 
may reach several hundreds of rupees. The great 
majority of married women, however, wear them perma- 
nently, never removing them so .ong as their husbands 
are alive. Occasionally some of the modern sankha 
(marriage) bangles are made in two sections secured 
together after the bangle is placed on the wrist by 
means of tiny bamboo pins as it is otherwise impossible 
to pass one of the right size over the hand without great 
difficulty and the infliction of acute pain. 
In spite of the rapid spread of a desire for br acelets 
of more showy appearance there are very large numbers 
of prosperous Hindu households, especially in the 
country districts, where the womenfolk remain attached 
to the old and less ostentatious custom of wearing chank 
bangles solely asornaments. Among these conservative 
folk a large demand exists for the handsome products 
of the sankhari w orkshops. The ornamental bangles 
made to meet these requirements are of two kinds called 
respectively éa/a and chuvz. The former are broad 
bangles worn one on each wrist. The chz77 on the 
contrary is always quite narrow, generally 1 to + inch 
in width, and usually of conventional scroll design worn 
in aset of three on each wrist (pl. XII fig. G), 
The use of these ornamental bangles (bala and chi7r7) 
and also of the red marriage bangle is limited almost 
entirely to the thoroughly “Hinduised sections of the 
