ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 117 



up the beautiful hair — a sacrifice on his part as well as the 

 child's — not a particle did he spare. 



On this occasion, again, Chowry resorted to the vain 

 expedient of muffling herself up as much as possible ; but 

 anything unusual aroused my suspicions, and I soon knew 

 why she did it. She did cry this time in bitter shame and 

 distress over her shaved head, and nobody could help her 

 here. Wonderfully soon, however, the bare head was re- 

 clothed and adorned with a freakish crop of silky curls, 

 whereas the vowed hair had been straight ! Its speedy 

 growth was due to liberal anointings with cocoanut oil — 

 a splendid thing for the hair — and Chowry was fully recom- 

 pensed. She said, as I was admiring the curls, ' And I Ve 

 got my mother too ! ' quite believing that her mother had 

 been bought off by the gift of her hair, and thinking that 

 now to ha^e curls growing instead was altogether a good 

 bargain. 



Another girl belonging to our household once begged for 

 a week's leave — or it might be ten days — as she was going 

 to have a fever. I naturally asked her how she could know 

 that beforehand. She replied that her hands and arms were 

 to be tattooed that day if leave were given, and that the 

 consequent inflammation would certainly cause fever. The 

 desired leave to get well in being granted, the girl beamed 

 with delight. The operation was to be performed in the 

 house, dependent on my ' gracious favour ' ; and at the 

 appointed time the tattooing man punctually arrived with 

 his box of instruments. Any time would not have done, 

 the hour had been exactly calculated, in fact, foretold, at 

 her birth — for Chinniah's horoscope was consulted — and 

 now all was in readiness. 



Hanging back, and looking far from happy, the girl came 

 up into the verandah, several other women with her, one 

 being our old fowl woman, a powerfully built person, on 

 whose arms were wonderful examples of tattooed embroidery. 



