QUE. Write a note on “Chhundana”, which is famous as the main decoration of Gujarati folk women.

Among the aesthetic traditions that folk life has inherited, the classical culture of tattooing is also included. In Saurashtra, tattooing is also called “throwing scales”.

• “Tattooing” – The unique adornment of Gujarati folk women:

• Karadiya, Sathwara, Charan, Bharwad, Rabari, Koli, Iyer, Mer, Harijan and Chamar men and women get beautiful tattoos on their hands, feet and face.

• The unique art of tattooing on various parts of the body is preserved by the women of the Devi-worshipping community of Saurashtra. They soak pieces of beech wood in a kuldi (pot) and take its water, a measuring cup and a needle-filled needle and apply beautiful and fun tattoos on the hands, neck, face and feet of virgin girls.

• Bharwad women get tattoos from the soles of their feet to the ankles, from the fingers of their hands to the elbows and from the head to the mouth and forehead. The symbols of the Gop culture such as cows, jotars, laddoos, grains, kavads, vavs, and derdis are seen in the tattoos of Bharwad women.

• Religiously inclined men get Hanuman, Kanudo playing the venu, Shankar-Parvati, Shriram, Ambaji, Lakshmiji, scorpions, snakes, sun, etc. on their hands.

• Those who are knowledgeable in magic and witchcraft get tattoos of the Narmunda on their chests and hands.

• The ritual of tattooing is also found among the tribals. They believe that tattoos have hypnotic powers.

• A girl with a body adorned with a tattoo can easily attract a young man. There is a popular belief that tattooed girls never betray love. Tattoos help in the process of rebirth after the death of a person. Also, it is a popular belief that poisonous animals do not bite those who have tattoos on their hands and feet, and that a man or woman who has a tattoo of a raven on their hands will have a permanent evil spirit.

Thus, tattooing has not been limited to just marking, but has provided a new dimension to folk culture and life.