The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.233

v1.c10.233

**Leg and feet ornaments :** The exigencies of climate have not permitted European ladies to devote any attention to ornaments for the legs and feet, except in the decoration of their boots and shoes as also the garter, which in the middle ages was an important female ornament. The case has been very different in India, and rings for the toes and anklets and leglets of various kinds have been current from an early epoch. The most favourite among them was a chain band round the feet fringed with little bells, or small metal shells filled with shots, which made a jingling sound when in motion. (Illustrations Nos. 138, 139 and 141.) It was called *kiṅkinī* and worn by both sexes. A form of it, called *pāñjora* from the Persian *Pāyzeb*, is in Bengal now given to brides only, and rejected within a year or two after marriage; but up-country women and Muhammadan ladies wear it till an advanced age. Modifications of this ornament are shewn in Illustrations Nos. 134, 135 and 140, where the chain is replaced by hollow tubes filled with shots. These are called *Nūpura* in Sanskrit. Illustrations Nos. 133, 134 and 139 represent anklets, of which No. 133 and the upper one of No. 134 are the only ones now in use. They are called **[ 100 ]** *Gujri*, from having been first introduced by the belles of Guzerat.¹⁰⁷