Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c20.s3.72

v2.c20.s3.72

The same primitive character may also be noted in their dress and food. The chief characteristic of the dress of the people was that both men and women usually kept the upper part of their body naked, and only put something like a modern *sarong* around the lower limbs below the waist. This is definitely recorded about the people of Lang-ya-su, Java, and Borneo.² The fact that the custom prevails even to-day in the island of Bali gives an authentic character to the Chinese statement. A woman without any covering for the upper part of the body would be regarded in modern India as a relic of barbarism. But it is only fair to bear in mind that even now the custom prevails among some South Indian tribes, and that ancient Indian sculpture as a rule represents female figures without any covering for the upper part of the body.