>Citation bot at 14:30, 17 March 2021

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[[File:Araimudi.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The Araimudi (araimuti) is worn by adolescent [[Tamil people|Tamil]] girls.]]
The '''Araimudi''' (araimuti) ({{Indic|lang=ta|indic=அரைமுடி|trans=araimūḍi}}) is a small silver metal plate shaped like a heart or a fig leaf formerly worn by young girls in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]].<ref>[http://www.tamildictionary.org/tamil_english.php?id=2236 Tamil to English Dictionary "Meaning of 'iravirekku'" (Meaning of இராவிரேக்கு)]</ref><ref>[http://tamil.indianlanguages.org/dictionary/meaning.php?id=2054&lang=Tamil TAMIL TO ENGLISH DICTIONARY இராவிரேக்கு - iravirekku - [irāvirēkku]]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tamilvu.org/slet/servlet/lexpg?pageno=118 |title=அரசிலை aracilai |access-date=2012-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060038/http://www.tamilvu.org/slet/servlet/lexpg?pageno=118 |archive-date=2013-10-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> "Arai" means loin and "mudi" means cover.<ref>{{cite book|year=2007|publisher=Asiff Hussein|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kVuAAAAMAAJ&q=arai+mudi+araimuti+girls|volume=VOL. I.—THE DISTRICT|author=Asiff Hussein|quote=110 The term appears to literally mean 'loin (arai) cover (mudi)' 4,1 Winslow ( 1862) gives araimuti as 'a small plate of metal worn by little girls over the private parts'. Dubois (1906) who observed that the private parts of the children of the|access-date=11 November 2012|location=MADRAS : PRINTED BY E. KEYS, AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS|title=Sarandib: an ethnological study of the Muslims of Sri Lanka|page=267|isbn=978-9559726227}}Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 3 Sep 2008</ref>

The araimudi is also known as the "Genital shield" and an araimudi was mentioned in the "Guide to the principal exhibits in the Government Museum, Pudukkottai", by M. S. Chandrasekhar, published in 1966 as being displayed in an exhibit in the [[Government Museum, Chennai|Madras Government Museum]].<ref>{{cite book|year=1966|publisher=Printed at Super Power Press, for the Director of Stationery and Print.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SCUjAQAAMAAJ&q=araimudi|author=Government Museum |author2=M. S. Chandrasekhar|quote=Pamla malai (coral necklace), kasais, lead and glass bangles, lead rings for toes, ear and nose screws, and also the araimudi (or the " Genital shield ") worn by young female children are included.|access-date=16 April 2012|title=Guide to the principal exhibits in the Government Museum, Pudukkottai|page=93}}Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 6 Jun 2011 Length 129 pages</ref>

"A Manual of the Salem district in the presidency of Madras, Volume 1" said "The children sometimes, to the age of ten years or more, go in a state of nudity, relieved perhaps by a piece of string round the waist which sustains the "araimudi" or heart-shaped piece of silver, which calls attention to what it purports to conceal."<ref>{{cite book|year=1883|publisher=Printed by E. Keys, at the Government Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZEIAAAAQAAJ&q=araimudi&pg=PA141|volume=VOL. I.—THE DISTRICT|quote=The children sometimes, to the age of ten years or more, go in a state of nudity, relieved perhaps by a piece of string round the waist which sustains the "araimudi" or heart-shaped piece of silver, which calls attention to what it purports to conceal.|access-date=16 April 2012|location=MADRAS : PRINTED BY E. KEYS, AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS|title=A Manual of the Salem district in the presidency of Madras, Volume 1|page=141}}Compiled by Henry Le Fanu Original from Oxford University Digitized 6 Jun 2007</ref>

The "Madras district gazetteers, Volume 1, Part 1" said 'Little girls, up to the age of about 3, wear nothing but the little heart-shaped piece of silver suspended by a waist-cord (arai- mudi) " which calls attention to what it purports to conceal."'<ref>{{cite book|year=1918|publisher=Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CglmG0VjScYC&q=arai+mudi+girls|volume=VOL. I.—THE DISTRICT|author=Madras (India : State)|quote=Little girls, up to the age of about 3, wear nothing but the little heart-shaped piece of silver suspended by a waist-cord (arai- mudi) " which calls attention to what it purports io conceal." They are then promoted to a miniaturo " female " cloth|access-date=11 November 2012|location=MADRAS : PRINTED BY E. KEYS, AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS|title=Madras district gazetteers, Volume 1, Part 1|page=109}}Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 14 Mar 2005 [http://202.41.82.144/rawdataupload/upload/0105/094/TXT/00000127.txt] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.is/20121203164830/http://202.41.82.144/rawdataupload/upload/0105/094/TXT/00000127.txt |date=2012-12-03 }}</ref>

"Percival's Tamil-English dictionary", edited by P. Percival defined Araimudi as "அரைமுடி arai múḍi, A small plate of gold or silver, appended to the girdle of female children, for the sake of decency".<ref>{{cite book|edition=reprint|year=1993|publisher=Asian Educational Services|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u6YdKeY6JHcC&q=arai+mudi|author=P. Percival|quote=அரைமுடி arai múḍi, A small plate of gold or silver, appended to the girdle of female children, for the sake of decency ;|access-date=16 April 2012|title=Percival's Tamil-English dictionary|page=14|isbn=8120608194|editor=P. Percival}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=u6YdKeY6JHcC&pg=PA14&dq=araimudi&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E5KMT6GxAuTC0AGmr63BCQ&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=araimudi&f=false]</ref>

[[Miron Winslow]]'s dictionary, "A comprehensive Tamil and English Dictionary of High and Low Tamil" defined araimudi as "அரைமுடி, s. A small plate of metal worn by little girls over the private parts."<ref>{{cite book|edition=3, reprint|year=1989|publisher=Asian Educational Services|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxZCCegiccQC&q=%C2%ABjyssj%2Frg+%5Eia.%2C+%C2%BB.+A+small+plate+of+metal+worn+by+little+girls+over+the+private+parts.&pg=PA40|author=M. Winslow|quote=அரைமுடி, s. A small plate of metal worn by little girls over the private parts.|access-date=16 April 2012|title=Winslow's a Comprehensive Tamil and English Dictionary|page=40|isbn=8120600002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|year=1862|publisher=Hunt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-RGAAAAcAAJ&q=%5EjemnQpiSf-%2C+s.+A+small+plate+of+metal+worn+by+little+girls+over+the+private+parts.&pg=PA40|author=Miron Winslow|quote=அரைமுடி, s. A small plate of metal worn by little girls over the private parts.|access-date=16 April 2012|location=MADRAS : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY P. R. HUNT, AMERICAN MISSION PRESS, 167, POPHAM'S BROADWAY|title=Acomprehensive Tamil and English Dictionary of High and Low Tamil|page=40}}Original from the Bavarian State Library Digitized 21 Mar 2011 Length 976 pages A COMPREHENSIVE TAMIL AND ENGLISH DICTIONARY OF HIGH AND LOW TAMIL, BY THE REV. MIRON WINSLOW. D.D. AMERICAN MISSIONARY, MADRAS. ASSISTED BY COMPETENT NATIVE SCHOLARS: IN PART FROM MANUSCRIPT MATERIALS OF THE LATE REV. JOSEPH KNIGHT, AND OTHERS. MADRAS : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY P. R. HUNT, AMERICAN MISSION PRESS, 167, POPHAM'S BROADWAY. 1862. Copyright Secured.</ref>

[[Abbe Dubois]]'s book "Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies", translated from French and edited by [[Henry King Beauchamp|Henry Beauchamp]] stated that "Even the private parts of the children have their own particular decorations. Little girls wear a gold or silver shield or codpiece on which is graven some indecent picture ; while a boy's ornament, also of gold or silver, is an exact copy of that member which it is meant to decorate."<ref>{{cite book|edition=2|year=1899|publisher=Clarendon press|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.68332|author=Jean Antoine Dubois|quote=They have many other baubles of the same kind2. Even the private parts of the children have their own particular decorations. Little girls wear a gold or silver shield or codpiece on which is graven some indecent picture; while a boy's ornament, also of gold or silver, is an exact copy of that member which it is meant to decorate.|access-date=16 April 2012|location=Oxford PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS BY HORACE HART, M.A. PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY|title=Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.68332/page/n372 336]|editor=Henry King Beauchamp}}Original from Indiana University Digitized 11 Jun 2009 Length 730 pages HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK HINDU MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES BY THE ABBÉ J. A. DUBOIS TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S LATER FRENCH MS. AND EDITED WITH NOTES, CORRECTIONS, AND BIOGRAPHY BY HENRY K. BEAUCHAMP FELLOW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS ; MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY WITH A PREFATORY NOTE BY THE RIGHT HON. MAX MÜLLER AND A PORTRAIT SECOND EDITION Oxford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1899</ref><ref>{{cite book|year=1961|publisher=Panther Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1xLAAAAMAAJ&q=indecent+picture|author=Fernando Henriques|quote=Little girls wear a gold or silver shield or cod-piece on which is graven some indecent picture; while a boy's ornament, also of gold or silver, is an exact copy of that member which it is meant to decorate.|access-date=16 April 2012|title=Love in action: the sociology of sex|page=70}}Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 3 Oct 2007 Length 432 pages</ref><ref>{{cite book|edition=reprint|year=1969|publisher=Johnson Reprint|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1VIrAAAAYAAJ&q=graven+indecent+picture|author=Robert Briffault|quote=Little girls wear a gold or silver shield, or cod-piece, on which is graven an indecent picture ; while a boy's ornament, also of gold or silver, is an exact copy of the member it is meant to|access-date=16 April 2012|title=The mothers: a study of the origins of sentiments and institutions, Volume 3|page=284}}Original from the University of Virginia Digitized 15 Aug 2008 Length 841 pages</ref><ref>{{cite book|year=1929|publisher=The Century Co.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tJIcAAAAMAAJ&q=parts+of+small+children+have+their+own+particular+adornments.+Little+girls+often+wear+nothing+save+a+gold+or+silver+shield+or+cod-piece+on+which+is+graven+an+indecent+picture.+A+boy's+ornament,+also+of+gold+or+silver,+is+an+exact+copy|author=Edward Alexander Powell|quote=parts of small children have their own particular adornments. Little girls often wear nothing save a gold or silver shield or cod-piece on which is graven an indecent picture. A boy's ornament, also of gold or silver, is an exact copy of that member which it pretends to conceal.|access-date=16 April 2012|title=The last home of mystery|page=67}}Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 26 Oct 2006 Length 332 pages</ref><ref>[http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/j-a-jean-antoine-dubois/hindu-manners-customs-and-ceremonies-obu/page-34-hindu-manners-customs-and-ceremonies-obu.shtml J. A. (Jean Antoine) Dubois. Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies. (page 34 of 72) (PAINTING MARKS ON THE BODY 333)]</ref><ref>[http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/texts/hmc/hmc.txt HINDU MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES THIRD EDITION OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1906]</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/stream/hindumannerscust1906dubo/hindumannerscust1906dubo_djvu.txt | title=Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies | via=archive.org | access-date=16 August 2020 }}</ref> "Description of the character, manners, and customs of the people of India; and their institutions, religious and civil", also written by Dubois said "The children of either sex are likewise ornamented with various trinkets of the same form, though smaller than those of grown persons. They have also some that are peculiar. As all children in India go perfectly naked till they are six or seven years old, the parents of course, adapt the ornaments to the natural parts of the body. Thus, the girls have a plate of metal suspended so as to conceal, in some measure, their nakedness. The boys, on the other hand, have little bells hung round them, or some similar device of silver or gold, attached to the little belt with which they are girt. Amongst the rest, a particular trinket appears in front, bearing a resemblance to the sexual part of the lad."<ref>{{cite book|edition=2|year=1862|publisher=J. Higginbotham|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcha00dubouoft|author=Jean Antoine Dubois|quote=The children of either sex are likewise ornamented with various trinkets of the same form, though smaller than those of grown persons. They have also some that are peculiar. As all children in India go perfectly naked till they are six or seven years old, the parents of course, adapt the ornaments to the natural parts of the body. Thus, the girls have a plate of metal suspended so as to conceal, in some measure, their nakedness. The boys, on the other hand, have little bells hung round them, or some similar device of silver or gold, attached to the little belt with which they are girt. Amongst the rest, a particular trinket appears in front, bearing a resemblance to the sexual part of the lad.|access-date=16 April 2012|location=MADRAS : PRINTED AT THE ASYLUM PRESS, MOUNT ROAD, BY WILLIAM THOMAS|title=Description of the character, manners, and customs of the people of India; and their institutions, religious and civil|page=[https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcha00dubouoft/page/163 163]}}Original from University of Minnesota Digitized 18 Feb 2010 Length 410 pages DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE OF INDIA ; AND OF THEIR INSTITUTIONS, RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL, BY THE ABBE J. A. DUBOIS, Missionary in the Mysore. Second Edition, WITH NOTES, CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS BY REV. G. U. POPE, Head Master of the Ootacamund Grammar School, and Fellow of the Madras University. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH MANUSCRIPT. Madras : J. HIGGINBOTHAM, MOUNT ROAD. Law Bookseller and Publisher. LONDON—MESSRS. ALLAN AND CO. CALCUTTA—HAY AND CO., THACKER SPINK AND CO. BOMBAY—CHESSON AND WOODALL. 1862.</ref>

Until the 1960s in the [[Ampara District]] of [[Sri Lanka]] girls wore the Araimudi.<ref>{{cite book|year=2007|publisher=Asiff Hussein|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kVuAAAAMAAJ&q=araimudi+girls|volume=VOL. I.—THE DISTRICT|author=Asiff Hussein|quote=Little girls of the Eastern districts such as Amparai are also said to have formerly worn a cache-sexe plate in the shape of the Indian Fig leaf (Ficus Religiosa) known as araimudi 450 to cover their private parts. The ornament made of silver or ...|access-date=11 November 2012|location=MADRAS : PRINTED BY E. KEYS, AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS|title=Sarandib: an ethnological study of the Muslims of Sri Lanka|page=267|isbn=978-9559726227}}Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 3 Sep 2008</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sailanmuslim.com/news/wp-content/uploads/dress-and-ornamentation-among-the-moors.pdf |title=Dress and Ornamentation among the Moors page 33 |access-date=2012-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055206/http://www.sailanmuslim.com/news/wp-content/uploads/dress-and-ornamentation-among-the-moors.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Clothing in South Asia}}

[[Category:Indian clothing]]
[[Category:Tamil clothing]]

Araimudi - Revision history

>Citation bot at 14:30, 17 March 2021