A doli, and dancing girls (1888)

Source: ebay, Nov. 2005

"2.1. (2nd row, 1st fig. from left) The wife of a Gujarati jewel trader, a follower of Vishnu and a member of the Vaysias, or merchant, caste. She is carrying a wooden roller that holds bracelets, and is herself a kind of wailing advertisement, with bracelets, nose-rings and collars of different sizes. 2.2, 3 & 4 Cancenis dancing girls, adherents of Vishnu. The manageress of a dance troop such as this buys attractive young girls of four or five years old and teaches them how to dance and sing for a number of years before they appear in public at about 10 or 12. Their clothing is luxuriant, consisting of a pretty pearl-edged skullcap and a huge veil. This is wound several times round the head, and then tumbles down in voluminous folds at front and back, before being covered by a transparent sari. They also wear figure-hugging trousers of embroidered silk and short-sleeved cholis. As they dance, the cancenis spin round with their hands in the air, making their veils rise and their folds billow out. The illustration on top depicts a 'doli', a palanquin (a framework of cloth) for rich women. It is usually wrapped in white or red fabric."