Hair Style KUDUMI

Hair Style  KUDUMI

 In the olden days the Malayali as rule shaved his head, face and body all over leaving only a small oval patch of hair on the top of the head in front called 'KUDUMI' .This patch of hair was allowed to grow long and was twisted to a knot and hanged over the fore-head in front or to one side, usually the left. This way of wearing the hair was universal and was distinctive of the west coast Hindu.
Some of the CHERUMANS and similar low castes shaved their head completely and left no trace of any hair on their person.
The devil dancers and their likes in the ancient times wore the hair long; the hill tribes also used to wear their hair long but with the advent of civilization they too took to KUDUMI.

The Namboodiri was also seen with a beard, but the singular reason was that it was a period of mourning (diesta) for him . Other castes were also forbidden from shaving when in mourning.

Women grew their hair long. They used many natural herbs and oils available in the soil to nourish their hair. Women wore their hair plaited in the middle and either drew tight to the ears and tied in a chignon or else twisted up in front in a sort of cone. The latter was the common custom in the south, except among Namboodiris