The record-union., 1895-01-05
RULED BY WOMEN.
Curious Community on the Island
of MinicOy.
Every Woman on the Island Is Dressed
In Silk-HusbandS Are Regulated
and Women Take the Lead In AL
most Everything But Navigation.

and Women Take the Lead in AL
most Everything But Navigation.
Far off in Oriental seas there is a little
island where women have something
like their rights. If you have fairly
sharp eyes you may find it on the map,
tiny speck lying midway between the
Maidive and Laccadive groups, off the
southwest coast of India. II is called
Minicoy. Tourists do not go there, for
$50 miles separate it from the main land,
and there is no regular communication.
1t was only by chance that l heard of the
place and great good fortune that / was
enabled to pay it visit.
1t happened that, while soourning for
short time at Calicut, 1 came across an
Official report of the island which in
stantly aroused my curiosity. Every
woman Of the island" it read, ''is dressed
In silk. The upper classes wear red silk
and earrings of peculiar fashion, while
the Melacheri dover claSsesl are re-
stricted to the use OF dark striped silk of
coarser quality. Every husband must
allow his wife at least one candy $3.50
pounds) of rice, two silk gowns and two
undergarments a year. = The
women appear in public freely with their
heads uncovered, and take the lead in al
most everything except navigation"
1t did not take me long alter reading
this to decide that the Eastern COM
munlty wherein women held such sway
was we'll worth looking into, and | at
once cast about TOR a means of reaching
it. AS good luck would have it. the Gov
ernment steamer was just on the point of
starting on her annual visit to the place,
and having sufficient pull with one Of the
authorities, L succeeded in procuring
passage for myself and my companion.
Leaving Calicut at p. NJ, we reached
Minicoy at noon the following day. AS
we approached the little island a number
OF fishing boats came out to meet US, and
we were given most cordial welcome.
In one OF these boats we presently went
ashore.
But first word or two about MinicoY
as we viewed II from our steamer. 1t
presents the appearance of small low
Island, the tallest palm of which rises
scarcely more than a hundred feet above
the sea level. 1t is about i've miles long
and stands solitary in mid-ocean, with
out a speck of land to be seen on the
north, south, east or west. AS we glide
towards it through the smooth still water
we cannot help being impressed by the
utter loneliness of the place, nor wonder
ing how, in this restless age, two-thirds
O. its inhabitants can be content to live
their allotted span without a single
glimpse beyond the unGroken sheet of
green that glimmers all around them.
AS we roweu ashore we pass three
large 700-ton schooners. This is the fleet
OF the island, and the southwest monsoon
having lost its terrOrs, the sailors on
board are busily engaged in getting the
vessels ready for their regular eight
months voyage. The annual setting out
and the annual return in April constitute
the two great events of their island life.
Turning our eyes shoreward we see
congregated about the landing groups of
women and girls. Surely enough they
are all clad in sllken gowns, striped silk
most OF them, denoting that their wearers
are the common people. These gowns
reach nearly to the ankles, and are made
with hole through which TO pass the
head. The sleeves are short and in many
cases beautifully embroidered. A couple
OF inches OF white undergarment show
beneath the bottom of these gowns, and
the whole attire hts snugly and displays
the wearer's charms to perfection. The
women are bareheaded aud barefooted.
and, although Mohammedans, they 90
unveiled, which fact lends color TO the
belief that these people were at one time
Christians.
on landing we find that the women
are there not merely out of idle curioS-
lty, tor presently they come forward and
lay before us gifts OF fruit, vegetables and
eggs. Receiving our thanks through our
interpreter, they retire and we proceed
toward the Government office. But we
are not to get off SO easily. Another
deputatlou appears, and again we are
made the recipients of island produce.
Then follows third gift-laden deputa-
ton, which is succeeded by a fourth.
a ( on
fear that in the lavishness of their hospi-
taiity our kind hostesseS will fairly
blockade our pathway with their pres
eDtS.
With number ten, however, the depu-
tations end and our fear OF being buried
alive is dlsslpated. Inquiry into the
meaning of it all introduces US 10 dis
tinctly Minicoyite institution. Each
deputation, we learn from our Interpreter,
represents a yarangi.
1t appears that the ladies are organized
separately from the men, and each organ
ganiZation is termed varangi. There
are ten of these, each of which is nre-
sided over by a head-woman. The male
organizations are called attiris, and are in
numbers only nine. In other words, the
township is divided into nineteen parts
the women holding the controlling bal
ance and running things generally.
Each varangi and attiri has its own
which extends along the margin of the
lagoon Tor about mile, there are no less
than nineteen public buildings, most of
them Jauntily decorated in bright colors,
and finished Off with something OF an
elaborate gable end. Here the members
meet TO transact the business of their
division, and to perform the work which
brings IN its revenue.
AS we approach one of these neat little
structures we hear the rustic of sili<eu
gowns as a tlutter goes through the COM
pany OF women and girls inside. The
sight OF man at their meeting house is
exceedingly unusual, for this is their
sanctam sanctorum. 1t is their euuiya-
lent for our ladies' club or sewing society.
At present we lind them engaged in
spinning coir fiber into yarn The head
woman, buXom, good-looaing dame,
comes forward TO meet US, and kindly
explains the workings Of the institution
under her charge. AT 4. NJ, she informs
us, the women repair to the coir beating
grounds which lie at the back of the
town. Here the husks Of the cocoanut
are soaked III water pits and then
pounded on limestones slabs into coir
fiber.
At $50 or A. NJ, sufficient fiber hav-
ing been beaten out for a days work, the
women gather up the product of their
mornings labor and return home to
break fast. Their meal finished, all save
a few upper class women proceed to the
meeting house, where they work UP the
raw material into mark etable ropes and
yarns. Their work is sometimes varied
by drawing and carrying water and vari-
Gus other duties, as need may arise or
occasion require.
About 3 o'clock the local fishing boats
return and the women then swarm to the
shore to procure their share of the days