The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-06-19
HlNDOo BARRIERS.
Perform Many other Duties Beside Shaw
ing and Hair-Cutting.


| ing and Hair-Cutting.
| The barber of India is man of much
| Importance. He has no shop and does
| not solicit customers by signs or SYM
bols; neither does he worry his custom
crs while shaving orscutting their hair
| with useless talk. The Hindoo barber
| is man of few words. His principle is,
silent tongue and strict attention to
| business. If the tourist in India observes
closely the stream of life, seen on the
streets, he will now and then notice
man of quiet de1neanor strolling along,
| near the bazaars, carrying a small bag
or rolled-up bundle under his arm,
apparently not very solicitous of the
attention of the passers-by. This is the
Hindoo barber. He does not, like his
Chinese compeer, ring bell or utter
any cry. Quietly he goes along more
like a philosopher than shaver of men.
But, despite the fact that he has no
shop and lacks pomp, he, however, holds
a distinguished position among his
countrymen.
The Hindoo barber visits certain fam
lilies regularly every morning early.
The servant announces his presence
and he comes in with salaam and
morning habit" You sit down COM
fortably out on the veranda. The Lar
Der unrolls his little bundle, displaying
two or three razors, a pair of scissors, a
small iron instrument to cut the nails,
a piece of leather for stropping and a
little brass cup, which he fills with cold
water-hot water is rarely used. He
carries no brush for lathering the face.
In the country towns he does not even
use soap. After stropping the razor he
vets your face and commences his shay
ing operations. A few light touches of
the razor, hardly felt, and the whole
thing is done in less time than it takes
to tell it. After shaving he rubs the
palm of his hand over your face two or
three minutes. In this manner he
polishes your face to such degree that
YOU are surprised when you look in the
glass; in fact, your own face would
make fairly good looking-glass for
some other person.
After cleaning your nails he rolls up
his bundle and departs with low sa-
laam. Not word has been uttered by
him during all this time. For his daily
services he receives 40 cents a month. |
A single shave is one cent, and the |
charge for hair cutting is from two to
four cents.
The barber is also the village sur
geon. He performs bleeding, cupping |
and sometimes undertakes surgical |
operations. 1t is he who bores the girls |
ears and noses for putting in rings.
Where there are no professional match
makers the barber acts as go-between
in marriages. No religious rite can be
performed without the presence of the |
family barber. At the birth of child |
the barber carries the good news to the
relatives of the family. He plays an
important part at wedding, it being
his duty to dress the groom. On the
occasion of funeral the barber shaves
the heads of the living and the dead.
So great is his power and influence in
religious ceremonies that a Hindoo
mourner is not considered clean until
he is touched by a barber. Though of
a very low caste, yet the Hindoo bar
ber's position brings him at times sec
ond only to the high-caste Brahmin.-
Enquirer.