Part
2 - Chapter 4
ON
PRESSING, OR MARKING, OR SCRATCHING WITH THE
NAILS
WHEN
love becomes intense, pressing with the
nails or scratching the body with them is
practised, and it is done on the following
occasions: on the first visit; at the time
of setting out on a journey; on the return
from a journey; at the time when an angry
lover is reconciled; and lastly when the
woman is intoxicated.
But
pressing with the nails is not a usual thing
except with those who are intensely
passionate, i.e. full of passion. It is
employed, together with biting, by those to
whom the practice is agreeable.
Pressing
with the nails is of the eight following
kinds, according to the forms of the marks
which are produced:
The
places that are to be pressed with the nails
are as follows: the arm pit, the throat, the
breasts, the lips, the jaghana, or middle
parts of the body, and the thighs. But
Suvarnanabha is of opinion that when the
impetuosity of passion is excessive, the
places need not be considered.
The
qualities of good nails are that they should
be bright, well set, clean, entire, convex,
soft, and glossy in appearance. Nails are of
three kinds according to their size:
Small
Middling
Large
Large
nails, which give grace to the hands, and
attract the hearts of women from their
appearance, are possessed by the Bengalees.
Small
nails, which can be used in various ways,
and are to be applied only with the object
of giving pleasure, are possessed by the
people of the southern districts.
Middling
nails, which contain the properties of both
the above kinds, belong to the people of the
Maharashtra.
When
a person presses the chin, the breasts, the
lower lip, or the jaghana of another so
softly that no scratch or mark is left, but
only the hair on the body becomes erect from
the touch of the nails, and the nails
themselves make a sound, it is called a
`sounding or pressing with the nails'.
This
pressing is used in the case of a young girl
when her lover shampoos her, scratches her
head, and wants to trouble or frighten her.
The
curved mark with the nails, which is
impressed on the neck and the breasts, is
called the `half moon'.
When
the half moons are impressed opposite to
each other, it is called a `circle'. This
mark with the nails is generally made on the
navel, the small cavities about the
buttocks, and on the joints of the thigh.
A
mark in the form of a small line, and which
can be made on any part of the body, is
called a `line'.
This
same line, when it is curved, and made on
the breast, is called a `tiger's nail'.
When
a curved mark is made on the breast by means
of the five nails, it is called a `peacock's
foot'. This mark is made with the object of
being praised, for it requires a great deal
of skill to make it properly.
Main
Menu