Churki/kuDumi

[GANESANS at cl.uh.edu]

RE: CHURKI

   Is churki/juu.Du attested in Vedas or post-Vedic literature?
cuuTu is to wear, in Tamil. cuuTu and juuDa look pretty close.

kuDumi means mountain top, and also churki in Tamil. Sangam Tamil poems
show warriors wearing kuDumi. Could this be a custom adapted by
Brahmins from Dravidians and later on, came to
be associated with Brahmanical culture?

Did Jains always shave off their head? When Tiruvalluvar says,
"mazhiththalum, nITTalum vENDaa" he seems to refer to the complete shaving 
off by Jain monks and kuDumis of Samnyasis.

By the way, the chinese tale of tying down the churki to a nail in
the ceiling, during a long night of study for examinations is very current
in Tamil Nadu. I heard it 30 years ago in my village. I did not know 
it has a chinese parellel.

Like the Nambudiris, the ChOziya Brahmins were also having kuDumi
in the front (munkuDumi). Periyavaachchaan PiLLai, Vyakhyana Charavarti
in Srivaishnavism is a ChOziya Brahmin, if my memory is right.
There is a proverb "chOziyan kuDumi summa aaDaathu" - "The kuDumi of
the Brahmin from Chola country does not swing without a reason".
There is a nice story behind this proverb. If I find out, I will post.

N. Ganesan