'sari' (Attn: H M Hubey)

[Narahari Rao]

At 13:14 08.01.1999 -0500, you wrote:

>... Due to the influence of smrti-writers (Manu
>et al) ...
>- The full-body wrapping worn in rural areas where Manu's laws are still
>followed, ...

What is the nature of evidence for this kind of assertions? Is it a
conjecture or are there some kind of empirical work done on these sorts of
questions? How could one investigate whether Manu's rules are followed in a
milieu where people haven't heard of such texts? There may be some way of
showing that Smriti texts are followed in a milieu where they are not known.
But I am curious about the method.