Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 152

VLSHNAVITE DEVOTEES 112 followers of Vishnu wear the emblem called namam, which they paint on their foreheads. It consists of three lines, one perpendicular and two oblique, meeting at the base, and thus forming a sign which resembles a trident. The centre line is red, the two outer lines are white and are painted on with a sort of clay called namam hence the name given to this emblem. The distinctive sign of the Sivaites is, generally speaking, the lingam. They sometimes wear it fastened to the hair or round the arm, enclosed but more often they hang it round in a little silver