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

VLSHNAVITE DEVOTEES
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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