Of Gestures and Postures - The Female Body Language

The presence of a chunni (head scarf) almost always keeps the female hands busy, adjusting, fidgeting, covering, wrapping, so much so that sometimes even the mouth gets involved in keeping it in place. Some of the older customs dictate the women to cover their faces in front of men who are not their husbands or sons. Besides, the extreme heat of the region calls for protective headgear. 

We don't see these mannerisms in the city anymore, mannerisms that are considered "rural" or "uneducated" but their connection with their bodies are far deeper than the average city dweller.

The sitting posture we see in the video is almost never seen in the cities. Some of the women are probably well into their 60s or 70s, although if you ask them they wouldn't know, they only have a vague idea of their age, or their date of birth. Working in the field all day leaves them with incredible knee and back strength and mobility, they prefer to sit close to the ground, chairs are saved mainly for guests and the khaats (traditionally woven beds) are for the men. 

Cooking, cutting, cleaning, eating, all tasks are done in this fully bent posture. A posture that is supposed to be good for digestion, knee and back health. A bodily wisdom we have lost to chairs. 

They don't like sitting on chairs, they say it makes their stomachs hurt and their feet swell. So traveling anywhere in a bus or a car becomes all the more inconvenient for them. For this reason a lot of the older women of the village have never been outside of the village. Their bodies don't adjust well to the mannerisms of the city. 

The women here, soft and feminine as they seem, are actually quite powerful, they can wield weapons, dance ecstatically, plow fields, herd cattle and sheep and yet, answering a question like what their names are makes them feel shy and giggly. Powerful bodies under a very feminine attire.