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hindu toileting procedures
Hi.I am a student doing research into the toileting procedures of Hindus.I have only found that the left hand is used.I need to know is toilet paper/tissue not used,and any other relevant information.Thank you for all your answers and I apologise for my ignorance.
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Flushing the sinuses with warm water, for example, and swallowing yards of muslin cloth soaked in lightly salted warm water, to cleanse out the stomach....Don't know if that helps.
It doesn't have to be warm, but it does have to be salted.
peirck,
The left hand wipes and the right hand holds the lota behind the bum and pours the water. It's very clean. Anything else?
It is, also, clumsy and messy for the unpractised!
:eekblue: Did you make that one up.
Somebody is pulling our collective leg with this thread.
You learn very fast. Were you a toilet paper expert from the getgo?
Little Johnny asked Sally.
Yep - that is absolutely true! A Neti pot can be used for cleaning the sinuses.
Of course, the first duty of the day (at least in this village) is for the inhabitants to take a dump. While squatting, the pigs of Goa stand back licking their chops while they watch the shinny feces come out. Yes, it is breakfast time, too, for our sentient friends, the pigs.
When, say, Mr. Sukadeva is done, a pig will come over to him and actually lick him clean so he doesn't have to wipe himself with his left hand. Then the pig proceeds to chow down on the remains.
One day, my friend said he happened to be a little constipated. He had to squat for a while waiting for mother nature to do her work. Well, this particular pig finally lost patience. He came over to my friend and rooted his sphincter as if to say, "Hey, where is the crap man—I'm hungry? My friend said the pig almost knocked him over. But finally, the pig got his breakfast.
I thought it was a cultural thing as oppossed to religious. When in south India they all ate with the right hand and wiped with the left - apparently regardless of religion.
Same in the Gulf and throughout Arabia. Also same dislike of showing the soles of one's feet when sitting.
It's used as like Uber Roughage(sp?). It's supposed to remove any gunk in your intestines - and a couple of organs along the way.
-bf
we most indonesians are used to this cleaning style(barehanded cleaning),even most of us feel uneasy after using toilet paper without water,so i soak the paper with a little water before the action.and most of indonesians are more used to squatted style than seated toilet.
i think it's just the matter of culture and habit
I think all in all that didn't stray too far off 'decent'....?!
What happens when you get the flu and you're in this "squatting" position? It's lucky one doesn't blow out their O-Ring.
Plus, I'd rather just wash my hands after a "sit down" rather than have to wash my pantlegs, shoes, socks and ankles - hell!, just have to shower - after a "squat down".
-bf
I heard the same thing, Fede, that the squatting position is a more natural position in which to evacuate and produces better results all around. I've been told that the western style is not nearly as efficient a position.
-bf
:eekblue:
That's exactly what I was thinking! Give me a proper western style sitting down lav any day !
IMHO if you want to relax,stay for a long time the 'sit down' is what i suggest, but if you want to get the business done ASAP the 'squatting' position is the choice cause you cant squat long enough unless you have a pair of steel legs.
my choice?i use the western style,cause i like to relax and yes i have a shower after the business
I prefer to squat in ALL public bathrooms...they gross me out completely!
Are we a close bunch, or what??
"TOO MUCH INFORMATION!!!!!!" recently...
-bf
The tricky part is remembering to pull your trousers down only to just above your knees. That way, you don't risk hitting them with anything. (Pro tip: pull your underwear over the top of your trousers after you pull them down to prevent things from falling out of your pockets.)
Just when you think you've heard it all....
Anyway, the reason some people in India don't use paper for the purpose is because paper is considered sacred... a tool for education and storage of wisdom. And I think the left hand is used because the right hand is used for food.... and you don't want to mix the two up.
I found Malaysia pretty weird in this aspect. They have hoses in each cubicle. I just can't see a way that can be done neatly.
They're particularly useful for soaking your smalls overnight, particularly if you're a college student in digs, and the communal washing machine always packs up.
Or, as a hotel tourist, you can rinse your swimming stuff in there while you go down to dinner....
Good for washing feet, if you've had a good walk.
Oh, and some people who confine "Just having a quick wash" to the bathroom basin, end up mixing 'top' bacteria with 'nether region' bacteria.
not a nice thought....
So, in the basin, you wash down as far as possible, then you wash up as far as possible... then to the bidet, to wash 'possible'.
Simple really.
The paper is just used for drying, so it wouldn't tear.