anklet

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Anklet and toe ring

A toe ring with attached anklet

An anklet (in Arabic: خلخال), ankle chain, or ankle bracelet is an ornament worn around the ankle. Barefoot anklets and toe rings historically have been worn for centuries by girls and women in Egypt and Arab world especially in Bedouin and countryside and married women in India, though in the United States both casual and more formal anklets became fashionable in the late twentieth century. While in western popular culture both younger men and women may wear casual leather anklets, they are popular among barefoot women. Formal anklets (silver, gold, beads) are common women's fashion jewelry.^{[citation needed]} Anklets are an important jewellery in Indian marriages worn along with saris.

Much more rarely, the ankle chains are joined by a stretch of chain to limit the step. This practice was once more prevalent in the Middle East, where the effect was to give a 'feminine' short tripping step. Today a few western women follow this practice, but rarely in public. A very few people even have 'permanent', e.g. soldered-on, ankle chains, and more rarely still, so is the connecting chain.

History

Bronze anklets are visible as early as the Bronze Age in temperate Europe, in an area roughly along the Danube, in the Alpine foreland, up the Rhine to the Atlantic, and also down the Rhône (Sherratt, 2001). These were found among hoards in these areas, along with other bronze items characteristic of this time (c. 1800 BCE onwards), and are attributable to the Tumulus culture that spread across this region.

A first-century CE epic of Tamil literature called Cilappatikaram ("The story of the anklet") dealt with a woman whose husband was killed while trying to sell one of her anklets to a dishonest goldsmith. The anklets are described in great detail in the poem.

As an ornament

Anklets can be made of silver, gold, and other less precious metals as well as leather, plastic, nylon and other such materials. In the western world anklets or ankle chains are mainly worn by younger females, but some older women also wear them.

Metal anklets are of two types - flexible and inflexible. The flexible ones, often called paayal, pajeb or jhanjhar in India, are made by tying links in a chain. Subsequently, sonorous bells can be attached to the chain, so that the wearer can make pleasing sounds while walking. Inflexible ones are usually created by giving shape to a flat metal sheet.

Ghunghru

Ghunghru are small bells that Kathak and Bharatnatyam dancers tie around their ankles.

Left or right?

In India, anklets are worn on both ankles. However, outside India most anklets seem to be worn on the right ankle. Perhaps this is due to more people being right-handed. Although in eastern cultures, anklets are worn on both ankles. Either ankle may indicate a "hotwife" or cuckold's wife, though this is not universal by any means.^[1]

In scuba diving

Scuba divers sometimes wear lead anklets to stop a tendency for their legs to float up when diving in a drysuit.^[2]

See also

• Barefoot sandal
• Toe ring

References

1. ^ http://cuckoldcouple.wordpress.com/the-cuckold-phenomena/
2. ^ http://www.renepotvin.com/equipment.htm