rural areas a non-Nair could be beaten for daring to wear a cloth hanging low to the ground. Wealthy Nairs might use silk for this purpose, and they also would cover their upper body with a piece of laced muslin; the remainder of the community used once to wear a material manufactured in Eraniyal but by the time of Panikkar's writing were generally using cotton cloth imported from Lancashire, England, and wore nothing above the waist. Nair men eschewed turbans or other head coverings, but would carry an umbrella against the sun's rays. They also eschewed footwear, although some of the wealthy would wear elaborate sandals. The historical dress of the Nair woman was the mundu, as well as a cloth that covered the upper body. The mundum neryathum, a garment that roughly resembles the sari, had later become the traditional dress of the Nair women. The dress consisted of a cloth tied around the waist as well as a cloth covering the breast, and worn without a blouse. The mundum neryathum had become the essence for the set sari, which is considered to be Kerala's specific regional wear. Sonja Thomas describes how this is an example of how “primacy was given to upper caste cultural norms”. The Nair women would also wear onera (onnara), a loincloth worn as an undergarment by more conservative women. The undergarment was noted as beautifying and slimming the waist. Religion and ritual The primary deity of the Nairs is Bhagavati, who is the patron goddess of war and fertility. Central to all aspects of Nair life and revered as a kind and ferocious virgin mother, Bhagavati identifies with both Sanskritic and regional based aspects of worship. The goddess was worshipped in the temples of the royal Nair matrilineages and also the village Nair matrilineages. The idol would either be placed in the western side of the house or be placed in a room with other deities. The kalaris would also have an area for the worship of Kali, the warlike manifestation of Bhagavati. Serpent deities known as Nāga were revered by the Nairs, and these deities would be placed in a grove in the family property. The groves would portray a miniature forest made to resemble Patala, and could feature various types of idols. Naga worship was significant to the entire tharavad since, as Gough says, they "... could inflict or avert sickness in