Two sitting women

Outside on the street or near a house sit two women. On the left, a thin woman crouches on a stone curb. Around her drawn-up knees hangs a wrap skirt (redda). Around her upper body she wears a wide loose shoulder cloth. Below we see her bare shoulder, neck, and bent left arm. The woman wears a cloth on her head, from behind which a bun of hair protrudes (condé). On the right, a woman sits on a long block of stone, with bent knees. Her only garment is a foot-long wrap skirt (redda). Her upper body with full breasts is uncovered. Perhaps she is a wet nurse (min). The origin of both women is unclear: possibly Eurasian, Ceylonese of low caste, or Tamil from Jaffna. Page 113 from a sketchbook with 117 pages.