E. Ind. [Pers. kustī, girdle, cincture; Gujarātī kusti, kasti.] A woollen cord worn round the waist by Parsees, consisting of seventy-two threads to represent the chapters of the Yaśna, a portion of the Zend-Avesta.
1860. J. Gardner, Faiths World, II. 620/1. The kusti is a thin woollen cord.
1885. Encycl. Brit., XVIII. 325/1. A long coat or gown is worn over the sadara … fastened round the waist with the kustî or sacred cord, which is carried round three times, and fastened in front with a double knot. Ibid. This cincture is a cord woven by women of the priestly class only…. The ceremony of the kustî or encircling of the girdle.
