The Nostril Piercing has a long history. Around 1500 BC, the Vedas refer to Lakshmi's nose piercings, but modern practice in India is believed to have spread from the Middle Eastern nomadic tribes by route of the Mughal emperors in the 16th century. It remains customary for Indian Hindu women of childbearing age to wear a nose stud, usually in the left nostril, due to the nostril's association with the female reproductive organs in Ayurvedic medicine. This piercing is sometimes done the night before the woman marries. In Genesis 24:22, Abraham's servant gave Rebecca a nose ring. The Nostril Piercing has been practiced by the Bedouin tribes of the Middle East and the Berber and Beja peoples of Africa, as well as Australian Aborigines. Many Native American and Alaskan tribes wore Nostril Piercings. It was popular among the Aztecs, the Mayans and the tribes of New Guinea, who adorned their pierced nostrils to symbolize wealth. The name of the Nez Perce tribe was derived from the practice, though nose piercing was not common within the tribe.