Wichita eagle., 1888-07-13
HAIR OF SAVAGES

HOW RI IS KEPT WITHIN BOUNDS
BY THE PROPRIETORS.
t1oifures Of the American Indians-Ethi-
Astasics-Head Dressing Of the South Sea
IsIander.-New Zealanders.
Why should savages care for their hairi
The question is not easily answered, for sav-
ages, apparently, care for 50 httle-accordlng
to our notions-in the way OF personal ap-
pearance that regard for their locks would
seem to be the last matter to which they
would give attention But, nevertheless,
there is reason to believe that savages have
much more concern for their locks than we
are apt to believe; and, indeed, no pages OF
travellers books are moro interesting than
those which give accounts OF the manners
and dress of the barbarous races; for, by
means of the hints impaired by travellers
notes, we arc able to gather that vanity Is al
prevalent among savags a. among the civil
lied. and fashion as imperious IN her man
dates.
Among the American Indians great atten-
ton has always been paid to the hair, and
well it deserves it, for although coarse,
harsh and straight, the hair OF the American
Indian is Of deep lustrous black, and when
properly arranged is capable OF making
very beautiful coiffure. The works on Amer
lean antiquities give great number OF
styles of hair dressing in vogue among the
Indians. Among tho Shawnees the faTor1te
style was to closely clip the sides OF the head
in front, above and behind the ears, and allow
straight ridge of hair to grow from the
forehead to the nape Of the neck, adorning
this with feathers, and sometimes plating
the top into long cue behind The Indians
of the North Atlantic coast had habit OF
clipping the entire head, with the exception
of a scalp lock just at the top, though not
infrequently the savage beau, instead OF
clipping, would permanently destroy the
growth Of hair on all portions of the head,
except the apex of the Uranium, by pulling
out the hairs by the roots and rubbing ashes
or some other strong alkah on the skin to
destroy the growth The Indians of the
Pacific coast frequently clip off or pull out
the hair on the top and back of the head,
leaving lock over each ear, while in the
south it was practice among the Indians to
extirpate the hair on all portions of the head
save the back, and leave that for a scalp
iock In all cases, wherever the lock or locks
we're left, they were always adorned in the
highest style Of Indian art, sometimes with
feathers, occasionally with wampum or
beads, and not infrequently their size was
increased and their length extended by the
use of horse hair.
ErHIoPLANS AND ASIATIcS.
The Ethiopians have no hair, properly
speaking, but what answers them for hair is
really different from the hair Of the white
races. If hair from the head Of Caucasian
be examined through a microscope, it is
found to be hollow and composed of sections
or Joints somewhat resembling those Of q
cane, or In some cases like ladder with its
rounds. The hair Of an African is entirely
different in this respect, being solid and
round. this constituting the difference be-
tween wool and hair; but nevertheless, the
fact that his wool is solid appears only to en-
dear it to the African, who gives it all the
more attention, perhaps because he has SO
little Of it, and divides his scalp into patches,
gathering up the hair from each into cir
cular knot and tying it with string as care
fully as though it were treasure. In the
interior Of the Dark Continent the wool OF
the negroes is frequently long, though never
straight, but so difficult is the task of disen-
/ tangling their locks that not much attempt
at ornateness is made in the African head
dresses Livingstone says that when an
African chief makes his toilet, the most he
ever attempts in the way Of arranging
head dress is to comb his wool up into a
pyramidal shape, stick few feathers in it,
and hang one or more strings of beads along
the facade, 50 to speak, of this unique edifice.
The Asiatics have always been famous for
decorating their heads. The Mohammedans
of old shaved their heads, except a single
knot Of hair at the exact top OF the head,
which was left for a practical purpose, the
Mohammodan doctrine being that at the res
direction Of the dead the Ange Gabriel was
specially detailed to attend to the Mohamme-
dams, and he raised them by the top knot.
Accordingly, the top knot was left full and
strong, in order that the hold might not
break, a hole being left in the top of the cof-
fin in order to facilitate the angels work.
The Chinese method Of hair dressing is too
well known to need description, while in
India the styles are both numerous and d.
versified, many Of the tribes of the Punjaub
being distinguished from each other by their
methods of dressing their hair.
THE SOUTH SEA IsLANpERS.
According to Lubbock. Darwin and other
authorities, the head dressing Of the South
Sea Islanders is ornate in the last degree,
while not infrequently their styles of dress
ing their hair are SO ingeniously grotesque as
to create the impression that the arrange
ment was solely for the purpose Of exciting
laughter Sometimes most Of the hair on
the head Is clipped away, leaving a number
OF short, round tufts, as though the scalp
were planted with short paint brushes Oc-
casionally the hair is cut away from the
forehead and temples, leaving it at the top
and back of the head; sometimes the back Of
the head is shaved. leaving the hair on the
top and sides; but generally the entire growth
OF hair is left upon the head, and as the capil-
larry adornlnents of the New Zealandars are
very long and bushy the coiffure OF chief
generally assumes enormous proportions
One traveller mentions the fact OF seeing q
chief in New Zealand whose head dress was
over three feet in diameter and arranged In
long cones, the surface OF the scalp being di'
vided into great number Of small circles,
and the hair growing in eech twisted up and
SO curled as to form inverted cones, the point
being towards the scalp.
But not content with these extraordinary
appendages, the South Sea Islanders have g
practice Of dyeing their hair and in the most
extraordinary colors The natural color oi
their hair is q jesty black, but they have 9
number of pigments the use of which Is vel