San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-12
CARVE THEIR FACES.
South Sea Inhabitants Disfgure Them.
selves for Personal Adjournment.

SAhNC 1r1Cih FNSCSs
South Sea Inhabitants Disfgure Them
selves for Personal Adjournment.
Tattooing must be counted among the
mos. remarkable customs arising from
the instinct of personal adjournment.
Msj. Gen. Robley has devoted good
sized volume to the practice as pertain
ing l.. the New Zealanders. The Maori
tattooing, known to them as "moko,"
is find of face carving. The process
is very painful and the patient is gen.
orally i'll for some time, suffering ter
ribly from fever and swelling in the
wounds, but he is consoled in the midst
of his worst agony by rejecting upon
the probable effect of the new adorn-
ment in terrorizing his enemies and
fascinating the fair sex. During his
retirement his relatives and friends
come in large parties to see him and
chant verses set aside for such occa-
sions, praising the beauty that will be
his when the moko is complete.
This custom seems to have insinu-
ated itself into the songs of the people
to large extent. The following verse
is taken from Sir George Gray's collec.
ton of Maori legends. The brother of
the celebrated TIE Henhen laments his
death in these words:
Turn yet this once thy bold athletic frame,
And let me see thy skin carved DER with
lines
OF blue; and let me see thy face,
So beautifully chiseled into various forms.
In addition to the moko on their face,
the New Zealanders have their thighs
stained entirely black, with the excep-
ton of a few narrow lines. This, &C
cording to Capt. Cook, gave them the
appearance otwearing striped breeches.
The women are tattooed only about
the mouth and chin, and sometimes
across the lips, which the Maori stand
ard of beauty demands shall be very
full and painted blue.
The instrument used by the moko
artist is very much like small chisel
about a quarter of an inch in width
The blade was driven into the flesh
by means of q sharp tap with little
mallet. 1t often penetrated quite
| IuIOuRn Ib0 C<uCSh, ~ Ondb SluOhC 1lOh
a pipe would issue forth. Flax dipped
in pigment was applied to the missions,
and the work was finished and left to
heal without medical or any other at
| tention.
This Maori tattooing gave rise to the
remarkable traffic in dried heads that
became such a scandal that it was
stopped by legislation in 1881.
Mokomokai is the name given by
New Zealanders to dried heads. When
a man dies his head Is cut off and dried;
it is highly priced as a memento by
his friends. In timo collectors came
to offer tempting prices for the heads,
valuing the specimens according to the
moko upon them. This created such
demand, it is said, many a battle and
predatory expedition have been under
taken expressly to obtain choice tat
tooed heads. Finally it became a very
dangerous thing for Q man to be the
proud possessor of a well-done moko.
Only the great chiefs were exempt
from the momentary risk of death, and
even they often fell victims to a COM
bination of private grudge and cupidity.
Mai. Gen. Robley tells of a certain
captain who wished to purchase a
head. The chief and number of his
people came on board the vessel to bar.
gain. The specimens that were ex-
hibited did not meet with the cap
tain's approval. The chief admitted that
the moko was not very choice; but,
pointing to his men, he told the pur-
chaser to pick out any one that suited
him and when the vessel returned the
head he chose should be dried and ready
for him.
The origin of the fashion of wear
ing patches has been attributed to the
following circumstance: Once upon a
time the wives of the Scythian officers
became jealous of the beautiful Thra-
clan captives their husbands had
brought from the wars. So, when the
lords and masters were away, the angry
danes caused designs of sun, moon and
stars to be pricked on the faces of the
Thracian women, hoping to make them
hideous. But, contrary to expectation,
when the Scythians returned they
greatly admired the dark blue tracery,
which set off the delicacy of the rest
Of the skin to such advantage that they
compelled their wives to adopt the
fashion.-Chicago Tribune,