New Britain herald., 1929-06-22
HAIRY ANU CARE
 LITTLE f0R DIRT
x.a Sddon Blthl Eonn Uss Filthy Cookil6 Utssik

W43a168t0n. D. C.s Suus ss. Hekhaido, the original home of the 'bsarded lady," ngursd in the news recsutiy IT the scens of great and destructive forest fires. Hokkatdo is . sort of frontier is- land-ths Japanese region which corresponds in . way with Amer ica's 'Wild Wet" of two geAera- tiens ago. The island lies just north of what is known ds the Japanese mainland. the island of Hondo.
 The bearded lady of Hokkaido is not really bearded" says . bull lstia from tho Washington. D. c. headquarters of the National Geo. graphic Society. but she sports on her upper lip . neatly tattooea mus tache that reaches almost to her ears- This practice is not in effect among the Japanese women of Hok- kaido. It is the habit of the native Ainu women to pay | delicate com pliment to their husbands. The Ainu men do not shave nor cut their hair after . certain age. and all the grown males look like ani- mated mops with full boards and bushy headA The women. who are little more than slaves. simulate this htrsute adornment with tattoo and let their hair grow to shoulder length in . fuzzy bob.
 People Who Never Take Bath
 ''The Ainu arc one of Japan's mysteries. Some anthropologists have called them aboriginal Jan- anese but their theories do not work out. Many of them have distinctly Aryan types of faces. It is thought that they may be . remnant of some neolithic people. They arc gentle. shy and only partly civilized people. who contrast sharply with their Japanese conquerors. The Japanese are rapidly developing Hokkaido and the Ainus are now greatly outnumbered.
 Most Japanese bathe daily but the Ainu does not consider himself very dirty if he goes for two months without washing his face. Many of them have never bathed. The Ainu housewife cannot be bothered wash ing her cooking utensils, and her house reeks with tho smell of an cient fish. All the perfumes of Ar aby could not make attractive to the Western nose the home of an ordinary Ainu family.
 Afustacho Lifters and Wooden
 Spoons
 ''The long boards of the Ainu men have necessitdted the invention of . mustache filter when they eat. They also use chopsticks but tho women eat with wooden spoons. There are no dining room tables nor chairs, 70 everyone sits on the floor, which has been covered with . double mat.
 The favorite viand on the menu is meat. whenever it Is procurable. Bear meat h preferred but tho Ainu will eat anything available fox. wolf. badger, OK or horse. Vegetables. millet. boiled or roast fish, and herts and roots. complstr tno Dlll.oI-tAre.
 "The stove is . fire set in the center of the room. There is a ltt- tie hole in the roof for the escape of the smoke but from the odor of . house during the preparation of . meal. very little of it escapes. The two small windows in the houses always face east or south. The east window is considered holy, and gifts to the gods arc placed by 1t.
 No Priests oe Ministers /
 "Althoush they have numerous gods. the Ainus have no stable re- ligion and no priests or ministers. When they feel religious. the village chief conducts the ceremonies. The bear is the most important god. He is the king of the forests and when . bear il killed for food. the pious natives usually follow the killing with ! biz funeral in his honor. The skull of the bear is placed on . palisade in the village and is rever- enced chiefly by . slow rubbing and raising of hands. Many of the Ainu gods are propitated with of- ferings of willow sticks whose bark has been whittled into clusters of shavings.
 There are only about 15,0OO Ainu left. Their chief diversion is drinking sake. the Japanese rice wine. This potent liquor they drink like water, for they assert that the