Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-15
VII.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

Keeping in style in Manoboland is
inexpensive, but painful.
Various mutilations OF the body are
the first essentials in meeting the primi-
tive ideal of beauty. First, as related
by Garvan, is the grinding and dyeing
submit to this operation when about IA
years old.
IA piece of wood" the report states,
sis inserted between the teeth to keep
them apart. The operator, usually the
father, then inserts a small fiat piece
of sandstone, such as Is used for
sharpening bolos, into the mouth and
with a moderate motion grinds the
upper and lower incisors to the gums
It is only the difficulty Of reaching the
nlolars that saves them. In all, 10
front teeth disappear and portions Of
four others. After filing, the teeth of
the lower jaw appear concave and
those of the upper convex. The mini
mum time necessary to grind the teeth
is from three to six hours, spread over
a period varying from three to 10 days.
The patient displays more or less
evidence of pain, according to his
powers OF endurance, but is continually
exhorted to be patient so that his
Is the objection universally asserted to
white, sharp teeth. After each grind
ing the subject experiences sensitive
ness in the gums and cannot masticate
hard food. When this is no longer felt,
usually the next day, the grinding is
resumed.
BIackened With Mau-Mau.
"Blackening. of the teeth Is effected
principally by the use of plant called
mau-mau. After being chewed it Is
rubbed across the teeth. The juice Of
the skin is expressed into a quid Of
tobacco mixed with lime and pot black,
the whole forming the inseparable
companion of the Manobo man, woman
and even child. It is compound about
the size Of a small marble and is car
ried, until it loses its strength, between
the upper lip and the lower gum, but
projecting forward between the lips.
The compound is used primarily for the
stimulating effects it produces, the
pot-black being added so as to blacken
the lip and so improve the personal
appearance Of the user. The quid IRE
quently is carried behind the ear when
circumstances require the use of the
mouth for other purposes.
"a beardless face is considered a
thing of beauty, so that q systematic
and constant eradication Of the face
HALL - CdIIACu OAA ALUM bAC AaAG4AACAAS
1t begins to appear. For this purpose
the Manobo often has a pair of
tweezers, ordinarily made out Of beaten
brass wire; small knife is frequently
employed as razor, not only for the
chin and upper lip but for the eye
brows. Hair on the eyebrows is con-
sidered very ungraceflIl Both sexes
shave them. leaving only a pencil line,
or not even a trace of hair.
"Tattooing is merely for the purpose
Of ornamentation. b. a few 1 was
given to understand lat under the
Spanish regime, when killing and
capturing was rife, it was for the pur-
pose of identifying captive. 1t was
customary to change the name of a
captive and, as he was sold and re-
sold, the only way to identify him was
by his tattoo marks.
1.-THE operator is nearly always a
woman. A pigment is prepared by hold
ing a plate over a burning resin torch
until enough SCOT has been collected.
Then, without any previous drawing, the
operator punctures, to a depth of about
two millimeters, the part of the body
to be tattooed. The blood that flows
from these punctures is wiped on,