academy o? 8C.ENCE8I PERSONAL ADORNMENT 55 



see a handsome Man6bo belle, decked out with beads and bells, or a dapper Man6bo dandy, 

 take the olla, and darken the lips. 



No religious or magic significance is attributed to any of the following mutilations, nor are 

 any religious or other celebrations performed in connection with them. 



MUTILATION OF THE TEETH " 



As the age of puberty approaches, both boys and girls have their teeth ground. The process 

 is very simple but extremely painful, so much so that the operation can not be completed at one 

 sitting. I think, however, that the painfulness of the process depends on the quality of the 

 stone used, for the Mandayas of the upper Karaga River claim that there is a species of stone 

 that does not cause much pain. 



A piece of wood is inserted between the teeth to keep them apart. The operator, usually 

 the father, then inserts a small flat 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 molars that saves them, as the writer was informed. In all, 

 10 front teeth disappear, and a portion of 4 others. After filing, the teeth of the upper jaw appear 

 convex and those of the lower, concave. 



I estimate the minim um time necessary to grind the teeth to be from 3 to 6 hours, spread over 

 a period varying from 3 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 mouth will not look like a dog's. This is the rea- 

 son universally asserted for their objection to white, sharp teeth: "They look like a dog's." 



After each grinding, the subject experiences sensitiveness in the gums and can not masticate 

 hard food. When this sensitiveness is no longer felt, usually the following day, the grinding is 

 resumed. 



Blackening of the teeth is effected principally by the use of a plant called mdu-mau which, 

 besides being used as a narcotic, has the property of giving the teeth a rather black appearance. 

 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 

 Man6bo man, woman, and even child. It is a compound about the size of a small marble and 

 is carried, until it loses its strength and flavor, between the upper lip and the upper gum, but 

 projecting forward between the lips. 



It is to be noted here that the primary object ki the use of this combination is not the dis- 

 coloration of the teeth. The compound is used mainly for the stimulating effects it produces, the 

 pot-black being added as an ingredient in order to blacken the lips and so improve the personal 

 appearance of the user of it. The quid is frequently carried behind the ear when circumstances 

 require the use of the mouth for other purposes. 



Another means that helps to stain the teeth is the constant use of betel nut and betel leaf 

 mixed with lime, and, in certain localities, with tobacco. 



MUTILATION OF THE EAR LOBES 



The practice of mutilating the ear lobes 12 is universal and is not confined to either sex. It 

 consists in piercing the ear lobes in one, two, or three places. This is done usually at an early 

 age, with a needle. A thread of ahakd fiber is then inserted and prevented from coming out by 

 putting a tiny pellet of beeswax at each end. As soon as the wound heals, the perforation is 

 enlarged in the case of a woman in the following manner : Small pieces of the rib of the rattan 

 leaf are inserted at intervals of a couple of days until the hole is opened enough to receive larger 

 pieces. When it has expanded sufficiently, a small spiral of grass, usually of pandanvs 13 is 

 inserted. This, by its natural tendency to expand, increases the size of the aperture until a 

 larger spiral can be inserted. 



>> Hdta-to-Hnto. >> Ti-iing. U Bi-ui (Bis&ya, fto-tt-oO. 



