480 ABBOTT "COLLECTION FROM ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 



few, like the mangrove, the seeds of the Leguminosre creepers and of 

 the jack fruit, and others resembling Cashew nuts, are cooked. 



Their favorite fruits are those of Mimusops indica, the leaves of 

 which are used by the women for aprons; Baccaurea sapidc , of which 

 the seed, as well as the fruit, are eaten, and the rotten logs used for 

 fuel; Gluta longipetiolata, belonging to the Anacardiacesd,' Cycas 

 rumphii, the seeds of which are eaten; several kinds of Diospyros, and 

 the mangroves already referred to. 



All animal food is thoroughly cooked. Brains and marrow, and the 

 blood of turtles, which is boiled in the shell, are considered dainties. 

 All animal food is preferred almost boiling hot. The natives fre- 

 quently crack marrow bones with their teeth, which are usually sound 

 and strong. 



TATTOOING. 



With the exception of tattooing and painting the body, no artificial 

 deformity is met with. Mr. Man says that every woman is supposed 

 to be proficient in shaving, tattooing, and scarifying. Those who have 

 shown special skill in the art are the recognized practitioners. The 

 operation is not accompanied by any ceremony. Very few children 

 of either sex attain the age of eight years without having been partially 

 tattooed. The final operation is usually performed about the sixteenth 

 or eighteenth year. 



BODY PAINTLNO. 



Three kinds of pigment are used by the Andamanese for the adorn- 

 ment of their bodies: First, pale, olive-colored clay, called <><jda; 

 second, pure white clay, called tala-ogda; third, koiobda, or burnt 

 yellow ocher. The first is mixed with water and smeared over the 

 body, to denote mourning. After one has become heated by violent 

 exercise, as in dancing or hunting, a thin coating of ogda is also applied 

 to his body. The white clay is more highly prized than the olive- 

 colored, on account of its great rarity. It is mixed with water and 

 applied ornamentally, usually with the nail of the forefinger, in fine 

 tattoo-like patterns, to the cheeks, body, and limbs. It is the duty of 

 the women to adorn their relatives for festive occasions, and they vie 

 with each other in the neatness and variety of their designs. The 

 burnt ocher is mixed with melted fat, and occasionally with nut oil. 

 It is used to anoint the bodies of both the living and the dead, but not 

 upon a person in mourning. Unlike the designs made with white 

 clay, those made with ocher paint are applied with the finger tips in 

 rough zigzag stripes all over the body. 



TRIBES. 



The Andamanese are divided linguistically into at least nine tribes. 

 In South and Little Andaman each tribe is divided into the coast 



