396 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



swollen. A saucer-shaped ornament, with a groove 

 in its rim, is then put into the ear, exactly as a stud is 

 put into a gentleman's shirt-bosom. It is generally 

 made of gold, and the central part consists of a veiy 

 fine open work, so that it is very light, yet the open- 

 ing in the ear continues to increase until it is fi^e- 

 quently an inch and a half in diameter, and almost 

 large enough for the wearer to pass one of her hands 

 through. The front part of the loop is then only at- 

 tached to the head by a round bundle of muscles, 

 smaller than a pipe - stem, and the individual is 

 obliged to lay aside her ornaments or have the 

 lower part of her ears changed into long, dangling 

 strings. While these ornaments (for it is not proper 

 to call such a saucer-shaped article a ring) can be 

 worn in the ear, the appearance of the native women, 

 as seen in the cut, is like that of the other Malay 

 women ; but as soon as these ornaments are taken 

 out, and the lobes of their ears are seen to be nothing 

 but long loops, their appearance then becomes very 

 repulsive. The men are never guilty of this loath- 

 some practice. A similar habit of distending the 

 lobe of the ear prevails in Borneo, among the Dyak 

 women. It is also seen in all the Chinese and Jap- 

 anese images of Buddha. The native women of 

 India are accustomed to wear several small rings, 

 not only all round in the edge of the ear, but in the 

 nostrils. A large number of rings are shown in the 

 ear of the cut of a Dyak or head-hunter of Borneo. 

 Even in the most civilized lands this same barbaric 

 idea — that a lady is made more prepossessing by 



