SOCIETY OP THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN. 45 



linear marks on the face and chest ; and, lastly, the present generation 

 who have clean faces, because the other boys on the mines laughed at 

 these disfigurements. In the first class the cicatrisation took the form 

 of a series of lumps about the size of two peas on the forehead and 

 down the cheeks. In the second form it is interesting to note that 

 certain of these scars have a definite significance. A mark drawn 

 from the external auditory meatus transversely across the cheek under 

 the eye as far as the nose is known as the Sinsanga, and indicates 

 that the man has killed another in a fight. If there is more than one 

 mark, it shows that he has killed more than one. A line down the 

 side of the cheek is known as the Bin Nanga. It is sometimes said 

 this is put on after the boy has been circumcised, but this is probably 

 not correct. Thirdly, there is an arrow-shaped mark on the right 

 side of the forehead known as Lembombo. It is characteristic of the 

 Mtyopis, but its significance is not known. 



The most noticeable feature amongst the Mtyopi women is the 

 extraordinary manner in which they mark their abdomens (Plate VII., 

 Fig. 7). By means of cicatrisation they raise a series of lumps, 

 varying in size from a walnut to a pea. These are arranged sym- 

 metrically in lines, the largest being in the centre. They extend from 

 between the breasts, over the whole surface of the abdomen, over the 

 pubes, and over the front and internal surface of the legs, reaching to 

 within five inches of the knee-joint, and there are also slighter mark- 

 ings arranged in curves on both buttocks. These markings are known 

 as Tindorba. They are commenced when the girls are about six years 

 of age, and are carried out with a great deal of ceremonial, the girls 

 dancing to music, in order that they may for the time being forget the 

 pain they are suffering. The ceremony takes part in a lonely part of 

 the bush, and no males are admitted. This proceeding is not alto- 

 gether devoid of danger, sepsis and even syphilis sometimes occurring. 

 Besides the Tindorba, the Mtyopi women have the Sinsanga, but the 

 meaning is different from what it was in the case of the male, and 

 indicates that she has aborted a male child. Shangaan and Myam- 

 baam women have lighter markings than the above. Cicatrisation 



