46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANATOMICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL 



consists in making a number of slits in the skin with a sharp knife and 

 rubbing into the wounds the juice of an irritant plant which prevents 

 it from healing, and causes it to assume the appearance of a raised 

 scar. 



As regards the second form of native marking the incision the 

 most noticeable feature among the East Coast natives is the slit in the 

 lobe of the ear seen among the Shangaan males. This mark is com- 

 mon to all races who are off-shoots of the Zulu race, e.<j., the Angonis 

 of British Central Africa. Formerly it was a distinctive mark, and 

 Gungunyna, if he found a native other than a Shangaan with these 

 slits, used to complete the operation by removing 'the offender's head. 

 Now, however, one finds numbers of Myambaams and Mtyopis with 

 slits in their ears ; so it has lost its value as a means of distinction. 



Teeth. Though the East Coast native does not file his teet h to 

 the same extent as some tribes, he practises the custom to some 

 degree. Many of the Mtyopis file their teeth into the shape of pegs. 

 It is suggested that this is a mark of ancient cannibalism, as they 

 would be better able to tear human flesh with their teeth filed. This 

 custom is less frequent among the Myambaams, and still rarer among 

 the Shangaans. Another plan is to file out the middle half of the 

 two upper central incisors, and to knock out the two lower central 

 incisors with an iron rod. The Masai extract the two lower central 

 incisors with a knife. This custom is supposed to date back to the 

 time when tetanus was a great scourge among the Masai, as it was 

 possible by this process to easily feed a mau suffering from lockjaw. 



Albinism. This condition is frequently met with among the Bantu 

 races. The albino is a truly repulsive object, as besides the unnatural 

 dull white colour of the skin there is often a considerable amount of 

 eczema. The wool of the head is of a dull yellow colour. The cause 

 of this condition is not known, and apparently heredity is not very 

 largely responsible for it. 



Native Medicine Men and their Drugs. As with most other South 

 African natives we find two kinds of native doctors : the man who 

 deals in witchcraft and the man who deals with drugs only. Probably 



