232 



THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 



Masai is the extraction of the two front teeth from 

 the lower jaw. It is said that this habit originated 

 at a time when lockjaw was very prevalent amono- 

 the tribe, and it was found that if these teeth 

 were pulled out food could still be taken. This 



e xplanation 

 seems scarcely 

 sa tisfactory 

 or sufficient, 

 and I give it 

 only for what 

 it is worth : but 

 whatever the 

 reason for the 

 custom, the ab- 

 sence of these 

 two teeth con- 

 stitutes a most 

 distinct ive 

 i de nt i f ying 

 mark. I re- 

 member once 

 being out with 



a Masai one day when we came across the bleached 

 skull of a long defunct member of his tribe, of course 

 easily recognisable as such by the absence of the 

 proper teeth. The Masai at once plucked a hand- 

 ful of grass, spat upon it, and then placed it very 



MASAI WOMAN 



