32 SEX-LORE 



She also has to show endurance of pain without 

 flinching. The two front teeth are sometimes 

 knocked out or filed as in the case of boys. She 

 is often tattooed ; sometimes cuts are made on the 

 body in order to produce raised scars in some pattern, 

 and these are considered a great addition to beauty 

 (see Figs. 19 and 20). In some tribes the girls are 

 severely whipped until they fall down from sheer 

 exhaustion. At intervals between the whippings the 

 girls are given nourishing food to strengthen them. 



When the period has ended, purification and 

 anointing of the body is performed. In some cases 

 the hair is cut off, completely or in parts. There 

 is also the custom of boring holes through the nose, 

 the ear lobes, and even the lips. This custom of 

 piercing the ears still persists among civilized people. 

 There are many women who are highly amused at 

 the nose and lip rings of the savages, and yet do not 

 realize that earrings are after all, a similar savage 

 survival. The belief which is still prevalent, that 

 the piercing of a child's ears affects its eyes, is thus 

 shown to be a mere superstition. 



Just as the boys, so the girls are instructed in all 

 the functions of life, even the most intimate. (This 

 might serve as an example for our civilized mothers, 

 who are generally so backward in this respect.) They 

 have, of course, also to show that they are capable 

 of fulfilling the duties which are expected of women 

 namely, the preparing of the various dishes and the 

 management of sundry household duties. In some 

 tribes they have to carry red-hot coals for some dis- 

 tance to harden the hands. Another test of efficiency 

 is for the girl to pick up something from the ground 



