328 



FASHION IN DEFORMITY 



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away a large triangular piece from the lower and inner edge 

 of each of the central incisors, so that a gap is produced in 

 the middle of the row in front (Fig. 18, 1). Another fashion 

 is to shape all the incisors into sharp points by chipping off 

 the corners, giving a very formidable crocodilian appearance 

 to the jaws (2); and another is to file out either a single 

 or a double notcli in the cutting edge of each tooth, producing 

 a serrated border to the whole series (3). 



The Malays, however, excel the Africans both in the 

 universality and in the fantastic variety of their supposed 



FIG. 18. Upper front teeth altered according to fashion. 

 1, 2, 3, African ; 4, 5, 6, Malay. 



improvements upon nature. While the natural whiteness 

 of the surface of these organs is always admired by us, and 

 by most people, the Malays take the greatest pains to stain 

 their teeth black, which they consider greatly adds to their 

 beauty. "White teeth are looked upon with perfect disgust 

 by the Dayaks of the neighbourhood of Sarawak. In addition 

 to staining the teeth, filing the surface in some way or other 

 is almost always resorted to. The nearly universal custom in 

 Java is to remove the enamel from the front surface of the 

 incisors, and often the canine teeth, hollowing out the surface, 

 sometimes so deeply as to penetrate the pulp cavity (Fig. 18, 

 4). The cutting edges are also worn down to a level line 

 with pumice-stone. Another and less common, though more 



