94 TOILET OF THE LADIES. 



indigo, by which a blue colour is produced : a 

 yellow dye is produced by mixing the Goora nut 

 with a small shrub ; the four front teeth of the 

 upper and lower jaw are dyed, one of a blue, 

 the next its natural colour — white ; the next 

 purple, and the next yellow. The eyelids then 

 take up great attention : they are pencilled with 

 the sulphuret of antimony, which, contrasted 

 with their ebony countenances, and the conjunc- 

 tiva, or white of the eye, gives them an express- 

 ive appearance. Their hair (or wool) is an- 

 other important part : seven or eight attend- 

 ants are employed moistening the indigo for it. 

 The hair is plaited in perpendicular knots of 

 four or five inches long, and then bedaubed all 

 over with the moistened indigo ; after which the 

 hair resembles a helmet in appearance. Several 

 mornings in the week, they besmear themselves 

 all over, from head to foot, with a red pigment, 

 prepared from red wood brought from the Eboe 

 country : it is supposed to possess a tonic qua- 

 lity, and also to lighten the colour of the skin 

 and correct the fetor of perspiration. They are 

 clean in their persons, and perform their ablu- 

 tions twice a day in the river. The lobes of the 

 ears are bored very large, and studs are worn, 



