232 Traditions of the Ainos. 



Observing the abundant growth of whiskers whicb her sons deve- 

 loped, while the daughters were entirely destitute of such desirable 

 adornments, she commanded all her girls to paint their mouths, 

 and thus simulate the appearance of their brothers. Tradition 

 is not consistent in this account however, for at least two 

 other equally reliable versions are given. One relates that, in 

 olden times, when the people were more generally engaged in 

 fishing, and at a time when the physical character of the country 

 was far different from what it is now, many men and women were 

 drowned, and as a ready means of identification, the custom of 

 tattooing the lips was gradually adopted. Another version tells 

 us that, before the Japanese began to settle in Yezo, they would 

 often visit the island and carry off the women. The Ainos did 

 not possess the means of successful physical resistance, and deter- 

 mined to resort to other methods. The women were therefore 

 tattooed, in hopes that their appearance would thereby be ren- 

 dered so repulsive as to deter the Japanese from their capture. 

 This version certainly is more in accord with facts relating to 

 the settlement of the island, and is doubtless to be accepted as 

 more nearly representing the origin of the custom than any other 

 given. 



The men were commanded to wear earrings and whiskers, 

 as is now generally the custom. The ekoro, or sacred sword, 

 appears to have been copied by the ancestral mother, and the 

 various copies, together with the original, handed down to 

 posterity as sacred heir-looms. So strong is the belief in this, that 

 it was found extremely difficult to obtain one. It is reported 

 that only a few are in existence. 



The complete isolation of the Aino family from other peoples, 

 necessitated the adoption of intermarriages, which, however, 

 with the increase of families, became abandoned for a somewhat 

 more rigid, though still loose, system, which recognized marriage 

 only between families of somewhat distant relationship, but per- 

 mitted concubinage. 



The Ainos believe their first settlement to have been at Saru on 

 the south-east coast, and there are certainly many evidences 

 which point to this as at least their chief, and possibly one of 

 their earliest, settlements. From there, they are supposed to have 

 spread in all directions, but chiefly southward into Honshiu, where 



