X ORNAMENTS FOR THE EARS AND LIPS 127 



bored tlirough his ear "with an tuil " (Exoilus xxi. 6). 

 Ear-marking is a very old euRtom. 



Lip Oriiaineiits or Ijcihrcts. — Some African trilies, 

 espeeially those living in the Nile Valley, follow the 

 praetice of decorating the npper or the lower lip Ijy 

 piercing it and snhsecjuently dilating the liole nntil it 

 will accommodate a plug of wood in some instances as 

 large as that used l)y the Masai and Wa-lvikuyu for 

 their ears. Several African travellers have drawn 

 attention to this fashion, especially Schweinfurth in liis 



A native of the Jlakomle plateau with a 

 lahret and ear pings. (From Wefile's 

 Native Life in Enat Afrira. ) 



description of the Bongo and Mittoo women (1873) and 

 more recently by Weule, who observed it among the 

 tribes inhabiting the Makonde plateau and the sur- 

 rounding country. 



