NATIVE ORNA^IENTS. 217 



canine teeth alone are used in making- one of the 

 last description, the number of dogs required to 

 complete a single necklace must be considerable. 

 A round thin, concave piece of shell [Melo JSthio- 

 pica), with a central black portion, is often worn 

 suspended by a string round the neck, and similar 

 ornaments, but much smaller, are attached to the 

 hips and elbows. The long nose-stick of shell is 

 only occasionally worn, although every one, of either 

 sex, has the septum of the nose pierced for its recep- 

 tion, — ^an operation most likely performed during 

 infancy, as I once saw that it had been done to a 

 child about a year old. 



Nearly all the men carried in their hair a comb 

 projecting in front or on one side. This article is 

 usually made of wood, but occasionally of tortoise- 

 shell, a foot in length, thin, flat, and narrow, with 

 about six very long, slightly diverging, needle- 

 shaped teeth, but it admits of much variety of size 

 and shape, and frequently has various ornaments 

 attached to it. The spatula used by betel chewers 

 to introduce the lime to the mouth, although often 

 made of tortoise-shell and resembling that figured 

 on a preceding page, is more commonly made of 

 cocoa-nut wood, with a massive handle, deeply 

 divided by a slit, and when struck upon the knee it - 

 is made to produce a loud chcking noise like that of 

 castanets. 



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