MASAI, TUEKANA, StJK, NANDI, ETC. 



808 



almost Caucasian in shape, with a well-developed bridge and finely cut nostrils. 

 The chin is well formed, and the cheek-bones are not ordinarily as bulging 

 as in the Nilotic Negro. The lips are sometimes prominent and much 

 everted. The front teeth in the upper jaw are long, and are occasionally 

 separated one from the other by a small space. The gum is often visible 

 when the lips open, and the front teeth stick out. The mouth, in fact, is 

 the least pleasant feature in the face of a Masai, the rest of whose face is 

 sometimes modelled on quite a Caucasian plan. Almost all the men and 



i^l 



443. A irASAI WAKBIOK (NAIVASHa) 



most of the women knock out the two lower incisor teeth. -Mr. Sidney Hinde 

 states that the reason given by the Masai for this practice is that tetanus- 

 was once a scourge amongst them, and that it was found to be a com- 

 paratively simple matter to feed a man suffering from lockjaw if food 

 could be introduced through the gap caused by taking out two of his 

 lower incisor teeth. It may be this explanation has been invented recently 

 to explain a very ancient custom inherited by the Masai from the Nilotic 

 stock which was their origin ; for amongst these people the removal of the 

 lower incisor teeth is a very common practice. All the hair of the face 

 and body is plucked out in both sexes by means of iron tweezers, so that 



