Chap. III. 



PELELE, OR LIP-RIN( 



83 



hanging all round the shoulders in large masses ; others 

 shave it off altogether. Many shave part of it into 

 ornamental figures, in which the fancy of the barber 

 crops out conspicuously. About as many dandies run to 

 seed among the blacks as among the whites. The Man- 



Pelele, or Lip-ring- of Manganja Woman. 



ganja adorn their bodies extravagantly, wearing rings 

 on their fingers and thumbs, besides throatlets, bracelets, 

 and anklets of brass, copper, or iron. But the most 

 wonderful of ornaments, if such it may be called, is the 

 pelele, or upper-lip ring of the women. The middle of 

 the upper lip of the girls is pierced close to the septum 



