CLOTHING AXD ORNAMENÏ. 



61 



to disappear, I did not find more fully described in the literature at my command. It requires 

 a green bamboo 2 — -4 cm. thick, of which small, superficial, lengthwise strips, about 1 cm. 

 broad, are torn off, f. i. with the teeth, as I saw myself. The transverse section of such a 

 strip has the shape of a segment with very sharp corners, of which further advantage is now 

 taken. The ends of the strip are, with the green surface outside, bent towards each other and 

 whilst the left hand of the barber supports the skin, or at ail events prevents the folding, 

 the right hand scrapes with the bight of the strip in an oblique position over the skin. The 

 resuit appeared to me to be unimpeachable and if my own razor, occasionally used in 

 shaving round wounds, often roused the désire of the spectators squated round, this was 

 only because the work advanced more quickly in this way; — for the scraping move- 

 ments with the bamboo are only short and often another part of the bight, now and 

 then also a new strip, must be used. As the green round side slides over the skin, 

 which may be compared to the so-called basil, the bevel or slope of a common chisel, the 

 cutting of the skin does not occur; neither does this natural razor „scrape", — the mimics of the 

 boy who was operated upon (fig. 35) would hâve betrayed it. A submersion in Lake Sentâni 

 was substituted for the soaping, 

 which opération was repeated 

 a couple of times during the 

 treatment. 



The extraordinary cut- 

 ting power of the bamboo strips 

 is caused by the silica, which 

 is contained in the walls of 

 the cells of the bamboo tissue, 

 particularly with those of the 

 outer layer, the collenchym, 

 to such an extent that when 

 burnt the shape of the cel- 

 lular skeletôn remains intact 

 (SpôRRY [1903, 4, 126]). The 

 usefulnessofsharp-edged grass- 

 es for the same purpose will 

 astonish nobody, who has walked in the tropics through long grass, and has sometimes been 

 eut by it; hère also the présence of silica is the cause. 



Common steel kitchen knives are so thoroughly well sharpened by the Papuans on 

 their stones, that they can use them for shaving. The face is in this case, as far as I could 

 see at Waba, shaved dry and the expert, but above ail practical barber wipes his knife now 

 and then on his footsole. 



As objects ofhair ornament, shells hâve never been illustrated of Netherl. N. G., 

 whilst this has been reported several times of K. W. Land, where beads also are used for 

 this purpose and the beard often participâtes (FlNSCH [188S — 93, 231, PI. 17, fig. 3; 1888, 

 299, 317])- Beads, large white ones, I saw at Wâri hanging on to the hairs of both men and 

 women (fig. 169 and 170). I bought such a tress of hair (N°. 212, PI. VII, fig. 12) which was 



F'g- 35- Shaving with bamboo; A se. 



