388 H. J. T. BIJLMER 



only on the right hand the ringfinger and the little finger had been eut off. Nevertheless we 

 also saw a child of which only the left hand had been dealt with and mutilation on both 

 hands was by no means an exception. 



Further the following can be derived from the 20 measure-lists of the women: 12 had 

 only been mutilated on the left hand, 1 on the right hand, and 7 on both hands. From the 

 left-hand-mutilated persons there were 2 on one finger (the forefinger), 6 on tvvo fingers (3 X IV and 

 V; 2XII and III, 1 X III and IV), 2 on three fingers (II, III, IV and III, IV, V) and 2 on 

 four fingers (ail except I) mutilated. The right-hand-mutilated women had suffered the mutilation 

 on IV and V. From the 7 women, mutilated on both hands, 2 missed 4 left-hand- and 3 right- 

 hand-fingerparts; the 5 others were mutilated on 4 fingers (R IV, L III, IV, V; R IV, LU, 

 III, IV; R II, L II, III, IV; R IV, V, L IV, V; R IV, V, L IV, V). Summarizing, the 

 following may be established. Finger-mutilation is found in the two sexes; among women it 

 is however practised on a larger scale. Moreover thèse are mutilated at an earlier âge, for 

 we saw four girls with mutilation of at least 3 fingers, while out of fifteen boys but one was 

 mutilated and then only on the little finger. The right hand of the men is spared, not that 

 of the women, though by them too the left hand seems to be more chosen. Ail the fingers, 

 with exception of- the thumb are in the running. I could not find any rules in respect to 

 choice, unless it were among the men a préférence for the forefinger. 



Prof. J. C. VAN EERDE pointed to finger-mutilation [40] being known of several other 

 peoples as an expiatory-sacrifice in case of illness and death; it is even supposed to hâve 

 existed in prehistoric times. On the ancient drawings, found on rocks in France and Spain, 

 and ascribed to prehistoric men, we meet repeatedly with the outlines of hands and some of 

 thèse are showing a shortness of the fingers, which strongly suggests finger-mutilation. Abso- 

 lute ignorance of the language was the cause that we could gather but little superficial infor- 

 mation about the meaning of this custom of the inhabitants of the Swartvalley. Apparently 

 they explained us that a finger was eut off, when there was a death ; more we could not 

 reveal. I may not leave off mentioning that finger-mutilation like that observed by our expé- 

 dition was also found among the Pesegem (van Nouhuys, Snell). 



The method of mutilating is very simple. The middle phalanx of the chosen finger is 

 bound off by winding three or four times a cord round it, but so that there is not 

 caused mortification. In this state the finger is left for some days ; it is not impossible that 

 the stringing is meanwhile progressive. I saw a finger, on which the cord had plainly com- 

 pressée! ail the soft parts between the skin and the bone, above was the bound-off fingerpart 

 as a swollen, bluish red, but quite painless tumour. The victim, a woman, explained us laughing 

 and apparently without any fear or discontent that within some days the finger was to be 

 eut off. From her and also from other indigènes I understood that the cutting-off was 

 done with the stone-axe. Having seen the preliminary stringing, it was quite clear for 

 me that the opération itself would neither cause much difficulty nor much pain. The remai- 

 ning scars were always neatly closed and never grown together with the bone. 



The mutilation of the ear is not less spread than that of the fingers and is applied to 

 men as well as to women. It consists in cutting oft" a strip of the helix-edge in the upper- 

 back quadrant of the ear-shell. The length of the cut-off part is not always the same, but 

 varies, be it accidentally or purposely, between hardly one and fully two cm. This ear- 



