FASCICULI MALAYENSES 
J 
12 
very short in the case of little girls, who wear them as soon as they can run 
about, but in the case of older women they often encircle the waist several 
times. They are regarded both as a protection against the effects of ‘ hot 
rain ’ and against ‘ pains in the waist.’ Bracelets of plaited rattan are worn 
on the forearm by both sexes. Twisted strings of fibre or of the fungus rhizo- 
morph, with the loose ends hanging down the chest, are tied very commonly 
round the neck, being regarded also as charms against disease. Flowers are 
less commonly used for decoration of the person than among the Sakais, but 
I saw several women, boys, and young men, with garlands of Ixora , and with 
bunches of the same blossom and others thrust behind the ears. This custom, 
as well as that of carrying cigarettes and other small objects behind the ear, 
causes that organ to be considerably distorted, and to be so bent forward that 
it is very difficult to obtain an accurate measurement of its length. The 
deformation is commoner in the right ear than in the left. The use of orna- 
mental hair-combs is rare, probably owing to the fact that the head is shaved 
and the top-knot left of very small dimensions ; but in the case of one woman, 
who had not lately been able to procure a razor, a comb, very like the type that 
is commoner among the Sakais of South Perak, was inserted near the back of the 
head. Its patterns were identical with those fashioned by the jungle folk of 
that locality, except that a variety of the ‘Argus Pheasant ’ pattern {post. pp. 1 5, 
17, fig. 4) appeared among them. 
As a rule the lobes of the ear are not pierced, and no other form of 
mutilation is practised, except the piercing of the septum of the nose— a practice 
that is universal among the men. Possibly this operation is performed on boys 
who have reached the age of puberty, for I did not observe in the case of 
children that there was any aperture in the septum. When the men are in the 
jungle or on the river, the rolled-up leaf of a gingerwort, a porcupine’s quill, 
or a piece of wire obtained from a Chinaman or Malay, is thrust through the 
hole. I could obtain no information regarding tattooing or scarification of the 
skin, and do not believe that it is practised in this tribe. One young woman 
whom I saw had daubed white clay upon her forehead in an arc consisting of 
five circular blotches, on the lower part of each cheek in a slanting vertical 
line, and between her breasts' (Plate IV, fig. 1). Both she and her companions 
asserted that this had been done ‘ to make her beautiful,’ but possibly there 
was some other significance also. 
Until lately the only weapons of the Seman were blowguns, for they deny 
that they use bows 1 2 and arrows, except in exceptional cases when they have 
1. This mark has unfortunately been erased in the process of reproduction. 
2. Mr. L. Wray, of the Perak State Museum, assures me that the Seman of Upper Perak made bows and 
arrows within recent years (c.f. posted , under ‘ Miscellanea’). 
