396 
ANKLETS OF IVORY. 
it thickly with indigo. Those ladies, who from their 
rank in the domestic circle, are exempt from hard 
work, dye their hands and feet with henna, and tinge 
their eyelids with antimony. The men either shave 
the head entirely, and expose their shining scalps to 
the sun, or they cut and carve it in a curious 
fashion. Youth of both sexes, with the exception 
of Filatah children, are entirely without clothing till 
the age of puberty. Young girls wear a string of 
beads or cowries round their loins, but their innate 
modesty is as manifest as their persons. 
Above Ibu, the anklets of ivory are not in fashion, 
but of copper, ornamented with brass, and bracelets of 
the same are much in vogue. Pieces of coral are 
frequently stuck in the ears, and the great men wear 
thin circular pieces of ivory, about the size of a dollar, 
in each ear. Amulets, “ magoni,’’ are in great request, 
and worn in profusion by those who can afford to pay the 
priest for writing them. They are supposed to be verses 
of the Koran, sewn up in leather, variously ornamented, 
and are not only believed to be preservatives against 
all kinds of danger, but to be the means of procuring 
every gratification that the wearer can desire. Although 
they must be continually disappointed, it is surprising 
they are not tired of w’aiting for the proofs of their 
virtues. The fruition is always in expectancy. 
Women are commonly employed in the petty retail 
trade about the country ; they also do a great deal of 
hard work, especially in the cultivation of the land. 
