122 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
X- 
obtains in other tribes, espeeially among a closely 
allied tribe, the Nandi. 
The men and women of the Kikuyu country devote ' 
much care to the decoration of their ears, and, like the ^ 
Masai, attach ornaments to the helix as well as to the ; 
lobe, but the styles of ear-studs and ear-rings of the Wa- | 
Kikuyu differ in some particular from those of their i 
neighbours. 
The Ear of a Masai with the stone in \ 
situ. i 
The boys, when they are nearly ripe for circumcision, | 
have the rims of their ears pierced in several places; | 
through the holes three, and occasionally five reeds 
are introduced; these reeds project trom the rim of the 
helix, but lie in the same plane as the ear. j 
In the case of women five holes are made in the I 
helix. In its simplest form the ornament consists of | 
a piece of grass with a bead of gum at the base to | 
