. The history of mankind . ted with tweezers made of in a modified form is very common ; though over large regions suchas Hawaii and New Zealand it is not practised, and elsewhere, as in the Marquesas,is not universal. This operation also is of a religious character, and is performedby the priests. The mode of wearing the hair is suited to its stiff growth, and is simpleaccordingly. It is either worn unfastened and falling, or is cut off. The lattercourse seems, in the Society Islands and their neighbourhood, to have beenenjoined upon all women except those of the roy
. The history of mankind . ted with tweezers made of in a modified form is very common ; though over large regions suchas Hawaii and New Zealand it is not practised, and elsewhere, as in the Marquesas,is not universal. This operation also is of a religious character, and is performedby the priests. The mode of wearing the hair is suited to its stiff growth, and is simpleaccordingly. It is either worn unfastened and falling, or is cut off. The lattercourse seems, in the Society Islands and their neighbourhood, to have beenenjoined upon all women except those of the royal family. In the FriendlyIslands men and women wear the hair cut short and combed upwards in powdering with lime the tips are reddened, while turmeric gives a golden fashion of wearing the hair tied in a top-knot may perhaps be an imitation :on the very first day of Cooks visit a Tahitian chief copied his bag-wig. Withthe imperfect cutting-tools at their disposal, the shaving of the head was no light. igS THE HISTORY OF MANKIND matter ; and there were few among the achievements of civilization which thePolynesians had cause to prize so highly as scissors and razors. In Micronesiathe head-ornament consists almost everywhere of a long narrow wooden comb,with ten or twelve teeth, decorated about the handle, and at times furnished witha rich feather-ornament. The long hairpins serve also to allay the irritation of frequent insect-bites. Thecurly hair of the GilbertIslanders is frizzed up witha stick till it stands out ina crown. On MortlockIsland the head-ring iscovered with fibres afterthe manner of a brush ;while on Nukuor the head-dress is formed of a longplate of wood, broadeningtowards the top. This sortof thing, however, must nodoubt be regarded as adance-ornament or a reli-gious emblem. The ances-tral statues often carry asimilar adornment. Actualhead-coverings are not usual,or are permitted only atnight, or out of the the Carolines, as form
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectethnology, bookyear18
