Through Central Borneo An Account Of Two Years' Travel In The Land Of The Head-Hunters Between The Years 1913 And 1917 By Carl Lumholtz
- Page 82 of 489 - First - Home
The Women Are Cleanly, Combing Their Hair Frequently And Bathing Three
Times Daily.
The men bathe even oftener; still all of them have more or
less parasites in their hair and frequently apply lime juice in order to
kill them.
A young woman, whom I remembered as one of two who had danced
for the kinematograph, had considerable charm of manner and personal
attraction; it was a trifle disconcerting to find my belle a little later
hunting the fauna of her lover's head. Her nimble fingers were deftly
expert in the work and her beloved was visibly elated over the
demonstration of her affection.
These natives do not tolerate hair on the body and pull it out or shave it
off. The men even remove the hair at the edge of the scalp all around the
head, letting the remainder attain a growth of about sixty centimetres,
and this is tucked up in a coil under the cap. The hair of eyebrows and
eyelids is removed with great care. The women perform this operation, and
tweezers made for the purpose are usually seen among the ornaments that
hang from the tops of their hats. I was told that people careful about
their appearance have their eyes treated in this manner every ten or even
every five days. It is a service which a young man's "best girl" is glad
to perform and a couple thus engaged may often be seen. Truly the wiles of
Cupid are many.
The Dayaks are fond of ornaments and the Kenyahs are no exception.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 82 of 489
Words from 22012 to 22270
of 132281
