One figure, that seemed to me
very elegant, was that of a palm tree tattooed on the back of a man's
leg, the roots rising, as it were, from under his heel, the stem
ascending the tendon of the ankle, and the graceful head branching out
upon the calf. I afterwards learned that this process of tattooing is
very painful, and takes long to do, commencing at the age of ten, and
being continued at intervals up to the age of thirty. It is done by
means of an instrument made of bone, with a number of sharp teeth with
which the skin is punctured. Into these punctures a preparation made
from the kernel of the candle-nut, mixed with cocoa-nut oil, is rubbed,
and the mark thus made is indelible. The operation is performed by a
class of men whose profession it is, and they tattoo as much at a time
as the person on whom they are operating can bear; which is not much,
the pain and inflammation caused by tattooing being very great,
sometimes causing death. Some of the chiefs were tattooed with an
ornamental stripe down the legs, which gave them the appearance of
being clad in tights; others had marks round the ankles and insteps
which looked like tight-fitting and elegant boots. Their faces were
also tattooed, and their breasts were very profusely marked with every
imaginable species of device--muskets, dogs, birds, pigs, clubs, and
canoes, intermingled with lozenges, squares, circles, and other
arbitrary figures.
Pages:
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266