have it entirely cut off, except a
single lock, which is left commonly on one side; or it is suffered to
grow to its full length, without any of these mutilations. The women in
general wear it short. The men have their beards cut short; and both men
and women strip the hair from their arm pits. The operation by which
this is performed has been already described. The men are stained from
about the middle of the belly, to about half way down their thighs,
with a deep, blue colour. This is done with a flat bone instrument, cut
full of fine teeth, which, being dipped in the staining mixture,
prepared from the juice of the _dooe dooe_, is struck into the skin with
a bit of stick, and, by that means, indelible marks are made. In this
manner they trace lines and figures, which, in some, are very elegant,
both from the variety, and from the arrangement. The women have only a
few small lines or spots, thus imprinted, on the inside of their hands.
Their kings, as a mark of distinction, are exempted from this custom, as
also from inflicting on themselves any of those bloody marks of
mourning, which shall be mentioned in another place.

The men are all circumcised, or rather supercised; as the operation
consists in cutting off only a small piece of the foreskin at the upper
part, which, by that means, is rendered incapable ever after of covering
the _glans_. This is all they aim at; as they say, the operation is
practised from a notion of cleanliness.

The dress of both men and women is the same, and consists of a piece of
cloth or matting (but mostly the former), about two yards wide, and two
and a half long; at least, so long as to go once and a half round the
waist, to which it is confined by a girdle or cord. It is double before,
and hangs down like a petticoat, as low as the middle of the leg. The
upper part of the garment, above the girdle, is plaited into several
folds; so that when unfolded, there is cloth sufficient to draw up and
wrap round the shoulders, which is very seldom done. This, as to form,
is the general dress; but large pieces of cloth, and fine matting, are
worn only by the superior people. The inferior sort are satisfied with
small pieces, and very often wear nothing but a covering made of leaves
of plants, or the _maro_, which is a narrow piece of cloth, or matting,
like a sash. This they pass between the thighs, and wrap round the
waist; but the use of it is chiefly confined to the men. In their great
_hai