tribes. Unfortunately, in the
Philippines the greater part of the early tattoo designs have been
lost and the art itself is also nearly eliminated. But since the
journey of Carl Semper it has been known that not only Malays but
also Negritos tattoo; indeed, this admirable explorer has decided
that the "Negroes of the East Coast" practice a different method of
tattooing from that of the Mariveles in the west, and on that account
they attain different results. In the one case a needle is employed
to make fine holes in the skin in which to introduce the color; in
the other long gashes are made. In the latter case prominent scars
result; in the former a smooth pattern. But these combined patterns
are on the whole the same, instead of rectilinear figures. Schadenburg
has the operations commence with a sharpened bamboo on children 10
years of age. Among the wild tribes of the light-colored population
tattooing is not less diffused, but the patterns are not alike in the
different tribes. Isabelo de los Reyes reports that the Tinguianes,
who inhabit the mountain forests of the northern cordilleras of Luzon,
produce figures of stars, snakes, birds, etc., on children 7 to 9 years
old. Hans Meyer describes the pattern of the Igorots. There appears to
exist a great variety of symbols; for example, on the arms, straight
and crooked lines crossing one another; on the breast, feather-like
patterns. Least frequently he saw the so-called Burik designs, which
extended in parallel bands across the breast, the back, and calves,
and give to the body the appearance of a sailor's striped jacket. It
is very remarkable that the human form never occurs.

What is true concerning tattooing on so many Polynesian islands
holds also completely here. But reliable descriptions are so few,
and especially there is such a meager number of useful drawings,
that it would not repay the trouble to assemble the scattered data. At
least it will suffice to discover whether among them there are genuine
tribal marks or to investigate concerning the distribution of separate
patterns. Those known show conclusively that in the matter of tattooing
the Filipinos are not differentiated from the islanders of the Pacific;
they form, moreover, an important link in the chain of knowledge
which demonstrates the genetic homogeneity of the inhabitants. The
tattooings of the eastern islanders are comparable only to those of
African aborigines, with which last they furnish many