State Library of NSW
[Page 397]
Manners & Customs of the S. Sea Islands
quantity & situation of them seems to depend intirely upon the humour of each individual yet all the Islanders I have seen (except those of Ohiteroa) agree in having all their buttocks coverd with a deep black over this most have arches drawn one over another as high as their short ribbs which are often ¼ of an inch broad & neatly workd on their edges with indentations &c. These arches are their great pride both men & women shew them with great pleasure whether as a beauty or a proof of their perseverance & resolution in bearing pain I can not tell as the pain of doing this is almost intolerable especialy the arches upon the loins which are so much more susceptible of pain than the fleshy buttocks
Their method of doing it I will now describe. The colour they use is lamp black which they prepare from the smoak of a kind of oily nutts usd by them instead of candles this is kept in cocoa nut shells & mixt with water occasionaly for use Their instruments for pricking this under the skin are made of Bone or shell flat the lower part of this is cut into sharp teeth from 3 to 20 according to the purposes it is to be usd for & the upper fastned to a handle. [See image for illustration.] These teeth are dippd into the black liquor & then drove by quick sharp blows struck upon the handle with
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