Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 39.djvu/516

500 tribal mark, think for a moment of the savage man's relation to the world outside. He is a very Ishmaelite. So long as he remains on his own tribal territory he is safe; when on the land of another tribe, his life is the legitimate prey of the first man he meets. To men in such social relations the tribal mark is the only safety at home; without it he would be slain unrecognized by his own tribesmen. There must have been a time when the old Hebrews knew all about this matter of tribe marks. By this custom only can we fully understand the story of Cain (Gen. iv, 14, 15), who fears to be sent from his own territory lest he be slain by the first stranger he meets, but is protected by the tribal mark of those among whom he is to wander being put upon him. "I shall be fugitive and vagabond in the earth, and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any one finding him should kill him." But in scarring, as in so many other cases, the original idea is often lost, and the mark becomes merely ornamental. This is particularly true among women. Among men it more frequently retains its tribal or religious significance.

And last of the groups is Hair-dressing, which is wonderfully varied. Africa is again the best field for study. The Batoka works the hair into the form of a ring and then builds it up into a cone, piecing it out with the hair of beasts, and adorning it with red ochre (Fig. 11). The Kaffir, when he is no longer a boy, goes to a friend to have his hair dressed. "The friend takes an assagai, sharpens it carefully; takes gum, sinews, charcoal, and oil. He makes an oval ring of sinews half an inch thick, and fits it firmly over the head. He then weaves the hair into this, and fixes it with gum and charcoal. Oil and grease are applied until all shines. The head is then shaved, except the ring. This is variously useful—holds feathers firmly,