Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/449

 or a tight-fitting jacket, constitutes the not ungraceful costume of a Laos woman; her hair, being drawn back, is fastened in a neat knot by a gold pin and is almost invariably ornamented with flowers.

The body of the men of Western Laos is usually covered with tattoo-marks of different animals and emblematic monsters. These figures are usually first sketched by the professional tattooer from the waist to the knees—monkeys, bats, rats, birds and so-forth; then the skin is punctured with a sharp-pointed steel instrument, and an indelible black pigment is well rubbed in. The dress of the ordinary man consists of little more than the waist-cloth, but the young noblemen are adopting the Siamese court-costume. Formerly, all went bare-footed, but buffalo-hide sandals are now much used. Both men and women are passionately fond of flowers. The ear-lobes are bored when very young and stretched with pieces of wood, ivory and metal, and the men almost invariably carry a flower in this hole; cigars and other articles are fastened behind the ear. Large ears are regarded with favor as a sign of longevity.

Scattered over Laos-land are brick-fields and pottery-works, where the native earthenware, water-jars and other household utensils are