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Walker, H. Wilfrid

"Wanderings among South Sea Savages and in Borneo and the Philippines"

Both sexes generally had their bodies covered with
various patterns cut in their skins, a kind of tattooing it might
be called, but the skin was very much raised. Many of them had
the backs of their heads in the centre shaved in a curious manner,
like a very broad parting. I did not see them wearing many ornaments,
but the men had tight-fitting fibre bracelets on their arms and legs,
and the women sometimes wore necklaces of seeds, berries and beads;
they would also sometimes wear curiously carved bamboo combs in their
hair. The men used spears and bows and arrows; these latter they were
rarely without. Their arrows were often works of art, very fine and
neat patterns being burnt on the bamboo shafts. The feathers on the
heads were large, and the steel points were very neatly bound on with
rattan. These steel points were often cruel-looking things, having
many fishhook-like barbs set at different angles, so that if they once
entered a man's body it would be impossible to extract them again. A
very clever invention was an arrow made for shooting deer and pig. The
steel point was comparatively small, and it was fitted very lightly
to a small piece of wood, which was also lightly placed in the end
of the arrow.


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