The Teeth Are Filed Down To A Quarter Of Their
Natural Length By Means Of A Hard Sumatran Stone, Or Fine Steel File.
The Operation Lasts About An Hour, And The Gums Continue Swelled And
Painful For Some Days.
After they have recovered, the blackening of the
teeth by means of betel chewing is accelerated by means of
A black
liquid obtained by burning cocoa-nut shells on iron, Three days before
the marriage ceremony henna is applied to the nails of the hands and
feet, and also to the palms of the hands, and the hair is cut short
over the forehead, something in the style of a "Gainsborough fringe."
The wedding feast is a very grand affair. Goats and buffaloes are
killed, and the friends and relatives of the bride send contributions
of food. The wedding decorations are family property, and descend from
mother to daughter, and both bride and bridegroom are covered with
flowers, jewels, and gay embroidery. The bride sits in state and
receives the congratulatory visits of her relatives and friends, and
after the actual ceremony is over, the newly-married couple sit on a
seat raised above the guests, and the sirih and betel-nut are largely
chewed. There are "floral decorations," music, and feasting; all
strangers are made welcome; the young men spend the afternoon in games,
among which cock-fighting usually plays a prominent part, and the
maidens amuse themselves in a part of the house screened off from the
rest of the guests by curtains, and made very gay.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 375 of 437
Words from 103048 to 103305
of 120530
