Manchurian Books

The latter have a
short coloured shirt underneath it, and again beneath that, large
flowing trousers. The women wear a long full blouse. Both sexes
wear flowers in their ears, which have such large holes bored in
them that the stalk can very easily be drawn through. The women,
both old and young, adorn themselves with garlands of leaves and
flowers, which they make in the most artistic and elegant manner. I
have often seen men, too, weaving the same kind of ornament.
On grand occasions, they cast over their ordinary dress an upper
garment, called a tiputa, the cloth of which they manufacture
themselves from the bark of the bread and cocoa trees. The bark,
while still tender, is beaten between two stones, until it is as
thin as paper; it is then coloured yellow and brown.
One Sunday I went into the meeting-house to see the people assembled
there. {73} Before entering they all laid aside their flowers, with
which they again ornamented themselves at their departure. Some of
the women had black satin blouses on, and European bonnets of an
exceedingly ancient date.


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