QUEER PEOPLE

Shannon News, 17 September 1926, Page 4

QUEER PEOPLE

A TRAVELLER'S EXPERIENCES FROM CHINA TO PERU. ORDEAL OF THE BLACKPEBT New wonders of the world are con'tinually crowding in upon us, yet spread over the world are races whose customs have not altered much in a thousand years, writes Lieut.Colonel P. T. Eiherton, in the "Daily Mail." There are, for instance, the headhunters of Sumatra, who regard the human skull as the aristocratic form of wine cup. If contemplating marriage you cannot achieve your desire until you have presented your fiancee with a number of heads, which are afterwards preserved in a casket like •the freedom of the City of London. Only after a certain number of heads have been placed beneath the foundations can you take up residence in your new house, and the finest form of internal decoration is not a picture but the skulls of your enemies, in the Papuan Islands, to the north-east of Australia, where cannibalism is popular, charms of human arm bones woun round the nebk are fashionable. Girls before marriage are shut up in a, cage made from palm and coconut leaves. Th e old women of the tribe do sentry-go over the cage and the girl is allowed out for a brief spell once a day, but beyond that quits it only on, her wedding morn.' A Hideous Struggle. In the Arctic Circle water tor washing is taboo, and so the Eskimo mother licks her baby clean before consigning it to its cot of walrus hide and sealskin. Years ago I spent some time among the Blackfodt, Indians of the Par West, where, if aspiring to the rank and dignity of a warrior ,a strenuous ordeal awaited you. The would-be warrior was fastened to a stake, in-' cisions were made in the muscles of the chest, and through them cords or cowhide were passed and secured to the post. The lad could free himself only by letting the thongs burst through, the muscles. The hideous struggle might go oh for two or three days; some of the more stoical would saw themselves free within twentyfour hours. Throughout the ordeal men and women were continually passing, and the candidate could have a drink if he wanted it or be released if he felt unable to go on.

But in either case he was doomed. Feminine dress would be his for the rest of his days, war and manly sports were prohibited, and, worst of all, no woman, however ugly and repulsive would look at him. Small wonder, then, that the Blackfoot warrior came out with flying colours.

But it is probably in South America that you find most strange customs. Marriage there, especially among the tribes of Brazil and Bolivia, is a strenuous affair. Custom demands that on the birth of a child the father shall eat only roots ana nuts for a year. His wife must not do any work or cooking—the mother-in-law or grandmother, if there- is one, does this for them-—and the father; must not scratch himself or partake of certain dishes, for fear his

child may be /unduly fat or lean, blind deaf, or dumb. In fact, for months he is menaced with disaster to his heir

If you aspire, to being a medicine man the course extends over nine or ten years. You must undergo solitary confinement in the jungle and practically fast for twelve months, you must be able to dance and work yourself into a frenzy and keep it going for whole nights in succession, and you must have the capacity of a Falstaff for strong drink and yet maintain a steady eye and straight pace. Also, you must be able to swing heavy clubs for hours on end, smoke strong tobacco, and spit upon your patient with force and accuracy from a distanc of several yards. Of all the many tribes with which I have come in contact, the Kalmuks of Central Asia are the most fascinating . They retain customs and beliefs whose origin may be sought far back in the mists of antiquity. Their weddings are always on horseback, for the belle of the encampment has to be caught and gives the lead in a breakneck race to the young men aspiring to her hand. To ward off undesirable lovers she has a heavy whip and a well-directed slash across the eyes puts the unwelcome suitor out of action.

The Kalmuks annk copiously and often of "kumis" —fermented mare's milk —from- leathern bottles, exactlyas the Jewish patriarchs or their nomadic forebears did centuries before them, and it is regarded as the champagne of the wedding feast.