"
According to Mariner the natives of Tonga cut off a portion of
the little finger as a sacrifice to the gods for the recovery of
a superior sick relative. The Australians have a custom of
cutting off the last joint of the little finger of females as a
token of submission to powerful beings alive and dead. A
Hottentot widow who marries a second time must have the distal
joint of her little finger cut off; another joint is removed each
time she remarries.
Among the mutilations submitted to on the death of a king or
chief in the Sandwich Islands, Cook mentions in his "Voyages" the
custom of knocking out from one to four front teeth.
Among the Australian tribes the age of virility and the
transition into manhood is celebrated by ceremonial customs, in
which the novices are subjected to minor mutilations. A sharp
bone is used for lancing their gums, while the throw-stick is
used for knocking out a tooth. Sometimes, in addition to this
crude dentistry, the youth is required to submit to cruel gashes
cut upon his back and shoulders, and should he flinch or utter
any cry of pain he is always thereafter classed with women.
Haygarth writes of a semi-domesticated Australian who said one
day, with a look of importance, that he must go away for a few
days, as he had grown to man's estate, and it was high time he
had his teeth knocked out.
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