STRING FROM HAIR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19866, 14 June 1927, Page 11

STRING FROM HAIR

BOBBING WITH A STONE. NEW USE FOR WIVES. During a journey through the hcar : of Nor thorn Australia, Mr. Michae Terry had many weird and interesting adventures which he relates in hi: book, “Through a Land of Promise.’ Amongst other strange things he de scribes is a particularly interesting i> somewhat gruesome industry practise* at a native camp at Billiluna. This i; the making of string. The native husband grasps a handful of his wife’s hair and without th least concern saws off the tresses wit; a sharpened stone. Having cut off ; fistful of locks he proceeds to wor. them into a ball; then, holding thiloosely in his hand, he draws out a thin thread ready for twisting. The Husband’s Harvest. Working like a saddler twining thread, he rolls it on his thigh an< twists it into a coarse string. This he twists round a rough bobin crudeh fashioned of two twigs, one split to hold the other. Apparently one of the most import ant duties of his native wife is to kee] growing a plentiful supply of hai which her husband can use wheneve necessary. This custom is not con fined to wive’s, for a husband is cn titled to his mother-in-law’s hair. Mr. Terry toys with the idea 0 what would happen if white husband found themselves automatically veste-. with this right by marriage. There i certainly plenty of scope for vivic imagination here. If sons-in-law had such a retaliatory weapon to their hands as bobbing wit: blunt stones, perhaps many wagging tongues would bo silenced!