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Chapter Twenty-one. Head-Hunting Rites |
| caption: |
head-receiving dance at Wakching and processions |
| text: |
The joyous spirit has also taken hold of the women, and although they will only be spectators of the day's dance, they do their best to make themselves beautiful. Most of the shyness of the girls has vanished, and they laugh at me, and make the gestures of cutting off a head. Several of the boys have already completed their toilette, and now they begin to dance in groups of four or five through the village, showing off their beautiful attire. They run through the narrow streets in single file, spreading out on the open spaces to dance with small jumps and rocking movements on the spot, with the rhythmical swinging of shields from the side (172) over the chest and the simultaneous raising of dao. |
