Ear Ornaments

Pair of clouded leopard tooth ear ornaments, topped with tassels of tiny red, yellow and black glass beads, connected by a string of multicolored beads. Udong. Worn by men. The upper part of each ear is . . . perforated, so as to permit the insertion of a tiger-cat's tooth; this ornament is, however, inserted only for full dress; in every day life a plug of wood about half an inch in diameter is substituted." When Kenyah and Kayan men "attain to full manhood and have been on a war expedition" they have a hole punched in the upper parts of their ears wherein "there is inserted a tiger-cat's canine tooth decorated at the large end with a tuft of bead-work . . . to keep it in place." (Home-Life of Borneo Head-Hunters, p. 155)