Burton, Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890
"Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Volume 1"
The coiffure of the
is peculiar and
elaborate as that of the Gold Coast. These ladies seem to have
chosen for their model the touraco or cockatoo,--they have never
heard of "Kikeriki,"--and the effect is at first wondrously
grotesque. Presently the eye learns to admire pretty Fanny's
ways; perhaps the pleureuse, the old English corkscrew ringlet,
might strike the stranger as equally natural in a spaniel, and
unnatural in a human. Still a style so peculiar requires a
toilette in keeping; the "king" in uniform is less ridiculous
than the Gaboon lady's chignon, contrasting with a tight-bodied
and narrow-skirted gown of pink calico.
The national "tire-valiant" is a galeated crest not unlike the
cuirassier's helmet, and the hair, trained from the sides into a
high ridge running along the cranium, not unfrequently projects
far beyond the forehead. Taste and caprice produce endless
modifications. Sometimes the crest is double, disposed in
parallel ridges, with a deep hollow between; or it is treble,
when the two lines of parting running along the mastoids make it
remarkably like bears' ears, the central prism rises high, and
the side hair is plaited into little pig-tails.
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