" (_Journal of the
Anthropological Institute_, 1898, p. 410.)
In ancient Samoa the only necessary garment for either man or
woman was an apron of leaves, but they possessed so "delicate a
sense of propriety" that even "while bathing they have a girdle
of leaves or some other covering around the waist." (Turner,
_Samoa a Hundred Years Ago_, p. 121.)
After babyhood the Indians of Guiana are never seen naked. When
they change their single garment they retire. The women wear a
little apron, now generally made of European beads, but the
Warraus still make it of the inner bark of a tree, and some of
seeds. (Everard im Thurn, _Among the Indians of Guiana_, 1883.)
The Mandurucu women of Brazil, according to Tocantins (quoted by
Mantegazza), are completely naked, but they are careful to avoid
any postures which might be considered indecorous, and they do
this so skilfully that it is impossible to tell when they have
their menstrual periods. (Mantegazza, _Fisiologia della Donna_,
cap 9.)
The Indians of Central Brazil have no "private parts." In men the
little girdle, or string, surrounding the lower part of the
abdomen, hides nothing; it is worn after puberty, the penis being
often raised and placed beneath it to lengthen the prepuce. The
women also use a little strip of bast that goes down the groin
and passes between the thighs.
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