Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Maori Tattooing

The procurement of a Maori Tattoo was truly an epic ordeal. No machines were used in producing the unique designs rather a bone chisel with either with a serrated or an extremely sharp and straight edge was used to carve canals into the skin. Following that, a chisel was dipped into a sooty type pigment such as burnt Kauri gum or burnt vegetable caterpillars, the recipe varied from tribe to tribe, and then tapped into the skin.

While the facial tattooing is well known, the North Auckland warriors also tattooed swirling double spirals into both buttocks, down their legs to the knee.
It was an extremely painful and long process but all high-ranking Maori were tattooed, beginning at puberty. Those who went without tattoos were seen as persons of no social status.

Women were also tattooed though not as extensively as the men. The chin moko was always the most popular, and continued to be practiced even into the 1970’s.

Read more about Maori Tattooing.

image:Maori Rangi (chief) with full face moko, circa 1915.

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Written by J. Tithonus Pednaud
Link to this Human Marvels article
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Laloo - The Handsome, Healthy, Happy Hindoo
Laloo was born in Oudh, India as the second of four siblings in 1874. He was accompanied into this world by his parasitic twin brother who was little more than a headless mass of limbs attached to his breastbone.

Laloo's brother consisted of two arms and two legs, a functioning penis with a complete urinary system and, although lacking testicles, the twin was quite capable of maintaining an erection at inopportune times. Unfortunately, the twin also needed to occasionally urinate and, although Laloo could detect tactile sensations through his brother, he was often only aware of his brother's need to eliminate after the fact. Laloo took to diapering his sibling and, fortunately, the twin was unable to defecate.

Laloo was quite popular in nearly every big sideshow of his era, he traveled extensively and even worked with P. T. Barnum. His advertisements often billed him as the ‘Handsome, Healthy, Happy Hindoo' – as 'exotic' acts and persons were all the rage in America at that time. Also, in a bit of common showmanship, he would often dress his brother as a girl and advertise the twin as his sister. That is, until that erection issue started to throw a wrench into the act.

Laloo was also something of an rights activist and, in 1889, he participated in a well orchestrated protest to have sideshow performers referred to as "prodigies" and not "freaks". The protest was successful and the word 'freak' fell out of common practice for quite some time.

By 1894 Laloo was married, to a average woman, and well off financially. Not only did he command great sums from his sideshow ventures, he also padded his income by offering to display his body to physicians for examinations at a great profit. It has been said that Laloo lived a very lavish lifestyle.

Unfortunately, Laloo died an early death in a train wreck in 1905 while working for the Norris and Rowe circus in Mexico.

To learn more about this and other Human Marvels purchase American Sideshow.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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Written by J. Tithonus Pednaud
Link to this Human Marvels article