Ear Perforating
Down to recent times the Osage men have been sacrificing the shapeliness of their external ears to the gratification of their fondness for adornment. In ordinary times, and particularly on festal days, the Osage men weighted their ears with strings of wampum or other ornaments made of bone or shells and silver earbobs which were introduced by traders. The weight of the earrings and the crowding of the holes in the ears with the rings enlarge the perforations to an extraordinary size. (Pl. 11.) The holes, which are bored along the rim of the pinna, were made by the same men who performed the ceremony connected with the perforating. These men provided themselves with perforating instruments made of sharpened bone, wooden expanders, and little blocks of wood against which the ear is pressed when performing the operation. (Pl. 12.) For a long time Wa´-thu-xa-ge and Ṭsi´-zhu-zhiⁿ-ga held this office. The former died a few years ago. Both of these men were members of the Peace gens of the Ṭsi´-zhu great tribal division. An Osage was asked why the ears of the children were bored and he replied that the children whose ears were bored were apt to be better behaved than those whose ears were not perforated.