FIRST HAIR-CUTTING OF A YOUNG SIAMESE.
The attention of the traveler as he passes in
his boat along the rivers and canals of Siam,
in town or country, is often arrested by the sound
of music proceeding from beneath an extemporized
awning in front of some dwelling by the
wayside. There a promiscuous crowd have gathered
and are witnessing a theatrical performance,
the actors and actresses with chalked faces or
hideous masks and in glittering and fantastic
attire. The centre of attraction, however, is
manifestly a pretty child of a dozen summers
or so, richly attired and fairly overlaid with jewelry—necklaces,
gold chains, armlets, bracelets
and anklets.
A hair-cutting festival is in progress—a kone-*chook, as it is called, the ceremonies and the gayeties that attend the first clipping of the cherished topknot on the child's head. This is the great occasion in the life of the child, and indeed second only to that of a wedding or a funeral in the life of the family. The Siamese in shaving the heads of their children, as they do from their
