THE REAL MALAY
she is about five years old. From then, she is taught to help in the house and kitchen, to sew, to read and write, perhaps to work in the padi field, but she is kept out of the way of all strange men-kind. When fifteen or sixteen, she is often almost interesting; very shy, very fond of pretty clothes and ornaments, not uncommonly much fairer in complexion than the Malay man, with small hands and feet, a happy smiling face, good teeth, and wonderful eyes and eyebrows- the eyes of the little Malay boy. The Malay girl is proud of a wealth of straight, black hair, of a spotless olive complexion, of the arch of her brow- "like a one-day-old moon" -of the curl of her eyelashes, and of the dimples in cheek or chin.
Unmarried girls are taught to avoid all men except those nearly related to them. Until marriage, it is considered unmaidenly for them to raise their eyes or take any part or interest in their surroundings when men are present This leads to an affectation of modesty which, however overstrained, deceives nobody.
After marriage, a woman gets a considerable amount of freedom which she naturally values. In Perak, a man, who tries to strut his womenkind up and prevent their intercourse with others and a
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