is small, round at the point, but not flattened, as in the
Negro, and the nostrils, instead of being parallel, diverge’
greatly. The mouth is wide but hot projecting; the lips
are rather thick; the eyes are small, the Iris black, the
white of. a yellow tinge, following as usual the complexion.
The outer angles are more turned up than in the western
races; the eye-brows are neither prominent' -nor welf
marked. But perhaps the most characteristic feature in
the whole countenance is the breadth and height of the
cheek-bones, which give the face the whole-form of a
lozenge, instead of the oval figure which constitutes beauty
among western Asiatics and Europeans. Mr. Finlayson says,
that the face of the Siamese is remarkably large, the' forehead
very broad and prominent on each side. Mr. Finlayson
likewise remarks, that the cheek-bones are large, wid©j?and
prominent. A principal peculiarity in the configuration of
their countenance is the great size of the1 back part of thé
lower jaw, the coronal process so projecting outwards as to
give to this part of the face an unusual breadth. One
would imagine them all to be affected with a swelling of the
parotid gland. They are careful to blacken their teeth
and redden their mouths by a masticatory of lime, catechu,
and betel, which gives them a disgusting appearance.* On
the whole, though we meet with Siamese countenances that
are not disagreable, and admit that they are certainly a
handsomer people than either the Chinese or the Indian
islanders, beauty according to our notion is a stranger to
them. The physiognomy of the Siamese has rather a
gloomy, cheerless, and sullen air, and their „gait is slow,
sluggish, and ungraceful: yet they consider their own
females to be much more beautiful than those of Europe.
This description applies, not without modification, to the
neighbouring-races, as to the Cochin-Chinese, who have a
little more beard and are fairer than the people to the west
and south of them. On the other hand the Burmans, and
still more the people of Arakhan, Cassay, and Assam, have
more beard, more prominent features, and a darker com-*
plexion, and this in proportion to their proximity to the
* Finlayson, ubi supra, 108.
Hindoos; ^Mr. Crawfurd attributes this variation to intermixture
with thafepoople.*
.^.'The r^opeof Anam, including the .inhabitants of Tun-
quin and yOeeMim.'China, belonging to the same family
of?nations', differs, as we have before observed, imlanguage
from the T’hay or Siamese;.- They.are- likewise distinguished
byrsome peculiarities^of5.Organisation.- We have from Mr.
Finlayson an Accurate,description of th&-«physical structure
bf this race, in which theiWfowingyare the most remarkable
particulars!
; -Their stature is leas than that jbf th ^ other, races* ^ Of
twenty-one persons-,J^hiefiy ^soldiers', > -tfife. «average height
was five feet two in demand /quarters. Of 'eleven of
bha samp ^persons, fhda-verage .length- ofeth^t-arm was 12.4
ibchesjjfcof the fore-armbP-15 inched; and.the%ir.th of the
fahestuat its broade'sUpart was two;feet .minednches. The
shape of theijtisbbdyiand limbs ^differs butnlit-tle .from that
of the tribes already,fdeseribedft The! chest is short, large,
and weir expanded; thOdoins broad; f he upper extremities
are long but well formed; the lowerj are/short and^re-i-
markably stP-Hts-ii< One difference between them and the
Siamesads the wantrof that , tendency toH obesity observed
among the latter: their limbs<®ie«stbut butinofe/fafe.^ The
muscular system is fully developed,- the -.legs, large and well
formed.
The shape of the head has somelpeculiarities>■; a globular
form o f the cranium, and an ®^|icular shape of the face
are characteristics of thetCochin, Chinese. . The head projects
more backwards .than in the' Siamese/; it is smaller,
and more in .proportion, to the daddy.;- The transverse-diameters,
both:of the sineiput and occiput,uarewery nearly
equal. The forehead is short and small, the cheeks round,
the lower part of the face broad.. The • roundness'of the
whole countenance is. more striking in women, who are
reckoned beautiful in proportion, as they display this form
of the face. There;.is, in reality, a degree ofibeauty, and
in the expression of the countenance a harmony, sprightli-
ness, intelligence, and good humour, which we look for
in vain either in the Chinese or Siamese.1
* Crawfurd, 2, p. 5.