Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A labret worn in the upper lip by some of the native tribes of South Africa. See
botoque and labret.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Manganja woman we ever met who was ashamed of wearing the "pelele," or lip-ring.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and its tributaries And of the Discovery of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864 David Livingstone 1843
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As this was produced by the slight pressure of the pelele backwards, persons with too prominent teeth might by slight, but long-continued pressure, by some appliance only as elastic as the lip, have the upper gum and teeth depressed, especially in youth, more easily than is usually imagined.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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But the most wonderful of ornaments, if such it may be called, is the pelele, or upper-lip ring of the women.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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Men have beards and whiskers; women have none; and what kind of creature would a woman be without whiskers, and without the pelele?
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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The tin pelele is often made in the form of a small dish.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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We were once surprised to see young men wearing the pelele, and were told that in the tribe of the Mabiha, on the south bank, men as well as women wore them.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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All the highland women wear the pelele, and it is common on the Upper and Lower
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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The women are as ugly as those on Lake Nyassa, for who can be handsome wearing the pelele, or upper-lip ring, of large dimensions?
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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She was the only Manganja woman we ever met who was ashamed of wearing the “pelele,” or lip-ring.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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Afterwards on the Rovuma, we found men wearing the pelele, as well as women.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries 2004
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