piece of the clitoris is removed. "But this is not the end. The most important part of the operation begins only now. After a short moment, the woman takes the knife again and cuts off the inner lips (labia minor) of the victim. The helpers again wipe the blood with their rags. Then the operator, with a motion of her knife, begins to scrape the skin from the inside of the large lips. "With the abrasion of the skin completed, according to the rules, the operator closes the bleeding large lips and fixes them one against the other with long acacia thorns. "At this stage of the operation, the child is so exhausted that she stops crying, but often has convulsions. The women then force down her throata concoction of plants. "The operator's chief concern is to leave an opening no larger than a kernel of corn or just being enough to allow urine, and later the menstrual flow, to pass. The family honor depends on making the opening as small as possible because with Somalis, the smaller the artificial passage is, the greater the value of the girl and the higher the bride price. "When the operation is finished, the woman pours water over the genital area of the girl and wipes her with a rag. Then the child, who was held down all this time, is made to stand up. The women then immobilize her thighs by tying them together with ropes of goat skin. This bandage is applied from knees to the