Zappo Zap
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The Zappo Zaps were a group of Songye people from the eastern Kasaï region in what today is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They acted as allies of the Congo Free State authorities, while trading in ivory, rubber and slaves.
In 1899 they were sent out by the colonial administration to collect taxes. They massacred many villagers, causing an international outcry.
Dr. William Morrison (left) and Dr. William Sheppard (right) with Bakuba witnesses who traveled to Kinshasa for the 1909 trial against Sheppard and Morrison for libel brought by the Kasai Rubber Company.
Human tooth sharpening
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Human tooth sharpening is the practice of manually sharpening the teeth, usually the front incisors. Filed teeth are customary in various cultures. Many remojadas figurines found in parts of Mexico have filed teeth and it is believed to have been common practice in their culture. The Zappo Zap people of the Democratic Republic of Congo are believed to have filed their teeth.
A man with filed teeth (probably Mentawai) smokes in a photograph by Dutch photographer Christiaan Benjamin Nieuwenhuis who worked in Sumatra