Most people take the values and practices of their own society as absolute, those of other cultures as subjective and misguided. For those human beings accustomed to kissing it may seem odd that some peoples do not indulge in any such practice. Most of us have heard that Eskimos rub noses rather than kiss. Fewer of us have heard of the Siriono, mentioned in the anthropological literature: this tribe, living in South America, do not indulge in kissing (nor is breast stimulation a usual part of foreplay). Nor do the Thonga go much on kissing: when they first saw Europeans kissing they remarked - "Look at them - they eat each other's saliva and dirt." This is not so odd as it sounds. There are more germs in the mouth than in the anus!