"At 9 A.M. the time for measuring the fall of rain for the last twenty-four hours, we found the rain-gauge and bottle had been removed, so we sent Kidgwiga to inform the king we wished his magicians to come at once and institute a search for it. Kidgwiga immediately returned with the necessary adept, an old man, nearly blind, dressed in strips of old leather fastened to the waist, and carrying in one hand a cow's horn primed with magic powder, carefully covered on the mouth with leather, from which dangled an iron bell.

"The old creature jingled the bell, entered our hut, squatted on his hams, looked first at one, then at the other inquired what the missing things were like, grunted, moved his skinny arm round his head, as if desirous of catching air from all four sides of the hut, then dashed the accumulated air on the head of his horn, smelt it to see if all was going right, jingled the bell again close to his ear, and grunted his satisfaction; the missing articles must be found.

"To carry out the incantation more effectually, however, all my men were sent for to sit in the open before the hut, but the old doctor rose, shaking the horn and tinkling the bell close to his ear. He then, confronting one of the men, dashed the horn forward as if intending to strike him on the face, then smelt the head, then dashed at another, and so on, till he became satisfied that my men were not the thieves.

He then walked into Grant's hut, inspected that, and finally went to the place where the bottle had been kept. Then he walked about the grass with his arm up, and jingling the bell to his ear, first on one side, then on the other, till the track of a hyæna gave him the clue and in two or three more steps he found it. A hyæna had carried it

RELIGIOUS MENDICANTS.

475

into the grass and dropped it. Bravo, for the infallible horn! and well done the king for his honesty in sending it so I gave the king the bottle and gauge, which delighted him amazingly; and the old doctor, who begged for pombé, got a goat for his trouble."

As in Uganda, the sorcerers are distinguished by the odd ornaments which they wear; dried roots, lizards, lions' claws, crocodiles' teeth, little tortoise-shells, and other objects being strung together and tied on their heads. There is also an order of religious mendicants called "Bandwa," both sexes being eligible to the office. They are distinguished by an abundance of ornaments, such as bits of shining metal, and little tinkling bells, and one man had distinguished himself greatly by wearing the skin of a longhaired monkey down his back from the top of his head, to which he had attached a couple of antelope horns. The women when dressed in the full robes of office look very handsome, being clothed in coloured skins, and wearing turbans made of the plantain bark. They walk about from house to house singing their peculiar songs, and always expecting a present. The office of a Bandwa is not hereditary, for any one may join. them by undergoing certain ceremonies, and the children of a Bandwa are at liberty o follow any business that they may happen to like. Although they are mendicants, they do not wholly depend on their profession, having cattle and other property of their own.

In many countries where superstition takes the place of religion, the birth of twins is looked upon as a bad omen, which must be averted by the sacrifice of one or both of the children. In Unyoro the case is different. Captain Speke had been annoyed by certain drums and other musical instruments which were played day and night. without cessation, and, when he inquired as to their object, was told that they were in

onour of twins that had been born to

Kamrasi, and that they would be played

n the same manner for four months.

The use of the cow's horn in magic is explained by a tradition that once upon a time there was a dog with a horn. When the dog died, the horn was stuffed with magic powder, and was a powerful charm in war, soldiers who stepped over it when on the march being thereby rendered victorious. Kamrasi possessed several magic horns, and when he sent an ambassador to a neighbouring potentate, one of these horns was hung round the man's neck, as his credentials; and when he returned, he brought with him another magic horn as a proof that his message had been delivered. No one dared to touch a man who bore so potent an emblem, and this was peculiarly fortunate, as on one occasion Kamrasi had sent an expedition which

took with them six hundred majembé, or iron spades, which form a sort of currency, the expenditure of two majembé per diem being sufficient to buy food for the whole party. Laden with wealth therefore as they were, the magic horn protected the party, and they performed their journey in safety.

War charms are in great request, and while Captain Speke was in Unyoro he saw the preliminary act in charm-making. A feud was in action between Kamrasi and the Chopi tribe. Kamrasi therefore sent spies into the Chopi district, with orders to bring some grass from the hut of a chief. This they did, with the addition of a spear, much to Kamrasi's delight, who thought that the possession of this weapon would enable him to bewitch the spears as well as the courage of his enemies, and so prevent the weapons from hurting his tribe.

In order to ensure prosperity to their family, or to cure a sick relative, the Wany kill some animal, split it open, and lay it at the intersection of two cross roads, s spot being held by them, as by the Balonda, in great reverence. If the man is r enough, he sacrifices a goat, but if not, a fowl will answer; and if a man is very p indeed, he makes a frog serve his purpose.

These people seem to have kept their burial ceremonies very secret, as a funeral never seen in Central Africa, but it is said that the dead are buried near the house or the cattle-fold, wrapped in bark-cloth or a cow-skin. When the king dies his body first dried, and then the lower jaw-bone is removed and buried by itself. Officers of palace are privileged to have their heads and hands treated in the same manner.

ORNAMENTED SPEAR HEAD.

CHAPTER XLI.

GANI, MADI, OBBO, AND KYTCH.

POSITION OF THE GANI TRIBE-THEIR HOSPITABLE CHARACTER-GANI ARCHITECTURE-SINGULAR MODE OF DRESS-THE GANI QUEUE-TOILET MAKING IN PUBLIC-THE MADI TRIBE-CARE OF CHILDREN-DRESS OF THE WOMEN-VARIOUS DANCES-MADI VILLAGES-ILL-TREATMENT OF THE NATIVES-POSITION OF THE OBBO TRIBE GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVESSINGULAR MODE OF DRESS-KATCHIBA, THE OBBO CHIEF HIS LARGE FAMILY-HIS REPUTATION AS A SORCERER-INGENIOUS ESCAPE FROM A DILEMMA--KATCHIBA'S PALACE A VISIT

TO THE CHIEF-HIS HOSPITALITY AND GENEROUS CONDUCT-CHARACTER OF KATCHIBA.

WE now come to a large district about lat. 3° N. and long. 32° E. This country is inhabited by a group of tribes, who are perhaps more remarkable for their style of dress than any which we have yet noticed. We will first take the GANI.

The Gani are a hospitable people, and when Captains Speke and Grant passed through their country, received them with great kindness, even though they had never seen white men before, and might be expected to take alarm at an armed party penetrating into their land.

One day, when Captain Grant was walking in search of plants, he was hailed by a native, who contrived to make him understand that he wished to conduct the white man. He was very polite to his guest, acting as pioneer, beating down the thorny branches that bstructed the path, and pointing out the best places for crossing rocks. He evidently thought that Captain Grant had lost his way, and so guided him back to the camp, previously leaving his spear in a hut, because to appear armed in the presence of a superior is contrary to their system of etiquette.

The mode of welcome was rather remarkable. The old chief of the village advanced to meet the strangers, accompanied by his councillors and a number of women, one of whom carried a white chicken, and the others beer and a bunch of a flowering plant. When the two parties met, the chief, whose name was Chongi, took the fowl by one leg, stooped, and swung it backwards and forwards close to the ground, and then passed it to his male attendants, who did the same thing. He then took a gourd full of beer, dipped the plant in it, and sprinkled the liquid over his guests, and then spread cow-skins under a tree by way of couches, on which his guests might repose. They were next presented with a supply of beer, which was politely called water.

The villages of the Gani are extremely neat, and consist of a quantity of huts built round a flat cleared space which is kept exceedingly smooth and neat. In the middle of this space are one or two miniature huts made of grass, and containing idols, and a few horns are laid near them. When the Gani lay out plans for a new village, they mostly allow one large tree to remain in the centre of the cleared space, and under its shade the inhabitants assemble and receive their guests. The houses are shaped like beehives, are very low, and composed simply of a mud wall and a roof made of bamboo

thatched with grass. The doors are barely two feet high, but the supple-bodied G who have never been encumbered with clothes, can walk through the aperture perfect ease. The floor is made of clay beaten hard, and is swept with great care. C skins are spread on the floor by way of beds, and upon these the Gani sleep without covering.

Close to the huts are placed the grain-stores, which are very ingeniously made. F a number of rude stone pillars are set in a circle, having flat stones laid on their t much resembling the remains of Stonehenge. Upon these is secured an encr. ↑ cylinder of basket-work plastered with clay, the top of which is covered with a or roof of bamboo and grass. When a woman wishes to take grain out of the store-ba she places against it a large branch from which the smaller boughs have been z leaving stumps of a foot or ten inches in length, and by means of this rude ladder si easily ascends to the roof.

The appearance of this tribe is most remarkable, as they use less clothing and ornament than any people at present known. We will begin with the men. Their is absolutely nothing at all as far as covering the body is concerned, but, as if to t pensate for this nudity, there is scarcely a square inch of the person without its ment. In the first place, they use paint as a succedaneum for dress, and cover thementirely with colours, not merely rubbing themselves over with one tint, but using »-colours, and painting themselves in a wonderful variety of patterns, many of them s real artistic power, while others are simply grotesque.

Two young men who came as messengers from Chongi had used three colours. had painted their faces white, the pigment being wood ashes, and their bodies were with two coats of paint, the first purple, and the second ashen grey. This latter had scraped off in irregular patterns, just as a painter uses his steel comb when wood, so that the purple appeared through the grey, and looked much like the -mahogany. Some of the men cover their bodies with horizontal stripes, like t the zebra, or with vertical stripes running along the curve of the spine and limbs, zigzag markings of light colours. Some very great dandies go still further, and pain bodies chequer-fashion, exactly like that of a harlequin. White always plays a part in their decorations, and is often applied in broad bands round the waist and Le

The head is not less gorgeously decorated. First the hair is teased out with a and is then dressed with clay so as to form it into a thick felt-like mass. This is further decorated with pipe-clay laid on in patterns, and at the back of the neck is a piece of sinew about a foot in length. This odd-looking queue is turned up, and ins off at the tip with a tuft of fur, the end of a leopard's tail being the favourite ornar Shells, beads, and other ornaments are also woven into the hair, and in most cas feather is added by way of a finishing touch. The whole contour of the head-d: exactly like that of the pantaloon of the stage, and the sight of a man with the body harlequin and the head of a pantaloon is too much for European gravity to withstand Beside all this elaborate decoration, the men wear a quantity of bracelets, anklets earrings. The daily toilet of a Gani dandy occupies a very long time, and in morning the men may be seen in numbers sitting under the shade of trees, employe painting their own bodies or dressing the hair of a friend, and applying paint where would not be able to guide the brush. As may be inferred, they are exceedingly vai their personal appearance; and when their toilet is completed, they strut about in or show themselves, and continually pose themselves in attitudes which they think gre but which might be characterised as conceited.

Each man usually carries with him an odd little stool with one leg, and inste sitting on the ground, as is done by most savages, the Gani make a point of sev themselves on these little stools, which look very like those which are used by S herdsmen when they milk the cows, and only differ from them in not being te the body.

The women are not nearly such votaries of fashion as their husbands, princ because they have to work and to nurse the children, who would make short work of paint that they might use. Like the parents, the children have no clothes, and are