THE NATIVES OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA 



habits the highlands in the center of the Protectorate, has 

 had frequent wars with the Masai tribe of the plains. 

 Sometimes the Masai would be victorious, and carry away 

 a great many cattle, sheep, and women from the Kikuju, 

 but at other times they would be beaten, and the Kikujus 

 would make up their former loss from the large Masai 

 possessions. But of late these race wars and raids have, 

 through the influence of the British government, fortu- 

 nately entirely stopped. 



The Kikuju people, both men and women, are very 

 fond of wearing all sorts of ornaments in their ears. They 

 cut the lobe of the ear, when the child is young, and insert 

 heavy rings, or even stones, for the purpose of extending 

 the lobe, until it finally widens so much that some of them 

 succeed in putting in rings of wood or ivory the diameter 

 of which is anywhere from six to eight inches. Besides 

 this they make holes in the upper part of the ear and insert 

 there pieces of wood or bamboo in such a way that these 

 sticks very much resemble the ribs of an open fan. Both 

 men and women wear bracelets of brass or iron wire, as 

 well as necklaces of the same kind of material, and strings 

 of glass beads. Anything may serve as a necklace for the 

 Kikuju. Some, for instance, make them by putting on 

 a string, or sinew of an animal, alternately the round 

 roots of a little tree, and the hollow bones of birds, cut 

 into equal lengths. Other ornaments are made of nuts 

 and fruit pits, which are strung together in the same 

 manner. 



As loin ornaments the men wear a heavy brass wire 

 from which numerous little iron or brass chains, varying 

 from three to six inches in length, hang down. The 

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