FA Mors jvnny rnEASURES of a xkcro mm; 



531 



tious aloiu' or to tlio [ii'o\ crlii;!! iiido- 

 lent'L' of ii(_\iiTO(,'.>< ; \Ur urc-it ololaclc 1o 

 tribal intercourse in ;i Inml of ciiinili;!!- 

 isni is the fact that li-axclcrs were con- 

 sidered "walkiiiu' liiin|>> of meal." Con- 

 ditions liad liccoiMc so d;iii_i;crous llia( 

 men walkin.u' throuii'li the forest carried 

 bows and ]ioisoned arrows ready for 

 enRM\i;'eiic\'. and women woiiM no| xcn- 

 tnre ahi-end alone. 



'rhn> tlie hhiek man ha> reeei\e(l as 

 little credit for attainments in carvinj;- 

 ivory as for his aliility t(t smell and 

 woi'k iron; alllionL;li lately lie has been 

 hailed by moilei'ii etlmolouists as tlie 

 inventoi- of the iron ti'ade. The carv- 

 ings of the !Maniibein show sncli tech- 

 nical perfection tliat the use of a lathe 

 and other modei'n instrununits suggests 

 itself. After much consideration, they 

 work without tracing a plan or indicat- 

 ing divisions, altliough apparently they 

 have a fair idea of the final form. 'I'he 

 tusk, or ])iece of ivory, is trimnuMl with 

 a hatchet exactly as if it were hard 

 wood. With an adz they shape the 

 ritder outlines. An indented blade 

 serves as a saw to cut the deeper mold- 

 ings. The finer, ornamental features 

 are cart'fully carved by variously shaped 

 tools: and. finally, the whole is 

 smoothed with the sharp edge of a 

 knife. Foliage, from various trees, con- 

 taining fine crystals of silica, is used 

 like .sandpaper : thus with a moistened 

 leaf they produce the polish which so 

 heiahtens the beautv of these ivories. ^ 



' Tlie Mangbetii neither soak nor in any otlier 

 way prepare ivory before or during carving. The 

 straiglitening of small curved pieces, however, 

 causes no perplexity. In the core of the juicy 

 banana trunk tlioy place tlie ivory to be bent. 

 This succulent cylinder, nearly a foot in diameter, 

 discharges steam from the center as it is turned 

 over the fire until the exterior is completely 

 charred. The ivory, thus exposed to a moist, in- 

 tense heat, and yet well protected from the flames, 

 is removed so hot that it <'an hardly be touched. 

 Water is poured over the straightened piece which 

 is then pressed between two logs. Bent ivory hat- 

 pins are easily straightened if put into a section 

 of the fruit stalk of plantains and treated in the 

 same manner. This process may be the key to 

 the lost art of ancient Greece and perhaps ex- 

 plains the presence of extremely large, flat pieces 

 of ivory required in the production of their colos- 

 sal gold and ivory statues. 



Imagine the iiiieouth ligure of an ill- 

 smelling, nearly nmU' Jiegro bent over 

 I he immaculate, white substance, often 

 holding the object with his feet to have 

 bis hands IVee, industriously hewing, 

 eai'\ing. scraping, and |iolishing. while 

 >ui'i'ounde(l by a gi'<>ii|> of enthusiastic 

 fi'ieiid> who s|uii' on his desire for 

 gi'eatei' accom|>lishment>. Iii> one goal 

 is to arouse the admii'ation of his fel- 

 low men whom he likes to surprise by 

 changing the deciu'at ive features for 

 e\('!'y object, 'i'lie li'anslucent ('(feet of 

 the subtle, wa\y lines and strange con- 

 centric rings appearing on the \\-ell- 

 balanced forms of the ixoi'ies is ample 

 j-eward foi- his diligence, 'i'he best of 

 his ci-eations he jiasses from hand to 

 hand, for closer scrutiny brings out 

 more fully their peculiar beauty. In 

 fact, the delicate details stamp it as a 

 labor of love and can bt^ ai)]n-eciated 

 only 1)y careful oxamination. 



Through their contributions, these 

 artists have unwittingly guided their 

 race to a keener realization of the beau- 

 iiful: and it is regrettable that the 

 greedy ti'ailei'- whom civilization sends 

 with his machine-made, utilitarian 

 goods, millions (d' them cast in the 

 same mold, should completely super- 

 sede an exquisite art. In these regions, 

 older chiefs often decline to wear the 

 gaudy cotton goods "fit only for 

 slaves" ; they still strut about in the 

 stiff, homemade ^'^Maluniba."" a bark 

 cloth peeled from their own fig trees. 

 The deeply folded, Havana-brown ma- 

 terial encircling their waists admirably 

 fits the well-built. In'onze torsos. 



The day before our arrival at 

 Okondo's court (Xovemher o, 1910), 

 and indeed Ibi'ougbout ihe following 

 (lay. an ai'iiiy of runuers a>>ured us that 

 "'I'here is no greater king than 



= Xot until 1910 (lid (iri'cks :iiul Hindus flock 

 info the northeastern I'cle offering so high a price 

 for tusks that ivory soon became scarce. In 

 former days only the larger tusks found their way 

 into the markets of the world, but later the chiefs 

 collected even the smaller ones, and thus articles 

 of ivory were rapidly disappearing. In fact, we 

 often liiid to liuy the ivory the artists needed. 



