4IO 



GLOSSARY OF NATIVE WORDS 



Mau (Suah. ), a canoe 



Mhogo (Suah.), cassava, the root of native 



arrowroot 

 Munipara (Siiah. ), a native headman 

 Mvita (Suah. ), one of the native names of 



Mombasa. The term means "battle" 



Obsidian (Geol. ), a volcanic glass 



Pegmatite (Geol. ), an igneous rock which 

 occurs as dykes 



Permo-CarhoiiiferoHS (Geol.), the period in 

 the earth's history in which were de- 

 posited the Mountain Limestone, the 

 Coal Measures, and the Magnesian Lime- 

 stones 



Phonolite (Geol.), of "clinkstone," a lava 

 the thin slabs of which are resonant when 

 struck 



Porphyritic (Geol.), a term applied to 

 those igneous rocks in which one of the 

 constituents occurs in much larger crystals 

 than the rest 



Posho (Suah. ), a day's food allowance 



Potiss (Suah.), a native food made of 

 boiled flour " 



Quartz (Geol. ), rock crystal, the crystalline 

 form of silica, and one of the commonest 

 rock-forming minerals 



Qicartzite (Geol.), a rock formed of granu- 

 lar quartz, generally formed by the 

 alteration of sandstones 



Rhizome (Bot. ), the creeping underground 



stem of a plant 

 Roches Mouto7inies (Geol. ), rock surfaces 



which have been rounded by the flow of 



a glacier across them 



Safari (Suah.), a journey or a caravan 

 Sanidine (Geol.), a glassy mineral belong- 

 ing to the group of felspars found in 

 some lavas 



Schist (Geol.), a rock composed of alter- 

 nate layers of two different minerals. 

 The schists are produced by alteration 

 of other rocks ; they are of considerable 

 geological antiquity, and are mostly 

 (according to some geologists, always) 

 of Archean age. 



Sedimetitaiy (Geol.), a grotip of rocks, in- 

 cluding those formed by the deposition 

 of sediments, such as limestones, clays, 

 sandstones, etc. 



Shadda (Suah.), ten strings of beads, a 

 Suahili measure of value 



Shale (Geol.), a rock composed of clay, 

 which splits readily into flakes 



Shamba (Suah. ), a plantation or cultivated 

 field 



Shauri (Suah.), a conference 



Silica (Geol.), a compound of silicon and 

 oxygen, which occurs as quartz, flint, 

 etc. , and in combination with other 

 materials in rocks 



Taejida (Suah.), the order to "start" 

 Talus (Geol.), loose, fallen material, that 

 collects at the foot of cliffs and in gorges 

 Trachyte (Geol.), a lava rich in silica 

 Transpiration (Bot.), the evaporation of 



water from the surfaces of leaves 

 Traverse ( Mt. ) , a term used in mountain- 

 eering for a climb across the face of a 

 slope from one ridge to another 

 Tuff[(j&o\.), a rock formed of small frag- 

 ments of volcanic ashes and lava 



lVasche72zi (Suah.), a term applied by 

 Zanzibari to up-country natives. It 

 means ' ' savages. " It is sometimes used 

 in a more limited sense for a tribe near 

 Bagamoyo 



Yambo ( Suah). , the common Suahili 

 greeting 



