222 POLYGAMY SINGULAR CUSTOMS. 



kept in readiness for such occasions, and for a certain time 

 hides her face by means of a piece of thin, soft skin attached 

 to the front of the " casque," which she can raise or let fall 

 in much the same manner as a curtain. 



Polygamy is practiced to a great extent, and, as has been 

 said elsewhere, women are bargained for like merchandise, 

 the price varying according to the circumstances of the hus- 

 band. Yet, though a man may have as many wives as he 

 likes, I never knew one to have more than twenty ! — a pretty 

 good supply, however, it must be admitted. 



The favorite wife always takes precedence of the rest, and, 

 if she should have a son, he succeeds to his father's posses- 

 sions and authority. 



Each wife builds for herself a hut of a semicircular form, 

 the walls of which consist of boughs, sticks, &c., the whole 

 being plastered over. 



Twins are not uncommon with the Damaras. Children are, 

 generally speaking, easily reared. During infancy, sheep's 

 milk constitutes their chief diet. Their heads are more or 

 less deprived of hair ; the boys are shaved, but the crown of 

 the head of the girls is left untouched. Even grown-up fe- 

 males follow this custom. To the hair thus left they attach 

 — not very unlike the Ovambo — thin strings, made from 

 some fibrous substance. 



All males are circumcised, but no particular period of hfe 

 is prescribed for this operation, which usually takes place 

 when any event of national interest occurs. 



Children are named after great public incidents ; but, as 

 they grow up, should any circumstance arise of still greater 

 importance to the community, they are renamed, retaining, 

 however, the original appellation ; and, since there may be 

 no limit to remarkable transactions, it follows that an indi- 

 vidual may have more names than any Spanish hidalgo can 

 boast. 



Between the age of fifteen and twenty, both sexes chip a 



