MISCELLANIES. 
eessor had not been appointed, as 
the Governor did not feel himself 
sufficiently acquainted with the 
state of affairs to sanction the per- 
son who had assumed that situa- 
tion without farther inquiry.— 
Even the. united force of these 
chiefs is scarcely adequate to resist 
the furious attacks of the Makooa. 
Inaddition to the bodilystrength 
of the Makooa, may be added the 
deformity of their visage, which 
greatly augments the ferocity of 
their aspect. They are very fond 
of tattooing their skins, and they 
practise it so rudely, that they 
sometimes raise the marks an 
eighth of an inch above the sur- 
face. The fashion most.in vogue 
is to make a stripe down the fore- 
head along the nose to the chin, 
and another in a direct angle a- 
cross from ear to ear, indented in 
a peculiar way, so as to give the 
face the appearance of its having 
been sewed together in four parts. 
They file their teeth to.a point, in 
a manner that gives the whole set 
the appearance of a coarse saw, 
and this operation, to my surprise, 
does not injure either their. white- 
ness or durability, They are like- 
wise. extremely fantastic in the 
mode of dressing their hair ; some 
shave only one side of the head, 
others both sides, leaving a kind 
of crest extending from the top 
to the nape of the neck, while a 
few are content to wear simply a 
knot on the top of their foreheads. 
They bore the gristle of the nose, 
and suspend to it ornaments made 
of copper or of bone, The pro- 
trusion of their upper lip is more 
conspicuous than in any other 
race of men I have seen, and the 
women in particular consider. it as 
§0 necessary a feature to beauty, 
Vor, LVII. 
599 
that they take especial-care to 
elongate it byintroducing into the 
centre a small circular piece of 
ivory, wood, or iron, as an addi- 
tional ornament. The form of 
the females approximates to that 
of the Hottentot women, the spine 
being curved and the hinder parts 
protruding ; and indeed, to say 
the truth, it is scarcely possible to 
conceive a more disagreeable ob- 
ject to look at than a middle-aged 
woman belonging to a tribe of the 
Makooa. tabla 
Wild as the Makooa are in their 
sayage state, it is astonishing to 
observe how docile and service- 
able they become as slaves, -and 
when partially admitted to free- © 
dom, by being enrolled as soldiers, 
how quickly their improvement 
advances, and how thoroughly 
their fidelity may be relied on.— 
Among other inquiries, I was 
anxious to learn whether they en- 
tertained any notion of a Deity ; 
if they do, it must be an extreme- 
ly obscure one, as they have no 
other word in their language to 
express the idea but “ wherimb,” 
which signifies also the sky. This 
remark is equally applicable to the 
Monjou, who in the same way 
apply the word ** molungo,”’ sky, 
to their imperfect apprehension 
of the Deity, 
The Makooa are fond of music 
and dancing, and are easily made 
happy with the sound of the tom- 
tom, yet, like all savages, their 
unvaried tones and motions soon 
fatigue European attention. They 
have a favourite instrument called 
‘ Ambira,’ the notes of which are 
very simple yetharmonious, sound- 
ing to the ear, when skilfully ma- 
naged, like the changes upow 
bells. It is formed by a number 
2M 
