PYGMIES AND FOREST NEGROES 543 



This little people is evidently innately musical, although so uninventive 

 as regards instruments. They have many different songs, some of 

 which have a melody obvious even to European ears, a strophe and anti- 

 strophe, a solo part and a chorus. The men's voices are alto, or a high 

 tenor : the little women sing in the shrillest soprano. The men often 

 hum a tune with their closed lips in accompaniment to one of their number 

 who is singing at the top of his voice. They sometimes prefer to give musical 

 performances seated (as in the illustration, where they have borrowed 

 instruments from our camp), two or three thumping drums, all singing, 

 and most of them accompanying the song with the drollest movements of 

 the head, arms, and body. They will, in fact, " dance " sitting down, 

 rolling their heads, striking the ground with their elhows or the outer side 

 of the thigh, twitching and wagging their round bellies and rocking their 

 whole body backwards and forwards, and all with an irresistible rhythm and 

 bright-eyed merriment. Their upright dances are also full of variety, 

 differing thus from the dull monotony of movement which characterises 

 most Negro dancing. On these occasions their gestures are almost graceful 

 (in some dances) and " stagey," irresistibly recalling (in unconscious parody) 

 the marionette action and affected poses of the short-kilted, brawny - 





298. PYGMIES DANCING : A HALT TO CONSIDER THE NEXT PIGUEE 



limbed Italian ballet-dancers still to be found wearying London audiences 

 at the Opera and iu Leicester Square. One at least of the Dwarf dances is 

 grossly indecent in what it simulates, although it is danced reverently 



