NILOTIC NEGROES 



781 



near the entrance to the village, so that they can watch over any attempt 

 to steal cattle. The hut which is directly opposite the gate of the village 

 is usually that of the principal wife of the village head-man. Then- is 

 much the same superstition as among the Bantu Kavirondo about shutting 

 the door of a house behind a person who lias just left it. 



Unmarried men go naked. Married men who have children wear a 



428. HUSBAND AM) WIFE, JA-L1 I 



small piece of goat skin, which, though quite inadequate fur purposes 

 of decency, is, nevertheless, a very important thing in etiquette; for a 

 married man with a child must on no account call on his mother-in-law 

 without wearing this piece of goat skin. To call on her in a state of 

 absolute nudity would be regarded as a serious insult, only to be atoned 

 for by the payment of goats. Even if under the new dispensation a man 



