Chap. XTT. AN APONO TDOL. 239 



Asbango ; tliey are men ; they will even travel by 

 night, as there will be the moon with us. 



I wanted to obtain one of the idols of the Apono, 

 so to-day, on asking Nchiengain, he took me out of 

 the village along a path which led to a grove of 

 trees, and thence he sent his head wife to a mbuiri 

 house to fetch an idol. When it came, I found it so 

 large (it was, in fact, a load for one man) and so 

 disgustingly indecent, that I was obliged to refuse it. 

 I felt that if I accepted it I should be like the worthy 

 mayor in the well-known story, who received the 

 present of a white elephant. Like other idols which 

 I had seen, it was a female. 



The villagers have the largest ngoma, or tam-tam, 

 I have ever seen. It measures very nearly nine feet 

 in length, and the hollowing of the log must have 

 cost the Apono a great deal of labour. Many of the 

 people are drunk to-night, following the examjjle of 

 the two chiefs. I had always heard from the slaves 

 near the coast that the Apono were a merry race, 

 and I now find it so with a vengeance. Since my 

 arrival here there has been nothing but dancing and 

 singing every night. I distributed beads among the 

 women, and this has had a great effect. So we are 

 all good friends together. 



June 3rd. We left Mouendi with a great deal of 

 trouble this morning. Nchiengain and Mayolo 

 wanted to renew the libations of the previous even- 

 ing, and, in fact, were half-drunk soon after daylight ; 

 but I went to the hut where the symposium was 

 going on, and, kicking over the calabashes of palm 

 wine, sent the chiefs and their attendants to the 



