THE BANTU OF WESTERN AFRICA 



333 



homesteads, when the father and mother romp with their children, or sit together in a 

 munching group round the supper-pot." 



Clothing among the Middle Congo tribes is very simple, consisting of a little grass-cloth. 

 Ornaments of feathers and fur, shells, glass, and metal beads, are worn, and the skin is 

 decorated by stripes of paint or an extensive series of cicatrices. Sometimes this scar-tattooing 

 is decorative and covers the body, as among the Bangala: other peoples use it only as a 

 tribal distinction, such as the horizontal series of scars across the cheek-bones of the Bateke, 

 or the band across the forehead of the Bayansi. The dressing of the hair is very elaborate. 

 One favourite design, which is illustrated in a drawing of the head of an Mboko shown on 

 page 329, is an imitation of the horns of the buffalo. 



The ordinary huts of the natives are formed of mats woven from a reedy grass or the 

 fibres of plants. That of the chief is constructed more skilfully of palm leaves, and is encircled 

 by a fence of reeds. The household furniture and utensils are of the most primitive type. 



A GROUP OF CONGO MEN. 



It is, however, by their arts and industries that the Middle Congo Bantu especially 

 excel. Herein they are superior to any of their neighbours. Their weapons are of first- 

 rate workmanship. Their knives and spears are of well-tempered steel : the handles are 

 excellently carved, and inlaid with brass and metal slips. Their furniture consists of stools 

 and pillows carved from single blocks of wood. Their pottery, though hand-moulded, is 

 graceful in form. They are devoted to music, and play the drum or tom-tom, trumpets made 

 from antelope horns, the marimba or primitive piano, and a five-stringed lyre. Their knives 

 are varied in shape, some being either throwing-knives or retaining traces of the shape of 

 that weapon. Battle-axes are not used, but the weapon survives in a much decorated and 

 useless form as a symbol of authority. 



All along the rivers the natives use canoes, which are often of great size. They are used 

 for war, transport, and fishing. The Congo and its tributaries abound in fish, and the natives 



