MOMBASA. 81 



the hips. They wear invariably a single sheet of 

 cotton cloth printed in blue or black with the 

 most astonishing borders and spotty designs. 

 This is drawn tight just above the breasts, leaving 

 the shoulders and arms bare. Their hair is divided 

 into perhaps a dozen parts running lengthwise 

 of the head from the forehead to the nape of the 

 neck, after the manner of the stripes on a water- 

 melon. Each part then ends in a tiny twisted 

 pigtail not over an inch long. The lobes of their 

 ears have been stretched until they hold thick 

 round disks about three inches in diameter, 

 ornamented by concentric circles of different 

 colours, with a red bull's eye for a centre. The 

 outer edges of the ears are then further decorated 

 with gold clasps set closely together. Many 

 bracelets, necklaces, and armlets complete the 

 get-up. They are big women, with soft velvety 

 skins and a proud and haughty carriage the 

 counterparts of the men in the white robes and 

 caps. 



By the way, it may be a good place here to 

 remark that these garments, and the patterned 

 squares of cloth worn by the women, are in- 

 variably most spotlessly clean. 



These, we learned, were the Swahilis, the 

 ruling class, the descendants of the slave traders. 



