590 BANTU NEGROES 



women take u[) a croucliing jjosition, squatting on the ground with their 

 backs to the body. Then the special •' muchwezi," or priest of the tribe to 

 wliich the dead man belonged, is summoned. When he arrives, he brings 

 with him a small gourd basin full of water. The crowd which has by 

 this time assembled draws near, and the priest sprinkles most of the people 

 with water as a sign of purification. Then he announces in a loud voice 

 that the " Bachwezi " are angry because some wrong-doing has occurred 

 either on the part of the dead man or on the part of members of his clan. 

 P"or this wrong-doing the ancestral spirits have demanded a victim. The 

 dead bodv is then wrapped up in the bark-cloth or skins and carried out 

 into the long grass. Amidst the grass an ant-hill is sought for, and when 

 one of the right shape is found the corpse is placed on the top of it and 

 left there un buried. When this is done, the old women-witches together 

 with the priest assemble to investigate the cause of the spirits' anger. If 

 they can arrive at no clear decision as to the cause (and if they do, measures 

 are to be taken to remedy the wrong-doing), the priest of the clan demands 

 as a sacrifice a cow without blemish, and a sheep, a goat, and a fowl, 

 which are one-coloured, without a spot. These animals are then placed 

 in the centre of a circle formed by the witches, after which the hags dance 

 round the sacrifice, chanting a chorus to the effect of " ' Bachwezi,' accept 

 these our offerings and let your wrath cease." It is scarcely necessary to 

 add that the ceremonies conclude by the priest and the witches making 

 a hearty meal oS' the sacrificial offering. 



The Banyoro are not a 'particularly moral race, and under the former 

 rule of their kings they w^ere essentially immoral. Infidelity on the part 

 of wives was readily condoned by the present of a goat or a jar of beer, or 

 a few kauri shells. But transgressions of this kind with women belong- 

 ing to the big chiefs (the " bakama ") or the king himself were punished 

 with death. Nevertheless, the king usually supported in connection with 

 his own establishment a large number — perhaps 2,000 — professional 

 prostitutes, whose existence as an organised corps was recorded by all 

 travellers in Unyoro from the days of Sir Samuel Baker until the complete 

 upsetting of the native Government of Unyoro in 1895. These women 

 were accustomed to go into the market places of big centres of population 

 and openly shout their trade and ply for custom. In addition to these 

 women, whose ostensible status was that of " servants of the king," 

 Kabarega and his predecessors would own from 1,000 to 3,000 wives and 

 concubines. Kabarega claimed to have been the father of 700 children. 



On the other hand, the Banyoro have generally been regarded as an 

 honest race — the exactions and raids of their chiefs and kings excepted. 

 Mr. George Wilson declares that theft is peculiarly rare amongst the 

 Banyoro, and they are honest to a degree which is exceptional in the 



