C52 



BANTU NEGROES 



over the ])t)rcli and a jiortion of the veraii(hih, the grass is shaved off 

 witli sharp knives to a smooth edge. This gives the house a very neat 

 aspect, and is a great improvement on the untidy, weeping straws which 

 usually terminate an African's thatch. The interior of the house and 

 tlie outer walls of the porch and front verandah are most neatly covered 

 with canework. This is made of the long stalks of the elephant grass 

 packed closely together in an upright position, and bound by transverse 



362. THE .SPEC I. \ I 



BAG AN DA GUESTS ON THE LATE 



yLEEN :s BIKTHDAY 



bands of bast. This canework is almost a speciality of the Baganda, and 

 with it they clothe unsightly poles, which then become glistening columns 

 of pale gold. Doors are even made of this canework. The apex of the 

 roof is usually finished ofif by a cap composed of several flounces of 

 thatch, one on top of the other. 



A large house may contain, besides the central fireplace (generally 

 a raised dais of hard clay on which stand the three liig round stones which 

 comi)ose tlie African's grate), from one to five slee})ing berths, usually 



