BANTU NEGHOES 



753 



If the figlit has been with another tribe, or between strangers, the van- 

 quished party obtains a dog and cuts it in half. Tlie delegates from 

 each side hold respectively the front and hind legs of the divided dog, 

 swearing jieace and friendship over the half they hold. Some of the 

 Kavirondo jieople place a dead crow on the ground between the negotiating 

 parties whilst peace ceremonies are going on. 



They have but few viyths or traditioois, or rather it would be more 

 correct to say that none of these have yet been ascertained ; bu^ Mr. Hobley 

 informs me that their folk-lore, especially about beasts, is fully as elaborate 

 as among other Bantu peoples of Uganda. In these stories the Orycteropus, 

 or ant bear, frequently figures. 



401. A KAVIRONDO MUSICIAN", WITH LYRE 



Their music is plaintive, and sometimes pretty. They have no other instru- 

 ments but drums and a large lyre, of which an illustration is given (Fig. 401). 



As regards dances, these are frequently held, and appear to be 

 divisible into four or five kinds. There- is the dance given to celebrate 

 the birth of twins in a village. This is said to be of an obscene nature, 

 though, as I have said before, the obscenity appears to lie in the 

 stereotyped gestures, and not in tlie thoughts or intentions of the people 

 at the time of dancing. It is danced by both men and women. Secondly, 

 there is a death dance, which is also joined in by both sexes. If the 

 dead person is a man, every village which is represented at the dance 

 .sends a bullock for the funeral feast. Mr. Hoblev states that a third kind 



