NILOTIC NEGROES 



78^ 



430. PATTERN FREQUENTLY StlAVEl) ON 



men's heads (ja-llo) 



this tail liehiiul and receives a jireseiit 

 froni her husband. Afterwards it is con- 

 sidered verv bad manners for a niarried 

 ■\vom in to serve food to her liushaud 

 without jtutting on this taiL On the 

 other hand, if the husband or any other 

 man should touch the married woman's 

 tail, it is considered that he wishes to 

 bewitch her. and such an offence must 

 Ije atoned for by the u-ual sacritiee of 

 a goat. 



The Ja-luo pall oiU the incisors in 

 the lower jaw. It may also occur amongst 

 these people, as amongst the Lango 

 tribes to the north, that not only the four 

 incisors, but even the canines, ai'e taken 

 out. at any rate from the mouths of 

 boys. They do not circumcise, nor do 

 they scar or tattoo their bodies, with the exception that women raise 

 three parallel lines of dots in a semi-circle on either side of the body, 

 the ends of the semi-circle meeting in front just below the navel, and 

 again on the backbone. If a man has killed an enemy in war. he ])r(j- 

 pitiates his enemy's spirit by shaving his head for three days after his 

 return. Heads of men are also shaved in the pattern given in tlie 

 accompanying illu>tration (Fig. 430). 



The Ja-luo. together with tribes remotely allied in origin, such as the 

 Sfik and Lango. ornament the outer rim of the ear in a remarkable 

 manner. About fifteen small holes are pierced along the edge of the 

 cartilage, and a flattened ring of brass (looking in shape rather like a 

 melon seed) is inserted. Hanging on the outer side of the brass ring is 

 a large blue glass bead. In the lowest hole towards the lobe a plain 

 brass ring is inserted. Eegarding these blue beads ]Mr. Hobley writes : 

 •• Por a long time I thought these blue beads were ordinary trade beads 

 of the variety known as 'kiketi'; but upon inquiry I found this idea 

 was indignantly repudiated. It was explained to me that the beads were 

 picked up in the fields in the neighbourhood of the ^hu-agolia Hills * 

 after a heavy thunderstorm, and it was believed that they descended with 

 the rain." Some of the chiefs also Avear bits of jasjjer and chalcedony 

 with a fine circular hole. These beads were formerly of great value, and 

 were purchased at the rate of one cow jjer bead. They are said to- 

 have been picked u}i in the same way. Their name for these beads is 



* In North Kaviroiulo. 



