MASAI, TURKANA, SUK, NANDI, ETC. 



851 



mother's huf, place the bodies of ordinary folk out in tlie bush to be 

 devoured bv hyaenas, and Ijurv tlieir cliiefs or principal medicine men 

 under cairns of stones. Thev have much the same vacfue reliijious lieliefs 

 in a sky god, in rain-making, witchcraft, and medicine. They distinguish 

 between their medicine men (who wield great power) and their chiefs — 

 that is to say, those chiefs who are elected to keep order or to direct 

 war. But very often tlie medicine man is a chief or leader by virtue of 

 his power in medicine or in occult arts. 



Their style of dancing merits a little description. The men stand in 

 a semi-circle or in a horseshoe formation. A certain number of performiM's 



476. SIK DANCING 



place themselves in a row within this horseshoe, and whilst the ])eo[)le of 

 the outer circle clap their hands and sing, the selected band inside jumps 

 up and down, keeping the body perfectly stifif and erect, with the hands 

 pressed against the sides. They will sometimes jump quite a height into 

 the air. Other of their dances are accom[)anied by obscene gestures. 

 Their songs are like those of the INIasai — a long wailing solo accompanied 

 by a rhythmical chorus singing in a low key. Here is the notation of 

 one which I took down on the phonograph: — 

 Solo. Chorus. 



