46 



NATURE 



[March 9, 191 1 



head and narrower in the region of the jaws; the 

 chiefs f^enerally belong to the latter type. It appears 

 to be impossible to discover any reason for this 

 variation." Periodically numbers of the younger 

 people are seized by a peculiar form of hysteria (re- 

 sembling the so-called arctic hysteria), and the sight 

 of a hat or cap, or sometimes of a dog, causes the 

 patient to fall into convulsions, until the obnoxious 

 object is removed from sight. The numerical pro- 

 portion of the sexes is eyu.il, and polygyny is fast 



of a very secret character in the woods; in the dark- 

 ness of the night a weird booming roar is heard, 

 and the youths sit and shudder with fright. This i* 

 said t<) be caused by a fearsome beast, which on the 

 third day is supposed to be killed and its flesh eaten 

 by the novitiates. Very little is known about this 

 ceremony, which is evidently one of great antiquity 

 and interest. 



The second part of the book contains some valii- 

 able notes upon a few other tribes; of especial im- 



FiG. I. — ^Pictography (lit on a sink rtp.e enting a star ; moon ; arrow ; black, red-legged millipet'L- ; ).\ il.on, ih'- dots reprtsent the spots on 

 the reptile's skin ; spider ; tortoise ; lizard ; wooden jar for carrying honey. From " iithnology of A-Karaba and other East AfricaiiTiibts. . 



dying out. The A-Kamba are the only people in 

 East Africa who chip the upper incisor teeth to a 

 point; filing or chipping the teeth is generally sup- 

 posed to be associated with cannibalism, but so far 

 as can be ascertained no such custom exists or has 

 existed among the A-Kamba. The ornaments, cloth- 

 ing, implements, arts and crafts of the people are 

 succinctly described, but the most valuable portion 

 of the book is that dealing with the social and reli- 

 gious aspects of native life. The birth, marriage, 

 and death customs are recorded, but those connected 

 with puberty are of greater interest. Circumcision is 

 performed when the child is about four or five years 



Fig. 2. — Matungi, chief of the Mogogodo tribe. From. " Ethnology 

 of A-Kamba and other East African Tribes." 



old ; this is only a small affair, but more important 

 is an initiation ceremony, which lasts for several 

 days, at which several hundred young people are 

 often present ; the boys and girls are divided into 

 batches of ten or fifteen, with a fully initiated youth 

 or girl in charge of each batch. It is the duty of 

 these tutors to teach their pupils their duties in life ; 

 they also cut pictographs on sticks, the meaning of 

 which the neophytes have to discover. Some two 

 months later the youths only undergo a ceremonv 



NO. 2158, VOL. 86] 



portance are the notes on the social organisation of 

 the Masai, among whom a geographical grouping is 

 replacing the older clan grouping ; the marks branded 

 on the cattle correspond to the latter, while the de- 

 signs on the shields have a territorial significance. 

 Mr. Hobley directs attention to the promising field for 

 research, not only in the ethnology but in ihe 

 archaeology of British East Africa. His little book, 

 which is extremely well illustrated, serves to empha- 

 sise how much more there is to be done ; for example, 

 he has discovered a new small pastoral tribe, the 

 Mogogodo, on the foothills on the north side of 

 Kenia, who possess a remarkable language, and 

 features that remind one of certain ancient Egyptians. 

 In a prefatory note. Prof. Ridgeway strongly endorses 

 the remarks of Mr. Hobley on the importance of 

 Grovernment officials having a preliminary training in 

 anthropology. A. C. Had don. 



IRE TOKYO IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY. 



THE peoples of the West for a long time had the im- 

 pression that while the Japanese had great artistic 

 ability and could imitate the productions of other 

 countries, the}' had little or no originality. Notwith- 

 standing all that they have accomplished during the 

 past fort}" years or so, both in the arts of peace anci 

 war, that impression still prevails to a considerable 

 extent, and we frequently hear opinions which do no< 

 do justice to their general ability, their trustworthi- 

 ness, or their originality. It would take us too far 

 afield if we attempted to disprove those opinions from 

 what the Japanese have accomplished, but a perusal 

 of the reports of the Minister of State for Education 

 and of the calendar of Tokyo Imperial University 

 shows that the developments which have taken place 

 in Japan in recent times are not the superficial veneers 

 which some people would have us believe they are, 

 but, on the contrary, that they have been made on a 

 solid foundation of education. 



The annual report of the Minister of State for 

 Education is a most interesting document,, and shows 

 that during the time which we have mentioned every 

 department of education which is necessary to train 

 men and women for all the duties of a modern State 

 has been very fully developed. Elementary- schools 

 are to be found in every part of the countn.', and 

 secondary schools have been established in the more 

 important centres of population, while a great variety 

 of special and technical schools, fit for all the 

 functions required under tlie new conditions, which 

 are the result of the adoption of Western science and 

 habits of life. 



