AFRICAN CAMP FIRES 



the knee joints. The married women wear also a 

 great outstanding collar. 



The Masai are pastoral, and keep immense herds 

 and flocks. Therefore they inhabit the grazing 

 countries; and are nomadic. Their villages are in- 

 variably arranged in a wide circle, the low huts of 

 mud and wattles facing in. The spaces between the 

 huts are filled in with thick dense thorn brush, thus 

 enclosing a strong corral, or boma. These villages 

 are called manyattas. They are built by the women 

 in an incredibly brief space of time. Indeed, an 

 overchief stopping two days at one place had been 

 known to cause the construction of a complete vil- 

 lage, to serve only for that period. He then moved 

 on, and the manyatta was never used again! Never- 

 theless these low rounded huts, in shape like a loaf 

 of bread, give a fictitious impression of great strength 

 and permanency. The smooth and hardened mud 

 resembles masonry or concrete work. As a matter 

 of fact it is the thinnest sort of a shell over plaited 

 withes. The single entrance to this compound may 

 be closed by thorn bush so that at night, when the 

 lions are abroad, the Masai and all his herds dwell 

 quite peaceably and safely inside the boma. Twelve 

 to twenty huts constitute a village. 



When the grass is fed down the village moves 

 to a new location. There is some regulation to this, 



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