FEJEE GROUP. 177 



nishes words for expressing every emotion of the mind. They 

 have also distinctive names for all the plants, trees, and other 

 subjects of the vegetable kingdom that grow under their 

 climate. The language affords various forms of salutation, 

 according to the rank of the parties. When the common 

 people approach a " duowa turanga," or a chief, they cry out, 

 " Duowa," to which the chief replies, " Wa." If the chief is 

 on his route, they turn out of his path, squat on their haunches, 

 and lower their clubs to the ground. Women make their 

 salutations in words different from those employed by the 

 men. They have also forms of expression equivalent to 

 our " No, sir," and " Yes, sir." 



Their mode of sending messages is peculiar : The messen- 

 ger is furnished with as many sticks or reeds as the message 

 contains separate subjects. The sticks are of various lengths, 

 in order to distinguish them from each other. When the 

 messenger arrives at his destination, he delivers the reeds 

 successively, and with each of them repeats the purport of the 

 message of which it is a memorial. The reply is conveyed 

 after the same manner. 



Women are treated as inferior beings ; they are prohibited 

 from entering the spirit-houses or eating human flesh. The 

 girls of the lower classes of a tribe, are entirely at the disposal 

 of the chief, who may sell them to transient strangers, or do 

 anything else with them he pleases. Wives, besides taking 

 care of their children, and doing the work about the house, 

 are obliged to assist the men in cultivating the soil ; if they 

 misbehave they are tied to a tree and flogged. 



At the age of fourteen, boys undergo the operation of cir- 

 cumcision, which is performed after the manner of the Jews. 

 Young girls allow their hair to grow in long locks, and usually 

 decorate them with flowers of various colors. They are also 





