EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



ii 



can ; it is greatly appreciated by them and has replaced 

 gourds in their domestic economy. 



The kerosene can is used as a bucket for d rawing 



c5 



water from a well, or as a pail for its conveyance. 



When such a can is 

 divided and a hole 

 made in the end of 

 either half it becomes 

 a useful funnel. On 

 visiting a village it is 

 common to see these 

 cans used as sauce- 

 pans, baking - tins, 

 ovens, and parrot 

 cages ; receptacles for 

 pombe (beer) ; useful 

 boxes for clothes or 

 books, and travelling- 

 trunks ; one can well- 

 packed is a sufficient, 

 as well as a convenient 

 load for a porter to 

 carry on his head, and 

 two of them are easily 

 adjusted as panniers 

 for donkeys. 



The European sett- 

 lers use the kerosene 

 can as tubs for shrubs 

 and as flower pots ; 

 the edges of the cans 

 when used for flowers 

 are cut into triangular 

 patterns, much in the 

 same way as the Masai 



herdsmen clip the ears of their cattle. When the kerosene 

 can is useless as a vessel for holding liquids, it is hammered 

 out and the square sheets are useful for roofing huts. 



The kerosene can has largely replaced gourds 

 for the conveyance of water in British 

 East Africa. 



