98 EASTERN ETHIOPIA vm 



of the men are engaged in what may be called house- 

 work and cooking. 



The women also milk the cows and goats, and in 

 this they are assisted by the boys. Now that the 

 Masai no longer raid their neighbours and steal cattle 

 the occupation of the warriors is gone, but these nn'ii 

 make excellent herdsmen and are often employed in 

 this capacity by European settlers. The Masai are 

 not only polygamous but also polyandrous, for the 

 wife is lent to a visitor : they are exceedingly 

 immoral. Thomson states that though the Masai and 

 Wa-Kikuyu were eternally at war with each other, 

 there is a compact between them not to molest the 

 womenfolk of either party, and the Masai women 

 would wend their way to a Kikuyu village whilst their 

 relatives were probably engaged in a deadly struggle 

 close at hand. 



The Masai are fond of moving, and if the grazing 

 is poor they move to another place. The donkeys and 

 women are the pack animals. It is quite common to 

 meet with a party on the move and find the women laden 

 with babies, bags, gourds, and other utensils ; the work 

 of raising the skin tents or building huts devolves on 

 them also. The men accompanying the party merely 

 carry their spears and clubs. 



With us to spit upon a thing expresses contempt ; 

 with the Masai it is a sign of friendship and respect. 

 The two lower incisor teeth are knocked out in men 

 and women, and no reason is assigned for this practice ; 

 in spitting the fluid is ejected through this gap, some- 

 times in a forcible stream. I first saw the practice in a 

 village. When my conductor entered the village a 

 woman of the tribe advanced and shook hands with him, 

 having previously spat in her palm. My friend spat 

 on his palm, and I noticed that he did not shake hands 

 with what would be called warmth. I mentioned this 

 opinion to him subsequently ; he replied that she had 

 expressed her high appreciation of his visit by spitting 



