v.] 



THE WADIRIGO. 



V3 



oval-shaped shields of bull's hide. Their ornaments are brass- 

 wire ear-rings and necklaces ; and, having been so much in com- 

 munication with people of the coast, they dress like the Arabs' 

 slaves. 



A great contrast to the Mpwapwa people were some of the 

 Wadirigo who came over to look at us. They stalked about 

 among the timid villagers, openly telling them that, whenever 

 they thought fit, they would plunder them. 



June, 



1873. 



"^^->^^ 



The Wadirigo are a tall, manly race, despising all such re- 

 finements of civilization as clothing — the men, and many of the 

 women, being stark-naked, with the exception, perhaps, of a sin- 

 gle string of beads round the neck or wrist. 



They carry enormous shields of hide, five feet high by three 

 wide, stiffened by a piece of wood bowed to form a handle down 

 the centre, and having a small withe round the edge to keep it 

 in shape. On the right-hand side of the centre-piece are two 

 beckets. In these are kept a heavy sjjear for close quarters, 

 and a bundle of six or eight slender, beautifully finished assa- 

 gais — ornamented with brass wire, and balanced by a small knob 

 of the same metal at the butt — which they throw upward of 

 fifty yards with force and precision. 



Such is their reputation for courage and skill in the use of 



