142 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. 



December, Kaffir corii, on being first gatliered, is threshed on floors of 



1873. trodden clay with long, curved sticks, sometimes having a small 



piece of board like the blade of an oar at the striking end, and, 



when separated from the rougher part of the chaff, is stowed 



away in the lindo. 



On being required for use, it is beaten in a mortar to remove 

 any chaff that may still remain, and then ground into flour be- 

 tween two stones. The larger of these is fixed in the earth, 

 and a woman, kneeling down, w^orks the small one upon it. Al- 

 together, it is a rough operation, resulting in a large proportion 

 of the flour being composed of sand and grit. 



While employed in this labor, women often have babies 

 lashed on their backs, and their pendulous and flaccid breasts 

 may frequently be seen swinging to and fro, with each motion 

 of the body, among the slowly accumulating heap of flour. 



The distinguishing tribal marks of the Wanyamwezi are a 

 tattooed line clown the centre of the forehead and on each tem- 

 ple, the two upper front teeth chij^ped so as to show a chevron- 

 shaped gap, and a small triangular piece of hippopotamus ivory 

 or of shell, ground down white and polished, hung round the 

 neck. Their ornaments consist principally of beads and brass 

 and iron wire. 



Chiefs and head-men wear enormous cylindrical bracelets of 

 ivory extending from wrist to elbow, which are also used as sig- 

 nals in w^arfare. The noise occasioned by striking them togeth- 

 er is heard at a long distance, and is used by chiefs as a call for 

 their men to rally round them. 



The men usually shave the crown of the head, and wear their 

 hair twisted into innumerable small strings, lengthened artifi- 

 cially by plaiting long fibres of bark cloth with the hair. This 

 is often carried to such an extent as to make it hang down to 

 the small of the back, and when on the road this mixture of 

 bark and hair is usually tied into a sort of club-tail. Others, 

 wdio only want to apjjear smart on occasions, have wigs of 

 string, and keep their wool shaved or clipped close. 



The women follow no particular fashion in dressing their 

 hair. Sometimes they allow it to remain in its native frizzi- 

 ness, often using it to stick a knife, pipe, or other small arti- 

 cle into. Others have their hair dressed in innumerable small 



