214 THROUGH ANGOLA 



The negro's virtues of honesty an regards 

 property, and fidelity towards his acknowledged 

 master, though they may be the result of centuries 

 of fear, do exist to-day, and contrast not unfavour- 

 ably with some traits in the character of those who 

 govern him. 



The simplicity of character of the negro in the 

 interior when he is away from European influence 

 is reflected in the state of his dress and his habits. 



The style of head-dress differed in the various 

 tribes I passed through, the men usually partly 

 shaving their heads while the women nearly always 

 wore elaborate coiffures. In some tribes like the 

 Ba Lundas and those near the Congo, however, the 

 hair of the head and beard is sometimes kept long. 

 Many of the native women in Angola fashion 

 their hair in short plaits, which hang down all 

 round their head, the plaits being ornamented 

 with beads or small shells, while strings of shells 

 or beads are worn as a band round the forehead. 

 Sometimes the plaits of hair are brought together 

 into a bunch at the top of the head. 



In some tribes the hair is partly shaved, tufts 

 of wool being left which may be ornamented with 

 beads, shells, or feathers. In the Quimbande 

 tribe, the hair is done up in the fashion of a (ire- 

 man's helmet. 



As might be expected, the women's heads, 

 which are never washed, but only oiled or stiffened 

 with clay, become the happy hunting-ground of a 

 numerous fauna. One of a mother's daily duties 

 is a hunt in her children's heads, and the adults 

 help each other in this pastime. There are pro- 



