SOCIETY -OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN. 5 



of wood. It is then steeped in water for some days. When soft it 

 is hammered on a log of wood by means of a wooden mallet. In this 

 way the fibres are separated one from the other, and the bark stretched 

 to five or six times its original breadth. It thus forms a soft fibrous 

 matting which affords a considerable amount of protection to the skin 

 of the wearer. By steeping the bark in water into which a quantity 

 of black loam has been stirred, the cloth is dyed black. It is worn 

 kilt-fashion suspended from the waist, while a larger piece is thrown 

 plaid-wise over the left shoulder and under the right arm. The 

 Angoni, probably owing to the scarcity of wood in their country, dress 

 themselves in the skins of small game goats or sheep which they 

 wear tightly bound round the loins and thighs. In most villages one 

 used to see a loom at work on which a rough kind of cotton cloth was 

 woven (Plate I., Fig. 1). The cotton plant was grown in small patches 

 on the outskirts of the village, and by means of a small distaff and spool 

 was spun into a coarse thread. This was stretched on the loom frame, 

 and the weft was thrown by means of a hand shuttle. But the process 

 was slow and tedious, and only chiefs and head men could afford the 

 possession of a piece of such cloth. The introduction of the products 

 of our Manchester looms has thrown all such forms of apparel out 

 of fashion, and barkcloth is now worn only at funerals by the chief 

 mourners as a sign of grief, by mothers during and immediately after 

 childbirth, and by boys and girls at the ceremonies of entering the 

 state of puberty. In remote districts it is also worn over the ordinary 

 calico dress to protect it from damage or during a shower. 



The chief ornaments worn by both men and women are beads of 

 various sizes, shapes and colours. They are worn in the form of 

 necklaces, waistbelts, and anklets. The women also wear them strung 

 on the hair or plaited into a wig (Plate I., Fig. 2). Coils of brass 

 wire are also worn on the legs and arms. Such articles were procured 

 from the coast through the Arab or coast trader, and must have been 

 only of recent import. Till the introduction of European coinage 

 they formed the main articles of barter with the natives. Among the 

 Yaos the head is frequently shaved either wholly or in patches, and 



