SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN. 7 



is a flat cone made of bamboo tied with bark string and lifted bodily 

 on to the walls. This is then thatched with grass so carefully laid on 

 that the hut is wonderfully rainproof. Generally a verandah is made 

 round the house by projecting the roof beyond the walls, and support- 

 ing it on an outer circle of poles. A door two feet broad and about 

 three feet high is made in the wall, and is closed by means of a 

 framework of bamboo laid against the opening from the inside. A 

 crossbar kept in its place by two supports fastens the door on the 

 inside. In most houses there used to be a small back door on the 

 other side from the main door. This was used in case of a night 

 attack when the usual entrance would be doubtless watched by the 

 enemy. The walls and floor are plastered with mud and sand. A 

 hollow is scooped in the middle of the floor for the tire, and round 

 this are placed three stones for the pot to rest on. A raised platform 

 is made on one side of the house, and forms the sleeping place of the 

 family. On this is laid a mat of split reeds woven together with bark 

 string. A fire is kept burning during the night, and no special 

 covering is used during sleep unless the sleeper is the happy possessor 

 of a large piece of native cloth or calico. In this case he tucks one 

 end under his feet and draws the other over his head and so goes to 

 sleep. 



The implements used in house building consist of an axe which 

 may be used also as an adze, and a knife. In addition to this the 

 native has his hoe fastened into a short handle by means of a prong 

 projecting from one side. For long the native of Central Africa has 

 been acquainted with the manufacture of iron, which in certain 

 districts he digs from shallow pits and smelts in a rude clay furnace 

 by means of charcoal fuel and a goatskin bellows. The blacksmith's 

 shop used to be seen in almost every village and, like the Scotch 

 smithy in the olden days, was a great centre of the social life of the 

 inhabitants. The Mang'anja and Anguru were noted blacksmiths 

 and with their stone anvils and rough hammers produced wonderful 

 specimens of skill. Welding iron they were incapable of, and so they 

 had to resort to riveting. But the iron was poor and soft at the 



