SOCIETY OP THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN. 35 



in Johannesburg and there acquire a large stock of European clothing, 

 but this they soon discard on their return home, though they may 

 retain a small waistcoat and an umbrella. The native garments are : 

 the Mtyeka, or loin cloth, which is the universal garment of the 

 East Coast ; blankets, which are now mostly imported, although some 

 are made from the bark of a tree called Mshala ; jackets made of 

 skins, and worn when travelling. The Shangaans and Louren90 

 Marques boys feed mainly on mealies and Kaffir corn, while the 

 Myambaams and Mtyopis depend more on ground nuts and mandioca 

 (the tapioca of commerce). Beans, fruits of various kinds, and 

 honey are also used. They eat flesh of all kinds, including snakes 

 (except the Shangaans), with the exception of the crow, which is 

 considered unclean, the owl, which it is unlucky to interfere with, and 

 the hawk, the reason for abstinence in this case being unknown. 

 They eat fish, both fresh and dried, when they can get it. Some, but 

 not many, are mud eaters, since the natives, noticing the fertilising 

 effect of the alluvial soil on the vegetation, believe that by swallowing 

 it they will be able to increase their own powers of reproduction. 

 The Myambaams and Mtyopis drink wine and spirits, while the Shan- 

 gaans are more dependent on beers. The two former races are in- 

 veterate drunkards, so much so that they refer to the various seasons 

 of the year according to the drink which can be obtained at the time. 



The Myambaams and the Mtyopis use tobacco- in the form of 

 cigars, while the Shangaans prefer it as snuff. They also smoke 

 dacha which is the bhang of India, the hashish of the Arabs, and the 

 Cannabis Indica of the British Pharmacopoeia. The dacha pipe may 

 be seen hanging in the centre of the kraal, and is the common pro- 

 perty of the inhabitants. It is usually produced when two or three 

 men meet. Each one takes two or three inhalations, the result being 

 a violent fit of coughing, sometimes so severe that the smoker spits 

 blood. It is considered the correct thing, while coughing, to sing the 

 praises of their chief. 



Habitations The dwellings vary somewhat according to the tribe. 

 The Myambaam kraals are circular clearances in the bush. The huts 



