SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN. 39 



being favoured ornaments. Crocodiles' teeth are commonly worn 

 round the neck, and lions' claws are great favourites, but as the 

 supply of these is limited, it is usual for artificial claws to be worn. 

 Strings of beads are often worn round the waists of both men and 

 women. The Isococo is a heavy black ring worn by the older men 

 as a mark of distinction. It is made of a mixture of beeswax and 

 other materials. Red clay is greatly appreciated by the native 

 women. They stamp it into a very fine powder, mix it with oil, and 

 use it as a cosmetic on their faces. In common with those of many 

 other tribes, the East Coast women paint their bodies with it when 

 advanced in pregnancy and' while suckling a child. Red clay is also 

 used to dress the hair, which they twist into tags. 



The Chase. The natives stalk their game till they are very close 

 at hand. They drive large game into soft swampy parts, where they 

 sink in the mire and can be safely despatched with their assegais. 

 Sometimes when the grass is dry they light fires in such a way that 

 the game is driven towards hunters posted with assegais, and bows 

 and arrows, etc., and a wholesale destruction occurs. Besides the 

 regular methods of hunting, there are innumerable kinds of traps for 

 catching game. Most of these depend on the ordinary noose or 

 running snare principle. 



For fishing they have nets of a triangular shape. Two sides of 

 the triangle are made of sticks of bamboo or some light wood about 

 six feet long ; the base of the triangle is formed of stout string ; 

 across the triangle a baggy piece of close meshed netting is fastened, 

 forming a scoop net. When using these nets they usually fish in 

 parties in fairly shallow water. They form themselves into a wide 

 circle, each one dragging his net behind him, holding it by the bamboo 

 sides, and in this manner advance to a central point to which they 

 drive the fish, so as to be able to scoop them up. At other times the 

 nets are dragged behind canoes up stream. They also make use of 

 cone-shaped traps placed at the banks, into which fish go for food, 

 but the narrow open mouth prevents them from getting out ; and 

 again, wherever there are tidal waters, one sees traps so formed that 



