40 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANATOMICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL 



the fish will enter them at high tide but will be left high and dry 

 when it ebbs. Occasionally one sees natives fishing with a rod and 

 line, but this method does not appeal to them very much. 



Musical Instruments. The Mtyopis are the most musical of the 

 East Coast natives. Each group of kraals appears to have its own 

 trained band, which assembles at convenient times for practice. The 

 most noticeable instrument is the Mtyopi piano, which consists of a 

 number of wooden keys, suspended by means of leather thongs over 

 gourds of various sizes. Across the mouths of these gourds a thin 

 membrane of gut is stretched, which vibrates when the key is struck. 

 The performer sits with his legs under the piano and beats the notes 

 with two sticks, on the ends of which are lumps of native india- 

 rubber (Plate V., Fig. 2). There are several sizes of pianos, some of 

 which give the higher notes, and others, the big brass instruments, 

 which are only used when a large band has assembled. If properly 

 played they are undoubtedly musical, but one appreciates them far 

 more when they are at some considerable distance. They have 

 drums which vary in size from that of a fifteen gallon barrel to that 

 of a quart pot. They are usually cut out of one piece of wood, and 

 the drum surface is made of raw hide stretched over the mouth. They 

 are beaten either with the flat of the hands or with sticks. Their 

 rattles are two cases containing beads or pebbles, and are used by 

 the bandmaster when he is beating time for a large band. There is 

 also one made of a gourd, more commonly used as a child's plaything. 

 Thirdly, there is one made of grass, containing numbers of seeds. 

 Lastly, there are rattles worn on the legs when dancing. The boys 

 occasionally use pipes of reed when they dance, each performer 

 blowing a pipe incessantly. A band seen performing by Dr. Turner 

 consisted of twenty pianos arranged in three rows, the operators 

 sitting on the ground. Behind them were six big brass pianos which 

 were raised on stands, the operators standing to manipulate them. 

 In front of the small pianos were a number of drums, and presiding 

 over the whole was a conductor, armed with a metal rattle with 

 which he beat time, in what appeared to be quite a professional manner. 



