44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANATOMICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL 



in the case of every person not dying in warfare. One of the village 

 elders makes an incision from the end of the sternum to the umbilicus, 

 and carefully examines the mesentery, and according to the distribu- 

 tion of the blood-vessels, he confirms or denies the supposition that 

 death has been due to witchcraft. 



On the death of a person, although the actual burial ceremony is 

 kept as secret as possible, the mourning rites which are carried out 

 are extensive, varying somewhat with the importance of the deceased. 

 The mourning has to be observed at the place or kraal where the death 

 actually occurred. It sometimes happens that if a man dies a long 

 way from home, the news may not reach his people for some time, and 

 even in that case the women of his kraal have to walk to the place of 

 his death, carrying with them corn to make beer with. Every evening 

 they commence wailing from sunset until midnight, and this is kept up 

 for various periods, sometimes only a few days, sometimes a whole 

 month. While wailing, some of the beer is poured on the ground, 

 while the rest is drunk. In different parts of the country various 

 signs of mourning are worn, such as bark bandages of different shapes 

 among the Myambaams and Mtyopis. The elliptical chaplet of green 

 bark is one of the commonest forms (Plate VII., Fig. 5). The men 

 seem to prefer to mark their mourning simply by narrow strings 

 of green bark tied closely round their necks. At other times grass 

 neatly plaited and fitting closely round the ankles and wrists is used 

 as a sign. Among the Shangaans white cloth is tied round the 

 mourners' heads. 



Xative Markings. These may be divided into cicatrisation and 

 tattoo marks and into incisions. The native of the East Coast, south 

 of latitude 22, who most generally uses cicatrisation to distinguish 

 himself, is the Mtyopi. Taking first the males of this tribe, they may 

 be divided into three classes : the old generation of men who used to 

 cicatrise their faces, making a series of lumps on the forehead and 

 cheeks, in the same manner as the women will be seen to do on their 

 abdomens (Plate VII., Figs. 6 and 7) ; then we have a younger gen- 

 eration who in place of these swellings disfigure themselves with 



