THE MASAI 



grinning surprise of other natives, who would stop 

 and gaze at them. Some people think tetanus was 

 very common among them, as they have a habit of 

 pulling out the two lower middle teeth ; by this 

 means, when a man is suffering badly from lock- 

 jaw, he can be fed through the gap thus made ; 

 another reason given is that it facilitates expector- 

 ation. But if you ask a native a reason for 

 anything it is difficult to get a direct answer, and 

 very often they do not know it themselves. 



When on safari I have seen such impish, pretty 

 little bright-eyed boys tending the cattle, with a 

 funny little skin, rather like what the warriors wear 

 behind, over their heads, and a skin cloak over their 

 shoulders to keep out the rain. The cattle are nice 

 tame beasts with the African hump. It is at first 

 rather difficult for the new-comer to tell the differ- 

 ence between the sheep and goats, as the sheep 

 have hair instead of wool and both have drooping 

 ears. 



The Masai carefully remove the ticks from their 

 cattle ; ticks, as I know to my cost, are a terrible 

 curse to domestic animals. 



Some of the Masai customs are very peculiar. 

 They do not bury their dead, as they think the bodies 

 pollute the ground and spoil their beloved grass, but 

 they throw them out for the hysenas and jackals to 

 devour ; nevertheless chiefs and important people 

 like medicine-men are put into a shallow hole and 



79 



