88 CHIEFS & CITIES OF CENTRAL AFRICA 



gained. He passed his arm through his victim's and 

 led him ofF in triumph to the village. 



We followed in the morning, by which time we were 

 above suspicion, and the people took us to visit house 

 after house. 



An egg-shell Is universally the symbol of fertility, 

 and many superstitions have grown up around it. We 

 have them in England, so has the African, and here 

 on Lake Tikem nearly every house had a bit of shell 

 suspended from the ceiling. 



The beds are raised from the floor on legs, and some 

 are slightly sloped from head to feet. Many had logs 

 of wood thrown on either side, which are used as seats, 

 and the bed becomes a table. We had grown so 

 unaccustomed to tables that it really gave us quite a 

 shock to see such a luxury amongst our primitive 

 friends. The entrances, too, are superior. Usually 



Wadama Door. 



Fire-oven. 



they are covered only with a piece of zana matting, 

 if covered at all, but some of the Wadama have real 

 wooden doors. The planks are sewn together with 

 hide, and they have hide hinges. The fire-ovens and 

 fish-ovens are particularly fine. 



