176 CHIEFS & CITIES OF CENTRAL AFRICA 



hairdresser in the neighbourhood of Tchekna, which 

 Captain Lucas very kindly procured and gave to 

 me. Besides these Bornuese and Wadaian ladies, 

 types of Furians,^ Bagirimi, Arabs, and Kurdi are 

 also exhibited. These latter are Pagan and com- 

 pletely shaven. 



The dance seemed aimless, and men and women 

 would join or rest as the inclination seized them ; 

 but presently its character changed. Two lines were 

 formed, circular in shape, and each man faced a 

 woman. From a little distance they gradually ap- 

 proached nearer and nearer together till, when they 

 were quite close, the women wheeled as if coy, but 

 were still followed by the men. When they were 

 almost touching they too turned away, and the whole 

 thing began over again. 



The Wadaians are said to have a dance where the 

 partners revolve round each other somewhat as they 

 do in the Swedish dance. Another of a very different 

 character was performed at the same time by some 

 Bagirimi, all of whom made merry over it. Twenty or 

 thirty women formed a circle, from which one presently 

 detached herself and ran into the centre ; then fell 

 backwards into the arms of her friends, who jumped 

 her into the air, after which she ran laughing back to 

 her place to take her share in the throwing. The 

 higher the jump the heartier the applause, but the 

 standard was sadly low, for agility is not the attribute 

 of a Bamrimi woman. 



The town stretches for about 1^ mile along the 

 Bahr el Erguig, tributary of the Shari, which, though 

 naviofable for big: canoes for four or five months in the 



^ Inhabitants of Dar Fui- — " country," or literally " house," of Fur. 



