GAUARONGA, THE GKEAT CHIEF 177 



year, becomes so low in the dry season that a man may 

 cross it dry-shod. 



The Palace is the central building of the town ; it 

 occupies the whole length of the great square, and 

 is enclosed in a high mud wall. At right angles to it 

 stands the mosque. The sandy square is shaded by 

 some big trees, and in their grateful shade women 

 pause to exchange greetings as they bear heavy water- 

 pots on their heads to and from the river. Men, too, 

 gather here to rest and talk, for this is the market- 

 place. Streets debouch into it, flanked by zana 

 zaribas, which surround the low- thatched huts; but 

 every now and again the zaribas are replaced by high 

 mud walls, which denote the dwelling-place of some 

 great man. 



The only house that abuts on to the central square 

 belongs to the Princess Po3^al, and thither Mrs Talbot 

 and I went one day that we might make acquaintance 

 with the Sultan's married daughters — Maiarami, as is 

 their official title. These Princesses have gained a 

 great deal by marriage, for in their mother's zenana 

 they led strictly secluded lives, and now they have not 

 only comparative liberty, but have complete power 

 over their husbands. Each has her own house, which 

 the husband is not allowed to share. He has his own 

 next door ; and Galadima, husband to the Princess 

 Royal, has their two little sons to live with him. The 

 Princesses send for their husbands when they want 

 them, but the man has no right to enter his wife's 

 presence unasked. This inhuman relationship is made 

 still more unendurable by the fact that it is unsolicited 

 by the man. Gauaronga chooses his sons-in-law from 

 among the great families of free men according to the 



M 



