230 CHIEFS & CITIES OF CENTRAL AFRICA 



young." The bridegroom has to pay a good deal 

 on marriage. He gives the father of the bride two 

 oxen and two cows, the mother five dollars, and the 

 bride herself one cow in milk. She gets from her 

 parents "two robes, two trousers, four mats, and two 

 small women niggers." A man gives his wife a cow at 

 the birth of each child, and at the birth of twins 

 prayers are offered and there is great rejoicing. 



A wealthy man will own four or five wives. A big 

 play is held for three days to celebrate a marriage, at 

 the end of which the wife goes to her husband ; there 

 is much feasting, but no mention is made of spirituous 

 drink, and in the course of our visit we found no trace 

 of it. 



The Guria people told us that the French had landed 

 at Kumu eight years ago, and that since that time they 

 had seen no white man. Evidently they had treated 

 them with official reserve, for they do not wish to 

 encourage intimacy with their suzerains. Their rela- 

 tions with us were, however, very cordial, and a man 

 who, by gesture, clasped us to his heart, was indicative 

 of the welcome we received generally. It was even 

 more enthusiastic after we had crossed the dark waters 

 of Amai Silim, where at the Madjagodia town of Bula- 

 riga the people organised a dance for us. The men 

 and women stood in rows opposite each other, and the 

 women swayed to and fro, clapping their hands softly 

 together to give rhythm to the reiterated interval of 

 a third, sometimes major, sometimes minor, which they 

 hummed as a sort of accompaniment. The men mean- 

 while held their long robes in their hands and danced 

 and leaped mightily. It is a curious fact that this 

 primitive humming is the only music known to the 



