260 CHIEFS & CITIES OF CENTRAL AFRICA 



that a well-to-do woman who wears many of these 

 is in especial danger. A year or two ago the wife 

 of Mastaba, our headman, was walking by the Maifoni 

 river, and the djinn reached out his arms and pulled 

 her in : she was never seen again. 



There are djinns, too, who live beneath baobab- 

 trees. They lead a more social life than their river 

 brethren ; for there are amongst them chiefs and 

 mallamai, rich men and poor, and women. They have 

 fine sheep and cattle and slaves "past what black 

 men get," and their houses are like a white man's, 

 with '* plenty plenty pans " round the walls. They 

 have the power of turning black, red, or white at will ; 

 or they may take the appearance of human beings 

 and come and live like good men amongst the people. 

 They are everywhere ; and the knowledge must be 

 alarming, for if they dislike a man they slap him on 

 the face, and in four or five days he dies. 



The chief wisely keeps boys who have the power 

 of seeing them as they come into the towns ; and the 

 mallamai, too, often see djinns and spirits when they 

 pray in the night. 



We were given a cordial welcome to Fika by the 

 chief, with whom we had already made acquaintance, 

 as he had ridden to the extreme verge of his terri- 

 tory to give us greeting when we were on our road 

 to Nafada. 



He comes of a great stock, and traces his descent in 

 the direct male line since 1538, when his ancestor, 

 Duno Maisha, first kept a record of the race. The 

 office of chief is an important one, and is hedged in 

 by many rules. For instance, no one is allowed to 

 see him eat, except one youth who is deputed to wait 



