FOUR WEEKS IN FIKA 279 



and over his shoulder an axe. He wore a full short 

 skirt, and every sort of animal's skin hung over his 

 person, and between them innumerable knives and 

 daggers. 



In spite of his accoutrements he did not look dread- 

 ful, for his face was full and fresh and young, and his 

 eyes sparkled with boyish excitement. After posturing 

 for two or three minutes he danced a pas seul, which 

 consisted of a series of jumps, when he alternately 

 thrust his stomach in and out. This somewhat quaint 

 movement proved to be not an end in itself, as we had 

 feared, but an awakening of his powers, for suddenly 

 he stopped in front of us and demanded that we should 

 see his great dance. He flung his hat, sword, and cap 

 from him, and ran quickly to a spot where horse's dung 

 had recently fallen. This he gathered in his hands, 

 rolled it into a little ball, and, to our extreme disgust, 

 ate it. This we learnt was to give him courage. He 

 next seized a dagger, and in a trice had cut a maize 

 stalk clean in two. Having proved the sharpness of 

 the blade he raised his skirt and cut into his leg again 

 and again. Not a drop of blood flowed, though the 

 scar showed white against his black skin. This was 

 due, we were told, to his wearing a certain narrow 

 leather bracelet, the property of which is to prevent 

 any blood flowing from its wearer. He next seized 

 his tomahawk, swung it round and round, and struck 

 his head with what appeared to be considerable vio- 

 lence : no result was visible. 



The people rewarded him with kola-nuts and cowries, 

 and were evidently proud of a performance they had 

 often seen. We, on the other hand, were utterly nause- 

 ated, though I less so than my companions, for I could 



