THE WAGANDA 



99 



but it is lumpy. It is not suitable for toilet use, but does very 

 well for laundry-work, though some say that it wears out the 

 clothes more rapidly than English soap. That it can wash beau- 

 tifully clean, is proved by the spotless white clothes worn by all 

 the higher class of natives. It is fairly cheap, 25 shells per ball, 

 that is, about twopence. The natives are aware of the superiority 



WAGANDA POTTERS. 



of the imported English soap, and would prefer to buy it, but that 

 it is so very dear. The difficulty in the way of local soap-boiling 

 is the scarcity of obtainable tallow or fat of any description. 



Pottery in Uganda is still in its infancy. The three articles 

 most commonly manufactured are the large open-mouthed bowls, 

 used for cooking the native dish " matoke," the bomb-shaped 

 pots for fetching water, and the black pipe-bowls. The vessel 

 used for water is round like an ancient cannon-ball ; it has a small 

 aperture and a very short neck. The large semicircular bowl 

 has a thick everted rim. In addition to the common clay which 

 yields the ordinary brick-red pottery, black clay and white clay 

 are found. From these the finest china could be manufactured, 

 if some one who knows the process would start a local china- 

 factory. The Waganda are clever at imitating any cup or saucer. 



