xt SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 127 
dawa—which is, of course, obtainable only from 
the witch-doctor—consists simply of a little black 
powder, usually carried in a tiny horn stuck through 
a slit in the ear; but the Ki Taita firmly believes 
that a few grains 
of this dust blown 
round him from 
the palm of the 
hand is a complete 
safeguard against 
raging lions seek- 
ing whom _ they 
may devour; and 
after the blowing 
c 
. 
ceremony he will 
lie down to sleep in 
perfect confidence, 
even in the midst of 
a man-eater’s dis- 
trict. Inthe nature 
of things, more- 
WA TAITA MEN, 
over, he never loses 
this touching faith in the efficacy of the witch- 
doctor’s charm ; for if he is attacked by a lion, the 
brute sees to it that he does not live to become an 
unbeliever,* while if he is not attacked, it is of 
course quite clear that it is to the dawa that he 
owes his immunity. 
