xi SWAHILI AND OTHER NATIVE TRIBES 127 



daw a 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 

 ceremony he will 

 lie down to sleep in 

 perfect confidence, 

 even in the midst of 

 a man-eater's dis- 

 trict. In the nature 

 of things, more- 

 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 daw a that he 

 owes his immunity. 



\VA TAITA MKN. 



