OUR JOURNEY UP THE UBANGUI 237 



The Bou-Bous exchange their produce with the Sungos, 

 or people of the river, for fish, plantains, red bark for painting 

 their skins, and snails, palm oil, spears, gingas and beads. 

 They also have a currency consisting of tiny iron spear- 

 heads, somewhat like exaggerated packing-needles. 



The men of this tribe are tall and have very long heads ; 

 they practise the custom prevalent in these parts of filing 

 their upper teeth to a point, and, like the Bandas, they 

 pierce the upper lip and the nostrils with sticks. From a 

 hole in one side of the under lip hangs a round, polished stick 

 of rock crystal looking very much like an icicle ; it is about 

 3 in. long and tapers to a point. The Bandas also use this 

 ornament, and the crystals are found in their country some 

 fi.ve days' journey to the north of the river. They are very 

 much prized and not every man can afford to possess one. 



The Bou-Bous wear many rings on their fingers and 

 sometimes copper wire below the knees. Both men and 

 women do their hair in thin plaits all over the head, 

 sewing in beads for ornament in the front. Often they 

 stick a neatly fashioned copper hair-pin through the hair. 

 It is 4 in. long, with a head flattened to a thin oval 

 shape and slightly curved. The way the girls dress their 

 hair is even more remarkable. They deftly weave into their 

 own short curls, long, plaited cords of black twine, which 

 falling over their shoulders to the ground have the appearance 

 of luxuriant tresses. AVTiile the girls are at work, these are 

 generally coiled and fastened up on the top of the head. The 

 loin-cloths of the men are made of fig-tree bark which they 

 get from the Sungos. They are clever at hunting and breed 

 small dogs for the purpose. 



