Lake Chohoa and the Ruanda 



We took our seats and the word was given that the throng 

 of natives standing without might enter the enclosure, re- 

 sulting in a stream of two to three thousand natives pouring 

 in and seating themselves on either side of it, forming, no 

 doubt, a highl}^ critical as well as a picturesque audience. 

 All eyes were now turned on the entrance at the far end of 

 the enclosure through which there presently appeared a 

 line of Batwa natives, each carr3dng a long-handled hoe. 

 The whole string of them having advanced to the centre 

 of the arena, a dance began accompanied by a weird dirge, 

 in which at intervals individuals left the line and throwing 

 their hoes high in the air caught them as they came down — 

 a highly dangerous proceeding to the uninitiated ; this was 

 the " Dance of the Hoes." Next on the list came a selection 

 by the Batwa Drum Band, very good of its kind ; here also 

 at intervals some of the performers advanced alone and 

 danced with their drums, man and drum becoming a species 

 of human whirligig. As Msinga rather fancies himself as 

 a drummer, he took a hand, giving us a solo. Then came the 

 " star turn " and " danse de luxe " ; every dancer a chief's 

 son well trained, beautifully dressed in shining white head- 

 dress of long hair and white-tanned skin aprons neatly 

 tasselled ; and wearing metal rings around their ankles. 

 There were twenty, perhaps more, and entering the en- 

 closure danced towards us in perfect time. Then, lining up 

 in two rows, to a weird wild melody sung by an old man and 

 accompanied by the sound of their ringing anklets, they 

 danced with that complete abandon and fierceness in which 

 the heart of the real savage dehghts. These two dances 

 ended all too soon, with a salute and obesiance to Msinga 

 and the dehghted spectators. 



45 



