THE WILD MAN OF THE WOODS. 129 



shrill scream of triumph the victor struts off witfc 

 the hens. 



The vulture dance is even quainter. In the 

 peacock dance only the women take part. In 

 the vulture dance, one of the young men enacts 

 the part of the carcase discovered by the vultures. 

 The carcase is discovered in the centre of the 

 clearing, and one of the vultures (girls squatting, 

 as before, on their hams) hops round it cautiously, 

 stopping now and again to peer at the carrion. 

 Now comes a second vulture, and joins in the hop 

 round. Then a third, a fourth and several others 

 join in the circle, which goes hopping round 

 the carcase, approaching nearer and nearer at 

 each turn. At last one vulture rushes forward 

 and makes a tug at the great toe of the 

 youth representing the dead body. Should he 

 show the faintest symptom of having felt the 

 pinch, he is greeted with shouts of derisive laughter 

 from all the girls, in which the spectators join. If 

 he remains unmoved, the fun goes on, and another 

 vulture rushes forward, and pulls his hair ; a third 

 grips one of his fingers ; then there is a general 

 pinching of his body and much fun and laughing. 

 At last, one bolder than the rest jumps on to the 

 prostrate body, which is too much for the patient 

 youth, who squirms and wriggles as half-a-dozen 

 more jump on to him, and finally he runs off 

 amidst shouts of laughter from all. 



There were also a jackal dance and a crocodile 

 dance gone through, but the two dances described 

 were the most amusing. 



9 



