lOS NOirril-KAST AKKU'A. 



They «vo also skillod tillors and ji;ardouors, and oacli hut has in its vicinity an 

 onc'U>sun\ wlioro tho vot^iMablo bods, throo foot liiij;h autl vi>ry uarnnv, aro so 

 disjiosod that thoy can bo t'ldtivatod without bondinj; tho baok. Tho ohl j\luru 

 custom o( all proporty biMn^- in oonuuon has not yot boon ooniplotoly rt>plaood by 

 private ownership. The beer prepared by the women beloni^s to everybody ; it is 

 placed in a publii* bnildinj;, every thirsty native or traveller drinking- at ]doasure, 

 but never taking it away or abusing tho privilege, drunkenness being ipiito ind<nown. 

 In tine weather all tho [>oopli> in tlu> \illagt\nion and women, dino togothoi". sorvoil 

 by tho children. Politeness is one ol' the virtues most sedvdously cultivated by the 

 ]\r\n'u ; the women are respootod, and those amongst them who practise nu^lieine, 

 with nmoh more success and intolligonoo than tho men, aro always escorted back 

 to tluMr own dwellings by tlio head ol' tho laniily they hav»^ honoured with a visit. 

 Tho oilucatiou of the children is looked upon as tho chief duty of the tribe, lîoys 

 and girls aro trained to bow to and keep silence before their elders; they learn 

 gymnastics, dancing, mimicry, practise games of strength and skill, accustom 

 thonisi4vos to tho use of arms, and make oî their father a target for their blunt 

 arrows. They aro taken iiway ami loft in the woods, then watched fix)m a distance 

 to see how they find their way baok to tho village. Their education is completed by 

 travel. At tho age of ten the children leave the paternal roof on visits to distant 

 friends of tho same or other nations, thus making their "tour of tho world," in 

 order to beconu^ aequainted with tho manners and customs of foreign lands. AVheu 

 tho yoimg women got tired of travel their brothers bring them Iumuc, then again 

 set otY on their ramblings. They also seek foreign wives, ohiotly amongst the 

 Kiam-bara, exogamy being tho rule in tho Muru nation, although miknown 

 amongst tlie Bari. ^^'hon the young ^luru finds a girl that t«kos his fancy, he 

 approaches her and attaches a wreath of foliage to her wrist ; if she retains this 

 ornanuMit tho voung man mav hope, and the negotiations for the marriajje are 

 fiu-thwith begun between tho respective parents. 



Tho chief station of the Muru is the village of Jfadi {A-Jf(u/iy on the left bank 

 of the Yoï, and on the oaravan route between Lado and Dem Suleiman, in the 

 midst of vast sesame and millot-tiolds. It is one of the centres of traiho between 

 the Nile basin and tho Monbuttu coimtry. Tho otlloial reports record how many 

 hundnnl weight s of ivory aro purchased by the Egyptian otHeials, but nuike no 

 mention of a more important commercial article, namely, the slaves captured from 

 the peaceful tribes of tho country. Till recently ^ladi also forwarded a large 

 number of eunuchs to the towns of the lower Xilo and Arabia. It is stated that the 

 slave-dealers always tried to capture and mutilate those chiefs who did iu>t readily 

 countenance their trafhc in human flesh, nonce it is not astonishing that tho 

 sight of a ** Turk " terrifies tho blacks of these regions ; the children on seeing a 

 stranger scamper away Mith cries of terror. 



Tho river Rol, which under divers names flows parallel to the Yeï, and which at 

 last runs out in the Nde marshes above the cataracts, flows through the territory of 

 numerous tribes, suoh as the Abukaya. the Lori, tho Lesi, the lîolli. and the .liri, 

 which possess no political oohesion. In the oountry of the Agar, a branch of the 



