212 NOTES ON THE MONBUTTU. 



of elephants' tusks, drums and kettledrums (tlie drumsticks 

 covered with caoutchouc), and noisy wicker rattles containing 

 the shells of a fruit serve as musical instruments. The dancers 

 wear girdles and necklaces made of large glittering pods, which 

 produce a good deal of noise. 



Having mentioned the ornaments, the mutilations must not 

 be forgotten. It is well known that all Monbuttu, both men 

 and women, cut out a piece of the concha, and are on this 

 account called u Garagir " by the Arabs ; but it is not so 

 generally known that this custom was first adopted by them, 

 when they occupied this country, in order to assimilate them- 

 selves to its aboriginal inhabitants. Another custom much in 

 vogue is filing the upper middle incisor teeth, so as to present 

 a small triangular space ; the total removal of teeth, how- 

 ever, is never practised. The Monbuttu brought with them 

 from their original home the custom of circumcision, and regard 

 it as a sign of their superiority over other Negro tribes. The 

 rite is performed by men set apart for the purpose, and with 

 special iron knives, when the boys reach their fifth or sixth 

 year. The bleeding is stopped by the application of vegetable 

 ashes, and by dressing the wound with the leaves of an Aroid ; 

 in five or six days the part is quite healed. Poor people do 

 not make much fuss over this rite, and content themselves 

 with offering to their neighbours a jar of beer ; but people of 

 position celebrate the event by parties and feasts, often lasting 

 a week or a fortnight. The most curious custom, however, 

 and one which is particularly observed in the ruling fami- 

 lies, is bandaging the heads of infants. By means of these 

 bandages a lengthening of the head along its horizontal axis 

 is produced ; and whereas the ordinary Monbuttu people have 

 rather round heads, the form of the head in the better classes 

 shows an extraordinary increase in length, which certainly 

 very well suits their style of hair and of hat. 



The household utensils, made of wood or clay, are excel- 

 lent of their kind. Favoured by a rich and remarkable variety 

 of material in wood, canes, and palm-twigs, the Monbuttu have 

 excelled for ages in woodwork ; the elegant benches and 

 benchlets for men, the stools for women, ornamented in fanciful 

 patterns, the dishes and bowls for food, and, more recently, the 



