230 GONDOKOKO TO AGARU. 



of wearing around their hips, as their only clothing, a small 

 hand-net used for fishing. One of these sturdy beauties, dressed 

 in a net, with a load upon her head, and the indispensable short 

 tobacco pipe in the corner of her mouth, would doubtless cause 

 a sensation in some parts of the world. 



When a man dies, the body is laid upon its right side, and 

 buried outside the village, a skin being usually spread under- 

 neath it ; after a time — generally about two months — the 

 bones are dug up, cleaned, and put into a clay vessel, which is 

 placed beneath a tree or by the roadside, or frequently behind 

 the house of the deceased. When a chief dies, the ceremony is 

 somewhat more imposing. A grave is dug to the depth of three 

 and a half to four feet, in the largest of his huts, and lined with 

 mud and clay by the women. A hide is placed in it, upon 

 which the body is laid in a half-sitting position ; then the grave 

 is roofed in with mats, supported by sticks laid crosswise, " so 

 that the earth may not touch the body," and a layer of earth is 

 spread over the roof. After a time the bones are taken out and 

 placed in a clay vessel, which is hung in a tree. Those who 

 fall in battle or are murdered are not buried thus, but are left 

 lying where they fall. Baker has already mentioned the dances 

 which are performed in honour of the dead, whether the latter 

 have died naturally or by violence. In conformity with a 

 custom observed in the south, i.e., in Unyoro and Uganda, if 

 the dead appear to their relations in a dream, an offering of 

 flour and the blood of a sheep is brought to the clay vessels, 

 and the spirits are besought to discontinue their visits. Little 

 children are buried outside the hut-doors, to the right, and some 

 durrah is usually planted over their graves — a very poetical 

 idea. 



The eldest son inherits all his father's possessions, wives in- 

 cluded ; he may give a share to his brothers, but is not bound 

 to do so. Quarrels between brothers are consequently very 

 common, and they generally end with the death of the younger 

 ones. It is no uncommon thing for a son to murder his father 

 in order to step into his shoes. 



Amulets and charms are everywhere held in the highest 

 esteem, and even my boiling-point thermometer for determining 

 heights was looked upon as " medicine for making rain." In 



