304 LADO TO KEDIBA. 



noteworthy, and may be mentioned in praise of the Negroes 

 here, that their dances are entirely free from obscenities, which 

 are the order of the day in Unyoro and Uganda. In dealing 

 with uncivilised people, it is difficult to say what is modest, 

 what immodest. To our ideas that may seem to be immodest 

 which is not so to them, and the improprieties may not be 

 greater than among civilised men, for in this respect the old 

 principle, Naturalia non sunt tmyia, holds good to its utmost 

 extent. Dr. Schweinfurth's ingenious remark, that the music 

 of the Negroes is learnt by listening to the music of the ele- 

 ments, can be very justly extended to their dance, which is 

 only a mimicry of what is seen going on in nature. The men 

 dancing around the women, who encourage them by alluring 

 pantomimic movements, may be seen also in the animal 

 world ; and the fundamental ideas underlying all Negro dances 

 point to their common origin, the many immaterial variations 

 extant being due to the varying occupations most in vogue 

 among different tribes. But how are we to account for the 

 fact that the Negroes, although they are eminently musical, 

 and have an exquisite perception of time, have never yet suc- 

 ceeded in harmonising their choruses ? 



The village of Jubba lies, as I have said, upon a hill, and 

 contains only about one hundred and twenty huts and their 

 granaries, most of the Negroes belonging to the place living in 

 small zeribas at from half an hour to two hours' distance from it. 

 Differing entirely from the Bari style, these dwellings have 

 elongated conical roofs, placed upon a circular substructure of 

 about three feet in height. The grass covering the roof is 

 not arranged in layers one over the other, but in one layer 

 from top to bottom. The entrances are low, the interior dark 

 and undivided. Corresponding to the style in vogue farther 

 north, there are a few huts erected upon platforms, which are 

 raised upon stakes about five to six feet above the ground. 

 Every wife has a separate hut and granary for herself and her 

 children. Flat open pieces of ground, where sesame and corn 

 are beaten out, votive stakes covered with all sorts of skulls 

 and horns, and the round fruits of the Oncoba are found be- 

 tween the huts. The cultivated plants that I saw were Peni- 

 cillaria, eleusine, hibiscus, Hyptis, tobacco, gourds, and Lubia. 



