ri4 



EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



IX 



herds. As goats are 

 unit of value lieine; 



An ear ornament which 

 the Wa-Kikuyu around 

 Mount Kenia wear in 

 the helix. (British 

 Museum. ) Tlie beads 

 of the top row are 

 white; the second row, 

 grej'. Tlie tliird, fourth, 

 fifth, and sixtli rows 

 consist of bright blue 

 beads ; those of the 

 seventh row are gi'ey, 

 and the basal row is 

 formed of pieces of 

 reeds or straw. Tlie 

 chain is of iron and of 

 native make. The 

 beads attached to the 

 lower end of t)ie chain 

 ai'c white. 



used for the purchase of wives (the 

 a goat), these iiuimals are therefore 

 carefully watched by day, and at 

 night they are guarded in strong 

 enclosures. The sheep and goats 

 are ear-marked, and, as is the 

 custom with shepherds in Europe, 

 the flocks are counted night and 

 morning. In every village there 

 is a long wooden trough containing 

 salt f(n' the animals to lick. 



According to the Eoutledges 

 there are some deft-handed sur- 

 geons among the natives of Kikuyu. 

 Sword slashes and stab wounds are 

 sewn up. The method of suture 

 is simple : one or more strong 

 thorns are passed deeply through 

 the tissues at the e<lQ-es of the 

 wound, a hole being made by an 

 awl to enaljle the thorn to he 

 inserted ; a string of vegetable 

 fibre is wound round the thorn in 

 the form of a " figure of eight," 

 which ensures good apposition. 

 Intermediate sutures are used if 

 recjuircd. This form of suture was 

 largely used l)y the best surgeons 

 in the civilised world thirty years 

 ago. 



Every man carries a formidable 

 knol)kerry or club ; at times it is 

 used very freely and many 

 depressed fractures are produced 

 by these weapons. 



An account of the Masai and 

 Wa-Kikuyu would be incomplete 

 without an account of their living 



