FROM MAIFONI TO KUKAWA 269 



Cattle and sheep are slaughtered in the market and the 

 meat sold in little heaps upon the ground. And the shed 

 is crowded where the barber plies his trade, rubbing on 

 water and shaving the heads of his patrons who squat 

 before him. Here I went through the process of a joke 

 that I played with unvarying success in all the markets I 

 visited. Attracting the attention of the barber, with rigid, 

 outstretched fingers I made an expressive movement across 

 my upturned throat, then pointed commandingly to the man 

 he was shaving at the time. This httle piece of pantomime 

 was invariably received by the crowd, who follow every 

 movement of the white man, with a roar of merriment which 

 did not subside for quite a long time, and in which the victim 

 of the joke joined with such convulsive appreciation that 

 it was some time before the barber could continue operating, 

 for fear of actually producing the drama that my gestures 

 had indicated. 



Sometimes the large Arab caravans coming from 

 TripoU to trade with Kukawa, find their way as far as 

 Maidugari, and their stalls of mixed goods from far-off 

 countries add interesting variety to the usual native pro- 

 duce. With them they bring large cones of sugar, bright 

 stuffs and rugs of many colours ; striped linen and some- 

 times pieces of silV, and strings of leads for the women 

 and sword-blades for the men. 



As one threads a way through the crowds round the 

 stalls, it is interesting to compare the many types and races 

 who have met together to buy and sell, yet who never mix 

 in friendly intercourse beyond their business. The big men 

 of the neighbourhood come in, dressed in their richest clothes 



