BANTU NEGROES 689 



if she was still in favour, the Kabaka was wont to behave very generously, 

 sending handsome presents of cattle and cloth to her parents. 



The standing of the child depends very little, if anything, on the rank 

 of his mother. Kulabako, the mother of the present Kabaka, is a Mukopi 

 woman from Buddu. She is, nevertheless, a charming person, and one 

 cannot help admiring the easy and graceful way in which she bears herself 

 on great occasions. 



The princess Nalinya is considered very pretty, and her native grace- 

 fulness is quite as remarkable as that of the queen-mother. Nalinya is a 

 daughter of king Karema. The princess Kamwanda is not so charming 

 as Nalinya. She is also a daughter of Karema. These princesses appear 

 to be not more than eleven or twelve years of age. They are slim of build, 

 tall, and graceful, and seem very much attached to their cousin, H.H. the 

 Kabaka (Daudi Chua). 



By the new constitution the Kabaka comes of age at eighteen, and 

 will then draw a subvention at the rate of £1,500. Daring his minority 

 he draws J800 a year. The Uganda Administration has also made ample 

 provision for the queen-mother, the native ministers, and the junior 

 members of the royal house of Mutesa. 



Divorce. — Faithlessness on the part of the Kabaka's wives was a serious 

 matter. The penalty was, both for the woman and the co-respondent (if 

 found), to be " chopped up alive together" — that is, they were cut into little 

 pieces. This, of course, refers to the past. At the present time adultery 

 is dealt with by fines in the native court. 



In some parts of Uganda the penalty is the whipping of the male 

 offender. On no account whatever can a woman be subjected to corporal 

 punishment. A wife is not discarded by her husband on account of faith- 

 lessness. Even if she contracts disease from promiscuous connection, and 

 temporarily leaves her husband's house, she is taken back when she wishes 

 to return, and the husband even brings the influence of her relations to 

 bear on her with the object of inducing her to return. 



These formalities in regard to marriage are adhered to more or less 

 strictly in remote places at the present time ; but near the more populous 

 .settlements the girls and even women take an independent course of their 

 own. One frequently meets girls who say quite frankly, not that they 

 -wish to be married, but that they have no husbands. 



Birth. — A wife is not delivered in her husband's house. As the period 

 of pregnancy draws to a close, the husband borrows a neighbour's house, 

 or he builds a temporary shed at a short distance from his own hut, and 

 some days before delivery the wife adjourns to the temporary quarters. 

 Her mother is called to attend her, and any other neighbouring women who 

 .are skilled in obstetrics may be called in to assist. The mother-in-law 



