694 BANTU NEGROES 



a grave in the garden before the door of the hut, and the corpse, wrapped 

 up in bark-cloth (not in a coffin), is put in, and the whole covered up. 

 A little mound of earth is made on top, and then a layer of grass 

 (■' Tete "), similar to what is strewn on the floors of houses, is laid over 

 the earth, and the cross pieces of banana stem from the frame ("Sanja") 

 are laid transversely over all, and the burial is complete. 



Weeping over the grave is quite common, even amongst the men. 

 After the burial a small hut may be built just beside the grave, and those 

 who wish to mourn bitterly live there for a month ; other members of the 

 family and some of the relations live in the former house, and it is not usual 

 to break up the party before a month has passed. At the end of a month they 

 all disperse to their various homes. 



At the end of another month all the relations gather together again, the 

 avowed object being "to make an heir," or "Musika." They bring beer 

 with them, and there is a special kind of dance and drum festival called 

 "Ngalobi," which is proper for such occasion. The great Ngalobi is a 

 drum almost as tall as a man. The smaller one is called " Mbutu." The 

 Ngalobi song is as follows : — 



Ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! all ! ah ! tv. t r v ^i, 



,^ . , , Ihese two lines are sung by the 



Kanwete nga iniamba bweyaweta leading drummer. 

 (Let me bend [plunge] like a lung-fish when itplunges.) 



Ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! '^^"^ ^''^ ^" dancing at the time 



this song is being sung. 

 Chorus. — Ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! Repeated by all present. 



Kanwete nga imamba bweyaweta. 

 (Let me bend and plunge like a mamba (lung-fish) 

 when it plunges.) 



The Ngalobi goes on till morning, when the period of mourning is 

 supposed to terminate, except in the case of powerful chiefs. The practice 

 of burying living people with the deceased has long since fallen into disuse, 

 though it was a practice in past times. 



Laws of Succession. — In Uganda inheritance goes by election rather 

 than by prescribed right. On the morrow, after the Ngalobi or final 

 mourning festival, a mat or piece of bark-cloth is spread in front of the 

 house. The heir is elected from amongst the sons by the sons and daughters 

 of the deceased. The relations do not interfere in the selection. The heir, 

 or " Musika," may be the youngest or oldest or any of the sons. The 

 individual chosen is usually he who has distinguished himself in any way 

 more than the other brothers. A daughter of the deceased cannot inherit 

 his house and garden or property. If there is no son then the brother of the 

 deceased or his nephew is selected. Immediately after the selection is made, 

 the " ]\Iusika " is called to sit on the mat or bark-cloth, and all the other 

 relations come uj) and are introduced by the next in favour to the heir, as, 



