NILOTIC NEGROES 



793 



liut until rill' child begins to cut 

 its teeth. The ludtliei- ilocs not u-q 

 out to calti\-ate for uiiio davs after 

 the liirth. If a woman has had 

 two children [iroviou^l\' who ha\'e 

 died, she follows tlie same cercmonv 

 -as that de>crihed anions;- the Bantu 

 KaA'iroiido. Wfienthc child has been 

 brouglit back by an old woman, it 

 is redeemed by the father, who then 

 bores the liibo of the right oar and 

 iusorts an ear-riug of bra^s wire. 

 The child isthencefortlicalled '•(_)witi," 

 if a l:)t>y ; if a girl. '■ Awiti." mean- 

 ing ••the child that has been thrown 

 away." The tdd woman who picks u[i 

 the child is regarded as its foster- 

 mothei-. Twins are considiu-ed luckv, 

 thongh their arri\al is attended by 

 a good many ceremonies and bv pro- 

 ]iitiatorv dances which are of an 

 obscene nature. 



When a person dii'^^. tlie corpse is 

 immediat(4y taken eut of the house. 

 If it be a woman, her l)rother>-in-law 

 dig the gra\e in the \'i'randali of the 

 house. 'J'he I'orpse is hiirii'il oil its 

 left side with the hand under tlie 

 head, fn the case of a woman's death, 

 her i'elati\'es and friends come and 

 wail. Her husband presents each ^ 

 <'lan that attends with a goat. The 

 mourners stav for three davs. The hut in which a perMin ha.^ died i^ u>ed 

 for a month. The neighboiu's then meet together and drink beer, aral 

 the house is broken down, I'pon the death ni' a man his lirofher digs 

 his gra\'e, and he is buiied in the Iioum' of his tir^t wife, if she i,- still 

 li\ing. If she is dead, he is buried in the \erandah of \n> own llo^^e. 

 iWen only wail fir one day. .\fter that only the women wail, al fir.-t 

 fir three da\s. and then at dawn for fifteen da\>. 



As a. >ign of nioiiriii lui the women wear a >tring (it fianana til ire round 

 the forehead. The\- al>o wear a bhu'k tail b'inged with white ^tring^ ior 

 ;diout a month, (Ithers .^mear them^elve^ with wliite earth. Iielati\es of 



'*»ii> 



V .lIKIill'I.NK II. l\ I'liO.ll XV.VK.VI'H, ^(MTII 



sniK OK K.v\ir.<)-\i") i;ay 



