MASAI, TURKANA, SUK, NANDI, ETC. 851 



mother's hut, place the bodies of ordinary folk out in the bush to be 

 devoured by hyasnas, and bury their chiefs or principal medicine men 

 under cairns of stones. They have much the same vague religious beliefs 

 in a sky god, in rain-making, witchcraft, and medicine. They distinguish 

 between their medicine men (who wield great power) and their chiefs — 

 that is to say, those chiefs who are elected to keep order or to direct 

 war. But very often the medicine man is a chief or leader by virtue of 

 his power in medicine or in occult arts. 



Their style of dancing merits a little description. The men stand in 

 a semi-circle or in a horseshoe formation. A certain number of performers 



476. stJK DANCINO 



place themselves in a row within this horseshoe, and whilst the people of 

 the outer circle clap their hands and sing, the selected band inside jumps 

 up and down, keeping the body perfectly stiff and erect, with the hands 

 pressed against the sides. They will sometimes jump quite a height into 

 the air. Other of their dances are accompanied by obscene gestures. 

 Their songs are like those of the ]Masai — a long wailing solo accompanied 

 by a rhythmical chorus singing in a low key. Here is the notation of 

 one which I took down on the jihonograph : — 

 Solo. Chokus. 



