618 GOVEENMENT OF THE BANYAI. Chap. XXX. 



or daughter. When first spoken to on the subject, he answers as 

 if he thought liimself unequal to the task and unworthy of the 

 honour, but, having accepted it, all the wives, goods, and cliildren 

 of his predecessor belong to him, and he takes care to keep 

 them in a dependent position. When any one of them becomes 

 tired of this state of vassalage and sets up his own village, it is 

 not unusual for the elected chief to send a number of the young 

 men, who congregate about himself, to visit him. If he does 

 not receive them with the usual amount of clapping of hands 

 and humility, they, in obedience to orders, at once burn his 

 village. The children of the chief have fewer privileges than 

 common free men. They may not be sold, but, rather than 

 choose any one of them for a chief at any future time, the free 

 men would prefer to elect one of themselves who bore only a very 

 distant relationship to the family. These free men are a distinct 

 class who can never be sold ; and under them there is a class of 

 slaves whose appearance as well as position is very degraded. 

 Moiiina had a great number of young men about him from twelve 

 to fifteen years of age. These were all sons of free men, and 

 bands of young lads like them in the different districts, leave 

 their parents about the age of puberty, and live with such men 

 as Monina for the sake of instruction. When I asked the nature 

 of the instruction I was told " Bonyai," which I suppose may be 

 understood as indicating manhood, for it sounds as if we should 

 say, " to teach an American, Americanism," or " an English- 

 man to be English." While here they are kept in subjection 

 to rather stringent regulations. They must salute carefully 

 by clapping their hands on approaching a superior, and when 

 any cooked food is brought, the young men may not approach 

 the dish, but an elder divides a portion to each. They remain 

 unmarried, imtil a fresh set of youths is ready to occupy their 

 place under the same instruction. The parents send servants 

 with their sons to cultivate gardens to supply them with food, 

 and also tusks to Monina to purchase clothing for them. When 

 the lads return to the village of their parents, a case is submitted 

 to them for adjudication, and if they speak well on the point, the 

 parents are highly gratified. 



When we told Monina that we had nothing to present but 

 some hoes, lie replied that he was not in need of those articles, 



