1871.] CANNIBALS BY CHOICE. 140 



mere scraping off the weeds is as good as ploughing, so that 

 the reason for cannibalism does not lie in starvation or in 

 want of animal matter, as was said to be the case with the 

 New Zealanders. The only feasible reason I can discover 

 is a depraved appetite, giving an extraordinary craving for 

 meat which Ave call " high." They are said to bury a dead 

 body for a couple of days in the soil in a forest, and in that 

 time, owing to the climate, it soon becomes putrid enough 

 for the strongest stomachs. 



The Lualaba has many oysters in it with very thick shells. 

 They are called Makessi, and at certain seasons are dived 

 for by the Bagenya women : pearls are said to be found in 

 them, but boring to string them has never been thought of. 

 Kanone, Ibis religiosa. Uruko, Kuss name of coffee. 



The Manyuema are so afraid of guns, that a man borrows 

 one to settle any dispute or claim : he goes with it over 

 his shoulder, and quickly arranges the matter by the 

 pressure it brings, though they all know that he could not 

 use it. 



Gulu, Deity above, or heaven. Mamvu, earth or below. 

 Guht is a person, and men, on death, go to him. Nicola, 

 lightning. Nkongolo, Deity (?). Kula or Nkula, salt spring- 

 west of Nyangwe. Kalunda, ditto. Kiria, rapid down river. 

 Kirila, islet in sight of Nyangwe. Magoya, ditto. 



Note. — The chief Zurampela is about N.W. of Nyangwe, 

 and three days off. The Luive Eiver, of very red water, is 

 crossed, and the larger Mabila Eiver receives it into its very 

 dark water before Mabila enters Lualaba. 



A ball of hair rolled in the stomach of a lion, as calculi 

 are, is a great charm among the Arabs : it scares away 

 other animals, they say. 



Lion's fat smeared on the tails of oxen taken through 

 a country abounding in tsetse, or bufigo, is a sure pre- 

 ventive ; when I heard of this, I thought that lion's fat would 

 be as difficult of collection as gnat's brains or mosquito 



