A DAZIM OR MEDICINE FOR OUR PROTECTION 197 



or not. Not a sign had so far been seen of a native in camp ; 

 but at ten o'clock we saw a little crowd slowly approaching, 

 led by the Oromaj, his ten-foot rod in his hand, accompanied by 

 the Leibon, a white-haired old man, whom we now saw for the 

 first time, and some twenty elders, all carrying green branches, 

 who had come to make a new league of friendship with us. Two 

 pretty young girls preceded the party, each leading a sheep 

 along by its horns. All halted at the entrance to our camp, 

 and as usual the Oromaj entered first to turn out any of his 

 people who might be there. Eeassured on that point, all 

 entered the enclosure, and squatted down in front of the Count's 

 tent. The ceremony of anointing the sheep with milk, &c., 

 already described, was gone through again, after which many 

 friendly speeches were made, all turning on our wish to go 

 further north. The Oromaj and the Leibon said very much 

 the same thing. They had grown fond of us, for we had kept 

 true faith with them. Our men had neither stolen nor sinned 

 in any other way, and the days of our sojourn had passed over 

 quietly. But they could not allow us to go round the lake, if 

 it were possible to do so at this time of the year, for the west- 

 ern Eeshiat as well as the tribes dwelling on the north were 

 all as^ainst it. It was no use thinkino^ of crossinsf the flooded 

 plains on the north, as they were themselves about to move 

 their settlements on to the higher ground ; and if we should 

 venture to go we should never be able to cross the swollen 

 Manamm and Bas rivers. The only advice they could give 

 us was to get a stock of provisions and return along the 

 eastern shore of the lake. Whether the way was good or 

 bad, whether we should suffer from hunger or thirst, they 

 could not say, but anyhow they knew no other road for us. 

 The old Leibon, however, added an assurance that he had 

 already made a dazim (medicine) to protect us from every 

 danger on our way home. ' No mangati, no elephant, no lion. 



