66 



FROM THE COAST TO KILIMANJARO 



Waruvu etiquette demands that the following dialogue should be 

 gone through at every meeting. For instance, if M-ruvu A. 

 meets M-ruvu B., they do not part till the following conver- 

 sation has taken place : — 



A. to B. 



B. to A. 



A. to B. 







again 



Kilo vedi ? (Did you have a good night ?) 



Hm! 



Hm! 



Si vedi ? (Did you have a good day '?) 



Hm! 



Hm ! 



Ho kaja ? (Is all well at home ?) 



Hm! 



Hm! 



Ho kaja kilo vedi ? (Did they all have a good night ?) 



Hm! 



Hm! 



Mzima ? (Are you well ?) 



Hm! 



Hm! 



Sana ( Very well) 



Hm! 



Hm! 



Yambo (Bless you !) 



Hm! 



Hm! 



And when A. has finished his questions, B. begins, and the 

 whole thing is gone through again. 



When Sedenga and I had duly performed this ceremony, he 

 explained to me that his visit was to me alone, as he was no 

 friend of Herr Brausche. After my last long-drawn-out Hm ! 

 I looked at Sedenga more closely, to see what manner of man 

 he was, and noted that he was short and plump, wearing an 

 ordinary Arab shirt, and a turban pushed carelessly over the 

 left shoulder. His face was deeply pitted by small-pox, and 

 his expression was solemn but not particularly intelligent. He 

 had prominent eyes and full lips, whilst his hands and feet 

 were small and well formed. After a short silence I invited 

 Sedenga into my tent to make him a present, which I had 

 asked Herr Brausche to get for me meanwhile, as I was not 

 yet very well up in the requirements of native etiquette in the 

 matter of gifts. When I was about to present Sedenga with 

 the things — a few yards of merikani, a fez, and some lessos 1 — 

 he began, instead of taking them, to storm about in such a 

 manner that I could hardly help laughing. 6 What ! ' he cried 

 again and again, 6 this for me ! — for me, the Sultan of Waruvu ! ' 



1 A lesso is a coloured handkerchief, about the size of a small tablecloth, made 

 in various colours and designs. The Swahili women wear them in winter, one 

 round the body, and another on the head and shoulders. — Tkans. 



