A WAR DANCE AT MIRIALl'S 



179 



When we had finished our work, our host took us to his smithy, 

 where some spears were just then being made ; he himself 

 seized the bellows, and seemed immensely delighted when the 

 sparks began to fly about. We were then shown wire-drawing 

 and the process of making copper and iron chains. In the 

 afternoon Miriali and his wife received part of the presents we 

 had brought for them, including a grand gilded dragoon's 

 helmet and an equally magnificent sabre. We had hoped 

 that Miriali would have been especially charmed with these 

 two gifts, but we were disappointed, and the picture-books we 

 had chosen for his wives and slave-girls were quite incompre- 

 hensible to them for a long time. The animals were what 

 they first seemed able to make out. 



We were obliged to curb our impatience to be off. Miriali 

 had decided to honour us with a war dance and military 

 spectacle, and for this end had summoned all the men and 

 youths capable of bearing arms. Until the festivities were 

 over we found a deaf ear turned to everything relating to our 

 own affairs. On the afternoon of the 12th some 300 men were 

 assembled in front of Miriali's hut, many of them wearing 

 feather collars on their shoulders, and Masai moran masks or 

 monkeys' skins on their heads. They had all got themselves 

 up in as fantastic a manner as possible, and half of them 

 carried guns, whilst the other half were armed with spears, 

 shields, and swords. Their war mantles were very much the 

 shape of the Masai naiberes, but they were made of red or 

 other coloured stuffs. The dance soon began. The brightly 

 decked-out performers formed themselves into a circle and set up 

 a really melodious chant, keeping time by striking their guns or 

 spears with their clubs. The chant was sung softly in deep 

 vibrating chest tones. Slowly the circle of dancers moved 

 round, whilst single performers, generally six at a time, hopped 

 into the centre and, swinging their weapons to the time of the 



N 2 



