MASAI MODE OF 



SALUTATION 



251 



garments their parents wore before them, only some of the elder 

 men wrap themselves in cotton. Their favourite ornaments are 

 thick iron wire and thin iron chains, and girls and women so 

 cover their arms and legs with thick wire that they look as if they 

 were in armour. In southern Masailand they also wear a flat 

 neck ornament made of spiral iron wire. These heavy decora- 

 tions cannot readily be 

 taken off; they give their 

 wearers an extraordinary 

 appearance, and make 

 walking difficult to them. 

 The only actual garments 

 the girls wear are leather 

 aprons, which reach from 

 the waist to the knees ; the 

 bosom is left bare, at least 

 all of it not covered with 

 iron chains, strings of 

 beads, and so on. 



Masai men greet each 

 other by holding out the 

 right hand and saying 

 scliore or schorelaj sohaj 

 (' Friend, or my friend, I 

 greet you '), to which the 

 proper reply is ebaj . Girls 

 and women never speak 

 first, but must be addressed 



as doje or sjangiki (maiden or matron) before they can reply, and 

 they never offer their hand till asked for it, but merely rej)ly 

 iko or more rarely tagwenja. If you want them to give you 

 their hand, you must ask for it by saying holele. Spitting 

 lightly on the face or hands is a sign amongst the Masai, as, 



IjytiSi 



MASAI NECK ORNAMENT 

 WORN BY WOMEN. 



MASAI EAR 

 ORNAMENT. 



