LANGUAGE 



OF THE 



AVATAVETA 



105 



wliicli the eldest and most respected men are consulted and 

 deferred to on every occasion. 



Our by no means insignificant liongo, wliicli consisted of 

 two loads of cotton goods and beads, was divided amongst these 

 elders, but about a hundred of the younger men, who were 

 present at the distribution, also received their share. 



The language of the Wataveta scarcely differs from that of 

 the Wapare and Wagweno, and proves them to belong to the 

 Bantu stock. In spite of constant intercourse with the Wakwafi, 

 who use the Masai idiom, the people of Taveta rarely under- 

 stand their language, though many are acquainted with the 

 Kiswahili, or Zanzibar dialect. 



Circumcision is universally practised amongst the Wataveta, 

 in the same manner and with the same attendant ceremonies 

 as amongst the Masai. Boys generally retire after undergoing 

 it to the forest for a time, whilst girls, on whom a somewhat 

 similar operation is inflicted, remain secluded for a month in 

 their huts. If a stranger approaches, they are expected to hide 

 their faces. The mothers of the girls meanwhile can easily 

 be identified, as they go about with their faces smeared with 

 alternate streaks of red and white colour. 



With regard to the morality of the fair sex in Taveta, I am 

 scarcely in a position to pronounce an opinion one way or the 

 other, but in the interests of the truth I must relate an incident 

 which occurred during the first week of our stay. 



One day we were surprised to find that all the natives kept 

 away from us ; not a man, not a woman, not even a child, was 

 to be seen in our quarters, but each entrance to the camp was 

 guarded by several youths, who would allow no one to pass 

 in, and were specially eager in turning back those bringing 

 food for sale. What had happened '? Just this. The young 

 married men of Taveta were enraged against our followers 

 because of certain liberties taken with their women. We 



