VI 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



253 



Among the Embe the dead are accorded scant cere- 

 mony. As soon as Hfe is ascertained to be extinct, the 

 dead bodies are thrown out into the fields, where the 

 keen-scented hyena, or some other beast of prey, soon 

 removes all signs of the deceased. Life is to these 

 people such an interesting matter, that it seems to en- 

 gross their entire attention, and little thought is taken 

 of the body after the spirit has forsaken it. 



The sole amusement of the people is dancing. The 

 old men and old women dance together, and the war- 

 riors with the maidens. At the dances of the elders 

 honey-wine flows freely, and debauchery is always the 

 result. The young people, however, are not allowed 

 to partake of the stimulant, which among these excit- 

 able people does not seem to be necessary in youth ; 

 but by leaping into the air, and indulging in tumult- 

 uous shouts, they work themselves to such a pitch 

 of fury as apparently to lose their reason ; they foam 

 at the mouth and hurl themselves upon the ground, 

 where they writhe. The facility with which a warrior 

 enters into this epileptic condition is accepted as evi- 

 dence of the degree in which he possesses the martial 

 spirit ; and it is said of the experts in this line, that 

 their enemies will vanish before them as dew before 

 the rising sun. The desire to win such favourable 

 opinion leads many of the warriors to assume a degree 

 of frenzy which they do not possess ; but should the 

 counterfeiter be discovered, he is forced to submit to 

 very rough treatment. 



There are three articles manufactured by the Embe ; 

 implements of war, implements of agriculture, and 

 ornaments for the person. Iron is found in large 



