3i6 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



goats and three camels. If the father accepts the 

 gift, the deal goes on ; if he refuses, the business is 

 at an end. If the present is accepted, the girl's two 

 lower front teeth are cut out, and the business is con- 

 cluded by the father of the bride receiving ten addi- 

 tional camels from the family of the young man. 



The funeral ceremony is as follows. The corpse is 

 shaved, and then buried in a deep hole in a sitting 

 posture ; the hole is then filled with stones, which are 

 piled several feet above the ground into a sort of 

 cairn ; afterward a spear is fixed in an upright position 

 in the centre. This completed, the near relatives of 

 the deceased kill a camel, and invite their friends to 

 a feast. The whole villao'e 2;oes into mournino-, and 

 during the period of mourning they either take off 

 their ornaments or hide them with skins. 



Only male relatives of the deceased share in the 

 distribution of his herds. At the end of one month 

 the heir of the dead man ingratiates himself with his 

 immediate relatives by presenting them with goats, 

 sheep, or camels, as the case may be, and as his 

 means may warrant. 



Primogeniture is in vogue, but it is customary for 

 the younger brothers of the heir to receive substan- 

 tial presents. The heir assumes the care of his 

 mother and sisters. In return for the care he bestows 

 upon his sisters, all goods paid for them upon mar- 

 riao;e 50 to him. 



The Samburu, or Berkenedji, w^ere originally deadly 

 enemies of the Rendile ; but since their defeat at 

 Leikipia by the Masai many years ago, and the sub- 

 sequent destruction of their flocks by the plague, they 



