THE LITTLE RAINS. 



169 



commit imprudences and pay for them in severe 

 fevers. The rare hut heavy showers that now fall 

 are termed c Mcho ; ' they separate the greater 

 from the lesser Msika. 



4. Dayman (in Kisawahili Daymani) ends 

 the Kausi or S. W. monsoon, and extends 

 through August and part of October. Though 

 the sun is nearly perpendicular the air is cooled 

 by strong south-westerly breezes. At this time 

 yams, manioc, and sweet potatoes grow, making 

 it a second spring, whilst the harvest of rice and 

 holcus assimilates it to the temperate autumn. 



5. The Vuli (Fuli) 1 or Msika Mdogo, second 

 rains or Little Msika. This season lasts but 

 three weeks, beginning shortly after the sun 

 has crossed the zenith of Zanzibar in the south- 

 ern declination, and embracing part of October 

 and November. It is not considered a healthy 

 time by the islanders. The autumnal rains are 

 sometimes wanting upon the continent, and the 

 land then suffers as severely from drought as 

 northern Syria does when the 6 former rain ' fails. 

 After the Yuli recommences the Kaskazi, and the 



1 V and F are often interchanged, as Mpumbafu (a fool), 

 and Mfulana (a youth), for Mpumbavu and Mvulana. Gene- 

 rally the Arabs of Oman and other incorrect speakers prefer 

 the latter, and the Wasawahili the former, a sound which does 

 not exist in Arabic. 



