426 



MARRIAGES. 



but represent ' B'ana Mtapa.' Muigni, contracted 

 to Mui', is applied to Sayyids, Sherifs, and tem- 

 poral rulers, and Shehe is the equivalent of 

 Shaykh. Mkambi belongs to the sultan or 

 chief, and the Anglo- Arab £ Seedy ' (Sidi = my 

 lord) is unknown. 



The marriages (Maowano) of the Wasawahili 

 are operose, as might be expected amongst a 

 race whose family festivals are, as in the far north 

 of Europe, their only public amusements. I 

 may, j)erhaps, here remark that in matching, as 

 well as in despatching, even civilization has not 

 thrown off all traces of the old barbarism, and 

 that the visit to M. le Maire and the wedding 

 breakfast, to mention no other troubles and 

 disagreeables, should make us uncommonly 

 lenient to those less advanced than ourselves. 

 The relatives of the bridegroom, as soon as he 

 reaches the mature age of 15, having found for 

 him a fit and proper mate, repair to the parents ; 

 propose a Mahr, or settlement, varying according 

 to means from $15 to $25, and obtain the reply 

 ancipital. The women then visit one another; 

 the answer emerges into distinctness, and all fall 

 to cooking. In due time Coelebs receives, as a 

 token of acceptance, a large Siniyyah, a tray of 

 rice, meat, and confectionery, a ' treat ' for his 



