THE DRINKING BOUTS. 



295 



African, who uses it as the alarum of war, the promise 

 of mirth, the token of hospitality, and the cure of dis- 

 eases: without drumming his life would indeed be a 

 blank. The largest variety, called " ngoma ku," is the 

 hollowed bole of a mkenga or other soft tree, with a 

 cylindrical solid projection from the bottom, which holds 

 it upright when planted in the ground. The instru- 

 ment is from three to five feet in length with a diameter 

 of from one to two feet : the outside is protected with a 

 net-work of strong cord. Over the head is stretched a 

 rough parchment made of calf's-skin ; and a cap of green 

 hide, mounted when loose, and afterwards shrunken 

 by exposure to fire, protects the bottom. It is vigour- 

 ously beaten with the fists, and sometimes with coarse 

 sticks. There are many local varieties of this instru- 

 ment, especially the timbrel or tabret, which is about a 

 foot long, shaped like an hour-glass or a double " dara- 

 bukkah," and provided with a head of iguana-skin. The 

 effect of tom-toming is also produced by striking hollow 

 gourds and similar articles. The only cymbal is the 

 upatu, a flat-bottomed brass pot turned upside down, 

 and tapped with a bit of wood. The " sanje," a gourd 

 full of pebbles, is much affected in parts of the country 

 by women, children, and, especially, by the mganga or 

 rain-maker ; its use being that of the babe's rattle 

 amongst Europeans. 



The insipidity of the African's day is relieved by fre- 

 quent drinking bouts, and by an occasional hunt. For 

 the former the guests assemble at early dawn, and take 

 their seats in a circle, dividing into knots of three or 

 four to facilitate the circulation of the bowl. The 

 rnwandazi, or cup-bearer, goes round the assembly, 

 giving scrupulous precedence to the chiefs and elders, 

 who are also provided with larger vessels. The sonzo, 



u 4 



