3&2 



THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



Africa represent the copper and smaller silver coins of 

 European countries ; it is, however, impossible to reduce the 

 khete, the length most used in purchases, to any average : it 

 varies from a halfpenny to three- pence. The average value of 

 the khete in Zanzibar coin is three pice, and about 100 khete 

 are included in the man or maund. The traveller will find 

 the bitil used as our farthing, the khete is the penny, the 

 shukkah kaniki is the sixpence and shilling, the shukkah 

 merkani and the fimdo represent the halfcrown and crown, 

 whilst the Barsati cloth, the kitindi or coil bracelet, and the 

 larger measures of beads, form the gold money. The following 

 varieties are imported in extensive outfits. Nos. 1, 2, and 3, 

 are the expensive kinds ; Nos. 4, 5, and 6, are in local demand, 

 cheap in the maritime, and valuable in the central regions, and 

 the rest are the more ordinary sorts. All those that are round 

 and pierced are called indifferently by the Arabs madruji, or 

 the " drilled." 



1. Samsam (Ar.) samesame (Kis.), kimara-p'hamba (food- 

 finishers), joho (scarlet cloth), and kifunga-mgi (town-breakers, 

 because the women are mad for them), are the various names 

 for the small coral bead, a scarlet enamelled upon a white 

 ground. They are known at Zanzibar as kharaz-kartasi — 

 paper beads — because they are sent into the country ready 

 strung, and packed in paper parcels, which ought to weigh 4 

 pounds each, but are generally found to vary from 8 to 10 

 fundo or knots. Of this bead there are 15 several sizes, and 

 the value of the frasilah is from 13 to 16 dollars at Zan- 

 zibar. In Unyamwezi, where the samesame is in greatest 

 demand, one fundo is equivalent to 1 shukkah merkani, and 

 6 khete to the shukkah kaniki. 



2. Next in demand to the samesame, throughout the country, 

 except at Ujiji, where they lose half their value, are the pink 

 porcelain, called gulabi (the rosy), or maguru la nzige (locust's 

 feet). The price in Zanzibar varies from 12 to 15 dollars per 

 frasilah. 



3. The blue porcelain, called in Venice ajerino, and in East 

 Africa langiyo or murtutu (blue vitriol) is of three several 

 sizes, and the best is of the lightest colour. The larger variety, 

 called langiyo mkuba, fetches, at Zanzibar, from 6 to 12 

 dollars per frasilah, and the p'heke, or smaller, from 7 to 9 

 dollars. In Usagara and Unyamwezi, where from 3 to 4 

 fundo are equivalent to the shukkah merkani, and 1 to 2 to the 

 shukkah kaniki, it is used for minor purchases, where the 

 samesame would be too valuable. It is little prized in other 



