APPENDIX I. 



393 



parts, and between Unyamwezi and Ujiji it falls to the low level 

 of the white porcelain. 



4. A local variety, current from Msene to the Tanganyika 

 Lake, where, in the heavier dealings, as the purchase of slaves 

 and ivory, a few strings are always required to cap the bargain, 

 is called mzizima, mtunda, balghami, and jelabi, the ringei 

 perle of Germany. It is a large flat bead of glass ; the khete 

 contains about 150, and each item acts as a copper coin. The 

 mzizima is of two varieties ; the more common is a dark blue, 

 the other is of a whitish and opaline tint. At Zanzibar the 

 frasilah costs from 7 to 9 dollars. In Unyamwezi 3 fundo are 

 equivalent to 1 shukkah merkani, and 1 fundo to 1 shukkah 

 kaniki. 



5. Another local variety is the balghami mkuba, popularly 

 called sungomaji, a bead made at Nuremberg (?). It is a porce- 

 lain, about the size of a pigeon's egg, and of two colours, 

 white and light blue. The sungomaji, attached to a thin cord 

 or twine, is worn singly or in numbers as an ornament round 

 the neck, and the people complain that the polish soon wears 

 off. At Zanzibar the price per 1000 is from 15 to 20 dollars, 

 but it is expected to decline to 10 dollars. This bead is useful 

 in purchasing ivory in Ugogo and Unyamwezi, and in hiring 

 boats at Ujiji : its relative value to cloth is 19 per shukkah 

 merkani, and 15 per shukkah kaniki. 



6. The sofi, called in Italian cannettone, resembles bits of 

 broken pipe-stems, about two-thirds of an inch in length. It is 

 of various colours, white, brick-red, and black. Each bead is 

 termed masaro, and is used like pice in India: of these the 

 khete contains from 55 to 60. The price varies, at Zanzibar, 

 from 2 to 3 dollars per frasilah ; in the interior, however, the 

 value greatly increases, on account of insufficient importation. 

 This bead, in 1858, was in great demand throughout Usagara, 

 Unyamwezi, and the western regions, where it was as valuable 

 as the samesame. Having neglected to lay in a store at 

 Zanzibar, the East African Expedition was compelled to ex- 

 change cloth for it at Msene and Ujiji, giving 1 shukkah 

 merkani for 30 to 35 khete, and 1 shukkah kaniki for 15 to 

 25. In Ujiji, however, many of the purchases were rejected 

 because the bits had become small by wear, or had been 

 chipped off by use. 



7. The staple of commerce is a coarse porcelain bead, of 

 various colours, known in Zanzibar by the generic name of 

 hafizi. There are three principal kinds. The khanyera or 

 ushanga waupa (white beads) are common throughout the 



