THE CHOMWI OE HEADMAN. 



17 



" kabkab ; " he ma}' also sit upon cots, chairs, and the 

 mkeka, a fine dyed mat ; whereas a commoner venturing 

 upon such display would infallibly be mulcted in goats 

 or cattle. At the Ngoma Ku or great dance, which 

 celebrates every event in this land of revelry, only the 

 Chomwi may perform the morris with drawn sword 

 before the admiring multitude. A subject detected in 

 intrigue with the wife of a headman must, under penalty 

 of being sold, pay five slaves ; the fine is reduced to one 

 head in the case of a plebeian. With this amount of dignity 

 the Diwan naturally expects to live, and to support his 

 family with the fat of the land, and without sweat of 

 brow. When times are hard, he organises a kidnapping 

 expedition against a weaker neighbour, and fills his 

 purse by selling the proceeds. But his income is derived 

 chiefly from the down-caravans bringing ivory and 

 slaves from Unyamwezi and the far interior. Though 

 rigidly forbidden by the Prince of Zanzibar to force 

 caravans to his particular port, he sends large armed 

 parties of his kinsmen and friends, his clients and serfs, 

 as far as 150 and 200 miles inland, where they act less 

 like touters than highwaymen. By every petty art of 

 mercantile diplomacy, — now by force, then by fraud, 

 by promises, or by bribes of cloth and sweetmeats, — 

 they induce the caravan to enter the village, when the 

 work of plunder begins. Out of each Frasilah (thirty- 

 five lbs. avoirdupois) of ivory, from eight to fourteen 

 dollars are claimed as duties to the Government of 

 Zanzibar ; the headmen, then, demand six dollars as 

 their fee, under various technical names, plus one dollar 

 for " ugali " or porridge — the " manche," — and one 

 dollar for the use of water — the " pour boire." The 

 owner of the tusk is then handed over to the tender 

 mercies of the Banyan, from whom the Diwan has 

 vol. i. c 



