Chap. LXXIII. CAMP OF THE TARABAI^A'SA. 103 
very neatly, and consisting of tin and copper : but it 
was in vain that I endeavoured to obtain some of 
them as a curiosity. They wore also a rich profu- 
sion of white rings, which are made of the bones of 
that very remarkable animal the " ayii," or Manatus, 
which seems to be not less frequent in the western 
than in the eastern branch of the Niger. As a token 
of their nobility and liberty, all of them carried 
iron spears and swords, the degraded tribes not being 
allowed to make use of these manly weapons. 
The encampment consisted of about thirty leathern 
tents, of great size ; and, besides the Tarabandsa, a 
party of the Kel-hekikan of Zillikay were encamped. 
This was a less favourable circumstance ; for, while as 
yet I had been always on the best footing with these 
Tawarek, the latter proved rather troublesome : and 
I got involved in a religious dispute with one of their 
chiefs named Ayiib, or Sinnefel, against my inclina- 
tion, which might have done me some harm. On 
his asking me why we did not pray in the same 
manner as themselves, I replied that our God did not 
live in the east, but was everywhere, and that there- 
fore we had no occasion to offer up our prayers in 
that direction. This answer appeared to satisfy 
him : but he affected to be horrified when he heard 
that we did not practise circumcision, and endea- 
voured to excite the fanatical zeal of the whole camp 
against me. I, however, succeeded in partly effacing 
the bad impression thus caused, by making use of a 
H 4 
