134 
LANGUAGE AND DANCING. 
they would be called " Peer ke jaggeh," places of devo- 
tion ; and our Seedees called them " M zeemoo." A 
rock was also passed, on which our porters placed 
pebbles. 
The language of the country was quite unintelligible 
to our men — I mean as spoken by the Watusi, who are 
the reigning race here ; but they did not find it diffi- 
cult to pick up some words and phrases. It was not 
so hard as the dialect of Unyamuezi, which they con- 
sidered more "bharee" (difficult). If one Seedee wishes 
to address another by saying, " I say/' or " Old fel- 
low!" he calls " Somoh ! " — if a Muezi, " Doogoh 
yango ! " — if a M'sui, " Kunewani ! " — if a M ganda, 
" Awangeh ! " There is no similarity in these ; conse- 
quently, to speak to any M'ganda, two interpreters 
were at first necessary, until our men picked up 
some of their language ; but in their numerals they 
were almost the same. 
The style of dance at Myonga's seemed to be pecu- 
liar to the country. It was conducted, without arms 
or any rough coarseness, by moonlight, in an open 
space, all the lads and lasses collecting without music. 
A circle was formed, singing and clapping of hands 
commenced, and either a woman made her most grace- 
ful curtsy to a favourite in the crowd, and retired 
skilfully backwards to her place, or a young fellow 
bounded into the centre, threw himself into attitudes, 
performed some gymnastic feat, bowed to the prettiest, 
and then made way for the next champion or fair 
lady. 
After I had joined Speke at Bogweh on the 7th 
October 1861, a letter was received by him from 
Colonel Eigby, the consul at Zanzibar, dated 31st 
