1891-92.] Dr R. W. Felkin on the Wanyoro Tribe. 
145 
About tlae 5th clay after birth the mother sits on her threshold 
with her child, a sheep is killed and the child is named by the 
paternal grandfather, or should he be dead, by the maternal grand- 
father. It usually receives two names — one connected with some 
bodily peculiarity, the other chosen at pleasure. The skin of the 
sheep killed at the naming of the child is used to carry it in, the 
child being suspended at its mother’s back in the skin so that its 
fore-legs are tied together round the mother’s shoulders, its hind- 
legs round her waist. A woman suckles her child 18 months ; it is 
then weaned and the breasts are rubbed with bitter juices. During 
suckling the women live apart from their husbands. The fecundity 
of women is from 12 to 25 years of age ; many are barren, most of 
tliem have only two or three children. The women grow old 
quickly. Hermaphroditism is rather common. If women are 
sterile, they are sometimes returned to their parents, who return a 
proportion of the dowry paid for them. Twins are considered a 
great piece of good fortune, not only to the parents but also to the 
entire village. Universal festivities are held in the village, and rich 
gifts are brought to the mother from all sides. The firstborn 
twin, whether a boy or a girl, is called “ Zingoma,” the other “ Kato.” 
The placenta of living twins is placed in a large earthen vessel in a 
miniature hut hastily erected in the courtyard, where it remains four 
days. It is then carried in procession to another larger hut built in 
the jungle, and there it is left. Should the twins die, they, together 
with their placentae, are left in an earthen vessel in the mother’s 
hut until decomposition sets in. They are then removed to the 
miniature hut built in the courtyard and are there left for an 
arbitrary period, being watched by a man who scares away hyenas. 
During the time of this exposure the occupants of the house may 
not shave themselves, and they must keep aloof from everyone as a 
sign of mourning. When this period is accomplished, the men and 
women cut their hair and lay aside for a time all ornaments, and 
finally the house in which the birth took place is burnt, expiation 
thus being made. 
Causes which limit Population . — Of the causes which limit 
population, polygamy is the most important. It is derogatory to 
the position of chiefs, even the most unimportant, to possess less 
than 10 or 15 wives. Poor men have three or four wives each. 
VOL. XIX. 21/11/92 K 
