163 
1891 - 92 .] Dr R. W. Felkin on the Wanyoro Tribe. 
After the death of a great chief one of his finger-hones and his 
hair are preserved ; should he have been shaven, a piece of his bark- 
cloth dress is kept instead of his hair. When a king dies, the body 
is washed, anointed several times witli fresh butter, and wrapt in a 
bark-cloth ; a special seriba is constructed, in the centre of which a 
high scaffolding is erected, and on this the body is placed. A fire is 
lit underneath, and kept burning until the body is completely dried 
up and mummified. It is then wrapped in a great number of bark- 
cloths and taken into a new hut specially built for the purpose, and 
there it must remain until^ the new king ascends the throne. As 
the sons of the deceased monarch usually fight for the throne, the 
burial is delayed for an indefinite period. At the conclusion of 
the civil war the victor visits his father’s body and sticks his spear 
into the ground near the right hand of the corpse. His first duty 
after ascending the throne is to bury his father. Speke describes 
the funeral somewhat as follows. A huge pit is dug, capable of con- 
taining several hundred people, and it is lined with new bark-cloths. 
The lower jaw of the late king having been cut out, it is preserved 
in a packet richly ornamented with beads. His favourite cow is 
killed, and its hide forms the only coffin. 
Several of the deceased king’s wives seat themselves in the centre 
of the grave and upon their knees the body is laid. During the 
succeeding night it is watched by the king’s bodyguard, and the 
next morning the soldiers seize indiscriminately a great number of 
people as they issue from their huts in the morning. They are 
brought to the grave, their arms and legs are broken by clubs, and, 
their shrieks being drowned by tom-toms, the blowing of horns, 
whistles, and the yells of the assembled cro\7d, they are thrown into 
the pit and covered with earth. This is trampled into a compact 
mass, and a mound of earth is erected above them. 
Persons who have been executed are not allow^ed to be buried, 
but are simply thrown into the high grass. 
Relationships . — The only relationships recognised in Unyoro are 
those of grandparents, father, mother, brother, sister, brother-in-law, 
uncle (father’s brother, mother’s brother), son, daughter, son-in-la w% 
daughter-in-law, and step-father. 
Distribution of Property . — When a man dies, the eldest son 
inherits all that his father possessed, including his wives, with the 
