264 
Proceedings of the Royal Society 
drams, which discourse really harmonious melodies. There are no 
professional musicians, although they have some women who make 
a livelihood by singing and dancing. They attend feasts, marriages, 
&c. The For songs are very numerous, and are usually accom- 
panied by music. Solo songs are sung, and songs in chorus ; some- 
times both are combined. The Fors can apparently pick up very 
readily foreign airs, and are not slow in learning to play European 
instruments. I often heard the Dara band perform, and although 
they had only been a very short time under instruction their per- 
formances were highly creditable. 
Writing . — The only writing in Darfur is in the Arabic character. 
Few people use it, but it must have been introduced centuries ago, 
as all the books of For law, and those giving instruction in the pre- 
paration of drugs and charms, are written in the For language in 
Arabic characters. I was unable to obtain any specimen of it, 
much as I tried to do so. The art of drawing is unknown. 
Astronomy . — The Fors’ knowledge of astronomy is very rudi- 
mental. The months are lunar, but there are no ceremonies con- 
nected with seeing the new moon for the first time. The day is 
divided by the heights of the sun. They have names for only a 
very few stars. 
Arithmetic . — The Fors count as far as hundreds, but have no 
word for a thousand. They use strings of beads for counting, as 
also small stones. As far as I could make out, fingers and toes are 
not used for the purpose. I inquired particularly about this. 
The Arabic notation is in vogue amongst the educated people. 
They are only capable of making the simplest calculations, and this 
is done mentally. 
A Short Vocabulary of the For Language. 
Antelope . . Munu. 
Arm . . . Donah. 
Arrow . . Korr. 
Axe . . . Bo. 
Bedstead . . Pidi. 
Beer . . . Kera. 
Beads, White . Badiana. 
Brother 
Brook 
Cat . 
. Bein. 
. Kura Soruba. 
. Bis. 
Calf of leg 
. Toringdolgoim 
Beard . . . Furu. 
Bow . . . Napar’. 
Boy . . . Kwatin. 
Red . . Marigana. 
Child . 
Chin . 
Cloth . 
Clouds 
Cow . 
Chief . 
. Kwa. 
. Kara or Asa. 
. Guri. 
. Kuttu. 
. Uh. 
. Sagal. 
. Taubareh. 
Crocodile 
