756 Proceedings of the Boyal Society 
The Waganda are admirable porters, taking great care of any 
goods committed to their charge. When they halt for the night 
huts are built for the goods to protect them from the rain, and 
although you may not see your goods for several days together, yet 
they will be invariably delivered up to you at the end of the 
journey in good condition. 
Foreign Influence . — The Suaheli language has been extensively 
introduced into the country by the Arab traders from Zanzibar. 
The use of chairs and stools is appreciated by many of the chiefs, 
and a good many articles of European manufacture are gradually 
finding their way into the country. The number of firearms is 
yearly increasing. 
Marriages . — Polygamy is universal, and even the poorest 
peasant does his best to obtain more than one wife. The marriages 
are contracted rather early, and, strictly speaking, marriage is a 
bargain between the bridegroom and the father of the bride. The 
usual price for a wife amongst the lower orders is three or four 
oxen or six needles, or the equivalent in cowries. The price rises 
according to the rank. The only restriction on marriage is the in- 
ability to pay the dowry. The chiefs have very large harems. The 
marriage ceremonies are of a very primitive character, if they can 
be called ceremonies at all. In many cases the young husband 
simply erects his hut, and having paid the dowry, takes his wife 
home with him. More rarely, however, the preliminaries having 
been settled, the friends of both parties meet in the bride’s hut, 
where a dinner is provided by her father. The afternoon and 
evening are spent in dancing, singing, and drinking, after which 
the bride and bridegroom are conducted by their friends to their 
hut, the door of which is then closed, while the friends remain 
outside and carouse throughout most of the night. The next 
morning they congratulate the newly married pair, who then 
proceed to give a feast. The songs on these occasions celebrate 
the joys of marriage, and detail the duties of husbands and wives. 
Marriages between relations are not forbidden, and brothers some- 
times marry their sisters. 
In large establishments separate huts are appropriated to the 
women, but in no case does a single wife have a hut to herself. 
The wives are very jealous of one another, and only the head wives 
