349 
of Edinhurghj Session 1883 - 84 . 
Pottery . — The manufacture of pottery is carried on by the 
women. A grey clay having been freed from stones is mixed with 
water to the consistency of dough ; much care is taken that there 
should be no lumps in it, and that it should not be too wet or too 
dry. This dough is left in a hut for a day, being placed on and 
covered by leaves. The women then commence to make the jars, 
forming the bottom first on a wooden tray, working the sides up 
wuth their hands and moulding it into shape. No wheel is used. 
The vessels made vary very much in size and shape. Some are 
round and open like our basins, some have narrow necks widening 
out again at the top. When formed they are ornamented by lines 
made horizontally and at right angles below the top rim, which is 
often made to curve over. This marking is done with a sharp bit 
of stone such as is used for cupping, or with a sharp pointed stick. 
The jars are then painted black, or black with a red neck. They 
are left in a hut for a day or two to dry, then put in the sun for a 
day or two more, and lastly they are fired. Quite a trade is carried 
on by the makers of pottery, who keep a store of their goods for 
sale. Some very large sized jars are made for holding semsem ; 
these are made by men, and in forming them a grass mould is used. 
Painting . — The Madis decorate their bodies with paint for dances, 
washing it off again when the festivities are over. Red, blue, white, 
and black paints are used. The red is oxide of iron, the black is 
made from charcoal. The paint is applied with the finger in stripes 
about half an inch broad on the face, arms, shoulders, and chest. 
Women paint their faces, chest, and upper part of their arms, and 
some confine the paint to one part of the body only. The designs 
vary with taste. No application is made to the eyes. They do not 
stain their nails. 
String . — String is made from the fibrous bark of five or six 
different trees. This substance is first dried in the sun for a day 
or two, then wetted, and buried for two or three weeks, at the end 
of which time it is taken out and heaped up under a tree. Here 
the men work, beating the fibrous pulp with a piece of wood on the 
smooth trunk of a tree which lies on the ground. They then work 
the fibres into string by rubbing them into a twist with their hands 
on their thighs. 
To make cord, they fasten two pieces of string to their toes, and 
