KIKUYU CIRCUMCISION CEREMONIES 
41 
the feather. The leaf, from its perishable nature, could not 
long stand the wear and tear of a hunting trip, and this led 
to a craving for something more durable. The great stroke of 
genius was the discovery that the attachment of a wing at the 
base of the arrow, be it leaf, leather, or feather, increased the 
precision of the projectile, and I confess that I am unable to 
guess how this was likely to have suggested itself to primitive 
man. 
The most highly developed arrows in British East Africa 
are those of the A-Kamba, and the finish and balance of a good 
example is equal to anything that could be turned out in 
Europe. 
Most of the hunting tribes mark the detachable heads of 
their poisoned arrows to enable a hunter to establish a claim 
to his quarry ; the wooden portion generally contains the 
clan-mark, and the iron point the personal mark, of the owner. 
THE 4 MUGUMO ’ TREE IN CONNECTION WITH 
KIKUYU CIRCUMCISION CEREMONIES 
By A. R. Barlow 
Many of the numerous 4 Mugumo ’ trees scattered throughout 
the Kikuyu country are found to be regarded by the natives 
as sacred and are places of sacrifice. This, however, is not 
the case with all trees of the species, which would appear 
to be a kind of parasitic rubber. 
Especially in connection with the circumcision ceremonies 
does the 4 Mugumo ’ tree play an important part, a ceremony 
performed on the day preceding the circumcision morning 
being devoted particularly to it. 
In the Mathira (Mazera), Trans-Tana, country this ceremony 
is known as 4 Guikia,’ i.e . 4 the throwing ’ ceremony, and the tree 
is one at which the ceremony has been held by successive 
generations from time immemorial : although should the 
original tree have fallen or have been cut down for any reason, 
a new tree will have been planted to take its place, the new 
