268 
THE SIRIKWA 
district from the Nyando River to Sotik. There is also a 
cairn of stones on a hill in the Nyando Valley which is attributed 
to the Sirikwa. The holes, which are cup-shaped, are generally 
found in groups on the sides of small hills, as many as ten or 
twelve being often found together. They all have a sort of gate 
or passage leading from the hole on the side away from the 
hill. The holes vary in size, but are all much wider at the 
top than the bottom. The dimensions of the largest one I 
have measured were as follows : Circumference on top at 
the edge of the hole, 145 yards. The sides sloped down for 
about 80 feet to the bottom, which was 45 feet in diameter. 
The actual perpendicular depth was 22 to 25 feet. The 
passage leading away from the hole was 20 yards wide at the 
top. This also narrowed considerably as it sloped to the 
bottom. The natives say that they frequently dig up bits of 
old earthen pots in these holes, and I myself found many small 
pieces. These bits of pottery are of a reddish colour and 
about | of an inch thick. Several natives vouchsafed the 
information that these earthen pots had ears or handles which 
are not found on any pots that I have seen in this country. 
I have never seen a piece of a pot sufficiently large to give 
one any idea whatever of the original shape. I had some 
excavations recently made in one of these holes in Buret and 
the only thing discovered was a large bit of clinker, probably 
a relic of one of the native smiths, who used to do a thriving 
trade in making spears in the olden days. How these pits 
came into existence and what they actually were has always 
been a puzzle to me, and the explanation given by the natives 
is somewhat extraordinary. They say that the Sirikwa used 
to keep their cattle in one kraal for a very long period, and 
that in the course of time, as the cattle churned up the soil 
into mud, and this was regularly removed, a depression resulted 
which grew larger and larger. This explanation would also 
account for the sunken paths leading to these holes, but 
against it is the fact that there is no raised ridge round the 
hole which one would expect to find if the soil had been taken 
out of the hole and deposited on the side. The edge of the 
hole is practically on the same level as the surrounding country 
I believe the native explanation is quite a possible one, as it 
