NATIVE ‘TOMASHO’ 51 
up to my tent, where they painted me, shouting, ‘ Mot mot 
mot io mot.’ One of them chanted a long speech, the drift 
of which was interpreted to me by my headman as follows ; 
^ 0 you white man whose cheeks and hands, and espe- 
cially your nose, are as red as the sand which lieth in 
Abriordi Garodi, w^e people of Owari say salaam to you. 
Why you come here if you do not wish to steal our sheep 
and camels and possess yourself of our wives, we know not. 
May you be as strong as the lion you say you come to hunt, 
and when you go home may you smite your enemies in the 
hinder part. May your camels, your goats, and your sheep 
bring forth thousands, and may you have wives and 
children by the score. We observe that you are a wealthy 
man, seeing that you possess such a multitude of camels 
here. We expect that you will give us a very handsome 
present, considering how kind we are in coming to salute 
you.’ 
After this I was requested to make a speech suitable to 
the auspicious occasion. I said : 
‘ O ye Sultans, chiefs, headmen, people and whatnots, I 
thank you for your kind words. May no man cast his 
spear at you when you are not looking. May the 
Abyssinians refrain from taxing and looting you.’ Hear, 
hear !’) ‘ May your ponies and camels be free from sore 
backs, and may you eat so much fat that you can barely 
stand all the days of your life !’ (Roars of applause and 
shouts of ‘ Give us some more !’) 
After the speeches the horsemen treated me to a tomasho, 
or native display of horsemanship. Two lines of men and 
children formed a racecourse, the w’omen standing apart 
giggling under the trees. The riders gave a display of spear- 
throwing at full gallop, jumping in and out of the saddle 
at full gallop, bareback-riding and riding with face to tail. 
But what pleased them most was to gallop past at full 
speed and then bring the ponies to a standstill in a second, 
pulling the poor brutes on to their haunches with a very 
cruel bit. 
4—2 
