214 
LANGUAGES OF TRIBES. 
[chap. VIII. 
fashionable, and were adopted faute de mieux. One 
great advantage was possessed by this costume,—it 
was always clean and fresh, and the nearest bush (if 
not thorny) provided a clean petticoat. When in the 
society of these very simple and in demeanour always 
modest Eves, I could not help reflecting upon the 
Mosaical description of our first parents, “ and they 
sewed fig-leaves together.” 
Some of the Obbo women were very pretty. The 
caste of feature was entirely different to that of the 
Latookas, and a striking peculiarity was displayed in 
the finely-arched noses of many of the natives, which 
strongly reminded one of. the Somauli tribes. It was 
impossible to conjecture their origin, as they had 
neither traditions nor ideas of their past history. 
The language is that of the Madi. There are 
three distinct languages—the Bari, the Latooka, and 
the Madi, the latter country extending south of Obbo. 
A few of the words, most commonly in use, will 
exemplify them :— 
Obbo. 
Latooka. 
Bari. 
Water. 
Fee. 
Cari. 
Feeum. 
Fire. 
Mite. 
FTyenie. 
Keemang, 
The Sun. 
T’sean. 
Narlong. 
Karlong. 
A Cow. 
Deeang. 
Nyeten. 
Kittan. 
A Goat. 
Deean. 
Nyene. 
Eddeen. 
Milk. 
T’sarck. 
mm. 
IA 
A Fowl. 
Gw6no. 
Eakome. 
ChokSre. 
The Obbo natives were a great and agreeable change 
after the Latookas, as they never asked for presents. 
Although the old chief, Katchiba, behaved more like 
a clown than a king, he was much respected by his 
people. He holds his authority over his subjects as 
general rain-maker and sorcerer. Should a subject 
displease him, or refuse him a gift, he curses his goats 
and fowls, or threatens to wither his crops, and the 
fear of these inflictions reduces the discontented. There 
are no specific taxes, but he occasionafiy makes a call 
upon the country for a certain number of goats and 
supplies. These are generally given, as Katchiba is 
