CHAP. XVI.] 
THE LIRA TRIBE . 
445 
shared among his friends to be added to their felt. 
When in full dress (the men being naked) this mass of 
felt was plastered thickly with a bluish clay, so as to 
form an even surface; this was most elaborately 
worked with the point of a thorn, so as to resemble the 
cuttings of a file : white pipe-clay was then arranged 
in patterns on the surface, while an ornament made of 
either an antelope's or giraffe's sinew was stuck in the 
extremity and turned up for about a foot in length. 
This when dry was as stiff as horn, and the tip was 
ornamented with a tuft of fur—the tip of a leopard’s 
tail being highly prized. 
I am not aware that any Lord Chancellor of Eng¬ 
land or any member of the English bar has ever 
penetrated to Central Africa, therefore the origin of 
fashion and the similarity in the wigs is most extra¬ 
ordinary ; a well-blacked barrister in full wig and 
nothing else would thoroughly impersonate a native 
of Lira. The tribe of Lira was governed by a chief ; 
but he had no more real authority than any of the 
petty chiefs who ruled the various portions of the Madi 
country. Throughout the tribes, excepting the kingdom 
of LTnyoro, the chiefs had very little actual power, and 
so uncertain was then* tenure of office that the rule 
seldom remained two generations in one family. On 
the death of the father, the numerous sons generally 
quarrelled for his property and for the right of succes¬ 
sion, ending in open war, and in dividing the flocks 
and herds, each settling in a separate district and 
becoming a petty chief; thus there was no union 
throughout the country, and consequently great weak¬ 
ness. The people of Lira were fighting with their 
neighbours the Langgo—those of Shooa with the 
natives of Fatiko; nor were there two neighbouring 
tribes that were at peace. It was natural that such- 
unprincipled parties as those of the Khartoum traders 
should turn this general discord to their advantage; 
thus within the ten months that I had been absent 
from Shooa a great change had taken place in the 
