14 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
IX 
herds. As goats are 
unit of value heinsf 
An ear ornament which 
the Wa-Kikuyu around 
Mount Kenia wear in 
the helix. (British 
Museum.) The beads 
of the top row are 
white; the second row, 
grey. The third, fourth, 
fifth, and sixth rows 
consist of bright blue 
beads; those of the 
seventh row are grey, 
and the basal row is 
formed of pieces of 
reeds or straw. The 
chain is of iron and of 
native make. The 
beads attached to the 
lower end of the chain 
are white. 
Routledges 
sur- 
used for the purchase of wives (the 
a goat), these animals are therefore 
carefully watched by day, and at 
night they are guarded in strong 
enclosures. The sheep and goats 
are ear-marked, and, as is the 
custom with shepherds in Europe, 
the flocks are counted night and 
morning. In every village there 
is a long wooden trough containing 
salt for the animals to lick. 
According to the 
there are some deft-handed 
geons among the natives of Kikuyu. 
Sword slashes and stab wounds are 
sewn up. The method of suture 
is simple: one or more strong 
tliorns are passed deeply through 
the tissues at the edo;es of the 
wound, a hole being made by an 
awl to enable the thorn to be 
inserted; a string of vegetable 
fibre is wound round the thorn in 
the form of a “ figure of eight,” 
which ensures good apposition. 
Intermediate sutures are used if 
required. This form of suture was 
largely used by the best surgeons 
in the civilised world thirty years 
ago. 
Every man carries a formidable 
knobkerry or club ; at times it is 
used very freely and many 
depressed fractures are produced 
by these weapons. 
An account of the Masai and 
Wa-Kikuyu would be incomplete 
without an account of their living 
