XI 
THE NDOROBO 
137 
and is especially cultivated by the Ndorobo. These men 
smelt the iron and make their own arrow-points and 
spear-heads. Many of the smiths employed by the 
Masai are Ndorobo. 
In villages bordering on the railway there is very 
little smelting carried out now because it is so easy to 
obtain imported iron. Thefts of iron along the railway 
used to be common ; the keys with which the rails are 
fastened to the sleepers were often stolen. 
It is difficult for Europeans to watch the native 
smiths at work, and some of their tools are regarded 
with great mystery, especially the bellows. The tools 
are few in number, and comprise an anvil, usually of 
stone, a hammer, tongs, and bellows. It is not easy to 
obtain specimens of their tools. Ethiopian artisans, 
like the workmen in civilised countries, delight to 
surround their craft with mystery. In this they are 
on a par with some of the learned professions which 
complicate their art with the jargon of dog-Latin and 
complicated phraseology. 
The Ndorobo use the ordinary bow and arrow, but 
only for smaller game. These men are useful to the 
Masai, not only serving them as smiths, but also for the 
ivory the}" obtain in hunting the elephant: this is 
appropriated by the Masai. The Ndorobo are a shy 
race ; all their trading transactions are done secretly, 
or they would be robbed of everything by their stronger 
neighbours. They are very persistent in killing with 
poisoned arrows the beautiful Guereza or Colobus 
monkey^s. They hunt this monkey because they eat 
its flesh and the beautiful skin finds ready purchasers. 
The Masai and the Wa-Kikuyu warriors use those 
parts of the skin with the long tufts of white hair 
as ornaments for their legs when in full dress, and 
the officers of a well-known British regiment employ 
the skins for sporrans. This beautiful monkey is 
named Colobus (from the Greek word signifying 
mutilated) because it has no thumb ; its hands are four- 
