8 4 
EAST AFRICA AND ITS BIG GAME. 
naked, though some are decorated with a piece of cloth 
hung round the neck or a small string of blue beads. 
The manners and customs of these people are very 
primitive. Without any regular chief, they are governed 
by a certain number of elders, whose duty it is to keep 
order and punish offenders, to demand and receive 
tribute ( liongo ) from the caravans passing through their 
dominions, and to see that, after keeping the lion’s 
share for themselves, the balance is fairly distributed 
amongst the others. 
The ceremony of the Kongo is quite an imposing 
spectacle. First a bullock is presented to the newly 
arrived caravan by about a hundred or more of the 
elders and some of the warriors, who advance in slow 
time, halting every few yards and singing a sort of 
solemn chaunt. On approaching the camp they form 
a solid oval phalanx, and with shields held up and 
spears poised, advance into the enclosure still chant¬ 
ing, and preceded by scouts who dance wildly round 
them. This part of the performance being concluded, 
the phalanx halts and the spears are stuck upright in 
the ground, while the natives, seating themselves quietly 
round the caravan leader, proceed to the main business, 
the settlement of how much liongo is to be paid. This 
occupies a long time, as the elders invariably ask at first 
for more than they expect to get, or the caravan intends 
to give. 
With us they bargained for such excessive terms, 
that Martin told them if they did not agree to ours 
he would make up a Swahili Kongo such as the 
