70 
The Minor Tribes 
talismans. The body dress is a Tobe or loin-cloth, 
like that of the men ; but under the “ Namba,” or 
outer wrapper, which hangs down the feet, there is 
a “ Siri,” or petticoat, reaching only to the knees. 
Both are gathered in front like the Shukkah of the 
eastern coast, and the bosom is left bare. Few 
except the bush-folk now wear the I bongo, Ipepe, 
or Ndengi, the woven fibres and grass-cloths of 
their ancestry; amongst the hunters, however, a 
Tanga, or grass-kilt, may still be seen. The expo¬ 
sure of the upper person shows the size and tumi¬ 
dity of the areola, even in young girls ; being un¬ 
supported, the mammae soon become flaccid. 
The legs, which are peculiarly neat and well 
turned, are made by art a fitting set-off to the 
head. It is the pride of a Mpongwe wife to cover 
the lower limb between knee and ankle with an 
armour of metal rings, which are also worn upon 
the wrists; the custom is not modern, and travel¬ 
lers of the seventeenth century allude to them. 
The rich affect copper, bought in wires two feet 
and a half long, and in two sizes; of the larger, 
four, of the smaller, eight, go to the dollar ; 
the brass are cheaper, as 5 : 4; and I did not 
see iron or tin. The native smiths make the 
circles, and the weight of a full set of forty varies 
from fifteen to nineteen pounds. They are sepa¬ 
rate rings, not a single coil, like that used by the 
Wagogo and other East African tribes ; they press 
