224 
Life at Banza Nokki. 
Nganga in the practices of their intricate creed ; 
they are taught the mysteries under solemn oaths, 
and, in fine, they are prepared for marriage. 
Upon the Congo they must eat no cooked food, 
living wholly upon roots and edibles ; but they are 
allowed to enter the villages for provisions, and 
here they often appear armed with matchets, 
bayonets, and wooden swords. Their faces and 
necks, bodies and arms, are ghastly white with 
chalk or ashes ; the hair is left in its original jet, 
and the dingy lower limbs contrast violently with 
the ghostlike absence of colour above. The dress is 
a crinoline of palm-fronds, some fresh and green, 
others sere and brown ; a band of strong mid-rib 
like a yellow hoop passed round the waist spreads 
out the petticoat like a farthingale, and the ragged 
ends depend to the knees ; sometimes it is worn 
under the axillae, but in all cases the chalked arms 
must be outside. The favourite attitude is that of 
the Rhodian Colossus, with the elbows bent to the 
fore and the hands clasped behind the head. To 
increase their prestige of terror, the Jinkomba 
abjure the use of human language, and, meeting a 
stranger, ejaculate with all their might, “ Har-rr- 
rr-rr-rr!” and “Jojolo! Jojolo!” words mystic 
and meaningless. When walking in procession, 
they warn the profane out of the way by striking 
one slip of wood upon another. They are wilder 
in appearance than the Hindu Jogi or Sanyasi, 
