318 OUR RECEPTION AT A GANI VILLAGE. and dressed their heads with single feathers of jays, Having mounted the side of the rocky height to its top, we were surprised to come upon a flat cleared space, surrounded with huts of bamboo and grass. In the centre stood a single "miloomba," a bark-cloth tree, with two idol-huts of grass, and horns of wild animals on the ground by its trunk. An aged man with grey hair advanced, with other "elders" and women, carrying a white chicken, some m'wengé, and a handful of a plant with a white flower. This old gentleman was Chong'ee, the chief of the place. While holding the fowl he addressed us, then waved it over the ground, and passed it to his chief officer, who did the same. The body of our guide, Luendo, who had conveyed us from the Karuma Falls, was now rubbed over with m'wengé from the plant; the liquid was also sprinkled on us, and we were invited to sit upon the cow-skins placed in the shade of the miloomba tree, and were presented with m'wengé, called "water," to quench our thirst. The first impression made by the appearance of the little colony was very pleasing. Their beehive-looking WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF GANI. 319 huts were cleanly swept and tidy, and their stores of grain were raised upon rough pillars of granite, smaller, but resembling those circular erections in our own country known as Druids' temples. These grain stores consisted of an enormous cylinder made of mud and wattle placed on the top of the stones, and covered with a roof or lid of grass and bamboo, which could be raised sufficiently with a pole to admit of a man entering them. A rough ladder or stick with forks enables the women to get to the top for the purpose of taking out grain. The women, married and single, old and young, wear only a bit of fringe suspended from the waist in front, and a pendant of chickweed, or a bunch of long leather thongs like shoe-ties, behind. They have no other clothing. Enormous heavy rings of iron sometimes ornament their ankles, and a few beads their necks; and they are not nearly so smart in appearance as the men, who may be seen sitting upon the rocks in the shade of trees dressing each other's hair with shells, beads, feathers, or turned-up queues covered with fine wire. Their whole employment would seem to be ornamenting their persons; and they are generally seen standing in conceited and ridiculous attitudes. The women carry their children on their backs, tied by straps, and the mother has thus the free use of her hands. The infant is shaded from the sun by a gourd placed over its head and shoulders. This custom is said to be common also with the Watuta race. Here also the people sleep upon the skin of a cow or goat placed on the clean-swept floor of mud, and have no covering. The doors of the huts are so low that ordinary people would have to go upon their 320 THE COLONY OF GANI. knees to enter, but the natives are so supple that they can bend their bodies until within two feet of the ground, and still be able to walk. The women make a superior description of basket, of close workmanship, from osiers or wands brought from the rocky dells. It may be mentioned that we had not seen the bamboo tree growing since we were in the seventh degree of south latitude, and we were gratified to come upon our old acquaintance again. Many of the trees gladdened the eyes of the botanist of the expedition, Manua, who knew most of them, as the same species grow among the rocks rising out of the forests in his native home of Unyamuezi. Again Bruce's ensete was found here, of a small size, greedily eaten by goats; also several plants hitherto undescribed or unknown to science, giving a double interest to the colony of Gani. Strolling Strolling along amongst its ravines, and wandering far in search of plants, I came upon traps set with slabs of rock and cord: only small animals, such as weasels or birds, could get under them, and the circumstance shows that all races are fond of trapping. A native from the heights above shouted and beckoned to me; in return I beckoned to him, and though we could not understand each other, he was most polite in leading the way, knocking down the thorns and branches that obstructed us, or lending a hand over the rugged rocks. He understood my sign that he should accompany me into the camp, but before doing so he left his spear in a hut, probably for fear his chief should find fault with him for appearing armed. In return for his kindness I presented him with some beef. Chong'ee, the morning after our arrival, harangued the people of the village, telling THE BEER, CROPS, AND CATTLE OF GANI. 321 them they must be kind to his guests: and that whatever we wanted-meat, drink, house-room, &c.must be provided. The beer made by the natives was strong and pleasantly bitter, so that Bombay and others showed the effects of it, becoming rather noisy towards night. The beverage is manufactured from Murwa, roasted, pounded, soaked, sun-dried, and boiled. When cooling it ferments slightly, and it is more agreeable to the taste in this lukewarm state than afterwards when entirely cold. It appeared to us a wholesome, though coarse, heavy drink. The other grains here were sessamum, Hibiscus, and Hyptis spicigera. The last is called "neeno;" we had never seen it before, but the natives cultivate it, eating its seeds roasted, or making oil of them. Although the fields were well weeded the crops were poor, and often appeared full of the Crotolania glauca, or "m'cæwa," of whose inflated pod, leaves, and flowers, the natives make a dish resembling spinage. We had entirely lost the plantaintree of Uganda, and rarely came upon Indian corn or ground-nut, which up to Unyoro had been always procurable. Like the crops, the cattle are poor, and of a small breed, rather dirtily kept. It was amusing to see the odd way in which our two Gani men, who accompanied us from Unyoro, and who had received a present of some small cows from the king, drove the stubborn. animals along. Simple driving they did not understand; one of the horns and the tail were caught hold of by a man who walked alongside, and in this way the cow was urged along the road. Of a morning, when all the cows are brought to the space in 322 APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY OF MADI. the centre of the village to be milked, the calves tied alongside the mother, the cow, on seeing her milker arrive, makes water into his hands, when, having scrubbed them, he commences to take her milk in a neatly-made oval basin or tureen of wood. The other domestic animals about the village were stupid-looking, long-tailed sheep, with reddish-brown hair. Goats jumped about the rocks, feeding on the leaves of the Indian jujube tree; and dogs were occasionally met with. Ten hours' marching in two days brought us from Gani to a camp of Egyptian ivory-traders, whose acquaintance Bombay and Mabrook had made some weeks previously. The small quantity of baggage we had left was carried from village to village, after the manner of the Begaree" system of India. Our Seedees could have done this, but the villagers, coming forward voluntarily, generally enjoyed the labour. On arriving at a palisaded village where porters were to be relieved, we usually gathered under a tree waiting for the relief. The head man of the place, when wishing to show politeness, had the skin of a wild animal spread, and upon this he placed a wooden stool or two; liquor of the country or sour curd was offered, and after enjoying his hospitality we proceeded on the march. The appearance of the country, with its forests and undulations of grass, and with clusters of habitations every three or four miles, was very pleasing, particularly as it was often intersected by running streams from the hills. Some of these were torrents, and the largest was a river knee-deep, with steep banks and bed of gravel. All flowed to our right. |