Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/162

MASAI. 13C MASBATE. destroyed their iuimeose herds of cattle, and the intertribal warfare that drove them into the ter- ritory of nun-.Masai tribes. The II Oikob, or 'Freemen,' are typical ilasai and arc of magnifi- cent phj'sique. not one of the warrior class being under si.x feet in height. Their complexion is chocolate, their hair frizzly, and their ejes slight- ly oblique. The pure blooded tribes have good features, and, barring tlieir color, would jmss for Europeans, while among other tribes the coarse negro features are ob.servcd. Each tribe is no- madic within certain well-marked boundaries and the subdivisions are named from tlieir geo- graphical location. Their villag<>s. set in a circle in which the cattle are herded, consist of huts of bent boughs plastered with cow dung, with flat roofs. Encircling the village is a strong boma or thorn fence. They practice no arts, their weapons and utensils being ])rocured by barter or from a subject tribe called Andorobbo living among them. The country is elevated and the climate temperate, so that the ilasai wear more clothing than the tribes in the warmer parts of Africa. The women adorn themselves with a profusion of strings of beads and circlets of iron and brass. They wear the rudiments of a dress consisting of a small apron in front and a larger at the back. The men have an ujiper garment of tanned skin, a length of cloth fas- tened at the neck and hanging down the back, armlets of ivory or horn, ornaments of slender iron chain, and a waist cloth. The hair is gathered into a .sort of chignon which hangs be- low the shoulder blades. The ear lobes are enormously distended by ornament. The Masai are divided into a nundier of clans, the synd)ol of which the warriors ])aint on their shields. The people are divided into married men, living in the villages, and warriors, living in the camps. The latter youths are set apart by the rite of circumcision on reaching puberty, occupy separate quarters, and are attended by the unmarried women. A diet of meat and milk is allowed them, but only one of these must be eaten at a time, and between the periods a purgative treatment is required. Hefore going on their raids they gorge themselves with blood and meat. The warrior's costume consists of an oval headdress of ostrich feathers encircling the face, a shoulder cape of vilture feathers, a belt and anklets of colobus monkey skin. Their weapons are a long-blailed assagai, a short sword and club, and an oval shield of buffalo hide. After serving his time the warrior settles down to married life, and then varies his flesh diet with vegetable food purchased from agricultural tribes. The Masai are dignilied, self-contained, and intellectually capable, and their skill in oratory is of a high order. They jiractice no form of birial, the bodies of the deaci lieing cast out to be devoured by hyenas. Prayers and of- ferings of grass dipped in cream are made to a sup<'rior deity; grass is also an otTering to ward ofT evil. They believe in witchcraft and maintain shamans. Consult Thomson, Throuqh Mnsai l.niiil (T.ondnn, 1HS.5). MASANIELLO, mii'sft-nyel'lA. iimpcrly Tom- .MA.so .mei.io (c.iri2.'?--J7). . fisherman of .Xninlti. leader of the revolt which took place in Naples in 1047 against the Spanish Viceroy, the Diiko of .rcos. The people hail lieen exasperated by oppression, and great excitement had been pro- duced by n new tax laid upon fruit, the chief sustenance of the poor. Masaniello himself was indignant at the rude treatment which his wife had received when she was detected in the at- tem|)t to sMUiggle a little tlour. On .July 7, 11)47, the custom-house officers were assaulted in the market jilace by the infuriated people, ilasaniello was chosen captain, and the houses of the tax farmers were sacked. The Governor fled to the castle, and Masaniello became mas- ter of the city, dispensing justice and punishing severely all atlemjits at brigandage. On .July l.'ith, in the Church of the Carmelites, the Vice- roy agreed to restore the ancient rights of the Xeapolitans and to remove the ojjpressive taxes. The events of the week unbalanced Jlasaniello's mind; he became savage, cruel, and irresponsible. The people lost faith in him because of his com- promise with the Viceroy; his lieutenants weri' seduced by the Government, and he himself was arrested, and on .July ICth four hired assassins nuirdered the fisherman in prison. Aulter used the story of his life in Ln muctte de Portici. Consult Saavedra, Inxurecciun de Xapoli en IGp (Madrid, 1849). MASAYA, niA-sa'yi'i. A town of Nicaragua. 15 miles southeast of Managua, and 10 miles from the north shore of Lake Nicaragua, near the volcano of Masaya — a broad, low mountain, about 3000 feet high (ilap: Central America, Do). The town stands in the centre of a fertile tobacco-growing district, and is connected by railway with Granada and -Managua. Popula- tion, 18,000, largely native Indians. MASBATE, mas-bii'ta. One of the Philip- pine Islands, fornnng with its dependent islands a separate province. It is situated nearly in the centre of the archipelago about 30 miles south of the southeastern end of Luzon (Map: Philippine Islands, H 7). It is of elongated shape, mea.suring 82 miles from northwest to southeast, with an average width of l."> milc~; from the nortliwestern coast a triangular pen- insula extends 24 miles southwestwaril. at riglil angles to the main body, and forming the largv' Hay or Bight of Asid. The area of the main land is 1230 square miles, and of the f)7 de jicndent islands ,")01, making the total area of the province 1731 square miles. Of the depend- ent islands two are of considerable size, namely Hurias, 2,'>8, and Tieao. 140 square miles, both lying between Masbate and Luzon. Though no- where rising over 2000 feet in elevation, the isl- and is very mountainous: a principal chain sending out a nundier of spurs extends in a semi- circle from the southeast to the southwestern end. Owing to the shape of the island and its moun- tain range, the rivers are all very short. The shores arc covered with mangrove, and there are extensive forests in the interior. The climate is subject to frequent and sidden changes, and the island is exposed to all the typhoons that occur in the Philippines. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is lumbering and the extraction of forest prod- ucts. Before the Spanish-.Vmeriean War cattle- raising was also very important, and 1000 head of cattle were exported monthly. In the last few years, however, great havoc has been made by the rinderpest. Fi'jhery is also carried on to a great extent, but agriculture is in a backward state, the crops of rice being insufTicient for home needs. The principal manufactures are sugar