until enough has been accumulated for the head-gear; and the master of the house will not unfrequently add the hair of his wives and slaves, twisting it up into bands that are intertwined with his own. I saw a coiffure twelve inches round, worked into a tail more than a yard long that inclined towards the right shoulder; so that every time the man moved, and especially when he stooped, the head-dress appeared to be toppling over with him. The average height to which the hair was trained was about ten inches; but in all cases the unusual weight upon the skull had the effect of developing the muscles of the temples till they stood out like cords, not unfrequently as thick as one’s finger. The falling in of the top lip was caused by extracting the upper incisor-teeth, an operation with the Mashukulumbe that corresponds with the boguera of the Bechuanas, and is practised upon youths when attaining the state of manhood, being part of their discipline. One of the Makalaka tribes north of the Zambesi, as well as the Matongas on its bank, break out their top incisor-teeth from the sheerest vanity. Their women say that it is only horses that eat with all their teeth, and that men ought not to eat like horses.
With the help of his attendants, the king was engaged in manufacturing a musical instrument out of the leaf-ribs of a saro-palm. Except just at the ends, the concave surface was hollowed into a furrow, the convex side underneath being scored with a number of little incisions about the thirtieth part of an inch in width. When played, the instrument is struck with small sticks, and is used particularly at the elephant-dance.
S 2
