122 Bahr el Ghazal Country.

Pasture is their chief pursuit. Their huts resemble those of the Dinka, always clean and free from vermin. The men go naked, but the women are clothed about their loins.

In appearance the Dinka, Shilluks, and ISTuer, all inhabitants of low marshy flats, strongly resemble each other.

Jur.

Country The Jur inhabit the territory between the north-east frontier of Bongo land and the Dinka country.

Jur is a name given by the Dinka, and means wild men, or men of the woods, and is used as a term of contempt.

The district is the lower terrace of the ferruginous formation from which the natives extract a large amount of iron ; they are all smiths by profession. They call themselves Lwoh, and claim to be descended from the Shilluks, whose dialect they use.

The area of their territory is small, and their numbers cannot exceed 20,000.

On the north they are bounded by the numerous tribe of the Dembo, and by smaller clans.

They adhere to the Shilluk mode of decorating themselves, though for years they have been in partial dependence on the Dinka.

industries. Iron manufacture is their principal occupation, and they produce a metal excellent in its homogeneousness and malleability.

Iron smelting is carried on in March, just before the sowing season, when they move away from their huts partly for this purpose, and also to drag the rivers for fish. The men also spend their time in hunting, while the labour in the fields is done by women, who likewise occupy themselves in making wicker-work and pottery.

This is much the same as among the Bongos already described.

Every tribe has its peculiar description of hut, and that of the Jur is a simple structure of wicker-work, of wood, or bamboo, cemented with clay, and roofed with straw.

The Jur have large families, and were it not for the depredations of the Nubians would be a dense population.