PRIMITIVE CUSTOMS 151 obvious intention—protection from the sun's heat and hght rays. Perhaps the most plausible suggestion is that damp heat produces a darker colour than dry.

The Nubas and Barabras retain their own languages, which are allied, and also speak Arabic ; they appear by no means too sound as Mahommedans, and I concluded, by observation and talk with my servants, that respect for Mahomet was only skin-deep.

Fungs and Hamegs are classed as negroids by Sir H. H. Johnston, and exhibit certain primitive customs, such as the use of the boomerang by Ingassana, phallic worship within the last century, and other uninvestigated ceremonies, among the Fungs ; while a Caucasian type is said to have been observed among the Berta. These tribes offer a field for study which may throw light on the degree of a far-away relation with Asia.

The well-known tendency of Sudanese tribes to migration or travel is a difficult factor in coming to any conclusions, but it may be well to bear in mind that the country inhabited by these latter peoples is on the confines of the Land of Punt, whence some authorities say the early Egyptians first hailed, before going north, and is near a trade route to the Red Sea more ancient than history.

One learned authority places the Land of Punt across the Red Sea, while others consider that both sides were embraced, including Yemen and Somaliland ; and it is legitimately to be argued that all