304 LADO TO KEDIBA.

noteworthy, and may be mentioned in praise of the Negroes here, that their dances are entirely free from obscenities, which are the order of the day in Unyoéro and Uganda. In dealing with uncivilised people, it is difficult to say what is modest, what immodest. ‘To our ideas that may seem to be immodest which is not so to them, and the improprieties may not be ereater than among civilised men, for in this respect the old principle, Naturalia non sunt turpia, holds good to its utmost extent. Dr. Schweinfurth’s ingenious remark, that the music of the Negroes is learnt by listening to the music of the elements, can be very justly extended to their dance, which is only a mimicry of what is seen going on in nature. The men dancing around the women, who encourage them by alluring pantomimic movements, may be seen also in the animal world ; and the fundamental ideas underlying all Negro dances point to their common origin, the many immaterial variations extant being due to the varying occupations most in vogue among different tribes. But how are we to account for the fact that the Negroes, although they are eminently musical, and have an exquisite perception of time, have never yet succeeded in harmonising their choruses ?

The village of Jubba les, as I have said, upon a hill, and contains only about one hundred and twenty huts and their eranaries, most of the Negroes belonging to the place living in small zertbas at from half an hour to two hours’ distance from it. Differing entirely from the Bari style, these dwellings have elongated conical roofs, placed upon a circular substructure of about three feet in height. The grass covering the roof is not arranged in layers one over the other, but in one layer from top to bottom. The entrances are low, the interior dark and undivided. Corresponding to the style in vogue farther north, there are a few huts erected upon platforms, which are raised upon stakes about five to six feet above the ground. Every wife has a separate hut and granary for herself and her children. [lat open pieces of ground, where sesame and corn are beaten out, votive stakes covered with all sorts of skulls and horns, and the round fruits of the Oncoba are found between the huts. The cultivated plants that I saw were Penicillaria, eleusine, hibiscus, Hyptis, tobacco, gourds, and Lubia.