338 RUMBEK.

the support of each child. Men, however, who are rich and influential enough to set aside this custom often retain the children. If sons have been taken away by the mother, they may, if they choose, return to their father as soon as they are grown up; the girls, however, remain unconditionally with the mother, who, if she marries again, takes them to her new husband.

Births are not specially celebrated, and there are no ceremonies of purification employed. ‘Twins bring misfortune, and require the sacrifice of a goat. At the birth of twins the people rejoice if one of them dies, as that is supposed to prevent misfortune visiting the parents. Special names for twins do not exist. The navel-cord of a newly born child is divided by seven sharp straw splinters, and a few drops of the blood are placed upon the mother’s tongue, in order that, should she later on use hard words against her child, they may have no evil effects. The father may get angry and curse his children if he likes—his words have no power of producing evil.

The murder of a man must be atoned for by a fine of thirty cows; that of a woman by forty cows. After a death, the body is washed, shaved, rubbed with oil, and then put into a circular hole in a squatting position, with the hands drawn up to cover the mouth, all ornaments having been taken off. A cow-hide is spread over the corpse, and the hole is filled up with earth. If the deceased was a rich man, a cow-hide is also placed under his body, and an ox is killed, generally a diseased one, and eaten by the relatives. The nearest relations shave the head as a sign of grief. For six or seven days the deceased’s hut and those of his family are considered unclean, and avoided by all but those who live in them; the neighbours do not even fetch fire from them.

The men do not wear any clothing, but have the following ornaments :—small aprons of brightly coloured skins, which are only used on festive occasions, head-dresses made out of skeins of wool, ostrich feathers, and straw caps with Galago skins. ‘The bracelets are of ivory or iron, which the Agar work, but more commonly barter from the Mittu and Bongo. The women are enveloped in large skin aprons, often beautifully ornamented with beads. ‘The tribal marks of the Agar and Atwot are four scars running parallel across the forehead,