DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49272#0368
352
HARVARD AFRICAN STUDIES
of bamboo fastened together at one end on the flat side by binding with string, the free ends
being sharpened to form the teeth of the comb. If the fastened end is ornamented with
beads sewed on in patterns, the comb is called lisamulo (ku-samula, to comb). Lisamulo lia
chinyambata from ku-nyambata, to be sticky, is the name of a small comb worn purely
for ornament. On either side of the base of this comb, pieces of wood variously shaped are
glued with the sticky juice from the root of the chinyambata tree. In this way, a sort of
inlay is produced. Pieces of tin cans are sometimes substituted for wood. Women occa-
sionally wear in their hair the small chisondo knife used for tattooing and shaving.
The native takes readily to perfumes of European introduction, but previously he was
not an entire stranger to the use of such essences. Mboka, the bulbous root of a kind of grass
which grows near water, contains some aromatic principle which has a pleasant odor. The
stem is bent around and fixed into the bulb; this is then covered with beads and slung
around the neck. Mkungusa, the Mlanje cedar, is also used, as well as the fruit of a shrub
called chiungwa. These substances are scraped into the castor oil used for anointing, and
give it a pleasant odor.
No pigments are used on the body. As a sign of great rejoicing, the head and face and
perhaps the whole body are covered with ashes, but the natives do not even paint the face
with flour on ceremonial occasions.
Bands of beadwork are worn around the head, either as a simple band or a band finished
off with a bunch in one spot, or with a tassel. Finger rings are worn made of ivory, eland
hoof and horn, lead, and iron wire. There is also a great variety of bracelets and anklets,
a list of which is given below.
made of plaited grass, worn chiefly by little girls and women who cannot
afford more expensive bracelets. As many as half a dozen may be worn on the wrist.
Likangala (pl. makangala'): single circles of solid brass, one half to three quarters of
an inch in diameter, worn by women usually as anklets, one or two on each limb. They
may still be seen on some of the old women, but as they cause much discomfort, they have
gone out of fashion. A man used to be very proud to see his wife adorned with so much
wealth and she was content to be so hobbled by her vanity. The hammering up and pulling
open of the likangala circle in order to remove it cost a fowl.
a brass bracelet of small calibre; ikungu (pl.) signifies a spiral cylinder made
from the same thick brass wire covering the entire forearm.
Likwinjili: like chikungu of thin brass or iron wire, worn on arms and ankles.
Ching1 anda: a bracelet of fine brass wire wound round a circular core. All the brass
comes from the coast.
Likosa: a large ivory bracelet worn by men and women.
Ukanga: (“stiff tail hairs of an animal”), the bracelet made of the tail hairs of the ele-
phant or the gnu.
Licheka: the bracelet made from elephant hoof.
HARVARD AFRICAN STUDIES
of bamboo fastened together at one end on the flat side by binding with string, the free ends
being sharpened to form the teeth of the comb. If the fastened end is ornamented with
beads sewed on in patterns, the comb is called lisamulo (ku-samula, to comb). Lisamulo lia
chinyambata from ku-nyambata, to be sticky, is the name of a small comb worn purely
for ornament. On either side of the base of this comb, pieces of wood variously shaped are
glued with the sticky juice from the root of the chinyambata tree. In this way, a sort of
inlay is produced. Pieces of tin cans are sometimes substituted for wood. Women occa-
sionally wear in their hair the small chisondo knife used for tattooing and shaving.
The native takes readily to perfumes of European introduction, but previously he was
not an entire stranger to the use of such essences. Mboka, the bulbous root of a kind of grass
which grows near water, contains some aromatic principle which has a pleasant odor. The
stem is bent around and fixed into the bulb; this is then covered with beads and slung
around the neck. Mkungusa, the Mlanje cedar, is also used, as well as the fruit of a shrub
called chiungwa. These substances are scraped into the castor oil used for anointing, and
give it a pleasant odor.
No pigments are used on the body. As a sign of great rejoicing, the head and face and
perhaps the whole body are covered with ashes, but the natives do not even paint the face
with flour on ceremonial occasions.
Bands of beadwork are worn around the head, either as a simple band or a band finished
off with a bunch in one spot, or with a tassel. Finger rings are worn made of ivory, eland
hoof and horn, lead, and iron wire. There is also a great variety of bracelets and anklets,
a list of which is given below.
made of plaited grass, worn chiefly by little girls and women who cannot
afford more expensive bracelets. As many as half a dozen may be worn on the wrist.
Likangala (pl. makangala'): single circles of solid brass, one half to three quarters of
an inch in diameter, worn by women usually as anklets, one or two on each limb. They
may still be seen on some of the old women, but as they cause much discomfort, they have
gone out of fashion. A man used to be very proud to see his wife adorned with so much
wealth and she was content to be so hobbled by her vanity. The hammering up and pulling
open of the likangala circle in order to remove it cost a fowl.
a brass bracelet of small calibre; ikungu (pl.) signifies a spiral cylinder made
from the same thick brass wire covering the entire forearm.
Likwinjili: like chikungu of thin brass or iron wire, worn on arms and ankles.
Ching1 anda: a bracelet of fine brass wire wound round a circular core. All the brass
comes from the coast.
Likosa: a large ivory bracelet worn by men and women.
Ukanga: (“stiff tail hairs of an animal”), the bracelet made of the tail hairs of the ele-
phant or the gnu.
Licheka: the bracelet made from elephant hoof.