The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-15

.asS hs'
tied 1t about the waist OF one OF the
party. Upon this the other girls wrap
ped their pieces about their waists, but
moment later they took them of.
saying: These are foreign customs
and we do not want them"
Queer Marriage Customs.
During my stay in the Kavirondo
country / have gone out among the
villages and have seen the natives In
their homes and at work. The land is
thickly populated! and the people are
good natured and quiet. One can go
anywhere without danger. and there is
no trouble in getting photographs OF
whatever one wants.
am surprised at the great number
of married women. This rule as to
married women wearing tails gives
one knowledge of the condition OF
every woman he meets. II the tall Is
on. one knows the woman is married.
and II not that she is single.
The Kavirondo girls marry very
early am told they are often be-
trothed at the age OF six years; but
that In such case the girls stays with
her parents for five or six years after
ward All marriages are matters of
bargain and sale. The parents sell
their girls for a price. and good
wife can be purchased for forty hoes.
twenty goats and a COW. In the early
bethrothals the suffer pays part of the
fixed sum down and the rest In In
stallments until all is paid. II the
father refuses to give up the girl when
the time comes for marriage. the pay
ments having been made, the suitor
organizes a band of his friends and
man usually takes his wife from Diff
ferent village from that in which he
lives. and when he comes with his band
to the brides village her gentlemen
friends often resist the invasion and
fight the suitor's party with sticks.
AT such times the girl screams. but I
am told she usually allows herself to
be captured.
/ am told that old maids are not
popular and that the average Kavi-
.rondo girl Is just as anxious to be mar
IrIed as are our maidens at home. In
deed, she is usually Very anxious that
If she does not get bid in the ordin-
airy way she will pick out man for
herself and arrange to have herself
offered to him at reduced rate. Y
understand there are plenty of plump
maidens now on the bargain counter.
Another queer marriage custom here
lis as to ones wife's sister. The man
who gets the first girl In family is
supposed to have the say as to all
the younger ones as they come to
marriageables age. Polygamy Is COM
mon here and man may thus have
several sisters among his wives.
They Are Good Girls.
One would suppose that these Kavi-
rondo girls might be rather loose In
their morals. ] am told that they are
not so. and that they rank much better
in this regard than the maidens Of
Uganda, the province adjoining. nearly
all of whom wear clothing. Virtue
stands high here. and infractions OF
the laws regarding 1t are severely
punished This is less so now than in.
the past. Divorces. are not common,
but a man can divorce his wives II
he will. One curious. custom is that
II husband and wifefhave a quarrel.
and she leaves the hut and he shuts
the door after her. that action alone
is considered equivalent to divorce
and the woman goes back to her own
peopleAat once. t.i
kavirondo vil1aEes.
But let us go out into the country
lOOht a ~ .SoIiio Tile fIAdYlIOnQO
villages. I have visited many and hay
had no trouble whatever in going into
the houses. There are many little set
Elements scattered over the plains be-
tween here and THE hills, with foot
paths running from village to village.
The most ofGthe settlements are small
a dozen huts or so forming a good
sized one. The houses have walls OF
mud with cone-shaped roofs, matched
with grass The doors are so low that
one has to crawl into them; and many
a! house, is. not more than seven fest
high from the mud floorSto the top of
the,cone. 80 .S s.
The roof usually extends out beyond
the walls OF the hut, covering a sort
Of veranda, a part of whichis ENCLOSED
and/a part open. There aye poles
outside which support the roof or the
veranda. AK y 35
The huts are usually, built around
an open. 81 ace, and are Joined by, fences
of rough limbs and roots, so that each
collection OF huts forms a., stockade
village can be kept at night. Some
times a vi llage may be made OF agnum-
hereof such, circles, each collection Of
huts belonging tosone family. One OF
the huts is for the poly gamous husband
and one for each Of his wives. . & 5s s
But let us go inside one, of the
houses and see how II looks. We
stoop low as we en- ter. The floor is aof
mud, with a few skins scattereds,over
1t. The skins are the sleeping places
Notice that little pen at the BACK, lit
tered with dirt? That Is where the
goats sleep The chickens are. put III
that tall asket over there In thee
ner, and are. covered UP until Smorning,
There is practically.no furniture sX <
lcept a few pots. The cooking Is done
in clay vessels aver that fire In the
lcentre of tile hut, and the n food lis
served in small has i cts. the men eat
| ing first and the womer 4 king what
lis left & {. N. n Nj Y ss 1.
IT Outside each mi, Jude tho vcrania,
lis the mill OF the family, M consists
| GU great stone With ayhole Schlpre,l
lou. OF the centre, The Womcs Eriid
IInd,an corn Or sorghum seed In sueh
mills pounding or rubbing the grain
,aecn1 N y