The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-09-12
Mothers Hold Mass Meeting
and Protest Against Inva-
sion Of Fol-De- Rolls.
PREFERS GARB TO BEADS

There is a dreadful stir down In the
| little port Of Inhambane, East Africa,
a town OF about 1000 persons-Portu-
guesa. Arabs. Hindus, Parsees, halr-
castles and negroes-all ecaus the
governor ordered native women 10
adopt European fashions.
A week or two OF mothers meetings
resulted IN plans for q strike against
the outlandlsh fol-de-rols OF socal!ed
civilization.
And back they went to the
e.. plus q few beads. with a slit drap-
cry OF monkey skins, a Ia directoire,
RS a robe d~'occosion.
Anyone who knows the native in her
habitat must appreciate her posltlon
and sympathtze with her in the protest
ssainst being made to appeal a TOOL.
That is exactly what happens when
she dons European clothes. She de
murs, tust as Americans would II Ciu-
rs. having conquered the United
States. insisted on their taking to
CusUes and hsrdaSed feet.
The native about Inhambane Is a
"KaEfi7." which, however, is only a
generic term, serving TO distinguish
him from q Huttentot or q Bushman
The native home is q kraal. a col
lectsuu OF houses, usually situated on
ST arailsnce, though it may be nothing
more than 4 roll IN the low coast cour-
Try about I~nhambane. which lies in a
land OF ~cocoanut groves and malaria
breeding uangrove sw:mps.
Social Line Drawn On Wives.
II IL he a chieftain's kraa the hut
which faces the cattle kraal will be the
home 81 the great wife, usually cFos-
e. later than the other wives. so that
her son may have = better chance OF
.nhe-tsing his fathers leadership.
On the side is the hut of the
right hand wife, usually the first wife,
Her son may not succeed unless all
the other wives nave failed to supply
an heir,
She is the keeper of the family medi-
cines and charms. The left hand wife
is known as the wife of the ances-
tors" Tor upon her rests the response
bility Of providing an heir in case the
great" wife has No son.
From the walls and roof hang arti-
cles OF all sortS-calabashes, old blank
cts, dirty pots, medicines, spoons,
punches oi feathers. Back in one cor
nor are piles of mats, assagais, sticks
and dried OK skins. In another a calf
tied TO a roof pole. Hens roost about
where they please in the roofing. Big
black beetles scuttle across the floor.
The menagerie also includes several
cats, come goats. and perhaps q sick
" sheep or two. To make the beds
means to clear out the rubbish any
where on the floor and spread down a
mat and a wooden pillow.
The tiny children, comicaI little tots,
are guiltless of even a rag, unless it be
a single thread of beadwork strung
about the loins purely for decorative
effect. Tney look to~p-heavy, and seem
constantly TO be just on the point of
falling down. They are utterly with
out self-consciousness. n always are
laughing. save when they are crying.
Girls of 10 or Whereabouts are the fanli-
ly nurse maids. and sometimes they are
only slightly larger than their charges.
The women Invariably have a fine
carriage, the curve of their backs be-
Ing graceful and stately, the natural
result of carrying heavy burdens upo1,
their heads. They are physically well
conditioned, their value consisting
largely In good physique and ability
work hard.
Fatness is deemed an element of
beauty. The fatter they are the pref