, 1912-10-16
g Il o 7 x A Y I S

ancestors and informs them Of his succession.
Then he goes on hands and knees to the
sacred trees-the African acacia with a blue
%and-white fower-where he il met by the
chief of the district, to whom belongs the
hight of investing the sovereign. The chief
raises him from his knees, takes off tie
mourning bark cloth and puts on ia IFS place
the garment Of burk-clotb with a knot on
each shoulder, which is the special and pecu-
liar mark of roy atty. Then he addresses the
new king, eXhorting him to rule with justice
aud equity. This done, the drums are beat
en-. and the people acclaim him king with the
words, "You have eaten y ganda.'
After this the king is presented by the
Chief of Budo with three things. The first
is IA branch of the creeper from which bas-
kets are made. This is an emblem of long
life, for the basket lasts longer than the
bowl. The following sentence occurs in the
old prayer to the deity of the lake" Give US
peace ia the basket, the earthen bowl is soon
broken"
The second gift is a branch of the tree
which is used to make the handles OF spears,
the wood Of which is very hard and strong.
This signifies power or authority.
Then the king receives some berries which
are used by the Ba9auda in playing "a game
rather like draughts. This game is played
by the Bantu races throughout Central and
Southern Africa, though with different MT
terials by the various tribes. These berries
signify wisdom or skill, though perhaps the
idea ia the African mind would be more ac-
c|urately described by the word "cuteness."
After this the mourning for the late King
is finished and the new sovereign spends the
night at his royal kraal under the great fig
tree. The right of investing the new sover-
aiy, halnI,nS TO tho loonl nbjaf of Rulo An
eldest son never succeeds either to the crown
or to the chieftoinslup, and, as u consequence
is always All insignificant and unimportant
person safe from the ntrigues of his rela-
tives. The present king is a boy Of fifteen,
who has been educNted by an English tutor,
and the Chief of Budo is q school-boy of
thirteen, by name Sem. Both are Christians.
The king, Daudi, who is very intelligent and
a thorough sportsman, will attain his maJort-
ty at the age Of eighteen. There are at pres
ent three regents, chiefs, of whom two are
Anglicans and the third a member Of the
Roman Church.
The coronation ceremony until recently
was accompanied by horrible barbarism.
When a king of Uganda died the sacred fire
was put out and the man who attended Il it
was killed On the day after the coronation
or inyestiture the new king left Budo for the
MI NulCu ne IldN GlON0u us LIS IONdi I6ol-
dence. Kings palaces in Africa are not
built Of very durable materials, and the royal
residence Of Uganda was Frequently changed
either because the part Of the country IN
which it was situated had been devastated
by SNAIL pox or some other disease, OF FOX
political reasons.
On the way to his new capital the king
thrust his spear into any unfortunate man
whom he happened to meet on the road, not
killing, but only wounding him. The poor
wretch was then taken with u bullock and Il
goat to the confines of the land. The legs
of all three were broken, and they were left
to die. The idea. no doubt, was to ward
off evil from the king. But it is we'll that
such deeds should DO forYo ten by the Ba-
ganda. The site of the holy place of Bulo
is magnificent. 1t is perched up on a hill
some fifteen miles from the great lake, the
shores and islands of which have been de-
vastated by that awful scourge sleeping sick
ness, which has called out the devotion of 50
many English medical men, some of whom,
alas, have themselves fallen victims to the
terrible disease. There is a grand view from
Budo Of forest, mountains and lake, the