Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-01-15
BATHS TURN BROWN WHITE.
The English Stumble Upon An Odd
Practice in Africa.

England has another "little war;
on her hands, and, as a result, her
soldiers have been doing some hard
marching and harder fighting, and
will have to do still more OF both in
region of Africa which, up to now,
has been uneXplored territory
with the object Of making peace be-
tween two uncommonly queer native
tribes Of which little or nothing pre-
viously has been known.
These two tribes are the Anuaks
and the Nuers, who live near tie
border line between Abyssinia and
the Sudan, and who have been scrap
NplnC for years and years. The
Nuers, IL was explained ~ an Off
cial at the Coloniai office, who de-
scribed the recent expedition, are
entitled to British protection, but up
to now they haven't needed it. In
fact, so long as they fought the
Anuaks with shield and spear against
similar weapons (and this means un-
til quite recently,) the Nuers put it
all over their adversaries, but
while ago the Anuaks began to get
hold Of rifles and ammunition, which
had been discarded by the Abyssin-
ian army, and learned how to use
them, and since that time the boot
has been on the other leg with
vengeance.
With several vengeances, in fact,
for the Anuaks have made series Of
murderous raids on the Nuers, driv-
ing their old conquerors northward
and carrying OF their cattle and wo-
men. The British, as rulers OF the
Sudan, let the two tribes fight for a
W n
the Nuers were going to be wiped
out altogether, and the Anuaks re-
fused to call 1t quits, the recent ex-
pedition, numbering $50 men with
seven officers, was sent against the
Anuaks, and found them uncommon
ly nasty customers. In a pitched
battle the native force was killed off
practically to q man, but the British
losses number forty-three, including
three native and two white officers,
Capts. Lictenberg and Kinahan.
While advancing on the Anuaks,
the expedition passed through the
country of the Nuers, who proved to
be queer lot and no mistake. They
are strong, wiry race, and have no
use for superfluous dress. The wo-
men dress up occasionally by put
ting on string Of beads, but their
sartorial imagination carries them no
farther. The queerest thing about
the Nuers, however, Is the fact that
though they naturally are dark
brown in color, they appear to be
white.
This illusion is the result of about
the strangest "baths' on record. In
front of every hut is pit filed with
white wood ash, and in this every
day, first the men and then the wo-
All t,,- 4 -
coating Of white dust, which acts
as a protection against flies and other
insects. On great occasions the ash,
by the addition OF an evil-smelling,
sticky substance,is made into paste,
with which the Nuers smear them
selves-haying then the appearance
Of being painted all over with white
enamel They get another nice ef-
feet, too, by dyeing their hair red
and wearing it sticking out straight
behind, where 1t is kept in place
with mud.
The men Of the tribe are the lazi-
est ever. They take their morning
dip" in the white dust and then
knock off for the rest Of the day. let
ting the boys and women do any
work that may be going. They be-
gin getting married at about II or
IS and generally keep it up till they
have collected five or six helpmeets.
All the Nuers are firm believers in
witchcraft, which is dispensed by
their medicine men, but they also be-
lieve in a Supreme Being, who cre-
ated the world, and in a future life,
though they never pray. They bury
their dead under their houses.
The British expedition was guided
into the Anuaks' country by ma
tive woman of unusual intelligence.
She was short fingered, however, and
had a scar on each knee, where
piece Of flesh had been cut out. She
explained these deficiencies by say,
ing that short time previously she
had lost all her clotbes-in the
shape OF her string Of beads. Her
angry husband at once sent for the
local medicine man. who insisted on
cutting off and making a stew OF
these pieces Of flesh as sure means
Of finding the thief.
l.. -. = \.