Evening star., 1928-11-01
WALES SEES DANCE
OF F|ERCEST TRIBE
British Princes African Visit
Is EnIivened by Roaring
War Whoops.

When the Prince of Wales recently
visited Nairobi, Kenya Colony, the
Nasal tribeSmen entertained him with
war dance Amid roaring war whoop:
the tribesmen, hidden behind theil
large shields, menacingly welded theil
spears in a way which showed the
prince why explorers avoid Nasal vii
lagos when the tribesmen are on the
warpath.
The Nasal are one of the fiercest
tribes in Africa, says a bulletin from
the National Geographic Society.
While members of the tribe neal
Nairobi have been tanned by British
and missionary influence and have
settled down on plantations, their
relatives in the hills of western Kenya
ing tribes when not tending their herds
A Nasal village is military barracks
At the call of the chief, the young
warriors don lion names which they
wear about their heads, and, perhaps
string of beads With spears and
leather shields as their only arms, they
set out to attack an enemy"
Career Begins Early.
The Nasal begins his military career
at l6. When he is 80, he becomes an
elder, settles down, and has as many
wives as he desires. The furniture in
his home Of mud-plaStered sticks costs
no more than his haberdashery. Over
an open fireplace hangs an iron kettle
while additional utensils are made of
gourds. A long gourd is a Nasal milk
can and half gourds are used for cups.
Some of these huts have three-legged
stool or two for the older tribeSmen.
Even when the Nasal is not on the
warpath, the American traveller would
be inclined to avoid him for sanitary
reasons. Splitting under a visitor is a
sign of reverence and good will among
some of the tribeSmen. Every one who
sees a newborn baby must spit on it.
If warrior is friendly, he spits on his
hand before greeting a stranger.
Outside the villages one might STUN
ble upon the skeleton of a tribesman
whose body has been left to the hyenaS,
jackals and vultures Only the chief
of the tribe deserves a burial After a
chief has been buried for year the
son of his successor digs up the old
chiefs skull, which is treasured
possession in the village.
Wives Like Ornaments.
The tribesman's wives presiding over
legs and arms are covered with dozens
of wire rings. These adornments and
a dozen or more rings enclircling their
necks sometimes weigh between Is and
IS pounds. Both men and women are
frequently seen with wood cylinders
and tin cans in their diStended lobes.
Nasal tribesmen have been almost
impossible to convert from Nature
worship. When their chief would in
woke the pleasure of the gods, all the
children of the village stand in circle
and chant. Grass is sacred to the
tribesmen. If Nasal hands stranger
a tuft of green grass, it suggests friend
ship. When young warriors start out
on raids their sweethearts throw grass
upon them to insure victory. The
hyena has a certain sacred character.
If a beast happens to cross the path of
warrior, the whole tribe goes in
mourning. The python is held in VEN
Grafton, for they believe the souls of
their ancestors are reborn in them.
Some tribesnlen worship black and
red god. The black god is benevolent,
living Immediately above the earth, while
the red god lives further up in the
heavens. When the Nasal hear thun-
der, they believe the red god is trying
to get through the domain of the black
god. The rumbling is the voice of the
black god pleading with the red god
not to harm the tribesmen below.
The Nasal hate agriculture in their
native environment. They are cattle
herders when not on the warpath, and
live entirely upon the food their herds
provide. It is comman practice to
drink warm blood Immediately after it
has been drawn from COW shot with
an arrow through the jugular vein.