Accordingly, I instructed my vakeel to write a letter to
Ibrahim, calling him immediately to Kisoona, informing him that a large
quantity of ivory was collected, which, should Eddrees create a
disturbance, would be lost. On the following morning, four of my men
started for Shooa, accompanied by a number of natives.
Kisoona relapsed into its former monotony-the war with Fowooka being
over, the natives, free from care, passed their time in singing and
drinking; it was next to impossible to sleep at night, as crowds of
people all drunk were yelling in chorus, blowing horns and beating drums
from sunset until morning. The women took no part in this amusement, as
it was the custom in Unyoro for the men to enjoy themselves in laziness,
while the women performed all the labour of the fields. Thus they were
fatigued, and glad to rest, while the men passed the night in uproarious
merriment. The usual style of singing was a rapid chant delivered as a
solo, while at intervals the crowd burst out in a deafening chorus
together with the drums and horns; the latter were formed of immense
gourds which, growing in a peculiar shape, with long bottle necks, were
easily converted into musical (?) instruments. Every now and then a cry
of fire in the middle of the night enlivened the ennui of our existence;
the huts were littered deep with straw, and the inmates, intoxicated,
frequently fell asleep with their huge pipes alight, which, falling in
the dry straw, at once occasioned a conflagration.
Pages:
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596