d. Then, again, at Dilava (still Kuni) this band was narrower,
and at Deva-deva, and finally at Mafulu, it was often, as I have said,
almost nominal.

I was told that the age at which a boy usually begins to wear his
band is about 10 or 12, or in the case of a chief's son 16 or 17;
but that girls assume their bands at a somewhat earlier age, say at
7 or 8. So far as my personal observation went I should have thought
that the usual maximum age of nakedness for both boys and girls was
rather younger, and I never saw a naked boy of an age anything like 16.

The assumption of the perineal band is the subject of a ceremony
which will be dealt with hereafter.

Caps are very often worn by men, but not by women or children. These
are simply pieces of plain unstained bark cloth about 9 inches wide,
which are coiled and twisted on the head. The result is often a
shapeless mass; but there are methods of arranging the cloth in
definite ways which produce describable results. Sometimes the cloth
is merely coiled several times around the head, so as to produce
a tall thin turban-shaped band, the crown of the head being left
uncovered. Often this plan is extended by turning the end of the
cloth over, so as to cover the top of the head, thus producing in
some cases a result which resembles a fez, and in other cases one
which looks more like a tight skullcap. Again the cap often has its
centre terminating in an end or tassel hanging over, thus making it
look like a cap of liberty; and yet again I have seen the cap look
almost like the square paper caps often worn by certain artisans at
home. These caps are seen in several of the plates.

Abdominal belts are commonly worn by both men and women, but not as
a rule by children. There are several distinct forms of these:--

(1) A thick strong dark-coloured belt (Plate 14, Fig. I) made of tree
bark; made and worn by men only. The belt is about 3 or more inches
wide and is often so long that it passes twice round the body, the
outer end being fastened to the coil beneath it by two strings. This
form of belt is sometimes ornamented with simple straight-lined
geometric patterns carved into the belt, but it is never coloured. The
process of manufacture is as follows: they cut off a strip of bark
large enough for one, two, three, or four belts, and coil it up in
concentric circles, like the two circles of the belt when worn. They
then place it so coiled into water, and leave it there to soak