as long as
she lived be his faithful and obedient wife, having no thought of other
men. Should he ill-treat her, her relations had the power to take her
from him. Or should he for some reason, after a while, not care for
her, he can send her back to her people; should she have a child he
leaves it with her until old enough to camp away from her, when it is
returned to him.

The wedding presents are not given to the bride and bridegroom, but by
the latter to his mother-in-law, to whom, however, he is never allowed
to speak. Failing a mother-in-law, the presents are given to the
nearest of kin to the wife. You can hardly reckon it as purchase money,
for sometimes a man gives no presents and yet gets a wife.

In books about blacks, you always read of the subjection of the women,
but I have seen henpecked black husbands.

There are two codes of morals, one for men and one for women. Old
Testament morality for men, New Testament for women. The black men keep
the inner mysteries of the Boorah, or initiation ceremonies, from the
knowledge of women, but so do Masons keep their secrets.

As to the black women carrying most of the baggage on march, naturally
so; the men want their hands free for hunting en route, or to be in
readiness for enemies in a strange country.

Black women think a great deal of the Moonaibaraban, or as they more
often call them, Kumbuy, or sister-in-law. These are spirit-women who
come a few days after the Boorah to bring presents to the women
relations of the boys who have been initiated. The Kumbuy are never
seen, but their voices are heard--voices like dogs barking; on hearing
which the women in the camp have to answer, calling out:

'Are you my Kumbuy?'

An answer comes like a muffled bark, 'Bah! bah bah!'

Then the old men--crafty old men--go out to where the 'bahing' comes
from, and bring in the gifts, which take the form of food, yams, honey,
fruit principally.

These Kumbuy are among the few beneficent spirits they never hurt any
one, simply supply the bereaved women with comfort in the shape of
food, for the temporary loss of their male relatives. Should an
uninitiate have a wife, which of course is improper, the Kumbuy decline
to recognise her; and should she presume to answer their spirit back,
they make in token of displeasure a thudding noise as if earth were
being violently banged with a yam stick. She has encroached on the
Kumbuy preserves, for prior to his initiation a man shoul