In The Nature Of Things, Moreover,
He Never Loses This Touching Faith In The
Efficacy Of The Witch-Doctor's Charm;
For if he is
attacked by a lion, the brute sees to it that he
does not live to become
An unbeliever, while if
he is not attacked, it is of course quite clear that
it is to the dawa that he owes his immunity.
For the rest, the Wa Taita are essentially a
peace-loving and industrious people; and, indeed,
before the arrival of the British in the country, they
hardly ever ventured down from their mountain
fastnesses, owing to their dread of the warlike
Masai. Each man has as many wives as he can
afford to pay for in sheep or cattle; he provides
each spouse with a separate establishment, but
the family huts are clustered together, and as a
rule all live in perfect harmony. The most
curious custom of the tribe is the filing of the
front teeth into sharp points, which gives the
whole face a most peculiar and rather diabolical
expression. As usual, their ideas of costume
are rather primitive; the men sometimes wear
a scrap of cloth round the loins, while the women
content themselves with the same or with a short
kilt. Both sexes adorn themselves with a great
quantity of copper or iron wire coiled round their
arms and legs, and smear their bodies all over
with grease, the men adding red clay to the
mixture. Many of the women also wear dozens
of rows of beads, while their ears are hung with
pieces of chain and other fantastic ornaments.
The men always carry bows and poisoned arrows,
as well as a seemie (a short, roughly-fashioned
sword) hung on a leathern thong round the waist.
A three-legged stool is also an important part
of their equipment,
and is slung on the
shoulder when on the
march.
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