. The Baganda . t. In the construction of a large canoe the first step wasto fashion the keel ; a tree from fifty to sixty feet long wasrequired for this purpose. The keel extended four or five feetbeyond the canoe to be used as a ram in warfare; it was roundedon the under side, and was wider and thicker in the middlethan at either end. In the middle it was about a foot wideand ten inches deep, it was slightly hollowed on the upper Buildinga largecanoe. XI INDUSTRIES 387 side, and the edges were bevelled for the whole length, topermit the side timbers to sit neatly without protruding. Theram w
. The Baganda . t. In the construction of a large canoe the first step wasto fashion the keel ; a tree from fifty to sixty feet long wasrequired for this purpose. The keel extended four or five feetbeyond the canoe to be used as a ram in warfare; it was roundedon the under side, and was wider and thicker in the middlethan at either end. In the middle it was about a foot wideand ten inches deep, it was slightly hollowed on the upper Buildinga largecanoe. XI INDUSTRIES 387 side, and the edges were bevelled for the whole length, topermit the side timbers to sit neatly without protruding. Theram was rounded, and it tapered to a point; the upper sidewas slightly flattened, to support a raised prow, which stoodup at right-angles to the keel, and which was, under ordinarycircumstances, crowned with a tuft of parrot-tail feathersbetween a pair of antelope horns. When the keel was finished,boards for the sides were made, and special timbers to formstretchers which were the seats. One tree was required for the. FIG. 66.—BAGANUA CANOES ON LAKE SHORE. keel, and two or more for the side-boards ; only three boardscould be got from a good-sized tree. The method of cutting theboards was to adze the upper side of the felled tree, so as toobtain a fairly flat surface, and to chip out grooves some threeinches wide, on either side of the piece which they wished tohave as a board ; it was thus necessary to cut a tree two feetin diameter, in order to obtain three good boards, an inch thickwhen finished. The waste of wood was very great, and thelabour involved was enormous. The men, however, stuck totheir task, and day after day they cut the wood away, till C C 2 388 THE BAGANDA chap. gradually they worked their grooves to the centre of the tree;the latter was then turned over, and the workmen began towork the other side and worked down to the grooves they hadalready cut. After the boards had been cut out roughly, theyhad to undergo considerable trimming and smoothing withsmall adzes, w
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidbaganda00joh, bookyear1911
