. The Uganda protectorate; an attempt to give some description of the physical geography, botany, zoology, anthropology, languages and history of the territories under British protection in East Central Africa, between the Congo Free State and the Rift Valley and between the first degree of south latitude and the fifth degree of north latitude. African languages; Natural history; Ethnology. 82J. MASAI, TURKANA, SUK, NANDI, ETC. trained into pigtails), goes round the villages of the married people and selects one or two little girls of from eight to thirteen years old. To the mothers of tlie ch
. The Uganda protectorate; an attempt to give some description of the physical geography, botany, zoology, anthropology, languages and history of the territories under British protection in East Central Africa, between the Congo Free State and the Rift Valley and between the first degree of south latitude and the fifth degree of north latitude. African languages; Natural history; Ethnology. 82J. MASAI, TURKANA, SUK, NANDI, ETC. trained into pigtails), goes round the villages of the married people and selects one or two little girls of from eight to thirteen years old. To the mothers of tlie chosen damsels he makes numerous small presents, but. 460. MASAI SHIELDS does not give cattle or sheep, these being reserved for the marriage gift. The mother raises little or no objection to his proposition if the girls like him, and he then carries off one, two, or it may be three, to the warriors' village or settlement. Here the young people indulge in sexual intercourse, which is considered in no way to be immoral, because the girls are under age, and therefore cannot conceive. When the girl is nearing womanhood, she leaves the warrior and goes back to her mother, and soon after the first menstruation the clitoris is excised, and the girl becomes a marriage- able woman who must live morally henceforward. If by chance a girl remains with a warrior and conceives by him, no undue fuss is made, though he may probably have to support the child, and may make up his mind eventually to marry the girl. If, likewise, whilst the girl remains unmarried she has intercourse with any man and bears an illegitimate child, she does not incur much censure, and the matter is either settled by her marrying her seducer, or by the intended husband condoning the lapse, and taking over the child with the woman when he finally marries her. The young girls who live in the warriors' settlements have as agreeable a time of it as can be provided in Masai society. They are supplied with food ; the mothers
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectnatural, bookyear1902
