The Sherbro and its hinterland . is the sehgura, whichis a small hollow gourd, having over it a loosely fittingmesh of country cotton strung with hard split seeds, thelong loose ends of the cotton being gathered up over thebulbous end of the gourd and held in the left hand, theright hand holding the narrow neck. Upon the gourdbeing shaken and the thread alternately slackened andtightened, the sound given out by the seeds striking uponthe dry wooden casing is very considerable, but it can bemodulated at the will of the performer, and is by no meansinharmonious. At all native festivities, where
The Sherbro and its hinterland . is the sehgura, whichis a small hollow gourd, having over it a loosely fittingmesh of country cotton strung with hard split seeds, thelong loose ends of the cotton being gathered up over thebulbous end of the gourd and held in the left hand, theright hand holding the narrow neck. Upon the gourdbeing shaken and the thread alternately slackened andtightened, the sound given out by the seeds striking uponthe dry wooden casing is very considerable, but it can bemodulated at the will of the performer, and is by no meansinharmonious. At all native festivities, where women arepresent, the sehgura is to be heard, and when three orfour are being shaken together, the noise though loud isnot harsh ; it is very effective, and is greatly appreciatedby the natives. WOMAN PALAVER. One of the greatest curses, if not the greatest, throughoutthe lower country, is a system of extortion, known by thename of woman palaver. Women in this part of WestAfrica, as doubtless in other parts of it, are answerable. XII UP-COUNTRY JOTTINGS 123 for a very great deal of the oppression and misery whichis the lot of the men ; and it is not too much to say thata considerable income was derived by some of the minorchiefs and head men who encouraged certain of theirwomen to trump up serious charges against innocentpersons. It was enough for an accusation to be allegedby a woman, especially a chiefs wife, against a man, tocause him to be brought before the chief, charged with woman palaver ; there was no hope for him, he wouldbe mulcted in heavy fines, and in former days before theProtectorate was created, if unable to pay well, he wouldhave been sold into slavery. There is no occasion toparticularise the full meaning of this woman palaver —the name in itself offers sufficient explanation. So greatwas the fear that men entertained of being designedlyentrapped for the purpose of extracting money fromthem, that I have known them upon coming to a townof doubtful repute in
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