They salute one another by laying the
hand on the breast, making a bow, and inquiring, Kona lafia? ki ka
ky kee - Fo fo da rana: How do you do? I hope you are well. How have
you passed the heat of the day? The last question corresponds in
their climate to the circumstantiality, with what our country folks
inquire about a good night's rest.
The unmarried girls, whether slaves or free, and likewise the young
unmarried men, wear a long apron of blue and white check, with a
notched edging of red woollen cloth. It is tied with two broad bands,
ornamented in the same way, and hanging down behind to the very
ankles. This is peculiar to Soudan, and forms the only distinction in
dress from the people of Bornou.
Their marriages are not distinguished by any great form or ceremony.
When a bride is first conducted to the house of the bridegroom, she
is attended by a great number of friends and slaves, bearing presents
of melted fat, honey, wheat, turkadees, and tobes as her dower.
She whines all the way, "Wey kina! wey kina! wey lo!" O my head! My
head! Oh! dear me. Notwithstanding this lamentation, the husband has
commonly known his wife some time before marriage.
