Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 4.djvu/449

 their beds. No negotiations are valid unless the contracting parties hold at the time a tuft of grass in their hands; no warlike expedition can hope for success unless a few wisps of herbage are first scattered along the route leading in the direction of the country they intend to march against. In order to escape from any pending misfortune the Masai smears his forehead and checks with cowdung; and when he feels the approach of death, he begs to be placed in the midst of his beloved cattle, so that he may pass away amid hallowed surroundings. He lives

almost exclusively on an animal diet, drinking the milk of his cows, eating the flesh of his steers and oxen; but, strange to say, he considers it unlawful to take both milk and flesh on the same day. He can also be seldom induced to give or sell milk to strangers. The national diet is altogether 1egurded in a very serious light, and is regulated by severe ordinances, especially during the period when the young persons of both sexes are preparing for the rites admitting them to fellowship with the adult members of the community, and later when the young men are passing through the noviciate required to take part in the warlike expeditions.