[Illustration]
The people of Kanem, in Central Africa, are known by the name of
Kanemboo, and consist of tribes of Tibboos. The women are
good-looking, laughing negresses, and all but naked. Most of them have
a square or triangular piece of silver or tin hanging at the back of
the head, suspended from the hair, which is curiously and laboriously
trained, and no one of tender years has anything like a perfect head
of hair. From childhood the head is shaved, having only the top
covered; the hair from hence falls down quite round from the forehead
to the pole of the neck, and is then formed into one solid plait,
which in front lying quite flat just over the eyes, and behind being
turned up with a little curl, has just the appearance of an
old-fashioned coachman's wig in London.
The women flock from the neighbouring negro villages to the weekly
fsug, or market, with baskets of gussut, gafooly, fowls, and honey,
which may be purchased by small pieces of coral amber of the coarsest
kind, and coloured beads. Major Denham, in his "Travels in Northern
and Central Africa," says "one merchant bought a fine lamb for two
bits of amber, worth, I should think, about two-pence each in Europe;
two needles purchased a fowl; and a handful of salt, four or five
good-sized fish from the lake (Tchad)."