Page:Seven Years in South Africa v2.djvu/218

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170
Seven Years in South Africa.

dances, weddings, or other festivities with his presence. Besides the three kinds of drums, the myrimbas, and the zither-like sylimbas, I noticed that the orchestra included some stringed instruments made of the ribs of fan-palms, as well as some iron bells, one sort being double and without clappers, some rattles made of fruit shells, and various pipes

MASK OF A KISHI-DANCER.
MASK OF A KISHI-DANCER.

MASK OF A KISHI-DANCER.

formed of ivory, wood, or reeds. The stringed instruments are used at the elephant-dance, the bells at the kishi-dance, and the rattles at weddings. On the occasion of the Masupia prophetic dance, the king lends a number of hollow bottle-shaped gourd-shells filled with dry seeds, which, when they are rattled, are exceedingly noisy. Rattles, bells, and