by a vow, or is already satiated with indulgence, he politely declines her offer by placing his hand in her bosom, on which they return to the assembly and rejoin the dance.”  It is worthy of remark that in the language of the Omahas the word watche applies equally to the amusement of dancing and to sexual intercourse. (S.H.  Long, Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, 1823, vol. i, p. 337.)

At a Kaffir marriage “singing and dancing last until midnight.  Each party [the bride’s and the bridegroom’s] dances in front of the other, but they do not mingle together.  As the evening advances, the spirits and passions of all become greatly excited; and the power of song, the display of muscular action, and the gesticulations of the dancers and leapers are something extraordinary.  The manner in which, at certain times, one man or woman, more excited than the rest, bounds from the ranks, leaps into the air, bounces forward, and darts backward beggars all description.  These violent exercises usually close about midnight, when each party retires; generally, each man selects a paramour, and, indulging in sexual gratification, spends the remainder of the night.” (W.C.  Holden, The Kaffir Race, 1866, p. 192.)

At the initiation of Kaffir boys into manhood, as described by Holden, they were circumcised.  “Cattle are then slaughtered by the parents, and the boys are plentifully supplied with flesh meat; a good deal of dancing also ensues at this stage of the proceedings.  The ukut-shila consists in attiring themselves with the leaves of the wild date in the most fantastic manner; thus attired they visit each of the kraals to which they belong in rotation, for the purpose of dancing.  These dances are the most licentious which can be imagined.  The women act a prominent part in them, and endeavor to excite the passions of the novices by performing all sorts of obscene gesticulations.  As soon as the soreness occasioned by the act of circumcision is healed the boys are, as it were, let loose upon society, and exempted from nearly all the restraints of law; so that should they even steal and slaughter their neighbor’s cattle they would not be punished; and they have the special privilege of seizing by force, if force be necessary, every unmarried woman they choose, for the purpose of gratifying their passions.”  Similar festivals take place at the initiation of girls. (W.C.  Holden, The Kaffir Race, 1866, p. 185.)

The Rev. J. Macdonald has described the ceremonies and customs attending and following the initiation-rites of a young girl on her first menstruation among the Zulus between the Tugela and Delagoa Bay.  At this time the girl is called an intonjane.  A beast is killed as a thank-offering to the ancestral spirits, high revel is held for several days, and dancing and music take place every night till those engaged in it are all exhausted or daylight arrives.  “After