DANCES.

Should it be the intention of the natives to have a dance the arrangements are somewhat different.  In this case the young men retire early in the afternoon to some spot suited to their purpose, where they paint and deck themselves out in the most grotesque manner.  After dark they return to the encampment near which the dance takes place.  At these entertainments the same rules of etiquette are strictly observed:  the females sit in a group apart, generally behind the old men; the performers are on the side of the fire opposite to them; in one or two dances the women take a part in the song, but they never dance themselves, nor are the young men allowed to approach them.  It is all fair for the dancers to do their utmost, by the arrangement of paint and ornaments, to show off their personal attractions, and they sometimes avail themselves of this privilege in the most ludicrous manner; but they are permitted to hold no converse whatever with any but their mothers and sisters.

CEREMONIES ON MEETING.  CUSTOMS IN MEETING AFTER ABSENCE.

The ceremonies they observe at first meeting one another after absence are remarkable.  When a native and his wives enter an encampment of friends whom they have not for some time seen, they proceed straight to the hut of some relative or intimate friend without bestowing even a glance upon any others whom they may pass:  having reached the hut the man at once seats himself at the fire without taking the least notice of anyone in it, whilst his wives crouch upon the earth at a respectful distance behind him, keeping their eyes fixed upon the ground; solemn silence now ensues, all countenances wear an unspeakable gloom and gravity and all eyes are directed to the earth; in about ten minutes the nearest blood relation of any individual who has died since the stranger has visited his friends advances to him with a measured pace, and without speaking seats himself cross-legged on his thighs, under which he places his hands, at the same time pressing his breast to the stranger’s; thus seated they mournfully avert their faces from one another and preserve a perfect silence; no single word or sign of recognition passes between them, and after they have remained thus seated for several minutes the native who had come to announce the death rises slowly and retires with the same gravity with which he had approached; other males of the family now successively approach the stranger, going through precisely the same ceremonies, none of them venturing to interchange a single word with him.

This part of the ceremony having been completed, the nearest female relative of the deceased approaches the stranger and, throwing herself upon her knees before him, she embraces his knees with her left arm whilst with the nails of her right hand she scratches her cheek and nose until the blood drops from them, at the same time raising the most piteous cries and lamentations.  After a few minutes she rises and