out of the
village, and will stand watching his departure until he is about to
disappear round the corner of the path; and then they will call out
his name, and he will respond by calling out B's name.

Gestures may perhaps be included under this heading, though there is
apparently but little to be said about the matter. When a question
is asked, an affirmative reply is indicated by nodding the head,
and a negative one by shaking it; and, though I asked if this was
not probably the result of association with people who had been among
white men, I was told that it was not so. A negative answer is also
often expressed by shrugging the shoulders, and a kind of grimace
with the lips. The nodding of the head to a negative question, such
as "Are you not well?" signifies assent to the negative, that is,
that he is not well, and so vice-versa with the shaking of the head.

CHAPTER V

Community, Clan, and Village Systems and Chieftainship

Communities, Clans, and Villages.

The native populations of the Mafulu area are scattered about in
small groups or clusters of villages or hamlets; and, as each cluster
of villages is for many purposes a composite and connected whole,
I propose to call such a cluster a "community." Friendships, based
on proximity and frequent intercourse and intermarriage, doubtless
arise between neighbouring communities, but otherwise there does
not appear to be any idea in the minds of the people of any general
relationship or common interest between these various communities of
the area. Each community regards the members of every other community
within the area as outsiders, just as much so as are, say, the Ambo
people to the north and the Kuni people to the west. If a community,
or group of communities together, were the subject of an attack from
either Ambo or Kuni natives, each of these being people whose language
is different--as regards the Kuni utterly different--from that of the
Mafulu, there would apparently be no thought of other Mafulu-speaking
communities, as such, coming to assist in repelling the attack. Hence
in dealing with the question of inter-village relationship, I have
to fix my mind mainly upon the community and its constituent parts.

Concerning the situation as between one community and another,
as they regard themselves as quite distinct and unrelated, the only
question which seems to arise is that of the ownership of, and rights
over, the intervening bush and