1. _Seclusion of Girls at Puberty in Africa_
[Girls at puberty forbidden to touch the ground and to see the sun;
seclusion of girls at puberty among the A-Kamba; seclusion of girls at
puberty among the Baganda.]
Now it is remarkable that the foregoing two rules--not to touch the
ground and not to see the sun--are observed either separately or
conjointly by girls at puberty in many parts of the world. Thus amongst
the negroes of Loango girls at puberty are confined in separate huts,
and they may not touch the ground with any part of their bare body.[64]
Among the Zulus and kindred tribes of South Africa, when the first signs
of puberty shew themselves "while a girl is walking, gathering wood, or
working in the field, she runs to the river and hides herself among the
reeds for the day, so as not to be seen by men. She covers her head
carefully with her blanket that the sun may not shine on it and shrivel
her up into a withered skeleton, as would result from exposure to the
sun's beams. After dark she returns to her home and is secluded" in a
hut for some time.[65] During her seclusion, which lasts for about a
fortnight, neither she nor the girls who wait upon her may drink any
milk, lest the cattle should die. And should she be overtaken by the
first flow while she is in the fields, she must, after hiding in the
bush, scrupulously avoid all pathways in returning home.[66] A reason
for this avoidance is assigned by the A-Kamba of British East Africa,
whose girls under similar circumstances observe the same rule.
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