CHAPTER XIV

SECRET SOCIETIES—{continued)

IL—THE  BUNDU

The Bundu is a society that affects only the women, and
it is worked with even greater secrecy than the Poro.
The Bundu bush, where the young girls are trained, is
always selected in a very secluded spot and there is
nothing to give any indication of its whereabouts. It is
enshrouded in mystery.

Sometimes, as I was travelling through the upper district,
a group of whitened Bundu girls, as shown in Figure 43,
accompanied by their duenna, would be drawn up at the
side of the path to do me honour as I passed. By way of
salute they raised their arms above their heads, then all
together they uttered a weird sound, which once heard can
never be forgotten. It is one long-drawn note, which
presently grows louder and then gradually dies away;
while uttering this note they bend forward until their
hands touch the ground, when they slowly rise to their
original position. Sometimes, when you are not aware
that you are anywhere near a Bundu bush, this unvarying
chant, or rather wail, betrays the neighbourhood of their
encampment.

These young Bundu girls are under the entire control of