"The whole
matter is looked upon as a matter of course, and not as a thing
to be ashamed of or to hide, and, being thus openly treated of
and no secrecy made about it, you find in this tribe that the
women are very virtuous. They know from the first all that is to
be known, and cannot see any reason for secrecy concerning
natural laws or the powers and senses that have been given them
from birth." (_Zeitschrift fuer Ethnologie_, 1898, Heft 6, p.
479.)
Of the Monbuttu of Central Africa, another observer says: "It is
surprising how a Monbuttu woman of birth can, without the aid of
dress, impress others with her dignity and modesty." (_British
Medical Journal_. June 14, 1890.)
"The women at Upoto wear no clothes whatever, and came up to us
in the most unreserved manner. An interesting gradation in the
arrangement of the female costume has been observed by us: as we
ascended the Congo, the higher up the river we found ourselves,
the higher the dress reached, till it has now, at last,
culminated in absolute nudity." (T.H. Parke, _My Personal
Experiences in Equatorial Africa_, 1891, p. 61.)
"There exists throughout the Congo population a marked
appreciation of the sentiment of decency and shame as applied to
private actions," says Mr. Herbert Ward. In explanation of the
nudity of the women at Upoto, a chief remarked to Ward that
"concealment is food for the inquisitive.
Pages:
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60