Some of the richer of the inhabitants have several
wives. A wife is looked upon more as a servant
or slave, to work upon the plantations, than as a
companion and friend. As soon as a man acquires
a sufficient number of wives to work his plantations,
he ceases from labour, and spends the remainder of
his days in drinking honey wine and eating miraa,
which he gets from the Embe.
Tobacco is not grown by these people. In fact,
this is the poorest of all the countries in the neighbourhood
of the Jombeni range. As the Daitcho
are a weak people, and consequently not aggressive,
they receive frequent visits from the traders of the
coast, who go to them for the purpose of purchasing
food for their journey through the desert inhabited
by the Wanderobbo, from whom the traders purchase
ivory. From these frequent visits the Daitcho have
assumed the position of middle-men between the
wealthy Embe and the traders in the purchase of
donkeys. The donkeys are much in demand among
the Zanzibari traders for use as beasts of burden,
and are greatly prized by the Wanderobbo, who will
exchange a large tusk of ivory, and at times two,
for a donkey.
During our stay at Daitcho, which lasted throughout
the rainy season, we were enabled to enter into
comparatively close relations with the natives, after
they had satisfied themselves that we had no hostile
intentions toward them; but, owing to our conflicts
with the Wamsara and the Embe, the Daitcho seemed,
loath to act as go-betweens in the trade which we
opened for donkeys. We found a Zanzibari caravan
there, which in a short time had been able to
purchase sixty of these animals, but we found it a
much more difficult matter; and where the Zanzibari
were able to purchase six or seven in a day,
we considered ourselves most fortunate if we secured
one.
The principal character among the Daitcho was
an old man named Bykender. He spoke Swahili
and Masai, as well as his native tongue, and had had
much experience with traders. For a native I found
him to be very intelligent; and owing to this quality,
he had amassed sufficient wealth in goats, sheep, and
wives to place him far above his fellow-tribesmen in
wealth and authority. He had six plantations in the
Daitcho country, and two near the Embe frontier.
Upon each of these plantations lived one of his wives,
and his life was spent in journeying from one to
the other, looking after his interests.
One of his wives was a Rendile woman. It was
a long time before we could induce him to tell the
story of his marriage with her, but he finally gave
us the following statement. Fifteen years before the
date of our stay the Daitcho received a visit from a
small band of Rendile consisting of 100 people.
They brought with them their camels, some sheep
and goats, and had come for the purpose of trade,
wishing above all things to purchase tobacco. While
in the Daitcho country all their camels died, and
they were forced to exchange their sheep and goats
for donkeys, which the Daitcho procured for them
from the Embe. But their supply of sheep and goats
was not sufficient to purchase what beasts of burden