WOMEN, WHO WEAR TAILS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 713, 17 October 1914, Page 7

WOMEN, WHO WEAR TAILS.

"With this tail I thee wect.'* The natives of a remote partof Northern Nigeria, not yet under the complete control of the British, do not actually Bay these words when taking unto themselves a wife, but with them the tail is synonymous with the weddingring, and the married woman are particularly proud of their tails, which, although not of flesh and blood, are the outward and visible sign of matronly dignity. When woman in this particular corner of the glob© becomes a bride she assumes the apron of leaves and the tremendously significant tail, or "kunnok," as it is called. The tails vary in form somewhat, according to the particular tribe to which they belong. Sometimes they are long and thin, sometimes short, mushroom-like, and stumpy, or shaped like a long bell. These tails are made of palm-fibre, plaited or bound tightly together with string, and usually stained red with earth. Often the "kunnok" is worn quite plain, but the more ambitious modes prescribe embellishments of brass wire and colored glass beads. In the case of one tribe the tails of the married women are covered with intricate designs worked in brass and copper wire, being further decorated with colored beads set in a bed of liquid rubber, of which there is a great deal in the country. Sometimes one of these native married women, who desires ito be a leader in the fashionable world, will wear a tiny bell just above the tail, but this is a rare occurrence, and the bell is not often seen. "While the tail is essentially the mark of the married women, there are certain occasions —such as dances or feasts —when it is worn by little girls. This is a rara privilege, however, and has some ligious significance. ,