Matabele Queens.

A few words may be devoted to the Matabele queens, of whom there are over eighty, a number that is being yearly added to, notwithstanding Lo Bengula's advanced age.

The chief queen, Loskay, is typical of the others. Her massive form, on the occasion of a "War Dance" in 1890, was partly clothed in a coloured cotton sheet, while from her waist hung a black goatskin kilt. The head was encircled with a coil of pink beads, the neck with tin, brass, and iron chains, probably taken in some of the many raids on the Mashonas, who, unlike the Matabele, have some skill in working in these metals; on her ankles and arms were more beads. When in State dress during the "War Dance "the queens present a picture of bright and effective colouring.

On the occasion of the "Queens' Dance," the black fur kilt was replaced by a heavy, beautifully worked, and parti-coloured bead apron; massive coils of beads encircled arms, legs, throat, and head; folds of gaudy cotton clothed the loins, while a bright orange handkerchief covered the shoulders, and dozens of blue jays' feathers were fixed singly into the hair. Each queen carries on the top of the head a small circular button of plaited grass, coloured bright red, and kept in place by weaving the hair into it. The dance was led by the chief queen, followed in single file by about twenty others, hopping slowly, with a highly grotesque step, resembling so many brilliant butterflies fluttering and sparkling in the sunlight. Thus they danced for hours, waving long wands, in front of the Matabele army, drawn up in an immense half-moon (the old Zulu formation). These royal ladies are the beer-makers, and, during the "War Dance" especially, enormous quantities of the beverage are consumed. Their sedentary lives, and the large amount of beer consumed by them, account for their corpulence.