The girl in the course of her education went as a child with her mother to the farm, and with her small hoe helped her mother to weed, and as she grew older she would hoe and plant. There were the various kinds of cassava to learn, and their characteristics and appearances; the best time of the year for planting according to the position of the _kole_ in the sky, and the best sort of soil, and when it was unprofitable to plant an old farm, and better to start a new one. The girl had also to learn the sundry ways of cooking cassava—for there were several—all entailing much time and thought. The modes of boiling, steaming, grilling, smoking, or baking fish and meats. She had to become expert in making up tasty messes with leaves and palm-oil, caterpillars, palm maggots, etc. She should know how to shave the head, comb out and plait hair, massage the skin, and decorate the face and body with various pigments and camwood powder, for these would be expected of her by her future husband. She had to learn to make her own dresses from palm-frond fibre, and if she desired to be “chic,” then she must dye them to the fashionable colour. If she wanted extra pocket-money, then she might master the mysteries of papyrus mat, and saucepan making, or even turn her hand to the art of basket-making. The more she knew of these various accomplishments the better chance she had of securing the man she wanted for a husband. What a mass of information the girl collected about fetishes, charms, and medicine men! The proper charms to protect her farm produce, to ward off the evil eye from casting bad luck on her farming; the right charms to keep her in good health, and render her attractive to the village lads. She had to store her mind with a knowledge of the best charms to use to allure her lover to her side, to preserve her during pregnancy, to ward off sickness from her child, to retain her position as the favourite wife, and to keep away those many evil spirits that seemed to hem her in on every side. Both boys and girls had to remember the family totems, and the family and personal taboos; what they should do and eat, and what it was necessary for them to avoid doing and eating. Then there were the first-fruits of the fish they caught, the animals they killed, the foods they planted, and the various articles they made which had to be given to their parents or nearest relatives, otherwise bad luck would follow them. The first teeth that came out had to be carefully hidden, for if they were found by anyone no other teeth would come in their place.