'Typical dress during the seclusion or puberty stage of girls in Basutoland consists of reed mask, waist thongs, angora skin apron and hairless leather back skirt. Each waist thong is made from one long plait of grass, the ends being joined together. Handmade clay beads are worn on whitened bodies. Bale schools consist of 5-10 girls, who are placed for instruction under the care of a special teacher, a married woman, to whom they are temporary slaves, and liable to brutal treatment if the teacher be so disposed. Identities are kept secret and men dare not approach, being warned away by the peculiar yodeling call common to the Bale. Travelers meeting these girls must give gifts or run the risk of being struck with the Bales' forked wand which bears magical properties.'