The clothing of the men consists of two types of sleeveless shirts(letum) and with black and white stripe (pomo) made from thick cotton cloth, striped gaily with blue and red together with a mantle of cotton or wool fastened around the throat and shoulders. Strings made of beads in varying sizes and colours are also worn, mainly for decoration purposes and to show the wearer's status. They also carry a machete or dao ("uryu") in Nyishi) (short sword) and a knife ("chighi") in a bamboo sheath that are mostly covered with animal furs. Their armament consists of a spear with an iron head, a large sword ("uryu"), and a bow and arrows which are tipped with poison ("um-yu"). During war, both the chest and back are covered with shields made from sabbe buffalo hide, and over it they wear a black cloak made of indigenous fibre.