,,africana4 ,a4 ,,king ,,and ,,co41 ,,printers ,,to ,,the ,,university4 ,illustration3 ,i--,frontis4 ,,the ,,postman4 8,literature is likely to be an important means of elevating and purifying the native4 ,all ,africans1 from the lad that writes his ,grammar exercise to the postman that conveys a written message in a split wand1 have a liking for kalata 7letters740--,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #bfa4 ,,africana2 ,,or1 ,,the ,,heart ,,of ,,heathen ,,africa4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,duff ,,macdonald1 ,m4,a41 ,b4,d41 ,,late ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,scotland ,,mission1 ,,blantyre1 ,,east ,,central ,,africa4 ,,vol4 ,i4--,,native ,,customs ,,and ,,beliefs4 8,the proper study of mankind is man40 ,,london3 ,,simpkin ,,marshall ,,co4 ,,edinburgh3 ,,john ,,menzies ,,co4 ,,aberdeen3 ,a4 ,,brown ,,co4 #ahhb4 ,all rights reserved4 ,,to ,h4 ,h4 ,m4 ,,this ,,work ,,is ,,inscribed ,,in ,,remembrance ,,of ,,the ,,greatest ,,trials ,,patiently ,,endured ,,for ,,the ,,good ,,of ,,africa4 ,,preface4 ,heathen ,africa is a wide world1 but not so wide as might at first sight appear4 ,a large part of the continent has been reached by ,mahommedanism1 and ,christian ,missions are everywhere making bold inroads1 so that the portion of ,africa left entirely to the light of nature is less than is often supposed4 ,my main object is to contribute to a better understanding of the ,african heathen1 and the reader acquainted with books on the 8dark continent0 will perceive that the greater part of the information given in these pages is entirely new4 ,my knowledge was gained while ,i worked in the ,african ,mission field4 ,unfortunately ,i arrived at the scene of my labours to find that the ,directors of the ,mission had set up a peculiar ,civil ,administration which1 as might have been expected1 soon gave rise to great difficulties4 ,hence1 although ,i was labouring with increasing success1 and daily gaining the confidence of the natives1 ,i was suddenly recalled by the ,directors4#a ,although no longer privileged to labour in ,africa1 ,i have still the deepest sympathy with its people1 and am led to publish these volumes in the hope of stimulating ,christians to more hearty endeavours in behalf of this dark land4 ,a knowledge of these ,africans is interesting for its own sake4 ,besides1 we cannot believe that ,god has maintained such multitudes of human beings for so many generations without our being able to learn lessons from them4 ,it is only when one has had an opportunity of understanding these races for himself1 that he knows how much they require the help of ,christendom4 ,while from that dark land ,christians hear the words1 8,come over and help us10 seldom do they realize how urgent is the call4 ,that call is associated with the shrieks of the helpless slave who is sacrificed at the tomb of his oppressor1 with the last cries of a fond mother poisoned by a superstitious son1 and with the sighing of a wife torn from the home of her affection and compelled to drag out a miserable captivity among men whose hands are red with the blood of her kindred4 ,when labouring in ,africa1 often have ,i been asked to explain why ,i was 8so long in coming0 when ,i knew that its people were living in darkness1 and such a question every ,pioneer ,missionary may expect to face4 ,i cannot express the feelings of many a heathen ,african more touchingly and at the same time more truly than by quoting the following which comes from ,mr4 ,gill1 a ,missionary in the ,south ,sea ,islands3-- 8,at one of the fellowship meetings which the native ,christians of the ,south ,sea ,islands had among themselves1 an old man rose and said1 #8,i stand among you to-day a solitary and lonely man4 ,once ,i had a wife3 dear she was to my heart2 she is no more4 ,once ,i had five noble sons2 they are all gone4 ,o that terrible night1 when my wife went out to the brushwood1 never to return1 when my boys left my home to be slain by our deadly enemies6' ,he paused1 and there was a deep silence2 the tears rolled down his cheeks4 #8,these things do not occur now1' he again said2 #8,christianity has put an end to these bloody wars4 ,but there is one thing ,i want to ask1 ,can it be that the ,christian people in ,england have had this ,gospel of peace for many long years1 and never sent it to us until now8 ,o that they had sent it sooner6 ,had they sent it sooner1 ,i should not be to-day solitary1 sad-hearted1 mourning my murdered wife and children4 ,o that they had sent it sooner6'0 ,as ,missions to solitary stations among aboriginal tribes require to be conducted in a careful and well-defined manner1 ,i have pointed out many difficulties by which the success of such enterprises is liable to be impaired4 ,with reference to the assumption of ,civil ,jurisdiction1 which brought one or two ,east ,african ,missions under public notice1 ,i have said little except where any incident illustrated ,mission difficulties or ,african customs1 and on this subject ,i must refer the reader to ,missionary ,magazines--in particular the ,missionary ,review for #ahhb4 ,but lest ,i should appear indifferent on the matter1 ,i may1 without obtruding the subject1 introduce one or two remarks calculated to benefit the youthful ,missionary4 ,such a man is generally full of zeal and enthusiasm1 and the last thing in the world that he fears is the danger of being confronted with misrepresentation or doubtful diplomacy4 ,but such a danger is possible--it is one thing to go to the heat as the servant of the ,lord1 and quite a different thing to go as the agent of a ,committee4 ,while ,mission ,directors incur some risk by setting up a ,civil ,jurisdiction1 the real danger falls upon the agents they employ4 ,if any of these agents say1 8,i am here commanded to act as a judge or a chief1 ,i am perfectly aware this is a difficult task1 but ,i am bound to do my best to obey10 he soon finds he is greatly blamed3 and1 on the other hand1 when a man reasons1 8,my superiors have set up a strange organisation here4 ,but these men are the great ,leaders of the ,church4 ,they have been studying ,missionary methods before ,i was born4 ,i have no doubt they understand their plan4 ,but ,i cannot understand it3 ,i must leave it entirely alone and devote all my attention to ,spiritual work10--condemnation as certainly follows4 ,again1 when an ordained ,minister becomes a ,missionary1 he is held to lay aside his ministerial status and become the agent of a committee1 while a ,licentiate who is set apart for work among the heathen is 8ordained0 in the same sense as a beadle may be said to be ordained--he may talk of 8magnifying his office10 but he holds it only during the pleasure of a committee who1 after he has performed his duties most diligently1 may with the greatest complacency1 turn him forth to starve6 ,such are some of the difficulties that are thoughtlessly thrown in the way of ,mission work4 ,there is1 however1 a more pleasant side to contemplate4 ,i desire to say with emphasis3--8,savage tribes are not difficult to get on with1 ,heathendom is not an unpromising field10 and such is the experience1 ,i think1 of all ,missionaries as they go forward1 believing that 8,he shall have the heathen for ,his heritage1 and the uttermost parts of the earth for ,his possession60 ,i have pleasure in acknowledging that for several of the illustrations ,i am indebted to the courtesy of the ,rev4 ,h4 ,rowley1 the talented author of the ,story of the ,universities' ,mission to ,central ,africa4 ,,contents ,,of ,,vol4 ,i4 ,n4,b4--,the figures and letters in brackets refer to the sections 7and not to the pages74 ,,page ,,introductory4 ,novelty of the ,subject4 ,effect of ,christianity4 ,difficulty and value of the investigation1 #a-ad ,,chapter ,i4--,,first ,,impressions4 7,a7 ,dress1 ,tatoos1 ,ornaments4 7,b7 ,weapons4 7,c7 ,houses1 ,beds1 ,fireplace1 ,furniture1 ,live ,stock4 7,d7 ,climate1 ,rains1 ,productions1 ,famines4 7,e7 ,food1 ,want of ,bread1 ,meals1 ,unclean ,animals1 ,hospitality4 7,f7 ,work1 ,division of ,labour4 7,f799 ,races and ,chiefs4 7,g7 ,travelling and ,salutations1 #ae-ce ,,chapter ,,ii4--,,arts ,,and ,,literature4 7,h7 ,trades and ,manufactures1 ,iron1 ,baskets1 ,cloth1 ,pottery1 ,african ,industry4 7,i7 ,the ,learned ,professions1 ,medicine1 ,divination4 7,k7 ,charms4 7,l7 ,traditional ,literature--its ,form1 ,matter1 and ,relations to ,kindred ,traditions1 #cf-eg ,,chapter ,,iii4--,,native ,,theology4 7#a7 ,nature of man4 7#b7 ,immortality4 7#c-f7 ,the ,gods1 their ,dwelling ,place1 their ,manifestations2 ,distinctions4 7#g1 #h7 ,priests1 ,village ,gods4 7#i1 #aj7 ,polytheism1 ,selection of ,gods4 7#aa1 #ab7 ,special ,deities1 ,pathos of ,native ,theology4 7#ac7 ,the ,creation1 #eh-ge ,,chapter ,,iv4--,,native ,,worship4 ,,occasions ,,for ,,offerings4 ,journey1 ,war or ,hunting4 7#ad7 ,oracles4 7#ae7 ,ceremonies4 7#af1 #ag7 ,omens4 7#ah7 ,rejoicings4 7#ai7 ,sickness4 7#bj7 ,famine1 ,dreams4 ,,nature ,,of ,,offerings4 7#ba-bd7 ,ordinary ,offerings4 7#be-bh7 ,special ,offerings1 ,human ,sacrifices1 #gf-ig ,,chapter ,v4--,,death4 7#bi7 ,summary4 7#cj7 ,illness1 ,physician's ,responsibility4 7#ca7 ,death1 ,slaves caught to escort the deceased4 7#cb-ch7 ,mourning ,ceremonies4 7#ci7 ,immolation of human beings4 7#dj7 ,house of deceased taken down4 7#da7 ,position of the deceased in the other world4 7#db1 #dc7 ,continuation and end of mourning1 #ih-aab ,,chapter ,,vi4--,,childhood ,,and ,,youth4 7#de-dg7 ,birth1 ,early ,days1 ,naming4 7#dh-ea7 ,betrothal1 ,early ,training1 ,amusements1 ,games1 #aac-abd ,,chapter ,,vii4--,,mysteries4 7#eb1 #ec7 ,instruction of ,girls1 ,boys1 ,adults2 ,general remarks1 #abe-acb ,,chapter ,,viii4--,,marriage4 7#ed7 ,procuring a ,wife4 7#ee7 ,ranks among ,wives4 7#ef7 ,adult ,marriage1 ,wedding-day4 7#eg7 ,woman's ,kingdom4 7#eh7 ,marriage ,contract4 7#ei7 ,divorce4 7#fj7 ,the ,wife's ,surety1 #acc-adc ,,chapter ,,ix4--,,social ,,life4 7#fa-fc7 ,native ,villages4 7#fd-ff7 ,ordinary ,life and ,work4 7#fg7 ,food in common1 #add-aea ,,chapter ,x4--,,government ,,and ,,administration ,,of ,,justice4 7#fh-gb7 ,headmen and ,chiefs4 7#gc-gf7 ,courts of ,justice1 ,trials1 and ,general ,treatment of ,crime1 #aeb-afd ,,chapter ,,xi4--,,personal ,,rights4 7#gg7 ,slavery4 7#gh-ha7 ,murder and ,homicide4 7#hb7 ,unchastity1 #afe-agd ,,chapter ,,xii4--,,rights ,,of ,,property4 7#hc-ia7 ,public ,property1 ,land1 c4 7#ib7 ,private ,property4 7#ic7 ,usury4 7#id7 ,petty ,theft4 7#ie7 ,theft and ,robbery4 7#if7 ,miscellaneous ,crimes1 #age-ahf ,,chapter ,,xiii4--,,inheritance ,,and ,,international ,,law4 7#ig1 #ih7 ,succession to ,property and ,titles4 7#ii-aja7 ,international ,law and ,war1 #ahg-aie ,,chapter ,,xiv4--,a ,,slave ,,government4 7#ajb1 #ajc7 ,the ,magololo and their ,rule4 7#ajd7 ,cruelties of a ,slave ,government1 #aif-bjc ,,chapter ,,xv4--,,witchcraft4 7#aje7 ,the ,poisoned ,cup4 7#ajf7 ,witchcraft the cause of ,death4 7#ajg7 ,detection and ,punishment of ,witches1 ,divination1 #bjd-bad ,,chapter ,,xvi4--,,ethnology4 ,ethnological ,method1 ,tribal ,customs1 ,east ,central ,africa1 ,south ,africa1 ,west and ,north ,africa1 ,races of ,antiquity1 #bae-bcd ,,chapter ,,xvii4--,,african ,,philology4 ,a ,philosophical ,language4 ,vocabulary1 number and nature of ,african ,words4 ,grammar1 as compared with that of the ,aryan and ,semitic ,tongues1 #bce-bde ,,chapter ,,xviii4--,,african ,,philology--,continued4 ,imitation of ,sounds and ,speech4 ,the ,polyglotta ,africana4 ,specialties in ,african ,tongues1 #bdf-beg ,,chapter ,,xix4--,,estimate ,,of ,,native ,,character4 ,physical3 ,features1 ,figures1 ,powers of ,endurance4 ,moral3 ,truthfulness1 ,avarice4 ,intellectual3 ,native ,oratory4 ,effect of their circumstances on ,character4 ,docility in ,religion1 #beh-bgf ,,appendix4--,,cosmological ,,tales4 #bgg-cja ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,letter ,carrier1 ,frontispiece ,south ,african making fire1 #ab ,liberated ,slaves--,blantyre1 #ae ,the ,supelele1 #ag ,native ,knives and ,arrows1 #ai ,native ,pipes and ,pottery1 #dj ,natives in the ,african jungle1 #agf ,women of ,west ,central ,africa1 #bbf ,native ,musical ,instrument1 #bgb ,,introductory4 ,,introductory4 ,there are no books1 so far as we are aware1 that aim at giving a systematic account of the beliefs and customs of any of the tribes in ,eastern ,central ,africa4 ,indeed1 it is not long since these tribes have been known at all4 ,those beliefs and customs are to a great extent ,arcana ,africana1 and form the main subject of this work4 ,those that know how long it takes to become thoroughly acquainted with new races of people will object to a work like this appearing so soon4 ,to this objection we would reply that1 after a ,christian ,mission has been established for a few years in a district1 the views of the people around may become so modified1 especially on religion1 that it is difficult to distinguish how much is native and how much is imported4 ,this is specially true of these ,africans4 ,they rapidly throw aside everything that is native1 and grasp after the views and customs introduced by the foreigner4 ,even as it was1 we often got answers that seemed to be an echo of our teaching1 but we made a point of rejecting every statement of this kind4 ,the reader may rest assured that we have here put before him no religious belief that was suggested or modified by ,christian teaching4 ,again1 there are some that think it is not possible to give an account of native beliefs and customs1 because they differ so much in different districts4 ,the same objection might be raised with reference to ,english beliefs and customs4 ,a man that wished to give an account of the ,religious beliefs of the people of ,england1 would find that he had undertaken a difficult task1 but such an account1 so far from being impossible1 might be made not only perfectly accurate1 but also highly interesting and profitable4 ,so in the case of ,native ,law4 ,we have seen the natives settle their disputes in methods so many and so different1 that we might have said 8,there is no such thing as ,native ,law04 ,might not the very same opinion be expressed with reference to ,english ,law8 ,as we tried to reduce ,native beliefs to an intelligible form1 we were often discouraged by finding that one man would make a statement that his nearest neighbour would contradict4 ,but as years passed on1 ,i discovered that this accident was not so much the fault of the ,african1 or of his belief1 as of the ,european that questioned him4 ,in many respects there is a greater fixity of belief in ,central ,africa than in ,england1 although it may be freely admitted that these ,african customs are subject to many modifications due to local ingenuity and caprice4 ,on the subject of ,native ,law the reader is ever at liberty to read between the lines that our statements may be often modified by a maxim which is but ill concealed in ,native ,jurisprudence by the maxim1 8that might is right04 ,,difficulties4 ,there are enormous difficulties to overcome before we can be sure that our statements are correct4 ,we once knew a man of good abilities try to get information on a small section of native customs1 and the result was in wonderful disagreement with facts4 ,we were so tickled at the production that we went to our friend's informer and read over the expressions one by one1 half inclined to ask regarding each 8,would you be surprised to learn80 ,in most cases he was very much surprised indeed6 ,the causes of error are so numerous and subtle as to deserve extended notice4 ,,importing ,,european ,,ideas4 ,one cause of error is that we mix up what the ,african tells us with our own ideas1 which are ,european4 ,as a consequence of this1 we put questions to him that he cannot understand4 ,many of our questions strike the ,african exactly as a question like the following would strike a ,european1 8,if seventy miles of the sea were burned1 who would be the losers1 the ,insurance ,companies8 or the ,harbour ,commissioners8 or ----80 ,if an ,african put this question to a ,european the ,european would laugh at him2 but if the ,european put it to an ,african1 the latter would be more polite1 and would think that the ,european was very ingenious in finding out a supposition that would have never occurred to himself2 and although the ,african knows that the difficulty could never arise in his own country1 yet he feels bound to believe that the poor ,european is perplexed by it1 and states what he thinks would happen in ,africa on such an extraordinary occurrence3 thus he gives an answer1 which the ingenious ,european carefully lays past4 ,for instance1 a person that had never been out of ,england would see nothing amiss in asking a ,makua or a ,machinga1 8,if a dog were to tear your trousers and your housemaid were to mend them1 how much would you give her in addition to her ordinary wages80 ,now the native will not say 8,we wear no trousers10 8,women in our country never sew10 8,no one receives wages in our country for domestic service10 8,special services are not defined1 and if they were1 the duties of a housemaid would not be anything like what they are in ,england04 ,instead of making statements of this kind1 which would all be interesting to his questioner1 the ,african will take up the question as it stands1 he will consider that it is quite worthy of the genius of a ,european1 and will probably answer that the housemaid would get 8two fowls1 one hoe1 and a string of beads60 ,and he may reply without the least hesitation2 for if he be a professional oracle-man1 remember he has been trained all his lifetime to answer hypothetical questions4 ,he would reason that if a man possessed trousers1 and servants1 yea1 a female that obtained wages and had been taught to sew1 he ought to give her some handsome present for what she did beyond her ordinary duties1 and then our oracle would state what was his idea of a handsome present4 ,his answer is utterly misleading1 but he deserves credit for his polite attempt to humour the ,european1 who forthwith translates the answer into pounds1 shillings1 and pence6 ,another cause of error is found in ,,native ,,politeness4 ,one evening ,i questioned a professional judge on a point of native law2 he replied by stating what was entirely untrue2 when ,i pointed this out he merely laughed at the circumstance2 he thought he had invented something that would appear better to a foreigner4 ,he reminded me of a ,scotch guide who kept telling what was false1 because the ,southerns all liked to hear that some 8old king was killed beside the great big stane04 ,bishop ,steere says--8,in ,africa they never say no1 they always say yes1 certainly2 but possibly you are no nearer your object04 ,one must be careful never to suggest an answer to a native2 if the native and his questioner are strangers to each other the former will make it a point of etiquette to find out what answer the stranger would like1 and may by and by take occasion to compliment him on his cleverness and the accuracy of his knowledge6 ,statements made in answer to direct questions are not to be relied on unless the questioner has had years of experience in conversation with natives1 and knows the subject he converses about4 ,what is arrived at in an indirect manner is almost always more valuable4 ,i lay down these principles as to native evidence with some confidence1 as ,i have tried them in hundreds of cases1 especially in endeavours to fix the exact meaning of native words4 ,one statement where the word occurred spontaneously was worth ten statements contrived for the purpose of eliminating the meaning4 ,in my first efforts to learn ,african languages ,i found that a great deal of what was said to me1 especially by interpreters1 was quite useless1 simply because the poor fellows were trying to adapt their language to a ,european capacity6 ,,native ,,idioms4 ,when one attempts to obtain information through interpreters1 without knowing anything of their peculiar idioms1 he is liable to the strangest blunders4 ,those that try to speak with him carry their ,african idioms into ,english4 ,natives have great difficulty in knowing the difference between before and after4 ,boys that have been writing ,english essays for more than a year1 think nothing of writing deliberately about what men did on the earth before they were created4 ,there is another idiom still more fitted to produce confusion1 and when an ,englishman writes down in a multitude of instances what is the reverse of the truth we are often able to point out the cause4 ,he puts to a native the question1 8,he did not go1 did he80 ,the native replies 8,yes10 where an ,englishman would say 8,no04 ,consequently every question put in this form will be answered in a manner that cannot fail to mislead4 ,in the same way natives confound the active and the passive voice in verbs4 ,,distracting ,,circumstances4 ,even after one has become familiar with some of their idioms he cannot trust to all the information that he supposes himself to acquire4 ,i had begun to hold conversations with the natives1 in their own tongue1 about six weeks after my arrival1 and ,i well remember that ,i often got information exactly similar to what ,mr ,pickwick got from his cabman4 ,when a native sees a person noting down anything1 he makes up his mind to say something worth noting6 ,so much did ,i feel this that at one time ,i endeavoured to keep my book out of sight4 ,while they were unaccustomed to it1 it introduced into the conversation an element that was very unnatural4 ,one plan ,i took was to have a pencil in my hand which ,i pretended to be playing with4 ,i thus got down some new words upon my thumb-nail1 and was beginning to congratulate myself on the success of my stratagem4 ,after ,i sat for about ten minutes another man approached our group1 when my friends hailed him in these words1 8,come here and talk with the white man4 ,he is writing on his fingers4 ,he has written three new things already60 ,after this ,i saw that such a trick was quite useless4 ,not only had they seen it all1 but they could tell how many words ,i had written4 ,great was the laughter that followed1 and the new comer examined the guilty thumb-nail6 ,,romantic ,,information4 ,i sometimes got romantic information that ,i was sorry at a later date to have to put my pen through4 ,thus with reference to the ,high ,priest of a new government 7#ih71 ,i gathered from one man that the first person seen by the chief after his installation became the ,high ,priest of his government4 ,i had carefully noted down that a little boy playing in the village found his way to the house of one important chief on the morning after his installation1 and was the first to see ,his ,royal ,highness2 for whom1 as a matter of fact1 he now officiates as sacrificer1 c4 ,then1 having taken up this meaning of the incident1 ,i was farther informed that the chief made a note of the first five people that he saw in case of the death of any2 and my informer was eager to know who was the first man that ,i saw after coming to ,blantyre4 ,subsequent information threw discredit on the beautiful story4 ,but the peculiar thing was that ,i found long afterwards another native make the very same statements4 ,this referred me back to my old notes4 ,all ,i could say about it was that the word ,i had translated see meant also find1 that a boy might be over #ej years for anything that the native word indicated1 and that it was not clear from my text whether the chief was seen by the boy or the boy by the chief4 ,much of what we have written was not made the subject of special investigation1 except where we found any doubt arise or any verification necessary4 ,our special object was to obtain such an accurate knowledge of the language as would enable us to give a good translation of the ,bible4 ,most of the knowledge gradually grew upon us as we mingled with the natives1 and for the purpose of translation attended closely to every word that we heard4 ,other parts1 especially those that refer to religion1 were the subject of special inquiry4 ,it is walking in the dark for a missionary to endeavour to appeal either to the feelings or to the reason of a people whose prejudices and beliefs are unknown to him1 and how he is to convince them without appeals to their feelings or their reason ,i cannot tell4 ,i would have given much to have had an account of those beliefs put into my own hands when ,i left for ,africa4 ,i have tried to make all my statements as accurate as possible1 but it would be too much to expect that in such a difficult investigation ,i should have escaped the influence of these many and subtle sources of error4 ,,the ,,value ,,of ,,studying ,,native ,,customs ,,and ,,beliefs4 ,what is the use of minute investigations among the ignorant heathen of ,central ,africa8 ,we reply that such investigations throw light on many points that men of science consider to be of great importance4 ,to take a few instances3-- ,i4 ,,in ,,the ,,science ,,of ,,the ,,human ,,mind4 7,a7 ,,the ,,senses4 ,some speak as if men were made at first with the power of perceiving only a few colours1 for instance1 black and white1 and that by and by they trained themselves to perceive brown4 ,one argument advanced in favour of this view is that many native languages have words for black and white1 but no word for brown4 ,now ,i knew several languages where the natives called brown and black by the same word2 but they knew that there was a great difference between brown and black4 ,i found that they could discriminate every shade of colour that ,i could discriminate myself4 7,b7 ,,the ,,intellect4 ,many facts that ,i shall lay before the reader will seem so strange that he may doubt whether these savages have the same minds as ,europeans1 whether they reason or think in the same way at all4 ,it is true1 however1 that after one places himself in their circumstances1 and tries to see and feel as they do1 he will understand all their strangeness2 he will even see that it would have been still more strange if their reasonings and conclusions had been different4 7,c7 ,,the ,,feelings ,,and ,,emotions4 ,have we in ,europe so developed ourselves as to become possessors of emotions that are entirely wanting in savage ,africa8 ,we have what is called gratitude3 have these heathen8 ,without any hesitation ,i answer that they have1 and that even though we define gratitude as being much more than 8an acute sense of favours to come04 ,again we have pity4 ,a stranger might think that they were destitute of this4 ,i have said to a boy1 8,don't carry that fowl so1 you give it pain04 ,at this he would laugh4 ,it would become the standing joke for a day or two4 ,everyone would be told that the ,englishman said that 8the fowl would be sore04 ,a whole village would collect at the strange report and receive the news with loud laughter4 ,yet all would admit that it was a cruel thing to pain the fowl2 but they did not reflect that their method of carrying the fowl gave it pain4 ,they were used to their own way1 and thought no more of the matter than a butcher does of killing an ox4 ,at the same time they have fables in their language1 which show a desire to enter minutely into the feelings of the lower animals4 ,for instance1 they represent fowls as reasoning on their hard fate in being killed for their master's supper4 7,d7 ,,moral ,,philosophy4 ,it has long been disputed whether men have a 8,conscience0 that distinguishes between right and wrong2 or whether they merely look at certain actions that please or profit them1 and call these actions good and the opposite actions bad4 ,savages have been referred to on this subject4 ,we have found that they distinguish the good from the evil in the same way as ,europeans do1 and usually agree with our conclusions4 ,they know the difference between an injury of accident and one of intention4 ,as to the moral judgment1 8,a man ought to do such a thing10 8,it is his duty10 we find this lesson is brought home to slaves or inferiors by positive law4 ,in others there are aspirations more akin to the exuberant activities and bright dreams of youth4 ,they would rather ask1 8,how can we do best80 as did the ,ancients who talked of a summum bonum4 ,as the spirit of the world became older and sadder this view gave place1 and the idea of 8duty0 was more emphasised by moralists4 ,spirited ,africans savour more of the ,golden ,age of ,moral ,science4 ,it is to be remembered that appeals to savage nations form only a part of scientific investigations like the above4 ,,ii4 ,,in ,,ethnology4 ,on looking at the many different races that inhabit the earth1 some say that they did not all spring from the same stock1 others that they did4 ,if we say that they are all of one family we should try to show how some broke away from the rest1 and at what time4 ,now let us make a supposition to show how the customs of races might come in here4 ,illustration3 ,,south ,,african ,,making ,,fire4 ,in ,,lighting ,a ,,fire some tribes rub a stick along a groove2 other tribes have an improvement on this1 they produce fire by making a little notch or hole in one stick1 and whirling the other round very rapidly with the point of it in the notch4 ,now we may hold that before mankind discovered the second method1 many nations1 like the ,south ,sea ,islanders1 who knew only the first1 had broken up communication with the rest of their kindred2 but that the ,africans who use the improved method had likely been with the main body of mankind till the time of this great improvement4 ,again1 take the case of ,,cooking4 ,some tribes have no pots4 ,they boil water by throwing hot stones into a skin4 ,they must have separated very early from their more cultivated brethren4 ,others waited till some one fell on the plan of boiling water in a hollow stone4 ,others waited on till it was discovered that clay could be shaped into a kind of pot1 and then carried this important discovery to the land of their adoption4 ,boiling with hot stones was the only way known to certain ,american1 ,australian1 and ,polynesian tribes2 some tribes in ,africa also used this method4 ,the ,esquimaux had pot-stones4 ,it seems to have been the daubing of these with clay that first suggested pottery4 ,i have taken down traditions from ,african natives that point to some recollection of the hollow stone1 used either by themselves or some other race2 but the tribes here treated of know the value of clay pots4 ,of course they are far behind the ,indians1 who have metal pots4 ,with regard to ,,the ,,cause ,,of ,,disease there existed a widespread belief 7held by many tribes in ,america and ,australia1 as also by these ,africans7 that disease came from bones1 horns1 balls of hair or something of this kind4 ,the ancient ,egyptians at a very early date considered that disease was to a great extent caused by excess of eating4 ,the inference is that these tribes had not staid long enough to benefit by this wisdom of the ,egyptians4 ,other peculiar customs are spread over many tribes1 and might be used in a similar manner4 ,many of these are observances in ,,family ,,life4 ,among the ,kaffirs a son-in-law must not see the face of his mother-in-law4 ,this custom is found among ,south ,american tribes4 ,sometimes a father has to fast after the birth of his child1 or take some such method of showing that he recognises that he as well as the mother should take care of the young stranger4 ,when races are found knowing nothing of the art of writing1 and making no attempt to use stone or bricks for building1 we feel that a wide gulf separates them from the most ancient races of history4 ,of course it is to be remembered that they might have once been aware of such arts4 ,many ,africans1 as a matter of fact1 have seen ,portuguese architecture for centuries without adopting it4 ,,iii4 ,,in ,,the ,,science ,,of ,,religion4 ,a position has often been maintained that there is no tribe without some knowledge of ,god4 ,this bears on investigations in the science of mind and on primitive traditions and ethnology4 ,we do not now dwell on native religion1 as it will claim special attention in subsequent chapters4 ,besides throwing light on many subjects like the above1 a knowledge of tribal beliefs and customs is of vital importance to the missionary and also to the trader4 ,indeed1 any attempt to deal with people without knowing their customs and beliefs is a mere groping in the dark4 ,illustration3 ,,liberated ,,slave-,,woman1 ,,blantyre4 7,photographed in ordinary ,costume47 ,illustration3 ,,liberated ,,slave-,,girl1 ,,blantyre4 7,trained to ,household ,work47 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,first ,,impressions4 ,a4--,,dress1 ,,tatoos1 ,,ornaments1 ,c4 ,the dress of the native is very scanty3 sometimes we see full-grown men and women whose wardrobe does not consist of a square foot of cloth4 ,we have even seen the primitive fig-leaves not sewn together1 but simply taken down for use1 along with the tip of the branches on which they grew4 ,one tribe1 called the ,mangoni1 is fond of wearing skins4 ,other tribes towards the north of ,lake ,nyassa are still more primitive in their dress1 or rather want of dress4 ,the usual costume in the ,blantyre district is a piece of calico about two yards broad1 and rather longer1 which is put round the middle of the body3 the dress of a man does not differ from that of a woman1 except that the latter may occasionally cover her breasts4 ,the breasts and arms are usually left quite bare4 ,there is no hat on the head1 nor shoes on the feet4 ,when we tried to translate the words1 8,if any man sue thee at the law and take away thy coat1 let him have thy cloak also10 we found a difficulty1 for if a native were stripped of one garment1 he would generally be left in a very helpless condition4 ,the chiefs1 or principal men1 dress as the rest of the people1 only they may have a few more folds of calico about their loins4 ,in certain families1 as in the ,abanda family of the ,wayao tribe1 the chief of the district1 or of a village1 wears a band of cloth round his temples as a kind of crown4 ,before the arrival of the missionaries1 shirts1 although very rare1 were not entirely unknown1 and there existed a belief that while men might wear them1 they were not the proper thing for women4 ,bark cloth 7,h7 is extensively made and worn4 ,the tatoos 7nembo7 are sometimes dreadful inflictions1 and when the larger marks are made the children roar as if they were distracted4 ,the ,angulu have marks like 8flies10 the ,wayao tribal mark is above the nose1 the ,anyasa make very large rude tatoos1 which might be described in those words that ,henry ,salt1 the ,abyssinian traveller 7#ahad71 uses with reference to the ,makua1 a tribe not far distant1 and much spoken of by the ,wayao1 under the name of ,makuani4 8,the ,makua practise tatooing so rudely that they raise the marks one-eighth of an inch above the surface40 ,he writes also3--8,they file their teeth to a point1 so that the whole set has the appearance of a coarse saw04 ,the natives here are fond of knocking out a front tooth in order to produce a beauty mark4 ,ornaments are worn chiefly by the women in ,africa as elsewhere4 ,beads and bangles are in great request4 ,many have armlets and anklets of brass or iron4 ,the most striking female ornament is the lip ring4 ,little girls have first a small hole 7lupelele7 bored in the upper lip1 in this they place a stalk of grass1 which prevents the hole from filling up1 next they insert a thicker stalk of grass1 then by means of bits of twigs1 c41 the hole is made larger and larger1 till it can receive this ring4 ,hardly any female is without it4 ,they say it makes them look 8pretty02 the bigger the ring1 the more they value themselves6 ,at ,zomba1 a small hole is bored on the side of the nose1 and a tack 7exactly similar to those large headed tacks or 8tackets0 used in the sole of a boot71 is put in4 ,this tack1 chipini1 is made of lead2 some of the ladies used to express much surprise when ,i showed them that it would write on my book4 ,illustration3 ,,native ,,woman ,,with ,,beads1 ,,tatoos ,,and ,,lip-,,ring4 ,occasionally1 a woman will wear an enormous wig made of beads4 ,the beads are so manipulated as to present the appearance of having been 8threaded0 on the hair of the head4 ,some females do actually thread beads on the separate hairs of their head1 but the usual way is to put them on a cluster of strings1 and then wear like a wig4 ,sometimes they allow their hair to grow till it is very long--it may be sticking up about #h inches above the head--and then it looks exactly like the fleece of a black sheep4 ,but this is unusual1 as the natives are obliged1 for the sake of cleanliness1 to shave their heads often4 ,the men have scarcely any beard or whiskers4 ,on the shaving of the head for a death 7#dj71 not even the eyebrows are allowed to escape4 ,there is no end of capricious shaving1 for instance1 they shave one side only1 or the whole head except a patch in the middle4 ,,charms 7mbiji7 are very often worn round the neck by both sexes4 ,these are little pieces of wood like what fill the gourds of the ,sorcerers 7,i74 ,they are worn on a small string in the same way as beads4 ,we may mention here that great quantities of beads are worn round the loins in strings as thick as cart ropes4 ,when a person is from home and wishes to buy anything1 he falls back upon this portion of his property which is really his 8purse04 ,besides this1 a native carries a bag 7msaku71 which may contain a box with lime 7swakala71 which he uses in chewing tobacco3 a snuff box is also common4 ,ladies partake of these 8regales0 to a less extent4 ,illustration3 ,,native ,,knives ,,and ,,arrows4 ,b4--,,weapons4 ,the men go armed generally with guns4 7,the country is full of flint muskets marked the 8,tower10 and introduced by the slave trade47 ,often they carry their bows with half-a-dozen arrows4 ,they never go unarmed4 ,one chief used to be fond of carrying a large spear1 which served as a kind of staff4 ,most of them carry knives as well4 ,these weapons are necessary for protection against beasts of prey and other enemies1 and may be used where game is seen4 ,the ,mangoni carry a shield like the ,zulus4 ,on coming down from the ,lake region to the ,portuguese settlements at ,quilimane1 one of the first things that strikes us is1 that natives under the ,portuguese ,government go about without carrying any deadly weapon4 ,on the hills round ,blantyre1 a man scarcely sits down to sew his wives' calico in his own village without having his bow and arrows by his side4 ,they do not seem to be expert marksmen2 but they were able to send their arrows very much farther than ,i could do1 let me try never so hard4 ,they were fond of asking us to competitions of this nature4 ,one time ,kumpama of ,cherasulo challenged us to a shooting match--his arrows against our guns6 ,they allowed us1 however1 to stand too far back1 and the arrows of his bowmen fell short of the target4 ,little boys are to be seen using their arrows from their earliest years1 and they shoot small birds very cleverly4 ,they use the assagai1 but more for thrusting than for throwing4 ,apart from war1 chances for its use occur when they steal upon a buck before he awakes4 ,a large broad spear is used in killing fish4 ,some carry knob-sticks1 or staves of a similar nature4 ,they are useful for shaking the dew or rain off the long grass1 as well as for defensive purposes4 ,little axes of various kinds are carried in the hand2 they may be borne as credentials where a chief has to send by an unknown messenger4 ,the usual ,african axes are said to resemble those used in ,britain in the ,roman period4 ,c4--,,houses4 ,the houses1 or huts 7nyumba7 in which they dwell1 are all round4 ,it is misleading to say that they dwell in them1 as they scarcely enter them1 except to sleep1 or when driven by bad weather4 ,sometimes the women boil a pot inside the house1 but often the cooking is done outside2 all the meals are eaten outside4 ,when the head of a house has any sewing to do1 he does it on a mat before his door1 or in the village forum4 ,his wife does not sew1 and most of her occupations 7#eg7 are necessarily outdoor4 8,a house10 says the native1 8is made to sleep in40 ,the walls form a circle--say about twelve feet in diameter--and are made of strong posts1 sometimes close to each other1 but generally with spaces between1 where bamboos and grass are brought into requisition4 ,the framework of the roof is placed upon the top of the circle1 and some thatch is thrown on4 ,the floor and walls are plastered with clay4 ,two doors 7mlango7 are marked out before they plaster1 but one of these is generally shut up1 and may even be dispensed with4 ,there are no windows4 ,the wall is not above #c feet high1 the roof projects so as to form a small verandah in which a person may sit4 ,sometimes there are apertures in the wall calculated to let through the muzzle of a gun4 ,the houses being occupied chiefly during the night1 part of the floor is often raised for a bedstead4 ,the bed which is merely a mat made of bamboos or reeds1 and is not nearly so soft as an ordinary door-mat or hearth-rug1 is laid on this mound4 ,by the side of the 8bedstead0 are placed a few logs of wood which form a fire during the night4 ,the head of the house lies nearest to this fire1 while his partner is placed on his other side1 as he remarks1 away from the fire4 ,blankets are unknown4 ,the cloth that covers the man during the day may be drawn over him at night4 ,quite as often he lets it remain round his loins4 ,occasionally it seems as if a little flour had been spilt on the ground beside his head4 ,he will not speak of this to a stranger1 but you are on holy ground1 and let me tell you in a whisper that it is an offering to his gods4 ,candles are not used1 the logs that smoulder in the fire give a little light4 ,they burn beeswax occasionally1 and when light is required1 a little dry grass may be readily obtained4 ,the native retires to rest soon after dark1 and is astir at the first streaks of dawn4 ,the fire is in the middle of the floor1 and there are no holes in the roof as in the old ,highlands of ,scotland4 ,the houses are without any chimney whatsoever1 and the smoke goes curling about in the roof and may ultimately escape through the thatch or at the doors4 ,the roof is beautifully black and glossy inside1 but outside it has an ugly brown appearance4 ,a ,european finds it a most inconvenient thing at first to enter a native hut1 the smoke so fills his nose1 mouth1 and eyes1 but when he sits down to talk to an invalid1 the inconvenience is of course less than when he stands upright2 at best the atmosphere resembles a ,london fog4 ,in native huts it is sometimes difficult for a man of ordinary stature to stand upright4 ,the doors of the houses are never over #c feet high4 ,what pigmies the natives must be6 ,we have heard a learned professor arguing that the height of the doors in certain very ancient houses proved that the human race was not degenerating in stature1 but this argument1 true in many cases1 would not do here4 ,if the native wants to stand upright1 he never thinks of trying to do so in his doorway4 ,the roof of his house is generally made a store2 he goes up from the outside1 removes part of the thatch1 and puts in his corn4 ,bags of beans are hung up round and round on the pillars inside4 ,sometimes there are one or two pots filled with beans1 and hermetically sealed with clay on the top to preserve such vegetables4 ,there are no fenders or fire-irons to be seen4 ,tables are unknown1 and chairs are hardly used at all1 although men clever at wood-work make very small chairs of various forms4 ,implements of agriculture are stowed away in the house1 so are the cooking utensils1 the man's bow and arrows1 the sleeping mat already mentioned1 and--our inventory is complete6 ,some part of the house may be occupied by live stock4 ,the fowls are sometimes put up stairs in the store1 and sometimes in a corner so as not to disturb the other members of the family6 ,but laying-hens 7mkolo7 and fowls with chickens have very special privileges1 and are not always confined to their corner6 ,another item of importance to the inmates of a native house is the rats4 ,they swarm in all corners after dark4 ,they nibble at the maize that is stored in the roof1 and also at the feet of their lord and master below4 ,as we sit in conversation with a number of natives we cannot help observing their feet4 ,very generally they are all nibbled round the sides1 and1 thick though the natives' skin may be1 we can see that many bites have reached the quick flesh4 ,when a person dies in a house at night1 if the death be unobserved1 the body may be terribly eaten by the rats before morning4 ,what is the meaning of tolerating these vermin8 ,leave that to the natives themselves4 ,a great feast day will come4 ,these rats will be caught in hundreds1 and either eaten on the spot or laid up as stored provisions4 ,some natives set traps in the house even during the close season1 but this is not nearly so profitable2 for if one or two rats are caught during the night1 the others will eat them1 and the fondest expectation of 8butcher meat0 will be blasted4 ,after calling attention to the fowls and the rats1 we have done with the live stock4 ,there are indeed 8smaller cattle10 but they are too numerous to be specified4 ,they are not a burden to the house itself1 but are generally borne by the other inmates4 ,we have often seen a native sit patiently while two or three others kept searching among his hair4 ,a favourite remedy is to shave the head quite bare1 and smear the head and the whole body with certain vegetable oils4 ,d4--,,climate ,,and ,,productions4 ,the climate strikes us at first as being much too hot1 but after a while we feel it more comfortable4 ,then we can nearly always anticipate the weather4 ,it is quite amusing to hear an arrival from ,england saying 8,this is another fine day60 ,when we meet a man at home1 and have nothing to say1 we nearly always call his attention to the state of the weather4 ,when two natives meet each other the usual salutation is--8,where are you going80 the weather being so uniform that it may be taken for granted4 ,the temperature in the shade at the hill settlements was hardly ever over #aje or under #db1 #gj being about the average4 ,on the plains the heat was excessive4 ,the rainy season begins about ,october4 ,we have nearly six weeks of very hot weather about ,january without much rain4 ,by and by the sun returns overhead again1 and we have the latter rains4 ,about ,april the dry season sets in4 ,on the productions of the country we may remark that there are fruits in almost endless variety in the bush1 but they are generally very small1 and few of them are so good that we care to taste them twice4 ,the masuku and mbembu are used very much by the natives4 ,sugar cane1 tobacco1 india-rubber are all to be found growing throughout the country4 ,the natives chew the stalks of the sugar cane1 chew and smoke tobacco1 and relish the apple-like fruit found on the india-rubber vine4 ,thrifty housewives make various vegetable dishes 7maponda7 of leaves and grasses that a ,european would be inclined to despise4 ,in the hot season that precedes the rains sometimes food is very scarce1 and then roots and herbs still less savoury are called into use4 ,moreover1 there are certain edibles of this kind1 which are used only in years of famine4 ,before the arrival of the missionaries such famines were exceedingly common1 but they were not all caused by the climate1 many were caused by war4 ,nature is here so bountiful that1 in ordinary circumstances1 food is no object4 ,the only season associated with hunger is a month or two immediately before the rains4 ,if the rains do not come early1 the old food may be quite finished4 ,as soon as the rains begin1 vegetable life flourishes with such luxuriance that the season of want is immediately forgotten4 ,once or twice in travelling during the season when everything is dried up1 we have found a little boy sitting weeping on account of 8hunger10 and the expression 8hunger is painful0 7sala kupoteka7 reminds us that most natives know the fact by experience4 ,much of this is due to the tediousness of their cooking4 ,if a party arrive half starving at a village1 it may be several hours before anything can be cooked4 ,the people do not keep flour on hand1 but mill it as it is required for each meal2 and as their meals are at #aa at noon and #f at night1 parties arriving in the interval must tighten their belts4 ,native travellers could easily sympathise with ,esau when he sold his birthright4 ,e4--,,food ,,and ,,cooking4 ,the cooking is done by the women2 but every native is a born cook4 ,when a buck is shot out in the bush1 even little boys will cook it at once4 ,the staple food at ,blantyre is maize2 among the ,anyasa millet2 and at the mouth of the ,shire1 rice4 ,maize and millet are ground into a fine flour 7utandi1 ufa71 which is made into a kind of porridge 7ugali1 nsima74 ,this is eaten without salt1 but ought to be accompanied by some relish1 as beans or meat4 ,this porridge takes the place of bread in their meals1 as the natives make no bread4 ,another way of using maize or millet is in the native beer 7ukana1 mowa71 the only beverage in common use except water1 which they drink out of the running streams4 ,they drink stagnant water also4 ,their method of drinking is peculiar1 as they literally throw the water into the mouth with their hands4 ,the natives have regularly only two meals a-day1 but they may eat maize stalks or sugar cane or other vegetables from morning till night4 ,there are often feasts1 as on the occasion of hoeing-matches 7#fe71 wakes1 and marriage settlements4 ,beer is used greatly in those cases1 and beer drinkings may be got up also without any special occasion4 ,sometimes they last for several days1 the last day 7lia kusasula7 is specially distinguished for cooking porridge and fowls4 ,such solid food is not expected on the other days4 ,there is also singing1 dancing1 and drumming4 ,the exercises generally continue the whole night4 ,the parties that do most to keep up the interest in such dances are paid4 ,there are no live stock except the small species of fowls and the rats that we have already mentioned4 ,some natives keep ducks--,muscovy ducks1 which do not require a pond4 ,richer people1 as village chiefs1 possess goats4 ,the ,magololo chiefs have sheep and a few cows4 ,the ,wayao have a superstition against cow's milk1 goat's milk1 and dairy produce of every kind4 7,in the same way young people will not eat eggs2 it would make them barren47 ,they eat hippopotami1 elephants1 monkeys1 moles1 beetles1 and even caterpillars4 ,they take kindly to meat that has begun to putrify4 ,yet they make a distinction between what animals are to be eaten and what are not4 ,any creature that will eat the flesh of a deceased human being is unclean4 ,it is msawi 7#ajf74 ,for instance1 while some eat the raven or kite 7likungulu71 others protest that it feeds about the graves4 ,a person could travel far and wide and trust to native hospitality4 ,if we arrive at a village at the time that the native is taking his meals we are invited to partake4 ,a great drawback is that a person not brought up on native food will be unwilling to risk his health by partaking of their fare4 ,it cannot be expected that the traveller will fare better than his host4 ,they soon begin to know people that do not eat freely of native food1 and from motives of politeness they are slow in offering it4 ,if we pass through a village its inhabitants quietly ask some of our native retinue whether there is any chance of our tasting the native beer1#b and if it be found that the beer will not be refused1 the poor creatures go and search for a cup 7if they have one in the whole village74 ,they judged that1 as we were more familiar with cups than with calibashes1 the cup would be the more acceptable4 ,the natives that accompanied us on any journey were presented with loads of the various fruits of the season4 ,if one wish to stay all night he will get a house to sleep in4 ,natives receive hospitality quite freely1 and are prepared when their host comes to their home to treat him in the same way4 ,when a party from one chief goes to visit another chief1 one of their credentials is a present4 ,it is a breach of etiquette to eat alone if any one be present4 ,when a native is at food he shares it with those around him1 indeed he goes on dividing till he has only a mouthful left for himself4 ,etiquette does not bind us to partake of their food1 but it is a sign of friendship to do so as far as possible4 ,the natives have no spoons1 and ,englishmen would burn their fingers severely in eating porridge in the fashionable manner4 ,f4--,,work4 ,the natives go to work at sunrise1 and continue until the sun is overhead4 ,after this their day's work is finished1 and they partake of their first meal4 ,one reason why the morning meal is so late is that it would be difficult to have it ready before the people go out to work4 ,in the afternoon the men sit down and converse4 ,some do light work1 as sewing1 but a great many remain quite idle4 ,the women will be found pounding maize4 ,they are nearly as strong and tall as the men1 perhaps owing to the heavy work they do4 ,by sunset the second meal is ready4 ,they have little notion of the division of labour4 ,natives have not arrived at such a pitch of education that one of them would spend his days in making the sixth part of a pin4 ,the little girls from their earliest years are initiated into all parts of the mysteries of hoeing1 reaping1 milling1 and cooking4 ,the men are equally ignorant of the advantages and disadvantages of division of labour4 ,each man builds his own house1 and makes his own furniture4 ,the only trade that can maintain a special existence is working in iron--a trade embracing mining1 smelting1 and forging4 ,even in this case most natives know the secrets of the trade2 but to be specially successful they need to obtain a charm4 ,agricultural work is the great means of a livelihood4 ,it yields a great return1 for every seed the natives sow they expect to reap hundreds4 ,a little before the rains they begin to hoe their ground4 ,they first clear all the trees and wood1 which they collect in heaps and burn on the spot4 ,they use no other manure4 ,when they do work for the ,english they say they hoe very slowly1 because they are told to hoe deep2 but when they hoe their own land they hoe fast1 as a scratch on the surface is considered sufficient4 ,when the rains come they plant4 ,after the maize grows they set up the soil round the stems as farmers do with potatoes4 ,each house has generally what we might call a garden2 but the natives have no fancy for flowers4 ,the wild flowers in the wood they recognise as being very pretty2 but they laugh at any one that plucks them4 ,they fancy that a lover of flowers culls them for some charms4 ,the natives have no word for a garden as distinct from a cultivated field or farm1 but they have often round their houses little beds of tobacco1 great quantities of manioc1 and several other useful plants4 ,indian hemp is also much cultivated1 and is nearly as bad as opium4 ,near ,mazaro opium is cultivated by a ,portuguese ,company4 ,f4--,,races ,,and ,,chiefs4 ,as we pass out of ,portuguese territory we find ourselves in the country of a chief called ,matekenya1 on the ,lower ,shire 7,chiri74 ,his people are the ,achikunda4 ,when we reach the ,ruwo or ,ruo we are perhaps about two days from ,blantyre by land4 ,here we come to what are called the ,magololo1 whose paramount chief is ,makukani1 although many of the others1 as ,katunga and ,chiputula1 seem to view themselves as independent of him4 ,still they say that if he commands they must all follow him to war4 ,these men though aliens1 have established themselves as rulers over the ,anyasa4 ,there is no ,magololo tribe here4 ,passing through these ,anyasa we ascend to ,blantyre1 where we find ourselves with a chief called ,kapeni1 who rules another tribe called the ,wayao 7,yao71 with whom we are best acquainted4 ,then about ,zomba1 which is other two days farther on1 we encounter the ,machinga1 who speak practically the same language as the ,wayao1 and this language carries us far beyond4 ,several great chiefs on the east side of ,lake ,nyassa are ,machinga4 ,again1 when we stand on the south side of ,mount ,zomba and look over ,lake ,chirwa#c 7,shirwa7 towards the rising sun we see mountains that are peopled by the ,angulu 7or ,walolo74 ,the tradition is that the ,anyasa first inhabited the land everywhere about ,zomba2 but that the ,angulu1 who lived at one time on the other side of the river ,lujenda1 began to fight the ,machinga4 ,the ,machinga then went and encountered the ,wayao1 who1 in turn1 pressed on and drove from their home at ,zomba the ,anyasa tribe1 many of whom now live under the ,magololo on the ,lower ,shire#c 7,chiri71 i4e41 the ,shire below the cataracts4 ,the ,anyasa are also called ,anyanja1 both words in different languages of the district mean river- or lake-people4 ,the word ,wayao 7or ,achawa7 suggests a derivation from the personal pronoun4 ,yao regularly means 8their0 7ipanje yao means their property74 ,so the ,awa of ,achawa is identical with the personal pronoun4 ,i am inclined to interpret the name as 8,the people that hold their own60 until ,i find something more satisfactory4 ,the ,machinga are really the same tribe1 and are called the 8fighting branch of the ,yao04 ,the derivation of their name is in harmony with this view4 ,it is instructive to note the descriptions that these tribes give of other tribes that live at a distance1 and are barely known to them4 ,i had heard such strange particulars about the ,makua that ,i thought they must be a peculiar people2 now so they are1 but only just as the ,wayao are peculiar4 ,it was the old story2 every race considers itself perfection1 and points to a mote in the eye of a brother race4 ,the language of the ,makua is quite similar to ,machinga4 ,i travelled to ,london with a ,makua with whom ,i had little difficulty in conversing4 ,there are two great ,wayao chiefs in the district of ,blantyre1 who are called ,kapeni and ,kumpama1 and whose head quarters are at ,mounts ,sochi and ,cherasulo respectively4 ,these are the two large territorial chiefs4 ,mkanda of ,cherasulo1 was at first a headman of ,kumpama's1 but rebelled1 and lives on the southern side of that mountain2 an easy day's march from ,blantyre4 ,kumpama's territory begins about six miles from ,blantyre at a stream called the ,luunsu1 and extends to the ,namasi1 on which is the old site of the ,magomero ,mission4 ,the next great centre of population as we march to the north-east is ,zomba1 one side of which is owned by ,chemlumbe1 a ,yao chief4 ,the other side belongs to ,malemya1 a more powerful man1 who is a ,machinga4 ,a little way beyond there is ,mount ,chikala1 where a still more powerful chief called ,kawinga resides2 he is also a ,machinga4 ,if we look towards the south from ,zomba we see a great mountain1 ,mlanje1 this marks the domain of ,matapwiri4 ,when we wish in ,quilimane to ask for a man who speaks ,chiyao or ,machinga1 we ask for a person from ,matapwiri's country4 ,there a ,matapwiri is used for a simpleton--one that has not seen the world4 ,it is with this chief that the ,yao of the coast are most associated1 as the slave gangs for ,quilimane used to set out from his village4 ,g4--,,travelling ,,and ,,salutations4 ,native ,roads4 ,the native roads are never straight2 at best they glide along by an easy succession of curves4 ,sometimes the amount of curvature is very annoying4 ,the path is little more than a foot broad4 ,each side is covered with tall grass1 which reaches over the traveller's head4 ,you can only see four or five paces in front1 and you can never predict what course the path will take after that4 ,the causes of curvature are numerous4 ,here a tree fell down long ago and lay across the path4 ,while it still lay every traveller went round the end of it1 and the original path was abandoned1 and replaced by grass that no traveller will care to interfere with4 ,at another place the path turned aside to go through a little village2 but the village has passed away years ago4 ,at another spot some one had hoed a field1 and made the road go round its border4 ,there are cases too where the path may have deviated to avoid marshes and difficult crossings4 ,on many roads we lose one mile in every five4 ,after the grass is burned1 or in bad soil where very little grass grows1 one may have the pleasure of going in a straight line2 but where the grass is at all represented no one can pass through it without the greatest exertion4 ,if a person leave a native path with the idea of taking a short cut1 he may get into a tangle of long grass and bushes1 where his progress will be not more than one mile in four hours4 ,grass ,fires4 ,one of the best sights in ,africa is a large grass fire4 ,no fireworks in ,britain can for a moment compare with this4 ,broad plains will keep burning for weeks4 ,at the mission on the side of ,mount ,zomba1 which overlooked a plain of several days' journey1 the sight of these fires was very impressive4 ,the trees in the country suffer much4 ,salutations4 ,the natives in saluting each other say 8moni0--a corruption of the ,english 8morning04 ,so general did this word become that we have heard people inclined to fancy that there must really be a native word 8moni60 ,the native salutation is 8mugonile80 8,have you slept well80 ,sometimes friends will ask each other 8,are you well80 8,is all well at your home80 ,a party arriving at a village observes the greatest formality4 ,after getting an introduction to the chief of the village he begins to explain the object of his visit4 ,the explanation is generally most tedious--it seems to go from the creation downwards--every step being carefully traced1 whether in action or in motive1 till the moment of the arrival6 ,the natives have the greatest respect for the older people4 ,the title of father is given to such4 ,if we ask anything of a younger man about #cj years of age he will say 8,i am only a child2 ask the old men of gray hairs04 ,all the ,english are saluted as father2 even a white child of a few months is saluted in the words1 8moni1 moni1 atati60 7morning1 morning1 father74 ,the ,inferior ,position of ,women4 ,the women hold an inferior position4 ,they are viewed as beasts of burden1 which do all the harder work4 ,when a woman meets any men on the path the etiquette is for her to go off the path1 to kneel 7tindiwala71 and clap her hands to the 8lords of creation0 as they pass4 ,even if a female possess male slaves of her own she observes this custom when she meets them on the public highway4 ,a woman always kneels when she has occasion to talk to a man4 ,the custom very rapidly disappeared in the region of the missionaries4 ,when we saw a woman go out of her way1 carrying perhaps half a hundred-weight on her head1 with the intention of kneeling down1 and reflecting1 as she must1 that with her load she might have difficulty in getting up1 we have often playfully shouted out1 8,you are losing your way2 this is the path10 and she took it for granted that she might dispense with the clumsy ceremony4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,native ,,arts ,,and ,,literature4 ,h4--,,trades ,,and ,,manufactures4 ,the chief method of obtaining a livelihood is by cultivating the soil4 ,near a lake abounding with fishes1 the cultivation of the soil1 though not abandoned1 may take a secondary place4 ,in districts abounding with game1 the men as a rule hand over all agricultural work to their wives and slaves4 ,fishing and hunting are looked on as being more dignified occupations than hoeing4 ,work in ,iron4 ,skilled labour is exemplified chiefly in their blacksmiths4 ,still the smith does not live so exclusively by his trade that he can neglect his farm1 and in his operations he has sometimes so many assistants that his peculiar position is compromised4 ,iron is found in many places4 ,it is dug up and brought to a furnace or small kiln 7ng'aso7 made of clay4 ,a charcoal fire is kept blazing by means of clay pipes or hollow bamboos1 which communicate with the bottom of the kiln1 and are used as the pipes of a bellows4 ,for a bellows they use a goat's skin4 ,of iron they make hoes1 spears1 arrow-heads1 knives1 c4 ,their hoes have no iron ring for fixing a handle4 ,a hole is bored by means of a heated iron 7there are no drills7 in the handle1 and the end of the hoe is inserted4 ,when a man wants a pocket handkerchief1 it is to the blacksmith that he must go4 ,the pocket handkerchief is made of iron and shaped somewhat like a spoon4 ,the point of it is turned up so as to enter the nostril1 and as the native has no pockets1 it is hung round the neck4 ,wood-work and ,basket-work4 ,the worker-in-wood has hardly a distinct trade4 ,nearly every man does his own wood-work4 ,they make mortars by hollowing out part of the trunk of a tree with a bent axe4 ,the work takes about four days4 ,drums are made in the same way--their ends are covered with python skins4 ,certain drums are beaten on the breast2 the larger are not lifted from the ground4 ,we have heard the sound of some of those at five miles' distance4 ,chairs in imitation of animals are cut out of the trunk of a tree2 but the legs are easily broken1 as they run at right angles to the cleavage of the timber4 ,similarly they make large birds1 wooden pillows1 and plates4 ,many things are made of bamboos 7milasi7 and reeds 7matete74 ,the tribes on the hills thus make beds and baskets in endless variety4 ,the beds are not clumsy4 ,one can easily 8take them up and walk04 ,they are mats made of thin slips of bamboo1 which are sewn together by a bamboo needle4 ,they remind us of a ,venetian blind1 only the slips lie side by side without overlapping4 ,they can be folded up in the form of a cylinder and earned conveniently under the arm 7but the native carries his loads on his head74 ,the borders of their baskets are thin broad pieces of wood1 which are bent into a circular form1 and sometimes curiously carved4 ,a similar ornamental device1 simpler in pattern1 is seen on their clay pots4 ,good hats are made of the mlasa4 ,bark ,cloth1 c4 ,they go and strip a tree of its bark1 which they soften in water1 and beat with an ebony hammer till it forms a cloth4 ,this was the ordinary clothing of the people before the missions4 ,now it is worn above other clothes on a rainy day4 ,it very soon tears4 ,the work is very tedious1 much beating being required4 ,one hears the sound of the hammer long before he comes to the spot4 ,the piece of bark is laid on a large log2 after being well hammered1 it becomes quite thin4 ,the cloth thus formed is much wider than the original piece of bark had been4 ,cotton grows plentifully4 ,all the natives can make thread of it4 ,one of their most tedious occupations is to make cloth4 ,they do this in a very rude manner1 and only make small strips at a time4 ,each thread has to be put separately in its place by the hand4 ,very few natives have courage for this tedious manipulation2 but the cloth when made is strong and highly esteemed2 it resembles bath towels4 ,they dye the ,english calico that it may last longer1 but they preserve gaudy dresses without dyeing4 ,a root is used for soap where the ,european article cannot be got4 ,their pots are all made of clay by the women4 ,some of their clay vessels are a beautiful red4 ,in their cooking they use no metals2 ,english pots and pans speak to them of arts that are far beyond them4 ,their food is boiled in a clay pot1 which is propped up on three stones4 ,another pot is turned down to serve for a lid4 ,men of considerable skill are called alupa or apalu1 and are believed to have strong medicine or charms4 ,if any one were to describe our ,english industries1 he could not dispose of the subject in a short paragraph4 ,but in ,africa these industries do not strike us so much4 ,they are not such a large item in human life4 ,we see none of the working at high pressure that meets us everywhere at home4 ,there are no crowds of pale-faced men and girls rushing along almost mechanically in response to some factory bell4 ,there are no poor clerks cooped up in dingy counting-houses--no students with aching heads1 trying to dispense with sleep4 ,there are no careworn parents whose hard toil barely supports their children4 ,the ,african has about him an air of stillness and repose that is in beautiful harmony with the scenery around4 ,his life is not a struggle for existence4 ,he does not care to work against time4 ,ambition does not drag him behind its chariot wheels4 ,if we were to rank the ,africans in classes1 we should put down most of them as 8gentlemen in easy circumstances04 ,their circumstances are easy not because their gratifications are many1 but because their wants are few4 ,the way in which their industries come before our notice is like this4 ,we take a walk in the country4 ,by the side of some brook we find a man or two digging for iron ore4 ,they are surrounded by companions with whom they keep up a cheerful conversation4 ,some are ready to assist in carrying the ore to the furnace4 ,they carry clay also1 which is to be plastered on their kiln4 ,how are these loads to be transported8 ,there are no carts1 no wheelbarrows1 and no roads suitable for either4 ,neither have they any boxes or baskets4 ,what are they to do8 ,one lad darts into the bush and cuts a bundle of wands2 he then takes his knife and splits each wand 7if he be not content to use it whole71 and there1 he says1 is his basket4 ,the white man replies1 8,yes2 these wands might make a basket if you had anything to tie them together04 ,immediately the youth tears off strips of bark1 and exclaims1 8,here's the black man's rope10 and soon the load is tied up in the middle of his basket4 ,as we pass along the stream we find indications of agricultural work also1 but on these we do not dwell1 as it is the more special trades we wish to illustrate4 ,already we see women washing their grain at the stream for we are advancing on little hamlets4 ,now we hear the peculiar tap1 tap1 tap of the hammer on the bark-cloth1 as it mingles with the notes of the birds4 ,under the trees we can descry a group of men splitting up bamboos and smoothing the slips to form a bed4 ,in a shaded verandah we find an old woman or two moulding some soft clay4 ,it looks a shapeless mass1 but it is 8in the hands of the potter04 ,each worker has found some ochre1 for she is fond of ornamental tints4 ,a potsherd is by her1 and she has calculated the precise form she will give her vessel4 ,illustration3 ,,native ,,pipes ,,and ,,pottery4 ,soon we reach the village green4 ,here we find a number of men sitting doing nothing4 ,it may be that one is sewing a cloth1 while the others loll upon mats and dreamily watch his hands4 ,an ardent youth may approach the group and astonish us by taking from under his loin cloth a reel and some cotton1 which he proceeds to make into thread4 ,there are in that dark group all the elements of human nature that we find in busier lands4 ,but in ,african life there is nothing of the bustle and hurry and scramble1 nothing of the care and worry1 the headache and heartache1 that are found in ,england4 ,we cannot leave the group without asking ourselves1 8,what has all our boasted civilisation done80 ,are we any happier than these rude natives8 ,we shall see by and by that they are not exempt from hardship and injury4 ,their valleys and mountains witness many a sorrowful scene4 ,but after we have placed a policeman in every corner1 hardship and injury are still in our midst4 ,does it not seem as if there were some bankruptcy about human nature8 ,for a hundred generations we have tried all manner of experiments with ,governments and ,institutions4 ,we have moved them backwards and forwards like pieces on a draught board4 ,in all this have we not been proving our bankruptcy8 ,we have been diligently trying the most improved methods of book-keeping1 but the result has only been to chase the deficit out of one column into another4 ,the deficit is still there6 ,yes4 ,but above the clouds and storms we have the blue vault of heaven4 ,the pale factory girl1 the over wrought mechanic1 the anxious student may all have a peace that passeth understanding4 ,as the missionary is surrounded by the heathen1 he feels that his message to them has not so much to do with civilisation4 ,they are not disposed to trouble about mechanical improvements in their unsettled land2 but in their unsettled land they are arrested by an expression like 8,fear not them that kill the body1 and after that have nothing that they can do04 ,startling words to those that pass their days in fear of them that kill the body6 ,these are surely whispers from some other world6 ,those dark figures have often gazed upon 8the heavens above and the earth beneath0 without making much of the vast mystery4 ,they are likely to make more of the ,scripture message4 ,one of the oldest will turn on his mat and quietly remark1 8,father1 if you are speaking the truth1 we are all living in darkness04 ,i4--,,the ,,learned ,,professions4 ,what corresponds among the ,africans to the clergymen1 doctors1 and lawyers of modern ,england8 ,it will be found that in ,africa these professions are not distinct1 just as in ,medival ,england the monks did all the teaching1 healing1 and advising4 ,with reference to worship we shall find that the chief of the country and the chief of a village take prominent places4 ,the ,physician4 ,the healing art is practised most purely by the ,msing'anga4 ,some of the methods are these3--,cupping by means of a horn1 whose end is stopped by bees wax4 ,the blood that fills the horn is thrown to the ground1 and the disease falls with it4 ,counter-irritation4--,sometimes the physician will be content by making a number of incisions chiefly along the legs2 on other occasions he will rub in vegetable ashes4 ,administration of medicine1 which consists chiefly of plants and their roots2 the ,yao word for medicine means also a tree4 ,the natives extract arrows by cutting all round the wound4 ,they never amputate in order to heal1 but they are able to cut off limbs very neatly1 and are fond of practising the art on criminals and enemies4 ,but a great part of the treatment is by charms4 ,even where the native knows a good cure he looks on it as a charm1 and his use of it is accompanied by much senseless mummery4 ,this will be understood when we remember that diseases are supposed to be caused by witchcraft4 ,the ,sorcerer4 ,this brings us to speak of a more terrible member of the learned professions1 viz41 the sorcerer1 diviner1 or witch-doctor 7mchisango74 ,the 8cup wherewith he divineth0 is called chisango4 ,he is appealed to after the physician or herbalist has failed4 ,he is asked to tell what witch causes the disease4 ,he may find one1 and the person that he accuses of witchcraft goes with a present to the sick person1 who recovers immediately4 ,the diviner may be consulted on any matter4 ,he is the great adviser of the people in all their difficulties4 ,a person goes to him1 and puts as many questions as he likes1 and receives answers4 ,these conversations are very interesting2 but all that ,i have heard are so very intricate that it is impossible to do justice to them in an abridgment4 8,my female slave has gone away1 what am ,i to do80 ,the diviner tells what he is to do if she have gone to ,cherasulo1 and what he is to do if she have gone to another place4 ,he mentions what will happen if he goes to ask for her according to the individual that he may ask1 c41 c4 ,part of the advice may have reference to the spot where he will obtain a medicine helpful in his negotiations4 ,while these diviners give their response they shake a small gourd#d filled with pebbles1 and inspect pieces of sticks1 bones1 claws1 pottery1 c41 which are in another gourd4 ,they often give sound advice1 and they pretend to get it by this inspection1 as it might otherwise give offence to their client4 ,some of the diviners are the most intelligent men in the country4 ,they claim high fees4 ,one time we told a diviner very candidly our opinion of his art1 insisting that his advice was sound1 and deserved to be paid for1 but that he knew as well as ,i that it did not come from the withered-looking contents of the gourd1 but from his own judgment4 ,the man took no offence1 and though he lived at some distance he made a point of coming thereafter to our ,sabbath meetings4 ,these men are the great agents in detecting and trying witchcraft4 ,in one respect they1 and not the chiefs1 form the judicial tribunals of the land1 although they play into the hands of the chiefs or any rich man that pays handsomely4 ,after they have detected a criminal he must be tried4 ,the trial takes place by the drinking of the poisoned cup--mwai4 ,consequently the diviner had better be on good terms with the professional 8pounder of poison0 7mpondela mwai71 whose duty it is to administer this poisoned draught to the accused4 ,this1 in case of guilt1 at once convicts and punishes1 the poison causes death4 ,in case of innocence the poison is vomited1 and the accused is acquitted4 ,the witch-detective is at the head of the divining profession1 and is referred to in almost every case of death1 and sometimes in smaller cases1 as where life was in danger 7#ajg74 ,k4--,,medicines ,,and ,,charms4 ,a great many trees are supposed to have virtues4 ,each native knows this1 and becomes to some extent his own doctor4 ,pain in the stomach is treated by the bark of the mbawa2 headache by rubbing externally with ashes of the msolo1 as also by certain charms put round the temples4 ,the first thing a native does in headache is to tie a string tightly round his brow4 ,the symptom of cold and shivering is treated by bathing in 8water of the mkako04 ,for ulcers they use the mlonde4 ,ulcerated legs is one of the commonest maladies that attack children4 ,for a time ,english treatment of these was brought into discredit1 as the children would carelessly tear off the dressings and bandages4 ,one native treatment was to tie on a broad leaf by strips of bark 7which serves as their thread71 and leave it till the sore had improved4 ,a common war medicine is to eat the heart of an enemy4 ,medicine to keep the hunter from danger and to render him successful is much prized4 ,elephant medicine they buy from each other at the highest prices they can afford4 ,they have many miscellaneous charms--some tied about their bodies1 others on their guns4 ,they have a very effectual arrow poison4 ,one time a leopard was killed by strychnia4 ,a chief and his ,prime ,minister came to ,zomba ,mission very secretly to beg for this 8medicine02 it was to be sprinkled into the mortars where the flour of their enemies was pounded4 ,the experiment was trusted to by its promoters as likely to be very successful1 a point which was not at all doubtful4 ,great was the disappointment when the poison was refused4 ,the goats belonging to the ,mission seemed to get on very well1 and ,mr4 ,buchanan was beset with many entreaties for a medicine to increase the goats of the neighbouring chiefs4 ,when a fowl hatches1 the egg shells that have been forsaken by the young brood are carefully collected and hung up in the house of their owner to preserve the chickens from hawks and other dangers4 ,after they have planted their crops1 the field is often protected against theft by charms which they buy4 ,pieces of string1 either twisted from native cotton or made of the bark of a tree1 are thus used4 ,on one occasion ,dr4 ,macklin was called to prescribe for a woman4 ,he asked to see her tongue4 ,his quick observation detected at the same time signs of excitement and temper about her1 and he advised her to try to be agreeable with her husband and friends4 ,it appears the woman was a great scold2 and the natives were astonished to find that the ,doctor could discover this by looking at her tongue6 ,that he had a great 8charm0 was beyond all doubt4 ,l4--,,traditional ,,literature4 ,these people have1 of course1 no writing4 ,we met with many that had never seen a book before4 ,the sight of pictures impressed them so much that their first impulse was to run away supposing that the little painted lion or leopard was dangerous4 ,by and by some one in the crowd discovers that this lion is quite thin6 ,he has looked at the back of the paper and found that the body of the lion is not there6 ,some of the boldest1 after we assure them of safety1 will even put their hands upon him4 ,the attitude of old and young is one of utter1 speechless amazement4 ,but these people are rich in a traditional literature4 ,it meets us in at least four distinct forms4 #a4 ,ndawi or conundrums4 ,some of them are quite short1 as 8the house without a door10 for an egg4 ,an incredible number of these is in common circulation1 and known to most boys and girls4 ,i noted down over #aej of them4 ,there are other conundrums in the form of a little story4 #b4 ,ndano1 or tales4 ,these are also called ndawi1 because many of them resemble the conundrums in having a double meaning4 ,some of these1 we might almost say most of these1 when complete have songs in them1 which are repeated every now and then at each crisis in the tale4 ,they are often recited in this form on public occasions4 ,i got one old man that was as enthusiastic in his recitals as the old ,homerids are said to have been4 ,when ,i was writing to his dictation my private study became a small theatre4 ,in vain ,i reminded him that the nursery was near6 ,his voice was audible in the outside1 scores of yards from the house4 ,school children stopped their games1 and came giggling about1 and demure old natives would turn off the public highway and advance in amazement4 ,yet even so my old man was not satisfied--his enthusiasm1 he thought1 fell short of the occasion1 and he introduced two young women to sing responses to the chants4 ,the natives do not speak of 8telling a tale10 but of 8singing a tale0 7kwimba ndawi74 #c4 ,nyimbo or ,songs4 ,these may be extemporised--music1 responses and all1 on the shortest notice4 ,but there is a great collection of old songs1 many of which can be identified as being the songs of several tales 7,l4 #b71 even where they are used independently4 ,indeed the singers could seldom point to the corresponding tale2 it was only when we happened to know the tale before that we could claim the song for it4 ,still many songs we believe to be quite independent4 ,the music is a simple chant4 ,those that are not reciting join in responses4 ,the language of the songs is more difficult than that of the tales1 and still more difficult is the language of the catch-word literature 7,l4 #d74 ,many of their songs aim at being an echo of tuneful nature around them4 ,one beautiful chant imitates a little brook as it goes murmuring down its stony channel4 ,the singers intentionally render this song in a subdued voice4 ,i could not find any corresponding tale4 ,it calls up to my mind the idea of a mother sitting with a few children on the bank 7chiko7 of a small stream as she has finished her hoeing1 and rests for a minute before going home4 ,she warns the children against the ,likwanya or prickly bush that grows by the stream4 ,this strain sung so softly has a soothing effect1 and might well make the children sit down on the bank1 engrossed with the sound of the rippling stream imitated in the music4 ,sung in a company of little girls it is rendered thus-- #ast ,voice4 ,likwanya likunyanya ku chiko4 ,response4 ,anyanyale4 #ast ,voice4 singing ,likwanya likunyanya ku chiko4 #bnd ,voice4 simultaneously4 ,anya-nya-nya-le e4 #ast ,voice4 simultaneous4 ,anya-nya-nya-le e4 #bnd ,voice4 ,likunyanya ku chiko4 #ast ,voice4 simultaneous4 ,likunyanya ku chiko4 #bnd ,voice4 ,anya-nya-nya-le e4 ,response4 ,anyanyale4 ,after this the girls that have sung the parts marked #ast voice and #bnd voice fall back on the response2 and a #crd and #dth voice take these parts4 ,all the voices that are not reciting join in the response4 ,another song has reference to a large bird1 the ndututu4 ,one voice designedly imitates its notes as it converses with a few women2 while another voice imitates as distinctly the pounding of corn in which these women are engaged4 #d4 ,the fourth form of their literature is in certain catch-word compositions 7chitagu71 which have double meanings4 ,the following is a specimen when there are two speakers or reciters3-- ,,the ,,first ,,says4 ,,the ,,second ,,says4 ,nda4 ,nda kuluma4 ,kuluma4 ,kuluma mbale4 ,mbale4 ,mbale katete4 ,katete4 ,katete ngupe4 ,ngupe4 ,ngupe akane4 ,kane4 ,kane akongwe4 ,kongwe4 ,akongole chimanga4 ,chimanga4 ,chimanje macholo4 ,macholo4 ,gachole wandu4 ,long tales are carried on in this way4 ,one effect sought after is to bring together words similar in form1 but differing in meaning1 as if we were to catch up the last word of our sentences thus3-- ,come forward1 shew thyself6 ,elf dost thou call me1 vile pretender8 ,in this form of literature we meet with plays upon words--an unusual phenomenon in unwritten languages4 ,in the conundrums proper 7,l4 #a7 we met with only one case of a play on words4 ,we are asked1 8,what is the girl that decks herself80 ,the word for 8deck0 happens also to mean 8shine10 and the answer is 8the moon04 ,having now spoken of the forms in which this literature has been handed down we shall say something of its matter or contents4 ,a great part of it consists of fables regarding the lower animals where the characteristics of these animals are brought out4 ,the rabbit is the clever hero of all the tales1 much as the fox is in ,european tales4 ,the hyena 7litunu7 is celebrated for its greediness4 ,the litunu is a large carrion eater1 which stands1 we think1 rather higher than the lion4 ,in one tale the hyena is always begging food from the lion4 ,the lion makes a buck climb a tree1 so that its shadow is reflected in the water2 this reflection is pointed out to the hyena1 who at once casts himself into the river4 ,the following may stand for an example of their tales3--,there was once a hyena and a leopard4 ,they went a journey1 and the hyena picked up a tortoise1 and told the leopard1 saying1 8,see1 ,i have picked up my#e tortoise04 ,the leopard said1 8,give it me that ,i may see it04 ,he gave it him1 then the leopard threw the tortoise away4 ,one day they heard that the tortoise was a doctor4 ,then the hyena and the leopard arranged to go to the tortoise1 and beg medicine for hunting4 ,they went1 they found the tortoise1 and said1 8,we have come for medicine for hunting04 ,the tortoise gave the leopard beautiful spots1 and the hyena ugly spots1 because the hyena had wished to eat the tortoise2 then he gave them horns of medicine1 and said to them1 8,if you find meat that died of itself you must not eat it04 ,then the hyena and the leopard went to hunt4 ,on the path they found an animal that had died of itself4 ,the hyena said1 8,leopard1 my friend1 behold an animal that has died of itself04 ,but the leopard said1 8,come1 let us go away04 ,the hyena said1 8,pshaw6 we must not eat meat that died of itself80 ,then the leopard said to the hyena1 8,that doctor said to us1 should you find meat that died of itself1 you must not eat it04 ,the hyena said 8,pshaw6 not quite60 ,the leopard went to the bush1 but the hyena returned to the doctor1 and said1 8,tortoise1 ,i have found meat that died of itself4 ,is it a transgression to look at it80 ,the tortoise said1 8,no1 it is not a transgression04 ,the hyena went to his meat and gazed on it4 ,then he went back again to the doctor and said1 8,i have looked at it04 ,then he said again1 8,is it a transgression to lick it80 ,the tortoise said 8,no04 ,the hyena then went to his meat and licked it4 ,then he returned again to the tortoise and said1 8,is it a transgression to remove it from the path80 ,the tortoise said 8,no04 ,the hyena then went to his meat and removed it off the path1 and threw it far away4 ,he returned again to the tortoise and said to him1 8,i have removed it04 ,and the tortoise said1 8,very well04 ,the hyena asked again saying1 8,is eating it a transgression80 ,the tortoise said1 8,you will not swallow it80 ,the hyena said 8,no04 ,then he went back to his meat and ate it1 and came back to the tortoise and said1 8,i have eaten that meat04 ,but the tortoise said1 8,you have transgressed1 hyena1 you will not be a hunter1 but the leopard will be a good hunter1 ,i gave him a horn of medicine04 ,so the leopard caught much meat1 but the hyena did not know how to catch meat4 ,the tortoise had said1 8,hyena1 ,o chief1 your name is hyena04 ,we may here note that the naming of the animals is a subject on which they have many legends4 ,the names1 too1 in most of their legends about persons1 are significant1 and accord with the moral of the story4 ,it must not be forgotten that all the natives' names have a meaning ,it is common for men and women to bear the names of animals2 thus we may have a ,mr4 ,cock1 ,mr4 ,lion1 and so on4 ,we almost think that their children when hearing these stories for the first time would think of 8hyena10 8leopard10 c41 as being people who bore these names4 ,several stories relate to fowls and birds4 ,fowls are stated to have been at first wild1 and after a while to have been domesticated4 ,one fowl was visited by a guinea-fowl4 ,the latter was greatly astonished that the housewife threw out food for them--that a comfortable house was provided--and every kindness shewn2 but just as all these things were favourably impressing the guinea-fowl the hungry husband returned and said1 8,kill that fowl as a relish for my porridge04 ,many such tales evince a wonderful sympathy for animals4 ,the natives are greatly distressed by the visits of a large crow to their crops4 ,yet they have a tale which makes them excuse the depredations4 8,once on a time a chief was puzzled over some case1 and could get no advice till a crow came and put matters quite right4 ,this crow was handsomely rewarded by a gift of beans and other seeds4 ,it proceeded to carry these home1 but dropped many on the way2 now when the crow rifles the native's fields it is looking for some of those lost seeds and their fruit40 ,they have a great many tales embodying theories on the creation of the world1 to which we shall allude below 7#ac74 ,the introduction of arts and manufactures is also an important theme4 ,we are told of a woman that found people with plenty of corn1 but no porridge4 ,they simply chewed their grain4 ,this lady produced a mortar and procured flour4 ,hollow stones they say gave place to pots1 in the same way as caves were abandoned for houses4 ,they speak of a time when they hoed with wood4 ,it was after they could use iron knives that they dug down1 and could put in their posts as they do in their modern houses4 ,the first clothing was bark4 ,death was introduced by a woman who taught two men to sleep2 she held one's nostrils1 and he never awoke4 8,death and sleep10 the legend remarks1 8are one word40 ,monkeys were at one time human beings who quarrelled with their friends1 and went to stay in the bush4 ,though the natives admit that the monkeys are their cousins1 they are not slow in pointing out where they differ from men4 ,we said to one woman who was severely censuring the monkeys for eating her crop1 that she should give them some corn to see whether they would not raise a crop for themselves4 ,she replied that monkeys would not leave their seed in the ground--they would pick it up and eat it4 ,it is not everyone that would have fixed so promptly on such a characteristic difference between men and monkeys4 ,they give many tales of experiments tried to make human beings out of monkeys1 specially in the case of women that were barren and wanted a child2 but1 after the most careful training1 these 8children0 always rejoined their own 8kind04 ,relation to ,tales of ,other ,lands4 ,there are also many wonderful tales regarding people that crossed lakes or rivers2 but at the time we did not note these so carefully1 as we considered that it was possible that our narrator might modify it in accordance with teaching that he had heard from the ,scriptures4 ,since we arrived in ,england1 however1 we find that ,bishop ,callaway has written down stories exactly similar1 and indeed hardly so circumstantial1 which he received from the ,amazulu4 ,on looking over his collection we find several that correspond1 chiefly as regards the most striking feature of the story1 with some of ours4 ,this shows what we had been convinced of long before1 that some of these traditions had been recited at a period when the ancestors of the ,amazulu and of these ,nyasa tribes were one people4 ,the following is an instance of the kind of resemblance3--,in one of the tales of ,bishop ,callaway a young man tries to destroy the cubs of a leopard4 ,he kills them one by one2 and the point by which the deception was carried out was to hand the cubs to their mother one by one4 ,when only one cub was left he handed this cub several times according to the number of children4 ,the leopard thought that the same cub handed to her three times was three cubs4 ,in a collection of ours that was sent home in #ahhj1 and since printed1 a 8rabbit0 or fox cheats a lioness by the same peculiar strategy4 ,in the stories themselves there is little to give us any note of time or antiquity4 ,they are liable to modification too in important particulars4 ,thus one man will tell a wonderful story of what a hero effected by his gun4 ,he judges that a ,european would despise the hero if he were armed only with a bow and arrows4 ,but another narrator of the same story may remark on his variation that guns did not come till long after4 ,after we have had a tale written1 we have1 in order to obtain explanations1 asked the same man to repeat it1 and where he had given any expression that seemed to vary from the more usual form of language1 we have observed that he kept as faithfully to such expressions as if he had been reading from a book4 ,we had little doubt that1 as he confessed1 he had before him some recital that had produced an impression in his early years4 ,as to the amount of this species of literature it is difficult to be certain4 ,the number of conundrums 7#a7 we think does not much exceed #bej4 ,i find that ,i have written out more than #ajj tales 7#b71 and ,i have listened to at least #aej others which ,i did not write out4 ,i merely noted new words and points in grammar4 ,the traditional songs 7#c7 may be as numerous as the tales4 ,of the catch-word compositions 7#d71 at least the longer ones1 ,i should not expect to find more than #ej4 ,before ,i left ,i had difficulty in finding new specimens of #a1 #b1 and #d4 ,mr4 ,buchanan1 in his study of the language1 was collecting specimens of native literature at the same time1 and we had begun to think that we had nearly exhausted the field so far as the more pointed tales were concerned4 ,new reciters generally wished to give us what we had already4 ,our contributors represented a wide district4 ,my list included ,wayao1 ,machinga1 ,anyasa1 ,angulu1 ,achipeta1 ,achikunda1 and ,awisa4 ,but the tales seemed to be common to all these tribes4 ,a ,machinga was generally familiar even with the tales of a native of ,quilimane4 ,where this was not so we considered the tale as merely local and of no antiquity4 ,we have given translations of several tales in the appendices4 ,,ethology4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,beliefs ,,about ,,god4 ,,articles #a-ajg4 ,the following statements on the ,ethology or the customs of these races are taken from the very words of the natives themselves4 ,natives are generally quite agreed as to what their customs are4 ,where they gave different views ,i have noted both1 after finding that both had real authority4 ,i do not think ,i have admitted any point of importance without having heard at least four natives on the subject4 ,the statements are translations1 as far as possible1 from the ipsissima verba of the negroes4 #a4--,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,man4 ,an ancient philosopher was asked by his friends when he was dying what they should do with him after his death4 8,all very well10 was the reply1 8if you can catch me40 ,the ,materialist tells us that there is nothing to catch1 that there is nothing that runs away from the body at death1 but the ,spiritualist says1 8,you have only the remains of the man there--only the instrument that he used to work with04 ,what is the position of these ,african tribes with regard to this question8 ,they are unanimous in saying that there is something beyond the body which they call spirit 7lisoka7 or pure spirit 7lisokape74 ,every human body at death is forsaken by this spirit2 but the spirit of a child that dies about four or five days' of age gets nothing of the usual attention 7#de74 #b4--;,,immortality4 8,do these spirits ever die80 ,some ,i have heard affirm that it is possible for a troublesome spirit to be killed 7#e1 #d74 ,others give this a direct denial4 ,many like ,kumpama of ,cherasulo say1 8,you ask me whether a man's spirit ever dies4 ,i cannot tell4 ,i have never been in the spirit world1 but this ,i am certain of1 that spirits live for a very long time40 ,this is a good specimen of cautious answers that the natives often give1 and it expresses the belief that they act on with reference to departed spirits4 #c4--,,who ,,the ,,gods ,,are4 ,in all our translations of ,scripture where we found the word ,,god we used ,mulungu1 but this word is chiefly used by the natives as a general name for spirit4 ,the spirit of a deceased man is called his ,mulungu1 and all the prayers and offerings of the living are presented to such spirits of the dead4 ,it is here that we find the great centre of the native religion4 ,the spirits of the dead are the gods of the living4 ,besides lisoka 7#a7 and mulungu there is another word for spirit1 viz41 msimu1 which is much used in reference to offerings4 #d4--,,where ,,they ,,are ,,found4 ,where are these gods found8 ,at the grave8 ,no4 ,the villagers shrink from yonder gloomy place that lies far beyond their fields on the bleak mountain side4 ,it is only when they have to lay another sleeper beside his forefathers that they will go there4 ,their god is not the body in the grave1 but the spirit1 and they seek this spirit at the place where their departed kinsman last lived among them4 ,it is the great tree at the verandah 7kwipenu7 of the dead man's house that is their temple1 and if no tree grow here they erect a little shade1 and there perform their simple rites4 ,if this spot become too public the offerings may be denied 7#dj71 and the sanctuary will be removed to a carefully-selected spot under some beautiful tree4 ,very frequently a man presents an offering at the top of his own bed beside his head4 ,he wishes his god to come to him and whisper in his ear as he sleeps4 ,these gods are not confined to one place4 ,in answer to prayer they can protect a man during a long journey1 and return with him in peace4 ,when all the villagers are driven from their homes by war these spirits have power to go with them to a new village4 ,the spirit of an old chief may have a whole mountain for his residence1 but he dwells chiefly on the cloudy summit4 ,there he sits to receive the worship of his votaries1 and to send down the refreshing showers in answer to their prayers4 #e4--;,,how ,,the ,,gods ,,give ,,evidence ,,of ,,their ,,existence4 ,how do the natives know that these gods attend to them8 ,how do they judge that their deceased ancestors can see them through the darkness of the grave8 7#a7 ,they judge from the way in which prayers have been answered4 ,if they pray for a successful hunting expedition and return laden with venison or ivory1 they know that it is their old relative that has done it1 and they give him a thank offering4 ,if the hunting party get nothing1 they may say 8the spirit has been sulky with us0 7akwete lupuso71 and refuse the thank-offering4 7#b7 ,besides this1 their god appears to them in dreams4 ,they may see him as they knew him in days gone by4 ,when they dream of the living there is nothing wonderful in that2 but when they dream of the dead it is the departed spirit come to visit them4 ,such a dream impresses them very much4 ,that being is altogether different since he entered the spirit world4 ,now he is a god with power to watch over them1 and help them1 and control their destiny4 7#c7 ,the appearance of the gods in dreams is still too hazy4 ,their craving for clearer manifestations of the deity is satisfied through the prophetess 7juakuweweta74 ,she may be the principal wife of the chief2 in some cases a woman without a husband will be set apart for the god4 ,the god comes to her with his commands at night4 ,she delivers the message in a kind of ecstacy4 ,she speaks 7as her name implies7 with the utterance of a person raving with excitement4 ,during the night of the communication her ravings are heard sounding all over the village in a high key4 ,the whole hamlet is wrapt in slumber1 when all at once the midnight stillness is broken by those mad shrieks4 ,the startled inhabitants think it is war--slavers have come--their first impulse is to run away4 ,their fear soon subsides4 ,it is the prophetess4 ,they are anxious to hear what she has to say1 and return to bed again4 ,or there may be a great meeting in the morning1 when the prophetess appears--her head encircled with bhang or ,indian hemp1 and her arms cut as if for new tatoos4 ,various gods reveal themselves thus in various places1 either local deities 7#aa71 like ,mbona of ,cholo1 or more ordinary gods 7#be-bh74 7#d7 ,the gods may appear in animal forms4 ,some spirits may appear for mischief4 ,if a dead man wants to frighten his wife he may persist in coming as a serpent4 ,the only remedy for this is to kill the serpent1 when some go so far as to say that this troublesome spirit is dead1 but others say that though the trouble is ended the god is only reduced to a pure spirit 7lisokape74 #f4--;,,distinctions ,,affecting ,,the ,,gods4 ,it is usual to distinguish between the spirit and the form it takes4 ,a spirit often appears as a serpent4 ,when a man kills a serpent thus belonging to a spirit1 he goes and makes an apology to the offended god1 saying1 8,please1 please1 ,i did not know that it was your serpent04 ,the departed may assume the form of other animals4 ,a great hunter generally takes the form of a lion or a leopard2 and all witches 7asawi7 seem to like the form of a hyena4 ,there is also a distinction between the spirit and the spirit's messenger4 ,the spirit1 it is said1 will not take the form of a bird1 but will send a bird with its message4 ,we have this well illustrated in the legend about ,che ,mlngolo1 which became so popular amongst us at ,blantyre4 ,a little boy was allowed by his father to accompany a caravan to the coast2 he picked up some curiosities1 for which an ,arab gave him exceedingly beautiful cloth4 ,his uncle coveted the cloth1 abused the boy very much1 and ultimately killed him4 ,a little bird flew to his home at the village1 and sang on the trees to the women as they pounded their corn1 8,ti1 ti1 ti1 diridya2 ,ti1 ti1 ti1 diridya1 they have slain ,che ,mlngolo because of his cloth04 #g4--,,the ,,priests4 ,a certain amount of etiquette is observed in approaching the gods4 ,in no case can a little boy or girl approach these deities1 neither can any one that has not been at the mysteries 7#eb74 ,the common qualification is that a person has attained a certain age1 about #ab or #ad years1 and has a house of his own4 ,slaves seldom pray1 except when they have had a dream4 ,children that have had a dream tell their mother1 who approaches the deity on their behalf4 7,a present for the god is necessary1 and the slave or child may not have it47 ,apart from the case of dreams and a few such private matters1 it is not usual for anyone to approach the gods except the chief of the village4 ,he is the recognised high priest who presents prayers and offerings on behalf of all that live in his village4 ,if the chief is from home his wife will act1 and if both are absent1 his younger brother 7mpwao74 ,the natives worship not so much individually as in villages or communities4 ,their religion is more a public than a private matter4 ,when we went to ,blantyre we were accompanied by two small boys that had lived in ,quilimane4 ,one night after we were in bed we were startled by a terrible screaming4 ,this was heard by a friend who lived in another house at a short distance from ours1 and he came to us judging that we had among us at least a leopard4 ,but the screams were found to have a different cause4 ,the younger boy wished to carry into practice our exhortations about prayer1 and for this purpose knelt down on his little mat or bed4 ,the older was more cumbered with much serving1 like ,martha4 ,he wanted to make his bed tidy1 and without ceremony threw the little worshipper off the mat1 telling him that it was not proper for him to pray1 as he was not a white man 7msungu74 ,the rudeness gave rise to fighting and screaming4 ,we mention the incident to show that the bigger boy would hold that he belonged to the village of the white man1 and that the white man ought to approach the gods on his behalf4 ,the chief of a village has another title to the priesthood4 ,it is his relatives that are the village gods4 ,everyone that lives in the village recognises these gods2 but if anyone remove to another village he changes his gods4 ,he recognises now the gods of his new chief4 ,one wishing to pray to the god 7or gods7 of any village naturally desires to have his prayers presented through the village chief1 because the latter is nearly related to the village god1 and may be expected to be better listened to than a stranger4 #h4--,,village ,,gods4 ,on the subject of the village gods opinions differ4 ,some say that every one in the village1 whether a relative of the chief or not1 must worship the forefathers of the chief4 ,others say that a person not related to the chief must worship his own forefathers1 otherwise their spirits will bring trouble upon him4 ,to reconcile these authorities we may mention that nearly every one in the village is related to its chief1 or if not related is1 in courtesy1 considered so4 ,any person not related to the village chief would be polite enough on all public occasions to recognise the village god3 on occasions of private prayer 7which are not so numerous as in ,christendom7 he would approach the spirits of his own forefathers4 ,besides1 there might be a god of the land4 ,the chief ,kapeni prays to his own relatives1 and also to the old gods of the place4 ,his own relatives he approaches himself1 the other deities he may also approach himself1 but he often finds people more closely related1 and consequently more acceptable 7#g7 to the old gods of the land4 #i4--,,monotheism1 ,,polytheism1 ,,or ,,pantheism8 ,after we have settled that there is an object of worship1 there are still a great many different positions to hold4 ,we might be ,pantheists1 ,polytheists1 or ,monotheists4 ,the position of ,pantheism is seldom indicated by natives when describing their religion4 ,we once thought that the class of nouns 7in the native language7 that ,mulungu belongs to was an argument in favour of their ,pantheism4 ,one class of native nouns is nearly co-extensive with human beings1 and ,mulungu is not in this class4 ,but the argument at best is weak4 ,while ,mulungu means a spirit1 it may also be used as a proper name4 ,there are two classes of expressions where it is used as a proper name4 ,the first class points to a kind of ,pantheism4 ,mulungu is said to be 8the great spirit 7msimu7 of all men1 a spirit formed by adding all the departed spirits together04 ,these and various other expressions of the same kind indicate a grasping after a being who is the totality of all individual existence1 and are not unworthy of notice4 ,if they fell from the lips of civilised men instead of savages they would be regarded as philosophy4 ,expressions of this kind among the natives are partly traditional1 and partly dictated by the big thoughts of the moment4 ,the second class of expressions where we have ,mulungu used as a proper name certainly points to a personal being4 ,by the ,wayao he is sometimes said to be the same as ,mtanga 7#ab74 ,at other times he is a ,being that possesses many powerful servants2 but is himself kept a good deal beyond the scene of earthly affairs1 like the gods of ,epicurus4 ,in the native hypotheses about creation 8the people of ,mulungu0 7wa ku ,mulungu7 play a very important part4 ,this ,mulungu in the spiritual world--the world beyond the grave--is represented as assigning to spirits their various places4 ,he arranges them in rows or tiers4 ,after making an induction of all that we have heard about ,mulungu 7carefully excluding1 of course1 every statement that seemed to be in the least modified by ,christian teaching71 we should say that their religion in its worship was practically ,polytheism4 ,at the same time the spirits are often asked to act as mediators with some higher being4 ,beyond their ,polytheism their language contains a few expressions that remind us of ,pantheism1 and a great many that speak to us of ,monotheism4 ,the derivation of the word ,mulungu throws some light on the subject4 ,henry ,salt 7#ahad7 says that among the ,makuas it means 8the sky04 ,we have heard ,yao expressions that would prepare us to accept this interpretation2 and the ,yao word may be sometimes used for rainbow 7which is either ,mulungu or ukunje wa ,mulungu73 it is singular too that ,chilungu means earthquake4 ,we think a more correct view lies in the derivation stated by ,bleek1 which makes it originally mean 8great ancestor04 #aj4--,,number ,,of ,,the ,,natives' ,,gods4 ,we saw that every human being has a ,mulungu or spirit 7#b74 ,this position every native will uphold1 except perhaps in the case of a young child who has not reached six days of age1 and has not been formally introduced into the world or 8taken out of the house0 7kopoka m' nyumba7 7#dd74 ,if a child of six days has been introduced into the world though only a day before its death1 its spirit is entitled to offerings1 and receives these offerings at least from its parents4 ,when the little child meets the parents beyond the grave it will say1 8,you remembered me2 ,i saw what you were doing04 ,the spirit of every deceased man and woman1 with the solitary exception of wizards and witches becomes an object of religious homage4 ,the gods of the natives then are nearly as numerous as their dead4 ,it is impossible to worship all2 a selection must be made1 and1 as we have indicated1 each worshipper turns most naturally to the spirits of his own departed relatives2 but his gods are too many still1 and in farther selecting he turns to those that have lived nearest his own time4 ,thus the chief of a village will not trouble himself about his great-great-grandfather2 he will present his offering to his own immediate predecessor1 and say1 8,oh1 father1 ,i do not know all your relatives1 you know them all1 invite them to feast with you04 ,the offering is not simply for himself1 but for himself and all his relatives4 ,we ask him1 8,what if they quarrel with the other relatives about their share of the feast80 8,let them quarrel10 he replies1 8,i have given them enough40 ,key to their view of the ,spirit ,world4 ,we may think that the native chief in selecting his predecessor alone1 has left all the rest of the people that once lived in his village without any homage4 ,here we encounter an important native view that a chief represents and is responsible for all his people4 ,if any one wish to treat with a native village it is with the village chief that he must deal4 ,if we give a present to a village it is to the village chief that we must give it4 ,this does not prevent us from giving presents to any other individual4 ,so it is in the world beyond1 which the natives conceive to be peopled in the same way as this world4 ,there the old chief has his wives and slaves and companions about him as of yore4 ,to the natives death is the time when they1 in like manner1 shall be literally 8gathered to their fathers04 ,nature of ,offerings4 ,the man that makes an offering regards himself as giving a present 7mtuka7 to a little village of the departed which is headed by its chief4 ,those that are best known to the offerer may get a present themselves1 but they will be expected to call the attention of the chief when a public present arrives4 #aa4--,,local ,,deities4 ,we have seen that people residing in a village worship their deceased chief1 but when their present chief dies he will become the principal god2 more distant relatives give place to successors4 ,but a great chief that has been successful in his wars does not pass out of memory so soon4 ,he may become the god of a mountain or a lake1 and may receive homage as a local deity long after his own descendants have been driven from the spot4 ,when there is a supplication for rain the inhabitants of the country pray not so much to their own forefathers as to the god of yonder mountain on whose shoulders the great rain clouds repose4 7,smaller hills are seldom honoured with a deity47 ,the god of ,mount ,sochi is ,kangomba4 ,one tradition regarding him is this--,when the ,wayao were driving the ,wanyasa out of the country1 ,kangomba1 a ,wanyasa chief1 saw that defence was hopeless1 and entered a great cave on the mountain side4 ,out of this cave he never returned2 8he died unconquered in his own land04 ,the ,wayao made the old tribe retire before them1 but the chief ,kangomba kept his place1 and the new comers are glad to invoke his aid to this day4 ,their supplication for rain takes the form 7,ku ,sochi1 kwa ,kangomba ula jijise7 8,oh1 ,kangomba of ,sochi1 send us rain04 ,the ,wayao chief ,kapeni often asks some of the ,wanyasa tribe that can trace connection with ,kangomba to help him in these offerings and supplications 7#g74 #ab4--,,superior ,,deities4 ,beyond and above the spirits of their fathers1 and chiefs localised on hills1 the ,wayao speak of others that they consider superior4 ,only their home is more associated with the country which the ,yao left2 so that they too at one time may have been looked upon really as local deities4 ,among these other beings are ,mtanga and ,chitowe4 ,mtanga some distinctly localise as the god of ,mangochi1 the great hill that the ,yao people left4 ,i regret much that ,i did not see this hill before leaving ,africa1 as ,i have heard so much of it4 ,to these people it is all that the many-ridged ,olympus was to the ,greeks4 ,the voice of ,mtanga1 some hold1 is still audible on ,mangochi4 ,others say that ,mtanga was never a man1 and that ,mtanga is another word for ,mulungu4 ,he was concerned in the first introduction of men into the world 7#ac74 ,he gets credit also for supplying people with seeds1 and making mountains and rivers4 ,he is intimately associated with a year of plenty4 ,he is called ,mchimwene juene 7very chief74 ,chitowe 7,siluwi7 has not such a good character4 ,he is associated with famine4 ,he is often represented as having one leg1 one arm1 one side of his nose1 and so on--the other half of his body being supplied by beeswax4 ,he is invoked by the women on the day of initiating 7kuumbala7 their fields4 ,the women of a village form a great procession when the new crop has begun to grow4 ,they chant a hymn to ,chitowe1 imploring him on behalf of their crops4 ,chitowe may become a child or a young woman4 ,in this disguise he visits villages1 and tells whether the coming year will bring food or famine4 ,he receives their hospitality1 but throws the food over his shoulder without eating it4 ,chitowe is a child or subject of ,mtanga1 and some speak of several ,chitowe who are messengers of ,mtanga4 ,mpambe is often invoked by the ,anyasa at great supplications for rain4 ,this ,mpambe in the ,yao language is 8,njasi10 in ,english 8,lightning04 ,the ,yao say that ,mpambe is sent by ,mtanga with rain4 ,this is a mythological expression of the fact that the lightning in this quarter is always associated with rain4 ,this last example shows how natural it is for man to deify the powers he sees around him4 ,at first he is greatly touched with all the emotions of 8wonder1 love1 and awe10 as he considers how much he is indebted to the shower that makes his food grow4 ,he is ready to fall down and worship4 ,what shall he worship8 ,the mountain whose lofty summit is clothed with the rain cloud1 or the lightning that springs from the cloud8 ,he goes over everything he can fairly associate with the rain1 and still he is not satisfied--he craves for something that can understand him4 ,he looks back to the days of his youth4 ,he remembers a grandfather who told how he had fled from the face of an oppressor1 how he had built his home far up near the mountain top1 and there brought up his family in safety4 ,by and by as dangers passed away1 this ancestor moved farther down the mountain2 gradually he increased in power1 and in his old age found himself the chief of a clan4 ,yet he never forgot the days of his adventure1 and ever pointed proudly to the spot where he had first found a shelter2 and his children's children1 as they listened to the old man's tale1 counted the ground holy4 ,the days come when they can see the old man no more4 8,but does he not still exist8 ,yea--did we not hear his words as we listened to sounds that played about the mountain side8 ,did we not see him1 though it was but for a moment1 sitting beside his own home as he used to sit long ago8 ,he wore the very same dress4 ,did he not appear to us in our dreams8 ,there1 too1 we saw him moving beside his old home4 ,yes1 he is living on our mountain still4#f ,he is taking care of us4 ,he knows when we need rain1 and he sends it4 ,we must give him something2 when he had corn he always gave us4 ,now1 the poor man has no crop2 but perhaps his needs are many4 ,we will give him food1 we will give him slaves1 and he will not forget us40 ,there is something full of pathos in the sight of a man invoking his deceased relatives4 ,he has got into great difficulty4 ,none of his friends can assist him1 they hardly sympathise with him4 ,his thoughts turn to days when he had no difficulty1 to the bright period of which1 heathen that he is1 he can say1 8,heaven is about us in our infancy04 ,he is so sure that if he only had the grey-headed man that smiled on him then1 all his difficulties would vanish4 ,that man could understand him1 and believe good of him as he did long ago4 ,could he but reach him across the portals of the grave all would be well4 ,thus1 with great earnestness1 the native turns to the spirits of his fathers4 #ac4--,,the ,,creation--,,cosmology4 ,the existence of the world itself is accepted as a fact not to be explained4 ,but there are legends that explain the introduction of the sun1 moon1 and stars1 clouds and rain2 as also how mountains and rivers appeared on the scene4 ,man1 or at least the father of these central tribes1 sprang from a hole in a rock1 from which the lower animals came also4 ,around this hole there were abundant footprints of all kinds of animals4 ,it was closed by the people of ,mulungu1 and is now in a desert place #8towards the north' 7kumpoto74 ,subsequent to the appearance of man1 many changes occurred specially calculated for his benefit4 ,thus the mist was sent to keep the sun from burning up the crops--an arrangement that would readily commend itself to these philosophical children of the tropics4 ,their legends go on to state that the ,wayao1 ,anyasa1 ,angulu1 ,awisa and others sprang from a common stock1 and to explain how the tribes separated through one going to one side of the country and another to another4 ,the chief cause of such separations is said to be war4 ,the ,zulus and the ,english belong1 they say1 to a different stock2 where they came from the natives cannot tell4 ,they have a legend about ,zulus 7,mangoni7 coming out in great swarms near a large river2 and another legend about a black man crossing a bridge1 as he looked round he was greatly astonished to find that a white man 7msungu7 was following him4 ,the white men are represented as having staid longer with the people of ,god 7,mulungu71 and learned more than the black men4 ,with all due deference to the toothless old man who told me that the ,zulus are different from the ,yao1 ,i am strongly of opinion that although their languages are not mutually intelligible now1 there was a time when their forefathers played together by the same streams and hills2 but this time is more remote than his legend1 which only explained when the ,wanyasa separated from his tribe4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,on ,,worship ,,and ,,offerings--,,occasions ,,for ,,worship4 8,none shall appear before me empty40--,,exod4 #bc1 #ae4 ,,starting ,,on ,a ,,journey 7,,ulendo71 ,,war1 ,,or ,,hunting ,,expedition4 #ad4--,,prayers ,,and ,,omens4 ,when a man intends to set out on some expedition he goes to the chief of his village1 and tells him4 ,the chief presents an offering 7mbepesi7 to the spirit of his predecessor4 ,this offering consists of a little flour1 which he puts down very slowly at the top of his bed1 or he may go to the verandah of the house of his deceased brother4 ,as he puts down the offering he recites the words1 8,my son has come1 he goes a journey1 enlighten his eyes1 preserve him on his journey1 escort this child1 may he return with his head unscathed 7literally #8green1' wa uwisi74 ,please1 please1 let him undertake the journey1 and be very successful40 ,if the flour do not fall so as to form a cone with a fine point there is a bad omen1 and the journey is deferred4 ,the remedy for this state of matters is to resort to the oracle 7chisango7 7,i74 ,it is seldom1 however1 that a bad omen is found at this stage1 though some say it is possible4 ,the oracle will explain what is the cause of the bad omen4 ,probably the man will be told to 8try again04 ,if the cone form beautifully on this occasion1 then it will be clear that the god wanted him merely to delay for a day or two1 and for some good reason2 but if the cone still refuse to form1 resort is again had to the oracle4 ,the oracle sets to work1 and finds that some deceased relative has a hand in this obstruction4 ,this relative must be propitiated by an offering4 ,or it maybe that a witch 7msawi2 ,chinyasa1 mfiti7 is the cause of the trouble2 then it is the duty of the oracle to declare who the witch is4 ,this leads to a serious state of matters1 which will very probably end in the death of this witch4 ,a person cannot go to hunt with any assurance of safety till the witch has drunk the poisoned cup 7mwai74 ,we were much affected by a case of this kind that came under our notice4 ,a village chief1 ,matope1 was led to believe that he was bewitched4 ,first his principal wife became seriously ill--the disease was consumption--she was treated with the usual ,english remedies1 and ,mrs ,mac,donald made a bed for her1 which took the place of the hard mat upon which the poor native lies down to die4 ,as the native fare is hard as the native bed1 and the poor invalid could not relish it1 we sent her some soup every day1 as well as sugar of which she was exceedingly fond4 ,ultimately the disease ran its course1 going through the same stages as the terrible malady does in ,england4 ,one day the husband came to me and said1 8,there is mourning at our home04 ,the simple words revealed at once that the wife of the village chief was dead4 ,we fully expected that1 notwithstanding our remonstrances1 some one would be accused of causing her death through witchcraft2 but perhaps owing to the interest that we had taken in his wife all along1 no one was accused on this occasion4 ,he had four wives besides1 and he soon supplied the place of the deceased by buying another wife1 who was 8very good to her children04 ,then a little after1 the son of one of his other wives having gone out at midnight1 a leopard came upon him and caught his foot just at the door of the house as he was running in4 ,the lad was badly bitten1 and his mother induced ,matope to have resort to the usual methods of detecting witchcraft2 the result was that ,matope's own mother was pronounced a witch4 ,we were very sorry for the poor woman4 ,she lived in another village1 over the stream from her son's hamlet4 ,she had always shown us the greatest kindness and hospitality4 ,she was fond of joking and fun1 but this sentence made her an object of dread and aversion4 ,every native now shrunk from her1 and her life became a burden4 ,we tried to do everything for her2 we gave her presents2 invited her to come and see us1 and cautioned her against drinking the poisoned cup4 ,we made the village chief promise that it would not be administered4 ,the result was that there was some delay in drinking the ordeal4 ,we made every use of this respite by talking on the matter with ,kapeni1 the chief of the country1 who was her brother1 and who promised to use every influence on her behalf4 ,her son1 the village chief1 was a very successful hunter4 ,during the delay he could not go to hunt4 ,the superstition was too strong for him4 ,at the same time his mother was anxious to break the spell that bound him1 she was so sure that she was innocent4 ,she drank the dangerous cup and died1 and however dearly the liberty was purchased1 the hunter could now go forth to his usual pursuit4 ,so much for the danger of being suspected of witchcraft1 a suspicion that might arise from flour not falling in the form of a cone4 ,but it is seldom that a bad omen arises while the chief is in the mere act of putting down the flour4 ,after the flour is put down1 and has formed a shapely cone1 he carefully covers it with a pot1 and leaves it all night4 ,during the night he may have a dream about the journey1 and this will decide his course4 ,but if he is still undecided he visits his offering early in the morning4 ,should he find that the cone of flour is broken down on one side 7mbali jimo jiwalwiche71 that it has not its proper point 7lusonga71 the omen is bad4 ,the flour is thrown away in the bush1 the journey is forbidden by the spirit1 and cannot be thought of2 and the result is an appeal to the oracle 7chisango74 ,but if the flour has preserved its conical form the omen is good1 the divinity has accepted the present and granted the request4 ,the village chief tells his man to go forth with confidence4 ,the ,wanyasa depend more upon the dream during night than the appearance of the cone4 ,some of them say1 8,of course1 the flour will form a cone if it is put down carefully1 and the cone will maintain its form if the rats are kept away04 ,the ,magololo chiefs would not send their children to school until they dreamt4 ,when the chief has decided on the journey he gives his man a thread 7lupota71 which is tied round some part of his person1 as a token that the god goes along with the expedition4 ,he may give an oil vessel 7chisasi7 for a similar purpose4 ,the man now takes the necessary supply of food 7inga7 and fire-arms1 bids his wives good-bye1 and sets forth on his journey4 #ae4--;,,ceremonies ,,observed ,,by ,,the ,,wives ,,of ,,travellers4 ,the village chief may immediately call the wives that are left behind1 and advise each one to behave with discretion during her husband's absence1 as otherwise she may mar his domestic peace1 or even cause his death 7#hb74 ,these wives must observe certain customs during their husbands' absence4 ,if at any time one of them have a dream she must present a private offering4 7,in describing the worship connected with a journey1 we have been assuming all along that the expedition is of interest to the village chief4 ,this is nearly always the case1 for one thing the chief wishes to pray that his villager may be safely restored to him74 ,should a man undertake a journey that is entirely private1 then he may perform the offering himself1 or ask his wife to do it for him4 ,they would put down the flour1 and watch the formation of the cone as the chief does4 ,all the particulars connected with the success and failure of omens are the same1 and if they are relatives of the chief the god invoked is the same4 ,if they are not related to the chief they may pray not to the god of the village1 but to the god of their own family4 ,while a woman's husband is absent she goes without anointing her head or washing her face4 ,she must not bathe1 she scarcely washes her arms1 she must not cut her hair4 ,her oil vessel 7chisasi7 is kept full of oil till his return1 and may be hung up in the house or kept by the side of her bed4 ,this neglect commences1 according to some1 as soon as her husband has gone4 ,others allow the moon 8to die02 they wait for the new moon before they begin this species of mourning 7kuwindika74 ,it continues till the husband return4 #af4--,,kicking ,,against ,,the ,,stumps4 ,the expedition has started at last--surely all detention from bad omens is at an end4 ,by no means4 ,in a few days the leader of the expedition may appear at the village with all his men4 ,he has hurt his toe on the stump of a tree 7chisichi76 ,the natives1 in preparing their ground for cultivation1 cut down nearly all the trees4 ,they do not cut close to the earth as an ,english forester would do4 ,they find it much easier to cut the tree at a thinner part1 and leave a stump4 ,such stumps are all over the cultivated land1 and are often found on the footpaths4 ,if a superstitious man strike his foot on one of these at the beginning of an important journey1 he considers it to be ominous of evil4 ,when ,julius ,csar was landing in ,africa with his army1 he stumbled and fell4 ,this was an unhappy omen4 ,but his presence of mind gave it another turn4 ,he cried out1 8,oh1 ,africa1 ,i embrace thee04 ,the less superstitious natives calm their fears by a similar method4 ,while some speak with bated breath of the danger of picking up a buck that died of itself1 others say 8,we always pick them up and eat them1 and are very glad to have the chance04 ,if a superstitious man kick against the stumps1 there is no hope for his expedition1 he goes back1 and the affair is referred to the oracle in the usual way4 ,a man whose heart is set upon a journey is sometimes wicked enough to disregard an unfavourable omen4 ,his men call his attention to it1 and he says 8,yes1 it is a very unlucky thing2 we shall go to the oracle as soon as we return60 ,this is an evasion nearly as bad as that of the ,roman ,general1 who1 when told by the soothsayer that the sacred chickens would not eat1 said that he would make them drink1 and kicked them overboard4 ,whether the consequences to the native that treats the omens in this off-hand manner are always as serious as they were to the ,roman we have not heard4 ,the native who has an unfavourable omen is not at ease in his mind2 but we think that these superstitions will soon be overcome in the minds of future generations4 #ag4--;,,ill-,,omened ,,snakes4 ,some of the strongest superstitions are associated with snakes4 ,if a snake of bad omen1 as a sato 7python7 or a lukukuti1 cross the path of a traveller1 it is a sign that he will meet with disaster on his journey1 and at once he returns to his home4 ,but if the traveller is already on his return journey he does not go back1 but goes on to his village expecting to find that everything has gone wrong there4 ,this omen generally betokens a death at the village4 ,if the snake is seen on the right hand1 the omen betokens that there is some danger on that side of the road1 and similarly if the snake is seen on the left4 ,regarding this form of superstition1 ,i once asked a native that strongly professed his belief in it1 whether he would turn back on meeting a snake in his way if ,i gave him a letter for ,zomba1 and told him that it had to go on quickly4 ,he said1 8,no2 he would not turn back when a white man sent him40 ,why8 8,because10 he said1 8you would laugh at me1 and ask why ,i had not brought the snake home for a specimen60 ,when a sungula 7rabbit7 crosses the path it betokens that the chief will die4 ,there is a great number of similar superstitions4 ,but it is noteworthy that there is no such superstition about thunder as was among the ,romans4 ,to them thunder is ever welcome1 associated as it is with refreshing showers4 ,when the men have been gone some days the villagers conclude that the journey is prospering--the god is accompanying the party4 ,if the chief want to send out others before this party come back1 he must send another spirit with them1 and there will be no difficulty in finding several suitable escorts among the spirits of his deceased relatives4 ,after the caravan has been gone for some time the villagers begin to anticipate its return1 and to talk of the wealth that it will bring4 ,it may be a hunting expedition1 or a journey to the coast to buy beads and cloth1 guns and powder1 in exchange for ground nuts1 slaves1 or ivory4 ,as the caravan approaches the village1 the news of its arrival goes on before quick as lightning4 ,all eyes are turned toward the direction where the long absent ones are expected to appear4 ,already some of the villagers are rushing forth to meet them4 ,the returning party fires a salute2 the guns of the village reply4 ,all are in ecstacies of joy4 ,the women run out with handfuls of flour1 and sprinkle on the heads of the returning heroes4 ,the caravan goes on amid shouts of joy1 straight to the village chief1 and deposits the goods under his care4 #ah4--,,thankoffering4 ,the chief immediately makes an acknowledgement to the spirit that escorted the party4 ,he goes to one of his wives and asks her for flour that he may present an offering4 ,he puts down part of this flour in the same way as he did when the expedition started4 ,then he wets the rest of the flour1 and puts it down beside the dry portion4 ,this water-and-flour is supplementary to the dry offering 7mesi gakwe74 ,as he presents it he says1 8,now we are happy1 my children have come back1 you have given us much40 ,when he has finished he claps his hands as a salutation to the spirit1 and retires4 ,this expression of thanksgiving is generally made in a private manner4 ,,public ,,rejoicing4 ,now begins a season of public rejoicing4 ,the whole hamlet makes high holiday4 ,the women may now bathe1 and cut their hair1 and anoint their bodies with oil4 ,so may their returned husbands4 ,during their journey these men had refrained from using salt4 ,they were afraid to use it 7#hb71 for they said1 8,perhaps our wives are not behaving well in our home1 and we shall die04 ,now the chief prepares a great banquet1 and calls a medicine man1 who puts a charm into the food2 the travellers eat of this1 and henceforth they may use salt freely4 ,a large quantity of beer is brewed1 and as soon as it is ready the chief and all his visitors go to the verandah of the house of the deceased chief1 where all larger offerings are presented4 ,they carry flour and beer1 and perhaps some such offering as tobacco4 ,the chief is the first to invoke the spirit saying1 8,please1 please1 ,ching'ombe10 or whatever the name may be1 8here is beer for you1 drink it1 we want to live well at our village1 and to drink in peace04 ,he will mention also the happy circumstances connected with the expedition1 and hint mildly that when another expedition is necessary they will look for a similar service from the spirit4 ,the sister of the deceased chief will also be an offerer1 and any others who may be closely related4 ,they first put down a little offering of flour1 and then each takes a cup of beer to pour on the ground as a libation4 ,after the others have presented their offerings the chief finishes the worship by presenting all that is left4 ,many guests may be invited4 ,any that happen to arrive before the offering has been given will accompany the party that goes to present it4 ,all in the village may be present at this offering4 ,it is a kind of public worship4 ,whatever may be the rank of his guests it is the village chief himself that acts as high priest4 ,even the chief of the whole country if present would only stand and look on4 ,as soon as the offering is finished1 the beer drinking begins4 ,great is the rejoicing in the village4 ,if an expedition were unsuccessful1 if1 for instance1 some one died or goods were lost1 instead of this rejoicing there would be a mourning4 ,the god would be considered to have deceived them1 and behaved very badly4 ,after the expedition has been the occasion of a public rejoicing1 the god is acquitted of all blame4 ,yet1 strange to say1 many successful expeditions of this kind--especially when they have been to the coast with slaves and ivory--are the most unfortunate things that could happen to a district4 ,soon after the beer drinking is over1 the goods have to be divided1 and in a large proportion of cases so great contentions arise that the chiefs kingdom is divided also4 ,other occasions for approaching the gods occur in cases of sickness 7#ai7 or famine 7#bj74 ,on these we shall not dwell so long1 as the foregoing principles generally apply4 #ai4--,,sickness4 ,when a man is ill he puts down an offering to his deceased father or mother1 saying1 8,i wish to give you a sacrifice2 can you tell us what you want8 and ,i will bring it you04 ,he first gives this offering himself4 ,he may say1 8,i am very ill1 ,i wish you to restore me2 perhaps a witch wants to kill me1 restrain this04 ,then he looks for a good dream4 ,an offering of flour is put at the side of his pillow to tempt the spirit to come4 ,if the spirit come not1 he tells the chief of his village1 who may give an offering in like manner1 or he may go at once to the sorcerer 7mchisango7 and say 8,we want to see the spirit that has been invoked04 ,after making inquiries1 the sorcerer says the spirit wants such and such2 then the required offering is given4 ,if the sick man recover1 the matter rests there4 ,in cases that are more serious1 the sorcerer will tell him that bad spirits 7masoka7 have got into his house1 that some one has bewitched the house and all his usual places of resort1 that he must have another house in the fields4 ,there are other manifest advantages attending this retreat from the busy village4 ,a house in the fields is built and prepared perhaps that very day4 ,we have not known many cases where the invalid ever returned4 ,sometimes a poor consumptive patient1 when removed to such a house1 is drenched with rain1 as the thatch is not so good as on the other house4 ,,rejoicing ,,on ,,his ,,return4 ,great is the rejoicing on the invalid's return to the village1 if ever he return again4 ,much beer is brewed4 ,the usual sacrifices are given to his god4 ,the recovered patient says1 8,now ,i am happy1 ,i have health2 drink you this beer04 ,mats are spread out1 he sits down upon one1 and the physician 7msing'anga7 is called to his side4 ,the physician pours beer on his patient1 and after that1 water1 and then begins to shave his head4 ,the physician does not present any offering to the village god2 but he gives a thank-offering at his own home to his own gods4 ,he returns thanks that 8he found medicine for yonder sick man04 #bj4--,,public ,,supplication ,,for ,,rain4 ,we have seen how the natives invoke the gods when they pray for a prosperous expedition 7#ad7 and for health 7#ai74 ,we shall now see what they do when they pray for a good crop--which generally means1 in their country1 praying for rain4 ,when there is no rain at the proper season there ensues much distress4 ,famine is dreaded above all other evils4 ,after private offerings have all failed the chief of the country calls a national meeting for supplication4 ,much beer is brewed and offered to the spirit4 ,the chief addresses his own god2 he calls on him to look at the sad state of matters for himself1 and think of the evils that are impending4 ,he requests him to hold a meeting with all the other gods that have an interest or influence in the matter4 ,a council of the gods is believed to be held1 and if any god act as an obstructive he is specially propitiated according to the direction of the prophetess4 ,after the supplication there is a great dance in honour of the god4 ,the people throw up water towards the heavens as a sign that it is water that is prayed for4 ,they also smear their bodies with mud or charcoal to show that they want 8washing04 ,if rain do not come they must wash themselves in the rivers or streams4 ,if rain fall1 they are soon washed in answer to their prayers4 ,when the good crop follows1 they present as a thanksgiving the first heads of maize and some pumpkins4 ,before they begin to eat the maize themselves some of the cobs are roasted and offered under the prayer tree 7#d74 ,in smaller crops1 as beans1 there is no special offering4 ,in the ,south of ,africa the power of rain-making has been claimed completely by the rain-doctors4 ,even here the sorcerers have a great power4 ,still the chief maintains what we think must have been his prerogative in the earliest times4 ,does this not shew that these races are a stage nearer the primitive manners than in the ,south where such a priesthood has been developed8 ,,dreams afford another occasion for offerings 7#da74 ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,the ,,offerings4 ,,general ,,offerings4 #ba4--,,the ,,native ,,flour4 ,of the ordinary offerings to the gods 7which are just the ordinary food of the people71 flour is the commonest4 ,the natives eat it themselves in the form of porridge1 but they never present it thus to the spirits except on the day of a person's death1 or by special request4 ,this offering1 though common1 is not made ready without a great deal of trouble4 ,the poor native woman seems to be occupied at milling flour from morning to night4 ,the process is like this--,first1 she takes corn from the cob1 puts it into a mortar with some water1 and begins pounding to remove the husks 7maseta74 ,these are separated by sifting 7kupeta74 ,she next puts the husked grain 7msokolo7 again in the mortar1 and does as before4 ,by this time all the husks are off4 ,after this the corn is steeped in water for some time1 when it is called mlowe4 ,this she puts into a mortar without water1 and pounds again4 ,when the third pounding is finished1 she resorts to another process of sifting 7kusenyenda7 and obtains flour1 which may be broken down to any degree of fineness by repeated pounding4 ,many harder portions 7lusenga7 need pounding again4 ,this native flour is given to the spirits 7misimu7 either quite dry or with a little water stirred into it4 #bb4--,,native ,,beer4 ,the beer is made from maize or millet 7,d74 ,it is not like ,english beer4 ,it is really a thin gruel1 and serves for food as well as for drink4 ,it is a very wholesome beverage for the natives1 and it is well that they use it rather than other stimulants4 ,the natives have a great desire for wine or brandy 7they apply the ,brazilian word ,kachaso to everything of this kind74 ,we may illustrate how far this craving exists by mentioning how often chiefs and headmen request ,kachaso4 ,sometimes we have prepared a little tincture of ginger1 and seen it greedily drunk4 ,mrs4 ,mac,donald was one day clearing out old bottles1 a few of which contained lime juice in the bottom1 and it was sad to notice how the persons that received these bottles were entreated by others 8to give them some of the brandy04 ,when a person was thus entreated1 even after he had tasted the old rotten stuff1 he said he had only a very little for himself1 and hastened away as if determined to enjoy it alone6 ,when we were on the ,kwagwa ,river1 a little above ,quillimane1 much merchandise was brought1 and the first thing that was asked in payment was kachaso4 ,the boatmen between ,quillimane and the ,missions were in danger of doing a great deal of harm in this way1 as they brought up rum and such stuff1 and traded on their own responsibility4 ,chiefs can procure kachaso readily enough1 especially from the slave traders4 ,one time at ,blantyre there was hardly a drop of wine for a whole year1 but the chief of ,sochi had obtained some1 and sent a messenger to us to ask for wine glasses6 ,another chief that we had opened up intercourse with1 sent us a bottle of rum as a return present4 ,of course everyone gives things that have thus passed through the hands of the natives the cold shoulder1 as it is not known what they are made of6 ,the temptation to drunkenness is one of the most terrible that the country can be exposed to4 ,the natives go down before this temptation at once4 ,a great deal of their drinking is an aping of the manners of ,europeans as seen on the coast4 ,we think that the civilisation of this race should be accomplished by total abstainers if possible4 ,people who tamper with the natives by offering them brandy or by mixing wine and rum that they may make them drunk for their own amusement1 are exceedingly thoughtless4 ,in this country1 unfortunately1 any one can sell as much liquor as he likes without paying any license3 and the effect of drinking brandy or such stimulants is sometimes very deplorable4 ,one of the ,magololo ,chiefs or ,headmen1 as reported to me1 seemed to go quite mad when he received a supply of brandy4 ,he went about killing his people for the purpose of amusement1 much in the manner of ,king ,mtesa4 ,on such occasions there used to be a great rush of people to the ,mission1 representing that their chief had drunk brandy1 had killed very many of their friends1 and wanted to kill them4 ,they implored the protection of the ,mission in the most earnest manner4 #bc4--,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,native ,,beer4 ,but the native beer does not produce such serious consequences1 although many fights and wars arise out of it4 ,one must drink a great deal before it intoxicates1 and by the time a man has consumed half a barrel of gruel he will be more inclined to sleep than to quarrel4 ,should he simply talk nonsense1 his more sober friends pay little attention to him4 ,at a great beer-drinking the guests may lie down and sleep where they were drinking4 ,what do the natives think of the crime of drunkenness8 ,when asked1 8,do you say a man has a bad heart if he gets drunk on beer80 they reply 8,no2 he may not have a bad heart04 ,but on further questioning they insist that such a man has certainly 8a very bad head60 #bd4--;,,beer ,,as ,,an ,,offering4 ,we have seen how the flour is used1 both as an offering and as a sort of oracle according to the way in which it falls--according as it forms a cone or not4 ,the beer may be used in the same way1 both as offering and oracle4 ,if when poured on the ground it sink into one spot as it would do in sandy soil1 then the deity receives it1 but if it spread over the ground there is a bad omen4 ,beer-drinkings may be held on the conclusion of favourable journeys and on many other occasions4 ,besides there may be beer drinking without any special reason1 as when a man wants to treat his friends3 but even in this case there is an offering4 ,as soon as the beer is ready the man goes to the village chief and carries some with him4 ,the village chief presents this offering to the village god4 ,there is no special prayer1 except 8,i want that my beer may be sweet04 ,after the village chief comes back from the offering he drinks some of the beer himself1 and declares the feast open4 ,among others the custom is simply for the brewer of beer himself to put down a little in his own house1 with a prayer to the spirit that his beer may be sweet4 #be4--,,special ,,offerings4 ,all the offerings are supposed to point to some wants of the spirit4 ,if a spirit were to come saying1 8,i want calico10 his friends would 8just say that he was mad10 and would not give it4 8,why should he want calico8 ,what would he do with it8 ,there was calico buried with him when he died1 and he cannot need more again40 ,but if the request is at all reasonable 7as when an old hunter asks animal food71 it will be quickly attended to1 and personal taste carefully consulted4 ,in cases of this kind they may anticipate his wishes4 ,when a deceased smoker wants tobacco his worshippers put it on a plate and set fire to it4 ,if a spirit ask a house they will build him one4 ,it is a general rule that these special offerings are in answer to special requests1 and such special requests are made known either by the oracle 7chisango71 or by dreams1 or by the prophetess4 ,the requests of a more serious character1 involving the sacrifice of human beings1 are made known chiefly through the prophetess 7#e1 #c74 ,near ,lake ,moere the people have idols that represent a departed father or mother4 ,they present them with beer1 flour1 bhang1 and light a fire for them to smoke by4--7,livingstone74 ,we shall now say a little about such special offerings and the way of presenting them4 #bf4--,,offering ,,of ,a ,,fowl4 ,they generally kill the fowl by wringing its neck4 ,some speak of cutting its throat1 and making the blood flow down4 ,this is akin to an ,arab method1 but as the natives practice their offerings this custom is neither essential nor common4 ,when the fowl is killed they simply lay it down at the prayer tree 7#d74 ,if it be taken away during the night the spirit has accepted it4 ,if it be known to have been carried away by a leopard1 the leopard was commissioned by the spirit1 or if the deceased was a hunter he may himself have taken the form of a leopard4 ,the fowl may lie till the ants eat it1 and the offerers are quite satisfied4 ,this fowl may be given uncooked1 or it may be either roasted or boiled as indicated in the request made for it4 #bg4--,,offering ,,of ,a ,,goat4 ,a goat may be offered in the same way1 only it is not likely that the whole animal will be given1 unless the offerer is very rich4 ,one leg is usually sent to the spirit1 while the remainder is eaten by the villagers themselves4 ,in conversing with natives on these offerings1 we have often inquired whether the person that advises the offering may not sometimes appropriate it1 and thus cheat the spirit for whom it was intended4 ,we have often thought that the bones of these offerings might play a great part in the superstitions connected with cannibalism and witchcraft 7#ajg74 ,the same might be said of the bones of human beings 7#bh7 that are thus sacrificed2 but the bones of the lower animals would do as well for imposing on natives1 who are not anatomists enough to know the difference4 ,it is not considered necessary that these offerings be taken away by the spirits4 ,it is sufficient that they are placed there1 and that the spirits may come and lick them4 #bh4--,,offerings ,,of ,,human ,,beings4 ,sometimes the prophetess will announce that the spirit demands the offering of a man or a woman4 ,as soon as this intimation has been given all set upon the victim that may have been indicated4 ,if wanted for a deity residing on a mountain1 the victim is stripped1 his garments are cut up into narrow bands1 with which the legs and arms are secured4 ,the victim is not killed1 but tied to a tree4 ,if a beast of prey come during the night and devour the unfortunate being the deity has accepted the offering4 ,where wild animals are not abundant a little house is built on the hill side1 and the person with his legs and arms securely fastened1 is put inside and left to die of hunger4 ,if the deity live beside a lake or river1 the man or woman1 after being stripped1 and having the legs and arms securely fastened1 is tied to a large stone and thrown into the lake or river4 ,the crocodiles may seize the offering at once1 but in any case death is the certain result1 as the stone prevents the victim from swimming4 ,the victims in such cases are usually slaves2 but if a freeman were to set fire to the grass or reeds beside a lake1 and cause a great conflagration close to the chosen abode of the deity1 he is liable to be offered up to the god that is thus annoyed2 but if he be the owner of many slaves he can easily redeem himself1 one of his slaves will be offered instead1 and something paid to the prophetess to facilitate the transaction4 ,the vast immolations of human beings made at the grave of a chief we shall consider under another heading 7#cb74 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,ceremonies ,,connected ,,with ,,death4 8,qualis vita ,finis ita40 #bi4--,,transition ,,from ,,the ,,supernatural4 ,we have now spoken of the gods--their nature and number--their prophets and priests1 the occasions of their worship1 and the nature of the offerings4 ,this finishes what we have to say on the supernatural4 ,before descending to the natural1 we shall cross the dark border-land that lies between4 ,this border-land is ,death 7#cj-dc74 ,by and by we shall reach what we may call the ,natural 7#dd and seq47 ,by the time we reach section #ajc we shall have brought before the reader many things that he may class as the ,unnatural4 ,to shew that there is nothing so very unusual among these ,african tribes1 let us remark that in that model of ancient civilisation--the ,roman ,republic--prisoners were slain at the tombs of heroes that fell in battle1 and slaves were sacrificed at the funerals of all rich people4 ,the advance of civilisation allowed such victims to kill each other1 when the custom gave rise to the exhibition of gladiators4 #cj4--;,,illness4 ,we have seen already 7#ai7 that a sick man may be removed from his village to a solitary hut in the fields1 and that he may return in good health2 but very often when a man leaves his village for this solitude he never comes back4 ,we have mentioned that the diviner or oracle-man may be able to cope with the witch who is the main cause of the man's illness1 but very often the diviner fails entirely1 and the disease takes its course4 ,there is another man1 the herbalist or physician 7jua sing'anga7 that is often called in1 and to whom we have already alluded2 he carries on his cures by the use of charms1 which in many cases are really medicines 7,i74 ,when a person is sick his friends go in search of a physician4 ,they generally carry a present for him4 ,he considers for a little1 and gives his answer which may be1 8,i refuse to attend this patient2 ,i cannot do you any good4 ,the witch that has taken him on hand has medicine more powerful than mine40 ,on other occasions he is more hopeful1 and will try4 ,he goes to the woods and the fields and searches for medicines1 and then comes with them to his patient4 ,if the patient recover the mediciner gets a large fee1 but if the patient die he gets nothing2 on the contrary1 an unsuccessful physician may be accused of murder1 and we have known a great fine paid for the crime4 ,we only knew of one case of this kind1 and the victim was an ,english doctor4 ,we do not think the occurrence is at all so likely in purely native cases4 ,but in other parts of ,africa a mediciner may pay for the patient's death with his own life4 ,all the natives soon become very disheartened when they fall sick1 chiefly owing to the fear that they have become the prey of some cruel witch4 #ca4--;,,death4 ,every charm has failed1 the attendants see that the end is near1 the sick man too is aware that he is leaving this world4 ,in civilised countries many a man toils for fame4 ,he would regard himself happy if he were sure that he would be remembered after death4 ,the dying man before us has this fame ready made for him4 ,he knows that after his death he will be worshipped as a god4 ,does this make his death bed happier8 ,do his last thoughts turn with delight to the prospect8 ,alas1 no6 ,the poor man would live longer if he could1 and the last desire he expresses is generally this1 8,you will take care of my children when ,i am in the grave10 then he enters on the dark journey alone4 #cb4--,,slaves ,,escort ,,the ,,deceased4 ,did we say he went forth alone8 ,this shall not be1 if his friends can help it4 ,his death must be concealed for a few minutes4 ,if he be a man of some property in slaves1 and belong to a certain family of the ,wayao tribe 7say to the ,abanda or the ,amilansi71 he will have a great many slaves to accompany him4 ,some of the attendants leave the dead man at once4 ,if any of his slaves are sitting outside the house they are told that their master is better1 that he is doing well2 but suddenly a capture begins1 and many slaves of the deceased are made fast in slave sticks4 ,when their master is buried they will be put in the grave along with him4 ,this terrible custom does not prevail among all the families of the ,wayao tribe1 but where it does1 as many as ten slaves may be killed to follow an important chief1 and rather fewer to accompany one who is not so rich4 ,kapeni1 a chief that belongs to the ,abanda family1 told me that he was going to give up this custom now because of the ,english2 but not a few of the slave refugees at ,blantyre have run away from his dominions to escape the dreadful fate4 ,though the chief were opposed to the practice himself1 he would not regularly interfere between his people and their own slaves or goods4 ,it is said that the slaves must be caught before they have taken part in the mourning4 ,this furnishes one escape for them4 ,if they run away and stay till the funeral rites are over1 they will be comparatively safe on their return4 ,but they are liable to be sent after their master 7#bh7 if he should ask for them4 ,the practice of sending messengers to the world beyond the grave is found on the ,west ,coast4 ,a chief summons a slave1 delivers to him a message1 and then cuts off his head4 ,if the chief forget anything that he wanted to say1 he sends another slave as a 8postscript04 #cc4--,,wailing ,,at ,,the ,,door4 ,if the man do not belong to the families that require an 8escort10 the mourning begins as soon as he is dead4 ,there is no stratagem practised for catching slaves4 ,one of his wives has likely been in attendance1 and she will raise the sad wail1 which is heard afar off1 and is easily recognised4 ,a great assembly of mourners is soon collected4 ,the mourning consists of plaintive chants1 drumming1 and dancing4 ,if powder be available a great many guns are fired that people at a distance may say1 8there is a mourning in yonder village04 ,this is called the 8mourning at the door0 of the house 7ku mlango71 and continues until the deceased is buried1 which may be in one or two days4 ,in the case of an important person1 the mourning at the door may be continued for five or ten days1 or even for a month4 ,in mourning the ,wayao put flour on their heads1 the ,achikunda1 ,i have observed1 doing this at what was quite an ordinary dance1 so far as ,i could see4 ,the ,anyasa put strips of bark round their arms and various parts of their body4 ,if it be a chief that has died they use strips of cloth instead4 ,one time we tried to buy some badges of mourning1 made of plaited grass1 but were told that the wearers would not part with them4 ,they are worn till they fall off4 #cd4--,,the ,,undertakers--,,their ,,duties ,,at ,,the ,,house4 ,soon after life is extinct the undertakers 7awilo7 are sent for4 ,they are generally two in number4 ,as a rule they are not relatives of the deceased1 though from the derivation of their name ,i think they may have been so originally 7kuwila1 compare juakuwilwa1 bereaved74 ,some make it a point that the undertakers must not have seen the deceased during his illness1 but this is not universally observed4 ,in some families the slaves of the deceased are the undertakers1 and the slaves of a deceased chief may invest his successor with the insignia of office4 ,the undertakers wash the body 7mtembo7 of the deceased4 ,for this purpose they use water from the stream--the ordinary water used at the village 7if the deceased be a woman her body is first partially washed by female attendants74 ,they close the eyes2 some fail in this1 and are considered unskilful4 ,they dress the body in calico1 covering it all except the eyes and the upper part of the face1 which may be left uncovered until they are on the point of carrying it to the graveyard4 ,they tie up the deceased in a mat1 the very mat which was his deathbed4 ,the ,wayao are buried with the legs bent1 the ,wanyasa with the legs straight4 ,when all these ceremonies have been finished1 the undertakers come out of the house and wash their hands1 not in ordinary water but in water of medicine1 8because they handled a corpse04 #ce4--,,prolonged ,,wailing4 ,if the wailing is to continue for a long time they procure the bark of a large tree and encase the body therein4 ,the body is then set in a position nearly upright2 a hole is dug in the floor of the house so that the putrid matter may drop 7kusulula7 into it4 ,should the body be in an advanced state of decomposition1 they burn ,indian hemp 7chamba71 and carry beside it on the way to the grave1 this is done to neutralise the smell4 ,but in cases of prolonged mourning the deceased is often buried in his own house4 #cf4--;,,death ,,in ,,war4 ,if a man be killed in war1 his friends1 if they can procure his body at all1 do not 8show it at the village10 but bury it on the war path4 ,if his enemies find the body they disembowel it and cut off the head1 taking certain parts for charms4 ,enemies allow no burial1 but cast forth the mangled remains to the vultures and other carrion eaters4 ,when a man is wounded in an engagement he is carried back1 not to his own dwelling--there are bad spirits in it--but to a little hut made ready for him in the bush 7#ai7 at some distance from the village4 ,if a person die through drinking mwai 7and this constitutes an enormous percentage of the older natives71 he is denied the ordinary rights of sepulture4 ,several years ago the burning of witches was practised4 ,at present this would not be done unless the witch refused the poisoned cup1 which she is1 on the contrary1 most eager to drink to show her innocence4 #cg4--;,,journey ,,to ,,the ,,grave4 ,when the #8mourning at the door' is finished they proceed to the grave4 ,a large bamboo is passed along the body1 and projects beyond the coffin or mat 7ugono71 both behind and before1 and the body is carried shoulder high4 ,one of the undertakers carries at the head1 and the other at the feet4 ,the undertakers have the charge of carrying the body to the grave1 although others may assist1 but there is not so much changing as is seen in ,scotch funerals4 ,a large procession of men and women now set forth to follow the deceased to his last resting place4 ,they have a drum with them1 and march to certain very plaintive and not unmelodious chants4 ,some of the men carry hoes to dig the grave1 and a small bowl or basket 7chiselo7 to throw out the earth4 ,they carry also an axe to prepare palisades for the sides of the grave4 ,the women follow in the rear1 carrying some porridge1 with the usual relish 7mboga71 as also a pot of beer4 ,it is not every one that is allowed to follow the funeral procession--a person that has not been at the mysteries may not go4 ,thus a boy of six years may have a brother or a playmate die1 but he will not be allowed to accompany the funeral party4 ,no one that is very closely related to the deceased will go to the grave4 ,a father will not go to the funeral of his child1 nor a husband to that of his wife2 but1 in cases of poverty where there is difficulty in employing undertakers1 or if the death take place on a journey1 the nearest relatives have to be present at the funeral rites2 but in ordinary circumstances1 if they follow the remains at all1 they turn back at the chikomo1 that is1 the path that leads from the village to the main road4 ,a mother is allowed to go to the funeral of her child only if it die in infancy4 ,one reason why the chief relative of the deceased does not go to the grave is that he has to prosecute the witch that caused the death3 going to the grave would unfit him for the task4 #ch4--;,,digging ,,the ,,grave4 ,the grave is not dug nor marked out at all1 till the funeral party arrive4 ,on their arrival the body is laid down on the ground under the shade of a large tree1 and the grave-digging begins4 ,as hoes are the implements used1 the process takes a long time4 ,it often begins about noon1 and is not concluded till night4 ,no one enters the grave except the undertakers4 ,after a sufficient depth has been reached they bring forward the body to measure whether the size and shape of the grave will exactly suit4 ,after this measuring is completed the body is again laid aside out of the hot rays of the sun4 ,by and by other men are at work with an axe cutting pieces of trees to form a kind of palisade round the inside of the grave4 ,the shaping of these sticks takes a long time4 ,the structure when finished resembles the piling used to keep the banks of a river from falling in or being washed away4 ,it forms the sides of a strong wooden house which is erected over the body4 ,when these posts have been securely fixed two forked sticks are driven into the ground1 one at each end of the grave4 ,the body is then lowered1 and the forked sticks receive the projecting parts of the bamboo that carried it to the grave4 ,the body when lowered is suspended between these forked sticks1 and remains hanging without touching the ground4 ,other logs are put above so as to form the roof of this strong wooden house1 and afterwards the earth is filled in2 only before filling it in they have certain articles to bury with the deceased4 ,the wooden house is for the purpose of keeping away the witch who caused the death1 and who now wishes to eat the flesh of her victim4 ,it serves to keep away carrion eaters of all kinds1 for the witch may assume the shape of a hyena4 #ci4--,,offerings ,,at ,,the ,,grave4 ,along with the deceased is buried a considerable part of his property4 ,we have already seen that his bed is buried with him1 so also are all his clothes4 ,if he possesses several tusks of ivory one tusk or more is ground 7siaga7 to a powder between two stones and put beside him4 ,beads are also ground down in the same way4 ,these precautions are taken to prevent the witch from making any use of the ivory or beads4 ,if the deceased owned several slaves an enormous hole is dug for a grave4 ,the slaves that were caught immediately on his death are now brought forward4 ,they may be either cast into the pit alive1 or the undertakers may cut all their throats4 ,the body of their master or their mistress is then laid down to rest above theirs1 and the grave is covered in4 ,after this the women come forward with the offerings of food1 and place at the head of the grave4 ,the dishes in which the food was brought are left behind4 ,the pot that held the drinking water of the deceased and his drinking cup are also left with him4 ,these1 too1 might be coveted by the witch1 but a hole is pierced in the pot1 and the drinking calabash is broken4 ,the man has now gone from the society of the living1 and he is expected to share the meal thus left at his grave with those that have gone before him4 ,the funeral party breaks up2 they do not want to visit the grave of their friend again without a very good reason4 ,any one found among the graves may be taken for a cannibal 7#ajg74 ,their friend has become a citizen of a different village4 ,he is with all his relatives of the past4 ,he is entitled to offerings or presents1 which may come to him individually or through his chief4 ,these offerings in most cases he will share with others1 just as he used to do when alive 7#aj74 #dj4--,,taking ,,down ,,the ,,house4 8,it is unclean4 ,and he shall break down the house 444 and he shall carry them 7the stones1 timber1 and mortar7 forth out of the city into an unclean place40--,,lev4 xiv41 #dd1 #de4 ,the day after the remains have been committed to the grave the undertakers see to the destruction of the house that was occupied by the dead man4 ,the house of the deceased is always taken down whether he died in it or not4 ,no one will live in that house on any consideration4 ,the spirit 7,mulungu7 of the deceased would be very angry with the man who did so1 and would say1 8,this man is glad that ,i died that he might enter my house04 ,if he possessed a great many houses it is the house of his principal wife that he is most identified with4 ,her house is taken down1 and the houses of his other wives are left4 ,the fabric is demolished very effectually4 ,the foundations are dug out of the ground4 ,any remains of the deceased man's food1 the ashes of his fire1 and the thatch of the roof are carried away and burned at a cross road 7malekano7 that the spirit of the deceased1 or the evil spirits that caused his death1 may enter some of these paths4 ,when the house is broken down1 the parts of it not carried away are buried1 the place where it stood is swept all over1 fresh earth is put on1 the spot is considered sacred4 ,all the children are warned that they must not play on this ground4 ,a pot is put down to receive offerings of beer1 and when any special offering is given to the deceased it is usually presented here 7#d74 ,if this place become too public 7as when children play near and send dust into the pot71 the pot will be placed under a tree at a little distance from the village4 ,the man may be buried in his own dwelling4 ,in this case the house is not taken down1 but is generally covered with cloth1 and the verandah becomes the place for presenting offerings4 ,his old house thus becomes a kind of temple 7chilisi cha nguo74 ,there may be cases also where the deceased is buried in the village1 although not in his own house4 ,in such cases a new house will be raised above the remains4 ,when the house is taken down the funeral rites 7mtembo7 are finished4 ,an important feature in these observances is that the relatives of the deceased have their heads shaved4 ,there are a great many absurd regulations that could not be published1 with reference to burying the hair4 ,some of it is buried at the place where the house of the deceased stood4 ,a second shaving takes place after their hair grows again 7#dc74 ,when a chief or headman dies the village is often entirely forsaken4 #da4--;,,canonised4 ,the deceased is now in the spirit world1 and receives offerings and adoration4 ,he is addressed as 8,our great spirit that has gone before40 7,msimu wetu wokulungwa ulongolele74 ,he has now a certain power over the lives and destinies of his surviving relatives4 ,if any one dream of him it is at once concluded that the spirit is 8up to something04 ,very likely he wants to have some of the survivors for his companions4 ,the dreamer hastens to appease the spirit by an offering4 #db4--;,,continuance ,,of ,,mourning4 ,but the mourning1 as distinct from the funeral rites1 is not yet finished4 ,the surviving relatives do not wash their faces or anoint their bodies with oil1 neither do they cut their hair until the great day of the second shaving 7#dc74 ,sometimes they eat no salt1 use no warm food1 and drink no beer4 ,cases of this kind are among the nearest approaches to fasting that we met with in the country4 ,if a friend come to see them he will get his porridge warm1 but the mourners wait until theirs cool4 ,on the day of the wailing at the door the undertakers may give a dispensation from some of these penalties by putting salt in a common mess of food4 ,if a man have been absent from this dispensation he must follow customs like the above4 ,the duration of this mourning may be two months1 or even more4 ,the chief of the country1 especially if related to the deceased 7which he may well be if the deceased was a man of great influence71 may have a voice in determining how long the mourning is to continue4 ,in more humble life the relative of most influence would be consulted4 #dc4--;,,end ,,of ,,mourning4 ,after two or three months have passed1 there is a great gathering4 ,this is the day on which the mourning is formally ended4 ,already you hear them beginning to sing 8,iya6 iya6 ungolele ukana20 to which the response is1 8,o manja o10 while the undertakers respond1 8,o ,kangolele40 ,this is1 in fact1 quite a drinking song1 like 8,willie brewed a peck o' maut10 and shows that the party are not to sit and mourn for ever4 ,on this day much beer is brought1 and the deceased's spirit is especially remembered1 and is considered to partake in the festivities4 ,the undertakers come back4 ,one of their duties is to see to the second shaving of the heads of the dead man's relatives4 ,they take off a little of the hair in the front and a little on the back of the head 7kukawa71 and others complete the shaving4 ,the hair is buried again at the house1 where the deceased relative receives his offerings1 or in the bush4 ,,entering ,,on ,,inheritance4 ,on the day of the second shaving the successors of the deceased enter upon their inheritance4 ,they take possession of the deceased man's wives and whatever property he may have4 ,this day is a great marriage feast in one aspect4 ,now the services of the undertakers are at an end2 they have been feasted sumptuously throughout1 and are now paid4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,childhood ,,and ,,youth4 #dd4--;,,birth4 ,when the time of a child's birth draws near1 the mother does not stay in her house1 or even in the village4 ,accompanied by one or two female friends1 she goes forth to seek the retirement of the great forest4 ,as a rule she will soon be able to return1 but if the delivery be protracted it is usual to apply to a physician1 who sends a medicine to drink1 which is viewed as a charm4 ,though the native women are generally hardy1 it would not do to assume that they are entirely made of iron4 ,many poor women suffer severely1 and die in the bush1 the child being generally unborn4 #de4--,,the ,,infant4 ,on the birth of the child1 one of the female friends takes it and carries it to the village4 ,the mother is able to accompany on foot4 ,in the case of a first-born child1 the party is met with considerable rejoicing1 in which the grandmother of the child takes a prominent part1 and raises the song1 ,ngwete chisukulu none sechelele1 8,i have got a grandchild1 let me rejoice04 ,on arriving1 mother and child are put into a house1 where they stay from three to six days4 ,no one enters their abode except the elder women 7achakulungwa74 ,after this there is the ceremony of introducing the child into the world--bringing out the little stranger to public notice4 ,the head of the mother is shaved1 as also the head of the child4 ,the child is now named4 ,both mother and child come out of the house1 and are received with rejoicing1 at which the elder women are present4 ,the mother has received a medicine or charm1 in which the child has to be washed for a great many months to come4 ,if the child should die before being brought out of the house it receives no mourning4 ,the relatives do not shave their heads on account of it1 nor do they present offerings to its spirit4 ,but if it has been brought out of the house1 even if it should survive but a very short time1 the usual mourning is held1 and offerings are presented to it1 especially by the mother4 ,such a denizen of the spirit world is supposed to be able to affect the fortunes of the survivors2 besides1 it may be very powerful in interceding with the older spirits 7#aj74 ,several ,african customs with reference to young children remind us of the well-known superstition about 8,changelings04 #df4--,,naming4 ,the child receives a name1 which it retains until it goes to the mysteries4 ,the name is given by the relatives3 if a female child is betrothed she may be named by her future husband4 ,the name the child receives may be determined by some circumstance connected with its birth1 as in the case of ,jacob or ,joseph1 or such ,scripture names4 ,sometimes it is named after other relatives of the family1 as is the custom in ,britain4 ,the person who receives a name at the mysteries has some choice in determining what he will be called4 ,we knew a boy who assumed much at his own instance the name of ,kalikalanje1 the hero about whom there are so many native tales1 reminding one of the class of tales that ,jack the ,giant ,killer belongs to4 ,all the names of the people are significant4 ,every name may be assumed to have originally had some meaning1 very much as every effect has a cause4 #dg4--,,naming ,,europeans4 ,one point where natives show a great deal of cleverness is in giving names to white people4 ,they never talk of a white man by his own name1 which is generally unsuited to their pronunciation4 ,they have an invention of their own1 and the new name is generally very happy4 ,it hits off some peculiarity in personal appearance1 and1 over and above this1 it aims at pointing to some mental habit4 ,after seeing a few efforts of their naming1 we almost become prepared for the theory that physical appearance is a reflection of character4 ,thus they meet with a man who is a miser1 they regard his miserliness for some time in silence2 at last they begin to take a look round him4 ,they wish to discover some of his physical peculiarities4 ,he cuts his hair very close4 8,ah6 we have it now10 and they call him 8,the close shaver60 ,when an ,englishman with any marked peculiarity arrives among them he generally creates a profound impression4 ,the natives1 like the ,greeks of old1 are fond of hearing some new thing4 ,it is often very trying to one's sense of the ludicrous to go about the country with ,english companions and hear the remarks and criticisms1 while the new comers are quite unconscious of what is being said1 and feel sure that they are complimented4 ,if one do not make progress in the native tongue1 he may be in the country for as long as five years without knowing his native name1 although it is a household word all over the place1 and no one speaking to the natives would ever think of using anything else4 ,some names1 again1 are general designations1 not so much of the individual as his work1 and in this way they may be modified1 so that the original meaning is lost4 ,one man had besides his own proper name the name of ,kasisi or priest4 ,this word means originally shaven1 or without hair 7kabe sisi1 or kalibe sisi74 ,it was first applied to the monks with reference to their shorn heads4 ,there is a rock that is seen on the ,zambeze at the ,lupata mountains1 which1 at a distance1 looks exactly like a monk4 ,the natives call this rock ,kasisi4 ,a clergyman will get the name applied to him1 and that although there be no baldness in the case4 ,the word is used too of ,makukani1 who acts as the priest of the ,magololo1 especially when rain is required4 ,but it was entirely unused in the native language till the first man with a tonsure appeared on the ,zambeze4 ,he would get it as a nickname1 or rather as a name 7for they would not necessarily want to make fun of him71 and the word would linger after the monks disappeared1 and would be applied to any that resembled them in other particulars4 ,visitors sometimes throw a great deal of responsibility on those that are in the country already4 ,the latter are asked to tell all about them1 and if there be anything peculiar the danger falls on the old settlers4 ,it is a rule in ,africa that where a stranger pays a visit and gets into trouble in his friend's district1 the whole responsibility lies on his friend2 the same rule is generally applied when travellers are following a guide4 ,though it may seem strange1 yet the appearance of many people is apt to be deemed 8uncanny04 ,the phenomenon of a person without an arm1 of people able to change the colour of their hair1 or 8to take out their teeth and put them in again10 though easily turned to a laugh among friendly natives1 especially the young1 is nevertheless felt to demand explanation1 and might cause serious results among natives disposed to quarrel4 #dh4--,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,the ,,child4 ,in civilised countries the destiny of the new arrival is left to unfold itself gradually4 ,no definite course is chalked out4 ,in the life of the civilised infant there is consequently a great amount of uncertainty and plot interest1 especially with reference to marriage1 as every romance bears witness to4 ,here this is not the case4 ,take the instance of a little girl4 ,all the lovely day dreams1 all the pleasures of hope and pictures of fancy are rudely set aside long before she has reached sweet seventeen4 ,while the child is yet unborn she may be sought in marriage4 ,this is often done4 ,very usually the ardent suitor will wait until it is known whether the child is to be a boy or a girl4 ,then he begins at once to ask for her4 ,he goes with his suit to the ,surety 7,angoswe71 whose name we intended to translate 8undertaker10 only the ,awilo 7#cd7 usurped that word4 ,the ,surety promises to attend to it1 and tells him to come back soon4 ,when he returns in a day or two1 if he has not been forestalled1 the ,surety refers him to the mother4 ,the first comer is almost always successful1 especially if he bring a decent present1 and the infant is at once betrothed4 ,when the mother's consent is given the future son-in-law offers the present which he has taken with him1 and promises to keep the little girl supplied with clothes4 ,her clothing1 of course1 is nothing but a scanty loin cloth4 ,it is the acceptance of this cloth and the wearing of it that is the great token of betrothal4 ,the same word that is used for betrothing a girl is also applied to the selecting of a piece of ground for hoeing4 ,a person who wants a new farm goes forth and makes his selection4 ,after doing so he takes bunches of long grass and ties round the trees in that field4 ,everyone that passes knows by the grass put upon the trees that the field has been taken possession of4 ,anyone that interfered with it would be liable to have an action brought against him4 ,in the same way the intending husband points to the cloth that he has given to the girl1 and says1 8,she is mine04 ,if any one interfere with her the intending husband may put him to death4 ,a boy may also be betrothed in his early days4 ,his guardians will try to secure a girl about his own age1 by arranging with other guardians that may have a female child to dispose of4 ,if a girl have a husband betrothed to her she often cooks food for him4 ,but her claim on him is not of an exclusive nature1 as he may have more wives than one1 while the misfortune of an unhappy union is more bitter to her1 as she is excluded from others that she might prefer4 ,in the ,mission ,school at ,zomba there were many couples of twelve years and under1 that were engaged to each other4 ,the boys could tell what girls they were to marry1 and the girls could also point out their husbands4 ,the marriages of the natives are generally very happy4 ,this result gives some countenance to ,dr4 ,johnson's view that there would be more happiness if all marriages were made by the ,chancellor of the ,exchequer4 ,the parents seem never to doubt that they know the 8minds0 of their sons and daughters better than they can do themselves4 ,at the same time ,i have seen many cases where the girl would have done anything rather than marry the man that had been assigned her4 #di4--;,,infancy ,,and ,,childhood4 ,while the mother goes about her ordinary pursuits she carries her child upon her back4 ,native children learn to walk and to talk much sooner than white children do4 ,they are put upon the ground at an early stage2 little supervision is exercised1 and they are accustomed to eat handfuls of mud4 ,there seems to be no very good food for young children1 consequently they are suckled for a long time4 ,by and by they get a species of thin porridge 7likoko74 ,no cradles are used2 the child sleeps on a mat4 ,very often it will be asleep on its mother's back as she is hard at work under the tropical sun4 ,it is not common to see a mother beat her child2 in fact1 there is very little occasion4 ,there are no clothes to soil1 no house to spoil1 no windows to smash1 no dishes to break1 no spoons to lose2 the child may play with anything that it can find2 it may go where it likes without going into much danger1 and without destroying flower-beds or favourite plants6 #ej4--;,,boyhood4 ,as the child grows1 his life is equally wild and free4 ,he has to pay no penalties to the requirements of polite society1 he has to go through no ordeal of being taught to sit properly at table1 to hold his knife and fork properly1 and such things--,simple child of nature1 thou hast neither table nor chair1 knife nor fork6 ,he has no ,school ,board to confine him1 his time is all his own2 he goes forth to swim in the brooks1 or play in the woods4 ,there is no clock in the hall that will tell tales about his long stay2 he watches the course of the great clock in the face of the heavens1 which he learns to read with astonishing accuracy4 ,as darkness sets in he must go home 7from danger of wild beasts71 and may be seen returning to the village4 ,perhaps he carries a great bag full of beetles or of field-rats1 which are to serve as a relish 7mboga7 to his evening meal4 ,possibly he is laden with wild fruits2 in any case he has the appearance of brightness and buoyancy that an ,english child has when returning from a pic-nic4 ,he carries his little bow and arrows1 and is accompanied by two or three companions like himself4 ,apprenticed to no trade1 he is left to acquire what he wishes at his own discretion4 ,still he has some duties4 ,a very common occupation is to watch the baboons 7majani71 and keep them from eating the corn4 ,all this time the boy is picking up a great deal of information4 ,he hears the talk of his elders as he sits with them at their meals1 or when they are engaged in public counsel2 and by and by1 for amusement in the first instance1 he will take to some little occupation himself4 ,of course1 in this country he can live and become rich 7as a native counts riches71 without learning any trade4 ,hoeing comes naturally to him1 but his wives will hoe4 #ea4--;,,amusements 7#a7 ,,tales1 ,,and ,,conundrums4 ,i was once walking along a native path with a little boy1 and when the conversation began to flag ,i proposed a native riddle for him4 ,he turned round with a very peculiar look1 and asked me if we recited riddles at our home4 8,yes10 was the reply1 8and you do it too40 ,then he asked1 8,do you do it at mid-day80 ,and by and by1 after smothering many conflicting thoughts and some irresolution1 he began to explain that the old people said that 8if boys recited riddles at mid-day1 horns would grow on their foreheads60 ,tales and conundrums are generally recited after sunset4 ,while asleep1 as our companions thought1 in a tent beside the camp fires1 we have often lain almost bursting with suppressed laughter1 as we listened to the tales and conundrums that went round4 ,natives have plenty of such traditional literature1 which1 accompanied by their shrewd observations on men and manners1 makes their society highly interesting4 7#b7 ,a very simple method of amusement in the villages is for the children to dance or skip along the roads1 singing simple songs and choruses 7,cf4 chilewe74 7#c7 ,the out-door games are numerous2 7indoor games will not be looked for when we remember the size of the houses74 ,one of the commonest is playing at ball 7kung'anda mpila74 ,in the usual game there are two sides3 the players mix with each other1 and the object of each is to throw the ball so that it will always be caught by one of the same side4 ,if one of the other side catch it1 the ball changes owners1 and the side that originally had it must try to recover it4 ,the side that keeps the ball longest is victorious4 ,it must be thrown up as soon as it is received4 ,sometimes the time of throwing is regulated by beating a drum4 7#d7 ,,tops4 ,they set up maize cobs 7isonde71 which represent soldiers4 ,the player on one side has the same number of 8soldiers0 as his opponent4 ,each discharges tops 7njengo7 upon the opposing army1 and the man that first demolishes those of his opponent is victorious4 ,another amusement with tops is the same as in ,britain1 and consists in merely trying how long they can make a top spin4 ,they often shout or sing something as it revolves4#g 7#e7 ,,draughts 7,,njombwa74 ,a game reminding us somewhat of draughts is very common4 ,little holes are dug in the ground1 the players have a certain number of plums4 ,the object of one player is to take possession of all the plums of his opponent4 ,we have seen regular boards used for this game about the size of a draught board1 but with little holes like those in a bagatelle board4 ,these holes are in four rows or lines 7nyili74 ,the councillors of ,malemya1 the chief of ,zomba1 are very fond of this amusement during their beer drinkings4 7#f7 ,,skipping ,,rope 7,,chiwewe74 ,they tie a large bunch of ,african grass 7like a bunch of hay or straw7 to the end of a rope4 ,one man swings this rapidly in a circle of which he is the centre4 ,the skipper stands within this circle1 and must jump over the rope each time it comes round4 ,if he cannot clear the rope in time it 8ties his legs1 and he falls and gets laughed at04 ,all these games are for the boys1 but they do not forget them when they grow up2 in fact1 the young men seem to be the most zealous players4 ,the girls have not so much time for play2 they are kept constantly pounding at corn as soon as they are able to lift the pestle4 7#g7 ,both boys and girls have games1 in which they imitate the graver pursuits of their fathers and mothers 7kulinganila misingu jao74 ,they build little houses1 where they go to dwell during the day4 ,girls in their play often break down soft stones between harder ones1 after the fashion that women grind flour4 ,boys go about with miniature bows and grass arrows 7sugumbe74 ,playing at war and stealing slaves is a common game4 ,in teaching young natives substraction1 the illustration found simplest was like this3 given a village with #cj people1 the slavers catch #aa1 how many are left8 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,mysteries4 #eb4--8,,little-,,go0 ,,for ,,the ,,girls4 ,when a girl is very young1 scarcely approaching the age of puberty1 she is taken to one mystery called unyago wa chiputu4 ,the ,wanyasa girls are a little older when they go to this ceremony4 ,girls until this ceremony are called 8uninitiated0 7wesichana72 after it they are 8initiated0 7wali74 ,the same terms are applicable to boys and young men1 although more commonly applied to females4 ,the girl may have been living with her husband even before this mystery4 ,in such cases she gets a special charm at the ceremony4 ,the mystery is a very great occasion among these tribes4 ,long before the time a great deal of food is prepared3 the women may be seen pounding maize for about five days before4 ,it begins at new moon1 and continues for a month or more4 ,the children to be initiated stay in booths away in the bush4 ,thousands of people collect from all quarters4 ,there is a great deal of dancing and singing4 ,the girls are initiated by a female1 who is called the 8cook of the mystery0 7mtelesi wa unyago74 ,among other things this 8cook0 gives an exhortation in which they are told to be obedient and respectful to their elders1 and to avoid making any disturbance in the village4 ,towards the close of the ceremony the little girls are put under a roof1 which they can carry on their heads4 ,ten may be under this at the same time4 ,a great part of the exhortation has reference to the customs of the tribe1 especially with reference to marriage duties1 and advice is given in a great many absurd details4 ,each little girl is told that she must be faithful to her husband1 otherwise he will kill her4 ,although the adultress is liable to punishment by death1 this threat goes perhaps a little beyond the truth4 ,but it is considered prudent to impress the mind of the child by warning her of the extreme danger that such conduct might incur4 ,the heads of the girls are shaved1 and their bodies anointed with an oil which contains various charms4 ,one hurtful superstition is that when the girl is initiated she must find some man to be with her on her return otherwise she will die4 ,the same superstition is implicitly believed with reference to the boys' ceremonies4 ,it reminds us a little of what ,herodotus relates of certain ,asiatics4 ,when the girl comes back to her home her name is changed1 and must not be again mentioned4 ,the ordinary fee for this initiation1 payable by the guardians of the girl to the 8cook10 is about four fathoms of cloth4 ,this is a heavy fee--about a month's wages of a native workman4 8,,little-,,go0 ,,for ,,the ,,boys 7,,ndagala74 ,the boys go through a similar ceremony4 ,first there is a dance 7kwina7 at a place cleared of the small trees and bushes 7lupanda74 ,this dance lasts for two or three days4 ,after this they pass to the initiation 7ndagala74 ,here they stay in booths made of cut trees1 grass1 and bamboos1 for about a month and a-half4 ,the ceremony begins at new moon1 and continues until next full moon2 but anyone may be initiated sooner if there be a cause for speed4 7,the ,anyasa do not make their males go through this ceremony2 but an ,anyasa slave taken by the ,wayao is put through it even if he be an old man and married47 ,the candidates carry their beds with them4 ,they provide themselves with sticks like ramrods 7mbininga71 which are thrown at any one that may intrude on their retreat2 and if a person should thus be seriously hurt there is no redress4 ,this reminds us of the ,odi profanum vulgus1 ,et arceo of ,horace4 ,when they leave the ceremony great care is shown in destroying or disposing of these sticks3 some are put together at a 8cross-road04 ,the chief figure in this ceremony is a man called the 8rattler of the tails0 7juakuchimula michila74 ,tails are possessed of great power as charms4 ,a chief who goes to war seeks for such medicinal tails2 the sick are restored by them4 ,a house in which ivory is to be stored must first be swept by tails4 ,belief in their virtues is not confined to one tribe4 ,pictures of the ,zulu witch-doctors represent these personages as fully armed with tails1 and there are many other instances in ,africa4 ,the man that rattles the tails communicates to the initiated all information with regard to the customs of the tribe1 and special observations connected with the sexes4 ,he delivers lectures and is said to give much good advice4 ,a person that has not gone through this ceremony is laughed at as being uninitiated 7mwisichana74 ,the lectures condemn selfishness1 hence when one man refuses to share with another a piece of meat he is called mwisichana4 ,no one must call the initiated youth 7wanachikopoko7 by his previous name4 8,what would happen if any one were to forget this1 and call the youth by his old name80 8,why1 he would kill you40 ,it is a terrible way of teasing a ,wayao to point to a little boy1 and ask if he remembers what was his name when he was about the size of that boy4 ,some would not mention their old name on any consideration4 #ec4--,,the 8,,great ,,go0 7,,unyago ,,wa ,,chimbandi74 ,there is another of these mysteries4 ,it must be remembered that the foregoing mysteries are great occasions among the natives1 and this one1 though in some respects less public and more a family matter is no less so4 ,when the 8greater mystery0 7unyago wokulu71 as the ,anyasa call it1 is to be held1 a quiet and peaceful village is converted into a scene resembling an old feeing market or a penny wedding4 ,the ceremony is held when a young woman is with child for the first time2 it is attended only by women that have borne children themselves4 ,other women are banished from the village1 and all the males except the husband of the young woman1 who must be present if he has not been initiated before4 ,the day before the ceremony women may be seen pounding corn for the occasion1 as they have been doing for several days4 ,a preparation is made that might do for a marriage feast4 ,the young woman that is to be the subject of the mystery is seated before the door of her hut1 and her head is smeared over with castor oil4 ,the 8,cook0 seems to superintend this operation1 although other women assist4 ,they take the thinner end of their razor 7lukwangulo71 and keep poking all along her head while the girl sits quiet and gloomy4 ,that day her head is shaved4 ,next day there is the mystery proper4 ,the ,surety 7#dh7 has gone to invite other women4 ,the 8,cook0 also invites her friends4 ,the young woman herself 7achakongwe wene7 invites some4 ,there is a very imposing gathering of matrons2 songs and dances of the usual indelicate character are the order of the day4 ,one of the most conspicuous parties is to be seen with an enormous pumpkin tied under her dress4 ,the young woman is anointed with oil and red ochre 7ngama74 ,the ceremony is finished towards night and inside the house4 ,the fee to the 8,cook0 is two bushels of maize4 ,this is the last of these mysteries4 ,the advice given to the young woman 7and her husband7 is not deficient in quantity2 but on its quality we prefer to be silent4 ,to the natives themselves it appears ridiculous as soon as they become critical4 ,we have met a ,yao far from his own home1 and once or twice1 in order to find out at what age he had been carried off in slavery1 we have asked whether he was at the mysteries2 the very mention of the subject nearly put him beside himself with laughter4 ,he looks back to the matter as a comical experience of his life2 but at the same time he is rather ashamed1 especially when he thinks that a ,european knows about it4 ,the following from the ,zulu tales of ,bishop ,callaway illustrates a similar practice in the ,south of ,africa3--8,when young men come to the ,umgongo where the ceremonies of puberty are being performed 7for when a damsel is of age it is then that the filthy custom is practised of all the young people going there71 the house is now a house of sweethearts and damsels where all kind of evil will be spoken2 modesty is at an end at that time1 and all fearful things are mentioned1 which ought not to be openly mentioned1 and which1 if a man mentioned them by name1 he would be regarded as mad4 ,there then all become mad1 for there is no one of authority to say1 #8,do not mention such things'40 ,on this whole subject writers are divided4 ,some say that the mysteries include circumcision after the ,jewish or ,mahommedan custom4 ,others deny this4 ,the subject has its difficulties1 as these rites are supposed to be inviolably concealed by the initiated1 who often say that they would die if they revealed them4 ,mr4 ,rowley1 in his book on the 8,universities ,mission10 makes the remark that the ,wayao circumcise4 ,from one native ,i gathered that such was the case2 but on subsequent inquiry ,i could not verify the statement4 ,the ,mahommedans1 who are pressing into the country1 have1 according to ,senhor ,nunes1 a missionary spirit about them1 but even at ,quilimane the administration of circumcision is confined to their prosyletes4 ,the general character of the mysteries is as we have described above4 ,we may also point out that in the initiation of males1 figures of the whale 7nyamgumi7 are made on the ground1 and in the initiation of females1 figures of leopards1 hyenas1 and such animals as are seen by those that never leave their homes4 ,flour is sprinkled on the top of these figures2 if it fall off soon1 there will be war in the country4 ,some of the advices given to the ,namaquas at similar ceremonies is that they must not any longer suck goats6 ,at initiation the ,bechuana girls are put under the authority of a stern old woman1 who sets them very severe tasks in order to teach them to undergo pain and fatigue4 ,one of their duties is to hold a piece of hot iron in their hands for some time4 ,we have often been astonished at the manner in which the natives about us used to handle fire4 ,it seemed to become quite harmless in their fingers6 ,the boys in some ,bechuana tribes have an ordeal still more severe4 ,a number of questions are asked1 for instance1 8,will you herd the cattle well80 ,when the boy says 8,i will10 he receives a stroke which inflicts a deep gash in his back4 ,another question is put to him1 which is impressed on his memory by another terrible blow4 ,if he were to wince under these inflictions he would fail to 8pass04 ,the boys generally acquit themselves marvellously4 ,the cuts inflicted are said to be from #ab to #ah inches long4 ,few ,europeans would survive the initiation4 ,few things better shew the degradation of the ,african heathen than the fact that instruction at the ,mysteries is the only kind of formal teaching to be found in his country4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,marriage4 #ed4--,,ways ,,of ,,procuring ,a ,,wife4 7#a7 ,we have already seen that a little girl may be betrothed very early4 ,after she is grown up1 even before she has attended the mysteries1 she may go to live with her husband4 7#b7 ,if a man succeed a relative that possessed five wives1 every one of these women passes over to him by inheritance4 7#c7 ,if a man make a raid on a neighbouring village1 and carry off some girls1 they will become his wives1 unless redeemed4 7#d7 ,another way of procuring a wife is simply by buying4 ,two skins of a buck is a fair price in the ,mangoni country4 ,similarly wives may be paid over in settling debts4 7#e7 ,young men are sometimes presented with wives by the masters or guardians of the latter4 7#f7 ,the case of wooing is treated below 7#ef74 ,when a man's wife dies he gives an offering to her spirit 7cf4 #da71 and goes to seek another to fill her place4 ,a wife whose husband is dead may not get another so quickly lest he should die also 7#hb74 ,there is nothing to prevent a man from marrying his sister-in-law2 but no man may marry his sister1 a fact that is brought out very distinctly in a common native conundrum1 which might be rendered1 8,what is the fruit that you must not pluck1 however sweet it may be80 ,a couple may marry though they belong to different tribes1 and can hardly communicate except by signs4 #ee4--,,ranks ,,among ,,wives4 ,as a rule a man has one wife that is free1 while the other three or four are slaves4 ,if he be the chief of a village his wife also gets the title of msyene wa musi1 or 8possessor of the village04 ,his other wives are not called slaves1 but ladies of the harem 7akusyeto71 although their status is really that of slaves4 ,the chief wife is generally the woman that was married first4 ,there may be exceptions4 ,for instance1 if the principal wife be betrothed in infancy to a full grown man1 this man will take a female 8to fill the place of the betrothed infant04 ,after being married for a year or two the husband is almost expected to get junior wives4 ,these the chief wife1 as a matter of courtesy1 calls her younger sisters 7apwao74 ,we have seen instances1 however1 when a great strife arose on the introduction of the other wives1 and where the chief wife would threaten a separation1 and carry it out too4 ,but these were instances rather of self-will than of conformity to the customs of the country4 ,it is an object of common aspiration to be possessed of five wives4 ,the chief wife has the superintendence of the domestic and agricultural establishment4 ,she keeps the others at their work1 and has power to exercise discipline upon them4 ,the punishment she inflicts for laziness is to banish junior wives from meals until hunger bring them to their senses4 ,when a junior wife is very obstreperous her superior may put her in a slave stick4 ,the authority of the chief wife is not a matter to jest with4 ,i knew a case of a junior wife that had her infant child promptly put upon the fire by this terrible overseer4 ,when a man is severely pressed by some legal action and has to pay heavy fines1 he begins by selling off his junior wives4 ,when reduced to one wife he has reached the highest point of distress4 ,his free wife he cannot sell1 as she is under the protection of her surety 7#fj74 ,plurality of ,free ,wives4 ,a man may procure more than one free wife1 by inheriting an elder brother4 ,in this case he may often become the possessor of another village1 and thus his free wives need not come into collision4 ,his late brother's wife may live at her old home1 at which her new husband will dwell on stated occasions2 at other times he will live at his own village1 where his other free wife continues to reside4 #ef4--;,,adult ,,marriage4 ,it is not easy to explain in a short form all the customs with reference to marriage4 ,they are so different from what we are familiar with that1 to make the description less tedious1 we shall suppose a case of adult marriage1 which may easily happen1 notwithstanding the custom of betrothal1 as a marriage here is not necessarily a union for life4 ,a man sees a young woman who has apparently no husband2 he wishes this young woman to be his wife4 ,he may talk to her privately1 and ask her sentiments4 ,if he be favourably received1 he will tell his wishes to his surety 7#dh7--this may be his father or uncle1 or elder brother1 or the chief of the village in which he lives4 ,this step is very prudent1 seeing that at marriage the man leaves his father and mother1 leaves his own home and country1 and goes to stay with his wife4 ,the woman takes no steps whatever1 she returns to her home and says nothing--wonders whether the man is in earnest2 by and by her suitor1 after receiving the sanction of his surety1 goes to the country of the woman and asks formally for her hand4 ,the woman's surety tells him to come back again1 and meanwhile communicates with the woman4 ,next time the suitor comes1 perhaps in a day or two1 he engages his bride4 ,she is at once his wife4 ,the man immediately leaves his own village and proceeds to build a house in the village of his wife4 ,as soon as he has finished the door1 and perhaps before the roof is on1 she enters it and lives with him4 ,day of entering the house4 ,there is no ceremony on the day on which she enters the house 7lia kwinjila nyumba74 ,the elders may be present on this day1 and a rich man may signalise it by having some beer2 but the rule is that what would be the marriage day with ,europeans1 passes by without receiving any distinction4 ,the woman simply enters the house that her husband has built at her father's home1 and takes with her1 pots1 baskets1 a bed1 and some flour to make their simple meal4 ,the axe and hoe belong rather to the man's outfit1 although the woman will use them oftener than he4 ,one of her first duties is to plaster their house4 #eg4--,,woman',s ,,kingdom4 ,the wife has the chief part of the hoeing and cultivation of the soil4 ,the husband cuts down trees and may also hoe with her if he have not many wives1 in which case he has less occasion to work4 ,she has also to go to the forest with her axe and cut firewood 7ngwi74 ,the husband may go with her4 ,it is interesting to meet a couple returning from a journey for firewood4 ,the man goes first carrying his gun or bow and arrows1 while the woman carries the invariable bundle of firewood on her head4 ,mrs4 ,macdonald used to amuse such parties by taking the wife's load and putting it on the husband1 telling him #8this is the custom of our country'4 ,it is also the wife's duty to go to the field for the supply of beans1 potatoes1 or pumpkins4 ,one of the hardest parts of the woman's work is the pounding or milling of the corn4 ,she breaks it down in a mortar by means of a large pestle1 which is a weight in itself4 ,the work is certainly hard and tedious1 but results in the formation of a very fine flour4 ,she looks to her husband to find her in clothing4 ,when her clothes are torn it is his duty to sew them1 and a very serious thing it is for a husband to neglect this work4 ,it may cause a separation4 ,but he finds that her wardrobe is not expensive4 ,if he can get calico at #c;d4 a-yard she will really cost little more than #bs4 per annum4 ,no wonder that she expects her husband to show her some little attention since she does so much for him4 ,the wife may be described as performing nearly the whole of the ploughing and sowing1 the whole of the reaping and ingathering of the crop1 the whole of the milling1 the whole of the brewing1 and the whole of the cooking1 including the carrying of fire and water4 ,when a woman has cooked her husband's meal she does not sit down to enjoy it with him except they be quite alone4 ,if they sit down together and a male stranger arrive she retires and takes her food apart1 and he may do the same when a female comes to visit them 7#fg74 #eh4--,,marriage ,,contract 7chikulundine74 ,we have seen that there is no marriage ceremony on the day that they enter their house 7#ef71 but sometime after1 perhaps when they get the first produce of their new field1 there is a meeting to lay down certain rules as to their behaviour in their new relationship 7kuwika chikulundine74 ,the wife's surety comes to #8settle' her 7ne kuja angoswe kwatula alumbuwao74 ,the young wife #8cooks' 7kuteleka7 or brews a great quantity of beer4 ,two pots are prepared for the surety or sureties of her husband1 and two others for her own surety or sureties4 ,then there is a great feast at which these personages are present to offer their instructions4 ,the sureties of the husband 7angoswe wa chilume7 may kill a cock1 while the sureties of the wife 7angoswe wa chikongwe7 kill a laying hen4 ,very often a part of such fowls is carefully carried to an old surety that has not been able to come4 ,these marriage rules 7chikulundine7 prohibit the wife from adultery1 and bind both parties to resort to the medicine man 7mchisango7 in case of sickness or misfortune4 ,in ,deut4 xxiv4 #e1 it is said1 #8,when a man hath taken a new wife he shall not go out to war1 neither shall he be chargeable with any business1 but he shall be free at home one year1 and shall cheer up his wife whom he has taken'4 ,so certain ,africans will not go on any warlike expedition or act as undertakers 7#cd7 when they have a young child4 #ei4--,,separation4 ,the husband and wife may separate if they can show some reason4 ,the reasons for a separation are such as these3 7#a7 ,if the wife commit adultery1 for one offence she may get off with a reprimand1 especially in the case of a poor man2 but the repetition of the offence generally insures dismissal1 if not death4 ,if she be free1 she goes back to her surety1 if she be a slave1 she will likely be sold4 7#b7 ,if either speak disrespectfully of the other's friends there may be a separation4 7#c7 ,if a woman's children all die her husband may leave her4 7#d7 ,where the husband neglects to sew his wife's clothes1 or where the wife will not hoe diligently1 there may be a divorce4 7#e7 ,in cases where they do not please each other1 a separation may be arranged4 ,when they separate1 the wife takes away the few domestic utensils which she brought with her1 none of which are used by the man4 ,if he gave her1 occasionally1 pieces of cloth to wear she does not pay them back1 because she was the 8cook of his porridge for him04 ,in all separations1 except for serious cases like adultery1 the one party gives the other a token 7msimbo71 which may be cloth1 arrow-heads1 beads1 or some such current money4 ,the one that begins the strife 7juakutanda71 and is the cause of the separation1 pays the other4 ,very often a husband leaving his wife will give her a male slave1 while a wife leaving her husband will give him a female slave4 ,marriage with ,slaves4 ,if one of the parties be a slave to the other1 the marriage bond is not so readily dissolved4 ,slave spouses must listen to the dictates of their partners1 and where there is practically only one will there can be no collision4 ,the free spouses when tired of their slave partners1 or offended by them1 can dispose of them just as in the case of other slaves4 ,we have known many cases of slave wives running away from husbands1 but we have not known instances of slave husbands running away from free wives4 ,we might think that where the wives have the upper hand in marriage relationships1 there is not such a risk of strife as in the ordinary arrangement2 only the proportion of free wives with slave husbands is small4 ,in no case can a woman1 even if she possess many male slaves1 have more than one husband4 ,if a wife with a male slave marry a free husband1 her male slave is discarded2 and if again she should fancy another man1 she must devise some reason for separating from this new husband4 ,there can easily be found cases where it could be said to a woman1 8thou hast had five husbands10 although they would not be contemporaneous4 ,the husband on the other hand may have as many wives as he can secure4 ,very generally the head of a village1 instead of appropriating for himself every woman that he might have1 gives over certain for his younger brothers or male slaves4 ,a ,yao ,chief is content with ten to twenty wives4 ,some of the ,magololo have #agj4 ,i have been often asked how a man can maintain the scores1 and even hundreds of wives that ,africans are allowed to have4 ,the man finds no difficulty4 ,the more wives he has1 the richer he is4 ,it is his wives that maintain him4 ,they do all his ploughing1 milling1 cooking1 c4 7#ea74 ,they may be viewed as superior servants who combine all the capacities of male servants and female servants in ,britain--who do all his work and ask no wages4 #fj4--,,peculiar ,,position ,,of ,a ,,free ,,wife4 ,in the case of a free wife the husband is not responsible for her debts1 if he were so1 it would go hard with her1 as she might be sold off to pay a 8legal action04 ,when a woman gets into trouble the accuser does not go to the husband at all1 but to the surety 7#dh74 ,suppose a woman is accused of theft1 it is no matter for her husband4 ,the accuser goes with some evidence before the surety4 ,if the evidence be exceedingly little1 no notice is taken1 but if the accuser has a chance of incriminating the woman1 the surety will call her1 and she must respond1 whether the husband be willing or not4 ,if she confess to the charge1 her surety pays the fine4 ,if she deny the charge1 she will appeal to the poisoned cup 7mwai74 ,if she drink it and survive1 she is innocent1 and receives a fine which is paid1 not to the husband1 but to the surety4 ,when the plaintiff has to pay three slaves1 the surety will retain two of them1 and out of kindness give one over to his relative whose life has been endangered by the ordeal2 thus the accused woman has a kind of solatium4 ,if she die1 her guilt is proved3 the plaintiff is entitled to restitution of the stolen goods or their value1 and a fine as well4 ,all this is paid by the surety2 the husband has nothing to do in the matter except to observe the customary mourning 7#cc7 when she dies1 but of course the unfortunate woman that dies of the poison is only entitled to mangled funeral rites 7#ajg74 ,family ,relationships4 ,we may here mention the great difficulty we have at first in understanding their relationships4 ,the modern ,european family is founded on marriage1 but the time was1 even in ,europe1 when it was founded as much on power4 ,the single fact that families may be founded on other grounds than marriage will give the ordinary reader an idea of the difficulty4 ,a native child sees nothing wonderful in claiming to have two or three fathers1 and as many mothers4 ,if a man have several younger brothers their children are called his sons1 so are his own grandchildren4 ,but the children of a sister are called his nephews4 ,this naming fits very well with their system of inheritance 7#ig74 ,if a man have a brother and a sister1 he is called one thing by the brother1 but quite a different thing by the sister4 ,again1 we cannot give a literal translation of 8,joseph and his brethren03 we require to say 8,joseph and his elder brethren and his younger brother04 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,social ,,life4 #fa4 ,,man ,,in ,,society4 ,hitherto we have looked at the native as an individual or as a member of a family and have spoken of his birth1 training1 marriage1 and death4 ,now we shall view him as a member of society4 ,rarely does a native live a hermit's life4 ,we did know of men that forsook their relatives and lived alone1 but they were considered mad4 ,not unfrequently1 however1 a man and his family live entirely by themselves1 independent of the rest of the world4 ,such cases occur where invading tribes have overrun a country and driven out its people4 ,after the invaders retire1 the old inhabitants are afraid to go back1 and an enormous tract of country is left desolate4 ,still1 in some inaccessible nook there is often found a solitary family--a remnant either of the invaders or of the invaded4 ,usually the natives live in small villages containing #aj or #ab huts1 occasionally in larger villages containing three times as many4 ,they do not like to pack themselves closely4 ,in times of peace few villages contain more than #ajj people4 ,owing to the native method of cultivation 7#fd71 the inhabitants of a large village soon find themselves too distant from their farms4 ,on one small island in ,lake ,chirwa1 people are massed together to the number of #djjj1 but they subsist by fishing1 and are obliged to live there for protection from slavers4 #fb4 ,,founding ,a ,,native ,,village4 ,a man wishing to found a new settlement1 first takes steps to get out of the village he belongs to4 ,he goes to the village chief and says 8,i wish to leave you and form a hamlet of my own04 ,should the latter object1 he remarks1 8,remember1 ,i am not your slave04 ,in times of peace it is inconvenient to crowd people together1 and the chief's consent is readily obtained4 ,in times of war no one cares to form a small settlement which might become an easy prey to the enemy4 ,in a populous district the founder of a new village makes arrangements with his neighbours regarding the fields he is to farm4 ,then he chooses the ground and betrothes it 7tomela74 ,when ready to remove he takes his axe and his grass-cutter and marches to the site of his new home1 accompanied by his family who are able to carry all the furniture at one journey4 ,in a single forenoon they erect temporary dwellings for themselves4 ,they then begin to clear away the bush1 the man cutting the trees1 and his wives doing the hoeing while the children play beside them4 ,the party find themselves in a pleasant little world of their own where no one interferes4 ,their method of manuring the ground by burning the trees on it1 makes sad havoc of the beautiful woods4 ,after the hoeing is well advanced they think of erecting a house4 ,during his wood-cutting the man sets aside the trees that are suitable for building4 ,he also lays past some of the grass for thatching4 ,when the erection is finished it is carefully plastered by the women1 and then we have before us the house or hut which is the chief material constituent of the native village4 ,separate houses for fowls and bins for corn may next be erected 7,c74 #fc4 ,,increase ,,of ,,village4 ,the single family may rapidly become a large state4 ,a man with three daughters1 one of nine years1 another of five years1 and another of five days will soon have three able-bodied sons-in-law added to his village4 ,the girl of nine years likely has her husband already1 who now comes and builds a house at her father's abode1 while his young wife tries to look as important as she can4 ,the girl of five years may also have crossed the ,rubicon1 otherwise her husband1 if a lad of sixteen summers1 will be counting the weary days of single life1 and looking forward to the time when he may go to dwell with his bride4 ,the girl of five days1 if she have not a presumptive husband already1 will be given to the first applicant1 and he will in due time be added to the colony4 ,since a husband1 instead of taking his wife from her home must leave his own abode and go to dwell with her 7#ef71 daughters are the great hope of a rising village4 ,sons do not cheer their father's heart in the same way2 for their marriage removes them from his settlement and adds nothing to his splendour as a village chief4 ,the sons-in-law have all separate dwellings4 ,however large the settlement may become1 the man that is first in the field is the chief or headman4 ,in course of time he adorns his position by acquiring wealth4 ,he may shoot some buck and get possession of their skins4 ,with these he goes to the ,mangoni country and buys slaves4 ,an old person he obtains for a single skin1 but a young slave costs two2 and women cost much more than men4 ,the female slaves thus bought are his junior wives1 and he keeps them busy in hoeing the farm1 and all such female duties4 ,the male slaves he employs in farming1 building1 making baskets1 sewing garments1 and such masculine pursuits4 ,he keeps all these persons strictly at their duties1 and at the same time welcomes an opportunity of selling them at a profit4 ,the gain thus realised he lays out in purchasing more people4 ,if his daughters were unmarried1 he would give them slave-husbands4 ,the natives aim at 8replenishing the earth and subduing it04 ,as it is no expense for them to rear families1 they are all desirous to have many children4 ,besides this increase of the village from the chief's own resources1 there may be an accession of freemen4 ,after the settlement is begun1 a man may come to its founder and say1 8,i wish to live with you04 ,the village chief gives him permission and calls him 8younger brother04 ,the new comer brings his family1 builds a house1 and cultivates a farm in the same way as his chief4 ,a freeman may leave his present chief and take up his abode with another1 whose subject he becomes4 ,his former chief has no longer any authority over him whatsoever4 ,but a man often decamps by night taking with him many slaves belonging to his fellow-citizens2 he then goes to some influential chief who may be only too glad to give the fugitive ground1 and to establish him as a sub-chief4 ,freemen who thus leave are detested by their former chief1 who welcomes every opportunity of shooting or capturing them4 ,to retain a runaway slave is to proclaim war with his owner4 ,a chief though not bound to catch a runaway and hand him back1 may do so in order to show friendship to the slave's master4 ,a fugitive slave when recaptured is treated unmercifully1 hence he almost chooses to die rather than to be sent back4 #fd4 ,,village ,,life ,,and ,,work4 ,as we take a journey into the country we come on a path quite new4 ,curiosity prompts us to follow it4 ,our natives exclaim1 8,oh1 when did this new settlement begin8 ,how quickly it has sprung up40 ,we quench our thirst at the beautiful stream1 and then advance towards the village green4 ,the hamlet is already large1 but we find only two male slaves sitting manufacturing a bed4 8,where is the chief80 8,he has gone to drink beer at ,masangano's40 8,why did you leave your old home80 8,chikumbu is killing people1 and we wanted to live nearer the ,mission40 8,and where is little ,mpakata that used to come to school80 8,his father sent him to watch the monkeys1 but he takes his book with him and reads40 8,where are all the rest of the people80 8,they have gone to carry food from our old fields40 ,when villages are small we find them in the forenoon entirely deserted1 and all the doors barred on the outside4 ,in the first year of a settlement the farm is just at the door4 ,each year it moves farther off1 for instead of hoeing the old fields1 the natives go beyond them1 and without remorse cut down more of the beautiful trees4 ,thus they advance year by year till they reach the boundary of another farmer4 ,from him they get permission to go right beyond his farm and hoe on the other side4 ,the new fields they plant with their corn and principal crops2 the old fields they think fit only for beans and crops of small importance4 ,when they have in this way exhausted the soil in their neighbourhood1 they remove altogether1 and build a new village in some uncultivated spot4 #fe4 ,,the ,,workers4 ,the wives and slaves of a village chief do the greater part of his hoeing 7#fb74 ,his sons-in-law are also required to assist4 ,should a slave son-in-law refuse to comply with this custom he is liable to be driven from his wife3 a free son-in-law would get off more easily4 ,it is not common for the man's own sons to contribute their aid1 but they may do so out of kindness4 ,the freemen that settle with a man1 and own him as their chief1 are under no obligation to do his farming2 they have fields of their own3 but it is common for a farmer to be assisted by all in his neighbourhood through what is called a chijawo1 which resembles a hoeing match1 only there is no competition4 ,the farmer brews an enormous quantity of beer4 ,all his friends turn out with hoes1 and work hard till midday2 after that they drink the beer4 #ff4 ,a ,,day',s ,,work ,,and ,a ,,day',s ,,fare4 ,the natives rise at daybreak 7#f ,a4,m47 and go off to their fields without any food4 ,they work till noon1 and then come back to breakfast4 ,their day's work in the field is now over1 and in the afternoon the village so recently empty is full of inhabitants4 ,the women are occupied in preparing the second meal1 while the men may do some of their more artistic work 7,h71 though among tribes that have been hitherto hunted from their homes every twenty or thirty years no high art is to be expected4 ,as the shades of evening gather round the hamlet 7#f ,p4,m47 the villagers partake of their second meal1 and soon after retire to rest4 #fg4 ,,cooking ,,and ,,meals ,,in ,,common4 ,though each family has a farm of its own1 no family eats its food apart from the others4 ,all the inhabitants of a small village take their meals in common4 ,they manage in the following way3--,one night ,mrs4 ,kumlomba supplies all the flour1 and takes her share of pounding and cooking4 ,next night ,mrs4 ,chipaliko does the same1 and next night ,mrs4 ,chendombo4 ,as soon as the food is cooked1 it is taken to their husbands and all the other males of the village1 who wait for it in the forum4 ,part is reserved for the women themselves1 who along with the female children must eat in a different place4 ,a large village is divided into several messes1 one part of each mess consisting of the males and the other part of the females4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,government ,,and ,,administration ,,of ,,justice4 #fh4 ,,village ,,politics4--,,the ,,headman ,,or ,,village ,,chief4 ,the inhabitants of a native village live together on well-understood principles1 whatever may be said of their practice4 ,the village headman is their ,governor1 or rather their 8,father04 ,in describing how a new settlement is founded 7#fb7 we supposed that a man went forth alone1 and was afterwards joined by others1 who were called his 8younger brothers04 ,but often the founder is from the first accompanied by several friends4 ,now1 all these 8younger brothers0 form a kind of ,parliament4 ,the founder of the village1 or in other words the village headman1 presides over this body1 but is not obliged to follow its instructions4 ,slaves cannot be members of ,parliament1 neither have females any voice in the council4 ,so much is this last fact recognised1 that when a mother is asked whether the infant in her arms is a boy or a girl1 instead of saying 8,it is a girl10 she will reply1 8,it belongs to the sex that does not speak60--an answer which strikes us as implying an unusual definition of the female sex4 ,a headman does not convene his parliament except when he sees occasion4 ,if he think1 for instance1 that some of his people are becoming too rich1 he transfers their goods to himself without making any fuss about the matter4 ,but if he wish to engage in war1 he considers it necessary to assemble his parliament4 ,in the same way if he desire to carry out any public work1 as surrounding the village with a stockade1 he summons his people to consider the proposal and assist in the undertaking4 ,the headman1 however1 cannot make his villagers hoe his farm for him1 or do any such private work 7#fe74 ,neither does he exact tribute from them--for who would tax his 8younger brothers80 ,still he expects them not only to stand by him in war1 but to support his government on all occasions1 and to render special assistance in the trial of judicial cases4 ,after such cases have been debated by his parliament1 it becomes his duty to give decision4 ,he may pronounce a capital sentence1 or order as large a penalty as the fine of four slaves--especially if he be a higher headman 7#gb74 ,but his judgment may be complained of by any of his free subjects 7only such appeals are rare1 unless by parties that want to leave his village altogether74 ,his decision may be revised by some other headman1 as the ruler of the village from which his own settlement broke off 7#fb72 but the ultimate appeal is to the chief of the country4 ,while the village headman settles all smaller disputes without troubling his chief1 he usually reports graver cases4 ,where he has any difficulty in administering justice he appeals to his chief for aid1 and if such aid were refused1 he would have sufficient reason for rebelling4 ,the headman is called the 8owner of the village10 and when he dies his position is taken by his heir 7#ig74 #fi4 ,,the ,,king ,,or ,,chief ,,of ,,the ,,country4 ,the chief is called the 8owner of the territory0 7msiene chilambo71 and has supreme power over every one that dwells within his dominions4 ,it is true that he does not personally interfere with all his subjects1 much less with their slaves1 but he holds the headmen accountable for the government of their respective villages4 ,he lives in what is called the 8capital0 7kumbala71 which is inhabited mainly by his wives and slaves--a man's greatness being always measured by the number of these4 ,if he have ten wives1 he must have ten huts for them2 and he requires other huts for his older children and his slaves4 ,these items alone make his village large1 and he may have many people besides4 ,he maintains no special army1 for every man in the country is supposed to be a soldier4 ,he rules his own village in the same way as an ordinary headman would do4 ,he often gives considerable authority to his principal slave1 who may be as important a functionary as ,joseph was with his ,egyptian master4 ,in and around his own village the chief of the country is a terrible power1 and his government is supported by the most prompt and severe punishments4 ,but in distant parts of his dominions1 where influential headmen live1 he may be little known1 although as a matter of theory he is supposed to settle all graver disputes even in remote villages4 ,when an appeal comes up from a headman's village1 the chief generally decides it himself1 but he may refer it either to this headman again or to some other headman in whom he has confidence4 ,in a dispute between the inhabitants of different villages1 the respective headmen represent their own subjects1 and the chief is appealed to4 ,all his decisions are final4 ,still the chief may often have less influence than powerful headmen1 and we have known cases where he simply contented himself with grumbling when his headmen acted contrary to his desire2 and in many criminal trials he is eclipsed by the sorcerers and pounders of poison4 #gj4 ,,government ,,of ,,the ,,country4 ,the chief governs his whole territory on the same principles as a headman governs a village 7#fh74 ,he presides over a parliament composed of his headmen1 and he deals with this body in the same way as the headmen themselves deal with their own village parliaments4 ,order is maintained among the various classes of his subjects as follows3--7#a7 ,slaves are entirely under their own master--they are his 8goods02 7#b7 ,freemen are under their elder brother in the first instance1 but they may carry their cases to the headman of their village1 or even to the chief of the country2 7#c7 ,headmen are under higher headmen and the chief4 ,where a chief sees occasion to interfere with his subordinates1 he generally consults his own interest4 ,he will say to a headman1 8,i see that you have been behaving badly to that subject of yours4 ,you cannot get on with him2 he must leave you and come to dwell in my own village60 ,the chief thus secures another servant4 #ga4 ,,headmen4 ,headmen are of various classes4 ,some are the chief's blood-relations and are called his #8younger brothers'4 ,but just as in a village1 there may be free-men not related to the headman1 so in the chief's country there may be headmen not related to the chief4 ,they may have come over with a large following from a hostile chief1 in which case they are called 8settlers10 or 8refugees0 7alambi74 ,or they may be men that have gained the chief's favour by their services1 and been sent to occupy new spots in his kingdom4 ,again1 when a large village increases1 and sends forth smaller hamlets1 new headmen arise2 but some of these may carry all their trials to the mother village1 and in this case they are still the subjects of their 8elder brother04 ,when a person has acquired several villages 7#ig71 he becomes a higher headman1 intermediate between the chief and the owner of a single village4 ,each headman lives in the village he likes best1 and leaves his 8brothers0 to manage his other villages4 ,but a headman of great ambition often places 8brothers0 all around him1 decides their cases1 and practically governs a small kingdom of his own4 ,if he live far from his chief1 one might suppose that he was quite independent4 ,when a quarrel arises between the chief of the country and an important headman1 the latter may rebel1 and found a new kingdom1 thus depriving the old chief perhaps of one-third of the villages in his dominion4 ,on the other hand1 a headman may keep up the chief's authority in a district that the latter could not otherwise hold4 #gb4 ,,duties ,,of ,,headmen ,,to ,,the ,,chief4 ,in all public transactions the headman represents his village4 ,he receives the chief's orders and sees them carried out4 ,when he kills an elephant he sends one of the tusks to the chief4 ,should he kill twenty elephants he is not expected to give up twenty tusks--two or three would be sufficient4 ,if he shoot a large buck he gives one haunch of venison4 ,for all such tribute he expects to receive a return present 7generally of a little powder74 ,it is customary for him to invite his chief to a beer-drinking1 at least once a year1 and the latter accepts the invitation4 ,he is expected to attend the chief's parliament1 unless he is under an elder brother1 in which case he is not allowed to speak1 except when specially commissioned4 ,headmen are expected to report all cases of war1 but they often attack enemies without telling their chief beforehand1 saying1 8,let him hear of the enterprise when it succeeds04 ,yet this is dangerous unless they are sure of success1 and well acquainted with the chief's private sentiments4 ,on reporting the attack they present the chief with part of the booty4 ,in times of war each headman when summoned1 must follow his chief's flag1 otherwise his village is burned down1 and all that fail to escape are killed or enslaved4 #gc4 ,,courts ,,of ,,justice4 ,courts of justice are held in every village for trying cases that occur among the villagers4 ,these courts are identical with the village parliament 7#fh71 and the members discuss the cases1 some taking one side and some the other4 ,the supreme court is regularly held in the chief's village1 and tries graver cases4 ,it is identical with the supreme parliament of which the village headmen are members4 ,although the village headmen and the chiefs of the country preside over these courts1 yet in many trials their influence is less than that of the sorcerer or the pounder of poison4 ,since the natives neither divide their days into weeks nor number the days of their 8moons10 they have no stated time for holding courts1 they just call them as occasion requires4 #gd4 ,,trials4 ,in a trial the accuser speaks first1 and the accused replies4 ,afterwards the various members of the council 7#fh1 #gj7 give their views4 ,throughout the speeches there are expressions of approval at the close of each sentence1 which serve to mark the punctuation4 ,one man keeps crying out1 8,amao6 ,atati6 ,nangolo60 8,mother6 ,father6 ,parent60--words extolling the wisdom and experience of the speaker4 ,the chief or headman on settling a fine does not claim part of it4 ,the whole is paid over to the aggrieved persons1 but if they thus obtain several slaves1 they will present the chief with one in consideration of his services4 ,the idea of friends paying each other is not agreeable to the native mind4 ,professional men such as sorcerers and physicians are paid1 but transactions between a superior and his younger brother take the form of presents4 ,the natives show here a beautiful delicacy of feeling that we are apt to overlook1 amidst their obtrusive greed4 ,an unsophisticated chief will give a goat as a present1 where he would scowl very much at the idea of selling it1 although it is true that he expects the return present to be greater than the proper price4 ,the services of a judge are not such a hard task in this country3 as there are no newspapers the chief and his companions feel the need of something to talk about4 #ge4 ,,evidence4 ,though witnesses are appealed to1 it must not be imagined that cases are decided by their testimony as in ,england4 ,let a man be accused of theft1 and though six witnesses declare that they saw him steal1 the case may be as far from a settlement as if there had been no witness at all4 ,the accused cries1 8,i did not steal1 give me the poison 7mwai7 and it will prove my innocence04 ,if his friends think him innocent they support his demand1 for an innocent man 7they believe7 will vomit the poison1 and thus become entitled to receive a fine4 ,but if they think him guilty they will rather not appeal to the poison1 for a guilty man will die in great pain1#h and his representatives must make full restitution4 ,the accusers of course1 insist that the goods should be given back at once4 ,they do not wish to run the risk of the ordeal1 for if the thief vomit1 they must pay him a fine1 besides losing their goods4 ,all the natives believe that mwai is infallible1 while they well know that the testimony of their countrymen is not so4 ,were a judge to attempt to decide a native case by ordinary evidence he would produce the strangest results4 ,the prosecutor would come with hundreds of his friends prepared to swear to anything that was wanted4 ,the defendant would come in like manner with all his friends ready to swear against everything said by the opposite party4 ,even though the alleged crime should be of the most secret character1 none of these persons would hesitate to swear that he had been an eye-witness4 ,to crown all1 each man would attend the trial1 8armed to the teeth04 ,but when cases are decided by the poisoned cup1 the natives feel that an element of quiet solemnity is introduced4 ,they see one of their fellow creatures brought face to face with death4 ,here we encounter the most deeply rooted faith that these tribes have4 ,if they believe in anything1 it is in this ordeal4 ,i once asked ,kumpama of ,cherasulo1 8,what would you do if a man stole ivory and vomited the mwai1 but was afterwards found selling the stolen ivory80 ,his reply was1 8,if the man stole the ivory he would not vomit the mwai1 the mwai would kill him04 ,i have made similar suppositions to many natives1 and though ,i carefully concealed my petitio principii1 they at once pointed out that ,i was supposing cases that could never occur4 #gf4 ,,discovery ,,and ,,general ,,treatment ,,of ,,crime4 ,since evidence is of such small importance1 how can the natives ever discover criminals8 ,they cannot use the poisoned cup for mere discovery1 because no freemen can be compelled to drink it without a reason4 ,they encounter a peculiar difficulty here1 but they have a peculiar remedy4 ,their method may be explained by showing how it works in the case of theft4 ,when a man finds his goods stolen and can get no trace of the thief1 he applies to the sorcerer4 ,this personage takes up the case1 inspects the dry bones in his calabash1 and in a short time is able to declare the thief4 ,the sorcerer usually trusts to his calabash alone1 but occasionally he makes men lay hold of a stick which after a time begins to move as if endowed with life1 and ultimately carries them off bodily and with great speed to the house of the thief4 ,when his divination is completed1 the sorcerer announces that he has 8detected0 7kamula7 the thief and then formally names him to the owner of the stolen goods4 ,the latter goes to the alleged thief1 tells him that he has been detected by the 8oracle0 and boldly charges him with the crime4 ,when the theft is proved either by the thief's confession1 or by the ordeal 7#ge71 the pursuer demands his goods and a fine besides1 and holds the headman of the thief's village responsible4 ,it is always assumed1 and generally correctly1 not only that the headman knows#i of every theft committed by his villagers1 but that he has even received part of the plunder4 ,where the accused party1 in spite of the verdict of the oracle denies the crime and survives the poisoned cup1 the result brings discredit on the sorcerer4 ,as the poison is the infallible test1 the sorcerer is proved to have 8detected0 the wrong party4 ,he accordingly loses his fee1 and the pursuer is not likely to put confidence in him again4 ,should the pursuer still hope to recover his goods1 he applies to another sorcerer1 but the latter must not 8detect0 the party that has just been accused4 ,a person cannot be asked to drink poison twice for the same charge4 ,caught in the ,act4 ,when a criminal is caught stealing in a man's house1 the course of justice is more speedy4 ,the owner may kill him on the spot1 and he has the sanction of the law for doing so4 ,the friends of the criminal cannot complain4 ,the thief deserved his doom for he was behaving like a bewitcher--he had put himself beyond the pale of human rights1 and was in the position of a lion or a leopard4 ,this holds good whether the theft is by night or by day1 whether the criminal is killed in the house or after a long pursuit4 ,the thief is generally well armed--a circumstance which makes his capture more dangerous4 ,but the injured party1 for the purpose of extorting a great ransom1 often tries to secure the criminal4 ,on succeeding1 he puts the captive in a slave-stick and sends a message to the headman of his village1 who will be glad to pay several slaves in order to redeem his 8brother04 ,should the headman refuse to pay the ransom the unfortunate 8brother0 is left entirely in the hands of the prosecutor1 and is liable to be killed1 sold1 or retained as a slave4 ,when it is known to what village the stolen 8property0 was taken1 as in cases of kidnapping1 the injured party applies at once to the headman of the guilty village1 and if he can get no satisfaction1 there arises a state of war4 ,the prosecutor captures the very first inhabitants of the guilty village that come into his power1 and then he keeps them in slave-sticks until compensation is made4 ,here is a case where a lingering imprisonment falls on persons that are entirely innocent1 the only thing against them being that they belong to a guilty village4 ,,summary4 ,as native law is rather intricate1 we give the following summary of ordinary procedure in criminal cases4 ,detection4 ,the criminal 7#a7 may be caught in the act1 7#b7 may be known to have the stolen goods in his possession1 7#c7 may be detected by the sorcerer1 or 7#d7 may be convicted on the confession of himself1 or 7#e7 the statements of his accomplices and others4 ,this last case 7#e7 shows that1 after all1 the natives cannot exclude testimony1 and even in case 7#c7 the sorcery must derive all its value from ordinary evidence4 ,the sorcerer has1 doubtless1 many agents that are more useful than his calabash1 although it is for his interest to represent that all other evidence is of little value as compared with his own inspiration4 ,proof4 ,in cases 7#a71 7#b71 7#d71 no trial is needed4 ,in cases 7#c7 and 7#e7 the mwai is appealed to4 ,punishment4 ,the criminal is either killed or fined2 imprisonment is rather a preliminary step4 ,in some cases1 as in the poison ordeal1 a fine is demanded over and above the death4 ,for all fines the headman of the criminal's village is responsible1 but he can repay himself either from the criminal or his relatives4 ,he may even pay the criminal over to the injured party1 but in this case he loses a subject who may be related either to himself or to some influential man in his village4 ,the demand of compensation over and above restitution seems to spring from the constitution of human nature4 ,a little child deprived of a toy is not content to threaten or revile 7or whatever the infantile manifestation of feeling may mean71 while the toy is in the hands of the aggressor4 ,he pours out the same torrent of hostile feeling after the toy has been restored4 ,besides1 there are cases in which mere restitution would not be sufficient compensation for the injury sustained4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,personal ,,rights ,,and ,,offences ,,against ,,them4 #gg4 ,,personal ,,rights--,,slavery4 8,for he 7i4e41 the slave7 is his money0--,exodus xxi4 #ba4 8,if his master have given him a wife1 and she have born him sons and daughters1 the wife and her children shall be her master's40--,exodus xxi4 #d4 ,i once heard a native remark in a village assembly1 8,a fowl is a fowl1 a goat is a goat1--well1 what am ,i80 ,it is often maintained that among savages no rights are recognised except rights of property4 ,but although native jurisprudence deals mainly with questions of property1 here was a savage using as strong an argument for personal rights as any philosopher could employ4 ,there is a great difference between the treatment of a free-man1 and the treatment of the 8thing0 or 8flesh0 called a slave4 ,the following sections 7#gh-ajb7 apply chiefly to freemen1 and many points have no application to slaves1 for instance1 the goods of a deceased slave 7if 8goods0 can be said to possess goods71 do not go to his brother but to his master4 ,the word for 8free0 7mlukosyo7 literally means 8belonging to the tribe or family10 and shows how slavery was originally viewed--the slaves did not belong to the 8family04 ,a freeman becomes a slave when captured4 ,he may be captured by an enemy or by one that has a quarrel either with himself or with the village that he belongs to4 ,freemen may be enslaved by relatives or by superiors4 ,often a man will pay a debt by giving up his own kindred to his prosecutor4 ,those most liable to this treatment are his sisters1 after that his daughters1 then his brothers1 and then his father and mother4 ,in clearing off a heavy debt a native first pays over his slaves1 next his inferior wives1 and then his relatives in the above order4 ,sometimes one pawns his relatives only1 if he cannot redeem his pledges promptly1 he may find them sold4 ,a freeman may become a slave voluntarily1 as when he is in want during a time of scarcity4 ,a man may also become the slave of a master that possesses many females in order to get a wife from him4 ,a person may be a slave by birth4 ,if his parents be both slaves he belongs to their master4 ,when a female slave bears a child to a freeman1 the child belongs not to its father1 but to its mother's master4 ,slaves become free when redeemed or when their master grants them liberty4 ,persons that have been long in slavery may be redeemed by relatives4 ,some say that a slave may redeem himself by presenting to his master another slave whom he may have bought or captured in war4 ,other native authorities1 especially the older men1 deny this most strongly1 and no doubt correctly1 as everything that a slave can possess belongs really to his master4 ,but the older views are now being modified by contact with ,english ,missionaries4 ,before the arrival of the missions1 slaves could obtain nothing except from their master himself1 who supplied them with clothing2 when the missions came they had an opportunity of working for pay4 ,when a slave earns wages1 his owner may no doubt claim the whole of it1 but some masters among the ,yao are said not to exercise this right to the full extent4 ,they allow the slave to retain a great part of his earnings1 so much so that he will occasionally remark1 8,ah6 my master is poor to-day1 ,i must give him some cloth04 ,such masters look with satisfaction on the increasing hoards of their slaves in the same way as an ,english employer delights to see his labourer in a condition of comfort4 ,they will even boast of the rich slaves that they possess4 ,every owner of property finds slavery the most profitable investment4 ,one of the slave's duties is to procure other slaves 7i4e41 more property7 for his master4 ,each male slave is allowed to build a house for himself4 ,he may also get a wife 7#ei7 who1 however1 may be taken from him again4 ,he is politely called his master's 8child0 7mwanache71 the more offensive word 8slave0 7mkapolo7 being seldom used4 ,still the time1 the talents1 and the very lives of slaves are entirely in their master's hand4 ,however great a ransom they may offer1 if the master refuse to take it1 no one in the country can legally set them free4 ,the master's power is absolute4 ,the only check that he feels is this1--he says1 8,if ,i treat my slaves badly1 one day they will find me alone1 take courage 7mbilimo7 and kill me04 ,but a slave would think twice before adopting such a desperate measure4 ,if he murdered a freeman he would run as fast as ,moses ran to ,midian1 and with as good reason4 #gh4 ,,killing ,,slaves ,,or ,,wards4 ,if a master kill one of his slaves1 no one can bring a complaint against him4 ,people that hear of the matter merely say1 8,that man is very stupid to destroy his own property04 ,the companions of the deceased--his fellow slaves--may venture to plead1 8,why did you kill him1 he did no adultery80 but the master silences them1 by pointing out that the deceased was his 8goods0 7chipanje71 or his 8flesh0 7nyama74 ,but after killing a slave1 the master is afraid of ,chilope4 ,this means that he will become emaciated1 lose his eyesight1 and ultimately die a miserable death4 ,he therefore goes to his chief and gives him a certain fee 7in cloth or slaves or such legal tenders71 and says1 8,get me a charm 7luasi71 because ,i have slain a man04 ,when he has used this charm1 which may be either drunk or administered in a bath1 the danger passes away4 ,in the same manner1 if a man kill his younger brother1 or anyone under his charge1 there is no case against the murderer4 ,for one thing1 there is no prosecutor1 and moreover1 relatives may be treated as slaves 7#gg74 ,if a man have a fatal quarrel with his ward1 he finds it a sufficient excuse to say1 8,the deceased began it04 ,but if his ward or even his slave be killed by another party1 the guardian at once becomes prosecutor1 and does not rest till he obtains the fullest compensation4 #gi4 ,,killing ,,enemies4 ,when an enemy is killed1 there is a desire to secure portions 7ikawo7 of his body 7#cf71 which is mutilated accordingly4 ,the parts#aj generally taken are the eyebrows1 nose1 little finger or toe1 and the pudenda4 ,if there be no danger of interruption1 the man or woman thus mutilated1 will be also disembowelled and the heart plucked out4 ,the portions thus cut from a body1 are roasted or burned till quite reduced to ashes 7sile74 ,they are then used as charms in various ways4 ,the savage makes tatoos 7malaka7 in his arm and rubs the ashes into them4 ,or he cooks gruel 7likoko7 and stirs the ashes into it4 ,this dreadful mixture of flour and flesh1 must be lapped with the tongue1 as it would be 8unlucky0 to eat it with the hands4 ,there are several devices for facilitating the lapping process1 such as pouring the mixture from one dish to another and licking the bottom of the emptied dish4 ,another way of using this weird and awful charm1 is as an amulet 7njilsi7--the ashes are mixed with castor oil and sewed up in a small bag1 which is worn round the neck or about the loins4 ,i knew one headman whose great success in war was attributed to the fact that he had eaten 8the whole body of a strong young man04 ,but if he had not been protected by powerful charms1 such cannibalism might have been dangerous to him4 ,the person that eats a human being is believed to run a great risk4 ,even the person that kills a human being1 though the victim be only a slave 7#gh71 must take certain steps to quiet his conscience4 ,in most cases the murderer tells the chief of the country who procures a charm from his medicine man4 ,of this charm the chief himself also partakes that he may not be unlucky 8because of the blood that has been shed in his land04 ,if the chief sent the person to kill the deceased1 he now presents him with a slave or some such reward4 ,so when a headman makes an attack and kills a party on his own responsibility 7#gb71 the chief if approving rewards all that went on the expedition4 ,he also kills a goat for them4 ,at this feast they must not eat salt until a charm is first put in the food4 ,if the chief disapprove of the attack1 he exacts a heavy fine1 which he usually settles as follows3--,when the injured parties retaliate1 and kill or capture some of the chief's subjects1 he makes this headman pay the relatives for their loss4 ,so when the chief wants to dissuade a headman from dangerous wars1 he says to him1 8,remember you will have to pay for all the slain04 #hj4 ,,punishment ,,of ,,murder4 ,if one man slay another1 the friends of the deceased are justified in killing the murderer on the spot 7#gf74 ,but if they catch him alive they put him in a slave-stick1 till compensation be made by a heavy fine of from #d to #bj slaves4 ,when the fine is paid the life of the murderer is not demanded1 but several of the slaves obtained in compensation are killed to accompany the deceased 7#ci74 ,the rest of them are retained3 indeed1 the friends of the murdered man look not so much to his sad fate as to the possibility of making gain by it4 ,if the murderer escape1 some one connected with him is captured1 and a message is sent to the friends in this form1 8,you have slain our brother1 we have caught yours1 and we will send him after our brother unless you pay a ransom04 ,the ransom is expected to include some slaves to accompany the deceased4 ,the captive if not redeemed is entirely at the disposal of the injured party and that for life or death4 ,the above applies to murders occurring among parties friendly toward each other1 and living perhaps in the same village4 ,but should a man go to another village and commit murder1 the act1 if no explanation be granted1 is held to be a declaration of war4 ,when the injured village is strong1 the other villagers will all be killed or enslaved without delay4 ,where the village is not so sure of its strength1 its headman goes to the chief of the country and presents him with a slave1 saying1 8,i desire your help1 ,i want to punish that other village04 ,if the chief has already failed to bring the aggressors to reason1 he receives the present1 promises help1 and soon the guilty village is annihilated4 #ha4 ,,punishment ,,of ,,homicide4 ,the natives are aware of the difference between murder and homicide1 but the punishment of the two crimes is often the same4 ,a man enters a village1 puts down his gun which goes off and kills a person4 ,the gun is claimed by the friends of the deceased4 ,it is worth several slaves1 and the owner may be as anxious to redeem it as he would have been to redeem his brother4 ,when there is no gun to pledge1 the homicide is put in a slave-stick and retained just as in murder 7#hj71 and the surviving relatives are equally anxious to slay persons to accompany the deceased4 ,some native authorities take a more lenient view of homicide4 ,instead of seizing the party or his gun1 they pronounce him quite blameless1 and go to the sorcerer to discover the bewitcher who has been the real cause of the death4 ,they hold that it is this being that must bear the whole of the responsibility4 ,they use a simile here that is borrowed from hunting customs4 ,the hunter that first wounds a buck claims it1 even though it be ultimately brought down by another man4 ,the man that brings the buck down is only the finder1 as it were1 of another man's game 7juakupakanila73 so the homicide only found or brought down the victim that the witch had already destroyed2 he is not the cause but the occasion of the death4 ,some insist that although the homicide may protest his innocence and affirm that he is the victim of some witch1 he must pay damages all the same4 ,i once saw two men tried for a disturbance committed while they were drunk4 ,the person that had supplied them with beer was also brought up1 and was afraid that he should be supposed to have bewitched the beer4 ,a still deeper terror hovered over his speech1 8,perhaps he himself and his beer were both bewitched1 and used as a cat's paw by some other person04 #hb4 ,,punishment ,,of ,,unchastity4 ,we already mentioned 7#ef7 that a man may have an opportunity of contracting a marriage with an adult female and that he may ascertain her sentiments privately4 ,long ago ,i was told by one qualified to speak on ,african customs1 that a native man would not pass a solitary woman1 and that her refusal of him would be so contrary to custom that he might kill her4 ,of course1 this would apply only to females that are not engaged4 ,a girl with no claim upon her readily agrees to marriage1 and the man will marry her although he have several wives already4 ,but if a betrothed girl be seduced1 the crime is treated as adultery and may be punished by death4 ,her intended husband has a right to kill the guilty man4 ,in cases of adultery the injured husband may in like manner kill the seducer4 ,as for the woman1 her first offence may be condoned1 but subsequent offences cause divorce or death4 ,when a wife has been guilty1 her husband will die if he taste any food that she has salted4 ,as a consequence of this superstition a wife is very liable to be accused of killing her husband4 ,when women are preparing their husband's food they may ask a little girl to put the salt in it4 ,with a faithless wife the husband cannot live until a third party 7mjinjila nyumba7 has been with her4 ,the name of this party is concealed from the husband who1 from jealousy1 might kill him4 ,after the ceremony1 the husband and wife may live together again4 ,several of these observances are explained and enjoined at the mysteries 7#eb74 ,as adultery is a crime not easily proven1 the native appeal to the sorcerer1 or the ordeal in such charges has a peculiar significance--it always leads to a definite decision4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,rights ,,of ,,property ,,and ,,offences ,,against ,,them4 #hc4 ,,public ,,property4 ,in ,britain1 the land belongs to a proprietor1 so that if another person go into the woods and cut a tree1 he is trespassing and damaging property1 if he shoot a deer he is a poacher4 ,but among these ,africans one may cut as many trees as he wishes1 and hunt as long as he chooses4 ,this is not because the land is common property4 ,in the ,yao language the chief is expressly called the 8owner of the soil04 ,it is rather because trees are so abundant and grow so fast that the natives are anxious to keep them down4 ,in the same way deer are plentiful1 and it is better to let man feast on them than to leave them for the lion or the vulture4 ,the natives seem to be placed on certain spots for the purpose of subduing the country and maintaining their right to exist against the wild animals around them1 and this must have been so to a much greater extent at the time when these tribes formed their #8social contract'4 ,even as it is1 man looks a very puny object when placed amidst the vastness of the ,african jungle4 ,human beings are quite lost among the grass1 not to mention the trees and bushes4 ,hence 8to catch a man among the grass0 is a proverbial expression which means to do one an injury in secret4 ,illustration3 ,,natives ,,in ,,the ,,african ,,jungle4 ,i shall make a few remarks1 first on various kinds of public property 7#hd-ia71 and next on private property4 #hd4 ,,land4 ,a man may hoe as much land as he pleases1 and for any purpose4 ,he may make trenches for entrapping deer1 he may cut up the ground for great distances in search of moles for his dinner1 or he may begin to plant and make a farm 7#fb74 ,he must never cultivate ground that has been betrothed by another party4 ,but as soon as he hoes a field the ground is entirely his own4 ,he hoes1 and plants1 and builds1 without paying any tax or rent4 ,it has been said with reference to various parts of ,africa1 that the soil belongs to the tribe and that1 according to the native idea1 no chief has a right to make grants of land4 ,but ,i found chiefs always willing to grant as much land as they were asked for4 ,it would be more correct to say that these natives do not know what can be the use of ,perpetual property in land3 when their fields are farmed for two or three years1 the soil yields a poor return1 and they find it necessary to go to new ground4 #he4 ,,timber4 ,one may cut wood wherever he chooses4 ,i knew a chief ask strangers to pay for trees that were cut to make canoes2 but he let his own subjects fell the largest trees without demanding any tax4 ,at the time of the ,mission's arrival1 the ,blantyre district was covered with a dense jungle1 which contained not only an impassable mass of young trees1 but also a sprinkling of old ones4 ,about twenty years before1 the ground had been farmed over by natives who had then cut down the timber for manure and firewood1 sparing only those larger trees1 some of which had been the prayer trees of their old villages4 #hf4 ,,roads4 ,any person may hoe up a public road4 ,many a time have ,i found it difficult to keep the path after a new village had risen in its neighbourhood1 although ,i had been familiar with the king's highway before4 ,when the owner of a farm puts a bunch of thorns on a path1 every bare-legged native understands the signal4 ,still the road cannot be closed altogether1 it will take a graceful curve round the side of the new farm4 ,where it passes through the centre of a large field the farmer leaves it alone4 ,it is so hard that he prefers to try his hoe on the surrounding soil4 #hg4 ,,minerals4 ,where one has a right to hoe at all1 he has a right to all the minerals that he may find1 but if he dig much iron and make many hoes1 he is expected to present some to the chief of the country4 ,no one in this district knows about gold or silver4 ,a piece of calico is more valued than all the coins of the ,bank of ,england would be4 #hh4 ,,building ,,materials4 ,grass1 reeds1 bamboos1 and other materials used for erecting huts may be cut anywhere4 ,in the dry season the country is covered with grass of from two to eight feet high1 according to the richness of the soil4 ,this mass of vegetation will make an enormous blaze4 ,some set it on fire to catch deer or buffalo1 others to catch field-mice1 and others for mere sport4 ,anyone may burn the grass1 but if the flames spread to a village or a corn field1 the fire-raiser is responsible for the consequences4 #hi4 ,,streams ,,and ,,rivers4 ,in this district one may draw water1 bathe1 or catch fish anywhere4 ,when a number of men have to cross a stream at a place where they see women bathing1 they shout out 8,travellers6 ,travellers60 7alendo74 ,so when a woman comes to a stream and sees a man approaching1 she will often turn back with her water-pot1 saying1 8,perhaps he wants to bathe04 ,there are certain superstitions also1 and it is very common when walking along a stream even in the morning 7when no one bathes71 to see women emerge from a village and retreat as soon as they observe men advancing4 ,as to fishing1 there is no restriction1 and the natives use the euphorbia tree 7mtutu7 which kills fish much as lime would do4 #ij4 ,,hunting4 ,any resident or traveller has a right to hunt4 ,on shooting a large buck or an elephant1 he is expected to send the chief a present4 ,but if he be far from the chief's principal village he seldom does so4 ,a company of native travellers who shoot a buffalo out in the bush far from the abodes of men1 will use the whole of it themselves4 ,strangers may be imposed on by headmen1 who1 although loud in making demands1 have no right to such a present4 ,but their claiming it1 shows how much they regard themselves as being separate kings4 ,english hunters used to obtain a great amount of ivory not far from ,blantyre1 much of it being shot in ,no-man's-land4 ,the ,mangoni first drove off the ,yao1 and then receded themselves1 leaving the country unoccupied4 #ia4 ,,travelling4 ,as a matter of theory1 a person may travel in this part of the country without asking permission1 but unless well acquainted with the chiefs and the people1 a foreigner will find it awkward to go without a guide4 ,it is easy1 however1 except in times of war1 to get a guide from one chief to the next4 ,the right to travel naturally implies the right to hunt2 arms must be carried for protection and may be used to obtain food4 #ib4 ,,private ,,property4 ,were a native to count over the items of his property he would give a list like this3--7#a7 ,his chief wife1 whom1 however1 he cannot sell 7#fj74 7#b7 ,inferior wives 7masulila7 with their children4 7#c7 ,female slaves not related to him 7achambumba pa mlango pao71 who may be given as wives to his male slaves4 7#d7 ,male slaves 7achachanda71 who1 although valuable in times of war1 fetch lower prices than females4 7#e7 ,his money1 i4e41 cloth and beads 7which except in the neighbourhood of the ,mission are small items of native property73 arrow-heads1 hoes1 and indeed most articles are used in bartering4 7#f7 ,implements and weapons--axes1 hoes1 mortars1 baskets1 guns1 spears1 c4 7#g7 ,houses1 crops1 fowls4 ,in this list he may include his sisters or other relatives1 who are to a great extent at his disposal 7#gg74 ,if rich1 he may possess also a tusk of ivory1 or a few goats4 ,when an attack is made a native that saves his life has little to lose4 ,the greater part of his property can run with him and carry all his moveables4 ,each wife takes a child on her back1 and a basket with all her goods on her head4 ,the houses are left1 but the party can make a shelter in a few minutes4 ,the crop is the man's greatest loss1 the roots and leaves of the jungle do not taste so well as his porridge4 #ic4 ,,borrowing ,,and ,,lending4 ,the natives are fond of borrowing from each other4 ,if a school-boy possess an unusual dress1 it goes round the whole of his companions4 ,often a native begs for cloth1 and when told that he has enough1 he replies1 8,all that ,i am wearing is borrowed04 ,likely this statement is false1 but the custom of borrowing is so common as to make the falsehood plausible4 ,if a woman at ,quilimane lend a pot1 she expects on its return to receive something for the use of it1 but the more primitive natives about ,blantyre lend 8hoping for nothing again10 in the shape of interest4 #id4 ,,petty ,,theft4 ,many cases of pilfering dealt with by village headmen we might call petty thefts4 ,natives possess so little property that nearly all stealing from them comes under this head4 ,plucking the ears of corn in a field is not criminal4 ,the person that takes a cob of maize leaves the stalk so as to convey a well-known meaning to the farmer1 who as he looks at the signal is able to say1 8,oh6 it is a poor man that has eaten because of hunger10 or 8,it is my friend that has helped himself04 ,but if the smallest article be taken by an enemy1 a disturbance arises4 ,natives are fairly honest among each other4 ,when one is plundered by a companion he exclaims1 8,if you had stolen from a white man1 then ,i could have understood it1 but to steal from a black man----04 ,several articles were once carried off from the ,mission ,station4 ,as a rule1 when theft is mentioned1 the natives say stealing is 8very bad10 8some black men do not know how to steal1 other black men are very bad04 ,but one little fellow1 on this occasion1 took a milder view of the matter and said to his instructor1 8,black man very poor1 ma'am04 ,among the older natives1 however1 a tendency to extenuate is seldom found1 and often we see cases like that mentioned by ,livingstone1 where a person had to drink mwai for taking a few ears of corn4 ,one circumstance that makes even petty theft very heinous in the eyes of the native is that the thief is identified with the ,bewitchers 7#ajf74 ,he uses 8medicine0 like them1 and employs 8horns0 in the same way4 ,he has a charm 7chitaka7 that enables him to go to a sleeper at night and ask1 8,where are your hoes8 ,where are your beads80 ,so complete is his power over his victims1 that he makes them answer all such questions without waking1 and so secure does he feel that he cooks porridge and takes a meal before leaving the plundered house4 ,so much is thief-medicine believed in that few venture to steal without seeking the proper charm4 ,hence it is that a thief becomes an object of disgust1 and may lose his life for taking a few articles which he might have got by simply asking the owner4 ,the native view about witches modifies the whole civil code4 ,any offence may be brought under the terrible crime of witchcraft4 ,if a wife run away it is easy to convince her husband that she would not have done so but for powerful 8witchery0 used against her4 ,the following statement sent me by ,mr4 ,buchanan of ,zomba will further illustrate the law of theft3-- ,after mentioning that 8a man found stealing is in the position of a baboon1 hyna1 or hog1 etc41 and is as liable to be shot down as any of these animals10 ,mr4 ,buchanan says1 8,kasanda1 one of my gaffers1 had charge of a gang of women who were carrying clay from a swamp about a mile distant1 and ,i allowed him a gun partly because kidnapping was rife at the time1 and partly because he had seen an eland as he went to the clay hole the previous day4 ,when returning in the evening he heard a crashing noise in a clump of sugar cane just over the stream4 ,crossing as quickly and as quietly as possible1 he reached the spot unobserved1 and found a man tying up a large bundle of cane4 ,he challenged the thief1 presented the gun1 and had the case been his own1 or had he been serving a native chief1 he would most undoubtedly have given the rascal its contents1 but knowing that the ,english discouraged such customs1 and doubtful how ,i would look on such an act1 he allowed the man to escape4 ,the following day ,i sent for ,kalimbuka1 showed him the bundle of cane1 and stated what had happened4 ,several of his counsellors accompanied him1 and all were unanimous in asserting that according to native law ,kasanda had committed an egregious blunder in not shooting the thief dead4 ,while strongly objecting to this mode of procedure1 ,i earnestly enquired if such was really the law of the country1 and found that it was4 ,i remember too that when ,mr4 ,macdonald and ,i went to visit ,malemya1 his prime minister told us of an instance in which this law had been carried out to the bitter end4 ,a man from ,chikala had stolen yams belonging to ,malemya's people1 the owners lay in wait1 and the thief returning a second time was shot dead4 ,but when a man detects a thief in his field during the day1 and knows the thief well1 he need not shoot or capture him unless he likes4 ,he may march to the man's village1 ask the chief to turn out his men1 and then point out the depredator1 who1 if not redeemed1 becomes the lawful property of the man who owned the stolen stuff 7it matters not what it be740 #ie4 ,,theft ,,and ,,robbery4 ,all the above-mentioned classes of property 7#ib7 are liable to be pilfered1 and among these tribes it is perhaps human beings that are oftenest stolen4 ,we do not now dwell on theft as we have taken it to illustrate the general treatment of crime 7#gf74 ,when the injured party demands redress1 the refusal is a declaration of war4 ,robbery with violence and bloodshed is a declaration of war almost under any circumstances4 #if4 ,,miscellaneous ,,crimes ,,and ,,penalties4 ,besides direct breaches of the #fth1 #gth1 and #hth commandments of the ,decalogue1 which are all punishable by death1 there are many other crimes recognised and punished by native law4 ,burning a neighbour's house1 setting fire to the bush and destroying his crops1 and trespassing so as to cause damage1 are instances that have suggested to the native the lex talionis4 ,to the question 8,what would you do if your neighbour destroyed your crop80 comes the prompt reply1 8,i would take his10 and many injuries or accidents that result in the loss of property are settled accordingly4 ,abusing another person--defamation of character--is also paid back in kind1 unless the stronger party give the other a beating to the bargain4 ,to be called a liar is rather a compliment1 but to be called a bewitcher is much resented4 ,when a woman charges another with adultery1 the fight is often furious2 they bite and scratch each other till they are covered with blood and the dust or mud of the highway4 ,fines may be paid in slaves or any other kind of property except ivory4 ,an offender may be bound over to keep the peace4 ,when convicted of some misdeed1 he presents his superior with a spear1 saying1 8,kill me if ,i offend you again04 ,the token is common between slaves and their masters4 ,in reviewing native punishments we find that almost every offence may be punished by death1 but when an offender is not redeemed1 the particular punishment is left to the headman of the injured party4 ,for instance1 if a headman of ,kumpama's go and say1 8,chenyono has killed a subject of mine2 ,i have caught a subject of his and want to kill him10 the chief's answer will be1 8,he has done you wrong1 do according to your heart0 7poli mtima wenu74 ,the punishment is thus inflicted not by the criminal's own chief but by the injured party1 and it may fall1 not on the guilty person1 but on one connected with him4 ,it is when a man transgresses against his own village-chief that personal responsibility is brought home to him4 ,when he transgresses against another village1 his own chief pays for him4 ,of punishments inflicted for small offences by superiors on their own wards1 imprisonment in a slave-stick is common1 and may be inflicted by a husband on his wives1 or by the chief wife on her subordinates4 ,beating is another punishment4 ,when a slave is sent to keep off the monkeys1 and lets them eat the corn1 he will taste the rod3 so will a child1 or even a younger brother4 ,these beatings when inflicted are very severe1 but they are rarely needed1 slaves being generally obedient1 and young people respectful4 ,justice is evaded by running to the country of a hostile chief4 ,it is common 7as it is prudent7 for a fugitive to steal something from his present chief as a gift to the man that receives him4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,inheritance ,,and ,,international ,,law4 #ig4 ,,inheritance4 8444 the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger2 her husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife40--,,deut4 xxv4 #e4 ,when a man dies1 part of his goods is buried with him1 part goes to pay the precentor at the wake1 and to feast the undertakers and friends4 ,besides these and such like funeral expenses1 there is the cost of the legal investigation into the cause of death1 and this item if not repaid by damages from the bewitcher 7#ajg71 will be the most expensive piece of mourning4 ,the remainder of his property 7#ib71 including his wives and children1 passes on1 without any government tax1 to his heir4 ,the nearest heir is his eldest brother1 who obtains complete possession4 ,this is no hardship to younger brothers1 who will succeed in their turn4 ,failing a brother1 there comes the eldest sister1 not indeed herself but her son1 so that the next heir after a man's younger brother is his nephew 7mwipwagwao74 ,by this custom a man's own children are purposely set aside4 ,when we tell the natives about the ,english law of succession1 they say that it is 8very stupid04 ,they want to be sure that the heir really has the family blood in his veins1 and they cannot trust that a man's sons answer to this description4 ,the same laws of inheritance are found in various parts of ,africa--as for instance among the ,ashanti on the ,western ,coast4 ,any will that attempted to strike at this custom would be at once set aside4 ,where writing is unknown1 written wills are impossible1 but no will would be recognised except perhaps in the case of some trifling matters4 ,if the rightful heir be a minor 7i4e41 a mere child71 some one takes the inheritance till he comes of age4 ,the first-born always has the precedence1 the younger brother being nothing while the elder is alive4 ,we saw an amusing illustration of this in the case of our own two children4 ,on the birth of the first1 the relatives of the chief ,kapeni patronised him and even proposed a wife for him1 while all the natives called him little ,kapeni4 ,but the second child they took no notice of1 he was merely 8the younger brother of little ,kapeni04 ,the heir pays any debt that may be on the inheritance1 he also takes the risk of the 8witchcraft0 trial4 ,if his predecessor died by witchcraft1 he receives a large fine from the bewitcher's estate1 but if his predecessor died by the poison 7mwai71 he pays a fine to the bewitched persons1 or their representatives4 ,the great majority of the natives are the victims of witchcraft one way or other4 ,they either die of witchcraft themselves 7#ajf71 or are poisoned because they bewitched some one else4 ,on the day of entering on his inheritance the heir marries not only the inferior wives1 but the chief wife of his predecessor 7#dc74 ,should she have property her sureties look after her interest4 ,a married woman1 if free1 may have property--she may be a herbalist1 or a 8cook0 at the mysteries1 or she may make money by her flour and fowls4 ,when a wife dies possessing wealth1 her husband to keep off the 8surety0 7#dh71 asks a younger sister to marry him1 and take charge of 7kwachinga7 the children4 ,if he cannot succeed in this1 the goods may be divided1 part going to the husband and part to the sureties of the wife4 #ih4 ,,succession ,,to ,,the ,,chieftainship4 ,the order of this succession is the same as in ordinary inheritance4 ,the chief's nearest heir is the eldest of his brothers 7#ig71 who will be younger than the chief himself1 otherwise he would have had a prior claim to the title4 ,next to younger brothers come nephews1 but not the sons of a brother1 who are really reckoned the sons of the chief 7#fj74 ,occasionally natives set aside this order of succession4 ,the parties concerned are--7#a7 ,the deceased man's slaves4 7#b7 ,his wives and children1 many of whom are also slaves4 7#c7 ,headmen related to the chief4 7#d7 ,headmen not related to the chief4 ,the #crd class are not impartial judges1 because some of them may be candidates for the throne4 ,the #dth class1 however1 often do much to settle disputes4 ,but strange to say1 it is the slaves and wives1 the #ast and #bnd class1 that raise the loudest voice4 ,they are a numerous and powerful body1 and may contain some of the old chief's best fighters4 ,on the death of the former ,malemya of ,zomba1 there survived a younger brother ,kumtaja1 who1 so far as birth went1 was the rightful heir2 but there was also a nephew called ,kasabola4 ,kumtaja urged his claim1 but the slaves 7achachanda7 disliked him1 and so did many of the headmen 7alambi74 ,moreover1 all the wives of the old chief desired ,kasabola1 and quoted a saying of the deceased chief in his favour4 ,the ,alambi said1 8,if ,kumtaja enter ,malemya's village1 all that reside there will run away10 and accordingly ,kasabola was made 8,malemya04 ,still it is dangerous to tamper with the law of the land4 ,kumtaja set up an independent kingdom1 taking to him such headmen as would go2 and had there been a division among the wives or slaves1 he might have claimed all that wished to adhere to him4 ,at an installation there are several ceremonies1 which1 however1 vary among different tribes4 ,the new chief first gets a severe lecture1 in which he is told that he must be hospitable and not beat his people too much4 ,afterwards he is formally installed in office 7#cd74 ,his temples are girt with the brow-band 7ndawila71 which he will henceforth wear on every formal occasion4 ,he is then called by his new name1 and received with songs of rejoicing4 ,his assumption of the name is much dwelt on4 ,when old ,kapeni of ,sochi became chief in the distant ,yao country1 before his tribe migrated1 the songs and the response1 8,awo ,kapeni 'wo0 7that is ,kapeni71 produced an impression that is fresh in the memory of his people to this day4 ,the chief may appoint a high priest 7jua mbepesi7 of his government1 who is also called his captain4 ,it is the duty of this man to carry the chief's banner and lead his army4 ,the chief seldom goes to battle2 8he stays behind to supply powder and deal with deserters04 ,another duty of the high priest is to find out whether war is to be successful1 but if he fail to get a favourable answer1 the chief himself presents the offering1 for just as every headman is the priest of his village 7#g71 so the chief is the real high priest of the country4 ,if the army go forth and be thoroughly defeated after the offerings declare victory to be certain1 the people simply say1 8,our ,god has deceived us04 ,when the chief has a beer-drinking1 his priest or captain brings out the beer to the guests1 and tastes it to show that it is not poisoned4 ,in the case of ,english visitors1 the ,magololo headmen taste all the food themselves1 but at ,kapeni's capital his priest generally performs the ceremony4 ,when there is a witch-dance at a place where the chief cannot attend1 the priest is sent to represent him1 and takes a prominent place in beating the drums4 ,many ceremonies seen at a chief's installation are observed when any one succeeds to a village4 ,moreover1 since it is only certain families that have brow-bands1 a headman may wear the badge where his chief has no right to do so4 ,headmen don it when presiding at trials1 or when they go to a beer-drinking in full dress6 #ii4 ,,international ,,law4 ,disputes between a master and his slave1 between a governor and his ward1 between a headman and his villager1 or between a chief and his headman1 are easily settled by the power of the ,superior4 ,but disputes between different villages are more puzzling4 ,if a man of ,chingota's kill a man of ,matope's in ,chuma's village1 the three headmen may be involved only1 when all belong to one chief1 reference is ultimately made to him4 ,but when they belong to different chiefs the case is rendered more dangerous1 as their respective chiefs may become parties4 ,the following instances show how cases between chiefs are settled4 ,if a subject of ,malemya be killed in a village of ,kapeni's by men of ,kumpama1#aa ,malemya expects ,kapeni to catch the criminals and hand them over to him2 and ,kapeni must do so1 otherwise he becomes a party to the crime4 ,kumpama sends a message to ,kapeni asking1 8,where are those men of mine that went to your territory80 and ,kapeni refers him both now and in all subsequent steps of the dispute to ,malemya4 ,the chief of a country thus takes cognisance of crimes committed in his land not by punishing the guilty parties himself1 but by handing them over to the injured4 ,again1 suppose that ,malemya's men when carrying goods for ,kapeni were plundered by subjects of ,kumpama1 if the deed be done in ,malemya's territory1 ,malemya takes the matter up1 but if the goods be once out of his territory1 ,kapeni becomes prosecutor4 ,in either case ,kumpama is asked to surrender the thieves1 and is liable to punishment1 either because he is a party to the theft1 or because he fails to govern his kingdom in the proper way4 #ajj4 ,,general ,,remarks ,,on ,,native ,,law4 ,as law is a subject of great complexity in all countries1 it must not be supposed that we have settled every question4 ,in a native dispute difficulties may arise regarding the form of prosecution1 the form of evidence1 the proper court1 the position and members of that court1 and in short at every step4 ,these special difficulties are settled according to the merits of each case3 and cannot be here solved without treating the subject with a minuteness that would be too tedious for the most ardent student of ,african customs4 #aja4 ,,war4 ,as war may begin in ,africa without any provocation at all1 trivial reasons are quite sufficient to produce bloody feuds4 ,hence1 quarrels that in civilised countries would be mere law suits become occasions for war4 ,a chief declares war by killing or kidnapping some of his enemies4 ,he may either find them on a journey1 or send an expedition to their villages4 ,deeds of this kind proclaim that a messenger sent to the aggressor will be either slain or sent back mutilated1 the two parties are now declared enemies1 and all friendly intercourse is at an end4 ,war may be declared on a travelling party by simply calling out 8ngondo0 7war74 ,the natives conduct war by making a series of attacks in order to plunder or to destroy by fire and sword4 ,the ,yao chiefs say that they do not attack by night--8to attack by night is a sneaking piece of conduct fit only for the ,anyasa and the ,achipeta04 ,but they can explain with great relish the method of night attack4 ,a band of men go to an enemy's village when the people are all in bed4 ,they carry sticks finely sharpened at the point 7songa71 and place them in the ground right before the hut doors1 and in such a way that a native coming hastily out of the house in his usual dress will run one of them into his body4 ,after setting this trap1 the invaders apply fire to the various houses1 and then look on with loaded guns4 ,sometimes they tie up the doors before setting the houses on fire1 but unless their animosity be very deadly1 they will not burn all their foes4 ,it is more profitable to capture the women and children for sale4 ,the boldest of their enemies will be the first to rush forth to investigate the disturbance1 and once they have impaled themselves on the sharp-pointed sticks1 their wives can easily be captured4 ,a war may end in various ways4 ,one of the parties may be entirely broken and driven from the country1 their wives and children becoming slaves4 ,or the weaker may succeed in buying a peace4 ,two hostile chiefs may continue beside each other for many years1 afraid to risk anything more serious than kidnapping4 ,since the natives trust greatly to war medicine1 a small chief that long maintains his position against a stronger1 and occasionally gains a battle1 is believed to have a powerful 8medicine10 and is feared accordingly4 ,native wars frequently cause more deaths through famine than through actual slaughter4 ,all natives confess that war is 8bad10 but strangely enough each race values itself upon its military powers4 ,even the ,achipeta1 although they have been completely vanquished by the ,mangoni1 will boast1 8,in our country we know nothing but war04 ,natives jump and swing their guns about by way of making a war dance1 but these evolutions being originally adapted for their long spears1 are unsuitable for guns4 ,the ,mangoni1 like the ,zulus1 have a special training for war4 ,native fights remind one of the days of ,homer4 ,a good tongue is as essential as a good spear4 ,so long as a combatant has courage to demand his rights1 the fact that the enemy has 8eaten0 a number of his followers is regarded as mere by-play4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,a ,,slave ,,government4 #ajb4 ,,the ,,magololo4 ,as an illustration of a ,slave ,government1 we shall here insert a few remarks on the ,magololo1 who are half-a-dozen men that came with ,dr4 ,livingstone a journey of 8many moons0 from the south of the ,zambeze--from the land1 which on maps of ,africa is marked ,makololo4 ,hitherto we have spoken of chiefs and headmen ruling among free people4 ,the native word for 8free0 means 8belonging to the tribe10 and implies that persons falling into the power of another tribe lose their rights4 ,the ,anyasa under the ,magololo are in the hands of aliens1 by whom they are consequently treated as if they were captives4 ,when not promptly obeyed1 a ,magololo cries1 8,all the ,anyasa are my slaves02 hence although he has many good points about him1 his government is severe1 and he is more suspicious than the ,yao chiefs who rule their own kinsmen4 8,the ,magololo10 according to ,mr4 ,rowley 7#bgg71 8sprung all at once from a condition little removed from bondage to that of lords of the creation4 ,when left by ,dr4 ,livingstone1 they had little but their guns and ammunition4 ,with guns they knew themselves to be formidable4 ,they hunted the slavers far and near1 released captives and took the plunder4 ,the women thus released they took for wives1 the men and boys they kept for slaves4 ,they had no sheep1 goats1 nor corn1 but the ,anyasa had1 and as in their own country1 the possession of cattle by a neighbour is a good casus belli1 they were prepared to make war on the ,anyasa for their flocks and corn1 if the latter did not yield them without resistance4 ,the ,anyasa yielded1 and thus arose the bleating of sheep and goats1 the cackling of fowls and the well-stocked houses of corn in the ,magololo habitations40 8,it was a great mistake on the part of ,dr4 ,livingstone to leave the ,makololo at ,chibisa's unprovided with everything but arms4 ,they were identified with the ,english--they adopted our name in their raids40 ,the remark that these men are identified with the ,english holds true to this day4 ,chiputula1 one of the ,magololo1 was viewed by ,matekenya as a 8child0 or 8subject0 of the ,english1 and ,matekenya often put the question1 8,what will the ,english do if ,i kill ,chiputula80 ,the latter used to be constantly entreating us to send messages to ,matekenya3 and ,dr4 ,macklin once brought up a 8son0 of ,matekenya to conclude a peace with ,chiputula4 8,mangokwe talked of driving them out of the country1 but they would have driven like sheep five times the number of ,anyasa that ,mangokwe could have brought against them1 and so he appeared to think 4440 7#bnd edition1 p4 #bgh74 8,they had plundered the country on all sides1 and so great was the terror of them that the ,anyasa were afraid to come to us with food4 ,it was necessary1 therefore1 to take vigorous measures1 and catching one of them 7in the act of stealing71 ,i laid hold of a stick and gave the fellow a good thrashing40 ,the writer describes how they continued amenable to the authority of the ,english4 ,when the ,scotch ,missions settled in ,central ,africa1 these ,magololo readily sent their sons first to the ,free ,church ,mission1 and subsequently to ,blantyre1 which was nearer their home4 ,this was due to their previous acquaintance with the 8,english04 ,some ,magololo children came to ,blantyre about a month after my arrival4 ,but ,i wrought steadily in school for three years afterwards1 before ,kapeni1 the ,yao chief1 sent his sons4 ,during the time of flight and famine1 the beginning of which is described by ,mr4 ,rowley1 some headmen of the ,anyasa fled towards ,tete1 but the most important died4 ,people died without any reason 7lulele71 there was quite a dying 7chaola7 among the race4 ,then the ,magololo 8got in their fingers0 7kwinjila yala74 ,they took possession of the children of the deceased1 they killed others and took their families also4 ,they had no right to act in this way1 but they relied on their power1 which increased every day till they could claim all the ,anyasa on the lower ,chiri for their subjects4 ,these helpless people have suffered exceedingly from war1 and have been enslaved in all directions4 ,near ,blantyre many of them reside as slaves among the ,yao4 ,at ,zomba there is an important ,anyasa headman who although possessing several villages1 is under a ,machinga chief4 ,even on ,lake ,nyassa 7,nyasa7 itself1 most of the unfortunate tribe are under ,yao or ,machinga rulers4 ,on an island in ,chirwa many of them are packed together to escape slavers 7#fb74 #ajc4 ,,government ,,of ,,slaves4 ,in their normal state1 the ,anyasa have the same customs as the ,yao 7#a-ajb71 but under the ,magololo they are governed like prisoners of war4 ,in a ,yao village the people are ruled by a headman of their own kindred 7#fb71 who has power to try all village cases4 ,among the ,magololo there are no such headmen1 the leading man in the village is merely a sort of overseer or taskmaster1 put there by the chief and possessing no civil or criminal jurisdiction4 ,while the ,yao are not compelled to hoe their chief's fields1 the ,magololo villagers cannot begin to cultivate for themselves till they have first 8finished the chief's farm04 ,after doing this1 the overseers and the villagers under them may begin to cultivate ground for their own sustenance4 ,at all times they may cut trees for their own fires4 ,when they make canoes these are not for themselves1 but for the chief4 ,while the ,yao have village parliaments1 the ,magololo are autocrats1 who keep their people at arm's length4 ,a subject of the ,magololo1 on killing a buck carries the whole animal to the capital4 ,he gets back two legs1 and the chief keeps the rest4 ,the chief in like manner takes all the ivory1 and gives the poor hunter only a small present of cloth4 ,while among the ,yao each woman has a surety 7#dh71 the ,magololo dispose of female children as masters dispose of slaves 7#ei1 #ib74 ,they even try to make all the children of their subjects live with themselves--a measure which alienates the more respectable of their people4 ,by the ,magololo all refugees are expressly received as slaves even though they were free before4 #ajd4 ,,proof ,,and ,,punishment4 ,ordeals4 ,the ,magololo prepare mwai1 call their people in great numbers and command them to drink it4 ,several die in one day1 who were therefore bewitchers and deserved their fate4 ,i have seen so many who have drunk mwai with the ,magololo and recovered1 that ,i am inclined to think either that the poison is of a milder type1 or that it is not fairly administered4 ,although the ,yao are not compelled to drink it1 except for strong reasons1 among them the chance of recovery is smaller4 ,investigation by torture is one of the saddest things that the ,magololo practise4 ,it is often employed in cases of alleged adultery4 ,when a ,magololo suspects his wives of this crime1 he places a stone in a jar of boiling water or oil1 and orders them to fetch it up with their bare arms4 ,he then judges of their guilt by the amount of injury they sustain4 ,when a woman is thus convicted1 he makes her confess who seduced her4 ,in vain does the helpless creature protest that she is innocent4 ,notwithstanding that her arm is severely scalded1 she is subjected to the most cruel torture by a kind of 8thumbscrew0 7mbanilo7 which is applied to her head4 ,a small tree 7katela7 is partly divided along the middle1 the skull of the poor woman is inserted as if it were a wedge for splitting the tree still farther4 ,great pressure is exerted by forcing the halves of the tree together with the aid of pulleys4 ,the instrument works like a gigantic nut-cracker1 and during its operation the chief and his assistants look on with calm satisfaction1 and suggest the name of her seducer4 ,when the woman1 under this torture1 indicates that the man is guilty1 he is put to death without a trial4 ,should he plead that he knows nothing of the crime1 the chief takes no notice of his protestation4 ,perhaps the woman herself is quite guiltless1 and has been convicted solely by the ordeal4 ,the ,yao used to apply this method of torture 7kuwana7 to a bewitcher in order to extort a confession4 ,the bewitcher was first proved guilty by the oracle1 and then had his head squeezed till he told where he had buried his horns4 ,but now the detective both proves the guilt and finds the horns 7#ajg74 ,among the ,yao at present this process of torture is seldom applied to free people4 ,even in serious cases the ,magololo may refuse to give any trial 8because the accused was their slave04 ,crimes and ,punishment4 ,petty theft1 as of a fowl1 is punished among the ,magololo by flogging with whips of elephant hide4 ,there is no formal trial4 ,if the criminal says he has not stolen1 the chief says he is a liar1 which1 to do the chief justice1 is often the case4 ,cropping a thief's ears1 and cutting off his fingers1 are also practised4 ,few ,yao take such decided measures even with their slaves4 ,for theft of anything more valuable the punishment is death4 ,a man that steals a sheep or a goat is stabbed and thrown into the river4 ,on other occasions he is flogged to death with whips of elephant hide4 8,but do they always want to kill a thief when they flog him80 8,no1 sometimes they stop before he is dead1 and then the man's companions remark1 #8,you have been very fortunate to-day6'0 ,at other times a thief is made a public example1 in which case he has his hands and his feet1 or one or more of these members1 cut off1 and is placed in the forum for 8two days04 ,after this he is killed and thrown into the river4 ,we asked1 8,but does not the man bleed to death in a short time80 8,not always10 was the reply1 8but the place where he sat is covered with his blood1 and the chief kills a goat1 which is disembowelled on that spot04 ,the ,yao do not often kill or mutilate in this way except in cases where they can get no compensation3 but when they catch an enemy1 they cut off his hand and tell him to go home and show how he has been received4 ,adultery with their own wives the ,magololo all punish with death4 ,but when the crime is only among their people1 their punishment is not uniform4 ,chiputula inflicts capital punishment on all adulterers1 remarking that 8next day they would interfere with his own wives04 ,makukani1 when one of his men complains against another1 may order the accused to hand over his wife for a week or more to the accuser4 ,when one of these chiefs wishes to make an example of an adulterer1 the method is as barbarous as can well be conceived4 ,the victim has his hand or some other part of his body cut off1 and he is then compelled to eat it4 ,i was unwilling to believe this1 till ,i met men that had been eye-witnesses on several occasions1 and then it appeared that the custom was notorious4 ,we asked1 8,why do the criminals consent to eat part of their bodies80 ,the reply was1 8,the chief persuades 7nyenga7 or cheats them to do so4 ,they think that if they eat1 he will allow them to live40 ,but in all such cases execution soon follows4 ,the practices of the ,magololo not only furnish an illustration of how individual slaves and captives are treated1 but show how a strong government in a barbarous land may 8grind0 its subjects4 ,after a chief has been successful in many wars1 he begins to think that both his slaves and his own kinsmen derive all life and property from him1 and hold these privileges during his pleasure4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,witchcraft4 #aje4 ,,the ,,poisoned ,,cup 7,,mwai47 ,the poison so often referred to in connection with native trials is made from the bark of the mwai tree1 which grows plentifully throughout the country4 ,the dose is about two gills1 and is prepared by a pounder of poison 7#a74 ,the accused1 it is said1 has a voice in the selection of the pounder1 but so implicitly is the ordeal believed in that the natives think it is of little consequence who 8pounds0 it2 still most tribes seem to have a milder concoction for trivial offences4 ,the drug may be taken by proxy--it may be administered to a dog or a fowl or some animal representing the accused4 ,in this case the animal is tied by a string to the criminal4 ,if it survive1 the accused is innocent1 if it die1 he is guilty4 ,this method of administering the ordeal is more humane1 and is allowed in smaller offences4 ,it is much used by the natives that live near the coast4 ,indeed1 the inhabitants of ,quilimane believe in the ordeal as implicitly as the tribes of the interior1 and although they have been in contact with ,europeans for centuries1 they were accustomed when called before a ,portuguese judge to swear on the mwai instead of the ,bible4 #ajf4 ,,witchcraft 7,,usawi47 ,we have now described so many native customs that it is time to set our examination paper that the reader may satisfy himself as to his progress in ,african lore4 ,we therefore propose the following question1 8,when a man is killed by a wild beast1 do the natives think he died by the hand of ,god80 ,if the reader can answer this1 he has studied the subject with profit1 and he would be able to answer many similar questions4 ,for those who are doubtful we shall submit our own view4 ,in the first place1 the question as ,christians understand it1 is quite unintelligible to the native4 ,we have reason to believe that in the times of his philosophising1 the idea of a ,supreme ,being rises before his mind1 but that ,being is to him 8a ,god afar off0 who takes nothing to do with the ordinary course of events1 and from whose hand1 therefore1 death or misfortune never comes4 ,we must try then to interpret the question as the native does 7#c71 and we are thus led to enquire whether death comes from the hand of the ,departed ,spirits4 ,now undoubtedly these spirits have great power4 ,under their auspices journeys are successful1 by their assemblies famine is averted1 through their influence death is driven away4 ,yet it is not so much their business either to cause evil or to prevent it1 as to indicate whether evil be coming4 ,the departed spirit may have to answer a question like this1 8,if ,saul come down1 and if ,i remain here1 will the men of ,keilah deliver me up80 ,now by giving a false answer1 the spirit may bring about the death of his worshippers4 ,yet it is not the spirit that kills them--the real cause of all such mischief in this lower world is the ,bewitcher4 ,when we remark that the god is quite as much to blame1 the natives say1 8,there is no use of blaming the god4 ,he did not set the horns40 ,it is on the ,bewitcher therefore that all responsibility lies4 ,the word 8,bewitcher0 7msawi7 carries with it two ideas--the person so called 7#a7 has power or knowledge sufficient for the practice of occult arts1 and 7#b7 is addicted to cannibalism4 ,the second meaning is the more prominent4 ,let a person eat a morsel of his deceased friend1 and though he be the feeblest and dullest-looking creature in the world he is msawi ,this throws light upon the native view of witchcraft4 ,witches kill a victim for the purpose of eating him3 not only so1 but every man that dies even what we call a natural death is really killed by witches4 ,these terrible beings visit their victim when asleep 7#id7 and instil a powerful poison into his ears4 ,they carry out their infernal tricks chiefly by means of horns 7misengo47 ,of themselves these horns may be harmless1 being merely the horns of small buck1 and if a bewitcher were to die after burying these weapons1 they would have no evil influence4 ,but as a matter of fact1 such horns are always dangerous1 for the witches hold a council beforehand with regard to killing their victim and sharing his flesh1 and although the witch that buries the horns may die1 the survivors are able to carry on the plot to its termination4 ,hence when any native dies1 his friends are certain that he has been slain by witchcraft1 and at once call in the witch-detective1 who will discover the guilty witches and remove their dangerous horns4 #ajg4 ,,the ,,witch-,,detective 7,,mavumbula74 ,although a male detective has appeared in the past history of these tribes1 all the witch detectives that ,i have seen were female4 ,they are in one aspect the most important personages in the country4 ,at present two reside at ,lake ,chirwa2 they belong to the same fraternity1 one is called ,chipembere 7,rhinoceros71 and the other ,tambala 7,cock74 ,many speak as if the office now belonged entirely to females4 ,a native in ordinary conversation often remarks1 8,if ,i have any misfortune ,i will go to the woman10 and when pronouncing a person guilty1 the terrible functionary ends her speech with the words1 8,thus saith the woman04 ,the detective when called to investigate a case of death1 appoints a day for the ceremony4 ,she goes with a strong guard of armed men1 and although her meetings are frequent1 people crowd to them from great distances4 ,her approach causes as much excitement as a public execution would do in a quiet ,english town1 with this difference1 that the assembled multitude cannot tell who will be the victim4 ,at sunrise the drums begin to beat and are heard over the whole country side2 about three hours after1 all the villages in the district are deserted4 ,their inhabitants1 men1 women1 and children1 are to be seen hurrying to the 8witch dance04 ,on arriving they sit in a circle1 and leave a large space in the centre for the 8,woman04 ,she is waited for with breathless anxiety4 ,after a time wild screams are heard1 and there rushes before the spectators the maddest-looking person conceivable4 ,a stranger concludes at once that one witch has been captured already and is now driven before the detective4 ,the wretch looks as if she were haunted by all the ,furies and ,demons of ,pagan ,mythology4 ,heir face1 breast1 and arms are marked with patches of blood-red4 ,her head is covered1 not with short negro wool1 but with snaky tresses which hang down her back4 ,her loins are girt with leopard skins4 ,her legs are overhung with 8rattles10 which sound at every step4 ,in her hand she grasps a scourge of tails1 which she waves wildly about her4 ,her eyes roll and stare in her fierce frenzy4 ,she is evidently surrounded by fiends1 which though invisible to others1 are dreadful realities to her4 ,with them she maintains a desperate struggle1 ever trying to beat them off with her scourge4 ,after wrestling thus she utters shrieks of the most unearthly character1 and with a terrible bound dashes into the circle1 and we have before us the witch-detective herself4 ,once in the middle of the crowd1 she shouts and rants1 sings and dances1 eats grass and chews branches for several hours4 ,of her chants some are common in the district1 others in the ,walolo language1 contains a sound of the letter r that the ,yao cannot pronounce4 ,she chaffs them for their awkwardness1 and notwithstanding the grave nature of her ceremony1 she succeeds in drawing smiles from the multitude4 ,in some of her chants she boasts of her power4 8,let the bewitcher become a leopard or a carrion crow yet10 she cries1 8there can be no escape40 ,a large part of the crowd are in a state of terrible suspense4 ,each person knows that from three to five people will be 8detected10 and what if he be among the number8 ,the first time ,i was at a witch-dance ,i was not free from concern6 ,the bewitchers1 however1 will either be relatives of the deceased or persons that have had a quarrel with him4 ,as the decisive moment arrives1 the detective asks the hand of every one in the crowd as she chants the appropriate words3-- 8,pasa manja ,chipembere 7,give ,chipembere your hand74 ,pasa manja ,chipembere40 ,response4--8,e1 e1 e1 e1 e1 e1 e40 ,the instant she touches the hand of a bewitcher she leaps back with a terrible start and utters a wild scream4 ,another method of detecting is by smelling1 and this she brings into use at various stages of the investigation4 ,soon after feeling the hands of the spectators1 she retires from the scene literally drenched with sweat4 ,she has found out the whole secret4 ,but the triumph of her art is not yet fully disclosed1 and soon she proceeds to reveal where the witches have hid their horns4 ,taking a hoe and a pot of water1 she marches off for the purpose1 followed by hundreds of the crowd whose curiosity is most intense1 and who begin to share her savage manner4 ,she goes to the forum1 to the stream that supplies the villagers with water1 and to their various houses4 ,at a spot where she wishes to dig she pours out water to soften the ground4 ,during her digging1 she groans1 shrieks1 and gesticulates1 in the most frantic way4 ,she succeeds in finding the horns most readily4 ,one set she digs up at the stream1 8they were placed there to bewitch the water drunk by the deceased04 ,another bunch she finds under a tree in the village4 ,she looks up1 and pointing to some fading branches at the top1 she exclaims1 8,no wonder that this tree has begun to wither04 ,every spectator is dumb with astonishment and terror4 ,no one will dare to touch these horns4 ,it would be fatal to do so4 ,they were buried by the bewitchers1 and are the very means by which the deceased was killed4 ,all are greatly relieved when these potent spells are removed by the 8,woman10 who will doubtless find them useful on another occasion4 ,the witch-detective always spends one night at the village where she is employed4 ,she is then permitted to wander about at midnight1 under the pretence of going to watch the graves4 ,should she find any one out of his house at that hour1 she catches him and brings forward this suspicious circumstance against him4 ,to be found at night by the witch-detective is one of the most unfortunate things that could happen to any man4 ,even if he has not been already recommended as a victim1 he is certain to be now among the guilty4 ,while the detective goes about at midnight among the houses1 she is supposed to be unknown to the witches4 ,sometimes she begs for food1 and the witches1 thinking she is one of their own fraternity1 give her some human flesh4 ,this hospitality she ungratefully rewards1 for the flesh said to be thus procured she produces as evidence against the person that gave it4 ,besides horns1 the detective may dig up arms1 legs1 and other portions of human bodies in suspicious places in or near the houses of the witches4 ,the whole process of unearthing is of a nature to satisfy a craving for magic1 and if more harmless1 would be intensely humorous4 ,there is no saying what the witch-detective may 8find10 and she seems as much surprised at her discovery as any of the spectators6 ,midnight ,feasts4 ,any witch may join in eating a person that has been killed by the agency of others2 indeed1 most of the witches in the country are believed to come to a great feast when one of their number has robbed the grave of its prey4 ,here is a description of such midnight feasts translated from the very words of a native3--8,they cook the body at night1 when everyone is asleep1 in a pot with water and salt4 ,they eat it with their porridge as a relish in the same way as they would eat a fowl4 ,they go and bury the bones4 ,they take the head and singe off the hair1 and go to the stream and wash it with water and take out the brains and cook them4 ,they disembowel the body and eat all the entrails after washing them at the stream40 ,if a body is kept in a house until putrefaction has done its work1 8the witches are cheated of their meat04 ,this is one reason why the body of a person of rank is kept in the house for a long time after death4 ,the witch-detective1 or rather the mwai1 kills only the person who bewitched the deceased and those that consented to his death beforehand4 ,those that partook of the feast are not so guilty1 but they generally come with a present to the detective and justify themselves by saying1 8,we only followed the meat04 ,one of the exploits of witches1 according to ,kapeni1 is to make milk come down a straw in the inside of a house4 ,we mention this because it resembles witch-stories in other lands4 ,when witches are caught by the detective1 no one will speak to them4 ,generally they are some helpless creatures whom a relative wishes out of the way4 ,they must soon drink the mwai1 which is certain to prove fatal to some of them4 ,the credit of the witch-detective would suffer if they all survived4 ,death by mwai4 ,the person that dies by mwai1 whether the crime be theft1 adultery1 murder1 or witchcraft1 is denied the ordinary funeral rights4 ,the body is either cast into a cave1 or hung on a tree for the vultures4 ,no coffin 7#cd7 is allowed1 and the ordinary grave-cloth is denied4 ,much of the effects of the deceased goes to paying the prosecutor1 who has a large account with the witch-detective4 ,it may1 however1 be the prosecutor himself that succeeds to the bewitcher's inheritance4 ,this whole superstition casts a dark shadow over the closing days of the poor native4 ,if we pass over slaves 7who may be killed to escort their master7 and young children1 we do not hesitate to say that in many districts one half of the natives are killed by mwai4 ,on every occasion of what we call natural death1 there is at once an investigation by the witch-detective1 and the result is that at least one individual dies4 ,towards the last year of my own residence in ,africa there occurred ten deaths of persons that ,i was well acquainted with4 ,of these1 four died by violence1 three by natural causes1 and three by mwai4 ,of the three that died by natural causes two were living with the ,english1 and their friends were not allowed to be avenged on any bewitcher1 so that we believe that the proportion of deaths by mwai is really larger4 ,we have sometimes wondered that the chiefs did not check the operations of the sorcerer1 but the following from ,lady ,barker will throw much light on their position4 ,a ,kafir chief said1 8,you ask me to put down the witch-doctors1 but you forget the circumstances of my country4 ,you ,englishmen have gaols1 policemen and soldiers2 ,i have none of these things1 and if ,i were to prohibit #8smelling out' there would be no check whatever upon the criminal classes40 ,on first finding myself face to face with the above agency of heathenism1 ,i began to reason against it4 ,in my first efforts ,i took very strong ground1 not only denying that witchcraft was possible1 but asserting that ,i did not believe in cannibalism4 ,i even ventured to argue that when these tribes spoke of 8eating each other0 they 8did not and could not mean0 that a man literally ate his fellows4 ,but it is a dangerous thing to give a native lessons in his own language1 and ,i was soon convinced that they 8did not and could not mean0 anything else4 ,but they were generally very fair in controversy4 ,they were unanimous in rejecting my views about cannibalism--8was not human flesh as sweet to the bewitcher as monkeys1 beetles and caterpillars were to other people80 ,but they were willing to admit that the detective while prowling about at midnight might busy herself in burying horns1 and they laughed heartily when ,i volunteered to unearth as many horns as they wanted if they allowed me the same privilege4 ,i am not without hope that the deception may soon come to an end1 for the little boys and girls that lived with us used latterly to get up a mock witch-dance for their own amusement1 and they acted on hints most willingly given by the 8white man10 and implying that the witch-detective buried the horns herself4 ,divination4 ,the following method of divining as described by ,mr4 ,buchanan may conclude this chapter3-- 8,a common custom amongst the ,machinga is divination 7kupenda74 ,few will venture to go a distance of ten miles without first assuring themselves that no danger is to befall them on the way4 ,men going from ,zomba to ,blantyre seldom forget to try the #8,chipendo' before starting4 ,one mode of divining is by means of the root of a small bush4 ,this root is about the thickness of a pencil1 and three bits of it about two inches long are usually employed4 ,most men carry these lots or roots with them when on a journey1 and carefully preserve them when at home4 ,a man wishing to know whether he may proceed in safety takes these bits of root and lays them carefully on the ground1 placing the third above the other two4 ,he then declares his intention of going to a certain place1 and asks whether there is any hindrance4 ,after retiring a few paces he returns to take his answer from the position in which the roots are now lying4 ,if they have remained as he placed them his journey is to be prosperous1 but if they have been separated it is to be unsuccessful1 and he will not set out4 ,or the diviner may use only two roots--a method often resorted to by a traveller who comes to cross roads4 ,he places his knife in a horizontal position1 and lays the two roots against the blade4 ,the traveller then stands pointing to one of the roads and says #8,shall ,i take this one8' and if the roots remain still fixed he takes it1 but if they fall to the ground he chooses the other path4 ,in the event of a man being without a knife he may use the palm of his hand or the side of a tree4 8,another and more complicated method consists in boiling the roots and mixing the entrails of an adder with the water40 ,this use of the entrails is suggestive in an ethnological point of view4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,african ,,ethnology4 ,in trying to settle whether tribes are of the same race the ,ethnologist turns his attention to such points as 7#a7 their language1 7#b7 their customs and beliefs1 and 7#c7 their physical characteristics4 ,though in this chapter we refer only to the second of these particulars1 we may remark that on the evidence of language alone we can decide that the ,wayao1 ,walolo1 ,anyasa1 ,achikunda1 ,machinga1 ,mangoni1 ,makua1 and others in their neighbourhood1 are sprung from common ancestors1 and that all these tribes are of the same race as the majority of the tribes found south of the ,equator1 which have been grouped together as the ,bantu4#ab ,the other important inhabitants of ,south ,africa besides the ,bantu are the ,hottentots and ,bushmen1 who again have been often classed together4 ,the ,hottentots and ,bushmen seem to have been first in the ,continent4 ,then the ,bantu came into the middle of them1 and split them into two sections4 ,one section 7,hottentots and ,bushmen7 is found in the ,south1 the other section 7represented by tribes like the ,akka7 is found in the ,north4 ,as to the time when the ,bantu established themselves in ,south ,africa there is little to guide us4 ,it is said that the ,kafirs were forcing their way down by the ,west ,coast at the time when the ,portuguese were settling on the ,east ,coast4 ,it seems clear that ,santos on one side of ,africa and ,merolla on the other both mingled with this great people4 ,african ,ethnology is a vast subject1 and in treating it some have been led to maintain that there was once a continent to the east of ,africa1 which has become submerged4 ,the traditions common among these ,african tribes to the effect that the ,bantu came from the ,north tempt us to look northward along the map of ,africa with the view of discovering whence they came4 ,on examining the tribes of ,northern ,africa1 we find that one obstacle has been put before the ,ethnologist by ,mahommedanism1 which1 pressing into the country by the seventh century1 changed the ancient tribal customs4 ,on the other hand1 the customs of certain ancient races like the ,egyptians have been preserved by history4 ,putting aside language for the present1 we shall note the customs of various ,african races4 ,this besides pointing to certain ethnological conclusions1 will throw light on the customs that have been laid before the reader1 and may increase the interest in those tribes4 ,taking our stand in the ,nyassa region1 we shall1 after glancing at customs of ,eastern ,africa supplied by earlier missionaries1 look towards the ,south1 the ,west1 and the ,north in succession2 and then conclude the chapter with notes on ancient races that might have had contact with the ,african ,bantu4 ,,east ,,central ,,africa4 ,santos#ac 7#aehf7 remarks3 8,the people bewail their dead by dint of drumming1 and desist from leaping and dancing only when fatigue obliges them to cease 7#cc74 ,they regard their king as the favourite of the souls of the dead1 and think that he learns from them all that passes in his dominions 7#a74 ,the ,portuguese delivered from their dreadful slavery a number of women and children whom this wretch kept with a number of men in pens for the purpose of killing and eating them in succession 7#gi1 #ajf74 ,they acknowledge a ,god who1 both in this world and in the world to come1 measures retribution for the good or evil done in this40 ,this looks1 ,i fear1 somewhat like reading our ideas into their language4 ,still1 natives might easily fancy that the old chief to whom they go at death will treat his subjects much as he did in this life4 ,the ,rev4 ,h4 ,rowley1 of the ,magomero ,mission1 gives an account of a public supplication for rain amongst the ,anyasa 7#bj74 ,in conducting war1 8,the ,yao10 he says1 8left their camp before daybreak1 marched direct to the principal village1 destroyed that1 and fired the others which lay in their line of march home4 ,the difficulty was to get messengers to the ,yao4444 ,when we asked our own men to be the messengers1 they put their hands instinctively to their throats0 7#aja74 ,in a case of accidental death 8it was difficult to convince one party that it was an accident1 and both that witchcraft had nothing to do with it0 7#hf74 ,,south ,,africa4 ,the ,zulu and ,kafir have customs so similar to the ,yao that ,i refer only to a few1 some of which are quoted on account of the difference4 ,they do not eat fowls1 ducks1 or eggs1 lest they should be barren 7,d74 ,they conceal birth-names 7#eb74 ,a man must not see the face of his mother-in-law4 ,the eldest son succeeds his father4 ,they bury in a circular hole1 placing the body in a sitting posture4 ,on returning from a funeral they get a charm administered to them4 ,a spirit may come back as a snake 7#e74 ,their ,witch-doctors and ,fetishmen are more set apart from the people than those in ,eastern ,central ,africa4 ,feathers1 claws1 teeth1 pieces of wood1 c41 are charms4 ,prophets smell a person to see whether he speaks the truth4 ,the witch is believed not to eat the body taken from the grave1 but to use it as a charm4 ,a recent account of one of the southern ,bantu tribes1 the ,amandebele1 which was formed of #cj or #dj smaller tribes1 is given by ,thomas1 from which we take the following customs3-- ,the first to 8bleed0 a field with his pick possesses it 7#dh74 ,soldiers going to war charm themselves before and after the expedition 7#ad1 c474 ,an invalid is removed from the village to a field 7#ai74 ,at funerals there is an offering of cattle1 and the deceased is introduced to his father1 grandfather1 and others4 ,in cases where the spirit of a deceased friend enters an invalid1 this spirit gets a sacrifice3 sometimes the particular animal wanted by the spirit is named4 ,the dead may be changed into elephants1 buck1 lions1 snakes1 c4 ,hence offerings are given to such animals4 ,mr4 ,thomas carefully distinguishes two classes of professional men that are often put together3 one is the class of diviners1 each of whom is trained by an older diviner4 ,the other class is the common izinyanga1 and includes self-taught physicians and those doctors that are priests as well as physicians 7,i74 ,witchcraft is carried on and punished in ways similar to what we have described 7#ajg71 and yet with important points of difference4 ,their traditions on cosmology state that when men came out of the earth they found the animal and vegetable kingdoms prepared for them1 and that they received the opposite messages of life and death4 ,this last statement refers to the chameleon legend common among the ,bantu 7,appendix1 ,tale #ae74 ,,west ,,central ,,africa4 ,merolla 7#afhb7 says3--8,the people ate serpents4 ,they had an oath by which a person's limbs were bound tighter or looser to force out the truth4 ,in #ajd1 we saw this principle applied to the head4 ,they did not approve of marrying in facie ecclesi1 for they must be satisfied before marriage whether their wife will have children1 and whether she will prove diligent in her work and obedient4 ,when the fault proceeds from the wife's side1 the present that was made by the husband is restored2 when the fault is on his side1 he recovers nothing 7#ei74 ,when the father receives the present he complains not even if it should be small--for that would look like selling his daughter2 but he asks in public beforehand how much the man will give4 ,this is more like the ,kafir custom than the ,yao 7#dh74 ,sometimes a man leaves a concubine to his kinsman 7#ed1 #dc74 ,the wife waits at table on her husband2 after he is satisfied he gives the rest of the food to her1 and she shares it with her children 7#fg74 ,whilst children are young they are bound with superstitious cords made by the wizards 7#de74 ,they are put down naked on the ground2 when they can move1 a bell is tied to them1 to show where they have gone4 ,the fields are planted round with stakes1 which being bound with bundles of herbs by the wizards1 will kill any thief 7,k74 ,when they have private quarrels1 they do not decide them singly1 but each man gets as many friends as he can4 ,the parties meet1 begin to argue quietly1 proceed to invectives1 and lastly they fall to it #8helter-skelter'4 ,we could give no better account of many native trials in ,eastern ,africa4 ,on a death1 the kindred collect3 hens are killed2 they besprinkle the house of the deceased with the blood1 and throw the carcases on the top of the house1 to prevent the soul of the dead from coming to give ,zumbi to any future inhabitants 7#dj74 ,the dead person is believed to summon others out of this world 7#da74 ,they weep over the dead1 if not naturally they hold ,indian pepper to their noses1 which causes the tears to flow plentifully4 ,when they have howled and wept for some time1 all of a sudden they pass to mirth1 feasting at the expense of the person that is nearest akin to the deceased 7#dc74 ,many abominations take place after these feasts4 ,the ,giaghi offer human sacrifices to the dead 7#bh74 ,burial places are in the fields1 and have something placed over them--e4g41 horns or earthen pots 7#ci74 ,the poorer people wrap their dead in straw mats4 ,all are given to #8idolatry' and the eating of man's flesh 7#ajf74 ,if any person whatsoever pass by where the guests are eating1 he or she thrusts into the ring and has an equal share with the rest 7,d74 ,their wives work in the fields till noon1 and must get their husbands' food ready1 and wait till he finish0 7#eg74 ,battel 7#aeij--;,angola and adjoining countries7 writes3--8,the ,gagas ate their captives1 except those under fourteen years of age4 ,the women draw out two teeth above and two below 7,a74 ,a dead man has his hair dressed1 and is put on a seat in a vault dug in the ground4 ,two of his wives are put by him with their arms broken1 then the vault is covered up4 ,the greatest part of his goods is buried with him 7#ci74 ,every month there is a meeting of his kindred1 who mourn and kill goats and pour the blood and palm-tree wine on the grave4 ,the ,yao have dances every month1 when the moon is full2 on other occasions there would be difficulty in lighting their great ball-room4 ,they suffer no white man to be buried in the land4 ,the body is thrown into the sea about two miles from the coast4 ,unless where the ,english possess land1 or are well known1 this custom can be traced in ,east ,africa4 ,on ,lake ,nyassa1 at least one ,english body had difficulty in obtaining a grave4 ,in the same way some of the deceased ,magomero missionaries were exhumed4 ,in keeping with this is the custom of carrying about bodies for long distances1 as in the case of ,livingstone and some ,portuguese4 ,if a person denies a charge1 he drinks a root 7,imbando71 which kills him if he is guilty4 ,no one on any account dies but they kill another for him4 ,they believe that some one bewitched the deceased 7#ajf74 ,many times #ejj men and women come to drink ,imbando0 7#ajd74 ,bosman 7#agjj--;,bosman's ,guinea7 mentions #e classes of people3 7#a7 kings1 7#b7 chief men who take care of a city or village1 7#c7 those that have got riches1 7#d7 the common people1 7#e7 slaves4 ,this exactly applies to the ,eastern tribes4 ,in their salutations the first question is1 8,how did you sleep80 to which the reply is1 8,very well0 7,g74 ,at ,fida1 if any visit his superior1 he falls on his knees1 kisses the earth1 claps his hands4 ,here we find kneeling and clapping the hands4 ,the women suckle the infants for two or three years4 ,child-bearing is not troublesome2 here is no long lying-in nor expensive gossiping or groaning feasts 7#dd74 ,the chief handiwork is smithery4 ,they have no notion of steel4 ,a hard stone is their anvil1 and they have a pair of tongs1 a small pair of bellows1 and three or more pipes 7,h74 ,when they begin a war1 drive a bargain1 travel1 or attempt anything of importance1 their first business is to consult their false god by means of their priest1 who may tell them to offer sheep1 c4 #ad4 ,another resemblance to the ,zulu and ,kafirs4 ,among the simpler ,yao1 a man may be his own priest4 ,questions may be put to the idol1 which are answered in this way3--,about #bj bits of leather are shuffled by the priest2 if those indicating success come much together1 success is announced 7,i74 ,public general religious exercises are customary on account of great drought 7#bj74 ,they kill a cock or a sheep to their god in words alone3 for when it is dead they immediately fall upon it1 tearing it to pieces with their fingers 7#bg74 ,most of them believe that after death they live in another world in the same character as here2 but they have no idea of future rewards or punishments 7#aj74 ,they drive devils out of villages 7#ajg74 ,children don't inherit their father's goods 7#ig74 ,if a woman is with child for the first time1 rich offerings are made to the false god to obtain her safe delivery 7#ec74 ,they call in medicine men when sick1 who prescribe offerings to deities4 ,they have medicaments of the roots1 branches1 and gum of trees1 and about #cj different herbs 7,i74 ,from various other writers on ,western ,central ,africa we gather the following facts3-- ,when a child is #g days old1 the parents make a small feast1 imagining that the infant is past its greatest dangers2 and in order to prevent evil spirits from doing it any mischief1 they strew all the ways with dressed victuals to appease them 7#dd74 ,if a man like a virgin1 he tells the most considerable among her relations1 who goes to her house and asks her of her relations1 who1 if she is not before promised1 seldom deny the request3 then the bridegroom clothes his future bride with a rich suit of clothes and ornaments 7#dh74 ,a man contracts with his wife when she is under age 7#dh71 and afterwards carries her forcibly to his home amidst her struggles and shrieks4 ,a dower is reserved for her1 so that1 in case of widowhood1 she may be able to buy a husband 7#ei74 ,when a present is paid to her parents1 the bride is led to her husband's hut1 and he sends her for water1 wood1 and other necessaries4 ,one of the wives is the superior 7#ee74 ,adultery is punished by selling both offenders4 ,the husband may turn off an unfaithful wife at pleasure2 he makes her take all her children with her1 unless he want to keep any himself 7#ei74 ,wives do all the hard work1 do not eat with their husbands1 and are in great subjection4 ,they name the child by shaving its head and rubbing it with oil 7#df74 ,the women carry the children on their back as they go about their ordinary work4 ,many writers 8impute the flat noses and pot bellies to this mode of carriage04 ,as soon as a person dies the neighbours are collected by loud cries and lamentations4 ,they cry over the dead for several days4 ,they give the deceased about a twelvemonth's provisions1 and make a point of securing the body from carrion-eaters 7#ch74 ,the brothers1 sisters1 and relations take possession of the goods of the dead man1 and leave little to his children 7#ig74 ,if the deceased be a man1 his wives shave their heads4 #dj1 #dc4 ,all the ,yao shave the head for any deceased relative4 ,if they drink liquor belonging to a ,european that they do not know1 they ask him to drink first that they may see that there is no poison 7#ih74 ,they use no bread1 but eat the flour of their various grains4 ,they use the ,indian corn when green1 roasting it on the coals--or make flour by pounding in mortars4 ,the houses are like beehives1 and have pointed roofs3 persons of quality have palisades round them4 ,the domestic utensils are only earthen pots1 calabashes1 and baskets 7,c74 ,they use bows1 poisoned arrows and assagais4 ,illustration3 ,,woman ,,of ,,western ,,africa ,,pounding ,,meal4 ,the ,mahommedan negroes of the ,west ,coast practise circumcision in some place remote from a village 7#eb74 ,the above customs of the ,western ,african are taken from the older writers on the subject4 ,after coming into contact with ,europeans the natives are apt to change their more primitive manners4 ,they are fond of discarding round huts in favour of square4 ,the above illustration shows a basket very different from the ,east ,african ones1 all of which are carried on the head4 ,,northern ,,central ,,africa4 ,the ,,bongo believe that evil and not good comes from spirits4 ,old people procure roots in the forest glades at night to destroy others4 ,the ,nubians1 besides having superstitions of their own1 confirm them in all this4 ,old women are compared to hyenas1 and believed to enter their bodies by night4 ,the dead are put in a crouching form--as prescribed in the law of ,islam 7,schweinfurth74 ,among the ,,nyam-,,nyam no bodies are rejected as unfit for food except those that died of a cutaneous disease4 ,the eldest son of a chief succeeds his father4 ,chieftains rarely lead their armies 7#ih74 ,a man that wishes a wife goes to a chief or sub-chief1 who endeavours to procure one 7#dh74 ,the women eat alone in their own huts4 ,the game 8mungala0 is played sometimes on a board1 sometimes with holes in the ground 7#ea1 #e74 ,the ,,balonda 7,livingstone7 ratify friendship by partaking of each other's blood4 ,they believe in a kind of supreme deity4 ,when they take a poison ordeal they hold up their hands1 as if to appeal to a great judge above4 ,it will be observed that the last clause is an inference4 ,they have idols1 and a cross-road is considered sacred 7#dj74 ,the ,,wanyamwesi have also a ceremony of making 8blood-brothers04 ,the ,,waganda have a stringent code of etiquette4 ,a man that makes any mistake in saluting the king is executed at once4 ,the account given by ,speke of the chief of ,uganda shows what a terrible curse a strong government may become 7#ajd74 ,a powerful chief kills scores of people in cold blood1 till the thing becomes an established custom1 and ceases to be wondered at4 ,stanley's details are equally instructive4 ,when a warlike expedition is thought of1 the sorcerer flays a child1 and lays its body on the path as the soldiers pass forth to battle4 ,the ,,gani go quite naked1 but instead of sitting on the ground as most natives do1 they carry a small stool4 ,in this district mothers wash their children and then lick them dry with their tongues as cats do4 ,towels are no part of native appliances4 ,among the ,,obbo1 when a man dies1 his relatives take off his hair and wear it in his memory4 ,the ,,djour country resembles the ,yao in being infested by the tsetse-fly1 which kills cattle2 consequently the people1 though with a taste for agriculture1 have nothing except goats4 ,in many tribes the women wear no clothing till marriage4 ,the birth of twins is often considered unlucky2 among the ,ishogo the mother of twins is forbidden to speak to any but relatives for six years4 ,the ,,apingi offered ,du ,chaillu a 8tender and fat0 slave for his 8evening meal04 ,among the ,,fans 7,ba-,fan7 the executed wizards 7cf4 #ajg7 are eaten1 and cannibalism 7according to ,reade7 is made no secret4 ,among ,,abyssinians 7like the ,gallas1 ,samali1 c47 we find customs like the following3-- ,children are circumcised the eighth day4 ,the baptismal name is concealed1 to prevent an evil spirit from taking possession of the party4 ,they have civil marriages which are readily dissolved4 ,on a death the relatives of the deceased shave their heads4 ,there is much 8wailing10 for which professionals attend1 and a funeral banquet4 ,lobo1 the ,abyssinian missionary1 was cupped by a native by three cups of horn about half-a-foot long 7,i74 ,the ,,gallas have a god called ,wak4 ,their priests divine by the fat of goats and intestines4 ,it is honourable to kill an alien1 to kill a countryman is criminal4 ,on death the relatives feast on the cattle4 ,wood that has been burning a little is put on the grave4 ,if the wood grow the man is happy in the world beyond 7,krapf74 ,the ,,arabs are found everywhere in ,northern ,africa1 and their customs are better known3 still ,i shall note a few for the sake of comparison4 ,boys are named at the ceremony of circumcision4 ,this is about their seventh year among the ,turks4 ,some make it the #acth after the analogy of ,ishmael 7compare #eb74 ,whatever is touched by a corpse is defiled 7#cd74 ,they pay visits to the graves of the dead2 pilgrimages are a great feature in their religion4 ,there are a few superstitions connected with the use of salt1 e4g41 when an infant is named1 some may be put into its mouth4 ,an assemblage of families all from a common stock forms a tribe--the government is paternal 7#fb74 ,,races ,,of ,,antiquity4 ,it would be interesting to determine to which of the ancient nations known to history these ,bantu tribes are most related4 ,for light on this question we must look at the great nations of antiquity that had most to do with ,africa4 ,the first race that we find in ,african history is the ,,ancient ,,egyptians1 whose country1 ,mizraim1 is named after one of the sons of ,ham4 ,whether they pressed farther south at an early date it is difficult to determine4 ,it would have been strange if they had not3 they had enterprise enough to build the pyramids4 ,as dynasty succeeded dynasty1 many that were driven before invaders in those barbarous times may have discovered that the world was wide4 ,it is agreed1 however1 that in the #ahth dynasty1 about #adjj ,b4,c41 ,sesostris found tribes in ,nubia1 ,abyssinia1 ,senaar1 c41 and subdued them4 ,it is instructive to note that about #gah ,b4,c4 ,egypt had a dynasty of ,ethiopian kings2 and that about #fjj ,b4,c4 ,necho1 an ,egyptian king1 sent a ,phenician fleet down the ,red ,sea1 which appeared in the ,mediterranean three years after--having sailed round ,africa4 ,the next of the ancient races that may be mentioned in connection with ,africa is the ,,phenicians or ,,canaanites4 ,before ,homer's time they had the commerce of the ,mediterranean4 ,by the time of ,solomon they were making voyages down the ,red ,sea to a place called ,ophir1 regarding which there have been many theories4 ,in connection with one of these1 we quote the following from ,baines4 ,speaking of the long-sought ruins in the land of ,ophir1 he says3--8,they are extensive1 and one collection covers a considerable portion of a gentle rise1 while another1 apparently a fort1 stands upon a bold granite hill4 ,the walls are still thirty feet in height1 and are built of granite hewn into small blocks about the size of our bricks1 and put together without mortar4 ,the most remarkable of these walls is situated on the very edge of a precipitous cliff1 and is in perfect preservation to the height of thirty feet4 ,the walls are about ten feet thick at the base1 and seven or eight at the top4 ,in many places there remain beams of stone1 eight or ten feet in length1 projecting from the walls1 in which they must be inserted to a depth of several feet1 for they can scarcely be stirred40 ,this explorer finds ,ophir in ,southern ,africa4 ,the ,,jews had contact with most of the nations of antiquity1 and it is said that the kings of ,abyssinia were descended from ,solomon1 through the ,queen of ,sheba1 who on her return was accompanied by many ,jews4 ,it is also maintained that numbers of ,jews found refuge in ,abyssinia at various periods4 ,the ,abyssinians1 as their name implies1 are a mixed race4 ,herodotus mentions a party of young men that travelled through the desert and went on till they came to a black people who lived by a large river which flowed westwards4 ,on comparing the customs of the modern tribes of ,africa with those of the ,ancient ,egyptians1 the ,phenicians1 or the ,jews1 we find many points of difference4 ,still there are points of similarity also4 ,in describing ,african manners we have already noted many agreements with old ,jewish customs4 ,the customs of the ,canaanites need not detain us long4 ,even in the time of the ,patriarchs this race could make seals and graven images1 had silver money1 and could dye purple4 ,it may be mentioned1 however1 that they believed themselves to have sprung from slime2 while the worship of ,ashtaroth involved the pollution of the young of both sexes1 and ,moloch demanded sacrifices of children4 ,divination was also practised4 ,it is interesting to note the following particulars regarding ,ancient ,egypt3-- ,the civilisation of ,egypt did not come down the ,nile--the black people from the land of ,cush being represented on ,egyptian monuments as ,pharoah's servants4 ,the ,egyptians are akin in customs to the ,asiatics4 ,some say the ,egyptians and ,indians are of the same origin 7cf4 ,prichard74 ,weapons1 ,tools1 c4--,the old ,egyptians had bows1 shields1 javelins1 and slings4 ,the latter we have not seen among ,eastern ,central ,african tribes1 but their hoes and wooden pillows resemble the ,egyptian4 ,the old ,egyptians pounded in stone mortars with metal pestles1 and knew something of glass-blowing #cejj years ago--a trade which our ,african pupils considered 8too wonderful04 ,young children were carried at their mother's breast1 rarely at her back as in ,central ,africa4 ,offerings1 c4--,the people inquired whether the deceased deserved the rites of burial ,weapons1 c41 were buried with him 7#ci74 ,when mourning1 they abstained from 8the bath1 wine1 delicacies of the table1 or rich clothing0 7#di74 7,the priests in their purifications excluded salt from their meals1 444 shaved the head and the whole body every third day47 ,they called on the deceased according to the degree of relationship1 as 8,o my father04 ,a dirge was chanted to the sound of a tambourine4 ,mummies were kept in their houses in order that relations might have their deceased with them4 7,so the ,romans gave funeral oblations to their dead1 flowers1 libations1 and victims47 ,the offerings to the dead were similar to the ordinary oblations in honour of the gods4 ,offerings were made to ,osiris in name of the deceased after the burial4 ,the first fruits of the lentils was placed on the altars of the ,egyptian gods 7#bj74 ,the offering of first fruits was an offering of obligation4 ,offerings of wine 7#bd71 oil1 bread 7#ba71 salt1 were offerings of devotion4 ,ears of new corn were parched at the fire4 ,there is some testimony to the effect that human beings were sacrificed4 ,mysteries4--,circumcision was practised from the earliest times1 and when it was administered instruction was given in the mysteries4 ,one part of the initiation was to see the figure of the god 7#ec74 ,oracles were consulted on all important occasions 7#ad74 ,dreams were regarded with religious reverence 7#ae71 and thus the gods told the proper remedies for disease 7,diodorus74 ,but it was known that most diseases proceed from 8indigestion and excess of eating04 ,bodies were examined to find the causes of death 7,pliny74 ,women suspected of infidelity drank a cup of bitter water to prove innocence or guilt 7#ajg74 ,the king was the chief of the church and of the state 7#g74 ,on studying tribal customs we find that much similarity arises from the very constitution of human nature4 ,circumstances also exert a great influence4 ,races are so modified when they obtain cows1 horses1 or even the rudiments of a calendar1 that we are at once puzzled by the difference between them and the rest of their clan4 ,besides1 we must ever remember the enormous influence of the individual4 ,a whole tribe like the ,ovambo derived the habit of squirting water in the face to prevent witchcraft from one king4 ,if a stray man settled in ,negroland with two or three wives #cjjj years ago1 the descendents of this person would now count by millions on millions6 ,what are now large ,african tribes evidently descended from an ancestor that lived not so many centuries ago4 ,the whole tribe naturally follows and develops certain characteristics of this ancestor1 and as it keeps aloof from other tribes1 it soon has distinct peculiarities in speech and customs4 ,even in ,england almost each county has certain peculiarities1 a fact which will illustrate to what a great extent such developments may grow among tribes that have no written literature1 and no means of keeping up communication with their neighbours4 ,often have ,i wondered1 as ,i gazed on these ,african mountains and valleys1 what tales they could tell1 if they only found a tongue4 ,much1 ,i believe1 may be yet learned by the study of native legends and mythologies1 which frequently condescend on names2 but after all1 there are many secrets which will remain undisclosed until those mountains and valleys give up their dead4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,african ,,philology4 8,there is a notion that ,african languages are rude and imperfect4 ,they are no such thing40--,,bishop ,,steere4 ,what makes one language more perfect than another8 ,what is a philosophical language8 ,we judge a language by the way in which it fulfils its purpose3 its great purpose being to express thought4 ,every language is a means of expressing thought by words4 ,in one tongue we express certain thoughts easily and conveniently1 which in another we have to express in a cumbrous manner4 ,thus instead of saying 8inapplicabilities10 we might have to say 8the-plural-condition-of-not-being-able- to-fold-one-thing-into-another04 ,to express thought words must be used in a particular way3 the words themselves are the vocabulary1 the particular way in which they are used is the grammar4 ,in estimating a language1 we must consider 7,a7 its vocabulary1 7,b7 its grammar4 ,a4 ,,the ,,vocabulary4 #a4 ,the ,number of ,words4--7a7 ,a language may have too many words4 ,in ,english1 multitudes of words have been taken from other tongues4 ,thus we have the numeral one1 and also unit 7,latin7 and monad 7,greek74 ,unless such words are necessary1 there is a loss of simplicity1 which is felt by a foreigner trying to learn the language2 and which we could make apparent to ourselves by introducing from three other languages three additional words for one1 with all their derivatives4 ,so long as such new words indicate different shades of meaning1 their presence shows fertility in thought2 but where they do not each indicate a separate and necessary meaning1 they encumber the language4 ,as writing is the chief means of giving permanency to unnecessary words1 we find that an unwritten language like ,yao is not thus burdened1 and seldom uses two or three words where one might do4 ,there are1 however1 cases of apparent excess4 ,we have a word for his elder brother1 and quite a distinct word for his younger brother4 ,many such cases1 however1 arise really from deficiency--there is no word in the language for brother4 ,again1 we have words for my younger brother1 your younger brother1 c41 but no word for younger brother4 7b7 ,a language may have too few words4 ,i have never seen ,africans of the same tribe trying to talk with each other and breaking down for want of vocables4 ,they have always language enough to express their ideas4 ,but they have often to use circumlocutions4 ,instead of saying a pen they speak of a 7thing7 with which to write or mark4 ,it would be unfair to expect the ,yao to have a name for ice1 any more than the ,english have a name for anything they don't know of1 but every language should have easy methods of forming new words where they are wanted4 ,while sufficient for ordinary purposes1 the words of a language may be too few for exact translation4 ,the ,english vocabulary enables us to speak of3 7#a7 ,objects 7and actions7 in the material world4 7#b7 ,relations between these objects2 such relations are numerous4 7#c7 ,things and relations in the mental world1 which are named through analogies in the material world1 for material things are more readily named than mental4 7#d7 ,besides there are the names of ,science4 ,in names of the #ast kind1 ,yao is as full as ,english4 ,in names of the #bnd1 #crd1 and #dth kinds1 where a greater abstraction is implied1 it falls short4 ,an ,african1 while able to perceive all such relations1 c41 does not find it necessary to name many of them4 ,even though he named all that he observed1 his names would be lost1 for in the absence of writing1 few words acquire fixity except those in general use4 ,take the word grey2 present a grey object to a ,yao1 and he calls it black or white1 but as a matter of fact1 he knows perfectly that it is different from either of these colours4 ,in ,english we speak of a man as being good1 upright1 straightforward1 true1 honest1 honourable1 just1 strict1 religious1 pious1 holy1 pleasant1 courteous1 c42 but in ,yao there are not names for so many shades of character1 and one or two words must do service for the whole list4 ,we shall not wonder at this if we consider how many of the above epithets have been taken into the ,english language from other tongues4 ,a modern mission to our ,saxon ancestors would have found their vocabulary as poor as we find the ,african4 #b4 ,the ,nature of the ,words4--,where one language has an easy word1 another may express the same idea 7a7 by a word dreadful to pronounce--8a vocable sufficient to splinter the teeth of a crocodile02 or 7b7 by a cumbrous combination of words4 7a7 ,the ,yao words are easy to pronounce1 the rule being that every consonant is followed by a vowel4 ,but they are longer than ,english words4 ,if a ,yao had to say transubstantiations1 he would say tiransubisitantiation7i7si4 ,again1 where we say 8,you believed him10 he prefers to say 8,you-him-believed10 in one word4 7b7 ,a language may have a cumbrous combination of words4 ,when the ,romans had to work with their numerical notation of ,,ix4 and ,,xi41 we can excuse them for not making much of simple multiplication and division4 ,so when the ,yao express #ii by makumi msanu ni makumi mcheche kwisa msanu ni mcheche1#ad we may expect that their numerical system will not care to go any farther6 ,b4 ,,grammar4 ,what parts of speech are first used8 ,interjections like ah6 and imitations of sounds like 8crow0 come very soon4 ,now1 when children utter the word 8crow0 what is its nature8 ,is it a noun meaning the sound1 or is it a verb in reference to the production of the sound1 or is it too indefinite to be classed8 ,when it does become definite1 it is certainly more like a noun or a verb than anything else4 ,the only other part of speech that might come into competition is the adjective2 but if we look at what the adjective does in ,grammar1 we see that it already implies the noun4 ,the noun and the verb are the parts of speech that are most readily obtained1--that lie nearest to hand in nature4 ,but the nouns and verbs that we meet with generally go far beyond the individual4 ,such a word as house1 though denoting a single object1 could not have been formed without abstraction4 ,this position is illustrated in any text-book on ,logic under the ,logical notion4 ,the word 8house10 while denoting a special object1 implies that this object has certain characteristics4 ,yet the degree of abstraction is greater for other parts of speech4 ,to take an illustration4 ,we know that 8,john built houses10 and that 8,john did not enter these houses04 ,now1 we might state these two ideas without anything farther2 but most languages bring in another idea1 thus1 8,john built houses but he never entered them04 ,the new idea marked by but arises from contrasting the other two ideas1 and could not exist till both of them existed4 ,so we cannot speak of a good house till we know of a house1 neither can we speak of 8building well10 or 8building for a friend0 till we first know about 8building04 ,thus1 the more concrete words are the nouns and verbs2 adjectives and pronouns are less so1 while adverbs1 prepositions1 and conjunctions are very abstract1 and are often so few in many languages as to be classed together as particles4 ,the concrete words describe the easier thoughts1 the primary modifications of thought1 the abstract words describe secondary or more abstract modifications of thought4 ,hence1 as we might anticipate1 we find the ,yao language well supplied with nouns1 verbs1 and even pronouns1 but as we go beyond these to adjectives1 the supply is less1 and still less as we pass on to adverbs1 prepositions1 and conjunctions4 ,the scarcity of prepositions and conjunctions often discourages the ,european who studies the language4 ,it is a great shock to discover that the ,english words to and from are represented by one and the same native word6 ,we shall now show how the ,yao language deals 7#a7 with the principal parts of speech1 7#b7 with the subordinate4 #a4 ,the chief thing to note regarding the principal parts of speech is their inflexion4 ,the fewer the inflexions1 the greater is the simplicity4 7a7 ,inflexion for ,concord4--,we have ,,in ,,english4 ,,in ,,latin4 good hill bonus mons good tree bona arbor good field bonum arvum ,the change in the adjective 7like good-us1 a1 um7 is cumbrous1 and is seldom necessary4 ,a boy trying ,latin at school mistakes in saying bonus arbor1 but he has little chance of being misunderstood4 ,yao gives ten concords of this kind with their plurals4 ,this is a severe infliction1 although we can generally tell by inspection what concord is required4 7b74 ,inflection for ,government4--,english nouns have one inflexion for case1 ,latin nouns have six4 ,the ,yao noun has no inflexion of the same kind1 but it modifies the verb so as to indicate its relation to the noun4 ,these modifications correspond in number 7ten7 with the concords4 ,the advantage of many inflexions is that related words are marked so clearly that they may be separated from each other or have their order changed4 ,the ,yao could speak of ten nouns and say that is hard1 that is soft1 c41 without ambiguity1 where our word that 7which never changes7 is powerless4 ,again1 in ,english we cannot say 8the sire the son addressed04 ,in ,latin1 sire and son are so marked that the meaning is unmistakeable in any order4 ,but such advantage is small4 ,so great explicitness as inflected languages mark at every step1 is seldom necessary4 ,the ,yao1 then1 as compared with ,english1 takes too much trouble with the principal parts of speech4 ,its process of fitting out nouns and verbs 7which affects also adjectives and particles71 is too minute and cumbrous4 #b4 ,coming now to the more abstract and subordinate parts of speech1 we find that while the ,english language has many of these1 the ,yao language has not2 and to make up for the want it throws more work on the principal parts of speech4 ,in ,english we say1 8to build a house for him02 the ,yao modifies the verb 8build0 till it means 8build-for10 and dismisses the preposition4 ,in most of these cases the ,english language has an advantage like that which arises from the principle of division of labour in other matters4 ,we shall now sum up these results1 and add a few more in the following table3-- ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,,english4 ,,latin4 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ,,syllables ,may end with consonant ,may end with consonant ,,place ,,of ,,accent ,not uniform ,,vowel ,,sounds ,numerous ,,inflexions ,,for ,at end 7of words7 ,at end ,,number ,,in ,,nouns ,,dual ,,number ,traces of 7both7 ,traces of 7ambo74 ,common in ,greek ,,case ,,inflexion ,only in pronouns ,highly developed 7,nouns or ,prons47 ,,concord ,,inflex4 ,only in pronouns ,much used ,,character ,,of ,pronouns are masc41 ,masc41 fem41 and ,,the ,,concord fem41 or neut42 but neuter the distinction disappears in the plural ,,rules ,,for ,,applying ,according to sex ,faintly indicated ,,this by the termination ,,concord of the noun ,,number ,,inflexion ,at end2 rare ,at end1 almost ,,in ,,verb superseded by the inflexion for person ,,concord ,,inflexion ,none ,none 7exc4 when ,,in ,,verb a verb is made up of participle and auxiliary7 ,,inflexion ,,for ,rare2 at end ,general2 at end ,,person ,,inflexion ,,of ,none ,none ,,verb ,,to ,,indicate ,,its ,,object ,,inflexion ,,for ,at end4 ,when words ,at end ,,moods ,,and are put at the beginning ,,tenses they retain their independent character1 and are called auxiliaries ,,modifications ,,of ,few ,many ,,action ,,generally ,,use ,,of ,,adverbs1 ,large ,fewer prepositions ,,prepositions1 than in ,,other ,english owing to ,,particles case inflexions ,,compound ,,words ,numerous ,numerous ---------------------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,,hebrew4 ,,yao4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,,syllables ,preference for ,natives find difficulty in open syllables pronouncing syllables ending except where with a consonant3 theirs all accented end with a vowel4 ,,place ,,of ,,accent ,great uniformity 7nearly always on the penult in ,chinyasa74 ,,vowel ,,sounds ,few4 ,,inflexions ,,for ,at end ,at beginning4 ,,number ,,in ,,nouns ,,dual ,,number ,used ,no trace3 e4g41 a word like both is translated by all 7all the two74 ,,case ,,inflexion ,traces found ,entirely absent4 7,nouns or ,prons47 ,,concord ,,inflex4 ,used ,exceedingly numerous4 ,,character ,,of ,masc4 and fem4 ,no trace of masculine or feminine ,,the ,,concord inflexion even in pronouns3 but distinctions like 7#a7 personal or personified1 7#b7 impersonal2 the latter being subdivided into names of objects in nature1 collective1 abstract1 ampliative1 diminutive1 c4 ,,rules ,,for ,,applying ,faintly indicated ,almost infallibly indicated by ,,this by the termin- the beginning of the noun4 ,,concord ation of the noun ,,number ,,inflexion ,at end and at ,at beginning4 ,,in ,,verb beginning ,,concord ,,inflexion ,used ,used4 ,,in ,,verb ,,inflexion ,,for ,gen42 at beginning ,general2 at beginning4 ,,person and end ,,inflexion ,,of ,pronomenal ,general1 and used to distinguish ,,verb ,,to ,,indicate suffixes definite and indefinite objects4 ,,its ,,object4 ,,inflexion ,,for ,at beginning and ,at beginning 7and end74 ,,moods ,,and end ,,tenses ,,modifications ,,of ,not so many for ,numerous4 instead of an adverb ,,action ,,generally moods tenses1 not1 there is a complicated but modifications negative inflexion4 of action are expressed often by modific- ations of verb instead of adv4 ,,use ,,of ,,adverbs1 ,more work is thrown on the ,,prepositions1 principal parts of speech1 and ,,other particles are not much used4 ,,particles ,,compound ,,words ,hardly any except in names2 but derivative nouns can be formed very readily4 ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ,we select ,latin and ,hebrew1 because the one is of the ,aryan family of languages and the other of the ,semitic4 ,what is a family--and when are languages said to belong to the same family8 ,languages1 like everything else1 are classed with reference to similarity4 ,the similarity may be in grammar1 or in vocabulary1 the former kind of agreement being the more decisive4 ,let us take an example of agreement in vocabulary4 ,in the ,aryan group of languages the word for five is pantshan in ,sanscrit1 pente in ,greek1 quinque in ,latin1 pump in ,welsh1 funf in ,german1 and fif in ,anglo-,saxon4 ,agreements of this kind go to prove that the languages belong to one great family4 ,next we reach the conclusion that the races that used them had a common ancestry who dwelt in an old 8,aryan home04 ,but can we prove that the ,semitic languages have any kinship to the ,aryan8 ,some try to do so by looking for coincidences in certain words1 as in the numerals4 ,for instance1 the ,hebrew for five is chimasha4 ,has this any relation to pantshan8 ,in looking at the ,yao language we often find certain coincidences4 ,if the ,yao had ever derived a word for five from pantshan1 they would have put a vowel at the end1 and further1 they would have treated the beginning of the word as being less important 7just as the ,greeks treat the end of the words as of less importance74 ,now1 it is singular that the ,yao word for five is msano1 the ,swahili tano1 the ,chinyasa sanu1 and the ,nyamwesi nhanu6 ,resemblances of this kind1 if numerous and not accidental1 would point us towards a time when all 8the earth was of one language and one speech04 ,as we have already hinted1 the ,bantu family of languages1 to which the ,yao belongs1 fills nearly the whole of ,southern ,africa4 ,besides the ,bantu people there are the ,hottentots4 ,as early as #ahej we find ,dr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,j4 ,bleek writing1 8,the ,hottentot language is to me at this moment of greater interest than any other4 ,the facts have now so increased upon me and offer such strong analogies1 that there is no further doubt in my own mind1 that not only the ,coptic but also the ,semitic and all other languages of ,africa 7as ,berber1 the ,galla dialect1 c41 c471 in which the distinction of the masculine and feminine gender pervades the whole grammar are of common origin04 ,although the ,yao is a genderless language1 much of its folk lore resembles the ,hottentot4 ,dr4 ,bleek has published #db ,hottentot tales4 ,i have heard amongst the ,yao1 tales corresponding to #af or #ah of these4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,african ,,philology4--7,continued74 ,before stating the peculiarities of the ,yao language1 ,i shall illustrate the subject by reference to the speech of children4 ,this form of illustration applies to unwritten languages generally2 and although not much alluded to in books on ,philology1 it is1 ,i venture to think1 exceedingly important1 not only for the theory of language1 but for the guidance of persons that are confronted with unwritten tongues4 ,while children are learning to speak1 their slowness comes not entirely from the intellect1 but from want of command of the vocal organs4 ,on encountering a word that they cannot pronounce1 they frame a word of their own which they employ instead4 ,in imitating the word table1 a child may say dodo1 a sound which at first sight seems to have no relation to the word 8table04 ,yet the child employs it uniformly1 and often for more than a year4 ,such imperfect imitations are not by accident3 they follow laws similar to those principles that operate in changing the same original sound into the quinque of ,latin1 the pump of ,welsh1 and the five of ,english4 ,form of ,words4--,the syllable easiest for a child is a single consonant followed by a vowel4 ,for basket a child says tase2 for purse1 he says tuse4 ,where two consonants come together1 as the sk and rs of these words1 the child throws out one of them4 ,he also drops the final t in basket1 and obtains a syllable ending with a vowel2 and where no vowel exists he supplies one1 as in tuse for purse 7purs74 ,beginning of ,syllables4--,some maintain that we cannot begin a syllable without a consonant1 or at least an aspirate like what the ,greeks wrote4 ,children seem to be exceptions as they leave out a difficult consonant and begin with a vowel--that becomes at as well as tat but even in at there exists the kind of aspirate contended for4 ,in the ,yao language syllables almost always begin with a consonant4 ,here arises an important principle of spelling4 ,i should not like to decide whether we ought to write ,ya-o or ,ya-wo4 ,the natives themselves had no writing till we taught them1 and on words like ,yao1 my best pupils were divided4 ,some pronounced and spelt ,yao1 others ,yawo4 ,i believe that the sound at first was ,yawo1 and etymology in many cases bears out my conclusion4 ,but in course of time the original ,yawo may be rendered ,yao1 as an original honest has become onest4 ,end of ,syllables4--,it is not so easy to end a syllable with a consonant4 ,the child's earlier syllables end with vowels as papa4 ,the difficulty of pulling up the voice at once is seen in the utterance of certain words like rock1 especially by ,scotchmen who often unconsciously pronounce as if the word were rocka4 ,all ,yao syllables end with a vowel4 ,parts of ,speech4--,the language of childhood shows that man observes things before he observes the relations between them4 ,nouns and verbs come before the other parts of speech1 but when first employed they are more like interjections4 ,the imperative of the verb1 which is as near to an interjection as may be1 forms a large element in infantile speech3 thus adjectives when first used are in effect imperatives or interjections4 ,the expression ,doto dad 7doctor bad7 is synonymous with ,doto1 go-way 7doctor1 go away74 ,whether nouns or verbs come first is hardly worth discussing1 because it is misleading to apply the distinction of parts of speech at a stage where speech has no parts4 ,but it may be noted that what we call nouns are used by the child like verbs3 thus1 ,no tair 7chair7 means 8,do not put me on the chair04 ,the ,meaning of ,nouns4--,nouns at first denote individuals like papa1 mamma4 ,but the child by and by sums up in these words a great deal of meaning1 and if he were placed in a world where he saw no white woman but his mother1 the next female that appeared he would call mamma4 ,so if the only animal he is acquainted with be a dog1 he at first calls goats1 sheep1 or rabbits all dogs4 ,inflexion of ,nouns4--,a child sees no need of inflexions1 and forms his first sentences accordingly4 ,he says more man for more men1 see more camel for see more camels4 ,after he feels the need of a plural1 his first impulse is to express it by old materials1 and then see more camel is used where the meaning undoubtedly is see the camels or see camels4 ,the possessive case is similarly dispensed with3 for ,john's book we get ,john boop4 ,this has a strong relevancy in the explanation of ,african tongues1 where ,kumlomba brother is used for ,kumlomba's brother4 ,adjectives are at first used exactly like nouns4 ,we tell a child it is hot in there1 and he says hot in 'ere1 and immediately adds fire in 'ere1 thus showing that he considers hot as a substitute for the corresponding noun4 ,moreover adjectives1 on their first appearance1 are often used to make compound nouns in which the adjective meaning is lost4 ,the child says1 ,dem dood-doy for ,james is a good boy4 ,dood-doy is really one word1 and is rather a noun than an adjective4 ,this explains why it is that in ,african tongues simple adjectives are very few4 ,in the ,yao language1 adjectives being so unimportant1 have no inflexion for comparison4 ,articles are entirely dispensed with by children4 ,look at the man1 look at a man1 are both rendered ook man4 ,pronouns are not easily understood at first4 ,a child hears the words1 ,come1 and ,i will bathe you3 by and by he asks for his bathe yow1 bathe-you being understood as a single word1 which he construes as a noun4 ,it is long before he says ,i did it2 he says ,james did it instead4 ,also for my boot he says ,dem toot 7,james' boot74 ,indeed1 the interrogative pronoun who seems to be understood before the personal pronouns4 ,relative pronouns come very much later4 ,hence in ,african tongues they are poorly represented4 ,they resemble conjunctions1 and are introduced into the vocabulary of childhood1 we believe1 even later than they4 ,verbs4--,children are fond of viewing a complex phenomenon as an action4 ,when we tell a child to look at the men tying on a sail1 we call forth the expression tat tying on for that is a tying on4 ,the subject and object are thus ignored in comparison with the action itself4 ,so in ,african tongues the verb is of overwhelming importance4 ,besides the imperative1 one part of the verb frequently used in childhood is the participle3 as ,james eating food for ,james is eating his food4 ,the eating is used as a noun or an infinitive4 ,the infinitive is largely used in ,yao to express action in general1 and the indicative mood is formed from it4 ,adverbs are by children often used as imperatives1 as quick6 7,adverbs of place as well as demonstrative adjectives are soon used in company with vocal gestures47 ,negation is early expressed by putting no before verbs or nouns1 as1 ,doto no go1 for the doctor did not go1 no home1 for we will not go home4 ,often adverbs make but one idea with the adjective or verb that they are attached to1 as go-away4 ,the same thing is seen in the case of prepositions4 ,put on your coat is rendered tut on toat and even ton toat1 pu falling out and ton being used for a verb4 ,so1 put off your coat is toff toat4 ,this principle illustrates what has been called applied verbs and causative verbs4 ,a neuter verb like put is made transitive by placing another word like on after it1 and this other word is liable to become part of the verb1 as if put on was the transitive form of put4 ,the principle is of the greatest use in explaining ,african derivative verbs4 ,again1 children often omit prepositions4 ,look man1 is used for look at a man2 man 'os for a man on a horse4 ,as regards conjunctions1 simple people like children are often content to express one idea or sentence at a time4 ,when they have to join two ideas or sentences they put them side by side without any connecting word4 ,james and papa becomes in the infantile language ,james1 papa4 ,in the same way1 connecting words like the logical copula1 are at first omitted1 as ,dem dad boy1 for ,james is a bad boy4 ,the tendency to omit the copula1 throws light on the earlier use of adjectives4 ,when the child says bad-boy1 the expression is to be taken as a single word1 and we may call it a noun4 ,but often the child sooner understands1 boy bad1 the equivalent to him1 of the boy is bad2 which thought is ultimately developed as it is written1 though at first the child views it as being the equivalent of boy1 go away4 ,unwritten languages are marked by a peculiar graphicness1 arising partly from the omission of connecting words1 and partly from other causes4 ,the expression1 8if you be sufficiently warm1 you will be sufficiently braw 7well-dressed710 is very weak1 when compared with the proverbial 8warm enough1 braw enough04 ,a savage1 or a child1 would feel it very tame to say1 8if you do not cover your well1 some one will walk into it04 ,he would say1 8cover your well1 a man will go into it1 plump60 ,instead of an intangible1 8one cannot say what one would think1 if one fell into a well10 the more natural language of childhood is1 8,i cannot say what ,i would think1 c410 or1 8you cannot tell what you would think1 c40 ,instead of 8he stabbed him very deeply10 we have1 8he put the knife into him that length60 ,the above remarks on the imitation of sounds and speech by infants1 besides illustrating an unwritten language1 will enable a reader1 to whom the subject really is new1 to understand how languages that are of the same family1 may yet differ immensely4 ,it is to be remembered that different individuals imitate differently4 ,while some find it easier to throw out consonants1 others put them in1 as some men find it easy to say ,amelia-r-an for ,amelia ,ann4 ,again1 children often modify their vowels to compensate for some consonant they cannot pronounce4 ,when a child says tate1 for blanket1 the a is emphasised through an effort to embrace the n4 ,some ,african races say ,nyansa1 others ,nyasa1 with the a so modified that we might write1 ,nyaasa1 or ,nyassa4 ,like children beginning to speak1 certain races have few consonants1 and are obliged to throw much work upon them4 ,thus one tribe had to call ,captain ,cook1 the first ,englishman that they met1 ,taptain ,toot1 making the t do duty for the c 7k74 ,when we think of the various ways in which a language may be modified1 we are much struck by studying a work like ,koelle's ,polyglotta ,africana1 which points to striking affinities1 traceable among ,african tongues4 ,moreover1 such works are liable to be at first obscured through misleading data4 ,perplexity is caused by words from languages that had not been perfectly studied at the time4 ,thus where there are two words for 8woman10 the philologist may hear only one1 which instead of being the proper instrument for tracing affinities1 may be derived from another word within the special dialect4 ,again in one language an old word for 8woman10 may have been superseded1 although some derivatives from it yet remain4 ,as more languages are gradually reduced1 a rich harvest awaits the philologist in ,africa4 ,these illustrations from the speech of children1 include nearly all that will be expected from one giving a general account of an ,african language4 ,we are aware of the danger of converting illustrations into principles without stating their limitations3 as did the man who wanted to prove that all speech was but a development of the utterances of the lower animals4 ,after making observations on two of his children1 he found his theory much confirmed2 but when he tried the third child1 its first utterance was1 8,don't tease1 go away04 ,this wonderful sentence brought his theory into discredit2 but it is clear that ,i may claim this child in confirmation of what ,i have adduced4 ,its first utterance is made up of imperatives1 and this on our principles1 is just what it ought to be6 ,it remains only to give a short account of points not yet touched on4 ,sounds4 ,vowels and consonants are much modified for euphony4 ,the consonant changes may be exemplified in connection with the letter n1 e4g41 ku-n-lola becomes kundola2 and in ku-n-sosa the n is entirely dropped1 but the preceding vowel is lengthened1 and the word might be written kuusosa4 ,in this way1 n-l becomes nd1 n1 l1 or nil n-f 0 f n-m 0 m n-n 0 n n-s 0 s n-u 0 u n-ng 0 ng' n-j 0 ny n-k 0 ng n-t 0 nd n-w 0 mbw1 c41 c4 ,in ,african spelling1 some advocate the disbanding of j and ch in favour of tsh and dzh1 but the changes of ch and j after the letter n afford an argument against writing these letters tsh and dzh in the ,yao language4 ,thus1 for kunchondelela 7kuntshondelela7 we hear kunjondelela 7kundzhondelela71 and not kundshondelela4 ,but such questions turn greatly on expediency4 ,words4--,an ,english word like loved1 is found to consist of two elements1 a simpler word love1 and the ending d4 ,if the simpler word love be not traced farther back it is called a root4 ,the other element d indicates the modification of the root4 ,in order to give an account of such a word we have to explain 7#a7 the root1 7#b7 the modification of it4 ,the modification of it by the addition of d is well explained when we have found that d is for did4 ,but how do roots arise8 ,a great many are imitations of sounds in nature1 others may be utterances which were at first accidentally associated with certain objects4 ,yao words we may explain in the following manner4 ,in the case of kulemba 7to write1 mark71 we may suppose that the root lemb or rather lembe expresses the sound made by some scratching instrument4 ,hence we have lemba the shortest form of the verb4 ,from this verbal root we may form ten nouns which express different meanings and fall into ten classes4 ,strangely enough these classes correspond to a great extent with the classifications of the noun stated in some ,english grammars 7see ,bain's ,grammar74 ,they may be exemplified as follows3-- #a ,mlemba1 a writer 7personal7 ,ju-akulemba1 one that writes #b ,ulembe1 writing1 marking 7abstract7 #c ,ndembile 7nembo71 a writing #d ,chilembo1 a great mark 7ampliative7 #e ,lilembo1 a mark names of natural objects #f ,lulembo1 a mark #g ,kalembo1 a little mark 7diminutive7 #h ,kulemba1 writing 7verbal noun or infinitive7 #i ,pakulembila1 a place-for-writing-at1 desk #aj ,mukulembila1 a-place-for-writing in1 office ,these ten classes of nouns may be formed in connection with every verb4 ,the #bnd class1 besides embracing abstract nouns includes the names of all trees that begin with m2 while the third class embraces the names of birds and animals1 especially such as appear in flocks2 as deer1 sheep2 and the words in this class have now no plural though there is some evidence that they had a plural formerly4 ,sentences4--,a noun in a sentence demands the concord of adjectives1 pronouns1 and verbs4 ,this is the only important concord in the language4 ,the absence of gender is a great peculiarity4 ,a native may make a long speech about a person while his audience do not know whether it is a man or a woman that is spoken of4 ,again1 when a native speaks of persons it may be impossible to tell whether he means one person1 or several4 ,originally1 the singular of the third person was distinct from the plural1 but by the use of a plural of excellence one man is habitually spoken of as they4 ,this is a refinement of politeness4#ae ,in the same way the ,english language employs you instead of thou3 these natives go farther on the same lines1 throwing away not only number1 but person also4 ,in ,england1 where the question is asked 8where are you going0 the reply will be 8,i am going to your house04 ,the ,african for the same meaning would reply 8,i am going to his house04 ,traces of the same refinement exist in ,england3 thus1 instead of 8,what do you want0 we may hear 8,what does his ,reverence want80 ,the following will show the method of tense formation4 ,the present indicative1 ,i love1 may be analysed into ,i-a-loving or ,i-to-love 7person1 preposition1 and verb74 ,the perfect tense1 indicating completed action1 is made up of the root meaning love1 and an affix which seems to be akin to a demonstrative pronoun1 and signifies that the action is there or at a distance now4 ,one future tense is formed from a participle with a negative1 so that ,i shall love ,i-a-loving but-not-yet4 ,these are the three leading tenses1 but the fertility of tense forms is amazing--thus we have a tense for 8,why should ,i neglect to love80 ,yao has a great wealth of participles1 which seem to be wanting entirely in ,chinyasa4 ,derived verbs are numerous4 ,from a word leka1 to leave1 we have lechela 7for lekela7 leave for2 lechesya and lekasya 7whose terminations remind one of the ,greek idso7 with causative meanings2 lekana 7 leka na2 na with7 leave each other1 or together2 lekanya1 separate with causative lekanisya2 as also lekwa and lecheka with passive and neuter meanings4 ,in the study of these languages we are often reminded that what are now to us familiar words1 were really formed with much difficulty1 and we are not so ready to laugh at the ,etymologist who derived the ,latin word nihil for nothing from a bean1 as if it originally meant 8not a single pea06 ,in some ,african dialects there is great difficulty in getting a word to translate 8nothing04 ,yet1 after all1 the ,english language has not much to boast of here2 some of these dialects can also furnish a derivative word like no-thing4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,estimate ,,of ,,native ,,character4 8,the savage is essentially cruel1 not having the least regard for the sufferings of others1 and inflicting the most frightful tortures with calm enjoyment4 ,as for morality1 as we understand the word1 the true savage has no conception of it1 and the scenes which nightly take place in savage lands1 are of such a nature that travellers pass them over in discreet silence4 ,honesty in its right sense is equally unknown1 and so is truthfulness1 a successful theft1 and an undetected falsehood1 being evidences of skill and ingenuity1 and by no means a disgrace40--,t4 ,g4 ,,wood',s ,nat4 ,hist4 of ,man4 ,in speaking of ,native ,character we begin with the ,,physical side4 ,the features1 despite thick lips and flat noses1 are by no means unpleasant4 ,the forehead is well formed4 ,at first all black faces seemed alike1 but this was because the blackness was then strange to us1 and not because the faces wanted variety3 after returning from a long stay among negroes1 we felt the same difficulty in distinguishing white faces4 ,their figures are tall and graceful4 ,some of the men are six feet high1 while few can be called little4 ,the women1 owing to their out-door work1 are strikingly tall and strong4 ,after becoming accustomed to their 8want of dress10 one feels that natives are seen to most advantage in their own costume4 ,they don't look well in garments of the ordinary coat-and-trousers description1--coloured shirts1 or even white shirts with red borders suit better4 ,their powers of endurance are very great4 ,men and women will carry sixty pounds on the head1 and walk at a brisk pace for two days' journey of forty miles4 ,as they march thus under a burning sun1 their whole body is covered with beads of perspiration1 yet they do not succumb4 ,in estimating the value of certain ,roman ,generals1 ,livy was careful to note1 that they had the power of enduring hunger for a long time4 ,the ,yao would have merited his praise1 for they possess this power in an extraordinary degree4 ,they will march for days without any 8ostensible0 means of keeping themselves alive4 ,on occasions when we misjudged distances1 and were obliged to pass about #bj hours 7mostly of great exertion7 without food1 our anxiety about our companions1 was met by the polite assurance that 8they had eaten04 ,they even contrived to turn the sympathy the other way by saying1 8,we are used to hunger1 but the white man will faint04 ,the white man might endure hunger nearly as long1 but the native has this advantage--when food comes he has an enormous capacity for quantity1 he is a 8dreadful eater10 while the white man can scarcely taste a morsel4 ,the natives can also endure the burning thirst of this land4 ,on a long day's march1 they pass all the streams in the morning without drinking3 it is not till three or four o'clock in the afternoon that they become thirsty4 ,but the white man may drink by the end of the first hour1 and then he becomes 8demoralised0 for the day4 ,as he continues the hot march his thirst increases but he cannot quench it4 ,he arrives at a clear rippling brook1 hastily puts a stone under his knees--a drinking jug is a mockery now1 he must get at the stream itself--still he is never quite satisfied4 ,he craves the drinking for its own sake4 ,after imbibing a great quantity of water1 he is grieved that he cannot go on drinking more1 and no sooner has he left one stream than he begins to long for another4 ,the unpleasant craving continues till the sun begins to sink in the west4 ,he may avoid the torture by abstaining from drinking at first1 only to exercise this self-denial1 it is almost imperative to shut the eyes when passing a stream6 ,some natives suffer in the same way1 but they are chiefly boys4 ,when much exhausted the natives light a pipe1 each takes one or two whiffs and passes it on to his neighbour4 ,in a few minutes all are inspired with fresh energy4 ,in work that they do not like1 they very soon complain of fatigue1 but in other cases1 even when asked to rest1 they redouble their energies1 while they make the whole welkin ring with some wild song4 ,they are never so tired that the sight of game does not rouse them to every energy necessary for pursuit4 ,the natives are vegetarians not of choice1 but of necessity4 ,few can procure much flesh1 and they avoid milk and eggs on superstitious grounds4 ,they are1 therefore1 in the opinion of some1 deficient in muscle4 ,they certainly do not excel in doing work that requires a dead strain1 but this is due to want of practice--they are not used to such work4 ,at their own homes they never require to raise heavy stones or weights1 and their naked legs and arms are out of keeping with the task4 ,constant exposure of their bodies to the elements1 renders them very hardy4 ,this feature in the ,african has almost become proverbial4 8,from constant usage1 the soles of his feet are defended by a thickened skin as insensible as the sole of any boot4 ,he will walk with uncommon unconcern over sharp stones and thorns1 which would lame a ,european at the first step40 ,mr4 ,wood remarks that1 8,their state of health enables them to survive injuries which would be almost instantly fatal to an ordinary civilised ,european10 and mentions a wonderful case of two young girls that were removed from a heap of corpses4 8,one had received #ai stabs with the assegai1 and the other #ba4 ,they survived their dreadful wounds1 reaching womanhood1 though both crippled for life40 8,the dreaded #8stick' of the ,orientals1 would lose its terrors to a ,kaffir1 who would endure the bastinado with comparative impunity40 ,the same writer speaks of a ,hottentot wagon-driver who fell under the wheels of his wagon4 ,one of the fore-wheels passed over his neck1 and as the wagon was loaded with some two tons of firewood1 it might be supposed he was killed on the spot4 ,he was not only alive1 but had the presence of mind to roll out of the way of the hind wheel4 ,in answer to anxious inquiries1 he said he was not much hurt1 except by some small stones which had been forced into his skin1 and which he asked a gentleman to remove4 ,in ,africa we often saw instances of endurance1 which would make us exclaim with ,buffon1 that civilised man does not know his own powers4 ,judged by a ,european standard1 these natives would not be commended for cleanliness4 ,their habit of smearing the body with oil or grease1 is very repugnant4 ,when a boy was cooking our dinner1 he delighted to put his fingers into the fat and smear his whole body4 8,kafirs10 says ,mr4 ,wood1 8are charming savages1 but it is always as well to keep to the windward of them1 at all events1 until the nostrils have become accustomed to their odour40 ,judged by an ,african standard1 this habit would be highly approved2 for a ,european when obliged to dress like a native1 feels the necessity for his grease6 ,as they lie about on the ground their bodies and scanty dresses become very dirty4 ,in some districts they bathe a great deal4 ,our pupils at ,zomba availed themselves of the beautiful stream daily4 ,bathing in the morning is avoided2 the streams are then cold1 especially on the hills4 ,but when a traveller rests by a brook at mid-day his native companions generally bathe4 ,passing now to the ,,moral side of their character ,i shall first point to their great want of truthfulness4 8,telling lies0 is much practised and is seldom considered a fault4 ,the way in which it comes before the ,european is like this4 ,he enters the country with half-a-dozen bath-towels expecting them to last for a long time4 ,in a few weeks the majority of them have disappeared4 ,he then begins to open his eyes1 and in a short time he sees his 8boy0 making off with the last of them4 ,i have been much amused at the earnestness with which the new-comer will exclaim3 8,i actually saw him take it and found it in his hands1 and yet he denied06 ,in such cases the denial of the native is made all the stronger4 ,what is wanting in probability must be supplied by boldness4 ,the negro often thinks that he is flattered by being accused of falsehood4 ,so1 when natives wish to pay a high compliment to a ,european who has told them an interesting story1 they look into his face and say 8,o father1 you are a great liar60 ,avarice is strong in these people1 and prompts to much cheating4 ,a native comes to the ,mission store to sell eggs4 ,when asked if they are fresh1 as a matter of course he says they are4 ,the storekeeper after trying them in water declines to buy1 and the native calmly retires4 ,he has been outwitted on this occasion and that is all1 he hopes to play a better game next4 ,he carries his eggs home1 and carefully lays them past4 ,a few weeks after1 learning that this storekeeper is absent1 he forthwith takes his eggs1 hastens to the new storekeeper1 declares that they are fresh1 and succeeds in selling6 ,in making a bargain the native has but one principle1 he tries to get as much as he can4 ,as avarice and selfishness are often too strong for the civilised man1 we must not expect too much from the savage4 ,still1 the natives have many motives against a wretched greed4 ,the teaching at their ,mysteries condemns the wretch who 8concentres all on self04 ,again1 the members of a community have their meals in common1 and when a stranger arrives at a village he is treated with the greatest hospitality4 ,one night ,i came upon a village at the side of a wood1 just as its two male inhabitants were beginning their evening meal4 ,i was accompanied by twelve boys1 two of whom were close by me1 and at once received an invitation to supper4 ,i expected that the men would be much puzzled when they found out the real number of their guests4 ,but no4 ,as soon as the other ten boys came out of the wood1 they invited them likewise1 gladly giving up their own meal to my party4 ,knowing that the hungry men would have to wait till more food could be cooked1 ,i could not but admire their strict adherence to native custom under such difficulty4 ,it would have demoralised them to offer payment1 but ,i quietly sought an opportunity of meeting their daughters and presenting them with a quantity of beads4 ,still1 it may be doubted whether the natives on the whole are more generous than ,europeans4 ,their insecurity makes them lazy1 their laziness makes them poor1 they have little to give1 and expect a large return for a small present4 ,in our first contact with the ,portuguese after emerging from the atmosphere of the native kings1 we were received with great hospitality1 and1 having been so long used to the natives1 ,i became concerned about repaying the kindness1 when one of our party said1 8,why1 you are among ,christians now1 don't think you are dealing with some old chief who gives for the purpose of getting04 ,any novelty has a great attraction1 though the emotion of fear sometimes overpowers that of wonder4 ,a white man1 sitting quietly after his day's march with a crowd of people round him1 proceeds to light his candle4 ,in a few moments there is a terrible stampede4 ,shrieks of terror drown the laughter of the traveller's native retinue4 ,what can it mean8 ,why1 he has struck a match6 ,as soon1 however1 as the first scare is over1 the crowd increases and comes nearer4 ,when satisfied that there is no danger1 the old men ask to see more of the wonderful little fire-stick2 and by and by1 all admire it so much that if the traveller were to listen to their entreaties1 he would sit lighting matches all night4 ,when the ,missionaries first came into the country1 the revolver produced a profound impression2 it was looked upon as a supernatural weapon1 the idea being that its possessor could fire without ever requiring to reload4 ,certain powerful chiefs near ,nyassa1 on being shown some revolver practice1 at once put their hands to their throats and said to the ,missionaries1 8,you are the kings of this country04 ,such an impression as this1 gives the ,missionary a breathing time till the natives become acquainted with him4 ,if they thought him quite defenceless many would kill him at once1 especially if he had any goods4 ,but apart from revolvers1 the very appearance of a white man at first inspires the native with fear4 ,nor is this strange1 for if a black man had shown himself in any quiet ,english hamlet before its inhabitants knew that negroes existed1 there would have been a terrible scare4 ,so1 when a white man appears in an ,african village1 natives that are unfamiliar with such specimens of humanity take to their heels6 ,but gradually their fears subside1 and they come to look at the man4 ,they examine his long hair1 his hat1 his umbrella1 his boots and his stockings1 and when he goes away they follow him1 and he can see that they will soon become his friends4 ,the children are particularly drawn to the stranger3 while those who rank highest as sorcerers are most influenced by superstitious fear4 ,the emotions of tenderness and sympathy are strong among some1 while others are as callous as can be conceived4 ,but few of them would say with ,hobbes1 that 8pity is a weakness1 and that the best men have least of it10 for on one occasion1 where a mourner produced a copious supply of tears by taking snuff1 the others administered a grave rebuke1 telling him that1 8his was no true sorrow04 ,usually their grief for their friends is intense4 ,in this respect 7as throughout the whole emotional side of their nature71 they resemble children4 ,they are easily impressed1 but they do not keep grief longer than grief keeps them4 ,the humorous side of a subject has great attractions for the natives4 ,in cases where there is any disposition to quarrel1 one joke is worth ten arguments4 ,they are always polite enough to laugh at the ,englishman's jokes1 especially if he speak with a half serious air4 ,in any discussion1 it is the humorous side that they most appreciate4 ,in the course of a conversation with ,kapeni and his people1 about the custom of killing slaves to accompany the dead1 after trying the arguments that most readily suggest themselves1 ,i pointed out that the slaves were big powerful men1 while the deceased was very weak1 and that if a quarrel took place beyond the grave1 the deceased would have no chance against them4 ,they laughed immoderately at this1 and when reporting the discussion to their friends1 they dwelt chiefly on the idea that slaves would be as good as their master 8on the other side of the grave10 and might avenge their death4 ,in conversation with each other they have a great capacity for presenting the laughable side of events4 ,it often happens that a stranger regards the natives as beings to be patronised and amused by2 so much does he consider himself superior to them4 ,now as might almost be expected1 they view the new-comer in the very same light6 ,most of them humour him and allow him to treat them as children1 but all the same1 they amuse themselves at his expense after he is gone1 and1 indeed1 while he is present1 if they know that he cannot understand their speech4 ,they are careful not to laugh if there be any danger of giving offence4 ,once at the close of an open air meeting1 an ,englishman happened to get up on the trunk of a large tree1 which one often sees used for a seat in the native villages4 ,the log revolved1 and the man fell heavily on the ground4 ,yet the whole meeting looked as grave as if the accident had been part of the programme4 ,their anger though sometimes violent1 soon exhausts itself3 but where the passion cannot be readily gratified1 it may settle into a lasting enmity4 ,many people1 especially headmen1 will not visit a village two miles distant on any account2 rather than pass through it1 they will fetch a wide circuit1 and that although their children and dependents visit the place quite freely4 ,the negroes are very cruel1 and sometimes take a positive delight in inflicting the greatest tortures they can devise4 ,they reserve much of this for enemies from whom they would expect the same treatment themselves4 ,of their ,,intellectual powers ,i venture to speak very highly4 ,i knew a number of boys that came to school at the ages of from twelve to fifteen1 without knowing a single letter1 and in six weeks1 they could1 after a little consideration1 read any word in their language4 ,this they accomplished without any unnatural cramming4 ,there were many school children whose progress ,i watched with great interest1 and who1 ,i am certain1 if they had enjoyed the usual training1 could have taken no mean place among the ,cambridge ,wranglers4 ,the natives possess great powers of argument4 ,though some are swayed by feeling and admit irrelevant matter1 others stick well to their subject1 and soon pull up a debater that changes his ground4 ,in public speeches they use a style more elaborate than in ordinary conversation4 ,many ,english speeches are so different from ordinary talk1 that to one who only knows ,english conversationally1 they seem to be in another language4 ,so native speeches may be greatly polished1 and lose much of the bluntness of conversation4 ,public speaking is much practised1 as an important meeting may last for days4 ,many of the speakers have a tone of quietness and self-possession that any orator might envy2 others believe in loud words and bold gestures4 ,an excited native orator presents an appearance never to be forgotten4 ,i have one before my mind just now4 ,he stands near an ant-hill1 and at the close of each stirring sentence1 he makes a wild rush to the top4 8,are we all to be killed10 he cries1 8by ,chekakamila80 ,having said this1 he runs up the hillock4 ,coming back he confronts his audience and resumes at the pitch of his voice1 8,is he to come and catch our wives and children8 ,we'll go and kill him6 ,we'll go and eat him60 ,the orator again runs up the ant-hill4 ,he continues in the same strain till his hearers also begin to rush about and brandish their weapons in frantic excitement4 ,natives have the bump of locality4 ,i once lost my way when about nine miles distant from any dwelling4 ,i was accompanied by a little boy1 who followed wherever ,i led4 ,after wandering for some time1 ,i sat down in despair1 unable to tell the direction ,i wanted4 ,i asked the boy whether he knew the way1 and to my great surprise he said he did4 ,advancing to a small knoll1 the little fellow caught a glimpse of a distant mountain4 ,he looked at it carefully for a few moments1 and then marched off with confidence4 ,for more than an hour ,i followed in great anxiety1 fearing that he might be in the wrong direction4 ,but whenever we escaped from the denser parts of the jungle1 he stopped to gaze intently at some hill4 ,this gave me confidence1 and when at last ,i found myself on a native path1 ,i could not sufficiently admire my youthful guide4 ,we often hear the expression 8,i don't believe in a nigger04 ,it is common to assert that negroes have no redeeming quality4 ,but much of this severe criticism springs from prejudice4 ,the ,african is physically superior to most of the ,indians that we see along the ,mozambique coast1 and ,i am materialist enough to hazard the opinion that this superiority will 8mean something0 in the long run4 ,as it is1 these ,africans are not mere animals composed of greed and selfishness4 ,they often shew great bravery and devotedness4 ,i can point to one man who saved my life on three separate occasions at the risk of his own4 ,every one that tries to understand these negroes1 will acknowledge that the better natives have in their breasts all the qualities that constitute the hero1 and only want favourable circumstances for their development4 ,but this is a great want4 ,no doubt there are in ,africa1 natural differences both among individuals and among tribes4 ,mr4 ,rowley says1 8,compare an ordinary ,yao with an ordinary ,anyasa1 and the former is at once seen to be physically superior04 8,a phrenologist would say1 that firmness and self-esteem predominated1 but that caution which prevails to a deformity among the ,anyasa was barely evidenced40 ,the difference between the ,yao of the hills1 and the ,anyasa of the plains is so very great1 that ,i could generally tell a man's tribe by his appearance4 ,but admitting natural differences to the fullest extent1 we cannot ignore the effect produced on the natives by their circumstances and customs4 ,the institution of slavery is demoralising in the extreme4 ,the master is a cruel tyrant1 the slave is a thief1 a liar1 and a miserable coward4 ,the government of the country has also a deplorable influence4 ,where it is weak1 it gives the people no protection1 where it is strong1 it preys upon them4 ,there is nothing to keep the headman of a village from robbing his people1 and many a bitter complaint have ,i heard on the subject4 ,speke has some instructive observations on the ,african4 8,he works his wife1 sells his children1 enslaves all he can lay hands on1 and1 unless when fighting for the property of others1 contents himself with drinking1 singing1 and dancing4 ,they store up nothing beyond the necessities of next season1 lest their chiefs or neighbours should covet and take it from them40 ,he adds1 8,if some government could be formed for them1 like ours in ,india1 they would be saved1 but without it1 ,i fear there is little chance4 ,for at present the ,african can neither help himself1 nor be helped by others1 because his country is in such a constant state of turmoil40 ,owing to the unsettled state of their land1 they are victims of fear4 ,the men never go unarmed1 the women and children never venture far from home without a guard4 ,a great proportion of their villages are built far up the mountains1 for security against their neighbours4 ,hobbes says that men are naturally distrustful of their fellows--witness the barring of doors at night4 ,such distrust is greater here1 and well it may4 ,it is not that they fear for their property2 that is too small to deserve anxiety6 ,they fear for dear life--though they lie down quietly at night1 they may awake to receive a mortal wound1 and see their wives and children carried into slavery4 ,one in this country finds a meaning in prayers for protection1 that he does not realise in a civilised land4 ,these circumstances of the native develop also a peculiar kind of patience and servility4 ,he looks on injustice and hard treatment as something to be expected at every step4 ,superstition also has a dismal influence4 ,throughout his whole life the native is haunted by the dread of being bewitched4 ,as he grows older the shadows become darker--he has now escaped 8the evil eye0 so long1 that he is judged guilty of witchcraft himself1 and the few last days of his life are made unspeakably bitter4 ,what a dreadful cry comes from the old men or women that are convicted by the witch-detective6 ,forsaken by friends1 disowned by relatives2 and detested by the whole community1 they appeal with confidence to the poison4 ,oh6 how must the iron fetters of superstition crush the very soul1 when the victim finds recovery hopeless1 and knows that in a few hours his dishonoured body will be cast forth to the vultures1 and that his name will go down to posterity covered with infamy4 ,illustration3 ,,musical ,,instrument 7,,with ,,iron ,,keys74 ,the musical tastes of the natives may here be alluded to4 ,many villages have in the forum a large piano with wooden keys1 while men often carry a smaller instrument with iron keys4 ,the native musical scale is not the same as ours1 and although there is a certain method about the instruments1 it is rare to find two of them tuned exactly the same way4 ,other traits of native character will appear when we describe our life among them4 ,as a ,missionary with the ,bible in his hand looks on the natives1 he seriously ponders how the truth can1 humanly speaking1 be most readily commended to them4 ,his first aim must be to reach their intellects4 ,they stand before him as a people that are entirely unbelievers1 and who cannot be blamed for being so4 ,how shall they believe without a preacher8 ,it is well when they state plainly that they disbelieve and point out their reasons1 but alas6 they often assent to everything from mere politeness4 ,still1 they are well able to appreciate the narrative parts of the ,scriptures4 ,persons fond of doctrine in its purest form think that the tales of ,joseph and his brethren1 of ,saul and ,david1 are so much packing in the sacred volume1 but on coming into contact with the strong unsophisticated intellect of the savage1 one becomes alive to the sublimity and power of this part of ,scripture4 ,these natives readily understand the ,old ,testament2 familiar as they are with a state of civilisation1 where a 8younger brother0 may be sold like ,joseph1 where a chief 7like ,saul7 hunts a rival among mountains and caves1 and where a headman thinks nothing of dividing a child to settle a dispute4 ,a person in ,britain thinks it almost incredible that a king could break promises like ,pharoah2 but to the subjects of an ,african chief1 the narrative of this is the merest commonplace1 while they feel that such falsehood in the prince would rather call forth the applause of his people so long as it seemed to be in their interest4 ,our pupils had often to write about these ,scripture subjects in their own words4 ,when they wrote on ,english affairs their remarks were extremely ludicrous2 but by reading their ,bible themes ,i have benefited as much as by studying a commentary4 ,again1 they can understand and appreciate parables4 ,they are all familiar with this species of literature1 since many of their own tales have double meanings4 ,the natives of course hold no theory of the universe that excludes miracles4 ,in their own tales they have the miraculous and look for some teaching in connection with it1 a habit which they may be taught to carry with them in using the ,scripture records4 ,in my first effort at translating ,jonah1 my little tutor thought there was some mistake and changed my proposed version4 ,he felt it would be more natural for ,jonah to 8swallow the fish04 ,but it was a 8great fish60 ,still the same answer came4 8,no1 a very great fish like a crocodile40 ,the dark countenance turned fully round upon me1 and the sharp eyes regarded me with a strange quiet stare4 ,he approved of my original rendering1 and wondered what ,i would venture on next4 ,perhaps he thought ,i was 8far gone0 or perhaps ,i had come near something he had heard before4 ,they have themselves a story of a man that was caught by a crocodile and effected his escape while laid past till the crocodile should be hungry4 ,their literature also contains some stories regarding the division of the waters of a river or lake1 while one tale would pass for an account of ,jethro's interview with ,moses4 ,the ,africans have a liking for ontological speculation4 ,being ill one day1 ,i asked one of our best students to speak to the people1 when1 to my utter disappointment1 he dashed into an explanation of 8three persons in one ,god02 but what surprised me most of all was that the people listened to him with the greatest attention4 ,i felt that there was here the working1 of a mode of thought that the ,western mind has seldom sympathised with4 ,the discussion seemed to have such a practical interest to them that ,i could not but think of the butchers of ,alexandria1 who1 during the early ,church controversy1 when asked the price of mutton1 would make some remark about ,trinity in ,unity4 ,little did the lecturer know what an amount of thought had been bestowed on this subject1 and yet he showed he had been thinking himself1 for every statement he made had evidently passed through the crucible of his own mind4 ,our older pupils formed the habit of asking me about everything in the ,bible that they did not understand1 and ,i have watched them with breathless interest as they read passages bearing on 8,free-,will04 ,but they were never 8pulled up0 by this subject1 although ,i fancied that one boy came very near the difficulty4 ,they would doubtless hold that ,god could foresee1 much as a wise man can4 ,it was a subject where to them 8ignorance was bliss10 and ,i could not be so cruel as to suggest the difficulties that encompass this antinomy 7as ,kant calls it74 ,still1 it might not have been such a puzzle to these young lads1 as they had not lived in a country where will is evoked in a struggle with the elements4 ,again1 where the vast majority are entirely at the disposal of guardians or slave-masters1 a species of resigned fatalism is apt to be developed4 ,once when translating the sermon on the mount1 8,be not anxious for to-morrow2 sufficient for the day is the evil thereof10 ,i was admonished1 8,don't tell them that2 their sin lies the opposite way4 ,they never think of to-morrow at all60 ,such is the fact1 these creatures of ,god have little or no anxiety4 ,like the bird of the air and the beast of the forest1 they 8believe and live04 ,,end ,,of ,,vol4 ,i4 ,,appendix4 ,,native ,,tales ,,literally ,,translated4 ,,appendix4 #a4 ,,people4 ,people came from kapilimtiya an unsteady 7soft7 stone#af4 ,there came forth two1 a man and a woman1 and they married and had children4 ,then there was seen another man who was sick1 being a leper1 who had come from kapilimtiya4 ,the sick man sent the woman to draw water1 then he opened a bag and took out maize and millet4 ,on this earth there was no grass1#ag and he said1 8,you two may sleep in a cave04 ,the sick man died1 and the other man put an offering on the ground#ah saying1 8,you have left us here1 now give us grass04 ,so grass grew and trees2 and his children grew and had children2 hence the tribe of the ,yao4 #b4 ,,the ,,sun4 ,it came to pass that two men went to the hunting-field and arrived at a cave4 ,one said1 8,here is heat60 ,the other said1 8,is this fire80 ,he said1 8,i don't know1 come and help me to search04 ,they began to search in the cave4 ,one peered and saw the sun#ai in the cave4 ,then he said1 8,look6 look60 his companion said1 8,come1 let us run away04 ,the other said1 8,i will look10 and he went into the cave and put away a stone1 then the sun burned him and he died4 ,his companion said1 8,please1 please1 don't burn me0 7by this time the grass was on fire74 ,the stone being thus removed1 the sun went on high4 #c4 ,,the ,,moon4 ,out here there lived ,machelenga1 and he said1 8,i want a firefly to make a lamp of04 ,a great man said1 8,come1 ,i'll shew you a good fire04 ,and he said1 8,it is a good fire this0--it was just the moon4 ,then he took the moon and put it in a pot4 ,and he said1 8,my children1 don't take off the cover of this1 it contains my fire4 ,i go to the garden40#bj ,so he went to the garden4 ,the children then went to fetch the fire1 then there was light with a brightness6 ,and he said1 8,my fire has come out1 they have brought it out of the pot03 and he said to them1 8,my children1 where is the fire80 ,and they said1 8,we--no04#ba ,and he said1 8,don't meddle with the place where ,i have put my fire04 ,and they said1 8,we understand04 ,another day he said1 8,good-bye1#bb let me go down to the garden10 and he staid for the night at the garden4#bc ,one of the children then took the moon1 which burned him1 and flew away to settle right on the top of the hill4#bd ,the father awoke and looked out and said1 8,outside there is light10 and he ran and said1 8,but now1 see6 is not my fire gone8 ,seek ladders1 take it thence40 ,so they climbed the mountain2 though they tried thus to go to fetch it they failed4 ,the child fell down a precipice4 ,the father next tried to climb1 then the moon flew1 going up to the clouds1 and he said1 8,now it is gone1 it is settled in the clouds4 ,now my enemies will see quite well1 because you have taken out my fire40 ,his wife said1 8,your moon has killed my child for me2 ,i do not want to see the moon04 ,she went to another country1 she looked on high and the moon was still there1 and she was weary and said1 8,dig a pit for me10 and they dug a pit4 ,then the woman went in and the man covered it over4 ,the woman died in the pit4 ,yonder moon was the fire of ,machelenga4#be #d4 ,,stars4 ,it came to pass that the children of ,mkwilima#be said1 8,we will go to play10 and they arrived at the sands1 and found many stones1 and they threw them at each other4 ,their father said1 8,my children1 do not strike each other1 stones will pain you04 ,then a stone was thrown1 and one child was struck on the head and fell2 and the stone ran away and leapt forth and became fixed on high4 ,people looked1 and behold6 the stone was visible1 and ,mkwilima said1 8,my children1 there ,i told you1 behold the stone that killed your companion1 behold6 now it is on high04 ,when the rain fell particles of it kept floating filling the heavens everywhere4#bf #e4 #bg;,,clouds4 ,mwangalika sent his son1 and said1 8,in this country there is sun now4 ,please1 please go and burn with fire40 ,then the fire smoked1 and ,mwangalika said1 8,now ,i want the smoke to be clouds1 that my children may stay in the shade20 then it went on high4 #f4 #bg,,wind4 ,a great man had a daughter1 and she said1 8,father1 in this country ,i am hot1 ,i sweat04 ,then her father said1 8,come here1 my child1 ,i have pity1 ,i will blow with my breath10 so he blew1 and thence came wind4 #g4 ,,rain ,,or ,,lightning4 ,the lightning 7rain1 ula7#bh flashed and killed a man1 then it ran on high1 and they said1 8,please1 please1 rain but you have killed people04 ,the rain said1 8,now ,i am sorry1 ,i have done wrong1 but ,i want to send water that you may drink at the mourning01 and the people said1 8,yes1 let us consent04 ,the water of the rain then descended4 #h4 ,,the ,,bow ,,of ,,the ,,lightning4 ,the bow of the lightning came from on high and struck a hill1 then came ,mtanga1 and said1 8,my bow for killing meat04 ,the chief at that land said1 8,let us see you killing04 ,he picked up an arrow1 threw on high and killed four stars1 and said1 8,i have killed this meat1 let me give you to eat04 ,he said1 8,give me that ,i may look at it04 ,he received it and looked1 and there was just a flash-flashing4 ,he said1 8,the meat of my shooting you cannot eat4 ,that comes from on high4 ,but watch what ,i shall do in the eating of it40 ,he boiled water1 and filled a great pot1 and picked up the stars and put them in the pot and stirred them1 and then they actually found cooked flesh4 ,he said1 8,taste it now03 when he ate it he found it sweet like honey4 ,he said1 8,lend me1 friend1 the bow that ,i may shoot02 but he was killed by his shooting4 ,mtanga 7#ab7 then said1 8,my bow is dreadful04 ,when ,mtanga went away1 it was not seen where he went1 and he put up his bow on high4 #i4 ,,mountains ,,and ,,rivers4 ,mtanga came to the ,yao country1 and he said1 8,this country is bad because it is without a hill04 ,the inhabitants said1 8,what will you do80 and he said1 8,i will press out mountains04 ,they said1 8,how will you press them out80 ,he said1 8,i will press them out at night04 ,they said1 8,come1 let us sleep in the houses04 ,at night then passed ,mtanga1 and came to make a mountain spring forth4 ,then he took away his leg when he had pressed out one mountain1 and went and pressed out another4 ,in the morning when people arose1 they found that mountains were standing forth 7in one place a mountain sprung up1 in another place a mountain sprung up74 ,he said1 8,when you thought of me1 you supposed ,i told a lie4 ,i am from #8,god1'#bi ,chitowe sent me4 ,this country ,i have now made right40 ,he then said1 8,i will now press forth water1 let us dig a river10 then he brought down rain1 and the water flowed in the river4 ,in the beginning#cj this country was all a plain1 and ,mtanga put it right3 there was no water and he pressed it forth4 #aj4 ,,cooking ,,pots ,,and ,,mortars4 ,long ago #8,god' said1 8,my children1 ,i gave you food04 ,he gave them also a piece of iron#ca ore4 ,then he said1 8,draw water1 boil it on the fire04 ,then he said1 8,this is a cooking pot04 ,the iron ore was lost1 and #8,god' sent ,namawelenga1 and he said1 8,now ,i want to dig clay10 and they manufactured cooking-pots4 ,people used to roast 7their corn71 and there came a woman and she brought a short piece of wood4 ,she said1 8,i am hungry1 ,i want porridge04 ,they refused at the village1 saying1 8,at our home1 no2 there is no porridge04 ,she said1 8,there is maize04 ,they said1 8,we have much maize04 ,then she brought out her small reed and said1 8,give me maize02 and she put it in her 7piece of7 wood and set to pounding4 ,when she pounded she said1 8,well1 this is called a mortar1 now pound and eat04 #aa4 ,,hoes1 ,,knives ,,and ,,axes4 ,people hoed with wood#cb and there came a certain man who said1 8,i have pity1 let me give you things-to-hoe-with04 ,they said1 8,give us04 ,he said1 8,bring fire10 and they brought fire1 and he took iron ore and put on the fire4 ,they collected much fire1 and pieces of ore were melted1 and they took a stone and beat it1 and it was smelted to make a hoe4 ,knives and axes came together4 ,people said1 8,we sleep outside10 and there came a man and gave them2 he said1 8,with this axe cut trees1 take the knife1 dig down1 use it as a pick1 and put in your posts04#cc #ab4 ,,baskets4 ,he said1 8,where do you put your food80 ,they said1 8,we put it on the ground10 and he said1 8,but seek for the mneche10 7a soft tree71 and they sought for it and prepared it 7there were no bamboos then74 ,he said1 8,take now your maize1 put it in the baskets04 ,when they found bamboos then they plaited them3 then were made things for holding their goods4 #ac4 ,,clothing4 ,there were some that did not wear clothes1 and a certain man came and stript off bark1 and the males wore it4 ,then he produced a hammer from his bag1 and said1 8,cut down a mjombo tree10 and he stript it4 ,then he set to hammering1 and beat out the juice1 and put the bark in the sun to dry4 ,then he took it and said1 8,try to put it on10 and the females clothed themselves4 ,bark-cloth then abounded in this land4 #ad4 ,,death4 ,this country was one where people did not die1 and there came a woman that could not walk4 ,people lived without sleep1 and the woman said 8sleep10 and two persons slept1 then she caught one by the nostrils1 and the other continued to breathe1 and she said1 8,arise10 the one arose and the other died4 ,she said1 8,i am sorry1 ,i have done wrong1 ,i caught one by the nostrils1 he can not breathe1 now mourn0 7for him74 ,then the people mourned1 and continued three days4 ,afterwards they said1 8,carry him away1 dig a grave and bury him10 and they buried him4 ,people then discovered sleep2 death and sleep are one word2 they are of one family4 ,the woman that could not walk wrought mischief4 #ae4 ,,mortality1#cd ,,the ,,chameleon 7,,nalwii7 ,,and ,,the ,,salamander 7,,mlalu74 ,the chameleon was sent to the graves to say1 8,when people die they may return0 7to their homes74 ,he went off and was passing along the road4 ,afterwards the salamander was called to go to the graves1 and say1 8,when people die they must not return04 ,the salamander ran and arrived quickly 7while the chameleon was still on the way71 and said1 8,when people die they must not return04 ,next morning the chameleon appeared4 ,he said1 8,when people die1 they may return04 ,those at the grave said1 8,no1 the salamander came and he told us the truth04 ,then he 7the chameleon7 went back to report at the village 7from which he was sent71 and said1 8,the salamander was first4 ,he gave the order1 #8,when people die they must not return'40 ,those at the village said1 8,how silly6 ,you were stupid1 ,o chameleon1 you should have made haste40 #af4 ,,offerings4 ,a person hoed his field 7lit4 food71 and there came a blind man and said1 8,you do not eat your corn1 what prevents you80 ,he said1 8,the corn is without an offering04#ce ,the blind man said1 8,i can give the offering04 ,then he put his arm in his bag1 and took out of it flour1 and the man that hoed said1 8,do it yourself1 give an offering that you may see with your eyes04 ,the blind man said1 8,please1 please1 ,i want to see1 help me1 ,o mother60 ,then his blindness went away and he saw4 ,then the man that hoed the garden said1 8,now you are able to see04 ,then the farmer plucked five maize cobs1 and said1 8,please1 please1 a blind man told me about the offering1 ,i now want that my maize may be abundant04 ,so the ,yao when their child dies say1 8,please1 please1 ,i give this offering for you which a blind man gave us02 the sick then have health4 ,in this way the ,yao continue 7to exist74 #ag4 ,,bows ,,and ,,guns4 ,there was a man with three children1 one was mad1 and he bit1 and his father caught him and put him in a slave-stick4 ,then he said1 8,father1 ,i want you to cut wood for me10 and he cut the wood4 ,and he said1 8,father1 now ,i want a nail0 7the iron pin of the slave-stick71 and he brought a nail and gave him4 ,in the same way he brought strips of bark1 and he 7the son7 bent the wood with the cords4 ,his father loosed him and he ran to the bush and returned at night and pierced his mother with the nail4 ,she said1 8,my husband1 my son whom you loosed has pierced me--pierced me with a bow0 7something bent74 ,these people then sought bows1 and carried pieces of iron1 and sought that madman2 but he died in the bush4 ,the people remained with the bow4 ,here there were no guns1 then came the people of ,misiri#cf and gave to a man 7who lived7 long ago4 ,the gun came with the people of ,misiri4 #ah4 ,,cannibalism4 ,there was a certain man1 ,malyawandu1#cg and an appetite for meat came 7to him71 and his wife cooked porridge with vegetables for a relish4 ,he said1 8,no1 ,i don't want to eat vegetables04 ,so she killed a fowl for him1 but he refused and said1 8,look for a knife for me10 and he cut himself on the leg and roasted for himself on the fire4 ,and she said1 8,my husband eating this meat alone60#ch ,he said1 8,delicious meat04 ,the man then died of that wound4 ,and the woman said1 8,i will look at the flesh of my husband1 ,i will eat it04 ,her children said1 8,mother eating father60 and she said1 8,come6 taste04 ,one child received it and ate1 and said1 8,give me more04 ,it told its friends that human flesh was delicious4 ,then they began to kill each other4 ,at present they say1 8,we must not eat people04 ,those that eat people are cannibals 7 #ajf1 #ajg74 #ai4 ,,medicine4 ,a certain man was sick2 he said1 8,i shall dig up moles04 ,then he found a root which was in a hole1 he struck it with the hoe1 and took it away from the tree and placed it so4#ci ,then he killed two moles1 and another mole ran away4 ,then the sick man sat down there to look1 and it returned and carried the root and chewed it and spat on the other moles that were dead and they got life4 ,the sick man then said1 8,is this medicine8 ,those dead moles have risen again40 ,the mole said1 8,this is medicine1 do you take it when you are sick1 chew it that you may have health04 ,then he went away to the village and chewed it and had health4 ,then others said1 8,give your friends that they may have health04 ,then medicine abounded in this land4 #bj4 ,,fleas4 ,people died and went to the graves and became #8,itowe1' and #8,god' came and said1 8,you ,itowe come all here10 and they came all round4 ,then he gave them little bags1 and said1 8,you go abroad with these and give people04 ,they all received them4 ,some had a bag of fleas1 and others of seeds1 c41 c4 ,when they came abroad here then people refused the bag of fleas1 but wanted the bag of seeds4 ,so they gave the seeds and returned1 but on the way they opened the other bags and threw the fleas away4 #ba4 ,,fishes4 ,there was a woman1 and she took bark-cloth and tore off a long strip and put on as a loin-cloth1 and said1 8,now let us go to the stream and bathe04 7,in the waters there were no fishes47 ,the woman had untied her loin-cloth1 and she said1 8,give me my loin-cloth to wash04 ,as she was washing it the water took the loin-cloth from her1 and she said1 8,my companions1 my loin-cloth is lost04 ,her companions said1 8,sit down1 let us go to seek it1 that you may wear your clothes04 ,the woman then sat at the water naked2 then she saw it coming1 it having become a fish4 ,and she said1 8,i have seen wonderful things2 ,i saw my loin-cloth like an animal04 ,then they took it1 and saw that it was a fish1 and they took a knife and opened it at the breast4 ,then they found inside the eggs of fish 7nat4 idiom71 and threw them into the water1 and they brought forth many fishes4 #bb4 ,,birds4 ,there was a man that had two children1 and they said1 8,we want a bow04 ,their father made them a bow4 ,and he said1 8,don't go throwing at each other04 ,one stood like this1 and took a grass wand1 threw it at his companion1 and struck him in the eyes1 and he died4 ,his father then ran1 8,my son1 you have killed your brother02 and he took the grass1 and it said1 8,your son threw me2 ,i have killed a man4 ,now ,i don't want to stay here below10 and it flew and lighted on a tree1 and became a bird4 ,and this is the origin of birds4 #bc4 ,,elephants4 ,the elephants lived along with men1 and the children took them out to eat grass in the plain4 ,then an elephant killed one child1 and another ran saying1 8,father1 father1 an elephant has killed my companion04 ,his father said1 8,well1 ,i want to go and kill it04 ,and he carried his bow and arrows and went to shoot it1 and he shot it1 and it died4 ,the others then ran away1 saying1 8,we have done wrong2 now our master is killing us04 ,so they ran away to the bush1 and people kept encountering them and shooting them1 saying1 8,you killed a person at the village04 ,hence there was enmity against them4 #bd4 ,,lions4 ,the lion was a cat dwelling with people4 ,then it sprung to catch a fowl ,the next day it sprang to scratch the baby4 ,then its master said1 8,i will kill you10 so it ran away to the bush4 ,whereupon it was at enmity with people4 #be4 ,,the ,,serpent4 ,there was a man that hoed a garden and planted cassava1 and took bark-cloth and twisted1 and took thorns and put through this bark-cloth1 and said1 8,bark-cloth1 ,i place you in my garden2 bite those that come to steal04 ,so he went to hang the bark-cloth#dj in his garden4 ,then came a thief and took hold of a cassava plant1 and the thorns pierced him1 and that lad said1 8,war04 ,it said1 8,my master left me in the garden1 saying1 #8,if people steal cassava1 bite them'40 ,the person died4 ,then came the man and said1 8,bark-cloth1 you have bitten a lad2 you have a bad heart04 ,then it went away in the bush1 and when it saw people it bit them4 ,hence came the serpent4 #bf4 ,,baboons4#da ,a woman bare three children1 but the children stole from the owner of the country1 and he killed two4 ,then the woman ran away1 and the other child went away4 ,her friends said1 8,cut your hair04#db ,she said1 8,no1 the chief killed my children04 ,and she said on seeing the maize of others1 8,that maize is ours04 ,on her running away hair grew on all her body4 ,that fur of the baboons was the hair of the head1 those legs were arms4 #bg4 ,,other ,,accounts4 ,some tell one way1 others another way--telling and telling4 ,heavenly ,bodies4--#8,god' made the stars and the moon and the sun likewise4 ,all things in this world were made by #8,god'4 ,the sun gave way to fierceness1 and said1 8,let me shine and destroy people04 ,god refused1 and took rain and cooled down the sun4 ,wind4--#8,god' placed a spinning-top on the summit of a mountain1 hence the wind4 ,rain4--,people who died became #8,god1' and they said1 8,come1 let us give our children rain04 ,others refused1 and said1 8,come1 let us make pots and fill them with water04 ,and they said1 8,come1 let us break another pot2 let us give our children rain04#dc ,animals4--,at first the lion was a man2 a man died and became a lion4 ,so of the elephant4 #bh4 ,,another ,,account ,,of ,,man4 ,at first there were not people but #8,god' and beasts4 ,there was a ,chameleon1 and he wove his fish-trap2 when he had woven it1 he went to snare in the river4 ,the day after he went to take it out1 and he found fishes therein4 ,he took his fishes to the village to eat them4 ,again in the morning he went early and found that otters had entered the trap and eaten the fishes1 and he said3 8,to-day ,i have bad luck4 ,i just found that the otters had eaten my fishes4 ,i do not know whether to-morrow ,i shall find they have eaten them again40 ,then he departed to the village1 empty1 without fishes1 and he went to sleep4 ,when it was dawn1 he went early again1 and found man1 male and female1 entered into the trap4 ,he said1 8,to-day have entered things that are unknown4 ,i wonder whether ,i should take them40 ,mlungu 7#8,god'7 was staying down here1 before he went away to heaven4 ,and he said1 8,father1 behold what ,i have brought to-day04 ,and ,he 7#8,god'7 said1 8,place them there1 they will grow04 ,man then grew1 both male and female4 ,but his father said1 8,gather the people together1 and call your master04 #8,god' was called1 and he came and said1 8,now1 ,chameleon1 where have you brought these from80 ,he said1 8,but they entered my trap04 ,then ,mlungu said1 8,wait till ,i call my people10 and he went calling all the beasts of the earth and all the birds4 ,they assembled4 ,when they came1 their ,master said1 8,we have called you for those curious beings that the ,chameleon went to bring in his trap04 ,all the beasts said1 8,we have heard04 7,they had not a word to say47 8,now let us go to our home40 ,so the beasts all went to their homes4 ,and ,mlungu said1 8,now good-bye1 let me go home04 ,the day after they actually saw these people 7the new creatures7 making fire#dd 7by friction74 ,when they made fire1 they set it a blazing1 and found a buffalo and killed and roasted it on the fire1 and it was cooked4 ,and they kept eating all the beasts in this way4 ,again ,mlungu came1 saying1 8,chameleon1 ,i told you that you introduced puzzling beings on the earth here4 ,see now my people are finished4 ,now how shall ,i act80 ,they actually saw the bush at their verandah burning with fire4 ,now the ,chameleon ran away1 and ,mlungu ran away4 ,the ,chameleon ran for a tree4 ,mlungu was on the ground1 and he said1 8,i cannot climb a tree04 ,then ,mlungu set off and went to call the spider4 ,the spider went on high and returned again1 and said1 8,i have gone on high nicely10 and he said1 8you now1 ,mlungu1 go on high04 ,mlungu then went with the spider on high4 ,and he said1 8,when they die1 let them come on high here04 7,on this1 the lightning when it came down destroyed a tree because the ,chameleon ran to a tree47 ,and behold1 men on dying go on high in order to be slaves of #8,god1' the reason being that they ate his people here below4#de #bi4 ,,ntembe1 ,,the ,,brother ,,of ,,the 8,,spirit04 ,ntembe came to the mysteries2 and people said1 8,a great one has come1 let us go to see him04 ,they found him sitting on a stone and he said1 8,have these people come0--7he spoke through his nose so74 ,they said1 8,yes1 we thought we should go and see the great ,ntembe the owner of this land04 ,he said1 8,you are welcome1 ,i have come myself1 ,i have come to teach the mysteries04 ,then came a serpent and he twisted it round his head1 and when people passed they were bitten and died4 ,and people complained saying1 8,the serpent will destroy us all04 #8,god' came saying1 8,you have a bad heart1 you are killing 7my7 children04 ,he said1 8,take them away and dwell with them1 ,i ,ntembe am here04 #8,god' then took the children and went on high with them1 and they were happy4 ,ntembe then became a mountain4#df #cj4 ,,the ,,three ,,women4 ,there were three ,women with their children1 and they went to the water4 ,when they reached it1 one of them was cheated by her companions who said1 8,throw your child into the water1 we have thrown our children into the water04 ,but they had hidden their children under a tree4 ,so their companion threw her child into the water1 and a crocodile swallowed it 7but did not kill it74 ,then her companions began to laugh at her and said1 8,you have thrown your child into the water6 ,we were only cheating you40 ,then she wept and said1 8,why did you cheat me80 ,her companions went to the village to tell her mother1 and said1 8,your daughter has thrown her child into the water04 ,when her mother heard them she said1 8,can it be true60 ,her companions said1 8,yes04 ,so her mother wept in great sorrow4 ,but her daughter climbed a tree and said1 8,i want to go on high10 and the tree grew much and reached upwards4 ,she met many leopards and they asked the girl and said1 8,where are you going08 ,the girl said1 8,i want my child2 my companions cheated me and said1 #8,throw your child into the water4 ,we threw ours into the water4'0 ,the leopards said1 8,indeed60 and they showed her the way1 saying1 8,you will come to the ,nsenzi who will show you the way again04 ,so the girl went on and met the ,nsenzi and they asked1 8,girl1 where are you going08 ,the girl replied1 8,i want my child1 my companions cheated me saying1 #8,throw your child in the water'04 ,then the ,nsenzi showed her the way and said1 8,go1 there you will meet the ,mazomba0 7large fishes874 ,the ,mazomba said1 8,what do you want1 my girl04 ,the girl said1 8,i want 7to know7 the way04 ,the ,mazomba said1 8,where to08 ,the girl said1 8,the way to ,mlungu 7,god704 ,the ,mazomba said1 8,well1 be strong in your heart04 ,the girl said1 8,yes1 ,masters1 ,i understand04 ,then she came to the village of ,mulungu and ,mulungu asked the girl1 8,what do you want08 ,the girl said1 8,master6 ,i want my child4 ,my comrades cheated me saying1 #8,throw your child into the water1' ,i threw it in1 and a crocodile swallowed it04 ,then ,mulungu called the crocodile and the crocodile came4 ,mulungu#dg said1 8,give up the child10 and it delivered it up4 ,the girl received the child and went down#dh to her mother4 ,when her mother saw that her daughter brought the child she was much delighted and gave her much cloth and a good house4 ,when her companions saw that she had fetched her child they asked her1 8,how did you fetch your child80 ,their companion said1 8,i went to ,mulungu04 ,when her companions heard that she fetched it from ,mulungu1 then they threw their children in the water1 and also climbed the tree1 which grew quickly1 quickly4 ,then they met the ,leopards4 ,the ,leopards asked1 8,where are you going08 ,but the girls were obstinate and said1 8,we don't want you to question us4 ,no40 ,the ,leopards left them1 and they went on and met with the ,nsenzi who said1 8,well1 where are you going08 ,but the girls began to abuse them4 ,they went on and came to the ,mazomba4 ,the ,mazomba said1 8,well1 where are you going08 ,the girls said1 8,we don't want you to ask us04 ,then they came to ,mulungu4 ,mulungu said1 8,what do you want08 ,the girls said1 8,we have thrown our children into the water40 ,but ,mulungu said1 8,what was the reason of that08 ,the girls hid 7the matter7 and said1 8,nothing04 ,but ,mulungu said1 8,it is false4 ,you cheated your companion1 saying1 #8,throw your child into the water1' and now you tell me a lie40 ,then ,mulungu took a bottle of lightning1 and said1 8,your children are in here04 ,the girls took the bottle1 and the bottle made a report like a gun4 ,the girls both 7lit4 all7 died4 ,,footnotes #a ,since then the ,church altered their decision1 and practically found that it was groundless4 #b ,livingstone says this is the most wholesome form in which they use their corn owing to their rude cookery4 #c ,ch is the proper spelling1 but sh has gained acceptance4 ,the ,arabs cannot pronounce the ch2 while the natives cannot pronounce the sh4 #d ,stanley calls the sorcerer 8the gourd-and-pebble man04 #e ,native idiom4 #f ,this principle in human nature is fully recognised in philosophy4 ,butler in his #8,analogy of ,religion' speaks of it as the principle of continuance1 remarking 8that we believe a thing remains as we left it1 except where we have any reason to think it is changed04 ,dr4 ,bain recognises the same belief in our postulate that 8nature is uniform10 although he holds that the tendency in question gets its great value from 8experience40 ,beyond this there is a tendency to find a place1 as we have assumed above1 for anything that has passed beyond our ken4 ,we saw this in the case of a little child that was separated from youthful playmates4 ,when asked 8,where's ,nyama80 at first he pointed in a definite direction4 ,as the journey proceeded he became quite at a loss1 and shook his head over the question in sadness4 ,much farther on it was asked whether ,nyama was not in yonder steamer1 and the suggestion gave intense satisfaction1 and ever after instead of shewing despair over the question he would brighten up and say1 8,she is in another steamer04 #g ,east ,african ,tales1 by ,rev4 ,duff ,macdonald4 7,blackwood7 ,page #i4 #h ,when mwai is not vomited it is fatal1 and the symptoms that appear in such cases1 are said to resemble those of dysentery4 #i ,it is characteristic of ,native ,law that it throws all responsibility on ,superiors4 ,in illustration of this principle ,i may mention an application of it that occurs very naturally to these natives1 and which they have urged upon me again and again4 ,when ,i spoke to them of a day of judgment they remarked1 8,on that day we shall plead that we are the white man's sons1 and you1 father1 will not forsake your children04 #aj ,stanley in ,how ,i ,found ,livingstone1 mentions that the natives in ,unyanyembe1 on killing an enemy1 eat 8the skin of the forehead1 the lower part of the face1 the forepart of the nose1 the fat over the stomach and abdomen1 the genital organs1 and a bit from each heel04 ,hence we see that ,african tribes1 although living far apart1 practice similar forms of mutilation4 #aa ,these names happen to be real1 but are used only as counters4 #ab ,the word for people is among some of these tribes antu1 among others wandu1 among others abantu1 c41 hence has arisen the word ,bantu4 #ac ,these statements do not occur consecutively in the authors quoted4 #ad ,tens five and tens four1 to this comes five then four4 ,the inflexion of certain adjectives1 and the negative inflexion of the verb1 are also felt cumbrous by a ,european4 #ae ,a certain kind of politeness comes natural to the ,african4 ,seldom will he say anything to irritate a neighbour1 knowing as he does1 that in a country where there is little law1 a neighbour may kill him without any scruple1 and get absolution by paying over a few slaves4 #af ,the ,africans have a widespread tradition that man sprung in this way from the earth4 ,the world is viewed as a house with three stories4 ,the higher story1 the region of the sky1 is now occupied by ,mulungu1 and the sun1 moon1 c4 ,we inhabit at present the second story1 but we came originally from 8the first flat04 ,but all races did not come at the same time4 ,according to the ,kafirs1 the white man staid till he cast off the skin of imperfection--much as a snake casts its skin4 ,when a man dies1 8he is summoned by those that are beneath04 ,this might be explained by saying that he joins the dead who are buried beneath1 but ,bishop ,callaway thinks that such expressions intimate an old faith1 now no longer understood1 in a ,hades or ,tartarus4 #ag i4e41 to make a house1 grass being a main constituent of a native hut4 #ah ,they postulate that some one died before man could find any being to pray to4 ,this is in accordance with their theology4 #ai ,of course they think the sun is not bigger than a plate4 #bj ,or 8field0 where he raised his food4 #ba ,a good specimen of native truth4 ,the narrator assumes that the children will lie1 and that the father will take it as a matter of course4 #bb ,the native good-bye is managed thus3 ,the person that goes away from his friend says 8,stay10 while his friend replies 8,go04 ,in their intercourse this is not always a mere form4 ,if a party with goods have rested at a village whose chief is powerful1 and covets their goods1 they are much relieved when he says 8,go60 #bc ,there are little huts in the fields where people stay to drive away such animals as would destroy the crops4 #bd ,in this simple nursery tale ,perspective is ignored1 but this will be excused by one who has observed how strikingly the moon rising over a hill resembles a distant grass-fire4 #be ,his name implies that he was clever4 ,the #crd story reminds one of the ,indian widow who refuses to survive her husband4 #bf ,here the sky is likened to a great lake1 and the stars are the 8golden sands0 of 8,afric's sunny fountains04 #bg ,v4 and ,,vi4 seem pointless1 except that the etymology and the form of the native words are made to support the simple theories4 #bh ,rain1 lightning and thunder seem to be almost inseparably associated in the minds of the native4 ,if a peal of thunder is heard1 when we ask what it is1 the reply is 8rain04 #bi ,chitowe is generally represented as inferior in power to ,mtanga4 ,this passage would lead us1 therefore1 to understand that ,chitowe called in ,mtanga because he could not put the country right himself4 ,the ,yao as they contrast their hilly district with the flat burning plains around may well thank ,mtanga4 #cj ,native philosophers accept the existence of the world as an ultimate fact4 #ca ,does this point to the use of #8the pot-stone'8 ,the native values his present methods as an advance on something more primitive4 #cb ,compare the hoeing of the ,hottentots4 #cc i4e41 to form the sides of the native hut4 #cd ,this tale exists among both the ,kafirs and the ,hottentots1 and is one of the most noteworthy4 #ce ,the offering of #8first fruits' had not been presented4 #cf ,described as staying in the north4 ,the word also means craftsman4 ,most of these names are mere adaptations for the story4 #cg i4e41 ,man-eater4 #ch ,a breach of etiquette4 7#fg47 #ci ,the narrative shews how4 #dj ,they have a custom of putting charms round their crops this way 7see ,k74 #da ,all the ,african races seem to have similar stories about the origin of monkeys4 #db ,she would be expected to make herself bald in mourning for her two sons4 #dc ,compare the ancient expression1 8,who can stay the bottles of heaven40--,job xxxvii4 #ch4 #dd ,man is the only animal that can make fire4 ,it is common to set fire to the bush with the view of catching game4 #de ,mulungu is here said to have lived once on the earth1 and to have left it because of men4 ,the ,chameleon is introduced here as well as in tale ,no4 xv4 #df ,such metamorphoses are very common in native tales4 #dg ,the narrator pronounces sometimes ,mlungu1 sometimes ,mulungu4 #dh ,here as in xxviii4 and xxix4 #8,god' is on high4 ,he is reached after a journey through a trilogy of ,beasts1 ,birds1 and ,fishes4 ,compare with this1 one native view that the sky is a great lake4