ADDENDA
I. [P. 74-5.]—The Spider absent from Bantu folk-lore. This statement requires some modification. Since writing the above, I have examined a number of Duala animal-stories collected by Herr Wilhelm Lederbogen, formerly of the Government School at Kamerun. The Duala are the most north-westerly Bantu tribe, and have probably borrowed some of their folk-lore from their Efik neighbours. As in most of the West Coast stories, moreover, the place of the Hare is taken by a small species of antelope, to which the English-speaking natives of Sierra Leone have, for some occult reason, given the name of Cunnie Rabbit. (It is curious that a Duala native, when telling a story in German, also called the creature a hare, but explained that ‘it is not like [the hares] here, but has little horns.’—See Elli Meinhof, Märchen aus Kamerun.) Mr. Dennett also gives a Lower Congo story of ‘How the Spider won and lost Nzambi’s Daughter.’—(See Folk-lore of the Fjort.)
II. [P. 155-6.]—This mode of burying those who have died of smallpox is not invariable, or else the practice has been modified of late years. A more recent native account says: ‘In this case a small reed is stuck into the side of the grave. Along this reed the disease will creep and so escape from the body into the open air. For they say that if they do not thus allow the disease to escape, “they will only plant the disease in the ground, and epidemics will be frequent.”’
The same authority states that a difference is made in case of violent death: ‘One who has died from the effects of a gunshot wound or the thrust of a spear is buried at once without the ordinary delay of a day or two waiting for the relations to arrive. The body is not allowed to be at the village even for one night, but is buried at once. Nor do the awilo in this case dig the grave to any depth. They say that if they dig deeply they will be stabbed. One killed by a wild beast is treated in similar fashion.’—(Life and Work in British Central Africa, Dec. 1905, p. 4.)
The writer of the above is apparently a Yao. He does not specify whether these remarks apply to Yao or Anyanja; but as, in other passages, he is careful to point out where the practice of the two tribes differs, we may no doubt understand him as referring to both.
III. [P. 279.]—Mombera. Dr. Elmslie (Among the Wild Ngoni, Edinburgh, 1901) gives an interesting picture of this chief. ‘Mombera had a dual character. He was at his best in the early part of the day, before he became intoxicated, and so by sunrise people with cases to be judged went to see him. Then his affability and generous behaviour were pleasant to see, but toward afternoon, when the beer he continually sipped began to act, his civility was at an end for the day.’... Many natives, in later life, when they find their digestive powers weakening, come to depend on the nourishing moa for their principal sustenance, with results (when, like Mombera, they can command unlimited quantities) as above.
‘When sober, he delighted to play with his children, and manifested a very pleasing interest in them and their mothers.... He had a great interest in old people, of whom he had always a great number living in huts within the seraglio. He treated them with respect, and provided for them from his own table. If he was shown anything new and strange, he would generally have it shown to the old people, and while they knelt before him in due respect, one could notice with pleasure their trustful attitude and how he would heartily respond to any observation of wonder they might express.... He said they would have to report to the ancestral spirits how many new and wonderful things had now become known to the people....
‘... He was neither cruel nor bloodthirsty. He discountenanced the poison ordeal which was adopted from the Tonga slaves, believing rather in their own trial by boiling water, which at most only maimed the person and did not destroy life as the mwavi did. He was considered to be “too soft” by the more degraded and fiery dispositions, and had no delight in condemning to death. Only two instances of the death-penalty being inflicted by Mombera came under my own observation during all the years I lived under him. In one case he caused a man to be put to death for cattle-stealing, after having pardoned him for the same offence.... The other case was where a member of the royal family killed a slave who had run away from him and put himself under the protection of another master....’ (Pp. 115-117.)
GLOSSARY
OF NYANJA AND OTHER TERMS USED IN THIS BOOK
(Unless otherwise stated, the language is Nyanja)
- Abusa, plural of mbusa, a herd-boy.
- Adzukulu, grandchildren, also spelt ajukulu and azukuru. But it usually means the relatives or friends who make all the arrangements for burying a deceased person.
- Afiti, plural of mfiti, a wizard.
- Amabele (Zulu), ‘Kafir corn’—Holcus sorghum.
- Amadhlozi (Zulu), plural of idhlozi, ancestral spirits, when they appear in the form of snakes.
- Amatongo (Zulu), ancestral spirits manifesting themselves in dreams.
- Antu, plural of muntu, a person.
- Awilo (Yao). See [Adzukulu].
- Bango, a very common kind of reed—Phragmites communis.
- Bwalo, the village place of assembly or ‘forum’; it is also used (see [p. 122]) for the unmarried men’s house.
- Bwazi, a shrub (Securidaca longipedunculata) and the fibre procured from its bark.
- Bwebweta, v., to rave or talk nonsense, as if possessed by spirits.
- Chagwa, lit. ‘it has fallen’; name of a game. See [p. 113].
- Chamba, Indian hemp; also name of a dance.
- Chifukwa, lit. ‘a fault,’ but used as a conjunction—‘because.’
- Chikolongwe, a barbed fish-spear, or gaff.
- Chikonyo, a cob of maize.
- Chimanga, maize.
- Chinamwali, the initiation ceremonies for girls.
- Chinangwa (Yao), cassava.
- Chipini, a metal ornament, like a stud, worn by women in the nose.
- Chipongwe, impudence.
- Chire, the bush.
- Chiri, a steep bank.
- Chirombo, a wild beast, a monster; also an insect or a weed.
- Chirope, madness caused by shedding blood. See [p. 67].
- Chitalaka, red porcelain beads, white inside.
- Chitowe, sesamum, the seed of which is used for making oil.
- Dambo, a plain, or open grass-land in the Bush.
- Dimba, a patch of alluvial soil beside a stream.
- Dzombe, a locust.
- Fumba, a sleeping-bag made of matting.
- Garanzi, a small drum, beaten quickly.
- Gome (nyumba ya), a square house.
- Gowero, boys’ house in a village.
- Gwape (gwapi), the klipspringer—Oreotragus saltator.
- Imfe (Zulu), a kind of sorghum with sweet juice (S. sacharinum); Nyanja msale.
- Inswa, ‘white ants,’ or termites.
- Isigcogco or isicoco (Zulu), head-ring worn by men when of an age and standing to be called to the chief’s council.
- Kokalupsya, the early rains which sweep away the ashes of the burnt grass and scrub (lupsya).
- Kombe, the strophanthus creeper; the arrow-poison made from it.
- Konde, keloids, or scars made by cutting, as tribal marks or for ornament.
- Lisoka (Yao), the spiritual part of man; a ghost.
- Lobola, v. (Zulu), properly, to arrange a marriage ‘by agreeing to deliver a certain number of cattle’ to the girl’s father or guardian.
- Lululuta, v., or luluta, ‘to utter the cry called ntungululu on the return of men from war or hunting, or any other exciting occasion. The sound is produced by vibrations of the tongue intermitting the cry or whistle by the lips.’
- Lundu (Rundo), paramount chief.
- Lupsya, burnt grass, etc. See [Kokalupsya].
- Mabisalila, the witch-finder woman. See [p. 89].
- Maere, a small kind of millet—Eleusine.
- Makani, a debate or discussion.
- Malimwe, the winter.
- Mankwala, medicine.
- Mapira, Sorghum vulgare.
- Mapondera, the man who pounds the poison for the mwavi ordeal.
- Maseche (plural of tseche), rattles made from the hard-shelled fruits of a certain tree.
- Masuku, the fruit of the msuku tree—Napaca kirkii.
- Matekenya, plural of tekenya, the jigger—Sarcopsyllus penetrans.
- Matondo, fruit of the mtondo tree.
- Mbawa, the mahogany-tree—Khaya senegalensis.
- Mbidzi, a zebra.
- Mbulu, the wild dog—Lycaon pictus.
- Mchombwa, the game of msuo or mankala.
- Mdzi, a village. Also mudzi. Zulu umuzi.
- Mdzodzo, a kind of black ant emitting an offensive smell.
- Mfiti, a wizard.
- Miiko, plural of mwiko, which see.
- Mlandu, a ‘case,’ discussion or trial.
- Mlungusi, a kind of thorn-tree.
- Moa, native beer.
- Momba, a straight fish-spear.
- Mono, a basket-trap for fish.
- Moto, fire.
- Mpakasa, autumn; the beginning of the dry season.
- Mpeza, a kind of caterpillar.
- Mphiyu (Tonga), a kind of medicine for effecting the transformation of people into animals.
- Mpingo, the ebony-tree—Diospyrus.
- Mpini. See [Konde].
- Mpira, india-rubber, or a ball made of it.
- Msale. See [Imfe].
- Msampa, a kind of trap.
- Msuku, the tree Napaca kirkii.
- Msuo. See [Mchombwa].
- Mtanga, a kind of basket.
- Mtumbamtumba, a large kind of black and white, strong-smelling ants.
- Mvula, rain. Yao ula.
- Mvunguti, a tree (Kigelia) with large cucumber-shaped fruits, 1 to 2 feet long.
- Mwavi, the poison prepared from the bark of Erythrophleum guineense; the ordeal in which it is used.
- Mwiko, a prohibition of some particular food to an individual or family.
- Myombo, a tree like an ash—Brachystegia longifolia.
- Mzinda, the head village of a district.
- Namwali, a girl who has been initiated.
- Nchito, work. Nchito ya amuna, ‘work of men (males).’
- Ndiwo, anything eaten as relish with porridge.
- Ng’ama, red oxide of iron.
- Nguluwe, a bush-pig.
- Njinga, a reel or spindle.
- Nkaka, the scaly ant-eater, Pangolin.
- Nkalango, a thicket; a clump of trees left standing to shelter the graves.
- Nkata, a grass ring or pad used in carrying loads on the head.
- Nkokwe, a corn-bin or granary made of basket-work.
- Nkole, the initiation ceremonies (the word used at Likoma). See [Unyago].
- Nsanja, the shelf or stage above the fireplace in a Nyanja hut.
- Nsengwa, a small round basket.
- Nsima, porridge made of maize or mapira meal.
- Ntengu, a small blackbird.
- Nyanja, a lake or river.
- Nyasa (Yao), a lake or river.
- Nzama, a kind of bean, resembling a ground-nut.
- Peka, v., to make fire by drilling.
- Pelele, a lip-ring worn by women.
- Rundo. See [Lundu].
- Sonkwe, a kind of hibiscus, from which fibre is obtained.
- Tengo, the bush.
- Tsanchima, a masked performer in the zinyao dance.
- Ufa, flour.
- Ulendo, a journey; also a party making the journey, a caravan.
- Unyago (Yao), the initiation ceremonies for young people. See [Nkole].
- Wodiera, an eater, literally ‘(one) of eating,’ contracted from wa ku diera.
- Zikonyo, plural of chikonyo, which see.
- Zinyao, the dance at the mysteries, in which the performers dress up with masks, etc., as animals.
Transcriber’s Note: Click map for a larger version.
