VIEWS FROM LIVINGSTONE.
Livingstone describes a curious custom among the Bechuana and Kaffir tribes south of the Zambesi River. The ceremony, as he describes it, was as follows:—
At break of day a row of boys, about fourteen years of age, stood facing a line of men in preparation for the national dance. All were without clothing. Each boy held a pair of sandals upon his hands as a sort of shield. The men were provided with long thin wands cut from a tough, strong, supple bush.
As the dance progressed, certain questions were put to the boys, as, "Will you guard the chief well?" "Will you herd the cattle well?" As the boys answered in the affirmative, the men rushed towards them, and each aimed a full, well-directed blow at the back of the boy nearest him. Stroke after stroke of the supple wand descended upon the bared back of the would-be warrior, until the flesh was raw and bleeding. Not a boy dreamed of being coward enough to cry out. All he did was to protect his head by the sandal shields upon his hands, as he held them uplifted.
This treatment was intended to harden the young soldiers and prepare them for their life as brave warriors. At the close of such a dance, it was no uncommon thing for the backs of the boys to be seamed with wounds and cuts, the scars of which would be lifelong.
On the return to town, after this ordeal, a prize was offered to the lad who could run the fastest. This prize was placed in a conspicuous place, where all spectators could see the winner of the race run up to snatch it. The race over, the boys were entitled to sit among the elders and to be called no longer lads but men. When a young brave had succeeded in killing a rhinoceros, he was deemed old enough and skillful enough to support a household of his own and might then marry.
While exploring the banks of the Chobe, Livingstone and his men paddled on from midday till sunset in a small pontoon which they had launched. Just as the short twilight of this section was commencing, they perceived on the north bank two native villages, one belonging to the Makololo tribe. In surprise the ignorant natives exclaimed in figurative speech, "He has dropped among us from the clouds, yet came riding on the back of a hippopotamus! We Makololo thought no one could cross the Chobe without our knowledge, but here he drops among us like a bird."
The Makololo tribe took great pride in their domestic animals, for they were noted as raisers of fine cattle. The women did little work, for most of the tilling of the soil was done by the tribes subject to the Makololo.
The women wore kilts reaching to the knees, made of ox skin dressed till it was as soft as cloth. This costume was by no means ungraceful, for a soft skin mantle was thrown across the shoulders to complete the effect. When at work the women discarded this mantle and were dressed merely in the kilt. The hair was cut quite short, and no woman felt that her toilet was complete unless her whole body had been rubbed in butter till it shone.
Large brass anklets, as thick as the little finger, and armlets of either brass or ivory, often an inch broad, were the fashionable ornaments coveted by these savage belles. Often these anklets were so heavy as to blister the skin by their weight and pressure. Strings of beads were worn about the neck; light green and pink were the fashionable colors and commanded a great price.
Comparing the huts of some of the natives, Livingstone writes: "The Makololo huts are generally clean, while those of the Makalaka are infested with vermin. The cleanliness of the former is owing to the habit of frequently smearing the floors with a plaster composed of cow manure and earth.
"If we slept in the tent in some villages, the mice ran over our faces and disturbed our sleep, or hungry, prowling dogs would eat our shoes and leave only the soles. When they were guilty of this and other misdemeanors, we got the loan of a hut.
"The best sort of Makololo huts consist of three circular walls, with small holes as doors, each similar to that in a dog house; and it is necessary to bend down the body to get in, even when on all fours. The roof is formed of reeds or straight sticks, in shape like a Chinaman's hat, bound firmly together with circular bands, which are lashed with the strong inner bark of the mimosa tree. When all is ready, except the thatch, it is lifted upon the circular wall, the rim resting on a circle of poles, between which the third wall is built.
"The roof is thatched with fine grass, and sewed with the same material as the lashings; and, as it projects far beyond the walls, and reaches within four feet of the ground, the shade is the best to be found in the country. These huts are very cool in the hottest day, but are close and deficient in ventilation by night."
Livingstone found much superstition prevailing among the people on the banks of the Leeba, and here and there evidence of the worship of idols was noticeable.
The chiefs were frequently women. One whom Livingstone visited was adorned with oil and red ochre, with a plentiful supply of ornaments upon her wrists, ankles, and about her person; but a very little clothing seemed to satisfy her desire for fine apparel. Her husband's clothing consisted of a kilt of green and red baize, his arms of a spear and a broadsword of antique fashion.
The houses in the village were found to be well stockaded, and were all separate buildings. The firearms found among the tribes farther south were lacking; bows and arrows were used in their place, and had very effectually cleared the country of game.
While penetrating farther and farther east into the Londa territory, Livingstone encountered some natives of whom he wrote: "Surrounded on all sides by large, gloomy forests, the people have a much more indistinct idea of the geography of their country than those who live in hilly regions.
"The people seemed more slender in form, and their color a lighter olive, than any we had hitherto met. Their mode of dressing the great masses of woolly hair which lay upon their shoulders, together with their general features, again reminded me of the ancient Egyptians.
"A few of the ladies adopt a curious custom of attaching the hair to a hoop which encircles the head, giving it somewhat the appearance of the glory round the head of the Virgin. Others wear an ornament of woven hair and hide adorned with beads. The hair of the tails of buffaloes, which are to be found farther east, is sometimes added; while others weave their own hair on pieces of hide into the form of buffalo horns, or make a single horn in front.
"Many tattoo their bodies by inserting some black substance beneath the skin, which leaves an elevated cicatrix about half an inch long; these are made in forms of stars, and other figures of no particular beauty."
A little to the southward he found natives who had not been visited by the slave dealers to any great extent, rather timid, but civil. Of these he gives the following account:—
"The same olive color prevailed. They file their teeth to a point, which makes the smile of the women frightful, as it reminds one of the grin of an alligator.
"The inhabitants throughout this country exhibit as great a variety of taste as appears on the surface of society among ourselves. Many of the men are dandies; their shoulders are always wet with the oil dropping from their lubricated hair, and everything about them is ornamented in one way or another. Some thrum a musical instrument the livelong day, and, when they wake at night, proceed at once to their musical performance. Many of these musicians are too poor to have iron keys to their instruments, but make them of bamboo, and persevere though no one hears the music but themselves.
"Others try to appear warlike by never going out of their huts except with a load of bows and arrows or a gun ornamented with a strip of hide for every animal they have shot; and others never go anywhere without a canary in a cage. Ladies may be seen carefully tending little lapdogs, which are intended to be eaten.
"The villages are generally in forests, and composed of groups of irregularly planted brown huts, with banana and cotton trees, and tobacco, growing around. There is also at every hut a high stage erected for drying manioc roots and meal, and elevated cages to hold domestic fowls.
"Round baskets are laid on the thatch of the huts for the hens to lay in, and on the arrival of strangers, men, women, and children ply their calling as hucksters with a great deal of noisy haggling. All their transactions are conducted with civil banter and good temper."