Untunjambili, August 20, 1875.
Dear Sir: I beg to send you a short sketch of my last trip to and interview with the Zulu king, in order to present to him your report of your embassy, 1873, and leave it to your discretion to lay before His Excellency the whole or a part of this sketch, got up in a language foreign to me.
After an irksome traveling right across the Tugela from here to Undi, I arrived the fifth day (August 5) at the king’s head kraal sufficiently early to have a preliminary interview with the headmen then present—viz., Umnjamana, Usegetwayo, Uganze, Uzetzalusa, Untzingwayo, etc.—and, according to Zulu etiquette, lay before them the substance of my message in the main points, the same as I, the day after (6th August), told the king.
N.B. In the course of the evening one of the headmen hinted to me that as regards the killing of people, all was not as it ought to be, and that I ought to press the matter when I had the interview with the king, as he needed to have his memory (I would rather say his conscience, for his memory is still very good—even remarkably good) stirred up, and that the present occasion was the very time to do that. The result proved this to be a very safe and timely hint.
They spent the forenoon communicating in their bulky way this news to the king, so it was midday before I got an interview with the king, when I opened the interview verbatim, thus:
“My arrival here to-day is not on my own account. I have come at the request of the chiefs across (the Tugela) to cause you to receive by hand and by mouth a book which has come from Victoria, the queen of the English—the book of the new laws of this Zulu country, which Somtseu (Mr. Shepstone) proclaimed publicly at Umlambongwenya the day he, being called to do so, set you apart to be king of the Zulus. Victoria, queen of the English, says: ‘I and my great headmen (ministers) have read the new laws of the Zulu country, which you, king, and all the Zulus, agreed to with Somtseu; and as we adhere to our words, so also I wish you, chief of the Zulus, to hold fast to these words of yours of this law which you agreed to adhere to the day you were made king by Mr. Shepstone, who was sent to do that by the government of Natal.’ I have now finished: this is the only word I have brought with me from the chiefs across (the Tugela).”
The royal inscription of the copy was of course literally translated.
After having thus delivered the government message entrusted to me, I added, in the way of explaining to the king and his councilors the merits of the case at issue, by saying:
“You have heard the government word, but that you may clearly see the line of this book of the new laws, I wish to explain to you as follows: The day the Zulu nation brought the head of the king, laid low, four oxen, to the government, the Zulu nation asked that Mr. Shepstone might come and proclaim the new laws of Zululand, and set apart the real royal child, because they no longer had power of themselves to set apart for themselves a king. Mr. Shepstone came, and began by consulting you, the Zulu nation, at Umlambongwenya on the fifth day of the week, on all the points of the new law which he had been sent for to proclaim; and he conversed with you until the sun went down, having begun early in the day. He then left you Zulus to consult together and investigate the new laws on the last day of the week and on the Sunday; and when Mr. Shepstone returned to the wagons (camp) he wrote in a book all the points of the new law; and on Monday he again came with all his attendants, and it was in accordance with his previous arrangement with you; and he came to the Umlambongwenya, the residence appointed for the purpose, that he might set apart in becoming manner the young king. We all were present: we heard him, standing publicly, holding in his hand a paper, and pointing to it, saying, ‘That forgetfulness may never, never happen, I have written in this paper all the points of the new laws of the country which we agreed upon, two days ago and to-day, in the presence of all the Zulu nation, the royal children and the nobles;’ and he then handed that paper to his son, that it might be accessible and speak when he himself is no more; and this proclamation of the new laws was confirmed by the English custom of firing cannons seventeen times, and according to the Zulu by the striking of shields. On the second day of the week Mr. Shepstone returned to the Umlambongwenya to take his leave of the king, and again the points of the new law were explained; and Ut-tamn (Cetywayo’s brother) explained to Mr. Shepstone the history of this house; and on the third day the nobles all went to the wagons (camp), being sent to the king to take leave, and Mr. Shepstone went home satisfied; and when he returned to the colony he wrote this book of the narrative of his journey and his work in Zululand; and, as is done (in the colony), then he sent it to the governor, and the governor read it, and read it all, and said the work of Somtseu is good, and the new laws of the Zulu country are good; and, as is done there too, he sent it forward to Victoria, the queen of the English; and Victoria sent back this book of the new laws by the same way to the governor, and the governor returned it to Somtseu, and here it is come back to its work (discharge its function) in Zululand, where it was set up to rule over you. And as Victoria binds herself by her words, so are you also, king, and you, the Zulu nation, bound by this new law made for you here by Somtseu at Umlambongwenya. And this is the generation of this book of the new law: It was born an infant; it went across (the water), the child of a king, to seek for kingship, and it found it; it was made king far away, and here it is returned with its rank to its own country, Zululand; therefore do not say it is only the book that speaks. No, I tell you, Zulus, of a truth, that this book has to-day rank: it took that rank beyond (the water): it has come back a king, and is supreme in this country.
“The words of the governor are finished, and my explanation is finished; but there are small items of news which I wish to tell you in your ears, which the authorities (in Natal) did not tell me, but which I speak for myself because I wish to see for you and reprove you gently, that you may understand.”
Uganze then commenced in his usual tattling way to make some remarks, that they, as black people, did not understand books and the value of such written documents; whereupon I said to him, “That won’t do, Ganze, that you, after having applied, as in the present case, to people who transact business through written documents, now afterward say you do not understand the value of books. You all know very well that book-rules are supreme with white people: it is therefore of no use that you, after having obtained what you wanted from the white people, now come and plead ignorance about book. If you don’t know yourselves to read book, there is nothing else for you to be done but to get a trustworthy person to read for you, or learn to read yourselves.”
By these remarks I stopped effectually all further talk of that kind; and, evidently displeased at Uganze’s talk, the king repeated very correctly all I had endeavored to say. (You know the king has a good memory.)
While I was translating, the king and his nobles often expressed their astonishment, uttering occasionally that it was as if they were living the thing over again, and that what was translated was exactly what was spoken and transacted in your way to and under your stay at the place of encampment; and, having finished, I told them that the fullness and correctness of the details of the report was a natural result of the habit of white people under such circumstances, daily to take down in writing what transpired, in order not to forget it itself long time afterward.
As the king and his nobles now entered upon a discussion of the merits of the new laws as set forth in your report, and this discussion evidently would take the turn of being an answer to the message delivered, I found it necessary to tell them that I had received no commission to bring back any answer to the government message; and stated my own private opinion about not having received such commission by saying most explicitly, “My opinion is that the chiefs across the Tugela did not tell me to take back to them your answer, because your right words to adhere to the new law are completed. They are many: no more are necessary. The thing wanted now is your acts in accordance with the law.”
Here, again, Uganze asked what I meant by acts; and the answer was, “That you rule and manage this Zululand in accordance with the new law, and never overstep it;” and I explained this further by telling them frankly that many reports circulated in Natal of the extensive killing of people all over the Zululand; that from the time I this year had crossed the Tugela, Natal people had with one mouth asked me if the killing of people in Zululand now really was carried on to such an extent as reported, in spite of the new law; that I had not with my own eyes seen any corpse, and personally only knew of them said to have been killed; that I myself had my information principally from the same sources as people in Natal, and often from Natal newspapers; that I myself personally believed that there were some, and perhaps too much, foundation for said reports: there were many who pretended having seen corpses of people killed both with guns and spears. And, after having lectured my Zulu audience very earnestly upon this vital point, I concluded, saying, “Well-wishers of the Zulus are very sorry to hear of such things, as they certainly had hoped that the new constitution would have remedied this sad shedding of blood; while, on the other hand, people who did not care whether the Zulu nation was ruined or not, merely laughed at the idea that any one ever could have entertained the hope of altering or amending the old-cherished Zulu practice of bloodshed, as the Zulus were such an irrecoverable set of man-butchers. Further, I tell you seriously, king, your reputation is bad among the whites; and, although it is not as yet officially reported to the government, still it has come to its ears, all these bloody rumors, and nobody can tell what may be the consequences hereafter—to-morrow.”
The king and his izinduna seemed wonderfully tame—even conscience-smitten all along—while the rumors were mentioned, for I had expected some of their usual unruly excitement; but nothing of that kind was seen. But, although the king and his nobles present had, as mentioned above, with astonishment uttered that your report had reported exactly everything done and said there and then, he now tried to point out that you, in your report, had left out to inform the queen that he, in his transactions with you, had reserved to himself the right of killing people who kill others, who lie with the king’s girls, who sin against or steal the king’s property—that it is the royal Zulu prerogative “from time immemorial,” at the accession to the throne, to make raid on neighboring tribes. I went into details of both questions, and proved by plain words of your report, as well as by logical conclusion therefrom, the fallacy of both complaints; and especially as to the pretended “from time immemorial,” that this was nonsense, as that bloody system of raid only was from yesterday (chaka), and therefore there were no reasons why it should not be broken off to-morrow; and much more so as this raid-system only tended to exasperate all neighboring tribes against the Zulus, and eventually bring on their (Zulus’) ruin, for it was well known that all neighboring tribes were gradually coming under the protection of the white people. The king made, in self-defence, some irrelevant remarks, and was of course supported by the izinduna in the usual Zulu-duda way, but, most remarkably, in a very tame way; but I thought by myself, “It is easy to make an end to this support and combination, for I shall split your interest, and then combat you singly.” So I turned the current of the discussion in this way, saying, “I do really believe that there is going on killing people in such a manner that the king is blamed in Natal for doings he first afterward is made aware of—viz., the grandees will, for example, kill a man of no note, take a few heads of cattle to the king in order to shut his mouth, saying, ‘I found a rat spoiling my things, and struck this rat of mine, and here is the few cattle it left behind.’ Then the king will—although the thing does not suit him—think by himself, ‘If I stir up in this poltroon matter, my grandees will say that I trouble them;’ and so the thing is growing on, and brings on such rumors and bad names over in Natal. But was it not agreed upon, king, at your installation, that the common saying, ‘My man,’ or ‘My people,’ must not be tolerated any longer? It must cease in the mouth of the grandees in the country. Here in the Zululand is now ‘my people’ of the grandees, but all are people of the king. The grandees have no right to the people: the king is the owner of them all solely. And was it not agreed upon that no Zulu—male or female, old or young—could be executed without fair, open trial and the special previous sanction of the king? But now, by the old practice creeping into use again, and the grandees killing their so-called people, and the king killing his, it is like the real owner and the other imaginary owners killing independently cattle out of the same herd, without telling each other, till the herd is cut up. By executing people who really only belong to the king, the grandees will, in the same degree as they do so, detract from and diminish the royal power and prerogative, so that there in fact reign several kings in this same kingdom, at least as far as the authority over life and death concerns. The grandees are concealed behind their king in the bad rumors over in Natal; so the king gains a bad name and blame for the whole, while the grandees gain the satisfaction of succeeding in killing people they dislike.”
The king assented to these my remarks; so the izinduna found themselves deserted and silenced. Umnjamana only tried to put in a few very tame remarks of his usual ones, but I quickly brought him to his senses by remembering him sharply of his sayings and doings at the installation. I now thought it high time to cut the further parlance short by saying, “I find that I am going to be dragged into an argument about matters that are no business of mine, and I will therefore talk no more of these things, for the new law-owners are still alive; and, moreover, the new law is there invested with undeniable royalty; so that even when Her Majesty Victoria, her present councilors and the rest of us are no more, the Umteto will be there, and numerous copies of it are in the hands of the white people, so that they at present and in future times will be able to compare whether the doings of yours (Zulu) are in accordance or at variance with that law, and take their measures accordingly. Victoria binds herself by books, and so you are bound by this book of new law that now is ruling supreme: that is the long and short of it, for this book of the law will decay with the country.... I have now talked myself tired, finished my verbal errand to you, king, and now I will hand over to you this splendid copy of the new law.” He then said, “Lay it down here” (pointing to the mat under his feet). “No,” I replied, “that won’t do: the book is not at your feet, but you are at the feet of the book; and if my hands are not too good to hand it over to you, your hands ought not to be too good to receive it. Don’t make any difficulty.” So he received the copy with his hands, laid it himself on the mat, placed both his elbows on his knees, and holding bent over his head between his hands, uttered that peculiar native “Oh dear! oh dear! what a man this is!”
The king evidently felt himself so out of his depth that he quite forgot his usual final topics, begging for a royal cloak (the standing topic of late) or some similar thing, and dropped into begging for a dog to bark for him at night.
Lastly, in order to test him how he now was disposed toward mission-work, I told him that, as my business with him was finished, I should immediately, without sleeping that night at Undi, commence my homeward journey, for I had left much work to be done behind, having commenced a new station over in Natal, as here in Zululand is no work for us missionaries as long as he prohibited his subjects from becoming Christians; therefore it was at present quite sufficient for me in Zululand, where it, under present circumstances, was useless to get new stations only to live and not work on, while we over in Natal could buy, and from government, who approved of the mission-work, get land for stations; moreover, the people—for example, over at Untunjambili—were very anxious to be taught. With an heedful air the king asked, “Do the Kafirs really wish to be taught?” “Yes, they really do,” I answered him.
Thinking that it would do them (the king and councilors) good to hear a bit of those proceedings, I inserted a few words about the contemplated and proposed federation between the colony of Natal, Cape, the Transvaal, and Orange States by mentioning that an important letter from the great people beyond the water had come and proposed a grand meeting of men chosen from these four states to deliberate of the best mode of establishing such federation among themselves, and the advantage and importance of this federation, which I tried to point out by a few practical instances. The king and his induna now insisted upon my not leaving before next morning, as the king wanted to prepare for me (get me some living beef); and in the course of the evening I got a special message from him to you to get from a doctor medicine for a complaint he had in the chest, rising at times from regions about the liver, and medicine for an induna who of late had been completely deaf. The messenger also told that the king already had sent to you for medicines, but as yet got no answer. I think that he has found out that it comes very expensive to call a dotela from Natal, and that it therefore would be cheapest to get the aid of genuine doctors through your kind unpaid assistance.
Under the conversation with the king the headman Usagetwayo (a rather stupid man, but whose assumed grandeur is so great and supercilious that he pretends never to know anybody, but always must ask somebody who this is) asked in his well-known hoarse way, “Who is he there who speaks with the king?” (meaning me). Umnjamana answered, “Bishop Schreuder, native man: he is Panda’s old headman. You are joking in saying you don’t know him: it was he for whom they cut off the large bit of land at Enlumeni.” (One of my Christian natives present overheard this conversation getting on in a subdued tone while I was speaking with the king.)
When our interview commenced the king seemed rather sulky, but got gradually brighter, at least very tame, which hardly could have been expected after such dusky beginning, for which there were also other reasons, needless to specify here. I remain, etc.,
H. Schreuder.