CHAPTER LXX.
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.