A curious ceremony is held to train young women to endure the hardships of carrying water. Clad in a dress composed of ropes made of alternate pumpkin seeds and bits of reed strung together, and wound round the body in a figure-of-eight fashion, a number of them are drilled by an old woman of the tribe, until they become accustomed to bear fatigue, and can carry large pots of water without complaint. It is no uncommon thing to find scars upon the forearm, which have been made by bits of burning charcoal. These, without doubt, were inflicted to test the power of the young women to bear pain.
Among the tribes in the country about the Leeambye River they have no stated day of rest, except the day after the appearance of the new moon. At that time the people refrain from going to their gardens.
A curious custom prevails among the black tribes beyond the Bechuanas. They watch eagerly for the first glimpse of the new moon, and when they perceive the faint outline after the sun has set deep in the west, they utter a loud shout of 'Kuā!' and short prayers to it. Livingstone's men, for instance, called out, "Let our journey with the white man be prosperous! Let our enemies perish, and the children of Nake become rich! May he have plenty of meat on this journey."
At one time in his journeyings, Livingstone was entertained by a party of musicians, consisting of three drummers and four performers on the piano. The drums were neat instruments cut from the trunk of a tree. They had a small hole in the side covered with a bit of spider's web. The ends were covered with antelope skin fastened on by pegs. When the drummers wished to tighten the drumhead, they held it over the fire to make it contract. There were no drumsticks, for the instrument was beaten with the hands.
The piano, as described by Livingstone, consists of two bars of wood placed side by side, sometimes quite straight, sometimes bent round so as to resemble half the tire of a carriage wheel. Across these are placed about fifteen wooden keys, each of which is two or three inches broad, and fifteen or eighteen inches long. Their thickness is regulated according to the deepness of the note required. Each of the keys has a calabash beneath it, from the upper part of which a portion is cut off to enable it to embrace the bar and form a hollow sounding-board to the key; and little drumsticks produce the music. Rapidity of execution was much admired, and the music was pleasant to the ear.
On one occasion Livingstone was exhibiting the pictures of a magic lantern. The first picture shown was that of Abraham in the act of uplifting the knife with which to slay Isaac. After the picture had been explained, he attempted to move the slide, when the uplifted dagger appeared to be moving towards the interested spectators. Thinking it was to be sheathed in their own bodies, all the women with one accord rushed off helter-skelter, tumbling over each other, and shouting "Mother! mother!" Over the idol huts and tobacco bushes they fled like startled fawns, nor could one of them be induced to return. Their chief, however, sat bravely through the exhibition and afterwards examined the lantern with great interest.
Many of the native tribes are very superstitious, and will not touch food offered to them by other tribes. Among themselves they stand upon much ceremony. Each man has his own hut where he has his fire. Should it go out he will build it afresh rather than to take live coals from a neighbor.
In the deep, dark forest near each village, idols were frequently met. Some were intended to represent the human head or a lion's; others were merely crooked sticks smeared with medicine. Sometimes a little pot of medicine was found in a shed, or miniature huts with little mounds of earth in them.
In the darker recesses of the forest, outlines of human faces cut in the bark of trees were seen. The outlines of these bearded heads bore a close resemblance to those found on Egyptian monuments. At frequent intervals cuts were made on the trees along the path, and offerings of small pieces of massive roots or ears of maize placed on the branches attracted the attention.
Every few miles were found heaps of sticks to which each passer-by contributed. Again, a few sticks were placed in the path, and each traveler turned from his course to one side as though fearing to commit a sacrilege.