Bantu Beliefs and Magic / With particular reference to the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of Kenya Colony; together with some reflections on East Africa after the war

by C. W. Hobley

A woman cannot enter a smithy unless she is a smith’s wife, and she can then come to bring her husband’s food. [[174]]

Smiths Among the Kamba of Kitui.—The original smiths all belonged to one clan, viz., the Atui, which is a section of the Anzunzu clan, but members of other branches have now learnt the art and been admitted to the brotherhood. In Machakos district some of the smiths belong to the Eombi clan.

If a man wishes to become a smith he brews some beer and takes it along with a goat to a local smith. They drink the beer together; the smith takes a sip and then ceremonially squirts it over the hand of the novice, saying, “May your hands become skilful at the work which I can do.” They then kill the goat and mix some of its blood with some of the beer, and the smith pours it over the anvil and addresses it as follows: “This man is now the same as I am, and I shall give him a new anvil, and may this new anvil be his friend.”

The anvil is of stone, and when it is worn out the smith searches for another suitable piece of some tough rock, generally granite or gneiss, and instals it in the forge. Before using it, however, he brews some beer and pours it over the anvil, saying, “You are now an anvil, and you must be as good a one as your predecessor.”

The cult of the smith does not appear to be as highly developed in Ukamba as in Kikuyu, for his powers are more limited; he wears no mark of his trade, and he does not dedicate the weapons he forges, as is done by the Kikuyu smiths.

If, however, a man steals a smith’s stone anvil or any tool from his smithy, the smith can curse him by saying: “So-and-so has stolen my anvil, and I curse him, and if he eats this season’s food he will die,” and it is firmly believed that the thief will die before the harvest is reaped.

When a man goes to a smith to have an iron rod forged for branding cattle, the smith will place it in the purchaser’s hand when it is finished and say: “May the cattle branded with this iron be lucky, may they escape disease, and may they be fruitful.” This tends to show [[175]]that the branding of cattle is believed to have a magical value and is not solely intended as an identification mark for the beasts belonging to each clan.

Iron has always played a great part in ancient magic, and continues to do so in many parts of the world. This is probably due to the fact that the art of extracting the metal appeared so marvellous to early man that it was attributed originally to magic. This idea was very likely kept alive by the early iron smelters and smiths. In early times, as at the present day, in certain parts of Africa the same persons smelted and forged, and these men probably invested the process of manufacture with an atmosphere of mystery and combined into a guild pledged to keep the art a secret from the uninitiated.

In connection with this subject, it is interesting to note that some scientists lean to the opinion that the manufacture of iron originated in Africa. Professor Gregory comments on this problem in “Geology of To-day,” pp. 321–322. Referring to the easier smelting of iron than of bronze he says: “Grains of iron oxide are very widely distributed, and in arid areas attract attention by their heaviness and metallic aspect.… The preparation of iron by the negroes in Africa is a far simpler process than the manufacture of bronze. Bronze tools, however, are found in Europe earlier than those of iron, but their earlier presence may be explained by the readiness with which iron tools would perish by rust.… This explanation is, however, not satisfactory, for if iron had been present and removed, the rust would have remained as a stain or as a cement. Moreover, it is clear that in Western Europe the bronze age immediately succeeded the stone age, for the early bronze implements are copies of stone tools. The conflict of metallurgical and archæological argument probably admits of a geographical explanation.

“Grains of iron ore in sands and gravels are conspicuous in hot, arid climates such as tropical Africa, and it is probable that iron working was invented there [[176]]before the bronze age in Europe. The inhabitants of the moister climates of the Mediterranean and Europe had no such easily found supply of iron.