Women often fashion little clay images of men and hang them up in their gardens to frighten youngsters who go there to pilfer the crops; the children believe that if they take anything they will be stricken with a thabu. The elders, however, declare that such charms are only a sham, as the women do not really wish to harm the children, but only to scare them.
Hunter’s Magic.—If a Kamba hunter shoots a very fat beast he must not take snuff while he is skinning it or he will be seized with diarrhœa.
Elephant hunters often carry a medicine called ngatho, of which a little is placed on each arrow before it is shot at an elephant; it is carried in a hollow reed in the hunter’s quiver. The hunter must not eat or touch mutton before he returns from hunting or this medicine will prove ineffective. The medicine man who concocts the medicine places it in the quiver of the hunter with his own hands, and the quiver must not be opened till the hunter is in the presence of the elephants. Hunters often carry another medicine called “nzebi,” which, if blown in the direction of game, prevents it from seeing the hunter.
In Kitui, if a man has made his preparations to go on a hunting expedition, he must not cohabit with his wife the night before he starts.
If there is a new-comer in a hunting party and an elephant is killed, the leader of the party will cut off the trunk and breasts of the beast before the new-comer comes up, and hide them in the bush. It is said that if [[194]]this is not done the new-comer might joke about the peculiar appearance of these parts and in so doing turn their luck so that no other elephant would be killed. The elephant spirit would evidently be annoyed.
An officer, some time ago, shot an elephant in Kitui, and two of the natives who accompanied him came up and asked if they might perform their ceremony, the object of which was to bring him much luck and good sport. He agreed, and a goat was killed and some of the blood collected; one of the men tasted a little of the blood, and then each of them took a little in his mouth and ejected a few drops on the tusks of the dead elephant, the remainder being poured out as a libation.
The leader or leaders of the hunting party who are termed A-thiani in Ukamba and Tha-mati in Kikuyu can alone eat the trunk of an elephant.
When the hunting party returns it is the duty of the leader to sacrifice an ox and brew some beer; the blood of the ox and the beer are mixed and poured out in the village as a libation of thanksgiving.
The same ceremony is observed after the sale of the ivory.
A man who organises successful hunts, or proves himself a good leader of caravans to the coast, obtains great honour among his people.