To become a witch-doctor of any importance, a person is required to be instructed by one previously well versed in the mysteries of the black art. He must begin his lessons by swallowing animal poison, be bitten by venomous reptiles, or have poison inoculated into his body. A cap, a handkerchief, or any sort of clothing worn by such a person until it has become perfectly saturated with filth is considered the most infallible cure for all kinds of diseases, poisonous bites, &c. On emergences a corner of this treasure is washed, and the dirty water thus produced is given to the patient, beast or man, to drink. The chief Amral assured me that he possessed a cap of this kind with which he had effected innumerable cures. “It is sure,” he said, “to cause relief when nothing else is of any avail.” The witch-doctors have also other disgusting methods of effecting cures.
Like most of the tribes in Southern Africa, the Namaquas have great faith in amulets, which consist, as usual, of the teeth and claws of lions, hyænas, and other wild beasts, pieces of wood, bone, dried flesh and fat, roots of plants, &c.
When a chief died, it was formerly customary to call the whole tribe together, and to give a grand feast in honor of the occasion. The fat, and all the choice parts of the slaughtered animals, were preserved for the son of the deceased, who was to succeed his father in the chieftainship.[66] The raw fat was placed on his head, and worn until it became dry, when it was transferred to some crone, who carefully preserved it as a much-prized amulet.
During his journeyings in Great Namaqua-land, Sir James Alexander was told by the natives that the Bushwomen have it in their power to change their forms into lions, hyænas, and other beasts of prey. The following legend illustrates this superstition:
“Once on a time, a certain Namaqua was traveling in company with a Bushwoman carrying a child on her back. They had proceeded some distance on their journey, when a troop of wild horses (zebras) appeared, and the man said to the woman, ‘I am hungry; and as I know you can turn yourself into a lion, do so now, and catch us a wild horse, that we may eat.’
“The woman answered, ‘You’ll be afraid.’
“‘No, no,’ said the man. ‘I am afraid of dying of hunger, but not of you.’
“While he was speaking, hair began to appear at the back of the woman’s neck, her nails assumed the appearance of claws, and her features altered. She set down the child.
“The man, alarmed at the change, climbed a tree close by, while the woman glared at him fearfully; and, going to one side, she threw off her skin petticoat, when a perfect lion rushed out into the plain. It bounded and crept among the bushes toward the wild horses; and, springing on one of them, it fell, and the lion lapped its blood. The lion then came back to where the child was crying, and the man called from the tree, ‘Enough! enough! Don’t hurt me. Put off your lion’s shape. I’ll never ask to see this again.’
“The lion looked at him and growled. ‘I’ll remain here till I die,’ exclaimed the man, ‘if you don’t become a woman again.’ The mane and tail began to disappear, the lion went toward the bush where the skin petticoat lay: it was slipped on, and the woman, in her proper shape, took up the child. The man descended, partook of the horse’s flesh, but never again asked the woman to catch game for him.”