The Barozi have certain medicines to prevent pregnancy, and although they are not at all ready to submit these roots for analysis, they are by repute very effective. They have other roots to assist women to become pregnant, but these do not seem to be held in such confidence as the preventive roots.
It is certain that the Barozi, or, rather, the “doctors,” have knowledge of many very effective poisons, but here again the lack of opportunity to hold post-mortems prevents any definite results being proved. One medical officer who held a post-mortem was ever afterwards charged with taking certain portions of the inside of the corpse away to make up into medicines for other patients, and it took several years to overcome and remove this belief. Amongst other poisons the Barozi prefer to use the dried brain of the crocodile, as this when properly dried and powdered looks so similar to the ordinary meal from which they make their daily porridge, that it is indiscernible when mixed with the meal, and the impossibility of holding a post-mortem directly after death prevents the efficacy of the poison being proved or disproved. The Barozi themselves swear that it is most fatal. There is naturally much reticence nowadays amongst them to disclose the poisons or their names, but there is one poison that is reputed to take two or three months to kill the person to whom it is administered. The person poisoned is said to feel no effects for two or three days, after which vomiting starts and lasts till death; at the same time the body slowly wastes away. This poison is administered in either food or drink, and is only known, perhaps fortunately, to very few. Another very favourite remedy for complaints is the firing of a gun—loaded with powder only—at the afflicted party. This is generally done when the sick person is unable to afford a “doctor’s” fees. As guns are left for long periods loaded, it sometimes happens that the bullet is accidentally left in, and the patient is then freed from any further need of medical attention in this world.
Games and Recreation.—Recreation is taken by old and young alike. Adults and children dance on all and every occasion. A few of the dances, as will be seen, are for the different sexes, but the majority of dances are performed by men and women together; although the men generally group on one side and the women opposite them. Children have other games in which the adults do not join. The little girls make clay models like human beings, and use these as dolls; the little boys make models of cattle and play at herding cattle. The sexes join in many of their games. The favourite games when boys and girls play together is “Mandwani.” The children go outside the village and make several little grass huts about two or three feet high. A chief is appointed, and indunas and other important people are elected, and a mock representation of the daily life at the capital is acted. Another game is “Chuku-chuku.” A child picks up some small article and hides it in the hands, then holds out the hand, and another guesses what it is. A correct guess meets with much acclamation, wrong guesses being loudly derided. Boys are very fond of making small traps to catch small birds such as sparrows. Riddles (liyumbo, vide [Chap. VI.]) are very popular, but this form of amusement is not confined to children only, as adults are equally fond of asking each other riddles. Children play another game called “Mayumbo.” A series of small holes are dug in the earth and some small object is chosen. This is taken up by one player, who also takes up loose sand and throws a little into each pit, the small object falling into one or the other of the holes with the sand. The game is to guess which hole the thing has fallen into. This game has a close relationship to similar games which are found from Suez to the Cape of Good Hope amongst all African tribes, and may tend to prove a common source of origin for all of them, although it is also reputed to be played amongst Arab tribes as well; and if this is so, it might suggest that the game was originally introduced by the Arab slave dealers who undoubtedly came as far south as the Zambezi, if not further. Wrestling is also very popular amongst boys, but no other fighting is practised.
Totems.—This is a subject that might well come under the heading of religion, as doubtless, in earlier times the family totem was held in great respect and reverence. To-day however, the totem is rapidly disappearing from the Barozi, and many young men will tell you that they are unaware of their family totems. This is very largely due to intermarriage and amalgamation with other tribes. It must be remembered that a child took the joint totem of its father and mother, when one considers this and remembers also that the father and mother in turn held the joint totems of their parents and so on ad infinitum, it will be quite easy to understand the extreme difficulty in arriving at accurate information from a naturally lazy and careless people who have, apparently, never had any methods of record. There is no doubt that the mother’s totem predominates and always has done so, as cases are numerous of men marrying back to the same (or partially the same) totem as held by their father, but marrying back to the totem held by the mother is practically unknown. The totem laws were probably the origin of the fear and disgust of the Barozi to anything like consanguinity of married couples, and although to-day the totem is forgotten to a great extent, the marriage of relatives of close blood relationship is unknown, and the very idea of such a marriage most abhorrent. This is all the more striking amongst a people whose immorality is notorious and who might with justice be called unmoral rather than immoral. The totems, or such as can be remembered were numerous, all the large buck, the rapids of rivers, trees of the forest, fish, wild animals, roots and bushes and all the elements, were all held as totems for various families. It is worthy of comment that in the case of divorces where female children have been retained by the mother, these female children have assumed the mother’s totem and dropped the father’s totem. It is however nearly impossible to ascertain whether this is due to carelessness or is founded on some old law regulating the totems. To-day there is no certain knowledge among the Barozi whether edible totems such as buck, birds or fishes, were sacred to those whose totems they were, and thus uneatable or not, but an elephant-totem man will certainly not refuse a lump of elephant meat nowadays. The totem of the Chief’s family is the “Namuchoko,” a species of white pumpkin. This was the totem of the Chief’s mother.
Architecture.—The round hut universally built by nearly all native races in South Africa, is most popular among the Barozi, although they say that they learnt it from the Batotela, an aboriginal tribe that were resident in the country when the Barozi entered it. The chiefs and big indunas built large square houses but this style they think was acquired from the Portuguese. The Alunda and Balubale who live to the north, and through whom the Barozi passed on their way south from the Congo, built square huts, but they also suggest that this was acquired from the Portuguese, so that it is a little difficult to determine what the true Barozi style of architecture ever was. Several of the wilder and more debased tribes build little grass shelters only, while the people of the Makoma country often build their residences of mats only. Some of the Barozi state that the true Barozi style of building was a long rectangular hut with a reed frame and walled with grass. The reeds were bent into a curved dome which was also covered with grass, probably a little thicker than the walls. This form of building is still used, but chiefly for travelling-camps erected en route for the Chief and royal family, and the dining-room of the Chief Lewanika is built on this pattern though very elaborately, and with mud instead of grass walls. Nearly all huts have a fence round them, the bigger the man, the bigger the fence. Grain bins are built of various designs; some are made on the pattern of a miniature round hut with a small roof which is taken on and off as food is required. Others are made of clay only and these latter stand four and five feet high. A large lump of clay is taken and hollowed out and as it dries, more is added to it till the bin is the required height. The grain is then inserted and a big cap of clay is put on the top as a cover. When the grain inside is wanted, a hole at the bottom is made and the grain taken out as wanted. The clay bins are only used for mealies, but the others for all kinds of food. All bins are built off the ground to escape white ants, mice and other vermin.
Portion of a Lubale Village
The Lunda Chief, Sinde, and Harem