I followed in the train, and as I went I elicited the facts of the case. The girl was a slave of Moquai’s, and on the day before had been informed by her mistress that she was to marry a hideous old Marutse wood-carver. Folding her hands upon her breast, she had expressed her desire to be submissive as far as she could, but was quite unable to conceal her aversion to the husband that had been chosen for her; she burst into piteous sobs, which had the effect of making the queen extremely angry, and she dismissed the girl from her presence. Altogether unused to have her wishes questioned, the queen presently had the girl recalled. Again she protested that she was anxious to serve her mistress with all fidelity, but pleaded that she might have nothing to do with the odious old man she was expected to marry. Moquai’s fury had known no bounds; she had sent for the proposed bridegroom, and given him instructions to carry off the girl that very night from the royal hut to the river, to hold her under the water till she was half dead, and thence to take her to his own quarters, where she would wake up again a “mosari”—a married woman.
The orders were duly executed; and I had not been awake long next morning before I heard the singing and beating of drums that betokened that the nuptial dance was being performed in Moquai’s courtyard before the door of the newlymarried pair. On going to the spot I found ten men kicking up their heels and slowly twisting themselves round in an oval course, while a man in the middle pirouetted in the contrary direction, and beat time with the bough of a tree; they all wore aprons of roughly-tanned leather, mostly the skins of lynxes and grey foxes, and many of them had the calves of their legs, as in the other dances, covered with bells or fruit-shells. The singing of the man in the middle was accompanied by the beating of two of the large drums; and four more dancers were squatted on the ground, ready to relieve any of the ten men that were tired out. Two boys of about ten years of age were amongst the dancers; and various passers-by stayed and took a turn at the performance for the sake of having a share in the kaffir-corn beer which the queen would distribute when the dance was over. Every now and then the whole of the dancers would put shoulder to shoulder, sing aloud in chorus, and quicken their pace to a great rapidity. The dance would be repeated at intervals for no less than three days.
I passed the place again on the afternoon of the following day as I was on my way back from the woods, and found the huts appropriated to the attendants in the queen’s enclosure still in a state of uproar; there was still the group of dancers; a number of extra performers were drinking from the brimming pitchers of butshuala that were continually replenished; while many spectators, attracted by the sound of the drums, added the hum of their voices to the general merriment. The unfortunate bride alone seemed to have no enjoyment of the festivity; dejected and miserable, she sat in front of her hut, with her head resting on her hands, and her eyes gazing vacantly towards the next enclosure; manifestly she neither saw nor heard anything that was going on.
A day or two afterwards we were surprised by a serenade from Sepopo and Moquai, who were accompanied by a band of eight musicians, including two performers on the myrimbas, or gourd-shell pianos, and four on the morupas, or long drums. Not to offend the king, I stayed at home all day.
SEPOPO’S DOCTOR.
At noon on the following day Westbeech returned from Panda ma Tenka with guns for the king. Two Portuguese also made their appearance in the town. They called themselves Señhores; but one was as black as a Mambari, though he indignantly repudiated the appellation. His name was Francis Roquette, and including some black women, he had twenty servants in his train, who all had their woolly hair shaved off, except a small tuft standing up at the top of their head like a back-comb. Both the Portuguese had arrived from the north, having come from one of the Mashukulumbe countries, where they had bartered the great bulk of their goods, and had brought the small residue to Sesheke, consisting of flint-guns, cases of coarse gunpowder, some lead and iron bullets, and a little calico.
A MABUNDA.
