In the manufacture of such clothing as they wear, the Marutse tribes fail to exhibit anything like the same skill as in other branches of handicraft. The shape of the various articles of their attire is not bad, but they have not the knack, elsewhere common, of arranging a number of skins so that a garment has the appearance of being formed out of one single fur; nor do they ever think of mending any holes or rents with pieces of skin that correspond in kind or colour with the surrounding parts. The Bechuana sorts his skins with much care, according to their colour, size, or length of hair, and only uses those of one species of animal for the same garment; among the Marutse, on the other hand, we find all kinds of fur patched promiscuously together without any regard to symmetry. Their mantles, too, are not finished off by being ornamented with claws or tails like those of the Bechuanas. In the matter of sewing, the tribes north and south of the river may be said to be about on a par; it is done by means of an awl and the finest animal sinews that can be procured.
Such skins as have to be prepared for making into aprons, sandals, straps, or bags, are thoroughly damped, and kept rolled up for some time; the hair is then scraped off with the hand, or a blunt knife; each skin is then turned face downwards to the ground, where it is fixed firmly with wooden pegs; with the help of a wedge-shaped piece of iron, or a scraper made on purpose and called a “pala,” or, in cases where the hide is very thick, with a sort of brush made of ten or twenty nails some five or six inches long, every particle of flesh or sinew is cleared away, after which some oily substance is rubbed thoroughly in upon both sides. The process is finally completed by the men, who, in time to a tune, apply the friction of their hands till the skin is quite dry and supple.
The handkerchiefs and sheets that I have mentioned must rank amongst the best specimens of the industrial skill of the country; without being in any degree coarse, the texture is substantial, and dark stripes are often woven with very good effect upon a lighter ground.
For agricultural work there is hardly any other implement except the mattock, which however is a much more efficient tool than is generally met with to the south. The hatchet employed for cutting wood is very similar in shape to the battle-axe; it is made of very good iron, and is sometimes ornamented with raised patterns; the handle is quite straight, and about two feet long. In hollowing out canoes and wooden bowls, and in preparing planks, the people use hatchets of various sizes, nearly all of them made in the same shape as the “pala.” Their hammers are made of iron of superior quality, and are better than any used by the Bechuanas. The chisels, both the hard chisels for working metal, and those for soft materials, are of many different sizes, and are either curved or straight; their nails are both round and square. For boring and drilling they use gimlets very like our own, these as well as their screws being all manufactured by a file. Their tongs and pincers seem of a very primitive character, nevertheless, they answer their purpose sufficiently well; the anvils at which the smiths work are all of the rudest construction.
MABUTSE-MABUNDA PIPES.
I observed three different kinds of oars in use, the long, the short, and the hunting-oars. The last are the exclusive property of the king, and in common with some of the others, form part of the tribute. The long oars are over ten feet, the short about six feet long, and are made of stout straight stems; at their paddle ends the short are usually broader than the long, and have their extremities run out to a point instead of being cut straight off; both these kinds are occasionally carved or branded with ornamental designs, although not so often as the hunting-oars. These hunting-oars have a forked end, and are bound together by an iron clamp across them, to keep them from splitting; they are generally about ten feet long; the principal time for using them is during floods, when they are brought out for letshwe and puku chasing.
PIPES FOR SMOKING DACHA.
Tobacco-pipes are of two kinds, the one that is least elaborate being of more common use in the west of the country, the other in the south. The former is not unlike a Turkish pipe, consisting of a straight stem about a yard long, of the thickness of a man’s thumb, occasionally carved, attached to a small clay bowl, that is likewise generally decorated with carved devices. The second form differs from the first solely in having a calabash for a stem, the smaller end of which constitutes the mouthpiece. A native rarely forgets his pipe, even on his shortest journeys, especially if he is travelling with a white man, and carries his tobacco in a little cotton or leather bag that is tied to his mantle or waistbelt. For longer journeys the dacha-pipe is an indispensable companion; the water reservoirs of these exhibit an infinite variety of form. Dacha is composed of the dried leaves of a kind of hemp, which is planted round nearly all the South African huts; when smoked through water it is slightly intoxicating in its effects. The pipes consist of three parts; the bowl, the stem, and the horn containing the water, the broad end of the horn forming the mouthpiece by which the smoke is inhaled. An inclination to cough is induced by the inhalation, and the more violent the tendency the greater the enjoyment.