Matabele Kraal near Matopo Mission.
There is no furniture proper in the huts. The bed consists of a mat or hide spread on the floor at night. During the day this, together with the blankets, is rolled up and tied to the roof of the hut. The pillow is made from a block of wood, and there are no chairs, a small mat answering for this purpose. They have earthen pots for cooking and brewing beer and for various purposes. They have many kinds of nicely-woven baskets, and gourds for carrying and dipping water as well as for drinking vessels. There are also the necessary stamping block and a large flat stone on which the grain is ground. The wash basin is the mouth. The mouth is filled with water, which is allowed to run in a thin stream on the hands until they are washed, and then the hands are filled in the same way to wash the face. I was greatly interested once in the operation of bathing twins. This mother had sufficient light to keep her from killing her babies because there were two of them. She spread a blanket on a large rock in the sun. Then she took a gourd of water and filled her mouth. (It is surprising how much water they can hold in the mouth; practice aids greatly in this, no doubt.) She kept the water in her mouth a short time to take off the chill, then picked up one child, held it out and, with a thin stream of water pouring from her mouth, washed the entire body of the child thoroughly. After this ablution she laid it on the blanket in the sun to dry. She again filled her mouth and taking the other baby repeated the process and also placed it on the blanket. The children were evidently accustomed to such baths; for they took it all quietly, and perhaps enjoyed it as much as a white child in a bath tub of warm water.
Polygamy is not necessarily opposed among some of the heathen women. They will frequently tell you, "I like my husband to have more than one wife; then I do not need to work so hard." It is, however, a source of much dissension and rivalry among them and a cause of much favoritism among the children. One day Gomo was reading the story of Joseph and Benjamin. He exclaimed, "That is just like our people. The children of the favorite wife are loved more by the father." Of course polygamy is one great drawback to the introduction of christianity, but we believe that it has had its day and that in many places it is becoming less in practice. Each wife cooks of her own food for the husband and places it before him. He, with older boys, eats what he desires and leaves the balance, if there be any, for the wife and her children. If he has many wives a number of dishes are often placed before him during the day, and he can eat that which he prefers. Or, if there are several men in the kraal, they often all eat from one dish, and from each dish as it is brought to them by the various wives, while the mother and daughters eat from a separate dish.
Their chief occupation is farming, and they grow corn, kafir corn, millet, sweet potatoes, peanuts, ground peas, melons, citrons, and pumpkins. They generally hull the grain and then stamp or grind it into a very fine meal or flour. This they put into boiling water and make a very stiff porridge, or mush. Their favorite food seems to be this porridge, eaten with meat into the broth of which ground peanuts have been cooked. They generally have chickens, sheep, goats, or cattle, and often hunt or trap game. Their usual way of eating is to allow the food to cool a little and then dip the two front fingers into the porridge, take a little and dip it into the gravy and then put it into their mouth. They also greatly relish green corn, eaten from the cob or cut off and ground on the millstones. This milky meal is then made into a loaf and placed into a kettle and thoroughly steamed. This is their best substitute for bread, and in its season it is considered their most dainty dish, and with a little salt it is quite palatable, especially if not much grit has combined with it in the process of preparation.
The African is fond of his beer, which also is made by the wives. For this purpose they use any of the grains grown by them, but they prefer kafir corn or millet. This is moistened and put in a warm place until it sprouts. It is then ground or stamped and the meal is cooked into a thin porridge and put into large earthen pots, where more water is added, also the yeast or dregs of a previous brewing. It is then allowed to stand in a warm place and ferment, and before drinking it is usually strained through a loose bag of their own weaving. The native will tell you that their god showed them how to make the beer, and I have no doubt but that he did.
It is needless to say that it intoxicates and is the cause of frequent brawls and fights among them, and it is not unusual for the missionaries to be called upon to help settle some of these disturbances. It is less difficult to convince the Africans of the evil effects of its use than it is some Europeans. The latter will often tell you that the native thrives and works better if allowed his beer. Missionaries are not wanting who think it is best not to interfere with their native Christians having their beer. Our missionaries, however, have no difficulty in inducing the Christians to discard the use of it, and we believe the sentiment against it is increasing among the missionaries in general. In a native Conference held at Matopo Mission in February, 1914, the question of native beer came up. Of course all were opposed to members drinking it, but the question was in regard to the Christian girls, who were minors, assisting in the making of it, since they are under the jurisdiction of their heathen parents. The older native Christians were in favor of more stringent measures than even the missionaries.
In order to show what an enlightened Christian native can and will do if he has the power we need only refer to the work of King Khama. He is the King of Bechuanaland, the country just west of Southern Rhodesia. His father was a heathen king and a sorcerer, but Khama embraced Christianity in his youth, and in the midst of most bitter persecutions from his own father and others, he stood true. The people finally recognizing his ability chose him king in place of his father in 1872. Then his difficulties began in another line. If he was to be the chief of the country, it must be founded on the principles of the Gospel. All imported liquor was prohibited from crossing the border, nor was native beer allowed to be made.
