CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE WATUSI AND WAGANDA.
LOCALITY OF THE WATUSI TRIBE — MODE OF DRESS — A WATUSI WOMAN — THEIR VALUE AS HERDSMEN — SALUTATION — WATUSI DANCING — THE WAGANDA — ROAD SYSTEM OF UGANDA — CODE OF ETIQUETTE — DISREGARD OF HUMAN LIFE — CRUELTY — THE WIFE-WHIP — AN AFRICAN BLUEBEARD — LIFE IN THE PALACE — REVIEWING THE TROOPS — ORIGIN OF THE WAGANDA TRIBE — KIMERA, AND HIS MODE OF GOVERNMENT — SYSTEM OF ORGANIZATION — THE LAW OF SUCCESSION — M’TESA, THE PRESENT KING, AND HIS COURT — THE ROYAL PALACE — GENERAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE WAGANDA — RECEPTION OF A GUEST — THE ROYAL WALK — A COUNCIL — SUPERSTITIONS — THE WATER-SPIRIT AND HIS HIGH PRIEST — RELIGION OF THE WAGANDA — HUMAN SACRIFICES — THE SLAVE-TRADE — BURYING GROUNDS OF THE WAGANDA.
There is one tribe which, though small, has sufficient individuality to deserve a brief notice. The Watusi are a race of herdsmen, who live on either side of the equator, and, according to Captain Grant, resemble the Somalis in general appearance. They generally take service in the households of wealthy persons, and devote themselves almost entirely to the care of the cattle. They have plentiful and woolly hair, and the men shave their beards with the exception of a crescent-shaped patch. They have an odd fashion of staining their gums black, using for the purpose a mixture of the tamarind seed calcined and powdered, and then mixed with a salt of copper. The men carry their weapons when walking, and seldom appear without a bow and arrows, a five-feet-long stick with a knob at one end, and a pipe.
When they meet a friend, they hold out the knobbed end of the stick to him; he touches it, and the demands of etiquette are supposed to be fulfilled. This knobbed stick is quite an institution among the tribes that have recently been mentioned, and a man seems to be quite unhappy unless he has in his hand one of these curious implements. They are fond of ornament, and wear multitudinous rings upon their wrists and ankles, the latter being generally of iron and the former of brass.
They are a fine-looking race, and the women are equally remarkable in this respect with the men,—a phenomenon rarely seen in this part of the world. They are tall, erect, and well-featured, and, as a rule, are decently clad in dressed cow-skins. The general appearance of the Watusi women can be gathered from Captain Grant’s description.
“One morning, to my surprise, in a wild jungle we came upon cattle, then upon a ‘bomah’ or ring fence, concealed by beautiful umbrageous large trees, quite the place for a gipsy camp. At the entry two strapping fellows met me and invited my approach. I mingled with the people, got water from them, and was asked, ‘Would I prefer some milk?’ This sounded to me more civilized than I expected from Africans, so I followed the men, who led me up to a beautiful lady-like creature, a Watusi woman, sitting alone under a tree.
“She received me without any expression of surprise, in the most dignified manner; and, after talking with the men, rose smiling, showing great gentleness in her manner, and led me to her hut. I had time to scrutinize the interesting stranger: she wore the usual Watusi costume of a cow’s skin reversed, teased into a fringe with a needle, colored brown, and wrapped round her body from below the chest to the ankles. Lappets, showing zebra-like stripes of many colors, she wore as a ‘turn-over’ round the waist, and, except where ornamented on one arm with a highly polished coil of thick brass wire, two equally bright and massive rings on the right wrist, and a neck pendant of brass wire,—except these, and her becoming wrapper, she was au naturelle.
“I was struck with her peculiarly-formed head and graceful long neck; the beauty of her fine eyes, mouth, and nose; the smallness of her hands and naked feet—all were faultless; the only bad feature, which is considered one of beauty with them, was her large ears. The arms and elbows were rounded off like an egg, the shoulders were sloping, and her small breasts were those of a crouching Venus—a perfect beauty, though darker than a brunette.
“Her temporary residence was peculiar; it was formed of grass, was flat-roofed, and so low that I could not stand upright in it. The fireplace consisted of three stones; milk vessels of wood, shining white from scouring, were ranged on one side of the abode. A good-looking woman sat rocking a gourd between her knees in the process of churning butter. After the fair one had examined my skin and my clothes, I expressed great regret that I had no beads to present to her. ‘They are not wanted,’ she said; ‘sit down, drink this buttermilk, and here is also some butter for you.’ It was placed on a clean leaf. I shook hands, patted her cheek, and took my leave, but some beads were sent her, and she paid me a visit, bringing butter and buttermilk, and asking for more presents, which she of course got, and I had the gratification to see her eyes sparkle at the sight of them.
“This was one of the few women I met during our whole journey that I admired. None of the belles in Usui could approach her; but they were of a different caste, though dressing much in the same style. When cow’s skins were not worn, these Usui women dressed very tidily in bark cloths, and had no marks or cuttings observable on their bodies. Circles of hair were often shaved off the crowns of their heads, and their neck ornaments showed considerable taste in the selection of the beads. The most becoming were a string of the M’zizama spheres of marble-sized white porcelain, and triangular pieces of shell rounded at the corners.