Thus much for the offensive weapons of the Zulu Kaffir. Toward the north as well as to the west of the Draakensberg Mountains, a peculiar battle-axe is used, which is evidently a modification of the barbed spear which has already been described; but the true Zulu uses no weapon except the assagai and the kerrie.
CHAPTER XII.
WAR—Concluded.
DEFENSIVE WEAPONS, AND MODE OF FIGHTING.
BODY ARMOR NOT WORN — THE KAFFIR’S SHIELD — ITS SHAPE, MATERIAL, AND COLOR — THE SHIELD AS A UNIFORM — CURIOUS RUSE — HOW THE SHIELD IS HELD AND USED — THE SHIELD STICK AND ITS ORNAMENTS — VALUE OF THE SHIELD AGAINST SPEARS AND ARROWS — THE BLACK AND WHITE SHIELD REGIMENTS — DISTRIBUTION OF SHIELDS — MILITARY AMBITION AND ITS INCENTIVES — CHIEF OBJECTS OF WARFARE — DISCIPLINE OF KAFFIR ARMY — CRUELTY OF TCHAKA AND OTHER ZULU MONARCHS — OBSERVANCES BEFORE A CAMPAIGN — SUPERSTITIOUS CEREMONIES — HOW THE ARMY IS MAINTAINED IN THE FIELD — TRACK OF AN ARMY THROUGH AN ENEMY’S LAND — JEALOUSY BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT REGIMENTS — ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY — NUMBER OF REGIMENTS AND GARRISON TOWNS — NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT REGIMENTS — GOZA AND SANDILLI — DISTINGUISHING UNIFORMS OF THE REGIMENTS — THE REVIEW AFTER A BATTLE, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES — THE SHIELD BEARER AND HIS PERILOUS TASK — THE ROYAL ATTENDANTS — REWARD AND PUNISHMENT — KAFFIR HERALDS — VARIOUS TITLES OF THE KING — PANDA’S REVIEW COSTUME — THE KING’S PROGRESS THROUGH HIS COUNTRY — INVENTION AND COMPLETION OF A MILITARY SYSTEM — TCHAKA’S POLICY COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE FIRST NAPOLEON — TCHAKA’S RISE AND FALL — AN UNSUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION — FAMILY QUARRELS — A TREACHEROUS CONSPIRACY — MURDER OF TCHAKA, AND ACCESSION OF DINGAN.
The Zulu tribe have but one piece of defensive armor, namely, the shield. The Kaffirs either are ignorant of, or despise bodily armor of any kind, not even protecting their heads by caps and helmets, but exposing their naked bodies and limbs to the weapons of the foe. The shields are always made of ox-hide, and their color denotes the department of the army to which the owner belongs. None but “men,” who are entitled to wear the head-ring, are privileged to carry white shields, while the “boys” on their promotion are furnished with black shields. Some of them have their black and white shields spotted with red or brown, this coloring denoting the particular regiment to which they belong. It will be seen, therefore, that the shield constitutes a kind of uniform, and it has more than once happened, that when the Zulu warriors have got the better of their enemies, some of the more crafty among the vanquished have contrived to exchange their own shields for those belonging to slain Zulu warriors, and have thus contrived to pass themselves off as victorious Amazulu until they could find an opportunity of making their escape.
The double row of black marks down the centre of the shield (see Goza’s, [page 117],) is an addition which is invariably found in these weapons of war, and serves partly as an ornament, and partly as a convenient mode for fastening the handle. In ornamenting the shield with these marks, the Kaffir cuts a double row of slits along the shield while it is still wet and pliant, and then passes strips of black hide in and out through the slits, so as to make the black of the strip contrast itself boldly with the white of the shield.
The handle of the Kaffir’s shield is quite unique. Instead of being a mere loop or projection in the centre of the shield, it is combined with a stick which runs along the centre of the shield, and is long enough to project at both ends. This stick serves several purposes, its chief use being to strengthen the shield and keep it stiff, and its second object being to assist the soldier in swinging it about in the rapid manner which is required in the Kaffir’s mode of fighting and dancing. The projection at the lower end is used as a rest, on which the shield can stand whenever the warrior is tired of carrying it in his arms, and the shield ought to be just so tall that, when the owner stands erect, his eyes can just look over the top of the shield, while the end of the stick reaches to the crown of his head. It will be seen that the upper end of the stick has an ornament upon it. This is made of the furry skin of some animal, which is cut into strips just like those which are used for the “tails,” and the strips wound upon the stick in a drum-like shape.
If the reader will refer to the [illustration] on p. 57, entitled “Kaffirs at Home,” he will see three of these shield-sticks placed in the fence of the cattle-fold, ready to be inserted in the shield whenever they are wanted.
At each side of the shield there is a slight indentation, the object of which is not very clear, unless it be simple fashion. It prevails to a large extent throughout many parts of Africa, in some places being comparatively slight, and in others so deep that the shield looks like a great hour-glass. Although the shield is simply made of the hide of an ox, and without that elaborate preparation with glue and size which strengthens the American Indian’s shield, the native finds it quite sufficient to guard him against either spear or club, while those tribes which employ the bow find that their weapons can make but little impression on troops which are furnished with such potent defences. The Bosjesmans, and all the tribes which use poisoned arrows, depend entirely on the virulence of the poison, and not on the force with which the arrow is driven, so that their puny bow and slender arrows are almost useless against foes whose whole bodies are covered by shields, from which the arrows recoil as harmlessly as if they were bucklers of iron.
As is the case in more civilized communities, the shields, which constitute the uniforms, are not the private property of the individual soldier, but are given out by the chief. Moreover, it seems that the warlike chief Dingan would not grant shields to any young soldier until he had shown himself worthy of wearing the uniform of his sovereign. The skins of all the cattle in the garrison towns belong of right to the king, and are retained by him for the purpose of being made into shields, each skin being supposed to furnish two shields—a large one, and a small, or hunting shield. Men are constantly employed in converting hides into shields, which are stored in houses devoted to the purpose.
Captain Gardiner gives an interesting account of an application for shields made by a party of young soldiers, and their reception by the king. It must be first understood that Dingan was at the time in his chief garrison town, and that he was accompanied by his two favorite Indoonas, or petty chiefs, one of whom, by name Tambooza, was a singularly cross-grained individual, whose chief delight was in fault finding. After mentioning that a chief, named Georgo, had travelled to the king’s palace, at the head of a large detachment, for the purpose of asking for shields, he proceeded as follows:—