(1) Swearing by one’s relations, as shown in the text. Any near relative may be substituted for mother. This may be extended into: By my mother, may I never see her deathbed, or may my mother desert me.
(2) Swearing by a notable person or place: By the great King. By Dom Alvaro. By the road to Congo. By the path to the tomb of the deceased King.
(3) Swearing by the fetishes; and this may be divided into two classes: (a) Those who swear by the ordinary fetishes, as: By the lightning fetishes (nzaji), etc., and (b) those who have been initiated into the ndembo guild and swear by the fetishes of this secret society, as: May the nkita cause me to go mad. By the ndembo enclosure. By albinos and dwarfs. These latter are all powerful in the ndembo guild. (See Folk-Lore, June 1909, p. 189.)
(4) Swearing by God, as: May God punish me.
49 Nearest man fired (p. [206]).--Hunting laws were very stringent and had to be carefully observed, or the breaker of them would one day find that no one would accompany him on his hunts nor allow him to join them in theirs.
If a man fires at an antelope and it rushes away, the hunter looks to see if any blood has fallen, or any hairs; if not, it is decided that he has not killed it, although he may have mortally wounded it; if another man fires and it drops, it is the latter’s animal. If there is any dispute as to whether it was killed by the first shot or the second, the one who is positive and over-rides all argument must take the heart of the antelope and eat it (not raw). If his shot really killed it all is well, but if not, the eating of the heart will destroy his kinkongo, or hunting skill. Many a man has relinquished his claim to an animal for fear of spoiling his luck.
50 Brave (p. [218]).--When the natives fight with spears, knives and arrows they are courageous, and, knowing how far their weapons will carry, they run in to throw them. They will fight foot to foot with their knives. To them guns are mysterious things--they pull a trigger and there is a puff, a bang, and a bullet or slug flies out, and the distance it will travel is, to them, an unknown quantity. They are not acquainted with the science of firearms, and are so overawed by the mysteriousness of these weapons that their natural bravery has not full play.
51 Some decoction (p. [248]).--The witch-doctor procures some bark of the baobab-tree, presses the juice out of it and rubs this on hand and arm of the accused person who has well paid him. He can then dare the boiling oil with impunity.
52 In whose district his town (p. [253]).--The “parish” of Wathen is 3000 square miles in extent, and is divided into four and sometimes five districts, according to the strength of the missionary staff for the time being. Each district is in charge of a white man, and all the boys attending school on the station from that district are especially in his charge. He looks after their welfare, cares for them, attends them in sickness, listens to their palavers, and acts the part of a father to them. All the girls from the same district are in the special care of his wife (if he is a married missionary), and she acts as a mother to them. All matters connected with the Church members and teachers of the district are taken first to him, and he settles them upon well-understood principles, and if any extraordinary issue arises he consults his colleagues, and they jointly come to a decision, so that all the districts may be governed on uniform lines. He acts also as a pastor towards all the Church members of his district.
53 Sunset at six o’clock (p. [257]).--The nights and days are about equally divided, as there are only some fifteen minutes’ difference during the whole year in the time of the sun’s rising and setting. Certainly on the Congo there is not that sudden darkness at sunset so frequently stated in books on the tropics, for the twilight lasts from thirty to forty minutes.