Congo life and folklore

by John H. Weeks

By writing under the guise of a Brass Rod, worn first round the neck of one owner and then round the arm of another, the writer has had more scope, and he hopes has been able to make the scenes from life more realistic than he could have done by the ordinary method. And the reader will find that the book deals much more largely with the people of the country--their habits, customs, views of life and superstitions--than with the scenery.

The book has been written during the intervals of deputational work; and its object is to lay clearly before the reader the ingrained prejudices, the curious views, the tremendous and all-pervading superstitions, and the mighty forces that have been arrayed against the introduction of Christianity into that benighted land, and how, in spite of such forces against it, the evangel of Jesus Christ has triumphed more wonderfully than our poor faith and often blundering efforts have deserved.

It is hoped that superintendents, Sunday-school teachers, leaders of Christian Endeavours and of missionary prayer-meetings may find that the reading aloud of some of these chapters will awaken in their scholars and hearers a deeper sympathy with missionary work, and that ministers and teachers will discover in the stories told around the Congo fire, which form the second part of this volume, new nails upon which to hang old truths.

John H. Weeks.

Baptist Mission House,

19 Furnival Street, Holborn.

CONTENTS

	PAGE
Preface	vii
PART I
CHAPTER I
EN ROUTE TO CONGO
I am packed in a box--Sent to Congoland--My journey on the ocean steamer--Curious names of the Kroo boys--Landed at Banana--Thrown on the deck of a river steamer	[1]
CHAPTER II
MY JOURNEY UP THE CONGO
Our captain and tyrant--River scenes--We camp at a trading-station--Native riddles	[6]
CHAPTER III
MY OVERLAND JOURNEY BEGINS
The white man’s fetish--I am exchanged with others for rubber and ivory--My new companions express freely their opinions about the white men--Why the white men are on the Congo--Native suspicions and prejudices	[12]
CHAPTER IV
WE REACH THE TOWN OF MY OWNER
Crossing the Mpalabala hills--The head man knocks his toes--It is an evil omen--He visits the “medicine man”--Finds his brother dying--Last hours of the dying chief	[19]
CHAPTER V
A FUNERAL ORGY
Satu becomes chief--Preparations for the funeral feast--My box is opened--I become a neck ornament--Bakula, my new owner, is smart, but superstitious--The mourners assemble and present their gifts--The toilet before eating--Drunkenness and quarrelling--Corpse is carried to the grave--A white man wants to steal the ivory trumpets--He is shaved and sent about his business	[24]
CHAPTER VI
OUR TOWN LIFE
Streets are irregular--Houses small and draughty--Their reception, dining, and drawing rooms are in the open air--Their many charms and fetishes--Routine of the day--Bakula tells a story: “How the Sparrow set the Elephant and the Crocodile to pull against each other”--Tumbu, a slave, relates the tale of “The Four Fools”--And Bakula tells: “How the Squirrel won a Verdict for the Gazelle”	[34]
CHAPTER VII
THE SEARCH FOR THE WITCH
People believe their chief died by witchcraft--They send for the witch-finder--His arrival and antics--The ceremony of discovering the witch--Satu’s brother, Mavakala, is accused--Why was Mavakala accused?--He takes the ordeal--Proves his innocence--Other tests are forced on him--He is done to death	[49]
CHAPTER VIII
VISITORS ARRIVE
The dulness and pettiness of native life--Arrival of two visitors--Bakula questions them about the white man--They relate the little they know about him--Old Plaited-Beard stirs the people up against the white man--They exchange their views about him--They agree to oppose him--The white man is seen approaching--He is driven from the town and has to sleep in the bush	[58]
CHAPTER IX
SOME CUSTOMS, GAMES, AND A JOURNEY
The Luck-giver is called to bring prosperity on the town--His mode of procedure--Satu and some of his people go on a visit to a great chief--Good and bad omens--The game at “Antelope”--Bakula narrates a story: “How the Fox saved the Frog’s Life”--Another lad tells why inquiry should come before anger--The difficult road--Bakula and his friends dress themselves--Their mixed wardrobes	[69]
CHAPTER X
OUR RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT
The welcome of Tonzeka and his people--A case judged--We find the white man in Tonzeka’s town--Tonzeka defends the white man--He complains of the effect of the white man’s preaching--A drunken bout	89
CHAPTER XI
SATU VISITS THE WHITE MAN
Bakula goes to the white man to have his wound dressed--White man puts in a good word for the traders--Bakula is touched by the white man’s kindness--A native dance--An exhibition of native pride--A long talk with the white man--We gain many new ideas from our conversation--Bakula has another interview with the white man and they become good friends	[100]
CHAPTER XII
NATIVE GAMES AND PASTIMES
Make-believe games--“Biti” and needle--Game with canna seeds--Hoop game--“Mbele,” or Knife game--The story of “The Four Wonders,” or a puzzle story--Conundrums--“The Adventures of the Twins”	[114]
CHAPTER XIII
BAKULA ACCOMPANIES AN EMBASSY
A title reverts to Satu--He sends Old Plaited-Beard to the King with a present--The embassy arrives at the King’s town--Has an audience in the King’s house--King promises to send a deputy to install Satu--King dines with the white man and sees a magic lantern--Bakula and the white man renew their acquaintance--He sleeps on the Mission Station and hears all about the King’s household	[131]
CHAPTER XIV
BAKULA STAYS WITH THE WHITE MAN
The working of a Mission Station--Buying food--The school--Bakula is afraid to enter the school--Repairing the station--Boys work in the gardens--A quarrel, and how it was settled--An evening’s chat with the white man--Rubbing evil spirits out of a man--Sunday service--Congregation--Sermon--Visit to a near town--Religious talk with the King--Boys pray for their white teacher--Witch-doctor’s trick exposed	[148]
CHAPTER XV
SATU RECEIVES A TITLE
The King sends for medicine--He is told to apply to St. Catherine--The King’s promise--Bakula bids farewell to his white friend--King’s deputy goes with us to Satu’s town--Ceremony of conferring the title--Killing a leopard--Satu redeems his brother--Releases his niece from a hateful marriage--A story: “Appearances are sometimes Deceptive”--A chief asks for Satu’s niece in marriage--Marriage money is paid--The wedding--Satu gains a new slave	[167]
CHAPTER XVI
HUNTING AND BUSH-BURNING
Manner of bush-burning--Witch-doctor makes a hunting charm--Ceremony is carefully performed--Blazing bush and rushing animals--Satu arranges with another chief to burn the bush--Dimbula breaks the law and insults Satu--War is declared--Old Plaited-Beard being unsuccessful accuses Bakula of bewitching him--He tries to restore his luck	[194]
CHAPTER XVII
SATU AND HIS PEOPLE GO TO WAR
Satu as the insulted party makes the first move--He sends an embassy to Dimbula--He asks for an apology or offers a bullet--The apology is refused, but the bullet is accepted--The witch-doctor makes a war charm--Mode of fighting--The ridge-pole of chief’s house is captured--Dimbula sues for peace with a white goat--Pays homage to Satu--Blood brotherhood is made	[212]
CHAPTER XVIII
GOVERNING, MARKETING, AND TRADING CUSTOMS
The making and enforcing of laws--Fines imposed--Division of fines--Congo week of four days probably named after their markets--Raids and robberies--Preparing a caravan for the road--Rules of the road--Arriving at a trading-station--Mode of trading--Goods given and received	[223]
CHAPTER XIX
AN ACCUSATION AND THE ORDEAL
Old Plaited-Beard charges Bakula with stealing--The accusation is denied--Bakula declares his disbelief in charms and witch-doctors--Satu saves him from immediate death--The missing cloth is found in Bakula’s house--Tumbu exposes the accuser’s trickery--He is ridiculed--Bakula submits to the ordeal of the boiling oil--His arm is badly scalded--During the night Bakula escapes to the Mission Station	[240]
CHAPTER XX
BAKULA AT SCHOOL
After much nursing Bakula recovers--He becomes a school-boy--He struggles with the alphabet--He learns to understand pictures--Routine life--Bakula itinerates with his white man--He does not relish sleeping in the wet bush--He is convicted of sin--He inquires the way of salvation--The lads play a trick on a witch-doctor--Bakula is received into the Church--He returns to his town	[252]
CHAPTER XXI
BAKULA’S WORK CHECKED
The conservatism of the Congo people--Bakula and his scholars build a school-house--A missionary visits his town--He encourages Bakula in his work--A “luck fowl” dies--Its death is put to the credit of the missionary’s visit and teaching--The school-house is pulled down--Satu is afraid to interfere--Native way of punishing an unpopular chief	[267]
CHAPTER XXII
BAKULA FALSELY ACCUSED AND MURDERED
Failure of various remedies--Witch-doctor engaged--Diagnosing a case--Different “medicine men” are called in--Bakula denounces their trickery--Suspicion of witchcraft falls on Bakula--Native attempts to rid themselves of death, sickness, etc.--Preparing a corpse for the grave--Bakula is accused of bewitching his mother to death--He is guarded by Old Plaited-Beard through the night--He is taken to the hill-top--He falls and is done to death--Tumbu buries the mangled body of his friend	[274]
CHAPTER XXIII
I FIND MANY CHANGES
Mikula while digging the foundations for a brick house discovers me--The town is changed--There is daily worship--Observance of the sabbath--Sunday service--Collections for support of teachers--Christian funeral--Visit to the Mission Station--Teaching teachers--Martyrs for the cause	[294]
CHAPTER XXIV
A MARRIAGE AND A HARVEST FESTIVAL
A Christian wedding--Grateful offerings--Christianity a great boon to the women--Reunion--Various meetings--Lady missionaries conduct services--Auction sale of the gifts--Changed lives--Mikula instructs a stranger in the way of Salvation--Rules for candidates and for Church fellowship	[307]
CHAPTER XXV
MIKULA AT THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL
Months glide quickly by while working hard--Deacon’s meeting--Church-meeting--The kind of candidates who were rejected--Baptismal service--The great meeting of the Church--Election of deacons--The balance sheet--A deficit--Native Christians wipe out the debt--Local missionary meeting--The great communion service	[326]
Notes to Part I	[341]
PART II
NATIVE STORIES TOLD AROUND THE EVENING FIRES IN CONGOLAND
Introduction	[361]
I
How the Fowl evaded his Debt	[371]
II
Why the Small-ant was the Winner	[374]
III
How the Animals imitated the Gazelle and brought Trouble upon Themselves	[376]
IV
Why the Fowls never shut their Doors	[379]
V
Why the Dog and the Palm-rat hate each other	[382]
VI
The Leopard boils his Mother’s Teeth	[384]
VII
How the Ants saved the Partridge’s Eggs	[386]
VIII
The Leopard sticks to the Nkondi (wooden image)	[388]
IX
How the Mouse won his Wife	[391]
X
The Gazelle outwits the Leopard	[396]
XI
The Gazelle punishes the Palm-rat for breaking his promise	[399]
XII
How the Crow cheated the Dove and got into Difficulty through it	[401]
XIII
How the Civet and the Tortoise lost their Friendship for each other	[403]
XIV
The Water-Fairies save a Child	[406]
XV
How the Squirrel repaid a Kindness	[410]
XVI
The King-fisher deceives the Owl	[415]
XVII
How the Tortoise was punished for his Deceit	[416]
XVIII
How the Frog collected his Debt from the Hawk	[419]
XIX
How a Child saved his Mother’s Life	[422]
XX
How the Gazelle won his Wife	[425]
XXI
The Gazelle is at last punished	[429]
XXII
The Leopard pays Homage to the Goat	[433]
XXIII
Why the Owls and the Fowls never speak to each other	[436]
XXIV
How the Elephant punished the Leopard	[439]
XXV
How the Leopard tried to deceive the Gazelle	[441]
XXVI
The Story of two Young Women	[443]
XXVII
Why the Chameleon cut off his own Head	[445]
XXVIII
Why the Congo Robin has a Red Breast	[447]
XXIX
The Leopard tries to steal the Gazelle’s Wife	[449]
XXX
The Gazelle kills the Flies and Mosquitoes, and outwits the Leopard	[451]
XXXI
The Leopard is badly tricked by the Gazelle, Rat, and Frog	[454]
XXXII
Why the Small-ants live in the Houses	[460]
XXXIII
The Son who tried to outwit his Father	[462]
Index	[463]

The following Stories will be found in Part I

Chap. VI.—	How the Sparrow set the Elephant and the Crocodile to pull against each other (p. [39]); The Four Fools: a puzzle story (p. [43]); How the Squirrel won a Verdict for the Gazelle (p. [46]).
Chap. IX.—	How the Fox saved the Frog’s Life (p. [77]); Inquiry should come before Anger (p. [81]).
Chap. XII.—	The Four Wonders: a puzzle story (p. [122]); Adventures of the Twins (p. [126]).
Chap. XV.—	Appearances are sometimes deceptive (p. [182]).