No doubt these individuals come in time, to believe that they actually possess magical powers; and certainly it must be allowed that their faculties are often wonderfully trained, with at times startling results, at least startling to the uninitiated.
Usually the Isanuse takes his cue from the Chief as to whom he may accuse; but not always; and is of course amenable to bribery from other sources.
Women practice this horrible form of “doctoring” more than men. [[34]]
Scully from whom I have obtained much information tells how an aged and rich Pondo becoming a convert to christianity became a suspect, was accused at a smelling out, of treachery to his chief and was hunted down and murdered while fleeing for sanctuary at a Mission Station, within sight of the missionary, who was powerless to interfere.
Mission Stations were respected and acknowledged as “Sanctuary” for people smelt out, but they dared never return to their kraals.
The following description, culled from the same source, of the ordinary course of action in the event of illness admirably describes what may well have taken place.
A fine baby is born. His proud mother fastens round his neck the seeds of the “Rhiza” to keep away convulsions, a piece of “Mooti” or medicinal wood to prevent illness generally. The father gave a Leopard’s tooth to hang on, “to make him brave.”
He takes measels, followed by chronic cough and wasting “Phtisis.” An “Isanuse” is consulted as above described. He decides on the illness and advises a certain Gqira. This Gqira (Native doctor) is sent for and a goat killed for his entertainment. He doses the little patient [[35]]with infusion of various herbs, frog’s feet, baboon’s hair, lizard’s tails and other items of his grotesque pharmacopœia. He then hangs some infallible charms, tied up in the inevitable bag round the child’s neck and departs next morning with an ox or other good fee, promising certain cure: Result nil.
Another “Gqira” a most celebrated practitioner is sent for. This one requires a fat black ox to be killed. With the blood of this animal he freely sprinkles all the members of the family, the little patient getting an extra share. After speaking in most slighting terms of the other doctor’s treatment, he makes a powder of burnt bones of several kinds of snakes and birds, then, making small incisions with a sharp stick across the chest and round the neck, arms and legs of the patient, he rubs the powder well into them. After this he applies a plaster of fresh cowdung to the sick child’s chest, and wrapping him up in the skin of the black ox killed on the previous evening, he carries him out of the hut and lays him in the middle of the cattle kraal. It is now noon and until sundown the “Gqira” dances and chants around his patient in the most grotesque and frantic manner conceivable. [[36]]
Just at sundown, he falls down in a swoon or fit, foaming at the mouth and yelling horribly, presently he comes to, and crawling over to where the poor little child is looking on with horrified eyes from the wraps, he inserts his hands amongst the folds of the skin and extracts a lizard about 4 in. in length, and holds it up to the gaze of the admiring and applauding crowd. Here was the cause of the malady, rid of which the child will at once mend! The mother weeps tears of joy as she loosens the child from its unsavoury durance.