"Just See His Hair!"
If I Returned From Walking To A Little Distance, They Would Remark Of Some
To Whom They Had Been Holding Forth, "These People Want To See Your Hair."
As the strangers had woolly hair like themselves, I had to give up the idea
of meeting any thing more European than two half-caste Portuguese,
engaged in trading for slaves, ivory, and bees'-wax.
16TH. After a short march we came to a most lovely valley
about a mile and a half wide, and stretching away eastward
up to a low prolongation of Monakadzi. A small stream meanders
down the centre of this pleasant green glen; and on a little rill,
which flows into it from the western side, stands the town of Kabompo,
or, as he likes best to be called, Shinte. (Lat. 12d 37' 35" S.,
long. 22d 47' E.) When Manenko thought the sun was high enough
for us to make a lucky entrance, we found the town embowered
in banana and other tropical trees having great expansion of leaf;
the streets are straight, and present a complete contrast
to those of the Bechuanas, which are all very tortuous.
Here, too, we first saw native huts with square walls and round roofs.
The fences or walls of the courts which surround the huts
are wonderfully straight, and made of upright poles a few inches apart,
with strong grass or leafy bushes neatly woven between. In the courts
were small plantations of tobacco, and a little solanaceous plant
which the Balonda use as a relish; also sugar-cane and bananas.
Many of the poles have grown again, and trees of the `Ficus Indica' family
have been planted around, in order to give to the inhabitants
a grateful shade: they regard this tree with some sort of veneration
as a medicine or charm. Goats were browsing about, and,
when we made our appearance, a crowd of negroes, all fully armed,
ran toward us as if they would eat us up; some had guns,
but the manner in which they were held showed that the owners
were more accustomed to bows and arrows than to white men's weapons.
After surrounding and staring at us for an hour, they began to disperse.
The two native Portuguese traders of whom we had heard had erected
a little encampment opposite the place where ours was about to be made.
One of them, whose spine had been injured in youth - a rare sight
in this country - came and visited us. I returned the visit next morning.
His tall companion had that sickly yellow hue which made him look
fairer than myself, but his head was covered with a crop of unmistakable wool.
They had a gang of young female slaves in a chain, hoeing the ground
in front of their encampment to clear it of weeds and grass;
these were purchased recently in Lobale, whence the traders had now come.
There were many Mambari with them, and the establishment was conducted
with that military order which pervades all the arrangements
of the Portuguese colonists. A drum was beaten and trumpet sounded
at certain hours, quite in military fashion. It was the first time
most of my men had seen slaves in chains. "They are not men," they exclaimed
(meaning they are beasts), "who treat their children so."
The Balonda are real negroes, having much more wool on their heads and bodies
than any of the Bechuana or Caffre tribes. They are generally
very dark in color, but several are to be seen of a lighter hue;
many of the slaves who have been exported to Brazil have gone
from this region; but while they have a general similarity
to the typical negro, I never could, from my own observation,
think that our ideal negro, as seen in tobacconists' shops,
is the true type. A large proportion of the Balonda, indeed,
have heads somewhat elongated backward and upward, thick lips, flat noses,
elongated `ossa calces', etc., etc.; but there are also many good-looking,
well-shaped heads and persons among them.
17TH, TUESDAY. We were honored with a grand reception by Shinte
about eleven o'clock. Sambanza claimed the honor of presenting us,
Manenko being slightly indisposed. The native Portuguese and Mambari
went fully armed with guns, in order to give Shinte a salute;
their drummer and trumpeter making all the noise that very old instruments
would produce. The kotla, or place of audience, was about
a hundred yards square, and two graceful specimens of a species of banian
stood near one end; under one of these sat Shinte, on a sort of throne
covered with a leopard's skin. He had on a checked jacket,
and a kilt of scarlet baize edged with green; many strings of large beads
hung from his neck, and his limbs were covered with iron and copper
armlets and bracelets; on his head he wore a helmet made of beads
woven neatly together, and crowned with a great bunch of goose-feathers.
Close to him sat three lads with large sheaves of arrows over their shoulders.
When we entered the kotla, the whole of Manenko's party
saluted Shinte by clapping their hands, and Sambanza did obeisance
by rubbing his chest and arms with ashes. One of the trees being unoccupied,
I retreated to it for the sake of the shade, and my whole party did the same.
We were now about forty yards from the chief, and could see
the whole ceremony. The different sections of the tribe came forward
in the same way that we did, the head man of each making obeisance
with ashes which he carried with him for the purpose; then came the soldiers,
all armed to the teeth, running and shouting toward us,
with their swords drawn, and their faces screwed up so as to appear as savage
as possible, for the purpose, I thought, of trying whether they could not
make us take to our heels. As we did not, they turned round toward Shinte
and saluted him, then retired.
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