He Stated That
He Crossed The Nyanja At A Narrow Part, And Was 36 Hours In The Passage.
The Canoes
Were punted the whole way, and, if we take the rate
about two miles per hour, it may be sixty
Or seventy miles in breadth.
The country all round was composed of level plains covered with grass,
and, indeed, in going thither they traveled seven or eight days without wood,
and cooked their food with grass and stalks of native corn alone.
The people sold their cattle at a very cheap rate. From the southern
extremity of the lake two rivers issue forth: one, named after itself,
the Nyanja, which passes into the sea on the east coast under another name;
and the Shire, which flows into the Zambesi a little below Senna.
The Shire is named Shirwa at its point of departure from the lake,
and Senhor Candido was informed, when there, that the lake was simply
an expansion of the River Nyanja, which comes from the north and encircles
the mountain Murombo, the meaning of which is junction or union,
in reference to the water having parted at its northern extremity,
and united again at its southern. The Shire flows through a low, flat,
marshy country, but abounding in population, and they are said to be brave.
The Portuguese are unable to navigate the Shire up to the Lake Nyanja,
because of the great abundance of a water-plant which requires no soil,
and which they name "alfacinya" (`Pistia stratiotes'), from its resemblance
to a lettuce. This completely obstructs the progress of canoes.
In confirmation of this I may state that, when I passed
the mouth of the Shire, great quantities of this same plant
were floating from it into the Zambesi, and many parts of the banks below
were covered with the dead plants.
Senhor Candido stated that slight earthquakes have happened several times
in the country of the Maravi, and at no great distance from Tete.
The motion seems to come from the eastward, and never to have lasted
more than a few seconds. They are named in the Maravi tongue "shiwo",
and in that of the people of Tete "shitakoteko", or "shivering".
This agrees exactly with what has taken place in the coast of Mozambique -
a few slight shocks of short duration, and all appearing to come
from the east. At Senna, too, a single shock has been felt several times,
which shook the doors and windows, and made the glasses jingle.
Both Tete and Senna have hot springs in their vicinity,
but the shocks seemed to come, not from them, but from the east,
and proceed to the west. They are probably connected with
the active volcanoes in the island of Bourbon.
As Senhor Candido holds the office of judge in all the disputes
of the natives, and knows their language perfectly, his statement
may be relied on that all the natives of this region
have a clear idea of a Supreme Being, the maker and governor of all things.
He is named "Morimo", "Molungo", "Reza", "Mpambe",
in the different dialects spoken. The Barotse name him "Nyampi",
and the Balonda "Zambi". All promptly acknowledge him as the ruler
over all. They also fully believe in the soul's continued existence
apart from the body, and visit the graves of relatives,
making offerings of food, beer, etc. When undergoing the ordeal,
they hold up their hands to the Ruler of Heaven, as if appealing to him
to assert their innocence. When they escape, or recover from sickness,
or are delivered from any danger, they offer a sacrifice of a fowl or a sheep,
pouring out the blood as a libation to the soul of some departed relative.
They believe in the transmigration of souls, and also that while persons
are still living they may enter into lions and alligators,
and then return again to their own bodies.
While still at Tete the son of Monomotapa paid the commandant a visit.
He is named Mozungo, or "White Man", has a narrow tapering head,
and probably none of the ability or energy his father possessed.
He was the favorite of his father, who hoped that he would occupy his place.
A strong party, however, in the tribe placed Katalosa in the chieftainship,
and the son became, as they say, a child of this man. The Portuguese
have repeatedly received offers of territory if they would only
attend the interment of the departed chief with troops,
fire off many rounds of cartridges over the grave, and then give eclat
to the installment of the new chief. Their presence would probably
influence the election, for many would vote on the side of power,
and a candidate might feel it worth while to grant a good piece of land,
if thereby he could secure the chieftainship to himself.
When the Portuguese traders wish to pass into the country beyond Katalosa,
they present him with about thirty-two yards of calico and some other goods,
and he then gives them leave to pass in whatever direction
they choose to go. They must, however, give certain quantities of cloth
to a number of inferior chiefs beside, and they are subject to the game-laws.
They have thus a body of exclusive tribes around them,
preventing direct intercourse between them and the population beyond.
It is strange that, when they had the power, they did not insist
on the free navigation of the Zambesi. I can only account for this
in the same way in which I accounted for a similar state of things
in the west. All the traders have been in the hands of slaves,
and have wanted that moral courage which a free man, with free servants
on whom he can depend, usually possesses. If the English had been here,
they would have insisted on the free navigation of this pathway
as an indispensable condition of friendship. The present system
is a serious difficulty in the way of developing the resources of the country,
and might prove fatal to an unarmed expedition.
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