This Dream Depressed The Spirits
Of The Whole Party, And When I Came Out Of My Little Tent In The Morning,
They Were Sitting The Pictures Of Abject Sorrow.
I asked if we were
to be guided by dreams, or by the authority I derived from Sekeletu,
and
Ordered them to load the boats at once; they seemed ashamed to confess
their fears; the Makololo picked up courage and upbraided the others
for having such superstitious views, and said this was always their way;
if even a certain bird called to them, they would turn back
from an enterprise, saying it was unlucky. They entered the canoes at last,
and were the better of a little scolding for being inclined
to put dreams before authority. It rained all the morning, but about eleven
we reached the village of Sheakondo, on a small stream named Lonkonye.
We sent a message to the head man, who soon appeared with two wives,
bearing handsome presents of manioc: Sheakondo could speak
the language of the Barotse well, and seemed awestruck when told
some of the "words of God". He manifested no fear, always spoke frankly,
and when he made an asseveration, did so by simply pointing up to the sky
above him. The Balonda cultivate the manioc or cassava extensively;
also dura, ground-nuts, beans, maize, sweet potatoes, and yams,
here called "lekoto", but as yet we see only the outlying villages.
The people who came with Sheakondo to our bivouac had their teeth filed
to a point by way of beautifying them, though those which were left untouched
were always the whitest; they are generally tattooed in various parts,
but chiefly on the abdomen:
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