We Were
Detained At The End Of The Chain Some Days By One Of Our Companions
Being Laid Up With Fever.
One night we were suddenly aroused by
buffaloes rushing close by the sick-bed.
We were encamped by a wood
on the border of a marsh, but our patient soon recovered,
notwithstanding the unfavourable situation, and the poor
accommodation.
The Manganja country is delightfully well watered. The clear, cool,
gushing streams are very numerous. Once we passed seven fine brooks
and a spring in a single hour, and this, too, near the close of the
dry season. Mount Zomba, which is twenty miles long, and from 7000
to 8000 feet high, has a beautiful stream flowing through a verdant
valley on its summit, and running away down into Lake Shirwa. The
highlands are well wooded, and many trees, admirable for their height
and timber, grow on the various watercourses. "Is this country good
for cattle?" we inquired of a Makololo herdsman, whose occupation had
given him skill in pasturage. "Truly," he replied, "do you not see
abundance of those grasses which the cattle love, and get fat upon?"
Yet the people have but few goats, and fewer sheep. With the
exception of an occasional leopard, there are no beasts of prey to
disturb domestic animals. Wool-sheep would, without doubt, thrive on
these highlands. Part of the Upper Shire valley has a lady
paramount, named Nyango; and in her dominions women rank higher and
receive more respectful treatment than their sisters on the hills.
The hill chief, Mongazi, called his wife to take charge of a present
we had given him. She dropped down on her knees, clapping her hands
in reverence, before and after receiving our presents from his lordly
hands. It was painful to see the abject manner in which the women of
the hill tribes knelt beside the path as we passed; but a great
difference took place when we got into Nyango's country.
On entering a village, we proceeded, as all strangers do, at once to
the Boalo: mats of split reeds or bamboo were usually spread for us
to sit on. Our guides then told the men who might be there, who we
were, whence we had come, whither we wanted to go, and what were our
objects. This information was duly carried to the chief, who, if a
sensible man, came at once; but, if he happened to be timid and
suspicious, waited until he had used divination, and his warriors had
time to come in from outlying hamlets. When he makes his appearance,
all the people begin to clap their hands in unison, and continue
doing so till he sits down opposite to us. His counsellors take
their places beside him. He makes a remark or two, and is then
silent for a few seconds. Our guides then sit down in front of the
chief and his counsellors, and both parties lean forward, looking
earnestly at each other; the chief repeats a word, such as "Ambuiatu"
(our Father, or master) - or "moio" (life), and all clap their hands.
Another word is followed by two claps, a third by still more
clapping, when each touches the ground with both hands placed
together.
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