The Spectators Hooted The Executioners, Calling Out To Them
That They Too Would Soon Be Carried Out And Strangled.
Occasionally
when a man is sent to beat an offender, he tells him his object,
returns, and assures the chief he has nearly killed him.
The
transgressor then keeps for a while out of sight, and the matter is
forgotten. The river here teems with monstrous crocodiles, and women
are frequently, while drawing water, carried off by these reptiles.
We met a venerable warrior, sole survivor, probably, of the Mantatee
host which threatened to invade the colony in 1824. He retained a
vivid recollection of their encounter with the Griquas: "As we
looked at the men and horses, puffs of smoke arose, and some of us
dropped down dead!" "Never saw anything like it in my life, a man's
brains lying in one place and his body in another!" They could not
understand what was killing them; a ball struck a man's shield at an
angle; knocked his arm out of joint at the shoulder; and leaving a
mark, or burn, as he said, on the shield, killed another man close
by. We saw the man with his shoulder still dislocated. Sebetuane
was present at the fight, and had an exalted opinion of the power of
white people ever afterwards.
The ancient costume of the Makololo consisted of the skin of a lamb,
kid, jackal, ocelot, or other small animal, worn round and below the
loins: and in cold weather a kaross, or skin mantle, was thrown over
the shoulders. The kaross is now laid aside, and the young men of
fashion wear a monkey-jacket and a skin round the hips; but no
trousers, waistcoat, or shirt. The river and lake tribes are in
general very cleanly, bathing several times a day. The Makololo
women use water rather sparingly, rubbing themselves with melted
butter instead: this keeps off parasites, but gives their clothes a
rancid odour. One stage of civilization often leads of necessity to
another - the possession of clothes creates a demand for soap; give a
man a needle, and he is soon back to you for thread.
This being a time of mourning, on account of the illness of the
chief, the men were negligent of their persons, they did not cut
their hair, or have merry dances, or carry spear and shield when they
walked abroad. The wife of Pitsane was busy making a large hut,
while we were in the town: she informed us that the men left house-
building entirely to the women and servants. A round tower of stakes
and reeds, nine or ten feet high, is raised and plastered; a floor is
next made of soft tufa, or ant-hill material and cowdung. This
plaster prevents the poisonous insects, called tumpans, whose bite
causes fever in some, and painful sores in all, from harbouring in
the cracks or soil. The roof, which is much larger in diameter than
the tower, is made on the ground, and then, many persons assisting,
lifted up and placed on the tower, and thatched. A plastered reed
fence is next built up to meet the outer part of the roof, which
still projects a little over this fence, and a space of three feet
remains between it and the tower. We slept in this space, instead of
in the tower, as the inner door of the hut we occupied was
uncomfortably small, being only nineteen inches high, and twenty-two
inches wide at the floor. A foot from the bottom it measured
seventeen inches in breadth, and close to the top only twelve inches,
so it was a difficult matter to get through it. The tower has no
light or ventilation, except through this small door. The reason a
lady assigned for having the doors so very small was to keep out the
mice!
The children have merry times, especially in the cool of the evening.
One of their games consists of a little girl being carried on the
shoulders of two others. She sits with outstretched arms, as they
walk about with her, and all the rest clap their hands, and stopping
before each hut sing pretty airs, some beating time on their little
kilts of cowskin, others making a curious humming sound between the
songs. Excepting this and the skipping-rope, the play of the girls
consists in imitation of the serious work of their mothers, building
little huts, making small pots, and cooking, pounding corn in
miniature mortars, or hoeing tiny gardens. The boys play with spears
of reeds pointed with wood, and small shields, or bows and arrows; or
amuse themselves in making little cattle-pens, or in moulding cattle
in clay; they show great ingenuity in the imitation of various-shaped
horns. Some too are said to use slings, but as soon as they can
watch the goats, or calves, they are sent to the field. We saw many
boys riding on the calves they had in charge, but this is an
innovation since the arrival of the English with their horses.
Tselane, one of the ladies, on observing Dr. Livingstone noting
observations on the wet and dry bulb thermometers, thought that he
too was engaged in play; for on receiving no reply to her question,
which was rather difficult to answer, as the native tongue has no
scientific terms, she said with roguish glee, "Poor thing, playing
like a little child!"
Like other Africans, the Makololo have great faith in the power of
medicine; they believe that there is an especial medicine for every
ill that flesh is heir to. Mamire is anxious to have children; he
has six wives, and only one boy, and he begs earnestly for "child
medicine." The mother of Sekeletu came from the Barotse Valley to
see her son. Thinks she has lost flesh since Dr. Livingstone was
here before, and asks for "the medicine of fatness." The Makololo
consider plumpness an essential part of beauty in women, but the
extreme stoutness, mentioned by Captain Speke, in the north, would be
considered hideous here, for the men have been overheard speaking of
a lady whom we call "inclined to embonpoint," as "fat unto ugliness."
Two packages from the Kuruman, containing letters and newspapers,
reached Linyanti previous to our arrival, and Sekeletu, not knowing
when we were coming, left them there; but now at once sent a
messenger for them.
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