Our most interesting descriptions of the people of Africa have been derived from the annals of Egyptian history and from the journals and letters of the many explorers who have from time to time come in contact with them.
According to history the ancient Egyptians were red men. They recognized four races of men, the red, the yellow, the black, and the white. In subsequent ages they were so desirous of preserving this aristocratic distinction of color that they represented themselves in crimson upon their monuments.
The present inhabitants of Egypt range from a yellow color in the north to a deep bronze. One writer believes that the ancient Egyptians belonged to a brown race which included the Nubian tribes and to some extent the Berber tribes of Algiers and Tunis.
The record of the greatness of ancient Egypt is preserved in her works. The pyramids, though but the ruins of their former grandeur, are the marvels of mankind. The river Nile, by means of enormous embankments, was diverted from its course to make a place for the old city of Memphis. The artificial lake of Moëro was created to make a reservoir for the Nile waters. It measured four hundred and fifty miles in circumference. Its depth was three hundred and fifty feet, and it possessed subterranean channels, flood gates, locks, anddams, by means of which a sterile wilderness could be redeemed and changed into a fruitful valley.
The mason work of the ancient Egyptians was magnificent. In the casing of the Great Pyramid, we are told, the joints are scarcely perceptible, and not wider than the thickness of paper, and the cement so tenacious that fragments of the casing stones still remain in their original position, notwithstanding the lapse of so many centuries.
At one time the whole valley and delta of the Nile from the Cataracts to the sea was covered with temples, palaces, tombs, pyramids, and pillars, and almost every stone was covered with inscriptions.
The ancient Egyptians were the first mathematicians of the Old World and the first surveyors of land. They were the first astronomers, and they not only calculated eclipses but watched the periods of the planets and constellations. They were even aware of the rotundity of the earth, although Columbus has always been credited with being the first to discover this truth.
As early as the year 1722b.c.the signs of the zodiac were in use among the Egyptians. A delineation of these signs was found upon a mummy case in the British Museum, and the date to which they pointed indicated the autumnal equinox of the year 1722b.c.
These ancient Egyptians had clocks and dials for measuring time, and they possessed coins of gold and silver. They were the first agriculturists of the Old World, for history tells us that they raised cereals, and gave attention to the rearing of cattle, horses, and sheep. They manufactured linen fabrics of so fine a qualitythat, 600b.c., a single thread of a king's garment was comprised of three hundred and sixty-five fibers. They worked in gold and silver, in copper, bronze, and iron. The latter they tempered to the hardness of steel.
They were the first chemists, and manufactured glass and various kinds of pottery. Out of earthenware they made their boats, and manufactured vessels of paper, just as in modern times we make the wheels for railway cars out of paper. Their dentists understood the art of filling teeth with gold, and their farmers hatched poultry by means of artificial heat.
They were the first musicians, and used guitars, cymbals, drums, lyres, harps, flutes, etc. In medicine and surgery they had acquired such skill that, several hundred years before Christ the removal of cataract from the eye, a most delicate and difficult surgical operation, was performed among them. Their carpenters' and masons' tools were almost identical with those in use to-day.
All these facts of history tend to prove that ancient Egypt was a land peopled by an intellectual and refined race whose works live after them.
The great mass of the people in Lower Egypt are known as the ploughers, and are the descendants of the old Egyptians and of the Arabs who invaded the land. There are still Egyptians of unmixed ancestry to be found in the land. They are called Copts, and profess Christianity. The Arabs of pure ancestry, descendants of the conquerors of the Egyptians, are represented by the Bedouins, most of whom lead a wandering life, though a few have exchanged their nomadic life for a settled one in houses.
Among the many pleasing pictures of the nations of the interior, Dr. Barth, an explorer, furnishes one of a fine large town in Negroland proper. The houses were built partly of clay, with neatly thatched roofs of reeds; while the courtyard was fenced in with the same material. There was a cool outer building, formed of reeds and latticework, which seemed to be a reception hall for visiting and for the transaction of business; the whole surrounded by spreading trees. To add to the picture, groups of children, goats, fowls, pigeons, and—if the wealth of the family admitted—a horse or pack ox usually surrounded each hut. The people were cheerful and kindly and seemed to enjoy all that a wise Creator had provided for their sustenance.
At another town Dr. Barth found rude fortifications of clay. At this town, like the one before it, there was a dyehouse, for indigo was largely cultivated. The intervening country was exceedingly beautiful, with a great variety of vegetation. Here were many kinds of birds, known and unknown, and great herds of milk-white cattle were scattered over the rich pasture lands.
The population was small, but the people were active and industrious. Some women, bearing on their heads from six to ten calabashes filled with various things, joined the caravan, and not long after, a troop of men loaded with indigo plants passed by on their way to the dyehouse.
Extensive tobacco fields lay before them, and beehives, formed out of thick, hollow logs, were fastened to the giant branches of the colossal trees of the country.Passing through cultivated fields and populous villages where indigo was grown and prepared, his caravan reached a large, flourishing town, a little world in itself, different in external form from all that is seen in European towns, yet similar in many ways.
Here was a row of shops filled with articles of native and foreign produce, with buyers and sellers in every variety of figure, complexion, and dress. There were all the necessaries of life; the wealthy buying the more palatable things for their tables, the poor stopping to look greedily upon a handful of grain.
Here was a yard neatly fenced with reeds, and a clean, snug-looking cottage, the clay walls nicely polished, a shutter of reeds placed against the low, well-rounded door, a cool shade for the daily household work, a fine spreading tree, with its deep shadow during the hottest hours of the day, or a beautiful specimen unfolding its large featherlike leaves, or the tall date tree waving over the whole. The matron wore a clean, black, cotton gown wound round her waist; her hair was neatly dressed, and she was busy preparing the meal for her absent husband, or spinning cotton, and at the same time urging the female slaves to pound the corn. The children were naked and merry, playing about in the yard, or chasing a stubborn goat. Earthenware pots and wooden bowls, all cleanly washed, stood in order.
No one seemed idle; there was employment for all. Here was an open terrace with its many dye pots, and the people engaged in the various processes of their art. Farther on could be seen a sturdy blacksmith wieldinghis clumsy tools and producing, as a result of his labors, a dagger, the sharpness of which was, indeed, a surprise, when one saw the crudeness of his tools. Off in another direction men and women made use of a sheltered space along the fences to hang their cotton thread for weaving. Here was a caravan arriving with the prizedkola nut, which had become as necessary to these people as tea or coffee is to the inhabitants of more civilized lands; and there a caravan starting off with salt for the neighboring towns. Arabs were seen leading their camels with heavy loads of the luxuries of the north and east, and troops of gaudy, warlike horsemen came galloping towards the palace of the governor. Everywhere was life in all its various phases.
Livingstone describes a curious custom among the Bechuana and Kaffir tribes south of the Zambesi River. The ceremony, as he describes it, was as follows:—
At break of day a row of boys, about fourteen years of age, stood facing a line of men in preparation for the national dance. All were without clothing. Each boy held a pair of sandals upon his hands as a sort of shield. The men were provided with long thin wands cut from a tough, strong, supple bush.
As the dance progressed, certain questions were put to the boys, as, "Will you guard the chief well?""Will you herd the cattle well?" As the boys answered in the affirmative, the men rushed towards them, and each aimed a full, well-directed blow at the back of the boy nearest him. Stroke after stroke of the supple wand descended upon the bared back of the would-be warrior, until the flesh was raw and bleeding. Not a boy dreamed of being coward enough to cry out. All he did was to protect his head by the sandal shields upon his hands, as he held them uplifted.
This treatment was intended to harden the young soldiers and prepare them for their life as brave warriors. At the close of such a dance, it was no uncommon thing for the backs of the boys to be seamed with wounds and cuts, the scars of which would be lifelong.
On the return to town, after this ordeal, a prize was offered to the lad who could run the fastest. This prize was placed in a conspicuous place, where all spectators could see the winner of the race run up to snatch it. The race over, the boys were entitled to sit among the elders and to be called no longer lads but men. When a young brave had succeeded in killing a rhinoceros, he was deemed old enough and skillful enough to support a household of his own and might then marry.
While exploring the banks of the Chobe, Livingstone and his men paddled on from midday till sunset in a small pontoon which they had launched. Just as the short twilight of this section was commencing, they perceived on the north bank two native villages, one belonging to the Makololo tribe. In surprise the ignorant natives exclaimed in figurative speech, "He hasdropped among us from the clouds, yet came riding on the back of a hippopotamus! We Makololo thought no one could cross the Chobe without our knowledge, but here he drops among us like a bird."
The Makololo tribe took great pride in their domestic animals, for they were noted as raisers of fine cattle. The women did little work, for most of the tilling of the soil was done by the tribes subject to the Makololo.
The women wore kilts reaching to the knees, made of ox skin dressed till it was as soft as cloth. This costume was by no means ungraceful, for a soft skin mantle was thrown across the shoulders to complete the effect. When at work the women discarded this mantle and were dressed merely in the kilt. The hair was cut quite short, and no woman felt that her toilet was complete unless her whole body had been rubbed in butter till it shone.
Large brass anklets, as thick as the little finger, and armlets of either brass or ivory, often an inch broad, were the fashionable ornaments coveted by these savage belles. Often these anklets were so heavy as to blister the skin by their weight and pressure. Strings of beads were worn about the neck; light green and pink were the fashionable colors and commanded a great price.
Comparing the huts of some of the natives, Livingstone writes: "The Makololo huts are generally clean, while those of the Makalaka are infested with vermin. The cleanliness of the former is owing to the habit of frequently smearing the floors with a plaster composed of cow manure and earth.
"If we slept in the tent in some villages, the mice ran over our faces and disturbed our sleep, or hungry, prowling dogs would eat our shoes and leave only the soles. When they were guilty of this and other misdemeanors, we got the loan of a hut.
"The best sort of Makololo huts consist of three circular walls, with small holes as doors, each similar to that in a dog house; and it is necessary to bend down the body to get in, even when on all fours. The roof is formed of reeds or straight sticks, in shape like a Chinaman's hat, bound firmly together with circular bands, which are lashed with the strong inner bark of the mimosa tree. When all is ready, except the thatch, it is lifted upon the circular wall, the rim resting on a circle of poles, between which the third wall is built.
"The roof is thatched with fine grass, and sewed with the same material as the lashings; and, as it projects far beyond the walls, and reaches within four feet of the ground, the shade is the best to be found in the country. These huts are very cool in the hottest day, but are close and deficient in ventilation by night."
Livingstone found much superstition prevailing among the people on the banks of the Leeba, and here and there evidence of the worship of idols was noticeable.
The chiefs were frequently women. One whom Livingstone visited was adorned with oil and red ochre, with a plentiful supply of ornaments upon her wrists, ankles, and about her person; but a very little clothing seemed to satisfy her desire for fine apparel. Herhusband's clothing consisted of a kilt of green and red baize, his arms of a spear and a broadsword of antique fashion.
The houses in the village were found to be well stockaded, and were all separate buildings. The firearms found among the tribes farther south were lacking; bows and arrows were used in their place, and had very effectually cleared the country of game.
While penetrating farther and farther east into the Londa territory, Livingstone encountered some natives of whom he wrote: "Surrounded on all sides by large, gloomy forests, the people have a much more indistinct idea of the geography of their country than those who live in hilly regions.
"The people seemed more slender in form, and their color a lighter olive, than any we had hitherto met. Their mode of dressing the great masses of woolly hair which lay upon their shoulders, together with their general features, again reminded me of the ancient Egyptians.
"A few of the ladies adopt a curious custom of attaching the hair to a hoop which encircles the head, giving it somewhat the appearance of the glory round the head of the Virgin. Others wear an ornament of woven hair and hide adorned with beads. The hair of the tails of buffaloes, which are to be found farther east, is sometimes added; while others weave their own hair on pieces of hide into the form of buffalo horns, or make a single horn in front.
"Many tattoo their bodies by inserting some black substance beneath the skin, which leaves an elevatedcicatrix about half an inch long; these are made in forms of stars, and other figures of no particular beauty."
A little to the southward he found natives who had not been visited by the slave dealers to any great extent, rather timid, but civil. Of these he gives the following account:—
"The same olive color prevailed. They file their teeth to a point, which makes the smile of the women frightful, as it reminds one of the grin of an alligator.
"The inhabitants throughout this country exhibit as great a variety of taste as appears on the surface of society among ourselves. Many of the men are dandies; their shoulders are always wet with the oil dropping from their lubricated hair, and everything about them is ornamented in one way or another. Some thrum a musical instrument the livelong day, and, when they wake at night, proceed at once to their musical performance. Many of these musicians are too poor to have iron keys to their instruments, but make them of bamboo, and persevere though no one hears the music but themselves.
"Others try to appear warlike by never going out of their huts except with a load of bows and arrows or a gun ornamented with a strip of hide for every animal they have shot; and others never go anywhere without a canary in a cage. Ladies may be seen carefully tending little lapdogs, which are intended to be eaten.
"The villages are generally in forests, and composed of groups of irregularly planted brown huts, with banana and cotton trees, and tobacco, growingaround. There is also at every hut a high stage erected for drying manioc roots and meal, and elevated cages to hold domestic fowls.
"Round baskets are laid on the thatch of the huts for the hens to lay in, and on the arrival of strangers, men, women, and children ply their calling as hucksters with a great deal of noisy haggling. All their transactions are conducted with civil banter and good temper."
When Andersson visited Damaraland he found the natives an exceedingly fine-looking race. They were tall, well-formed, and had a graceful carriage. In color they were dark, but not black. So dirty was their skin, however, that it was impossible to discover its natural color under the coating of red ochre and grease with which it was smeared.
Little clothing was worn. The only garment consisted of a sheepskin or goatskin wrapped about the waist or thrown carelessly over the shoulders. The girls wore a kind of apron, made of quantities of small strings, from which were suspended ornaments in the form of iron and copper beads.
The men wore few ornaments, but the women who could afford it decorated their wrists and ankles with iron and copper rings. The headdress of the marriedwomen was curiously picturesque, its general shape and appearance resembling a helmet.
In place of regular garments the men wore strips of leather, often several hundred feet in length, wound around the loins. Their clubs and pipes were carried in these unique belts and bands.
These natives were always well armed; they carried lances, bows and arrows, and clubs. Another national weapon was a stick with a knob on the end. Andersson found these natives very skillful in throwing it, for they often brought down birds upon the wing.
They were nomadic in their life, and with their enormous herds of cattle wandered over the country, leaving it bare of vegetation. They had a curious custom of taking an oath in token of sincerity of purpose, when they swore by "the tears of their mothers."
Andersson was much interested in the natives of Ovampo land and their customs. They cultivated two kinds of corn. One was the common Kaffir corn, and the other a small-grained variety. At the ripening of the corn, these natives simply cut off the ear and left the remainder to the greedy cattle.
In addition to corn, the Ovampo people cultivated calabashes, watermelons, pumpkins, beans, and peas. Some tobacco was also raised. The quality of it was, however, rather poor. To prepare it, the leaves and stalks of the ripened plant were collected and then pressed in a hollow piece of wood by means of blows from a heavy pole.
The Ovampo had, also, great herds of cattle, as well as sheep and goats. They had hogs, too, of an enormoussize. Among the domestic animals Andersson noticed dogs and fowl.
These people were found to be exceedingly hospitable, and Andersson's party was well entertained. The chief was very kindly disposed, and every night after dark held a ball at the royal residence. Here the people danced to the national music of the tom-tom and a species of guitar.
The Ovampo women were not unpleasing in appearance. When young they had very good figures, but the older women were exceedingly ungainly. No doubt the weight of the heavy copper ornaments with which they loaded their wrists and ankles was one great cause of this ungainliness. It was no uncommon thing for these ankle rings to weigh two or three pounds apiece. As a pair was worn on each leg, this was no inconsiderable weight to carry about. In addition, necks, wrists and hips were almost hidden by a profusion of shells, cowries, and beads of every size and color. This was considered an essential feature of their dress.
Both men and women had short, crisp, woolly hair. The men often shaved the head, with the exception of the crown, while the women besmeared and stiffened their hair with grease and a vermilion-colored substance, which, from being constantly added to and pressed upon the upper portion of the head, gave it a somewhat broad, flat look.
The women smeared their bodies with grease and red ochre as an additional touch for full-dress occasions. The men wore few ornaments, with the exception of bead or shell earrings.
Both men and women had the curious custom of chipping off the middle tooth of the lower jaw in token that they had outgrown childhood and had reached manhood and womanhood.
Wishing to explore the Ovampo River, Andersson hired a native to transport him in a canoe. The man seemed to enjoy the situation, and took pains to paddle slowly along the river's bank and make a halt at every hut, that the inmates might view the white man at their leisure.
The men of this tribe Andersson describes as strong and well-built, but the women were as ugly as any he had ever seen in Africa.
The river itself and the landscape on either side were beautiful beyond description. Fruit trees, and well-wooded ranges of mountains, stretched away on either hand, forming a background for the beautiful scene. Hippopotamuses and waterfowls were in abundance, and hosts of crocodiles sunned themselves upon the islands which here and there showed above the surface of the water.
Among the Bechuana tribes the government is patriarchal, and each man is chief over his own children. Livingstone writes of them: "They build their huts around his, and the greater the number of children,the more his importance increases. Hence, children are esteemed one of the greatest blessings, and are always treated kindly.
"Near the center of each circle of huts there is a spot called a 'kotla' with a fireplace; here they work, eat, or sit and gossip over the news of the day. A poor man attaches himself to the kotla of a rich one, and is considered a child of the latter.
"An under-chief has a number of these circles around his; and the collection of kotlas around the great one in the middle of the whole, that of the principal chief, constitutes the town. The circle of huts immediately around the kotla of the chief is composed of the huts of his wives and those of his blood relations.
"They are fond of the relationship to great families. If you meet a party of strangers, and the head man's relationship to some uncle of a certain chief is not at once proclaimed by his attendants, you may hear him whispering, 'Tell him who I am.' This usually involves a counting on the fingers of a part of his genealogical tree, and ends in the important announcement that the head of the party is half-cousin to some well-known ruler."
On one occasion, when Livingstone attempted to hold his first public religious service, a great chief remarked that it was one of the customs of his nation to ask questions when any new subject was brought before them, and begged to be allowed to do so on this occasion.
Livingstone's description of the interview is interesting, since it gives us some idea of the intelligence of this untaught child of nature: "On expressing mywillingness to answer his questions, he inquired if my forefathers knew of a future judgment. I replied in the affirmative, and began to describe the scene of the 'great white throne, and him who shall sit on it, from whose face the heaven and earth shall flee away,' etc. He said, 'You startle me; these words make all my bones to shake; I have no more strength in me; but my forefathers were living at the same time as yours were, and how is it that they did not send them word about these terrible things sooner? They all passed away into darkness without knowing whither they were going.'
"I got out of the difficulty by explaining the geographical barriers in the north, and the gradual spread of knowledge from the south, to which we first had access by means of ships; and I expressed my belief that, as Christ had said, the whole world would yet be enlightened by the Gospel.
"Pointing to the great Kalahari Desert, he said, 'You never can cross that country to the tribes beyond; it is utterly impossible even for us black men, except in certain seasons, when more than the usual supply of rain falls, and an extraordinary growth of watermelons follows. Even we who know the country would certainly perish without them.'"
The watermelon may well be considered the most surprising plant of the desert. In certain years, when more than the usual amount of rain has fallen, vast tracts of country are literally covered with these melon plants. Years ago, when the annual fall of rain was greater than it is now, the natives were in the habitof sending trading parties to the lake section each year.
Now, according to Livingstone's accounts, these extraordinary rains occur only once in ten or eleven years, with the subsequent abundance of melons. When such an event occurs, not only man, but animals of every description, rejoice over the rich harvest. The elephant, monarch of the forest, fairly revels in the fruit; and the rhinoceros, though his tastes are naturally so very different from the elephant's, is equally fond of it. Not only do the antelopes feed upon it with eagerness, but even the lions, hyenas, jackals, and mice seem to recognize its merits and to appreciate this blessing of an agreeable, succulent food in an arid soil.
True, all of these melons are not eatable. Some are sweet; others are bitter, so that the Boers invariably speak of the fruit as the bitter watermelon, and make no distinction between the varieties.
The natives, in selecting the fruit, strike each melon with a hatchet; and then, to distinguish between the bitter and the sweet ones, apply the tongue to the aperture in each. The bitter melons are harmful, but the sweet ones are considered very wholesome. Bees often convey the pollen from the blossoms of a bitter melon vine to those of a sweet variety and completely change the character and flavor of its fruit.
The inhabitants of the Kalahari Desert consist of the nomadic Bushmen and a tribe said to be the oldest of the Bechuana tribes. The Bushmen are the aborigines of the country, and live in the desert from choice. Their chief food consists of the flesh of game, eked outby such roots, beans, and fruit as the women can collect.
In the hot sandy plains they are generally thin, with wiry frames capable of enduring hardship and privation. Many are of small stature, though by no means dwarfish. Nomadic in their taste, they never cultivate the soil, nor rear any domestic animals, unless it be a few wretched dogs. They possess an intimate knowledge of the habits of the various game animals, and follow them from place to place as their lawful prey.
The descendants of the ancient Bechuana tribes at one time possessed enormous herds of the large horned animals; when despoiled of these, they were driven into the desert, which thus by compulsion became their home.
They are very different in their tastes and habits from the Bushmen. Though subjected to the same influences of climate, and obliged to endure the same thirst, and to subsist upon practically the same food, they stand a race distinct in itself.
They have all the Bechuana love for agriculture and domestic animals. They hoe their gardens annually, though often all they can hope for is a supply of melons and pumpkins. They rear with great care, too, small herds of goats, though they have been known to be obliged to obtain water for them out of small wells with a bit of ostrich eggshell or by the spoonful.
These people have a great dread of strange tribes of Bechuanas, and choose their residences far from the water pits which would naturally attract wayfarers. Not unfrequently they hide all outward signs of suchpits by filling them with sand and by making a fire over them.
The women of the desert take great pride in their ability to bear pain. A mother will say to her little girl from whose foot she has just extracted a thorn, "Now, ma, you are a woman; a woman does not cry."
A curious ceremony is held to train young women to endure the hardships of carrying water. Clad in a dress composed of ropes made of alternate pumpkin seeds and bits of reed strung together, and wound round the body in a figure-of-eight fashion, a number of them are drilled by an old woman of the tribe, until they become accustomed to bear fatigue, and can carry large pots of water without complaint. It is no uncommon thing to find scars upon the forearm, which have been made by bits of burning charcoal. These, without doubt, were inflicted to test the power of the young women to bear pain.
Among the tribes in the country about the Leeambye River they have no stated day of rest, except the day after the appearance of the new moon. At that time the people refrain from going to their gardens.
A curious custom prevails among the black tribes beyond the Bechuanas. They watch eagerly for the first glimpse of the new moon, and when they perceive the faint outline after the sun has set deep in the west, they utter a loud shout of 'Kuā!' and short prayers to it. Livingstone's men, for instance, called out, "Let our journey with the white man be prosperous! Let our enemies perish, and the children of Nake become rich! May he have plenty of meat on this journey."
At one time in his journeyings, Livingstone was entertained by a party of musicians, consisting of three drummers and four performers on the piano. The drums were neat instruments cut from the trunk of a tree. They had a small hole in the side covered with a bit of spider's web. The ends were covered with antelope skin fastened on by pegs. When the drummers wished to tighten the drumhead, they held it over the fire to make it contract. There were no drumsticks, for the instrument was beaten with the hands.
The piano, as described by Livingstone, consists of two bars of wood placed side by side, sometimes quite straight, sometimes bent round so as to resemble half the tire of a carriage wheel. Across these are placed about fifteen wooden keys, each of which is two or three inches broad, and fifteen or eighteen inches long. Their thickness is regulated according to the deepness of the note required. Each of the keys has a calabash beneath it, from the upper part of which a portion is cut off to enable it to embrace the bar and form a hollow sounding-board to the key; and little drumsticks produce the music. Rapidity of execution was much admired, and the music was pleasant to the ear.
On one occasion Livingstone was exhibiting the pictures of a magic lantern. The first picture shown was that of Abraham in the act of uplifting the knife with which to slay Isaac. After the picture had been explained, he attempted to move the slide, when the uplifted dagger appeared to be moving towards the interested spectators. Thinking it was to be sheathed in their own bodies, all the women with one accordrushed off helter-skelter, tumbling over each other, and shouting "Mother! mother!" Over the idol huts and tobacco bushes they fled like startled fawns, nor could one of them be induced to return. Their chief, however, sat bravely through the exhibition and afterwards examined the lantern with great interest.
Many of the native tribes are very superstitious, and will not touch food offered to them by other tribes. Among themselves they stand upon much ceremony. Each man has his own hut where he has his fire. Should it go out he will build it afresh rather than to take live coals from a neighbor.
In the deep, dark forest near each village, idols were frequently met. Some were intended to represent the human head or a lion's; others were merely crooked sticks smeared with medicine. Sometimes a little pot of medicine was found in a shed, or miniature huts with little mounds of earth in them.
In the darker recesses of the forest, outlines of human faces cut in the bark of trees were seen. The outlines of these bearded heads bore a close resemblance to those found on Egyptian monuments. At frequent intervals cuts were made on the trees along the path, and offerings of small pieces of massive roots or ears of maize placed on the branches attracted the attention.
Every few miles were found heaps of sticks to which each passer-by contributed. Again, a few sticks were placed in the path, and each traveler turned from his course to one side as though fearing to commit a sacrilege.
Poor and ignorant as these savages were, their fears seemed intensified by the gloom of the forest recesses, and they appeared to be ever striving to propitiate by their offerings some higher order of being, who might hold sway there.
Many of the tribes were found to have a strong belief in the power of charms for good or evil. This belief seemed productive of honest and gentle dealing among the natives; while the fear that even the weak and helpless might work injury to those stronger than themselves, through their knowledge of the nature of these charms, often held in check those who might otherwise have been despotic in their dealings.
At one of the villages a man showed the grave of his child, and with much display of feeling told how she had been burned to death in her hut. He had come to the place with all his family, and had built huts around it, in order to weep for her. His fear was that if her grave should be left unguarded, witches might come and bewitch the remaining relatives by placing medicines on the grave.
The people of the Barotse tribe have a very decided belief in the continued existence of the spirits of the departed. Livingstone mentions that one of his men suffering from a headache said sadly and thoughtfully, "My father is scolding me because I do not give him any of the food I eat." Upon being asked where his father was, he answered, "Among the Barimo."
Along the banks of the Quilo the country, when visited by Livingstone, was occupied by natives who had once been sold as slaves and afterwards freed. Thoughfar from their old homes, they seemed contented and happy.
This section of country was full of villages. Food was abundant, and little labor was necessary to cultivate the soil. The ground was so rich that it was not necessary to fertilize it. Whenever a garden became too poor to produce good crops of maize and millet, the owner of it immediately broke ground a little farther into the forest, applying fire to the roots of the larger trees to kill them, and cutting down the smaller ones. This done, his new rich garden was ready for planting.
Such a garden usually presented the appearance of a large number of tall dead trees stripped of their bark, with maize growing between them. The deserted gardens often continued to produce manioc for many years after their owners had sought new spots for their crops of maize and millet.
The character and temperament of the owners of the various gardens in the villages could be easily detected. Sometimes whole villages were the picture of neatness. Others seemed enveloped in a perfect wilderness of weeds growing to such a height that even when sitting on the back of an ox in the midst of a village one could see only the tops of the huts. If a stranger should enter one of these villages at midday the owners would come forth in an indolent fashion, sometimes pipe in hand, or leisurely puffing away in dreamy indifference.
In some of the villages weeds were not allowed to grow, and cotton, tobacco, and various plants used as food were planted around the huts. Fowls were kept in cages, and the gardens were pleasant pictures of grain and pulse in different stages of growth.
Every village swarmed with children, who turned out in crowds, and ran along with strange cries and antics, to see the white man pass.
Situated a few miles from the edge of a steep descent, Livingstone found a West African village provided with travelers' houses, on the principle of the inns of the East. These were built of twigs and plaster and had benches made of rods, on which the wayfarer could make his bed; a few chairs, a table, and a large jar of water completed the furnishings.
A little farther on lay a village of the Basongo, a tribe subject to the Portuguese, and as the route of Livingstone's expedition lay through a fine, fertile, well-peopled country, luxuriant fields of wheat were seen growing without irrigation. Gradually the country became more open, but remained still abundantly fertile, with a heavy crop of grass growing to a height of two or three feet. The whole section was well wooded and watered.
The landscape was dotted with Basongo villages, while frequently a square house built of twigs and plaster, belonging to some native Portuguese, stood beside them and was used for purposes of trade.
The different sleeping places on the pathway werefrom eight to ten miles apart, and were marked by a cluster of sheds made of sticks and grass.
There was a constant stream of people going and returning to and from the coast. Goods were carried upon the head, or upon one shoulder, in a kind of basket fastened to the ends of two poles between five and six feet long.
When the basket was placed upon the head, the poles projected forward horizontally; and if the carrier wished to rest himself, he planted these poles on the ground, and rested his burden against a tree. In this way he was not obliged to lift it from the ground to the level of his head, when he wished to take up his load again. Frequently with the poles planted in the ground a carrier could be seen holding his burden until he had recovered his breath, thus avoiding the exertion of lowering and lifting his load.
Upon the arrival of strangers at any of the sleeping stations, women were seen emerging from the villages bearing baskets filled with manioc meal, roots, groundnuts, yams, bird's eye pepper, and garlic, which they offered for sale. Calico was usually taken in exchange for these goods.
In Angola the markets, or sleeping places, were well supplied with provisions by the native women. These women congregated in great numbers, each spinning cotton with a spindle and distaff, which were precisely like those in use among the ancient Egyptians.
It was not uncommon to see one of them passing through the fields with a jar on her head, a child on her back, and a hoe over her shoulder, while her fingerswere busily employed in spinning. The cotton was brought to market and commanded a penny a pound.
Frequently the cotton seeds, dropped accidentally around the market places, sprouted, and grew luxuriantly in various spots.
Along the roads natives were seen passing with spindles full of cotton thread. These they were carrying to other parts to have woven into cloth. The women did the spinning and the men the weaving.
The loom was of very simple construction. It consisted of two beams placed one over the other, on which the web stood perpendicularly. The threads of the web were separated by means of a thin wooden lath, while the woof passed through by means of the same spindle on which it had been wound in spinning. Each web was about five feet long, and fifteen or eighteen inches wide.
This mode of spinning and weaving in Angola and throughout South Central Africa was very similar to the same pursuits as practiced by the ancient Egyptians.
At the sleeping stations the native smiths carried on their trade, and various articles, as good table knives, and the like, made of country iron, were offered for sale.
Livingstone found the banks of the Lucalla very pretty, and well planted with orange trees, bananas, and the oil palm, and wrote: "Large plantations of maize, manioc, and tobacco are seen along both banks, which are enlivened by the frequent appearance of native houses imbosomed in dense shady groves, with little boys and girls playing about them.
"The banks are steep, the water having cut its bedin dark red, alluvial soil. Before every cottage a small stage is erected to which the inhabitants may descend to draw water without danger from the alligators. Some have a little palisade made in the water for safety from these reptiles, and others use the shell of the fruit of the baobab tree attached to a pole about ten feet long, with which, standing on the high bank, they may draw water without fear of accident."
The whole of the colored population of Angola was sunk in superstition. When a death occurred, the people busied themselves in beating drums and firing guns. The funeral rites were half festive, half mourning. Nothing could have been more heartrending than the death wails.
When these natives turned their eyes to the future world, they had the most cheerless view of their own utter helplessness. They fancied themselves completely in the power of disembodied spirits, and the prospect of following them was looked upon as the worst of misfortunes. Hence, they were found constantly deprecating the wrath of departed spirits, in the belief that if they could appease them, only one cause of death, witchcraft, could remain, and that they could avert by charms.
The pleasures of a mere animal existence were ever present in their minds as the highest good, and but for these innumerable invisible agents, they believed they might enjoy to the fullest extent the bounties of their luxuriant climate as much as would be possible for man to do.
Another curious custom prevailed among some of thetribes encountered by Livingstone. This ceremony was for the purpose of cementing friendship. The hands of the parties were joined, and incisions were made on the clasped hands, and on the right cheeks and foreheads. A small quantity of blood was taken from these points in both parties, put into pots of beer, and each then drank the other's blood; and they were supposed thus to become perpetual friends or relations.
During the drinking, some of the party beat the ground with clubs, and uttered sentences to ratify the treaty. The men belonging to each tribe then finished the beer. The principals in the performance were henceforth considered blood relations, and were bound to disclose to each other any impending evil.
Among the Batoka tribes the ancient custom of knocking out the upper front teeth of the young men and women prevailed. In the absence of the upper teeth the lower ones grew long and somewhat bent out, which caused the under lip to protrude in a most unsightly fashion. When asked as to the origin of this custom, the Batoka replied that their object was to look like oxen and that those who retained their incisors were thought to resemble zebras.
A person who possessed his front teeth was considered ugly; and when any of the Batoka borrowed Livingstone's mirror, the disparaging remark would be made of boys and girls who still retained their incisors, "Look at the great teeth!"
The manner of dressing the hair is a peculiar feature among the different African tribes. Livingstone describes one of the modes as follows:—"A circle ofhair at the top of the head, eight inches or more in diameter, is woven into a cone eight or ten inches high, with an obtuse apex, bent, in some cases, a little forward, giving it somewhat the appearance of a helmet.
"Some have only a cone, four or five inches in diameter at the base. It is said that the hair of animals is added; but the sides of the cone are woven somewhat like basket work. The head man of this village, instead of having his brought to a point, had it prolonged into a wand, which extended a full yard from the crown of the head.
"The hair on the forehead, above the ears, and behind, is all shaven off, so the people appear somewhat as if a cap of liberty were perched upon the top of the head. After this weaving is performed, it is said to be painful, as the scalp is drawn tightly up; but they become used to it."
Many other curious customs prevail among the native tribes. Among the different Bechuana tribes it is the custom to select the name of some animal to distinguish one tribe from another. This would seem to indicate that in former times they were addicted to the worship of animals, like the old Egyptians. We find one tribe bearing a name signifying "they of the monkey;" another, "they of the alligator;" or, "they of the fish."
Each tribe holds the animal from which it derived its name in superstitious fear; nor will a man eat the animal for which his tribe was named, and frequently uses a term signifying hate or dread in referring to it.
Each tribe has its favorite and characteristic dance, and many tribes adopt the custom of naming themselvesfrom the national dance. Hence, it is no uncommon thing to hear the question, "What do you dance?" when the wish is to ascertain to what tribe a man belongs. This custom would seem to indicate that the national dance was a part of the ancient worship in certain sections of Africa.
Livingstone says that among many tribes the mode of salutation was by clapping the hands; and whenever the white man appeared, parties of women came from the several villages, betraying much fear, and clapping the hands with renewed vigor whenever they were addressed.
Near the Zambesi River tribes were met, the women of which were in the habit of piercing the upper lip, and gradually enlarging the orifice until a shell could be inserted. The lip then appeared drawn out beyond the extremity of the nose and gave the face a most ungainly appearance. The chief of another tribe remarked, "These women want to make their mouths like those of ducks." Indeed, it did seem as if their idea of beautiful mouths had been derived from the duck's bill.
In the vicinity of the Falls of the Zambesi, tribes were found where the women had merely a small puncturein the upper lip in which a tin button was inserted. The perforation had been made by degrees; first a ring with an opening in it had been attached to the lip, and then the ends had been gradually squeezed together. The pressure on the flesh between the ends of the ring had caused it to be absorbed, and a hole had resulted from the treatment. Children were frequently seen with the ring attached to the lip which had not yet been punctured.
It was in the vicinity of Zambesi that many of the gardens were built upon stagings, while some of the huts were built in trees, in case any of the natives should become benighted in the forest. This was for protection from the lions and hyenas, which were very abundant, since no attempt was ever made to exterminate them, owing to the belief that the souls of departed chiefs had entered into them. So superstitious were these natives that they even believed a chief could change himself into a lion, kill any one he chose, and then return to his human form. Whenever a lion was met he was greeted with a tremendous clapping of the hands by way of salutation.
Among the Banyai tribes a fair complexion was considered as much a mark of beauty as among civilized races. Many of these natives were of a light coffee-colored complexion and were considered very handsome throughout the country.
These tribes had a peculiar mode of drawing the hair out into small cords a foot in length and entwining the inner bark of a special tree round each separate cord. The substance for binding the cords was dyed a reddishcolor, and the whole arrangement of the hair reminded Livingstone very strongly of one of the ancient Egyptian fashions.
This great mass of dressed hair reached to the shoulders usually; when, however, the natives were about to travel over the country, the mass was drawn up into a bunch and tied on the top of the head.
The people of this section along the shores of Lake Nyassa were found to be very industrious; they combined agriculture and hunting with nets, with various other pursuits; of these blacksmithing was the chief industry.
The sound of the hammer was heard constantly in the villages. This instrument was most primitive in its construction. It was simply a large stone bound around with the strong inner bark of a tree, with loops left to form handles. Two pieces of bark formed the tongs, while the anvil was merely a large stone sunk in the ground. Two goat skins furnished with sticks at the open ends, which opened and shut them at every blast, comprised the bellows.
Primitive as these tools were, yet two native workmen could make several hoes a day, and turn out other work of a wonderful degree of excellence.
The people had quite a Grecian cast of features, and their limbs and feet were delicately moulded. Small hands and feet were the rule. Many of the men were disfigured by having large slits in the lobe of the ear, while each tribe had its own distinctive tattoo. The head man of each village was distinguished from the others by a large ivory bracelet.