"I have not left any calamity more hurtful to man than woman."
_Table-talk of Mohammad_.
_One_.
"Yes, my father; for although your years are many less than mine, did
you not protect me, even as a father, when these dogs of Fingo policemen
would have made me guilty over the chopping down of that white iron-wood
tree? I will now tell you the tale of Gweva, the son of Mehlo, which we
yesterday spoke of when resting in the big forest during the hunt.
Here, boy, bring fuel for the fire, for the night is cold and the tale
is long. Fetch also the last pot of that beer which was brewed seven
days ago. The new beer has not yet worked, and it tastes like water
from a muddy puddle. Fetch also the large calabash spoon; then clear
out, and come not near unless you are called.
"There is one subject, my father, upon which you and I will never agree,
namely women. You tell me that the women of your race are wiser than
those of mine. This is no doubt true in the same sense as that you, a
European, are wiser than I, a Kafir; but experience teaches me that
women are just women, whatever be their colour, and that men should be
their masters. Where it is otherwise, trouble always follows. I grant
you that some women are wiser and better than most men; your great
Queen, for instance. Her I used to hear of when I was a boy, and I
still hear of her now that my head is white. _She_ must be strong and
wise. Then, who has not heard of Gubele the wife of Umjoli, the
cowardly chief of the Abasekunene, who, when her husband fled before
Tshaka, remained behind with half of the tribe, and slew so many Zulus
that men sang of her that she piled up the gateways of her kraal with
Zulu heads to prevent the cattle from coming out.
"But such women, my father, are really men, and besides, one does not
meet them, one only hears of them. I speak of the women one sees and
knows and who become the mothers of our children, and I say that he who
is their master, and holds them for his profit and pleasure, for the
bringing forth of sons to fight for the chief (I forgot for the moment
that we are under Government) and daughters for whom `lobola' (dowry)
cattle will be sent to his kraal, is wise, whilst he who sets his heart
on one woman only, and desires her above all else, suffers from a
madness that often leads to ruin.
"Hear then the tale of Gweva, the son of Mehlo, which tends to prove the
truth of my judgment in this matter. I will relate it, so far as I can,
in the words of my grandfather Nqokomisa, who told it to me many years
ago; he being at the time a man extremely old, also blind and deaf, and
bereft of the use of every member except the tongue.
"You have heard of our `great chief' 'Ngwanya, whose body lies in the
deep pool in the Tina river just below the drift where the wagons cross.
They tied him to a green iron-wood log and sunk him in the water so
that no enemy could obtain his bones wherewith to work magic against the
tribe. Every year are cast into the pool slaughtered oxen and new bowls
of beer as offerings. You may have noticed that no woman of the
Pondomisi ever lifts her skin skirt, no matter how high the water is, in
crossing the Tina.
"Well, in the days of 'Ngwanya, we Pondomisi occupied the whole of the
country between the Dedesi, at the source of the Umzimvubu, and the
Umtata. We were then a large tribe, and we feared no enemy. When we
rose against the English in the last war, we should have regained our
position had not our chief Umhlonhlo offended the `imishologu' by
killing his magistrate treacherously. Then an evil spirit put it into
the minds of some of us to attack the Fingoes of the Tsitsa, who
thereupon became our enemies instead of our allies, as had been
arranged. When Makaula and his Bacas slaughtered us in the Tina valley
the `imishologu' had turned their faces from us, and we knew it.
"'Ngwanya was old when his father died, and was the father of many sons
and daughters. The eldest daughter of his `great house' was Nomasaba,
and it is of the madness caused by her, which fell upon Gweva, the son
of Mehlo, that I am about to tell.
"Mehlo was the younger brother of 'Ngwanya. He was killed in a battle
with the Tembus, on the Bazaya Mountain. He was a young man of great
courage, and his death was so much lamented that his uncle, who had been
to him as a father, found his hair grow grey with grief. Mehlo had only
one wife--he had only been married a few months before his death. The
wife was, according to custom, taken into 'Ngwanya's household, and
when, half a year afterwards, she gave birth to a boy, it was said that
his name should be `Gwevu,' which means `grey.' Soon afterwards she
died, and the boy was formally adopted into 'Ngwanya's `great house.'
Once he was gored by a grey ox, and thereupon the witch-doctors said
that his name was an unlucky one, so they changed it to `Gweva,' which
means `one who spies about.'
"When Gweva was three years old, Nomasaba was born, and these two grew
up together in one hut. According to native custom they were brother
and sister. I have been told that amongst Europeans marriage is allowed
between people so related, but with us such a thing would be looked upon
as most horrible and unnatural.
"Gweva grew up exactly like what his father had been--tall and strong,
brave as a lion, and with eyes and voice that commanded the obedience of
men, even against their will. When hardly more than a lad he could
fling an assegai or a knobbed stick farther, and as true, as any man in
the tribe. But for the madness that fell on him he would have been
chief in the room of Pahlo, who was only of the right-hand house, the
only son of the `great house,' into which Gweva had been legally
adopted, having died young, through being bitten by a snake.
"Nomasaba was said to be the most beautiful woman ever seen. She was
not black, but of a rich brown colour; she had large, smooth, rounded
limbs, a neck like the trunk of a young tree, a bosom fit to give milk
to the son of a great chief, and pleasing features, which, however, but
seldom smiled. Her voice, although soft, was said to resemble that of a
man. Nomasaba was sought by many in marriage, but she treated all
offers with disdain.
"When Tahli succeeded Dayene as great chief of the Pondos, 'Ngwanya
became desirous that Nomasaba should be his `great wife,' so without the
girl's knowledge he sent messengers, of whom my grandfather was one, to
the `great place' in Pondoland, to open negotiations on the subject. My
grandfather, being fleet of foot, was sent with the assegai and the
`umlomo,' or `word present' for the intended bridegroom. These he
dropped in the Pondo chiefs presence and then, according to custom,
fled, pursued by the young men of the kraal. Although hard pressed, he
succeeded in escaping; otherwise, had he been caught, he would have been
driven homeward ignominiously with his hands bound behind him, and the
`umlomo' tied on his back.
"After this the women were sent to `hlolela' or `spy' for the bride, and
whilst they were absent on this errand Nomasaba was informed for the
first time of the marriage which had been arranged for her. To the
surprise and embarrassment of all, she declared that she did not want to
marry, and that nothing would induce her to go to the Pondo chief.
However, we natives have our own ways of arranging such matters, so no
notice was taken of her words.
"Gweva was absent on a military expedition against a clan of Tembus
which dwelt amongst the mountains just over our inland border, and which
had been raiding into our territory. He had departed shortly before the
first messengers were sent, and he did not return until after the
`hlolela' party had come back, having arranged all preliminaries.
Nomasaba was then told that she should start with the bridal party on a
certain day, and after declaring over and over again with considerable
violence that she would kill herself, and that they might take her dead
body to the Pondo chief, she suddenly changed her tone, and cheerfully
signified her willingness to accept Tahli as her husband.
"In due course the bridal party started. The bride was accompanied by
twenty girls and fifty young men, including my grandfather and Gweva,
who went as the representatives of 'Ngwanya. Amongst the girls was one
Nonsimbi, who was known as Nomasaba's shadow, for the reason that she
hardly ever left Nomasaba's side. She was a girl of fierce temper and
great strength, and she loved Nomasaba as a dog loves its master.
"The `great place' of the Pondo chief was distant about five days' walk
from that of 'Ngwanya. On the afternoon of the fourth day Nomasaba, at
whose side Nonsimbi was walking, suddenly fell to the ground with a
sharp cry. When questioned she said she had hurt her ankle, and that it
was impossible for her to proceed any farther. They were then on the
bank of the Umzimvubu river, close to the Lukawi drift, and there were
no dwellings of men close at hand. The huts at which it had been
arranged to sleep were still a long way ahead, so nothing could be done
except halt for the night where they were. Some of the young men went
into the forest close by to cut light poles and wattles which they meant
to bind together in the form of a litter, whereon to carry Nomasaba next
day unless, as appeared unlikely, she should prove to be better in the
morning.
"Nomasaba, moaning and crying out, limped, with the assistance of
Nonsimbi, to a spot a short distance apart from where the others had
halted, and there lay down.
"Next morning at daylight when the men awoke they found that Gweva, the
son of Mehlo, Nomasaba, and Nonsimbi had disappeared. Search was made
in every direction, but a heavy dew had fallen, and consequently no
spoor could be found. This, of course, indicated that the three must
have taken their departure early in the night.
_Two_.
"I will not say much about what happened to my grandfather, the men of
the escort, and the companions of the bride. They did not proceed to
the `great place' of the Pondo chief, but after searching much and
finding no trace of the missing ones, started for home, travelling so
fast, that although the return journey was up-hill, they performed it in
less than three days. They had much difficulty in persuading 'Ngwanya
of the truth of their story, and the lives of my grandfather and, in
fact, of all the men of the party, were in the greatest danger. To
avoid so far as possible any cause of quarrel, 'Ngwanya, who was at the
time at war with the Tembus, sent the fifty men who had formed the
escort unarmed to Tahli to answer for their carelessness, and suffer
such punishment as the Pondo chief might think fit to inflict. However,
by that time Tahli's wrath was no longer hot, so he sent them back
unpunished.
"What now follows was told many years afterwards when, 'Ngwanya being
dead and the Bahlo chief in his place, she ventured to return to the
Pondomisi country to die among her own people.
"It would appear that the plan of escaping was arranged before the
bridal party left 'Ngwanya's `great place,' in fact on the very day
Nomasaba stated her willingness to accept the Pondo chief as her
husband. The plan originated with Nomasaba herself, and she caused
Nonsimbi to communicate the same to Gweva. No particular spot was fixed
upon for the escape, it being settled that Gweva should give the signal
agreed upon, on reaching some locality where, from the density of its
forests and its lack of inhabitants, escape would be rendered easy.
"Through Nonsimbi's good management the fugitives were enabled to take
with them enough food to last several days. They fled quite early in
the night, in fact whilst some of the men were still talking around the
fires, and slipped at once into the forest. They then bore swiftly away
towards the coast by a route which Gweva had discovered in the afternoon
when cutting sticks for the litter whereon to carry Nomasaba.
"The coast country in this part of Pondoland is extremely broken, and
even now is well wooded, but in those days it was covered by dense,
almost continuous forest, which was full of elephants, buffaloes, and
other kinds of game. All this had been ascertained by Gweva from the
people of the kraals at which he and his party had rested on their way
down. Gweva's idea was to lie in hiding in the forest for some little
time, and then work his way down until he could manage to cross the
Umtata river and enter the country of the Amabonwane, who were reported
to be hospitable to strangers.
"In the forest track, however, were living a number of Pondo outlaws,
formerly the adherents of a chief who had rebelled against Tahli's
father Dayene, and had lost his life in consequence. These people were
fierce and brave; for years they had evaded the different expeditions
sent against them. They always made welcome and incorporated among
themselves any fugitives from Pondoland or elsewhere who were willing to
join them. They lived principally by hunting, but had entered into a
secret arrangement with those people living nearest the forest, who, in
return for being left unmolested, grew a little grain for the outlaws
and looked after the few cattle that they owned.
"One day Gweva and his two companions found themselves surrounded by a
number of these people. Instead, however, of being killed, as they
expected, the fugitives were civilly treated; eventually they were
received into full fellowship by the outlaw community.
"Gweva represented that his house had been `eaten up' after his father
had been `smelt out' by the witch-doctor, and killed, and that he, with
his wife and sister, for he represented Nonsimbi as standing in the
latter relationship towards himself, had fled in consequence from over
the Pondo border.
"Gweva soon became a leader amongst the outlaws; his bravery, his skill
in hunting, and his strength being very great. Nomasaba and Nonsimbi
built huts in a glade deep in the thickest part of the forest, and there
the three dwelt together for a time. But women were scarce among the
outlaws, and soon Nonsimbi found herself asked in marriage after a
manner which made it difficult for her to refuse, so she left the
dwelling of Gweva, and went to live with one of the leaders of the
outlaws as his wife.
"Gweva and Nomasaba dwelt together in the forest for four years, during
which time the man's madness did not abate, and it was said that the
madness of the woman became worse as time passed. Although living very
much to themselves and, in fact, avoiding other people as much as
possible, they seemed to be happy and contented with their lot. Early
in the second year Nomasaba bore a son, and in the year following she
was delivered of a daughter.
"The forest being full of game there was never any lack of meat; much
honey was to be found in the hollow trees: and the ground held many
roots which were fit for food. Besides, some few trees bore fruits, and
on the dead tree-trunks large mushrooms, good to eat, grew plentifully.
After they had become accustomed to the life, Gweva and Nomasaba ceased
to feel any hardship. Besides, their love-madness for each other was
such that they were content only to be together.
"It was early in the fourth year of Gweva's dwelling in the forest when
messengers from the Pondo chief arrived offering forgiveness to the
outlaws if they would consent to leave the forest and return to their
homes. The outlaws assembled and heard the words of the messengers, who
satisfied them that the proposals were made in good faith, and that the
chief really meant to overlook the past. Most of the outlaws were tired
of the life they were leading, so were glad to accept the terms
proposed, and return to their allegiance.
"The word being given, the whole outlaw community moved out of the
forest and assembled between the Umlengaan hill and the Umgazi river, at
a spot agreed upon. Here they were met by the chief induna of Tahli,
who had brought a herd of cattle given by the chief as a token of
forgiveness. The appearance of the outlaws was extremely fierce--they
were gaunt and worn from the effects of the hard life and the scarcity
of food. The children born in the forest were as wild as apes, and
showed great uneasiness in the open country. In passing through the
Umzimvubu forest, several of them ran away and hid, and were only
recovered after great difficulty.
"It was soon ascertained that Gweva, who was known amongst the outlaws
by the name of Sondaba, and his family were missing. No particular
attention was paid to this fact at the time, but some months afterwards,
when the people had settled in their old homes, it began to be talked
about. The late outlaws were naturally much given to discussion with
their old friends as to all that had happened in Pondoland during recent
years, and, as may be imagined, the disappearance of the daughter of the
Pondomisi chief when on her wedding journey did not fail to be
mentioned. Gradually the idea grew that the wife of Sondaba was the
missing bride, and the shocking suggestion that these two who lived as
man and wife were really brother and sister (as, according to our ideas,
they were) was whispered from one to another. Nonsimbi, who had also
changed her name, was questioned on the subject, but no information
could be elicited from her.
"The rumour at length reached the ears of Tahli, who sent word of it to
'Ngwanya, asking what he wished to be done. 'Ngwanya's wrath at the
flight of Nomasaba had from the first been fiercer than Tahli's, and his
heart was such that he never forgave an insult or an injury. He sent
back word to the Pondo chief that he wished his shameless daughter and
her criminal lover to be captured and sent to him for punishment. Such
punishment, the messengers added, would be of such severity that men
would talk of it for many years.
"Tahli thereupon dispatched an expedition to capture Gweva and Nomasaba.
Some of those who had been outlaws acted as guides, and accordingly, a
few days after the arrival of 'Ngwanya's messenger, the valley wherein
the huts of Gweva were built was surrounded by armed men. But Gweva,
who evidently had expected some such event, had removed from the valley
just after the departure of the outlaws, and taken up his abode some
distance away, nearer the sea.
"Gweva had great skill in the training of dogs to hunt, and it was
through his dogs that he was betrayed to his doom. After vainly
scouring the forest in unsuccessful search of the fugitives during
several days, the induna in charge of the expedition decided to return
home. He and the guides were of opinion that Gweva had fled across the
Umtata river.
"On the first day of the return journey one of a hunting party, that had
been led afar in pursuit of a wounded koodoo, heard a dog barking in the
distance. Following the sound, the men went up a narrow, winding valley
with steep, rocky sides, until they came to a cave. The dog had now
ceased barking, having been, as they afterwards found out, tied up
inside the cave. They had found tracks leading to the cave, so the men,
who were ten in number, formed a line before its mouth, so that none who
were inside could escape. They then advanced, and a man armed with a
large stabbing spear and a shield made of buffalo hide, came towards
them, calling out a warning that they were to advance no farther.
Behind him was a woman also armed with a spear. She had two children
with her, one she held to her breast, whilst the other clung to her skin
skirt. The man and woman looked so fierce that the ten stood still for
a space at their warning.
"`Who are you, and what do you want?' asked the man of the cave.
"`Who we are matters not,' replied the leader of the ten, `but we want
you, Gweva, and this wife of yours who is also your sister.'
"`My husband, it has come,' said the woman in a deep but quiet voice; `I
will do my work; see that you do yours as well.'
"With that she plunged the spear into the back of the little boy who was
clinging to her skirt; then she withdrew it, and drove it through the
body of the child which she held on her arm. This done, she flung down
the spear, lifted her arms high over her head, and cried out in a loud
voice:
"`My husband, I am ready--remember.'
"The man turned, lifted his spear, and smote the woman downwards above
the left breast.
"He withdrew the spear gently, and the woman sank slowly to the ground,
he supporting her to save her from falling, and holding his hand under
her head as she lay, until she ceased gasping.
"The man then lifted his shield from where he had placed it leaning
against a rock, put his arm through the loop-thong, and turned towards
the ten, who stood struck dumb and rigid by what they had seen. Those
who were living when the sun went down that day said that the face of
Gweva was like a thunder-cloud, and that red flashes darted out of his
eyes. He lifted his spear and sprang upon the ten like a wounded lion.
Their surprise at the deeds they had just witnessed was such, that they
were taken quite unprepared. Three fell dead from as many rapid
strokes, and then the others closed in on the desperate man, who did not
seem to heed the many wounds which were dealt him. A fourth fell with
his throat slit in such a manner that he soon afterwards died, and then
Gweva drove his spear so hard into the head of a fifth, through the eye,
that the weapon stuck by its edges between the bones of the aperture.
Being thus disarmed, Gweva was quickly pierced through the heart from
behind, so he sank dead to the ground.
"This was the end of Gweva, the son of Mehlo, who was smitten with such
a strange madness of desire for a woman whom he could not lawfully take
as his wife. Had he escaped this misfortune of love-madness, he might
have been `great chief' of the Pondomisi nation, and have taken a new
woman to his kraal each year, through all the years of his life."