A NATIVE COUNCIL.
Next morning we were roused at an early hour by the beating of drums.
When we came out we found that all the men of the village, with their
spears and shields, were assembled on one side of the hut where we had
drunk beer with Russuna on our arrival, while the women and children
were all away on the outskirts of the village, evidently ready to take
flight on the first symptom of trouble.
I watched Hatibu very anxiously, for I knew that this looked very much
as if the natives had an intention of attacking us. To show any signs of
fear would only have precipitated a conflict, so all he did was to
arrange our men that, if we were attacked, those with muskets would be
able to use them without being hampered by their companions. Before
moving, he waited for a message from Russuna.
Presently an old man came, accompanied by a couple of dwarfs with
enormous rattles in their hands, and through our guides he signified to
Hatibu to go to the large shed where his interview with Mona Mkulla was
to take place. Thither Russuna, followed by spear and shield bearer, and
men beating drums and playing upon instruments called marimba,[A] was
even then making his way.
We at once went to the place, and were most ceremoniously greeted by
Russuna. Pointing to a couple of stools which had been placed for Hatibu
and me, he wished the rest of our men to be drawn up where his own
people were standing. To this Hatibu would not agree, nor would he be
separated from his men. A dispute, which at one time threatened to be
serious, took place. Hatibu would not give way, and at last it was
conceded that his followers should stand or squat close behind him.
No sooner had this been settled than we heard drums and marimba outside
the village, which were answered by Russuna’s band. Then the spear and
shield bearers of the chief of a neighbouring village came in followed
by his band, the chief himself and his jester carrying a rattle. After
him came his fighting-men, numbering about forty, all armed with spears
and shields, many carrying bows as well, with six strips of cane for
bow-strings knotted over their left shoulders, and a large quiver full
of arrows on their backs. Hatibu, when he saw this, gripped me by the
arm, and pointing to them, signed that all this looked like preparation
for fighting; otherwise he did not show any signs of fear.
As soon as the procession reached the middle of the village it halted.
The old man who had summoned us, and acted as herald and master of the
ceremonies, went out, followed by his two dwarfs, and asked some
questions in a loud sing-song voice, which were replied to by the jester
of the new-comer proclaiming his master’s state and titles. After this
the bands struck up, and the warriors wheeled off and drew up near
Russuna’s; the chief then came in front of the hut and performed a
curious sort of dance, his jester all the time shaking his rattle and
proclaiming his master’s strong names. Afterwards he took his place
under the shed in a place pointed out by the master of the ceremonies,
his jester squatting at his feet and his band standing behind him.
As soon as this chief was installed in his place, another one arrived
and was received with the same ceremony; then another and another, until
at last there must have been, including Russuna, twenty chiefs present,
and at least eight hundred armed men, who were formed into a hollow
square round the shed, facing inwards. For some time we sat in silence,
not a man saying a word, and waited anxiously for the coming of the
great man Mona Mkulla himself. For him and his people five stools had
been reserved at the end of the hut opposite to where Hatibu and I were
sitting. I
[Illustration: WARRIORS OF MONA MKULLA.
_Page 235._]
looked anxiously at my companions to see what they thought of the
warlike array by which we were surrounded, and though they showed no
signs of fear I could see that all were anxious. From time to time a man
felt the flint of his musket to see that it was in good order and
properly fixed. Hatibu sat still and immovable, and did not permit a
sign of fear to escape him, though I could feel from time to time his
hand seize mine and give it a convulsive squeeze. For my own part I felt
intensely excited. The silence was so oppressive that I longed to give a
yell and rush at some one; but knowing the gravity of the situation I
restrained myself, and remained mute and motionless.
At last we heard more drums and music, and all the assembled bands
struck up in reply; then the warriors on one side of the square drew
aside, and a messenger decked in all the savage finery that he could
muster came to announce the arrival of Mona Mkulla. The master of the
ceremonies went out to meet this man, who recited the names and titles
of Mona Mkulla, the other answering by enumerating those of all the
chiefs who in obedience to his orders had assembled to meet him.
This being done, the head of Mona Mkulla’s procession came in sight.
First came five men bearing spears, one of which was of copper, of great
size, and elaborately ornamented; the bearer of this one walked in
advance of the other four.
Then came two women carrying a shield, having the centre covered with
elaborate patterns. Behind came four others, each carrying shields
decked in the same manner, though not so profusely, and followed by a
band of about thirty performers playing upon drums, marimba, and gourds
with holes pierced in them, from which some bugle-like sounds were
produced by the possessors blowing into them.
After the band came the great man himself, a young fellow of some four
or five and twenty, who alone of all the natives present was dressed in
cloth of European manufacture. He wore a kilt of gaudy red woollen cloth
trimmed with yellow, and a sort of tunic of the same material, the front
and back being of different colours, and the sleeves yet again differing
from them. As apparently the material had run short, it was eked out by
pieces of grass-cloth, and the whole was trimmed with the skins of the
rare and beautiful tippet monkey, the effect being bizarre in the
extreme. Round his neck, arms, and legs were masses of beads; while his
kilt was secured by three strings of opal-coloured glass beads as large
as pigeon’s eggs.
On his head most attention had been lavished. He had a very small beard
twisted together, and, I believe, artificially lengthened; on it were
strung three large beads like those round his waist, and the end was
knotted to a cowry. From each ear hung the polished base of a shell,
which is one of the most valued possessions of the inhabitants of the
interior. Round his temples was bound a fillet some two inches wide,
bordered with cowries and embroidered with beads, into which were stuck
the scarlet feathers of a bird called the kuru-kuru, which only great
chiefs are allowed to wear. His hair was divided into four parts, and
crossed over a cushion of bark which was painted bright red. So far the
effect was striking and handsome; but to be different from his
neighbours he had a cap, made of the same stuff as his kilt, perched on
the top of the other adornments, and looking most ridiculous and
inappropriate.
He was followed by four dwarfs, two of whom were deformed and misshapen,
and the other two were covered with huge wenlike blotches--whether
natural or artificial I did not know. All carried huge rattles, and
cried out shrilly the names of their masters.
Behind the dwarfs came a man carrying an idol about two feet high in his
arms, and he was followed by three other men carrying gourds and
baskets. Next came four women, and then a large body of armed men.
I thought this looked all very serious, and was astonished to see that
Hatibu and his men had lost all appearance of anxiety; but I soon found
that the presence of women in Mona Mkulla’s train meant that peace was
decided on, and there was no danger of our being attacked.
Mona Mkulla and his train walked three times round the hut, into which
he then came, and with one of his women danced seriously and gravely for
over a quarter of an hour. He then seated himself on the stool which
had been prepared for him, with two of his women on either side. The
idol was placed on a lion’s skin which was spread in front of him, and
on it was also heaped a quantity of charms and fetiches, produced out of
the baskets and gourds carried by the companions of the bearer of the
idol.
These men sat at the four corners of the skin, and the dwarfs squatted
at their master’s feet. Each of the assembled chiefs now did homage to
Mona Mkulla, and placed some small offering--a handful of cowries, a few
shells, the feathers of the kuru-kuru, or something of the kind--on the
lion-skin as an offering and symbol of their subjection to him.
Last of all Hatibu came and placed his present among the others, and
then talking commenced. I was amused to see the vehemence of the orators
as different chiefs urged what they thought should be the proper course
to pursue with regard to what should be done to the strangers; for I saw
before long that the ivory which had brought us here was a mere pretext,
and that Mona Mkulla was more desirous of impressing upon us the extent
and greatness of his power than of selling any quantity of ivory.
I watched Hatibu as he listened to the speakers, and from the variations
of his countenance I could see when the debate was going for or against
us. I afterwards found out that many of the chiefs had wished to kill us
then and there, and bid defiance to the Arab traders, whom even then
they were beginning to fear; but others were in favour of trading with
them, and among the number was Mona Mkulla himself, who being desirous
of more cloth and beads, was willing to be friendly.
Hatibu at last spoke, and both in manner and gesture did remarkably
well. He urged upon Mona Mkulla that it was only by trading with the
Arabs he could possibly obtain the things he longed for; and that though
he might kill fifty, a hundred, or a thousand Arabs and their followers,
others would still come, undeterred by danger. Instead of coming as
friends, however, they would come as enemies, and the arms of the
natives could not prevail against them.
I could see that even as he spoke the faces of those who seemed most
bitterly opposed to us changed, and when he finished speaking and sat
down there was a general murmur of approval from all the chiefs. I
thought all was now finished; but it was not so. The men round the idol
had now to consult it. This they did with many fantastic capers, and
much shuffling and changing of the positions of the charms which
surrounded it, preparing, as I could see well enough, to give a verdict
hostile to us.
The men who had been won over by Hatibu’s arguments again became sullen
and gloomy, and looking at the masses of armed men who surrounded us I
saw that they only wanted a word to throw themselves on us and spear us
to death before we could raise a hand in self-defence.
At this supreme moment Hatibu rose to the occasion, and getting up from
his seat he from a small bag he had concealed under his clothes produced
some shell ornaments like those in the king’s ears, and gave one to each
of the soothsayers, while the remainder he threw down before the idol. I
was afraid such barefaced bribery would fail; but Hatibu knew his men
better than I did. The charms and fetiches were soon rearranged, and it
was pronounced as the sentence of the wooden image that Mona Mkulla and
the new-comers could be friends.
This verdict was not received with universal satisfaction, for some of
the chiefs sprang to their feet and protested loudly against it. As they
found themselves disregarded, they called to their followers and left
the assembly in high dudgeon. Their departure called forth no remark,
but soon after twenty slaves loaded with ivory were marched into the
centre of the village and presented to Hatibu as a token of Mona
Mkulla’s friendship and goodwill.