Chapter XXV

Mikula at the Christmas Festival

Months glide quickly by while working hard--Deacon’s

meeting--Church-meeting--The kind of candidates who were

rejected--Baptismal service--The great meeting of the

Church--Election of deacons--The balance sheet--A deficit--Native

Christians wipe out the debt--Local missionary meeting--The great

communion service.

How quickly the months glided by! Mikula, my owner, was a busy man of

affairs. As deacon and teacher he voluntarily gave many days every month

to his arduous duties--visiting lukewarm members and absentees from

communion, investigating charges brought against such as were accused of

breaking the Church’s rules, examining and instructing candidates for

Church fellowship, receiving the contributions from Church members,

paying the teachers of his district their monthly allowances, performing

the rites of burial and of marriage, preaching in his own town and

frequently visiting other towns and villages to proclaim the Gospel of

Jesus Christ.

Besides all these labours for the Church, he helped his wife by doing

the roughest work on the farm, visited many of the markets for purposes

of trade, for this was his principal means of subsistence--the means by

which he met his various obligations as a man, a husband, and a Church

member.

If he had devoted the whole of his time to trading he would have been a

rich man. He was ’cute, smart, and energetic enough; but he preferred

laying up treasure in heaven where neither white ants, nor rats, nor

mildew could depreciate the value of his wealth.

It was thus the months passed all too quickly, and brought us to the

great Church Festival held at Christmas-time, and the three principal

events of this gathering were the Church-meetings, the baptisms, and the

communion service.

Messengers and letters had been sent to all the deacons and teachers

spread over the three thousand square miles that comprised the parish of

the Wathen missionaries. These letters had informed the officials and

Church members of the date upon which they were to assemble, and urging

them to come in large numbers.

During all the afternoon and evening of the appointed Saturday, groups

of men and women were continually arriving on the station, and the

housing accommodation was taxed to its utmost capacity. The programme

for the meeting had been arranged about a month before, and every male

and female missionary had had their parts apportioned to them; but

unhappily just on the very eve of the meetings two of the white men went

down with very serious fevers, and the depleted little band of white

folk had to work the harder to make up for those unfortunately laid

aside.

At four o’clock on the Saturday afternoon the deacons were assembled,

and the business to be laid before the coming Church meeting was

thoroughly examined, such as cases of discipline, fitness of applicants

for Church membership, the work, pay, and appointments of teachers to

new spheres, or their removal from one place to another, and the many

other points that demanded attention and investigation.

Soon after seven o’clock the bell rang out calling all those concerned

to the Church meeting. About five hundred male and female members

gathered. A hymn was sung, a prayer offered, a portion of Scripture was

read, the minutes of the previous month were read and confirmed, and

then the business of the meeting began--of course, everything was

conducted in the vernacular, consequently everybody present could enter

fully into the matters laid before them. After various items of business

had been voted upon, the claims of candidates for Church membership were

scrutinized and voted upon by those present.

While they were considering Mr. A.’s desire to join the Church, a member

arose and stated that the applicant had a very bad temper, became

enraged at the smallest annoyance, and frequently for no reason at all;

and the speaker thought that the candidate should by properly and

continually controlling his irritable nature get a better temper before

he was received into the Church. The other members thought the same, and

voted that Mr. A. should wait for a few months and be informed of the

reason.

A little later the case of Mr. B. was under consideration, when a native

of his village arose and said that the candidate was a very lazy man,

lounging about the village all day, living on his wife; and he thought

that such a person was undesirable as a Church member. Let him do some

work and be honestly industrious for a year and then apply again. The

vote was taken, and Mr. B. was counted as unworthy of Church membership

until he had changed his lazy habits.

Later still in the evening the name of Mr. D. was mentioned as desirous

of joining the Church, when a neighbour of his jumped to his feet

saying: “Mr. D. is in debt to many people in his village and to others

in the surrounding villages. Now we think that a member of this Church

should not be in debt to any one; let him pay all his debts first and

then apply for membership.” Hence Mr. D. was informed afterwards that he

must go and pay his debts and apply later.

Others were rejected through lack of knowledge of the fundamentals of

the Christian religion; others for using fetishes and charms, thus

showing they were not altogether free of their heathen superstitions;

and others because their lives were not consistent with their Christian

profession. But after all this winnowing there were more than twenty who

were recognized as worthy of joining the Church.

The following day, Sunday, commenced with an early morning prayer and

praise meeting; then at the nine o’clock service the missionary preached

a suitable sermon to the accepted candidates on some of the passages in

Revelation, where the word “overcome” occurs; and at the close the

candidates for baptism arose one by one, and in simple language, and,

often with much nervousness, bore his or her testimony to the pardoning

love of God in Christ Jesus that had called them out of the great

darkness into His marvellous light. And then we adjourned to the place

where the baptismal rite was to be administered.

The place was about a mile from the station, and the baptistery was

formed by the natural widening of the stream into a pool that answered

the purpose as though it had been designed especially. The stream came

from an open valley, and, filling the pool, passed beneath the cool

shelter of some trees that threw a shade over a part of the shore, that

by a steepish slope led down to the water. This incline was covered with

people in their varied coloured dresses and cloths, tier above tier,

that were desirous of witnessing the baptisms. Many lads and young men

had waded across the water, and had seated themselves on the edge of the

farther bank, from which point of advantage they gained an uninterrupted

view of all that took place. Around the nearer side of the pool,

occupying positions right on the very edge of the water, were those who

were to undergo the rite of baptism--the observed of all observers,

nervously conscious of all eyes being fixed upon them.

A baptismal hymn was very heartily sung, two deacons offered prayer, and

then one by one, the women first, and then the men, the candidates

entered the pool and were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit--buried with Him in the waters, a symbol that the old,

heathen life was finished, and raised again--a sign that henceforth they

were to lead new lives of faith, purity and love in Jesus Christ.

Soon after ten o’clock on Monday morning the bell sounded forth its

clamorous call to the great Church meeting. The large building was soon

filled with more than six hundred Church members--male and female, who

had gathered to elect their deacons for the ensuing year, to hear of the

progress of Christ’s kingdom in their large parish, and to have laid

before them a financial statement concerning the income and expenditure

of the closing year.

[Illustration: A NATIVE MARKET.]

[Illustration:

_Photo_] BAPTISMAL SERVICE, CHRISTMAS, 1905. [_J. R. M. Stephens._

]

All deacons, no matter in what month they were elected, relinquished

office automatically at the end of the year, therefore one member of the

Church proposed, and another seconded a resolution of thanks to the

deacons for their work during the past year. This was carried

unanimously with much clapping of hands--a purely native mode of

expressing thanks whether performed by an individual or a crowd. Then

two others proposed and seconded a request that the retiring deacons be

asked to take office again for the coming year, with two exceptions. One

deacon during the year had broken a rule of the Church, and as it was

essential for the welfare of the Church that their deacons should be

blameless in life and character, he was not re-elected. Another deacon

had exhibited much incapacity and such an utter lack of zeal in the

discharge of his important duties, that he was asked to stand on one

side to make room for a better man. The rest were re-elected with

acclamation. Their spokesman replied in a few suitable words, and begged

them to remember their deacons always in prayer that they might perform

their difficult duties worthily of the Master they all desired to serve.

It was felt in consequence of the work extending so rapidly that the

number of deacons should be increased to twenty-five to adequately cope

with the work. Men, therefore, of strong character, of long, faithful

service, and good Christian lives were chosen and voted to the office to

make up the desired number.

Then the missionary who had charge of the Church books wrote on a

black-board the number of members in fellowship at the beginning of the

year, the number of those who had been expelled for inconsistency, the

number who had passed to the eternal home during the twelve months, the

large number that had been baptized on profession of their faith in

Christ, and it was shown that those who were enjoying all the privileges

of Church membership made a grand total of 1674. Here and there over the

building could be heard ejaculations of “Tutondele Mfumu Nzambi!” (“We

thank Thee, Lord God!”)

The white man then put another black-board in position, and wrote on it

all the offerings from the various districts, the amount of the July

Harvest Thanksgiving, and sundry other items to the credit of the Church

accounts--it reached some hundreds of thousands of brass rods. On

another black-board he wrote down the cost of the teachers in the

different districts, and when these were added up there was a large

deficit. What were they to do--leave the Church in debt, or withdraw

some of the teachers? No, they must wipe that debt off!

Another black-board was quickly in position to receive their offerings

for clearing away the deficit. A white teacher present said: “I will

give two thousand rods towards the debt.” But a native deacon arose to

his feet and said: “White man, we thank you for your kind offer to help

us; but this is our work for Jesus Christ, and we intend to do it by

paying that debt ourselves. Christ has done so much for us, that we must

do this little bit of work for Him.”

During the next hour the missionaries were very busy writing down gifts

and promises; and gradually the debt shrank until at last it

disappeared. They had contributed over £180 to meet the entire expenses

of their local missionary work. It was a large sum for poor people; but

it was an expression of their gratitude to God for all the benefits they

had received through the preaching of the Gospel. If it had been

possible to value all the voluntary work done by deacons and Church

members, the above amount would have been more than doubled.

That night a missionary meeting was held. The building was full; bright

and inspiring hymns were sung; and one teacher after another told of the

difficulties and triumphs of the Gospel in his part of the district.

Then two of the white men spoke of the grand results that had attended

the efforts of other missionaries at the various stations on the Upper

and Lower Congo. They summed up by saying: that thirty years ago there

was not a single language that had been reduced to writing, now eight

had been mastered, and into them more or less of God’s Word had been

translated; thirty years ago and there was not a single person on the

Congo who knew how to read or write, now there were thousands of men and

women, boys and girls who were reading God’s Word in their own

languages; thirty years ago there was not a single native teacher on the

Congo, now there were nearly five hundred--two-thirds of whom were

entirely supported by the free-will offerings of the native Christians,

and the other third doing voluntary work in their own towns and

villages; thirty years ago not a solitary brass rod was given to God’s

work--but hundreds of thousands of them were spent on witch-doctors,

fetishes and charms, now over £400 a year are given by native Christians

that others might hear the glad news of Christ’s redemption; thirty

years ago there was not a single Christian throughout the whole length

and breadth of Congoland, now in fellowship with the B. M. S. Churches

alone there are nearly 3500 Church members, and God Himself alone knows

the great number that has already passed from the Church militant on

earth, through faith in Christ, to the Church triumphant in heaven that

is gathering around the great white throne of the Lamb. These are 3500

fulfilments of God’s promises; 3500 encouragements to continue the work

with zeal and aggressiveness; 3500 proofs of the power of the Gospel to

change the hearts, and purify the lives of men and women.

It was about eleven o’clock next morning when that bell called the

Christians and their friends to the last great meeting of the festival.

The building in which the service was held was long, wide and rather

squatty, with no claim to beauty or dignity, and no pretensions to

architectural elegance; and although in the eyes of men it might

honestly be styled ugly, yet in the eyes of angels it must be very

beautiful--for it is the birthplace of many a soul.

It was all too small that day to hold the crowd that pressed into it.

The seats soon filled, and the mats that had been spread on every

available space quickly received more than their full quota of people,

and the doors and windows rapidly filled with folk who listened as

eagerly as those who were inside the building. How heartily they all

entered into the simple service!

The preacher knew their difficulties, their temptations and their

weaknesses; he knew the pit of heathenism from which they had been

digged; and he knew that they were going back to their towns, villages

and homes to live among superstitious heathen neighbours, so he preached

to them with the power born of full and deep conviction from 2 Tim. i.

12; and they by and by returned home strengthened to continue the fight

knowing that God was with them, and, therefore, they were on the winning

side.

The preaching service over, the non-members left the building, and their

places were immediately filled with those Church members who had been

standing round the doors and windows. Over seven hundred persons were

present to take the communion.

The eyes of the white man who officiated dimmed with tears as he looked

over that crowded assembly of communicants. He thought of those who had

borne the heat and burden of the day, those who had toiled and died

without knowing of any results to their labour; he thought of those who,

baffled and defeated by broken health, had been compelled to retire from

the dangerous climate; he thought of those native teachers who had lived

faithfully and worked arduously to bring about this grand gathering; and

he thought also of that vast number of friends in the homeland who by

their labours, gifts and prayers had made this glorious assembly

possible. Surely all would ultimately rejoice together in the great,

glad cry of Harvest Home! Perhaps--who can tell?--the spirits of those

who have passed away, missionaries and supporters--white and black

workers alike, were, some of them, present at that service and were

rejoicing together over so numerous a company of ransomed souls.

It was in a tremulous voice that the white man addressed a few words to

those who were to be received in that day, and then he took each by the

hand and welcomed him and her into fellowship in the name of the Church.

After that a prayer was offered that these new brethren and sisters

might ever remain true witnesses for Christ, the Saviour.

A hymn was then sung that the hearts and thoughts of all present might

be centred on the purpose of their presence in the gathering--to

commemorate the death of their dear Lord until He come.

One of the deacons prayed for a blessing on the “bread,” and it was then

dispensed among the communicants, and after they had partaken of it they

bowed their heads in reverent worship. The cups were then distributed to

every member in that great assembly. Another deacon pleaded with God for

a blessing on the cup; and then the missionary arose, and holding his

cup in his hand, said: “This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this

do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as oft as ye eat

this bread, and drink this cup ye do show the Lord’s death until He

come.”

And as soon as his tones had died away seven hundred cups were raised

and drained to the memory of their Saviour, and seven hundred hearts

bowed in prayer before the Lord. In a little time there arose upon the

air a song of faith. It was a translation of that incomparable hymn--

"There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

"Dear dying Lamb! Thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power

Till all the ransomed Church of God

Be saved to sin no more.

“Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I’ll sing Thy power to save,

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue,

Lies silent in the grave.”

NOTES TO PART I

1. _Being only eleven inches long_ (page 1).--Over a very large part of

the Congo soft brass wire of 34 gauge is now, and has been for many

years, the currency and the standard of value among the natives. This

wire was probably, in the first instance, introduced and used for

ornamental purposes, as binding round spears and knives, or beaten out

into ribbons of brass for decorating the hafts of their best spears and

paddles. At first the wire was bought in long lengths of so many

fathoms, according to the needs of the buyer and the purchasing power of

the article he offered the trader in exchange for it. Later they found

it more easy of manipulation to have it in lengths of thirty inches, and

these were shortened by those who had large numbers of them cutting off

a half-inch from each one and melting the small pieces down for brass

anklets, necklets, and bracelets, thus procuring their brass for

nothing, _i. e._ cutting off short pieces from each rod and passing the

rods again into currency at their normal value. So much of this was done

that the thirty-inch rod was reduced to twenty-seven inches, and sellers

of goods consequently demanded more rods of the shorter ones than of the

longer lengths.

This process of snipping off little pieces has gone on for thirty years,

and the result is that the brass rod has gradually decreased in length

until now, on the Lower Congo, it is scarcely five inches, and among the

Boloki of the Monsembe district it is only eleven inches, and if the

introduction of money does not displace the rod it will become only four

or five inches in that part also.

Of course, as the rod lessens in length the seller of an article demands

more of them for his goods. Thus an article that once cost three rods of

thirty-inch wire now costs thirty of the five-inch rods; for not only

has the rod shortened in length, but through the introduction of so much

brass wire into the country during the last quarter of a century it has

decreased in value. I hope some day to take the Rod among those people

who use an eleven-inch brass rod as their money.

2. _Kroo boys_ (p. 3).--These were natives procured from the Kroo Coast

to work the cargo on the steamers that ran along the west coast of

Africa. Only sufficient white sailors were carried to work the ship from

starting port to the Kroo country. On arrival there, the ship fired a

gun to intimate its need of a gang of Kroo “boys” to handle the cargo.

These “boys” were any age from about eighteen to fifty, and in a gang

there were generally about forty to fifty “boys” under a head man.

Most captains had a head man who gathered a gang ready by the time his

ship returned from its European port. For example: a ship leaves

Liverpool, and on arriving at the coast picks up its head man and gang

of “boys,” who work the winches, man the boats and handle the cargo all

the way along the coast and back again to their own country, where they

are paid off in barter goods, powder, guns, rum and gin at the rate of

one shilling a day. They then rest after their arduous work until that

ship returns, and they engage themselves for another trip. The Congo

boats now pick up their Kroo “boys” at Sierra Leone on the outward

voyage, and drop them there on the homeward journey, and pay them in

cash at the rate of about one shilling to one and sixpence per day and

their rations.

When not in port these Kroo “boys” polished the brasswork, scraped the

iron, cleaned the paint, holystoned the deck, etc.; but when in port

they went into the holds, tied up the cargo in slings, hoisted it by

winches, put it over the side into boats, and rowed it ashore. They were

hard-working men who toiled from 4 a.m. until 10 or 12 p.m., only

resting for their meals of boiled rice, salt beef or fish, and ship’s

biscuits.

3. _Peasoup_ (p. 4).--When the writer went to Congo first in 1881 there

came on board at the Kroo coast a head man whose name was Peasoup. For

many years he had acted as head man for the captain of that ship, who,

as an acknowledgment of his various good qualities, and as a joke,

presented him with a brass plate to hang round his neck by means of a

chain. The following words were engraved on it--

PEASOUP

Captain Jolly’s Head Man.

A Rogue, Thief, and a Liar.

Peasoup was a tall, thin, grey-headed, bandy-legged man; and I used to

see him polish the plate every morning, hang it across his chest, and

with knock-knees and bandy legs strut the deck and order his men about

as proud as any general with a breast hidden by medals.

Peasoup knew English fairly well, but, of course, could not read it; but

he would never accept as true the accurate rendering of his much-prized

brass plate. Passengers read it correctly to him; but with a laugh he

would retort: "You white men, you no sabbe read them thing properly. Him

live for say: ‘Peasoup, Captain Jolly’s Head Man. Him be plenty, proper,

good man.’"

Since those days Peasoup has passed away, leaving his brass plate as an

heirloom to his family, and if not melted down into a brass ornament, it

may turn up some day as a relic of a joke played by a master on a decent

servant in “the good old days” on the West African Coast.

4. _Riddles and conundrums_ (p. 9) were called _ngwala_; _ta e ngwala_ =

to pour out or ask a riddle; _twasa e ngwala_ = to fetch a riddle here,

_i. e._ give us a riddle; _nua e ngwala_ = give us the answer, or, lit.,

to drink the riddle.

_Ngwala_ also means spirits, rum, gin, from a corruption and a

shortening of the Portuguese word _aguardente_ = _gwaladente_ =

_ngwala_. The “r” is always turned into “l,” and the “g” takes the nasal

“n” before it. It is very probable that they pun on the double meaning

of the word _ngwala_ = riddle, and gin. Hence the usual form of asking a

conundrum is--

_Ngwala yeye_ = here is gin, _i. e._ here is a riddle.

_Ta e ngwala_ = pour out the gin, _i. e._ state the riddle (or _twasa e

ngwala_ = bring the gin here).

If those asked cannot give the answer, they say--

_Nua e ngwala_ = drink the gin, _i. e._ give us the answer yourself, as

we cannot guess it.

The natives of the Lower Congo are very fond of this pastime, but one

needs to understand the customs, language, and surroundings to properly

appreciate the conundrums; consequently only a few almost self-evident

ones, or those easily explained, are put in the text.

5. _It was a fetish_ (p. 12).--The early traders on the Congo placed in

their large stores a fetish to deter the natives from robbing them. It

was generally a large, gaudily-coloured, hideous image put on the top

shelf opposite the door, from which position it was supposed to dominate

and guard the contents of the whole building. Many traders called their

store “the fetish” because of the presence of this ugly figure in it.

This fetish exercised little, if any, deterrent power over the natives

for two reasons: (1) No witch-doctor would waste good “medicine,”

procured with difficulty, on making a fetish powerful for a mere white

man, and the natives knew this; and (2) supposing the witch-doctor put

proper “medicine” into the fetish, yet it needed periodic reinvigorating

at the hands of the witch-doctor, otherwise it became weak and useless;

and it would also require a sacrifice, certainly not less frequently

than once a month, of either a large fowl or a goat, or it would become

sulky and not act on behalf of its owner. Now I never heard of a white

man renewing the energy of his fetish by paying a witch-doctor to

palaver over it at stated intervals, nor did I ever hear of a white man

offering a sacrifice to the fetish in his store; therefore while the

trader was relying on his fetish to guard his goods, his native servants

and workpeople were laughing at it as an ineffective carved figure.

6. _In the sea there is a hole_ (p. 17).--Water sprites are supposed to

make the trade cloth, and as it is so finely woven the natives think

that these particular sprites have only _one eye_, i. e. that the visual

power of two eyes is focussed in one that it may see to do such fine

work.

7. _Some of his companions laughed_ (p. 20).--We are apt to think that

all natives are equally superstitious, but that is not so. A man may be

a devout believer in charms and fetishes, he may decorate his person,

his house, his children, his pigs, his goats and his dogs with as many

charms as he can afford to buy, or he may quietly leave all the charms

and fetishes severely alone, and no one will think the better or worse

of him; but he must believe in witchcraft, in witches and their occult

power, or his life will be made wretched with accusations of witchcraft.

I have known some natives to surround themselves with fetishes and

charms, and most scrupulously observe all rites and ceremonies, and I

have known others to disregard the whole box of tricks and hold them in

contempt.

8. _Burial postponed_ (p. 24).--It is not uncommon to postpone the

funeral of an important person for many months, and even years. The

writer once buried a man who had been dead for nearly fifteen years. The

persons responsible put off the expense as long as possible, and it is

probable they would not then have interred the corpse, but the King

ordered the family “to finish the palaver.” There was another case of a

body being left unburied for over twenty years because the man who was

responsible for the cost of the funeral believed that he would “die the

day after he buried the corpse.” Many thought that this was only an

excuse to avoid the expense. The body was dried, wound in cloth, stored

in a house specially built for the purpose, and guarded by relays of

young women.

9. _Nkandu_ (p. 25).--See Chapter XVIII on Governing, Marketing, and

Trading (p. 223).

10. _Cassava flour_ (p. 26).--Mandioc (or cassava) was introduced into

Congo from South America about the end of the fifteenth or beginning of

the sixteenth century. Its native name is _madioka_, an evident attempt

at saying mandioc. The roots when matured were soaked for a few days in

pools, or streams, by which time they were soft. They were then peeled,

cut in halves or quarters, and put on stones and small platforms in the

sun until the pieces were quite dry. After this the pieces were laid out

on shelves over their fires until friable, and they were then easily

pounded in a mortar, sifted through a fine sieve, and the result was a

very fine, white flour. Raw mandioc contains prussic acid, but the

poison is eliminated by heat.

11. _Kwanga_ (p. 26).--The cassava root was soaked, peeled, and cored,

as under note 10. Then, instead of being dried, it was thoroughly

kneaded and all lumps removed. The dough-like substance was made into

long sausages of various lengths and thicknesses, according to the

districts, or into balls like suet puddings. I have seen the sausages in

one district twenty feet long and two inches thick, and in another

twelve inches long and four inches thick. But whatever the shape, the

dough was wrapped in palm-leaves, or in leaves like the aspidistra, and

steamed until well cooked. These _kwanga_ would then keep sweet for

several days. They were sold on the markets, and an average price would

be at the rate of four shillings for two cwt.; and four pounds were

quite sufficient for a man per day.

12. _Bolt his food_ (p. 29).--It was not the custom at ordinary meals

for the natives to eat greedily, but on occasions such as this, when all

sorts of folk were thrown together, each one ate as much as he could

get. See paragraph on greediness in the Introduction to the “Folk-Lore

Stories.”

13. _Luku_ (p. 38).--The cassava flour is made as under note 10, and the

_luku_ is prepared in the following way: A saucepan of water is set on

the fire, and when the water boils, the cook takes a basket of the flour

and sprinkles it with one hand in the boiling water and stirs it with a

stick held in the right hand. This process is continued until the

porridge is stiff and can be turned out as one whole pudding from the

saucepan. When a person is eating it, he breaks off a piece, rolls it in

his fingers, dips it in some gravy and then lets it roll down his throat

without masticating, otherwise it will stick to the teeth like toffee.

14. _Glass vessel_ (p. 44).--In the original it is _ekumbi dia pelo_ =

ship of glass; pelo is from the Portuguese _espelho_ = mirror, glass,

etc. Probably glass was first seen by the natives in the form of

looking-glasses, and _ekumbi dia pelo_ might be translated--the mirror

or looking-glass ship.

The introduction of glass, guns, etc., into their stories are indicative

of native readiness to expand their tales by the free assimilation of

new ideas received from contact with foreigners. This has also had a

wide influence on their language and fetish religion. This story I first

heard in 1882 at San Salvador.

15. _Laid beads_ (p. 45).--In San Salvador and district beads form the

currency. They are round blue beads three-eighths of an inch in length

and about a quarter of an inch thick. One hundred of these beads

threaded on a cotton cost, invoice price, one farthing, and one egg cost

one string of beads. It was possible to buy little lots of food for ten

and fifteen beads. The phrase “laid beads” is equal to “laid money.” In

an Upper River story the fowl “laid brass rods,” _i. e._ the currency,

money.

16. _Ndungu_ (p. 52) is equivalent to our phrase “you are becoming

cold,” and the more indifferently it was uttered by the crowd, the more

certain was the witch-doctor that he had guessed wide of the mark. See

next note.

17. _Otuama_ (p. 52) is our way of saying “you are becoming hot,” and by

this the witch-doctor knew he was getting very near in his guesses, and

the more excitedly it was shouted, the nearer the guesser knew he was to

the facts of the case. In Chapter XXII the whole trick is more fully

explained. See also preceding note.

18. _Ran for his gun_ (p. 53).--I was talking in 1908 to a former

witch-doctor, who told me that he had been threatened three times with

guns by those whom he had accused of witchcraft, and if he had not

precipitately fled he would have been shot. Hence those _ngangas_ who

engaged in witch-finding always made sure of their fees first, and sent

them away by their assistants, hurrying off themselves directly they had

accused their man. It was dangerous work.

19. _Mboma_ (pp. 59, 78).--In San Salvador and its neighbourhood this

word meant the south bank of the Congo River from Ennoki to Matadi, or

such trading-stations as existed on that part of the river. This _mboma_

was from eighty to ninety miles from San Salvador, and took a caravan

about five days to traverse it. Special letter carriers would cover the

distance in three days. This word we generally translated “coast.”

20. _Congo dia Ngungu_, or, in its fuller native form, _Ekongo dia

Ngunga_ (p. 60).--Scattered over the country are several Congos (or

Kongos), as _Kongo dia Mpalabala_, _Kongo dia Lembwa_, etc. To

distinguish San Salvador from the other towns bearing the name of Kongo

it was known by the natives either as _Kongo dia Ntotela_ = Kongo of the

King, or _Kongo dia N gunga_ = Kongo of the Bell. The former designation

referred to the town as the capital of the country and the residence of

the King. The latter name is probably due to the fact that the

Portuguese Roman Catholics in the sixteenth century built a cathedral

and monastery there, and used a large bell to call the people to the

services. Such a bell would be a wonder to the natives, and quite

sufficient to cause them to name the town the Kongo of the Bell.

21. _Smell of white man_ (p. 61).--However contemptuously we may talk

about the “smell of niggers” or “of Chinese” and others, there is no

doubt that we of the white race emit an odour that is very noticeable to

other races. Repeated bathing and frequent changes of clothes will not

eradicate the odour, for a black man can tell when another black man has

been within a yard of any white man for a short time. Account for it how

you will, the black, red, yellow and white races each emits an effluvium

peculiarly its own and offensive to the others--we must, therefore, bear

and forbear. We as a white race are used to our own scent and do not

notice it, and when one lives a long time amongst black people he

becomes accustomed to their odour.

Occasionally I have been with a white man who, in spite of scrupulous

cleanliness, was very malodorous through suffering from empyreuma; and I

have met here and there a native whose smell was especially offensive,

and it was as objectionable to his black neighbours as to us. The

natives have a definite word for such malodorous emanations. Some lads

have told me that the perspiration of some white men has made them

vomit.

22. _You white man_ (p. 63).--A native has just as much objection to

being called “a white man” as a white man has to being called “a

nigger.” In both languages it is an insult to be resented.

23. _Screaming_ (p. 64).--In the pioneer years of the mission, when

white folk were seldom seen and were always regarded with superstitious

fear, I was frequently startled out of my sleep by women screaming out:

“The white man has stolen my child!” And I have wondered on more than

one occasion whether the half-sleepy folk would in a stupid panic turn

me out of their town in the middle of the night or do even worse.

24. _Mboma_.--See note 19.

25. _Fines paid for judging_ (p. 92).--All fines received by a native

judge are periodically divided among the chiefs of the district, who

combine to enforce the law. If a pig or a goat is given, then the meat

is shared out or the market value put into the fund. The money or goods

are divided according to the rank and influence of the chiefs, and he

who might be called the chairman, or principal, received twice as much

as any of the others.

26. _No shelves_ (p. 95).--Many years ago, after much persuasion, I

induced some natives from the Zombo country to come into my house at San

Salvador. The first thing they did was to scan with much eagerness the

walls of my rooms, and on asking them what they were looking for, they

replied, “We have always heard and believed that you white men bought up

the dead bodies of the black people, stored them on shelves in your

houses, and on the first good opportunity sent them to Mputu (Europe),

where by your wonderful magic you returned the life of the corpses, and

they then worked for you as slaves; but we cannot see the shelves.”

“But why did you think we bought corpses?” I asked, with much wonder and

amazement.

“We can understand why traders come to this country,” they answered,

“but we cannot understand why your kind of white men come, for you do

not trade, so we think you have some wicked purpose underlying your

presence in our land.”

Believing such ghastly things about us, their opposition to us and

hatred of us were no longer a surprise to me. The wonder is that they

did not murder all of us. We have had to live down their prejudices,

remove their foolish beliefs about us, and turn their suspicions into

confidence and love.

27. _Trade gin_ (p. 99).--Whatever ordinary gin may be, “trade gin” was

the vilest concoction of fusel oil and other ingredients that was ever

put on the market for human consumption. It always made the drinkers mad

drunk, and was responsible for most of the quarrels and much of the

fighting that took place among the natives. I have known a white man

take to drinking it and be dead in less than a week, and undoubtedly it

was the cause of many deaths among the natives. A dozen reputed pints in

bottles, case, packing, etc., cost only half-a-crown the lot.

28. _Law against the sale of spirits_ (p. 102).--Since the time

mentioned in the text a law has been passed limiting the sale of these

“fire waters” within certain boundaries, and restricting the sale of

them, so that neither white nor black can procure them without special

“permits.”

29. _Make them sell it_ (p. 102).--Several traders have told me how much

they hated selling such vile stuff to the natives; how they had

protested against the sale; but that they were compelled to sell them as

they yielded such large profits to their employers. Surely the curse of

both God and man must ever rest on such gains!

30. _His santu_ (p. 111).--All the men and women in and around San

Salvador, and a large proportion of those living in the other districts

of the Lower Congo, have each a _santu_, from the Portuguese word

_sancto_ = a christian, or sacred, name.

At birth a native name is given to the boy (or girl), and later in

life--at twelve or fourteen--the lad can take another name of his own

choice if, for any reason, he is dissatisfied with his birth name, and

allow his first one to be forgotten by disuse. While in their teens they

also select a _santu_ which is a Congoized form of a Portuguese name, as

Manwele = Manuel = Emanuel; Nzwau = Jaõa = John; Petelo = Pedro = Peter,

etc.; and the women take Madia = Maria = Mary, etc. To their _santus_

they prefix “Dom” and “Donna” respectively.

In San Salvador and the near towns every man and woman has a _santu_,

but the farther you travel from San Salvador, the less frequently is the

_santu_ found among the people. Undoubtedly it is a survival of the

_sancto_ given by the Roman Catholics to those who were baptized into

their Church.

Although the possession of “Dom” and “Donna” was so common, yet the use

of them was somewhat restricted to the better class of natives, much the

same as our use of Mr. and Mrs. and Miss. Of some men the natives never

spoke without calling them “Dom,” and to others they never prefixed the

“Dom” except when they wanted to ingratiate themselves or ask a special

favour.

31. _To represent dolls_ (p. 114).--The girls would often procure pieces

of firewood or cassava roots to represent dolls, and play with them as

such, carrying them tied to their backs, or on their hips, by old rags,

just as their mothers carried them when babies. These dolls they washed

in old saucepans, and held them out for a few minutes in the sun to dry,

as they themselves had been washed and dried. Then they dressed them in

strings of beads and a few imitation charms and re-tied them on their

backs.

When I first saw this performance--nearly thirty years ago--I felt great

pity for the wee girls having such poor dolls, and sent home to buy a

few for them. In due time they arrived, and the first girl I met

carrying a cassava root (in shape like a parsnip) I offered her one of

my dolls. She looked at it in great consternation--it was something

uncanny to her. It had legs, arms, body, head and a face just like a

human being. It was only with much persuasion that I prevailed on her to

exchange her root for my doll. A few days afterwards I heard that my

doll was sold on the market at a good price as a white man’s powerful

fetish. The other dolls remained in the box, although there were many

requests for them. We had not gone there to supply fetishes.

32. _Size of the King of San Salvador_ (p. 138).--On August 3, 1882, I

wrote as follows to a friend in England: "I have done a very foolish

thing to-day, for I have promised his majesty that I will ask you to

make him three shirts. I have not given him a personal present yet, and

thought some shirts would be suitable. I want you to buy three different

patterns of good, strong, showy stuff, with plenty of colour. The shirts

must have cuffs, collars and fronts.

"The measurements are as follows--

"Across the shoulders, 2 feet 11 inches.

"Waist, 5 feet 8 inches in circumference.

"Armholes, 23 inches in circumference.

"Round the neck, 20 inches.

"Arm, 1 foot 3 inches, not including the cuff, which is 5 inches long.

"Cuff, 9 inches round.

"From top to bottom, 3 feet 6 inches.

"I should tell you the King is clever with his needle, and his

twenty-two wives are just as clever at farming.

“One boy wants to know what sort of work our Queen does.”

The shirts had to be larger than above measurements to be loose on him.

33. _Driver-ants_ (p. 144), when searching for food, march four or five

abreast in a continuous line across country. I have known them to be

three days and nights hurrying past a given point, and when disturbed

they swarm over the ground. Looking at the crowd of people thrown from

the photographic slide on to the sheet impressed the King, and in

comparing the numbers of people to driver-ants covering the ground, he

used a very good simile.

34. _Dressed worse than slaves_ (p. 147).--Except on very special gala

days, the chiefs, head men, and freemen dressed in a very poor,

unpretentious style. This was to avoid suspicion, jealousy, and the evil

eye. Dressing badly, no one would know that they were rich, and

consequently would not cast the evil eye on them, nor try to render them

unlucky, etc., by the aid of witchcraft. The slaves were known as such,

therefore it did not matter how well they arrayed themselves; no one

would be jealous of them nor try to harm them by paying the fees of

witch-doctors. Thirty years ago the casual visitor would, five times out

of six, mistake the slave for the head man and the chief for a slave, or

poor man, on account of the difference in their garments.

35. _Sleep well_ (p. 148).--The morning greeting was: _Olele kiambote_ =

Have you slept well? The answer was: _Ndele kwame_ = I have slept well.

Good-night was: _Wenda leka kwambote_ = Go and sleep well; and the

answer: _Sala leka kwambote_ = Stay and sleep well. To sleep properly

and soundly was regarded as an infallible sign of good health.

36. _Papyrus string_ (p. 148).--The papyrus (_diwu_) was found very

plentifully in the many swamps around San Salvador, and was cut in

lengths of about nine feet. The outer skin was peeled off, when fresh

and green, in strips of half an inch, one end of the strip was held

between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, and then the right

hand very quickly twisted the strip, and to keep it from untwisting the

two ends were tied together and it was thrown into the sun. When dry the

strip would retain the twist, and, before using, a dozen of the twisted

strips were soaked in water to render them pliable. Such string was

commonly used for tying fences, and would last nearly twelve months, _i.

e._ as long as the other materials in the fence. It was very economical

and durable.

37. _Roasted plantain_ (p. 149).--As a rule, bananas were eaten ripe and

raw, and plantain green and roasted. Peel a nice large plantain, drop it

in the hot ashes, turn it from side to side until done, scrape off the

ash-dirt, then split it, rub in some butter and salt, and with a very

little imagination you have a hot roll.

38. _Portugal, Holland, or England_ (p. 156).--In the long ago, Portugal

was the only white man’s country known to the natives, and it is just

possible that Mputu (native name for all white countries) is a

corruption and a shortening of Portugal. There were more Portuguese

traders in Congo than from any other country; next after them were the

Dutch or Hollandaise, and lastly, in numbers, the English, who at that

time were only known as missionaries. The natives consequently thought

that Portugal was a larger and more populous place than the other

countries, then Holland the next in size, and lastly England, hence

their discussion.

39. _Stretched out the legs in front of a chief_ (p. 163).--To stretch

out the legs (and show the soles of one’s feet) before any one was

regarded as extremely rude, and a mark of disrespect which was resented

by him who had the power. To act so unceremoniously before a king or

great chief was punished by fines, floggings, and sometimes death. It

was worse than a man keeping on his hat in the presence of royalty.

40. _Rob them of their country and make them slaves_ (p. 172).--These

fears were constantly expressed in the early and middle eighties by both

King and people. The following is the true history of how one treaty was

made with a native king--

In 1884, a copy of _Le Mouvement Geographique_ fell into my hands, and

in it was a letter that was said to have been sent by Dom Pedro V, King

of Congo, to the King of Portugal. In it the former acknowledged the

latter as his liege lord and used every expression of fealty, loyalty,

and submission. I remember that the letter was, at the time, put forward

as a proof of the righteousness of the Portuguese claim to the Congo;

and it certainly helped them in gaining a part of what is now called

Portuguese Congo.

Having occasion to speak with the King about that time, I asked him if

he had written the said letter, and I gave him a translation of it. The

old man was sitting in a high-back, embossed, leather chair, and rising

from it, he said, “My brother, the King of Portugal, sent me this chair,

and I sent him a letter thanking him for his gift, and that is the only

letter I ever signed my mark to or ordered to be sent.” He had signed

away his country in saying “thank you for a chair.”

Attached to the letter were the names of the head Portuguese Roman

Catholic priest, a Portuguese trader, and a French trader, as witnesses

to the King’s mark. Shortly after reading this letter I met M. D----,

the French trader, and told him I had just seen the said letter. I

reminded him of its date, and asked, “Why was not I requested to sign

this letter, for all the other white men in San Salvador signed it, and

I was here on that date? Am I not a white man?”

M. D---- answered, “We did not ask you to witness the King’s mark

because we felt sure you would not do it until the King thoroughly

understood the real purport of the letter.”

I thanked M. D---- for his estimate of my character, and gave him my

view of the manner in which they had deceived and defrauded the King.

The King thought he was saying: Thank you for a few presents sent him by

a brother sovereign; but he was signing away his territory to another

power, and in this way he and his people were defrauded of their true

rights. They have every reason to hate white men for robbing them of

their country and reducing them to slavery.

41. _Kill herself_ (p. 181).--Suicide was not uncommon on the Lower

Congo. Both men and women committed it for much the same reason as folk

do in England.

42. _Oily-face_ (p. 183).--A lightish skin (not the colour of a

half-caste or an albino’s skin) and an oily face were signs of beauty,

hence the proverb: “The toad has an oily face where his father’s sister

is,” _i. e._ A person is always beautiful to his own family.

43. _Girl’s father of no importance_ (p. 187).--On the Lower Congo there

is mother-right but no father-right. The children belong to the mother’s

family and not to the father. He has no rights over them, nor does he

arrange for the marriage of his daughters, and he receives a very small

share only of the marriage money paid for his daughters.

44. _Rest claimed by the uncle_ (p. 188).--(See also note 43.) The uncle

was the head of his sisters’ families and the guardian of their

children, _i. e._ of his nieces and nephews. His eldest sister’s eldest

son was his heir. He helped his nephews when starting in life, and

assisted each in paying the marriage money for his first wife, and

arranged for the marriage of his nieces.

He claimed the great bulk of the marriage money for this reason: Suppose

he received £3 for his niece, and after five years she died, her husband

would come to the uncle and say, “I gave you £3 for the loan of your

niece, and she is now dead. I want my money back, and as you have had

the use of it for five years I expect 20_s._ interest on top.” Now

probably the uncle would not be able to pay this relatively large sum,

and in lieu of it would give another woman as a wife to the man. In

another five years, we will say, the second wife dies, and the husband

goes to the uncle and says, “The second woman you let me have is dead,

and as you have had the use of my money for ten years I want it returned

with 40_s._ interest.” (Sometimes they demand the equivalent of 80_s._

to 100_s._ interest.)

The uncle cannot meet so large a demand, so he gives another--the

third--woman, and should she die the husband has no further claim either

for the capital sum, interest, or another woman. Should the husband die,

then his heir has the same claim on the uncle up to three women, or the

money with interest; and if the uncle dies, then his heir who receives

his property is responsible for the claims of the husband or of his heir

up to three women or the money. (See note 54.) As the uncle took the

greater risks, it was only right that he should take most of the money.

Whatever the father received was his absolutely, without any risks.

45. _Girl received little presents_ (p. 188).--After a man has paid a

part or the whole of the marriage money, he will make presents of cloth,

fish, meat and trinkets to his betrothed. Should the negotiations for

her be broken off, he will put an exorbitant value on those presents,

and complicate matters by his demands. An unbetrothed girl would not

receive presents from a young man without the consent of her family, and

if she did do so without such consent, and the young man applied to the

family for her hand in marriage and was refused, he would demand all his

presents back, or in lieu of them a most extortionate price. Hence no

girl would accept a present from a man unless she knew that her uncle

and her family regarded his suit with favour. There are, of course,

untractable nieces on the Congo as there are unreasonable daughters in

Europe.

46. _Girl’s mother agreed_ (p. 188).--Every wise young man would by

various presents gain the goodwill of his future mother-in-law,

otherwise she could, under different pretexts, cause the marriage to be

postponed, and make herself very disagreeable and objectionable when she

could no longer hinder it.

47. _Sign of the cross_ (p. 199).--In the latter part of the fifteenth

century the Portuguese Roman Catholics were present in San Salvador, and

during the next half-century they became predominant in the local,

political, and religious life of the people. They introduced many

superstitions, images, relics and rites. In the early eighties we saw

Romish images used as fetishes, relics and the cross used as charms, and

baptismal rites practised as a superstitious ceremony. The mark of the

cross enters largely into the catalogue of the witch-doctor’s

stock-in-trade.

48. _I swear by my mother_ (p. 205).--In the Congo language there is no

lack of oath phrases. And these may be divided into four classes--

(1) Swearing by one’s relations, as shown in the text. Any near relative

may be substituted for mother. This may be extended into: By my mother,

may I never see her deathbed, or may my mother desert me.

(2) Swearing by a notable person or place: By the great King. By Dom

Alvaro. By the road to Congo. By the path to the tomb of the deceased

King.

(3) Swearing by the fetishes; and this may be divided into two classes:

(_a_) Those who swear by the ordinary fetishes, as: By the lightning

fetishes (_nzaji_), etc., and (_b_) those who have been initiated into

the _ndembo_ guild and swear by the fetishes of this secret society, as:

May the _nkita_ cause me to go mad. By the _ndembo_ enclosure. By

albinos and dwarfs. These latter are all powerful in the _ndembo_ guild.

(See _Folk-Lore_, June 1909, p. 189.)

(4) Swearing by God, as: May God punish me.

49. _Nearest man fired_ (p. 206).--Hunting laws were very stringent and

had to be carefully observed, or the breaker of them would one day find

that no one would accompany him on his hunts nor allow him to join them

in theirs.

If a man fires at an antelope and it rushes away, the hunter looks to

see if any blood has fallen, or any hairs; if not, it is decided that he

has not killed it, although he may have mortally wounded it; if another

man fires and it drops, it is the latter’s animal. If there is any

dispute as to whether it was killed by the first shot or the second, the

one who is positive and over-rides all argument must take the heart of

the antelope and eat it (not raw). If his shot really killed it all is

well, but if not, the eating of the heart will destroy his _kinkongo_,

or hunting skill. Many a man has relinquished his claim to an animal for

fear of spoiling his luck.

50. _Brave_ (p. 218).--When the natives fight with spears, knives and

arrows they are courageous, and, knowing how far their weapons will

carry, they run in to throw them. They will fight foot to foot with

their knives. To them guns are mysterious things--they pull a trigger

and there is a puff, a bang, and a bullet or slug flies out, and the

distance it will travel is, to them, an unknown quantity. They are not

acquainted with the science of firearms, and are so overawed by the

mysteriousness of these weapons that their natural bravery has not full

play.

51. _Some decoction_ (p. 248).--The witch-doctor procures some bark of

the baobab-tree, presses the juice out of it and rubs this on hand and

arm of the accused person who has well paid him. He can then dare the

boiling oil with impunity.

52. _In whose district his town_ (p. 253).--The “parish” of Wathen is

3000 square miles in extent, and is divided into four and sometimes five

districts, according to the strength of the missionary staff for the

time being. Each district is in charge of a white man, and all the boys

attending school on the station from that district are especially in his

charge. He looks after their welfare, cares for them, attends them in

sickness, listens to their palavers, and acts the part of a father to

them. All the girls from the same district are in the special care of

his wife (if he is a married missionary), and she acts as a mother to

them. All matters connected with the Church members and teachers of the

district are taken first to him, and he settles them upon

well-understood principles, and if any extraordinary issue arises he

consults his colleagues, and they jointly come to a decision, so that

all the districts may be governed on uniform lines. He acts also as a

pastor towards all the Church members of his district.

53. _Sunset at six o’clock_ (p. 257).--The nights and days are about

equally divided, as there are only some fifteen minutes’ difference

during the whole year in the time of the sun’s rising and setting.

Certainly on the Congo there is not that sudden darkness at sunset so

frequently stated in books on the tropics, for the twilight lasts from

thirty to forty minutes.

54. _Women I have borrowed_ (p. 324).--The old word on the Congo for

marriage was _sompa nkento_, which means to borrow a woman (see notes 43

and 44), for which loan the man paid something to the girl’s uncle. All

members of the Church are married by Holy Matrimony, and the word

_sompa_ (or to borrow) has given place to _kazala_ (to take as a wife).

PART II

Congo Folklore Tales

or

Stories told round the Congo Fire

INTRODUCTION

TO THE FOLKLORE TALES

For many years I have been collecting folklore stories such as are told

round the fires of the Congo villages--stories that have been handed

down from generation to generation; and are so well known that sentences

from them are often quoted, and have thus become the proverbs with which

the natives so freely interlard their talk.

To have printed all the stories collected would have meant a bulky

volume; but these selected for publication are typical of those that

remain, although every story has its own peculiarity of plot,

explanation, or teaching.

Between most of the stories told on the Upper Congo and those related on

the Lower Congo there is, as a rule, this marked difference: the former

try to explain why things are as they are, _i. e._ why people steal, lie

and die; why women run away from their husbands; and why some birds have

nests and other birds none: the latter are didactic parables. The former

are explanatory of habits and customs, and the latter contain the wit,

the wisdom and the moral teaching of many generations, and sum up their

view of life--that the cheat will himself be cheated; that the

unreasonable will be outwitted by craftiness; the tyrant and bully will

eventually be punished, and kindness rewarded with timely succour. I am

of opinion that the former--the explanatory--stage indicates a more

primitive state than the latter or teaching stage, still it would be a

very interesting study to decide this point.

These stories belong to the Lower Congo, and more especially to the

districts around San Salvador (Portuguese Congo), and Ngombe Lutete (or

Wathen in Congo Belge). Some of the Upper River stories I hope to

publish on a future occasion.

While living at San Salvador many years ago, the lads and I, on our

recreation evenings, told each other tales, and it was then that I heard

for the first time some of these stories; a few others I have culled

from the pages of a native magazine called _Ngonde ye Ngonde_ (= “Month

by Month”), printed and published by our Mission at San Salvador; but by

far the larger number were written for me by the teachers and boys of

the Wathen Mission School to whom I gave exercise-books with the request

that they would write out such stories as they could remember, or could

gather from their friends.

I never suggested a story nor a plot to them, for to me personally they

would lose their value if they were the result of any such promptings.

It was not until a large number of them had been collected that any idea

of presenting them in this form entered the mind of the collector. And

folklorists may rest assured that the stories here set before them are

genuinely native in plot, situation, explanation and “teaching,” and,

wherever possible, in idiom also.

In these stories the different birds, insects, reptiles and animals

speak, marry, attend markets, transact business and lay their cases for

decision before the elders as though they were human beings. The heroes

among them are endowed with those qualities most admired by the natives,

while those that are “fooled” are the personification of such

characteristics as awaken only their ridicule and contempt. ’Cuteness,

craftiness and wit are at a premium in these stories, and it is curious

to note that these qualities seem to be the peculiar property of the

small animals, such as the gazelle, the mouse, the squirrel, etc.; and

rarely the possession of the larger animals, as the elephant, buffalo

and leopard; or when two species of the same order--the driver-ant and

the small-ant--are brought into rivalry it is the latter that wins; two

birds, as in “The Crow and the Dove,” it is again the weaker one who

triumphs in the end.

On the other hand gullibility, dupability, utter stupidity and lack of

foresight are associated with bulk, _i. e._ the larger animals are, as a

rule, thoroughly fooled. They have laughed many a time at the way the

Gazelle “fooled” the Leopard, yet I do not think there was one who would

not rather have been the Leopard than the Gazelle--they were not so good

as their philosophy.

Greediness in eating is condemned by all natives, and it is interesting

to note that the only time, in these stories, the Gazelle is caught and

punished it is his greediness that leads to his downfall; and, again, in

the story of the Gazelle and the Palm-rat, the latter is choked, not so

much because he broke his promise--that is regarded as ’cuteness by the

natives--but because he refused to share the palm-nuts with his

companion--an act condemned by all natives. This is a trait well marked

in the native character. Any one of them will scramble and wrangle for

as big a portion of anything going as he can get; but once he has it he

will share it with any of his family, or his companions, or even with

strangers who happen to be present when he is eating it.

Again and again, when I have given portions of food or salt to a boy,

the recipient has shared it equally with his comrades. Here is a monkey

to be divided among a dozen boatmen. Two of them will be set to clean it

and divide it into twelve portions, and they will be very careful to

make all the divisions equal, because by an unwritten law, which I have

never seen infringed, the two who apportioned the meat will not take

their shares until the others have selected theirs. This is a guarantee

that all the portions will be alike, otherwise the last would come off

very badly. Each as he chooses will select what he considers to be the

largest heap; but once he has it, he is quite willing to share it with

any or all of his comrades.

There is a delightful absence of proportion in these stories, for in

them mice and birds marry young women; a mouse carries the head of a

leopard in his bag and brags that he has eaten nine leopards, and

although he punishes the elephant and the buffalo he has to cry for help

against the hyena; the gazelle eats whole pigs and goats; and a

chameleon snarls and the elephant, leopard and other animals run away in

terror. Nothing is strange or incongruous in a land where witch-doctors

abounded, and were credited with performing wonders by their supposed

magical powers. If you questioned any feat, you were at once told most

emphatically: “Well, it was done by his magic, or his fetish, or his

charm performed it.”

In all the animal stories in this collection the different animals

mostly address each other as “uncle,” irrespective of sex; but as this

would have been confusing to the reader, I have only retained the term

where it fits the sex of the one addressed. In the Congo language there

is no gender, and the animals belong to various classes (there are

fifteen classes in the Lower Congo language); but directly they are used

in stories, and have human characteristics ascribed to them, they are

removed from their different classes and placed in the first, or

personal, class, e.g. _Nsexi_ is in the second class, and its pronominal

prefix is _i_ singular, and _zi_ plural; but being moved into the first

class it becomes a person, and its prefix is _o_ singular, and _be_

plural--the animal is no longer an “it,” but a “he” or “she.”

Included in this collection are a few stories that are not animal ones,

as "The Water-Fairies save a Child"--a warning to parents not to be

unreasonable in their punishments; "The Story of two Young Women"--a

lesson on vanity, and that wealth does not always bring happiness; and

"The Adventures of the Twins"--a whimsical criticism on how human beings

should be made in order to avoid the inconveniences, limitations and

troubles that attend their present mode of construction.

The reader must not be surprised to find that some of these stories are

similar to those made famous by Uncle Remus,[68] and the reason is not

far to seek. About three generations ago the Congo natives were

transported in large numbers as slaves to America, and naturally they

carried with them their language and their stories. The _goobah_ in

_Uncle Remus_ is a corruption of _nguba_, the Lower Congo word for

peanut; and Brer Rabbit is the gazelle,[69] Brer Fox is the leopard, and

the Tar-baby is the fetish called _Nkondi_; but in the Tar-baby a

concession is made to civilization, for in Uncle Remus’s account the

image is covered with tar to account for Brer Rabbit sticking to it,

whereas in what I believe to be the original story the _Nkondi_ image

causes the victim to stick by its own inherent fetish power. In “Cunnie

Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the other Beef,” there is a story of a Wax-girl,

which has all the elements of the Tar-baby, and here again the wax that

causes the sticking is a concession, I think, to civilization like the

tar.

Footnote 68:

C. J. Harris, in his introduction to _Uncle Remus and His Sayings_

(Ward, Lock and Co., 6_d_. edition) mentions Prof. J. W. Powell, of

the Smithsonian Institute, and Herbert H. Smith as having found

similar stories “in a number of languages, and in various modified

forms.” The former among the North American Indians, and the latter

among the South American Indians, and one in particular he has traced

to India, and as far east as Siam. I would refer the reader to that

Introduction for further details.

Footnote 69:

It is said there are no true gazelles in Africa, whether that is so or

not I have found it convenient to translate the Congo word _nsexi_

uniformly as gazelle. The _nsexi_ is about eighteen inches high, of

slight body, thin legs, whitey-brown stomach, and brownish-grey back,

small, sharp-pointed horns, small head, and large pathetic eyes. The

_nsexi_ is very agile, and I suppose that the slaves from the Congo

finding no such animal in their new home in America, used the rabbit

as a substitute--also there are no leopards there, so they transferred

his gullibility to the fox, wolf and bear.

All raw natives would believe that a fetish by its own magical powers

could hold tightly its victim without the aid of such extraneous things

as tar and wax. It is apparent that the narrators have lost faith in the

magical powers of their fetish, and have introduced the wax and the tar

to render their stories a little more reasonable to themselves. It is

interesting to note that when Brer Rabbit was thrown among the leaves of

the briar bush he unsticks from the Tar-baby, and in the Leopard

sticking to the _Nkondi_ the Gazelle “cuts some leaves and made a charm

to set the Leopard free.” One can discover many similarities between

these stories and those told by Uncle Remus. There is little doubt that

most, if not all, the stories of Remus were told around the Congo

village fires before they delighted the hearts and lightened the burdens

of the negro slaves on the southern plantations of America. Yet is Congo

the original home of these stories? Or have they travelled far by

devious ways, perhaps even doubling back in their course, so that their

real home is now lost in antiquity, and the road to it obliterated by

the swamps of time across which the human family has wandered in its

many journeyings?

The natives in their talk often use phrases from their stories which are

quite sufficient to recall to the hearers the whole fable and its

teaching, as “sour grapes” with us conjures up the fox looking with

longing eyes at the fruit beyond his reach. Many of these concentrated

sentences have become the proverbs of to-day, and the Lower Congo

language is rich in such _mots_, and one could, in fact, gain a very

clear idea of the Congo man’s philosophy from an analysis of the

sentences culled from their stories which have become their maxims.

In these pages will be found some puzzle stories, such as “The Four

Fools” and “The Four Wonders.” These are propounded and cause no end of

discussion as to which has performed the greatest feat of skill, and

thus earned the fowl that laid money (_i. e._ beads); and also who had

committed the greatest wrong against the usual order of mundane affairs,

and thus deserved the most blame. Each fool and each wonder-worker has

his adherents, who will argue in his favour with so much vehemence and

gesticulation that the listener who does not know them will think them

on the verge of a most desperate fight. After long and toilsome journeys

the writer has heard his carriers argue about these problem stories far

into the night; and they would return again and again to the charge,

each individual (or party) supporting his favourite character with all

the natural eloquence at his command. Night after night they would

revert to the same story in order to give expression to the arguments,

in favour of their views, that had come into their minds through the day

while journeying with their loads up and down the hills. One problem

story has furnished them, sometimes, with sufficient discussion to last

four or five nights.

The stories are told round the fire on nights that are too dark for

dancing. The various groups will arrange themselves round the blazing

hearths, and after the news of the day has been exhausted, one will tell

a story suggested by some item of news, or the action of a friend, or

the saying of an enemy. The story is told with dramatic power and

forcible eloquence, the narrator acting the various parts and imitating

the sounds of the different animals. In some of the stories there are

choruses, and these are taken up and sung heartily to the clapping of

their hands.

There is no greater treat than to listen to a Congo story told in the

original by one of these born story-tellers--the lights and shadows

caused by the flickering fire, the swaying body of the narrator, the

fixed attention and grunts of approval of the listeners, the great dark

beyond, the many mystic sounds issuing from the surrounding bush and

forest lend a peculiar weirdness to the story and its teller.

A father correcting his children will tell them a story to enforce his

teaching, and though wise words might be forgotten, the story will

remain in the memory with guiding or deterrent power; sons and daughters

repeat these stories to their parents if they think they are not being

properly treated according to native ideas.

During a lawsuit the native advocates in stating the case for their

clients will tell stories with great effect, or will illustrate a point

against their opponents by relating a parable suitable to the occasion;

and the judge will often give his verdict by recounting a fable, and if

they do not know one appropriate to the case they will invent one, and

should it happen to be a happy invention it will pass from mouth to

mouth, and thus into the folklore of the district; the current stories,

known to all, are a survival of the fittest, and some of them are here

placed before the reader.

CONGO FOLKLORE TALES

I

How the Fowl evaded his Debt

Once upon a time a cock Fowl and a Leopard began a friendship, and not

very long afterwards the Leopard lent some money to the Fowl. It was

arranged that on a certain day the Leopard should receive the money at

the Fowl’s residence.

On the morning of the appointed day the Fowl ground up some red peppers,

and mixed them with water so that it looked like blood, and when he

heard that the Leopard was on the way to his house he went into his

courtyard and said to his slaves: “When the Leopard arrives and asks for

me, tell him my head has been cut off and carried to the women in the

farms to be combed and cleaned.” Then he hid his head under his wings

and told them to pour some of the pepper water on his neck, which they

did, and it fell to the ground like blood.

The Leopard arrived and asked for his friend the Fowl. The slaves

repeated what they had been told, and, on the Leopard hearing it, he

wished to be allowed a closer view of the marvel, and on beholding the

red-pepper water dropping to the ground, he thought it was all true.

On returning later he asked the Fowl how it was done, and the Fowl

replied: “When you reach your town, you cut off your head, and send it

to the farm to be combed and cleaned, and there you are.”

“Oh! thank you, friend,” said the Leopard, “I will astonish the natives

of my town.”

Away he went to his town, and told all his wives that he had been taught

some wonderful magic by his friend the Fowl.

“What is it?” they asked.

“Well, my head is cut off,” said the Leopard, “and then you take it to

the farm to comb and clean, and then you bring it back.”

“All right,” they cried in chorus.

The Leopard sent messengers to all the towns in his district, inviting

the folk on a certain day to come and see the wonder. On the day a great

crowd of people arrived, and when all was ready the Leopard went into

the centre, and his head was cut off, but his legs gave way, and he fell

down.

The head was returned after being combed and cleaned, but when they put

it on the neck it would not stay there. Thus died the Leopard because of

his conceit in thinking he could do all that others did; and also

because he did not use his common sense to perceive the foolishness of

what the Fowl told him. Do not believe all you see and hear.

II

Why the Small-ant was the Winner

One day a fierce Driver-ant[70] and a Small-ant had a long discussion as

to which of them was the stronger. The Driver-ant boasted of his size,

the strength of his mandibles, and the fierceness of his bite.

“Yes, all that may be true,” quietly answered the Small-ant, “and yet

with all your size and strong jaws you cannot do what I can do.”

“What is that?” sneeringly asked the Driver-ant.

“You cannot cut a piece of skin off the back of that man’s hand, and

drop it down here,” replied the Small-ant.

“Can’t I? All of you wait and see,” said the Driver-ant.

Away he climbed up the man until he reached the back of his hand. At the

first bite of the strong mandibles, the man started, and, looking down

at his hand, saw the Driver-ant, picked it off, and dropped it dead at

his feet right among the waiting crowd of ants.

Footnote 70:

Driver-ant = _Nsongonia_. Small-ant = _Mfitete_.

The Small-ant then climbed to the place, and gently, softly, with great

patience he worked round a piece of skin until it was loose, and he was

able to drop it to the ground. The waiting throng of ants proclaimed him

the winner, for he had done by his gentleness and patience what the

other had failed to do by his strength and fierceness.

III

How the Animals imitated the Gazelle

and brought Trouble upon Themselves

Once upon a time a Leopard gave birth to seven cubs, and she asked the

Jackal to act as nurse for her while she was away hunting.

Shortly after the departure of the Leopard the Gazelle arrived, and said

to the Jackal: “Let us eat one of the cubs and then you will have six

left.”

“What shall I do when the Leopard returns?” asked the Jackal.

“Oh! I will help you,” quickly promised the Gazelle.

Thereupon the Jackal gave up a cub, and then another, and another, until

at last all the cubs were eaten.

The Gazelle then tied the Jackal to a tree and said: "When you hear the

Leopard coming, shout out loudly, ‘Murder! Thieves!’"

In a little time the Jackal heard the Leopard bounding through the

forest, and he began to cry out: “We are robbed! we are robbed! Help!

Thieves!”

“What is the matter? What are you crying about?” asked the Leopard.

“Oh!” sobbed the Jackal, “I don’t know at all who tied me up, but all of

your children are eaten.” The Leopard, on hearing this, was very angry.

The reckless, daring Gazelle scampered off, and by and by reached a

place where all the animals were gambling with dice. A Pigeon gave him

the dice to throw, and the Gazelle threw a “Leopard” (the name of a

winning throw). “Oh, dear me!” said the Gazelle, when he saw his luck,

“I have eaten seven young leopards, and nothing has happened to me.”

The other animals thought this was a lucky saying, so they repeated the

words every time they threw the dice. The Gazelle warned them not to

imitate the sayings of others, or trouble would come upon them. But

they, thinking he only wanted to keep his good luck to himself, repeated

the words more earnestly. The Gazelle slipped away to call the Leopard,

and begged her not to be angry with what she would hear.

The Leopard went to the games, and when she heard one animal after

another say: “Oh, dear me! I have eaten seven young leopards, and

nothing has happened to me,” she became so angry that she fought with

the different animals and killed them all. As for the Gazelle, he took

himself out of the way. Thus the animals, through apeing others, lost

their lives.

IV

Why the Fowls never shut their Doors

There lived once a chief who owned a large number of Fowls. On arising

early one morning he found that the door of their house had been left

open all night. He thereupon woke up the Head Cock and asked why he had

not shut the door.

The Cock replied: “We did not go to sleep very early last night, as we

quarrelled over who should shut the door. I told one to do it, and he

told another, and at last we became so angry with each other that no one

would shut the door, so we went to sleep leaving it open.”

The owner snapped his fingers in speechless surprise at the Fowl’s

excuse, and walked away.

Another day the chief went to see his wives’ farms and found them all

clean and well weeded, but the road leading to the farms, which was

nobody’s work, was choked with tall grass and weeds. That evening the

chief called out loudly so that all the town could hear: “You women, I

went to your farms to-day, and found the road covered with tall grass

and weeds. Truly you are near relatives of the fowls, who sleep with

open door because each tells the other to shut it. To-morrow all of you

go and clear the road.”

When the Fowls heard these remarks they were very vexed, and the Cock

said: “You have heard what our owner has shouted out to the whole town.

He has held us up as a bad example to all in the place, yet when I went

to a neighbouring town the day before yesterday I saw a buffalo rotting

by the roadside.”

“Why was it rotting there?” asked the Black Hen of her husband.

The Cock replied: "When I reached the town the other day I heard that

Don’t-care, who is the son of Peter Pay-if-you-like, went outside his

house and saw a buffalo; he aroused his companions and told them to go

and shoot it; but they said: ‘Go and shoot it yourself.’ ‘What! am I to

see the buffalo and shoot it also?’ he asked. Thereupon Wise-man fired

at the buffalo, and told another to go and see if it were killed. He

came back and said it was wounded; so another went and killed it; but he

would not cut it up; and another went and cut it into pieces. Then each

thought that the other should carry the flesh into the town;

consequently it was left in the bush, and that was why the buffalo meat

rotted at the roadside."

The Black Hen said: “Indeed, is that so?” But the Speckled Hen observed:

“That it would be better for human beings if they looked better after

their own business, instead of poking their noses into affairs belonging

to Fowls, and holding them up as a bad example to their women.”

The Head Cock said: “That from that day neither he, nor his children,

nor his grandchildren should ever shut the doors of their houses, no

matter how cold it might be, or what risks they might run of being eaten

by wild animals.” Thus it is that Fowls never shut their doors at night.

They are angry that human beings, who conduct their own affairs so

badly, should find fault with the way in which Fowls look after theirs.

V

Why the Dog and the Palm-rat hate each other

One day the Dog, the Palm-rat, the Hawk, and the Eagle arranged to take

a journey together, but before starting they agreed not to thwart each

other in any matter.

They had not gone very far when the Eagle saw a bunch of unripe

palm-nuts, and said: “When these palm-nuts are ripe, and I have eaten

them, then we will proceed on our way.”

They waited many days until the palm-nuts ripened and were eaten by the

Eagle, then they started again, and by and by the Hawk espied the bush

(a great space covered with tall grass, canes, and stunted trees), and

said: “When this bush is burnt, and I have eaten the locusts, and drunk

in the smoke from the fire, then we will go.”

So they waited while the bush dried, and was burnt, and the Hawk ate his

locusts, and drank in the smoke from the burning grass, then they were

ready to start again; but when the Palm-rat saw the bush was burnt, he

said: “We remain here until the grass and canes have grown again, so

that I may eat the young canes, for remember we agreed not to thwart or

oppose each other on this journey.”

They waited there some months until the canes grew again, and the

Palm-rat had eaten them.

Once more they started on their travels, and on reaching a large forest

the Dog said: “Now I will dry my nose.”

His companions answered: “All right, we will go for firewood.”

The Palm-rat and the Hawk fetched the wood, and the Eagle went for the

fire. The Dog put his nose near the fire, but every time it dried he

made it wet again by licking it. They remained a long time in the

forest, but the Dog’s nose never became properly dry: it was an endless

job. His companions became vexed, and the Hawk and the Eagle flew away,

leaving the Palm-rat and the Dog alone. At last the patience of the

Palm-rat was exhausted, and he, too, ran away; but the Dog chased him to

kill him, and this is the reason why the Dog and the Palm-rat hate each

other. He would not wait until the Dog’s nose was dry.

VI

The Leopard boils his Mother’s Teeth

One day the Gazelle bought some maize at the market, and while he was

boiling them at home, the Leopard paid him a visit, and asked him:

“Friend Gazelle, what are you boiling in the saucepan?”

The Gazelle replied: “I am boiling my mother’s teeth.”

“Indeed!” exclaimed the Leopard, “let me taste them.” So the Gazelle

gave him some of the cooked maize, and the Leopard ate them, and thought

them so good that he went home and pulled out all his mother’s teeth,

and put them to boil in a saucepan.

The Gazelle, passing the house, called in, and seeing the saucepan on

the fire, asked the Leopard what he was cooking. “I am cooking my

mother’s teeth, but they don’t get soft,” answered the Leopard.

The Gazelle laughingly said: “I meant maize, and you have pulled out and

are boiling all your mother’s teeth.” The Leopard was so angry at what

he had foolishly done, that he drove the Gazelle off and wanted to kill

him, but the Gazelle ran away and hid in a log of wood.

The Leopard, returning from his pursuit of the Gazelle, saw the firewood

and carried it home, and, as he was splitting it, out jumped a fine dog.

The Leopard admired the dog so much that he told his wives never to beat

it.

One day one of the wives pointed her finger at it, and the dog was so

insulted at having a finger pointed at him that he howled so long and

loudly that the Leopard came and killed his wife for insulting his dog;

and thus he killed them one after the other; and when they were all

dead, the dog changed back into a Gazelle, and ran away laughing at the

Leopard for his foolishness in mistaking maize for teeth, and a Gazelle

for a dog.

VII

How the Ants saved the Partridge’s Eggs

Once upon a time a Partridge having laid her eggs, was driven from them

by a Python, who took possession of them by coiling herself round and

round the eggs.

The Partridge, seeing she had been deprived of her eggs, began to call

for help. A Buffalo, hearing her, came and asked what was the matter.

The Partridge said: “The Python has rolled herself round my eggs, and I

want a wise body to save them for me.”

“Don’t worry,” said the Buffalo, “I will go and stamp on her.”

“Not you,” cried the Partridge; “while you are stamping on her you will

smash my eggs. I am looking for a _wise body_ to help me.”

The Partridge continued to call, and the Elephant came asking what was

the matter.

“Oh!” sobbed the Partridge, “the Python has curled round my eggs, and I

want a wise body to save them.”

“Never mind,” replied the Elephant, “I will go and smash her to pulp.”

“Not you,” cried the Partridge, “you will break all my eggs.”

So one animal after another offered help, but they were rejected, as

they could not drive the Python away without endangering the eggs. The

poor Partridge was at her wits’ end, when an army of Driver-ants arrived

and inquired the reason of her calling for help. When they heard the

cause they marched right up to where the Python was, and at once began

to nip, nip, nip with their strong mandibles, and the Python unrolled

herself and glided away as fast as she could. Thus the Ants rescued the

stolen eggs that would otherwise have been broken by the clumsy attempts

of the Buffalo and the Elephant.

VIII

The Leopard sticks to the _Nkondi_

(Wooden Image)

In the long ago both the Leopard and the Gazelle made new maize farms.

When the ground was ready for planting, the Gazelle put some maize in a

saucepan to boil, and hid the rest of his maize in another place. While

the pot was on the fire the Leopard arrived, and asked: “Friend Gazelle,

what are you boiling?”

“Some maize,” said the Gazelle, “and when it is cooked I am going to

plant maize in my farm.”

The Leopard exclaimed, “Indeed! do you plant boiled maize?”

“Yes,” answered the Gazelle. “I boil all my maize, for then it grows

better.”

The Leopard returned home at once and rubbed all his maize off their

cobs, and boiled the maize. The next morning they both went and planted

their maize in their farms. During the following night, however, the

Gazelle went and planted some unboiled maize in the Leopard’s farm.

After a few days they went to have a look at their farms, and in the

Gazelle’s the whole of the maize was sprouting well, but in the

Leopard’s only the raw maize the Gazelle had planted was growing. The

Leopard could not understand it, for he said: “I well boiled all my

maize, and yet it does not grow.”

By and by the maize was ripe for plucking, and the Gazelle and Leopard

went and pulled what they wanted and returned home. For several nights

after that the Leopard went stealing maize in the Gazelle’s farm, and

one day the Gazelle said to him: “Friend Leopard, who is stealing maize

from my farm?”

“I don’t know,” replied the Leopard. The Gazelle carved a wooden fetish

called the _Nkondi_, and put it in his farm.

The next night the Leopard went and stole some more maize, and as he was

leaving the farm the Nkondi said: “Oh, you are the thief, are you?”

“If you talk like that,” growled the Leopard, “I will hit you.”

“Hit me,” said the _Nkondi_. The Leopard hit him, and his paw stuck to

the image.

“Let go,” cried the Leopard, “or I will hit you with my other hand.”

“Hit me,” repeated the _Nkondi_. The Leopard hit him with the other

hand, and that stuck also to the image.

“Let go,” angrily cried the Leopard, “or I will kick and bite you.”

Which he at once did, as the _Nkondi_ would not let him go, and his feet

and mouth stuck to the image; then both the Leopard and the _Nkondi_

fell to the ground together.

By and by the Gazelle arrived, and when he saw the Leopard sticking to

the _Nkondi_ he said: “Oh, you are the thief,” and, having punished him,

he cut some leaves and made a charm to set the Leopard free. After that

the Leopard never again went stealing in the Gazelle’s maize farm.

IX

How the Mouse won his Wife

On one occasion a daughter was born to a lonely pair, and the father

said: “Any one who wants to marry my daughter must first cut down the

mahogany tree standing in my garden.” Years passed, and when the father

was dying he sent and told his wife that only he who felled the mahogany

tree could marry his daughter.

By and by an Elephant arrived, and, sitting down in the town, asked the

girl for a drink of water. She poured some water into a calabash and

gave it to him, and he then asked her: “Are you married?” and she

replied: “No, I am not yet married.” The Elephant said: “I will marry

you.” Whereupon the mother called out: “You can marry her; but you must

first cut down the mahogany tree.” The Elephant took an axe and cut,

cut, cut until he was tired, and then went and rested under the eave of

the house so long that when he went again to the tree it was just as it

was before he cut it. When the Elephant saw that, he threw down the axe,

saying: “It is not my wedding, the woman costs too much.”

As the Elephant was going away he met the Buffalo, and told him all

about it, saying: “I came to marry, but I am not able to fell the tree.”

The Buffalo picked up the axe and cut, cut, cut, and then rested under

the verandah of the house. When he returned to the tree he found it had

grown again to its former size. Down he threw the axe and bolted.

As the Buffalo was rushing away a Lion shouted out: “Where have you come

from?” The Buffalo stopped and told him all his troubles. “Oh,” said the

Lion, “give me an axe, I’ll marry her.” But the same thing happened to

him, and to the Hyena, and to the Leopard also. They all cut at the

tree, got tired, rested too long, and each ran away, saying: “I came to

marry, but the girl is not worth the trouble.”

As the Leopard was bounding away, a Mouse asked him: “What is the

matter?” and the Leopard growled out: “I went to marry a woman, but

whoever marries her must fell the mahogany tree.” Thereupon the Mouse

went and gnawed, gnawed, gnawed without stopping, until at last the tree

toppled over and fell to the ground. When the mother saw the tree fall,

she said: “Mouse, you can sleep here, and in the morning take your

wife.”

In the morning they cut up six pigs and twenty loaves, then the Mouse

took his wife, and they started on their journey to his town. They

reached a stream where they camped for a time, and while there the

Elephant arrived, and the Mouse said to him: “See, this is my wife.”

The Elephant would not agree to that, but said: “She is mine, I married

her.”

“No,” said the Mouse, “she is mine. Accept of two pigs for dinner.”

When the Elephant heard that, he began to beat the Mouse, but the Mouse

entered his trunk and gave him such pain that the Elephant cried: “Come

out, and I will give you two pigs.” The Mouse came out, received his two

pigs, and went off with his wife.

They reached another camping-place, and while resting and eating there,

the Buffalo arrived. “Welcome to you, father,” said the Mouse. But the

Buffalo did not want his welcome, and said he had married the woman, and

when the Mouse would not give her up, the Buffalo hit him on the back

with a stick. The Mouse entered the Buffalo’s ear and gave him so much

pain that he bellowed: “Come out, and I will give you five sheep.” The

Mouse came out, received his five sheep, and went away with his wife.

As they journeyed along they met the Hyena, who said: “Why, that is my

wife,” and when the Mouse denied it, the Hyena became very angry, and

beat the Mouse about in his weakness and made him cry. The Mouse called

the Squirrels, who came and fought the Hyena, and while they were

fighting, the Mouse hurried off with his wife.

They travelled until they came to a high plateau, where they met a large

Rat, who said: “Give me that woman.”

To him the Mouse replied: “I cannot give her, for I have had plenty of

trouble to gain her.”

“Very well,” answered the Rat; “let us go to the drinking-booth, and I

will give you some palm-wine.”

While sitting there the Mouse took a rat’s head out of his bag.

“Where did you get that?” asked the Rat.

“Oh,” boasted the Mouse, “I have eaten nine rats, and you will be the

tenth.” So alarmed was the Rat that he ran away and never said

“Good-bye.”

At last the Mouse reached his town and gave his wife a house. There they

feasted on the pigs and sheep they had gained on the road. But one day

the Leopard paid a visit to the Mouse, and said: “Uncle Mouse, let us

jointly make a maize farm.” This they did, and while the Mouse was

watching the maize one day, the Leopard tried to run away with his wife.

The Mouse, hearing this, invited the Leopard to drink wine in his house,

and while they were drinking, the Mouse took out of his bag a Leopard’s

head.

“Where did you get that?” asked the Leopard.

“Down in the drinking-booth I killed and ate nine,” said the Mouse, “and

you will be the tenth.” The Leopard was so frightened at this, that when

the Mouse told him to get into the calabash, he went right in at once.

The Mouse put in the cork, and then put the calabash on the fire, and

thus the Leopard died. The Mouse said: “I will govern in this country,

for there is not another chief left.” Thus was the Mouse rewarded for

his courage, wit, and perseverance.

X

The Gazelle outwits the Leopard

Once upon a time a Leopard and a Gazelle lived together with their wives

and families in the same town. One day the Leopard said: “Friend

Gazelle, let us go and buy some drums in the Zombo country.” “All

right,” replied the Gazelle; “but where is the money?” “I have the money

by me,” answered the Leopard.

They started, and when they had walked a little way the Leopard growled

out: “Wait here. I must return to the town, as I have forgotten

something.” The Leopard returned to the town and went to the Gazelle’s

wife and said: “My friend has sent me for his children.” Mrs. Gazelle

gave them to him, and putting them into a bag, he returned to the place

where he left the Gazelle. They started again, and when they had

travelled a long distance the Leopard saw some honey in a hole in one of

the trees, whereupon he said to the Gazelle: “Wait for me here while I

go to eat the honey, but you must not undo the sack.”

The Gazelle was left to guard the sack, which he untied, and looking in,

he exclaimed: “Why, they are my children!” He put the sack on his back

and hurried to the town, gave his children back to his wife, and went to

the Leopard’s house and said: “My friend has sent me for his children.”

Mrs. Leopard gave them to him. He put them in the sack and returned

quickly to the spot where the Leopard had left him. After a time the

Leopard arrived, licking the honey off his lips, and, picking up the

bag, away they went again on their journey. By and by they reached Zombo

and bought some drums, and when the Leopard paid the money for them, he

whispered: “Don’t undo the bag now, there are some gazelles in it.”

As they were returning home they tried the drums. The Leopard beat a

tune and sang: “The stupid people go on foolish journeys.” For the

Leopard thought the Gazelle had helped to sell his own children for

drums. The Gazelle then beat a tune and sang: “At the place where they

ate honey they left their bag of wisdom.” The Leopard did not know he

had exchanged his own children for drums.

On their way home they played and sang in many towns, and received goats

and pigs as presents for their entertainment. On reaching their town the

Gazelle hurried to his house, and sent off his wife and children to

hide.

The Leopard went to his house, and, looking round, he asked his wife:

“Where are my children?” “Why, you sent the Gazelle for them,” she

replied; "and now you ask: ‘Where are the children?’" The Leopard went

in great rage to the Gazelle’s house, but the Gazelle ran away, and as

he was escaping, he cried out: “I am the wise Gazelle who has outwitted

your craftiness.”

XI

The Gazelle punishes the Palm-rat for breaking his promise

One day a Gazelle, being very hungry, went in search of food, and saw a

fine bunch of palm-nuts hanging from a palm-tree; but having only hoofs

he could not climb the tree. He therefore went in search of his friend

the Palm-rat, and said to him: “I know where there is a fine bunch of

palm-nuts, and if you will promise to give me some I will show you where

it is.”

The Palm-rat readily promised to share the nuts. So together they went

to the forest, and the Gazelle pointed out the nuts to his friend. With

his strong, sharp claws the Palm-rat quickly mounted the palm-tree, and

found there three bunches of palm-nuts; but instead of cutting them

down, he sat on a palm-frond and began to eat them.

After a time the Gazelle shouted out: “Friend Palm-rat, throw me down

some of the nuts according to your promise.”

“Oh,” cried the Palm-rat, “when I am eating I am deaf, and cannot hear

what is said to me.” And he continued to munch away at the nuts.

The Gazelle waited a little, and again called out: “Please throw me some

of the palm-nuts, for I have hoofs, and cannot climb a tree like you.”

But the Palm-rat ate greedily on, and took no notice of his friend’s

request, except to say that he was deaf when eating.

The Gazelle thereupon gathered some leaves, grass, twigs, and stubble,

and made a large fire at the bottom of the palm-tree. In a short time

the Palm-rat called out: “Uncle Gazelle, put out your fire, the heat and

smoke are choking me.”

“Oh,” replied the Gazelle, “when I am warming myself by the fire I

cannot hear what is said to me.” And he heaped more firewood and dried

grass on the fire.

The Palm-rat, choking with the smoke, lost his grip on the tree, and

fell to the ground dead. The Gazelle returned to the town and took

possession of all the goods belonging to the Palm-rat. If you make a

promise, keep it; and if you want a kindness shown to you, you must do

kind things to others.

XII

How the Crow cheated the Dove and

got into Difficulty through it

A long time ago the Crow and the Dove arranged to go hunting together.

They took with them their guns, charms, dogs, and chief huntsman. The

dogs entered the bush and started an animal which the Dove fired at and

killed. Then up ran the Crow shouting: “It is mine, it is mine.”

“No,” said the Dove; “I killed it.”

“It is mine,” asserted the Crow, and although they tried to argue with

him, he would not listen, but only shouted more loudly: “It is mine.”

At last the Dove gave way, and thus it was every time they went

hunting--the Crow always cheated the Dove out of his game by his loud

blustering cry: “It is mine. It is mine.”

One day, while hunting, the Dove accidentally shot the chief huntsman,

and no sooner did the Crow hear the report of the gun than he came

running and calling out: “It is mine, it is mine. I shot it,” but on

drawing near and seeing the body of the huntsman, he said to the Dove:

“It is yours.”

“No,” replied the Dove; "you have said ‘It is mine’ every time I have

killed game, and now this is yours also." They talked long and loudly

about the matter, and at last they laid the case before the elders in

the town.

The elders said to the Crow: “Yes, it is yours. You have claimed

everything before, now take this also, and bury the body properly, and

pay all the expenses of the funeral.” There are many people like the

Crow, who take all the credit to themselves, and leave the blame to

others.