NATIVE POLICY IN NATAL. LAWS, CUSTOMS, AND RELIGION OF THE ZULUS.
The protection of the natives was the professed object of the
British Government in taking possession of Natal. The conquests of
Chaka had driven no fewer than 100,000 fugitives to the westward
of the Tugela river, and how to rule this vast and fast increasing
number of natives soon became a problem fraught both with
difficulty and danger. Mr. Theophilus Shepstone, son of a Wesleyan
missionary, thoroughly conversant with the Kafir language,
customs, manners, and habits, was appointed to take charge of
the numerous natives of Natal. His policy can be very briefly
described. It was to keep all the coloured races entirely distinct
from the white population. They were collected in locations, and
governed by their own laws, through their own chiefs, under Mr.
Shepstone as the great chief. Large tracts of country, rugged and
mountainous, were set apart for the various tribes, and there,
in an Italian climate, and in the lap of a most productive and
generous soil, they increased and multiplied. Christianity and
real civilization were ignored, and a most dangerous _imperium
in imperio_ created. The wretched refugees who fled from the Zulu
tyrant found their lot in Natal incomparably more happy than in
the precarious existence of former days. Their easy, savage,
sensuous life made them useless citizens, and when labour was
required for the sugar plantations on the coast, it had to be
obtained from India. However smoothly and well the native policy
seemed to work, it soon became very evident that the 20,000 white
people of Natal were really seated on a political volcano. Three
hundred thousand heathen savages of an alien race had the power
to rise and destroy them at any moment, and it was impossible to
be sure that they might not at any time have the inclination. All
the checks which religion and civilization place on men had been
deliberately cast aside. No doubt the Zulu monarch was feared; but
there can be no doubt also that if the dread paramount ruler of
the Zulu race had at any time crossed the Tugela as a conqueror,
tens of thousands of his own race in the colony would have joined
him out of fear, and hastened to prove their loyalty by the
massacre of every white inhabitant of Natal. This is no fanciful
idea, but sober earnest fact.[8]
[Sidenote: _The Shepstone native policy._]
There was no difficulty at first in subjecting to proper control
the broken, dispirited bands of refugees, who sought shelter,
food, and protection in Natal; and if right methods had been
adopted, one of the finest races of the African continent would
have been raised from a state of loathsome degradation to one
of civilization—saved from heathenism themselves to become
coadjutors with the white races in raising the country to real
prosperity. In place of this, the cruel slavery of polygamy was
permitted, which allows the men to live in independent idleness
by means of the severe drudgery of their oppressed wives.
Grossly impure and inhuman laws and practices, including the
vile superstitions of witchcraft, were tolerated and allowed. No
country could advance under such circumstances, and the colony
of Natal, therefore, remains at the present day what it has
always been—immeasurably behind the Cape of Good Hope; a land of
samples in which nothing really succeeds, and where sugar, which
forms its principal export, is even now a doubtful experiment,
on which labour imported from India at enormous cost has to be
employed; a lovely country, whose fertility is almost as great as
its beauty, but cursed by a most unchristian, wicked, and foolish
system of government, so far as the great bulk of the population
is concerned. It would have been very easy at the outset to
establish comparatively small locations, presided over by British
magistrates, who would have administered justice according to
British law. If, in addition, title-deeds had been given in such
a manner as to give individual rights, then, in the words of the
Rev. W. C. Holden,[9] the large number of natives within the
colony might have been converted into men who would take a real
interest in the country and soil, for the defence of which they
would fight and die. They would have become a strong wall of
defence against the Zulu on the east, and the Amaxosa on the west,
instead of a source of continual danger and alarm.[10] Slavery was
abolished everywhere throughout the British dominions, with the
one exception of Natal. There 50,000 women were sold for wives to
the highest bidder, as horses, cattle, and goods at an auction
mart, under the special sanction and special arrangement of the
Queen's Government.
Before proceeding further, it is necessary to pass briefly in
review the laws, manners, and customs of the Zulu race. Without
a knowledge of this subject it will be perfectly impossible to
appreciate the policy of Sir Bartle Frere, or to understand
either the real causes of the war, or of many events in its
progress. We have seen that Chaka, the Zulu conqueror, formed a
great military nation. His successors were specially warriors,
and as the people chose similar weapons to those with which the
ancient Romans conquered the world, so, like that people, were
they fully animated with the feeling that _virtus_, or the highest
possible merit, consisted in bravery in the field of battle. The
Boers despised the enemy, and hundreds of their bravest men fell
victims. Almost about the same time, the English settlers at
D'Urban made the same mistake, and 2000 of their Kafir allies, as
well as several of their own number, were slaughtered and left to
be devoured by beasts of prey on the hills of Zululand. History
repeats itself: Lord Chelmsford made the same mistake, which was
expiated in the blood of hundreds of British soldiers on the field
of Isandhlwana.
[Sidenote: _Zulu customs._]
Among the Zulus every female child is so much property, and in
this respect treated exactly like a chattel or beast of burden.
Her life is one of the grossest degradation and slavery. When
she has reached the age of puberty disgusting ceremonies are
performed, and there is no idea or appreciation of chastity. The
most brutal lust is not only tolerated, but actually enforced by
law. When a girl is married, she is merely sold to the highest
bidder, entirely without reference to her own consent, and then
becomes the slave of her husband, for whom she has to labour in
the field and perform menial work. The day after the party of
a bride has arrived at her owner's hut, the peculiar ceremony
takes place of the woman being allowed and enjoined to tax her
powers to the utmost to use abusive language to her lord. She
pours every insulting and provoking epithet she can think of upon
him, this being the last time in which she is permitted to act
and speak independently. At last she takes a certain feather out
of her head, by means of which the act of marriage, or rather
of going into slavery, becomes complete. Mr. Holden speaks of
the great obscenity at "marriage" celebrations, and remarks
that "no respectable pages can be defiled with a description
of what then takes place, especially in connection with the
marriage of men of rank and chiefs. There is full licence given
to wholesale debauchery, and both men and women glory in their
shame."[11] It is impossible to pursue this subject further. This
is certain, that the very grossest and most filthy obscenities
and immoralities are absolutely enjoined and required by Zulu
law and custom. Marriage is entirely a misnomer. To quote from
an excellent authority, "No word corresponding to the Saxon
word 'wife' is found in the Zulu language. The term most nearly
approaching to it is _umkake_, and its correlatives _umkako_ and
_umkami_, which means his _she_ or _female_. The man owns his
wives as truly, according to native law, as he does his spear or
his goat, and he speaks of them accordingly." The owner of the
woman says, "I have paid so many cattle for you; therefore you
are _my slave_, my dog, and your proper place is under my feet."
One of these poor slaves, when seen standing by a load far too
great for her strength, was asked if she could carry it. She
stood up and ingenuously remarked, "If I were a man I could not,
but I am a woman." There is no slavery in the world more sad or
deplorable than that to which the poor women of the Zulu nation
are subjected.[12]
[Sidenote: _Religion of the Zulus._]
Spiritualism is the religion of the Zulu, and witchcraft is the
machinery by means of which it is practised. Only a very vague
idea exists about a Supreme Being, and the definite national
faith embraces only a belief in the influence of the spirits of
deceased ancestors. The ghosts of departed chiefs and warriors
are specially respected and feared. It is to these spirits that
they attribute all the power given by Christians to God, and
the witch-doctors are the mediums or priests of the worship. A
knowledge of subtle and powerful vegetable poisons exists, and
so common is the practice of secret poisoning that universal
safeguards are used against it. Every one who gives food to
another takes a part himself, in proof that it contains no poison.
Besides deadly drugs, there is what is styled the "ubuti," or
bewitching matter, which is supposed to be deposited in some
secret place, and to be made the instrument of evil by means of
supernatural agency. The "isanusi," or witch-doctors, are the
go-betweens, whose duty it is to discover and to avert evil.
These men fill the threefold office of doctors, priests, and
soothsayers. They heal diseases, offer sacrifices, and exercise
the art of divination. As they are assumed to have full power
over the invisible world, their influence is enormous, and is
readily taken advantage of by chiefs and powerful men, for the
purpose of destroying enemies and promoting schemes of war and
plunder. A youth who aspires to be enrolled among the isanusi
gives early signs of being destined for the office. He dreams of
the spirits of the departed chiefs of his people, sees visions,
falls into fits of frenzy; he catches snakes and twists them round
his person, seeks out medicinal roots, and goes for instruction
to experienced isanusi. At last what is called a "change in the
moon" takes place within him; he becomes a medium fitted to hold
converse with spirits, and is able to communicate with them. One
of the greatest authorities who has ever lived with and studied
the Kafir races—Mr. Warner—says, "It is impossible to suppose that
these priests are not, to a considerable extent, self-deceived, as
well as the deceivers of others; and there is no difficulty, to
one who believes the Bible to be a divine revelation, in supposing
that they are also to a certain extent under Satanic influence;
for the idolatrous and heathen nations of the earth are declared
in the inspired volume to be, in a peculiar manner, under the
influence and power of the devil."
[Sidenote: _Witch doctors._]
Every illness and misfortune is supposed to be caused by
witchcraft. It usually happens that the suspected person is a
rich man, or some one on whom it is thought desirable to wreak
vengeance. The people of the kraal and neighbourhood go in
a body to the isanusi, who, before their arrival, foretells
their approach, and makes other revelations, frequently so
extraordinary that the Rev. Mr. Holden,[13] who is thoroughly
conversant with the subject, states that there is much greater
difficulty in explaining these phenomena by ordinary means than
by supernatural interposition. The whole company, on arrival,
sit down and salute the witch-doctor; they are then told to beat
the ground with their sticks, and while this is in course of
being done, he repeatedly shouts out, "Yeswa!"—"He is here!" He
discloses secrets about the accused, and at last, fixing his
eyes upon the doomed one, charges him with the crime. Generally
the isanusi succeeds in selecting the suspected person; but if he
fail, a circle is formed, and a wild, frenzied dance performed,
amidst most frightful gesticulations and cries. Among the Zulus,
not only is the unfortunate person killed whom the witch-doctor
declares guilty, but his wife and children are murdered, and his
property seized. Among the Amaxosa Kafirs, the most frightful
tortures are used to induce the unfortunate victim to confess.[14]
It is difficult to appreciate adequately the enormous power of
the witch-doctors. It was in 1857 that Umhlakaza was made a
willing tool in the hands of Kreli, Sandilli, and Umhala for the
purpose of a war of extermination against the whites. It was
prophesied that if the people destroyed their cattle and corn,
the whole would rise again with vast increase, and that their
enemies would be utterly destroyed. Sir George Grey had taken
every precaution, and war was therefore made impossible. Like
the witches in "Macbeth," the prophet had merely lured on his
victims to destruction. Having burned their ships, by destroying
all their resources there was no escape, and, in spite of the
humane exertions of the colonists, 70,000 human beings perished
of famine in a land of plenty. It will thus be seen how an entire
people can easily be induced to embark in the most desperate
undertakings by the skilful use of the superstitious means at
the disposal of their chiefs. Sacrifices of beasts are offered
by the priests, according to prescribed rules. These are made to
the spirits of the departed. A hut is sacredly cleaned and set
apart, in which the sacrifice is shut up during the night, in
order that the "isituta," or spirits, may drink in its flavour.
On the next day the place is opened, and the meat devoured by the
people. All sacrifices, with trifling exceptions, must be offered
by priests. The blood is never spilt, but caught in a vessel, and
it is necessary to burn the bones. The frenzy or inspired madness
characteristic of the priests of the ancient oracles is commonly
assumed by the priests of the Zulu spiritualists, and many of
their ceremonies are occult, and have never been made known to
Europeans.
[Sidenote: _Great military rite._]
The Zulu government is thoroughly despotic. The will of the
tyrant is law, and he has unlimited power of life or death. We
have seen that Chaka sacrificed everything to military power,
and in order to succeed, banished even circumcision, and refused
to allow his warriors to marry. Women's love and children's
tenderness were forbidden to the stern soldiers of the new
empire. Medicines composed of various plants and roots were used
to purify the body and make it strong, and ordinarily sacrifices
were offered for the same purpose. The great national sacrifice
to make the army invulnerable is styled "ukukufula," when flesh
is cut off the shoulder of a living beast and roasted on a fire
into which certain charms have been thrown. Each man bites off a
mouthful, and passes on the meat to the next, while the priest
makes incisions in parts of their bodies, into which he inserts
the powdered charcoal of the charms. The poor animal is left in
torture all this time, and is not killed until the ceremonies
are ended. A decoction is also prepared from medicinal roots,
and sprinkled by means of the tail of an ox over the bodies of
the warriors. All this is designed to make the Zulus either
invulnerable, or to enable them, if they do fall in battle, to
join triumphantly the heroes of their race in the spirit world.
The three great divisions of the army already referred to,
comprising "men," "young men," and "carriers," were sub-divided
into regiments with a proper staff of officers. The Zulu strength
is in attack, when with ferocious yells they throw themselves
with undaunted bravery upon their enemy. Two horns advance and
endeavour to flank the foe, while the main body follows quickly to
their support. _Virtus_—military bravery—is their _summum bonum_,
and death is the immediate penalty of any form of cowardice.
Extreme cunning and dissimulation are considered essential
qualifications of a general, so that to lure a foe into ambush,
or to deceive him by illusory promises or messages of peace, are
considered proofs of wisdom and ability. Honour, humanity, and
generosity are perfectly unknown, and merely considered signs of
weakness. When an enemy is defeated, prisoners are never taken,
and those not killed in the heat of battle are cruelly tortured
and mutilated, with every mark of indignity and contempt. Women
and children are not spared, and the most cruel destruction of
the most cruel northern barbarians, who devastated Europe, pales
before the complete and effectual ruin which marks the progress of
a Zulu conqueror.
[Sidenote: _Sir Bartle Frere._]
In times of peace the army remains at military kraals, and is
occasionally called up to the great place of the king for review.
It is always in a state of readiness, and burning for employment.
War is the pastime, glory, and wish of the men, who eagerly
desire to wash their spears in blood, that they may obtain the
only glory for which they care to live, and secure that plunder
which can enable them to acquire wives and cattle. Nothing could
be more dangerous, or a more awful threat to a colony, than an
army of this description under the orders of a despotic savage,
without the slightest principle, and urged on to fight by all the
traditions and ideas of his race. Let it be remembered also that
the country of Natal was once owned by the Zulus, and that, while
held by a garrison of only 20,000 whites, there were no fewer than
300,000 savage heathen inhabitants in it of similar colour, race,
and religion to the people of Cetywayo. Once let the flood-gates
be lifted and a conquering "invulnerable" army enter Natal,
nothing could prevent the general rising of the vast masses of
natives within that colony. If that had occurred, British dominion
would have set in an ocean of blood, and every white man, woman,
and child in the settlement must have been slaughtered. It was
one wise, good man who averted that catastrophe, and his name
was Bartle Frere. Slowly, but most certainly, will the mists of
prejudice be lifted from the minds of the English people, and they
will learn to know that the policy they so much vilified saved the
British name from dishonour, and the British people and British
interests in South Africa from destruction.