WAR
No army—The family fight—The town fight—The district fight—Procuring
volunteers—“Medicine” put on spears—Poison used—No night
attacks—Lips of the slain worn by the slayer—Spirit of the
slain—Mode of attack—Prisoners—Women a cause of quarrels—War
omens—War dance—Spears and flint-lock guns.
One can hardly dignify the quarrels and fights that occur among the
Boloki and their neighbours by the name of war. There is no army and no
organization, but all the men and lads take part in the fight that
affects their family or their town. Their fights may be divided into
three classes—the family fight, the town fight, and the district fight.
The second and third generally arise out of the first.
The family fight. If a family has a quarrel with another family in the
town neither guns, spears, nor knives are used in the fight that
follows, but always sticks. I do not mean to say that no man ever draws
his knife on another in a town quarrel; but that when two families in
the same town deliberately fight each other they use only sticks as
their weapons. They have talked until they are tired; it is not a case
for the ordeal; and the ordinary methods of judging a case have failed,
so they resort to sticks, and the party driven off the “field” by sheer
weight of blows is the loser. The losing side then pays up and the
affair is ended. The other families in the town scarcely ever take
sides, but look on and enjoy the performance.
[Illustration:
HUTS BUILT FOR USE DURING WAR TIME
The Monsembe people for several weeks were threatened by some
neighbouring villages with an attack, so they abandoned their
houses, and built a number of these huts on the beach, and on the
land side erected a strong palisade to protect themselves.
]
When a family in one town has a fight with the family of another town,
then spears, knives, and guns are freely used. If family A of X town
goes to fight family B of Z town, then the other families in Z will
stand ready armed to assist their neighbours should they not be able to
repulse the enemy; and should the other families in Z town help the B
family to drive out A family, then the other families in X town will
help A family on its next venture into the enemy’s town, and what was
originally a family feud becomes a fight between two towns. It may
happen that B family has not the sympathy of the other families in Z
town, and they will stand by and see that family driven out and their
houses raided; or it may also happen that the A family has not the
sympathy of the other families in X town, and they will not join forces
with it to fight the folk who have repulsed them.
This is put to the test in the following way: The head of the defeated
family puts a plantain leaf over his shoulder one evening and walks
through the town calling out the reason for the fight, the family
against whom he is fighting, and asking that volunteers who are willing
to help him will meet next morning outside his house ready armed to
accompany him. Very often no one turns up, and the man has to consider
whether his own family has any chance of success if it prosecutes the
fight alone, or whether some other way cannot be found of settling the
affair.
If, however, the head of the family is an important man of known bravery
who can command a large following of slaves and relatives, and there is
every prospect of success, then a large number of volunteers will turn
up the next morning. I have often seen a man going through the town with
a plantain leaf across his shoulder calling for supporters. Sometimes
they were such unimportant men that they were laughed at for their
trouble.
When the families in Z town see A family returning to the assault with
so many volunteers they will at once go to the assistance of their
hard-pressed neighbour, for the honour and safety of the town are now at
stake, and the affair now becomes a town fight.
A town fight. The X town goes _en masse_ to fight the enemy, leaving
behind only the women, the children, the aged, and the sick. If X town
is driven back by Z town and is unable to defend its position, then the
women and children are carried off, the aged and sick are killed, the
town raided, everything portable is removed, and the houses burnt to the
ground; but if the X folk, although driven back, are able to defend
their town they will set sentries for the night; and next day they will
send their biggest head-man with a plantain leaf over his shoulder to
call up volunteers from the other towns with whom they are friendly, and
then it becomes a war between district and district.
When men go to fight distant towns their wives are expected not to
commit adultery with such men as are left in the town, or their husbands
will receive spear wounds from the enemy. The sisters of the fighters
will take every precaution to guard against the unfaithfulness of their
brothers’ wives while they are on the expedition.
Some fighters put fetish “medicine” on their spears to give precision of
aim; others rub them with a vegetable poison made from the burnt ashes
of _munsansangu_ leaves; and others go to the medicine man of the
_ndemo_ to render them invisible to the enemy.
It is impossible to keep the arrangements for an attack secret. There
are always friends and relatives who will inform their friends, etc., on
the other side, and the drums are beaten and the fighters prepare for
the attack. The head of the family whose quarrel it is arranges the
fight and leads the van with his own slaves, family, etc. If necessary
he takes counsel with the heads of the other families helping him.
[Illustration:
_Photo by_: _Rev. W. H. Stapleton_
A BOLOKI SHIELD
The man is a Monsembe slave of the Mongo tribe. The shield is strongly
plaited of dyed grasses and ornamented round the edge with skins. It
is used more for deflecting spears than for receiving them. At the
back is a wooden plate about half the length and width of the
shield, to which the basket-work is laced.
]
I never knew them to make a night attack. They would often lie in ambush
and capture, if possible, those who fell into the trap, and kill those
who tried to escape. Attacks were often made in the early morning, soon
after three o’clock. No scouts were employed, but when necessary
sentries were placed, and when they became sleepy they aroused two of
their comrades to take their places. The fighting was not worthy of the
name of a battle, but was simply an affray, a _mêlée_, in which there
was no order and no words of command. No truce was allowed, but when one
side was tired of the fight, or was getting the worst of it, they sent
for a go-between (_molekaleku_) to arrange a meeting and the terms upon
which blood-brotherhood could be made.
A man of conspicuous bravery who kills a man in a fight receives
congratulatory presents, and at drinking-bouts the first mug of
sugar-cane wine is served to him as long as he retains such
pre-eminence, and he has no difficulty in procuring volunteers to aid
him in any of his personal quarrels. When a man kills his opponent in a
fight he cuts off his head and removes his lips, which latter he
thoroughly dries in the sun, and then sticks them over with brass chair
nails and wears them as an ornament with as much pride as a decoration
is worn by the civilized soldier—it is the man’s medal for bravery. The
skull of the slain man is put at the base of a palm, or other tree just
outside the victor’s house, and when the victor dies the spirit of the
conquered and slain man is called upon to do service to the spirit of
the conqueror in _longa_, or the spirit-world.
The Boloki when attacking a town will often divide into two parties, and
while one division attacks the place in front by water, the other makes
a detour over land and attacks the rear. When chasing the enemy they
throw their light, thin, fighting spears in the air, and these, turning,
come down head first and pierce the shoulders, and I have known some to
enter the top of the arm and come out at the elbow. For warding off
spears they use grass-plaited shields, fine-woven cotton belts wound
round and round the waist, and some have cuirasses of hippopotamus hide
to cover the back. The cuirass fastens in front, and at the fastening
there is generally a dagger in a sheath, which is easily drawn. There
are a few flint-lock trade guns among them, but they rely on their
light, thin spears and knives of various lengths and shapes. Lads who
cannot obtain spears use sticks with sharpened points that have been
hardened in the fire, and with these they harass the enemy. When
fighting they wear skin hats, more as a protection against cuts than for
ornament; and the whole face is blackened with a thick paste of oil and
soot, or oil and burnt ground nuts, and the eyes are surrounded with
circles of chalk or white clay. This is to disguise them from their
enemies. The Boloki, among the Congo people, are acknowledged to be the
fiercest and the bravest in a fight, and are greatly feared by the other
tribes.
Prisoners taken are held to ransom, and if not ransomed they are
retained, sold, or killed, according to the whim of the captor. The
first prisoner taken by a man is given, as a first-fruit, to the man’s
father, or, failing him, to his nearest relative. Women very often
become the wives of their captors. Prisoners captured in war belong to
their captors, and the same applies to all kinds of spoils. The bodies
of enemies are carried when possible from the “field” and eaten at a
general feast. If the prisoners are not redeemed they become slaves, and
while the young ones amalgamate with their conquerors, and often become
a part of the families of their owners, the elder ones who have their
own tribal marks well defined never take other than a servile position
in the towns of their masters.
The chief cause of quarrels and fights on the Congo is about women, and
although the ostensible reason may be a drunken row or a debt, yet if
you push the matter to its real origin you will in nine cases out of ten
find a woman at the bottom of it. Directly after blood-brotherhood is
made all is friendly so far as seeming outward appearances may show; but
I know from experience that the conquered are only awaiting their
opportunity of revenge.
[Illustration:
A BOLOKI METHOD OF BEHEADING
The victim here lies on the ground with a plantain stem under the
neck. This plantain stem supports the neck for a clean cut through,
but does not damage the edge of the knife.
]
There are certain omens that demand careful attention during war time.
To some, if a snake during war goes in front towards the enemy it is a
sign that success will attend their undertaking, but if the snake comes
towards them the omen is against them. To others, if the _muntontwa_ (a
small active bird with a long beak) flies towards the enemy the omen is
in their favour, but if it comes from the direction of the enemy it is
not to be disregarded or some calamity will surely overtake them. To
most natives it will be a bad sign if a man kicks his foot against
anything in the road. Sometimes the stronger-minded ones laugh away the
fears of those who are inclined to turn back if the omens are against
them; but it more frequently happens that they turn _en masse_, probably
glad to postpone the fight.
After a fight, in which some of the enemy are killed, only the _men_
meet to engage in the _bonkani_ dance. The men dance with their spears
and knives, and any goats, sheep, dogs, or fowls that approach the
dancers are instantly speared, cooked, and eaten. As a man beats the
drum one after another of the dancers advances, and in a solo tells of
his exploits during the late fight, which exploits are more often in the
imagination than on the field of battle; but they vie with one another
in “drawing the long bow” on such occasions.
At times they use the following divination to ascertain the results of a
proposed fight: A saucepan of marsh or forest water is procured and some
“medicine” is put into it. The saucepan is placed on the fire, to which
none but the operators have access, and then, after due time, they say
to this _likato_ (saucepan of water with “medicine” in it), “Will they
kill us in the fight?” If the water boils up and fills the saucepan,
then it is an omen that some of them will be killed, so they abandon the
war; but if the water keeps low they ask, “Shall we kill some of them in
the fight?” Then if the water rises in the saucepan it is an omen that
some of the enemy will be killed, and the war is prosecuted; but if the
water does not boil over it indicates that they will not kill any of the
enemy, consequently the proposed fight is dropped. This test is applied
several times before it is considered satisfactory.
I have seen natives fight both on the Lower and Upper Congo. On the
Lower Congo flint-lock guns are used, and do almost as much harm to the
firer as to the one fired at. Through being so flimsily made a heavy
charge of gunpowder will often cause the old gas-pipe barrels to
explode, and a large number of our hospital accidents are from guns
bursting in hunting and fighting. The firer holds the butt of his gun
against the palm of his right hand, consequently when the gun jerks in
firing, the bullet goes anywhere but at the object aimed at unless that
object is very near. I have known over two hundred men fire at about
thirty for a whole day and only one man was wounded in the ankle by a
spent slug. Their guns will not carry far, and they stand at long
distances from one another and fire.
On the other hand, the Boloki, relying as he does on his fighting spear,
runs in to throw it, and many wounds are inflicted in a very short time.
On the Lower Congo a person is seldom killed in a fight with guns; but
among the Boloki there is never a fight between town and town without
several deaths.
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