FOOD.
THE STAFF OF LIFE IN KAFFIRLAND -- HOW A DINNER IS COOKED -- BOILING
AND GRINDING CORN -- THE KAFFIR MILL, AND MODE OF USING IT -- FAIR
DIVISION OF LABOR -- A KAFFIR DINNER-PARTY -- SINGING IN CHORUS --
ACCOUNT OF A KAFFIR MEETING AND WAR-SONG -- HISTORY OF THE WAR-SONG,
AND ITS VARIOUS POINTS EXPLAINED -- TCHAKA’s WAR-SONG -- SONG IN
HONOR OF PANDA -- HOW PORRIDGE IS EATEN -- VARIOUS SPOONS MADE BY
THE NATIVES -- A USEFUL COMBINATION OF SPOON AND SNUFF-BOX -- THE
GIRAFFE SPOON -- HOW THE COLORING IS MANAGED -- PECULIAR ANGLE OF
THE BOWL AND REASONS FOR IT -- KAFFIR ETIQUETTE IN DINING -- INNATE
LOVE OF JUSTICE -- GIGANTIC SPOON -- KAFFIR LADLES -- LOCUSTS EATEN
BY KAFFIRS -- THE INSECT IN ITS DIFFERENT STAGES -- THE LOCUST ARMIES
AND THEIR NUMBERS -- DESTRUCTIVENESS OF THE INSECT -- DESCRIPTION
OF A FLIGHT OF LOCUSTS -- EFFECT OF WIND ON THE LOCUSTS -- HOW THE
INSECTS ARE CAUGHT, COOKED, AND STORED -- GENERAL QUALITY OF THE
MEAT OBTAINED IN KAFFIRLAND -- JERKED MEAT, AND MODE OF COOKING IT
-- THE HUNGER-BELT AND ITS USES -- EATING SHIELD -- CEREMONIES IN
EATING BEEF -- VARIOUS DRINKS USED BY THE KAFFIR -- HOW HE DRINKS
WATER FROM THE RIVER -- INTOXICATING DRINKS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
-- HOW BEER IS BREWED IN SOUTHERN AFRICA -- MAKING MAIZE INTO MALT
-- FERMENTATION, SKIMMING, AND STRAINING -- QUANTITY OF BEER DRUNK
BY A KAFFIR -- VESSELS IN WHICH BEER IS CONTAINED -- BEER-BASKETS --
BASKET STORE-HOUSES -- THE KAFFIR’S LOVE FOR HONEY -- HOW HE FINDS
THE BEES’ NESTS -- THE HONEY-GUIDE AND THE HONEY-RATEL -- POISONOUS
HONEY -- POULTRY AND EGGS -- FORBIDDEN MEATS -- THE KAFFIR AND THE
CROCODILE.
We have now seen how the Kaffirs obtain the staple of their animal food
by the cattle-pen and hunting-field, and how they procure vegetable
food by cultivating the soil. We will next proceed to the various
kinds of food used by the Kaffirs, and to the method by which they
cook it. Man, according to a familiar saying, has been defined as _par
excellence_ the cooking animal, and we shall always find that the
various modes used in preparing food are equally characteristic and
interesting.
The staff of life to a Kaffir is grain, whether maize or millet,
reduced to a pulp by careful grinding, and bearing some resemblance to
the oatmeal porridge of Scotland. When a woman has to cook a dinner
for her husband, she goes to one of the grain stores, and takes out a
sufficient quantity of either maize or millet, the former being called
umbila, and the latter amabele. The great cooking pot is now brought to
the circular fireplace, and set on three large stones, so as to allow
the fire to burn beneath it. Water and maize are now put into the pot,
the cover is luted down, as has already been mentioned, and the fire
lighted. The cooking pot is made of clay, which is generally procured
by pounding the materials of an ant-hill and kneading it thoroughly
with water.
Her next proceeding is to get her mill ready. This is a very rude
apparatus, and requires an enormous amount of labor to produce a
comparatively small effect. It consists of two parts, namely, the upper
and lower millstones, or the bed and the stone. The bed is a large,
heavy stone, which has been flat on the upper surface, but which has
been slightly hollowed and sloped. The stone is oval in shape, and
about eight or nine inches in length, and is, in fact, that kind of
stone which is popularly known under the name of “cobble.”
When the corn is sufficiently boiled, and the woman is ready to grind
it, she takes it from the pot, and places it on the stone, under which
she has spread a mat. She then kneels at the mill, takes the stone in
both hands, and with a peculiar rocking and grinding motion reduces
it to a tolerably consistent paste. As fast as it is ground, it is
forced down the sloping side of the stone, upon a skin which is ready
to receive it. This form of mill is perhaps the earliest with which
we are acquainted, and it may be found in many parts of the world. In
Mexico, for example, the ordinary mill is made on precisely the same
principle, though the lower stone is rudely carved so as to stand on
three legs.
It is more than probable that the operation of grinding corn, which is
so often mentioned in the earlier Scriptures, was performed in just
such a mill as the Kaffir woman uses. The labor of grinding the corn is
very severe, the whole weight of the body being thrown on the stone,
and the hands being fully occupied in rolling and rocking the upper
stone upon the lower. Moreover, the labor has to be repeated daily, and
oftentimes the poor hard-worked woman is obliged to resume it several
times in the day. Only sufficient corn is ground for the consumption of
a single meal; and therefore, so often as the men are hungry, so often
has she to grind corn for them.
The boiled and ground corn takes a new name, and is now termed
“isicaba;” and when a sufficient quantity has been ground, the woman
takes it from the mat, puts it into a basket, and brings it to her
husband, who is probably asleep or smoking his pipe. She then brings
him a bowl, some clotted milk, and his favorite spoon, and leaves him
to mix it for himself and take his meal, she not expecting to partake
with him, any more than she would expect him to help her in grinding
the corn.
As the Kaffir is eminently a social being, he likes to takes his meals
in company, and does so in a very orderly fashion.
When a number of Kaffirs meet for a social meal, they seat themselves
round the fire, squatted in their usual manner, and always forming
themselves into a circle, Kaffir fashion. If they should be very
numerous, they will form two or more concentric circles, all close to
each other, and all facing inward. The pot is then put on to boil, and
while the “mealies,” or heads of maize, are being cooked, they all
strike up songs, and sing them until the feast is ready. Sometimes they
prefer love songs, and are always fond of songs that celebrate the
possession of cattle. These melodies have a chorus that is perfectly
meaningless, like the choruses of many of our own popular songs, but
the singers become quite infatuated with them. In a well known cattle
song, the burden of which is E-e-e-yu-yu-yu, they all accompany the
words with gestures. Their hands are clenched, with the palms turned
upward; their arms bent, and at each E-e-e they drive their arms out
to their full extent; and at each repetition of the syllable “yu,”
they bring their elbows against their sides, so as to give additional
emphasis to the song. An illustration on page 145, represents such a
scene, and is drawn from a sketch by Captain Drayson, R. A., who has
frequently been present in such scenes, and learned to take his part in
the wild chorus. As to the smoke of the fire, the Kaffirs care nothing
for it, although no European singer would be able to utter two notes
in such a choking atmosphere, or to see what he was doing in a small
hut without window or chimney, and filled with wood smoke. Some snuff
gourds are seen on the ground, and on the left hand, just behind a
pillar, is the Induna, or head of the kraal, who is the founder of the
feast.
The number of Kaffirs that will crowd themselves into a single small
hut is almost incredible. Even in the illustration they seem to be
tolerably close together, but the fact is, that the artist was obliged
to omit a considerable number of individuals in order to give a partial
view of the fireplace and the various utensils.
One African traveller gives a very amusing account of a scene similar
to that which is depicted in the engraving. In the evening he heard
a most singular noise of many voices rising and falling in regular
rhythm, and found it to proceed from an edifice which he had taken for
a haycock, but which proved to be a Kaffir hut. He put his head into
the door, but the atmosphere was almost too much for him, and he could
only see a few dying embers, throwing a ruddy glow over a number of
Kaffirs squatting round the fireplace, and singing with their usual
gesticulations. He estimated their number at ten, thinking that the hut
could not possibly hold, much less accommodate, more than that number.
However, from that very hut issued thirty-five tall and powerful
Kaffirs, and they did not look in the least hot or uncomfortable. The
song which they were singing with such energy was upon one of the only
two subjects which seem to inspire a Kaffir’s muse, namely, war and
cattle. This particular composition treated of the latter subject, and
began with “All the calves are drinking water.”
A very graphic account of the method in which the Kaffirs sing
in concert is given by Mr. Mason, who seems to have written his
description immediately after witnessing the scene, and while the
impression was still strong on his mind:--
“By the light of a small oil lamp I was completing my English journal,
ready for the mail which sailed next day; and, while thus busily
employed, time stole away so softly that it was late ere I closed
and sealed it up. A fearful shout now burst from the recesses of the
surrounding jungle, apparently within a hundred yards of our tent; in a
moment all was still again, and then the yell broke out with increased
vigor, till it dinned in our ears, and made the very air shake and
vibrate with the clamor. At first we were alarmed, and looked to the
priming of our pistols; but, as the sounds approached no nearer, I
concluded that it must be part of some Kaffir festival, and determined
on ascertaining its meaning; so, putting by the pistol, I started, just
as I was, without coat, hat, or waistcoat, and made my way through the
dripping boughs of the jungle, toward the spot from whence the strange
sounds proceeded.
[Illustration: (1.) A KAFFIR DINNER PARTY. (See page 144.)]
[Illustration: (2.) SOLDIERS LAPPING WATER. (See page 152.)]
“By this time the storm had quite abated; the heavy clouds were rolling
slowly from over the rising moon; the drops from the lofty trees fell
heavily on the dense bush below; thousands of insects were chirping
merrily; and there, louder than all the rest, was the regular rise
and fall of some score of Kaffirs. I had already penetrated three
hundred yards or more into the bush, when I discovered a large and
newly erected Kaffir hut, with a huge fire blazing in its centre, just
visible through the dense smoke that poured forth from the little
semicircular aperture which served for a doorway. These huts of the
Kaffirs are formed of trellis-work, and thatched; in appearance they
resemble a well rounded haycock, being, generally, eight or ten feet
high at the vertex, circular in form, and from twenty to twenty-five
feet broad, with an opening like that of a beehive for a doorway, as
before described.
“But, as it was near midnight, it seemed to me that my visit might not
be altogether seasonable. However, to have turned back when so near the
doorway might have brought an assagai after me, since the occupants of
the hut would have attributed a rustling of the bushes, at that late
hour, to the presence of a thief or wild beast. I therefore coughed
aloud, stooped down, and thrust my head into the open doorway, where a
most interesting sight presented itself.
“Fancy three rows of jet-black Kaffirs, ranged in circles around the
interior of the hut, sitting knees and nose altogether, waving their
well oiled, strongly built frames backward and forward, to keep time
in their favorite ‘Dingan’s war-song;’ throwing their arms about, and
brandishing the glittering assagai, singing and shouting, uttering
a shrill piercing whistle, beating the ground to imitate the heavy
tramp of marching men, and making the very woods echo again with their
boisterous merriment.
“My presence was unobserved for a moment, until an old gray-headed
Kaffir (an Umdodie) pointed his finger toward me. In an instant,
the whole phalanx of glaring eyes was turned to the doorway; and
silence reigned throughout the demoniac-looking group. A simultaneous
exclamation of ‘Molonga! Molonga!’ (white man! white man!) was
succeeded by an universal beckon for me to come in and take a place
in the ring. This of course I complied with; and, having seen me
comfortably seated, they fell to work again more vociferously than
ever, till I was well near bewildered with the din, and stifled with
the dense smoke issuing from the huge fire in the centre of the ring.”
Dingan’s war-song, which is here mentioned, is rather made in praise
of Dingan’s warlike exploits. To a Kaffir, who understands all the
allusions made by the poet, it is a marvellously exciting composition,
though it loses its chief beauties when translated into a foreign
language, and deprived of the peculiar musical rhythm and alliteration
which form the great charms of Kaffir poetry. The song was as follows:--
“Thou needy offspring of Umpikazi,
Eyer of the cattle of men.
Bird of Maube, fleet as a bullet,
Sleek, erect, of beautiful parts.
Thy cattle like the comb of the bees,
O herd too large, too huddled to move.
Devourer of Moselekatze, son of Machobana,
Devourer of Swazi, son of Sobuza.
Breaker of the gates of Machobana.
Devourer of Gundave of Machobana.
A monster in size, of mighty power.
Devourer of Ungwati of ancient race;
Devourer of the kingly Uomape;
Like heaven above, raining and shining.”
If the reader will refer to the song in honor of Panda, which is given
on page 90, he will see the strong resemblance that exists between the
two odes, each narrating some events of the hero’s early life, then
diverging into a boast of his great wealth, and ending with a list of
his warlike achievements.
Mr. Shooter mentions a second song which was made in honor of Tchaka,
as, indeed, he was told by that renowned chief himself. It was composed
after that warlike despot had made himself master of the whole of
Kaffirland, and the reader will not fail to notice the remarkable
resemblance between the burden of the song, “Where will you go out
to battle now?” and the lament of Alexander, that there were no more
worlds to conquer.
“Thou hast finished, finished the nations!
Where will you go out to battle now?
Hey! where will you go out to battle now?
Thou hast conquered kings!
Where are you going to battle now?
Thou hast finished, finished the nations!
Where are you going to battle now?
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Where are you going to battle now?”
I have already mentioned that in eating his porridge the Kaffir uses
a spoon. He takes a wonderful pride in his spoon, and expends more
trouble upon it than upon any other article which he possesses, not
even his “tails,” pipes, or snuff box, being thought worthy of so
much labor as is lavished upon his spoons. Although there is a great
variety of patterns among the spoons manufactured by the Kaffir tribes,
there is a character about them which is quite unmistakable, and
which points out the country of the maker as clearly as if his name
were written on it. The bowl, for example, instead of being almost in
the same line with the stem, is bent forward at a slight angle, and,
instead of being rather deep, is quite shallow. It is almost incapable
of containing liquids, and is only adapted for conveying to the mouth
the thick porridge which has already been described. Several of
these spoons are represented on page 103, drawn from specimens in my
collection.
Fig. 1 is a spoon rather more than two feet in length, cut from a
stout branch of a tree, as is shown by the radiating circles, denoting
the successive annual deposits of woody fibre. The little dark mark
in the bowl shows the pithy centre of the branch. The end of the
handle is made to represent the head of an assagai, and the peculiar
convexity and concavity of that weapon is represented by staining one
side of the blade black. This staining process is very simply managed
by heating a piece of iron or a stone, and charring the wood with it,
so as to make an indelible black mark. Part of the under side of the
bowl is stained black in a similar manner, and so is a portion of the
handle, this expeditious and easy mode of decoration being in great
favor among the Kaffirs, when they are making any article of wood. The
heads of the wooden assagais shown on page 103 are stained in the same
fashion. According to English ideas, the bowl is of unpleasantly large
dimensions, being three inches and a quarter in width. But a Kaffir
mouth is a capacious one, and he can use this gigantic instrument
without inconvenience.
Fig. 2 represents a singularly elaborate example of a spoon, purchased
from a native by the late H. Jackson, Esq. It is more than three feet
in length and is slightly curved, whereas the preceding example is
straight. The wood of which it is made is much harder than that of
the other spoon, and is therefore capable of taking a tolerably high
polish. The maker of this spoon has ornamented it in a very curious
manner. Five rings are placed round the stem, and these rings are made
of the wire-like hairs from the elephant’s tail. They are plaited in
the manner that is known to sailors as the “Turk’s-head” knot, and are
similar to those that have been mentioned on page 101 as being placed
on the handle of the assagai. In order to show the mode in which these
rings are made, one of them is given on an enlarged scale.
At the end of the handle of the spoon may be seen a globular knob. This
is carved from the same piece of wood as the spoon, and is intended
for a snuff box, so that the owner is doubly supplied with luxuries.
It is cut in order to imitate a gourd, and, considering the very rude
tools which a Kaffir possesses, the skill displayed in hollowing it
is very great. Round the neck of the opening is one of the elephant’s
hair rings, and at the bottom there is some rather deep carving. This
odd snuff box is ornamented by being charred, as is the bowl and the
greater part of the stem.
Sometimes the Kaffirs exert great ingenuity in carving the handles of
their spoons into rude semblances of various animals. On account of
its long neck and legs and sloping back, the giraffe is the favorite.
Fig. 1 on page 103 shows one of these spoons. It is rather more than a
foot in length, and represents the form of the animal better than might
be supposed from the illustration, which is taken from the front, and
therefore causes its form to be foreshortened and the characteristic
slope of the back to be unseen. It is made of the acacia wood, that
being the tree on which the giraffe loves to feed, and which is called
by the Dutch settlers “Kameel-dorn,” or camel-thorn, in consequence.
The peculiar attitude of the head is a faithful representation of
the action of the giraffe when raising its head to browse among the
foliage, and the spotted skin is well imitated by application of a
red-hot iron.
In some examples of the giraffe spoon, the form of the animal is much
better shown, even the joints of the legs being carefully marked, and
their action indicated. Sometimes the Kaffir does not make the whole
handle into the form of an animal, but cuts the handle of the usual
shape, and leaves at the end a large block of solid wood, which he can
carve into the required shape. The hippopotamus is frequently chosen
for this purpose, and so is the rhinoceros, while the hyæna is always
a favorite, apparently because its peculiar outline can easily be
imitated in wood.
The reader will probably have noticed the angle at which the shallow
bowl is set, and it appears to make the spoon a most inconvenient
instrument. If held after the European fashion, the user would scarcely
be able to manage it at all, but the Kaffir has his own way of holding
it, which is perfectly effective. Instead of taking it between the
thumb and the forefinger, he grasps the stem with the whole hand,
having the bowl to the left, and the handle to the right. He then dips
the shallow bowl into the tenacious porridge, takes up as much as it
will possibly hold, and inserts the whole of the bowl into his mouth,
the convex side being uppermost. In this position the tongue can lick
the spoon quite clean, so as to be ready for the next visit to the
porridge.
If a number of Kaffirs are about to partake of a common meal, they
always use a common spoon. Were each man to bring his own with him,
and all to dip in the pot at once, it is evident that he who had the
largest spoon, would get the largest share, than which nothing would
be more distasteful to the justice loving Kaffir, besides giving rise
to a scene of hurry, and probably contention, which would be a breach
of good manners. So the chief man present takes the spoon, helps
himself to a mouthful, and hands the clean spoon to his next neighbor.
Thus the spoon goes round in regular order, each man having one
spoonful at a time, and none having more than another.
This love of justice pervades all classes of Kaffirs, and even adheres
to them when they are partially civilized--a result which does not
always take place when the savage has taken his first few lessons
in the civilization of Europe. Some time ago, when a visitor was
inspecting an English school for Kaffir children, he was struck by
the method adopted in giving the scholars their meals. Porridge was
prepared for them, and served out by one of their own nation, who used
the most scrupulous accuracy in dividing the food. She was not content
with giving to each child an apparently equal share, but went twice or
thrice round the circle, adding to one portion and taking away from
another, until all were equally served. Not until she was satisfied
that the distribution was a just one, did the dusky scholars think of
beginning their meal.
Sometimes the Kaffirs will amuse themselves by making spoons of the
most portentous dimensions, which would baffle even the giants of our
nursery tales, did they endeavor to use such implements. One of these
gigantic spoons is in the collection of Colonel Lane Fox. It is shaped
much like fig. 1, in the illustration at page 103, and if very much
reduced in size would be a serviceable Kaffir spoon of the ordinary
kind. But it is between five and six feet in length, its stem is as
thick as a man’s arm, and its bowl large enough to accommodate his
whole head.
At fig. 2 of the illustration on the upper part of same page may be
seen an article which looks like a spoon, but rather deserves the name
of ladle, as it is used for substances more liquid than the porridge.
It is carved from a single piece of wood, and it is a singular fact
that the maker should have been able to carve the deeply grooved handle
without the aid of a lathe. If this handle be turned round on its axis,
so that the eye can follow the spiral course of the grooves, it becomes
evident that they have been cut without the use of any machinery. But
the truth of their course is really wonderful, and the carver of this
handsome handle has taken care to darken the spiral grooves by the
application of a hot iron. This remarkable specimen was brought from
Africa by the Rev. J. Shooter, and the illustration has been taken from
the specimen itself.
Two more similar ladles are illustrated on page 155. The uppermost
figure represents a ladle about fourteen inches in length. The pattern
has no pretence to elaborate detail; but the whole form is very bold
and decided, and the carver has evidently done his work thoroughly, and
on a definite plan. The black marks on the stem and handle are made by
a hot iron, and the under surface of the bowl is decorated with two
triangular marks made in the same manner.
At figure 2 of the same illustration is shown a rather remarkable
ladle. It is eighteen inches in length, and the bowl is both wide and
deep. It is made from the hard wood of the acacia, and must have cost
the carver a considerable amount of trouble. In carving the ladle, the
maker has set himself to shape the handle in such a manner that it
resembles a bundle of small sticks tied together by a band at the end
and another near the middle. So well has he achieved this feat that,
when I first saw this ladle, in rather dim light, I really thought that
some ingenious artificer had contrived to make a number of twigs start
from one part of a branch, and had carved that portion of the branch
into the bowl, and had tied the twigs together to form the handle. He
has heightened the deception, by charring the sham bands black, while
the rest of the handle is left of its natural color. Figs. 3 and 4 of
the same illustration will be presently described.
* * * * *
There is an article of food which is used by the natives, in its proper
season, and does not prepossess a European in its favor. This is the
locust, the well-known insect which sweeps in countless myriads over
the land, and which does such harm to the crops and to everything
that grows. The eggs of the locust are laid in the ground, and at the
proper season the young make their appearance. They are then very
small, but they grow with great rapidity--as, indeed, they ought to
do, considering the amount of food which they consume. Until they have
passed a considerable time in the world, they have no wings, and can
only crawl and hop. The Kaffirs call these imperfect locusts “boyane,”
and the Dutch settlers term them “voetgangers,” or “foot-goers,”
because they cannot fly. Even in this stage they are terribly
destructive, and march steadily onward consuming every green thing that
they can eat.
Nothing stops them in their progress short of death, and, on account
of their vast myriads, the numbers that can be killed form but an
insignificant proportion of the whole army. A stream of these insects,
a mile or more in width, will pass over a country, and scarcely
anything short of a river will stop them. Trenches are soon filled
up with their bodies, and those in the rear march over the carcasses
of their dead comrades. Sometimes the trenches have been filled with
fire, but to no purpose, as the fire is soon put out by the locusts
that come crowding upon it. As for walls, the insects care nothing for
them, but surmount them, and even the very houses, without suffering a
check.
When they become perfect insects and gain their wings, they proceed,
as before, in vast myriads; but this time, they direct their course
through the air, and not merely on land, so that not even the broadest
river can stop them. They generally start as soon as the sun has
dispelled the dews and warmed the air, which, in its nightly chill,
paralyzes them, and renders them incapable of flight and almost unable
even to walk. Toward evening they always descend, and perhaps in the
daytime also; and wherever they alight, every green thing vanishes.
The sound of their jaws cutting down the leaves and eating them can be
heard at a great distance. They eat everything of a vegetable nature.
Mr. Moffatt saw a whole field of maize consumed in two hours, and has
seen them eat linen, flannel, and even tobacco. When they rise for
another flight, the spot which they have left is as bare as if it were
desert land, and not a vestige of any kind of verdure is to be seen
upon it.
A very excellent description of a flight of locusts is given by Mr.
Cole, in his work on South Africa:--
“Next day was warm enough, but the wind was desperately high, and, much
to my disgust, right in my face as I rode away on my journey. After
travelling some ten miles, having swallowed several ounces of sand
meanwhile, and been compelled occasionally to remove the sand-hills
that were collecting in my eyes, I began to fall in with some locusts.
At first they came on gradually and in small quantities, speckling the
earth here and there, and voraciously devouring the herbage.
“They were not altogether pleasant, as they are weak on the wing, and
quite at the mercy of the wind, which uncivilly dashed many a one into
my face with a force that made my cheeks tingle. By degrees they grew
thicker and more frequent. My progress was now most unpleasant, for
they flew into my face every instant. Flung against me and my horse
by the breeze, they clung to us with the tightness of desperation,
till we were literally speckled with locusts. Each moment the clouds
of them became denser, till at length--I am guilty of no exaggeration
in saying--they were as thick in the air as the flakes of snow during
a heavy fall of it; they covered the grass and the road, so that at
every step my horse crushed dozens; they were whirled into my eyes and
those of my poor nag, till at last the latter refused to face them, and
turned tail in spite of whip and spur. They crawled about my face and
neck, got down my shirt collar and up my sleeves--in a word they drove
me to despair as completely as they drove my horse to stubbornness, and
I was obliged to ride back a mile or two, and claim shelter from them
at a house I had passed on my route; fully convinced that a shower of
locusts is more unbearable than hail, rain, snow, and sleet combined. I
found the poor farmer in despair at the dreadful visitation which had
come upon him--and well he might be so. To-day he had standing crops, a
garden, and wide pasture lands in full verdure; the next day the earth
was as bare all round as a macadamized road.
“I afterwards saw millions of these insects driven by the wind into the
sea at Algoa Bay, and washed on shore again in such heaps, that the
prisoners and coolies in the town were busily employed for a day or
two in burying the bodies, to prevent the evil consequence that would
arise from the putrefying of them close to the town. No description
of these little plagues, or of the destruction they cause, can well
be an exaggeration. Fortunately, their visitations are not frequent,
as I only remember three during my five years’ residence in South
Africa. Huge fires are sometimes lighted round corn-lands and gardens
to prevent their approach; and this is an effective preventive when
they can steer their own course; but when carried away by such a wind
as I have described, they can only go where it drives them, and all
the bonfires in the world would be useless to stay their progress. The
farmer thus eaten out of house and home (most literally) has nothing to
do but to move his stock forthwith to some other spot which has escaped
them--happy if he can find a route free from their devastation, so that
his herds and flocks may not perish by the way.”
Fortunately, their bodies being heavy in proportion to their wings,
they cannot fly against the wind, and it often happens that, as in the
old Scripture narrative, a country is relieved by a change of wind,
which drives the insects into the sea, where they are drowned; and,
as Mr. Cole observes, they were driven by the wind into his face or
upon his clothes, as helplessly as the cockchafers on a windy summer
evening. Still, terrible as are the locusts, they have their uses. In
the first place, they afford food to innumerable animals. As they fly,
large flocks of birds wait on them, sweep among them and devour them
on the wing. While they are on the ground, whether in their winged or
imperfect state, they are eaten by various animals; even the lion and
other formidable carnivora not disdaining so easily gained a repast.
As the cool air of the night renders the locusts incapable of moving,
they can be captured without difficulty. Even to mankind the locusts
are serviceable, being a favorite article of food. It is true that
these insects devour whole crops, but it may be doubted whether they do
not confer a benefit on the dusky cultivators rather than inflict an
injury.
As soon as the shades of evening render the locusts helpless, the
natives turn out in a body, with sacks, skins, and everything that can
hold the expected prey, those who possess such animals bringing pack
oxen in order to bear the loads home. The locusts are swept by millions
into the sacks, without any particular exertion on the part of the
natives, though not without some danger, as venomous serpents are apt
to come for the purpose of feeding on the insects, and are sometimes
roughly handled in the darkness.
When the locusts have been brought home, they are put into a large
covered pot, such as has already been described, and a little water
added to them. The fire is then lighted under the pot, and the locusts
are then boiled, or rather steamed, until they are sufficiently
cooked. They are then taken out of the pot, and spread out in the
sunbeams until they are quite dry; and when this part of the process is
completed, they are shaken about in the wind until the legs and wings
fall off, and are carried away just as the chaff is carried away by the
breeze when corn is winnowed. When they are perfectly dry, they are
stored away in baskets, or placed in the granaries just as if they were
corn.
Sometimes the natives eat them whole, just as we eat shrimps, and, if
they can afford such a luxury, add a little salt to them. Usually,
however, the locusts are treated much in the same manner as corn or
maize. They are ground to powder by the mill until they are reduced
to meal, which is then mixed with water, so as to form a kind of
porridge. A good locust season is always acceptable to the natives, who
can indulge their enormous appetites to an almost unlimited extent,
and in consequence become quite fat in comparison with their ordinary
appearance. So valuable, indeed, are the locusts, that if a native
conjurer can make his companions believe that his incantations have
brought the locusts, he is sure to be richly rewarded by them.
Meat, when it can be obtained, is the great luxury of a Kaffir. Beef is
his favorite meat; but he will eat that of many of the native animals,
though there are some, including all kinds of fish, which he will not
touch. With a very few exceptions, such as the eland, the wild animals
of Southern Africa do not furnish very succulent food. Venison when
taken from a semi-domesticated red deer, or a three-parts domesticated
fallow deer, is a very different meat when obtained from a wild deer or
antelope. As a general rule, such animals have very little fat about
them, and their flesh, by reason of constant exercise and small supply
of food, is exceedingly tough, and would baffle the jaws of any but a
very hungry man.
Fortunately for the Kaffirs, their teeth and jaws are equal to any
task that can be imposed upon them in the way of mastication, and meat
which an European can hardly manage to eat is a dainty to his dark
companions. The late Gordon Cumming, who had as much experience in
hunter life as most men, used to say that a very good idea of the meat
which is usually obtained by the gun in Kaffirland may be gained by
taking the very worst part of the toughest possible beef, multiplying
the toughness by ten, and subtracting all the gravy.
The usual plan that is adopted is, to eat at once the best parts of an
animal, and to cure the rest by drying it in the sun. This process is
a very simple one. The meat is cut into thin, long strips, and hung on
branches in the open air. The burning sunbeams soon have their effect,
and convert the scarlet strips of raw meat into a substance that looks
like old shoe-leather, and is nearly as tough. The mode of dressing it
is, to put it under the ashes of the fire, next to pound it between two
stones, and then to stew it slowly in a pot, just as is done with fresh
beef. Of course, this mode of cooking meat is only employed on the
march, when the soldiers are unable to take with them the cooking-pots
of domestic life.
Sometimes, especially when returning from an unsuccessful war, the
Kaffirs are put to great straits for want of food, and have recourse to
the strangest expedients for allaying hunger. They begin by wearing a
“hunger-belt,” _i. e._ a belt passed several times round the body, and
arranged so as to press upon the stomach, and take off for a time the
feeling of faint sickness that accompanies hunger before it develops
into starvation. As the hours pass on, and the faintness again appears,
the hunger-belt is drawn tighter and tighter. This curious remedy for
hunger is to be found in many parts of the world, and has long been
practised by the native tribes of North America.
The hungry soldiers, when reduced to the last straits, have been known
to eat their hide-shields, and, when these were finished, to consume
even the thongs which bind the head of the assagai to the shaft. The
same process of cooking is employed in making the tough skin eatable;
namely, partial broiling _under_ ashes, then pounding between stones,
and then stewing, or boiling, if any substitute for a cooking-pot can
be found. One of the missionaries relates, in a manner that shows the
elastic spirit which animated him, how he and his companions were once
driven to eat a box which he had made of rhinoceros hide, and seems
rather to regret the loss of so excellent a box than to demand any
sympathy for the hardships which he had sustained.
* * * * *
We now come to the question of the liquids which a Kaffir generally
consumes. Ordinary men are forced to content themselves with water,
and there are occasions when they would only be too glad to obtain
even water. Certain ceremonies demand that the warriors shall be fed
plenteously with beef during the night, but that they shall not be
allowed to drink until the dawn of the following day. At the beginning
of the feast they are merry enough; for beef is always welcome to a
Kaffir, and to be allowed to eat as much as he can possibly manage to
accommodate is a luxury which but seldom occurs.
However, the time comes, even to a hungry Kaffir, when he cannot
possibly eat any more, and he craves for something to drink. This
relief is strictly prohibited, no one being allowed to leave the
circle in which they are sitting. It generally happens that some of
the younger “boys,” who have been but recently admitted into the
company of soldiers, find themselves unable to endure such a privation,
and endeavor to slip away unobserved. But a number of old and tried
warriors, who have inured themselves to thirst as well as hunger, and
who look with contempt on all who are less hardy than themselves, are
stationed at every point of exit, and, as soon as they see the dusky
form of a deserter approach the spot which they are guarding, they
unceremoniously attack him with their sticks, and beat him back to his
place in the circle.
On the march, if a Kaffir is hurried, and comes to a spot where there
is water, he stoops down, and with his curved hand flings the water
into his mouth with movements almost as rapid as those of a cat’s
tongue when she laps milk. Sometimes, if he comes to a river, which
he has to ford, he will contrive to slake his thirst as he proceeds,
without once checking his speed. This precaution is necessary if he
should be pursued, or if the river should happen to be partially
infested with crocodiles and other dangerous reptiles. (See engraving
No. 2 on p. 145.)
Kaffirs are also very fond of a kind of whey, which is poured off from
the milk when it is converted into “amasi,” and which is something
like our buttermilk to the taste. Still, although the Kaffirs can put
up with water, and like their buttermilk, they have a craving for some
fermented liquor. Water and buttermilk are very well in their way;
but they only serve for quenching thirst, and have nothing sociable
about them. Now the Kaffir is essentially a sociable being, as has
already been mentioned, and he likes nothing better than sitting in a
circle of friends, talking, grinding snuff or taking it, smoking, and
drinking. And, when he joins in such indulgences, he prefers that his
drink should be of an intoxicating nature, therein following the usual
instincts of mankind all over the world.
There are few nations who do not know how to make intoxicating drinks,
and the Kaffir is not likely to be much behindhand in this respect.
The only fermented drink which the genuine Kaffirs use is a kind of
beer, called in the native tongue “outchualla.” Like all other savages,
the Kaffirs very much prefer the stronger potations that are made by
Europeans; and their love for whisky, rum, and brandy has been the
means of ruining, and almost extinguishing, many a tribe--just as has
been the case in Northern America. The quantity of spirituous liquid
that a Kaffir can drink is really astonishing; and the strangest thing
is, that he will consume nearly a bottle of the commonest and coarsest
spirit, and rise at daybreak on the next morning without even a
headache.
The beer which the Kaffirs make is by no means a heady liquid, and
seems to have rather a fattening than an intoxicating quality. All men
of note drink large quantities of beer, and the chief of a tribe rarely
stirs without having a great vessel of beer at hand, together with his
gourd cup and ladle. The operations of brewing are conducted entirely
by the women, and are tolerably simple, much resembling the plan which
is used in England. Barley is not employed for this purpose, the grain
of maize or millet being substituted for it.
The grain is first encouraged to a partial sprouting by being wrapped
in wet mats, and is then killed by heat, so as to make it into malt,
resembling that which is used in our own country. The next process is
to put it into a vessel, and let it boil for some time, and afterward
to set it aside for fermentation. The Kaffir has no yeast, but employs
a rather curious substitute for it, being the stem of a species of
ice-plant, dried and kept ready for use. As the liquid ferments, a scum
arises to the top, which is carefully removed by means of an ingenious
skimmer, shown at figs. 3 and 4, on page 155. This skimmer is very much
like those wire implements used by our cooks for taking vegetables out
of hot water, and is made of grass stems very neatly woven together;
a number of them forming the handle, and others spreading out like
the bowl of a spoon. The bowls of these skimmers are set at different
angles, so as to suit the vessel in which fermentation is carried on.
When the beer is poured into the vessel in which it is kept for use,
it is passed through a strainer, so as to prevent any of the malt from
mixing with it. One of these strainers is shown at fig. 3, on page 67.
The specimen from which the drawing was taken is in my own collection,
and is a good sample of the Kaffir’s workmanship. It is made of reeds,
split and flattened; each reed being rather more than the fifth of an
inch wide at the opening and the twelfth of an inch at the smaller
end, and being carefully graduated in width. In shape it resembles a
jelly-bag, and, indeed, has much the same office to perform. The reeds
are woven in the “under three and over three” fashion, so as to produce
a zigzag pattern; and the conical shape of the strainer is obtained,
not by any alteration in the mode of weaving, but by the gradual
diminution of the reeds. These strainers are of various sizes; but my
own specimen, which is of the average dimensions, measures fifteen
inches in length, and nine in width across the opening.
Beer, like milk, is kept in baskets, which the Kaffirs are capable
of making so elaborately, that they can hold almost any liquid as
well as if they were casks made by the best European coopers. Indeed,
the fineness and beauty of the Kaffir basket-work may excite the
admiration, if not the envy, of civilized basket-makers, who, however
artistic may be the forms which they produce, would be sadly puzzled if
required to make a basket that would hold beer, wine, or even milk.
One of the ordinary forms of beer basket may be seen in the
illustration on page 67, the small mouth being for the greater
convenience of pouring it out. Others can be seen in the illustration
on page 63, representing the interior of a Kaffir hut. Beer baskets
of various sizes are to be found in every kraal, and are always kept
in shady places, to prevent the liquid from being injured by heat. A
Kaffir chief hardly seems to be able to support existence without his
beer. Within his own house, or in the shadow of a friendly screen, he
will sit by the hour together, smoking his enormous pipe continually,
and drinking his beer at tolerably constant intervals, thus contriving
to consume a considerable amount both of tobacco and beer. Even if he
goes out to inspect his cattle, or to review his soldiers, a servant
is sure to be with him, bearing his beer basket, stool, and other
luxurious appendages of state.
He generally drinks out of a cup, which he makes from a gourd, and
which, in shape and size, much resembles an emu’s egg with the top
cut off. For the purpose of taking the beer out of the basket, and
pouring it into the cup, he uses a ladle of some sort. The form which
is most generally in use is that which is made from a kind of gourd;
not egg-shaped, like that from which the cup is made, but formed very
much like an onion with the stalk attached to it. The bulb of the onion
represents the end of the gourd, and it will be seen that when a slice
is cut off this globular end, and the interior of the gourd removed, a
very neat ladle can be produced. As the outer skin of the gourd is of
a fine yellow color, and has a high natural polish, the cup and ladle
have a very pretty appearance.
Sometimes the Kaffir carves his ladles out of wood, and displays
much skill and taste in their construction, as may be seen by the
specimens. Occasionally the beer bowl is carved from wood as well as
the ladle; but, on account of its weight when empty, and the time
employed in making it, none but a chief is likely to make use of such a
bowl. One of these wooden bowls is shown at fig. 2, in the illustration
on page 67, and is drawn from a specimen brought from Southern Africa
by Mr. H. Jackson. It is of large dimensions, as may be seen by
comparing it with the milkpail at fig. 1. The color of the bowl is
black.
It is rather remarkable that the Kaffir who carved this bowl has
been so used to baskets as beer vessels that he has not been able to
get the idea out of his mind. The bowl is painfully wrought out of a
single block of wood, and must have cost an enormous amount of labor,
considering the rudeness of the tools used by the carver. According to
our ideas, the bowl ought therefore to show that it really is something
more valuable than usual, and as unlike the ordinary basket as
possible. But so wedded has been the maker to the notion that a basket,
and nothing but a basket, is the proper vessel for beer, that he has
taken great pains to carve the whole exterior in imitation of a basket.
So well and regularly is this decoration done, that when the bowl is
set some little distance, or placed in the shade, many persons mistake
it for a basket set on three wooden legs, and stained black.
At fig. 5 of the same illustration is an example of the Kaffir’s
basket-work. This is one of the baskets used by the women when they
have been to the fields, and have to carry home the ears of maize
or other produce. This basket is very stout and strong, and will
accommodate a quantity of corn which would form a good load for an
average English laborer. But she considers this hard work as part of
woman’s mission, asks one of her companions to assist in placing it on
her head, and goes off with her burden, often lightening the heavy task
by joining in a chorus with her similarly-laden friends. Indeed, as has
been well said by an experienced missionary, in the normal state of the
Kaffir tribes the woman serves every office in husbandry, and herself
fulfils the duties of field laborer, plough, cart, ox, and horse.
Basket-work is used for an infinity of purposes. It is of basket-work,
for example, that the Kaffir makes his curious and picturesque
storehouses, in which he keeps the corn that he is likely to require
for household use. These storehouses are always raised some height from
the ground, for the double purpose of keeping vermin from devastating
them, and of allowing a free passage to the air round them, and so
keeping their contents dry and in good condition. Indeed, the very
houses are formed of a sort of basket-work, as may be seen by reference
to Chapter VII.; and even their kraals, or villages, are little more
than basket-work on a very large scale.
Almost any kind of flexible material seems to answer for baskets, and
the Kaffir workman impresses into his service not only the twigs of
pliant bushes, like the osier and willow, but uses grass stems, grass
leaves, rushes, flags, reeds, bark, and similar materials. When he
makes those that are used for holding liquids, he always uses fine
materials, and closes the spaces between them by beating down each
successive row with an instrument that somewhat resembles a very stout
paper-knife, and that is made either of wood, bone, or ivory. As is the
case with casks, pails, quaighs, and all vessels that are made with
staves, the baskets must be well soaked before they become thoroughly
water-tight.
One of these baskets is in my own collection. It is most beautifully
made, and certainly surpasses vessels of wood or clay in one respect;
namely, that it will bear very rough treatment without breaking. The
mode of weaving it is peculiarly intricate. A vast amount of grass
is employed in its construction, the work is very close, and the
ends of the innumerable grass blades are so neatly woven into the
fabric as scarcely to be distinguishable. Soon after it came into my
possession, I sent it to a conversazione, together with a large number
of ethnological curiosities, and, knowing that very few would believe
in its powers without actual proof, I filled it with milk, and placed
it on the table. Although it had been in England for some time, and had
evidently undergone rather rough treatment, it held the milk very well.
There was a very slight leakage, caused by a mistake of the former
proprietor, who had sewed a label upon it with a very coarse needle,
leaving little holes, through which a few drops of milk gradually
oozed. With this exception, however, the basket was as serviceable as
when it was in use among the Kaffir huts.
Honey is a very favorite food with the Kaffirs, who are expert at
attacking the nests, and removing the combs in spite of the attacks
of the bees. They detect a bees’ nest in many ways, and, among other
plans for finding the nest, they set great value on the bird called the
honey-guide. There are several species of honey-guide, two of which
are tolerably common in Southern Africa, and all of which belong to
the cuckoo family. These birds are remarkable for the trust which they
instinctively repose in mankind, and the manner in which they act as
guides to the nest. Whenever a Kaffir hears a bird utter a peculiar
cry, which has been represented by the word “Cherr! cherr!” he looks
out for the singer, and goes in the direction of the voice. The bird,
seeing that the man is following, begins to approach the bees’ nest,
still uttering its encouraging cry, and not ceasing until the nest is
found.
The Kaffirs place great reliance on the bird, and never eat all the
honey, but make a point of leaving some for the guide that conducted
them to the sweet storehouse. They say that the honey-guide voluntarily
seeks the help of man, because it would otherwise be unable to get at
the bee-combs, which are made in hollow trees, thus being protected
in secure fortresses, which the bird could not penetrate without the
assistance of some being stronger than itself. And as the bird chiefly
wants the combs which contain the bee-grubs, and the man only wants
those which contain honey, the Kaffir leaves all the grub-combs for the
bird, and takes all the honey-combs himself; so that both parties are
equally pleased. Whether this be the case or not, it is certain that
the bird does perform this service to mankind, and that both the Kaffir
and the bird seem to understand each other. The honey-ratel, one of the
largest species of the weasel tribe, and an animal which is extremely
fond of bee-combs, is said to share with mankind the privilege of
alliance with the honey-guide, and to requite the aid of the bird with
the comb which it tears out of the hollow tree. It is remarkable that
both the ratel and the honey-guide are so thickly defended, the one
with fur, and the other with feathers, that the stings of the bees
cannot penetrate through their natural armor.
It is rather curious, however, that the honey-guide does not invariably
lead to the nests of bees. It has an odd habit of guiding the attention
of mankind to any animal which may be hiding in the bush, and the wary
traveller is always careful to have his weapons ready when he follows
the honey-guide, knowing that, although the bird generally leads the
way to honey, it has an unpleasant custom of leading to a concealed
buffalo, or lion, or panther, or even to a spot where a cobra or other
poisonous snake is reposing.
Although honey is much prized by Kaffirs, they exercise much caution
in eating it; and before they will trust themselves to taste it, they
inspect the neighborhood, with the purpose of seeing whether certain
poisonous plants grow in the vicinity, as in that case the honey
is sure to be deleterious. The euphorbia is one of these poisonous
plants, and belongs to a large order, which is represented in England
by certain small plants known by the common denomination of spurge.
One of them, commonly called milky-weed, sun-spurge, or wort-spurge,
is well known for the white juice which pours plentifully from the
wounded stem, and which is used in some places as a means of destroying
warts. In our own country the juice is only remarkable for its milky
appearance and its hot acrid taste, which abides in the mouth for
a wonderfully long time; but in Africa the euphorbias grow to the
dimensions of trees, and the juice is used in many parts of that
continent as a poison for arrows. Some of them look so like the cactus
group that they might be mistaken for those plants; but they are easily
known by the milky juice that pours from them when wounded, and by the
fact that their thorns, when they have any, grow singly, and not in
clusters, like those of the cactus. The white juice furnishes, when
evaporated, a highly poisonous drug, called euphorbium.
[Illustration: (1.) HARP. (See page 211.)]
[Illustration: (2.) EXTERIOR OF KAFFIR HUT. (See page 56.)]
[Illustration: (3.) 1, SPOON. 2, LADLE. 3, 4, SKIMMERS. (See page 149.)]
[Illustration: (4.) WATER PIPE. (See page 164.)]
[Illustration: (5.) FOWL HOUSE. (See page 157.)]
Honey is often found in very singular places. A swarm has been known to
take possession of a human skull, and combs have been discovered in the
skeleton framework of a dead elephant.
Like many other nations, the Zulus use both poultry and their eggs for
food, and both are employed as objects of barter. The unfortunate fowls
that are selected for this purpose must be singularly uncomfortable;
for they are always tied in bundles of three, their legs being firmly
bound together. While the bargaining is in progress, the fowls are
thrown heedlessly on the ground, where they keep up a continual
cackling, as if complaining of their hard treatment. The Kaffir does
not intend to be cruel to the poor birds; but he has really no idea
that he is indicting pain on them, and will carry them for miles by the
legs, their heads hanging down, and their legs cut by the cords.
An illustration on page 155 represents one of the ingenious houses
which the Kaffirs build for their poultry. The house is made of rough
basket-work, and is then plastered thickly with clay, just like the
low walls of the cooking-house mentioned on page 139. By the side of
the henhouse is an earthenware jar, with an inverted basket by way of
cover. This jar holds corn, and in front of it is one of the primitive
grain mills. A beer bowl and its ladle are placed near the mill.
It is a curious fact that nothing can induce the Kaffirs to eat fish,
this prejudice being shared by many nations, while others derive a
great part of their subsistence from the sea and the river. They seem
to feel as much disgust at the notion of eating fish as we do at
articles of diet such as caterpillars, earthworms, spiders, and other
creatures, which are considered as dainties in some parts of the world.
In the article of diet the Zulus are curiously particular, rejecting
many articles of food which the neighboring tribes eat without scruple,
and which even the European settlers do not refuse. As has already been
mentioned, fish of all kinds is rejected, and so are reptiles. The true
Zulu will not eat any species of monkey nor the hyæna, and in this
particular we can sympathize with them. But it is certainly odd to
find that the prohibited articles of food include many of the animals
which inhabit Africa, and which are eaten not only by the other tribes,
but by the white men. The most extraordinary circumstance is, that the
Zulus will not eat the eland, an animal whose flesh is far superior
to that of any English ox, is preferred even to venison, and can be
procured in large quantities, owing to its size.
Neither will the Zulus eat the zebra, the gnu, the hartebeest, nor the
rhinoceros; and the warriors refrain from the flesh of the elephant,
the hippopotamus, and the wild swine. The objection to eat these
animals seems to have extended over a considerable portion of Southern
Africa; but when Tchaka overran the country, and swept off all the
herds of cattle, the vanquished tribes were obliged either to eat the
hitherto rejected animals or starve, and naturally preferred the former
alternative. It is probable that the custom of repudiating certain
articles of food is founded upon some of the superstitious ideas which
take the place of a religion in the Kaffir’s mind. It is certain that
superstition prohibits fowls, ducks, bustards, porcupines, and eggs, to
all except the very young and the old, because the Kaffirs think that
those who eat such food will never enjoy the honorable title of father
or mother; and, as is well known, a childless man or woman is held in
the supremest contempt.
There is perhaps no article of food more utterly hateful to the Kaffir
than the flesh of the crocodile, and it is doubtful whether even the
pangs of starvation would induce a Zulu Kaffir to partake of such
food, or to hold friendly intercourse with any one who had done so.
An amusing instance of this innate horror of the crocodile occurred
some years ago. An European settler, new to the country, had shot a
crocodile, and having heard much of the properties possessed by the
fat of the reptile, he boiled some of its flesh for the purpose of
obtaining it. Unfortunately for him, the only vessel at hand was an
iron pot, in which his Kaffir servants were accustomed to cook their
food, and, thinking no harm, he used the pot for his purpose. He could
not have done anything more calculated to shock the feelings of the
Kaffirs, who deserted him in a body, leaving the polluted vessel behind
them.
It has already been mentioned that none but a Kaffir can either drive
or milk the native cattle, and the unfortunate colonist was obliged
to visit all the kraals within reach in order to hire new servants.
But the news had spread in all directions, that the white man cooked
crocodile in his porridge pot, and not a single Kaffir would serve him.
At last he was forced to go to a considerable distance, and visited
a kraal which he thought was beyond the reach of rumor. The chief
man received him hospitably, promised to send one of his “boys” as
a servant, and volunteered permission to beat the “boy” if he were
disobedient. He finished by saying that he only made one stipulation,
and that was, that the “boy” in question should not be obliged to eat
crocodile.
It will be understood that these peculiarities regarding food
apply only to the Zulu tribe, and that, even in that tribe, great
modifications have taken place in later years.