SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS.
THE UNIVERSAL LOVE OF TOBACCO -- SNUFFING AND SMOKING -- HOW A KAFFIR
MAKES HIS SNUFF -- HOW A KAFFIR TAKES SNUFF -- THE SNUFF SPOON, ITS
FORMS, AND MODE OF USING IT -- ETIQUETTE OF SNUFF TAKING -- BEGGING
AND GIVING SNUFF -- COMPARISON WITH OUR ENGLISH CUSTOM -- DELICACY
OF THE KAFFIR’S OLFACTORY NERVES -- VARIOUS FORMS OF SNUFF BOX --
THE EAR BOX -- THE SINGULAR BLOOD BOX -- A KAFFIR’S CAPACITY FOR
MODELLING -- GOURD SNUFF BOX -- THE KAFFIR AND HIS PIPE -- PIPE
LOVERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD -- A SINGULAR INLAID PIPE -- THE WATER
PIPE OF THE KAFFIR -- HEMP, OR DAGHA, AND ITS OPERATION ON THE SYSTEM
-- THE POOR MAN’S PIPE -- CURIOUS ACCOMPANIMENT OF SMOKING -- MAJOR
ROSS KING’S SMOKING ADVENTURE -- CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION OF
TOBACCO.
After the food of the Kaffir tribes, we naturally come to their
luxuries. One of these luxuries, namely, beer, is scarcely considered
as such by them, but is reckoned as one of the necessaries of life.
There is, however, one gratification in which the Kaffir indulges
whenever he can do so, and that is the use of tobacco, either in the
form of smoke or snuff. The love of tobacco, which is universally
prevalent over the world, is fully developed in the Kaffir, as in all
the savage tribes of Africa. For tobacco the native undergoes exertions
which no other reward would induce him to undertake. He is not at
all particular about the quality, provided that it be strong, and it
is impossible to produce tobacco that can be too coarse, rough, or
powerful for his taste. He likes to feel its effects on his system,
and would reject the finest flavored cigar for a piece of rank stick
tobacco that an English gentleman would be unable to smoke. He uses
tobacco in two forms, namely, smoke and snuff, and in both cases likes
to feel that he has the full flavor of the narcotic.
His snuff is made in a very simple manner, and is mostly manufactured
by the women. The first process is to grind the tobacco to powder
between two stones, and when it is partially rubbed down a little
water is added, so as to convert it into a paste. Meanwhile, a number
of twigs are being carefully burnt to ashes, a pure white feathery
ash being one of the chief ingredients. The leaf of the aloe,
previously dried, is often used for this purpose, and by connoisseurs
is preferred to any other material. When the snuff maker judges that
the tobacco is sufficiently ground, she spreads the paste upon a flat
stone, and places it in the rays of the sun. The great heat soon
dries up the caked tobacco, which is then rubbed until it becomes a
very fine powder. A certain proportion of wood-ash is then added and
carefully mixed, and the snuff is made. The effect of the ashes is
to give pungency to the snuff, such as cannot be obtained from the
pure tobacco. Of this snuff the Kaffirs are immoderately fond, and
even European snuff takers often prefer it to any snuff that can be
purchased. I know one African traveller, who acquired the habit of
snuff taking among the Kaffirs, and who, having learned to make snuff
in Kaffir fashion, continues to manufacture his own snuff, thinking it
superior to any that can be obtained at the tobacconists’ shops.
The manner of taking snuff is, among the Kaffirs, by no means the
simple process in use among ourselves. Snuff taking almost assumes the
character of a solemn rite, and is never performed with the thoughtless
levity of an European snuff taker. A Kaffir never thinks of taking
snuff while standing, but must needs sit down for the purpose, in some
place and at some time when he will not be disturbed. If he happens to
be a man tolerably well off, he will have a snuff spoon ready stuck in
his hair, and will draw it out. These snuff spoons are very similar in
form, although they slightly differ in detail. They are made of bone
or ivory, and consist of a small bowl set on a deeply pronged handle.
Some spoons have two prongs, but the generality have three. The bowl
is mostly hemispherical, but in some specimens it is oblong. I possess
specimens of both forms, and also a snuff spoon from Madagascar, which
is very similar both in shape and size to that which is used by the
Kaffir.
Supposing him to have a spoon, he takes his snuff box out of his ear,
or from his belt, and solemnly fills the bowl of the spoon. He then
replaces the box, inserts the bowl of the spoon into his capacious
nostrils, and with a powerful inhalation exhausts the contents. The
pungent snuff causes tears to pour down his cheeks; and as if to make
sure that they shall follow their proper course, the taker draws the
edges of his thumbs down his face, so as to make a kind of groove in
which the tears can run from the inner angle of the eyes to the corner
of the mouth. This flood of tears constitutes the Kaffir’s great
enjoyment in snuff taking, and it is contrary to all etiquette to speak
to a Kaffir, or to disturb him in any way, while he is taking his snuff.
If, as is often the case, he is not rich enough to possess a spoon, he
manages it in another fashion. Taking care to seat himself in a spot
which is sheltered from the wind, he pours the snuff on the back of his
hand, making a little conical heap that exactly coincides with his wide
nostrils. By putting the left side of his nose on the snuff heap, and
closing the other nostril with his forefinger, he contrives to absorb
it all without losing a grain of the precious substance--an act which
he would consider as the very acme of folly.
The rules of etiquette are especially minute as regards snuff taking.
It is considered bad manners to offer snuff to another, because to
offer a gift implies superiority; the principal man in each assembly
being always called upon to give snuff to the others. There is an
etiquette even in asking for snuff. If one Kaffir sees another taking
snuff, he does not ask directly for it, but puts a sidelong question,
saying, “What are you eating?” The first answer to this question is
always to the effect that he is not eating anything, which is the
polite mode of refusing the request--a refusal to the first application
being part of the same singular code of laws. When a second request is
made in the same indirect manner as the former, he pours a quantity of
snuff into the palm of his left hand, and holds it out for the other
to help himself, and, at the same time, looks carefully in another
direction, so that he may not seem to watch the quantity which is
taken, and to appear to grudge the gift. Or, if several be present,
and he is a rich man, he helps himself first, and then throws the box
to his guests, abstaining, as before, from looking at them as they
help themselves. When a chief has summoned his dependants, he calls a
servant, who holds his two open hands together, so as to form a cup.
The chief then fills his hands with snuff, and the servant carries the
valued gift to the guests as they sit around.
It has already been mentioned that when a Kaffir takes snuff, he sits
on the ground. This is one of the many small points of etiquette
which the natives observe with the minutest care. Its infringement is
looked upon not only as an instance of bad manners, but as a tacit
acknowledgment that the man who stands up while he is engaged with his
snuff with another is trying to take advantage of him. Mr. Shooter
remarks that many a man has been murdered by being entrapped into snuff
taking, and then stabbed while in a defenceless position. The very act
of holding out one hand filled with snuff, while the other is occupied
with the snuff box, prevents the donor from using his weapons, so
that he might be easily overpowered by any one who was inclined to be
treacherous.
The reader will probably have observed the analogy between this custom
and an ancient etiquette of England, a relic of which still survives
in the “grace cup” handed round at municipal banquets. There are few
points in Kaffir life more remarkable than the minute code of etiquette
concerning the use of tobacco. It must have been of very recent growth,
because tobacco, although much cultivated in Africa, is not indigenous
to that country, and has been introduced from America. It almost seems
as if some spirit of courtesy were inherent in the plant, and thus the
African black man and the American red man are perforce obliged to
observe careful ceremonial in its consumption.
It might naturally be thought that the constant inhalations of such
quantities of snuff, and that of so pungent a character, would injure
the olfactory nerves to such an extent that they would be scarcely
able to perform their office. Such, however, is not the case. The
Kaffir’s nose is a wonderful organ. It is entirely unaffected by the
abominable scent proceeding from the rancid grease with which the
natives plenteously besmear themselves, and suffers no inconvenience
from the stifling atmosphere of the hut where many inmates are
assembled. But, notwithstanding all these assaults upon it, conjoined
with the continual snuff taking, it can detect odors which are quite
imperceptible to European nostrils, and appears to be nearly as
sensitive as that of the bloodhound.
Being so fond of their snuff, the Kaffirs lavish all their artistic
powers on the boxes in which they carry so valuable a substance. They
make their snuff boxes of various materials, such as wood, bone,
ivory, horn; and just as Europeans employ gems and the precious metals
in the manufacture of their snuff boxes, so do the Kaffirs use for the
same purpose the materials they most value, and exhaust upon them the
utmost resources of their simple arts.
One of the commonest forms of snuff box is a small tube, about three
inches in length, and half an inch in diameter. This is merely a joint
of reed, with its open end secured by a plug. The natural color of the
reed is shining yellow; but the Kaffir mostly decorates it with various
patterns, made by partially charring the surface. These patterns are
differently disposed; but in general form they are very similar,
consisting of diamonds and triangles of alternate black and yellow.
This box answers another purpose besides that of holding the snuff, and
is used as an ornament. The correct method of wearing it is to make a
hole in the lobe of the ear, and push the snuff box into it. In that
position it is always at hand, and the bold black and yellow pattern
has a good effect against the dark cheek of the wearer. This box is
seen at fig. 6 of “dress and ornaments,” on page 49.
Another form of snuff box is shown at fig. 5 on the same page. This is
a small article, and is cut out of solid ivory. Much skill is shown
in the external shaping of it, and very great patience must have been
shown in scraping and polishing its surface. But this is mere child’s
play contrasted with the enormous labors of hollowing it with the very
imperfect tools possessed by a Kaffir workman. The common bottle gourd
is largely used in the manufacture of snuff boxes. Sometimes it is
merely hollowed, and furnished with a plaited leathern thong, whereby
it may be secured to the person of the owner. The hollowing process
is very simple, and consists of boring a hole in the end as the gourd
hangs on the tree, and leaving it to itself. In process of time the
whole interior decomposes, and the outer skin is baked by the sun to a
degree of hardness nearly equal to that of earthenware. This form of
snuff box is much used. As the bottle gourd attains a large size, it
is generally employed as a store box, in which snuff is kept in stock,
or by a chief of liberal ideas, who likes to hand round a large supply
among his followers. In the generality of cases it is ornamented in
some way or other. Sometimes the Kaffir decorates the whole exterior
with the angular charred pattern which has already been mentioned; but
his great delight is to cover it with beads, the ornaments which his
soul loves. These beads are most ingeniously attached to the gourd,
and fit it as closely as the protective envelope covers a Florence oil
flask.
One favorite kind of snuff box is made from the bone of a cow’s leg.
The part which is preferred is that just above the fore foot. The foot
being removed, the Kaffir measures a piece of the leg some four inches
in length, and cuts it off. From the upper part he strips the skin, but
takes care to leave a tolerably broad belt of hide at the wider end.
The bone is then polished, and is generally decorated with a rudely
engraved but moderately regular pattern, somewhat similar to that which
has been already described as placed upon the gourd. The natural hollow
is much enlarged, and the opening being closed with a stopper, the
snuff box is complete.
Sometimes the Kaffir makes his snuff box out of the horn of a young
ox; but he will occasionally go to the trouble of cutting it out of
the horn of a rhinoceros. Such a box is a valuable one, for the bone
of the rhinoceros is solid, and therefore the hollow must be made by
sheer labor, whereas that of the ox is already hollow, and only needs
to be polished. Moreover, it is not so easy to procure the horn of a
rhinoceros as that of an ox, inasmuch as the former is a powerful and
dangerous animal, and can only be obtained at the risk of life, or by
the laborious plan of digging a pitfall.
There is one form of snuff box which is, as far as I know, peculiar
to the tribes of Southern Africa, both in shape and material. The
Kaffir begins by making a clay model of some animal, and putting it
in the sun to dry. He is very expert at this art, and, as a general
rule, can imitate the various animals with such truth that they can
be immediately recognized. Of course he has but little delicacy, and
does not aim at any artistic effect; but he is thoroughly acquainted
with the salient points of the animal which he is modelling, and
renders them with a force that frequently passes into rather ludicrous
exaggeration.
The next process is a very singular one. When a cow is killed, the
Kaffir removes the hide, and lays it on the ground with the hair
downward. With the sharp blade of his assagai he then scrapes the
interior of the hide, so as to clean off the coagulated blood which
adheres to it, and collects it all in one place. With this blood he
mixes some powdered earth, and works the blood and the powder into
a paste. Of course a small quantity of animal fibre is scraped from
the hide and mixed with the paste, and aids to bind it more closely
together. The paste being ready, the Kaffir rubs it over the clay
model, taking care to lay it on of a uniform thickness. A few minutes
in the burning sunshine suffices to harden it tolerably, and then a
second coat is added. The Kaffir repeats this process until he has
obtained a coating about the twelfth of an inch in thickness. Just
before it has become quite hard, he takes his needle or a very finely
pointed assagai, and raises a kind of coarse nap on the surface, so
as to bear a rude resemblance to hair. When it is quite dry, the
Kaffir cuts a round hole in the top of the head, and with his needle
aided by sundry implements made of thorns, picks out the whole of the
clay model, leaving only the dry coating of paste. By this time the
plastic paste has hardened into a peculiar consistency. It is very
heavy in proportion to its bulk, partly on account of the earthy matter
incorporated with it, and partly on account of its extremely compact
nature. It is wonderfully strong, resisting considerable violence
without suffering any damage. It is so hard that contact with sharp
stones, spear heads, or a knife blade is perfectly innocuous, and so
elastic, that if it were dropped from the clouds upon the earth, it
would scarcely sustain any injury.
My own specimen represents an elephant, the leathern thong by which
the plug is retained being ingeniously contrived to play the part
of the proboscis. But the Kaffirs are singularly ingenious in their
manufacture of these curious snuff boxes, and imitate the form of
almost every animal in their own country. The ox and the elephant are
their favorite models: but they will sometimes make a snuff box in the
form of a rhinoceros; and the very best specimen that I have as yet
seen was in the shape of a hartebeest, the peculiar recurved horns, and
shape of the head, being rendered with wonderful truth.
Modelling must naturally imply a mind with some artistic powers; and it
is evident that any one who can form in clay a recognizable model of
any object, no matter how rude it may be, has within him some modicum
of the sculptor’s art. This implies a portion of the draughtsman’s art
also, because in the mind of the modeller there must exist a tolerably
accurate conception of the various outlines that bound the object which
he models. He can also carve very respectably in wood; and, as we have
seen--when we came to the question of a Kaffir’s food and how he eats
it--he can carve his spoons into very artistic forms, and sometimes to
the shape of certain objects, whether artificial or natural. There is
now before me an admirably executed model of the head of a buffalo,
carved by a Kaffir out of a rhinoceros horn, the peculiar sweep and
curve of the buffalo’s enormous horn being given with a truth and
freedom that are really wonderful.
Yet it is a most remarkable fact that a Kaffir, as a general rule, is
wholly incapable of understanding a drawing that includes perspective.
An ordinary outline he can understand well enough, and will recognize a
sketch of an animal, a house, or a man, and will sometimes succeed in
identifying the individual who is represented. Yet even this amount of
artistic recognition is by no means universal; and a Kaffir, on being
shown a well-executed portrait of a man, has been known to assert that
it was a lion.
But when perspective is included, the Kaffir is wholly at a loss to
comprehend it. One of my friends, who was travelling in South Africa,
halted at a well-known spot, and while there received a copy of an
illustrated newspaper, in which was an engraving of the identical
spot. He was delighted at the opportunity, and called the Kaffirs to
come and look at the print. Not one of them could form the slightest
conception of its meaning, although, by a curious coincidence, a wagon
had been represented in exactly the situation which was occupied by
that in which they were travelling. In vain did he explain the print.
Here was the wagon--there was that clump of trees--there was that
flat-topped hill--down in that direction ran that ravine--and so forth.
They listened very attentively, and then began to laugh, thinking
that he was joking with them. The wagon, which happened to be in the
foreground, they recognized, but the landscape they ignored. “That
clump of trees,” said they, “is more than a mile distant; how _can_ it
be on this flat piece of paper?” To their minds the argument was ended,
and there was no room for further discussion.
I have another snuff box, which is remarkable as being a combination
of two arts; namely, modelling and bead work. The author of this
composition does not seem to have been a man of original genius, or
to have possessed any confidence in his power of modelling. Instead
of making a clay model of some animal, he has contented himself with
imitating a gourd, one of the easiest tasks that a child of four years
old could perform. There is nothing to do but to make a ball of clay,
for the body of the box, and fix to it a small cylinder of clay for the
neck. The maker of this snuff box has been scarcely more successful
in the ornamental cover than in the box itself. With great labor he
has woven an envelope made of beads, and up to a certain point has
been successful. He has evidently possessed beads of several sizes,
and has disposed them with some ingenuity. The larger are made into
the cover for the neck of the box, a number of the very largest beads
being reserved to mark the line where the neck is worked into the body
of the bottle. All the beads are strung upon threads made of sinews,
and are managed so ingeniously that a kind of close network is formed,
which fits almost tightly to the box. But the maker has committed a
slight error in his measurements, and the consequence is that, although
the cover fits closely over the greater part of the box, it forms
several ungainly wrinkles here and there; the maker having forgotten
that, owing to the globular shape of the box, the diameter of the bead
envelope ought to have been contracted with each row of beads.
The colors of the beads are only three--namely, chalk-white, garnet,
and blue; the two latter being translucent. The groundwork is formed
of the opaque white beads, while those of the other two colors are
disposed in bands running in a slightly spiral direction.
There is now before me a most remarkable snuff box, or “iquaka,” as
the Kaffirs call it, which perplexed me exceedingly. The form is that
of a South African gourd, and it is furnished with a leathern thong,
after the pure African fashion. But the carving with which it is
almost entirely covered never was designed by a Kaffir artist. The
upper portion is cut so as to resemble the well-known concentric ivory
balls which the Chinese cut with such infinite labor, and a similar
pattern decorates the base. But the body of the gourd is covered with
outline carvings, one of which represents a peacock, a bird which
does not belong to Kaffirland, and the rest of which are very fair
representations of the rose, thistle, and shamrock. The peacock is
really well drawn, the contrast between the close plumage of the body
and the loose, discomposed feathers of the train being very boldly
marked; while the attitude of the bird, as it stands on a branch, with
reverted head, is very natural. (See page 167.) Major Ross King, to
whose collection it belongs, tells me that if he had not seen it taken
from the body of a slain warrior, he could hardly have believed that it
came from Southern Africa. He thinks that it must have been carved by a
partially civilized Hottentot, or Kaffir of exceptional intelligence,
and that the design must have been copied from some English models,
or have been furnished by an Englishman to the Kaffir, who afterward
transferred it to the gourd.
The same gentleman has also forwarded to me another gourd of the same
shape, but of much larger size, which has been used for holding amasi,
or clotted milk. This specimen is chiefly remarkable from the fact that
an accident has befallen it, and a hole made in its side. The owner has
evidently valued the gourd, and has ingeniously filled up the hole with
a patch of raw hide. The stitch much resembles that which has already
been described when treating of Kaffir costume. A row of small holes
has been drilled through the fracture, and by means of a sinew thread
the patch has been fastened over the hole. The piece of hide is rather
larger than the hole which it covers, and as it has been put on when
wet, the junction has become quite water-tight, and the patch is almost
incorporated with the gourd.
The gourd is prepared in the very simple manner that is in use among
the Kaffirs--namely, by cutting off a small portion of the neck, so
as to allow the air to enter, and thus to cause the whole of the soft
substance of the interior to decay. The severed portion of the neck is
carefully preserved, and the stopper is fixed to it in such a manner
that when the gourd is closed it seems at first sight to be entire.
These gourds are never washed, but fresh milk is continually added, in
order that it may be converted into amasi by that which is left in the
vessel.
Next to his snuffbox, the Kaffir values his pipe. There is quite as
much variety in pipes in Kaffirland as there is in Europe, and, if
possible, the material is even more varied. Reed, wood, stone, horn,
and bone are the principal materials, and the reader will see that
from them a considerable variety can be formed. The commonest pipes
are made out of wood, and are formed on the same principle as the
well-known wooden pipes of Europe. But the Kaffir has no lathe in
which he can turn the bowl smooth on the exterior, and gouge out the
wood to make its cavity. Neither has he the drills with which the
European maker pierces the stem, nor the dedicate tools which give it
so neat a finish. He has scarcely any tools but his assagai and his
needle, and yet with these rude implements he succeeds in making a very
serviceable, though not a very artistic pipe.
One of the principal points in pipe making, among the Kaffirs, is, to
be liberal as regards the size of the bowl. The smallest Kaffir pipe
is nearly three times as large as the ordinary pipe of Europe, and is
rather larger than the great porcelain pipes so prevalent in Germany.
But the tobacco used by the Germans is very mild, and is employed more
for its delicate flavor than its potency; whereas the tobacco which
a Kaffir uses is rough, coarse, rank, and extremely strong. Some of
the pipes used by these tribes are so large that a casual observer
might easily take them for ladles, and they are so heavy and unwieldy,
especially toward the bowl, that on an emergency a smoker might very
effectually use his pipe as a club, and beat off either a wild beast or
a human foe with the improvised weapon.
Generally, the bowl is merely hollowed, and then used as soon as the
wood is dry; but in some cases the dusky manufacturer improves his
pipe, or at least thinks that he does so, by lining it with a very
thin plate of sheet iron. Sometimes, though rather rarely, a peculiar
kind of stone is used for the manufacture of pipes. This stone is of a
green color, with a wavy kind of pattern, not unlike that of malachite.
Many of the natives set great store by this stone, and have almost
superstitious ideas of its value and properties.
The Kaffir possesses to the full the love of his own especial pipe,
which seems to distinguish every smoker, no matter what his country
may be. The Turk has a plain earthen bowl, but incrusts the stem with
jewels, and forms the mouthpiece of the purest amber. The German
forms the bowl of the finest porcelain, and adorns it with his own
coat of arms, or with the portrait of some bosom friend, while the
stem is decorated with silken cords and tassels of brilliant and
symbolical colors. Even the Englishman, plain and simple as are the
tastes on which he values himself, takes a special pride in a good
meerschaum, and decorates his favorite pipe with gold mounting and
amber mouthpiece. Some persons of simple taste prefer the plain wooden
or clay pipe to the costliest specimen that art can furnish; but others
pride themselves either upon the costly materials with which the pipe
is made, or the quantity of gold and silver wherewith it is decorated.
Others, again, seem to prefer forms as grotesque and fantastic as
any that are designed by the Western African negro, as is shown by
the variety of strangely-shaped pipes exhibited in the tobacconists’
windows, which would not be so abundantly produced if they did not meet
with a correspondingly large sale.
The North American Indian lavishes all his artistic powers upon his
pipe. As a warrior, upon a campaign he contents himself with a pipe
“contrived a double debt to pay,” his tomahawk being so fashioned that
the pipe bowl is sunk in the head, while the handle of the weapon is
hollowed, and becomes the stem. But, as a man of peace, he expends
his wealth, his artistic powers, and his time upon his pipe. He takes
a journey to the far distant spot in which the sacred redstone is
quarried. He utters invocations to the Great Spirit; gives offerings,
and humbly asks permission to take some of the venerated stone. He
returns home with his treasure, carves the bowl with infinite pains,
makes a most elaborate stem, and decorates it with the wampum and
feathers which are the jewelry of a savage Indian. The inhabitant of
Vancouver’s Island shapes an entire pipe, bowl and stem included, out
of solid stone, covering it with an infinity of grotesque images that
must take nearly a lifetime of labor. The native of India forms the
water-pipe, or “hubble-bubble,” out of a cocoa-nut shell and a piece
of bamboo and a clay bowl; and as long as he is a mere laborer, living
on nothing but rice, he contents himself with this simple arrangement.
But, in proportion as he becomes rich, he indicates his increasing
wealth by the appearance of his pipe; so that when he has attained
affluence, the cocoa-nut shell is incased in gold and silver filagree,
while the stem and mouthpiece are covered with gems and the precious
metals.
It is likely, therefore, that the Kaffir will expend both time and
labor upon the decoration of his pipe. Of artistic beauty he has very
little idea, and is unable to give to his pipe the flowing curves which
are found in the handiwork of the American Indian, or to produce the
rude yet vigorous designs which ornament the pipe of New Caledonia.
The form of the Kaffir’s pipe seldom varies, and the whole energies
of the owner seem to be concentrated on inlaying the bowl with lead.
The patterns which he produces are not remarkable either for beauty or
variety, and, indeed, are little more than repetitions of the zig-zag
engravings upon the snuff boxes.
There is now before me a pipe which has evidently belonged to a Kaffir
who was a skilful smith, and on which the owner has expended all his
metallurgic knowledge. The entire stem and the base of the bowl are
made of lead, and the edge of the bowl is furnished with a rim of the
same metal. The pattern which is engraved upon it is composed of lead,
and it is a remarkable fact that the lead is not merely let into the
wood, but that the bowl of the pipe is cut completely through, so that
the pattern is seen in the inside as well as on the exterior. The pipe
has never been smoked, and the pattern seems to be unfinished. The
skill which has been employed in making this pipe is very great, for it
must require no small amount of proficiency both in wood carving and
metal working, to combine the two materials together so perfectly as to
be air-tight.
The hookah, or at least a modification of this curious pipe, is in
great use among the Kaffir tribes, and is quite as ingenious a piece
of art as the “hubble-bubble” of the Indian peasant. It is made of
three distinct parts. First, there is the bowl, which is generally
carved out of stone, and is often ornamented with a deeply engraved
pattern. The commonest bowls, however, are made from earthenware, and
are very similar in shape to that of the Indian pipe. Their form very
much resembles that of a barrel, one end having a large and the other a
small aperture.
The next article is a reed some four or five inches in length, which
is fitted tightly into the smaller aperture of the bowl; the last, and
most important part, is the body of the pipe, which is always made of
the horn of some animal, that of the ox being most usually found. The
favorite horn, however, and that which is most costly, is that of the
koodoo, the magnificent spiral-horned antelope of Southern Africa. A
hole is bored into the horn at some little distance from the point,
and the reed, which has been already attached to the bowl, is thrust
into it, the junction of the reed and horn, being made air-tight. (See
illustration No. 4, page 155.)
The bowl is now filled with tobacco, or with another mixture that will
be described, and the horn nearly filled with water. In order to smoke
this pipe, the native places his mouth to the broad, open end of the
horn, presses the edge of the opening to his cheeks, so as to exclude
the air, and then inhales vigorously. The smoke is thus obliged to pass
through the water, and is partially freed from impurities before it
reaches the lips of the smoker. During its passage through the water,
it causes a loud bubbling sound, which is thought to aid the enjoyment
of the smoker. Pure tobacco is, however, seldom smoked in this pipe,
and, especially among the Damara tribe, an exceedingly potent mixture
is employed. Tobacco is used for the purpose of giving the accustomed
flavor, but the chief ingredient is a kind of hemp, called “dagha,”
which possesses intoxicating powers like those of the well-known Indian
hemp. Smoking this hemp is exalted into an important ceremony among
this people, and is conducted in the following manner:--
A number of intending smokers assemble together and sit in a circle,
having only a single water pipe, together with a supply of the needful
tobacco and the prepared hemp, called “dagha” by the natives. The first
in rank fills the pipe, lights it, and inhales as much smoke as his
lungs can contain, not permitting any of it to escape. He then hands
the pipe to the man nearest him, and closes his mouth to prevent the
smoke from escaping. The result of this proceeding is not long in
manifesting itself. Convulsions agitate the body, froth issues from the
mouth, the eyes seem to start from the head, while their brilliancy
dies away, and is replaced by a dull, film-like aspect, and the
features are contorted like those of a person attacked with epilepsy.
This stage of excitement is so powerful that the human frame cannot
endure it for any length of time, and in a minute or two the smoker
is lying insensible on the ground. As it would be dangerous to allow
a man to remain in this state of insensibility, he is roused by his
still sober comrades, who employ means, not the most gentle, to bring
him to his senses. They pull his woolly hair, they box his ears, and
they throw water over him, not in the most delicate manner, and thus
awake him from his lethargy. There are, however, instances where these
remedial means have failed, and the senseless smoker has never opened
his eyes again in this world. Whence the gratification arises is hard
to say, and the very fact that there should be any gratification at all
is quite inexplicable to an European. These dusky smokers, however,
regard the pipe as supplying one of the greatest luxuries of life, and
will sacrifice almost everything to possess it.
Although the Damara tribe are special victims to this peculiar mode
of smoking, it is practised to some extent by the Kaffirs. These,
however, are not such slaves to the pipe as the Damaras, neither do
they employ the intoxicating hemp to such an extent, but use tobacco.
Their water pipes are mostly made of an ox horn. They sometimes fasten
the bowl permanently in its place by means of a broad strap of antelope
hide, one part of which goes round the bowl, and the other round the
stem, so as to brace them firmly together by its contraction. The hair
of the antelope is allowed to remain on the skin, and, as the dark
artist has a natural eye for color, he always chooses some part of the
skin where a tolerably strong contrast of hue exists.
There is a very singular kind of pipe which seems to be in use over a
considerable portion of Southern Africa. The native of this country is
never at a loss for a pipe, and if he does not happen to possess one of
the pipes in ordinary use, he can make one in a few minutes, wherever
he may be. For this purpose he needs no tools, and requires no wood,
stone, or other material of which pipes are generally made. There is a
certain grandeur about his notion of a pipe, for he converts the earth
into that article, and the world itself becomes his tobacco pipe.
The method of making this pipe is perfectly simple. First, he pours
some water on the ground, and makes a kind of mud pie. The precise
manner in which this pie is made is depicted in Hogarth’s well-known
plate of the “Enraged Musician.” He now lays an assagai or a
knob-kerrie on the ground, and kneads the mud over the end of the shaft
so as to form a ridge some few inches in length, having a rather large
lump of mud at the end. This mud ridge is the element of the future
pipe. The next proceeding is to push the finger into the lump of mud
until it reaches the spear shaft, and then to work it about until a
cavity is made, which answers the purpose of the bowl. The assagai is
then carefully withdrawn, and the pipe is complete, the perforated mud
ridge doing duty for the stem. A few minutes in the burning sunbeams
suffices to bake the mud into a hard mass, and the pipe is ready for
use. The ingenious manufacturer then fills the bowl with tobacco and
proceeds to smoke. This enjoyment he manages to secure by lying on his
face, putting his lips upon the small orifice, and at the same time
applying a light to the tobacco in the bowl.
In some places the pipe is made in a slightly different manner. A
shallow hole is scooped in the ground, some ten or twelve inches in
diameter, and two or three deep, and the earth that has been removed is
then replaced in the hole, moistened and kneaded into a compact mud.
A green twig is then taken, bent in the form of a half circle, and
the middle of it pressed into the hole, leaving the ends projecting
at either side. Just before the mud has quite hardened, the twig is
carefully withdrawn, and at the same time the bowl is made by pushing
the finger after the twig and widening the hole. In such case the pipe
is of such a nature that an European could not smoke it, even if he
could overcome the feeling of repugnance in using it. His projecting
nose would be in the way, and his small thin lips could not take a
proper hold. But the broad nose, and large, projecting lips of the
South African native are admirably adapted for the purpose, and enable
him to perform with ease a task which would be physically impracticable
to the European. (See engraving No. 3, on opposite page.)
It is a remarkable fact that in some parts of Asia the natives
construct a pipe on the same principle. This pipe will be described in
its proper place.
When the Kaffirs can assemble for a quiet smoke, they have another
curious custom. The strong, rank tobacco excites a copious flow of
saliva, and this is disposed of in a rather strange manner. The smokers
are furnished with a tube about a yard in length, and generally a
reed, or straight branch, from which the pith has been extracted. A
peculiarly handsome specimen is usually covered with the skin of a
bullock’s tail. Through this tube the smokers in turn discharge the
superabundant moisture, and it is thought to be a delicate compliment
to select the same spot that has been previously used by another.
Sometimes, instead of a hole, a circular trench is employed, but the
mode of using it is exactly the same.
The illustration No. 4, same page, represents a couple of well-bred
gentlemen--a married man and a “boy”--indulging in a pipe in the cool
of the evening. The man has taken his turn at the pipe, and handed
it to his comrade, who inhales the smoke while he himself is engaged
with the tube above-mentioned. Wishing to give some little variety to
the occupation, he has drawn an outlined figure of a kraal, and is
just going to form one of the huts. Presently, the boy will hand the
pipe back again, exchange it for the tube, and take his turn at the
manufacture of the kraal, which will be completed by the time that the
pipe is finished.
Major Ross King describes this curious proceeding in a very amusing
manner. “Retaining the last draught of smoke in his mouth, which he
fills with a decoction of bark and water from a calabash, he squirts it
on the ground by his side, through a long ornamented tube, performing
thereon, by the aid of a reserved portion of the liquid, a sort of
boatswain’s whistle, complacently regarding the soap-like bubbles, the
joint production of himself and neighbor.
“On this occasion, finding a blanketed group sitting apart in a circle,
smoking the dagha before described, at their invitation I squatted
down cross-legged in the ring, and receiving the rude cow-horn pipe
in my turn, took a pull at its capacious mouth, coughing violently at
the suffocating fumes, as indeed they all did more or less, and after
tasting the nasty decoction of bark which followed round in a calabash,
took the politely offered spitting-tube of my next neighbor, signally
failing, however, in the orthodox whistle, to the unbounded delight of
the Fingoes, whose hearty, ringing laughter was most contagious.”
Tobacco is cultivated by several of the tribes inhabiting Southern
Africa, and is prepared in nearly the same method as is employed
in other parts of the world, the leaves being gathered, “sweated,”
and finally dried. Still, they appreciate the tobacco which they
obtain from Europeans, and prefer it to that which is manufactured by
themselves.
Some of the Kaffirs are very successful in their cultivation of
tobacco, and find that a good crop is a very valuable property. A
Kaffir without tobacco is a miserable being, and, if it were only for
his own sake, the possession of a supply which will last him throughout
the year is a subject of congratulation. But any tobacco that is not
needed for the use of himself or his household is as good as money to
the owner, as there are few things which a Kaffir loves that tobacco
cannot buy. If he sees a set of beads that particularly pleases him,
and the owner should happen to be poorer than himself, he can purchase
the finery by the sacrifice of a little of his fragrant store. Also,
he can gain the respect of the “boys,” who seldom possess property of
any kind except their shield and spears, and, by judicious gifts of
tobacco, can often make them his followers, this being the first step
toward chieftainship. Generally, a Kaffir makes up the crop of each
garden into a single bundle, sometimes weighing fifty or sixty pounds,
and carefully incases it with reeds, much after the fashion that
naval tobacco is sewed up in canvas. He is sure to place these rolls
in a conspicuous part of the house, in order to extort the envy and
admiration of his companions.
[Illustration: (1.) NECKLACE MADE OF HUMAN FINGER BONES. (See page
198.)]
[Illustration: (2.) SNUFF-BOX. (See page 163.)]
[Illustration: (3.) THE POOR MAN’S PIPE. (See page 166.)]
[Illustration: (4.) KAFFIR GENTLEMEN SMOKING. (See page 166.)]