THE WANYORO.
CHARACTER OF THE WANYORO TRIBE -- DIRTY HABITS -- MODE OF GOVERNMENT
-- KING KAMRASI -- HIS DESPOTIC CHARACTER -- HIS BODY-GUARD AND THEIR
PRIVILEGES -- HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE -- HIS GRASPING SELFISHNESS
-- A ROYAL VISIT -- KAMRASI’S COWARDICE -- EXECUTION OF CRIMINALS
-- CRUSHING A REBELLION -- LAWS OF SUCCESSION -- THE KING’S SISTERS
-- WANYORO SINGING -- CONDITION OF WOMEN -- FOOD OF THE WANYORO --
CARRYING PROVISIONS ON THE MARCH -- USES OF THE PLANTAIN TREE --
FRAUDS IN TRADE -- SUPERSTITIONS -- THE MAGICIAN AT WORK -- THE
HORNED DOG -- SPADE-MONEY.
Proceeding still northward, we come to the land of Unyoro, from which,
as the reader will remember, the country of Uganda was separated. The
inhabitants of Unyoro form a very unpleasant contrast to those of
Uganda, being dirty, mean-looking, and badly dressed. The country,
too, is far inferior to Uganda, which might be made into a perpetually
blooming garden; for, as the traveller leaves the equator and passes
to the north, he finds that the rains gradually decrease, and that
vegetation first becomes thin, then stunted, and lastly disappears
altogether. The same structure of language prevails here as in Uganda,
so that the people of Unyoro are called Wanyoro, and a single person is
a M’yoro.
The character of the Wanyoro is quite on a par with their appearance,
for they are a mean, selfish, grasping set of people, sadly lacking
the savage virtue of hospitality, and always on the lookout for
opportunities to procure by unfair means the property of others.
They seem, indeed, to be about as unpleasant a nation as can well be
imagined, and in almost every point afford a strong contrast to others
which have already been described.
They are singularly dirty in their domestic habits, their huts being
occupied equally by men, goats, and fowls, and the floor, which is
thickly covered with straw, is consequently in a most abominable
condition. It is so bad, indeed, that even the natives are obliged
to make a raised bedstead on which to sleep. Even the king’s palace
is no exception to the general rule; the cattle are kept within the
enclosure, and even his very sleeping-hut is freely entered by calves.
To visit the “palace” without stilts and a respirator was too severe
a task even to so hardened a traveller as Captain Speke, but the king
walked about among the cows, ankle-deep in all sorts of horrors, and
yet perfectly at his ease.
The government of this country is pure despotism, the king possessing
irresponsible and unquestioned power. The subject can really possess
property, but only holds it by the king’s pleasure. This theory is
continually reduced to practice, the king taking from one person, and
giving, or rather lending, to another, anything that he chooses,--land,
cattle, slaves, wives, and children being equally ranked in the
category of property.
The king who reigned over Unyoro at the time when Captain Speke visited
it was named Kamrasi. He was a man who united in himself a singular
variety of characters. Merciless, even beyond the ordinary type of
African cruelty; capricious as a spoiled child, and scattering death
and torture around for the mere whim of the moment; inhospitable and
repellant according to the usual Wanyoro character; covetous and
grasping to the last degree; ambitious of regaining the lost portion
of his kingdom, and yet too cowardly to declare war. He was a man who
scarcely seemed likely to retain his hold on the sceptre.
Yet, although contemptible as he was in many things, he was not to be
despised, and, although no one cared to meet him as a friend, all knew
that he could be a most dangerous enemy. For he possessed a large share
of cunning, which stood him in stead of the nobler virtues which ought
to adorn a throne, and ruled his subjects by a mixture of craft and
force. His system of espionage would have done honor to M. de Sartines,
and there was nothing that happened in his country that he did not know.
The whole land was divided into districts, and over each district was
set an officer who was responsible for everything which occurred in
it, and was bound to give information to the king. The least failure
in this respect entailed death or the “shoe,” which was nearly as bad,
and often terminated in death. The “shoe” is simply a large and heavy
log of wood with an oblong slit cut through it. Into this slit the feet
are passed, and a stout wooden peg is then driven through the log and
between the ankles, so as to hold the feet tightly imprisoned. As to
the exact position of the peg, the executioner is in no way particular;
and if he should happen to drive it against, instead of between, the
ankles, he cares nothing about it. Consequently, the torture is often
so great, that those who have been so imprisoned have died of sheer
exhaustion.
[Illustration: CULPRIT IN THE SHOE.]
In order to be able to carry out his orders without having a chance
of disobedience, he kept a guard of armed soldiers, some five hundred
in number. These men always carried their shields and spears; the
latter have hard blades, kept very sharp, and their edges defended by a
sheath, neatly made of antelope skin, sewed together with thongs. The
ordinary spears are not nearly so good, because the Wanyoro are not
remarkable for excellence in smith’s work, and the better kind of spear
heads which are hawked through the country are bought by the Waganda,
who are a richer people.
This body-guard is dressed in the most extraordinary manner, their
chief object seeming to be to render themselves as unlike men and as
like demons as possible. They wear leopard or monkey skins by way of
tunic, strap cows’ tails to the small of their backs, and tie a couple
of antelope’s horns on their heads, while their chins are decorated
with long false beards, made of the bushy ends of cows’ tails.
When Sir S. Baker visited Kamrasi, this body-guard rushed out of
the palace to meet him, dancing, yelling, screaming, brandishing
their spears, pretending to fight among themselves, and, when they
reached their visitors, flourishing their spears in the faces of the
strangers, and making feints of attack. So sudden was their charge, and
so menacing their aspect, that several of his men thought that they
were charging in real earnest, and begged him to fire at them. Being,
however, convinced that their object was not to kill, but to do him
honor, he declined to fire, and found that the threatening body of men
were simply sent by Kamrasi as his escort. Had his armed Turks been
with him, they would certainly have received these seeming demons with
a volley.
A curious instance of his craft was given by his reception of Sir S.
Baker. When the traveller was first promised an interview, Kamrasi
ordered his brother, M’Gambi, to personate him, while he himself,
disguised as one of the escort, secretly watched the travellers.
M’Gambi executed his office admirably, and personated his royal brother
to perfection, asking for everything which he saw--guns, watches,
beads, and clothes being equally acceptable,--and finished by asking
for Lady Baker. In case the article should be thought more valuable
than the others, he offered to give one of his own wives in exchange.
This proposal nearly cost M’Gambi his life, and it may be that the wily
king had foreseen the possibility of some such result when he ordered
his brother to personate him, and permitted him to take his place on
the copper stool of royalty. In fact. M’Gambi did admit that the king
was afraid that his visitors might be in league with an adverse power.
In order to attach his guards to his person, Kamrasi allowed them
all kinds of license, permiting them to rob and plunder as much as
they liked; his theory being that, as everything within his reach
belonged to him, he in reality did no harm to his subjects, the loss
eventually falling on himself. Thus it will be seen that the king was a
far-sighted man in some things, and that he knew how to rule by fear,
if not by love.
He was tall and slender, and scarcely looked his age, which was about
forty, and his features on the whole were good, as were his eyes,
which were soft and gentle, sadly belying his character. His face
was, however, disfigured by the national custom of removing the lower
incisor and eye-teeth, and he said that the dentist who performed the
operation had been rewarded with a fee of a hundred cows. His color was
dark brown, and, but for the sinister expression of his countenance,
he would really be a handsome man. His features were, however, rather
disfigured by the scars which covered his forehead, and which still
remained as vestiges of sundry cauterizations. In Unyoro, the actual
cautery, _i. e._ a red-hot iron, is in great favor as a means of cure;
and whenever a man chooses to intoxicate himself with native beer or
imported rum, and to suffer the usual penalty of a headache on the
following morning, he immediately thinks that he is bewitched, and
proceeds to drive out the demon by burning his forehead in a multitude
of spots. Kamrasi had gone a little beyond the ordinary custom, and
had applied the hot iron to his nose, causing such a scar that he was
anxious to have it removed, and his nose restored to its ordinary color.
He did not take to European clothing, preferring the manufactures
of his own country. His ordinary dress was a mantle tied round his
waist and descending to his feet. Sometimes it was made of cloth,
and at others of skins; but it was always of a light red color, and
was decorated with little patches of black cloth, with which it was
covered. He had his head shaved at intervals, but between the times
of shaving his hair grew in little knobby tufts, like those of the
Bosjesman. He wore but few ornaments, the chief being a necklace of
beads, which hung to his waist.
Kamrasi had a very tolerable idea of effect, as was seen from the
manner in which he received his guests. A hut was built for the express
purpose, and within it was the royal throne, _i. e._ a stool--to sit
on which is the special privilege of royalty. A quantity of grass
was formed into a rather high platform, which was covered first with
cow-hides and then with leopard skins, the latter being the royal fur.
Over this throne was hung a canopy of cow-skin, stretched on every
side and suspended from the roof, in order to keep dust off the royal
head. On the throne sat Kamrasi, enveloped in fine grass cloth, his
left wrist adorned with a bracelet, and his hair carefully dressed. He
sat calm, motionless, and silent, like an Egyptian statue, and with
unchanged countenance contemplated the wonderful white men of whom he
had heard so much.
It is hardly possible to conceive a more unpleasant person than
Kamrasi, putting aside the total want of cleanliness which he
exhibited, and which may be considered as a national and not as an
individual characteristic. His avarice induced him to wish for the
presence of travellers who would create a new line of trade, while
his intense cowardice made him fear a foe in every stranger. He was
horribly afraid of M’tesa, and when he found that white travellers had
been hospitably received by that potentate, he thought that they must
come with sinister intentions, and therefore was on his guard against
his fancied foes. When he got over his fears, he was as provoking
in the character of mendicant as he had been in that of a terrified
despot. When Sir S. Baker was in his dominions, Kamrasi insisted on
paying him a visit, although he knew well that his guest was only just
recovering from fever, and therefore had not been able to attend at the
palace.
“Although I had but little remaining from my stock of luggage except
the guns, ammunition, and astronomical instruments, I was obliged
to hide everything underneath the beds, lest the avaricious eyes of
Kamrasi should detect a ‘want.’ True to his appointment, he appeared
with numerous attendants, and was ushered into my little hut. I
had a very rude but serviceable arm-chair that one of my men had
constructed--in this the king was invited to sit. Hardly was he seated,
when he leant back, stretched out his legs, and, making some remark to
his attendants concerning his personal comfort, he asked for the chair
as a present. I promised to have one made for him immediately. This
being arranged, he surveyed the barren little hut, vainly endeavoring
to fix his eyes upon something that he could demand. But, so fruitless
was his search, that he laughingly turned to his people and said, ‘How
was it that they wanted so many porters if they have nothing to carry?’
My interpreter explained that many things had been spoiled during the
storms on the lake, and had been left behind; that our provisions had
long since been consumed, and that our clothes were worn out--that we
had nothing left but a few beads.
“‘New varieties, no doubt,’ he replied; ‘give me all that you have of
the small blue and the large red.’
“We had carefully hidden the main stock, and a few had been arranged
in bags to be produced as the occasion might require. These were now
unpacked by the boy Saat, and laid before the king. I told him to make
his choice, which he did, precisely as I had anticipated, by making
presents to his surrounding friends out of my stock, and monopolizing
the remainder for his share. The division of the portions among his
people was a modest way of taking the whole, as he would immediately
demand their return on quitting my hut.
“No sooner were the beads secured than he repeated the original demand
for my watch and the No. 24 double rifle; these I resolutely refused.
He then requested permission to see the contents of a few of the
baskets and bags that formed our worn-out luggage. There was nothing
that took his fancy except needles, thread, lancets, medicines, and a
small tooth comb. The latter interested him exceedingly, as I explained
that the object of the Turks in collecting ivory was to sell it to
Europeans, who manufactured it into many articles, among which were
small tooth combs, such as he then examined. He could not understand
how the teeth could be so finely cut.
“Upon the use of the comb being explained, he immediately attempted to
practise upon his woolly head. Failing in the operation, he adapted the
instrument to a different purpose, and commenced scratching beneath
the wool most vigorously. The effect being satisfactory, he at once
demanded the comb, which was handed to each of the surrounding chiefs,
all of whom had a trial of its properties. Every head having been
scratched, it was returned to the king, who handed it to Quonga, the
headman that received his presents. So complete was the success of the
comb, that he proposed to send me one of the largest tusks, which I was
to take to England and cut into as many small tooth combs as it would
produce for himself and his chiefs.”
During this interview, Kamrasi discovered a case of lancets, and begged
for them, as they were so well adapted for paring his nails. Also, he
opened the medicine chest, and was so determined to take a dose at once
that Sir S. Baker took a little revenge, and administered three grains
of tartar emetic, not to be taken until he reached his own hut. As to
the No. 24 rifle, which has already been mentioned, Kamrasi was always
hankering after it, at one time openly begging for it, and at another
asking to borrow it just for a day or two, when, of course, it never
would have escaped the grasp of the royal clutches.
This provoking man evidently considered his guests to be sent
especially for his own aggrandizement, and his only idea was, how to
use them best for his service. Having once got them safely into his
domains, he had no intention of letting them go again until he had
squeezed them quite dry. First, he wanted to make them pay for the
privilege of entering his dominions; and, when they had once entered,
he was sure to make them pay before they got out again. His first
_ruse_ was, to pretend that they were weak and insignificant, whereas
he was great and strong, and that, if they wanted his protection, they
must pay for it. When once they had entered his district, and had shown
themselves to be more formidable than he had chosen to admit, he asked
them to aid him against his enemies, and to lead his army against the
adverse tribe.
This stratagem failing, even though he was good enough to offer
half his kingdom for the privilege of alliance, he had still one
resource,--namely, forbidding them to leave his kingdom until he
gave permission, _i. e._ until he had extracted from them everything
of value. To leave the country without his permission was simply
impossible, on account of the system of espionage which has already
been mentioned, and, although it might have been possible to force a
way by dint of superior arms, such a struggle would have neutralized
the very object of the expedition.
Bully though he was where he could tyrannize with safety, he was a
most contemptible coward when he thought himself in the least danger.
A very amusing example was shown during the visit of Sir S. Baker.
One morning, just at sunrise, Kamrasi came hastily into his hut shorn
of all regal dignity. In his hands he grasped two spears and a rifle,
and wanted to bring them into the hut, contrary to all etiquette. This
could not be allowed, and he reluctantly left them outside. He had laid
aside his usual cold and repellent manner, and was full of eagerness.
He had also thrown off his ordinary apparel of beautifully-dressed
skins, and only wore a kind of short kilt and a scarf across his
shoulders. Knowing that an attack was meditated by a neighboring chief,
and having seen the people all in war costume--horned, bearded, and
tailed--Sir S. Baker naturally thought that Kamrasi was in fighting
costume, and congratulated him on its appropriate lightness.
“_I_ fight!” exclaimed the king. “I am not going to fight; I am going
to run away, and put on this dress to be able to run faster.”
He then explained in great trepidation that the enemy were approaching
with a hundred and fifty muskets, and that, as it was useless to
fight against such odds, he meant to run away and hide himself in the
long grass, and his guest had better follow his example. From the
anticipated attack he was saved by the timely intervention of his
guest, and the only mark of gratitude which he showed was to ask again
for the double-barrelled rifle.
Still, in spite of these unamiable characteristics, the man had his
redeeming points; and although he was, on occasions and on a large
scale, almost as cruel as a man could be, he did not commit those
continual murders of his subjects which disgraced the reign of M’tesa.
Personal chastisement was used in many cases in which M’tesa would have
inflicted death, and probably a lengthened torture besides.
The mode of passing sentence on a prisoner was very remarkable. Should
the king or his brother M’Gambi touch him with the point of a spear,
the executioners immediately fall upon him with their clubs, and beat
him to death. But, if he should touch the prisoner with his stick,
the executioners instantly pierce him with their spears; so that the
instrument used in killing the man is always the opposite to that with
which the king touches him.
Even in cases where death was inflicted, the criminal was generally
killed by a blow with a club on the back of the neck. There were of
course exceptions to this rule. For example, a hostile chief, named
Rionga, one of his thirty brothers, had been taken prisoner by a
treacherous act on the part of Kamrasi, who first pretended to make
peace, then invited him to a banquet, and seized upon him while he was
off his guard. Kamrasi then ordered him to die by a cruel death. There
was a hut with high mud walls and no doorway. Into this hut Rionga was
hoisted, and the king gave orders that on the following morning the hut
should be fired, and its inmate burned to death.
Another chief, however, named Sali, ingeniously brought out great
quantities of beer, knowing that the guards would be sure to assemble
in any spot where beer was to be found. This they did; and while they
were engaged at one side of the prison drinking, dancing, and singing,
Sali’s men were engaged on the other side in digging a hole through the
mud wall of the hut, and soon succeeded in making an aperture large
enough to allow the prisoner to make his escape.
After this feat, Sali, having seen how treacherous Kamrasi could be,
ought to have secured his own safety by flight, but chose to remain,
thinking that his share in the rescue would not be discovered. Kamrasi,
however, suspected his complicity, and had him arrested at once. He
was sentenced to the cruel death of being dismembered while alive, and
the sentence was carried out by cutting off his hands at the wrists,
his arms at the elbows, and so on until every joint was severed. While
undergoing this torture, he proved himself a brave man by trying to
help his friends, calling aloud from the stake that they had better
escape while they could, lest they should suffer the same penalty.
A curious custom prevails in Unyoro with regard to the king’s sisters.
Like other women of rank, they are fattened on curdled milk, and attain
such a size that they are not able to walk, and, whenever they leave
the hut, each has to be borne on a litter by eight men. Each woman
consumes daily the milk of fifteen or twenty cows, a cow producing
barely one quart of milk. Yet, though this fattening process is an
ordinary preliminary to marriage, the king’s sisters are forbidden
to marry, and are kept in strict seclusion in his palace. So are
his brothers; but, unlike the king of Uganda, he does not think it
necessary to kill them when he reaches the throne.
During the short interval of peace which followed upon Sir S. Baker’s
intervention, the people gave themselves up to debauchery, the men
drinking and dancing and yelling, blowing horns and beating drums all
through the night. The women took no part in this amusement, inasmuch
as they had been hard at work in the fields all day, while their
husbands had been sleeping at home. Consequently they were much too
tired to dance, and tried to snatch what rest they could in the midst
of the night-long din.
“The usual style of singing was a rapid chant, delivered as a solo,
while at intervals the crowd burst out in a deafening chorus, together
with the drums and horns. The latter were formed of immense gourds,
which, growing in a peculiar shape, with long, bottle necks, were
easily converted into musical instruments. Every now and then a cry
of ‘Fire!’ in the middle of the night enlivened the _ennui_ of our
existence. The huts were littered deep with straw, and the inmates,
intoxicated, frequently fell asleep with their huge pipes lighted,
which, falling in the dry straw, at once occasioned a conflagration.
In such cases the flames spread from hut to hut with immense rapidity,
and frequently four or five hundred huts in Kamrasi’s large camp were
destroyed by fire, and rebuilt in a few days. I was anxious concerning
my powder, as, in the event of fire, the blaze of the straw hut was so
instantaneous that nothing could be saved; should my powder explode, I
should be entirely defenceless. Accordingly, after a conflagration in
my neighborhood, I insisted on removing all huts within a circuit of
thirty yards of my dwelling. The natives demurring, I at once ordered
my men to pull down the houses, and thereby relieved myself from
drunken and dangerous neighbors.”
The condition of the women in Unyoro is not at all agreeable, as indeed
may be inferred from the brief mention of the hard work which they
have to perform. They are watched very carefully by their husbands,
and beaten severely if they ever venture outside the palisades after
sunset. For unfaithfulness, the punishment seems to be left to the
aggrieved husband, who sometimes demands a heavy fine, sometimes cuts
off a foot or a hand, and sometimes inflicts the punishment of death.
Dirty as are the Wanyoro in some things, in others they are very
neat and clean. They are admirable packers, and make up the neatest
imaginable parcels. Some of these parcels are surrounded with the bark
of the plantain, and some with the pith or interior of a reed, from
which the outside has been carefully stripped, so as to leave a number
of snow-white cylinders. These are laid side by side, and bound round
the object, producing a singularly pretty effect. Little mats, formed
of shreds of these reeds, are very much used, especially as covers to
beer jars. When a M’yoro is on the march, he always carries with him a
gourd full of plantain wine. The mouth of the gourd is stopped with a
bundle of these reed-shreds, through which passes a tube, so that the
traveller can always drink without checking his pace, and without any
danger of spilling the liquid as he walks.
In their diet the Wanyoro make great use of the plantain, and it is
rather remarkable that, in a land which abounds with this fruit, it
is hardly possible to procure one in a ripe state, the natives always
eating them while still green. The plantain tree is to the Wanyoro the
chief necessity of existence, as it affords them means for supplying
all the real wants of life. Sometimes the plantain is boiled and
eaten as a vegetable, and sometimes it is dried and ground into meal,
which is used in making porridge. The fruit is also peeled, cut into
slices, and dried in the sun, so as to be stowed away for future
consumption, and from this dried plantain the Wanyoro make a palatable
and nutritious soup. Wine, or rather beer, is made from the same fruit,
which thus supplies both food and drink.
The tree itself is most useful, the leaves being split into shreds,
and woven into cloth of remarkable elegance, and the bark is stripped
off, and employed like paper in wrapping up parcels of the meal. Strong
ropes and the finest thread are twisted from the plantain fibre, and
the natives are clever at weaving ornamental articles, which look
so like hair, that a very close inspection is needful to detect the
difference. In all these manufactures the Wanyoro show a neatness of
hand and delicacy of taste that contrast strangely with the slovenly,
careless, and repulsive habits of their daily life.
Curdled milk is much used by the natives, who employ it in fattening
their wives and daughters, but, unlike the Arabs, they will not mix red
pepper with it, believing that those who eat the capsicum will never be
blessed with children. Butter is used as an unguent, and not for food,
and the natives are very much scandalized at seeing the white visitors
eat it. According to the custom of their nation, they once played a
clever trick. Butter is packed most carefully in leaves, a little bit
being allowed to project as a sample. One day the natives brought some
butter to their white visitors, but as it was quite rancid it was
rejected. They took it away, and then brought a fresh supply, which was
approved and purchased. But, when the wrapper was taken off, it was
found that the butter was the same that had been refused, the natives
having put a little piece of fresh butter at the top. Itinerant
cheesemongers play very similar tricks at the present day, plugging a
totally uneatable cheese with bits of best Cheshire, and scooping out
the plugs by way of sample.
As to religion, the Wanyoro have none at all. They are full of
superstition, but, as far as is known, they have not the least idea
of a religion which can exercise any influence on the actions. In
common with most uncivilized people, they make much of each new moon,
this being the unit by which they reckon their epochs, and salute the
slender crescent by profuse dancing and gesticulation.
They have a wonderful faith in demons, with whom the prophets or
wizards aver that they hold communication. Some of their guesses at
the future occasionally come true. For example, one of the men of the
expedition was said to be possessed by a demon, who told him that the
expedition would succeed, but that the demon required one man’s life
and another man’s illness. This prediction was literally accomplished,
one of the escort being murdered, and Captain Grant falling seriously
ill. Again the same man saw the demon, who said that in Uganda one
man’s life would be required, and accordingly Kari, a man belonging to
the expedition, was murdered. A third time, when in Unyoro, he saw the
demon, who said that no more lives were needed, but that the expedition
would succeed, though it would be protracted. And such eventually
proved to be the case.
The magicians lay claim to one most valuable power,--namely, that of
finding lost articles. On one occasion Captain Speke saw the whole
process. A rain-gauge and its bottle had been stolen, and every one
disclaimed knowledge of it. A sorcerer was therefore summoned to find
the missing article. The following account of the proceeding is given
by Captain Speke:--
“At 9 A. M., the time for measuring the fall of rain for the last
twenty-four hours, we found the rain-gauge and bottle had been removed,
so we sent to Kidgwiga to inform the king we wished his magicians
to come at once and institute a search for it. Kidgwiga immediately
returned with the necessary adept, an old man, nearly blind, dressed in
strips of old leather fastened to the waist, and carrying in one hand
a cow’s horn primed with magic powder, carefully covered on the mouth
with leather, from which dangled an iron bell.”
The curious scene now to be described the artist has reproduced in the
engraving No. 2 on page 417.
“The old creature jingled the bell, entered our hut, squatted on his
hams, looked first at one, then at the other--inquired what the missing
things were like, grunted, moved his skinny arm round his head, as if
desirous of catching air from all four sides of the hut, then dashed
the accumulated air on the head of his horn, smelt it to see if all
was going right, jingled the bell again close to his ear, and grunted
his satisfaction; the missing articles must be found. To carry out the
incantation more effectually, however, all my men were sent for to sit
in the open air before the hut, but the old doctor rose, shaking the
horn and tinkling the bell close to his ear. He then, confronting one
of the men, dashed the horn forward as if intending to strike him on
the face, then smelt the head, then dashed at another, and so on, till
he became satisfied that my men were not the thieves.
“He then walked into Grant’s hut, inspected that, and finally went to
the place where the bottle had been kept. Then he walked about the
grass with his arm up, and jingling the bell to his ear, first on one
side, then on the other, till the track of a hyæna gave him the clue
and in two or three more steps he found it. A hyæna had carried it into
the grass and dropped it. Bravo, for the infallible horn! and well done
the king for his honesty in sending it! so I gave the king the bottle
and gauge, which delighted him amazingly; and the old doctor, who
begged for pombé, got a goat for his trouble.”
As in Uganda, the sorcerers are distinguished by the odd ornaments
which they wear; dried roots, lizards, lions’ claws, crocodiles’ teeth,
little tortoise shells, and other objects being strung together and
tied on their heads. There is also an order of religious mendicants
called “Bandwa,” both sexes being eligible to the office. They are
distinguished by an abundance of ornaments, such as bits of shining
metal, and little tinkling bells, and one man had distinguished himself
greatly by wearing the skin of a long-haired monkey down his back from
the top of his head, to which he had attached a couple of antelope
horns. The women when dressed in the full robes of office look very
handsome, being clothed in colored skins, and wearing turbans made of
the plaintain bark. They walk about from house to house singing their
peculiar songs, and always expecting a present. The office of a Bandwa
is not hereditary, for any one may join them by undergoing certain
ceremonies, and the children of a Bandwa are at liberty to follow any
business that they may happen to like. Although they are mendicants,
they do not wholly depend on their profession, having cattle and other
property of their own.
In many countries where superstition takes the place of religion, the
birth of twins is looked upon as a bad omen, which must be averted by
the sacrifice of one or both of the children. In Unyoro the case is
different. Captain Speke had been annoyed by certain drums and other
musical instruments which were played day and night without cessation,
and, when he inquired as to their object, was told that they were in
honor of twins that had been born to Kamrasi, and that they would be
played in the same manner for four months.
The use of the cow’s horn in magic is explained by a tradition that
once upon a time there was a dog with a horn. When the dog died, the
horn was stuffed with magic powder, and was a powerful charm in war,
soldiers who stepped over it when on the march being thereby rendered
victorious. Kamrasi possessed several magic horns, and when he sent
an ambassador to a neighboring potentate, one of these horns was hung
round the man’s neck as his credentials; and when he returned, he
brought with him another magic horn as a proof that his message had
been delivered. No one dared to touch a man who bore so potent an
emblem, and this was peculiarly fortunate, as on one occasion Kamrasi
had sent an expedition which took with them six hundred majembé or iron
spades, which form a sort of currency, the expenditure of two majembé
per diem being sufficient to buy food for the whole party. Laden with
wealth therefore as they were, the magic horn protected the party, and
they performed their journey in safety.
War charms are in great request, and while Captain Speke was in Unyoro
he saw the preliminary act in charm making. A feud was in action
between Kamrasi and the Chopi tribe. Kamrasi therefore sent spies into
the Chopi district, with orders to bring some grass from the hut of a
chief. This they did, with the addition of a spear, much to Kamrasi’s
delight, who thought that the possession of this weapon would enable
him to bewitch the spears as well as the courage of his enemies, and so
prevent the weapons from hurting his tribe.
In order to ensure prosperity to their family, or to cure a sick
relative, the Wanyoro kill some animal, split it open, and lay it at
the intersection of two cross roads, such spot being held by them,
as by the Balonda, in great reverence. If the man is rich enough, he
sacrifices a goat, but, if not, a fowl will answer; and if a man is
very poor indeed, he makes a frog serve his purpose.
These people seem to have kept their burial ceremonies very secret, as
a funeral was never seen in Central Africa, but it is said that the
dead are buried near the house or in the cattle-fold, wrapped in bark
cloth or a cow-skin. When the king dies his body is first dried, and
then the lower jaw-bone is removed and buried by itself. Officers of
the palace are privileged to have their heads and hands treated in the
same manner.