Sole on that lofty rock
Lives Moshono's sacred cock.
We are gliding.
Now, boatmen, here cease to row,
Bad luck, to hear no crow!--
Softly gliding.
As I have said, the boat song is almost interminable; it describes every
view on that beautiful river, each tradition that surrounds the hills,
and memorable sites of battles fought and victories won; for it is thus
that our history was kept before writing was known to us.
Another song, which was a favourite with the young men and maidens of
Katalambula's village, describes what love-making is known to the
Watuta. For this reason only is it valuable, as illustrative of the
mode of marriage. The following verses are sufficient as an example:--
Canst thou love me as I love thee?
Wilt thou not come and live with me?
My father talked with thine to-day,
Thy father did not tell him "Nay."
Said he, "Bring me two score of sheep;
Bring me pombe in pots thus deep;
Bring me ten goats of the best class,
Thy son may take my pretty lass."
I've built my hut of sedgy cane,
The well-thatched roof keeps out the rain,
The floor is spread with river sand,
The latch waits lifting by thy hand.
Thy husband calls, do not delay:
Come to his house ere end of day;
Put now thy hand in mine and come,
Come to Kiranga's heart and home.
Selim and Abdullah heard numbers of these during the period of the
latter's convalescence, and were constantly amused by them. To sit
under the great tree in the centre of the square, to hear the music of
the drums, to hear the songs sung, and to see the people dance, was like
going to a theatrical entertainment with us. Kalulu often sat with
them, but not for long; the exhilarating influence of the music produced
such an effect on his feet and legs, that while listening to it he found
himself unable to restrain them.
As Abdullah got better and became able to move about during the day,
Kalulu used to take him and Selim to the great Maganga, or magic doctor,
to enjoy the conversation of the wise man of the tribe.
This doctor must have been at least eighty years old, for he remembered
Katalambula as a child, and knew Mostana, Kalulu's father, and
remembered the "great, great" King Loralamba, father of Katalambula and
Mostana. This was very old history to Kalulu, who could not conceive
the number of years that had elapsed since Loralamba's death, though the
time could only have been between forty and fifty years. The doctor,
whose name was Soltali, knew any amount of things that no other man
knew. He remembered the time when the Northern Watuta, who now live
north of the Malagarazi River, separated from the Southern Watuta, over
whom Katalambula was chief ruler, for some pique that the younger
brother had against Loralamba. He remembered many wars that had taken
place between the Watuta and Wabena, and remembered well the incident of
which the boatmen sang as they travelled down the Liemba, viz., the
burning of Moshono, a great doctor, who lived on the island of Ihata.
The Warungu came in great numbers, and were conquering wherever they
went, until they came opposite Ihata. Then their cattle died, and their
warriors died of a horrible disease which Moshono punished them with.
Finally, however, they got across the river and landed on the island;
the village was taken, and Moshono was carried to the plain opposite the
island, and burnt alive near a great tree. But it seemed as if the
Sky-spirit heard the words of Moshono, and stirred up the Watuta--all;
every man who could bear a sword and spear--against the Warungu, and a
few days after, the Watuta, under Loralamba, rushed on their camp at
night, and there was an exceeding great slaughter. Only a few Warungu
escaped, and since then they had settled quietly in their own country,
south of the Lake Liemba, many days' march from Katalambula's.
Soltali was rich in this history, which, alas! is never destined to see
the light; a history that were a man disposed to write it for the mere
love of giving it to the world, and instructing it in the past life of
this obscure corner of the world, might enlighten the learned of all
countries in much that concerns the great races of Central Africa.
Soltali's hut was a veritable museum; but it bore a striking resemblance
to the rich men's houses in England and America in this respect. What
ducal castle or baronial hall is there, in England, but has its
collection of deer, antelope, and buffalo horns; its stuffed lions; its
tigers, etc. etc.? What rich man's house is there in America which has
not some trophy of its master's hunting prowess? Soltali had his
trophies, though, owing to his pitiable ignorance of taste, book
knowledge, etc, etc, his trophies were not arranged as a Schwartzenberg
of Austria or a Duke of Sutherland arrange theirs. There were horns
upon horns of antelope, kudu, hartebeest, black buck, springbok,
gemsbok, gnu, buffalo, and rhinoceros, and tusks upon tusks of polished
ivory. But the great store of curiosities that he set the greatest
value upon consisted of tails of elephants, horns of giraffes, eyelids
of zebras, tusks of boars, paws of lions, nose-hairs and whiskers of
leopards, claws of eagles, beaks of bustards and kites, wings of
ostriches, scales of fish, dried eyes of ibis; all wrapped up in pieces
of goatskin, each separate the one from the other. He had a great
number of little gourds, filled with the calcined heads of the various
animals he had ever killed, and smaller gourds, like phials, filled with
the burnt brains of men whom he had killed in war. There were so many
brains of Warungu, Wabena, Wasowa, Wakawendi, Wawemba, Warori,
Wanyamwezi, Wamwite, Wakanyara, Wakokoro, and a number of other smaller
tribes; for in his prime, when he fought side by side with Loralamba,
the "great, great" King, Soltali's spear was heavy, sharp, and sure.
Poor, ancient Soltali! who shall sing thy praises? Who shall tell the
wide, wide world all the deeds done by thy mighty hands? Where is the
Homer who shall arise and sing of thy prowess? Homer, and Virgil, and
Tasso, De Ercilla, and Camoens are dead, and we have none left capable
of conveying thy name to future generations. But be content, old man;
this page, at least, of this little book will tell a few of the growing
generation of true-hearted American and British youths, that such a man
did once live as thee, oh, Soltali! and, perhaps, in an obscure corner
of the British Museum, thyself and wondrous museum of monstrosities
shall, embodied as it were in this page, rest a few years until they
become a heap of dead, unintelligible dust!
At the end of about two months, Abdullah was so far recovered as to be
able to go about alone, without the aid of any of his friends; but he
had an unconquerable antipathy to the banks of the Liemba. The brown
waters of this river, in which he was so very near being engulphed,
inspired him with a nauseous aversion, having something of the effect of
tartar emetic on his stomach, and he never dared, as Selim often did, to
wander along its banks alone. When he became tired of the village he
walked to the fields, or the gardens, where the pot-herbs, the lentils,
the pig-nuts, and the beans grew. Neither forest nor solitude charmed
Abdullah; the company of the nursing women, or the workers in the field,
was far preferable.
One day, Kalulu proposed to Selim, and Simba, and Moto, that they should
get up a party to make a grand elephant hunt, and, as an apology, said
to Selim:
"I should have asked thee long ago, were it not that I knew thou wouldst
not come; but Abdullah is so much better that he travels about the
village as if he had never been bitten by a crocodile."
"To hunt elephants I will surely come with thee. I have got my gun,
which I saved from the Liemba, and I should like to try a shot at an
elephant. Moto is a great hunter, and he shall teach me how to tickle
the tail and hams of one; thou hast never heard him tell the story. Oh,
it is such an incredible one! but he never tells a lie to me."
"Does Moto say he tickled the tail of an elephant? if it is true, he has
done more than old Soltali himself. Soltali has done some wonderful
things with elephants too, but he never did anything like this.
However, we shall see how he acts before a real wild elephant. We shall
watch him--eh, Selim?"
"Oh, I shall have my eyes on him, depend on it; but when shall we go,
Kalulu?"
"At daybreak to-morrow. To-night Soltali must sing the elephant
hunting-song of the hunters, and must give each of the hunters a charm,
since he is too old to accompany us. I shall take fifty men with me, so
that we can make a strong party. If Ferodia catches us in the woods he
would make short work of us, and my head would not remain long on my
shoulders if he caught me; for then he knows he would be king."
"Why, thou art not going near his country, surely! because I would
rather stop here, if thou art. I want to see no more of Ferodia," said
Selim in alarm.
"Be at ease, my brother. I go not near him with the best fifty men that
the Watuta can count. I go in a different direction, south-east; he
lives south-west, south of the Liemba Lake."
"All right; but really thou didst frighten me. My back fairly tingles
at the thought of Tifum, and Tifum is with Ferodia."
"Yet, my brother, thou didst hit him a blow in the face, and Moto--
cunning man--said he saw it, and said it was well done."
"I wish the blow had gone through his head, then my mind would be at
ease, for that man is my bane--my Afrit. [Afrit is a bad spirit with
the Moslems.] Even when I am at Zanzibar I shall think of that man."
"There, enough, my brother; I will put one of my barbed arrows through
his throat the first time I see him, for thy sake. Go and prepare thy
gun, and bullets, and medicine powder, and to-night thou must attend to
the song of the doctor, or thou shalt have bad luck with us in the
hunt." And Kalulu turned away with light hounding steps, which soon
carried him away from his Arab brother.
At night--probably at the hour of nine with us, the moon being up--a
long, low, rumbling roll of the largest goma brought the destined
hunters, together with Kalulu, Selim, Simba, and Moto, running and
chasing each other towards the drum stand. There were ten drums, and a
boy for each, ascending in height from the smallest to the biggest drum;
so that the boy who beat the smallest drum must have been about ten
years old, and the boy who beat the largest drum was a sturdy youth of
twenty, or thereabouts.
Pots full of pombe and plantain-wine were ranged a little distance off,
from which the dancers and the singers could regale themselves when they
felt disposed. For the eve of a hunting party's march is considered a
great event, second only to the return of a successful party with plenty
of ivory.
The hunters formed a select circle round the drummers and the pombe
pots; a larger circle, made by about three hundred people--men, women,
boys, and girls--surrounded the hunters.
Each hunter had on a capricious head-dress. One tall fellow was very
conspicuous by wearing a pair of buffalo horns; another had a rhinoceros
horn on the top of his head; another had his head draped with a piece of
zebra skin, which gave him quite a remarkable appearance by moonlight;
one had a zebra crest, which made him appear as if he wore a Greek
helmet; another had a goatskin over his head. Kalulu wore three
magnificent snowy ostrich plumes on his head. Selim wore a turban.
Simba and Moto also wore turbans. One fellow, next to Moto, wore an
enormous black earthen pot on his head; another had a broad, wooden
dish; but it would be wearying to enumerate all the strange things they
wore.
The drummer boys struck up an interlude, which was a verse from the
boatmen's song--the chorus,
We are gliding,
Softly gliding,
seemingly giving them immeasurable enjoyment as they lingered over the
word "gliding." While they were busy with feet and lungs, moving about
in a circle, a sudden silence prevailed;--the great Soltali, the
greatest elephant hunter and doctor of magic of the age, arrived upon
the scene.
A loud murmur of approbation greeted the extraordinary old man. The
most remarkable of all head-dresses was on the head of Soltali, for he
had the skin of an elephant's trunk, the base of the trunk fitting his
head, as if it had grown there, while the trunk, filled with grass, was
stiff enough to stand perfectly erect, though perhaps it was stiff
enough without. The weight of this must have been considerable; but the
ridiculous vanity of men causes them to do strange things sometimes, and
this act could have been nothing else than absurdest vanity. Hanging
around the old man's neck was a string of giraffe tails, whose hairs
were blacker than ink. On his arms he wore wristlets and armlets of
pure white ivory. In each hand he carried a gourd half full of pebbles,
which he rattled every now and then with a horrible noise.
He first, after he entered the inner circle, walked around three times,
staring at each man, rattling his gourds alternately, as he passed
round; then walking to the centre, while the bass drum began to hum and
murmur its deep sounds, he began to move his body to the right and left,
each hunter sighing deeply in sympathy with the now fast rising murmur
of all the drums in concert. Loud and louder beat the drums, until the
noise was deafening, and the voices of the singers became a demoniac
din; then lower and lower descended the voices and the drum-sounds,
until nothing was heard but the pacific and low murmur of the bass drum
and the low sighs of the dancers.
Then Soltali opened his mouth and sang, in the heroic vein, of his
doings in the elephant hunt in the far southern lands, the streamy land
of the Wa-marungu, in the hot swampy lands of the Wawemba, and on the
broad plains of Ututa; of his mishaps and fortunes, his narrow,
hair-breadth escapes, and his wonderful adventures, out of which the
author of the present history might make his fame and fortune were he
gifted with the power to translate into some kind of verse what Soltali
said.
Though demurring somewhat at the necessity of translating at all what
the old man said, the author feels compelled to give the gist of the
charge he gave the hunters concerning their conduct when they should
meet an elephant. He spoke authoritatively and well, and it is a pity
that a better translator is not at my side to assist me in the
translation of some of the Kituta polysyllables.
"Let the warrior Watuta, and the hunters bold
Heed and mark well the words of the Mganga old;
Let them behold these charms, these trophies of my might
Each of them reminds me of many a hard fight.
Should ye meet the elephant alone in a plain,
Seek not too hastily to give him the death pain.
Singly let none attack him--'tis an unequal fight;
For the elephant is strong, the embodiment of might;
But surround him coolly, and carefully all,
Be ready to obey your leader's slightest call;
Then charge on him, all shouting, and charge with your spears;
Let the stoutest and best of you aim behind his ears.
Watch well the unfortunate on whom he turns round!
He must run this and that way, and oft change his ground;
Ye others must tease him, and invite him your way,
Hamstring him, and spear him, and do what ye may.
Beware of his front! range on his sides and his rear,
Go all together, and let each man heave a sure spear.
Fast as he veers round, hasten at right angles away
To 'scape the elephant's first charge is no child's play,
For his stride is so long he swallows the ground:
One stride of his is as long as a hunter's bound.
After a while he will get tired--heed well what I say,
He is never so dangerous as when standing at bay;
For the hunter too often thinks he is dead game,
And advances too near him, too eager for fame;
But be ye guided by me, and stand off afar,
And your good hunt so well done, ye will not mar.
Let the elephant bleed, let him fall to the ground,
Let him gladden your ears with his fall's heavy sound!
Then think of the Mganga, the words he has said;
Be sure that his services to you are well paid!
Then will ye succeed in your hunt on the plain,
Succeed without loss, and succeed without pain!"
The author may not attempt further translations from the speech, or song
rather, of this old Mganga or magic doctor, the Kituta polysyllables
having tasked his powers to the utmost; but from his knowledge of
hunting in Africa, he feels bound to admit that the old man had a sound
head on his shoulders; and the band of hunters having heard his lengthy
chant to the end, declared that they felt eternally grateful to him. On
the conclusion of his chant, he delivered to each hunter a small portion
of whitish powder, which we, who have been in his museum, feel confident
consisted of burnt brain, mixed with wood ashes. But this charm,
consecrated by the magic doctor, could not fail to render each hunter
highly successful in his enterprise.
The pombe, or beer, next attracts the attention of the singers, and each
singer incontinently sets to the agreeable task of guzzling, where the
author leaves them until the morrow--the Kituta polysyllables and the
pombe having fairly upset him for the time.
In the morning, at daybreak, without any of the formalities of muster or
calling the roll, Kalulu, Selim, Simba, and Moto, left the village by
the principal gate, followed by about fifty strong active young
warriors, not one of whom could have been over thirty years old. The
horn of the leading hunter sounded merrily as he blew his ringing blasts
of adieux, while the party dived into the depths of the gigantic
corn-stalks, and their friends at the village listened long and
attentively, until the horn could be no longer heard.
Kalulu had a couple of broad-bladed spears, and half-a-dozen assegais,
much lighter than spears, with long flexible shafts, besides a bow and a
quiver pack-full of arrows, which was slung over his shoulders.
Selim, radiantly happy, walked next to Kalulu, as the path was so narrow
that but one could walk at a time on the smooth, hard road, and carried
his own gun--the "gun from London," which Kalulu had found among the
plunder, with its own special ammunition. It was probably a fine "Joe
Manton" as the barrels were of fine steel, short, of large bore, and a
heavy price had been paid for it by Amer bin Osman through his Bombay
agent. It was one of those fortunate accidents that occur sometimes.
Olimali might have had the gun, had not Ferodia, seeing its great beauty
and superiority, specially reserved it for a present to Katalambula; and
the king not caring, or not having any use, for it, had placed it among
his treasures in his store-room; and Selim, accompanying Kalulu to the
store-room, as a privileged brother, to pick out a gun, suddenly saw the
beautiful little masterpiece of the English gunmaker, which his father
had presented him with, and with which he had shot the greedy crocodile
on the Lofu, while his sharp teeth were lacerating his slave Mombo's
leg. Could anything have been more fortunate? "Impossible!" thought
Selim, as he had hastened to secure it, with the ammunition and the
percussion caps. "Impossible!" thought he now, as he strode on after
Kalulu, laughing and chatting gaily, and sometimes turning round to
Simba and Moto with a gay remark, which permitted them to see his
bright, happy face and sparkling eyes.
Simba had his own bright-barrelled gun, which he had as yet never parted
with, besides a ponderous spear, which might have made Goliath of Gath
faint with the carrying of it.
Behind Simba strode nimble-footed Moto, who also had his own gun,
besides a couple of long keen-pointed spears.
Behind Moto strode the Watuta hunters, one after another, some of them
armed with shields, besides their handfuls of spears and quivers fall of
arrows.
Merriness is what distinguishes the conduct of all hunting parties,
whether white or black, while on the way to the chase or the hunt.
Pleasures unlimited are anticipated, and happy sport is expected, and
this anticipation and expectation are what produce so many good jokes,
and wit, and fun, and raillery, or, as the English call it, "chaff,"
when the hunting-field has not yet been reached and all feel bright and
fresh. The hours that precede the chase or the hunt form the
flower-time which men's minds love to remember and dwell upon for the
unalloyed happiness which it furnished.
It is needless to describe in detail the ground the party traversed.
Once out of the corn-fields, the pastoral plains spread before them,
where young Watuta boys were seen indulging in the excitement of a mimic
battle or hunt while they tended their fathers' flocks. Here and there
were little tracts of cultivation where women were at work hoeing the
corn; and as they passed some isolated village, near the gate, under the
trees, sat the nursing mothers, lullabying their babes to sleep, or the
snowy crisp-haired elders sat on short three-legged stools retailing to
each other the experiences of their lives, dwelling with fondness on
some particular episode of their generally uneventful lives; while
chubby, abdominous little children listened in wonder at what they
heard, as chubby, abdominous little boys of white men's lands do when a
particularly interesting tale is told.
Beyond the plains and corn-fields, the cultivated tracts and villages,
heaved into view the dark-blue line of forest--that forest which Selim
knew, where he suffered, where he fainted, and laid unconscious.
Finally, the party entered it, and they were involved in its twilight
gloom.
A week's, marching through the forest brought the party to the elephant
hunting-grounds of the Watutu. The broad tracks, pounded and pressed,
trodden compact and smooth as an asphalte pavement by the elephants'
broad, heavy feet, indicated too clearly that this was a common resort
for the ponderous beasts.
Lengthy sinuous hollows, overgrown with thicket and shrub, tufted grass,
and tall cane, spoke of clear but stagnant water being plentiful here,
their ridges, clad with dense brush, ran in serpentine directions, and
separated these swampy hollows from each other. Overhead were the leafy
crowns of gigantic columnar trees, forming as they met close together a
thorough shade for the locality, under which, undisturbed by any enemy,
the elephant might cool himself during the fervid noon.
Pressing further on out of this swampy region, they came, about sunset,
to a thin jungle, where here and there rose a giant baobab, the monarch
of all woods. Choosing one of these great trees, whose foliage was
denser than ordinary, the party proceeded to cut down the smaller trees
and brush, to form a brush fence around their camp, for the centre of
which they chose this great baobab. They built the fence solid, secure,
and high, as an efficient protection against wild beasts and nomadic
freebooters. They then erected their huts--placing four short pronged
poles in the ground, one at each corner of a square of six feet; then
two taller poles dividing the square into halves; over these two taller
poles and the two shorter poles on each side they laid transverse poles,
which rested in the forks; and over these again they laid laterally
light sticks, sloping down each side, which they covered over with long
grass, and in a short time they had a perfect miniature house. There
were other kinds of houses or huts being constructed; but the following
illustration will best describe the architectural knowledge of the
Watutu.
After constructing their huts, some roamed into the woods to hunt for
wild fruit, others to look for flat stones to grind their corn upon,
others to procure sticks to make their fires with, others to get water;
while others, again, scoured and prepared their pots to boil their
porridge in. There were about fifteen huts in the encampment, some huts
having as many as five for a mess, others only three, while others had
but two. It is a noteworthy fact in African camps that, where the mess
is large, the more important of the party are together; or that the most
popular are those who prefer each other's society to that of any of the
rest; though in each large mess one may be sure that one of the members
has been admitted only for the sake of utilising his services; and his
folly and ignorance, or cowardice and unworthiness, are forgiven and
borne with, so long as he is industrious and not idle.
Thus in Kalulu's mess were Selim, Simba, Moto, and an ignorant and timid
fellow, who was only too glad to be near the great, and who
industriously strove to please them for the sake of the patronage which
he received for his labour. Kalulu, of course, as chief, could command
the services of all if he chose to do so, but none would have worked as
well as the timid fellow who voluntarily offered to cook for him.
After the suppers were cooked and eaten, and their limbs were somewhat
rested, and earth had drawn its sable mantle, chequered with the
diamonds of heaven, over its head, and the dark foliage of the baobab
began to be peopled with formless shapes and shadows, and the fires
burned bright, and cast their tongued flames with splutter, and hissing,
and crackling, the dispositions of each began to be exhibited. They
squatted around a blazing pile, listening to an exciting tale of
adventure, or a funny story, which makes men's sides almost explode with
laughter. What can be more enjoyable? Nothing. People, for the time,
forget everything but the interesting present. Not one in such a
position can be left to himself; for his little world is before him, and
he must be drawn into its vortex of pleasantry and enjoyment, and forget
what he selfishly thinks belongs to himself.
The desire of slumber came on by-and-bye, and each man crept into his
hut, and on his own little pile of straw or leaves, drowned in kindly,
healthy sleep, forgot not only himself, but his neighbours, his friends,
and his tribe.
At dawn, five of the likeliest fellows were sent by Kalulu to
reconnoitre the vicinity and the open, swampy ground near which they had
camped, and where they had obtained their water for cooking the night
before.
They had not been gone fifteen minutes before one of them returned, who,
with a warning finger, imposed silence, and whispered the words "Kumi
tembo"--ten elephants!
You might have seen then how quickly the looks of indifference were
changed into one of exciting interest, how eyes danced gladly, and
sparkled at the joyful news; how Kalulu's hunter-soul kindled into
raptures, and how Moto and Simba looked significantly at one another,
and how Selim even felt a throb and a warm glow stealing over him.
Moto advanced to Kalulu, and reminded him of the advice given by Soltali
to hunt one at a time, and said that while he and his warriors should
single out one, it would be better that those armed with guns, viz., he
and Simba, and Selim, should engage another, and so kill two. Kalulu at
once acceded to the proposal.
The hunters, as soon as they got outside of the boma or camp, deployed
in a long line, while Selim, Moto, and Simba stole quietly and quickly
away on their own venture, in a direction considerably to the left of
the Watuta hunters. All the natives had denuded themselves entirely;
Selim and his two friends had but girded their cloths about their loins.
The natives thus deployed, and ready at a signal, moved forward
silently, and soon they were joined by the four remaining scouts, who,
ensconced behind the bushes, had continued to watch the elephants, who
were seen slaking their thirst at a pool, and playfully tossing the
water over their backs.
As the hunters emerged from this jungle into the cleared space near the
pool, the elephants turned short round to look at the strange intruders,
who were thus boldly appearing in their presence.
The hunters stopped also with one accord to survey the ponderous animals
they had come to kill. What a sight this was! Ten such noble beasts,
clothed with bluish-grey hides, with uplifted trunks, and great ears
standing out straight in array before those fifty naked pigmies, who,
had they not their sharp spears and their barbed arrows, would no more
have dared to approach these magnificent creatures than they would have
climbed up to the highest tree and jumped off, expecting to be able to
fly.
They stood thus a minute opposed to each other; then Kalulu advanced to
the front in the absence of the magic doctor, as the chief hunter, and
with uplifted spear in hand, chanted the death-song of the elephant he
chose should be killed. This was a picture also worthy of a great
artist--the warriors in the foreground, the slight and nude form of the
young chief in the centre, with his ostrich plumes waving above his
head, as his body oscillated from side to side while he sang; and
fronting him, about thirty feet off, a monster elephant, with his herd
behind him, all looking astonished at the scene.