THE PORTUGUESE IN SOUTH AFRICA FROM 1505 TO 1700.

CHAPTER V.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BANTU (continued).

The Bantu knew of no other periods in reckoning time than the day and the lunar month, and could describe events only as happening before or after some remarkable occurrence, such as the death of a chief, a season of famine, or an unusually heavy flood. The rising of the Pleiades shortly after sunset was re- garded as indicating the planting season. To this constellation, as well as to several of the prominent stars and planets, they gave expressive names. They formed no theories concerning the nature of the heavenly bodies and their motions, and were not given to thinking of such things. In later times, if questioned by a European, they might venture to remark that the sky was smoke which had risen from fires, but in such cases it would be evident that the effort to find a solution to a query of this kind was new to them.

They had no knowledge of letters or of any signs by which ideas could be expressed. There were old men who professed to be acquainted with the deeds of the past, and who imparted their knowledge to the young, but their accounts of distant times seldom corresponded in details. They touched lightly upon defeats sustained by their own tribe, but dilated upon all its victories. In the traditions of each independent community a particular chief, usually the second or third in descent from the founder, was invariably represented as having conferred extraordinary benefits upon his people. He was the inventor of iron weapons, the one who decorated them with copper ornaments, and who taught them to use millet for food. Thus among the Barolong at the present day all this is attributed to Noto, son of Morolong ; among the Amaxosa to Tshawe, great-grandson of Xosa ; among the Abatetwa to Umyambosi, son of Umtetwa. Now it is absolutely certain that long before the time of Morolong, Xosa, and Umtetwa, who founded these modern tribes, iron, copper, and millet were in general use by almost all sections of the Bantu. But in praise of chiefs who probably gained some important victory, or under whose rule there was unusual prosperity, whatever the succeeding generations could think of as being great improvements was ascribed to their wisdom, and has been handed down as tribal history from one antiquary to another. Thus these narratives convey incorrect impressions, and little is beyond question except the genealogies of the great chiefs, which have been carefully preserved for ten or twelve generations.

The greater part of their folklore was neither of a moral character, nor did it convey any useful lessons. The actors in it were animals which spoke as human beings, persons who were bewitched and compelled to appear as beasts, individuals with magical powers, fantastic creatures, imps, cannibals, young chiefs, girls, &c, &c. There was nothing that led to elevation of thought in any of these stories, though one idea, that might easily be mistaken on a first view for a good one, pervades many of them : the superiority of brain power to physical force. But on looking deeper it is found that brain power was always interpreted as low cunning ; it was wiliness, not greatness of mind, that won in the strife against the stupid strong. Such an idea was in full accord with the life of the people, and it may have been on this account that the tales were so much liked. Where force was directed as mercilessly as it is among brutes, the weak were compelled to scheme against the strong. The little boy, who lived in constant terror of larger ones, the woman, who was the drudge, not the companion, of her husband, the petty clan, that felt the exactions of a powerful neighbour, all were obliged to scheme, and no people on earth ever learned the art of deception more thoroughly than the Bantu. Thus these traditional tales, which came down from a remote time, — as they were found with little variation among tribes that could have had no intercourse with each other for many centuries, — gave a large amount of pleasure to those among whom they passed current, though to European minds there was nothing amusing or interesting in them. Some specimens will be given in the next chapter.

Many of the proverbs in common use, on the contrary, conveyed excellent practical lessons of prudence and wisdom. The following are a few of those collected by the writer when residing with the Xosas, and they might be extended to fill many pages : —

A brand burns him who stirs it up, equivalent to our English one Let sleeping dogs lie.

Like the marriage feast of Mapasa, used to denote anything unusually grand. The marriage festivities of one of the ancients, Mapasa by name, are said to have been carried on for a whole year.

Misfortune of soup made of shanks and feet, applied to any person who never does well, but is always getting into trouble. The kind of soup spoken of is very lightly esteemed.

One fly does not provide for another, a saying of the industrious to the idle, meaning that each should work for himself as the flies do.

Bakuba is far away, no person ever reached it. Bakuba is an ideal country. This proverb is used as a warning against undue ambition, or as advice to be content with that which is within reach. It is equivalent to our English saying It is no use building castles in the air.

They have slaughtered at Kukwane, where much meat is obtainable. According to tradition, there was once a very rich chief who lived at Kukwane, and who entertained strangers more liberally than any who went before or who came after him. This proverb is used to such persons as ask too much from others, as if to say : It was only at Kukwane that such expectations were realised.

It is not every one who is a son of Gaika. Gaika was at the beginning of the nineteenth century the most powerful chief west of the Kei. This proverb signifies that all are not equally fortunate.

He has drunk the juice of the flower of the wild aloe. Said of a dull, sleepy person. This juice when drunk has a stupefying effect, and benumbs the limbs so as to make them powerless for a time.

The walls have come into collision, said of any dispute between persons of consequence.

A person who will not take advice gets knowledge when trouble overtakes him.

You have cast away your own for that which you are not sure of, equivalent to the English proverb A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

He is a buck of an endless forest, a saying applied to a shiftless person, one who never continues long in any occupation.

You are lighting a fire in the wind, said to any one who favours strangers in preference to relatives, or to their disadvantage.

There is no beast that does not roar in its den, meaning that a man recognises no superior in his own establishment. Equivalent to Every cock crows on his own dunghill.

A dog of the wind, a saying applied to any one who has no settled plan of living.

I, the adhesive grass, will stick fast to you. This proverb is used as a warning to any one to avoid a bad habit or an unworthy companion that cannot easily be got rid of.

The sun never sets without fresh news.

They are people of experience who do not sleep at a strange place, said in praise of one who is smart in going a message, or who performs any duty at a distance quickly.

The land is dead, a saying which implies that war has commenced.

One does not become great by claiming greatness, used to incite anyone to the performance of noble deeds. It means that a man's actions, not his talk and boasting, are what people judge of his greatness by.

It is the foot of a baboon, a saying denoting a treacherous person.

He has gone in pursuit of the (fabulous) birds of the sea, a saying applied to one whose ambitious aspirations are not likely to be realised.

You are creeping on your knees to the fireplace. Used as a warning to any one who is following a course that must lead to ruin. It is as if one said : You are like an infant crawling towards the fire circle in the middle of the hut, who is sure to get burnt.

It has stuck fast by one of the front legs. This saying is used when any one has committed himself to a matter of importance. An animal cannot extricate itself easily when fast by one of its front legs.

It dies and rises like the moon. Said of any question that springs up again after it is supposed to be settled.

There is no plant that comes into flower and does not wither. Descriptive of the life of man.

The crab has stuck fast between the stones at the entrance of its hole. Said of any one who is involved in difficulties of his own creation, or of one who raises an argument and is beaten in it.

Tomorrow is also a day. Said to any one who is in undue haste or who is impatient in the execution of a task. It is the proverb most acted upon by men of the Bantu race.

Of poetry they had a fairly rich store, but there was nothing particularly grand in it. It was chanted by men on special occasions, and consisted chiefly of adulation of chiefs, deeds of war, and actions of animals. Thus a favourite ox might have a chant in its praise. The war chants, in certain parts of which the whole of the men present joined, were certainly impressive, but those in ordinary use were monotonous and disagreeable to a European ear. All were distinguished by a note of sadness. These people, though their voices were rich and melodious, had no conception of such vocal music as we are accustomed to : they had neither rhymic hymn, nor song, nor glee. Their musical instruments were of the rudest kind, mostly calculated to make noise rather than melody, those in ordinary use being capable of producing only a monotonous thrumming sound. The best consisted merely of pieces of wood or iron for keys, with calabashes attached to them, arranged on stretched strings, and struck with a small round-headed cane, or of thin iron keys fastened over a gourd or hollow block of wood, and touched by the hand. Of these there were several kinds, but all were constructed on the same principle.

Every chief of highest rank in the military tribes was attended by individuals whose duty was to act as official praisers. These persons were attired in the most fantastic costumes, thus one might have his head and^every part of his body covered with the skin of a lion, another with that of a leopard, and so on. On any appearance of the chief, they shouted in a kind of chant a poem in which greatness of every kind was attributed to him, using such terms as great elephant, great despoiler, great ravisher, great conqueror, and great soothsayer. Very often at the same time drums were beaten and horns were sounded, making a din gratifying to the Bantu ear, but intolerable to that of a European. The chiefs of tribes in the ordinary condition had also their official praisers, who were, however, more modest in their words, and whose chants were seldom accompanied by such a deafening noise of discordant instruments.

The heads of the independent communities along the eastern coast from the Zambesi river to Kosi Bay had dynastic names, which they assumed upon succeeding to the chieftainship, and by which they were afterwards known, just as all the rulers of ancient Egypt were termed Pharaoh. Thus the paramount chiefs of the tribe that occupied the south-eastern shore of Delagoa Bay took the name Nyaka, those of the adjoining tribe to the westward Kapela, those of the tribe living along the lower course of the Limpopo river Manisa, and those of the great Makalanga tribe, that occupied the eastern part of what is now Rhodesia and the adjacent territory to the sea, Mnamatapa. Each of these dynastic names originally had a special significa- tion, and was derived from some occurrence connected with the founder of the ruling family or one of the most distinguished of his descendants. The custom applied only to paramount chiefs. South of Kosi Bay dynastic names were not used, owing probably to the manner in which the tribes were formed and their recent origin.

The names given to children at birth were often changed at a later age, especially in the case of chiefs who performed any noteworthy act, or with a view to flattery, a custom that makes research into their history somewhat difficult. It frequently happened also that a chief was known to his own people by one name, and to neighbouring tribes by another very different. In our own day there are many instances of this custom. Thus a chief of a Barolong clan, Montsiwa as his own people call him, is termed Seyangkabo (meaning intruder in a bad sense) by some of his immediate neighbours, and Motshele oa Maaka (the fountain of lies) by others. Some of the names given to notable persons were very expressive, and of these also there are many instances at present. Thus Sigcawu (the great spider), the paramount Xosa chief, was so named on account of his supposed cleverness, Dalindyebo (creator of wealth, from roots uku dala to create and inclyebo riches), the paramount Tembu chief, on account of his having been born during an exceedingly abundant harvest, Ngonyama (the lion), a Gaika chief, on account of his personal bravery, Uzwinye (one word, from roots izwi a word and nye one), the reverend Mr. Hargreaves, on account of his con- stantly recommending peace. When a woman is married, her husband's parents give her a new name, by which she is known to his family afterwards. Upon the birth of her first child, whether son or daughter, she is usually called by every one else after the name given to the infant, Ma..., the mother of...

When about fifteen or sixteen years of age boys in nearly all the tribes were circumcised. The rite was purely civil. By it a youth was enabled to emerge from the society of women and children, and was admitted to the privileges of manhood. Its performance was attended with many ceremonies, some of a harmless, others to European ideas of a criminal nature. At a certain period in every year, unless it was a time of calamity or the chief had a son not ready, all the boys of a clan who were old enough were circumcised. Thereafter for a couple of months or longer they lived by themselves, and were distinguished by wearing a peculiar headdress and a girdle of long grass about the loins, besides having their bodies covered with white clay. During this period they had license to steal freely from their relatives, provided they could do so without being caught in the act. After returning to their homes, they were brought before the old men of the tribe, who lectured them upon the duties and responsibilities which they had taken upon themselves. Presents of cattle and weapons were afterwards made by their friends to give them a start in life, and they could then indulge in immorality without let or hindrance from their elders.

In case a scion of the ruling house was growing up, the performance of the rite of circumcision was generally allowed to stand over for a year or two, so that he might have a large number of companions. These were all supposed to be bound to him by a very strong tie. In after years they were to be his counsellors and attendants, and in case of danger were to form his bodyguard. In modern times no instance has been known of any one who was circumcised at the same time as a chief afterwards proving unfaithful to him, but numerous instances have come under the notice of Europeans where such persons have sacrificed their lives for him.

With some — if not all — of the interior tribes at the time of circumcision the youths were formed into guilds with passwords. The members of these guilds were bound never to give evidence against each other. The rites of initiation were kept as secret as possible, but certain horrible customs connected with them were known. One of these was the infusion of courage, intelligence, and other qualities. Whenever an enemy who had acted bravely was killed, his liver, which was considered the seat of intelligence, the skin of his forehead, which was considered the seat of perseverance, and other members, each of which was supposed to be the seat of some desirable quality, were cut from his body and baked to cinders. The ashes were preserved in the horn of a bull, and during the circumcision ceremonies were mixed with other ingredients into a kind of paste and administered by the tribal priest to the youths, the idea being that the qualities which they represented were communicated to those who swallowed them. This custom, together with that of using other parts of the remains of their enemies for bewitching purposes, led them to mutilate the bodies of all who fell into their hands in war, a practice which infuriated those whose friends were thus treated, and often provoked retaliation of a terrible kind.

Among the Ovaherero and kindred tribes boys were generally circumcised between the ages of four and seven years, and therefore the rite had not the same signification as it had with other Bantu. From it they dated their age, naming the most important event at the time of their circumcision as their starting point in life, just as other Bantu name the most important event at the time of their birth. These people differed further from their eastern kindred by mutilating them- selves in a peculiar manner. When a child was eight or ten years of age its four lower front teeth were broken out, and the corresponding upper front teeth were filed with stones into the shape of triangles with the base downwards. This was their national mark, as the mode of wearing the hair is with many other tribes.

Among the tribes along the eastern coast females who arrived at the age of puberty were introduced into the state of womanhood by peculiar ceremonies, which tended to extinguish virtuous feelings within them. Originally, however, the very worst of the observances on these occasions was a test of discipline. The object of the education of the males was to make them capable of self-restraint. They were required to control themselves so that no trace of their emotions should appear on their faces, they were not to wince when undergoing the most severe punishment. In olden times a further test was applied, which has now degenerated into the most abominable licen- tiousness. It will be sufficient to say that the young women who attended the revels on these occasions were allowed to select temporary companions of the other sex, and if they declined to do so, the chief distributed them at his pleasure. As the first edition of this chapter was being prepared, a chief, who was regarded as being more advanced towards civilisation than most of his people, came into legal collision with the European authorities for distributing a large number of girls in this manner in a district within the Cape Colony. But degrading as this rite was among the Bantu of the coast, among some of those of the interior it was even more vile. All that the most depraved imagination could devise to rouse the lowest passions of the young females was practised. A description is impossible.

The other ceremonies observed on this occasion varied among the tribes, but an account of those of the Amaxosa at the present day will give a general idea of all. When a girl of this tribe arrives at the age of puberty, messengers are sent by her father to all the neighbouring kraals to invite the young women to attend the "ntonjane." The girl in the meantime is kept secluded in the hut of an aunt, or other female relative, and her father does not see her. Soon parties are seen coming from all sides, singing as they march. The first that arrive halt in front of the cattle kraal, where they are joined by those who come later. When the girls are all assembled, the father selects an ox to be slaughtered, and the meat is cooked for a feast. The women then dress the girls for the dance, and when this is done they are ranged in rows in front of the cattle kraal. They are almost naked, having on only a girdle round the waist, and an apron, called cacawe, made for the occasion out of the leaves of a certain plant. In their hands they bold assagais, using them as walking sticks.

When all is ready, four of the girls step out of the front row and dance, the rest singing; and when these are tired four others step out, and so on, until all the girls present have danced. The spectators then applaud the best dancer, or if they do not at once fix upon the same person, the girls dance until all present agree. The girls then give room to the men and women that in the meantime have arrived, who form themselves in lines in the same manner, and dance until it is decided which of them surpass the others. The dancing is continued until sunset, when the men and women return home, leaving the party of girls, called the jaka, who remain overnight. Next day dancing is resumed in the same order, the guests usually arriving very early in the morning.

If the girl's father is a rich man three oxen are slaughtered, and the ntonjane is kept up for twelve days. On the thirteenth day the young woman comes out of the hut where she has all the time been living apart from her family. If the girl is a chief's daughter the ntonjane is kept up for twenty-four days. All the counsellors send oxen to be slaughtered, that there may be plenty for the guests to eat.

The following ceremony takes place on the occasion of a chief's daughter coming out of the house in which she was concealed during the twenty-four days : —

A son of her father's chief counsellor puts on his head the two wings of a blue crane (the indwe), which are regarded as an emblem of bravery only to be worn on this occasion and by veterans in time of war. He goes into the hut where she is, and when he comes out she follows him. They march towards the kraal where the dancing took place, the girl's mother, the jaka or party of young women, the girl's father, and his counsellors, forming a procession. More cattle are slaughtered for the indwe, and then dancing is renewed, after which the girl drinks milk for the first time since the day when she was concealed in the hut. Large skin bags containing milk are sent from different kraals to the place where the ntonjane is held. Some milk is put into a small vessel made of rushes, a little of it is poured on the fire- place, the aunt or other female relative in whose charge the girl was takes the first mouthful, then she gives the milk to the girl, who, after having drunk, is taken to her mother's house. The people then disperse, and the ntonjane is over.

This ceremony acts as an advertisement to people far and wide that the girl can now be applied for in marriage.

The Bantu were polygamists, and women occupied a lower position than men in their society. Marriage was an arrangement, without any religious ceremony, by which in return for a girl cattle were transferred to her relatives by the husband or his friends. It did not make of a woman a slave who could be sold from hand to hand, nor did it give her husband power to maim her. In its best aspect this method of marriage was a protection to a woman against ill usage, as well as a guarantee to the husband that she would study his interests. If he maimed her, or treated her with undue severity, she could return to her father or guardian, who was allowed in such cases to retain both the woman and the cattle, but if she abandoned him without sufficient cause he could reclaim the cattle he had transferred and she lost caste in the eyes of every one. In its worst aspect it permitted a parent or guardian to give a girl in marriage to the man who offered most for her, without the slightest reference to her inclinations. A woman was a drudge, upon whom the cultivation of the ground and other severe labour fell, she could inherit nothing, and she was liable to moderate castigation from her husband, such as a parent is at liberty to inflict upon a child, without protection from the law. Wealth was estimated by the number of wives and cattle that a man possessed, and the one was always made use of to increase the other. The husband was head or lord of the establishment, and the wives were required to provide all the food except meat and milk. Each had a hut of her own, which she and her children occupied, and the husband used his caprice as to which of them he associated with at any time.

Though the transfer of cattle alone made a marriage binding, it was customary to engage in festivities in connection with it. Those ordinarily observed in the Xosa tribe at the present day are fairly typical of all. Among these people the whole of the marriage ceremonies are included in the term umdudo, a word derived from the verb uku duda, which means to dance by springing up and down, as uku xentsa means to dance by moving the upper parts of the body. The dance at a marriage is considered of more importance than any of the others, and is therefore frequently practised until skill in its performance is attained.

The marriage of a young woman is arranged by her father or guardian, and she is not legally supposed to be consulted in the choice of a husband. In point of fact, however, matches arising from mutual love are not uncommon. In such cases, if any difficulties are raised by the guardians on either side, the young people do not scruple to run away together, after which their relatives usually come to an arrangement. Yet instances are not wanting of girls being compelled against their wishes to marry old men, who have already perhaps five or six wives. In practice the umdudo is often deferred to a convenient season, but the woman is considered not less a wife, and her children not less legal, providing always that the transfer of cattle has taken place according to agreement.

Marriage proposals may come from the father or guardian of the young woman, or they may first be made by the man himself or the relatives of the man who wishes to take a wife. The father of a young man frequently selects a bride for him, and intimates his wish by sending a messenger to make proposals to the girl's father or guardian. In this case the messenger takes some cattle with him, when, if the advances are favourably received, an assagai is sent back, after which the relatives of the young people discuss and finally arrange the terms of the marriage. If the proposal comes from the girl's father, he sends an assagai, which is accepted if the suit is agreeable, or returned if it is not.

When the preliminary arrangements are concluded, unless, as sometimes happens, it is considered expedient to permit the marriage at once to take place, but to postpone the festivities to a more convenient season, a bridal procession is formed at the young woman's kraal, to escort her to her future home. It consists of her relatives and all the young people of both sexes who can get away. It leaves at such a time as to arrive at its destination after dark, and tries to reach the place without attracting notice. The bridal party takes with it a cow, given by the bride's father or guardian to confer fortune upon her, and hence called the inqakwe. This cow is afterwards well taken care of by the husband. The party has also an ox provided by the same person, as his contribution towards the marriage feast. On the following morning at daylight the ox is killed, when a portion of the meat is taken by the bride's party, and the remainder is left for the people of the kraal. The bridegroom's friends then send messengers to invite the people of the neighbourhood to the feast, and as soon as these arrive the dancing commences.

In the dance the men stand in lines three, four, or more rows in depth, according to their number, and at a little distance behind the women stand in the same order. The men stand with their heads erect and their arms locked together. They are nearly naked, but wear ornaments of brass around their waists. The trappings of the war dance are altogether wanting. The women are, however, in full dress, for their part consists only in singing. When all are ready, a man who has been selected for the purpose commences to sing, the others immediately join in, and at a certain note the whole of the men rise together from the ground. The dance consists merely in springing straight up and coming down with a quivering of the body ; but when the men warm to it, it gives them great satisfaction. The song is very monotonous, the same note occurring at every rise from the ground. This dancing, with intervals of rest and feasting, continues as long as the bridegroom's relatives supply oxen for slaughter. A day suffices for a poor man, but a rich man's marriage festivities may last a week or upwards.

On the closing day the bridegroom and his friends march from one hut, while the bride and her party march from another, so as to meet in front of the entrance to the cattle kraal. The bride carries an assagai in her hand, which she throws so as to stick in the ground inside the kraal in an upright position. This is the last of the ceremonies, and the guests immediately begin to disperse, each man taking home the milk-sack which he had brought with him. In olden times ox-racing usually took place on the closing day, but this custom has of late years fallen into neglect.

There were different restrictions with regard to the females whom a man was at liberty to marry. No man of any coast tribe would marry a girl whose relationship by blood to himself on his father's side could be traced, no matter how distantly connected they might be. So scrupulous was he in this respect that he would not even marry a girl who belonged to another tribe, if she had the same family name as himself, though the relationship could not be traced. A man, for instance, whose family title was the Amanywabe, might belong to the Dushane clan of the Xosa tribe. Among the Tembus, the Pondos, the Zulus, and many other distinct communities, are people with this same family title. They cannot trace any relationship with each other, but wherever they are found they have ceremonies peculiar to themselves. Thus the customs observed at the birth of a child are exactly the same in every part of the country among people of the same family title, though they may never have heard of each other, while neighbours of the same elan, but of different family titles, have these customs altogether dissimilar. This indicates that the tribes and clans of the present day are combinations of others that were dispersed before their traditional history commenced.No marriage between the Amanywabe is permissible.

In somes tribes, as at present in the Pondos, Tembus, and Xosas, the same rule was applied to relatives by blood on the mother's side also. Children take the family title of the father, and can thus marry those of the same family title as the mother, provided their blood relationship cannot be traced. Every man of a coast tribe regarded himself as the protector of those females whom we would call his cousins, second cousins, third cousins, and so forth, on the father's side, while some had a similar feeling towards the same relatives on the mother's side as well, and classified them all as sisters. Immorality with one of them would have been considered incestuous, something horrible, something unutterably disgraceful. Of old it was punished by the death of the male, and even now a heavy fine is inflicted upon him, while the guilt of the female must be atoned by a sacrifice performed with due ceremony by the tribal priest, or it is believed a curse will rest upon her and her issue.

Of late years this feeling has become less operative than formerly among those Bantu of the coast belt who have long been in contact with Europeans, still immorality between persons related to each other as above described is extremely rare. It is still more so among those who have learned little or nothing from white men. Shortly after the annexation of Pondoland to the Cape Colony the principal chief of the western division of that territory instituted an inquiry into one such case, which he reported to a magistrate, and wished the usual punishment to be inflicted. The common ancestor was found on investigation to be seven generations back, still in public opinion the crime was enormous.

In contrast to this prohibition the man of the interior almost as a rule married the daughter of his father's brother, in order, as he said, to keep property from being lost to his family. This custom more than anything else created a disgust and contempt for them by the people of the coast, who term such intermarriages the union of dogs, and attribute to them the insanity and idiocy which in recent times has become prevalent among the inland tribes.

Among the tribes within the Cape Colony at the present time the differences are as follows —

Xosas, Tembus, and Pondos : marry no relative by blood, however distant, on either father's or mother's side.

Hlubis and others commonly called Fingos : may marry the daughter of mother's brother and other relatives on that side, but not on father's side.

Basuto, Batlaro, Batlapin, and Barolong : very frequently marry cousins on father's side, and know of no restrictions beyond actual sisters.

With the Ovaherero and their near kindred marriage was a much looser union than among other Bantu, for it could be more easily dissolved by either party. There was practi- cally very little property at stake in the matter. Custom required that when a woman went to live with a man he should transfer to her father or guardian a large ox, a heifer, a large fat sheep, a ewe with a lamb, and a young ewe, but the most valuable of these animals were at once strangled and eaten at the feast which was the only ceremony attending the alliance. A rich man or a man of rank gave no more than a poor one.

In no section of the Bantu was there any restriction in regard to marrying a wife's blood relatives. Thus a man might marry two sisters, though not at the same time, and of course two brothers might marry two sisters. Sometimes it happened that a man and his wife could not agree and that he could bring some substantial charge against her, when, if she had a young unmarried sister, an arrangement was usually made by which she returned to her parents and her sister took her place, on the husband's making a small addition to the cattle that had been transferred on the first occasion.

This was also the case when, as sometimes happened, a woman was childless. Such a person finds little favour in Bantu society, so that on becoming a mother a wife who has been married some time may say from the bottom of her heart, with Elizabeth of old, that "her reproach is taken away from among men." A childless woman is usually exchanged for a marriageable sister, but the husband is required first to perform a ceremony which can be illustrated by a case tried before the writer when act- ing as a border magistrate in 1881. A sued B to recover the value of a heifer supplied to him two years before under these circumstances. B's wife, who was distantly related to A, had been married more than a year without bearing a child. B thereupon applied to him for a heifer, the hair of the tail of which was needed by the doctor of the clan to make a charm to put round the woman's neck. He had supplied one for the purpose, and now wanted payment for it. The defence was that A, being the woman's nearest relative who had cattle, was bound to furnish a heifer for the purpose. The hair of the tail was needed, the doctor had made a charm of it and hung it round the woman's neck, and she had thereafter given birth to a son. The heifer could not be returned after being so used. In this case, if the plaintiff had been so nearly related to defendant's wife as to have participated in the benefit of the cattle given by her husband for her, he could not have justified his claim under Bantu law ; but as he was very distantly connected, he got judgment. The feeling entertained by the spectators in court in this instance was that B had acted very ungratefully towards A, who had not even been present at the woman's marriage feast, but who had cheerfully acted in conformity with the custom which requires that a charm must be made out of the hair of the tail of a heifer belonging to a relative of a childless wife, in order to cause her to bear children.

Far the greater number of lawsuits among the Bantu arose from their marriage customs. The cattle to be transferred to the family of a woman were seldom or never fully paid until long after the union, and in the meantime if the husband died disputes were almost sure to arise as to what family the widow and her children belonged, whether she had a right to return to her parents, if so whether she could take any of her offspring with her, and so on. The nearest relative of the deceased man had it in his power to settle the matter at once by paying the cattle still due, but he did not always follow that course. If there were any daughters, an arrangement was possible that of the cattle to be received for them when they should marry the number due on account of the mother should be paid. But even in this case disputes were sure to arise. One party would fix the number very differently from the other, and then the case would have to be tried, when every little particular from first to last was entered into, and much patience was needed before a decision could be arrived at. Sometimes these cases depended upon the payment or non-payment of cattle three generations back, for in Bantu opinion if a grandmother had not been fully incorporated into the family of her husband, that is if the full number of cattle had not been transferred for her, the position of her descendants was doubtful, two distinct families having claims upon them. In their expressive way of speaking, such cases did not die.

Chastity in married life was exceedingly rare among the coast tribes. By custom every wife of a polygamist had a lover, and no woman sank in the esteem of her companions on this becoming publicly known. The law allowed the husband a fine from the male offender, and permitted him to chastise the woman, provided he did not maim her ; but in the opinion of the females the offence was venial and was not attended with disgrace. Favoured guests had female companions — who were, however, generally widows — allotted to them. Still, chastity had a value in the estimation of the men, as was proved by the care with which the harems of a few of the most powerful chiefs were guarded. It might be thought that the framework of society would fall to pieces if domestic life were more immoral than this, but in point of fact a kraal on the coast was a scene of purity when compared with one in some parts of the interior.

There it was a common occurrence for a chief to secure the services and adherence of a young man by the loan of one of his inferior wives either temporarily or permanently. In either case the children belonged to the chief, who was regarded by the law as their father. Another revolting custom among them was that of polyandrous marriages. A man who had not the requisite number of cattle to procure a wife, and whose father was too poor to help him, obtained assistance from a wealthy individual on condition of having joint marital rights.

In some of the tribes women were obliged to invent for many purposes different words from those used by every one around them, and it sometimes happened that these newly formed words supplanted the old ones. This arose from a custom which pro- hibited females from pronouncing the names of any of their husband's male relatives in the ascending line, or any words whatever in which the principal syllables of such names occurred. If a traveller came to a kraal and happened to ask a woman who was its headman, if that individual was her husband's father or uncle or elder brother she could not reply, but was obliged to call someone else to give the required information. The violation of this custom was considered as showing a want of respect for connections by marriage. Women avoided meeting their husband's male relatives in the ascending line, whenever it was possible to do so, and never sat down in their presence.

CHAPTER VI.

SPECIMENS OF BANTU FOLKLORE.