Zulu Folk And Praise Poetry

Below are Zulu folk or tribal poems. The first time I read Zulu traditional poems they reminded me of the Ngoni people's poems. The Ngoni original language called ngoni is actually in most respects closer to Zulu than other Nguni languages. See Songs of the Ngoni people for ngoni poems and see the striking similarities in structure and words. The ngoni left Zululand and Swaziland during Shaka Zulu's mfecane and now reside in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania.

Author(s): H. I. E. Dhlomo

Source: English in Africa, Vol. 4, No. 2, Literary Theory and Criticism of H. I. E. Dhlomo(Sep., 1977), pp. 43-59

Published by: Institute for the Study of English in Africa, Rhodes University

I

Life is rhythm. Our birth and death, the very throb of our hearts, the arts of sightand hearing, observe this law of rhythm. In Nature, the coming and the going of theseasons, of migratory birds, of hibernating creatues, of ocean tides and of plants and the heavenly bodies, tell the same story.

In this paper we shall consider Zulu folk or tribal poetry; the poetry of our forefathers,of the soil and the soul of the country ; poetry composed by humble men who,according to western standards and ways, were ignorant, uncultured, wild men. I shall claim and do claim that their compositions were real and essential poetry for they observe with sure and artistic instinct this universal law of rhythm. But poetry, one ofthe highest achievements of the human soul and heart, is more than that. It must employ a measured rhythmic language, poetic diction, show contemplative and creative imagination, and use images, sounds and thoughts that arouse and sublimate the emotions.

II

Classification

We have a rich and varied store of this folk material. It adorns the folk tales, accompanies the dances, and is connected with many war and peacetime observances. Unfortunately it has not been systematically collected and preserved, and is dying out with the disintegration of tribal society. I would suggest that these tribal compositions be collected into one volume prefaced with a critical essay on their nature, classification and quality. My own findings lead me to classify Zulu folk poetry as follows.

1 - Semi-narrative, biographic praise poems.

These include :

(a) Poems of persons.

UMsimude!

Owavela ngesiluba,

Phakathi kwamaNgisi nama-Qadasi.

Inkonjan' edukel' ezulwini;

UNowelamuva wa-OShaka.

(b) Poems on Animals and Birds.

Qebuluka-qebu!

Hlabazihlangana!

Phondo luyingewishi,

Mathifiza njengesidunu

Sembazo.

Ndlela zimnyama kobahlabayo,

Njengo-Mphamephuce;

Bolokodlela, nkunzi emdwayidwa;

Makhonya kusobele amavaka.

(On a bull).

Ungqwashi lobomvu!

Ungqengendlela!

Isithuthukazi esinamakhizana ekhanda!

Uhuye!

(On a bird).

(c) Poems on Things.

Lind' amazibuko,

Thabisa amashinga.

(On a stick).

(Guardsman of the river fords,

Joy of adventurers reckless!)

2 - Nature Poems.

These are included in, and form part and parcel of, the laudatory poems to persons. (Where the writer finds an existing translation, he uses that, and where he doesn't he gives the original Zulu and his own translation below.)

The greenness which kisses that of a gall bladder!

Butterfly ofPhunga, tinted with circling spots,

As if made by the twilight from the shadow of mountains,

In the dusk of the evening, when the wizards are abroad.

3 - War Songs.

(i)

Oye oyeye!                                                                      

Khethani amagwala,                                                         

UNomahlul'ingonyama wadla.                                           

(ii)

Asihambe sihlaslele,                                                       

Inkani iphelile;                                                                

Wavizwa ngobani                                                           

Ukuthi inkani iphelile?                                                      

Ivevi!                                                                             

Wavizwa ngobani                                                           

Ukuth ' inkan'iphelile ?                                                   

(iii)

Siyayishisa indlu kaQolwane,                                       

Kasenzi manga, kasenzi manga.                                   

Wazonda, wazonda!                                                    

Oyeyiva wo!

Siyayishisa indlu kaQolwane.                                       

(iv)

Waqeda izizwe.                                                        

Uyakuhlaselaphi na?                                                 

Hho! Hho! Eya ehhe!                                               

Wahlula abafo,                                                        

Wahlula izizwe.                                                       

Chorus

Waqedaqed' izizwe!

Uyakuhlaselaphi na?

E! Uyakuhlaselaphi na?

Wahlul' amakhosi,

Waqedaqed' iziwe!

Uhlaselaphi na?

Uhlaselaphi na?

E! E! E!

(Oye oyeye! seek out the cowards, the lion conqueror strikes. Come, let's march into battle; no more the time for boastful arguments. What, sayest thou the time for boastful arguments is over? Begone! Who told the news that wranglings have ceased? The house of Qolwana set we on fire. We make no jokes, no lies tell we. He is full of hate, full of hate. Oyeyiya wo! Come, see us set aflame the house of Qolwana; On whom will you make war, if you wipe out all the nations thus? . . . you who defeat the foes and conquer the nations. If you wipe out the nations thus, on whom will you make war. Yea, what will you do? You have subdued the kings; you have iped out the nations. Where and what next, Conqueror?)

 

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Some Zulu Customs And Traditions 1911

Author: L H Samuelson

Source: Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 10, No. 38 (Jan., 1911), pp. 191-199

BY the courtesy of the author, we are enabled to publish in the Journal some extracts from a forthcoming work on "Zulu Customs and Folklore," by Miss L. M. Samuelson, of Durban, Natal. Miss Samuelson is the daughter of a Norwegian missionary who was stationed for many years in Zululand,and the sister of Mr. S. O. Samuelson, till recently Under-Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal. Having lived among the Zulus from childhood, she is exceptionally familiar with their language and customs, and the book she is about to publish promises to be of unusual interest.

UKUKALEL 'AMABELE.(Praying for the Corn.)

I think that a description of an old Zulu custom which is now slowly dying out may be found interesting. It is generally observed at the season when the mealies and mabele (kafir corn) are coming into flower.

The Zulus believe that there is a certain Princess in Heaven, who bears the name of Nomkubulwana (Heavenly Princess), and who occasionally visits their cornfields, and causes them to bear abundantly. For this princess they very often set apart a small piece of cultivated land as a present, setting little pots of beer in it for her to drink when she goes on her rounds. They often sprinkle the mealies and mabele with some of the beer, for luck to the harvest.

There is one day appointed specially for girls, when they go out fasting on to the hills, and spend the whole day weeping, fasting, and praying, as they think that the more they fast and weep, the more likely they are to be pitied by the princess. On that day they have to wear men's clothing (umutsha) made of skins, and all men and boys are to keep out of their way, neither speaking to them nor looking at them.

They start very early, as by sunrise they must be by the riverside, ready to begin praying and weeping.¹

Digging deep holes in the sand, they make two or three little girls sit in them, and fill them in again, till nothing but their heads is left showing above ground. There they must remain, weeping and praying for some time. Girls about six years old are generally chosen for this purpose, as they cry the most (rather from fright than anything else), and so are most likely to catch the ear of the heavenly princess.

When the older girls think the poor little things have done their fair share, they help them out and let them run home.

The big girls then go to the mountains and weep; after that to their gardens, round which they walk screaming to the heavenly princess to have pity on them and give them a good harvest.

After this they sprinkle the gardens with beer, and set little pots of it here and there for the princess. About sunset the ceremonies are over, and they all go back to the river to bathe, after which they return to their homes and break their fast.

Any girls refusing to join with the others on Nomkubulwana's day, would lose caste, unless prevented by illness. Ofcourse Christian girls are not expected to join, this being an entirely heathen rite.

The Rainbow, Lightning and Eclipses.

The Zulus believe in a glorious being whom they call the Queen of Heaven, of great and wondrous beauty, and the rainbow is supposed to be an emanation of her glory. This "Queen of Heaven " (Inkosikazi) is a different person from the Heavenly Princess, to whom the young girls pray regularly once a year, as described above.²

Some believe that there is a gorgeously coloured animal at the point where the rainbow appears to come in contact with the earth, and that it would cause the death of any who caught sight of it.³

The natives, as a rule, are very superstitious about the lightning; if it has struck anything they say "the heavens

did it," they dare not speak of it by name. A person killed by lightning is buried without ceremony, and there is no mourning for him; a tree which has been struck may not be used for fuel; the flesh of any animal so killed is not to be eaten; huts which have been injured by lightning are abandoned, and very often the whole kraal is removed. Persons living in such a kraal may not visit their friends, nor may their friends visit them, until they have been purified and pronounced clean by the doctor. They are not allowed to dispose of their cattle until they also have been attended to by the doctor, even the milk is considered unclean, and people abstain from drinking it.

An eclipse or an earthquake foretells a great calamity, and natives are terrified whenever an eclipse takes place. The defeat of the Usutu by Uzibebu a few days after an earthquake, which was felt all through Zululand in 1887, naturally confirmed them in the belief that it is an evil omen.

Rain Doctors.

In common with other backward races the Zulus have faith in the power of the rain-doctors to make, or to draw, rain, and also to prevent it from falling. The Zulu kings generally kept rain doctors, but as when these men did not make enough rain to please their royal masters, they were in danger of being fined or even put to death, they were obliged to invent a good many excuses for their failures. The most common was, that they felt sure somebody was practising witchcraft, that is to say, putting pegs dipped in medicine into the ground, or tying knots in the grass on the mountain-tops and sprinkling them with medicines; either of which proceedings would stop the rain. Then the king would send messengers round the country commanding his subjects to find out where pegs had been driven in, or knots tied in the grass, and the owner of the kraal in whose neighbourhood this was found to have been done was liable to be killed or fined, at the king's discretion.

In a dry season people were constantly in fear of this happening, for they knew that any who wished to injure them would drive in pegs near their kraals and then report them to the king for having done it.

Cetshwayo once had a rain-doctor of whom he thought a great deal; but one year when there was a terrible drought he lost faith in him, and then someone accused him to the king of having wilfully prevented the rain from falling. Ofcourse this made his majesty furiously angry, and he ordered the unfortunate man to be killed and thrown into the river,together with his hut and everything he possessed. No sooner was this order carried out than the rain fell in torrents. Such is the story told by the natives, but I cannot vouch for the truth of it.⁴

The Zulus used to consider the Basuto rain-doctors the best of any, and the king sometimes engaged some of them to come to Zululand when rain was wanted. One year a large number of them arrived, laden with roots and other medicines,from Basutoland. Some carried calabashes filled with liquids, which were rolled about on the ground at the cattle kraal, to bring thunder, and bundles containing charms to bring lightning and rain were stuck upright in the ground. These performances went on for some weeks, until at last the rain came, and the Zulus were satisfied that it was caused by the hard work of the Basuto doctors. These men were kept well supplied with beef and beer all the time they were in the country, and handsome presents were given them, when they left it to return to their own land.

Ukuqwanjiswa Kwempi. (The doctoring of an army.)

This was a most important ceremony among the Zulus while they were still under their own rulers. The natives of Zululand, as all who know anything of their history will admit, were the bravest and most warlike of the coloured races, and were always ready to fight for their king and country. They never shirked their duty as soldiers, they were all trained to arms from boyhood, and felt it a disgrace not to go out against the foe whenever called upon to do so.

The ceremony of Ukuqwamba was invariably performed when there was to be war, and was supposed to make the men both brave and invulnerable.

A proclamation went forth to all the men, in the word "Maihlome" (Let them arm), and in a very short time the whole manhood of the nation mobilised and proceeded, fully equipped for war, to the chief kraal of the sovereign, encamping within a short distance. No women were permitted to come near; all supplies of food or other necessaries being brought by men or boys specially deputed for this service. The army, having assembled at its rendezvous, was then formed into a crescent, and the national war-doctor marched up in all his war-paint, when a very wild black bull was brought in, seized by some warriors selected for the occasion, and held down by them, while the doctor killed it by a blow with his axe on the nape of the neck. Meanwhile a large fire was lighted, and kept up while the beast was being flayed. Then its flesh was cut into long narrow strips, which were roughly roasted in the fire under the superintendence of the doctor, rubbed with a powder made of various roots and herbs and portions of the skins of lions and other fierce animals, and tossed up into the air among the soldiers, who had to catch them in their mouths, bite off a piece, and pass the rest on, till everyone had had a mouthful. Any piece which might chance to fall on the ground was left there.

The doctor's attendants now brought him vessels full of a liquid composed of various medicines pounded and mixed with water, and the doctor sprinkled the warriors with it, shouting the while "Umabope kabope, Umabope kabope"(let the Mabope tie up, that is, concentrate the strength of the army).⁵ All were now ready, and without farther delay set out to fight. The "tshela " (tela) or sprinkling was repeated in case of a reverse, but not the killing of a bull.⁶

The whole body was now drawn up in a crescent, representing the two horns of a bull about to thrust at the enemy, while the central part represented the face of the bull, which would drive them away.

The war-doctor brings with him all the things required for carrying out the rites I have described, namely, an axe with a sharp point, a knife, the different medicines, and the sprinkler. This should be made of the tail of the gnu, or if this cannot be obtained, the tail of a black bull is used. All these things the doctor keeps in his own possession, carefully wrapped up in a mat.

The whole of these ceremonies were gone through just before the Zulu War of 1879, and in addition to this the fighting men partook of a medicinal charm which was to repel the enemy (Intelezi yempi).

We must not forget the women-folk who were left behind. Married women always wear a skirt made of ox-hide, the hair having been scraped off. In ordinary life, the upper edge of this is rolled outward, round the hips, but during war, they turn the roll inside. The young girls throw ashes over their bodies, a sign of mourning, as wearing sack-cloth and ashes was among the Hebrews. The old women take their brooms and run along the roads sweeping with them, thus indicating that they would make a clean sweep of their enemies in all directions. This they call Ukutshaluza.

Women also drink similar medicines to those taken by the men, but the preparation of them is somewhat different. A big fire is lighted outside the kraal, and a pot containing a number of roots possessing magical properties is put on, and left to simmer slowly till next morning, when the fresh milk of a cow is added, to whiten it. This is supposed to bring good luck. When it is ready, all the women and children sit round the pot, dip their fingers in it, and lick off the mixture. This is the Ukuncinda, or ceremony of sucking. After this, a cow is slaughtered for them to eat. Then they begin to sweep, smear the floors of their huts with cow-dung,and make all tidy. This is evidently to prepare for the return of the soldiers. Beer is made, and snuff ground, and all the snuff-boxes filled up, so that nothing shall be wanting.

The Zulus "fight and die"; there is no turning back, no retreating-for that only means death in the end, an inglorious death instead of a glorious one. Any who turned back would be killed by order of the king or chief. This was the law of the country in war-time.

When attacking, the whole body of men made one big rush forward, shouting their clan name or war-cry, "Usutu!" or "Mandhlakazi!"⁷ &c., as the case might be.

On camping out for the night a watchword was always agreed upon, unknown, of course, to the enemy, and to every passer-by they cried "Who goes there? " their own people, on giving the word, being allowed to go safely on their way. This, of course, is the same procedure as would be followed among other nationalities.

Inkatha.

Before giving a description of an Inkatha I must explain that it is not at all the same thing as the ordinary grass pad for supporting burthens on the head which goes by that name.⁸ The inkatha now described is a larger thing, made of certain fibres which are very strong and binding. The doctor specially deputed to make it knows exactly what fibres to use. He makes it in secret, sprinkles it with various concoctions, and finally winds the skin of a python round it, as this reptile is considered the most powerful of animals, coiling itself round its prey and squeezing it to death, as it does.When the Inkatha is finished all the full-grown men as well as the principal women of the tribe are summoned, and are sprinkled and given powders of various dried herbs to swallow. The men then go down to a river and drink certain mixtures, bathe in the river, and return to the kraal where the Inkatha is made. They are then sprinkled a second time, and return to their homes.

After this the Inkatha is handed over by the doctor to the chief's principal wife, and entrusted to her and to two or three others, to be withdrawn from the common gaze. It is taken great care of and passed on from generation to generation as part of the chief's regalia. The Inkatha is looked upon as the good spirit of the tribe, binding all together in one, and attracting back any deserter.

The king or chief uses it on all great occasions--more especially on those of a civil nature. For instance, when a new chief is taking up the reins of government, the Inkatha is brought out of its hiding-place, a circle is formed by the tribe, and it is placed on the ground in the centre. The new chief then, holding his father's weapons, stands on the Inkata while he is being proclaimed by his people. After this it is carefully put away again.

In case of the king being taken ill the doctor seats him on the Inkatha while he is "treating" him (elapa). It is also used in a variety of other royal ceremonies, and is looked upon as more sacred than the English Crown. It is, in fact, the guardian spirit or totem of a Zulu tribe. Yet, strange to say, the Courts are so ignorant of native laws and customs that nothing was known to the Judges of the Native High Court as to the existence of the Inkata, in a very important case⁹ recently tried there, when it was what might be termed the very essence of the case, and gross injustice resulted from this ignorance.

L. H. SAMUELSON.

Footnote

1. Cf. an account-of this custom (umtshopi) in Colenso's Zulu Dictionary, p. 614. A similar observance, intended to avert disease, is described by Mrs. Hugh Lancaster Carbutt, in the (South African) Folk-Lore Journal for January, 1880 (Vol. II. p. 12), as follows: "Among the charms to prevent sickness from visiting a kraal, is the umkuba or custom of the girls herding the cattle for a day. [Umkuba means "custom," it is not the name of this particular rite.] No special season of the year is set apart for this custom. It is merely enacted when diseases are known to be prevalent. On such an occasion, all the girls and unmarried women of a kraal rise early in the morning, dress themselves entirely in their brothers' skins [i.e. skin kilts-umutsha], and taking their knobkerries and sticks, open the cattle-pen or kraal, and drive the cattle away from the vicinity of the homestead, none of these soi-disantherds returning home, or going near a kraal, until sunset, when they bring the cattle back. No one of the opposite sex dare go near the girls on this day, or speak to them."-We have reproduced the passage in full, as the periodical which contains it is now very scarce. It should be noted that at ordinary times it would be contrary to custom-indeed, highly improper, if not sacrilegious-for any woman or girl to approach the cattle-kraal, to say nothing of herding the cattle. The idea is, no doubt, to compel the assistance of the Unseen by some flagrant outrage on decency, actual or threatened.--ED.
2. The rainbow is called utingo lwenkosikazi, " the Queen's bow." See Callaway, Nursery Tales and Traditions of the Zulus, p. 193. Utingo, however, is not "a bow " in our sense (at any rate not in current Zulu speech) but a bent stick or wattle, used in making the framework of a hut. It is difficult to ascertain anything about this inkosikazi; but we believe the Zulu women sometimes hold dances in her honour on the hills.Mr. Dudley Kidd (The Essential Kafir, p. 112) seems to have confused her with Nomkubulwana, who, as Miss Samuelson expressly tells us, is not the same person. It is not clear whether she is identical with the mysterious being called " Inkosazana," of whom the late Bishop Callaway says : " The following superstition ... appears to be the relic of some very old worship" (Religious System of the Amasulu, p. 253).She was supposed to appear, or rather to be heard speaking (for she was never seen) in lonely places, and predicted the future, or gave directions which had to be obeyed by the people. "It is she who introduces many fashions among black men. She orders the children to be weaned earlier than usual. . . . Sometimes she orders much beer to be made and poured out on the mountain. And all the tribes make beer, each chief and his tribe; the beer is poured on the mountain; and they thus free themselves from blame. . . . I never heard that they pray to her for anything, for she does not dwell with men, but in the forest, and is unexpectedly met with by a man who has gone out about his own affairs, and he brings back her message."-ED.
3. The Congo people believe the rainbow to be a snake (chama) as do the Yorubas(Oshumare). See Mr. Dennett's,At the Back of the Black Man's Mind (p. 142), and Nigerian Studies (p. 21),--ED,
4. This story scarcely seems to be consistent with Cetshwayo's character, He was certainly a sceptic as regards witchcraft,--ED,
5. Umabope is explained in Colenso's Dictionary( p. 333)as "a climbing plant with red roots, bits of which are much worn about the neck." A note adds :--" The root is chewed by Zulus when going to battle, the induna giving the word 'Lumani(bite) umabope!' which they do for a few minutes and then spit it out again, saying' Nang' umabope' (here is the umabope). The notion is that the foe will be bound in consequence to commit some foolish act." (The verb bopa means," tie.")
6. The nearest translation that can be given in English of the word Ukuqwambawould be "Talisman," and "Ukuqwanjiswa kwempi" may be rendered " The consecration of an army."
7. Usutu is the name of the royal clan to which Cetshwayo belonged-Mandhlakazi being the house of Zibebu.-ED.
8. The word seems to be almost universal in the Bantu languages :-Nyanja, nkata; Luganda, enkata; Swahili, kata ; Suto, khare. What is most curious is that, so far away as the Gold Coast we find an indication of ceremonial usages connected with this article. See this JOURNAL for July, 1908, p. 407. The Fanti word for it is ekar, which may be a merely accidental resemblance, or may point to a fundamental identity of roots in the West African and the Bantu languages.Possibly the root idea of -kata is " something coiled or rolled up," and this may be the only connection between the head-pad and the charm. The Baronga (Delagoa Bay) have a similar tribal talisman called mhamba which is a set of balls, each containing the nail-parings and hair of a deceased chief, kneaded up with the dung of the cattle slaughtered at his funeral, and, no doubt, some kind of pitch to give it consistency. These balls are then enclosed in plaited leather thongs. The custom of thus preserving relics of dead chiefs is found elsewhere : the Cambridge Ethnological Museum possesses a set of the "regalia" of Unyoro, which would come under the same category.--ED.
9.  Rex v. Tshingumusi, Mbopeyana and Mbombo. 1909.

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NOTE ON CLICKS IN THE BANTU LANGUAGES

Author(s): A. Werner

Source: Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 2, No. 8 (Jul., 1903), pp. 416-421

Note from moderator: Alice Werner worked as a Blantyre Mission missionary in Nyasaland in 1890s and was more acquainted with the Maseko Ngoni having worked among some Maseko Ngoni as a teacher. 

IT is generally conceded that the clicks which occur in Xosa, in Zulu, and, to a limited extent in Sesuto, have been borrowed from the Hottentots. Accordingly we find a greater number of click-words, though not a greater variety of clicks, used by the Xosas than by the Zulus, the former having been more in contact with the previous occupants of the country than the latter. Dr. McCall Theal (History of South Africa, II., 196) says that the clicks "were introduced by females spared when the hordes to which they belonged were conquered, as is evident, not only from tradition, but from the words in which they occur being chiefly those pertaining to the occupations of women." This, however, scarcely holds good, at least as far as Zulu is concerned, as the following list of words (which might easily be made longer) will show. (It is scarcely necessary to point out that c stands for the dental click, q for the palatal, and x for the lateral).

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The History of The Angoni According to Alice Werner

Note: Alice Werner worked as a Blantyre Mission missionary in Nyasaland in 1890s and was more acquainted with the Maseko Ngoni having worked among some Maseko Ngoni as a teacher.

It is not known when the Zulus moved southward into the territory they now occupy, and where they must have been settled for some generations before thebeginning of the nineteenth century, as the graves of at least four kings (some say eight), of earlier date than that epoch, are still to be seen at Mahlabatini, in the valley of the White Umfolozi. In 1687 they, and tribes allied to them, seem to have been in peaceful occupation of Natal and Zululand, living so close together that migration on a large scale was impossible. Yet, about the same time, the Amaxosa, or 'Cape Kafirs,' who are very closely related to them, seem to have been pressing on to the south ; and they reached the Great Fish River soon after the beginning of the eighteenth century. However this may be, the Zulu king Senzagakona had, about 1800, risen to a position of some importance, though still subject to Dingiswayo, chief of the Umtetwas in Natal. His son, Tshaka, succeeded in 1810, and,

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Some Interesting Observation By a Sympathetic Missionary Observer on the Language and Manners of the Maseko Ngoni in 1894

By Miss A Werner, British Central Africa.

The Angoni Zulu are like their congeners in the south, a fine, manly, warlike race. Dr. Elmslie says of Chekusi’s people, “There are now no Ngoni among them, and their language is Nyanja” (ie Mang'anja), but I think this is too sweeping. Certainly, in 1894, I saw and talked with an old woman from Chekusi’s kraal,who knew Zulu; and I was given to understand that the language was still spoken by some of the older headmen.

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Interesting Oral History of The Maseko Ngoni Under Mputa

By William Perceval Johnson, Archdeacon of the Universities Mission to Central Africa

Note from The moderator: I am of the opinion that the Zulu in paragraph 5 onwards was not the successor of Zwangendaba but rather broke away from the Zwangendaba's ngoni after his death. There are also other areas besides this where the author differs from the position of other historians. I guess it is all because all these are oral histories, It is therefore difficult to tell who is right or wrong.

The Angoni were the first aggressors. They came up from the south with another clan, allied or akin, which was under a famous chief called Mputa, i.e. the Smiter, and the two parties separated near what is now Bulawayo. Mputa crossed the Zambesi low down — this is the Angoni account of him — and wandered about, going up to Mtonya and on to the Rovuma river and finally to the north end of the Lake, where he seems to have settled not far from Songea.

As he went he brought desolation to the Lake side. The old men in various villages can remember this time of terror, and bring before us how the news flew from village to village that the Smiter was coming and how each village waited its turn in trembling. 'At Chilowelo,' said one man, ' we were well out of the way; not many of his people came down here.' An old man of Losefa said : ' When Mputa came we had heard that the Angoni cannot bear water and that if you are in the water,even up to your knees, they will not touch you. This was true, for we went in and Mputa passed us in the water ; but he burnt our village.' A headman of Mtengula told us : 'He took my mother as a slave, but I was a mere child.'

Where there were no stockades built, the people could only escape to the reed-beds or to the rocks in the Lake. The village of Msumba, which had reeds and a marsh at the back, made a good stand. Mputa stayed some time near it, this gave the Nyasas time to gather, and after a battle or so he moved away. An old Ngoo man, still alive, is proud of having killed an Angoni on this occasion, and tells how he took his shield, his feathers, and his name, and Maendaenda of Pachia has the scar of a wound as a memento of the fight.

It is certain that Mputa brought a rude awakening to the villages in the hills as well as to those on the Lake. Several old men tell of the good old days in the hills before he came to afflict them : 'We lived in our own villages quietly; each had its own burial ground and its own place for burning witches,' — and now their security was gone. Mputa, terrible as he was, did not stay long; he passed through the land like a comet. In judging of the resistance that the people of the Lake made to him, we must remember that they had no weapons but bows, while the Smiter had spears. Their archery was good — witness the fact that a man at Msumba had the reputation of having killed three Angoni with one arrow in the old days — but they were outmatched in arms.¹

Meanwhile the party of Angoni with whom Mputa had started on his travels had been going up the west side of the Lake and round the north end. On the west side their chief died and was succeeded by another called Zulu. Their progress was marked by destruction. 'We came by Waya to Sukuma, where we found people whom they call the Wa-Mapangwa continually playing the bamboo vilumbo (a musical instrument), said our Angoni authority. The Angoni soon put an end to this peaceful playing of the vilumbo.

They settled near Mputa, at a place afterwards called Songea or Songela on the bend of the Rovuma river; the place chosen later on by the Germans for their headquarters and now occupied by our Government. The hill Ngolo'olo, where the Adonde (or Adendauli) seem to have lived before their coming, figures in any account they give of their country. Finding themselves near Mputa, they submitted to him.

These Angoni were akin to Mputa, as we have said, but they were not of the same family. It is a custom among the Angoni to cry out some family name after sneezing or when they are excited, after drinking for instance. Zulu's people at such times shouted the name Gama (and the women Zinjama); Mputa's shouted Jere, both names of ancestors.²

Mputa's Funeral

Mputa treated the Angoni with great severity and feeling against him grew. Nevertheless they went to raid with him near the river Lihuhu, by the place which is now called Wiethaven. The inhabitants drove them back and Mputa was killed.

His funeral seems to have been the last united act of his people and the Angoni. It must have been impressive. They blocked the water of the upper Lihuhu with stones, put the body of the chief in the skin of a newly killed bull, and burnt it in the dry bed of the river. The Angoni stood in crowds on the banks, all silent till the heat of the fire made the bones of the corpse crack ; then together they beat their shields with their spears.

A new chief was chosen. The candidate, apparently Mputa's next of kin, had to go through the ordeal of standing on one leg with his spear poised over his head from sunrise till the sun went down. (This is the only instance in which I have heard of this ordeal.) But the patience of Zulu's people was exhausted and they drove Mputa's people south to the hill Ngango, near the Rovuma river.

There had been a little respite by the Lake, but now the raiders returned, driven south by the Angoni, Their leader was again named Mputa, and the Lake people believed him to be the same Mputa as before and assumed that he had met with a reverse, which was indeed the case.

With this second Smiter, or following close behind, came Kaindi and other headmen. Kaindi made himself a name. He seems to have crossed the Lujenda river and to have attacked the clans on the river Meto, nearer the coast ; these Meto people had probably got gun-powder up from the coast,and Kaindi came back from the Meto with the name of 'Powder Eater'. He did not go away after raiding as the first Mputa did ; he lingered in the hills by the Lake, now here, now there, and everywhere he raided. 'We were after the time of Mputa,' said a man at Mbamba, 'but Kaindi caught me when I was keeping the herds, and killed my mother.' 'He meets, he kills,' it was said of him. At last he settled at Chisindo, the hill straight inland from Msumba, and made the Lakeside people pay tribute to him to escape being murdered by his men as they worked in their fields. The present chief at Chiwanga remembers carrying up food to him.

Notes

1. The archery deteriorated; it was very feeble when we came to the Lake.

2. The custom has spread to other tribes who have come under Angoni influence and extends south into Msumba and other villages where men from the north have married. It varies in different places, all who come from the west by the north using, apparently, only one name, while others say : 'Son of so and so, grandson of so and so'. Sometimes, as above, the name of one ancestor is uttered (the Chiongwe or Chiongo), sometimes the family name of the father or the maternal grandfather (the Chilawa). The natives from the south and east, who trace through the female line, lay most stress on a man's maternal male relatives. There is not infrequently one Chilawa for the men of a family and another for the women.

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