Part I
Notes to
1 Being only eleven inches long (page 1).—Over a very large part of the Congo soft brass wire of 34 gauge is now, and has been for many years, the currency and the standard of value among the natives. This wire was probably, in the first instance, introduced and used for ornamental purposes, as binding round spears and knives, or beaten out into ribbons of brass for decorating the hafts of their best spears and paddles. At first the wire was bought in long lengths of so many fathoms, according to the needs of the buyer and the purchasing power of the article he offered the trader in exchange for it. Later they found it more easy of manipulation to have it in lengths of thirty inches, and these were shortened by those who had large numbers of them cutting off a half-inch from each one and melting the small pieces down for brass anklets, necklets, and bracelets, thus procuring their brass for nothing, i. e. cutting off short pieces from each rod and passing the rods again into currency at their normal value. So much of this was done that the thirty-inch rod was reduced to twenty-seven inches, and sellers of goods consequently demanded more rods of the shorter ones than of the longer lengths.
This process of snipping off little pieces has gone on for thirty years, and the result is that the brass rod has gradually decreased in length until now, on the Lower Congo, it is scarcely five inches, and among the Boloki of the Monsembe district it is only eleven inches, and if the introduction of money does not displace the rod it will become only four or five inches in that part also.
Of course, as the rod lessens in length the seller of an article demands more of them for his goods. Thus an article that once cost three rods of thirty-inch wire now costs thirty of the five-inch rods; for not only has the rod shortened in length, but through the introduction of so much brass wire into the country during the last quarter of a century it has decreased in value. I hope some day to take the Rod among those people who use an eleven-inch brass rod as their money.
2 Kroo boys (p. 3).—These were natives procured from the Kroo Coast to work the cargo on the steamers that ran along the west coast of Africa. Only sufficient white sailors were carried to work the ship from starting port to the Kroo country. On arrival there, the ship fired a gun to intimate its need of a gang of Kroo “boys” to handle the cargo. These “boys” were any age from about eighteen to fifty, and in a gang there were generally about forty to fifty “boys” under a head man.
Most captains had a head man who gathered a gang ready by the time his ship returned from its European port. For example: a ship leaves Liverpool, and on arriving at the coast picks up its head man and gang of “boys,” who work the winches, man the boats and handle the cargo all the way along the coast and back again to their own country, where they are paid off in barter goods, powder, guns, rum and gin at the rate of one shilling a day. They then rest after their arduous work until that ship returns, and they engage themselves for another trip. The Congo boats now pick up their Kroo “boys” at Sierra Leone on the outward voyage, and drop them there on the homeward journey, and pay them in cash at the rate of about one shilling to one and sixpence per day and their rations.
When not in port these Kroo “boys” polished the brasswork, scraped the iron, cleaned the paint, holystoned the deck, etc.; but when in port they went into the holds, tied up the cargo in slings, hoisted it by winches, put it over the side into boats, and rowed it ashore. They were hard-working men who toiled from 4 a.m. until 10 or 12 p.m., only resting for their meals of boiled rice, salt beef or fish, and ship’s biscuits.
3 Peasoup (p. 4).—When the writer went to Congo first in 1881 there came on board at the Kroo coast a head man whose name was Peasoup. For many years he had acted as head man for the captain of that ship, who, as an acknowledgment of his various good qualities, and as a joke, presented him with a brass plate to hang round his neck by means of a chain. The following words were engraved on it—
PEASOUP
Captain Jolly’s Head Man.
A Rogue, Thief, and a Liar.
Peasoup was a tall, thin, grey-headed, bandy-legged man; and I used to see him polish the plate every morning, hang it across his chest, and with knock-knees and bandy legs strut the deck and order his men about as proud as any general with a breast hidden by medals.
Peasoup knew English fairly well, but, of course, could not read it; but he would never accept as true the accurate rendering of his much-prized brass plate. Passengers read it correctly to him; but with a laugh he would retort: “You white men, you no sabbe read them thing properly. Him live for say: ‘Peasoup, Captain Jolly’s Head Man. Him be plenty, proper, good man.’”
Since those days Peasoup has passed away, leaving his brass plate as an heirloom to his family, and if not melted down into a brass ornament, it may turn up some day as a relic of a joke played by a master on a decent servant in “the good old days” on the West African Coast.
4 Riddles and conundrums (p. 9) were called ngwala; ta e ngwala = to pour out or ask a riddle; twasa e ngwala = to fetch a riddle here, i. e. give us a riddle; nua e ngwala = give us the answer, or, lit., to drink the riddle.
Ngwala also means spirits, rum, gin, from a corruption and a shortening of the Portuguese word aguardente = gwaladente = ngwala. The “r” is always turned into “l,” and the “g” takes the nasal “n” before it. It is very probable that they pun on the double meaning of the word ngwala = riddle, and gin. Hence the usual form of asking a conundrum is—
Ngwala yeye = here is gin, i. e. here is a riddle.
Ta e ngwala = pour out the gin, i. e. state the riddle (or twasa e ngwala = bring the gin here).
If those asked cannot give the answer, they say—
Nua e ngwala = drink the gin, i. e. give us the answer yourself, as we cannot guess it.
The natives of the Lower Congo are very fond of this pastime, but one needs to understand the customs, language, and surroundings to properly appreciate the conundrums; consequently only a few almost self-evident ones, or those easily explained, are put in the text.
5 It was a fetish (p. 12).—The early traders on the Congo placed in their large stores a fetish to deter the natives from robbing them. It was generally a large, gaudily-coloured, hideous image put on the top shelf opposite the door, from which position it was supposed to dominate and guard the contents of the whole building. Many traders called their store “the fetish” because of the presence of this ugly figure in it.
This fetish exercised little, if any, deterrent power over the natives for two reasons: (1) No witch-doctor would waste good “medicine,” procured with difficulty, on making a fetish powerful for a mere white man, and the natives knew this; and (2) supposing the witch-doctor put proper “medicine” into the fetish, yet it needed periodic reinvigorating at the hands of the witch-doctor, otherwise it became weak and useless; and it would also require a sacrifice, certainly not less frequently than once a month, of either a large fowl or a goat, or it would become sulky and not act on behalf of its owner. Now I never heard of a white man renewing the energy of his fetish by paying a witch-doctor to palaver over it at stated intervals, nor did I ever hear of a white man offering a sacrifice to the fetish in his store; therefore while the trader was relying on his fetish to guard his goods, his native servants and workpeople were laughing at it as an ineffective carved figure.
6 In the sea there is a hole (p. 17).—Water sprites are supposed to make the trade cloth, and as it is so finely woven the natives think that these particular sprites have only one eye, i. e. that the visual power of two eyes is focussed in one that it may see to do such fine work.
7 Some of his companions laughed (p. 20).—We are apt to think that all natives are equally superstitious, but that is not so. A man may be a devout believer in charms and fetishes, he may decorate his person, his house, his children, his pigs, his goats and his dogs with as many charms as he can afford to buy, or he may quietly leave all the charms and fetishes severely alone, and no one will think the better or worse of him; but he must believe in witchcraft, in witches and their occult power, or his life will be made wretched with accusations of witchcraft. I have known some natives to surround themselves with fetishes and charms, and most scrupulously observe all rites and ceremonies, and I have known others to disregard the whole box of tricks and hold them in contempt.
8 Burial postponed (p. 24).—It is not uncommon to postpone the funeral of an important person for many months, and even years. The writer once buried a man who had been dead for nearly fifteen years. The persons responsible put off the expense as long as possible, and it is probable they would not then have interred the corpse, but the King ordered the family “to finish the palaver.” There was another case of a body being left unburied for over twenty years because the man who was responsible for the cost of the funeral believed that he would “die the day after he buried the corpse.” Many thought that this was only an excuse to avoid the expense. The body was dried, wound in cloth, stored in a house specially built for the purpose, and guarded by relays of young women.
9 Nkandu (p. 25).—See Chapter XVIII on Governing, Marketing, and Trading (p. 223).
10 Cassava flour (p. 26).—Mandioc (or cassava) was introduced into Congo from South America about the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century. Its native name is madioka, an evident attempt at saying mandioc. The roots when matured were soaked for a few days in pools, or streams, by which time they were soft. They were then peeled, cut in halves or quarters, and put on stones and small platforms in the sun until the pieces were quite dry. After this the pieces were laid out on shelves over their fires until friable, and they were then easily pounded in a mortar, sifted through a fine sieve, and the result was a very fine, white flour. Raw mandioc contains prussic acid, but the poison is eliminated by heat.
11 Kwanga (p. 26).—The cassava root was soaked, peeled, and cored, as under note 10. Then, instead of being dried, it was thoroughly kneaded and all lumps removed. The dough-like substance was made into long sausages of various lengths and thicknesses, according to the districts, or into balls like suet puddings. I have seen the sausages in one district twenty feet long and two inches thick, and in another twelve inches long and four inches thick. But whatever the shape, the dough was wrapped in palm-leaves, or in leaves like the aspidistra, and steamed until well cooked. These kwanga would then keep sweet for several days. They were sold on the markets, and an average price would be at the rate of four shillings for two cwt.; and four pounds were quite sufficient for a man per day.
12 Bolt his food (p. 29).—It was not the custom at ordinary meals for the natives to eat greedily, but on occasions such as this, when all sorts of folk were thrown together, each one ate as much as he could get. See paragraph on greediness in the Introduction to the “Folk-Lore Stories.”
13 Luku (p. 38).—The cassava flour is made as under note 10, and the luku is prepared in the following way: A saucepan of water is set on the fire, and when the water boils, the cook takes a basket of the flour and sprinkles it with one hand in the boiling water and stirs it with a stick held in the right hand. This process is continued until the porridge is stiff and can be turned out as one whole pudding from the saucepan. When a person is eating it, he breaks off a piece, rolls it in his fingers, dips it in some gravy and then lets it roll down his throat without masticating, otherwise it will stick to the teeth like toffee.
14 Glass vessel (p. 44).—In the original it is ekumbi dia pelo = ship of glass; pelo is from the Portuguese espelho = mirror, glass, etc. Probably glass was first seen by the natives in the form of looking-glasses, and ekumbi dia pelo might be translated—the mirror or looking-glass ship.
The introduction of glass, guns, etc., into their stories are indicative of native readiness to expand their tales by the free assimilation of new ideas received from contact with foreigners. This has also had a wide influence on their language and fetish religion. This story I first heard in 1882 at San Salvador.
15 Laid beads (p. 45).—In San Salvador and district beads form the currency. They are round blue beads three-eighths of an inch in length and about a quarter of an inch thick. One hundred of these beads threaded on a cotton cost, invoice price, one farthing, and one egg cost one string of beads. It was possible to buy little lots of food for ten and fifteen beads. The phrase “laid beads” is equal to “laid money.” In an Upper River story the fowl “laid brass rods,” i. e. the currency, money.
16 Ndungu (p. 52) is equivalent to our phrase “you are becoming cold,” and the more indifferently it was uttered by the crowd, the more certain was the witch-doctor that he had guessed wide of the mark. See next note.
17 Otuama (p. 52) is our way of saying “you are becoming hot,” and by this the witch-doctor knew he was getting very near in his guesses, and the more excitedly it was shouted, the nearer the guesser knew he was to the facts of the case. In Chapter XXII the whole trick is more fully explained. See also preceding note.
18 Ran for his gun (p. 53).—I was talking in 1908 to a former witch-doctor, who told me that he had been threatened three times with guns by those whom he had accused of witchcraft, and if he had not precipitately fled he would have been shot. Hence those ngangas who engaged in witch-finding always made sure of their fees first, and sent them away by their assistants, hurrying off themselves directly they had accused their man. It was dangerous work.
19 Mboma (pp. 59, 78).—In San Salvador and its neighbourhood this word meant the south bank of the Congo River from Ennoki to Matadi, or such trading-stations as existed on that part of the river. This mboma was from eighty to ninety miles from San Salvador, and took a caravan about five days to traverse it. Special letter carriers would cover the distance in three days. This word we generally translated “coast.”
20 Congo dia Ngungu, or, in its fuller native form, Ekongo dia Ngunga (p. 60).—Scattered over the country are several Congos (or Kongos), as Kongo dia Mpalabala, Kongo dia Lembwa, etc. To distinguish San Salvador from the other towns bearing the name of Kongo it was known by the natives either as Kongo dia Ntotela = Kongo of the King, or Kongo dia N gunga = Kongo of the Bell. The former designation referred to the town as the capital of the country and the residence of the King. The latter name is probably due to the fact that the Portuguese Roman Catholics in the sixteenth century built a cathedral and monastery there, and used a large bell to call the people to the services. Such a bell would be a wonder to the natives, and quite sufficient to cause them to name the town the Kongo of the Bell.
21 Smell of white man (p. 61).—However contemptuously we may talk about the “smell of niggers” or “of Chinese” and others, there is no doubt that we of the white race emit an odour that is very noticeable to other races. Repeated bathing and frequent changes of clothes will not eradicate the odour, for a black man can tell when another black man has been within a yard of any white man for a short time. Account for it how you will, the black, red, yellow and white races each emits an effluvium peculiarly its own and offensive to the others—we must, therefore, bear and forbear. We as a white race are used to our own scent and do not notice it, and when one lives a long time amongst black people he becomes accustomed to their odour.
Occasionally I have been with a white man who, in spite of scrupulous cleanliness, was very malodorous through suffering from empyreuma; and I have met here and there a native whose smell was especially offensive, and it was as objectionable to his black neighbours as to us. The natives have a definite word for such malodorous emanations. Some lads have told me that the perspiration of some white men has made them vomit.
22 You white man (p. 63).—A native has just as much objection to being called “a white man” as a white man has to being called “a nigger.” In both languages it is an insult to be resented.
23 Screaming (p. 64).—In the pioneer years of the mission, when white folk were seldom seen and were always regarded with superstitious fear, I was frequently startled out of my sleep by women screaming out: “The white man has stolen my child!” And I have wondered on more than one occasion whether the half-sleepy folk would in a stupid panic turn me out of their town in the middle of the night or do even worse.
24 Mboma.—See note 19.
25 Fines paid for judging (p. 92).—All fines received by a native judge are periodically divided among the chiefs of the district, who combine to enforce the law. If a pig or a goat is given, then the meat is shared out or the market value put into the fund. The money or goods are divided according to the rank and influence of the chiefs, and he who might be called the chairman, or principal, received twice as much as any of the others.
26 No shelves (p. 95).—Many years ago, after much persuasion, I induced some natives from the Zombo country to come into my house at San Salvador. The first thing they did was to scan with much eagerness the walls of my rooms, and on asking them what they were looking for, they replied, “We have always heard and believed that you white men bought up the dead bodies of the black people, stored them on shelves in your houses, and on the first good opportunity sent them to Mputu (Europe), where by your wonderful magic you returned the life of the corpses, and they then worked for you as slaves; but we cannot see the shelves.”
“But why did you think we bought corpses?” I asked, with much wonder and amazement.
“We can understand why traders come to this country,” they answered, “but we cannot understand why your kind of white men come, for you do not trade, so we think you have some wicked purpose underlying your presence in our land.”
Believing such ghastly things about us, their opposition to us and hatred of us were no longer a surprise to me. The wonder is that they did not murder all of us. We have had to live down their prejudices, remove their foolish beliefs about us, and turn their suspicions into confidence and love.
27 Trade gin (p. 99).—Whatever ordinary gin may be, “trade gin” was the vilest concoction of fusel oil and other ingredients that was ever put on the market for human consumption. It always made the drinkers mad drunk, and was responsible for most of the quarrels and much of the fighting that took place among the natives. I have known a white man take to drinking it and be dead in less than a week, and undoubtedly it was the cause of many deaths among the natives. A dozen reputed pints in bottles, case, packing, etc., cost only half-a-crown the lot.
28 Law against the sale of spirits (p. 102).—Since the time mentioned in the text a law has been passed limiting the sale of these “fire waters” within certain boundaries, and restricting the sale of them, so that neither white nor black can procure them without special “permits.”
29 Make them sell it (p. 102).—Several traders have told me how much they hated selling such vile stuff to the natives; how they had protested against the sale; but that they were compelled to sell them as they yielded such large profits to their employers. Surely the curse of both God and man must ever rest on such gains!
30 His santu (p. 111).—All the men and women in and around San Salvador, and a large proportion of those living in the other districts of the Lower Congo, have each a santu, from the Portuguese word sancto = a christian, or sacred, name.
At birth a native name is given to the boy (or girl), and later in life—at twelve or fourteen—the lad can take another name of his own choice if, for any reason, he is dissatisfied with his birth name, and allow his first one to be forgotten by disuse. While in their teens they also select a santu which is a Congoized form of a Portuguese name, as Manwele = Manuel = Emanuel; Nzwau = Jaõa = John; Petelo = Pedro = Peter, etc.; and the women take Madia = Maria = Mary, etc. To their santus they prefix “Dom” and “Donna” respectively.
In San Salvador and the near towns every man and woman has a santu, but the farther you travel from San Salvador, the less frequently is the santu found among the people. Undoubtedly it is a survival of the sancto given by the Roman Catholics to those who were baptized into their Church.
Although the possession of “Dom” and “Donna” was so common, yet the use of them was somewhat restricted to the better class of natives, much the same as our use of Mr. and Mrs. and Miss. Of some men the natives never spoke without calling them “Dom,” and to others they never prefixed the “Dom” except when they wanted to ingratiate themselves or ask a special favour.
31 To represent dolls (p. 114).—The girls would often procure pieces of firewood or cassava roots to represent dolls, and play with them as such, carrying them tied to their backs, or on their hips, by old rags, just as their mothers carried them when babies. These dolls they washed in old saucepans, and held them out for a few minutes in the sun to dry, as they themselves had been washed and dried. Then they dressed them in strings of beads and a few imitation charms and re-tied them on their backs.
When I first saw this performance—nearly thirty years ago—I felt great pity for the wee girls having such poor dolls, and sent home to buy a few for them. In due time they arrived, and the first girl I met carrying a cassava root (in shape like a parsnip) I offered her one of my dolls. She looked at it in great consternation—it was something uncanny to her. It had legs, arms, body, head and a face just like a human being. It was only with much persuasion that I prevailed on her to exchange her root for my doll. A few days afterwards I heard that my doll was sold on the market at a good price as a white man’s powerful fetish. The other dolls remained in the box, although there were many requests for them. We had not gone there to supply fetishes.
32 Size of the King of San Salvador (p. 138).—On August 3, 1882, I wrote as follows to a friend in England: “I have done a very foolish thing to-day, for I have promised his majesty that I will ask you to make him three shirts. I have not given him a personal present yet, and thought some shirts would be suitable. I want you to buy three different patterns of good, strong, showy stuff, with plenty of colour. The shirts must have cuffs, collars and fronts.
“The measurements are as follows—
“Across the shoulders, 2 feet 11 inches.
“Waist, 5 feet 8 inches in circumference.
“Armholes, 23 inches in circumference.
“Round the neck, 20 inches.
“Arm, 1 foot 3 inches, not including the cuff, which is 5 inches long.
“Cuff, 9 inches round.
“From top to bottom, 3 feet 6 inches.
“I should tell you the King is clever with his needle, and his twenty-two wives are just as clever at farming.
“One boy wants to know what sort of work our Queen does.”
The shirts had to be larger than above measurements to be loose on him.
33 Driver-ants (p. 144), when searching for food, march four or five abreast in a continuous line across country. I have known them to be three days and nights hurrying past a given point, and when disturbed they swarm over the ground. Looking at the crowd of people thrown from the photographic slide on to the sheet impressed the King, and in comparing the numbers of people to driver-ants covering the ground, he used a very good simile.
34 Dressed worse than slaves (p. 147).—Except on very special gala days, the chiefs, head men, and freemen dressed in a very poor, unpretentious style. This was to avoid suspicion, jealousy, and the evil eye. Dressing badly, no one would know that they were rich, and consequently would not cast the evil eye on them, nor try to render them unlucky, etc., by the aid of witchcraft. The slaves were known as such, therefore it did not matter how well they arrayed themselves; no one would be jealous of them nor try to harm them by paying the fees of witch-doctors. Thirty years ago the casual visitor would, five times out of six, mistake the slave for the head man and the chief for a slave, or poor man, on account of the difference in their garments.
35 Sleep well (p. 148).—The morning greeting was: Olele kiambote = Have you slept well? The answer was: Ndele kwame = I have slept well. Good-night was: Wenda leka kwambote = Go and sleep well; and the answer: Sala leka kwambote = Stay and sleep well. To sleep properly and soundly was regarded as an infallible sign of good health.
36 Papyrus string (p. 148).—The papyrus (diwu) was found very plentifully in the many swamps around San Salvador, and was cut in lengths of about nine feet. The outer skin was peeled off, when fresh and green, in strips of half an inch, one end of the strip was held between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, and then the right hand very quickly twisted the strip, and to keep it from untwisting the two ends were tied together and it was thrown into the sun. When dry the strip would retain the twist, and, before using, a dozen of the twisted strips were soaked in water to render them pliable. Such string was commonly used for tying fences, and would last nearly twelve months, i. e. as long as the other materials in the fence. It was very economical and durable.
37 Roasted plantain (p. 149).—As a rule, bananas were eaten ripe and raw, and plantain green and roasted. Peel a nice large plantain, drop it in the hot ashes, turn it from side to side until done, scrape off the ash-dirt, then split it, rub in some butter and salt, and with a very little imagination you have a hot roll.
38 Portugal, Holland, or England (p. 156).—In the long ago, Portugal was the only white man’s country known to the natives, and it is just possible that Mputu (native name for all white countries) is a corruption and a shortening of Portugal. There were more Portuguese traders in Congo than from any other country; next after them were the Dutch or Hollandaise, and lastly, in numbers, the English, who at that time were only known as missionaries. The natives consequently thought that Portugal was a larger and more populous place than the other countries, then Holland the next in size, and lastly England, hence their discussion.
39 Stretched out the legs in front of a chief (p. 163).—To stretch out the legs (and show the soles of one’s feet) before any one was regarded as extremely rude, and a mark of disrespect which was resented by him who had the power. To act so unceremoniously before a king or great chief was punished by fines, floggings, and sometimes death. It was worse than a man keeping on his hat in the presence of royalty.
40 Rob them of their country and make them slaves (p. 172).—These fears were constantly expressed in the early and middle eighties by both King and people. The following is the true history of how one treaty was made with a native king—
In 1884, a copy of Le Mouvement Geographique fell into my hands, and in it was a letter that was said to have been sent by Dom Pedro V, King of Congo, to the King of Portugal. In it the former acknowledged the latter as his liege lord and used every expression of fealty, loyalty, and submission. I remember that the letter was, at the time, put forward as a proof of the righteousness of the Portuguese claim to the Congo; and it certainly helped them in gaining a part of what is now called Portuguese Congo.
Having occasion to speak with the King about that time, I asked him if he had written the said letter, and I gave him a translation of it. The old man was sitting in a high-back, embossed, leather chair, and rising from it, he said, “My brother, the King of Portugal, sent me this chair, and I sent him a letter thanking him for his gift, and that is the only letter I ever signed my mark to or ordered to be sent.” He had signed away his country in saying “thank you for a chair.”
Attached to the letter were the names of the head Portuguese Roman Catholic priest, a Portuguese trader, and a French trader, as witnesses to the King’s mark. Shortly after reading this letter I met M. D——, the French trader, and told him I had just seen the said letter. I reminded him of its date, and asked, “Why was not I requested to sign this letter, for all the other white men in San Salvador signed it, and I was here on that date? Am I not a white man?”
M. D—— answered, “We did not ask you to witness the King’s mark because we felt sure you would not do it until the King thoroughly understood the real purport of the letter.”
I thanked M. D—— for his estimate of my character, and gave him my view of the manner in which they had deceived and defrauded the King.
The King thought he was saying: Thank you for a few presents sent him by a brother sovereign; but he was signing away his territory to another power, and in this way he and his people were defrauded of their true rights. They have every reason to hate white men for robbing them of their country and reducing them to slavery.
41 Kill herself (p. 181).—Suicide was not uncommon on the Lower Congo. Both men and women committed it for much the same reason as folk do in England.
42 Oily-face (p. 183).—A lightish skin (not the colour of a half-caste or an albino’s skin) and an oily face were signs of beauty, hence the proverb: “The toad has an oily face where his father’s sister is,” i. e. A person is always beautiful to his own family.
43 Girl’s father of no importance (p. 187).—On the Lower Congo there is mother-right but no father-right. The children belong to the mother’s family and not to the father. He has no rights over them, nor does he arrange for the marriage of his daughters, and he receives a very small share only of the marriage money paid for his daughters.
44 Rest claimed by the uncle (p. 188).—(See also note 43.) The uncle was the head of his sisters’ families and the guardian of their children, i. e. of his nieces and nephews. His eldest sister’s eldest son was his heir. He helped his nephews when starting in life, and assisted each in paying the marriage money for his first wife, and arranged for the marriage of his nieces.
He claimed the great bulk of the marriage money for this reason: Suppose he received £3 for his niece, and after five years she died, her husband would come to the uncle and say, “I gave you £3 for the loan of your niece, and she is now dead. I want my money back, and as you have had the use of it for five years I expect 20s. interest on top.” Now probably the uncle would not be able to pay this relatively large sum, and in lieu of it would give another woman as a wife to the man. In another five years, we will say, the second wife dies, and the husband goes to the uncle and says, “The second woman you let me have is dead, and as you have had the use of my money for ten years I want it returned with 40s. interest.” (Sometimes they demand the equivalent of 80s. to 100s. interest.)
The uncle cannot meet so large a demand, so he gives another—the third—woman, and should she die the husband has no further claim either for the capital sum, interest, or another woman. Should the husband die, then his heir has the same claim on the uncle up to three women, or the money with interest; and if the uncle dies, then his heir who receives his property is responsible for the claims of the husband or of his heir up to three women or the money. (See note 54.) As the uncle took the greater risks, it was only right that he should take most of the money. Whatever the father received was his absolutely, without any risks.
45 Girl received little presents (p. 188).—After a man has paid a part or the whole of the marriage money, he will make presents of cloth, fish, meat and trinkets to his betrothed. Should the negotiations for her be broken off, he will put an exorbitant value on those presents, and complicate matters by his demands. An unbetrothed girl would not receive presents from a young man without the consent of her family, and if she did do so without such consent, and the young man applied to the family for her hand in marriage and was refused, he would demand all his presents back, or in lieu of them a most extortionate price. Hence no girl would accept a present from a man unless she knew that her uncle and her family regarded his suit with favour. There are, of course, untractable nieces on the Congo as there are unreasonable daughters in Europe.
46 Girl’s mother agreed (p. 188).—Every wise young man would by various presents gain the goodwill of his future mother-in-law, otherwise she could, under different pretexts, cause the marriage to be postponed, and make herself very disagreeable and objectionable when she could no longer hinder it.
47 Sign of the cross (p. 199).—In the latter part of the fifteenth century the Portuguese Roman Catholics were present in San Salvador, and during the next half-century they became predominant in the local, political, and religious life of the people. They introduced many superstitions, images, relics and rites. In the early eighties we saw Romish images used as fetishes, relics and the cross used as charms, and baptismal rites practised as a superstitious ceremony. The mark of the cross enters largely into the catalogue of the witch-doctor’s stock-in-trade.
48 I swear by my mother (p. 205).—In the Congo language there is no lack of oath phrases. And these may be divided into four classes—
(1) Swearing by one’s relations, as shown in the text. Any near relative may be substituted for mother. This may be extended into: By my mother, may I never see her deathbed, or may my mother desert me.
(2) Swearing by a notable person or place: By the great King. By Dom Alvaro. By the road to Congo. By the path to the tomb of the deceased King.
(3) Swearing by the fetishes; and this may be divided into two classes: (a) Those who swear by the ordinary fetishes, as: By the lightning fetishes (nzaji), etc., and (b) those who have been initiated into the ndembo guild and swear by the fetishes of this secret society, as: May the nkita cause me to go mad. By the ndembo enclosure. By albinos and dwarfs. These latter are all powerful in the ndembo guild. (See Folk-Lore, June 1909, p. 189.)
(4) Swearing by God, as: May God punish me.
49 Nearest man fired (p. 206).—Hunting laws were very stringent and had to be carefully observed, or the breaker of them would one day find that no one would accompany him on his hunts nor allow him to join them in theirs.
If a man fires at an antelope and it rushes away, the hunter looks to see if any blood has fallen, or any hairs; if not, it is decided that he has not killed it, although he may have mortally wounded it; if another man fires and it drops, it is the latter’s animal. If there is any dispute as to whether it was killed by the first shot or the second, the one who is positive and over-rides all argument must take the heart of the antelope and eat it (not raw). If his shot really killed it all is well, but if not, the eating of the heart will destroy his kinkongo, or hunting skill. Many a man has relinquished his claim to an animal for fear of spoiling his luck.
50 Brave (p. 218).—When the natives fight with spears, knives and arrows they are courageous, and, knowing how far their weapons will carry, they run in to throw them. They will fight foot to foot with their knives. To them guns are mysterious things—they pull a trigger and there is a puff, a bang, and a bullet or slug flies out, and the distance it will travel is, to them, an unknown quantity. They are not acquainted with the science of firearms, and are so overawed by the mysteriousness of these weapons that their natural bravery has not full play.
51 Some decoction (p. 248).—The witch-doctor procures some bark of the baobab-tree, presses the juice out of it and rubs this on hand and arm of the accused person who has well paid him. He can then dare the boiling oil with impunity.
52 In whose district his town (p. 253).—The “parish” of Wathen is 3000 square miles in extent, and is divided into four and sometimes five districts, according to the strength of the missionary staff for the time being. Each district is in charge of a white man, and all the boys attending school on the station from that district are especially in his charge. He looks after their welfare, cares for them, attends them in sickness, listens to their palavers, and acts the part of a father to them. All the girls from the same district are in the special care of his wife (if he is a married missionary), and she acts as a mother to them. All matters connected with the Church members and teachers of the district are taken first to him, and he settles them upon well-understood principles, and if any extraordinary issue arises he consults his colleagues, and they jointly come to a decision, so that all the districts may be governed on uniform lines. He acts also as a pastor towards all the Church members of his district.
53 Sunset at six o’clock (p. 257).—The nights and days are about equally divided, as there are only some fifteen minutes’ difference during the whole year in the time of the sun’s rising and setting. Certainly on the Congo there is not that sudden darkness at sunset so frequently stated in books on the tropics, for the twilight lasts from thirty to forty minutes.
54 Women I have borrowed (p. 324).—The old word on the Congo for marriage was sompa nkento, which means to borrow a woman (see notes 43 and 44), for which loan the man paid something to the girl’s uncle. All members of the Church are married by Holy Matrimony, and the word sompa (or to borrow) has given place to kazala (to take as a wife).