228

The c a r r ie r s marched two o r th ree m iles on the r i_ h t o r l e f t

fla n k o f the main body and they a lso drove a herd o f c a t t le fo r

food during the march. Some o f these were not to be eaten but

to a s s is t in fin d in g and d r iv in g away the enemy*s c a t t le " ’L j ,

The p ro v is io n bearers and herds cou ld not keep up w ith the array

a f t e r the f i r s t fev. days, so each w a rr io r had then to ca rry h is

own food and equipment. ’when fa r from the enemy they u su a lly

r o l le d up th e ir sh ie ld s and c a rr ied them on the back'*3' . w hile

in Zuiuland the s o ld ie r s helped thetas e lv es to food a t the

variou s kraa ls but a i..ays broke the cooking vesse ls they la d

I f the army came to a s trea .. in f lo o d which was out o f

th e ir depth but hid not exceed f i f t e e n yards in b rea d th ,. they

p lunged in to i t in a dense mass, h o ld in g on to one another, those

behind fo rc in g the others forw ard . Thus they suceeded in

cross in g w ith the loss o f on ly a f e w .

Pass words and countersigns -.ere made use o f e s p e c ia l ly

'■■.wen t r a v e l l in g a t n igh t ^ • The Zulus cou ld march w ith re­

markable s w iftn ess

w ith g iv e b a t t l e ^

(ar.adhlangala) were

and cou ld wo 40 m iles in one n igh t and fo r th -

. Ihen camping a t n igh t temporary s h e lte rs

e r e c t e d ^ ' ,

On reach ing h o s t i le t e r r i t o r y (o r in broken country)

the army marched in c lo s e r f o r atic-n and d iv id e d in to two; An

advance guard o f about 10 companies moved 10 o r 12 m iles ahead

to ttave the enemy the im pression that they were the main body

and i t was h e ld to be a seriou s breach in ta c t ic s fo r the armyr et\

to f a i l to d iv id e l ik e t h i s v . Spies were a lso sen t in twos

and tn rees to lo c a te the enemy. As soon as the advance wuard

found that i t had been p e rce iv ed by the enemy, runners were

d ispatched to warn' the main body.

p • J» •

At CclO j£

32S

ATTACK.

On an engagement becoming imminent # the men ..ere drawn

up in a s e m i-c ir c le and in s tru e tea by the o f f i c e r in supreme

com and as to Am t regim ents were to fo rm p r i^ it horn. vhat t i e

l e f t and what the chest o r cen tre , as w e ll as the routes to be

taken. The w arriors having been once more sp r in k led .1th

m ed icine to ward o f f in ju ry , reminded o f t h e ir ch a llenges and

exhorted through p ra ise o f departed k in gs , dashed forw ard to

the a ttack . They a ttack ed -n the form o f an "uiakumbi"

u su a lly making a fe in t w ith one horn, w h ile the o th er , concea l­

ed in the bush and g rass , swept round to surround the enemy.

The chest in which were the rea te s t number o f men and a lso the

most experienced , (th e "B lack” regiments always form ing the

horns) then advanced and t r ie d to crush the enemf? Behind

them were a l a r 0e reserve fo r c e who on ly jo in ed in pu rsu it o r

when the army was in d i f f i c u l t y . They were u su a lly seated( a )

w ith th e ir backs to the enemy' ' «

The commanding o f f i c e r and s t a f f took up th e ir p o s it io n

on h igh ground to watch and issue d ir e c t io n s , which were de­

l iv e r e d by runners(3 ) .

On charain &, the Zulus a l .ays u tte red th e ir w a r-c r ie s ,

each regim ent i t s own, but w h ile stabb ing the enemy the wen era i

one ..as u tte red which in Cetewayo’ s t i ..e was " U s u t u " .^ .

The o f f i c e r s had no badges though on ly men o f high rank could%

wear leo p a rd .sk in and l o r i e fe a th e rs .

Observance o f the ;.omen:

While the men a re away a t v,ar, the women have to be very

c a r e fu l and to observe c e r ta in customs in o rder to ensure the

s a fe ty o f the m en-fo lk . Q u arre ling is r e fra in e d from and a l l

must be qu ietljO rna. mats a re not worn and wives and mothers

(1 ). Stuart: p.85. Q) L ^ ioaj:(3 ). bar Of Ace Precis, p. 114.' % ♦ R. 0. Samuels on: Lon&, Long, Ago.

mark

330.

mark th e ir faces by rubbing them with a s p e c ia l ly prepared

brack paste o f ashes ea rth , e tc . These marks are o f various

designs tak ing the form o f a c i r c le o f diam eter f in c h e s on

each cheek. Tne tops o f the s k ir ts (Hsidwaba) are reversed ,

the nap being turned outwards* The huts vacated by the men a re

c a r e fu l ly swept and a f i r e made in each to encourage th e ir

re tu rn and a vert th e ir remaining away fo r e v e r . Th e ir s le ep in g

mat is shaken and r o l le d up and an ear o f m i l l e t put in i t .

Then i t is stood upright a t the end o f the hut ( i t s usual p o s i­

t io n in normal times is h o r i z o n t a l A s long as th is

casts a l i t t l e shade on the w a ll the husband is s a fe '1' * ' . A long

w ith the mat may be suspended the husband’ s wooden p i l lo w and

o t . 'e r a r t ic le s used by h i m S o m e t h .as they take the mat

and stand i t u prigh t in the sun; i f i t casts a la rg e shadow he

is a .x v e , T f the shadow is short he is dead. I f th e man is

^ * * .e a , tnen^ is m s mat taken down,otherw ise i t remains th ere

t ia l - a * s re tu rn . Sometimes b i t t e r app le (solanvm) b e rr ie s a re

r o i i e a s lo w ly a long that s id e o f t i e hut in which the w arrior

s*epu , being aimed to go out by the door and ca rry out "d t ’ i t(3)

a..*, p o s s io i lx t y o f h»nu. T o or th ree b e rr ie s may be threaded

“O a cord to g e th er with a ra b b it t a i l and worn as a necklace(

vO o _f evj.j.' ' . " The toiack marks on the fa c e and the wear—

j.nw o f o e rr ie s represent the form al suppression o f ord in ary

personam x ee lin ^ o r the d e lib e ra te asslamption o f a ca llou s d is -

p o s it io n ' , a s p r ig o f d id asparagus is o fte n stuck in the

thatch over the doorway o f a hut to sa feguard the ho.~e. Women

awso went about b ea tin g to g e th er la rg e stones o r r a t t l in g sm all

Giies between Doth wands in order to scare away death from th e ir

husbands (Gqonqa) .

S tuart mentions that c e r ta in customs a re observed bv

m oth ers-in -law too , but u n fo rtu n a te ly does not mention what

t.iey a re . Tme ex is ten ce o f such customs shows the c lo s e bond

between a -an and h is m other-in -law whom he must so s t r i c t l ya . . _ . . "h lon ip a 11 ........

f h ‘ ^ tu a rt: p*S7 . (a ) . Arbousset:' ' * 1 *88, ( 4) . Bryant: D ie t.

331

"h lo n i^ a ". Stuart a ls o mentions that .her. a husband o r a

son is k i l l e d "variou s o th er customs are con ferred to 'ey the ,h)

■■■"Omen" , but he does not say ..hat they a re .

The army is accompanied by doctors ;ho not on ly prepare

the s o ld ie r s fo r b a t t le but t r e a t the wounded. when Isaacs was

uounded on accompanying Chaka aga in s t an enemy, a young h e i fe r

»as k i l i e i and some o f the e n tra ils .ere p a rb o iled 1th g a ll and

excrement and ro o ts . He had to take th ree s ip s o f ti e m edicin^

sp r in k le the re s t over h is body and s p it on a s t ic k p o in tin g i t

th r ic e a t the enemy and then throwing i t towards them. A f t e r

th is the doctor gave L in an emetic to e je c t the m ix tu re ’ he had

s .a llow ed. On h is re fu s in g a t f i r s t to drink i t , the doctor

sa id that unless he d id so he coul~. not take m ilk l e s t the cows

should d ie and i f he approached the k ing without having 'used the

charm, the k ing would become i l i ' - " ' . He a lso had to s p it on a

s t ic k and p o in t i t t l.ree times at the enemy say in g , "e e a ie " and

then throw i t towards them.

The man ..ho has k i l l e d an enemy is in g rea t danger and

must take g rea t precautions aga inst the impending e v i l . he

must wear the loin* covering, o f the man he has s la in u n t i l L©

can resume ..is own by having cleansed h im se lf* Those who have

k i l l e d others eat and l i v e e n t ir e ly apart from the main body

" f o r many days during .hioh they observe o th er fo rm a lit ie s before

be ing f in a l l y .asi-ea w ith drugs and a llow ed ' to a sso c ia te ,1th

th e ir o th er comrades ^ . They are tre a ted 1 th grea t respect

the best p o rtion s o f meat being served to them and they are

a llow ed to „ea r the neck lace and o th er decorations m entioned.

They sometimes wore as a charm a rope o f w illow around the head ( s)and snoulders k i \

Bryant in d esc r ib in g th is uku Qunga or p u r i f ic a t io n

Swys ’’Every Zulu who .. gh t, .,1.ether in a r or o th erw ise , have

k i l l e a another man .a s , b e fo re b e in 0 ab le to return and mix

wh.tn h is fa m ily requ ired to go through a process o f p u r i f ic a t io n. , . o r . . . . .vi/. Stuart:v8, . S h ooterj

\<5;, Bryant: D ie t.

333*

o r f o r t i f i c a t i o n . This in iiie oase o f an aimy .as re g u la r ly

arm., 0eu fo r oy t i e k in * . A ft e r navin0 k i l l e d h is adversory ,

t ie v ic t o r (now c a l le d illx e leh a , L is assega i b e in * a lso c a l ie a

oy the same name) would im m ediately d o f f L is "Ibesiiu" and put on

that o f t i e man lie la d k i l l e d . He would t le n go to tl.e r iv e r

and wash the .-Hole body, a fterw ards doctorirn h i .s e l f with

c e r ta in herbs. A f f i x ! ; , * a sp r ig o f . l id asparagus (iP in g a n t lo -

la ) in h is h a ir he could now d ir e c t h is course home ,u t must

keep on tl.e look -ou t fo r any strange female he may come across

as, b e fo re he can take up h is res idence in the k ra a l, he must

f i r s t have had sexual in te rcou rse with some fem ale o r o ther o f

a t r ih e , not h is own, o r in the case o f n e ces s ity any boy,

o th erw ise even a t home he must continue go ' l i v e out on the

v e ld . Upon en ter in * his. k ra a l he must "ncinua" a la rg e

v a r ie ty o f m edicine or f ig r i t in to alarms c a lle d " i samfoe elim nya-

na", t ld s o e fo re partak ing o f any kind o f food . T e then

"n cin u a*d" til m xe^ with o th er . .e...nines or chaims

calmed, the " ia a m c e e-«u*±lopen. This done he is clear, and

may aga in f r e e ly en ter s o c ie ty and „.artake o f "am asi", hut u n t i l

he d ies he must never aga in eat "amasi" made from m ilk o f a cow

whose c a l f has not ye t shown the horns. Every year he mast

i e-ra^n frc-s... eatm.,* o—e x~rst iru ic s o f tju.e new season, i . e *

pumpkins, calabashes, and the l ik e , nor partuke o f any beer

made from the f i r s t corn o f the new year unless in a l l cases he

s h a l l have f o r t i f i e d h im se lf by c e r ta in m ed ic in a l charms i’ X/ .

A man•wno has k i l i e u another con tracts p o te n t ia l ly though not

a c tu a lly a c e r ta in d isease (t'Zembe) appearing as dysentery,

kiuney d iseases , e tc . and cu lm inating in in s a n ity , which he .— 1.

con tract unless he undergoes the process o f uku QungamL. An

" in x e leh a " c a r r ie s h is assega i that las k i l l e d - person ..ith

the b iaae p o in tin g upwards and not as is 'usual, ho r i son t a l l y in

ti. e nanci (■ )

So_d iers stab the a owe Is o f s la in enemies le s t the,f \ „ . , un re lea sea . . , ..(a ; . Bryant: D ie t.(2 ) . " !I iQungo and iZembe.

333*

u nreleased s p i r i t o f the enemy turns the s la y e r in to a lu n a tic

out Ludlow says i t is done le s t .-.hen h is bowels s w e ll th e ir s no

to o .

Men who have shown cowardice in b u tt le have th e ir meat

dipped in co ld water and s u f fe r many in d ig n it ie s . In olden

days the cowards -were k i l l e d oy the h in t ’ s order but la t e r on

th is was not- done. S tuart says g i r l s ~~ave been known a c tu a lly

to uncover themselves in the presence o f a fia n c e who im-s shown

cow ard ice, to shame him and, o f course, the engagement .-as thenf o )

broken.' '

A ft e r an exp ed ition the troops were perm itted to return

to th e ir ovm re s p ec tiv e kraa ls fo r a short p e r iod to recover

from f a t i g u e '3) . S tuart describes how -warriors oomin0 home,

sang th e ir o ld t r ib a l .ar song ( t r ib a l iHubo ?} and ,.hen the

women recogn ised th is they came /ith faces smeared w ith l i wht

c la y sh r iek in g h i ki ki k i . . .iCufele kwetu ( jo y in our homes) at

the to ,s o f th e ir vo ices as a welcome.

In a short time the peop le were c o l le c te d to hear

d e ta i ls o f war operations a t the c h ie f 's p la c e . The regiments

who had ch a llen ged one anotner b e fo re now met aga in in another

d iscu ss ion and i t was d iscovered from these d iscussions .no had

been cowards and who had d is tin gu ish ed them selves fo r bravery*

The l a t t e r ..ere honours;. w ith a tnomjie ig u e r r e ) and a hero

would 0et as many as 10 c a t t le from the K in g .1' * ' . Cowards

"r e c e iv e d the f i a t o f th e ir fe roc iou s m aster and mere im paled"'5'

( i ) . S tu a rt: p .88 .(3 j . __ ,! jp *89 .(3 ; . Isaacs l i , p ,348.(4 ) . Stuart: p.75,.

334.

CHATTEL IX,

BIRTH A1TD INFANCY.

while “Hakuiunkulu’1 is credited by tie Zulus with

]aav:n6 create,;: the firs t human being, a l l subsequent rex-reduc­

tions of the species is regarded rather as the -work o f the an­

cestral sp irits of whom it is said "they can make a man (in the/ - \

dark) without seein^ him"'-"'1. But the doctor has in this as

in other instances also a certain amount of power and i f a

woman fa ils to bear children or i f they die, her sexual organs

are doctored (H iseia),

Another method is for the wife before coition to drink

a decoction of orange l i ly (gloriosa viresoens) which -as some

roots the shape of the male organ and some like the female*

The woman drinks tne roots shaped like tne organ of the sex she

wishes her child to o e ^ ). I f she has hitherto had only

female children,a certain medicine (iEiamvu) must be taken ana

then she ..ill have male c h i l d r e n T h e r e is , ho ..ever, no

oelief in reincarnation among the natives.

A woman who mas no children is considered as very un-

fortunate for her husband may divorce her on that account and

demand back his lobolaj but more often a sister is sent to take

her place, A marriage is not regarded as complete until a

child has been corn and a childless woman w ill be ridiculed oy

her more fortunate sisters. I f a ..oman lau_Ls at a deformed

person she is calling down evil upon herself for her child may

be defonaed too.

The Zulus says that a woman, ..hen about to conceive,

i .e . durin0 the firs t and second months after intercourse, is

trouoled with incessant dreams (uku Pupa), Should she at this

time dream of a green or black snake or a buffalo shfL w ill have

a male child; out i f she dreams of a

crossing a fu ll river, etc. she ..ill

while she is ^regnant a ..Oman covers-t N — / * Bryant: Diet. is i Tuta2 ) . f! it3) . Cal la way• He.. 0 . Syst em

puff-a-.tw.er, that she is

ha e a fem ale c - i lu •

from s ig h t her b reasts&tXlib « • • • •

Bryant: lulu IEDIO

335.

and abdomen toy a sk in cover in g (in G c a y i), which is a fterw ards

used to ca rry the in fan t on the back (im B e lek o ).

During pregnancy the mother must be very c a r e fu l in ­

deed fo r th ere are a l l manner o f dangers in the .;orId around

h er, that ..d ll a f f e c t her unborn ch i Id unless g rea t care is

taken. Even the husband is in danger and th e Zulus have a

b e l i e f that a man must not go in to water when h is w ife is

pregnant fo r he .v i l l q u ick ly be c a r r ie d u..ay by i t x J.

A pregnant woman does not appear to observe any s p e c ia l

food t a .003 out any g i r l must a t a l l times be c a r e fu l in the

s o r t o f food she ea ts . C erta in animals a re supposed to possess

the p e c u l ia r i t y o f pass ing on th e ir p l.y s io «,l c h a ra c te r is t ic s to

human beings whoae mothers have eaten them (u Fusa). A g i r l

who eats a gu in ea-fov .l ..ould reproduce ch ild ren . ith a long f l a t

head; one who has eaten a hare would have lony-eared ch ild ren ,

one who m ight eat a swallow would have ch ild ren who cou ld not

even make a decent n es t, i . e . hut fo r th em selves1' " ' . B rain

o f a house fo w l o r guinea fo w l must not be eaten by 0..r ls le s t

t h e ir ch ild ren have long,narrow heads and "no rock -rab b its meat

as th e ir ch ild ren might be long f r o n t - t e e th e d " '^ . iB oy i o r

the grey-backed bush-warbler is not eaten by g i r l s le s t th e irt *1 \

ch ild ren have scraggy le g s '" * - '. Reed-buck is not eaten by g i r l s

le s t th e ir ch ild ren have u gly blue eyes. The low er l ip o f a

bu llo ck must not be eaten by g i r l s in case th e ir ch ild ren have

trem b ling l i p s (3 ) . Fat o f a c e r ta in k ind o f an te lope is not

eaten s in ce i t s fa t is used by a'oaTakati to cause s in k in g o f

the fo n ta n e l in c h i l d r e n '- ' . (For s im ila r taboos see food

p . ?3 ) .

Bu.t i f women have to be c a r e fu l not to eat c e r ta in

animals fo r fe a r o f p o s s ib le resemblances to them in th e ir

ch ild ren , men o fte n do ju s t the op p os ite and take a mouthful o f

the f le s h o f some anim als, not g e n e ra lly eaten , to ensure th e ir, . not ........l-J . Bryant: Dictionary,(b j . The C o lle c to r (1 9 H ) h o ,134. s 3 ( . F a rrer .(4 ) . Callaway: R e lig io u s System.

236.

not navm g ch ild ren with any resemblanee to that p a r t ic u la r

animal (e le k e s e la )

A pregnant woman is c o n s is te n t ly in dread o f h u r tfu l

-ui* Hondo (track s o f obnoxious anim als, as the eland, e t c . } ,

touioii cause sinking o f t..e fo n ta n e l (as from spurious hydro-

oepnaius) ~n c h i l i r e n ,/nose '.others, pass over them while p reg­

nant • So toe mother during her pregnancy has to arm h e r s e l f

c o n tin u a lly , and e s p e c ia l ly when going fa r from the k ra a l, with

ti^e umKondo p ia n t (sm a ll spreading .weed with t in y leaves and

; e llo w f lo w e r s ) , which she t ie s round the ank le , so as to coun­

te ra c t the enemy on the ve ry f i r s t p o in t o f a t t a c k ^ .

On becoming pregnant the woman is t re a te d by the

doctor and a eu -c in e to sa feguard the c h ild from e v i l in flu en ces

is taken u n t i l t..o o r th ree months a f t e r t i e b ir th when the

o.--._ 1 *s s tro n & enough to r e s is t these in flu en ces . An

in fu s io n o f c e r ta in p lan ts such as u Hlakahla is kept covered

up in a pot by a pregnant woman and from th is she drinks a

sp oom u i no., ana then muring tne l a t t e r months o f her pregnancy,

Vvhj.cn tne m ed icine is supposed to render su ccess fu l, with rap id

4 .envery, e tc . This m ed icine ( i s i .' iambezo) must not be looked

ux.on oy any person, o th erw ise the c h i ld • w i l l take' the lik en ess

o f tnat person — tne r e f l e c t io n in the water being presumably

s ..allowed by tne ..-oman in tne d r in k in &, and tra n s fe r red to the

c m „d . To make the b ir th as easy one, a oman may eat Nyikwe

(Pancreas o f c a t t l e ) . ^ - )

when a woman d ies in pregnancy che unborn c h ild is

removed arm m ined bes id e her, fo r " i t is indecent f o r two

persons to be buried t o g e th e r " ( 3 ) #

BIBTH; **

•*®**e» AUmus on tne umvoioai R iv e r a v;oman bears her

f i r s t th ree ch ild ren in the hut o f her husband’ s mother^3) . To

f r e e tne marrie... couple from t. e c o n tro l o f the m other-in -law/-, \ . _ the . . . . .

Bryant: D ie t.;* / • aug g : . fan 1909. p .119..o ; . »-M.ok: Die Era ten Lebensjahre des Kindes in Sin fr ik a

\Antnrcpos 23 ITo . l . 3, p t 38 's

337

v i r l ’ s mother^s k raa l

the f o l i o vulng ceremony is p erform ed; T ie mother takes from

her hearth a burning p ie c e o f wood, aoes w ith i t to the hut o f

her dau gh ter-in -law , k in d les a f i r e there and cooks the f i r s t

m eal. This food to g e th e r w ith the f i r e are consecrate.* with

" in t e le s * " water. The "umakoti" is now "umfassi" ana is in ­

s t a l le d in her own, new hut'-2) . Among the Amahlubi the p la ce

o f b ir th o f the f i r s t c h ild may be the husband’ s k ra a l or the

Custom va r ie s from t r ib e to t r ib e .

The gen era l ru le among the Zulus appears to be that fo r the f i r s '

yea r a woman does not have a f i r e in her own hut, on ly s le ep in g

th ere a t n igh t with her husband but be ing under the c o n tro l o f

h e r m o t ie r - in - la w -0) ,

An "um takati" may use po ison to cause polyps o f the

womb in women so that th e ir ch ild ren d ie (umu S i ) . When the

p o lyp o id growths are so en larged as to obstru ct p a r tu r it io n ,

the .oman is taken to the r iv e r where the polyps a re cut o f f

w ithjirCTsikane grass. P ro fu se ’ofee^ding fo l lo w s , d e l iv e r y is

e f fe c t e d and an iaambi (in fu s io n o f herbs) completes the opera­

t io n , 'women act as midwives and no man, not even the fa th e r

o f the c h ild is a llow ed in to the hut w h ile the c h ild is beingv r o o h

corn . i»uen a ..oman is long in g iv in g b ir th , the bark/of the

ix o lo shrub is used as m e d ic in e ^ ) .

Day o f B irth :When a c h ild Is born i t is washed and im m ediately h e ld

in the smoke o f curnmu annual charms, com prising a sm all

a r t i c l e o f every p o s s ib le ob ta inab le, animal o f i l l - lu c k . I t

is a fterw ards g iven to drink o f the same. This is supposed to

counteract a l l "TTyamasane" d iseases ..him- i t nap leave con tracted

w h ile in the womb, (through the mother having walked over

" tra ck s " o f the harmful an im a ls ). Should % t h e c h ild ^row up to

en joy sound h ea lth i t is s a id "th e animal charts rere a l l r ig h t ly

com bined"- . The " in t e le a i " water in which the c h ild is

washes. is thrown a s,ay c a r e fu l ly by the h a r ia n h il l n a tiv e so that

no "um takati" aets , f n ' ii t a®/, ana near iarltabur^

(1 }• B ryant: Dif _ ■■ct. (3 ) . wa-m: O p .C it.p .V6: * hoernie: (4 ) . Colenso ; D ie t.

ash o f the burnt

336

animal men:.., c in e is put as ....

hoiuen says that the c h ild

a f t e r b i r t h ' ° ' . Via a le acc

c h i l l are sheared w ith red

.e.dcine in a neck lace fo r the ch i

is cleansed .d th cowdunw Lu led ia t

ord in g to Isaacs both mother andf A \

o c h r e . Kidu. describes the

®iy

“ smoking” o f the new-oorn baby but accord ing to him the o b jec ts

o f the ..hole ceremony a re ra th er d i f f e r e n t from those I have

mentioned and the in g red ien ts ' o f the m edicine d i f f e r to o . powder­

ed /uiskers o f a leopard , the shin o f a salamander, tne c la s

o f a l io n and o th er anim al in g red ien ts a re u s e ! and each one is

supposed to impart to the c h ild the s p e c ia l q u a lity o f the

anim al from milch i t is made. To th is is added a m e teo r ite ,

the most important in g red ien t , which has to be w e ll burned and

then ground to f in e „ owner. This substance "has the poe'er o f

o lo s in 0 the a n te r io r fo n ta n e lle o f the baby’ s s k u ll , o f

s tren g th en in g and of making fir..: the bones o f the s k u ll , o f

im parting v igou r to the c h i ld ’ s mind and o f making the in fan t

brave and courageous. The s tren g th o f the m e teo r ite is thought

to en ter the c h i ld ’ s whole s y s t e m "^ ) . But o f fa r g rea te r im­

portance even than the m e teo r ite is "some d ir t scraped from the

forearm and o th er parts o f the fa th e r ’ s body", -./hioh is mixed

u th the o th er m ed icines. This d i r t contains a p a rt o f the

fa t h e r ’ s p e rs o n a lity and'^&s th e re fo re an in tim ate though unde­

fine..* connection with the "iT on 0o" o r s p i r i t o f the grand father

and so o f the c la n l *T h is ceremony*'’was the recogn ised way o f

im parting a p o r t io n o f the iTongo o r a n c e s tra l s p i r i t to the

c h ild " ( 1) . The baby is p la ced under a la rg e basket and the

sm ouldering m ixture is a lso put th ere so that the baby is bound

to in h a le the s m o k e ^ . (Probab ly the mother holds the c h ild

because mother and c h ild a re sa id to be smoked to ge th er under

the c o v e r i n g ) ^ . To make the m atter doubly su re, c e r ta in

p o rtion s o f the powdered m edicine are mixed with the baby’ s

fnnn (-0o c a '* ' , w h ile the ashes o f the burnt m edicine are kept oare-

This . . . .* (TM 1 « 12 2 rt

f u l l y fir a ceremony to be perform ed on the f i f t h d&yVj-)

; — / • a idd . Savage C—-ndhooo., p . 13, ±3.

■»P. 53*

(2 ) . Walk: p .33 ,33 . (4 ) . Isaacs I I p.290• G o ld e n : p.171. (s). ,.'alk:

33S.

IM s ceremony, then^was the means by which the new member o f the

s ib was lin k ed on to the past and to the ..hole corpora te l i f e

o f the s ib * To be without a share o f the amaton0o o f the s ib

is ta e g rea te s t ca lam ity th a t a n a t iv e can con ce ive . . Such a

man Ooes through l i f e unprotected .

A ama..* p lan t um ala ii is sometimes used fo r washing a

new-born baby to make i t a q u ie t c h i ld , not g iven to c r y i n g ” '1.

Every c h ild is supposed to be ta in ted at b ir th with a co n s titu ­

t io n a l d e fe c t c a l le d isiGweba, which is h e ld to be the cause o f

s e v e ra l a ilm en ts , such as unusual sexu a l i r r i t a t i o n causing

lecherous in c lin a t io n s in a d u lts , d is p o s it io n to eczema, e tc .

To pet r id o f th is ta in t the stem o f a ca s to r o i l o r an u a -

Senge le a f (Ousson ia s p ic a ta ) or a s ta lk o f f ib r e is thrust by

the mother in to the rectum o f the c h ild and v ig o ro u s ly tw ir le d

round between both hands, u n t i l , by scrap in 0 on the membrane o f

the bowels, b lood is cop iou s ly drawn. Not in fre q u e n tly c h ild re r

d ie as a re s u lt o f the proceeding'^1) .

For the f i r s t few days a f t e r d e l iv e r y , a l l persons a re

r ig o ro u s ly excluded from the hut, le s t they b r in g in w ith them

"tra c k s " o f imiKonao• A fterw ards fo r the f i r s t month o r two

everyoody en te r in g the hut is r ig o ro u s ly expected to perform the

uku Lumuia — n io o le o f f a sm all p a r t ic le from c e r ta in charm-

b rasses, herbs, e tc . hung up over the door--way and s p it i t out

upon the c h ild so that any in ju r iou s umKondo which he may inad­

v e r te n t ly nave brought in w ith him may be thereby rendered in -

noxious W * L a te r on s h o u il the mother h e r s e l f have had to'

t r a v e l over m ultitudinous ways she c a r e fu l ly p reserves a specimen

ox the rubbish ( iz x b i ) o f each separa te path , which upon be ing

marnt on ti.e hearth when she reaches home, and the in fa n t h e ld

.un the smoke, w i l l expel any in ju r iou s in flu en ce she have

brought back w ith her from those p a th s '1) .

Kidd does not agree w ith Bryant that peop le a re excluded

from the hut but says that as soon as the c h ild has been

doctored

240.

doctored w ith the fa th e r 's d i r t , i t is a llow ed to r e c e iv e

v i s i t o r s 1'* ' . Many p eop le , however, a re excluded; the fa th e r

must not see the ch ild ; hoys and g i r ls a t puberty a re not

a llow ed in l e s t they should in ju re the c h ild by e v i l in flu en ces ;

ch ild ren o f the fe llo w -w iv e s o f the mother are a llow ed to see

the baby on the day o f b ir th but th e r e a fte r not u n t i l the

seventh day. Women from neighbouring kraa ls a re a llow ed to

en te r on ly a f t e r scrap in g th e ir fe e t in the ashes o f a f i r e

made o f s p e c ia l herbs gathered by the women, ju s t ou ts id e the

door o f the m other’ s hut. This is to remove any e v i l in flu en ce

they may have con tracted on the j o u r n e y . I t is so d i f f i c u l t

to t e l l when Kidd is d iscu ss in g Zulu customs and when those o f

o th er t r ib e s that i t is Q u ite p o s s ib le th at a l l th is re fe rs to

Xosa custom and not Zulu as he claim s in the beg inn ing; in which

case th ere i s , o f course, no c o n tra d ic t io n to B ryant’ s statem ent*%

On the day o f i t s b ir th , the doctor makes in c is io n s on

d i f fe r e n t parts o f the c h i ld ’ s body and p laces powdered m edicine

in them'>*9. According, to Kidd i t is the women who makes these

in c is io n s and the m edicine which is rubbed in is kept in a

s p e c ia l horn, taken from an ox which was born in the k r a a l ^ ,

Here he mentions another "smoking" ceremony which r e a l ly t a l l i e s

b e t t e r w ith the one mentioned by Bryant than the one in which

some o f the " fa th e r ’ s d i r t " is used. The mother makes a f i r e

o f scen ted wood o r m edicines made from the bodies o f 'wild

animals ana the baby is h e ld in the smoke. This smoking had to

be perform ed d a ily with c lo sed doors fo r s e v e ra l weeks w h ile the

mother sang s p e c ia l chants. " I t is b e lie v e d that some peop le at

death become wizards and th a t these -ev il beings seek m a levo len t­

ly to in ju re sm all b a b ie s . . . . The w izard is r e p e lle d by the

odour........ which ife sa id to c l in g to the baby fo r about e igh t

months ........ ..L5"<“ The smoking ceremony must be repeated every e igh t months

u n t i l the second tee th appear, a f t e r that date tme Cx.ild is

thought to oe a o le to take care o f i t s e l f " ^ ' 1. Anyone en terin g

* &-*• &&* k & v 6 ' J i i 1 cm©p clj p • j. 6•(2 ) . Shooter: ' w r 1 / >(?) - K'J-d \ •• ••

242 •

f q \t iie permanent i s i Fooiya which is never c a l le d m k a n a i' i • On

the day o f b ir th the mother buries a l l the d ischarges connected

w ith the b ir th o f her c h i ld 1*5' •

On the loss o f her c h ild , a .Oman’ s fa th e r s lau gh ters

fo r her a beast (c o la ) , she is then p u r i f ie d by s p r in k lin g the

g a l l o f the beast on her arms and le g s ( s ) • A woman whose

c h i ld ha£ d ied assembles a l l the o th e r ch ild ren o f the k ra a l and

makes them wash th e ir hands with ashes •

when the p e r io d o f is o la t io n is o v e r , the woman and the

hut must be c lean ed . There is no d e f in i t e in form ation as to

the process by which the woman is p u r i f ie d but apparen tly

" i n t e i s i " water is u s e d ^ . The hut is c leansed w ith a new

co a tin g o f dung(-0, The Zulus o f f e r a th an k so ffe r in g in the(Z )

form o f an ox to the ancestors a t the b ir th o f the. f i r s t s o n '" .

Among the Zulus th ere is no s p e c ia l ceremony when a '

c h i ld is named. when the c h ild is a few weeks o ld the fa th e r

o r grand fa th er sta tes ' b e fo re a few peop le i t s name**4 ' . This

name is the «igamu" — ” tru e "o r "g r e a t " name and u su a lly r e fe r sf * ^

to a happening a t the b ir th o r during the m arriage n e g o t ia t io n ! '•

On the f i r s t v i s i t p a id to the new c h ild by the grandparents o r

bysthe male head o f the woman’ s k ra a l, a p resen t o f a goat or

beads, e tc , is made to " t i e up" (Kunga) the c h ild , i . e . make

fa s t i t s t ie s o f r e l a t i o n s h ip s ,

then the c h ild is about ten days o ld i t ms taken to a

spot o r beneath a t r e e struck by l ig h te n in g and put in a ho-le,

two o r th ree inches deep. The d octo r chews a m ed ic in a l ro o t anc

sQ u irts i t over the c h ild m uttering an in ca n ta tion as he does so.

The fa th e r and mother are p resen t and when they lea ve the spot

no one is to look back le s t the charm be broken. The o b je c t o f

th is ceremony is to i n s t i l courage in to the c h i ld '4 ' , This

cau tion has, however, lapsed and is no lon ge r in p ra c t ic e among

the Zulus. During , , , , ,

* balk i p*o2-5o. Ant nr op as aXX v . ( 3 ) . B r-an t; ’ D iet*Klaus Savage Cuipoiiood, p .3 8 , ( 4) , Oarbutts

'5 ,: » !! P*2Q. Footnote,

343,

During babyhood many customs a re observed to jar;, o f f

danger from the c h ild , H eation has a lrea d y been made o f the

p r a c t ic e o f ..omen when fo rc ed to le a ve a c h ild Oo a .a y sere

d is ta n ce , c o l le c t in g specim en 's o f the rubbish o f each path>

which is burnt in o rder to ,lSu,okenthe c h ild . In ah itioc , *a. v ^ o - f k ^ r c k ilcL f - o 'r a. i f s

few drops oi i l k over the head, b reas t and back as a p ro te c t io n

in her a b s e n o .

A mother o ften c a r r ie s ced ic in e r i t h her to s p it o v e r

the c h ild a t convenient moments to p ro te c t i t a ga in s t the " e v i lf *"» N

ey e ” o f v is i t o r s w , U n t il the children*<*ere aoout s ix years

i t used to be the custom o f the mothers to bury them to p reven t

fe v e rs and co lds (See p . , as w ell as obser

Shop! 0 US t Om an,, t•hat o f the g i r ls herd ing the

then a cM .11 sneezes i t is a good s i 0n

by u su a lly say «grown or some o th er good wish; . f the c h ild is

i l l , a sneeze is a s ign th a t i t - i l l recover ''® ''. To adm in ister

an em etic to a s ick c h ild , the '.other takes the m edicine in her

no-nth and in je c ts i t oy means o f a reed in s e r te d in the fuuaa-

ment o f the eh . . i h . The f r u i t o f the inTung»a ~s ’ "i TV* fV— —*a on a

th read round a - ni u * s body to ward o f f g r im e s a n d long

s t r ip s o f sk i n ...ay be ,0'and as a o l.»m round the neck o f an/ p* \

\ illU^ Vifelld. Dei} ' * ♦

Every c h ild lias i t s is iE ia b e le io o r c ra d le song which

i t s mother inven ts fo r i t when a baby.

I f an in fa n t is slow in lea rn in g to a Ik , at as cured

by having paeces o f sponge rubbed in to in c is io n s on the knee,

’.mere they do not l i v e near the sea the in fa n t is p laced or. a

nest o f am&Tskeketshe ants whereupon he is sa id to get up and

walk a t once3 ■-**

The mother must not become pregnant aga in b e fo re the

ohiud as weaned (a t the a 0e or two o r th r e e ) , i f she does, the

c h ild w i l- be s tu p id (u k u y y e m fu z a ) , "hen the c h ild

• eaned a goat is s ia „ 0i..tereu fo r the p u r i f ic a t io n o f the .-mother

ana. c n ild , .hereupon sexu a l in te rcou rse .way aga in take p la c e t(h) * »«aIk: p.82. (3 ). Calla.ay: R(3 )t a\ Tv o/ • ajCou ,e;•^<* p, 171. (4 ), Bryant: Diet, (s ).m: .! - ; ibis ' O • t , • V m . .

OSyste....

(7)

n n 1~ ■■ * • aamue.. rj;

-»ensc; d ie t .

244,

Bryant mentions that .hen Chuka was a yea r o ld "he was taken

a cco rd in g to custom to ’ h is m other’ s home to he weaned". She

l e f t hi,.; th ere while she re t ..me,, to her has hand; S ^ ~ e Chaka

sta yed w ith h is m other’ s p eop le t i l l puberty when he went hometo \

to be p resen ted by his fa th e r ;ith h is f i r s t ’’umutsha” . I f

th is ..as the custom in s=-e form er days, i t is not now conformed

t o : the c h ild is u su a lly weaned by going, to i t s fa th e r ’ s

m other’ s hut, thus rem aining in i t s fa th e r ’ s k ra a l.

ABIQ^Jih : IhT. S:

Deformed ch ild ren in the o lden days were never a llow ed

to l i v e and ..hen twin# were born, one o f them was k i l l e d byf *j N _

b a v in * a lump o f earth p la ced _n i t s t h r o a t i t .»as be­

l ie v e d that i f th is .as not lone someone in the fa,:.: ly would l ie .

T-ins;hhdu mentions a number o f b e l ie f s h e ld by the Saha

about tw ins which show that even though one o f t mns has been

k i l l e n , the o th er is never regarded as q u ite ordunary. The

c h i ld that is k i l l e d is g iven no name nor is the s u rv iv in g c h ild

g iven a name t i l l i t is about s ix te e n years o f age. I t is s a id

to be an unlucky th in g to. beat a tw in and is .considered as much

the same th in * as b e a t in * an " i t o n g o " . The parents say they

know how to manage a boy hat not how to manage an anim al: so

when the coy is very troublesome they sim p ly put ashes on the

nape o f h is neck and g iv e him some ashes and water to brink.

Every tim e <* t win has h is h a ir ou t, ashes- have to be p laced on

h is mead. Twins are not counted an the number o f ch ild ren fo r

to no so would be unlucky; and when a t win m arri es t. ere is no

.,eu..,_n^ m nce. To spend much tim e v.utn a tw in is unlucky

fo r by so doin& a man would p iss on to h is wives the p rop en s ity

o f having tw ins.

The n a tiv es d ec la re that tv#ins have a s o f t o c c ip i t a l

p rotruberance to the s k u l l , th a t th ere is a s p e c ia l „h o r l o f

y _ 4 ^ixcL**. i • • • • •

( l ) . Dudley Kidd; The E s se n tia l k a f f i r ,(3 ) . B ryant; Olaen Times, e tc . _.,36,

p.202.

245.

L a ir o v e r the r ig h t s id e o f the fo rehead and th a t the h a ir rece ­

des unduly o ve r the l e f t tstaple; thus a tw in can always he

recogn ised . "Twins a re sa id to have no bra ins and ye t are

thought to be unusually sharp and c le v e r " . A tw in is asked to

s e t t l e squabbles and is expected to make songs fo r the p eop le .

Twins a re supposed to be a b le to f o r e t e l l the weather. They are

a lso fe a r le s s and w ild and used to be put in fro n t o f t i e e thers

when a tta ck in g the enemy. Epidemics a tta ck twins f i r s t and i f1

th e tw in is not. a ttacked w ith the sickness the peop le say i t

w i l l pass a..ay w ithout doing much ham .

There is never any mourning a t the death o f a tw in fo r

th a t would anger the "amatongo". The grave o f . a tw in is

spread w ith ashes and when the body is p laced in the round ho le

an a s i t t in ^ 'postu re , i t is covered up w ith earth and w ith a

second la y e r .o f ashes. I f both twins su rv ive^as sometimes

happens through s te a lth , th ere is no mourning oil the death o ff N

one le s t the o th er s u ffe r s through sympathy W

(«*»/• oava^e Cii«.iwioou^ p*4?S e t s g^«

346

CZAPTEE X.

OG'ILDLIFE AZD PUEEETT.

Babies are called iITgane out as soon as they begin to

toddle about they are referred to as umlltwana (child) irrespec­

tive of their sex.

Children begin to work at an early age for their

e ducat lor. consists chiefly in what they learn by helping their

parents• anal* g irls even at the age of five are g:..yen a

small gourd and accompany their mothers to fetch water; in the

garden they help their mother by carrying and handing her the

seed. then the inTomba«ana (0i r l ) is about 1* years old she is

taught to hoe with a luaht hoe and the work of fetchir.^ wood,

making fire and fetohing ..uter is mostly done by the g ir ls .

They help their mothers to cook and so learn how to do things.

The boys also have to .ork. but, like their fathers,

have a much freer and easier time than the g ir ls . The "umfana"

or small boys hera the calves and even .hen Quite young a boy

accompanies his father to the cattle kraal and holds the cow

while his father or elder brother milks. Later he gees out

with the bigger boys to herd the cattle a l l day. While;herd­

ing, the boys amuse themselves in various -.jays — they k i l l

birds on 'the v.dr.g with a knob-kerrie, or trap them, catch mice,

collect roots and herbs and play games, which w ill be mentioned

below. In olden days the bigger boys had to act as bagja.ee

carriers to their fathers ..hen they travelled or went to war.

G A .... E 3;

Zulu ch ild ren d id n o t, however, spend a l l t h e ir t in e

working as th e ir many games w i l l shew.

when s in g in g was not s u f f ic ie n t to stem the fr e t fu ln e s s

o f a chi led i t s mother would put i t on her lap, h o ld i t s hand

a. l i t t l e above the w rist and then dangle i t about s lapp in g f i r s t

the c h i ld ’ s fa ce and then her own, w ith t. e c h i ld ’ s land . This

was c a l le d "D in g ly lan guy the hand o f the c h ild is b r o k e n " .This . . . .

(1 ;. E.C.Samuelson: Long, Long, Ago. -p.318.

347,

This game ^ ca lled InGebangebane ^was a lso p la yed by ch ild ren among,

them selves, one c h i l i t a k i r w h o ld o f another*s hand and by a

sudden uerk t r y in g to knock him on the nose w ith h is own hand'-*.

Another game p la yed Is a t e s t o f knowledge. The

ch ild ren g la c e rows o f m ea lie gra ins on the f l o o r o f the hut,

supposed to represen t d i f fe r e n t b ir d s . The ...ass o f ch ild ren *£<

then form a chores, s in g in in a p leasan t m inor tone the r e fr a in

"Bula ’m sentse” (D iv in e , c le v e r f e l l o w ) . Then one o f the

c h ild ren w i l l p o in t to one o f the gra ins and r e p ly s in g in g in a

s im ila r tone "Very w e ll, the one among the c a lv e s , the y e llo w

fin c h , a v e ry f in e - lo o k in g young fe l lo w ” . The c h i ld must he

a b le to th ink o f as many b ird s as w i l l g e t him through the wholefi \

row o f m e a lie s ' ' ; o r each one in turn may name a b ird t i l l - no

one can m ention any more and then the one who has named, the most

is the w inner. This ga.. e is p layed w ith regard to o th er

ani.-.als t o o , and grasses .

There were games c o n s is t in g o f d ia logu es and ' ch ild ren

o f te n p layed a t s a lu ta t io n s , thus lea rn in g the co rre c t forms o f

s a l u t a t i o n .

uGoaongo was a som ersault game p layed by ch ildren ..

amahu is a form o f "tou ch ". The p la yers stand up as in

b lind-m an ’ s b u ff and one p la y e r a t a time walks round and

suddenly s laps another on the back, c a l l in g out "ITank’ amahu"

and then runs away. The c h ild touched g iv e s chase and must t ry

to catch the f i r s t one b e fo re he reaches a c e r ta in spot and

s i t s down. I f u nsu ccessfu l, he in h is turn must '..aIk round and

s Z3ah s omeone e Is e ''31.

Ilu e lits k e is a game p layed with s to n e s : fou r a re h e ld

in the hand and a f i f t h tossed up and• caught in the same L a u d .

Kobo la is a s im ila r game in which a stone is tossed up and■I )b e fo re i t is caught the next is thrown; i t is a kind o f ju gg lin g .

In Ucikidane the p a r t ic ip a n ts a l t e r n a t e ly pinch up the

sk in o f the backs o f each others Lands

j,* ). Bryant: D ie t.s J • Ei® Jj * a

-nXankeiana

(3 ) . B.C.Sam;non: p.92.

(4 ) , " ue-son; p .318 .Y\ Tin ir * — d? ,

248

inSankeiana is a kind of .anc mg ^ame. The children

turn to each other, _runt, screw up their faces and twist theirf i

bodies about and then turn away before repeating the movementv*

A com.won game uith native children is to count the fin ­

gers of both hands, beginning with the l i t t le finger the

le ft and calling each finger by its proper name: 1 u Oikicane

lo 2. owawofikl lo, etc. This is called uCikikane(2/.

A favourite ...us lea l pastime of Zulu children is to draw

certain figures consisting of lines, rings, etc. on the floor

of the hut, after which one of the Bir ls , having noted the

position of the several figures covers her eyes with one hana

and ~n a pretty minor song, replies to another of the g irls

who, pointing to the f ir s t of the figures as they stand, en­

quires in a sim ilar singing tone ^Hgibusa* (I ask what it i s ) .

There are three varieties of figures and three different replies

I f the girl,through forgetting the relative positions of the

figures, sir,_,s out an unsuitable reply, she ..as lost the game.

(Buza) (2 )

In ulelekeiekobo^a row of children hop along on one

gahlatshwa ameva"'3/' . Another gameu. e g cryin6 "heleke lekobo

os to at the

with - - r3) t..e ...ee..u Chi

oxen, people, etc, much

They ;also have skipping

feet (inC-gatu) .

Lav a es of

It might be well to mention here one or two customs

among Zulu children. - It is a universal custom among children

to splash about with their feet in the rain singing "Cuba cabal

aaatontsi ayamuka" or "Cabalele kv/esamatole’ cabalele kweseain-

komo’’ (See Oaba) ^ • then it is raining children jd out and

turn up their posteriors towards the sky saying "Let it clear

up, I a-, last corn of our family'^3) . Ilanaoohule is a fabulous

river . . . . .

(1)* E.C. SarnueIson: p .318. C2). Bryant: Dic t i onary.

349

r iv e r animal supposed to -dwell in m oss-covered stagnant poo ls

and c r e d ite d w ith the benevolen t custom o f making: presen ts o f

c lo th in g to ch ild ren who come and ask fo r them. C h ildren going

to draw water at such a p o o l s in g a song to h im ^ .

Ihen a c h ild has k i l l e d a frog , he must say, "Arm o f

m ine, don’ t do so (drav.ing the an., to g e th e r ) out do so " (s t r e tc h ­

in g i t ou t) o th erw ise , o ld peop le say , a l l h is limbs w i l l g e t

doubled up l ik e those o f the f r o 0 he has k i l l e d ( iS e le )

Ukwenaa ..s iITc a „o lo is the te rn fo r "e x e rc e re co itu n f in

.(3)the case o f ch ild ren who have not a tta in e d the age o f puberty:':

the tens "ukuPin^a" is o fte n used fo r th is .but i t is a wider

term in c lu d in g un law fu l sexu a l in te rco u rse o f males

3* muc.er

and fem ales

* C)W Q "1 “] a h iiv it^ u .

g i r l s ••.hen out a lon e , on see in g a boy o fte n c a l l out to him in

a s in g in g manner words in tended as an enticem ent to him to come

fo r sexu a l purposes (uG goyi) .

LIPE 0? BOPS;

Although the boys a re not much in the company o f t h e ir

fa th e rs and so a re not c o n tin u a lly be ing taught to work as are

the g i r l s by th e ir m others, 3ret -while out in the v e ld herd ing

the c a t t le they are r e c e iv in g a t r a in in g fo r adu lt l i f e which

was e s p e c ia l ly u se fu l in the days when they spent the g rea te r

p a rt o f t h e ir l i f e in w arfare. Boys were e a r ly in i t ia t e d in to

the sc ien ce o f fen c in g , and to t r a in a boy to use an assega i

e f f e c t i v e l y we ..as f i r s t g iven a s t ic k o f toup.h wood sharp at

one end to f l i n 0 at sm all an im als. Zulu boys are adepts a t

k i l l i n g b ird s on the wing by f l in g in g knobkerries a t them, and

fo r th e ir boyish f ig h ts s t ic k s are used. Boys used to o rgan ise

t h e ir own hunts arid f i ^ . t s w hile a-ray he r ring c a t t l e . Samuels on

says a t the a&e o f about ten a Zulu boy was given h is f ’ rs t

as ■ e a: roughly made and w ith s n a i l b lade and h a ft .

Amonfe . . • • •

j l ) . B ryan t: D ic t io n a ry .(3 ) . The C o lle c to r 1Tq .?55

250.

imcn0 the boys of a neighbourhood who herded together,

the bigger stronger boys naturally saw that their flocks had the

best 0raaing ^round and often a considerable amount of bullying

went on. A bully would command a smaller boy to hoi:, the tips

of the fingers together to be struck by him on the ends and then

point* to the place where his mother was born ( q a t a ) •

The reoognised way of challenging another soy to fight

is to tap him on the head with a stick saying words to the

effect of "I am your master" ( i ilgqoto) 9 whereupon the other

prepares to f i 0kt or else assents duietly*

lihen there as a dispute as to who must -do unpleasant

work among the boys, such as looking for any lost cattle, etc.

it is usually settled „.y casting lots. There are various

methods in vogue. Two boys wall ^rasp a stick hand over hand

t i l l the top is reached. The one to whom the last .lace fa lls

must then mold the stack sv/ingi between has foreianger ana

tnumb, ...— «.e the other with a j erk, endeavours to throw it from

ulffl. i i me- succeeds he as cons idered free and the other must

go ar.u *ook for the cattle (um/ •- N

B e v a ) r Another method as

for one of a number of boys to hc — ~ a jj-uece of wrass (1-2

anc-.es long) oeSwear, finger Chiiv.0 dumb while the others have .to

mess whether it ..i-ll stack to the ser or to the thumb* .1:

a l l guess. rl^J ily he is caught otherwise . oever guesses wrongly

must pc through the. same process with the others''*' • Or a boy

may break up a stalk of 0r~sa onto as many pieces as there are

boys n_ere. Taking any number in has hand he w ill ask a l l to

guess !:.ow many he holds. Those ..ho ^uess rightly are exempt

and the coy goes through the same process with the others. But

i f a l* are wroin*», de is exempt and some other soy must j j \

/ \ V «*»/

. the process wit x x the o th,e rs 4- 4 ^ v , th,ey dec id e who is •f*

U 1

..ork • . A - . i c L X . r uay b e thro . one o• p + •" , -i C j n --.v XX JU aec es

•nd the boys aske d to dra« p ie ces of s ta lk M> U . w« AM o n e

cj *r— W V * I f he as 1e f t V* — b X * . the I’i&l he as Uv V

* ~ut

. Bryant.; 2a * ^ •

u. * • •

P . 2 c ..

35—

i f n o t ! the boy -who ..as drawn the one with the .a i r must go

(1)through the same roc ess w ith the others .

'Sometimes a s tone thrown to scare or d r iv e away a fow l

,.111 a c c id e n ta l ly k i l l o r stun i t . In such case the toys a t

onee s i t round i t and rapping with s t ick s on the ground adwress

i t as a comrade in the hopes that i t w i l l su rv ive^say in g

"mangqoai, mangqoai, s ibu lew e ngabomu s i c e s i t i s iya d h la la ' ' .

The 0<-*mes f la y e d 'ey coys a re c a lcu la ted to t r a in them in

exactness o f ah— One o f the best known o f these is stabbing

the Intsema, An “ intsema" o r _a r&e s p h e r ic a l tuber weighing

up to 6 lbs i s ro lleJ . down a s*ope while the con tes tan ts , stand­

ing in a long f i l e , armed 1 th sharp s t ic k s ( iz im hand©) would

hurl them at the in tsem a,that would Oo bounding l i k e a buck

down'the s lo p e . ..hoever f i r s t f i x e s h is s t i c k in i t goes up

above she others and the winner is the one a t the top ^end*(3)

Often teams coupe tea .

Another game is S t ic k in fe A loe Pods (uku Tshweka iai

Boma). The pods are p laced on the Oround in the shape o f a

herd o f game . l i e the contestants squat a l l round . i th sharp

s t ic k s 6 inches long . Each is p laced on the two m iddle f in g e r s ,

under the f i r s t and l i t t l e f in g e r while the thumb is p laced at

mos f 3)t is the winner' ' .

-s shot a t the pods ana the one ..ho h i t s

. W it, j. S is p layed more by the youn

ones go in f o r S 'w a. the untsema.

P JJBTtTRfYl

when 6e n l t a l d isohar^e i s experienced oy a boy fo r the

f i r s t time, the boy r is e s before- the sun and takes a l * the ca tt le

out to wraae. He bathes in some stream (2ulus wash whenever

th ere has been «-ge^ ita i d ischarge ) and, accord ing to Samuels o n )

takes a ■ao f earth from the road which he chews and swal-.o-.-s.

uugt

( l ' . Colenso; D ie t . p,360, (S . " " p . 337.( 3 ) . R.'C.Samuelson;

353.

f-uugg does not mention t h i s ) He returns to the f i e l d s and

re awns in the company o f Il ls companions t i l l noon when the

c a t t l e are taken home and m ilked . This is a n o t i f i c a t i o n to

tiie v.noie k ra a l o f the even t. *re i s not a l low ed to m ilk nor

to eat food o f a mo iky nature: i t would hep r i v e turn o f "...is

s t ren g th . A dry dish o f k a f f i r - c o r n , not maiae, mixed w ith

medicines 0iven him to eat in the c a t t l e - f o l d " t o f o r t i f y and

strentstaen him". he mast not en te r any o f hats t i l l a f t e r

sunset nor converse with women o r remain in t h e i r company, he

uus G keep to ..maself and be q u ie t . The next aay h is heari

s-ave... and xxe aauin ba thes , washing with s treng then ing medicines

TU having been thus p u r i f i e d , a l l continues as u s u a l ^ . Accor ... ig

to bamuelson, a beast -was k i l l e d in honour o f the occasion and

t-.ere „as f e a s t in g and dancina m/. The dance was t h e fi s i * b e -

kusa dance done by the women but i t is no't? o b so le te

Although c ircum cis ion is p ra c t is e d by a number o f the

t r ib e s on ITatal the Zulus proper do not c ircum cise . The

m a jo r i ty ox w riters agree that Chaka abo lished c ircum cis ion and

..—s seems to nave oeen t i e op in ion o f the n a tives themselves

i o r Isaacs says Chaka abo lish ed i t and mentions that " in - e a r l i e r

tames youtns were a em itted to the rank o f manhood a f t e r the

op era t ion and f o r th ree months a f t e r i t bad u n lim ited indulgence

■*•** daiiw —ng, s a n a o tner amusement; .n(3) I t is d:

ixowever, to b e l ie v e that even Chaka could *.ave done away, in one

•£e“ “ swoop, ..Ida a custom l ik e c ircum cis ion which seems to be

so s t ro n g ly in g ra in ed in t r ib e s which to-day p r a c t ic e i t . that

»s p o ss*c *e is that he was respon s ib le f o r f i n a l l y a b o l ish in g a

custom tnat naa long been f a l l i n g in to disuse f o r o th e r reasons.

~>ryanc says th is naa -happened a lread y in the days o f Jama and

Sensagakona (See. p T h a t th is custom must have l i e d a

“ a r " death is s h o r n by the finest tha t s in ce the a b o l i t i o n o f/ \ ~ _ C*r^ dOaiv »w& .*,0X1 « • « a •

(^)» pugg -i»n 1907, p.HS.v3;* Isaacs I I , p . 307.

Bryant; D ic t ion a ry .

2 5 2

G I R L S :

A curious custom amon6 Lulu ^ i r l s is fo r the ^ i r l s o f

a neighbourhood to choose a s o r t o f queen without whose consent

none o f the o thers act even in a p rop osa l o f m arr iage , when

sweethearts come to see any o f the 6i r l s the m atter is reported

to her and i f she oes not .ash the damsels to &o with than,

they may not 6o . I f they communicate with th e i r sweethearts

without her knowledge she w i l l f in e them in beads. There is

a s u p e r s t i t io n that a 6i r l s k ing never nurses a c h i ld — they

w i l l a l l d ie . Hence the parents o f t e n o b je c t to t h e i r daughters

be ing e le c te d as queen. Before satin*, the f i r s t f r u i t s , young

boys and 0i r l s 0ave t h e i r sweethearts a present as an in d ic a t io n

tha t tl.ey a re about to eat the new food . But the g i r l s must

b e fo re do ing so >n o t i f y t h e i r queen o f th is by g iv in g her a

p r e s e n t • when a g i r l - k in g is e lectee , beer is made and

drunk near the r iv e r ' '® '#

Zulu mothers used r e g u la r ly to examine t h e i r 0i r l s ’f " )puuenua oy way o f su perv is ion aga inst i l l i c i t in t e r c o u r s e '- ' .

I t is the custom fo r 0i r l s to p u l- out the h a ir o f the pubes.

Kh a t iv e 0i r l s have a lso a manner o f mutual cou rt in g among them­

s e lv e s , the o b je c t apparen tly be ing to f in d an excuse fo r in ­

sp ec t in g each others persons and then rep o r t in g to t h e i r s e v e ra l( y . )

oro tu ers , i f they sn ou l- come across anyth ing good” ' ' . A des­

c r ip t i o n in Zulu is g iven in the re fe ren ce o f how th is i s ione

but I cannot reau Sulu and so must content mysel f w ith quoting

the re fe ren ce

M. Bryant; D ic t ion a ry .Callaway: Hursery Tales p.353 and 256.

/. T ie C o l le c to r H o.603.

354

Jk W —U'-bi i.. j. a. *

J - )

I f a ai r l develops e x c e p t io n a l ly ea r ly t i e event i s

kept s e c re t u n t i l t i e normal age is reached when t i e usual

ceremony is gone through, On t i e f i r s t m enstruation o f L er

f i r s t - b o r n c h i ld , a woman ornaments l e r s e l f by smearing spots

o f tb lack or red co lou r in g over l e r fa ce and oody (uku Qakaqa)

uDwa (Puberty Ceremony):

l i e n a ai r l becomes a m re that sue la s a t ta in ed

puberty sue runs o f . and hides some-..here in the neighbourhood

o f t i e k ra a l . H e o th er g i r l s go to look fo r her and the

m atter is rep orted to her mother \d;o t e l l s her f a b le r . He

g iv e s orders f o r the "umaonqo” (P a r t i t i o n o f t i e nut in which the

.a ir l is to s i t r e t i r e - . ) to be prepared and sends t i e boys to

cut wood f o r th is wicker-work p a r t i t i o n . nowadays a cu rta in(p\

i s useoh"' • wuen the umGonqo is ready the g i r l who i s s t i l l

away from the k ra a l , returns w ith a number o f her f r ie n d s . Sue

is com p lete ly wrapped up in a c loak o f sk in ( is iP u k a ) so that

even l e r f e e t cannot be seen, and goes at once to the umGonqo.

Here she r e c l in e s accord ing to u n iv e rsa l Zulu custom by ly in g

0V \ ° ' . During the menstrual

m. i'l 0 6, .& 0ras s formed - ik e a coat and

. (umTa. f ■?

came) w At the f i rs t men-

s t ru a t io n a ton ic is taken c o n s is t in g o f the roots o f a c e r ta inr ■ \

oih.ibin^ p-ant n ixed with the ujiba variety o f k a f f i r - c o r n •'** .

For p a in fu l m enstruation at any time an ena..a o f the m,rk o f

the bush t r e e is u sed '-* ' . Iron dross is ground and used

m ed ic in a l ly f o r menstrual pains ( i l l y e la ) .

d,-en t i e g i r l i s in the umG-conqOj messengers (boys) are

sent round to add the k raa ls o f the neighbourhood to in v i t e the

0~ r ls to s in & the puberty songs. They make th e i r announcement

by say-ng "You i r e in v i t e d by So and So (the g i r l ’ s fa th e r )

because so and so (the g i r l ) has attuned p u berty ” . Theneighbouring . . .

v— . bryanti Dictionary,( 2 ) . The C o l le c to r Ho.331.( 3 ) . " « 11 333.; 4 ) . dlayr;

355

neighbouring g i r l s go th ere the same day a t n i g h t f a l l , so do

a lso the ;-oun0 men o f the k ra a l i t s e l f and o f the ne igh oourhoo d*

Tiie g i r l and her companions o f a l i k e a0e wear an "isakaazi”

>r ,rass rope round t i e /a 1st f o r as dona as s h e must absta in

from anas! U ) The &i r l s take an o ld ,!im b izan (b ig earthen

v e s s e l ) and cover i t s mouth with a h id e . Then some g i r l s

ho ld the h ide which be ing moistened is drawn tau t, .w h ilst two) w < *

o th er „ . r l s do the beating The beat in, -O ne .... v.. u ** e

stroke h e ld v e r t i c a l l y , the a rm - in ^ 0i r l "m ilk in^" her s t i c k

(swici>*.w tne ..ands ..c .n the s t a . .. j» fcn^ o iwx *a

as in m ilk in g ) whilst o th er g i r l s pour water on the drum. ~er’ s

nanus* I t sounus dea fem iig . Tme 0—rus s —isg to tue

with noduoweu .mnm» guntt. Qukussa, as ws one custom at v~e *• user

f e s t i v i t i e s . The wording o f the soups o f a most, obscenet j )

nature but they are in tended to neap forward tne u iscn a rgev,fc/ •

They s in & t i l l m idnight and hen they are t i r e u the sops depart,

some 0o in 0 home while o thers s leep in some o th e r hut in the

k ra a l . The g i r l s s i t on the o ther s i t e o f the d iv i s io n se­

p a ra t in g them from the umGonqo g i r l .

The ^ i r l s s le ep in the umGonQ.0 hut, but i f they are too

numero s some o f them s le ep in another hut. In the morning

they Oo home w hile the g i r l # who has a t ta in ed puberty remains

a lone with her mother, the door be ing shut.

On the-second day the g i r l 6ces bathing f o r the f i r s t

tL , e a f t e r ner m enstruation. Sue goes e n t i r e ly wrapped up

ana a.. .. c^punsed sy a s in g le i r l , ' Lugg says the g i r l bathes

even b e fo re the news is conveyed to her mother on the ve ry

f i r s t day, - a ' ,

At n i g h t f a l l o f the second day the Qi r l s and boys aga in

assemble and tne proceedings are the s-me as the day b e fo re .

At the end o f them the soys take t h e i r sweethearts and d ie -r rz >V W Jappear w ith them in to the grass to ,..ave sexual in te rcou rsew n,,

i V C v j # 0 4 4

* 3r y a n t ; D....o t io n a ry *V ® ^ mi ^ «C*4»id « i » 9 0 ( J., v ioh sO #

(3 ). T**e Collector p.lQO.

f * i r*25 o.

Callaway s-ys the boys . ave to ^ay the ^ i r l - k in ^ a p ’ eseut to

be a llow ed In the umGon^o and a lso the woman w~o s leeps Ir.

that hut must be g iven a ^ resen t cy the young men to Oo cu t.

Then the youn0 people "sp o rt a f t e r th e ir o »n fan c ies in every( i ) vre s p ec t" . Apparently then, the boys are not real

supposed to be ...nslie the hut and are not t l ere a l l the t im e.

The time durin0 which the g i r l s i t s r e t i r e d , va r ie s

from two weeks to t ;o o r th ree months, ac ,ordrrn to tme fa t h e r ’ s

d e c is io n . She is fe d " f o r - th e purpose o f makir.u her f a t n VM/

and ..her.ever she must uo out she covers her I.ead and adopts a

shy m a n n e r . She may not, no .ever, ea t"am as i".

One day the fa t l .e r t e l l s one womenfolk to pet ready

the ....alt and brew beer. when the beer is be in 0 s tra in ed the

fa th e r en ters the umGonqo hut in the presence o f the ..,ir l and

saps " p c h i ld , you ...oil come fo r th tomorrow (ukuvela am^on-

qw en i), I s h a l l " s you the goat to enable you to eat sour-

-UKr,

(dmbuai yokudhla amasi) and your puberty ox (inkomo y e a .a ' "

p the ^ i r l s he says fimy ch ild ren your f e s t i v a l dance (umGcagco)t A \ Lf*.nn t*rl 1 rs •: otake p la c e tomorrow" ^ . Accord ing to custom he is not

a llow ed to see the 0i r l on the f i r s t two days. A fterwards he

•ay en ter the umGonqo but as a ru le he does not, and i f he does,

the g i r l is e n t ir e ly wrappe .. up. Food is con tr ib u ted some­

times by the neighbouring kraa ls to the fe a s t at a cdrlfe f i r s t

menstruation ( i s i P e k o )•

On the day o f the fe a s t term inating the ..hole ceremony,

.hen the sun is wel* up (about S o ’ c lo ck ) a l l the g i r l s put on

t h e i r ornaments, and p a in t themselves red and ..mite. The um-

• on0o 0i r i and a l l those who a re o f tl ■j. 0 3 Uj © v. ©3/2* l/*!©

m arried woman's k i l t , ( is i-d w aba ) pa in t themselves red and

wuite and wear p la i t e d 0rass crossw ise o ve r the breast and the

back, out put on no ornaments.

Accord ing to Bryant an ox o r goat is s lau gh tered by the

( l ) . Callaway! Nurserv Tales p,S55. ( 3 ) . " p . 186.

• i r l ’ s .........

.by * WJUg . p. aUO.,\4/: , The C o l l e c t o r . i-* aOO No . 585*

257

6i r l * s fa th e r to enable her to "Omaha" o r eat "amasi" a *a in

a f t e r the p e r io d o f abstinence* hanger , however, as we have

seen, saps that th is ox which Bryant c a l l s uraHlonyane ^which is

a-ven by the g i r l ’ s fa th e r and s lau gh tered a t the fe a s t is the

"inkomo Todwa|, i . e . of' the uBwa and has noth ing to do with the

ukwomula. The fa th e r makes Ids daughter eat "amasi" again by

s la u 0 .ta r in g a ^oat (imbusi yokudhla am asi). His informant •

l a i d s p e c ia l s t r e s s on the fa c t that the beast was in v a r ia b ly

a g o a t . Callaway, however, a lso mentions that a .b u llo ck

as s lau gh tered .for th is purpose (inkomo Yokwemuia). He saps

the cau l is p laced o ve r the shoulders and breasts o f the wi r l .

Her head is shaved and her whole- body bathed; then she -dances

and th e r e a f t e r can eat amasi^ The ^rass ropes (tmlCanai)

a re then burnt in the presence o f the o ld women. I f they

c ra ck le i t is a bad omen and they say the g i r l d id not observe

p ro p e r ly the ra le s o f confinement and a b s t in e n c e ^ •

Bryant g ives the ’’ isaHlonyojie" ox as equ iva len t to the

"inkomo eyoku b e le t isa itunga" but Hanger con trad ic ts th is

say ing the l a t t e r " i s id e n t ic a l with the *inkomo Yokukunga* -

s lau gh tered by the maternal grand father o r uncle upon the g i r l ’ s( i )

f i r s t v i s i t a t h is k ra a l"

then a pr incess r o y a l comes o f age a l l law and order

are a t an end — each man, woman and c h i ld lays ho ld o f any

a r t i c l e o f p rop erty at hand, a ssega is , s h ie ld s , m ats ,pots , e tc .

The k la 6 says nothing 11 i t be ing a day o f such * e n e ra l r e jo i c in g

that :.t i s improper to f in d f a u l t " . I f during th is r e i j a o f

m isru le anyth in * is taken chick the c h ie f values he can get i t

by paying a f : n e . l ° ; ,

A f t e r her f i r s t m enstruation the young: men beg in to take

more n o t ic e o f a g i r l and she a lso takes p a r t in the h eav ie r

.ork. Then when she d es ires her m a rr ia gea b le ' s ta te to be f o r ­

m a lly recogn ised by her fa th e r she, on the advice

( l ) . The Collector Ho*336.(3 ). Callaway; Uursery Tales.(3 ) . « " u( 4 ) , l a y r ;

p.193.P.183,

o f her mo ther

253

mother or on her own in itiative once more ceases eating "arnasi"

in order to draw his attention to the fact. He thereupon

"slaughters for her onoe nore a beast thereby liberating her

from her abstinence and acknowledging her marriageable state.

This ceremony is the "ukwomula” "par excellence" and nay be

regarded as a tacit permission of the father to her to look

about for a husband.' • (Omula). Tyler says a cow is slaughter

ed and this is done lest the g ir l be barren'^'1 *

The worst insult that can be offered to' a g i r l is to

ca ll her by the term isiGalagala which implies that she has

had excessive sexual intercourse. To flin g sp ittle at a g ir l

whether by a backward motion of the hand or by mouthyis equiva­

lent to insulting her by this term. In former times a g ir l

so abused would clear her honour by assembling her g i r l -

companions and going in force with then to the kraal or hut of

the slanderer, who, i f prudent would make him or herg>©lf

scarce, as the g irls on this occasion were permitted a very free

hand. Everything in the abusers hut would be destroyed and

fin a lly anyjone of his cattle k illed then and there, the ga ll

and stomach being taken by the g ir l to anoint herself with and( i \so cleanse away the aspersion, '

Any g ir l whose chastity was scoffed at had the right

to seise a head of cattle from the slanderer i f she as

innocent. How, however, according to the Natal Code this is

not allowed,but she may go to law and is entitled to a head of

cattle i f innocent.

(1 ) . Bryant: Edc t ionary.(2 ) . Tyler: p,113.

259.

chapter s i ,

A A B B I A a E.

PRE-AABITAL INTERCOURSE:

The I'ca^olo custom among Zulu ch ild ren has a lready been

mentioned (see -p.^4^), hut th e uku Hlohon.ro custom d i f f e r s from

i t in be ing connived a t by the o ld e r peop le . I t i s a common

custom among Zulus that a be tro thed p a ir indu lge in frequent

s u r r e p t i t io u s , though unconsummated,•in te rco u rse . The p ra c t ic e

though t e c h n ic a l ly un law fu l, is n ever th e le ss u n iv e r s a l ly con­

n ived a t , even by the g i r l s paren ts ; but i t is on ly so t o l e r a - •

ted between a couple who have been p ro p e r ly a f f ia n c e d in{ n \

accordance w ith n a t iv e cu s tom ^ ' .

In Zululand i t was considered a d isg race f o r an un­

m arried g i r l to have a c h i ld at her f a t h e r ’ s k ra a l ana the

f i r s t th ing to be done on f in d in g that a g i r l was pregnant was

to hurry her' o f f to marry someone. I f the g u i l t y man m arried

the g i r l a l l was w e l l . I f , however, she m arried someone e ls e

the seducer had to g iv e an imVimba beast to the parents o f the

2)(g i r l and th is went with her to her husband when she m arried

I t was on ly in consequence of. the Vimba beast having been .pa id

that the f u l l loco la and the inGqutu (Soo ----) beast/ in

resge c t o f the hymen o f a g i r l ) were in turn pa id by the

husband'3 . Chadwick d iscu ss ing n a t iv e custom says , "where

a g i r l is seduced one head o f c a t t l e is p a id as inGqutu, that

i s f o r the damage and another beast is pa id as "mgezo", i . e .

to remove the s ta in , and I don’ t know that under Hatdve Law

pure and s im p le , any o th er cla im can be made f o r d a m ages " .^ )

Thus i t seems that in adm ition to the in CAutu o r imYimba

fu r th e r damages to the ex ten t o f one beast may be claimed.

The in Gqutu beast is the s p e c ia l p rop erty o f a g i r l ’ s mother

and m*s to be pa id to her in respect o f the hymen o f her

daughter ..hen she is impregnated whether or no the ^an marries £X © £ « • • * •

( 1 ) . Bryant: D ic t ion a ry .( 2 ) . Colenso: Do1t io n a ry ,( 4 ) . i im ite f-e lu , p«63»( 4 ) . " p .440.

260.

her In HoiiiciM vs Yay«Vayi (1921 K . l . C . l ) i t was h e ld

th a t , a lthough Sec.SOS o f the 1891 Code p laces a c i v i l

l i s b i l i t y upon the Kraal-head o f the seducer o f an unmarried

g i r l , i t does not exp ress ly exclude an a c t io n by the mother o f

such g i r l aga ins t the seducer p e rso n a l ly and such a c t io n can

be su cc e s s fu l ly m aintained.

When the seduced g i r l is m arried , the c h i ld is regarded(3 ) , .

as a iuenoer o f tne house estao lnshed .y tne marr—age , •»"— -

ch ild ren corn o f an unmarried n a t iv e woman become maulers o f the

house o f the mother o f the unmarrie! woman and are su b jec t tofp\

the head o f the kraal^ y .

LOTS CHAILIS,

As -as a lready been mentioned (p* s o ) the young men

spend tne g r e a te r part o f t h e i r time cou rt in g and consider­

ab le care is taken to ano in t .the body p rop er ly and dress w e l l

b e fo r e going out to v i s i t the g i r l s . . But more important even

than th is is the supernatural a id invoked f o r success by the

use o f numerous love-charm s. B efore go ing out courting i t is

the custom f o r the Zulu to "make h im se lf n ic e " , by tak in g an

em etio ; ~or th is the b e r r ie s o f the uiaguqu bush (Maes a) a re

used sometimes(3 ) . Medicines are used to make g i r l s dream

about them uNginak ila be ing one o f t h e s e , .while o ther

charms are suppose! to cause h y s t e r i c a l f i t s in a g i r l so that

she c r ie s f o r thorn; a fo rm idab le m edicine fo r th is purpose is

uSoka-lak'wa’ Zulu which con s is ts o f washing-soda' mixed in

b u tte r , and the heart o f a cock-dove and o f an o w l '^ h These

medicines a re g e n e ra l ly combinations o f a l l kinds o f animal

f a t s , f l e s h or. excrements, p la n t - r o o ts and European chemicals

and m in era ls . I t v ,ould take too long to enumerate a l l these;

Bryant mentions la rg e numbers o f love-charms while in the

C o l le c to r more a re g iv en , toge th er .-.ith exp lanations in Zulu o f

ho Vi some o f t-.es e are u s e d .1' 4 -' MABEIAJE.........

( 1 ) . Samuelson: B io t . (2 ) . I h i t # f i e l d : p , 63 and 62.( 3 ) . Bryant:(4 . The C o l le c to r : ITo.306-328; 797-800; 803-810.

262.

IIARhlAQE CERE 10 h ie s .

G ir ls seduced b e fo re m arr iage , widows and d ivo rced

women -,when m arried had no pu b lic ceremony with songs and dancing

but were m arried p r i v a t e l y in the presence o f t h e i r immediate

r e l a t i v e s ' - ^ .

Ihen a couple have decided to become engaged, p leasant

s o c ia l gatherings take p la ce Detween the ,«r. and the g i r l s o f

the k raa l ou ts ide the v i l l a g e but the g i r l ’ s fa th e r would(2^

never ^oin in ana does not o ffic ia lly "know" o f t h i s . At

these meetings beer is g e n e ra l ly p rov ided , the g i r l having

s u r r e p t i t io u s ly prepared i t and c a r r ie d i t to the secluded

m eeting p la ce ( iC eoe ) ' 3/l. One day the couple and t h e i r fr ien d s

wo to a spot in the v e ld where the men address, the g i r l s and

thank them f o r havin& nchosen" one o f them. The young man

feives the g i r l a present valued at £1«~2. # . and h is companions

g i v e hers each a sm all present (l/~ 2/-) . The g i r l s in turn

thank (uku 3on0a) the men and ask that they be p rop er ly t re a ted

and not d ece ived . There is no dancing and no ceremony, and

beer even is not always prov ided . This a l ays takes p lace inf p \

the a fternoon and is c a l l e d "uku Bonga" — to return thanks®'.

Very o f t e n the fa th e r o f a g i r l t r i e s to arrange a wood

match f o r her with a . ..an who is r ich enough to g iv e a l a r we

lo b o la but on the whole the g i r l h e r s e l f has a good dea l o f

freedom in her choice and in th is respect cannot w ith much

tru th be sa id to be worse o f f than her European s i s t e r . There

a re cases o f elopement where a g i r l w i l l not be persuaded to

favour her parents’ cho ice but these seem to be ra re . In the o ld

days no man could bet m arried without ro y a l consent but ...ad to

«a - t u n t i l h is regiment was g iven formal perm ission to marry by

b e m b wed to put on tne ~~e a r m ^ , Cnaka and .. —ngaan made

^en wait u n t i l they were f o r t y o r f i f t y , f o r m i l i t a r y reasons,

i t seems that t in s was no innovation o f Dhaka’ s but that he

. . m ere ly .........mJ. B.C,Samuelson:(3jj. Braadvelt: S.A .j.Sc.(3;. Bryant: Die tionary.

262

m e r e l y p ro longed the p e r io d o f awaitm g perm ission to put on

tlie h ead -ring . Probably th is s ign o f manhood had always been

necessary b e fo re a . .an could . carry, but was, in the fays b e fo re

c ircum cis ion f e l l in to d isuse, put on in mediately a f t e r under­

doing the ceremony. There i s , o f course, no way o f v e r i f y in g

any such esg lana t ions and so they must remain as :.ere sugwes-

t « o 1 i s *

uku Baleka:hhen the fa th e r is to be informed fo rm a lly ( f o r t'. ese

m atters are always arranged with the a dv ice o f the mother o r

e ld e r s i s t e r s ) and the couple is desirous o f b r in g in g the

m atter to a head, the g i r l pays what is known as the uku-baleka

v i s i t to the boy 's kraal. when, however, th is v i s i t does not

occur spontaneously but the g i r l is "sen t o f f * by her fa th e r

on the customary p re l im in a ry m a r r ia g e - v is i t to the k raa l o f her

lo v e r (who o r whose fa th e r Las a lread y made a formal request to

her fa th e r f o r her wand), the g i r l is t e c h n ic a l ly sa id to « feo

to stand o r r e s en t” h e r s e l f (uku ha) at h is k raa l when

paying a "ba leka" v i s i t the g i r l , s e l e c t in g a companion from

among Per f r ie n d s , s u r r e p t i t io u s ly betakes h e r s e l f to her

l o v e r ’ s k ra a l . They stand at the ga te , s i l e n t , but a i : know

the meaning o f the v i s i t and a f t e r a ch i le one o f the men asks

"ukve la nqobane" — by whom a re you going to be l i f t e d up

(from 0i m to w ife ) whereupon she names her sw eetheart. The

g i r i s are then asked to en te r but they re fu se to do so b e fo re

g e t t in g a p resen t from the fa th e r o f the boy. This is done,

o a t ) o r 10/- being g iven , The b r id e tuen

I x U w that is ■o f f e r e d her t i l l another Q “ 1 t

a s i i l l l i r . g i.s g iven and f V } £ i "s \r w s f * ! "5 1 par-to tne vaaue ox about

take o f no food u n t i l a fu r th e r g i f t o f 10/- i s p resen te r her.

Suxus are very p a r t ic u la r about these th ree g i f t s and to in s i s t

on them is good manners on the part o f the ^ i r i ' ^ . They become

the p rop er ty o f the f r i e n d who accompanies her.

(1 ) . d ryu •;: B i c t : o na r y . \2, . h ra aP rs lt ; S .A .J .S c .

As

353,

As soon as p o s s ib le a beast, m ostly a h e i f e r , (ego

Kumeaa} is sent to the g i r l ’ s fa th e r in charge o f an e ld e r ly

male r e la t io n o r f r i e n d known as the "rnkwenyana" o r " m l o b o l i "

o r "umXongi" who arranges the business o f lo b o ia and a a r r ia g e

with the g i r l ’ s fa th e r . Even b e fo re a r r i v in g a t the g i r l ’ s

k ra a l he shouts l u s t i l y to the k ra a l inmates t h e i r is ibo iiga( *5 \

aduir-g 11 look f o r h e r o ver ,.ere , you o f the X c la n ,UJ*'# Having

d e l iv e r e d h is beast, he hears what the fa th e r may have to say

as to consent or payment o f lo b o ia . The g i r l remains -.'here

she is f o r a fo r tn ig h t or a month and g e n e ra l ly u n t i l her

fa th e r has g iven a s a t i s fa c t o r y ansverra&d the peop le o f the

p ro s p e c t iv e bridegroom nave duly accepted i t . She then returns

.*ome accompanie. by the umloboli a id some o r a l l o f the lo b o ia

c a t t l e .

I f the c a t t l e cannot be d r iv en , the g i r l is taken onto

the k ra a l to touch <lth a long reed the s p e c ia l beasts f o r

lo b o ia ; she ..11 then t e l l her fa th e r the number. I f the g i r l ' s

fa th e r is s a t i s f i e d with the lo b o ia brought, h is wives cone out

with t h e i r " im beleko" (sk ins f o r ca rry in g babies}' and en ter the

c a t t l e k ra a l. They beat the lo b o ia c a t t l e •„lth the skins

shouting "mother has eaten them*, meaning they now belon^ to

the k r a a l ' * ' . She "abakongi" must p o in t out one beast o f the

lo b o ia c a t t l e as the "umkomo Yenhloko" — cow by which to put up

her ...air and prepare h e r s e l f fo r the wed’. i n T h e Zulus are so

p a r t ic u la r about th is that even i f the f u l l lo b o ia is pa id the

0i r l w i l l not prepare fo r the weddinfe i f they have fo r g o t t e n to

p o in t i t ou t. They would then have to b r ing an ex tra beast fo r

th is purpose. Accord ing to Braadvedfc the In Ggutu o r ubu-

-dba ceaot must be hande>~ over a t the same time as the lo b o ia .

Tais is a g i f t to tne b r id e ’ s mother over and above the lo b o ia

and can never be rec la im ed in d iv o rce .

Accord ing to P la n t , the g i r l ’ s fa th e r sends t -o o r th ree

daughters to fe tch her hone from her "ba leka" v i s i t . when . .

( i ) . Bryant: D ie t . Appendix (B a leka ).(3 ) . Braadvedt.

364,

when t h e l l a h la le i i , ao com p an deby some boys and 0i r i s

o f L is k raa l brin._ the g i r l Lome, t h e g i r l ' s fa th e r does not

appear on the scene but sends a boy to d i r e c t t i e pa r ty to a

hut a lread y prepared. Beer is sent them in th ree pots — one

f o r the u m h la ie l i , one f o r the bridegroom ’ s fa th e r and a th ir d

fo r the r e s t o f the p a r ty . A goat is now k i l l e d and p rop er ly

apportioned: a l e g &oes to the g i r l ’ s mother, the r ibs to her

fa th e r , the head and shoulders are taken back to the bridegroom^

k ra a l while the res t is eaten by the u m h la ie l i ’ s p a r ty . Then

the g i r l ’ s fa th e r would come and reg re t that me was unable to

hear what had been sa id , r eq u ir in g a d e ta i l e d r e p e t i t i o n o f the

c a t t l e brought.

S ing ing would. fo l lo w u n t i l the sm all hours o f the

morning ( c a l l e d 0 u lcw ayo ). "The perform ers s i t on the Oround,

t h e i r bodies th ro -.m in to a l l s o r ts o f p o s i t io n s , the arms moved

about in d i f f e r e n t ways a l l - b e in g done 1 th the o b jec t o f see ing

who can p e rs p ir e the most. A kind o f r i v a l r y is s ta r t e d be­

tween the v is i to r s a n d the v i s i t e d ........ I have on such occasions';

seen the p e r s p ira t io n a c tu a l ly running in two streams from the

doorway. The one p a r ty having done th e ir l e v e l b es t , the

f l o o r is swept c lean o f p e r s p ira t io n and the o ther p a r ty have(■) \

t h e . r in n in gs . " v ,

In the morning they . . o u l a g a in be rega led on beer and

..hen the u m h la ie l i wished them good-bye the o ld women would

rep ly that he su re ly could not lea ve them without some l i t t l e

memento o f such an in t e r e s t in g v i s i t . Then he would produce a

la r g e gourd o f sn u ff , ana o f f e r i t to the " lad y mothers" at the

same time g iv in g an assega i o r o ther t r i f l i n g g i f t to the o ld

man. hath some more s in g in g a t the gate and more beer, the

v i s i t would end, aVw. „ „e pa rty return . . o a e l i .

Samuelson says i t is t - e custom in f a t a l f o r tne b r id e ­

groom to k i l l a beast, t. e umQoiisa — fo r the b r id e — on an

uku Baieka v i s i t . Some o f the fa t is used v .it l powdered scent

to ano-nt mer ana some is put in to a sm all gourd f o r her totake . . ,

( l ) . P la n t : p .34-36.

235,

take koine. The women o f the k ra a l dia. the an o in t in g . She

has to carry a baby mbout to show she w i l l make a good mother.

In Zululand the umQolisa is k i l l e d a f t e r marriage^-/ •

Holden mentions that to make the b e tro th a l b ind ing

(3)an ox is s laugh tered , o f which both p a r t ie s partake

Bryant says i t is customary in some t r ib e s f o r a lance

to be he ld I:; the kru^l o f a bethrotked g i r l .hen the prospec­

t i v e bridegroom a r r iv e s , i th the lob o la c a t t l e . In th is the

- i r l , havirm p laced a s le ep in g mat upon the ground in the c a t t l e

k raa l leads a b ro ther o r s i s t e r o f the young man to s i t thereon

,hela )

A f t e r having pa id her "b e t r o th a l " v i s i t the g i r l begins

to make mats, e tc , and her fa th e r prepares the " i s i Bwaba" s k i r t(4)

.h ick she . i l l -./ear f o r the f i r s t time a t the wedding" The

g i r l assumes t...e reddened top-knot and awaits the f i n a l c e leb ra ­

t io n o f the -wedding'5 ' . She is now c a l le d inGodusa in F a ta l .

Zulus never lo b o la ..1th 7 c a t t l e as th is is regarded

as an in s u lt , when a man asks a g i r l to become h is w ife he

po in ts a t her .1th the f o r e f in g e r o f the right|iand when she

consents ( i . e . 7th f i n g e r ) . then * A bridegroom ’ s party .comes

•..Ith lo b o la c a t t l e a goat is s laugh tered fo r the., c a l le d "urn

Fg en isa n d h iin i" (3)

I t is a com. .on custom that a b e tro th ed p a ir indulge

in frequent s u r rep t it io u s unconsumwated in te rcou rse . Then a

g i r l pays her lo v e r such a "h loborgo " v i s i t o r the young ran

comes to v i s i t her, he o r she w i l l not appear ou ts iae but remain

m the hut. A g i r l when on a "Mimbesela" v i s i t w i l l spend two

days and n igh ts in the you. 0 man’ s hut, le a v in g on the th ird

d ay '' (

umBonoo;A f t e r the g i r l has been "goya ’ m g " , i . e . v is i te r .^ the

b o y ’ s k raa l on the uku baieka v i s i t , an uku bonda g i f t o f beer

"bokwand(lula" must be taken to the coy’s k ra a l . This is the

t! V,beer f o r r o l l i n g up” , so c a l l e d because the b r id e had been

s i t t i . . 0 a m s le ep in g on a .cat sue " r o l l e d up a t the end o f the‘ E ,° * £aa"uelson: (o ' - - r -w j . ; , ; .

A ) . Bruatvedt: ( 5 ) c , - . . . . . r T77 •- i” w * w/* - i. yan t : hi c t i K - P enuix ”

pBryant: Diet. 6i j.Uv., , a a

.efca TI \

366.

p e r io d ” * This beer „s 'orewed oy the b r id e h e r s e l f and is car­

r i e d by h e r s e l f and o th e r g i r l s . "Upon a r r iv in g , they put the

beer down ou ts ide the k ra a l , ana wait u n t i l i t is removed by

the inmates to the hut o f the b r id e -c ro o n ’ s no t i e r -..here a lso

the b r id e is to s tay . The beer is consumed the same day with

the excep tion o f the calabash o f the b r id e h e r s e l f , which is

put as ide f o r consumption by the fam ily c i r c l e on the fo l lo w in g/ n N

day" %-w • For the b r id e and her pa r ty a goat is slaugh te red

by the b oy ’ s fa th e r (inDhlakudla g o a t ) . I f the bridegroom is

a t home the b r id e -will s ta y f o r s e v e ra l days ,4th the l i t t l e

g i r l ho had accompanied her during the "ba leka" v i s i t . A

hut is p laced at the b r id e and bridegroom ’ s d isp o sa l . The

o th er g i r l s go home the same day but i f the d is tance is great,

they .way s leep th ere , the young men (ta in s isw a ) having access

to th e i r s leex in g - p la c e ( l ) .

The next "umconda” performed by the b r id e is c a l l e d ,

"obwokubika ih lo b o " , i . e . b e e r f o r 'announcing the summer. On

th is occas ion , besides the beer a b ask e t fu l o f new hb a l i e -

cobs (ihlomo lom 'oila) as- w e l l as o th e r crops ( im fe , pumpkin,

e t c . ) " is taken a long to the bridegroom ’ s hone in accordance

with the n a t iv e vie,-/ that whatever is p lan ted by the b r id e be- ■

longs to the k raa l in to which she is- to marry. The b r id e is

accompanied by o ther g i r l s but nothing is s laugh tered fo r them

on th is occas ion . Whether the bridegroom is a t home or not

the b r id e ,.411 s ta y f o r a t im e, i f in v i t e d to do so ” •

The next turn a t ukubonda- is taken by the b r id e *3

mother and consequently th is beer is c a l l e d ”obv/ottkwekazi” .

She is sa id " to fo l lo w " o r to "b r in g &loh_- her daughter ’ s f o o t ­

s te p s ” . She is accompanied by m arried women a lone and a. goat

is s lau gh tered f o r "them by the b r ide-groom 's fa th e r . The

p a r ty never sheep there and i f they cannot reach home t*: e same

day they w i l l put up f o r the n igh t a t some o th er k ra a l or. t h e i r

way home,'-*'

The C o l le c to r : Ho. 653.(1)

25S,

{ < \adm itted and the former doing t h e i r best to d r iv e then, i n " —

as an express ion probably o f th e i r re lu ctance to l e t the g i r l

go* One o f the animals brought lay the aroom is s a c r i f i c e d by

the b r id e ’ s fa th e r who t e l l s the ancestors o f t i e c a t t l e that

have seen added to the k ra a l and beseeches them to look k in d ly

on h is daughter and accompany her to her new home. The two

groups then eat toge th er o f the neat and th is is a cementing

corn (a ) The head. O'f the b r id e ’ s k ra a l then t e l l s the "abayenf

p a r ty to Oo back and make beer f o r the redding and report when

the " i s i i in g « (p . 93 ) i s ' ready, -„en the abayfcni duly rep o r t ,

b ea t in g to ge th er stones in th e i r hands as they come, they ask

whether they may no.; put the ferm entation in the ’’ i s i j i n g i ” to

turn i t in to b eer . Perm ission means the b r id e is ready ' 3/a»d

- i l l duly se t out on the th i r d day a f t e r th is when the beer is

ready. Shooter t e l l s us that when the bride-groom wishes the

m arr iage to take p la ce he sends the inGqutu cow to the g i r l ’ s

mother. Both the p a r t ie s prepare beer f o r the wedding in

N a ta l and th is is c a r r ie d to the k raa l o f the bridegroom on the

day b e fo re the wedding. This seer is c a l l e d ( i l i Gobe) but thet A \

word is unknown in Z u lu la n d ^ ' .

B efore the wedding both p a r t ie s prepare dances and songs

f o r the occas ion and o f t e n the s e r v ic e s o f a p r o fe s s io n a l in ­

s t r u c to r are c a l l e d in (See p . 3/3} , Ad- the lo b o la was not in

the o ld days p a id b e fo re the wedding, however, and we are t o ld

that it was the business o f the w h l a l e l i to urge on the

fr ien u s o f the b r id e to hasten the m arriage . Ee stayed at her

k ra a l and there was g u i l t y o f a l l kinds o f m is c h ie f t i l l they

got t i r e d o f him and the wedding p a r ty se t o u t ^ .

when the bride is about to lea ve home, a beast o r goat

~s k i l l e d by ;.er%

fa th e r and th is i S cl s a c r i f i c e he ld by the s ib

a lone. T„e , - r l is commended' to the care o f the ancestors and

c ..sans sn *« i tn the stomach contents - Will > le her fa ce a rms anu „ are « » 1 t

(3)(4)(b)

a

h oe ra le ;- *a u t ; p . 3 6. h. G. Su.i ue Is o n :-oa;y» n &, iiic t , APP eL r*. ^a.laway; Nursery T a les/ £r' * O oO *

a re rubbed with the b i l e . O ften the b ladder i s put in her

h a ir * She eats a . i t t l e o f tue b lood which had been cooked

f o r her* The Dride ~s a lso './ashed in b lack ana white ubu Lawo*

I t is on th is occasion that the s ib -son g (iKubo) i s solemnly

sung v/hile they stand in the c a t t l e k raa l and the g i r l is 0iv e n

adv ice and presents by s ib members ( 1 ) Braadvedt in s is t s that

th is beast k i l l e d fo r her is not a s a c r i f i c e but on ly a fe a s t ,

but th is may be a degeneration iron former custom,. I t ce r­

t a in l y was a solemn occas ion i f the iHubo was sung, and Ludlow

a lso mentions that a Ooat was k i l l e d as a s a c r i f i c e to the

ancestors .

whether the meat brought a long by a b r id e ’ s p a r ty f o r

inducing the peop le o f the k raa l o f the bridegroom to o_.en the

ga te to them, and thrown in lumps over the fence (umPose) _s

part o f the meat o f the beast s la u gh te re r f o r the wi r l o r not,

is not c le a r but th is question is worth in v e s t ig a t io n and may

thro ,~t on th e Question as to whether the oeast k i l l e d

b e fo re a b r id e ’ s departure is o r is not a s a c r i f i c e * In 1’a t a i

the oeast, “iSi3oma is taken a l i v e to the bridegroom ’ s k ra a l ana

tn e re suaugntered*

se-t t i : OUT TO THE BRIEUlBOQh’ S IlhAAL:

The b r id e se ts out w ith her companions male and female

and a number o f o ld e r ....en and ..-omen, so as to a r r i v e a t the

bridegroom ’ s k raa l a t about sunset. Her parents do not go

but her fa th e r is present the fo l lo w in g day at the fe a s t •

She takes with her presen ts f o r a l l the c h ie f r e la t io n s o f the

bridegroom to ge th e r with about three animals and sometimes

more (end isa c a t t l e ' . The most important o f these is the um-

Beka oeast which is a present to t i e bridegroom ’ s p a r ty and

s lau gh te red by them a t the v.emoing. According, to h rs .H oern l

one o f these beasts ,.as a cow, the "animal o f the amahlos'e(S p i r i t s ) . . .

<D x

1270 o

( S p i r i t s ) . This animal is the r ep resen ta t iv e o f the ancestors

o f the g i r l who w i l l guard her in her new home. I t must never

he k i l l e d hut may he s a c r i f i c e d to the woman’ s ancestors as a

l a s t r e s o r t^ 1 '*. In add i t ion to these heasts the meat o f the

isiGodo heast or, in H'atal the isiBorna beast is taken together

w ith beer i f th is has not a lready been d e l i v e r e d . I t i s not

comxoulsory f o r the br ide to b r in g these beas ts , and i t depends(2)on the wealth of her fa th e r whether they are brought or n o tv .

TheiMPimba or b r i d e ’ s party c l o s e l y surrounds the br ide

and on t h e i r a r r i v a l at the gate o f the groom’ s k ra a l , they

" qubushela” , i . e . s ing songs about the br idegroom ’ s peop le .

Then the br ide sings alone the song of her sib ” iHubo” and a f t e r

th is i f the gate has not been opened, they open i t themselves an; ( 2 )and e n t e r 1 . Bryant says the chunks of meat are thrown over

the fence as an inducement to the inmates to open the gate which

i s o ften purposely shut, and then in return f o r or as an ac­

knowledgement of th is meat the br idegroom ’ s party present to

the v i s i t o r s the i s i Wukula beast or goat (ga te opening b e a s t ) .

But Samuels on says i f the br idegroom 's party does not send his

man to meet the b r id a l party and o f f e r them a goat, i t i s con­

s id e red as a great in su l t and they return home or re fuse to

en te r u n t i l the matter is put r i g h t .

When the b r id a l pa r ty en te rs , the wives of the b r i d e ­

groom’ s fa th e r s ta r t s in g in g the ” imikulunqwana* — a s e r i e s

o f high f a l s e t t o cackles k i , k i , k i , in te r sp e rs e d 'w i th pra ises

of the groom^2 ) . The b r i d e ' s pa r ty w ith the br ide i n v i s i b l e

in the cen tre , proceed, s ing ing , up the l e f t s ide of the kraa l

and h a l t and cease at the c h ie f hut at the t o p (3 ) . Then they

are shown one or two huts s p e c i a l l y prepared f o r the urn Timba

p a r ty . The br ide remains in the hut w ith the l i t t l e g i r l ,

usua l ly a younger s i s t e r who c a r r i e s her be long ings , and stays

w i th her at her new home, subsequently usua l ly h e r s e l f marrying

( 1 ) . Hoernle and L e s l i e .( 2 ) . Braatvedt :( 3 ) o P la n t :

in

271

in that k ra a l^ S )0

The bridegroom ’ s party begin to " quraushela” immediately

the v i s i t o r s have been shown the huts. This s in g in g is remark­

ab le f o r i t s obscene character , the c h a s t i t y o f the b r id e in ­

v a r ia b ly be ing attacked® The b r id e ’ s party in turn "qumushela"

and the whole n ight is spent in th is manner. Colenso mentions

that the g i r l s s t r ik e the " in ITgungu* (pot-drum) or c lap the

hands w ith hollowed palms s in g in g the w h ile , through the n ight

b e fo re a wedding dance (U ggnngquze la )v1 ^„ Ludlow says th is

f 2 )"gumushela" s in g in g o ften leads to a r e a l f i g h t^ ~ ' .

THE WEDDING DAY:

Just be fo re day-break the umTimba, s t i l l surrounding

and h id ing the b r id e , r e t i r e to the bush where they spend the

morning washing, dress ing in t h e i r f in e r y and ea t in g food they

have brought from home or which they go to fe t c h (th e bride

remaining in the bush) i f th e i r home is near® The goat

presented to them the previous evening by the young man’ s fa th e r

( i s i Y/ukula) is now k i l l e d and ea ten . P lan t and Samuelson

mention that i t is eaten by the g i r l s on ly , the l a t t e r saying

that the male fr ie n d s of the b r id e eat a goat at the b r id e ­

groom's k r a a l , b u t Braadvedt mentions one goat on ly f o r the

whole p a r ty . Probably i t depends upon the w ea lth of the

groom's fa th e r whether one or two are g iven .

Towards noon some men of' the young man's k raa l come to

c a l l the umTimba: th is they do^nerely " s in a ' in g " and then r e ­

tu rn ing . O ften they have to do th is rep ea ted ly b e fo re the

b r id e 's pa rty make a m o v e ^ and a present may even have to be

g iven to induce them to com e^^. The b r id a l party then sets

out fox- the b oy ’ s k raa l again but the a r r i v a l of the b r id e is

f i r s t announced by an, advance pa rty o f boys who' go round the

k raa l and " s in a "^ 4) or some boys and women "e n te r the gate o f

the k ra a l ; they d iv id e , one h a l f go ing up each side of thek raa l . . . . .

( l ) . Colenso: Diet® ( 2 ) . Ludlow:(3 ) . R.C.Samuelson: ( 4 ) . B raa tved t:( 5 ) . PI.L.Samuelson and ( 6 ) . B ryant: D ic t io n a ry .

Shooter.

272

kraa l and the two halves jo in in g at the top , u t t e r in g as they

move a long a s e r ie s o f screams in term ing led w ith short sen­

tences ( imi Kulunqwane) . Having reached the top of the k ra a l ,

the two p a r t ie s cross each ot her ” . They g e n e ra l ly made a

c i r c u i t o f the kraa l tw ice and then returned to the res t o f the

pa rty in the bush.(L) . L e s l i e ’ s v e rs ion is somewhat d i f f e r e n t .

He says the men of the umTimba come s in g in g and dancing round

the groom’ s party and th e ir spokesmen begins a long s to ry saying

’’ We’ re a pa r ty o f Ama Swazi and have ju s t come to lo o k at you” .

Then they go away to return w ith an o ld man at th e ir head who

says ’’ They have l i e d we’ re an umTimba and have come from so and

so ” , e t c . a f t e r which they go to fe t c h the b r i d e '® ' .

F in a l ly the umTimba se ts out -itk the b r id e in t h e i r

m ids t, a l l dressed up in th e i r wedding f in e r y , the boys and

men ao in a in fr o n t ,vhile the g i r l s and women surround the b r id e

and screen her with m ats. • Before lea v ir .b, they burn a l l the

re fu se le f t beh ind1' 3/ and s in g the ( A )' * 1 ,

reased and per­

fume..*, white o x t a i l s on her arms and w r is ts , beads round her

The b r id e ..ears a ne« " is idwaba" we I

neck m i s t and ankles and sakabula fea thers on her head'®*

Across her forehead and covering half her face>she .ears an

Im 7aka»i, a v e i l o f c lo th decorated .;lth beads'-4 ' . This may

a lso con s is t o f a f r in g e o f seals which conceal the b r id e ’ s

eyes while a l i o wing her to see ( 6) Formerly th is f r in g e was

made o f ubEndhle le a v e s ♦ I t is orn as a symbol o f respect

f o r the peop le o f the feus band’ s k raa l and f o r t* e s p i r i t s o f

iiis ancestors^4/. The b r id e c a r r ie s in her hand a short

asse&a : , which she po in ts at her husband w h ile dancing. I t

s i g n i f i e s tha t she. is a v i r bin , fo r a widow never c a r r ie s i t .

Colenso says a bride-pu ts on a b roa d .b e lt ju s t b e fo re marriage

(c e k a ) .

(A \

( l ) . P la n t ; p .38 . ( 3 ) . L e s l i e :

ElctOi,1 s

13 ; . G a rd n e r : (4 ) . Braadvedt\5 } » H•L«Samueuson:( o ) . Colenso; C lo t .

373

a r a t w

stones

l i - « — — S ( )

Each bridesm aid c a r r ie s a bunch o f snort s t ick s to make

l in g no ise (uou Xaba) and sm all pouches o f dry skins -dth

in s id e , fixe... to a ‘riem' and put round the ankles ( i s i

. They wear k i l t s (is idw aba) o f r a r r . e i women l i k e

the b r id e , and carry s n a i l sh ie ld s and S t r o k s ' * /

THE hELDIITG DAIICES:

The b r id e ’ s pa rty proceed to tne iso beawn — o_<en space

near tne bridegroom ’ s k ra a l appointed f o r ho ld ing the -./adding

danceprhsre they f in d the groom’ s party sea ted but not ye t

dressed up. In Hatal the dancing takes p lace in the c a t t l e

k ra a l . A l l the g i r l s o f the b r id e ’ s pa rty except the b r id es ­

maids then s in g the "inkondhlo" and walk in s in g le f i l e from

the back o f t h e i r own p a r ty , in between the two p a r t ie s and

then back to t h e i r f i r s t p o s i t io n , s in g in g a l l the tim e. Thisf s iis the form al open!: g o f the ceremony J . Delegorgue says that

th is opening movement is performed by the matrons — " .,dth

faces b lo tched red ana 'w h ite , *.eads decked in f o l i a g e and armed

with spear ana suckles they Oo some d is tan ce , separa te , crossii' / ^

each o ther and return to the same p o in t . They shout muchv. * ,

The erode does not appear to take : a r t in th is openir.0 danse o f

the umTimba, but with the bridesmaids remains a t the back

hoduen from v iew .

when the f i r s t dancers have returned to t h e i r f i r s t

p o s it ro n and hay# f in i s : ed s in g in g while standing on a l in e

b e fo re t h e i r own p a r ty , the p a tern a l uncle o f the b r id e .alks

on between tne two p a r t ie s and begins to "ku ieka” — pray . He

c r ie s out ’’ There she is ^ch ild o f so and so , naming a l l the g rea t

ancestors o f the br ide and th e i r praise-names. Addressing the

^room’ s pa r ty he prays f o r an ’’ iboavu" ( c ^ i l d ) , and that the

o r i ie ay be a mother- and l i v e h app ily . He .d l l a lso ..wake a

p u b lic announcement with regard to the lo b o la — what has been

(1 ). do C. SamueIson:(3J, F_ant: p .38.(3^. Braadvedt:(4;. pelegorgue I I , =.330,

3?4

p a id ana wnat is s t : due (1) Bryant, P lan t and Samuelson

a l l a.0ree tha t i t is the b r id e ’ s fa th e r who does t i l s (Bruatvedt

s ta te s that the parents o f the b r id e are never presenr a t the

;ec.JbnB) and Bryant 0lv e s the prayer o f the fa th e r to t i e an­

c e s t r a l s p i r i t s .-.hen he "p u b l ic ly presen ts h is daughter to the

s p i r i t s o f the br idegroom’ s house" an* asks that they grant her

tne gra ce o f o f f s p r i n g " ^ ) . He says

c lan . Here as my c h i ld . . I beg f o r

that as two they .may l i e and r i s e up t h r e e " (^5. He a lso

counsels the bridegroom to behave v e i l to his daughter* In the

end he " g i y a ’ s " (ru n s out a short d is tance f i g h t in g an imaginary

f o e ) . A l l the male members o f the b r id e 's pa rty now "G iya"

one a t a time. Then a l l the g i r l s s in g the " inkondh lo ". While

th is is go ing on the b r id e and bri&emaids proceed from the back

and ^o round t i l l they meet oppos ite the cen tre o f the l in e o f

s in g in g 0i r l s . I f th ere a re four bridesmaids two go with the

b r id e and two go round the op pos ite ..ay, i f th ree , two _o with

the br ide , one on e i th e r s id e as b e fo re and one behind. here

the bride and maids f a l l in to l in e .1th the s in g ir ^ g i r l s and

beg in to " s in a " . As soon as the b r id e s in gs , the fo l lo w e rsf \

j o in i n ' ' - ' . R.C.Samuelson describes the f i r s t opening dance

as be ing done behind the .a les o f cue - a r ty . Then a f t e r the

str ife fa th e r has addressed the s p i r i t s . t h e g i r l s move forward

_n fron t o f the m ales, le a v in g the br ide behind, screens.; by

the males from s ig h t , and form a phalanx. The b r id e then

edges forward a long the l in e o f g i r l s , s ink ing her sp e c ia l .s o n g

t i l * , she is in fr o n t o f the g i r l s where she sings and dances,

the g i r l s jo in in g in tremuloso (4) Three dances are danced

b e fo re they s i t down, when the brides: a ids aga in f i x up a screen

o f mats round the bride and hold one over her Lead. The v is i t o r s

o c c a s io n a l ly come to the screen , pat t h e i r stomachs and say they

Lope the b r id e 111 g ve them good th ings to eat J ^ The

dancing «.nd the number o f dances -danced .111 not alvrays be the. . same.........(-1 * B raatved t:(3 ) . B ryant: D io t . ( l e t i ) .(3).. Shooter:4) * R* C. Samueuson:

T375.

same (p . ) , -o r each pa r ty does i t s t e s t to ex ce l and do

somethin^ new, though ,.e a re t o ld that or- the .mole the sor.0s

and dances o f the *oride ’ s pa r ty are more s te reo typ ed than

those o f the ik e to (^room’ s p a r t y ) • The s p e c ia l dancing o f

the bride is c a l l e d the i s i Cahguso.

Wren the p a te rn a l uncle thinks the b r id e has danced

enough, me t e l l s her to stop , i f she takes no n o t ic e he h its

the 0round on fr o n t o f her ..ith a stuck and then she w i l l

s top '-0' , 'While the b r id e dances, the o ld e r women o f her

p a r ty may s in g in adm iration o f her -.race and her a t t i tu d e

------ e dancing^ i . The women may a ls o warn the husband to t r e a t

her ..el:; and someth .es the o ld women dance in and out among the

- i r " s ca rry in g a ...eali e-coo stuck on an assega i which they

f nourish f o r luck and r o s p e r i t y o r they run up and down,

between the p a r t ie s w a il in g and swearing a t the b r id e g r o o m ^ .

when dancing a lone , the b r id e o f te n takes some l i b e r t y ,/ith the

^room such as k ick ing dust in h is fa c e or c a l l in g him names'®'

show ing.a le is not yet submissive

s * i i B ms auauaby - -t.aoe_.euo),

posed f o r her ,...en a baby and ./hi

time ,

. F in a l ly the p i

which the b r id e ’ s

ch i s now sung f o r

r l ’ s -.arty

mother ccm-

tue ia s t

The bridegroom ’ s party Oo and dress when the umTimba

has f in is h e d dancing and o f t e n during th is in t e r v a l a body o f

ou ts ide rs co n s is t in g o f young men anew r _.s a tteu a in . the

eu i i o j assemble and perform on the dancing

The b r id e ’ s p a r ty no** s i t where t i e iS e to sat

the dancing ground fo r the iX e to . On th e i r

6 round (uku Shane

b e fo re ^ leav in0

return the dancin

o f the groom’ s party

while the others f o l

30no o f the ih e to is

is opens*., by the bridegroom .ho " g i y a ’ s ”

ow s u i t . Then they " s in a " . The s t a r t in g j

c a l l e d urnHoloba1 (pM $ ) , but they do a

number o i dances, ana t r y very hard to outdo those o f the br ides/ \ T party < • • • i.-/ . Issues : i i , - .3 5 .^3, » • L.Sa.w.ue„son:^3). Bryant: D ic t ion a ry ,

. (4^. L e s l i e :(5 ;. Shooter:( 6 ) . B raatved t.

i c

376

p a r ty . «Omen do not j o in in the dancing o f t h e ih e to "out

deprecate the ^ i r l and ^ ra is e td.e bridegroom while ti.e iS e to is

gerfom ing (^0 . Usually a special so .u is :o* posed by iota t h e

bride and bridegroom f o r the occasion*

The bridegroom is dressed in h is ’’unutsha" and wears vte4i

white o x - t a i l s round h is arms and le^s and a l.ead ornament o f

sakaoula fe a th e rs . lie c a r r ie s a knookerrie and a court

s h i e ld ' * h is companions l ik e w is e carry s t ic k s and sh ie ld s

and a l l near e labo ra te beadwork round the neck, e tc .

The "-nkomcjfyo ku beka" is d r iven between the t o p a r t ie s

by male members o f the urn Timba, YJhen the ’’umbeko” beast

( which is a present from the o r id e ’ s fa th e r to the Lmsoand and

is o f te n accompanied by s e v e ra l o th e rs ) has been duly pr&ased,

the b r id e ^while the whole party a re dancing goes to her husbandte

mother ana says "T o la ” , " f i n d ” , and asks her to teach her and

t r e a t her v e i l e d ) . Then she stands up and i f she is not caught

by the arm ju s t as she is r i s in g , she w i l l run home and her

3 mi 1 1 have to pay a f o r f e i tm u Callaway says the b r id e

laced brass b e fo re her husband’ s fa th e r and prayed sa y in i_ "S ir e ,

take care o f me fo r eve r , f o r now I a..., in thy hand, p reserve

ike” '3/ ana P lan t a lso says that i t is b e fo re the husband’ s

fa th e r that the g i r l kn ee ls . Ludlow and II. L. Samuels on say that

the b n . e kneels be fore the bridegroom and whiskers to bill, to

t r e a t her w e l l , but Braatvedt says i t would be co ra ldered ex­

treme bad form i f the b r id e were to go near, much less address

her husband a t the wedding. The custom must thus d i f f e r from

t r ib e to t r . b e even in Zululand,

One o f the uncles o f the husband no ? p ra ises t'. e

amadd-lozi o f t h e i r k ra a l sayirn ’’ There she i s ; there are the ca t­

t l e o f the bridegroom” fo r the s p i r i t s must be in fo rued o f{ i \

•hat, ...ms become o f the c a t t l e which l e f t the k r a a l A c c o r d i n g

to Samuels on ; -f* ys the bridegroom ho comes forward, hea hires s es

(-<•. Braatvedt.3 ;. Oa' l a .uy: Purser? Tales .252"r&fa—H«V";gu ....oleon,r A \.4;, Shooter*'ft- tf-.h. fftKu $av?

Collection Number: A1119

Collection Name: H.B. Gluckman, Zulu Ethnography, BA Honours Thesis, 1934

PUBLISHER: Publisher: Historical Papers Research Archive, University of the Witwatersrand Location: Johannesburg ©2017

LEGAL NOTICES:

Copyright Notice: All materials on the Historical Papers website are protected by South African copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise published in any format, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer and Terms of Use: Provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein, you may download material (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal and/or educational non-commercial use only.

People using these records relating to the archives of the Historical Papers Research Archive, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, are reminded that such records sometimes contain material which is uncorroborated, inaccurate, distorted or untrue. While these digital records are true facsimiles of paper documents and the information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand has not independently verified their content. Consequently, the University is not responsible for any errors or omissions and excludes any and all liability for any errors in or omissions from the information on the website or any related information on third party websites accessible from this website. This document is held at the Historical Papers Research Archive, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.