Title: The Native Races of East Africa
Author: Hambly, Wilfrid D. (Wilfrid Dyson)
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.


*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Native Races of East Africa" ***

This book is indexed by ISYS Web Indexing system to allow the reader find any word or number within the document.

AFRICA ***



  _Native Races of the British Empire_


  THE NATIVE RACES
  OF EAST AFRICA


  BY

  W. D. HAMBLY, F.R.A.I., B.Sc.
  (RESEARCH DEGREE, OXON.)

  OXFORD DIPLOMA IN ANTHROPOLOGY
  ASSISTANT ANATOMIST IN THE WELLCOME RESEARCH EXPEDITION
  TO THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN, 1913-14


  HUMPHREY MILFORD
  OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
  LONDON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW
  TORONTO, MELBOURNE, CAPE TOWN, BOMBAY
  1920


  [Illustration: MASAI WARRIOR WITH LION-SKIN HEAD-DRESS.]


  PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
  MORRISON & GIBB LTD., EDINBURGH



PREFACE


During recent years there has been a very happy tendency to change the
nature of geographical teaching from a monotonous memorising of the
names of natural features to a subject of living interest.

In the endeavour to effect this change there has been a serious
omission in our failure to appeal to natural interests of children by
making the human element a central feature of geographical work.

A study of the picturesque lives of native races of the British
Empire is an absolute essential if the teacher wishes to impart the
appropriate colour and setting to a subsequent course of economic,
regional, and political geography.

The sharp contrast between European beliefs and customs and those of
primitive people is in itself an incentive to study and interest.
In addition to this, a sympathetic understanding of the many native
races who are controlled by English statesmanship is necessary for the
material and moral progress of dominions in the British Empire.

  W. D. HAMBLY.



  CONTENTS

                                      PAGE

  CHAPTER I
  INTRODUCTION                           9

  CHAPTER II
  THE FIGHTING MASAI                    17

  CHAPTER III
  MASAI STORIES AND BELIEFS             28

  CHAPTER IV
  THE AKIKUYU PEOPLE                    33

  CHAPTER V
  SOCIAL LIFE OF THE AKIKUYU            38

  CHAPTER VI
  THE BAGANDA TRIBE OF UGANDA           41

  CHAPTER VII
  SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BAGANDA            46

  CHAPTER VIII
  STORIES TOLD BY THE BAGANDA           49

  [Illustration: EAST AFRICA]



THE NATIVE RACES OF EAST AFRICA



CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION


A few years ago two dwarfs or Pygmies from the trackless forests of
Uganda were bold enough to allow themselves to be brought to London,
where they were exhibited and photographed. Unfortunately these little
people had no one who could interpret their language, or what a
wonderful story they might have told concerning life in an equatorial
forest, where the foliage is in places so dense as to shut out the
powerful glare of a tropical sun.

Many years ago these dwarfs were known to the highly civilised
inhabitants of Ancient Egypt, and as early as 3000 B.C. the leaders of
expeditions into the Sudan were charged by the Pharaohs of Egypt to
return with gold dust, ivory, ornamental woods, and leopard skins; but
above all these forms of wealth King Pepy II. desired a Pygmy “alive
and well.”

These tiny folk, whose height is rarely more than four feet nine
inches, live the simple life of hunters, almost devoid of clothing,
possessing neither basket-work nor pottery, and armed only with
flint-tipped spears and small poisoned arrows. Of agriculture they
have no knowledge, for their time is wholly occupied by the dangerous
pursuit of large and small game.

What a sharp contrast to these pygmies are the giant tribes of the
Upper Nile, where the Shilluks are usually six feet four inches in
height, and a man of only six feet would be regarded as short!

Many centuries ago, but at what time in the world’s history it is
impossible to say, a tall, dark-skinned people named Hamites entered
Africa from the direction of Arabia, and so fierce were these invaders
that they were able to push before them the negroes, who retreated
south and west. These fighting Hamites are now represented by the
Somali, Danakil, and Galla who inhabit the “Horn of Africa,” where they
subsist chiefly by cattle rearing; that is to say, they are a pastoral
people, who move from one well and piece of grass land to another,
driving before them large herds of sheep, goats, camels, and perhaps a
few horses.

Of course the Hamites mixed with the true negroes to some extent,
so forming the great Bantu race which inhabits most of our Uganda
Protectorate. The dreaded Masai of British East Africa are probably a
cross between the Negro and the Galla. Arab tribes have for centuries
wandered through East Africa as traders and slave raiders, so we have
to consider a very mixed people.

What a variety of country, too, in the British territories called the
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Uganda, and British East Africa!

[Illustration: WOMAN CRUSHING GRAIN ON A CONCAVE STONE WITH AN OVAL
STONE ROLLER.]

Everywhere along the banks of the Nile there is fertile country, but
in the Sudan territories of Kordofan, Sennar, and other provinces,
are seemingly boundless tracts of desert, broken here and there by
rocky hills or “gebels,” which perhaps attain a height of three or
four hundred feet. In such places large dog-faced baboons abound,
hyenas shelter in the caves, and near to the wells, usually found
among the rocks, are native encampments, where dwell Arabs, Taishi,
and Baggara people, who fought so determinedly against the English
in 1885. Now, however, they are quite friendly, and the traveller
may be invited into the “zereba,” an enclosure containing a number of
circular huts with pointed roofs, and here refreshment of coffee and
milk is provided. Thin miserable dogs bark defiance at the stranger,
who keeps them at bay with his whip of rhinoceros hide. Little naked
children play about in much the same way as white youngsters amuse
themselves, but they are more delighted than their white cousins would
be by the gift of a wire bracelet or a string of beads. Outside the
huts kneeling women crush the grain--“dhurra”--on slabs of stone; and
what an enormous pile of this crushed grain a Sudanese will eat! Seldom
does he enjoy the luxury of meat. A whitish, muddy-looking liquid
may be offered to the visitor; this he had better avoid, for it is
native beer, made by allowing soaked “dhurra” to stand in the sunshine
for several days. If the village population has reached two or three
thousand, there are sure to be a few Arab merchants who have brought
their calico, dried dates, and other wares all the way from Khartoum
or Wad Medani. There they sit by the goods, which are laid out on the
ground, possibly reading a chapter from the “Koran” or Mohammedan
Bible, while a small group of natives gather round and decide how to
spend the money which they have only recently learned to use, instead
of bartering, that is, changing one article for another.

In many parts of the Sudan natives are employed on irrigation works or
railways, where the workmen are paid with Egyptian coins. Even now a
native prefers to have a lot of little coins, and would at any time
receive several small coins rather than one silver piece.

Uganda and British East Africa can show enormous tracts of park land,
where European enterprise is engaged in cattle rearing, and native
tribes such as the Masai rely on their flocks and herds for a living.
In no part of the world, not even in the Amazon valley, are the forests
more dense than those of Uganda, where the traveller finds Bantu tribes
existing much as they have done for thousands of years.

When reading of railways connecting Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, with
Khartoum, or of a line from Nairobi in British East Africa to Port
Florence on Victoria Nyanza thence to the great port of Mombasa, one
is apt to think that these East African Protectorates must be very
advanced in civilisation, but this is not the case.

In a journey from Khartoum southward into the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan,
or from Port Sudan to Khartoum, the traveller is very much impressed
with the luxury of the train in which he travels through the wildest
scenery, comprising dense prickly bush, dreary wastes of sand, and
rocky hills. Native children run away screaming on the approach of
a train. In the journey from Khartoum to the Red Sea one encounters
the Hadendoa people, who make themselves appear very tall and wild by
allowing their hair to grow perpendicularly in a huge bush on the top
of the head. In Uganda and British East Africa the traveller may have
the experience of having his train charged by a buffalo, rhinoceros, or
elephant, who mistakes it for some powerful rival, come to settle in
the tropical forest which he has enjoyed undisturbed for so many years.

[Illustration:

 1, 2. Throwing-clubs from the Nile Valley.

 3. Pot from which victims for sacrifice were made to drink a magic
 draught to “kill” their souls, and thus prevent their “ghosts” from
 returning to punish their murderers.

 4. Conventional hoe-blades used as money (Upper Nile).

 5. Small shield of the Hamites, west of Victoria Nyanza (Uganda).

 6, 7. Old and modern Masai spears.

 8, 9. Fighting bracelets (Upper Nile).

 10. A Dorobo elephant harpoon (East Africa Protectorate). The arrow
 shaft fits loosely into the haft, which falls away when the animal is
 struck.

 11. Spear of the Hamitic tribes.

 12, 13, 14. Pottery vases blackened with plumbago. One is in the form
 of a gourd (Baganda, Uganda).

 15. Ivory armlet, Shilluk tribe (Upper Nile).

 16, 17. Tobacco pipes (Upper Nile).]

The savage peoples of East Africa are in many ways much more advanced
in civilisation than the native tribes of Australia. The latter are
simple hunters, possessing no clothing, no dwellings, no knowledge of
metals, pottery making, or basket weaving. On the other hand, native
inhabitants of East Africa have left the Stone Age far behind, and
almost everywhere a knowledge of iron ore, smelting, and manufacture
of spear-heads has been acquired. Ancient stone implements are found
in all parts of Africa, but it is generally supposed that knowledge of
iron came to the “Dark Continent” at a fairly early date in the history
of civilisation.

Everywhere the Negro is an agriculturist, whose women folk cultivate
the yam, maize, or banana, whereas a simple hunting tribe in Australia
will rely entirely for vegetable foods on what can be collected in the
way of wild fruits and berries.

With respect to clothing, weapons, dwellings, pottery, basketry,
agriculture, and other forms of manufacture and enterprise, the
inhabitants of East Africa are well advanced, while everywhere there
is a great system of exchange or barter, which is not always found
among more primitive savages, such as the Australian native tribes.
Naturally, in so vast an area there are thousands of tribes, hence in
this small book there will be space to tell only of a few of the most
interesting inhabitants, who had their home in the “Dark Continent”
long before the explorers Livingstone, Stanley, Mungo Park, Baker,
Burton, Speke, or even early voyagers like Father Lado, Hanno, and the
centurions of Nero ventured to penetrate the wilds.



CHAPTER II

THE FIGHTING MASAI


In the year 1895 British East Africa, formerly governed under a Royal
Charter held by the Imperial British East Africa Company, came directly
under the management of the British Foreign Office. Thanks to the
assistance of the Masai, hostile tribes, such as the Wakamba, were
completely subdued; and on our side it may be said that protection was
given to the Masai against their treacherous and warlike neighbours the
Akikuyu.

Perhaps the term “warlike” should no longer be applied to Masai
tribesmen, for of late years they have been extremely peaceful.
Misfortunes, such as loss of cattle by a disease called “rinderpest,”
and outbreaks of small-pox, have made this very independent tribe rely
on the British Government for advice and protection.

There are certain points in which the Masai resemble Zulu tribes; for
instance, their fighting men must not marry, and there is a royal
family from which a chief is always selected. Some of the marriage
customs are very similar, and among both Zulus and Masai there are like
methods of painting warriors’ shields in order to distinguish companies
and larger units. Against all these points of comparison there is one
important fact, namely, difference in language, which very strongly
suggests that the Zulus and Masai are not related.

[Illustration: A MASAI VILLAGE.]

Though slaves are unknown amongst the Masai, there are a servile people
named the Dorobo who have to obey the commands of their masters; but,
on the other hand, they receive wages, and must not be bought or
sold. Very probably these people who serve the Masai were at one time
captured and enslaved; now they do not possess any cattle, and as a
rule the hardest work falls to their lot. An East African official,
Mr. Hinde, says of these Dorobo: “They do not build kraals after the
manner of the Masai, but inhabit clusters of badly built huts hidden
in the bush. In war they are not allowed to accompany the Masai, or to
carry shields and spears. Their weapons consist of a bow, poisoned
arrows, and a heavy wooden-handled spear, into one end of which a
massive arrow-head is placed. This arrow-head is thickly smeared with
poison. In attacking large game, such as the elephant, hippopotamus,
or rhinoceros, they drive the arrow-head into the animal, whereupon
the heavy shaft drops off and is recovered. A new tip is fitted, and
the native, following the wounded animal, shoots these poisoned arrows
until the creature drops from exhaustion.”

A Masai chief is a person of the greatest importance; and in former
days, when the tribe was about to undertake a great raid on some
neighbouring people, the king would throw himself into a trance, in
which he had visions of the proper way of conducting an attack or
defence. On other occasions his power of second sight caused him to
foretell possible calamities, and before waking he suggested some means
of avoiding them.

Very probably the king practised a good deal of deception, for it is
well known that he had a secret service system which informed him of
all that was taking place in his own and adjacent tribes. A son of the
royal house will always preserve his father’s skull, which, if kept
near, is supposed to bring good luck, and assist in ruling the country.
The bodies of ordinary people are just allowed to remain in the bush,
and a funeral, burial, and mound of stones are given only to members of
the royal household.

The Masai are a very bright, intelligent, and truthful people; very
rarely will a full-grown man commit a theft or tell a lie. Unlike many
African tribes, these people have no musical instruments, and their
few war songs and verses, sung while herding cattle, are very simple.
Generally speaking, African natives are musical, and flutes, drums,
also stringed instruments are very ingeniously made.

Of the personal appearance of the Masai, Mr. Hinde has said: “The adult
male Masai may be described as tall and spare, with sloping shoulders
and small hands and feet. The sloping shoulders are probably due to
a complete absence of manual labour, and to the constant carrying
of a shield or spear in either hand, each weapon weighing eight or
nine pounds. Compared with his height an average Masai could not be
considered broad-chested. A habit of stooping, and leaning the head
forward when running, gives a slovenly appearance, only slightly
detracted from by an abnormally long stride. They are extraordinarily
fleet of foot, and can run without tiring for incredible distances.
Their usual pace is a long loping trot.”

One very strange custom, looked upon as a means of ornamenting the
head, is boring the ear lobe and inserting an object of large size.
From time to time a larger object is put into the hole until the ear
becomes enormously distended; some natives have been seen with ear
ornaments consisting of one-pound jam tins inserted in holes made in
the ear lobes.

Some women prefer lip ornaments of great size, which must be in the way
at meal-times. The method of introducing these studs is similar to that
employed for fitting large ear ornaments. A small hole is filled with a
thin plug of wood, the size of which is gradually increased. As a rule
a lip stud projects into the wearer’s mouth, so that at least two teeth
have to be extracted.

Another favourite form of ornament consists of burning the skin with
acid juices derived from plants. Small circular scars arranged in
patterns are made, and in the Shilluk tribe of the Nile Valley men have
four rows of such scars right across their foreheads. Women of the
tribe have two or three rows. Sometimes these scars are made merely for
ornament, or the marks may serve to show the tribe to which a person
belongs.

[Illustration: MITTU WOMAN, SHOWING LIP ORNAMENT AND TATTOOING BY SCARS
(CICATRISATION).]

Kavirondo men and their near neighbours, the Masai, are great warriors.
In the latter tribe boys serve a long arduous military training, and
it is a proud day when they are allowed to assume the full war-time
outfit. The headdress helps to conceal people who are crouching among
long grass. The armlets are merely ornamental, but the patterns on
shields denote the military unit to which the warriors belong.

[Illustration: WARRIORS OF THE KAVIRONDO TRIBE IN FEATHER HEAD-DRESSES.]

Men, women, and children have clean shaven heads, and it is quite an
exception for a man to show any sign of beard or moustache. Although
washing the body and clothing is unpopular, the Masai have great pride
in their teeth, of which most perfect care is taken, and whiteness
and polish are obtained by frequent use of a small stick. Knocking out
the upper central teeth is a strange custom, said by the people to
have been invented at a time when there were many cases of lock-jaw,
and the patients had to be fed through the hole made by extracting
these teeth. In some instances small pieces of iron are worn, not as
ornaments, but as a protection against, or cure for disease.

All over the Sudan this wearing of charms is common, and amongst the
Mohammedan people the amulet is made by wrapping a verse from the Koran
in a roll of leather, generally worn round the neck or on the arm.

The ornaments worn by Masai women are most noticeable, and the
traveller is surprised that the wearers can move arms and legs
sufficiently well to perform their work. Iron wire is wound round the
arms from wrist to elbow and from elbow to shoulder; the legs also are
encased in iron wire from ankle to knee-joint. Metal collars, which
look most uncomfortable, are still made and worn by women and boys,
who seem willing to tolerate any amount of discomfort rather than go
without these ornaments.

Amongst the Masai there is a belief that ill luck will follow if a
man is called by his own name, and to avoid this he must always be
addressed by his father’s name. When asked for his name, a man will
always give that of his father; his own name must be inquired from some
third person. As among ourselves, names are handed down from father to
son, and among the Masai the father’s name is almost invariably given
to his favourite son. Superstitions with regard to names are carried
still further. Suppose several people in the tribe have the same name,
this must be changed immediately on the death of one of them, for it
would be considered very unlucky to retain the name of some one who
had just died.

[Illustration: LUMBWA WOMAN AND GIRL, SHOWING DRESS AND ORNAMENTS OF
WIRE, ETC.]

Boys of the Masai tribe have a very hard, unhappy life, for not only
are they made to do all the hard work of carrying, milking and driving
cattle, but in addition every one treats them harshly, and a boy
may not even speak to one of the warriors. Presently the conditions
improve, and elder boys go out shooting birds with bows and arrows,
in order to get feathers for making mantles worn by warriors. At
last the youth reaches an age at which he is allowed to live in the
warriors’ camp, where there is strict training, and no excess in eating
or drinking is allowed; smoking is quite forbidden. As the military
training advances, the boy becomes the proud possessor of a painted
shield, a spear, a sword, and a knobkerry or club. These weapons are
kept in perfect condition, the spear-heads being brightly polished with
a hard stone. Warriors are the only people allowed to grow their hair,
and each fighting man possesses a “pig-tail,” of which he is very proud.

Before making an attack, Masai warriors chew bark from the mimosa tree.
This acts in such a way as to make them nearly mad with ferocity,
and when all are very wild and excited the enemy is engaged. Enemies
face one another in long lines, and instead of a general attack being
launched single pairs are engaged in combats which are a fight to the
death. In case of success the victors will seize the best cattle,
which are driven off to the pastures of the conquerors. It is said
that the Masai never attack by night or by stealth; there is always
a preliminary warning and invitation to “come out and fight to the
death.”

Although young boys have such a hard time in order to make them fit to
be trained as fighters, girls of the tribe are very kindly treated.
Young maidens spend a great deal of time in singing, dancing, and
ornamenting themselves; as a rule, they do not even cook their own
food. Old women have all the hard menial work to perform, and very hard
is their lot in building huts, carrying loads when the tribe moves,
collecting firewood, and keeping night watches. Speaking of old women
in the Masai tribe, Mr. Hinde says: “As long as she can crawl about she
continues her labours, and death is the only release she can hope for.”
As a rule, a girl becomes the wife of a man who can afford to pay goats
and cattle for her; but the Masai parents consider their daughter’s
wishes, and she is not obliged to become the wife of a man she does not
like.

The life of Masai people depends almost entirely on herds of goats and
cattle, which are driven from pasture to pasture. Reptiles, birds,
insects, and fish are never eaten, grain only at times when meat is
scarce, while a favourite food is blood, drawn from the neck of a cow
by making a small puncture with an arrow, in such a way as to avoid
injuring the animal severely. Herds of cattle, though very docile and
easily managed by small children, are extremely fierce, and well able
to protect themselves against attacks made by hyenas or a leopard.

Though so bold in warfare the Masai are not a race of hunters, and big
game such as lions, leopards, or the rhinoceros are attacked only when
the skin is required, or the animal has become a menace to the herds
of cattle.

Among the industries, smelting of iron in clay furnaces is very
important, as it provides spear-heads and ornaments. These are not
moulded by allowing molten metal to run into vessels, but the ore,
heated in a charcoal fire, is beaten into shape while resting on a
block of hard wood or stone.

Clay taken from river beds serves as material for making earthenware
vessels, which are baked hard in a fire after being moulded by hand
into the shape required. Other vessels are made from gourds, while as a
pastime the carving of wooden pipes and ornamenting the bowls is very
common.

Hut building with such materials as hides, mud, and sticks, likewise
the construction of a stone and bush enclosure round the village,
take a great deal of time; so also does a complete removal to fresh
pastures. Hence in one way or another the time of these people is fully
occupied, and it is a great mistake to suppose that all black people
are lazy and indolent.

There must, of course, be time for leisure, which is sometimes spent in
telling the stories given in the next chapter.



CHAPTER III

MASAI STORIES AND BELIEFS


At all periods of the world’s history human beings have been fond of
stories concerning animals, and the Masai are no exception to the
general rule. Here is a story of the hare and the elephants, one of a
number collected by Mr. Hollis, who resided among the Masai for several
years:

“A hare, that lived near a river, one day saw some elephants going to
the kraals of their father-in-law. He said to the biggest one, who was
carrying a bag of honey: ‘Father, ferry me across, for I am a poor
person.’ The elephant told him to get on his back, and when he had
climbed up they started.

“While they were crossing the river the hare ate the honey, and as he
was eating it he let some of the juice fall on the elephant’s back.
On being asked what he was dropping, he replied that he was weeping,
and that it was the tears of a poor child that were falling. When they
reached the opposite bank the hare asked the elephants to give him some
stones to throw at the birds. He was given some stones, which he put
into the honey bag. He then asked to be set down, and as soon as he was
on the ground again he told the elephants to be off.

“They continued their journey until they reached the kraal of the big
one’s father-in-law, where they opened the honey bag. When they found
that stones had been substituted for honey they jumped up and returned
to search for the hare, whom they found feeding. As they approached,
however, the hare saw them and entered a hole. The biggest elephant
thrust his trunk into the hole and seized him by the leg, whereupon the
hare cried out: ‘I think you have caught hold of a root!’ On hearing
this the elephant let go and seized a root. The hare then cried out:
‘You have broken me! You have broken me!’ which made the elephant pull
all the harder, until at length he became tired.

“While the elephant was pulling at the root the hare slipped out of
the hole and ran away. As he ran he met some baboons, and called out
to them to help him. They inquired why he was running so fast, and he
replied that he was being chased by a great big person. The baboons
told him to go and sit down, and promised not to give him up. Presently
the elephant arrived, and asked if the hare had passed that way. The
baboons inquired whether he would give them anything if they pointed
out the hare’s hiding-place. The elephant said he would give them
whatever they asked for, and when they said they wanted a cup full of
his blood, he consented to give it them, after satisfying himself that
the cup was small. The baboons then shot an arrow into his neck and the
blood gushed forth. After the elephant had lost a considerable quantity
of blood he inquired if the cup was not full. But the baboons had made
a hole in the bottom of the cup, which was still half empty. The
elephant suddenly felt very tired, lay down and died, upon which the
hare came from his hiding-place to continue his journey.”

[Illustration: PRIMITIVE SMELTING FURNACE, AND SECTION OF SAME, SHOWING
BLAST-PIPES, FUEL, AND ORE.]

Some stories are concerned with the work of evil spirits, and, of
course, tales connected with warriors’ exploits are very popular.
Before setting out on a raiding expedition a band of warriors consulted
a wise man of the tribe, known as the “medicine man,” who said that
the expedition would be unsuccessful if any warrior killed a monkey
while on the march. A coward who heard this made up his mind that
he would kill a monkey, then perhaps the attacking band would run
instead of fighting. On the way to the scene of the combat this coward
observed some monkeys, so, pretending to stay behind in order to fasten
his sandal, he killed one of the animals, then quickly rejoined his
comrades, who by this time were near the village they intended to
attack. Outside a kraal an old man was seated, and at once a club was
thrown at him by one of the Masai warriors. This did not appear to harm
him in the slightest, for he only complained of the flies, in fact he
seemed to be proof against all the clubs and spears launched against
him. Presently he rose and, single-handed, put to flight the whole band
of attackers, who then knew that one of their number had been false.
Steps were taken to find out who had disobeyed the command of the old
witch doctor, and suspicion fell on the warrior who stayed behind to
fasten his sandal. He became very much afraid when questioned by his
comrades, and on confessing that he had spoiled the expedition by
killing a monkey, he was speared to death on the spot.

A story such as this shows the Masai to be very superstitious people
who believe in omens and ill-luck. They have a word “ngai,” which
means anything strange that they do not understand, and this is given
to railways, telegraph lines, and thunderstorms, all of which are
very terrifying and mysterious. The people believe in four gods, each
distinguished by a colour. The black god and white god are good, the
red god is bad, and the blue god neither good nor bad. It is believed
that all these gods lived in the sky, but only the Black God came to
earth as a man, and from him are descended the Masai people, who still
live near the lofty Mount Kenia, the supposed dwelling-place of the
Black God.

Compared with other peoples of Africa the Masai are not very
superstitious, though no doubt we should think their beliefs very
strange and fanciful. No poor man is thought to have a soul that can
live after his body is dead, but the spirit of a rich man is believed
to enter a snake, which then visits the tribe and acts in a peculiar
way to warn them of danger. When rain is badly needed, all women and
children gather bunches of grass, which are held in the hand, while
they stand in a circle and pray to the Black God to send water for
their pastures and cattle.

A thief is punished by a heavy fine of cattle or weapons, which have
to be paid over to the man from whom goods have been stolen. Sometimes
a thief is severely beaten; this is usually done when he has been
previously detected in crime, while if a third theft is committed by
the same person his hands are burned with a hot stick.

A murderer has to pay all his flocks and herds to the relatives of his
victim; this is known as paying “blood-money,” a practice which was
common in our own country in Saxon times. Some laws are very amusing:
for instance, if two men fight, the injured person may claim eight cows
for loss of a limb, one cow for a tooth, two cows for the loss of two
or three teeth; so quarrelling may prove a very expensive pastime.

What then is the end of this life of fighting and cattle rearing? In
the case of a chief, respectful burial and a belief that the soul of a
great man will visit the relatives in the form of a snake. But for a
poor man there is no funeral; the body is carried to the bush, where it
is soon devoured by hyenas.



CHAPTER IV

THE AKIKUYU PEOPLE


Living quite near to the Masai, but differing from them in very many
ways, are the Akikuyu, whose territory near Mount Kenia could be
reached by a long train journey from Mombasa toward Nairobi, followed
by several hundred miles of travelling on foot.

For centuries the Masai and Akikuyu have been bitter enemies, and in
the old days the former used to punish their neighbours for selling
captives to Arab slave traders. The Masai are a pastoral people
depending entirely on their herds, which must have abundant pasture;
while, on the other hand, the Akikuyu are tillers of the soil. In
order to make a tract of land clear for sowing, they are in the habit
of burning large tracts of forest, a practice which annoys the Masai,
because herds of cattle shelter under the trees, where they find fresh
grass, when all the country exposed to the sun is parched and withered.

In warfare these two tribes, the Masai and Akikuyu, employ many
different methods, for whereas the former are always bold and open in
attack, the latter are cowardly and treacherous, always preferring
to lie in wait for small bands of enemies, who may be taken at a
disadvantage.

When reporting on the Akikuyu tribes, Mr. Hinde, the British
Commissioner, says:

“They plant gardens with bananas and Indian corn, and live almost
entirely on vegetable food, their flocks being inconsiderable. Honey
forms a staple element of their diet. This they collect by hanging
oblong honey boxes, made of the hollow trunk of a juniper, in the
trees, and smoking the bees out.

“They till and cultivate the ground, but, as it is not manured, the
soil is quickly exhausted, and the burning down of large tracts of
forest is resorted to as a means of procuring fresh land.

[Illustration: A KIKUYU MAN.]

“The Akikuyu are a well-built people, with the broad Negro type of
countenance and feature. Occasionally they wear their hair long, but
more often it is twisted into a sort of fringe about three inches in
length. The young men cover their person with mutton fat and red clay,
which renders them exceedingly offensive. It has of late years become
customary for them to carry both shields and spears; the former they
have copied from the Masai, the latter are of their own design, and
have a leaf-shaped blade about a foot in length and four inches broad,
tapering to a point. The handle is wooden, with an iron spike about six
inches long at the other end. The Akikuyu carry swords, and use bows
and poisoned arrows. They grow tobacco, which they mix with potash and
use as snuff; this they carry in a small bottle suspended by a chain
around the neck.”

Shaving the head is a custom copied from the Masai, but although
Akikuyu women wear many beads, they do not, like Masai women, decorate
themselves with large quantities of iron wire and chains.

[Illustration: A KIKUYU GIRL, SHOWING EAR ORNAMENTS.]

Unlike many African tribes, the Akikuyu do not keep poultry, for they
have a theory that the crowing of cocks at night has in time past
revealed to an enemy the position of their village.

These villages are by no means easy to find, and so securely are they
enveloped by the bush, that a traveller might pass quite near without
knowing that human beings were dwelling close at hand. Both the Akikuyu
and Wakamba tribes have learned that seclusion in the bush is the best
way of avoiding onslaughts by the Masai warriors, and this secrecy has
also made the task of the British Government very difficult.

It is a mistake to suppose that in all parts of Africa there is an
abundance of wild fruit. The Akikuyu live almost entirely on vegetable
foods, such as millet, maize, and bananas, but these they have to
cultivate, the women of the tribe being responsible for all the hoeing
and hard work in the fields, in addition to the grinding of the grain
with heavy stones. Other tasks borne by women include the cooking of
all foods except meat, bringing home produce from the fields, and
collecting large bundles of firewood. Baking of pottery, too, is an
occupation for females, who appear to do all the hardest and most
important work of the tribe.

Mr. Routledge gives a list of foods commonly found among the Akikuyu
people, whom he has closely studied. The vegetable foods consist of
maize, beans, or the tubers of the arum lily, and its green stems. A
favourite food for carrying on a journey is a cake made by boiling
together various kinds of grain; and as a raw food, a grain very like
canary seed is used. The Akikuyu like sweet foods, so honeycomb and
sugar-cane are very popular. When meat is used it is generally made up
into sausages, which are tied with the inner bark of a bush. Native
beer is manufactured by allowing sugar-cane juice to ferment.

Huts are circular, with pointed roofs, and as a rule there is no
opening but a small door, so that lighting and ventilation are not
enjoyed. As the roof is thatched, smoke from the fire can filter
through, so there is no need to provide a special hole for its escape.
In bridge building the Akikuyu are very expert, and in a short time a
stream is crossed by a suspension bridge of creepers, cleverly arranged
so as to be hidden among foliage, and so screened from the view of
enemies.

Fire is produced by means of rapidly twirling a hard shaft of wood,
the lower end of which rests in a hole formed in a soft piece of
wood, the dust from which forms the tinder. Dry grass is placed on
the tinder, ignited by friction; and, as a rule, two natives, one
twirling a fire stick while the other blows the tinder, will produce a
flame in three-quarters of a minute. In order to avoid repeating this
fire-making process too often, smouldering brands are carried during a
journey.

[Illustration: FIRE-MAKING BY TWIRLING.]

Among the important industries are iron smelting and string making
from bark and animals’ tendons. The former industry is of very great
antiquity, and in the oldest legends and stories there are references
to articles made of iron.



CHAPTER V

SOCIAL LIFE OF THE AKIKUYU


A homestead consisting of only one hut will have its own little
enclosure, but it is quite possible that a rich man will have several
huts, one for each of his wives. In former times, when fighting was
more common than it is to-day, the enclosure surrounding the huts was
very carefully concealed in green foliage, through which one small
entrance was made.

Within this enclosure or compound the traveller will see the daily task
of corn grinding, pottery making, and the manufacture of string bags
going on apace. The last-named occupation is generally regarded as the
work of little girls, whose small brothers are equally busy herding the
goats. The women must be extremely strong, as a result of their hard
work in carrying loads and cultivating the fields. Mr. Routledge speaks
of “a girl of about thirteen who came into the camp one night about 11
p.m., bearing a load of bananas weighing 30 lb., which she had carried
some fourteen miles since daybreak.”

No wonder that a baby girl is welcome, when there are so many tasks
for the wives and women to perform. During early childhood the baby
is carried to the fields on the mother’s back, and although the heat
is intense and the flies are a great nuisance, Akikuyu children are
very good and contented. Strange to say, they do not play games, but
seem to be content when sitting still in the shade; later in life,
however, when grown up, there is a good deal of time and energy given
to dancing, which, along with music, is very popular. A girl is married
at seventeen; then she goes to the hut prepared by her husband, who
probably paid about thirty goats and a few sheep for his bride. The
girl, however, is not obliged to marry any man who can pay this amount
of wealth to her father, and nowhere among savage peoples has the girl
a greater freedom of choice. When a maiden wishes to show her parents
that she is in love, she puts small patches of honey on her cheeks
and forehead; this prevents the father and mother from making any
arrangements for her betrothal to a man for whom she has no affection.
There is a great deal of respect shown to old women, probably because
they are thought to have the power to cast a spell upon, or give the
“evil eye” to, a person who has offended them.

Among European peoples, boys and girls grow gradually into manhood or
womanhood, but with the Akikuyu there is a special ceremony at which
boys and girls are said to be turned into men and women. For many
months before the great event all boys who intend to be initiated
practise dancing for long periods, so that they will not be too readily
exhausted when the day arrives for the public ceremony. The dress of
a novice is most elaborate, consisting of cat skins, cowrie shells,
dancing bells, and paint, which covers the entire body with wavy lines.
Shaving of the head is part of the preparation, and only a small tuft
of hair is left in the centre of the crown. The dance takes place close
to a sacred tree, and when all the details of this important ceremony
are over, the young people are considered to be men and women of their
tribe.

[Illustration: WOODEN SHOULDER SHIELD, WORN ON THE LEFT SHOULDER AT
DANCES.]

The closing scenes in the life of a tribesman are very sad, for should
he be poor and friendless, he may be left to die alone, and only in the
case of a man of great age and riches is there a respectable burial.
Generally the body is left in the hut where the patient died, so, of
course, it is very quickly dragged away and devoured by hyenas.



CHAPTER VI

THE BAGANDA TRIBE OF UGANDA


[Illustration: A BAGANDA HOUSE.]

Half a century ago the Baganda might have been regarded as one of the
most numerous tribes in Africa, but of late years losses through civil
war, famine, and sleeping sickness have reduced the numbers to about a
million. The Baganda are the most advanced in civilisation among all
Bantu peoples, and for many years their dress, habits, and extreme
politeness have been noted by travellers, who may now approach within
200 miles of Baganda territory by making a comfortable train journey
of 600 miles from Mombasa to Lake Victoria Nyanza.

The greater part of the surface of Uganda is hilly, fertile, and well
watered, and the slopes of the hills are cultivated by natives who grow
plantain trees, maize, sugar-cane, tobacco, and coffee. Here and there
dense forests are to be found, and in such regions the Baganda hunt the
elephant, buffalo, and hippopotamus.

When speaking of this tribe, the Rev. J. Roscoe says: “The Baganda are
the only Bantu tribe in Eastern Equatorial Africa who do not mutilate
their persons; they neither extract their teeth nor pierce their ear
lobes”; nor do they practise any of the deformations which have been
related in chapters concerning the Masai and Akikuyu.

There are to be found clans with Roman features, and others varying
from this type to the broad nose and thick lips of a Negro; so too, in
build there are tall athletic figures over six feet in height, while,
on the other hand, there are thick-set short-built men only about five
feet in height.

The colouring, too, varies from jet black to copper colour; and
stranger still, there are some pure negroes whose skin colour is
almost white. These people were at one time kept as curiosities in an
enclosure near to the hut of a native king or great chief. The hair of
the Baganda is invariably short, black, crisp and woolly; hair on the
face is either shaved or pulled out, and any sign of beard or moustache
is regarded as very ugly.

Naturally, in a country where big game abounds, hunting is not only a
pastime of chiefs and nobles, but a very important means of obtaining
a food supply. As a rule, elephant hunters were men who had been
trained from very early childhood, so that they became close observers
of these animals, followed every movement of the herd, and became
adepts in launching spears from a secure position in the tops of lofty
trees. The spear had a broad leaf-shaped blade six inches long, mounted
on a thick wooden shaft, and a strong arm was necessary in order to
deliver a powerful, accurate throw. The night before the hunt these
spears were sharpened, then placed by the altar of Dungu, the god of
hunting, to whom an offering of beer and a goat was made. At times the
Baganda huntsman was more open in his methods of attack, and several
natives, armed only with spears, would creep right up to the herd, and
after launching their weapons would depend on rapid flight for safety.

Elephant traps were very common, and an unwary animal caught his feet
in a cord which released a heavy spear from the branches above. All the
hunters took up the chase of this wounded creature, which was followed
until it fell exhausted. Foot traps, causing an animal to tumble on a
sharp spear, placed point uppermost in a pit, were commonly used, and
what seems most strange, the nerves from the tusks of a dead animal
were always carefully buried. The Baganda are very superstitious, and
it was thought that the ghost of an animal killed in the chase would
attach itself to the buried nerves, instead of haunting the men who
launched the spears or laid the traps.

Before hunting the lion or leopard, a chief would beat the war drum in
order to collect his people, who often went forth a thousand strong. A
few men followed the animal to its lair, then returned to their chief
to report the exact position. This having been done, a noisy party,
shouting and beating drums, surrounded the animal’s hiding-place. A
trapped animal will, of course, fight very fiercely, after rushing
first in one direction then in another trying to find a means of
escape, and, as a rule, some one was severely wounded before the
creature was killed with clubs and spears.

The hippopotamus was hunted, not for food, but because it proved such
a danger to canoe men, and at night did great damage by wandering over
cultivated plots of ground. A spear trap might be set in the path from
a river to pastures, or harpoons were launched by men in canoes, which
the animal frequently attacked and overturned.

[Illustration: LIZARD-SKIN DRUM, LANGO TRIBE, UGANDA PROTECTORATE.]

The Baganda live very largely on vegetable food, and, as is so often
the case among primitive people, the women do all the field work.
True, the husband clears the ground of all shrubs and tall grass, but
when this work is done his wife performs all the digging, sowing,
and collecting of the harvest. Ashes from burnt leaves, when washed
in by the heavy rains, fertilise the soil, and success is sought by
sacrificing a fowl and pouring out an offering of beer at the roots
of trees, while the husband says: “Give me this land, and let it be
fruitful, and let me build my house here, and have children.”

In addition to their hunting and agriculture, the Baganda are very
fond of trade and barter, and in many villages there is a market-place
where a salesman must pay fees in order to get permission to sell
his wares. The king of the Baganda receives these market dues, which
amount to one-tenth of the produce sold, and as the produce offered
for sale comprises animals, fish, eggs, salt, sweet potatoes, peas,
beans, pottery, tobacco, axes, hoes, and rope, the amount of money due
to royalty must be very great. At the end of a busy market day many
boys are ready to clean up the market-place, in reward for which they
get scraps of meat from the slaughter-house, a few coffee berries, or
a little salt. Money consists of cowrie shells, two hundred of which
are needed to buy a large earthenware pot; five to ten are given for a
tobacco pipe; and in striking such bargains as these the busy marketing
day soon draws to a close.



CHAPTER VII

SOCIAL LIFE OF THE BAGANDA


A traveller among the Baganda tribe may soon learn that the people are
divided into groups or clans, each of which regards some animal as its
particular badge or emblem. An arrangement of this kind is not peculiar
to the Baganda, or even to African natives. Indians of North America,
Australian natives, and most tribes of the South Sea Islands have a
similar grouping of the members in clans or “totems,” each having a
plant or animal which is treated with great respect.

There are a great many rules that members of the clan have to observe.
For instance, among the natives of the “Leopard” clan no one may eat
meat which has been torn, so that any animal killed or injured by
a wild beast must be sold to some other clan. The “Leopards” were
extremely important people, because from them the king and members of
the royal family were chosen. In addition to the “Leopards,” there are
people who call themselves “Lions,” “Otters,” “Elephants,” and even
“Grasshoppers” and “Mushrooms.” Usually there is a story or tradition
which is supposed to account for the beginning of this strange
arrangement. People of the “Lion” clan say that soon after King Kintu
came to his throne, many, many years ago, he went out to hunt a lion
and an eagle. When the lion skin was dressed, King Kintu stood upon it
and announced to his people that, in future, the lion was to be their
sacred emblem, and although peoples of other clans might hunt the
creature, members of the “Lion” group were never to take the life of
their sacred animal. Three animals, the lion, leopard, and eagle, are
all regarded as the special property of kings, who alone are permitted
to use the skins.

[Illustration: A BAGANDA MAN.]

The Baganda are a very warlike people, who have constantly increased
their territory at the expense of neighbours, with whom they have at
all times been ready to quarrel. At times the king would lead his army
in person, or again the task might be given to generals, who were
always elaborately dressed in skins of animals. No mercy was shown to
a defeated people, who were, of course, despoiled of everything worth
possessing, and a great deal of the booty was claimed by the king
of the victorious people. Mr. Roscoe says: “After the spoil had been
divided, the general gave the order to the chiefs to disband their men
and let them go home. The important chiefs accompanied the general to
the capital to report to the king before they were allowed to visit
their homes; but if there had been a reverse, they, too, went to their
country residences for some ten days before visiting the king. People
lined the roads to welcome the army; women ran to meet their husbands
with gourds of water, took from them their weapons, and were proud to
carry these as they marched along the crowded roads. Warriors dashed
at imaginary foes, drums were beaten, fifes were played, and songs of
victory were sung.”

In times of peace the Baganda amuse themselves by relating interesting
stories, a few of which are given in the following pages.



CHAPTER VIII

STORIES TOLD BY THE BAGANDA


At one time cats were servants of fowls, to whom they had to pay
tribute in the form of flying ants, done up in small packets. This duty
became very irksome, and on several occasions the cats were very much
inclined to rebel, but were afraid to do so when the fowls threatened
to burn them with their red combs. At one time, when the cats’ fire had
gone out a mother cat sent her young one to make fire by placing some
dry grass near to the red comb of an old rooster who was very drunk and
fast asleep.

Presently the kitten returned with the report that he could not get
a light from the red comb of the sleeping cock. This aroused the
curiosity of the mother cat, and at once she went and convinced herself
that the cock’s comb, though red, was quite cold. She then wakened the
rooster, and along with other cats declared that never again would
she serve the fowls. The fowls saw that their deception was no longer
of any use, so they came to the nearest village and asked man for his
protection against the cats.

A lion and a crocodile had a quarrel during which each claimed to
be the stronger animal. The former said: “I can kill the fiercest
buffalo,” to which the latter replied: “And I can kill the hippopotamus
in the water.” The crocodile was basking on the mud near to the
river’s bank where the lion was devouring a buffalo. Very quickly the
crocodile seized the leg of the buffalo and pulled both that creature
and the lion into the river, where they were drowned. This incident
filled the crocodile with confidence, so that he soon began to boast of
his strength, especially to the young son of the lion he had killed.
Naturally the young lion was very angry, and ever in search of revenge,
which he took one day when the crocodile attempted to play his old
trick of pulling the young lion and his prey into the river. On this
occasion the lion proved stronger, for not only did he haul out the
crocodile on to the mud flats, but quickly settled him with blows from
his powerful paws. Now the Baganda people declare that the lion and the
crocodile are of equal strength, the former being king of beasts on
land, and the latter sovereign of the river.

Now we come to the closing scenes in the life of this interesting
Baganda tribe. Sickness is never put down to natural causes, such as
chills, overeating, or heavy drinking. It is always supposed that an
enemy has worked magic against the sick man, and the medicine man
of the tribe will usually bleed the patient in order to let out the
evil magic. The body of the king is embalmed and buried with great
reverence, and even for the most humble people there is respectful
interment; methods which are very different from those adopted by the
Masai and Akikuyu, who leave their dead to be devoured by hyenas.


BOOKS FOR SCHOOL REFERENCE LIBRARY

  _Britain across the Seas_, by Sir H. JOHNSTON.
  _British Central Africa_, by A. WERNER.
  _The Baganda_, by the Rev. J. ROSCOE.
  _With a Pre-Historic People_, by W. SCORESBY ROUTLEDGE.
  _The Masai_, by A. C. HOLLIS.
  _The Nandi_, by A. C. HOLLIS.
  _Tribes of Northern and Central Kordofan_, by H. A. MACMICHAEL.
  _Northern Bantu_, by the Rev. J. ROSCOE.
  _Cook’s Handbook for Egypt and the Sudan._
  _Last of the Masai_, by SIDNEY LANGFORD HINDE.
  _British Museum Guide Book to the Ethnographical Collections._
  _Shilluk People_, by WESTERMANN.



Transcriber’s Notes

In a few cases, obvious omissions or errors in punctuation have been
corrected.



*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Native Races of East Africa" ***

Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.