The Fever -- Its Symptoms --
Remedies of the native Doctors -- Hospitality of Sekeletu and his People
-- One of their Reasons for Polygamy -- They cultivate largely -- The
Makalaka or subject Tribes -- Sebituane's Policy respecting them -- Their
Affection for him -- Products of the Soil -- Instrument of Culture -- The
Tribute -- Distributed by the Chief -- A warlike Demonstration --
Lechulatebe's Provocations -- The Makololo determine to punish him -- The
Bechuanas -- Meaning of the Term -- Three Divisions of the great Family of
South Africans.
On the 30th of May I was
seized with fever for the first time. We reached the town of Linyanti on
the 23d; and as my habits were suddenly changed from great exertion to
comparative inactivity, at the commencement of the cold season I suffered
from a severe attack of stoppage of the secretions, closely resembling a
common cold. Warm baths and drinks relieved me, and I had no idea but that
I was now recovering from the effects of a chill, got by leaving the warm
wagon in the evening in order to conduct family worship at my people's
fire. But on the 2d of June a relapse showed to the Makololo, who knew the
complaint, that my indisposition was no other than the fever, with which I
have since made a more intimate acquaintance. Cold east winds prevail at
this time; and as they come over the extensive flats inundated by the
Chobe, as well as many other districts where pools of rain-water are now
drying up, they may be supposed to be loaded with malaria and watery
vapor, and many cases of fever follow.
The usual symptoms of
stopped secretion are manifested -- shivering and a feeling of coldness,
though the skin is quite hot to the touch of another. The heat in the
axilla, over the heart and region of the stomach, was in my case 100 Deg.;
but along the spine and at the nape of the neck 103 Deg. The internal
processes were all, with the exception of the kidneys and liver, stopped;
the latter, in its efforts to free the blood of noxious particles, often
secretes enormous quantities of bile. There were pains along the spine,
and frontal headache. Anxious to ascertain whether the natives possessed
the knowledge of any remedy of which we were ignorant, I requested the
assistance of one of Sekeletu's doctors. He put some roots into a pot with
water, and, when it was boiling, placed it on a spot beneath a blanket
thrown around both me and it. This produced no immediate effect; he then
got a small bundle of different kinds of medicinal woods, and,
burning them in a potsherd nearly to ashes, used the smoke and hot vapor
arising from them as an auxiliary to the other in causing diaphoresis. I
fondly hoped that they had a more potent remedy than our own medicines
afford; but after being stewed in their vapor-baths, smoked like a red
herring over green twigs, and charmed `secundem artem', I concluded that I
could cure the fever more quickly than they can. If we employ a wet sheet
and a mild aperient in combination with quinine, in addition to the native
remedies, they are an important aid in curing the fever, as they seem to
have the same stimulating effects on the alimentary canal as these means
have on the external surface. Purgatives, general bleedings, or indeed any
violent remedies, are injurious; and the appearance of a herpetic eruption
near the mouth is regarded as an evidence that no internal organ is in
danger.
There is a good deal in not
"giving in" to this disease. He who is low-spirited, and apt to despond at
every attack, will die sooner than the man who is not of such a
melancholic nature. The Makololo had made a garden and planted maize for
me, that, as they remarked when I was parting with them to proceed to the
Cape, I might have food to eat when I returned, as well as other people.
The maize was now pounded by the women into fine meal. This they do in
large wooden mortars, the counterpart of which may be seen depicted on the
Egyptian monuments. Sekeletu added to this good supply of meal ten or
twelve jars of honey, each of which contained about two gallons. Liberal
supplies of ground-nuts (`Arachis hypogoea') were also furnished every
time the tributary tribes brought their dues to Linyanti, and an ox was
given for slaughter every week or two. Sekeletu also appropriated two cows
to be milked for us every morning and evening. This was in accordance with
the acknowledged rule throughout this country, that the chief should feed
all strangers who come on any special business to him and take up their
abode in his kotla. A present is usually given in return for the
hospitality, but, except in cases where their aboriginal customs have been
modified, nothing would be asked. Europeans spoil the feeling that
hospitality is the sacred duty of the chiefs by what in other
circumstances is laudable conduct. No sooner do they arrive than they
offer to purchase food, and, instead of waiting till a meal is prepared
for them in the evening, cook for themselves, and then often decline even
to partake of that which has been made ready for their use. A present is
also given, and before long the natives come to expect a gift without
having offered any equivalent.
Strangers frequently have
acquaintances among the under-chiefs, to whose establishments they turn
aside, and are treated on the same principle that others are when they are
the guests of the chief. So generally is the duty admitted, that one of
the most cogent arguments for polygamy is that a respectable man with only
one wife could not entertain strangers as he ought. This reason has
especial weight where the women are the chief cultivators of the soil, and
have the control over the corn, as at Kolobeng. The poor, however, who
have no friends, often suffer much hunger, and the very kind attention
Sebituane lavished on all such was one of the reasons of his great
popularity in the country. The Makololo cultivate a large extent of land
around their villages. Those of them who are real Basutos still retain the
habits of that tribe, and may be seen going out with their wives with
their hoes in hand -- a state of things never witnessed at Kolobeng, or
among any other Bechuana or Caffre tribe. The great chief Moshesh affords
an example to his people annually by not only taking the hoe in hand, but
working hard with it on certain public occasions.
His Basutos are of the same
family with the Makololo to whom I refer. The younger Makololo, who have
been accustomed from their infancy to lord it over the conquered Makalaka,
have unfortunately no desire to imitate the agricultural tastes of their
fathers, and expect their subjects to perform all the manual labor. They
are the aristocracy of the country, and once possessed almost unlimited
power over their vassals. Their privileges were, however, much abridged by
Sebituane himself. I have already mentioned that the tribes which
Sebituane subjected in this great country pass by the general name of
Makalaka. The Makololo were composed of a great number of other tribes, as
well as of these central negroes. The nucleus of the whole were Basuto,
who came with Sebituane from a comparatively cold and hilly region in the
south. When he conquered various tribes of the Bechuanas, as Bakwains,
Bangwaketze, Bamangwato, Batauana, etc., he incorporated the young of
these tribes into his own. Great mortality by fever having taken place in
the original stock, he wisely adopted the same plan of absorption on a
large scale with the Makalaka. So we found him with even the sons of the
chiefs of the Barotse closely attached to his person; and they say to this
day, if any thing else but natural death had assailed their father, every
one of them would have laid down his life in his defense. One reason for
their strong affection was their emancipation by the decree of Sebituane,
"all are children of the chief."
The Makalaka cultivate the
`Holcus sorghum', or dura, as the principal grain, with maize, two kinds
of beans, ground-nuts (`Arachis hypogoea'), pumpkins, watermelons, and
cucumbers. They depend for success entirely upon rain. Those who live in
the Barotse valley cultivate in addition the sugar-cane, sweet potato, and
manioc (`Jatropha manihot'). The climate there, however, is warmer than at
Linyanti, and the Makalaka increase the fertility of their gardens by rude
attempts at artificial irrigation.
The instrument of culture
over all this region is a hoe, the iron of which the Batoka and Banyeti
obtain from the ore by smelting. The amount of iron which they produce
annually may be understood when it is known that most of the hoes in use
at Linyanti are the tribute imposed on the smiths of those subject tribes.
Sekeletu receives tribute from a great number of tribes in corn or dura,
ground-nuts, hoes, spears, honey, canoes, paddles, wooden vessels,
tobacco, mutokuane (`Cannabis sativa'), various wild fruits (dried),
prepared skins, and ivory. When these articles are brought into the kotla,
Sekeletu has the honor of dividing them among the loungers who usually
congregate there. A small portion only is reserved for himself. The ivory
belongs nominally to him too, but this is simply a way of making a fair
distribution of the profits. The chief sells it only with the approbation
of his counselors, and the proceeds are distributed in open day among the
people as before. He has the choice of every thing; but if he is not more
liberal to others than to himself, he loses in popularity. I have known
instances in this and other tribes in which individuals aggrieved, because
they had been overlooked, fled to other chiefs. One discontented person,
having fled to Lechulatebe, was encouraged to go to a village of the
Bapalleng, on the River Cho or Tso, and abstracted the tribute of ivory
thence which ought to have come to Sekeletu. This theft enraged the whole
of the Makololo, because they all felt it to be a personal loss.
Some of Lechulatebe's
people having come on a visit to Linyanti, a demonstration was made, in
which about five hundred Makololo, armed, went through a mimic fight; the
principal warriors pointed their spears toward the lake where Lechulatebe
lives, and every thrust in that direction was answered by all with the
shout, "Ho-o!" while every stab on the ground drew out a simultaneous
"Huzz!" On these occasions all capable of bearing arms, even the old, must
turn out at the call. In the time of Sebituane, any one remaining in his
house was searched for and killed without mercy.
This offense of Lechulatebe
was aggravated by repetition, and by a song sung in his town
accompanying the dances, which manifested joy at the death of Sebituane.
He had enjoined his people to live in peace with those at the lake, and
Sekeletu felt disposed to follow his advice; but Lechulatebe had now got
possession of fire-arms, and considered himself more than a match for the
Makololo. His father had been dispossessed of many cattle by Sebituane,
and, as forgiveness is not considered among the virtues by the heathen,
Lechulatebe thought he had a right to recover what he could. As I had a
good deal of influence with the Makololo, I persuaded them that, before
they could have peace, they must resolve to give the same blessing to
others, and they never could do that without forgiving and forgetting
ancient feuds. It is hard to make them feel that shedding of human blood
is a great crime; they must be conscious that it is wrong, but, having
been accustomed to bloodshed from infancy, they are remarkably callous to
the enormity of the crime of destroying human life. I sent a message at
the same time to Lechulatebe advising him to give up the course he had
adopted, and especially the song; because, though Sebituane was dead, the
arms with which he had fought were still alive and strong.
Sekeletu, in order to
follow up his father's instructions and promote peace, sent ten cows to
Lechulatebe to be exchanged for sheep; these animals thrive well in a
bushy country like that around the lake, but will scarcely live in the
flat prairies between the net-work of waters north of the Chobe. The men
who took the cows carried a number of hoes to purchase goats besides.
Lechulatebe took the cows and sent back an equal number of sheep. Now,
according to the relative value of sheep and cows in these parts, he ought
to have sent sixty or seventy.
One of the men who had hoes
was trying to purchase in a village without formal leave from Lechulatebe;
this chief punished him by making him sit some hours on the broiling hot
sand (at least 130 Deg.). This farther offense put a stop to amicable
relations between the two tribes altogether. It was a case in which a very
small tribe, commanded by a weak and foolish chief, had got possession of
fire-arms, and felt conscious of ability to cope with a numerous and
warlike race. Such cases are the only ones in which the possession of
fire-arms does evil. The universal effect of the diffusion of the more
potent instruments of warfare in Africa is the same as among ourselves.
Fire-arms render wars less
frequent and less bloody. It is indeed exceedingly rare to hear of two
tribes having guns going to war with each other; and, as nearly all the
feuds, in the south at least, have been about cattle, the risk which must
be incurred from long shots generally proves a preventive to the foray.
The Makololo were prevailed upon to keep the peace during my residence
with them, but it was easy to perceive that public opinion was against
sparing a tribe of Bechuanas for whom the Makololo entertained
the most sovereign contempt. The young men would remark, "Lechulatebe is
herding our cows for us; let us only go, we shall `lift' the price of them
in sheep," etc.
As the Makololo are the
most northerly of the Bechuanas, we may glance back at this family of
Africans before entering on the branch of the negro family which the
Makololo distinguish by the term Makalaka. The name Bechuana seems derived
from the word Chuana -- alike, or equal -- with the personal pronoun Ba
(they) prefixed, and therefore means fellows or equals. Some have supposed
the name to have arisen from a mistake of some traveler, who, on asking
individuals of this nation concerning the tribes living beyond them,
received the answer, Bachuana, "they (are) alike"; meaning, "They are the
same as we are"; and that this nameless traveler, who never wrote a word
about them, managed to ingraft his mistake as a generic term on a nation
extending from the Orange River to 18 Deg. south latitude.
As the name was found in
use among those who had no intercourse with Europeans, before we can
receive the above explanation we must believe that the unknown traveler
knew the language sufficiently well to ask a question, but not to
understand the answer. We may add, that the way in which they still
continue to use the word seems to require no fanciful interpretation. When
addressed with any degree of scorn, they reply, "We are Bachuana, or
equals -- we are not inferior to any of our nation," in exactly the same
sense as Irishmen or Scotchmen, in the same circumstances, would reply,
"We are Britons," or "We are Englishmen." Most other tribes are known by
the terms applied to them by strangers only, as the Caffres, Hottentots,
and Bushmen.
The Bechuanas alone use the
term to themselves as a generic one for the whole nation. They have
managed, also, to give a comprehensive name to the whites, viz., Makoa,
though they can not explain the derivation of it any more than of their
own. It seems to mean "handsome", from the manner in which they use it to
indicate beauty; but there is a word so very like it meaning "infirm", or
"weak", that Burchell's conjecture is probably the right one.
"The different Hottentot
tribes were known by names terminating in `kua', which means `man',
and the Bechuanas simply added the prefix Ma, denoting a nation." They
themselves were first known as Briquas, or "goat-men". The language of the
Bechuanas is termed Sichuana; that of the whites (or Makoa) is called
Sekoa. The Makololo, or Basuto, have carried their powers of
generalization still farther, and arranged the other parts of the same
great family of South Africans into three divisions: 1st. The Matebele, or
Makonkobi -- the Caffre family living on the eastern side of the country;
2d. The Bakoni, or Basuto; and, 3d. The Bakalahari, or Bechuanas, living
in the central parts, which includes all those tribes living in or
adjacent to the great Kalahari Desert.
1st. The Caffres are
divided by themselves into various subdivisions, as Amakosa, Amapanda, and
other well-known titles. They consider the name Caffre as an insulting
epithet. The Zulus of Natal belong to the same family, and they are as
famed for their honesty as their brethren who live adjacent to our
colonial frontier are renowned for cattle-lifting. The Recorder of Natal
declared of them that history does not present another instance in which
so much security for life and property has been enjoyed, as has been
experienced, during the whole period of English occupation, by ten
thousand colonists, in the midst of one hundred thousand Zulus. The
Matebele of Mosilikatse, living a short distance south of the Zambesi, and
other tribes living a little south of Tete and Senna, are members of this
same family. They are not known beyond the Zambesi River. This was the
limit of the Bechuana progress north too, until Sebituane pushed his
conquests farther.
2d. The Bakoni and Basuto
division contains, in the south, all those tribes which acknowledge
Moshesh as their paramount chief. Among them we find the Batau, the
Baputi, Makolokue, etc., and some mountaineers on the range Maluti, who
are believed, by those who have carefully sifted the evidence, to have
been at one time guilty of cannibalism. This has been doubted, but their
songs admit the fact to this day, and they ascribe their having left off
the odious practice of entrapping human prey to Moshesh having given them
cattle. They are called Marimo and Mayabathu, men-eaters, by the rest of
the Basuto, who have various subdivisions, as Makatla, Bamakakana,
Matlapatlapa, etc. The Bakoni farther north than the Basuto are the
Batlou, Baperi, Bapo, and another tribe of Bakuena, Bamosetla, Bamapela or
Balaka, Babiriri, Bapiri, Bahukeng, Batlokua, Baakhahela, etc., etc.; the
whole of which tribes are favored with abundance of rain, and, being much
attached to agriculture, raise very large quantities of grain. It is on
their industry that the more distant Boers revel in slothful abundance,
and follow their slave-hunting and cattle-stealing propensities quite
beyond the range of English influence and law. The Basuto under Moshesh
are equally fond of cultivating the soil. The chief labor of hoeing,
driving away birds, reaping, and winnowing, falls to the willing arms of
the hard-working women; but as the men, as well as their wives, as already
stated, always work, many have followed the advice of the missionaries,
and now use plows and oxen instead of the hoe.
3d. The Bakalahari, or
western branch of the Bechuana family, consists of Barolong, Bahurutse,
Bakuena, Bangwaketse, Bakaa, Bamangwato, Bakurutse, Batauana, Bamatlaro,
and Batlapi. Among the last the success of missionaries has been greatest.
They were an insignificant and filthy people when first discovered; but,
being nearest to the colony, they have had opportunities of trading; and
the long-continued peace they have enjoyed, through the influence of
religious teaching, has enabled them to amass great numbers of cattle. The
young, however, who do not realize their former degradation, often
consider their present superiority over the less-favored tribes in the
interior to be entirely owing to their own greater wisdom and more
intellectual development. |