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 PRINTED IN USA 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029867532 
 
SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
*B7 THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 THE 
 ESSENTIAL KAFIR 
 
 Demy 8vo, bound in cloth 
 gilt top 
 
 Price 1 8s. net 
 
 Containing 452 pp., including Biblio- 
 graphy and Index , also a Map and 100 
 full-page Illustrations from photographs 
 by the Author 
 
 "We know of no book in which 
 the essential humanity of the tribes 
 is so vividly presented. Mr. Kidd*s 
 power of observation, and his insight 
 into character are unusual . . . He 
 takes his readers with him into the 
 innermost recesses of native thought, 
 whether of things material or things 
 spiritual, of hope or fear, joy or grief. 
 We get, indeed, an insight into the 
 Kafir view of the mysteries of life, 
 of his relation to the universe and his 
 fellows ... as useful as it is inter- 
 esting." — The Standard, 
 
 A. & C. BLACK 
 Soho Square, London, W. 
 
SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 A STUDY OF KAFIR CHILDREN 
 
 BY 
 
 DUDLEY KIDD 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE ESSENTIAL KAFIR," ETC. 
 
 WITH 
 
 THIRTY-TWO FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 LONDON 
 ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK 
 
 iqo6 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The beginnings of things are always interesting and 
 instructive. The mind cannot rest until it reaches the 
 beginning of a process. We cannot fully understand 
 the structure of an animal until we study the develop- 
 ment of the embryo ; zoology and morphology are 
 bound to start with embryology ; we cannot under- 
 stand the mind of the adult until we study the develop- 
 ment of the mind of the child ; psychology is bound 
 to start with child-study : we cannot understand the 
 social or religious life of civilised races until we study 
 the development of the social and religious life of savage 
 tribes ; sociology and theology are bound to start with 
 ethnography ; finally, we cannot understand the life 
 of the savage until we study the childhood of the 
 savage. 
 
 An immense amount of work has been done in all 
 the initial stages referred to above, except in the case 
 of the childhood of the savage. On applying to the 
 London Library and to the Childhood Society, I 
 could not 'find any trace of an English book devoted 
 to the subject.* A friend kindly searched for me at 
 the British Museum, and, while he found many books 
 dealing with the child as a subject for ethnographical 
 study, he could not find the trace of a single English 
 
 * The Librarian of the London Library could only suggest the 
 following works : Spencer, Descriptive Sociology — Uncivilised Races ; 
 Ploss (H.), Das Kind in branch und ,itte der Volker, z vols. ; 
 Featherman (A.), Social History of Races of Mankind, Smithsonian 
 Institution — Bureau of Ethnology, 3 vols. 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 book about the childhood of the Native Races of South 
 Africa. If there be such a book it cannot be very 
 widely known. Some attention has been paid^ to 
 negro children in America, but contact with civilisa- 
 tion has introduced a disturbing factor into the 
 problem. The American negro can hardly be called a 
 savage. It has fallen to my lot to read through about 
 a hundred English volumes dealing with the various 
 tribes of South Africa ; my impression is that if the 
 folk-lore tales, together with all the observations which 
 every traveller must of necessity make during his 
 first few visits to Kafir kraals, be excepted, the in- 
 formation contained in all these books concerning 
 the children of the natives could be recorded on a 
 few sheets of notepaper. 
 
 In works on Psychology and Child-study the adult 
 savage is usually taken to represent the zero of some 
 anthropological and Centigrade scale. The reader 
 is led, not unnaturally, to regard the child of the 
 savage as a sort of absolute zero of temperature — 
 a point at which all molecular motion is supposed to 
 cease. As a matter of fact the savage is at his best, 
 intellectually, emotionally, and morally, at the dawn 
 of puberty. When puberty is drawing to a close, a 
 degenerative process seems to set in, and the previous 
 efflorescence of the faculties leads to no adequate 
 fruitage in later life. If we consent, as we must, 
 to treat the savage child as the zero of our scale, we 
 need to remember that this is but an artificial, metho- 
 dological device ; if we would retain a sense of 
 proportion we must remember that the adult Kafir, 
 on this scale, is often a minus quantity. Childhood 
 so far froin__being„„beneath our notice, is frie"*most 
 important, instructive, and interesting period in the 
 life of a savage. In nothing is this more marked than 
 in the case of the imagination. Not a few observers 
 have pointed out that the imagination in the Kafirs 
 
PREFACE ix 
 
 runs to seed after puberty : it would be truer to say 
 that it runs to sex. Our main aim in the education 
 of backward races should be to draw out, discipline, 
 and strengthen the various faculties (and specially 
 the imagination) of the children so that, when the age 
 of puberty arrives, these faculties may be able to 
 resist the degenerative and blighting tendencies that 
 must soon arise. The politician in South Africa pays 
 attention chiefly to the question of the franchise 
 of the native ; the statesman is profoundly interested 
 in the education of the children. 
 
 Only those who have studied Kafir children can 
 realise how fascinating, and yet how difficult, the 
 subject is. The children are so shy of the strange 
 white man, and the parents are so unwilling, or so 
 unable, to supply reliable information, that it is 
 peculiarly difficult to enter into the vie intime of the 
 children. When it is borne in mind that the present 
 volume records but the experiences gathered during 
 fifteen or sixteen years of desultory study of the 
 subject, and that the children described are scattered 
 over an area about half the size of Europe, and also 
 present striking tribal differences, it will readily be 
 seen that the conclusions arrived at are but provisional. 
 It would take a lifetime to study adequately the children 
 of a single tribe. I am conscious of having only 
 touched the fringe of the subject. Had health 
 permitted I would have done several more years' 
 work before publishing this study, which may, how- 
 ever, act as a stimulus to others to follow up the 
 subject. Civilisation is spreading so fast that there is 
 no time to be lost. European influence is already 
 profoundly modifying many tribal usages. It is safe 
 to say that in a hundred years' time . people will be 
 wondering why we, with all our boasted love for 
 knowledge and with all our professed sympathy for 
 our subject races, allowed our priceless opportunity to 
 
x PREFACE 
 
 slip by unheeded. I have, therefore, been more 
 anxious to record the facts than to indicate their 
 bearing on current anthropological theory. There is 
 all too little time for the investigation of facts, while 
 there will ever be ample time for the spinning of 
 theories. 
 
 Not knowing where to find authorities, it has been 
 necessary to rely almost entirely on personal observa- 
 tion and investigation. All information supplied 
 to me by Europeans, except such as I had previously 
 recorded, is duly acknowledged in the text — with one 
 exception. To my friend, Mr. Douglas Wood, who 
 reduced the Tshindao language to writing, I owe nearly 
 every fact mentioned about the natives of Gazaland, 
 as well as the literal translation of all the Surprise 
 Stories in chap. vii. It is difficult to estimate how 
 great this debt is, for I was only able to spend a 
 few weeks in Gazaland. My thanks are also due to 
 him for having collected some native tunes, as well 
 as for the whole-hearted manner in which he threw 
 himself into some special investigations I asked him 
 to make. 
 
 Bryant's Zulu-English Dictionary appeared shortly 
 after the manuscript of the present volume was 
 finished. It was, however, possible to insert a few 
 facts taken from that work before finally going to 
 press. All such borrowings are acknowledged in the 
 text. The appearance of that excellent dictionary 
 gives me the more confidence in publishing my own 
 observations, for it corroborates so many statements 
 I have made. In fact, it might easily be thought 
 that I had borrowed extensively from Mr. Bryant, 
 were it not known that my account had been written 
 before his work appeared. 
 
 In addition to much help received from English 
 and American works on the subject of Child-study 
 I found Professor Sully's Study of Childhood most 
 
PREFACE xi 
 
 stimulating and suggestive. My thanks are also due to 
 Dr. A. C. Haddon for kindly suggesting several ethno- 
 graphical points to be attended to. I owe not a little in 
 the way of thanks to many missionaries who have so 
 kindly and sympathetically aided me during the last 
 fifteen years. Finally, I wish to express my thanks to 
 many Kafir friends who, with considerable tact, obtained 
 information for me from women who would have been 
 disinclined to give information to a white man. 
 
 The period of life described in this volume is that 
 which extends from birth to the dawn of puberty. 
 The chapter on infancy is very incomplete from the 
 medical and psychological points of view. It would 
 require a separate volume — and a lifetime of study — 
 to treat that period of life adequately. And it would 
 be very difficult work, because the mothers would, 
 not unnaturally, resent any close examination of their 
 babies. All that I have been able to do with regard 
 to the period of infancy is to take a few. snapshots, 
 as it were, and to clear the ground a little from the 
 ethnographical point of view, so that future investi- 
 gators may know the difficulties that face them owing 
 to tribal customs. I hope to take up this period 
 some day. 
 
 I had intended to prepare a chapter on adolescence, 
 but it soon became obvious that the period of puberty 
 would also require a volume to itself. Owing to the 
 effects of an accident while travelling in South Africa, 
 several years must elapse before it will be possible to 
 continue the studies for this subject. This great 
 difficulty with regard to travel must also be my 
 excuse for doing such scant justice to the Kafir 
 children from the photographic point of view. The 
 few illustrations given may be better than nothing, 
 but they are inadequate to convey a full impression of 
 the peculiar charm of these delightful little people. 
 
 May 1906. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Birth and Infancy ........ i 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The Dawn of Self-consciousness . . . . -55 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The Inter-dentition Period ...... 79 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Development of the Faculties. . . . .117 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 Play 1 59 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Work and its Side-issues . . . . . . .185 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 Surprise Stories . . . . . . .221 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 The Children's Evening Party 2. 57 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 A. Idhlozi and Itongo : the Permanence of the Self 
 
 B. Tribal Variations of Birth Customs 
 
 C. Fertilising the Crops, &c. . 
 
 D. Self-consciousness ...... 
 
 E. The Use of the Left Hand, and Variations in naming 
 
 the Fingers ....... 
 
 F. The Gregarious Tendency .... 
 
 G. The Significance of Play .... 
 H. The Danger of Looking Backwards . 
 
 INDEX 
 
 PAGE 
 28l 
 
 287 
 
 29I 
 
 293 
 
 296 
 298 
 301 
 
 3°5 
 3°7 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Shy 
 
 Girls playing " Cat's cradle " in Natal . 
 
 A future Bomvana chief 
 
 An interval for refreshments 
 
 A Bomvana baby's bottle . 
 
 A Swazie child amusing itself 
 
 Zulu girl sucking first finger 
 
 Zulu girl in full dress 
 
 My nurse ..... 
 
 Pondo children sitting with their mothers 
 
 Pondo nurses ..... 
 
 A Pondo boy ..... 
 
 A Pondo baby feeding 
 
 Tembu boys going to school 
 
 All in a row (Lake St. Lucia, Zululand) 
 
 Bomvana children .... 
 
 A Bomvana girl .... 
 
 A long drink ..... 
 
 Pondo children making clay oxen 
 
 Building a doll's house in a Zulu kraal 
 
 " Follow my leader " in Natal . 
 
 Zulu boy making labyrinth 
 
 "King of the castle" on an ant-heap (Zambesi) 
 
 A mealie game (Natal) . 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 ring page 
 
 4- 
 
 jj 
 
 zo 
 
 jj 
 
 30 
 
 )■> 
 
 38 
 
 yy 
 
 44 
 
 >> 
 
 52 
 
 yy 
 
 60 
 
 j» 
 
 74 
 
 19 
 
 84 
 
 yy 
 
 90 
 
 i» 
 
 100 
 
 ji 
 
 112 
 
 >» 
 
 116 
 
 »» 
 
 128 
 
 yy 
 
 136 
 
 yy 
 
 144 
 
 J) 
 
 154 
 
 yy 
 
 164 
 
 » 
 
 166 
 
 »j 
 
 168 
 
 »> 
 
 170 
 
 >» 
 
 172 
 
 )j 
 
 r 74 
 
XVI 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Sena boys playing at frogs (Zambesi) 
 Small boy setting a bird-trap 
 A canoeing treat on the Zambesi 
 Sena boy with bow and arrow 
 A Tembu milk boy . 
 Zulu girl carrying water 
 Scene of the evening party 
 Playing at horses (Zambesi) 
 
 Facing page 
 
 I 7 8 
 190 
 192 
 194 
 208 
 214 
 262 
 268 
 
CHAPTER I 
 BIRTH AND INFANCY 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 BIRTH AND INFANCY 
 
 There is a directness about a Kafir which, enables 
 him to pick out the salient features of a thing, and so, 
 in common with the English schoolboy, he invariably 
 chooses the one inevitable nickname for a person. 
 When he calls his children in fun " Little animals," 
 or " Little baboons," it is safe to say that he indicates 
 the obvious, if superficial, character of his children. 
 No one can look at a number of little naked Kafir 
 children sprawling on the ground, playing games, 
 setting bird-traps, tumbling over one another like so 
 many little puppies, without laughing and saying 
 beneath his breath, " What delightful little animals." 
 
 But though all this is so obvious that even the 
 most hurried traveller cannot help observing it, yet 
 it is but half — and the less important half — of the 
 truth. The essential fact, which is often hidden 
 even from those dwelling amongst the natives, is that 
 there is also present the germ of a higher life. It is 
 this that makes the study of the children so interest- 
 ing, for this unexpected quality is for ever appearing 
 at the most unexpected moments. The children 
 do not " show off " before Europeans, and so it is 
 as necessary to stalk them at play as it is to 
 stalk wild animals in order to discover their habits. 
 A single instance may be given to show this, and to 
 point out how valueless are hasty and negative con- 
 clusions when studying the Kafirs. Wishing to find 
 put whether the native children in Natal played the 
 
4 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 string game called " Cat's Cradle," I asked a number 
 of children who were romping together whether 
 they knew the game. They said they had never even 
 heard of it. So I showed them the first move in the 
 game, and gave them the piece of string to play with. 
 They simply tangled and untangled the piece of twine, 
 and assured me that they did not know any game 
 played with string. The children protested their igno- 
 rance of the game with a vigour that was suspicious. 
 In childhood, before the higher inhibitions and con- 
 trols have been established, there is a strong tendency 
 for an idea to express itself in action. To put it in 
 scientific language, an idea has an intrinsic motor-force 
 — a fact that lies at the root of the imitative faculty. 
 The knowledge that a strange white man was looking 
 on might act as an inhibition on the spontaneity of these 
 children, and might keep them from being perfectly' 
 natural. I therefore laid a trap for them by telling 
 them that, since they did not know the game, I would 
 go on with my work. Pretending to be busy with 
 other things, I kept an eye on these children without 
 their suspecting it. No sooner did they think that 
 they were unobserved than they began to play the 
 game amongst themselves behind my back. They 
 made .the first four moves exactly as we do in Europe. 
 Like the Heathen Chinee, this was " The game they 
 did not understand ! " 
 
 Rarely can a European get sufficiently close to the 
 children so as to find out their habits. Roughly 
 speaking, there are three classes of Europeans living 
 amongst the natives — magistrates, missionaries, and 
 traders. The magistrate has a dignity to maintain 
 that is scarcely consistent with the habit of humouring 
 the children into a free intimacy with him • the 
 missionary has a high seriousness about him which is 
 apt to keep the children at a distance ; he is so fully 
 occupied that he is apt to give over the school-work 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 5 
 
 to native teachers and thus loses touch with the 
 children ; the trader cannot be expected to have 
 such a keen anthropological interest as to make him 
 neglect his work in order that he may become intimate 
 with the children. Let there be added to all this 
 the fact that there is a gulf dividing Europeans from 
 natives in South Africa, and it will cause no surprise 
 that the children have not been studied as they might 
 have been. 
 
 This gulf between the races may be deplored, but 
 is not to be wondered at. There is something about 
 the adult Kafir, and especially about the half-educated 
 one, that naturally irritates the European. It is 
 difficult to define accurately what this objectionable 
 quality is. It is not only an aggressive self-assertion, 
 though that is painfully present ; it is not only an 
 inordinate vanity, though that is most objection- 
 able ; it is not only a certain self-satisfied indolence, 
 though that is seldom wanting. As a matter of fact, 
 it is something much more primordial than any of 
 these developed qualities. The Kafir is so unreflec- 
 tive, so full of animal spirits, so satisfied with the 
 world, and lives so utterly in the passing moment, 
 that he sub-consciously thinks other people must be 
 as glad to see him as he is to see them, and he acts 
 accordingly. Just as a dog runs up to every dog it 
 meets to pass the time of day, and then with a sponta- 
 neity not always welcomed, comes and rubs itself 
 against a man's trousers, wagging its tail as if all 
 parties must surely be equally satisfied, so the Kafir 
 imagines that all Europeans must be pleased with 
 his presence. He is so sociable and unreflective that 
 it never occurs to him that he might possibly be an 
 unpleasant object to any other human being. From 
 childhood he has been accustomed to hob-nob with 
 every one he meets. He therefore takes what the 
 European regards as liberties ; but he does this by 
 
6 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 sheer force of habit and without the least forethought, 
 for he does not understand the reserve of a white man. 
 But the average European attributes to the Kafir 
 an advanced development of self-consciousness that 
 the latter does not possess, and so misunderstands the 
 familiarity. Thus the gulf grows wider. 
 
 The one thing that redeems these defects in the 
 Kafir is his extraordinary good-nature. The excess 
 of this virtue, running wild into an undue familiarity, 
 makes the Kafir unpleasant to the European ; the same 
 virtue, directed along a different channel, redeems 
 the vice. A Kafir may be a very troublesome and 
 unpleasant creature to manage as a labourer or house- 
 boy : his indolence and stupidity may be very irrita- 
 ting at the moment ; but those who leave South Africa 
 find that the irritating details soon get forgiven 
 when compared with the vices of servants in other 
 lands ; and there looms up in the mind a strong im- 
 pression of the humour, cheerfulness and good-natured 
 boyishness of the Kafir ; these qualities are seen to 
 redeem his defects. The European, chafing under the 
 immediate difficulty, can no more be expected to take 
 a calm and reasonable view of the situation than can 
 a grocer, who has sent his Cockney errand-boy on 
 some urgent business, and who is kept waiting an 
 hour while the boy is playing marbles or climbing 
 lamp-posts, be expected to admit at the moment that 
 boys have their good points. But when the grocer 
 has forgotten his cares at the tea-table and has become 
 more reasonable, he is the first to admit generously 
 that, after all, boys have some redeeming features. 
 
 The children of the Kafirs, however, have all the 
 good-nature and cheerfulness of their elders without 
 the unpleasant qualities ; consequently every white 
 man has a good word to say for them. The children 
 seem to be born good-natured and cheerful. It is 
 surprising how little they cry, how easily they 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 7 
 
 are quieted, and how much of their life they spend in 
 laughing. Apart from their helplessness and pretty 
 •ways, there is something about the merriment of 
 Kafir children that is very engaging. It is a pleasure 
 to see any human beings so spontaneous, so cheerful 
 and so contented. The very colour of their faces 
 seems designed to heighten the impression of delight 
 shown by their grinning eyes and teeth. In fact, 
 there is very little but dirt — a tolerably large excep- 
 tion it must be admitted — that is distinctly unpleasant 
 about small black children. Such children are worth 
 studying. 
 
 A Kafir was describing the customs connected with 
 death and burial. He started with the obvious 
 remark, " A man begins by being ill." This mode of 
 starting before the usual beginning is characteristic 
 of the Kafir. Likewise, in beginning our study of 
 the Kafir child, let us start with the months previous 
 to his birth. 
 
 I. BEFORE BIRTH 
 
 The Kafir thinks that evil may befall the child 
 months before its birth, for the world is full of evil 
 influences. A sick man walking along a path is sup- 
 posed to leave an evil trail behind him, and any 
 one touching his footsteps — especially a woman 
 who is about to become a mother — can contract the 
 sickness unawares. There are also hosts of witches 
 and wizards who work charms to injure others, and 
 should a woman come within the sphere of such in- 
 fluences she would pass on the evil to her unborn 
 child. Even the food the woman eats may most 
 profoundly affect her child. Consequently, when 
 the woman walks about the country, she ties round 
 her ankles certain small yellow flowers which have 
 the property of undoing evil spells. She keeps in her 
 
8 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 hut special pots of medicine, from which she drinks 
 occasionally. But should any one look into one of 
 the pots the reflection of the face would affect the 
 mother and unborn child, so that the baby would have 
 the likeness of the person who looked into the pot. 
 The mother avoids eating buck lest her baby should 
 be ugly ; she does not eat the under-lip of a pig lest 
 her baby should acquire a large under-lip ; she takes 
 care not to eat eland, or even to touch its fat, lest her 
 baby's fontanelles should not grow firm and strong. 
 Many women have a dread of porcupines, thinking 
 that the eating of their flesh causes the children to 
 be peculiarly ugly. The doctor therefore gives the 
 woman medicated porcupine to eat, thus ensuring 
 freedom from the danger. These are but a few of 
 the restraints imposed upon the mother at this time. 
 
 It is thought that the sex of the child can be deter- 
 mined or modified before birth by the effect of certain 
 drugs. Dreams are regarded as prognostic of the sex 
 of the child ; thus, should the mother dream of green 
 or black snakes, or of buffaloes, the child will prove to 
 be a boy ; should she dream of puff-adders, or of 
 crossing full rivers, the child will prove to be a girl.* 
 The people pray for children to the amatongo, or 
 ancestral spirits, and believe that fertility is a blessing 
 within these spirits' power to bestow. Sterility and 
 fertility both lie in the lap of these amatongo, for it 
 is their duty to see to the continuation of the clan. 
 The Kafirs are, of course, too shrewd not to know that 
 there are natural conditions determining the birth- 
 process, but they feel that the natural processes can 
 be thwarted by witches and wizards, and that they 
 can be favoured by the ancestral spirits. So whatever 
 may be the proximate cause of sterility, or dwindling 
 of the clan, the ultimate cause is supposed to be due 
 to the failure of the ancestral spirits ; for it is their 
 
 * See Bryant's Zulu-English Dictionary. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 9 
 
 duty to look after the tribe and to thwart all evil 
 influences and magical practices worked to do evil to 
 the clan. The will of the ancestral spirits is therefore 
 the final term in the problem. 
 
 In some tribes the people pray for many boys and 
 but few girls, for if their prayers are answered they 
 will be able to sell their daughters for sufficient cattle 
 to make them rich, while their sons will settle down 
 near the father's hut, and so make him a head-man 
 of great importance. In other tribes the people pray 
 for a few boys and many girls, preferring the greatness 
 that comes from riches to that which comes from 
 possessing a large kraal. Thus the people do not 
 introduce any sentimental motives into the problem, 
 merely regarding the children as a potential asset. 
 A Kafir cannot understand how a white man might 
 long for a girl because she clings so closely to her 
 father. The man's desire to rise in the world rules 
 his choice. 
 
 Shortly before the birth of the child the mother 
 cuts grass on which to lie while secluded in her hut. 
 And if possible she eats sweet-bread of the ox so as to 
 make parturition easy. During the period of seclusion 
 the mother may not drink sour milk, which taboo 
 may last a month or two after the feast of purification. 
 During the period in which milk is forbidden to her 
 she has to wear a girdle made of grass or vegetable 
 fibre. The husband is not allowed to be in the hut 
 while the baby is being born, but several women 
 usually act as midwives, the woman's mother being the 
 most important person on such occasions. 
 
 II. THE DAY OF BIRTH 
 
 A Kafir child has but one birthday in its lifetime. 
 Having no method of identifying the year — much less 
 the day of the year — the natives in South Africa 
 
io SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 cannot keep the anniversaries of their birthdays. It 
 is difficult for any one but a child to realise how vast 
 is this loss to the imagination. Birthdays are mile- 
 stones on the journey of life, and many a European 
 child expects to grow an inch in stature within a single 
 day even as it thinks it will grow a year older in a single 
 stride during one night. All those perennial and 
 brooding fancies that centre round the next birthday, 
 which play such a large part in the lives of European 
 children, are unknown to the Kafirs, who are thus 
 deprived at a single stroke of one of the supreme and 
 aching joys of childhood. The loss is absolute and 
 unredeemed. 
 
 If there are birthday joys there are also birthday 
 sorrows ; and though the Kafir child has none of the 
 former it has a good supply of the latter — most of them 
 concentrated and experienced on the actual day of 
 birth. 
 
 The mother -love, which in Europe, from its very 
 hunger and imaginative anticipation, is busy months 
 ahead in planning for the future life, making tiny 
 dresses and a dainty cradle for the expected child, has 
 little more to do amongst the Kafirs than to make a 
 mat of grass or of skin on which the child has to sleep 
 at nights till it is about eight years old. It is not 
 surprising, therefore, that there should be but little 
 to mark outwardly the advent of a baby to the kraal. 
 There is no fuss about ribbons, dresses, flounces, and 
 doctors. Every one goes about the ordinary routine 
 of work or idleness ; and the mother, thanks to her 
 magnificent physique, to her open-air life, and to her 
 absence of " nerves," anticipates but little trouble, 
 and requires no doctor in ordinary cases until the day 
 after birth, when some ceremonies have to be attended 
 to. A few women lend helping hands and advice, 
 and thus amidst the smoke and darkness of the hut 
 the child is born. The infant finds black, gesticulating 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY u 
 
 women ready to welcome it into the world. Friendly- 
 hands speedily wash it in water which has afterwards 
 to be mixed with cow-dung ; with this mixture 
 the floor of the hut is smeared. Should the baby 
 not breathe freely, it is held up by the heels and 
 splashed with cold water till it cries vigorously. 
 
 The men regard the birth of the baby in a calm 
 manner ; they neither grow excited nor show any 
 special enthusiasm over the event, for to do either 
 would be undignified. The affair is not a man's 
 concern ; it is part of the domestic work of the women, 
 who naturally make the most of their own importance 
 at such times. It is one of the few occasions on which 
 Kafir women feel their importance, and should the 
 men be at all facetious the women tell them that it 
 ill becomes men to fuss at such times, for they could 
 not bear children if they tried. So the women are 
 most pardonably apt to adopt a superior tone in the 
 presence of the men. It may be that, alongside of 
 many other factors, this somewhat trying attitude 
 of the woman has led in other countries to that 
 strange custom, the " couvade," in which the 
 husband — instead of the wife — lies up after the 
 birth of the child. In self-defence, and to avoid 
 abuse, the man pretends that he is ill ; he thus escapes 
 the taunting of the women, who find themselves 
 swamped by the husband's male friends, who hurry 
 up to congratulate and condole with him.* No 
 trace of this custom can be found in South Africa, 
 though it is common in many parts of the world, 
 and appears in European literature, as, for example, 
 in Aucassin and Nicolette. But whenever I have 
 asked the Kafirs whether this custom is observed in 
 South Africa my inquiries have met with uproarious 
 
 * The above explanation is rather artistic than scientific. For a 
 discussion of the " couvade," see Tylor's Early History of Mankind, 
 pp. 293-304. Also Frazer's Totemism, p. 78. 
 
12 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 mirth. Every Kafir consulted has scouted the idea 
 that a man should trouble himself at all about the 
 birth of a baby. Possibly the natives, having other 
 ways of keeping their women in order, do not need the 
 couvade. Anyhow, amongst the Kafirs it is the mother 
 and not the father who is isolated. Instead of stopping 
 to describe tribal variations of every detail, it will 
 be well to give some account of the customs observed 
 on the day of birth amongst the Zulus in olden times, 
 relegating to the Appendix some important tribal 
 variations and other changes of more recent date. 
 
 (a) The Imparting of the Ancestral Spirit 
 
 In olden days, as soon as the baby was born, some 
 dirt was scraped from the forearm and other parts 
 of the father's body and mixed with special medicines. 
 This mixture was made to smoulder and the baby 
 was " washed " in the smoke. This ceremony was 
 of great importance, for it was the recognised way of 
 imparting a portion of the itongo, or ancestral spirit, 
 to the child. The natives think that dirt scraped from 
 a man's body contains a part of his essential personality ; 
 it has therefore an intimate though undefined connec- 
 tion with the itongo (or spirit) of the grandfather 
 and so of the clan. 
 
 The medicines to be mixed with the dirt from the 
 father's body require very careful selection and pre- 
 paration. The most important ingredient is a meteo- 
 rite, which has to be well burnt and then ground to 
 fine powder. The Kafirs think that this substance 
 has the power of closing the anterior fontanelle of 
 the baby's skull, of strengthening, and of making firm 
 the bones of the skull, of imparting vigour to the 
 child's mind, and of making the infant brave and 
 courageous. The strength of the meteorite is thought 
 to enter into the child's whole system. The next 
 most important ingredient is the powdered whiskers 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 13 
 
 of a leopard. The skin of a salamander (a lizard 
 which loves extreme heat), the claws of a lion and other 
 ingredients are also added. Each medicine is supposed 
 to impart to the child the special quality of the animal 
 from which it is made. 
 
 The medicine is applied as follows. The baby is 
 placed under a large blanket, and the medicine is 
 caused to smoulder. The burning mixture is then 
 placed under the blanket, so that the baby is bound 
 to inhale the smoke. To make the matter doubly 
 sure, certain portions of the powdered medicine are 
 mixed with the baby's food.* 
 
 The people say that when this custom is neglected 
 on the day of birth, the child is handicapped for life, 
 for it has no itongo. They think it will become a silly, 
 thriftless creature, and will never be free from trouble, 
 for it will have no attention paid to it by the tribal 
 amatongo. This is the greatest calamity that could 
 ever befall a child. Natives declare that the children 
 of Christian Kafirs are soft, flabby creatures who are 
 for ever unfortunate and helpless in life. The cause of 
 their universal misfortune is said to be the omission 
 of the custom just described. 
 
 (b) Reincarnation 
 
 This brings up the question as to whether or not 
 the Kafirs believe in the doctrine of the reincarnation, 
 or the transmigration, of souls. It is sometimes said 
 by those who have paid hurried visits to the native 
 districts of South Africa, that the Kafirs believe in 
 the transmigration of souls because they believe that 
 children are born with a portion of the ancestral 
 spirit. It is safe to say that the Kafirs absolutely deny 
 both these statements. Anyone who is familiar with 
 the life of the Kafirs knows that the children cannot 
 
 * The ashes of this burnt medicine are kept carefully for a 
 ceremony to be performed on the fifth day. 
 
1 4 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 fully share in the life of the clan until certain cere- 
 monies of initiation have been performed, usually after 
 puberty, and that some children — especially twins — 
 are never introduced as full members of the clan. 
 Children are thus regarded as negligible quantities 
 until after puberty ; they take practically no part in 
 the religious or social rites of the clan. They may 
 look on at the rites, and are allowed to eat the meat 
 of sacrifice, possibly because some preliminary cere- 
 monies — as, for example, the rite just described — 
 have commenced a process of initiation into the clan. 
 But they are not taught religion in any formal way, 
 and are freely allowed to break some laws of the clan. 
 
 It would seem that the misunderstanding has arisen 
 from the confusion of two words for spirit, which differ 
 widely in meaning, but which are confused in modern 
 use. The words referred to are idhlozi (plural, amadh- 
 lozi) and itongo (plural amatongo). The natives them- 
 selves confuse the two words nowadays, but say that in 
 ancient days their old people never did so. When 
 they found the white people confusing the words, 
 they found it difficult to explain the distinction, and 
 copied the white men in confusing the words in their 
 conversation ; yet they say that even now if people 
 say idhlozi when they mean itongo no one mistakes 
 the meaning, for it can be gathered from the context.* 
 The idhlozi is the individual and -personal spirit born 
 with each child — something fresh and unique which 
 is never shared with any one else — while the itongo 
 is the ancestral and corporate spirit which is not personal 
 but tribal, or a thing of the clan, the possession of 
 which is obtained, not by birth, but by certain initiatory 
 rites. The idhlozi is personal and inalienable, for it 
 is wrapped up with the man's personality, and at death 
 it lives near the grave or goes into the snake or totem of 
 the clan, but the itongo is of the clan, and haunts 
 * See Appendix A. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 15 
 
 the living-hut ; at death it returns to the tribal 
 amatongo. A man's share in this clan-spirit {itongo) 
 is lost when he becomes a Christian or when he is in 
 any way unfaithful to the interests of the clan, but 
 a man never loses his idhlozi any more than he ever 
 loses his individuality. If this view of the matter 
 be correct, then it is clear how a hasty observation 
 and inference, in which the two vastly differing senses 
 of the words for " spirit " are confused, have led to the 
 idea that the Kafirs believe in the reincarnation of 
 souls. 
 
 It is said that Indian women rejoice greatly when 
 it has been determined in the case of one of their 
 children that it is not a reincarnation but something 
 wholly new and fresh. So the Kafirs rejoice to think 
 that something wholly new has appeared in the kraal — 
 a gift from the amatongo. When asked whether the 
 amatongo do not send back to earth the spirits of men 
 who have died, the Kafirs indignantly deny that the 
 amatongo would do such a thing ; they say that those 
 who have died have " finished up," and that the 
 amatongo would not think of sending back worn-out 
 things with a fresh lease of life. But there is this 
 additional interest in the case of a Kafir baby, that 
 while it has a new idhlozi or personal spirit, yet by 
 certain rites it may become possessed also of a share 
 of the ancestral spirit or itongo of its grandfather. 
 Thus the child has the charm of freshness and of new- 
 ness while it is linked on to the glory of the past and 
 to the whole corporate life of the clan. To be without 
 a share of the amatongo of the clan is the greatest 
 calamity that a Kafir can conceive. Such a man goes 
 through life unprotected. When misfortune after 
 misfortune falls upon a kraal, when offerings to the 
 ancestral spirits bring no change of fortune, the people 
 say in gloom, "As for us, our amatongo have deserted us." 
 There is no evil that may not happen in such a case. 
 
16 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 (c) The Baby's First Audience 
 
 As soon as the baby has been doctored with the 
 smoke from the father's dirt, it is allowed to receive 
 visitors. But there are many people who may not 
 visit the baby without special doctoring. The father 
 is not supposed to see the baby till the " clean " day, 
 to be described later, and no boys who have arrived 
 at the age of puberty are allowed into the hut on any 
 account. Big girls who are on the verge of puberty 
 are also forbidden to enter the hut, lest they should 
 injure the baby by evil influences. Women from 
 neighbouring kraals are allowed to enter after having 
 performed the following cleansing ceremony. The 
 women have to gather special herbs with which to make 
 a fire just outside the door of the mother's hut. When 
 this fire has burnt out, the visitors have to scrape their 
 feet in the ashes, and thus remove any evil influences 
 they may have contracted on the journey. The 
 children of the fellow- wives of the young mother are 
 allowed in freely to see the baby on the day of birth, 
 but they are not supposed to see the baby again until 
 the mother has buried the umbilical cord, which she 
 usually does on the seventh day after birth. It need 
 hardly be added that no person suffering from any 
 form of ceremonial uncleanness is allowed to see the 
 baby till the many customs connected with the birth 
 have been completed by a public feast, which may 
 not take place for fully three weeks after the birth of 
 the child. Boys who have not yet been initiated into 
 manhood are allowed freely into the mother's hut, for 
 they are on a par with small girls in many ways. 
 Special herbs and grasses are hung up at the door- 
 way of the hut, and all visitors have to nibble these 
 medicines and spit them out, or puff their medicated 
 breath at the baby as they approach it. 
 
 All the small boys and girls of the kraal therefore 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 17 
 
 hasten to greet the new baby on the day of its birth. 
 They show the greatest delight on this occasion and 
 bring the most strangely unsuitable presents, imagining 
 that the baby has an interest in all things equal to their 
 own. Thus the children run and get their choicest 
 dolls — sorry creatures at the best — bangles, pretty 
 stones, clay oxen, tobacco pipes, knob-kerries, and old 
 pieces of food ; they rout out their bags, which do 
 duty for pockets, and select everything they value 
 most, and so present to the baby the most absurd 
 assortment of rubbish conceivable. After having 
 lavished on it their most coveted treasures they smother 
 it with kisses and call it all the diminutive names of 
 affection they can think of, pointing out to the on- 
 lookers the daintiness of the fingers and toes, and prais- 
 ing every aspect of its beauty. They beg to be allowed 
 to nurse it " just for a few moments," and literally 
 dance for joy in the presence of the child. Jealousy 
 is but rarely shown by the other children at the birth 
 of a new baby, except occasionally in the case of the 
 children of rival wives of a polygamist. Such hatreds 
 are sometimes as inveterate and traditional as the 
 feuds of Guelf and Ghibelline. But such polygamist 
 hatreds apart, the children of the kraal show unbounded 
 delight at the birth of a baby. 
 
 It is doubtful whether the Kafirs ever show in after 
 life a love and joy so disinterested ; and this abound- 
 ing joy over the helpless babe should make those 
 who write of savages as if they were devoid of all 
 altruistic feeling, pause and reconsider their opinions, 
 which would seem to have been evolved out of the 
 inner consciousness. We have in this utterly unselfish 
 joy the very raw material of morality and higher 
 altruism, and a refutation of the pessimistic views as 
 to the total corruption of savage children. 
 
 Boys who have been initiated into manhood never 
 show any interest in babies — to do so would lead to 
 
 B 
 
1 8 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 ridicule, for other big boys would call them girlish. 
 The only man who shows interest in the baby is the 
 uncle ; in some tribes the paternal, and in other the 
 maternal uncle. He is a great personage for he is a 
 sort of guardian of the child. The uncle, as soon as 
 he hears of the birth of the baby, may drive up a cow 
 to the kraal and tell the people that it is a present to 
 the new baby. In some cases he does not even trouble 
 to visit the baby's kraal, but merely points out a cow 
 in his own cattle kraal, and tells the people that it is 
 the property of the young child. This present is 
 often said to " bind up " the relationship. 
 
 (d) Doctoring the Baby 
 
 The baby, when its first audience is over, has to 
 submit to other customs to which it always objects 
 in very vigorous fashion. In most kraals a horn of 
 medicines is kept with great care. The horn is taken 
 from an ox which has been born in the kraal, or which 
 belongs to the kraal in some special and intimate way. 
 The women make incisions in the skin of both baby 
 and mother, choosing such places as the top of the 
 chest, the cheek, the forehead, and a spot over the 
 heart ; the contents of the horn are then well rubbed 
 into these incisions so as to neutralise any evil influences 
 contracted. 
 
 After this the mother makes a fire with some scented 
 wood which gives off an abundance of pungent smoke. 
 Over this smoke the baby is held till it cries violently. 
 It is believed that some people at death become 
 wizards or wizard-spirits, and that these evil beings 
 seek malevolently to injure small babies ; they cannot 
 abide the smell of the smoke from this scented wood, 
 which they meet as they wander round seeking for prey, 
 and trying to take possession of babies. The wizard 
 is therefore repelled by the odour, and goes on its 
 journey, hunting for a baby which is not so evil-smell- 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 19 
 
 ing. When the baby cries in the smoke the mother 
 calls out, " There goes the wizard." This smoking 
 process has to be performed daily with closed doors 
 for several weeks, while the mother sings special 
 chants. The smell of the smoke is said to cling to 
 the baby for about eight months, during which period 
 it is immune to the attacks of the wizards. The 
 smoking ceremony must be repeated every eight 
 months until the second teeth begin to appear; after 
 that date the child is thought to be able to take care 
 of itself. Sometimes the smoking process is performed 
 with medicines made from the bodies of wild animals. 
 In that case the baby is also made to drink or eat 
 such medicines. This rite is said to counteract evil 
 contracted by the baby before birth. 
 
 (e) The Birth of a Chief 
 
 So far the description applies to any ordinary 
 
 member of the tribe. In the case of a baby who is heir 
 
 to the chieftainship, a special medicine has to be made 
 
 in which to wash the child on the day of birth. The 
 
 special medicine is prepared as follows. Before the 
 
 birth of the baby, the chief tells his people to go to a 
 
 distant district and to hunt for a large succulent 
 
 bulb, often several feet in diameter, called ifakama. 
 
 The chief arranges secretly with one of his councillors 
 
 that a certain man of conspicuous character shall be 
 
 lured to the edge of the large hole out of which the 
 
 root is taken. At a given signal one of the diggers 
 
 of the hole suddenly stabs with his assegai the man 
 
 selected, and in a moment this unlucky person is thrown 
 
 into the hole, and buried up while his flesh is still 
 
 warm. The succulent root is then taken home, cut 
 
 into thin slices, dried, and kept for subsequent use. 
 
 The dried root is ground up into powder and mixed 
 
 with water so as to form intelezi, a medicinal wash, 
 
 in which all the future babies of the chief have to be 
 
2o SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 washed at birth. The small chief is washed daily in 
 intelezi made from this root, and the ceremony is 
 performed in what we must call the chief's bathroom, 
 a small hut which is built inside the cattle kraal, and 
 which is reserved for the chief's use. When the small 
 future chief has been duly washed in this special 
 medicine, other intelezi is taken and rubbed into a 
 hole which is made at the base of the baby chief's 
 right thumb. In after life, when the chief wishes to 
 give orders, he points with this thumb, and it is thought 
 that the intelezi rubbed into the thumb makes its 
 authority felt, for the Kafirs say that no one can resist 
 the thumb that has been so doctored. 
 
 III. THE CLEAN DAY 
 
 On the day after birth* the mother buries all the 
 discharges connected with the birth of her child, 
 reserving the umbilical cord for disposal at a future 
 date. This day is therefore called " The Clean Day." 
 The father is allowed to go to the door of his wife's 
 hut on the "clean" day; after having grunted 
 to indicate his approach, he stands in the doorway, 
 and is shown the baby. He then asks his wife whether 
 she feels that all is right, and if she should say that all 
 is going on well he expresses his gladness at hearing 
 that she is safely over her trouble. But should she 
 say that she feels that all is not well, the father sends 
 for the doctor. 
 
 As the father may not enter his wife's hut till a later 
 date, the baby is brought to him in the doorway that 
 he may perform the following rite. The man takes 
 a feather of a vulture, singes it in a flame, and holds 
 the smouldering feather under the nose of the baby. 
 
 * Mr. Hawkins of Zululand informs me that the mother buries 
 the above-mentioned things on the day of birth. The custom 
 probably varies with the clan. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 21 
 
 The vulture is supposed to be a valiant and brave 
 fighter, and by the inhalation of the smoke the baby 
 is supposed to imbibe the qualities of the bird. After 
 this the father produces the feather of a peacock, and 
 treats it in similar fashion. Peacocks are feared by 
 the natives, who say, " those birds live in the place 
 from which our ancestors came." It is thought that 
 the peacock is undismayed at all such sudden causes 
 of alarm as thunder and other terrible noises. The 
 baby, as it inhales the smoke of the peacock's feathers, 
 becomes fortified against all similar alarms. If in 
 after life the child shows fear at sudden noises, the 
 father runs and fetches a peacock's feather, and burns 
 it under the nose of the child. 
 
 It was said above that the father may not enter 
 his wife's hut until her purification is complete. 
 One exception must be noted. When a man has 
 but one wife (especially when he has no grand- 
 mother at hand) he is terribly handicapped in having 
 no woman to cook for him. In such a case the man 
 is led to the hut by an old woman, who acts as his 
 prompter. She takes him round the outside of the 
 wife's hut until he is opposite that part on the left 
 side at which she lies. The old woman then tells 
 the man to stab several times through the wall of the 
 hut with his stick. When he has done this, the woman 
 tells him to say, " That is my uncleanness." This is 
 said in reference to the baby ; by this ceremony the 
 father owns to the people of the kraal that the baby 
 is his offspring. Having thus publicly acknowledged 
 the baby as his own, he is allowed to go into his wife's 
 hut as much as he pleases, and she is allowed to cook 
 for him. 
 
 IV. THE FIFTH DAY 
 
 About the fifth day after birth — it may be as early 
 as the third day in the case of a girl, and as late as the 
 
22 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 sixth day in the case of a boy — the baby is taken from 
 the hut out into the veld by a doctor who selects 
 a spot where the lightning struck the earth at least 
 a year previously. (A spot that was recently struck 
 by lightning is of no use.) The doctor digs a hole 
 in the ground at this spot and places an earthenware 
 pot in the hole. In the pot he places special medicines 
 which he has prepared ; and with them he mixes 
 some of the ashes of the medicines — which, it will 
 be remembered, contained dirt scraped from the 
 father's body — with which the baby was smoked on 
 the day of birth. The doctor then adds water and 
 churns the mixture with a stick. If the medicines 
 froth up the doctor declares that the itongo of the 
 grandparent last deceased is extremely pleased, and 
 undertakes to protect and watch over the child 
 throughout life. Should the medicine not froth up, 
 the doctor says that the itongo is not at all pleased, 
 and that the ceremony must be repeated again and 
 again till the omens are favourable. But if the 
 mixture froths up, the doctor pours some of it over 
 the baby's body. Then the people all return to the 
 hut and keep the medicine bowl with its contents for 
 the next birth that may take place in the kraal. 
 When they have reached home, the doctor scarifies 
 the child on the sides of the head near the temples 
 and on a spot at the base of the neck. Into these 
 raw places he rubs some of the medicine contained in 
 the bowl, and it is thought that the child is now 
 fortified against most of the risks of life. The doctor 
 then makes incision into the mother's breasts close 
 to the nipple, and thus doctors her milk. When this 
 has been done the baby is allowed to drink the mother's 
 milk for the first time in its life. When the doctor 
 has finished his ceremony he throws water over' the 
 mother and child, and departs. 
 
 Should the above omen of the frothing medicine 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 23 
 
 not work properly, there is great searching of heart 
 as to what evil the father has done : he is supposed 
 to have wrongly used the itongo that he received from 
 his grandparents, or to ■ have broken some tribal 
 custom ; it is therefore necessary, before the cere- 
 mony is repeated, to call in a diviner to find out 
 what has been done amiss. 
 
 V. SEVENTH DAY 
 
 In olden days the baby was taken out of the hut, 
 usually on the seventh night, and was shown the moon. 
 If the baby showed signs that it noticed something 
 in the sky the people said, " Now the mother must be 
 getting strong." The mother would then shave 
 the hair off the sides of her forehead, go out into the 
 veld, and show these patches to the moon, saying, 
 " See, your child is growing." But this ceremony 
 was performed only when the moon was nearly full, 
 and should the child be born at new moon the cere- 
 mony had to be deferred till the moon grew large. 
 The moon enters largely into the customs connected 
 with birth. In some clans the mother's seclusion is 
 said to end when " the moon " (in which the child 
 was born) " is dead " : that is to say, at the period of 
 the new moon following the birth of the baby. 
 
 But irrespective of the ceremony in connection 
 with the moon, the mother is expected to go out of 
 her hut on the seventh day, taking with her the 
 umbilical cord which she has carefully preserved, and 
 which the husband is on no account allowed to see. She 
 pretends that she is going to fetch water, and chooses 
 a time when no one is about. Going to the river 
 bank she selects a spot where there is deep mud, and 
 looking round to make sure that she is not being 
 observed, she makes with her arm a hole in the mud 
 as deep as she can. In this hole she buries the cord. 
 
24 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 Having done this she walks away, taking special care 
 not to look back lest evil should befall her child. 
 If she were to look back, any wizard-spirits which might 
 be wandering about to do mischief would see by the 
 mother's glances where she had hidden the cord, 
 which they would exhume so as to work evil magic 
 on the baby.* To put people off the scent the mother 
 fills her pot with water and returns home with 
 a great load off her mind. She is now allowed to 
 walk about the kraal, though she may not go into the 
 country or visit other kraals until the end of the feast 
 of purification. Still, many of the taboos concerning 
 her and her child are somewhat relaxed, for the danger 
 which is supposed to attach to all the life-processes 
 and bodily secretions is diminished enormously as 
 soon as the cord has been safely buried. 
 
 VI. FEAST OF PURIFICATION 
 
 As soon as the baby's anterior fontanelle shows 
 signs of diminishing in size, or when the bones of the 
 skull begin to get a little firm, the great feast, to which 
 all the people have been looking forward, takes place. 
 It was held in olden days at about the end of the third 
 or fourth week, though nowadays it is often held 
 much earlier. The natives in olden days were very 
 shrewd, and did not like to slaughter the ox as a 
 thank-offering to the ancestral spirits until they felt 
 sure the child had a good hold upon life. They used 
 to say that it was no good to thank the amatongo 
 prematurely, for these ancestral spirits might recall 
 the baby they had given to the people ; therefore, 
 with prudence, they reserved this feast till they felt 
 fairly sure the baby had taken a strong grip on life. 
 
 * Natives have a firmbelief that impressions can be felt in an especially 
 strong way by the umbilicus, and so the cord presents a peculiarly 
 effective medium through which to work magic on a person. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 25 
 
 But it was thought perfectly legitimate to hold the 
 feast of purification even on the day after the cord 
 had been buried, should the people be so disposed. 
 
 This feast must be called the feast of purification, 
 for though the ceremony has not the explicit and 
 advanced theological significance which we usually 
 associate with the word " purification," and which we 
 get from Semitic religion, yet it is held on the day 
 on which the mother shakes off the many taboos that 
 have been resting on her. (There are, however, two 
 taboos not thus removed : she may on no account 
 go near the cattle kraal, nor may she drink sour milk 
 for a further period of about three months.) But 
 the feast is also a mode of communion with the ama- 
 tongo or ancestral spirits, for they are supposed to 
 have given the child to the clan, and to be quite as 
 much interested in the increase of population as the 
 people living in the kraal. The killing of the ox 
 seems to have no purifying property " in the sphere 
 of law," in the sense in which many Christians 
 regard sacrifice as having cleansing efficacy. The 
 feast spreads a sense of friendship and camaraderie 
 amongst the members of the clan, and also between 
 them and the amatongo of the clan, so that in this 
 sense it is an at-one-ment. The ox is killed to thank 
 the amatongo that the mother did not die in child- 
 birth, to show gratitude for the addition to the clan, 
 and to mark the day as that on which most of the taboos 
 are withdrawn. But in a Kafir's mind all this is vague 
 and ill-defined. The chief thing that appeals to him 
 in the custom is the fact that he gets his much-longed- 
 for feast of meat ; and this is enough to put him in a 
 good temper with all the world. The feast becomes 
 therefore a time of general rejoicing. 
 
 It is sometimes said that the natives kill an ox on the 
 day of birth. This is true in the case of tribes in the 
 south-west, where a great ceremony is held on this 
 
26 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 day* ; but by the Zulus it is only done on the birth 
 of the eldest son. If the first child should happen to 
 be a girl, no ox is killed, for the people say, " Why 
 should we kill an ox for a girl ? She is only a weed." 
 
 (a) Offering to the Amatongo 
 
 When the ox is killed the people, using a large dish, 
 catch the blood as it spurts out of the cut artery. 
 This blood is taken by the father into his hut, and part 
 of it is poured on to the floor at the part of the hut 
 known as the umsamo. This is a small portion of the 
 floor marked off at the back of the hut by a ridge of 
 earth, and is supposed to be the special haunt of the 
 grandfather's itongo. (His idhlozi lives in the ground 
 near his grave.) No one may sleep on that part of 
 the hut ; it is the spot whereon are placed all meat 
 and beer offered to the amatongo. Although no one 
 may sleep on this portion of the hut, yet it is the 
 place where pots and dishes are often kept. When 
 some of the blood of the ox has been sprinkled on the 
 earth at this spot as a libation to the ancestral spirit, 
 the rest of the blood is cooked and eaten by the people. 
 
 (b) Ceremony with the Gall-bladder 
 
 At the feast, the father takes the gall-bladder of the 
 slaughtered ox and allows a little of the bile to trickle 
 from it as he touches with it a spot on the baby's right 
 foot ; he then raises the gall-bladder up along the 
 right side of the baby's leg and trunk, allowing the 
 gall to trickle on to the child's skin. A little bile is 
 placed on the baby's head and a few drops are inserted 
 into his mouth. The father then puts a few drops 
 of bile on his own right foot, and, if any of his brothers 
 are present, he calls them up and puts a few spots of 
 bile also on to their right feet. After this the father 
 
 * This is referred to under the description of the naming of the 
 child. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 27 
 
 cuts the gall-bladder into a long strip and winds it 
 around his right wrist.* All this is done in praise of 
 the itongo, and to ensure its good will. 
 
 (c) The Meat Feast 
 
 When the father has finished thegceremony with the 
 bile, which is regarded as essentially an affair to do 
 with the itongo, he gives the meat to his friends, and 
 a general feast takes place. When the meat has all 
 been eaten, a doctor takes " great intelezi," or washing 
 medicine, and sprinkles all the people, the huts, the 
 cattle, and the cattle kraal. Thus all things are made 
 sweet and are rendered free from any infection that 
 might otherwise cling to them, for all evil influences 
 are counteracted. 
 
 Impefio, a sweet-smelling flower which is made up 
 into a sort of cake, is then produced and powdered. 
 The powder is mixed with water, and every one rubs 
 his body with the decoction, which has somewhat 
 the smell of incense, though it is not burnt, but merely 
 made into a sort of " rose-water." f 
 
 (d) The Baby's Public Reception 
 
 And now the baby can appear in public, for the 
 evil influences which attach to the process of birth 
 have been wiped away. A small charm called isis- 
 wepu is tied round the child's neck. Until this charm 
 is placed round the neck, only old women past age, and 
 children before puberty, are freely allowed to go near 
 the child ; other people might bring evil influences 
 with them. The child keeps this charm throughout 
 life, and in times of sudden sickness, or when bitten 
 by a snake, nibbles a small portion from it as a sort 
 of " first aid," pending the arrival of a doctor. 
 
 * See section (/), p. 28. 
 
 t lmpepo is said to be burnt in honour of the ancestral spirits on 
 certain occasions. 
 
28 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 In olden days a hair from the cow given to the mother 
 on her marriage was also placed round the baby's 
 neck ; but this cow is generally killed at the time of the 
 wedding nowadays, and so the custom has lapsed. 
 
 The process of smoking the baby over burning 
 aromatic woods is j*rformed on the day of purification 
 for the last time. Through the smoking rite the child 
 is supposed to imbibe the qualities of courage, elo- 
 quence and intelligence, and in addition to gain pro- 
 tection against wizards and witches, so that when it 
 is falsely accused in after life it will be able to defend 
 itself vigorously — and heaven help the Kafir who 
 cannot do that. 
 
 (e) The Mother's Last Ceremony 
 
 The skin of the sacrificial ox is dried and made 
 into a kaross in which the mother has to carry her 
 baby. At the close of the feast the mother has to 
 go to the river and fetch a large vessel full of water. 
 Having arrived at the river, she throws a stone into 
 it, telling the spirits and fabulous monsters that 
 live in the water not to look at her. After throwing a 
 second stone into the river, she fills her pot with water, 
 and has to carry it home on her head without spilling 
 a single drop ; for should she spill any of this water 
 her child would be attended by bad luck through life. 
 Reaching her hut, she has to wash in the water, mix 
 the water that streams from her body with clay and 
 cow-dung, and with this smear the floor of the hut. 
 Her hut is now also clean, and from henceforth the 
 ordinary routine of life can be followed as if nothing 
 had happened. 
 
 (/) The Father's Last Ceremony 
 
 About a month, or possibly two months, after the 
 public feast, the father cuts off the dried gall-bladder 
 which he had bound round his wrist on the day of 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 29 
 
 the feast, and burns it in the fire.* Beer is made and 
 the father throws a little on the ground for the itongo, 
 giving the rest to his friends. He then says to the 
 itongo and people present, " To-day I am dedicating 
 the baby to the itongo." When the beer is finished 
 the father says to the itongo in the hearing of the 
 people, "We have now finished this affair of the 
 baby."t 
 
 VII. THE BABY 
 
 . Hitherto the baby has been well-nigh forgotten 
 amid the customs observed in connection with its 
 birth. It is time to describe its appearance. 
 
 Kafir infants look like delicate bronze statuettes ; 
 the shape arid figure of the bodies being usually perfect 
 in their baby proportions. When born they have a 
 delicacy and graceful daintiness that is most engaging. 
 For a sculptor they would make excellent models. 
 But after a few months the abdomen becomes unduly 
 protuberant, and the appearance is decidedly comical 
 till this unsightliness passes off. The babies are not 
 swathed in yards of clothing, and so they can be seen 
 as nature made them. The nakedness of the children 
 never obtrudes itself on an observer, for it seems 
 perfectly right and fitting that they should be left 
 unclothed till they begin to grow up. The dark skin 
 of a boy or girl of even six years old seems to prevent 
 any impression of nakedness. The full dress of a baby 
 often consists of a single row of beads suspended 
 around its loins. No one who has seen a white man 
 bathing alongside a black man can for a moment help 
 feeling that the natural colour of the skin is dark, and 
 that the white man has a bleached skin which must 
 therefore be covered up in sheer decency. 
 
 Babies are, as a rule, of a much lighter colour than 
 
 * See section (b), p. 26. 
 
 t For Tribal Variations, see Appendix B. 
 
30 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 adults. The palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, 
 and the nails are often of a very pale pink colour and 
 never darken in after life so much as the rest of the 
 body. It is impossible to give hard-and-fast rules as 
 to the way in which the skin changes colour in after 
 life, for there are wide differences of colour amongst 
 members of the same tribe, and indeed amongst 
 members of the same family : but the following state- 
 ment may be taken as the rough summary of a good 
 deal of observation and inquiry on the subject. If 
 a baby be born of a blackish colour its lips will be very 
 red, and when the child grows up the skin will turn 
 to somewhat of a yellowish tint, not unlike burnt 
 sienna ; if the baby be born with a skin of a reddish 
 tint it will have lips of a purple colour, and the skin 
 will afterwards turn to a rich chocolate ; if the baby 
 be born of a pale ash-colour the lips will be of a dark 
 blackish tint, and the skin will turn very dark later 
 on in life and may become even black. 
 
 With regard to the features, the nose is generally 
 rather broad, the lips thick, the iris of the eye a blackish 
 brown, while the " whites " of the eyes are often 
 yellowish or slightly bloodshot at the angles. Kafirs 
 never have blue or light-coloured eyes. The hair is 
 always black and becomes crisp and curly at an early 
 age. It is always kept short, the head being shaved 
 periodically ; the effect of keeping the hair so short is 
 that the head appears as though covered with pepper- 
 corns. 
 
 The child is generally well smeared with grease, 
 to which is frequently added a special kind of red clay. 
 This somewhat improves the appearance and colour 
 of the skin. The natives as a rule do not know why 
 they use so much red clay. Some say they use it 
 because they like it ; this is true enough, though it 
 seems probable that they learned the use of this sub- 
 stance from the Hottentots, who used to smear them- 
 
p ft 
 
 z - 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 31 
 
 selves with red clay when worshipping the moon. 
 Finding that the red paint made the skin cool, and pre- 
 vented the ill effects of exposure to the weather, the 
 Kafirs possibly forgot its significance, and adopted 
 it for general use. Red clay may also have been used 
 in the worship of the Hottentot hero Heitsi-Eibib, 
 as a symbol of the Red Dawn, which was supposed 
 to have been caused by the blood shed from the 
 wound of the knee of Heitsi-Eibib, which he received 
 when overcoming the God of Darkness. 
 
 The Zulus, however, give an entirely different 
 account of the ancient use of red clay. They say 
 that many children are infected before birth with a 
 skin disease which does not become manifest till some 
 little time after birth. This skin disease is accounted 
 for in the following way. When the natives wish to 
 fertilise their fields, a Crops-doctor selects a certain 
 corpse, and tells the people not to bury it, but to make 
 it into medicine. It seems probable that in olden days 
 the natives killed a man for this purpose, though they 
 do not like to admit this nowadays. The medicine 
 made from certain portions of the man's body was 
 distributed over the fields, and was thought to secure 
 a very abundant harvest. This custom is but rarely 
 practised now, and when it is adopted it is done with 
 the greatest secrecy lest Europeans should hear of it. 
 But there is one drawback about this way of fertilising 
 a field ; if a woman who is about to become a mother 
 should happen to eat any of the corn which is thus 
 fertilised, her child will be sure to develop a trouble- 
 some rash a few weeks after birth. As a cure for this 
 rash the child has to be plentifully smeared with 
 grease and a special red clay, the mixture acting as a 
 specific* 
 
 But the effect of the red clay does not last long, 
 for the infants crawl about the floor and play in the 
 * See Appendix C. 
 
32 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 ashes ; as a result the skin soon becomes covered with 
 scratches and assumes a dingy hue. Flies are for ever 
 worrying the child and sores soon form at the angles 
 of the eyes and mouth. For a time the child resents 
 this pest, but soon gives in and pays no attention to the 
 matter even though a dozen flies may be settling on 
 its face. 
 
 VIII. THE NAMING OF THE CHILD 
 
 There is considerable tribal variation in connection 
 with the naming of the child. In some tribes there 
 is no ceremony at all, while in others the name is 
 given in an impressive .way. In the tribes to the 
 south-west, when the mother's isolation is at an end, 
 a great feast is made at which the chief presides. 
 The mother and child are brought before him ; he 
 then fills his mouth with water and spits it out over 
 the couple, saying to the ancestral spirits, " A child 
 is born to you this day : may the kraal never die out." 
 The chief takes a strap on which the head of the family 
 ties a knot at the birth of every child. This strap, 
 together with the navel-string of the child, is placed 
 in a bag that is kept carefully in the sacred hut in 
 which all the sacred objects of the clan are concealed. 
 This knotted strap is the tribal register ; should 
 the child die or become a Christian, and so be lost to 
 the clan, the chief takes out the piece of leather, 
 loosens the knot and destroys the record of the birth 
 of the child. It is at this feast that the name of the 
 child is announced by the chief, the men present 
 adding names as they may see fit.* 
 
 But no such impressive ceremony is observed in 
 the tribes living in the south-east. The name may 
 be mentioned by the mother when the people visit 
 the baby on the day of its birth, or it may be 
 
 * This custom is described in the South African Folk- Lore Journal, 
 July 1880, p. 61, and will well repay a careful study. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 33 
 
 announced by the father at the feast of purification. 
 But very little ceremony is thought to be required 
 in connection with the matter, the name being 
 mentioned in an off-hand way. 
 
 Natives have two names, one (the igama) given 
 in infancy, which corresponds to our Christian name, 
 and another (the isibongo) which corresponds roughly 
 to our surname. The latter is not given till the 
 child has passed the age of puberty. This name 
 may have a prefix which indicates the clan, and the 
 fact that it is not given till after puberty shows how 
 the child is not regarded as an organic part of the clan 
 till it reaches adult life. In those tribes in which 
 circumcision is practised at the age of sixteen or seven- 
 teen, this second name is given at that ceremony. 
 Amongst the Zulus, who have abandoned the rite 
 of circumcision, the chief used to call up the boys 
 at about seventeen years of age, and publicly give 
 them their second names. In recent years even this 
 custom has lapsed,* and the boys complain very much 
 at the departed glory of ancient times. The birth 
 name {igama) is soon forgotten after a person's death, 
 for it is not so truly a person's name as his isibongo 
 or surname. 
 
 According to the hlonifa custom, to be described 
 below, it is thought indecorous to call a bride by her 
 maiden name {igama). The friends therefore may 
 decide that her first child shall be called, let us say, 
 for example, Mtunywa, which is a boy's name meaning 
 " A Messenger." The bride would therefore be called 
 " Mother of Mtunywa." It might be thought that 
 this method of naming the mother and unborn child 
 would prove awkward if the first child should happen 
 to be a girl and not a boy. But the Kafirs do not fuss 
 about trifles, and so the matter causes no trouble. 
 Should the first child prove to be a girl, then a suitable 
 * My informant is the Rev. J. Hawkins of Zululand. 
 
 C 
 
34 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 name would be chosen, and the original name, Mtunywa 
 would be kept in reserve for the first male child ; but 
 the mother would still be called by the old name, 
 Mother of Mtunywa. 
 
 The birth name may be chosen by the uncle, who 
 frequently wishes to make his influence felt at all 
 important stages in life. But any one who is popular 
 in the kraal, and especially any one who gives the child 
 a valuable present, may suggest a name, and if he be 
 keen on the name being given, all the others yield and 
 agree. In most cases, however, the mother and father 
 choose a name, and all the people agree. 
 
 There are many methods of choosing the name of 
 the child, but these methods are not clearly thought 
 out by the people. One of the following five methods 
 will be found to be in vogue in the case of most of 
 the names usually chosen. 
 
 (a) The child may be named after another person 
 as a compliment to him. This is a method commonly 
 adopted, the grandfather's birth name being frequently 
 given to the baby boy. 
 
 (b) The* P child may be called after some current 
 event. This is perhaps the commonest method. 
 A child may be called after the day of the week on 
 which it was born ; the weather also accounts for a 
 good many names chosen. Thus in Basutoland if a 
 girl were born during very wet weather she would 
 stand a good chance of being called Puleng, which 
 means " Rain." Children born on a windy day are often 
 called by the native name for Wind. But any other 
 striking event may decide the name. Thus if the 
 father had been quarrelling with his wife before the 
 birth of a girl, she might be called Lilahloan'e, which 
 means " Thrown away." By this the father shows 
 that he disowns the baby. If there were great sorrow 
 in the kraal at the time of the birth of the child, she 
 might be called Mokho, which means " A Tear." It 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 35 
 
 is surprising to what lengths the natives go in such 
 matters. If an uncle had been slighted at the wedding 
 feast, and if he had been refused the honour he thought 
 to be his due, he might turn up on the day of birth 
 and insist that the child should be called Ntebdeng, 
 or " Forget Me." He would regard this as a sort of 
 restitution or reparation for the indecorous treatment 
 he had been subjected to. All the above are Sesuto 
 names, but similar ones might be chosen from any 
 other tribe. For example, the Fingos might call a 
 child Mangali, a word which signifies " To report " ; 
 this name would possibly be chosen if some member 
 of the family had happened to bring another member 
 into court at the time of the birth of the baby. If a 
 Fingo girl were born at a time when a member of the 
 family happened to be dying, she might be called 
 Nokofa, or " Mother of Death." 
 
 The above set of names need cause no surprise, for 
 Europeans often adopt a somewhat similar way of 
 naming children. A striking and picturesque instance 
 is that of the poet Tennyson, who called one of his 
 children Lionel, because the news of the birth of the 
 boy was brought to him by the nurse as the poet was 
 looking out of his study window at the constellation 
 Leo, while " the planet Mars glowed like a ruddy 
 shield on the Lion's breast." This is just what a 
 Kafir would have done had he the knowledge and 
 imagination of the English poet. 
 
 (c) A name may be given to a baby on account of 
 its appearance. Thus a big strapping boy, full of 
 lusty strength, might be called after some conspicu- 
 ously strong man in fact or fable, much as English 
 school-boys nickname a big boy Goliath. 
 
 (d) The child may be given a name in accordance 
 with the character it is hoped it may develop. There 
 may be some remnant of sympathetic magic in this 
 habit, for it is a common thing for people to imagine 
 
36 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 that there is some hidden and compelling power in 
 a name. 
 
 (e) The name may be chosen with the intention of 
 breaking some evil spell which has caused the death 
 of several children in succession. Thus the Basutos 
 may call a girl Moselantja (Diminutive, Mosele), which 
 means the "Tail of a Dog." This name is regarded 
 as very repulsive, and it is given to a baby when the 
 previous children who died had been given nice names. 
 It is thought that were another nice name chosen 
 this fresh child would also die. The spell is broken 
 by choosing a disgusting name. 
 
 There are other names given to children which do 
 not come under any of the above five types. For 
 example, a list of names is kept in reserve for children 
 who are born after the mother has been successfully 
 treated for sterility by a witch-doctor ; special names 
 are reserved for twins : some names have no clear 
 meaning. Amongst the latter may be the Gazaland 
 name for a boy, Ndafatoona, which means, "When I 
 am dead we shall see " ; or the name for a girl, Tam- 
 budzai, which means, "You are a brother." No 
 reference has been made to names given to Kafirs 
 by white men. Any name that comes to the mind 
 at first sight is chosen by Europeans, and out of an 
 endless list a few samples may be given, such as Jim, 
 Joe, Moses, Brandy Bottle, September, Tin-can, 
 Jackets, Blazes, and so forth. 
 
 X. FOOD 
 
 Very soon after birth, and before the other 
 children are allowed into the mother's hut to view 
 the baby, the old grandmother has to bring in 
 the youngest girl to see it. The grandmother 
 places the baby in the arms of the little girl, and 
 should this child show any signs of jealousy towards 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 37 
 
 the baby, she is taken out of the hut and is not 
 allowed to see it till the third day, when she is again 
 brought in by the grandmother, who again places the 
 baby in the arms of the tiny child. If she shows 
 pleasure and no jealousy, all is well, but should she 
 still show signs of jealousy the mother places the baby 
 on the ground, takes the small girl into her arms and 
 fondles it into a good humour. Then she takes up 
 the baby and places it alongside the little girl, fondling 
 both children together. She may then give the baby 
 the breast, but had she not coaxed the child into 
 a good humour the milk would have made the baby 
 ill. 
 
 The baby is fed on sour milk, or amasi, for the first 
 few days of life — this period varies from one day to 
 seven or eight — but when the mother's milk has been 
 doctored, as described above (on p. 22), the baby 
 may drink it. But then it must not touch amasi 
 again until the feast of purification. This milk must 
 not be very sour, and must be broken up into very small 
 clots by vigorous shaking in a calabash. (See Plate.) 
 After the feast of purification the baby may also take 
 some pap made from Kafir corn, provided it be ground 
 very fine, and be well sifted. The grain is ground 
 on rough stones, and so the flour contains a good pro- 
 portion of stony grit ; this does not trouble the 
 digestions of the grown-up people, but seriously 
 troubles the babies, till they become used to it. In 
 Gazaland the baby is given thin porridge to drink 
 as soon as it is born ; it is then allowed to take the 
 breast at once. Babies are not supposed to eat any 
 meat, eggs, chicken, or such things, until the first 
 teeth have all been cut. The people say that babies 
 who eat meat turn out very wild and thieve like dogs. 
 But small chiefs are fed on beer and meat when^about 
 two or three years old ; only the meat has to be boiled 
 down to a pulp or porridge which needs no mastication. 
 
38 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 So strong is the objection to giving meat to babies 
 that a mother, who has been eating meat out of her 
 hand, will not even touch the baby with that hand 
 until she has washed it. All food for children has to 
 be very cool lest they should become thieves as they 
 grow old. 
 
 It is difficult to make the small babies drink the sour 
 milk and so the mother adopts the following method 
 of persuasion. She places the baby on her lap and 
 pours some clotted milk into the palm of her own 
 hand; she then applies the edge of her palm to the 
 baby's mouth, and slowly raises up her hand till the 
 baby's mouth is covered by the sour milk. But 
 even then it refuses to drink the nauseous stuff. 
 So the mother holds the baby's nose between her 
 thumb and finger, till it is forced to capitulate 
 and drink the milk. As a rule there is tremendous 
 spluttering and coughing as the result of this operation, 
 and the baby's face and body become covered with 
 mess. The mother calls up a dog, since she has no 
 such things as napkins or pocket-handkerchiefs, and 
 tells the dog to lick the baby clean. Small children 
 are often allowed to drink the sweet milk of the cow, 
 which grown-up people disdain. Occasionally, as, 
 for example, when she cannot suckle her child, the 
 mother provides a " bottle " for her babe by making 
 a small sack of the dressed skin of an animal, such as a 
 wild cat. This sack has a small opening at the bottom 
 from which the baby sucks the sweet cow's milk. 
 The mother usually holds this " bottle " in front of 
 her breast as she feeds her baby. 
 
 XI MILK-CHARMS * 
 
 There are many taboos about the use of milk, for 
 the consumption of such an essential food-stuff 
 
 * See alio pp. 22 and 37. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 39 
 
 naturally needs regulation. It would be interesting 
 to know whether the natives originally thought milk 
 to be such a delicate thing that it formed a good nidus 
 for the virus of disease, or whether the restrictions 
 were based solely on the cruder ideas of primitive 
 thought in connection with the nutrition of the clan. 
 The chief restrictions and taboos in connection with 
 milk relate to women, for it is thought that when they 
 are suffering from any form of ceremonial uncleanness 
 their contact defiles the milk and leads to the sickness, 
 not only of the men who drink from the same supply, 
 but also of the cows that gave the milk. These taboos, 
 which place women under great disabilities every 
 month, for at least seven days, and which last after 
 the birth of a child for many months, can sometimes 
 be removed by the slaughter of an ox or goat. Failing 
 this, the women are given special medicines by the 
 doctors; when such medicines are mixed with the 
 milk there is no danger of harm resulting to any one 
 who drinks it. It is said that a girl who violates a 
 milk-taboo is certain to become a thief. 
 
 Over and above these taboos which apply to women 
 there is a wide-spread belief that it is not safe even for 
 men to drink the milk at all kraals they may visit. 
 A man is supposed not to drink milk except at the hut 
 of his father, his mother, and his paternal and maternal 
 grandmothers.* A woman is supposed only to drink 
 milk at the kraal into which she marries. No woman 
 is allowed to help herself from the milk-sack, though 
 she may touch it in order to help a man to milk. 
 
 Passing on from these general restrictions, we come 
 to four cases in which milk is offered to the ancestral 
 spirits. No one is supposed to eat the amasi made from 
 the new season's milk until the grandfather, or some 
 other old man duly appointed, performs a certain 
 ceremony. He takes a large wooden spoon with which 
 * This old Zulu custom is not observed strictly nowadays. 
 
4 o SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 he ladles out some sour milk, pretending to drink from 
 the spoon, but in reality taking care that the milk 
 does not touch his lips. He then throws the milk 
 on to the floor, thus emptying the spoon. This is 
 known to be a libation to the ancestral spirits, though 
 as a rule the man does not address them in any set 
 words. Yet everybody in the kraal knows what is 
 intended by the action. 
 
 Sometimes when a child is sick, the people take a 
 calabash of goat's milk and place it in the hut at the 
 spot where all the offerings to the ancestral spirits are 
 placed. The milk is allowed to go sour of itself, and 
 is then left on the spot for about three days, after 
 which it is thrown away, for the ancestral spirits are 
 supposed to have finished with it. This ceremony 
 is thought to gain the interest of the amatongo on behalf 
 of the sick child. 
 
 On other occasions, when the child is suffering from 
 worms, the people take some milk from a cow which has 
 a white belly. The milk is mixed with herbs and is 
 placed in the hut as an offering to the ancestral spirits. 
 It is left for a single night, and in the morning the sick 
 child is made to eat some of the sour clotted mixture. 
 It is said to be essential that the cow should have 
 no dark-coloured hairs on the under surface of its 
 body. 
 
 When people are anxious to grow rich they wash 
 themselves and their cattle with special intelezi, or 
 medicinal wash. The best form of intelezi for this 
 purpose is made from the milk of a woman. The 
 doctor tells the woman who is suckling a baby to 
 collect a calabashful of her own milk ; the doctor 
 mixes this with certain herbs and offers it to the 
 ancestral spirits by placing it in the hut at the proper 
 place. After three days he takes the milk and makes it 
 into intelezi, telling the people to wash themselves in 
 it. Sometimes the people are told to wash the cattle, 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 41 
 
 and even the cattle kraal, with this mixture. The 
 charm is said to be very efficacious. 
 
 ^ These four instances of milk-offerings to the ancestral 
 spirits are of great interest, for it is usually said that 
 the natives never offer any milk to the amatongo ; 
 and a reason is given for this supposed fact. It is 
 said that nothing which undergoes fermentation is 
 offered to the ancestral spirits. But since fermented 
 beer is one of the commonest offerings to the ancestral 
 spirits it is hard to see why fermented milk should 
 be withheld.* 
 
 Passing on, we come to milk-charms used by the 
 mother to protect her baby. Mothers sometimes have 
 to leave their babies sleeping under bushes while they 
 themselves work in the fields in the sun. But they 
 protect them, when they are forced to leave them 
 thus, by squirting a ring of their own milk on the 
 earth round the sleeping babe. It is thought that 
 neither snakes nor passers-by can cross that charmed 
 circle. When a mother is asked why she places this 
 ring of milk round the baby, she generally says that 
 passers-by will see the white ring on the ground and 
 will avoid treading on the child. When it is pointed 
 out to her that the milk sinks into the earth and 
 becomes much less visible than her baby, she grunts 
 and says that the observation is quite correct ; but 
 she still continues the practice. 
 
 In some tribes, when a mother is about to leave 
 her baby sleeping in a hut, she goes up to it and 
 squeezes a few drops of her milk on to its head, 
 believing that this will preserve it from evil in 
 her absence. It is interesting to speculate whether 
 this custom originated from a vague and undefined 
 
 * Reference may here be made to Robertson Smith's Religion oj 
 the Semites, pp. 220, 221, 229; 355, 458, 459, where Semitic prac- 
 tices on the matter are dealt with, and where the relation of milk- 
 drinking to Totemism is discussed. 
 
42 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 feeling that the milk symbolically represented the 
 mother-love which would protect a sleeping infant, 
 or whether it was felt that the milk formed a connect- 
 ing-link with the mother, and so in some vague way 
 transcended the separating effect of distance. 
 
 When a mother has been absent from her child for 
 some little time, she would not think of giving it the 
 breast without first squirting a little milk on to the 
 ground. It would not seem as if this were any offering 
 to the itongo, for it is said that the evil influences 
 which affect her breasts, and which are contracted 
 by the mother during her absence from her baby, 
 are carried off in the first few drops of milk, which 
 are therefore allowed to fall on to the ground. 
 
 When the mother has been away on a journey, 
 either with or without her baby, on her return home 
 she kindles a fire and throws into it certain pieces of 
 dirt which she has picked up on the paths at cross- 
 roads. The baby is held in the smoke of this fire, 
 while the mother squirts a little of her milk on to 
 its head. She then takes some of the dirt she has 
 collected on the journey and rubs it on the baby's 
 body, and especially on the face. It is a common 
 practice for sick people to transfer their sickness to 
 certain objects which they either bury under the 
 pathway, or place on the road. It is thought that 
 other people passing along the road, and touching 
 such articles, absorb the sickness, which consequently 
 departs from the sick man. It is even thought (as 
 has been pointed out above) that a sick person 
 passing along a pathway leaves behind him quite 
 unintentionally a contagion which can be con- 
 tracted by the people walking along the pathway. 
 Therefore the mother is careful to collect the dirt 
 from the road and to burn it, so as to render the 
 baby immune by the smoke. But quite apart from the 
 absorption of any evil influence, it is thought that if 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 43 
 
 the mother did not smoke her baby on her return home, 
 it would be afraid of its other brothers and sisters. 
 
 When a baby is in danger of choking, the mother 
 at once puts it on her lap and squirts some milk up 
 its nostrils and into its mouth, believing that this 
 charm will stop the paroxysm. 
 
 These charms vary immensely in different tribes 
 and even in different clans within the tribe. In one 
 district the mother does not make a circle of milk 
 round her sleeping babe, while in a contiguous district 
 she would not dream of leaving her child in the veld 
 without doing so. A Zulu mother will sometimes say 
 that this special milk-charm was in common use in her 
 grandmother's day, but that it seems to have lost its 
 efficacy and so has been abandoned. When the Zulu 
 abandons the custom, the Fingo, possibly, takes it up, 
 and thus it is useless to go into elaborate details of 
 tribal variations in the matter, for there may be thirty 
 differences of custom even in Zululand. 
 
 A milk-charm may give way to a different one, as 
 in the case of preserving the baby from snakes. It is 
 a common practice in some districts to place a few 
 leaves or twigs of a certain bush at the head and feet 
 of a babe sleeping in the veld. This bush is said to 
 drive away snakes, which have a peculiar antipathy to 
 its odour. So strong is this belief that natives some- 
 times plant the bush close to the doorway of their 
 huts so as to keep snakes away. But protection against 
 snakes is most commonly obtained as follows : A 
 poisonous snake is killed and the poison-gland is dried 
 and powdered with roots and herbs. The baby's 
 skin is scarified in many places and the powdered snake 
 is rubbed into the flesh. This is repeated daily for 
 a short time, and then the child is thought to be 
 protected against the evil effects of snake-bite for 
 fully nine months, after which period it has to be 
 reinoculated. 
 
44 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 It should be added that when the mother has only- 
 been away from her child for a short time she does 
 not use any milk-charm on her return, but simply 
 nibbles a little of the medicine hanging round the 
 baby's neck and puffs her medicated breath into the 
 baby's face. 
 
 Reference has been made .above to the custom of 
 administering medicine to a baby by making incisions 
 in the mother's breast, into which medicines are 
 placed ; it should be added that sometimes a mother 
 will drink medicines in the hope that the efficacy 
 of the drugs may be passed on to the child through 
 the milk which the child drinks. 
 
 There is a curious but firm belief amongst the 
 natives that should be referred to at this point, though 
 it has no connection with milk-charms. It is said 
 that if a man, who has in his bag (which he carries 
 round his neck) any very powerful medicines, should 
 enter a hut where there is a small baby, the effect of 
 the medicines will at once disturb the baby and make 
 it cry with terror. In such a case the man has to take 
 off his bag and present his medicines one by one to the 
 baby, watching the effect of each medicine. At the 
 presentation of some medicines the baby shows no 
 signs of distress, and the man places these harmless 
 medicines back into his bag. But at some of the medi- 
 cines the child shows great alarm. Such medicines 
 have to be placed on one side till all the medicines 
 have been tested. Then small, portions of all the 
 medicines which caused alarm are taken and thrown 
 into the fire, while the baby is " washed " in the smoke. 
 The man then places all these strong medicines back 
 in his bag, and the child no longer shows any signs of 
 restlessness. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 45 
 
 XII. TWINS 
 
 It is very difficult for any European to look at 
 native customs practised in connection with the birth 
 of twins from the Kafir point of view. A native 
 thinks that twins are scarcely human ; he thinks that 
 they are more animal than human, and that the bearing 
 of twins is a thing entirely out of the ordinary course 
 of nature. The people do not like to talk about 
 twins, and the fact of their existence is hidden if 
 possible by the parents. In olden days one of the twins 
 was always put to death, and frequently both were 
 killed. It is natural, s"o it was thought, for dogs or 
 pigs to have twin offspring in a litter, but for human 
 beings it is disgraceful. A woman who has twins 
 is taunted with belonging to a disgraceful family, 
 and in olden days if she gave birth to twins a second 
 time she was killed as a monstrosity. When one of 
 the twins was allowed to live, an old woman, generally 
 the grandmother, would kill the second child by hold- 
 ing her hand over its mouth. In other cases the father 
 placed a lump of earth in the mouth of the child, 
 thinking he would lose his strength if he did not do 
 this. In other tribes the child was exposed in the veld, 
 and was left for the wild animals to devour, or else it 
 was thrown into a river. 
 
 But sometimes the twins were hidden and were 
 allowed to live ; yet no woman would care to marry 
 a twin, for she would say that he was not a proper 
 human being, and might turn wild like an animal, 
 and kill her. Now that British rule has spread all over 
 South Africa, the killing of twins is forbidden, though 
 it is a custom that is extremely difficult to put down, 
 for the matter is kept profoundly secret when possible 
 even from neighbouring natives, and much more so 
 from white men. 
 
 The following information about twins in Zululand 
 
46 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 was gleaned from a chief's son who happened to be a 
 twin, and who was spared in infancy owing to the 
 proximity of Europeans. The information should 
 therefore be fairly reliable. 
 
 The child that is killed is given no name, nor is 
 the surviving child given a name till it is about sixteen 
 years old ; but it may not be circumcised until it has 
 its name given to it. My informant's name was 
 " Hatred," which shows the mental attitude of even 
 his parents to his existence. There is never any 
 mourning at the death of a twin, for that would anger 
 the amatongo. If both twins survive, as sometimes 
 happens through stealth, then, on the death of one, 
 even though he were grown up, there would be no 
 mourning lest the other twin should suffer through 
 sympathy, for he is regarded as being of one flesh with 
 his twin. The grave of a twin is spread with ashes, 
 and, when the body is placed in the round hole in a 
 sitting posture, it is covered up with earth and with a 
 second layer of ashes. 
 
 A boy who is a twin is not beaten by others, for it 
 is said to be an unlucky thing to beat a twin ; indeed 
 it is considered much the same thing as beating an 
 itongo, or ancestral spirit. The parents say they 
 know how to manage a boy, but not how to 
 manage an animal ; so when the boy is extra trouble- 
 some the people do not beat him, but simply put 
 ashes on the nape of his neck, and give him some ashes 
 and water to drink. Every time a twin has his hair 
 cut, ashes have to be placed on his head. It is strange 
 how largely ashes are used in connection with twins. 
 When he marries there is no wedding dance. 
 Twins are not counted in the number of children, 
 for to do so would be most unlucky. 
 
 Twins are said to have no brains, and yet are thought 
 to be unusually sharp and clever. Boys who are squab- 
 bling will often call up a twin and ask his opinion, 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 47 
 
 which is regarded as necessarily right, for he is so know- 
 ing. A twin is expected to make songs for the people. 
 He goes to a kraal, for example, where there is soon 
 to be a wedding ; sitting down, he takes in all that is 
 going on at the kraal, without saying a word. He 
 then goes to a waterfall, accompanied by an attendant ; 
 having sat down, he listens to the noise of the falling 
 water in a dreamy way. He then soon begins to chant 
 a song, and on the day of the wedding teaches the 
 people the song, which astonishes all the people ; 
 they say, " How did this boy get to know all these 
 things to which he has alluded and which he has 
 woven into his chant ? " So clever is the twin thought 
 to be, that grown-up people bring their quarrels to him 
 for settlement, and consult him almost as though he 
 were a diviner. 
 
 But there are some compensating disadvantages in 
 being a twin. It is thought that epidemics always 
 attack twins first. If the twin is not attacked with 
 the sickness, the people say the epidemic will pass away 
 without doing much harm. Twins are supposed 
 to be able to foretell the weather, and the people 
 who want rain will go and say to a twin, " Tell me, 
 do you feel ill to-day ? " If he says that he feels 
 quite well the people know it will not rain. My in- 
 formant told me that he was pestered by people who 
 came to ask him about his feelings, and he admitted 
 that when the wind was from the rainy quarter he felt 
 uneasy; but alas for the theory, so did everyone else. 
 
 In war time a twin used to be hunted out and made 
 to go right in front of the attacking army, some few 
 paces in front of the others. He was supposed to be 
 fearless and wild. His twin, if a sister, and if surviving, 
 was compelled to tie a cord very tightly round her 
 loins during the fight, and had to starve herself ; she 
 was also expected to place the twin brother's sleeping- 
 mat in that part of the hut which the itongo loved to 
 
48 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 haunt. This brought success in war. But the great 
 chief Tshaka stopped this practice, for he said that the 
 wild twin did foolhardy things and brought the army 
 into needless danger. 
 
 The natives declare that twins have a soft occipital 
 protuberance to the skull ; that there is a special 
 whorl of hair over the right side of the forehead, and 
 that the hair recedes unduly from the forehead over 
 the left temple. My informant certainly had these 
 signs ; he said that people who had never seen him 
 before would, when sitting in his presence, suddenly 
 say to him, " Hau ! so you are a twin " ; they would 
 get up and leave him, for to eat or spend much time 
 with a twin is unlucky ; people sitting much with 
 a twin would pass on to their wives the propensity of 
 having twins. 
 
 This brings us to a very interesting instance of what 
 has been called sympathetic magic* A friend of 
 mine in Gazaland was walking along a path near his 
 hut when he met a Kafir carrying two mice in a bag. 
 The " boy " said to my friend, " Where is your cat ; 
 I have two mice for it." On being asked why he did 
 not eat the mice himself, as he had often done before, 
 he said, " I cannot eat these particular mice because I 
 caught them both at the same time in one trap." 
 On being asked why he could not eat mice caught 
 thus, he explained that it was all right to eat mice 
 caught singly, but that if he ate mice caught in couples 
 his wife would have twins. " Twoness " is thought 
 (or perhaps, felt) to run through the course of nature, 
 and the eating of mice caught in couples is supposed to 
 infect the eater with this " twoness," which propensity- 
 he would pass on to his wife, who would consequently 
 bear twins. 
 
 * There is, of course, nothing magical about the matter; the 
 Kafirs regard such things as much in the ordinary course of nature 
 as the rising and setting of the sun. 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 49 
 
 But this is not all. My Zulu informant, who was 
 himself a twin, told me that it was thought that all 
 the goats belonging to a twin had young in couples ; 
 and that if a twin wished to give a person two articles, 
 he was not allowed to give them together, but had to 
 put one article down on the ground, and give one 
 article to his friend ; then he could take up the 
 second article and give that also ; but if he gave both 
 articles at once, the man who received the two articles 
 would be sure to have twins. There are other beliefs 
 about twins, such as the one that the eating of kidneys 
 leads to the bearing of twins unless certain portions 
 are thrown away. 
 
 When the above fervid beliefs and fears about twins 
 are borne in mind it causes no surprise to learn that 
 the people regarded twins as most unlucky, and sought 
 to kill them in infancy. In addition to this, the 
 people always killed off all sickly or deformed children, 
 for they had — and still have — the greatest horror 
 of deformity or mutilation of a grave nature. Yet 
 strangely enough they practise certain mutilations ; 
 for example, some tribes, such as the Pondos and Fingos, 
 cut off the last joint of the little finger of the right 
 hand. Two or three of the Zulu clans also adopt 
 this practice, saying that it is a sort of surname or 
 badge of the clan, other Zulus not adopting the 
 custom.* 
 
 XIII. DOMESTIC AND GENERAL 
 
 The Kafirs sleep on grass mats spread on the mud 
 floor of the hut, and so it is not to be expected that the 
 baby should sleep in a cradle. The baby sleeps on a 
 mat of its own, which is tucked away under the mother's 
 blanket. There is of course no nursery. The mothers 
 are very fond of their children and kiss them a good 
 
 * For mutilations at a later date, see p. 91. 
 
 D 
 
5o SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 deal, loving to fondle them ; but they do not kiss 
 their sleeping children as English mothers do. The 
 small children are put to sleep with lullabies, which, 
 however, are not as a rule so formal as our " Hush-a- 
 by, baby, on the tree top." Sometimes the mothers 
 sing the ordinary chants of the kraal, altering them 
 slightly and putting in diminutives where possible. 
 They chant these songs very softly and add the baby's 
 name, weaving it into the chant. As the song dies 
 away in diminishing cadence the mother calls over 
 again and again the name of the babe. The mother 
 will sometimes take the praise-song of the child's 
 grandfather, and will add the child's name and the 
 word Tula, which corresponds to something between 
 our " Hush " and " Shut up." Occasionally the 
 mothers make up a special song somewhat as follows : 
 " Hush my child, thy mother has not hoed her garden : 
 has not hoed her garden for there are stones between 
 the weeds, and the stones hindered her ; thy mother 
 has not hoed her garden." In some cases the mother 
 keeps calling out to the child such words as " Keep 
 quiet, child, keep quiet : child, keep quiet." 
 
 But the mother may sing any nonsense that comes 
 into her head at the moment ; she may sing about 
 weeding the gardens, or fetching wood and water ; 
 or she may take up any other aspect of her daily work 
 and sing nonsense about the cooking, the smearing 
 of the huts, the threshing of the corn, or the brewing 
 of the beer. Anything of this sort can be made into 
 a lullaby. 
 
 Here is a Gazaland lullaby which Mr. Wood has sent 
 to me ; it is given in Tshindao and in English, so that 
 both the sound and meaning may be grasped. The 
 air of the chant is also subjoined. 
 
 Wo 2, woe, Woye, Woye, 
 
 ndo enda mugoa, I'm going down South 
 
 kuna Mwandiemudza, To Mwandiemudza, 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 51 
 
 mukunda wa Tshibuwe, Tshibuwe's daughter, 
 
 O nameso matshena, Who has white eyes, 
 
 ahongo a a mutshangwa, Like a weasel's, 
 
 mutshangwa zie zano, The cunning weasel, 
 
 wo one tsho ito ndebvu, You see its whiskers, 
 
 dza pera kutumbuka, Are fine and large, 
 
 dzo ne nhumbu. They need a doctor. 
 
 Refrain of Lullaby. 
 
 pli^g^^^i^^^^ 
 
 When the mother has chanted this song she gives 
 one or two coughs in her throat and repeats the song. 
 In reference to the weasel's whiskers, Mr. Wood 
 says : " I think the idea is that the mother will go and 
 get a full beard for the youngster. But she does not 
 want him to have white whiskers like a weasel, as 
 that would be a sign of age, and so she will get some 
 medicine from the doctor to prevent the whiskers 
 from becoming white." 
 
 In the morning the mothers give their babies a 
 primitive sort of bath, but generally wait till the air 
 is warm. The mother takes a calabash, and allows 
 the water to trickle from it in a thin stream over the 
 baby, which she holds up by one arm. If there 
 should be no vessel handy, the mother fills her mouth 
 with water which she squirts out slowly over the 
 baby ; the child always resents this indecorous treat- 
 ment. Soap is, of course, unknown till the advent of 
 civilisation. 
 
 Babies are carried in several ways. The commonest 
 method adopted is. as follows : the mother, or tiny 
 sister who has to act as nurse, fastens her blanket round 
 her hips and shoulders, allowing the blanket to form 
 a pouch over the small of her back. The mother then 
 lifts the infant by one of its arms, swings it round her 
 
52 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 head and plumps the naked baby into the pouch 
 in the blanket, placing the baby next to her own skin. 
 The child is soothed by a gentle motion, the mother 
 rotating the upper part of her body round her hips. 
 If the baby is troublesome, the mother hits the baby 
 with her arm at the end of each swing. The mother 
 does not feel the weight of the baby when it is carried 
 thus, and can work all day in the sun with the baby 
 strapped on to her back. The baby does not seem to 
 experience any discomfort from the fact that its head 
 lolls out of the pouch of blanket and so gets exposed 
 to the rays of the sun. Hats are of course unknown. 
 
 Women frequently carry children in another fashion ; 
 the baby is placed, either inside or outside the blanket, 
 straddle-legged across one of the nurse's hips. Amongst 
 the tribes near the Zambesi the father may carry 
 the baby on a long journey, placing it on his shoulder 
 or even on his head ; but this plan would be considered 
 undignified in the more southern tribes, where men 
 do not carry the babies. 
 
 Children are very fond of sucking their fingers or 
 thumbs (especially the index finger), a habit the 
 mothers like, for they say it makes the child feel com- 
 fortable, and so not anxious to be suckled too much. 
 When mothers see their babies sucking their big toe, 
 they stop them, saying that a baby who sucks its toe 
 will find the toe growing out sideways, and will there- 
 fore be a poor walker in later life. The childish habit 
 of placing one foot on the top of the other is dis- 
 couraged for a similar reason. The children are very 
 fond of biting their nails, but this habit is regarded 
 amongst the natives as a very bad one ; it is said 
 that a child that bites its nails will grow up lazy and 
 irritable, and will become poor. 
 
 Small savage children are said to be unreasonably 
 afraid of feathers. Various explanations have been 
 given for this fact. It has been suggested that a 
 
ZULU GIRL SUCKING FIRST FINGER 
 
BIRTH AND INFANCY 53 
 
 similar terror is sometimes shown by babies when they 
 see dead leaves blown about capriciously by the wind. 
 This motion of the leaves and feathers is supposed to 
 be attributed by the child to the action of some 
 uncanny evil spirits, no obvious cause of the motion 
 being present. It is difficult to believe that a baby 
 Could have any conception of evil spirits. There seems 
 to be a strange tendency amongst certain students of 
 savage races to relegate to the action of spirits every 
 deed of a savage that cannot readily be understood 
 or classified, much as people with a smattering of 
 science gleaned from newspapers put down all psychic 
 phenomena to the credit of electricity or magnetism. 
 
 A Kafir told me that one day he had killed several 
 birds, and on returning home pulled out a feather from 
 the tail of one of the birds and showed it to his baby. 
 This child was about four months old. To the father's 
 astonishment the baby showed the utmost terror, 
 and incontinently went into a fit, in which it nearly 
 died. In this case there was no uncanny movement, 
 for the feather was held in the familiar hand of the 
 father. A child of four months old could hardly have 
 argued to itself that evil spirits were moving the 
 feather. The matter needs elucidating. 
 
 The first year of infancy has little else that calls for 
 description except in the pages of a scientific journal. 
 The baby feeds, sleeps and crawls about the hut ; 
 it learns to walk and talk at about the same age as in 
 the case of European children. A hundred minute 
 details might be examined with profit, and would 
 doubtless throw light on many scientific questions. 
 But such observation would be very difficult for a 
 white man to make, for the mothers would resent any 
 careful observation of their children by a European. 
 They would be certain to imagine that the white 
 man wished to work magic on the baby. We must 
 now follow the child as it emerges from infancy. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 
 
CHAPTER II 
 THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 
 
 The baby new to earth and sky, 
 
 What time his tender palm is prest 
 
 Against the circle of the breast, 
 Has never thought that " this is I " : 
 
 But as he grows he gathers much 
 And learns the use of " I " and " me," 
 And finds " I am not what I see, 
 
 And other than the things I touch." 
 
 So rounds he to a separate mind 
 From whence clear memory may begin, 
 As thro' the frame that binds him in 
 
 His isolation grows defined. 
 
 Tennyson, In Memoriam. 
 
 I. THE AWAKENING OF THE SELF 
 
 It is most fascinating to watch the dawn of self- 
 consciousness in a child. This delightful period, which 
 lasts but a few short months in the case of European 
 babies, may be spread out into many months or years 
 in the case of Kafir children. In the case of the latter 
 it is as though some retarding brake were put upon 
 the driving-wheel of a biograph, while the pictures 
 were being projected on to the screen, so that each 
 successive picture lingered for an unconscionable 
 time before the gaze of the audience. The difference 
 is as great as that which subsists between a hurried 
 tropical sunrise which may be completed in half an 
 hour, and a leisurely Arctic dawn which may last half 
 
58 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 the day. In the case of the Kafir child there is ample 
 time for watching the various stages of the process, 
 which indeed may not reach completeness even in 
 old age ; the process is not only sometimes retarded, 
 but also frequently arrested at a very imperfect stage. 
 The process seems rarely to be continued after adoles- 
 cence. The Kafir seems to reach the climax of the 
 development of self-consciousness shortly after puberty. 
 At that period of his life new emotions and needs 
 call his attention to the existence of a " self." Hence- 
 forth the sexual life overshadows nearly all of his other 
 interests ; it is the one absorbing topic of conversation 
 and the centre of his thought ; and so he rarely pro- 
 gresses in any other direction. When the uproar of 
 the sexual life is over, the worn-out old man lies 
 about in the sunshine and leads a placid and dreamy 
 existence. 
 
 Psychologists affirm that consciousness begins before 
 birth : " The beginning of conscious life," says 
 Hoffding,* " is to be placed before birth. . . . The 
 experiences undergone before birth perhaps suffice 
 to form the foundation of the consciousness of an 
 external world. The feeling of comfort or discomfort, 
 together with the sensations of movement, may even 
 at this stage offer a certain contrast to the sensations 
 of resistance, contact, and taste. It follows as a matter 
 of course that this first germ of a world-consciousness 
 is dim and dream-like, and that we, from our waking 
 fully conscious standpoint, are easily tempted to 
 attribute too much to it. Butjthese first stirrings 
 must be taken into account, especially as they serve 
 to indicate the difficulty of fixing on a definite point 
 as the point of transition from unconscious to conscious 
 existence." The difficulty of breathing at birth, 
 the cold of the external world and other factors, such 
 as the stimuli of light and sound, must wonderfully 
 * Outlines of Psychology (English translation), p. 3. 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 59 
 
 develop the consciousness ; resistance to movement 
 becomes intensified, and memories and ideas soon 
 become differentiated off from sensations and percepts. 
 An inner becomes marked off from an outer world. 
 
 No doubt all this takes place in the Kafir baby as 
 it does in a European one, but in a very short time 
 the white child outstrips the black one, for full self- 
 consciousness is but slowly arrived at in the case of 
 Kafir children. By good fortune it once fell to my 
 lot to see a Kafir baby " rounding to a common mind." 
 
 The child — perhaps about a year old — was sitting 
 mother-naked on the mud floor of a hut in which I 
 was spending the night. Close to the baby there was 
 a Kafir pot which had been removed but recently 
 from the fire, but which had not yet cooled down 
 completely. The lid of the pot was sufficiently hot 
 to be painful to the touch, though not hot enough 
 to burn the skin. There was a strangely thoughtful 
 expression on the face of the chubby little fellow. 
 It is not uncommon to see this expression on the face 
 of a Kafir child as it sits bolt upright on the floor, 
 looking out on the world from its wide eyes with an 
 expression that is meditative, pensive, brooding. 
 The gravity and high seriousness of many of these small 
 children, so eloquent in their silence, might well make 
 a poet think that they had come into the world 
 freighted with knowledge learned in " some other 
 clime," and that they were trying to recall some re- 
 miniscences of the knowledge they once possessed, 
 and were now in danger of forgetting since they had 
 come into this dull and insignificant planet. The 
 wise sententious expression on the faces of these babes, 
 whose minds are probably nearly a blank, is extremely 
 comical. 
 
 By accident the hand of the baby came into contact 
 with the hot lid of the pot ; the hand was withdrawn 
 at once — evidently by reflex action, for the child was 
 
6o SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 not disturbed in its reverie. The action, which 
 seemed purposeful, was probably as void of conscious 
 effort as though it had been the action of a limb of 
 a " pithed " frog that had touched the hot iron. The 
 child showed no conscious perception of its action. 
 The attention of the child was called away to some- 
 thing happening in another part of the hut, when again 
 its hand accidentally touched the hot lid of the pot. 
 This time the child withdrew the hand more quickly, 
 as though it had a vague and dawning consciousness 
 that something had gone wrong somewhere. The 
 child evidently did not grasp the fact that the painful 
 sensation was caused by the contact of the finger 
 with the hot iron. But, to judge from the expression 
 on the face, a dim suspicion that this might possibly 
 account for the sensation dawned on the child, for 
 after a few moments of meditation, the baby, evidently 
 with the idea of inquiry, put out its first finger and 
 deliberately touched the pot. Having done this it 
 as deliberately withdrew its hand and looked at its 
 finger with surprise ; it then looked at the pot and 
 seemed puzzled. The child seemed to grasp the facts 
 that there was some connection between its finger 
 and itself, and that something unpleasant was ex- 
 perienced when its finger touched the pot. The 
 expression of the face was so striking that it was im- 
 possible to doubt what was going on in the child's 
 mind, for one could almost see slowly dawning on the 
 mind of the child the new idea that the finger was not 
 an alien thing, but a part of itself. I have seen a 
 similar and puzzled expression on the face of a puppy, 
 which, having chased its own tail till it was giddy, 
 accidentally bit it rather hard ; the puppy paused 
 in its play, yelped with the pain, and turned round 
 to gaze at its tail and to inquire into the strange ex- 
 perience. Evidently it had never before imagined 
 that its tail was a part of itself. 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 61 
 
 No sooner had the child recovered from this expres- 
 sion of surprise than it deliberately put out its finger 
 once more and pressed it firmly against the lid of the 
 pot. A short period elapsed in which nerve-currents 
 were travelling to the brain and were being sorted 
 in that very dull quarter, and then the baby set up a 
 piteous howl and was promptly seized by its mother, 
 who removed it from the danger-zone. 
 
 It is impossible to recall this scene in a Kafir hut 
 without being reminded of three well-known pic- 
 tures. The first is the passage from In Memoriam, 
 placed at the beginning of this chapter, and which 
 has been inserted as it exactly describes a world-wide 
 experience ; the second is the scene in Kingsley's 
 Water Babies, in which Tom, on becoming a Water 
 Baby, plucks at the fringes he finds hanging from his 
 neck, little dreaming that the gills are a part of himself 
 until the pain caused by his action assures him of the 
 fact ; and the third is the account of Bobo in Lamb's 
 Dissertation on Roast Pig, where Bobo, attracted by 
 the delicious odour, places his fingers into the crack- 
 ling, and thence into his mouth, and repeats the action 
 several times before it dawns on his dull brain that 
 the odour and taste come from the roast pig. Here 
 in a Kafir kraal the same lesson was being learned, not 
 by an English infant, not by a Water Baby, not by 
 a Chinese booby, but by a savage child. 
 
 When a Kafir child has learned this first lesson, 
 he has still much difficulty in recognising the fact that 
 his pains and aches arise within " the frame that binds 
 him in." Take, for example, a headache. One of 
 the most intelligent Kafirs I know told me that he 
 could quite well remember his first headache during 
 childhood. He said he was conscious that something 
 was wrong somewhere, but did not dream that the pain 
 was within his head. The pain might just as well 
 have been in the roof of his hut as in the roof of his 
 
62 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 head ; and it was only when his mother told him that 
 his head was aching that this fact dawned upon him. 
 This account of the objectiveness of pain in the case 
 of a savage may seem very far-fetched to us who are 
 so woefully conscious of our pains and aches, and of 
 our internal organs. But it will account for much 
 of the indifference to pain shown by savages, and throws 
 a merciful light on the problem of pain in animals. 
 The Kafir just referred to also said that he was very 
 puzzled when he first took up his father's pipe and 
 smoked it. He seemed to encounter a bitter taste, 
 and was sorely puzzled to know wherever this un- 
 pleasant experience came from, or where it was located ; 
 it took repeated sucks at the pipe for the child to realise 
 the fact that the taste came from the stem of the pipe, 
 and that it was located in his own mouth. 
 
 In a state of health men are unconscious of the very 
 existence of their organs, but the moment an organ 
 goes wrong they become conscious of its existence. 
 Thus a Kafir says graphically, " I am with a head," 
 when he has a headache. But it takes a savage child 
 a long time to understand all this. There seems to 
 be a tendency in the primitive mind to assign internal 
 or subjective agency to phenomena due to external 
 causes, and conversely to attribute external agency 
 to effects which are due to subjective or internal 
 causes. When the wind moves dead leaves the adult 
 savage is sometimes apt to think they are moved from 
 within, and are therefore gifted with life. Conversely 
 he thinks that sickness is often a thing sent by the 
 ancestral spirits as though it were as frankly external 
 as a dust-storm or pest of locusts. It is not surprising, 
 therefore, that when savage children hear their parents 
 talk of sickness as a thing sent by the spirits, they should 
 be slow to recognise that the pain is within their own 
 heads. Sickness and pain are both regarded as external 
 things which attack people, just as slumber is said to 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 63 
 
 be a " beast " or a " thief," which attacks children. 
 A small lady I know wrote from school to thank her 
 mother for her " nutritious letter " ; the Kafir would 
 think that our ideas of sickness were lacking in a quality 
 of grossness, which defect left them insufficiently " nu- 
 tritious." In the stage we are considering the " self " 
 has not yet learned how to relate its experiences to a 
 common permanent centre. The child seems to be a 
 bundle of " conscious states," floating about in the 
 world, and it acts under the promptings of blind animal 
 impulse. There is as yet no recognised co-ordinating 
 centre in the child's consciousness;* the incessant 
 stream of sense-impressions seems to be thrown like 
 a series of pictures on to the ever-shifting mists which 
 will one day be condensed into a definite self-conscious- 
 ness. The child seems to meet with a successive 
 number of anonymous sensations floating free in the 
 universe, just as some meteorite might meet with a 
 cloud ; as yet the child does not recognise the " my- 
 ness " of the sensation. It has been observed that 
 a European child notices a reflection of its face in a 
 mirror so early as the tenth week after birth, but that 
 it cannot relate the reflection in the mirror to its own 
 face till very much later. In somewhat the same way 
 a Kafir child notices the existence of a pain at an early 
 age, but does not think of relating it to his own body 
 till a much later period. His consciousness has not 
 yet become self-consciousness. The Kafir child seems 
 to possess — or rather to be possessed by — some general 
 and ill-defined sensations of an organic nature, possibly 
 largely connected with the state of the viscera, and this 
 nexus of sensations seems to be presented to a " self " 
 
 * The " subject " of these changing conscious states may be permanent 
 and identical ; but as yet the child is not fully conscious of the fact. 
 The problem as to whether the " self " can -be accounted for by the 
 mere association of a series of sense- impressions or not is not here 
 referred to : it is a problem for the psychologists. 
 
64 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 of the dullest kind, which acts as a point " from 
 which clear memory may begin." " This use may lie 
 in blood and flesh." 
 
 To Europeans there is something almost incredible 
 in the accounts of the dulness of a Kafir's nerves ; but 
 there is ample evidence as to this dulness. It is quite 
 common for a native girl to break a needle deep in the 
 palm of her hand. After trying in vain for a few 
 days to extract it, she allows a white man, or even 
 a native doctor, to slash away in the deep tissues. 
 The girl will merely cover her head so that her fancy 
 may not run away with her, and lead her to imagine 
 that things are worse than they really are. She will 
 not wince or show the slightest indication of suffer- 
 ing during this most painful operation. Occasionally, 
 however, a native is as susceptible to pain as any 
 European, and dreads even the pulling out of a tooth ; 
 but as a rule he is very callous. A Johannesburg 
 doctor told me that on one occasion a Kafir came to 
 him to have two teeth pulled out. The price was 
 arranged for in advance. When the teeth were both 
 out, the Kafir only offered half the fee, saying that the 
 doctor did not give him anything like enough pain to 
 deserve the whole amount. 
 
 And just as a Kafir is slow in locating pain which is 
 being experienced in his own body, so is he slow in 
 imagining what others are suffering. A grown-up 
 Kafir told me with great amusement, that when he 
 was a small boy his father threatened him with a 
 beating if he did something or other. The child 
 was puzzled as to whatever sort of thing a beating 
 could be, for though he had often seen his bigger 
 brothers being beaten, his imagination was unable to 
 work in vacuo, and to reconstruct the experience of 
 another into terms of his own sensation. When his 
 father ' threatened him, the child simply laughed at 
 him, for he had not the remotest idea as to what a 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 65 
 
 beating really meant. It took a very short time for 
 our young gentleman to extend the boundaries of his 
 knowledge. Swift retribution followed this unpardon- 
 able sin of showing disrespect to a father. As the 
 children roam about stark naked there was no delay 
 even for a preliminary stripping. The father took up 
 a stick and applied it with astonishing vigour to the 
 proper places before the child had an inkling as to what 
 was happening. As the man said to me, " I remember 
 that when the tears and smarting were over, I sat down 
 and thought to myself, ' Well now I know what father 
 means by a beating ; I don't see the reason of it, but 
 anyhow I now know what sort of thing a beating is.' " 
 Then the Kafir laughed and said, " White people 
 can never realise how utterly stupid we black people 
 are when we are children ; I often laugh when I think 
 how stupid. I was." 
 
 II. LOCALISING THE SELF 
 
 Though a Kafir may not have a clear consciousness 
 of a " self," still he invariably has a very marked per- 
 sonality. But perhaps there is no need to emphasise 
 the fact that a savage has a strong egoism. Humility 
 is a grace that a Kafir cannot really understand, for 
 he thinks it in no sense immodest for a man to sing 
 his own praises on every occasion. If a man does not 
 blow his own trumpet, who will blow it for him ? 
 And what is the use of having a trumpet unless it be 
 blown constantly ? A native will talk about himself 
 with the most unblushing directness. After a time 
 the Kafir usually becomes conscious of a " self " ; 
 he places himself before himself as an object whose 
 ends should be furthered. That he is aware of having 
 an " ego," other than his body, could be shown — 
 were it necessary — by his language. Thus, when a 
 man has been wasted by disease, and is at length putting 
 
 E 
 
66 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 on flesh, he says, " I am laying hold of my body." 
 This phrase is almost as explicit as to the primacy of 
 a " self " as is the title of a recent philosophical book, 
 Why the Soul has a Body. It is at least an implicit 
 acknowledgment that there is a " self " which owns 
 the body. The use of the Zulu phrase, " That man 
 has fingers," to express the idea that he is clever with 
 his fingers, is also suggestive of the same thing. 
 
 The Kafir, however, makes many strange but 
 picturesque mistakes in localising the " self." When 
 we remember that he is at such an elementary stage 
 of thought that he imagines he can, by magical 
 charms, change himself into a wild animal and devour 
 human beings, and then by magic transform himself 
 back again into his original human shape; when we 
 remember that he firmly believes trees can talk, and 
 grass reveal secrets it has witnessed, and tell them to the 
 ancestral spirits ; when we remember that the children, 
 and sometimes the adults, believe that small stones 
 are the children of large ones, and villages the offspring 
 of towns — when we remember these things we need 
 not be surprised that a native should find great diffi- 
 culty in defining the limits of " the skirts of self." 
 A few of the confusions of Kafir thought on the subject 
 must be passed rapidly under review. 
 
 (a) Confusion of Self with the Clothing and Possessions 
 
 A Kafir child will frequently beat the blanket of a 
 person with whom he is enraged, much as a bull or 
 an ostrich will worry the coat which a hunted man 
 throws behind him on the ground. A child will bite 
 its mother's blanket or petticoat in impotent rage when 
 its will is hopelessly crossed. A big boy will cry when 
 his clothing or possessions are beaten. A man's per- 
 sonal possessions are buried with him. The custom has 
 been said by Europeans to have been adopted with a 
 view to the closing up of the avenues leading to crime, 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 67 
 
 for if any person were to be found in possession of 
 such personal articles he might be accused of having 
 murdered the man so as to get possession of the coveted 
 articles. The idea is quite satisfactory till a few 
 further facts are borne in mind. The only things 
 Kafirs really covet are a man's cattle and wives, and 
 these are not buried with the dead man. If it be 
 argued that men covet the assegais of other men, then 
 it must be pointed out that the only part of the weapon 
 they covet is the iron point, and it is precisely this part 
 that need not be buried, provided it be washed twice 
 with intelezi of a special nature. When thus cleansed 
 it can be kept by one of the man's relatives, who may 
 fix it in a fresh wooden handle. The haft of the 
 weapon which the man handled during life must be 
 buried or burnt. No man woud dream of keeping 
 that ; nor would any man want to do so. 
 
 The only other thing a man might covet would be 
 the clothing, but in the case of the Kafirs in a savage 
 state there is very little clothing belonging to a dead 
 man, for men go through life with garments made 
 of but a few wild cat's tails and a piece of ox-hide. 
 So it is clear that the hypothesis of criminal coveting, 
 though it may hold to a certain extent, is too small 
 to cover all the facts. 
 
 If a Kafir should buy a blanket or a coat and never 
 use it before he died, then it would not be buried with 
 him, but would be passed on to the heir ; if the man 
 had worn it but once, and had soiled it with a little 
 perspiration, then it would have to be buried with him. 
 In this latter case it contains a part of his dirt and there- 
 fore a part of his personality. So with an assegai ; 
 the only part of the weapon that has the man's dirt 
 ingrained into it is the wooden handle ; this therefore 
 contains part of the man's personality, and must be 
 buried with him ; but the iron point does not come 
 into contact with the man, and so contains no part of 
 
68 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 the man's personality ; therefore it needs but a 
 ceremonial washing to make it the property of the heir. 
 The wooden handle cannot on any occasion be doctored 
 by the most powerful intelezi so as to be rendered 
 capable of being passed on to the heir. A man who 
 gets possession of the wooden handle of an assegai can 
 work magic on the original owner, because he is in 
 possession of some of his dirt or secretions ; the wooden 
 handle of the assegai could be thus " worked " upon as 
 much as the parings of a man's nails or the clippings 
 of his hair. The iron point of the assegai would be 
 of much less value for this purpose. As we shall see 
 in a moment, anything which contains the secretions 
 or perspiration of a man is regarded as so much an 
 organic part of a man that even the shadow of such an 
 article is, for all practical purposes, equivalent to the 
 shadow of the man himself. This brings us to the next 
 point. 
 
 (b) Confusion of the Self with the Shadow 
 
 A Kafir cannot always distinguish between his self 
 and his shadow. Thus he is angry when a man — or 
 when a child — stands on his shadow, for it is much the 
 same thingas standing on his body. It will be observed 
 that when a native approaches a number of men who 
 are sitting down, he is careful to avoid treading on 
 their shadows, and even tries to prevent his long 
 shadow being seen in comparison with their short ones. 
 This is specially the case with inferiors approaching 
 their betters. A native walks up to such a group, 
 and when a little way off crouches down and sidles up 
 to the others, thus preventing any comparison of 
 shadows. Children are therefore told to respect 
 {hlonipa F) the shadows of their betters. 
 
 It is thought that a sick man's shadow dwindles 
 in intensity when he is about to die, for it has such an 
 intimate relation to the man that it suffers with him. 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 69 
 
 This belief has led to a very strange custom, which, 
 though well known, has not received the full and' 
 adequate explanation required. When a man went to 
 war, his wives were said to hold up his sleeping-mat 
 in the sun, and to judge from the length of the shadow 
 the fortunes of the man ; if the shadow were short 
 the man was thought to be dead, but if the shadow 
 were long the husband was thought to be well. On 
 making inquiry as to the details of this custom I find 
 that the mat was not held up in the sun, but was 
 placed in the hut at the marked-off portion where the 
 itongo or ancestral spirit was supposed to live ; and the 
 fate of the man was divined, not by the length of the 
 shadow, but by its strength. This account of the 
 matter solves many of the difficulties inherent in the 
 accounts generally given. The Kafirs are too shrewd 
 not to know that the length of a man's shadow in the 
 sunlight does not vary with the state of his health ; 
 but the shadow inside the hut (and outside the hut also) 
 varies continually in intensity with the shifting lights 
 caused by clouds and other things, and so it may vary 
 with anything, for all one might guess on a priori 
 methods. The explanation of the custom, then, seems 
 to be as follows. A man's sleeping-mat is impreg- 
 nated with his perspiration and dirt, as every one 
 who has visited a Kafir hut knows. The mat is never, 
 or very rarely, washed, and has to be burnt at the 
 man's death, or else has to be buried with him. 
 The mat therefore contains a concentrated and 
 essential part of the man's personality, and so is an 
 organic part of the man himself. It is placed near 
 the favourite spot which the itongo haunts, and is 
 thus in connection with the distant owner in a most 
 intimate way ; the man's personality harks back to 
 the hut through his intimate connection with the 
 itongo, and also with his sleeping-mat. Thus the 
 man's mat is virtually a part of his " self," and is in 
 
70 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 organic connection with him. Whether the strength 
 of the shadow is supposed to be affected by any light 
 thrown from the itongo or not, I am unable to say, 
 but it would seem that this tempting idea has never 
 occurred to the Kafir. This is a distinct loss to the 
 picturesque aspect of the custom. 
 
 Here is another Zulu belief about the shadow which 
 shows its supposed relation to the personality. Once 
 every year, generally about October, men, women 
 and children have a small piece of skin cut from the 
 back of the left hand. The poison of a snake is 
 then placed on the tip of the finger, and the finger is 
 placed on the tongue. The finger, with its mixture 
 of snake-poison and saliva, is then rubbed over the 
 small wound on the back of the left hand. After this, 
 the finger is moistened again on the tongue and is 
 made to touch a spot on the upper surface of each 
 foot, and a spot above each knee. It is thought that 
 no snake can come near a person so protected. But 
 the special point of interest in our present connection 
 is that it is said that if a person who is not thus pro- 
 tected should accidentally touch the shadow of a 
 person who is so protected, the unprotected person 
 will fall down overcome by the power of the medicine 
 which is transmitted through the shadow. 
 
 Passing over those cases in which native doctors 
 apply medicine to people's shadows as well as to their 
 bodies, we come to another example of Kafir thought 
 on shadows, which is also important in this connection. 
 Kafirs think that some trees have blood in them, and 
 that they bleed when cut. They think that these 
 trees try to kill all persons who approach them. Doctors 
 supply special medicines to people to enable them to 
 " overcome " such trees, and no person not magically 
 protected would dare to approach such a tree, which 
 is said to shake in fury at the approach of a human 
 being. (Is it possible that some such action was noted 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 71 
 
 in the case of the Mimosa pudica ?) But when even 
 a doctored person wishes to cut a branch, or pluck 
 leaves from the tree for medicinal purposes, he takes 
 great care not to touch the shadow of the tree, for it 
 is thought that the tree would be aware of man's 
 approach through its organic connection with its own 
 shadow. 
 
 Furthermore, there are some trees not so furious 
 as the above-mentioned one, but which still have 
 medicinal properties. A doctor, when seeking to 
 pluck the leaves for medicinal purposes, takes care 
 to run up quickly, and to avoid touching the shadow 
 lest it should inform the tree of the danger, and 
 so give the tree time to withdraw the medicinal 
 properties from its extremities into the safety of the 
 inaccessible trunk. The shadow of the tree is said to 
 feel the touch of the man's feet. And if the shadow 
 of a tree is regarded as an organic part of the 
 tree, how much more must the shadow of a man be 
 considered to be a part of a man's personality ! 
 
 (c) Confusion of the Self with the Picture 
 
 The raw Kafir has, as a rule, the greatest objection 
 to having his photograph taken. He considers his 
 " likeness," as he calls it, a part of his personality. 
 Kafirs have asked me why I wanted to carry off a part 
 of them across the sea. One old man asked me what 
 I was going to do with him when I had got possession 
 of a part of him through the " likeness." He said 
 I should have a hold on him after he was dead, and did 
 not wish that to be the case : so he refused to be 
 photographed. Another man told me that if he had 
 his photograph taken he would henceforth be only 
 half a man, for the photographer would have a part 
 of him in his possession. Another old man said, 
 " Why should I give a part of myself to a stranger ? " 
 Something of this feeling is seen occasionally in Europe. 
 
72 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 For instance, I know a small boy who refused stoutly 
 to be photographed, and gave as his reason, " I don't 
 want to be stucked in a book." 
 
 I remember seeing a woman in Zululand who used 
 to come up to a Mission station daily. Hanging on 
 the walls of the rough church there were some gaudy 
 American pictures of Bible scenes. Amongst them 
 was one of Moses with a long white beard and brilliant- 
 coloured robes. The Kafirs greatly respect people 
 with beards, especially with white beards ; and when 
 the old woman heard that Moses made the laws for 
 the people and judged them, her veneration for the 
 picture was unbounded. Every time she entered 
 the church she sat down before this large picture of 
 Moses and cleared her throat to let him know she had 
 come to call. She would then gaze at the picture, 
 nod her old head and say out aloud, " Good morning, 
 Moses." She was firmly convinced that the picture 
 was the man — or some emanation from his personality. 
 
 (d) Confusion of the Self with the Name 
 
 For all practical purposes the Kafir thinks the name 
 is the man. In all primitive races there is a tendency 
 to confuse the name with the thing named. To take 
 a person's name in vain is to offer an insult to the 
 person ; to know the ineffable name is to control 
 the energies of the All Great ; to name a bad person 
 or thing by its true name denoting its evil nature, is 
 to court the anger of that person or thing. He who 
 knows the name of a person can work magic on him by 
 the name. Such ideas would not be possible unless 
 there were in primitive thought an organic connection 
 between the name and the thing named. 
 
 Kafirs give the lion complimentary names when there 
 is any danger of its attack, but use its true name when 
 they are beyond the reach of danger. The mother 
 and father of the twin which is not killed at birth, 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 73 
 
 decide on a name for the surviving child at the time 
 of birth, but they keep this name an absolute secret 
 till the child is supposed to be strong enough tofight 
 its own battles at about sixteen years of age. Then 
 the name is made public. The person who knows 
 the name of the twin has power over him. 
 
 When a Kafir boy has stolen pumpkins or sweet cane 
 from another person's gardens, the owner may beat 
 the boy if he can catch him, just to relieve the feelings. 
 But he does not stop there. As a Kafir said to me, 
 " We black men do not look at these things as the 
 white men do : they are content to punish the thief : 
 we try to cure him." I pointed out that the latter 
 sentiment was most admirable, and asked him how 
 the natives cured a young thief. The man said that 
 this could easily be done if only the name of the boy 
 were known. The Kafir takes a large pot made of 
 earthenware and fills it with water, which is made to 
 boil over a fire ; medicines are then thrown into the 
 boiling water. As the pot of water is boiling furiously, 
 the people uncover it and shout out the name of the 
 boy at the boiling medicine, repeating the name 
 many times. When they feel sure that the boy's 
 name has well penetrated into the water, they cover 
 up the pot and place it on one side for several days ; 
 at the end of that period the boy, who is utterly 
 ignorant of the liberties taken with his name, is said 
 to be cured of the habit of thieving. A number of 
 wizard-charms are practised in a similar way, the 
 name of the person to be injured being regarded 
 fully as valuable for the working of the charm as the 
 body of the person would be. 
 
 (e) Confusion of the Self with a Person's Actions 
 
 One day a Kafir pointed to a wound on his arm, 
 and said, " That is So-and-So," mentioning the person 
 who had given him the wound. There is more than 
 
74 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 graphic metaphor in this form of speech. It is not 
 enough to dismiss such a saying in cavalier fashion by 
 calling it mere metaphor. Metaphor of this sort is 
 based on, and gets its universal value from, the organic 
 feeling which lies behind it, and which makes it pos- 
 sible. It is of a different order from such a picturesque 
 expression as the Zulu Kwa'matnengalahlwa, which 
 means " There where one shouts out ' Oh, mother, 
 I am lost,' " and which is used to express the idea 
 " far, far away." The Kafir does not so much think 
 as feel that his actions are a part of himself. " In 
 early thought there is no sharp line between the 
 metaphorical and the literal, between the way of ex- 
 pressing a thing and the way of conceiving it : phrases 
 and symbols are treated as realities."* 
 
 In one of the folk-lore tales of the Zulus there is 
 an old cannibal woman called " Long-Toe," who 
 devoured all the men in the country, and then 
 assuaged her hunger by biting out a huge portion of 
 her daughter's side. When this girl was asked by 
 her lover what this huge wound was, she simply 
 answered, " Oh, that is Long-Toe," because her 
 mother had made the wound. 
 
 (/) Confusion of the Self with the Clan 
 
 A Kafir feels that " the frame that binds him in " 
 extends to the clan. The sense of solidarity of the 
 family in Europe is thin and fe'eble compared to the 
 full-blooded sense of corporate union of the Kafir 
 clan. The claims of the clan entirely swamp the 
 rights of the individual. The system of tribal land- 
 tenure, which has worked so well in its smoothness 
 that it might satisfy the utmost dreams of the socialist^ 
 
 * Religion of the Semites, p. 274. 
 
 t It is a striking fact that all publicists when writing on the Native 
 Problem take as their terminus a quo the proposition that this system 
 of land-tenure should be broken up, as it delays the development of 
 
THE DAWN N OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 75 
 
 is a standing proof of the strength of the sense of cor- 
 porate union of the clan. Fortunately for Europeans 
 this sense of corporate union does not extend beyond 
 the tribe, or no white men would have survived in 
 South Africa. The strength of this clan feeling is 
 shown by the way the old men mourn over the loss 
 of the good old days, for their young men come back 
 from the gold-fields — often they do not return at 
 all— with new ideas of personal rights, and of the 
 claims of the individual. In olden days a man did not 
 have any feeling of personal injury when a chief made 
 him work for white men and then told him to give all, 
 or nearly all, of his wages to his chief ; the money was 
 kept within the clan, and what was the good of the clan 
 was the good of the individual and vice versa. It 
 should be pointed out that it is not only the missionary 
 who teaches the native the value of the individual, 
 but it is also the trader, the mineowner, and the 
 farmer. 
 
 The striking thing about this unity of the clan is 
 that it was not a thought-out plan imposed from 
 without by legislation on an unwilling people, but it 
 was a felt-out plan which arose spontaneously along 
 the line of least resistance. If one member of the 
 clan suffered, all the members suffered, not in senti- 
 mental phraseology, but in real fact. The corporate 
 union was not a pretty religious fancy with which to 
 please the mind, but was so truly felt that it formed 
 an excellent basis from which the altruistic sentiment 
 might start. Gross selfishness was curbed, and the 
 turbulent passions were restrained by an impulse 
 which the man felt welling up within him, instinctive 
 and unbidden. Clannish camaraderie was thus of 
 immense value to the native races. And all this 
 
 the individual. In Europe many publicists argue for nationalisation 
 of land. Would it not be well for us to solve the problem in Europe 
 before tinkering with a system which has so satisfied the Kafirs f 
 
76 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 was helped possibly by the other vague ideas as to the 
 boundaries of the self. 
 
 Mankind is first of all conscious of the world : at 
 a later period he becomes reflective and becomes 
 conscious of the self. The dawn of full serf-conscious- 
 ness is but now coming to the Kafir races, and the first 
 effects are sure to be very bad. The passions will 
 express themselves in violent ways, since the old tribal 
 restraints are being removed by contact with civilisa- 
 tion, and inadequate restraints are taking their place. 
 Hitherto the native races have been extraordinarily 
 law-abiding. It is to be feared that in our attempts 
 to solve the native problem we shall let loose, unwit- 
 tingly, enormous forces in a disorganised condition ; 
 for once a Kafir discovers himself and his individual 
 liberty, he is apt to give free play to what is worst in 
 his nature. Release him from the restraints of his 
 own religion, and give him no other religion to take 
 its place and the result will be disaster. Politicians 
 are apt to overlook this, and it would be well if they 
 paid attention first of all to fresh restraints which 
 might be imposed before they set to work to break 
 up the old ones. 
 
 III. CONCEPTIONS OF THE SELF 
 
 The great majority of Kafirs never think about 
 the nature of the self. But now and then a small 
 child will pester its mother with questions. A small 
 black boy, on waking one morning, asked his mother, 
 " Have we changed from the people we were yester- 
 day ? " much as a small English boy, on waking in a 
 strange room, rubbed his eyes, and, looking round the 
 unfamiliar walls, said to his nurse, " Is it we ? " 
 
 I knew a little Kafir boy who said to his mother, 
 " Is this body my real me ? " but the mother thought 
 it best not to encourage such speculative ideas, and 
 
THE DAWN OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 77 
 
 told the child not to ask questions. The subtle ques- 
 tions which are asked by English and American boys, 
 and which form so much material for books about 
 European children, are rarely met with amongst 
 the Kafirs. Professor Stilly describes a little boy who 
 was sorely puzzled as to how his thoughts and volitions 
 travelled down from his brain to his mouth, and as to 
 how his spirit made his legs walk. The thought 
 nearest to this I have come across amongst the Kafirs 
 is that of a boy who asked his astonished mother, 
 "What is it in me that does the thinking ? " But 
 such a question is very rare amongst black children. 
 As a rule the Kafirs are as indifferent about meta- 
 physics as is the placidest cow, and never trouble 
 their thick heads about such things. They take life 
 at its face value and consider that it was given them to 
 enjoy rather than to puzzle over. They float on the 
 surface of life as in a boat, and never trouble to think 
 what depths may lie beneath their keel. 
 
 When Kafirs are questioned as to their earliest 
 remembered impressions they usually state that these 
 were connected with the senses of taste and smell. 
 The next things they remember are connected with 
 the sense of colour ; then impressions of sound and 
 of form seem to follow last of all. It is true that 
 sight-impressions existed alongside of those of taste 
 and smell, but all the Kafirs I have questioned agree 
 in saying that the impressions of taste and smell 
 were much more powerful than those of sight. In 
 the early days of infancy the protecting care of the 
 mother renders of comparatively little value sensations 
 other than those of taste and smell; but later on, 
 when the child begins to crawl, it gets exposed to a 
 hundred new dangers, and consequently impressions 
 of sight, and especially those of colour and of move- 
 ment, become of increased importance. Of course, 
 even in infancy, stimuli arising from colour, motion 
 
78 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 and sound, stream continually into the brain of the 
 child, and are of the greatest possible importance in 
 the development of the whole organism. It is sugges- 
 tive also that amongst the first senses to be awakened 
 is that of taste, which is perhaps the least aggressively 
 localised of the sensations. There is thus but little 
 strain placed on the awakening of the mental powers, 
 and the child awakens slowly to the external world 
 without undue shock. When the child has become 
 thoroughly accustomed to the stimulus of taste and 
 smell, the pain of teething begins to pierce through 
 what Stevenson has happily called the " swaddling 
 numbness of infancy." The pains of teething must call 
 forth at least the anger of the child, and must hasten 
 the slow process of the dawn of self-consciousness. 
 It is interesting to point out that Preyer, in his work 
 on The Senses and the Will, states that "during 
 teething, the sensibility to acoustic stimulus is, 
 moreover, noticeably increased." (Loc. cit. p. 87.) 
 But this brings us to our next chapter.* 
 
 * The Kafir conception as to The Permanence of the Self is dealt 
 with in Appendix A. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 
 
 The period between the cutting of the first and second 
 teeth is far excellence the age of innocence and charm. 
 The brain of the baby may have grown very rapidly 
 during infancy, and the child may have learned a 
 great deal. But it is chiefly the mother and the 
 scientific specialist who are interested in the baby 
 at this stage. No sooner does the nagging pain of 
 teething arouse the dormant consciousness of the child 
 than it becomes more interesting. The toddling 
 and chattering stage commences, and changes are set 
 in motion which are not completed till after the second 
 teeth appear. 
 
 I. TEETHING 
 
 The period between the appearance of the first and 
 second teeth hangs together as an organic whole. 
 It is strange that we have no word which exactly 
 connotes this period of life. Babyhood is over, and 
 adolescence has not yet commenced. The words 
 " childhood " and " youth " are too vague to suit 
 our purpose, for they spread out on one side or the 
 other of the period referred to. No work that I 
 have read on the fascinating subject of Child-study 
 seems to recognise this organic period, for the divisions 
 of childhood which are adopted are vague and often 
 artificial. Thus we get such divisions as the following : 
 The Making Age, The Chattering Age, The Imagina- 
 tive Age, The Inquisitive Age, &c. These periods 
 
82 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 are largely arbitrary, and differ enormously in different 
 children and in different races, whereas the period 
 between the two dentitions is an organic period, 
 which, for example, medical men observe in the case 
 of children's diseases. The Kafirs, with their shrewd 
 insight, have recognised this period implicitly, as is 
 shown by many of their customs. 
 
 As soon as the mother thinks it is time for the first 
 tooth to appear, she rubs the gums of the child to stimu- 
 late the growth of the teeth and to relieve pain by 
 thus softening or stimulating the tissues. When the 
 first tooth has been cut, the mother places a bead on 
 a wisp of the child's hair over the forehead ; thus 
 she notifies to the people that her baby has cut its 
 first tooth. This bead is allowed to remain hanging 
 over the baby's forehead until the second tooth is 
 cut ; then the bead is removed, for the mother thinks 
 that the rest of the teeth are assured. 
 
 When the child finds its first tooth becoming loose 
 the people say, " See now ; the mother of that child 
 will be having a second child soon." Amongst the 
 Kafirs a woman lives in isolation from her husband 
 while she is suckling her child, a process which may 
 last for several years. This period is called her incuba- 
 tion period ; her isolation from her husband is thought 
 to be essential ; if she neglected this custom the woman 
 would be troubled with sterility.* 
 
 * It is difficult to see how the birth of the second child can, as a rule, 
 be delayed until the period at which the first child loses its first tooth, 
 for the " incubation period " usually lasts for but three years at the 
 longest. It may be pointed out that in English children the first tooth 
 usually appears at six to nine months after birth, and that all the tem- 
 porary teeth are present at the end of the third year. The first molars 
 appear at the sixth to seventh year, and the incisors at the seventh to 
 eighth year ; the other teeth appear on to the fourteenth year. The 
 wisdom teeth appear at a later (and variable) period. The strict 
 inter-dentition period would therefore extend from about the middle of 
 the second till the sixth year. Unfortunately, I have been unable to 
 find any reliable data as to the period of teething in the case of Kafir 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 83 
 
 The people have another way of roughly gauging 
 when a woman should have a second child. Babies 
 of a certain age, usually a short time before they 
 begin to lose the first tooth, form the habit of 
 bending down on their hands and knees in the ashes 
 at the edge of the fire, trying to look backwards be- 
 tween their legs. When the people see a child doing 
 this they say, " See now, that child is calling another 
 baby ; before long the mother will have another : 
 do you not hear the child calling for another 
 baby f " 
 
 When a child loses his first tooth he is told to go 
 out into the veld and to call out, " Hloele, here is my 
 old tooth ; give me a new one," and with that he must 
 throw the tooth into the air. Hloele is a small yellow 
 bird, but it is not considered at all necessary that the 
 child should see this bird. Indeed in some tribes the 
 child merely throws the tooth over the hut, calling 
 out to Hloele for a new tooth, and sometimes the 
 children do not mention the name Hloele at all, but 
 throw the tooth into the air and call for another. 
 
 In passing it may be well to point out that while 
 the children have very pretty white teeth, it is a 
 fallacy to think that the teeth of the adults are so 
 fine as they appear. The contrast with the dark skin 
 accentuates the whiteness of the teeth, and any one 
 who has pulled out teeth for the Kafirs knows how 
 very much decayed the back teeth often are, and how 
 very much the people suffer from toothache. 
 
 The following customs show that, without thinking 
 the matter out, the Kafirs implicitly recognise the 
 appearance of the second teeth as closing one period 
 of childhood, and as opening another. But it must 
 be remembered that while the opening of this period 
 coincides with the appearance of the second teeth, 
 
 children, but my impression is that the teeth appear, if anything, a 
 little earlier than in the case of Europeans. 
 
84 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 this is not always given as an explicit reason for the 
 changes in custom. 
 
 (a) The Burning of the Sleeping-mat 
 
 The mat on which the child has slept from infancy 
 is burnt by the mother when the child begins to cut 
 its second teeth. Up to that period the child has not 
 full control of its natural functions during sleep ; 
 but as soon as the second teeth begin to appear it is 
 supposed to have full control of itself. So the mother 
 takes the mat secretly into the veld and burns it where 
 no one can see the operation. If any one should 
 observe her burning the mat it would be thought 
 very unlucky, and would be a bad omen for the child's 
 future life. 
 
 (b) Leaving the Society of Women 
 
 As soon as a boy begins to cut his second teeth he is 
 told not to sit with the women (not even with his 
 mother), lest he should learn the hlonifa language of the 
 women, or should grow soft and effeminate. Any boy 
 who used such hlonifa words would be laughed at, 
 and would be called girlish. Consequently the small 
 boy joins the society of the bigger boys, and soon 
 forgets or ignores the women. He may even cease 
 to think about the very existence of his mother, who 
 becomes but a name to him, though the girls remain 
 very attached to their mothers throughout life. The 
 boy now takes his meals with the other boys, and asks 
 them for information on matters that puzzle him. 
 The father becomes the one important person in the 
 boy's imagination. 
 
 The boy may sometimes sit in the hut with his 
 mother when the father is present, but as a rule the 
 entrance of the father into the hut is a signal for the 
 small boys to get up and go outside. This rule is 
 relaxed as the boy grows older, and after puberty 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 85 
 
 the boy may sit about close to the ibandhla, where the 
 men sit, and may listen to their talk, but he must not 
 take part in it unless he is asked a question. Thus 
 children, when very small, learn from their mother ; 
 when they cut the second teeth they ask the bigger 
 boys questions, and the bigger boys ask the young 
 men, and the young men ask the old men. In this 
 way knowledge and information filter down through 
 successive strata. If children should overhear their 
 elders discussing family matters, they are bound to 
 strict secrecy, and any divulging of such matters 
 would lead to severe punishment. The children thus 
 learn to keep their ears open and their mouths shut 
 much more than do children in Europe. This custom of 
 not pestering the parents with questions, with its ad- 
 vantages, has the drawback of preventing a clever child 
 from rising above the dull level of the clan ; but then 
 it must be remembered that such a development of 
 individuality would be regarded as anti-social by the 
 clan, which has no room for genius and originality, for 
 it is designed for the production of a dull level type 
 of uniform mediocrity. A clever person is always 
 in danger of being accused of working witchcraft. 
 
 (c)'' Knowledge of Good and Evil 
 
 Little children of course pester their mothers at 
 times with endless questions as to the origin of babies, 
 and the Kafir mother has her stock answers ready for 
 all occasions. The mothers tell the children that 
 babies are found in the reeds, which fits in with the 
 nursery-tales of the people. If this should not satisfy 
 the inquisitive children, the mothers say that fabulous 
 monsters bring the babies to the kraal at night, and 
 that the infants are found outside the hut in the 
 morning. At other times they say that babies are 
 found by mothers at watersprings, and that the women 
 bring them back with them when they return from 
 
86 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 fetching the day's water. Consequently, many a 
 little child hunts for babies in the reeds (as an English 
 child may hunt for mares' nests), or peeps out of the 
 hut in the morning to see if some fabulous monster 
 has left a baby over-night ; at other times the children, 
 with beating hearts, hunt over the veld looking for 
 babies ; and then return to the kraal with disappointed 
 faces to tell of their fruitless task, much to the merri- 
 ment of the grown-up people. In Gazaland the 
 children are told that when men break their bows by 
 over-straining them, babies emerge from the split in the 
 wood. How many a child has watched his father 
 as he bent his bow, eagerly anticipating the appearance 
 of a baby ! 
 
 It may seem strange that the mothers should thus 
 put their children off the scent, for they allow the 
 smallest children to listen to the obscenest talk, and 
 even encourage and teach them the lewdest dances 
 and posturings. However, they know that the children 
 do not grasp the meaning of such things, and that the 
 innocence of the children will not be affected. But 
 when the child cuts its second teeth it is packed off 
 with the older boys and is left to imbibe what informa- 
 tion it wishes. The interesting and creditable fact 
 is that till the second teeth appear, the child is 
 shielded from any knowledge of matters which centre 
 round sex, and is allowed to live in its fairyland of 
 imagination. But no sooner have the second teeth 
 appeared than the child is regarded as belonging to 
 a different order of being. 
 
 {d) Completion of Charms 
 
 Both the smoking charm and the burying charm, 
 which have been described above, are discontinued 
 when the second teeth appear, for it is said the child 
 is now old enough to take care of itself. 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 87 
 
 (e) Working Commences 
 
 It is an unwritten law amongst most tribes that 
 children shall not be sent into the fields to help in the 
 work of the kraal until most of their second teeth have 
 appeared. It is generally thought that the children 
 have enough work to attend to in fighting the evil 
 influences and troubles connected with teething, 
 without having other work to occupy their attention. 
 The first teeth are generally called the " wizards," 
 because they are the cause of so much trouble to the 
 child. But in some tribes the first teeth are simply 
 called " the children," as is the case amongst the 
 Basutos and Fingos. 
 
 With regard to the rule that children should not 
 work till the second teeth have appeared, it must be 
 rememebred that all rules amongst the Kafirs have 
 endless exceptions, but it is quite striking how the 
 natives keep this rule, even when it is only implicit 
 in their minds. Other tribes regard it as an explicit 
 rule, and only depart from it where there is special 
 urgency, as when the birds are more numerous than 
 usual and so threaten the crop of Kafir corn. 
 
 Without referring to the change of ideals and ideas 
 in children after the appearance of the second teeth, 
 the above facts show that the period is regarded by 
 the Kafirs as a perfectly natural one. With^the 
 appearance of the second teeth the child leaves its 
 fairyland for ever ; the charm of innocence and 
 dream-life vanishes, and the light of common day 
 is let in. A new stage of life is reached. In Europe 
 the child is sent to school ; amongst the Kafirs he is 
 set to work. But to return to the inter-dentition 
 period. 
 
 Few things make a person feel so keenly this kinship 
 with the Kafirs as the common way in which both 
 white and black children betray their delicate or 
 
88 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 slight emotions. When some small children wish to 
 ask the father for a favour, much pushing and shoving 
 is indulged in outside the hut ; one little boy shoves 
 his sister, saying, " You go and ask." The girl says, 
 " No, no ; you go." At last a child consents to ask 
 the favour. On entering the hut the child intends 
 to go straight to the father, but instinctively hangs 
 back, and pretends to be busy with something at the 
 back of the hut. Then, with great embarrassment 
 at the region of the heart, the child screws up his 
 courage and makes the request. When this is granted 
 the child bounds out of the hut with glee as if he were 
 an English schoolboy who had been sent to interview 
 the headmaster with the request for a half-holiday. 
 
 When a child is guilty of having disobeyed its 
 father, it betrays its sense of guilt by the shamefaced 
 way in which it rolls its eyes from object to object. 
 When a small boy is being severely scolded for doing 
 something wrong, he instinctively pokes about in the 
 earth with a stick, pouting his lips ; and if he has no 
 stick in his hand he will twirl a piece of grass in his 
 fingers, or will make patterns in the earth with his toe. 
 These traits of character may be very' common-place, 
 but they are by no means insignificant. 
 
 The absence of self-consciousness in the case of very 
 small Kafir children is also most delightful. I shall 
 never forget the impression stamped on the memory 
 by watching some children dancing. The special 
 dance was a very slow one, in which the children lifted 
 their feet up rhythmically, pausing when their legs 
 were in the air before they brought their feet down 
 with a stamp at a certain note in the chant. A small 
 child that could only just walk, was standing in the 
 brilliant sunshine, clothed with a little bead-work. 
 The bigger brothers and sisters were leading the dance, 
 and this infant was joining in with the most serious 
 air, utterly unconscious that a white man and several 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 89 
 
 adult Kafir women were watching it with suppressed 
 amusement. The way in which the little child lifted 
 its leg in the air, adjusting its balance with great 
 difficulty while the leg had to be kept raised till the 
 rhythm of the chant should indicate the point at which 
 the leg should be lowered ; the way in which the child 
 ponderously stamped its foot on the earth as if it were 
 occupied with the most serious business imaginable ; 
 and the way in which it then turned its chubby body 
 round on its axis, so as to be ready for the next step 
 in the dance, was one of the drollest things I have ever 
 seen, and will never fade from the memory. 
 
 II. GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE CHILDREN 
 
 The children at the age we are describing are the 
 merriest and most irresponsible animals conceivable, 
 for they are full of quaint and funny ways. They do 
 not as a rule suffer from shyness till a later age than 
 is the case with white children ; this is due to the 
 retarded growth of self-consciousness and of the 
 imagination. They show more fear than shyness in 
 the presence of strangers. 
 
 The child begins to toddle long before it is weaned, 
 for this latter process is delayed for a long time. When 
 the mother decides to wean her baby she makes it 
 nibble medicines which are supposed to make it content 
 to adopt the new food. The child begins to talk at 
 about the same age as in the case of white children. 
 Sometimes children are very slow in shifting for them- 
 selves either in the direction of eating or of learning 
 to walk. The method adopted for making a child learn 
 to walk is thus described by Bryant in his dictionary : 
 " An infant that is unusually slow in learning to 
 walk is supposed to be cured of his backwardness 
 by having pieces of sponge rubbed into incisions on 
 the knees — the salt contained in the sponge, causing 
 
90 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 a smarting of the incisions, is doubtless the " curative " 
 principle. In up-country districts where there is 
 no sea or salty sponge, the same cure is effected by 
 placing the infant upon a nest of ama-T sheketshe 
 ants, whereupon he is said to get up at once and walk 
 with alacrity." 
 
 The range of operations of the children is limited 
 by the distance they can toddle from the kraal, or 
 else by the extent of the good-nature of some big 
 sisters who offer to carry these tiny creatures to 
 happier hunting-grounds where the bigger boys are 
 at play. Frequently one meets with a dozen little 
 rogues bent on mischief, their faces all aglow with 
 suppressed excitement. Those who are too small to 
 walk far are strapped on to the backs of elder sisters, 
 often not much bigger than the little creatures they 
 are carrying. The back view of such a procession, 
 as the children hurry along a Kafir path in single file, 
 is most delightful. One sees a number of little 
 woolly heads hanging out .of the scanty blankets, 
 bobbing up and down in the glaring sunshine. Every 
 now and then the little nurse stops to hitch her baby 
 up with a good jerk, and then, having settled her 
 burden more safely, trots after the other children. 
 So natural is this method of carrying babies that the 
 Kafirs used to call a horse " the mother of white 
 men," because it carries white men on its back. 
 
 The children are not troubled about dress, nor do 
 anxious mothers bother them about pinafores or soiled 
 dresses. Mud can be played with to any extent 
 without the slightest fear of reproachful tones in the 
 mother's voice later on in the day. The most meagre 
 portion of bead-work — sometimes a single thread 
 with a row of beads on it — is considered ample cloth- 
 ing for a small girl even at this age, and a little boy 
 is allowed to walk about to his heart's content in furis 
 naturalibus. On special occasions the children pile 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 91 
 
 on bead-work to any extent, for a mother loves to 
 display all her child's bead-work, especially when any 
 European wishes to photograph it. 
 
 It has been said that the children are nearly always 
 laughing or grinning ; but there are times when they 
 cry, and then they look the most woe-begone creatures 
 imaginable. They are not expected to control their 
 feelings at a very tender age, and no one laughs at 
 them for crying. But when once they have their 
 second teeth and join the society of the boys, they 
 have to pull themselves together, much as in the case 
 of European boys when they go to school. The tears 
 of the children are as short lived as the rain from an 
 April sky. The tears soon give way to smiles. 
 
 As a rule but few mutilations are practised on the 
 small children at this age. The ears may be pierced, 
 but this is done in most tribes at a later date ; tatooing 
 may be performed on children, but this also is generally 
 delayed till later years. Circumcision does not take 
 place till a few years after puberty. The teeth are 
 not filed in the Southern tribes, though it is done on 
 the Zambesi. This custom is said to be done with a 
 view to make the person like the totem of the clan 
 in appearance. It would be natural for clans whose 
 totem is the crocodile to file the front teeth. South 
 African evidence would therefore seem in favour of 
 this hypothesis. 
 
 The cutting of the hair is an important event 
 amongst the Kafirs. In the case of a chief the 
 greatest care has to be taken, and a special doctor 
 makes the process his peculiar care. An assegai blade 
 is sharpened up for the purpose, and even this has to 
 be washed with intelezi before it may be used. No 
 common person may touch this assegai, which, after 
 the cutting of the chief's hair, has to be put away 
 carefully and preserved for future use. The reason 
 given for this peculiar care is that the chief's head has 
 
92 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 been washed from childhood with special intelezi, and 
 so no commoner may touch it. The portions of the 
 chief's hair cut off have to be buried in the ground 
 of his " bathroom," where, as we have already seen, 
 the chief is daily washed with great intelezi. 
 
 But no such special care is required in cutting the 
 hair of ordinary people. Any old piece of hoop-iron, 
 or pen-knife, or, indeed, a pair of scissors — nowadays, 
 bought at a trader's shop — is used, and any man or 
 woman may cut the hair of a friend. The " cutting " 
 of the hair is really a shaving of the head, and in the 
 case of the Zulus, the children, as a rule, have the head 
 entirely shaved. In other tribes certain patches of 
 hair are left unshaved. All the portions of the hair 
 shaved off have to be buried either in damp soil or 
 else in the ash-heap. The special virtue of burying 
 the hair in damp soil is that this custom is supposed 
 to help the growth of the hair on the head through 
 sympathetic action. If this is not desired then the 
 hair is buried in the ash-heap, so that no enemy may 
 be able to get hold of it to " work " magic on it, and 
 thus injure the person from whose head the hair was 
 taken. 
 
 In some tribes much ingenuity is shown in the way 
 the head of a child is made to look fantastic. The 
 Pondos are by far the most given to odd methods of 
 cutting the hair. It is impossible to see a small Pondo 
 child with its hair cut in the most weird fashion without 
 thinking of a poodle dog. Many of these styles have 
 a name of their own. Thus in Basutoland the four 
 following types of hair-cutting constitute the main 
 favourites : (i) Lekorama, which is a complete shaving 
 of the entire head, is much in vogue; (2) Kuaho, 
 consists in an entire shaving of the head with the 
 exception of a small ring of hair that is left on the 
 top of the head ; (3) Motloenya, a shave of the head 
 which leaves a small tuft of hair on the top of the fore- 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 93 
 
 head ; (4) Tlopo, a shave of the head which leaves a 
 comb-like ridge down the median line of the head. 
 The child can ask for the special type of " crop " it 
 wishes, just as a small English boy of my acquaintance 
 asked the barber for " almost not quite nearly a French 
 crop." There are also Pondo and Zulu types of 
 " crop " : thus in Zululand, when long twisted strings, 
 or strands of hair, are left, the style is called Isiyen- 
 dane ; when a number of little crisp ringlets are left 
 all over the head, the style is called Umagqibane. 
 
 In this shaving process no soap is used, for the skin — 
 hide it should be called — is so tough that no incon- 
 venience arises from the scraping, rasping action of 
 the blunt piece of iron. Some children are very keen 
 to have their hair which is shaved off buried in the 
 earth of the cattle kraal, for they think that if this 
 were not done their bodies would not grow normally. 
 {See p. 144.) 
 
 Sometimes a doctor wishes to administer medicine 
 to the head ; in that case he makes two furrows by 
 shaving the hair away ; these furrows are made at 
 right angles. The skin at the bottom of these furrows 
 is then scarified with a knife, and the medicines are 
 well rubbed into the cuts. 
 
 In times of mourning the hair is shaved off entirely, 
 or is left to go undressed and uncombed. Sometimes 
 certain portions of hair are allowed to grow, while all 
 the rest of the hair is shaved off ; but at other times 
 the hair is allowed to grow long enough to curl up into 
 numberless little peppercorn tufts. 
 
 III. FUNNY SAYINGS 
 
 In all English and American studies of childhood 
 the dullest page can be brightened by the introduction 
 of some of the endless number of funny sayings of 
 children. This asset is denied to a writer on Kafir 
 
94 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 children for two reasons : first, such funny sayings 
 lose the greater part of their charm by being trans- 
 lated ; and secondly, the children of the Kafirs do not 
 make the sort of mistake that charms a European. 
 It would be a very difficult work to collect such funny 
 sayings because the mothers do not try to remember 
 them. Indeed they try to forget them, for they 
 imagine such sayings are stupid. It is possible to 
 collect by hundreds the funny mistakes made by 
 natives when learning English, such as the following. 
 A native left temporarily in charge of a station ended 
 up his letter to a missionary by the striking phrase, 
 " Your faithful transgressor " ; it was thought that 
 there was a certain amount of unconscious humour 
 and truth in the words, seeing that the young man 
 had entered into the state of bigamy, much to the 
 chagrin of his missionary. A young woman wrote to 
 a missionary's wife, and began her letter, " Dear Mrs. 
 kind and gently how are you getting on if you come 
 back you will find many new chickens because they 
 laid many eggs I hatching them." The mistakes, 
 too, in spelling are often striking. A mother writing 
 about her children said " the children are coffing," 
 which leaves one in doubt as to whether the children 
 were alive or not. But such mistakes, though amusing, 
 do not represent Kafir child-life as it is in its natural 
 state. The Kafirs themselves are amused over tiny 
 errors of pronunciation and mistakes as to gender 
 which scarcely interest us. They are very much 
 amused, for example, when a child drops the asperate, 
 changes Tla into Ka (a common mistake amongst 
 Basuto children), or when it changes Ch or Tsh into S 
 (as amongst the Fingos). The chief interest to the 
 Kafir, however, centres round such errors as when 
 children mistake sex, and call out, " Father, your 
 husband is calling you," or " Mother, your wife is 
 calling you " ; they are also amused when a child 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 95 
 
 speaks about a cow when a bull is meant to be referred 
 to. They laugh immoderately when a child confuses 
 " shut " for " open," which seems to be a very common 
 mistake. The natives call the mistakes made by the 
 children amalimi, or (many) tongues, saying the 
 children have not yet got the right tongue. 
 
 IV. DOMESTIC MATTERS 
 
 (a) Meals 
 
 While in the case of adults the time of taking meals 
 varies in different tribes, in the case of children there 
 is no variation ; this is due to the simple fact that 
 children eat off and on all day long. But there are 
 generally four fairly well-recognised meals for children. 
 The men eat first by themselves and give what is left 
 over to the women, who, however, do any cooking for 
 the children or for themselves as occasion may require. 
 In Gazaland a man eats with his wife, even out of the 
 same dish, until the birth of the first child. He never 
 eats with his wife after that. Young girls also eat off 
 and on all day, for their value as wives turns on their 
 fine physical condition. There are many parts of 
 the meat that men do not eat, but the children are 
 allowed to eat such portions. Small children are 
 allowed to eat the head of the buck, but do so with 
 their eyes tightly closed. There is thought to be 
 danger of their eyes changing colour otherwise. The 
 boys regard the lungs of the animal as their special 
 portion. Very small children are allowed to hang 
 around when the father is eating, but as soon as the 
 boys get their second teeth they are supposed to leave 
 the hut when they notice that their elders are about 
 to eat. The parents are wonderfully kind to their 
 small children, and go out of their way to please them. 
 Thus the father frequently cuts small strips of meat 
 
96 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 from the ox that is offered to the ancestral spirits, 
 and gets the big boys or girls to cook such portions 
 for the little children. Again, a father before eating 
 anything nice usually gives all the very small children 
 a taste of his food. But should the children become 
 a nuisance, as when there are very many of them in 
 the kraal, Or when there is but a small portion of some 
 luxury, the father has his own way of getting rid of 
 the children. Thus, as the food is about cooked, he 
 tells the children to go and call some person living at 
 a distance, whom he knows to be away from home. 
 The children return after their vain journey to say 
 the person is not at home. The parent then says, 
 " What a pity ; but our food is now all eaten so it 
 does not matter." It takes many repetitions of this 
 ruse to undeceive the children, who are very deficient 
 in the critical faculty. If the above expedient fails, 
 the parent plays on the imagination of the children 
 in the following way. When the food is just about 
 cooked, and the children are hanging round to get a 
 taste, the father says, " Just go out into the veld and 
 call Nomgogwana to come along quickly, for the food 
 will not be cooked till he comes." This Nomgogwana 
 is a fabulous monster whom it is most dangerous to 
 trifle with. So the children run off to the veld 
 calling out, " Nomgogwana, Nomgogwana, come along 
 to the hut for there is nice food being cooked there." 
 After waiting a short time in great excitement lest 
 the food should be eaten before their return, the small 
 children scamper home, and, bursting into the hut, 
 say, " We called and called Nomgogwana, but he 
 wouldn't answer at all ! " Then one little chap, who 
 notices the food is still cooking, suggests that it would 
 be well to see whether the food is not cooked, for it is 
 no use waiting any longer. But the father says, " It 
 is no use to see if the food is cooked, for you know it 
 cannot be properly cooked till Nomgogwana comes ; 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 97 
 
 so run along and tell him to hurry up." This is prob- 
 ably sufficient, but should the children object, the 
 father says in an off-hand manner, " Very well, sit 
 where you are ; the food will not cook, as you know, 
 till Nomgogwana comes, and then when he does come 
 he will be so angry at seeing the food uncooked that 
 he will eat all the children he can find." So the 
 children begin to be frightened, and as they are leaving 
 the hut the father calls out to them, " Be sure you go 
 far, far away into the veld, for otherwise Nomgogwana 
 will not hear you : the reason why he did not hear 
 you call before was that you did not go nearly far 
 enough away ; so be sure to go far away this time, 
 lest you get eaten yourselves." With that the children 
 scamper off, while the old people chuckle to themselves 
 and eat their delicacies. 
 
 Frequently the old people play on the credulity of 
 the children by telling them that if on going to sleep 
 they tie round their necks the bones they have gnawed, 
 then on awaking in the morning they will find fresh 
 meat on them. So when the children awake and find 
 no fresh meat on their bones, they complain loudly. 
 A little fellow will wake up the whole hutful of people 
 in the early dawn by crying out, " Some one has eaten 
 the meat from my bone : he must have done it just 
 before I awoke, for there is none on it now as you said 
 there would be." The children become very indignant 
 and accuse one another violently with this baseness. 
 
 Another method of teasing the children is to tell 
 them — this is generally done to greedy children — 
 that if on going to bed they tie the big iron Kafir pot 
 to their necks, on awaking in the morning they will 
 find it full of beans, of which the children are very 
 fond. Or if the child is greedy about milk, they tell 
 it to tie the milk-pail to its neck, and then the pot will 
 be full of milk in the morning. When the child is 
 not specially greedy the parents will often wait till the 
 
98 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 children are asleep, and will then put milk or bean 
 into the pot which the child in its innocence has tiei 
 to its neck. Sometimes they place meat by the sid 
 of the child's head. This is the nearest approac 
 to Santa Claus known to the Kafir children. 
 
 (b) Discipline 
 
 Discipline seems to cause no trouble to Kafirs 
 They are inherently submissive to constituted authority 
 Respect for old men, and especially for a father, i 
 most marked. The parents are very fond of thei 
 children, and treat them very well on the whole 
 never fussing about trifles. They seem to have th 
 knack of keeping children in order. Every chili 
 knows quite well what it may and may not do- 
 for Kafirs are not, as a rule, apt to threaten punish 
 ment and then weakly to gloss over disobedience- 
 and there are no faddy and officious grown-up, relation 
 who interfere with a man's children. Old maide: 
 aunts do not exist amongst the Kafirs, for as a rul 
 every girl is married long before she is twenty ; th 
 aunt is a person of absolutely no importance in a kraai 
 The parents and relations are not demonstrativel 
 affectionate — a thing most children find tiresome, an 
 which makes them restless and difficult to manage. 
 
 Respect for age has the happiest effects amongst th 
 Kafirs, but contact with civilisation is rapidly under 
 mining this factor of kraal life. A small boy deligh.1 
 to say of himself, " I am father's little dog." Th 
 dog is an animal not loved and petted in the kraal 
 its value lies chiefly in its use for hunting, and 
 one boy were to call another a dog, it would lead to 
 fight, as this is a most opprobrious name. But so gres 
 is the respect for the father, that to couple the wor 
 " dog " with the father at once redeems it from a 
 that is objectionable, and makes it a sort of covete 
 praise-name. 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 99 
 
 The Kafirs have many playful or coaxing names for 
 small children ; thus they call a child " little mother," 
 " you little thief," or " you little traitor." All such 
 names would be deeply resented in the mouth, not 
 of the father, but of a small brother. When a child 
 is given to stealing food, it is often called " a mad dog," 
 and when it is always laughing immoderately, it is 
 called " little vacant (or open mouth)." 
 
 As a result of this respect for their betters the 
 children learn to imitate their elders. When small 
 children play at the river they try to wash themselves 
 as they have seen their big brothers and sisters do. 
 Thus they cover themselves from head to foot with 
 mud, imagining they are doing the thing perfectly. 
 Again, though not required to herd the cattle or to fetch 
 wood and water, the little boys and girls imitate the 
 work of their elders in such matters. 
 
 (c) A Finger-game 
 
 Mothers do not punish their children much till 
 they are about four years old ; before that they 
 humour the children when they are cross, but as soon 
 as they can really understand what is said to them — 
 generally said to be between three and four years of 
 age — the mothers bite them when they cry need- 
 lessly. This soon cures the evil. Parents wash children 
 in special intelezi, so as to make them grow up quiet 
 and well-behaved. The Kafir's belief in such a 
 medicinal wash is quite as great as the English nursery- 
 maid's belief in Soothing Syrups or Charm Drops. 
 The way in which the mothers humour the children 
 is much the same as that which is adopted in Europe. 
 For example, when a Kafir mother wishes to quiet her 
 child, she sometimes takes hold of each finger or toe 
 in succession, calling out its name and describing its 
 function, somewhat as in our English nursery story of 
 " Mrs. Piggy went to market." In BasutoJand the 
 
ioo SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 mothers take up each finger in order, saying, " Engue, 
 Engue, thlaka noko noko" which means, " One, one, 
 the reed (or bamboo) with the knuckles." The 
 words, " thlaka noko noko " are onomatopoeic, and 
 in a striking way transfer the visual impression of the 
 gnarled " knuckle " of the bamboo into a sound- 
 impression. This rude chant about the fingers is 
 repeated for every individual finger, and is sung as 
 follows : 
 
 I 
 
 gg= n _-g— iL^gggEg 
 
 —m * 
 
 ngwe ngwe t'hla ka no ko no ko 
 
 The Fingos and other tribes have a more elaborate 
 song which they sing about the fingers. When a 
 Kafir counts on his fingers he begins, as a rule, with the 
 little finger of the left hand. That stands for I. 
 The ring finger of the left hand represents 2 ; the 
 middle finger 3, and so on. On the right hand the 
 thumb stands for 6, the index finger for 7, and so on ; 
 the little finger of the right hand standing for 10. 
 Thus, in bargaining with a Kafir, if one merely closes 
 the three fingers of the left hand, and extends the 
 index finger and adds the word, " shillings," the 
 Kafir knows that four shillings is offered. If one simply 
 closes down the little finger of the right hand the 
 number indicated is 9. It is noticeable that the 
 Kafirs often get confused if asked how to represent the 
 number (say) 8. One Kafir may hold up the middle 
 finger of the right hand, while another may hold up the 
 middle finger of the left hand, much as white children 
 find it hard to distinguish the right from the left hand. 
 But on giving them time to talk it over, they agree, 
 as a rule, that the counting should begin with the left 
 hand. I have seen Kafirs confused on this point for 
 days, but in my experience they ultimately come to the 
 above conclusion, though they may insist for several 
 
A PONDO BOY 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 101 
 
 days together that counting should commence with the 
 right little finger. But I have observed that once a 
 Kafir woman makes a mistake in this point it is hopeless 
 to expect her to own up to it. She maintains with 
 brazen face that the men are all wrong, and that she 
 is right. It may be that in some tribes there is a 
 different mode of counting : indeed I found a number 
 of Bechuana boys starting to count on their right 
 hand, while the Zulu boys started with their left. 
 I thought I had observed an interesting tribal difference, 
 but next day the Bechuana boys came to say that they 
 had been confused on the previous day and should 
 have started with their left hand like the Zulus. 
 The song that the Fingos sing is as follows : 
 
 Left hand. 
 
 (i) Little finger : U Cikicane /o = This is the little 
 one. 
 
 (2) Ring finger : Hlangana nobene = This is the 
 crooked one. 
 
 (3) Middle finger : Ngumnzue lo = This is the finger. 
 (The important one.) 
 
 (4) Index finger : Tayiyane lo = This is the small 
 finger. 
 
 (5) Thumb : Tayiyane Makosi lo = This is the small 
 finger of the chief. 
 
 Right Hand. 
 
 (1) Thumb: Owa Zigwece /o = This is the finger 
 of the dregs (of the beer). 
 
 (2) Index finger : Sigtvece ncimbile = This is the 
 one that scrapes (or smears) off the dregs (of the 
 beer). 
 
 (3) Middle finger: Ngu mtomboti /o=This is the 
 finger of scented or aromatic wood. 
 
 (4) Ring finger : Ngowa fumela lo = This is the one 
 that has passed (the investigation). 
 
102 
 
 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 (5) Little finger : Udlazidudu lo = This is the 
 porridge eater. 
 
 The music for the finger-chant is as follows, each 
 finger as indicated above being taken hold of and gently 
 pinched when its name is mentioned in the song : 
 
 ^*m 
 
 5 
 
 S 
 
 H 
 
 *& 
 
 Ci ki ca ne lo 
 
 hla nga na no be ne 
 
 ££ 
 
 W 
 
 2E3E 
 
 ngu mnwe lo 
 
 ta yi ya ne lo 
 
 $& 
 
 lo si gwe ce nci mbi le ngu mtom boti lo 
 
 s 
 
 w. 
 
 PE 
 
 J J j 
 
 m 
 
 =tv: 
 
 zj=M 
 
 ngo wa pu me la lo U dla zi du du lo 
 
 With regard to the phrase for the little finger — 
 " the porridge-eater " — it should be pointed out that 
 it is a phrase of slight contempt or opprobrium : 
 the Basutos, and Fingos who live close to the Basutos, 
 are very fond of eating native-made bread, which is 
 unknown in many other tribes. The men scorn to 
 eat porridge, and make the women eat it. The 
 phrase " porridge-eater " therefore implies something 
 mean and insignificant.* 
 
 (d) Sleeping Arrangements 
 
 The customs in connection with the sleeping 
 arrangements vary according to the tribe. It is not 
 
 * For tribal variations in connection with the use of the left hand 
 and with counting, &c, see Appendix E. 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 103 
 
 necessary to go into the details in connection with 
 adults, except to point out that when the husband 
 and wife do not sleep in different huts, they sleep on 
 different mats on opposite sides of the hut ; but the 
 sleeping customs of the children call for notice. The 
 small children are supposed to sleep, as a rule, on little 
 mats of their own, which are all covered by the mother's 
 blanket. The children are supposed to sleep with the 
 mother till they reach an age that varies between seven 
 and twelve. There is great latitude in this matter 
 in actual practice. When the boys reach the age of 
 about ten or twelve they have to sleep with their 
 father. Sometimes a father may have as many as 
 half a dozen boys sleeping on their small mats, which 
 are all covered with his blanket. This seems to have 
 been the old Zulu custom. But sometimes the father 
 cannot be bothered with having a number of boys 
 so close to him. When the boys reach the age of 
 puberty (or else the later state of circumcision), they 
 are generally sent to sleep in the young men's hut, 
 and the young girls at the same age are packed off to 
 sleep in the young women's hut. Now that blankets 
 are very common, these old customs are rapidly 
 changing, and it is quite common to find several small 
 boys clubbing together and sleeping together under a 
 blanket of their own. Not infrequently small girls 
 love to go and sleep with their grandmother, who in 
 turn loves to feel the pressure of the little fingers, 
 for this reminds her of the days when she was young. 
 
 The natives do not account for sleep in the way 
 small white children are accustomed to. They do 
 not talk about the little man with the sand -bags. 
 Yet they have their own picturesque way of thinking 
 of slumber or sleep. They think that slumber is a 
 thing which comes to them. It is sometimes thought 
 to be a beast which attacks them, touching the eyes 
 or else the heart. Or again, when a child gets heavy 
 
io 4 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 with sleep, the mother says to it, " I see that a thief 
 is coming to make you sleepy." In the morning the 
 mother will say to the child, " But where has that thief 
 gone who made you so sleepy last night ? " The 
 child will innocently answer, " I did not see him 
 coming to me, and how can I know whither he has 
 gone ? " Then the mother will say, " What f Did you 
 not see that man who came to you with heaviness which 
 closed up your eyes ? " In the nursery-tales of the 
 Tshindao-speaking natives in Gazaland, sleep is frankly 
 spoken of as if it were a person. In one of these tales 
 there is an account of a baboon and a hare in which 
 each tried to outwit the other. The baboon watched 
 a certain part of a road, and, to make itself comfortable, 
 wrapped a sack around its body and lay down. The 
 story goes on thus : " ' Hallo,' said sleep, ' I'll draw 
 Mr. Baboon.' So sleep draws the baboon to itself." 
 The personifying method is carried even further, 
 thus, " The sun said, ' Let me set ' ; whereupon the 
 people of the hut said, ' Let us return home.' " Other 
 examples from the same district are as follows. A 
 tower which was being built up to the moon suddenly 
 said, " I will fall," and it promptly fell ; when a fire 
 was being kindled, " ' Pgwa,' said the fire," and burst 
 into flame. This sound Pgwa exactly resembles the 
 sound caused when a fire is made from the friction 
 of two sticks. When the sky was lowering, " The 
 rain said, ' I shall fall,' " and began to pour. * 
 
 (<?) Dreams 
 
 Very young children do not in the least understand 
 what a dream is : it is only slowly that they come to 
 distinguish between a dream-experience and a waking 
 one; little by little the distinction dawns on them, 
 and yet even in adult life the people imagine, that 
 dream-experiences are real, though of a different order 
 
 * See chap. vii. 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 105 
 
 from ordinary waking experiences. A child will talk 
 of its dream in such a way that even the mother does 
 not know whether it is referring to a dream or to a 
 real experience. 
 
 Boys and girls as they grow up begin to distinguish 
 their dreams from their waking experiences, though 
 they think the dreams were real in a certain sense. 
 There is a curious way of telling which dream will 
 come true, and which will prove false. If, on waking 
 after dreaming of friends, a boy notices a spider hang- 
 ing by a thread in the doorway, he feels sure the 
 friends dreamt of will come to visit the kraal : if no 
 spider is to be seen in the doorway, the dream 
 will not come true. If after dreaming of a fight, a 
 boy goes to the river and finds a spider hanging by 
 a thread from a tree overhanging the water, then a 
 fight will ensue, and the dreamer will be beaten and 
 will run away, for after such an omen a large number 
 of boys will come to fight against the dreamer. In 
 ordinary daily life, if a beetle should fall from the roof 
 of the hut on to the floor, the people say that strangers 
 are about to arrive. 
 
 Boys and girls are told not to hang up a blanket 
 over the head of a sleeper or he will dream that snakes 
 are falling on to him. The dreams which boys have 
 turn chiefly on the subject of fighting, herding cattle, 
 squabbling about sweethearts, and other details of 
 their daily life. Nightmares generally take the form 
 o troubled dreams in which the boys think they have 
 lost the- cattle which they were herding, and that their 
 fathers are thrashing them. They are very delighted 
 to find out on waking up that the thing was only a 
 dream. The boys in Gazaland believe that if they 
 sleep with their legs bent, and happen to dream that 
 they are being pursued, they will be unable to dream 
 that they are running ; but if they sleep with their legs 
 straight out, then escape in the dream will be easy. 
 
106 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 (J) Sneezing, &c. 
 
 Sneezing is considered a very' good sign, and when 
 a small child sneezes the mother says, " Thanks, 
 Chiefs," thus giving thanks to the ancestral spirits 
 who are supposed to be shown by this sign to be taking 
 great care of the child. Sometimes when a child 
 sneezes the mother will simply say, " Chiefs," thus 
 giving thanks to the amatongo. At other times the 
 mother says, " Throw out and you will grow well." 
 
 A hiccough is taken as a sign that the child will 
 grow well. When a child hiccoughs the mother 
 takes a small pinch of ashes and makes a little round 
 patch with it on the forehead of the child ; yet she 
 does not specially thank the amatongo. But strangely 
 enough the people do not consider it a good sign when 
 an old person hiccoughs ; in such a case they tie a 
 piece of twine tightly round the last joint of the little 
 finger of the left hand, thinking that this will stop 
 the attack. 
 
 Sighing is thought a bad sign in children ; but it 
 is a good sign in adult life. If after working or taking 
 a long walk, an oldish man sits down and breathes out 
 a very heavy sigh, he is so pleased with the sign that he 
 immediately takes out his snuff-box and sprinkles a 
 pinch of snuff on the ground, saying, " Thanks " ; he 
 then mentions the name of the ancestral spirit which 
 he imagines to be especially protecting his health. 
 
 Bleeding from the nose is regarded as a very good 
 sign, for it shows that some ancestral spirit is causing 
 bad and unhealthy blood to be discharged by the child. 
 
 (g) Domestic Animals 
 
 There is but little camaraderie between Kafir 
 children and animals ; yet the children sometimes keep 
 a pet sheep, calf, or goat, and show it affection. But 
 it is often said that no one keeps a pet animal except 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 107 
 
 to use it for bewitching purposes. Hens sleep in the 
 hut as a rule, and a special perch is sometimes arranged 
 for them at the back of the hut. Frequently old 
 earthenware pots are preserved when broken, the 
 larger portions being set apart for the hens to roost in. 
 In Pondoland the children build small hen-houses 
 about two or three feet high, and plaster them with 
 cow-dung; these huts are made close to the cattle 
 kraal. When there are wild cats about, the people 
 plant trees, and build the roosts for the hens in the 
 branches. North of the Zambesi, huts for pigeons 
 are made, being raised high above the ground on long 
 poles. The children do not fondle the dogs much, 
 but occasionally they play with the cats, which are 
 usually the property of the old women. The boys 
 are rarely afraid of the dogs, and one often sees a 
 little fellow about three years old belabouring an 
 obstreperous dog with all his ineffective might. But 
 girls are often afraid of dogs. In olden days the men 
 made great favourites of their oxen, loving them 
 every bit as much as the typical old English squire 
 loved his horses. 
 
 At the age of four or five the child often develops 
 a strong lust for killing animals or insects, and rivals 
 the proverbial Englishman in Punch. At this stage 
 there seems to be no definite development of cruelty, 
 for the rage is an obsession, and the child is not 
 deliberately cruel. This sudden outburst seems to 
 be some temporary efflorescence and soon passes off. 
 Deliberate cruelty is developed at a later period, as 
 will be noted lower down. 
 
 V. ETIQUETTE 
 
 The Kafirs are unfailingly polite in their own way ; 
 rudeness, or breach of their own ideas of politeness, 
 being almost unknown amongst them. Their ideas 
 
108 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 of what is polite differ in some ways from our Western 
 conceptions on the point, yet all who know the natives 
 in their homes admit that they are a most courteous 
 people. Not a little of their reputation for lying 
 arises from their excessive desire to avoid rudeness or 
 discourtesy in speech. They therefore like to give a 
 white man the sort of answer to his question they 
 think he would wish to receive. They are also born 
 flatterers. They will tell a missionary, for example, 
 that he speaks the language like a native, and that his 
 accent is so good that did they not see him face to 
 face they could believe he was a Kafir. The white 
 man will not infrequently quote such polite flattery 
 as if it were sober truth. All the time this flattery 
 was going on, the children may have been catching 
 up with their sharp little ears every mistake in pro- 
 nunciation made by the white man, and such mistakes 
 are treasured up to be produced at the next party 
 when they play at being missionaries. * 
 
 The smallest children are taught to be polite, and 
 this constitutes their first lesson. Obedience to 
 parents hardly needs to be taught, for the children 
 notice how every one in the kraal is instinctively 
 obedient to the old men; the children catch this 
 spirit without knowing it. I never remember seeing 
 a small child distinctly and definitely disobedient to 
 its father. Were a child to be disobedient — and of 
 course, it sometimes occurs — he would be so severely 
 punished that he would not forget it for many a day. 
 
 The hlonifa custom is an indication of the sense of 
 politeness as developed amongst the natives. While 
 this custom applies mainly to a bride or a young wife, 
 yet it extends very far into other relationships. Accord- 
 ing to this custom, women, in order to show respect, 
 have to avoid mentioning the name (the igama), or 
 the emphatic syllable in the name of the husband, 
 * See chap. viii. 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 109 
 
 the father-in-law and his brothers, as well as of her 
 mother-in-law and of several other relations. The 
 young wife may not expose the upper part of her body 
 in their presence, nor may she eat in the presence of 
 most of them, nor may she look at them. She must 
 not be seen by them at certain periods. She may not 
 sit in the hut with her husband's relations, and is 
 expected to clear her throat when she is coming into 
 a hut where any of them may possibly be seated. 
 Starting from this centre other prohibitions ( radiate 
 out, and it is a matter of opinion, often, whether a 
 certain prohibition, should be classed under the hloni-pa 
 custom or not. The bride, as we have seen, is not called 
 by her name, but is addressed as " Mother of So-and- 
 So," for to call her by her name would appear rude. 
 She may, however, be called by the name of her 
 father. 
 
 In keeping with this custom a child is told not to 
 call its uncle by his ordinary name, but to address 
 him by his title of " brother of my mother," or 
 " uncle." Children are taught to address older 
 people as " uncle " or " aunt." When young men 
 wish to be very courteous to an old man they call him 
 " father " ; they address strangers of about their 
 own age as " my brother." Children may use the 
 isibongo (surname), or the Isitakazo (salutation title) 
 of their elders, if they are quite sure that they can use 
 them correctly : in such cases the man is very glad 
 to hear a child address him properly by his isibongo, 
 and he is specially glad when the child uses his Isita- 
 kazo, or salutation title. But children may not 
 address such a man by his birth-name (igama). A 
 small girl would call her big sister, not by her birth- 
 name, but by the title " My elder sister " ; in olden 
 days she would have said, " Child of my mother," 
 when she wished to be specially polite and to beg a 
 favour. This form of speech is often met with in the 
 
no SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 nursery-tales of the Zulus. The children are told to 
 call all the married people in the kraal by their title 
 of " Mother (or father) of So-and-So." 
 
 By this custom respect for elder people is kept alive in 
 the minds of the children, and there is thus added a 
 distinct grace to life. It may be regarded as a taboo of 
 speech, just as covering the breasts is a taboo of action. 
 Any breach of the hlonifa custom is regarded as a sign 
 of rudeness and ill-breeding. In the case of a young 
 married woman her father-in-law may release her from 
 these verbal restrictions by killing a goat or an ox 
 for her. But this offering does not free the woman 
 from the necessity of covering her breasts in the 
 presence of her father-in-law. Sometimes the birth 
 of the first child releases the mother from many 
 hlonifa taboos. 
 
 This showing of respect to people extends very far. 
 For example, Callaway describes boys using a hlonifa 
 word when they are speaking to mice, which they are 
 using as bait in a trap, for the boys thought that if 
 they called the mouse by its ordinary name it would 
 be ill-tempered and would not act nicely as bait. He 
 also describes how certain people at a marriage feast 
 hlonifa a mat to which the bridgroom has been led 
 by the bride's party ; none of the bride's party would 
 touch the mat afterwards, for they were expected 
 to hlonifa, or respect, it, because the bridegroom had 
 touched it. When the people speak of a lion or other 
 animal which they dread, they use some pleasant 
 name for it so as not to enrage it by taking its real 
 name in vain. Similarly a porcupine is called a 
 " little woman," or " young lady," lest if called by 
 its full name it should show resentment by devastating 
 the gardens. An ant is called a " bridegroom," and 
 lightning is addressed as "the heavens." Such re- 
 strictions of speech are endless. Natives vary much 
 as to whether these customs should be regarded under 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD in 
 
 the name hlonipa or not, but all these customs seem 
 to be organically connected. Thus the custom has 
 ramifications in every department of life. It takes 
 the small children some time to observe all the details 
 of the custom, though the boys are not required to be 
 nearly so careful as the girls, nor are the small girls 
 expected to be so careful as the grown-up ones who 
 are wishing to be married. Children are not expected 
 to observe hlonipa customs till they get their second 
 teeth. 
 
 A great many rules of etiquette refer to the eating 
 of food. Children are not badgered about placing 
 their elbows on the table, and about touching 
 food with their hands, for the natives have neither 
 tables nor forks. But children are told that it is very 
 base to eat food in secret without sharing it with 
 others. No child may help itself from the pot, which 
 is presided over by one of the elders. The details 
 vary in different tribes, but as a rule the mother 
 divides the porridge, putting a portion on one side 
 for the women and children, and sending it round to 
 the others by the children, while the father divides 
 the meat and distributes it by his eldest son. When 
 the father helps boys from a spoon, they have to hold 
 out both hands to receive the helping, for holding out 
 one hand would imply that the father gave so little 
 that it could all be held in a single hand. To receive 
 a gift of food in both hands implies a sense of gratitude 
 for the boundless liberality of the donor. Girls may 
 not, as a rule, eat with a wooden spoon, nor may small 
 boys ; but big boys may do so. In holding the spoon, 
 the hand is placed palm upwards, and the spoon is 
 grasped with the whole hand, the spoon-end being 
 next to the little finger. The right hand has to be 
 used for holding the spoon.* 
 
 * For details as to the use of the right and left hands, see 
 Appendix E. 
 
ii2 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 When children are about to pay a visit to another 
 kraal, they are told not to eat too much, for it would 
 look as if they came from a home where they were 
 starved ; they must not smack their lips when eating 
 as this is very rude. They are also told to avoid hitting 
 the dogs belonging to the other kraal, and on no account 
 to fail to salute the old people very courteously. 
 They are also told not to eat parts of food that are 
 thought to be unfit for consumption, and to avoid 
 picking up crumbs. The Kafirs so far from regarding 
 the picking up of crumbs as a sign of a thrifty, careful 
 spirit which will lead on to riches, consider this habit 
 to be a sure sign of coming poverty. 
 
 When a chief or headman calls up a boy and gives 
 him a small pot of beer, the boy has to finish it without 
 pausing to take breath. If the boy be given a big 
 lump of meat by his father, he must eat it all himself 
 without pausing, lest he should be thought rude : 
 he must not give any portion of such meat to other 
 boys unless his father gives him permission to do so. 
 Boys eating in the presence of girls need not give any 
 of their food to them, but girls who are eating food 
 are expected to offer some of it to any boys who may 
 happen to come up at the time. 
 
 A large number of prohibitions have the effect 
 of preventing children from becoming unduly familiar 
 with their betters. Young girls are told to give way 
 to their betters when fetching water or firewood, 
 when crossing streams, and so forth. It is the younger 
 girl who should proffer the kiss to the elder. But 
 other prohibitions apply to personal habits. Thus 
 girls are told that it is very unseemly to sit with their 
 legs parted ; they are told to keep their knees in 
 contact, and not to separate their legs, but to bend 
 them both a little to one side. The very greatest 
 stress is laid on this rule, which, owing to the scanty 
 dress, is a proof of delicacy of feeling. Small boys 
 
A POXDO BABY FEEDING 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 113 
 
 are allowed to part their legs a little, whilst only old 
 men are supposed to sit with, their legs widely parted. 
 In Gazaland a girl must kneel down when giving a 
 man anything : it is only the sister-in-law who may — 
 unasked — offer water to a man for washing purposes. 
 Others may bring it, however, when asked to do so. 
 
 Kafir children are naturally saved a thousand 
 nagging restrictions which are imposed on white 
 children with regard to wiping muddy boots, changing 
 damp socks, keeping pocket handkerchiefs clean, 
 putting away toys when done with, and so forth. 
 But they have other prohibitions to take their place. 
 It is often very difficult to say where etiquette ends 
 and where superstition begins. It is purely a matter of 
 opinion where to draw the line in the following list 
 of prohibitions impressed on Kafir children. Children 
 must not yawn too much or they will break their 
 jaws ; they must not smack their mouths when 
 eating or they will attract dogs ; they must not laugh 
 at a person or he will one day pay the laugher back 
 by bewitching him. Children are told not to sit with 
 their backs to the fire lest they become changed into 
 baboons. When dust is swept up in the hut at night it 
 must not be thrown outside the door of the hut till the 
 morning, but must be placed in a small heap close to 
 the door. Water must never be thrown out of the 
 doorway, but must be carried out in a vessel and then 
 emptied. Boys may not step over the sleeping-mat 
 belonging to a girl, nor may a girl step over the mat 
 belonging to a boy. It is a great insult to a person to 
 step over his outstretched legs. Boys are not allowed to 
 throw water on to girls at night. Boys are not allowed 
 to drink beer standing up, but must sit down first of all. 
 No one may take a blazing fire through the doorway 
 of a hut, though dull glowing embers may be taken 
 through. If a flame be brought through the door of 
 a hut that has been " doctored " for any occasion, the 
 
 H 
 
ii 4 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 evil consequences are certain to be very great. Boys 
 may not whistle at night lest they should attract snakes. 
 Small children are very apt to pull at the thatch of the 
 hut : they are told not to do this lest lightning should 
 be attracted by the action. On leaving a hut, a child 
 must not go out backwards or it will become a wizard. 
 People must not tell fairy-tales till after dusk, or horns 
 will grow out of their foreheads. Children are told 
 that they must not pick green leaves in spring, or there 
 will be much thunder during the summer. Small 
 girls are told to be very careful not to allow their 
 breasts to be exposed during lightning and thunder, 
 or the breasts will fall in ; if however, the breasts of 
 a girl should develop prematurely, the girl must go 
 to her grandmother who beats the breasts in, and so 
 prevents trouble in the future. When the hut has 
 been " doctored," no one may go out without first 
 picking up some twigs, leaves, or other dirt, which has 
 to be thrown out of the doorway. (It is sometimes 
 said by writers on the Kafirs that this custom has to 
 be observed every morning ; but it would seem that 
 those who observed the custom happened to sleep 
 in a hut which had been " doctored." Though I 
 have often slept in native huts and watched the Kafirs 
 on this point, I have never seen them throw out any- 
 thing from the hut before leaving it in the morn- 
 ing, and many Kafirs assure me the custom is not 
 performed daily.) 
 
 In the above list of prohibitions it is impossible 
 in many instances to be certain whether we are dealing 
 with etiquette or with superstition. Nor can the 
 Kafir himself give any reason for many of his customs. 
 For example, it is difficult to see any reason for the 
 different methods of washing adopted by men and 
 women. On entering a stream for washing, a boy or 
 man, as a rule, begins by rubbing the feet with a small 
 stone. (In some districts the men omit this prelimi- 
 
THE INTER-DENTITION PERIOD 115 
 
 nary.) Then the men wade into the stream and wash 
 the head first, after that the arms and trunk, and lastly 
 the legs. The women reverse this order, and having 
 washed their legs first, continue to wash in an upward 
 direction. (Sometimes women wash the head first ; 
 but then they proceed to wash the legs and not the 
 arms.) Small children take to the right order of 
 washing without any instruction ; they do so in 
 imitation of their fellows. A little boy who washed 
 his legs first would be laughed at, and would be called 
 a girl in derision. Natives never use towels where- 
 with to dry themselves, for the sun and dry air render 
 them unnecessary ; similarly, when even small children 
 get wet in the rain their mothers do not get anxious 
 and dry them carefully : the little creatures are 
 allowed to run about and dry spontaneously ; not 
 being bothered with clothing they never catch cold 
 during the process. It may be pointed out in passing 
 that children are taught not to carry strong medicine 
 with them when crossing turbulent rivers, or they will 
 stand a chance of being drowned, owing to the anger 
 of the fabulous monsters living in the water. For a 
 somewhat similar reason a girl is taught not to lift 
 her petticoat (when she possesses one) while crossing 
 a river, but to allow it to get wet, lest the spirits should 
 be angry. But local custom varies much in such 
 matters ; for example, in Zululand married women 
 strip when crossing a river (far away from white men's 
 haunts), unless a married man be present in the com- 
 pany. No notice is taken of unmarried men at such 
 times. In some tribes the children are definitely told 
 to lift their petticoats when crossing a river, but this 
 may be a recent innovation. 
 
 It will be seen that the first lessons which the Kafir 
 children have to learn are of a very simple nature. 
 These halcyon days are rudely broken up when a 
 Mission station is started in the district. But the vast 
 
n6 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 majority of the children do not go to any school. 
 They lead an extremely simple life, and the time never 
 seems to hang on their hands, though it must pass 
 very slowly. To test whether the people have any 
 ideas as to the flow of time I have asked intelligent 
 adults as to whether the days used to seem of inter- 
 minable length in childhood ; and the answer usually 
 has been that the days seem to pass now much faster 
 than they did in the good old times, which indicates 
 that the days of savage childhood never seemed too 
 long or dull for the quiescent brains of the Kafirs. 
 Yet strangely enough the people do not seem to long 
 to have the days of childhood over again ; this may 
 be because their adult life is much like a pleasant 
 prolongation of what in Europe we regard as the 
 pleasures of childhood. When the time has come 
 for the boys to leave the company of their mothers, 
 and to join the society of their bigger brothers, they 
 are all eager for the pleasures to be had in their new 
 mode of life. The boy leaves his mother's society 
 without a pang, and but rarely shows any affection 
 for her in after years. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 
 
 Soon after the children begin to cut their second teeth 
 they show obvious signs of a development of the higher 
 faculties. Until the imagination begins to develop, 
 the children strike the casual onlooker as delightful 
 little animals with occasional gleams of a higher nature ; 
 but the moment the imagination awakens, the children 
 become interesting to the average observer. Faculties 
 such as cunning and imitation seem to be developed — 
 possibly this is but the result of the relative oppor- 
 tunities afforded — in black children at even an earlier 
 age than in the case of white children ; but the higher 
 faculties develop later and dwindle earlier. No 
 farmer's boy in England could make such excellent 
 bird-traps at the age of three as the Kafir child can ; 
 but a farmer's child of three years old could show an 
 imaginative power that a black child of seven could 
 not. In the European the higher faculties go on de- 
 veloping throughout life, whereas in the case of the 
 Kafirs the development of the higher nature is arrested 
 soon after puberty as a rule. Let us pass under review 
 some of the faculties of the growing children. 
 
 I. SOCIABILITY 
 
 The black child is sociable from infancy, and it 
 is very rare to find a boy or a girl who loves to sit 
 alone and to brood in silence, or to wander off in 
 solitude. Occasionally a child seems devoid of social 
 
izo SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 tendencies, and in that case a witch-doctor is sent for to 
 cure the child. But if any definite anti-social tendencies 
 were to manifest themselves, the child would find but 
 scant leniency in his treatment ; such a quality would 
 be promptly squashed in the interests of the life of the 
 clan. As a matter of fact it is rarely manifested except 
 in those natives who have been in contact with civili- 
 sation. According to Kafir thought non-sociability is 
 one thing, which is but abnormal ; anti-sociability is 
 quite another thing, for it is the vilest of evils, and is 
 considered monstrous. It is safe to say that sociability 
 is one of the first qualities to be developed in a black 
 child, and grows throughout life.* The Kafir's love 
 for the social life of the kraal is far stronger than even 
 the undergraduate's love of the social life in the college 
 courts. 
 
 II. CHIVALRY 
 
 Chivalry is the next most striking quality to be 
 developed, but unfortunately the status of woman 
 is so low amongst the Kafirs that this faculty of chivalry 
 is the first to become atrophied. Frequently a grown- 
 up man will address a little girl in fun, by saying, 
 " Well, my little wife, come here to me." At this 
 some small infant of a boy will fire up with indignation, 
 and will say, " She isn't your wife ; she is going to be 
 my wife when I grow up ; and I am going to fight for 
 her and protect her ; and when I am rich I will give 
 her plenty of nice beads and blankets. She is not 
 going to marry an old man like you. You aren't her 
 husband." Similarly, a woman will sometimes call 
 a'boy, " My little husband," just in fun. At that one 
 of the small girls will rise up indignantly and protest 
 that the boy is not going to be the wife of an old 
 woman ; she insists that when grown up she will 
 cook for the boy, and will take care of his garden, 
 * The gregarious instinct is referred to in Appendix F. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 121 
 
 and that no one else shall do these things for him. 
 At times these children play at being husbands and 
 wives, and though there is at such times much that is 
 evil, almost beyond belief, yet there is also present 
 a germ that might be developed into true chivalry. 
 No sooner does the boy grow a little older than he 
 finds that woman is a drudge in the kraal, and it is 
 but rarely that his more chivalrous feelings persist : 
 but they do sometimes survive, and that is the im- 
 portant fact. There is often true affection between 
 man and wife, and not a few old polygamists are 
 sincerely attached to a large number of wives whom 
 they treat very well according to their light. 
 
 III. CONSCIENCE 
 
 As a rule black children do not show even a vestige 
 of a developed conscience about the wrongness of 
 such things as stealing and lying until the age of 
 puberty — and not always then. The distinction be- 
 tween " I may " and " I may not," may be clear ; 
 but there is no sense of " I ought," or " I ought not." 
 Girls show a conscience sooner than boys, and when a 
 girl has attained the age of puberty, she often begins 
 to talk about " the two hearts " within her, or " the 
 two voices " speaking to her. One voice is gentle and 
 pleading in the way it warns against things dimly felt 
 to be evil ; the other voice is imperious and rough — 
 as from " a spirit that denies " the harm of that which 
 the other voice condemns. It is doubtful whether 
 a white man can possibly grasp fully the fact that a 
 girl who is the subject of these two voices is often in 
 a state of honest doubt as to which she should follow. 
 Her whole heredity seems to " plump " for the more 
 animal impulse ; tribal custom also usually votes for 
 the lower course of action. The girl may honestly 
 feel it wrong to abandon the custom she hears the 
 
122 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 missionary condemn, and it is most difficult for a 
 white man to enter into the girl's feelings on the 
 matter. A boy may have a fear of being thrashed by 
 his father ; but the sense of the wrongness of any 
 action is, as a rule, exceedingly dim in his mind, if 
 present at all ; it seems to be on a level with the 
 conscience of a dog. The laws of the clan serve in 
 some sense for a corporate conscience, and undoubtedly 
 provide strong restraints in some important direc- 
 tions, but otherwise it may be said that the con- 
 science dawns at the period of puberty, which is a 
 fact of great interest with regard to the evolution 
 of the moral faculties and the development of religion. 
 However, I do not think this fact will bear the strain 
 placed on it by some American writers. 
 
 IV. SELF-RESTRAINT 
 
 Self-restraint is not enjoined on children in any 
 direction until the second teeth appear. Then boys 
 have to pull themselves together a little, and are 
 expected to conquer the habit of crying. The self- 
 restraint of the Kafir in hiding his real feelings, and in 
 appearing grave and courteous when he is, in fact, 
 bursting with inward merriment, is very striking. 
 Children learn this sort of self-control soon after * 
 cutting their second teeth. But with regard to the 
 self-control of the pleasures of the appetite and of the 
 natural functions, the idea hardly occurs to a Kafir ; 
 and when first it does occur to him he is inclined to 
 regard it as ridiculous. Certain tribal laws may limit 
 his natural indulgences, but conscience never. Yet 
 under the teaching of Christianity the Kafir may rise 
 to a surprisingly high level, now and then. Children 
 do not practise the same sort of vices which boys 
 and girls do in Europe, for the simple reason that they 
 practise worse ones which quite_satisfy all natural 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 123 
 
 or depraved cravings. It is important to remember 
 this, for Kafir boys are sometimes contrasted with the 
 average English schoolboy, much to the detraction 
 of the latter. The thing is ridiculous ; if white 
 boys were to adopt the pernicious practices freely 
 allowed to black boys — or at least always winked at — 
 they would be regarded as monsters of vice. 
 
 V. CURIOSITY 
 
 The faculty of curiosity or inquisitiveness is not 
 developed much in early years. Black children do 
 not pester their mothers at an early age to the extent 
 that white children do ; and if a child should ask a very 
 awkward question, it is put off with the usual formula of 
 " We do not know," or else " It is our custom." The 
 children detect the logical loopholes in the common 
 assertions about the ordinary beliefs, and sometimes 
 want to know how it is that, if the amatongo have eaten 
 the meat offered to them, the joint is not diminished 
 in size. The mothers say that the spirits smell the 
 meat or drink the serum which oozes from it. This 
 does not satisfy the children, who soon find out, 
 however, that it is not much use pestering their 
 mothers with questions. A child soon comes to see 
 that a custom is one of those fundamental things 
 which it is useless to examine. A custom is its own 
 justification. 
 
 The absence of all written language and the con- 
 sequent absence of children's books, and the absence 
 of all poetry and history, leaves the imagination dull 
 and undeveloped. There are no puzzling religious 
 problems for the children to brood on, such as, 
 for example, the problem of the relative strength of 
 God and the devil, the origin of evil, the nature of 
 angels, of heaven and hell, the resurrection of the 
 body, and so forth. Kafir children can only puzzle 
 
124 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 over such problems as to how the idhlozi keeps warm 
 beneath the earth, and how it can get into the snake, 
 or other totem of the clan. Nor is the curiosity set 
 to work to think of nice things to pray about, for the 
 children are not taught to pray. It is impossible, 
 therefore, to amuse the reader with funny stories 
 on the point. 
 
 Even in adult life the Kafir shows no tendency 
 to speculate on such things, for he is not given up to 
 metaphysics or to abstract thinking. Children, and 
 adults, show great curiosity in any novelty, but their 
 interest in such things is evanescent and soon wears 
 off. 
 
 VI. CONSTRUCTIVE FACULTY 
 
 What has been called the " making age " is still 
 later in development than that of curiosity. A small 
 boy, ten years old, will rarely make anything (except 
 a bird-trap) for himself, but will try to induce a big 
 brother to make things for him. Similarly a small 
 girl will ask her big sister to make bangles for her. 
 Every big girl is supposed to be able to make nice 
 bangles, and when she cannot do that she is very 
 much looked down upon by the boys. But occasionally 
 a small child will try to make bangles when it sees a 
 sister making them, for the imitative faculty is very 
 strongly marked in the children. In some tribes the 
 children are much quicker at making things than they 
 are in others, and precocious children are not infre- 
 quently met with. The imitative faculty arises at a very 
 early age, and has been referred to above. Children 
 rarely try to play the rude musical instruments of the 
 tribe until after the age of puberty ; they seem to 
 regard them as too difficult.* It should be noted that 
 rhythm appeals to the Kafirs more than melody ; and 
 that children prefer dancing to singing. 
 
 * It has been suggested that music is a secondary sexual acquirement. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 125 
 
 VII. SENSE OF BEAUTY 
 
 The sense of beauty is never well developed amongst 
 the Kafirs, except with regard to the beauties of oxen, 
 in which sole point they outstrip the white man. 
 The Kafirs are so confined in their ideas to the practical 
 aspects of life, that it does not occur to them to look 
 at the sesthetic aspect of things. Most Kafir children 
 only regard things as beautiful when they are nice 
 to eat : then they are considered to be very beautiful. 
 Small children sometimes take great pride in their 
 ornaments or in their dress ; and just as a small 
 English child will run into a room full of strangers, 
 and without a blush will lift its little petticoats and 
 call out, " Look at my new shoes," so a little Kafir 
 child will run into a hut full of people, and will call 
 the attention of the crowd to the nice new bead girdle 
 round its loins, or to its pretty bangles. It will then 
 run up to any person present who may happen to have 
 returned from the Gold-fields with a pair of boots, 
 and will stand on the bright objects which glitter 
 in the dim light of the hut. 
 
 Flowers appeal to a very few girls by their beauty, 
 and occasionally one meets girls walking over hill 
 and dale with some green leaves, or even flowers, 
 twined into the hair. Now and then children are 
 struck with the beauty of a landscape, especially by 
 that of the green grass ; and one will say, " I wish 
 my father had built his kraal at this spot, for the trees 
 are so pretty, and the grass is so green." But this 
 sort of remark is very rare.* Many children pay 
 
 * It has been observed by those engaged in Child-Study, that children 
 observe the beauty of a flower before they notice the beauty of a plant, 
 and regard the beauty of a plant before they recognise the beauty of 
 a landscape. Admiration for the simple precedes admiration of the com- 
 plex. In this, as in so many other points, the development of the race 
 proceeds on similar lines to those obtaining in the case of the individual. 
 The educationist should therefore teach the Kafir child to notice the 
 
126 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 attention to faces and think that ugliness is a sign of 
 an evil nature ; and so any one extraordinarily ugly 
 is thought to be a witch or wizard. The love of bead- 
 work is widely spread, though it is much stronger in 
 some tribes than in others. The combinations of 
 colour chosen are invariably good, and crude or glaring 
 colour contrasts are almost unknown. When the 
 trader comes along with his gaudy wares and abomina- 
 tions of colour, the natives fall from their good taste 
 in a sad way. Old Kafirs never admire the scenery, 
 for they look at the country only with utilitarian 
 eyes. 
 
 The art faculty is most deficient amongst the 
 natives. Boys and girls make clay oxen and other 
 animals, and girls very occasionally daub the crudest 
 pictures of familiar things on the mud plaster of the 
 inner wall of the hut. But these attempts are rare, 
 and much inferior to the drawings made in caves by 
 the despised little Bushmen. Children, however, 
 love to tatoo patterns on their skin, and to model in 
 clay. Some Kafirs have a certain rudimentary apti- 
 tude for making decorative patterns, but as a rule this 
 faculty develops late in life, or after the Kafir has been 
 subject to European influence. 
 
 VIII. SENSE OF TRUTH 
 
 Having dealt with this matter elsewhere, there is no 
 need to discuss it at length in this volume. It is very 
 difficult to disentangle the complexities of the matter. 
 It is usually said by South Africans that the natives 
 are born liars, and precisely the same thing is said by 
 the natives about the Europeans. The fact seems 
 to be that the two races differ in their points of 
 view, and mutually misunderstand each other. The 
 
 beauty of simple things first of all. Plato's remark on this point will 
 be remembered by the reader. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 127 
 
 question is as difficult" as that which centres round) the 
 truthfulness of children generally — a subject admirably 
 treated by Stevenson in his essay on Child Play. 
 There are two types of thought which lead to apparent 
 untruth. On the one side we find English children 
 with excitable imaginations — the poet Shelley, in 
 his childhood, was a striking example — who really 
 cannot tell the difference between their imaginative 
 and actual experiences. They make what prosaic 
 people — " sticklers for a peddling exactitude " — 
 condemn as untruthful statements, without being 
 aware of the fact. The world of imagination is so 
 vivid that it is their real world. Nothing else is 
 really true, and for the life of them they hardly know 
 whether it is the brutal truth that a week ago they 
 broke a jug by carelessness, or whether a fairy knocked 
 the jug over. But of what conceivable importance 
 is such a silly question? A very few European and 
 no Kafir children tell untruths for this reason, though 
 they may mistake dreams for waking experiences. 
 
 On the other hand there are natures so dull and 
 devoid of imagination, that they hardly know what 
 is meant by truth to fact. It has no value to them, 
 no meaning. But courtesy and politeness, or the 
 interest of the clan, may have very real value. This 
 is the case with the Kafirs. A white man asks a 
 question ; the black man thinks that courtesy bids him 
 give the sort of answer which he believes the white 
 man would like to get ; and so he says what he thinks 
 would be welcome — not with the idea of deceiving, 
 but with the idea of pleasing. Similarly, the interests 
 of the clan are of great value, and a black man will not 
 give his clan away. He thinks it a less evil to make 
 a misstatement than to injure his clan, or to supply 
 information to a white man, who may be a spy. And 
 he is called a liar for this. He is not truthful in our 
 sense of the word ; but then neither are we truthful 
 
128 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 in that sense, when we adopt the petty deceptions of 
 society and say we are glad to see people who call, 
 when we are the very reverse. Who shall decide at 
 what point conventional untruths become lies ? 
 
 The best test of the matter is to inquire what the 
 parents do when the children lie. We thus short- 
 circuit all misunderstandings. It is often said that 
 the Kafir encourages his children to lie, laughing at 
 them when they are clever at this practice. It is not 
 true. The Kafir certainly laughs at a child when it 
 is found guilty of being clumsy in its lying, but he 
 tries to discourage lying in his children for all that. 
 A Kafir beats his child when it lies to him, and says 
 that to lie is a bad thing. Sometimes when a child 
 persists in its lie, the father fills the child's hand with 
 hot roast mealies, then shuts the hand, and keeps the 
 fingers pressed firmly on the hot mealies till the child is 
 forced to confess on account of the pain. If a girl should 
 lie, especially about a matter concerning her sex, the 
 father puts his thumb-nail under the nail of one of the 
 girl's fingers and presses on the soft flesh till the pain 
 forces the girl to confess. But the same father would 
 straightway tell a lie to a white man if he felt that 
 courtesy demanded it. The Kafir's sense of truth is 
 certainly defective, but as certainly it is not so defective 
 as it is sometimes said to be. It is true, I believe, 
 that natives frequently give false evidence in court ; 
 but then they explain it by saying that the white man 
 always believes the lying witness, not understanding 
 native thought and custom ; and so the case often 
 goes against the natives' sense of right and wrong. 
 They go home to their kraals and say that the white 
 man does not go by th,e truth, and that telling the 
 truth does not pay. There is no doubt but that the 
 magistrates are just from our European standpoint, 
 but unfortunately this standpoint is not that of the 
 native. Then the natives, who are quick to observe 
 
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DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 129 
 
 the tricks of trade, also say that white traders lie to 
 make money, which is not infrequently the case, 
 though many traders are quite honest and truthful. 
 
 A digression may be permitted here to point out 
 that while English magistrates are above suspicion 
 as to the justness of their decisions from a Western 
 point of view, yet the natives complain not a little 
 concerning the injustice of our government. The 
 fact is that our sense of justice differs from that of the 
 native, and we forget the fact. An example may be 
 given. In olden days no Kafir felt it to be unjust on 
 the part of the chief to make his subjects work for 
 white men, and yet give their money to him (the chief). 
 To Europeans this is essentially unjust, for it is an 
 infringement of the rights of the individual. To the 
 native the rights of the corporate clan are vastly more 
 important than those of the individual. Consequently 
 when in our haste we impose Western conceptions of 
 justice, which centre round the conception of the 
 rights of the individual, on people who are still in the 
 clan-stage of society, our judgments seem to such 
 people absurdly unjust and even pernicious. Other 
 differences, arising from divergent points of view, 
 are seen in the case of witchcraft and of the rights of 
 women.* There are few things the old people grumble 
 about so much as the way the proximity of Europeans, 
 with their new-fangled ideas of justice, undermines 
 the character of young Kafirs. In olden days there 
 were regular courts of investigation, consisting of a 
 dozen old women of the kraal. All the girls were 
 medically examined by these women before and after 
 large dances ; and thus certain forms of vice were 
 
 * Another example may be given. Europeans think it quite just 
 that Kafirs should be taxed so as to support a government that main- 
 tains law and order. The Kafir thinks it an unjust tyranny to be 
 forced to pay for the maintenance of a rtgime he hates. Why should 
 he not be a passive resister ? 
 
 I 
 
130 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 impossible as they would be so speedily detected. 
 Nowadays the young women will not submit to such 
 examination, and threaten to complain to the nearest 
 magistrate when it is suggested. Consequently, so 
 the old people say, ancient restraints have been re- 
 moved and no new ones have been substituted by 
 white men. The result is disastrous. According to 
 Kafir thought it is just that the morality of the clan 
 should be defended, and that the opinion or wishes 
 of the individual should count for nothing. The 
 European idea of the rights of the individual therefore 
 leads — at first — to bad results. 
 
 The case of the " mixed bathing " of the children is 
 another example of a somewhat similar thing. Accord- 
 ing to Western conceptions of morality this practice 
 is indelicate and liable to lead to immorality. So 
 missionaries advised natives to abandon it. The natives 
 now declare that the abandonment of this custom has 
 led to an increase of immorality, and say that it in- 
 troduces new vices amongst the people. The un- 
 instructed judgment of white men on the subjects of 
 truthfulness, justice and morality is therefore apt 
 to lead to the unfair condemnation of a race which 
 differs in its root-conceptions of these three things. 
 
 IX. THE IMAGINATION 
 
 The imagination is the ruling factor in the character 
 of children ; it lies at the back of their fears, hopes, 
 ambitions and beliefs ; it colours the entire life and 
 thought. Children, as a rule, fixing their eyes on life's 
 contrasts, ignore the mid-tones, and see life in what 
 Ruskin called lightning and lampblack ; they can never 
 have too much of a good thing. There is something 
 so poignant and clean-cut about their joys and sorrows, 
 about their hopes and fears, that what may be added 
 in after years in the way of breadth may improve, but 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 131 
 
 cannot deepen, these childish experiences. In child- 
 hood, joys and sorrows, hopes and fears jostle up against 
 one another in a turbulent fashion, and amidst the 
 storm and stress of such experiences the character is 
 formed. 
 
 Kafir children are well-nigh void of all imagination 
 till after the second teeth are cut, and the imaginative 
 faculty lasts but for a short time beyond the age of 
 puberty, when it seems to undergo atrophy. The 
 nature and extent of the imagination can be seen better 
 by studying the fears, interests, ambitions, ideas, 
 and the games of children than by abstract descrip- 
 tions. The custom of playing games has been said 
 to be due to the wish to realise a bright idea ; the 
 fears of childhood are largely built up on imaginative 
 ideas ; the ambitions show the inner working of the 
 mind and the direction in which the child seeks self- 
 realisation ; whilst superstition shows us the pathology 
 of the imagination. We must therefore pass some 
 of these matters under review at once, leaving the 
 consideration of the games to a later chapter. 
 
 X. FEARS 
 
 (a) Fear of Evil Spirits 
 
 It is commonly said in works on anthropology that 
 savages live in everlasting dread of evil spirits. This 
 dread has been very much over-stated. To start with, 
 the savage has so little imagination that the statement 
 looks at first sight exaggerated. The Kafirs certainly 
 do not live in everlasting dread of spirits, for the chief 
 part of their life is not spent in thinking at all. A 
 merrier set of people it would be hard to find. They 
 are so easy-going that it would seem to them too much 
 burden to be for ever thinking of spirits. Europeans 
 come to the study of a savage race with their minds 
 
132 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 full of preconceived ideas, and of course find ample 
 evidence to confirm these a priori conceptions. It is 
 true that there are often supposed to be hosts of evil 
 spirits in the rivers and woods, but the people very 
 rarely think of them. It is doubtful whether the 
 ordinary Kafir thinks of evil spirits for an average of 
 two minutes out of every twenty-four hours, though 
 at times these spirits get on his nerves, and tyrannise 
 over him for days together. And when we come to the 
 children we find that they have the haziest notion of 
 what these spirits are, and never think of them unless 
 they overhear the conversation of their elders on 
 the point. They do not take much interest in the 
 matter, and what they overhear is mainly about the 
 beneficent actions of the beloved amatongo, who give 
 the people beer, good crops, and riches. So it is safe to 
 say that the ordinary idea that a savage child lives in 
 constant dread of evil spirits is a mistake. Savage 
 minds are too dull to have keen conceptions of evil 
 spirits lurking at every corner. This is seen in the 
 fact that black children are not afraid of the dark in 
 the way white children are. 
 
 (b) Fear of the Dark 
 
 Grown-up Kafirs do not like to walk about in the 
 dark far from their huts, for they fear wild animals 
 a little, and magical charms a great deal. In the dark 
 a man cannot take such care of himself as he can when 
 he is in the light, and he is more exposed to risks 
 arising from the wiles of witches. An Arab is far more 
 afraid of the dark, and of the Jins lurking in ambush, 
 than a Kafir is of evil spirits. When one asks Kafir 
 parents whether their children are afraid of the dark, 
 they laugh at the absurdity of the question ; of course 
 they are not afraid of it. As a rule the night fears 
 of children are, as Lamb has told us, the product of an 
 excitable imagination ; but that is the very last thing 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 133 
 
 a Kafir child suffers from. A Kafir child's mind is 
 so placid, and is so little stuffed with terrifying ideas 
 by nursery-maids, that the child does not lie awake 
 in the dark fancying things (though sometimes the 
 mothers frighten naughty children by talking about 
 fabulous monsters, or about white men). This 
 freedom from fear of the dark is also prevented by the 
 fact that the whole family lives in the same hut, and 
 by the fact that a fire is generally kept burning on the 
 floor. The one fear that lurks in the darkness is the 
 fear of wild animals ; and this fear was well justified 
 when the country was infested with lions, tigers 
 (leopards), elephants, and other animals. Most of these 
 animals have been killed off in the districts south of 
 Delagoa Bay, but the memory of them is still fresh ; 
 in the more northern tribes the fears are only too 
 well justified still. It is noticeable that children in 
 these northern tribes are afraid when left alone in the 
 dark. 
 
 Last night (let us say) an uncle was carried off from 
 the kraal by a lion. All day the chubby little boys 
 have been teased by their big brothers, who declare 
 that lions are specially fond of small fat boys, and 
 always take them in preference to big bony men. All 
 day the little fellows have been pestering their mothers 
 as to whether this is really true or not. The flimsy 
 hut made of a few poles, a little grass, and some mud, 
 offers but poor protection against a tiger or a lion. 
 The grown-up people in the kraal have been discussing 
 all day how to join in killing the lions which are 
 expected again at night ; and the stray ends of con- 
 versation picked up by the children only intensify 
 the natural fears. One little boy handles his new knob- 
 kerrie and grows bold — in daylight — as he shows his 
 fellows how he will meet the lion single-handed, and how 
 he will kill it with his flimsy little stick. He feels as brave 
 as a small English boy who has just got a new catapult, 
 
134 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 and who fingers a bullet or two in his breeches pocket : 
 in the sense of security imparted by the possession 
 of the catapult he would face a hundred burglars. 
 But the sense of safety grows thin as the danger looms 
 a little nearer. Even the bravery of the mothers 
 fails towards night-time, and the women show a 
 decided disinclination to leave the hut when asked 
 to fetch something or other. Fear is contagious, and 
 the courage of the children fails when those who 
 bolstered up their courage show evident signs of giving 
 way. There are few things so disconcerting to 
 children as to find those whom they thought braver 
 than themselves showing obvious signs of fear. So 
 when the darkness comes on, the little boys and girls 
 cuddle up to their mothers, or to their big brothers 
 and sisters, and hide their heads beneath their blankets 
 as they lie on their mats. 
 
 When walking through the bush at night, or when 
 sleeping out under the star-sown sky in the lion-country, 
 I have experienced how small the sense of security 
 which comes from the possession of even a rifle can be. 
 The least soughing of the night wind in the trees, 
 the rustle of the long grass, the strange noises in the 
 undergrowth of the bush, all come to man's tired 
 nerves with a heightened intensity. Suddenly, he 
 awakens with a start from a pleasant doze, expecting the 
 two glowing eyes which have been haunting his dream 
 to be glaring at him out of the tall grass. All the 
 strange noises, and stranger silences, of the plain affect 
 the nerves in a way that can only be understood by those 
 who experience it. Even to sleep alone in a hut, far 
 from civilisation, and to feel a strange uncanny presence 
 on suddenly waking up ; to notice that the dogs are un- 
 easy, and to hear some old hen querulously complaining 
 every now and then ; to wait in stillness for the next 
 sound, and to hear the bleating of a goat or the pushing 
 of oxen ; to go out in the dark to stalk the game, and 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 135 
 
 to feel that the unseen lion may be waiting to spring 
 on its pursuer— all this breeds fear in the blood. The 
 children can be bold enough while the men are in 
 the hut, but the suspense endured whilst waiting with 
 bated breath for the issue of the attack is terrifying 
 to a child. The men have all gone out into the dark 
 with their assegais, and women and children are left 
 alone in the dark to nurse their fears. The fear of the 
 natives, when a tiger or lion is known to be roaming 
 about the district at night, can be estimated by the 
 extent of their delight when a European comes along 
 with a rifle. He can do single handed what it may 
 take fifty Kafirs in concert to effect. The people of 
 the whole district seem to breathe more easily when the 
 white man promises to watch for the lion. Once the 
 lion is dead and the country is free from the terror, 
 the children are not in the least afraid of the darkness 
 of the hut at night, for it was not so much the darkness 
 as the lion that they feared. 
 
 Big boys are very fond of scaring small children by 
 crawling about the floor of the hut on their hands and 
 knees when the night is coming on, calling out, " Woo, 
 Wooooooo, Wooo," in imitation of wolves, which 
 form the chief fear in small children's lives in the 
 southern tribes. So the little things get terrified 
 when they hear their big brothers imitating wolves, 
 and they run off to any refuge that may be at hand. 
 If the father should happen to come in during all the 
 clatter, the boys get summarily dealt with. Sometimes 
 mothers silence their children at night by threatening 
 to throw them out of the hut to the wolves. The 
 children in one district may be terrified at the sight 
 of an animal which is not feared in another ; but this 
 seems to have a connection with the totem of the 
 clan, no people eating or fearing their own totem 
 animal, but fearing the totem of another clan. 
 
136 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 (c) Fear of Fabulous Monsters 
 
 The natives believe in many fabulous monsters 
 which inhabit the swamps, forests and rivers. There 
 is said to be a long snake in many rivers, and Kafirs 
 say quite seriously that this snake is fully fifty miles 
 long. When wishing to cross such rivers the natives 
 " doctor " the river, and rub special intelezi into ; , 
 scarifications which they make on their legs. They / ,' 
 pray to their itongo to protect them, and when they get 
 across the river safely, they not infrequently thank the 
 itongo for the safe journey. When children or adults 
 get cramp in crossing the river, they attribute it to the 
 attack of a snake. I know a native who asserted agaiii 
 and again that he had seen one of these snakes rear 
 its head out of the water high up into the air, and that 
 there was a bright light streaming from the snakes 
 head — which shows that the Kafirs have at least some 
 imagination. 
 
 There is a fabulous monster called Isikqukqumadevu, 
 which is supposed to be as big as a mountain, and 
 another called Isitwalangcengce, which is supposed 
 to run off with children — and even grown-up people— ^ ' 
 so as to eat their brains. The very name is terror-"* 
 laden ; and when pronounced by a Kafir woman in 
 a hoarse voice, and with the " clicks " over-emphasised,* 
 the effect is most disturbing to a child's easily impressed 
 mind, and sends a cold shudder down its spine. 
 
 The most famous and universally dreaded monster 
 is undoubtedly Tickolosbe, who has many names ; 
 sometimes he is called Hili, and sometimes Ugilikakqzoa. 
 This person is supposed to be a small dwarf who lives 
 in the reeds, and who is invisible to ordinary eyes. 
 Young women of eighteen or nineteen believe in 
 him as firmly as did Luther in a physical and visible 
 devil. Tickolosbe is supposed to come out of the 
 
 * C, Q, X are not pronounced as in English, but represent clicks. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 137 
 
 reeds at night and to play all sorts of amorous tricks, 
 as well as spiteful ones. The mothers tell their 
 children that if they are naughty, Tickoloshe will come 
 and pull them out of the hut, and then leave them far 
 away in the veld, though he will not hurt them. 
 Some boys declare that they have heard Tickoloshe 
 talking, though they could not see him ; other boys 
 declare that by the use of certain charms they have 
 been enabled to see him, and describe him as being 
 very strong, though very small, and as having very 
 thin legs but large powerful hands and feet. He is 
 generally believed to have several wives of his own, 
 though he covets the wives of other people. To 
 propitiate him the people frequently kill cattle in 
 his honour. Children are told that if by any chance 
 Tickoloshe should catch them, they must take care 
 to speak to him very politely and to flatter him by 
 saying, " You are so big, Tickoloshe, that I saw you 
 when you were far, far away." This method of flatter- 
 ing and appeasing Tickoloshe seems to indicate that 
 the belief in the mythical monster arose from the 
 objectifying of the fears of the people about their 
 Bushman foes in olden days. The Bushmen were 
 very small, and had rather large hands and feet with 
 thin arms and legs ; they were very skilful in hiding 
 in the reeds, and in attacking people unawares. 
 These Bushmen were very vain and got inordinately 
 angry when twitted about their small stature, but loved 
 to be told that they were very big — so big that they 
 could be seen from a great distance. And this Bush- 
 man origin would account for the fact that while 
 belief in other fabulous animals is very local, belief 
 in Tickoloshe is well-nigh universal, in fact co-extensive 
 with the area occupied by the Bushmen in olden days. 
 A peculiar interest therefore attaches to the belief in 
 Tickoloshe, for we seem, in this case, to see the forma- 
 tion and evolution of the belief in a fabulous monster. 
 
138 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 Some Kafirs declare that just as certain people keep 
 a baboon in their hut for purposes of administering 
 medical charms to their foes, so others keep a Tickoloshe 
 of their own in their hut, and send him out at night 
 to work their charms on their rivals, or on the cattle 
 of their rivals. The Kafirs see nothing far-fetched 
 in this idea, because they believe that some people 
 even keep a private supply of lightning or of venomous 
 snakes in their hut for a similar purpose. 
 
 The Basuto children fear a monster called Selaqoqo, 
 which is said to be a terrible lizard that eats children ; 
 yet no one has ever seen this monster ; consequently 
 the belief in it is all the stronger. 
 
 (d) Fear of Cannibals 
 
 The fear of cannibals has not yet died out in South 
 Africa. Until recently there were cannibals even in 
 Basutoland ; a few years ago I rode into the Basuto 
 mountains with a native evangelist who worked 
 amongst a clan that was known by the name of The 
 Cannibals. The evangelist spoke quite naturally 
 about " My cannibals," as if there were nothing very 
 unusual about it. The nursery-tales told to the 
 children by the mothers keep the subject ever fresh 
 in their imaginations. No stories so keenly interest 
 the small boys as those about cannibals, and I have 
 sometimes wondered whether this were owing to the 
 fact that in most of the cannibal stories it is nice, fat, 
 j aunty and self-willed girls who get eaten. It is improb- 
 able that the boys would have formulated this theory, 
 or would have consciously observed this fact about the 
 nursery-tales about cannibals ; yet, for all that, their 
 delight in such stories might be heightened by finding 
 that it is girls and not boys who are eaten. There can 
 be no doubt but that when small children want to 
 hear more pleasant nursery-tales told, the big boys, 
 in mischief, urge the old women to tell stories about 
 
DEVELOPMENT QF THE FACULTIES 139 
 
 cannibals. A story of horror feeds an appetite that 
 is present even in civilised children.* 
 
 (e) Fear of White Men 
 
 Fear of white men is a growing force in the lives 
 of the children. In olden days the children showed 
 but little fear in the presence of Europeans. There 
 is, of course, the primitive and initial dislike of a 
 difference of colour. Kafir children think a white 
 skin very ugly, and sometimes even revolting. When 
 a very small black child shakes hands with a white man, 
 it instinctively looks at its hand to see whether " the 
 white " has come off and soiled its black hand ; it 
 seems very surprised when it finds that the colour 
 does not come off. As they grow older, the children 
 lose their first idea that the black man is essentially 
 superior to a white man ; and though they do not 
 often wish to have white skins, yet they covet thewisdom 
 and knowledge of the race, which they feel forced to 
 admit is the superior. It is a long time before they 
 lose their idea that white and black men constitute 
 two entirely different orders of beings, and that the 
 black is the superior in everything but skill and know- 
 ledge. When once they become educated, and see 
 how vast is the chasm which separates the two races, 
 they not infrequently long to become white. 
 
 The chief factor that is increasing the fear of white 
 men as felt by Kafir children is the talk they overhear 
 when men return to their kraals from working on farms, 
 railways and mines. Every little Kafir boy regards 
 his father as the strongest and wisest person in the 
 world, and in this matter cannot be beaten even by 
 the small English schoolboy at a dame-school, who 
 maintains against the world that his father is the most 
 wonderful person living ; that he is the richest, most 
 powerful and cleverest of men. Consequently when 
 
 * A typical cannibal story is told in The Essential Kafir, p. 379. 
 
140 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 Kafir children hear their much-venerated fathers 
 describing how the white men thrashed them and 
 knocked them about, they feel an instinctive fear and 
 hatred of the monsters who could dare to touch their 
 fathers. It is therefore most fortunate when a Kafir 
 child meets with a white man who shows kindliness to 
 black children, for the fact makes an indelible impres- 
 sion on the mind for life. A native told me that the 
 first impression in life that he could remember was in 
 connection with a white man who was fond of black 
 children. He said he could remember with perfect 
 clearness this white man romping about, and allowing 
 children to take hold of his coat-tails and feel in his 
 pockets for sweetmeats. The wild delirious joy of 
 holding on to the coat-tails while the man ran about 
 the place, and the delight of the taste of the sweet- 
 meats clings to that child in his manhood, and gives 
 him a kindly feeling towards white men ; and though, 
 of course, every white man cannot romp with black 
 children, yet many could do a little to lessen the gulf 
 between black and white in South Africa. 
 
 (/) Fear of Death and of Old Age 
 
 Prominent amongst the fears of Kafir children is 
 that of old age. Death in itself does not seem to 
 frighten the children, for they do not think about it 
 very much ; but they have a great fear of old age, 
 and do all they can to ward it off. A boy gets a friend 
 to pull out any hairs which appear prematurely on 
 his chin, and little children pray most fervently to 
 the amatongo that they would keep them from growing 
 old. They are immensely keen to grow big, as we 
 shall soon see, but they have the greatest dread of 
 old age. Old women are treated with scant attention, 
 and are left to die extremely sad deaths in many cases, 
 literally dying, amid plenty, from starvation and 
 neglect. But old men are treated with great respect. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 141 
 
 There are no religious fears to speak of in connection 
 with a life after death, though when missionaries 
 come along, and speak in vivid terms of hell-fire, the 
 children, and especially the women, grow very terrified. 
 The flames appeal to the imagination very powerfully, 
 and a native evangelist will often make much capital 
 out of this fear. In Gazaland the people frequently 
 hide the fact of death from the children, telling them 
 that their uncle has gone on a journey, when as a 
 matter of fact he is dead. 
 
 ' (g) Other Fears 
 
 There are many other fears which enter into the 
 lives of Kafir children and which call for a slight 
 reference. Very small children are terrified when they 
 see their mothers and fathers dressed up in strange 
 ways for a great dance ; they fear to touch their 
 parentsjat such times and scream if the mother 
 approaches. 
 
 When the children swallow pips or stones of fruit 
 they are very afraid, and expect trees to grow out of 
 their heads, or out of their mouths, even as European 
 children do. But there is this difference in the case 
 of the Gazaland children; sometimes these children 
 swallow the round stones of the Nux Vomica tree ; 
 if no other child also swallows one at the same time, 
 it is thought that a tree will grow out of the head of 
 the child. However, should another child swallow 
 a stone at the same time no harm will follow. When 
 these children eat wild figs, one of the party takes a 
 fig, breaks it in half and throws a piece at one of his 
 companions, saying, " Fig, do not upset me ; upset 
 this one." This child who has been aimed at then 
 takes the half-fig that was thrown at him, and throws 
 it at another child, saying the same words. This child 
 then throws the portion of the fig at the fig-tree, say- 
 ing, " Fig, do not upset me ; upset the fig-tree. ' : 
 
142 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 The word " upset " means " to cause the heart of a 
 man to turn inside out, as after eating unripe fruit." 
 
 Children, when very small, have great fear of the 
 shadows of their mothers as they grind the corn ; 
 these shadows sway backwards and forwards on the 
 wall of the hut and are intensified by the flickering 
 of the fire-light. This reminds one of Stevenson's 
 description in his Child's Garden of Verse, in which 
 he portrays the fears of a child caused by the shadows 
 on the stairs cast by the candle in the nurse's hand. 
 Kafir mothers also make use of anything uncanny that 
 a white man may have about him, as a good thing to 
 tease children with. A friend of mine tells me that 
 the women in his district frighten the children by 
 threatening to put them into his concertina-box, of 
 which the children seem to be inordinately afraid. 
 
 XL AMBITIONS 
 
 The ambitions of the boys and girls are distinctly 
 and frankly practical ; unfortunately there are no 
 railway engines, hansom cabs, or watering-carts in 
 native territories, and so the boys cannot aspire to the 
 height of driving such things. Boys brood a good 
 deal on how to become rich, how to grow big, how to 
 become brave and strong ; they long above all things 
 for the day to come when they shall be circumcised, 
 and so shall be regarded as men. They are keen to be 
 able to fight well, to be brave, and sometimes even wish 
 to be good cattle-herds. They dream of the day 
 when they will have many cattle of their own, and a 
 number of wives to work for them and bear them 
 many children ; for then they will have large kraals, 
 and be men of great importance. They love to think 
 of the days to come when they will be able to sit down 
 and do no work, and have plenty of beer to drink, 
 and be treated with great respect. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 143 
 
 In most tribes there are but few occupations in 
 life open to people. Some boys may wish to become 
 messengers of the chief, lawyers in native courts, 
 witch-doctors, crops-doctors, rain-doctors ; and in old 
 days boys sometimes desired to be blacksmiths. The 
 function was, however, hereditary, though assistants 
 might be called in. The introduction of European 
 iron-work has much affected the trade of native 
 blacksmiths. The profession of a lawyer is also rapidly 
 dying out, for these men only practise in native courts, 
 and have no special training, but depend mainly on 
 their mother wit. They love to prosecute, but do 
 not care much to defend people who are manifestly 
 in the wrong. It is well known how great was the 
 effect of public speech in the education of nations 
 such as the Greeks, and no one who has seen natives 
 discussing matters at a Pitso, or great public gathering, 
 could ever forget the unsurpassed eloquence of speech 
 and gesture shown by the natives at such times. Even 
 the children are often born orators, and love to play 
 at " courts," prosecuting and defending cases of 
 imaginary crimes with much humour and acuteness. 
 
 The desire to grow big is shown by many customs 
 adopted by the boys to help this process. Small 
 boys are very careful not to bend their knees when 
 sleeping, for they think that if they bend their knees 
 thus their growth will be stunted ; they soon learn 
 to sleep with extended legs. Even mothers when lift- 
 ing up their sleeping babes take care to hold them 
 under the arms with the feet hanging down ; they 
 then blow on the lower part of the abdomen, and pull 
 the legs down to prevent shrinkage. The father also 
 pulls down the legs of a boy when he finds them bent 
 during sleep. No small boy will allow a bigger one 
 to jump over his head, or to step over it when he is 
 lying down, for this is supposed to hinder growth. 
 No doubt this belief accounts for the fact that such 
 
144 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 a primitive game as leap-frog is not played by boys 
 in the tribes where this belief is held, though it is 
 played in other tribes who have no superstition on 
 the point. It has already been pointed out that many 
 boys and girls think that unless they bury the hair 
 shaved from their heads, their growth will be arrested. 
 There is a strong belief in the efficacy of running 
 about in the rain as a specific for the growth of the 
 body. Mothers let their babies sit on the doorstep 
 and paddle their feet in the mud which accumulates 
 at the doorway during rain, while the bigger children 
 run about stark-naked in the rain. To render this 
 charm peculiarly effective the children sing out, 
 "Cabelele, Cabelele, Cabelele." In Basutoland the 
 children show great delight at the approach of rain, 
 and instead of singing, " Rain, Rain, go to Spain," 
 sing out, " Mankokotsane bring us rain," Mankokotsane 
 being a mythical person with power over the rain. 
 According to Bryant, however, Zulu children go out 
 into the rain and point their posteriors to the sky 
 saying, " Bare rump, let it clear up ; I am the last 
 born of our family." There is also another queer 
 belief about growth, to the effect that a boy can help 
 his growth by eating his food out of his hand instead 
 of out of a spoon. 
 
 With regard to the ambition of becoming wealthy, 
 the people try to make themselves rich by washing 
 in special intelezi, and as a rule most people use a little 
 of this medicinal wash on their shoulders every day, 
 if possible. A special charm for using the mother's 
 milk to increase the riches of a family has been referred 
 to in the first chapter. It need only be added that 
 natives believe firmly that when there are small white 
 marks on the finger-nails, it is a sign of coming riches ; 
 when these marks vanish, the boys say that their riches 
 will not increase any more just at present. 
 
 With regard to the ambitions of girls, the following 
 
A BOMVANA GIRL 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 145 
 
 points need to be noted. A little girl longs for the 
 day to come when she will be initiated into womanhood 
 and will reach a marriageable age. She desires above 
 all things to be the great wife of a chief, or to have 
 a husband who will pay a large number of cattle for 
 her ; she longs to have many daughters, so that when 
 she is old, and these daughters are given in marriage, 
 there may be plenty of cattle at her kraal, and conse- 
 quently plenty of karosses for her in her old age. 
 Girls talk a great deal about their future husbands, 
 and speak with a frankness that would shock European 
 ears. A Kafir girl longs for a husband who can 
 fight and sing well (a sorry performance this, in our 
 European estimation, just as our singing is a sorry per- 
 formance in the opinion of the Kafirs, who laugh at our 
 performances). Every girl hopes her husband will be 
 the son of a great and rich man ; she also longs to have 
 a husband who will help her in her work in the gardens, 
 and who will provide her with plenty of beads. With 
 regard to personal appearance the following list of 
 qualities shows what Kafir girls think desirable. 
 Girls like in their lovers fine white teeth, a dark but 
 not too black skin, eyes that are not yellowish in the 
 " whites," small ears, a small flat nose, and a moderate 
 amount of dressiness. They do not, as a rule, like 
 their lovers to be too much dandified, for they think 
 that men who pay too much attention to their personal 
 appearance are sure to turn out drunken husbands. 
 Yet foolish and giddy girls are not lacking who are 
 inordinately attracted by dressy men. 
 
 XII. IDEAS OF NATURE 
 
 It is commonly said by anthropologists that savages 
 imagine everything in nature to be alive. No doubt 
 the remark is correct, in a certain sense, but we are 
 in great danger of reading too much into that fact. 
 
 K 
 
146 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 It would be equally true to say that savages very 
 rarely think of the matter at all. I repeat this 
 because it is of great importance for us to keep 
 this fact' before our minds. It is difficult to read 
 the works of those European anthropologists who 
 have gathered their information second hand, and 
 who are burning with an admirable, if overstrained, 
 zeal to construct a theory to account for the beginnings 
 of religion, without putting down the book with the 
 idea that the savages are consumed with anxious 
 thought on the problems which interest twentieth- 
 century Europeans. If the writers could spend even 
 six months in a single savage tribe, they would see 
 how grotesque their previous sense of proportion had 
 been. As a matter of fact, there is nothing savages 
 — and even savages high in the scale — think less about 
 than the topics which fill modern works on anthro- 
 pology or ethnography. The Kafirs might talk for 
 five consecutive days about a calf that had died, but 
 they would not talk for five consecutive minutes 
 about evil spirits, nor for five seconds about that 
 delight of some writers, the evil eye. I have not heard 
 this last European idea mentioned by natives once in 
 seventeen years' experience. It must therefore be 
 understood that the details given under our present 
 heading have taken a great deal of collecting ; Kafir 
 children think so very little about the matter that one 
 is fortunate to get two or three ideas from a single 
 group of children. 
 
 When a boy hits his foot against a rock or stone he 
 will sometimes belabour the stone in the way of re- 
 taliation, dimly feeling (it can hardly be called think- 
 ing) that the stone can feel the punishment. The 
 feeling that the stone is alive is very dim, and it never 
 occurs to a boy that the stone has an inner life in any 
 sense comparable to his own. I can remember as a 
 child feeling sorry for stones, thinking that they 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 147 
 
 must get very tired of looking at the same objects 
 every day ; so I used to turn them over or throw 
 them over a hedge so that they might get a new 
 outlook. When asking Kafirs whether their children 
 ever think of such a thing, they laugh and say 
 that it would never enter a Kafir's head to think 
 stones felt in that sort of way. We may say that 
 religion commences with animism, but we do well to 
 remember that it is a very thin and lifeless sort of 
 life the savage attributes to things. The European 
 who questions the native is very apt to find the matter 
 growing under his hand, in virtue of his persistent 
 questioning. If this be true in the case of adult 
 savages, it is still more true in the case of the children. 
 
 {a) The Earth 
 
 The earth is generally thought to be flat, and 
 people are supposed to be living on the under-side of 
 it, possibly hanging on to it as flies do to a ceiling. 
 At least this is the way the grown-up people silence 
 the children who are puzzled as to how people could 
 walk on the under-side of the earth. There is some- 
 times a dim idea that the amadhlozi (not amatongo), 
 who live under the ground, inhabitf the other side 
 of the earth ; this is not a common, or a clearly 
 defined, belief. But it is a common idea that there 
 is another world in the heavens not very far above 
 the tops of the trees. Yet many natives scout this 
 idea, saying it is borrowed from nursery-tales. 
 
 (b) The Sun and Moon 
 
 The sun is supposed to travel under the earth after 
 it sets. It is then warmed up — boiled in a pot with 
 fat — and sent up at dawn next day. Some children 
 think there is a new sun every day. Others say that 
 when it sets, it goes to the land of the pigmies. There 
 are several sun-charms practised by the boys who 
 
148 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 wish, to gain time and arrive home before the food is 
 eaten in the evening. They place stones in trees, 
 generally choosing forked branches for the purpose, 
 imagining the sun will be unable to pass a spot in the 
 heavens which is in a line with their eye and the stone. 
 Another and commoner charm used by boys who are 
 late in bringing back their herds to the kraal, is to 
 place two sticks in the ground, one pointing to the 
 east and the other to the west, so as to form a sort of 
 inverted letter V. The stick pointing to the east is 
 supposed to retard the motion of the sun, while that 
 pointing to the west is supposed to tell the sun to 
 move slowly. The boys address the sticks in courteous 
 language, and beg them to talk to the sun, and to tell 
 it not to hurry. As to how the sun got into the sky, 
 the children never trouble their heads ; if asked what 
 they think, they say that it has always been there 
 and that this is reason enough. They sometimes 
 think that the sun moves through the sky by running, 
 but have no idea why it should always move from 
 east to west.* 
 
 The children grow very puzzled when they see the 
 moon in the daytime, and run to ask their parents 
 why it is visible. The only reply they receive is that 
 the moon is in the sky because it is its duty to be 
 there. This explanation is final and satisfying to the 
 child. When the moon looks very bright after a 
 period of rain, the people say the moon looks very 
 clear and bright because it has washed its face with the 
 rain. The moon, which of course is thought to be 
 quite close to the earth, is often supposed to die slowly, 
 or else to grow small because pieces are pulled off it 
 every day ; the moon finally dies, and a new baby- 
 moon comes in its place; this fresh moon grows 
 
 * A native idea about the sun is given in the chapter on Surprise 
 Stories ; and it may be pointed out that while most adults know this 
 to be a myth, many children regard it as literal truth. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 149 
 
 daily till full moon. Another idea is that there is 
 not a man, but a woman with a baby on her back, in 
 the moon; it is thought that the moon cuts off small 
 pieces of the woman daily. But natives who have 
 been in distant contact with European civilisation 
 say that once upon a time a man and woman went out 
 to gather sticks on Sunday, and the Lord of Heaven 
 was angry with them, and placed them in the moon 
 as a punishment. This idea betrays European in- 
 fluence, for the observance of Sunday is not a Kafir 
 custom. In some tribes the semi-civilised natives 
 call Sunday " Bell Day," while others call it " Resting 
 Day." Since the missionaries tell the people to be 
 especially clean on Sunday, the natives often call 
 Saturday " Washing Day," or " Finishing Day." 
 
 (c) Stars 
 
 Stars are sometimes thought to be holes in the 
 sky, which is generally regarded as being solid. Other 
 natives think that stars are things like jewels set in the 
 solid sky, much as gems are set in rings. Some more 
 poetical people think that the stars are the eyes of 
 lovers. Shooting stars are not infrequently said to 
 be a sign of the death of some chief. When natives 
 see a shooting star, they often spit on the ground as a 
 sign of friendliness towards the dead person. A boy 
 is very apt to get intensely angry when another boy 
 tells him that his eyes are like stars. This is generally 
 taken to imply that he will become blind ; but occa- 
 sionally it is said as a compliment, and in that case it 
 is thought to mean that the boy will grow up very 
 clever and sharp. The natives tell the time at night 
 by the position of the stars, and also know when to 
 sow by watching the Pleiades. If three stars called 
 Onodendwana cannot be seen at midnight, it is said 
 to be too late to plant mealies. The months and the 
 new year are told roughly by watching the changes 
 
ISO SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 of the moon; corrections being made by observing 
 the flowering or the budding of certain plants. 
 
 (d) Clouds 
 
 Children often imagine that clouds are due to the 
 smoke? which they see flying upwards from fires. 
 Clouds are often thought by the children to contain 
 big bags which are full of water ; when once the 
 clouds have emptied the bags, it will not rain again 
 till the clouds are sent back with bags of fresh water. 
 Occasionally children think that clouds lying on the 
 horizon are distant mountains, but the idea is not 
 at all common, and is confined to tribes living in 
 mountainous regions. 
 
 (<?) Earthquakes 
 
 Earthquakes are often thought to be a sign that a 
 chief is very cross ; war is thought to be imminent ; 
 if the shocks should be very bad, it is thought 
 there will be very much bloodshed. Sometimes 
 earthquakes are thought to be natural events which 
 must happen every now and then. In other cases 
 they are thought to be due to the anger of the amadh- 
 lozi. In a certain district in Rhodesia, a Mission 
 station was recently erected ; soon afterwards a slight 
 earthquake broke the ground, and a water-furrow, 
 which brought water to the station, was drained dry ; 
 the people said that the dead chiefs were angry because 
 the station was built near their old burial-ground, 
 and therefore signified their displeasure by sending 
 an earthquake. 
 
 if) Wind 
 
 Wind is said to " come across the great water," 
 but where that water is, few have much idea. The 
 wind is kept in a hut, and those who have charge of 
 it let it out now and then, and allow it to blow in 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 151 
 
 certain directions. Again, the wind is sometimes 
 said to be a bird which lives in the mountains. I can 
 find no trace of the European idea, which Professor 
 Sully mentions in his Study of Childhood, of children 
 who think that the moving branches of trees cause the 
 wind. When I mentioned this idea to Kafir children, 
 they laughed immoderately, and replied that it was 
 just the other way about. When the natives wish 
 to stop excessive wind, they call in a "wind-doctor," 
 who takes a pot with a spout and points the spout 
 towards the region from which the wind is coming. 
 He then places medicines, as well as some of the dust 
 blown by the wind, in the vessel, and seals up every 
 opening of the pot with damp clay. The doctor says, 
 " The head of the wind is now in my pot, and the 
 wind will cease to blow." If wind is wanted, the boys 
 whistle for it, or, better still, blow horns. Boys also 
 take a bottle, or small calabash, and hum a tune into 
 it, or perhaps blow or whistle into it, so as to get wind. 
 
 (g) Rivers and Ocean 
 
 With regard to rivers, I met a boy who was firmly 
 convinced that the banks of the river pushed the water 
 along ; he puzzled much as to how the river could be 
 so clever as to push the water. The river was regarded 
 as an entity with an existence quite apart from the 
 water that formed it. This idea might very naturally 
 arise in a country like South Africa, where rivers may 
 be dry for nine months in the year. It is not generally 
 known that rivers run into the sea, though tribes near 
 the sea know this fact. The sea is supposed to sur- 
 round the land, and white men are said to get their 
 things ready made out of the sea. Others think that 
 the things do not come out of the sea, but from an 
 island in the sea. But the most picturesque idea in 
 connection with the wonderful^white man is as follows. 
 In the " great water " there lives a man with four eyes ; 
 
152 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 he sits on the sea day and night, and makes all the 
 things which Europeans import ; as soon as the things 
 are finished, he throws them on to the sea, and white 
 men come along in ships and bring these articles 
 ashore for sale. The white men are supposed to live 
 close to the coast, just out of sight of land, and to have 
 plenty of boats. When any European-made article, 
 such as a pair of trousers, wears out, the people say it 
 has gone to the place whence it came. 
 
 (h) Lightning and Thunder 
 
 Lightning and thunder are accounted for thus : 
 in very ancient times there was a person called JJm- 
 velincgange, of whom practically nothing is known ; 
 he made a bird about four feet high, which had feathers 
 of a beautiful golden-green colour. When this bird 
 is moulting, it falls to earth, and the noise it makes in 
 falling constitutes thunder, while the sight of one of 
 its glittering feathers constitutes lightning. Some- 
 times the rain is said to thunder or lighten ; sometimes 
 the heavens are said to do so. 
 
 (t) Growth of Plants 
 
 Children sometimes puzzle a little as to how plants 
 and animals grow bigger, but the problem is too diffi- 
 cult for solution, and is generally put on one side as 
 hopeless. As a child said to me, " What is the use of 
 puzzling about such things ? The trees will grow 
 as well without my troubling about the way they 
 
 grow." 
 
 (/) Echoes 
 
 It is sometimes thought that echoes are the result 
 of malice, being caused by boys who are quizzing the 
 speaker ; or else it is thought that the mountains are 
 speaking and replying to things shouted out to them. 
 But the mountains are thought to be speaking in 
 mockery. 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 153 
 
 (k) Rainbows 
 
 A rainbow is thought to be a snake, or a wattle of the 
 hut belonging to the Queen of Heaven. If the 
 children see a rainbow after heavy rain, they say the 
 Queen of Heaven is glad. At other times the rainbow 
 is said to be a sheep rising out of a pool. But what- 
 ever the explanation given, small girls are very careful 
 not to expose their breasts when a rainbow is visible, 
 for should the rainbow see their breasts they would 
 not grow properly. In Gazaland the children call 
 the rainbow " The Spider's Bow." * 
 
 (I) Superstition 
 
 The origin of superstition and of the belief in magic 
 in a savage race, may be a difficult problem, but the 
 origin of superstitious belief in the case of an in- 
 dividual savage child is obvious. A child, for example, 
 hears a grown-up man say that if a person should happen 
 to eat two mice caught together in one trap he will 
 have twins ; instinctively the child believes what a 
 man says, for the child places unbounded faith in older 
 people. If the child should know a case of a person 
 who ate two mice thus caught together in one trap, 
 and who subsequently had twins, the belief would 
 be immensely strengthened. The cases where the 
 theory broke down would be forgotten ; the cases 
 where it came true would be remembered ; and a 
 certain air of probability, which seemed to be inherent 
 in the idea, would become intensified. The child 
 hears the father say that water thrown from a tree in 
 imitation of rain reminds the clouds of their duty. A 
 child is essentially a mimic, and why should not clouds 
 be given to imitation also, and at least accept the hint 
 that rain is wanted ? Alice, when in Wonderland, 
 
 * Many other ideas with regard to the phenomena of Nature are 
 given in The Essential Kafir. 
 
iS4 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 might ask some weird animal why a certain absurd 
 statement it had made should come true, and she 
 could always be silenced by the simple reply, " Why 
 not ? " 
 
 A thunder-doctor makes all the people in the hut 
 stand in the rain, and bellow out in imitation of 
 thunder. Having called the attention of the storm 
 to their presence, the people are told to let their voices 
 die away like the distant rumble of a thunderstorm 
 departing over the hills. The storm is supposed to 
 take the hint ; and since every storm must eventually 
 come to an>end, it ultimately dies away as requested. 
 The fact cannot be gainsaid, and the child has too 
 little logic at its command to argue the matter out. 
 
 Again, a child sees a member of the family sick, 
 and attends the performance of the witch-doctor, 
 who smells out the witch or wizard who has been 
 injuring the sick person. The child sees the sick 
 person get well after this performance. The facts 
 cannot be denied ; and so the child at once accepts 
 the conclusion that it was the doctor who cured the 
 patient. A child sees the crops doctored by the 
 crops-doctor, and then notices the heavy harvest. 
 Every one praises the power of the doctor who made 
 the crop so plentiful ; the child sees the alleged facts 
 to be true, and naturally accepts the explanation that 
 the splendid harvest was due wholly to the cunning 
 and powerful medicine used by the doctor. Or 
 the child hears of a soldier who ate certain portions 
 of the body of a brave warrior he had killed, and hears 
 every one praising the courage of the soldier. The 
 universal, explanation is that the bravery of the dead 
 warrior passed into the living one, and augmented 
 his courage. The fact of his bravery cannot be denied, 
 and the child cannot see through the defective logic. 
 Thus month by month the child's initial belief in 
 magic_ is increased and fed. Exceptions are soon 
 
A LONG DKINK 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 155 
 
 forgotten. Here is a striking example. Years ago 
 I paid a visit to the great chief Kreli. This man was 
 a splendid-looking warrior, and was so brave and shrewd 
 that he was able to keep the English at bay for a long 
 time in the border wars. As a boy he was very weak 
 and ailing, and showed no signs of his future courage 
 and mental power. The diviners said that he would 
 never be brave and wise until the people picked out 
 the bravest and wisest man in the tribe and killed him, 
 so that Kreli might eat portions of his body, and 
 imbibe his splendid qualities. The doctors also said 
 that this brave man's skull should be used as a vessel 
 in which to keep the chief's medicines ; for it is believed 
 that this method vastly increases the power of medi- 
 cines. Consequently the bravest and wisest man 
 in the tribe was selected for the purpose. But un- 
 fortunately he showed his wisdom, if not his bravery, 
 by running away to another tribe. The chief Kreli 
 was then left to nature, as the proposed remedy was 
 no longer available. Kreli soon grew out of his weak- 
 ness and became one of the wisest and bravest of 
 chiefs ; but no one thought of pointing out that the 
 doctors had made a mistake. Had the man selected 
 been caught and killed, and had his skull been used as 
 a vessel in which to hold the medicines of the chief, 
 Kreli's bravery and wisdom would have been put 
 down to the credit of the magical practices used. 
 
 Thus every time the superstitious practice seemed 
 to be successful, a mental note would be made of the 
 fact ; every time it failed, the affair would be forgotten. 
 On such a basis it is easy to live for centuries in a pleas- 
 ing delusion, and to feel perfectly assured of one's 
 false belief. 
 
 The confidence placed by children in the^words'of 
 their parents — which confidence is absolute in the case 
 of Kafirs — starts their thoughts off on a wrong~track, 
 and every fresh case in which the child hears the father 
 
156 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 point out the irrefragable cogency of a line of thought 
 does but deepen the groove along which the child thinks. 
 It seldom or never occurs to it to question what it is 
 told, for the first axiom in Kafir thought is that the 
 old men know best. 
 
 The matter is driven home by the fears of the 
 people. A little thought will show us how strong 
 is the tendency of fear to fasten the rivets of super- 
 stition. If any one will place himself in imagination, 
 or, better still, in actual experience, in a Kafir hut in 
 the bush infested with tigers or lions, and will realise 
 how acutely every one is excited and anxious about 
 their very lives, and will then trace the effect on the 
 children of the reputed efficacy of certain charms to 
 render the aim with the assegai unerring, he will see 
 with what intensity fear can make a person cling 
 desperately to anything which promises help and 
 success. If a big girl were to tell the children that 
 she had a charm given her by a powerful doctor, which 
 made her invisible to lions — and the doctors offer 
 more remarkable, things than this — how eagerly would 
 every child beg for some of it ; and how keenly would 
 each child nurse his hope till the fullest confidence 
 were felt. And should the lion carry off a grown-up 
 person, who was not doctored, instead of a child who 
 had nibbled some of the medicine, how absolutely 
 convincing would the power of the charm seem to the 
 children ! Thus natural credulity would be fostered 
 till it became invincible in its strength. In 
 Europe two people of different sects, who strongly 
 hold the exact reverse in some matter of faith, have 
 their respective faiths rendered so absolutely self- 
 evident by similar experiences that it is idle to argue 
 with either. Reasonable evidence is useless in such 
 cases : it convinces no one. So when every person in 
 the kraal is of one opinion, the very strength of the 
 unanimous conviction is intensely contagious. When 
 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES 157 
 
 everybody around is absolutely convinced of the truth 
 of a theory, a person is apt to share in the conviction 
 even when he tries to fight against it. 
 
 Samples of the superstitions of the Kafir children are 
 scattered through these pages, and there is no need 
 to collect them together. 
 
 We have been thinking of the inner life of the grow- 
 ing children, and must now turn to the outer life. 
 Yet even when studying the games of the children, 
 we cannot forget the inner life, for perhaps nothing 
 so clearly shows the nature of the minds of the children 
 as the games they play, the slang they use, the way 
 they bully and tease one another, and the methods 
 they adopt to make their work pleasant. The follow- 
 ing chapter deals with the games and play of the 
 children. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 PLAY 
 
I 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 PLAY 
 
 Nothing makes the European feel his kinship with the 
 Kafirs more than watching the games of the children. 
 Nearly every game we play in Europe that does not 
 require much apparatus, is also known by the Kafirs. 
 If a small black boy were suddenly to be dumped down 
 on the sands at Margate, he would be able to enter 
 into most of the games played there. This fact is of 
 immense significance. In the case of the Kafirs, play 
 is so interwoven with work that it can only be sepa- 
 rated from it in theory, and for purposes of classifica- 
 tion; for play is indulged in to make work pleasant; 
 it is the outcome of exuberant spirits as well as an 
 exercise of the imaginative faculty. The games of 
 the children defy any accurate classification, so they 
 are roughly arranged under a few headings. 
 
 I. DOLLS 
 
 Kafir children are devoted to dolls, which have a 
 distinct value in connection with the development of 
 the imagination. Lord Avebury has suggested in his 
 Origin of Civilisation that a doll may possibly be 
 something between a plaything and a fetish. The 
 idea is suggestive; but no such connection can be 
 traced nowadays in the case of South Afrcian natives, 
 who have no idols of any kind. It would take us too 
 far from our subject to examine the problem as to 
 whether the Kafirs have fallen from a higher state, or 
 
1 62 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 are rising in the scale of civilisation. It may be said 
 by any one who regards the Kafir races as degenerate, 
 that the Kafirs once upon a time regarded dolls as 
 having something of the nature of a fetish, and have 
 now forgotten this ; but however that may be, at the 
 present time the doll seems to be nothingbut a plaything. 
 A doll may be made out of the simplest materials. 
 The black child's imagination cannot work in vacuo, 
 but once the roughest and simplest material is supplied 
 to it, the imagination will set to work and invest the 
 simple article with all the qualities of a human being. 
 A number of children get together and pound up 
 some wet clay till it is well kneaded, and then the 
 bigger boys fashion a number of oxen with great 
 sprawling legs and thick horns. The appearance of 
 these clay oxen is very comical, but it is surprising 
 how the peculiar features are preserved through the 
 monstrous caricature. One can tell at a glance 
 whether the animal is a horse, a cow, a sheep or a 
 goat, for the essential qualities and features are 
 preserved by a few skilful touches. It is most striking 
 to see how keen is the observation of these little 
 modellers. A clay sheep and dog differ from one 
 another by the very slightest touch, and yet that slight 
 touch is inimitable. No one can watch the children 
 making these clay animals without feeling that it 
 would be well for this natural aptitude to be fostered 
 in school teaching. The girls do not often make 
 oxen, but love to make clay girls and women with 
 babies on their backs. Boys scorn to make 
 women, but sometimes make the most comical clay 
 men, which they fix on to the backs of the oxen or 
 horses. The model is allowed to dry in the sun, and 
 then the animal can be played with ; but sometimes 
 the clay oxen are baked in the fire. The girls dress 
 up their dolls with a few small bangles, or with a small 
 piece of blanket. 
 
PLAY 163 
 
 When the dolls are to be made of mealie cobs, the 
 method adopted is very simple. A good large specimen 
 is chosen, and the grains of Indian corn are stripped 
 from off the cob, which is dressed up in a piece of 
 blanket. Some strands or fibres of the blanket are 
 teased out and fastened into the top of the cob, and 
 resemble the plaited hair of the women. In rare 
 cases a couple of beads are fastened on to the face of 
 the doll, and serve for eyes. Boys do not, as a rule, 
 play with girl-dolls or they would be unmercifully 
 laughed at ; still, very small boys will play with the 
 girl-dolls belonging to their sister9, if there is no chance 
 of their being seen ; older boys wilt play with their boy- 
 dolls in the same imaginary games in which their sisters 
 are playing with their girl-dolls ; but the difference of 
 sex is rigidly observed, with one exception noted below. 
 
 Kafir children have the firmest belief that the dolls 
 have a true inner life of their own. Boys often 
 tease the girls by saying, " Oh, your stupid dolls are 
 only made of clay ; they are not alive ; if any one 
 were to break your dolls nothing but clay would be 
 found inside them." The girls indignantly repel the 
 insinuation, and declare that their dolls are really and 
 truly alive. They then turn their sarcasm on the boys, 
 and, feeling some misgivings which they scarcely like 
 to confess, say, " Well, suppose our dolls are only clay 
 all through, your oxen that you are so proud about 
 are no better ; the silly old oxen and horses with which 
 you play are made in just the same way as our dolls ; 
 if ours only contain clay so do yours." The boys 
 at once feel hurt by this tu quoque, and indignantly 
 deny the charge ; they say their oxen are really alive, 
 and that if broken would bleed ; they then add that 
 their oxen have real horns ; but feeling themselves 
 on delicate and tender ground, and not wishing to 
 have any questions pressed home, they wisely change 
 the subject. 
 
1 64 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 The children make small imitation huts for their 
 dolls, for they have no European-made dolls' houses 
 to play with. They get immense fun out of their 
 own toy huts, which are truer to life than any English 
 dolls' houses could be, for the children make their 
 toy huts out of the very materials which are 
 used in making real huts. They imitate all the 
 details of a real kraal, making small grinding-stones, 
 pots, mats and other articles. The boys make small 
 cattle kraals for their clay oxen. Both boys and girls 
 frequently leave their dolls in these huts or kraals all 
 night, rising early in the morning before their elders 
 are up, in order to run off and visit their dolls. In 
 Zululand I saw children making small play-huts 
 without having any dolls to place in them. Several 
 little naked boys prowled round the cattle kraal when 
 no one was looking, picking up small sticks and wisps 
 of grass, surreptitiously, from the thatch of a hut. 
 These little urchins put their heads together and 
 built an imitation hut about a foot or eighteen inches 
 high, and spent much time in putting on fresh thatch, 
 re-daubing the walls with mud — I never saw a black 
 child making " simple mud pies," strange to say — 
 and then sat down round the toy hut, and chatted 
 and played for hours in supreme content. A little 
 mud, a few sticks, and a handful of grass, supply 
 sufficient stage furniture to keep a dozen small boys 
 playing happily the whole livelong day. (See Plate.) 
 
 The children pretend to feed their dolls, and even 
 grind earth on their toy grinding-stones, pretending 
 that it is grain ; and at such times they sing the grind- 
 ing-songs which the old women use as they grind corn 
 for their husband's beer. Here is one of the songs 
 sung by the children amongst the Fingos, in imitation 
 of the old women who are threshing the corn. The 
 words are very simple, and run as follows : " The corn 
 of the old women, the corn of the old women, we will 
 
PLAY 
 
 165 
 
 take the chaff from it." The children sing this again 
 and again as they pretend to thresh their imitation 
 corn. The tune is as follows : 
 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 #F^ 
 
 fcfc 
 
 While some of the children sing the air, the rest 
 hum the following notes — in any time they may please 
 — as accompaniment : 
 
 i 
 
 ¥ 
 
 ^=^^3 
 
 Basuto children adopt the song sung by the women 
 of their tribe. In this song reference is made to a 
 mythical old woman named Mamohera, who is reported 
 to have threshed her corn in secret — a practice that 
 is regarded as grossly selfish and evil. The song is 
 as follows : " Mamohera has eaten up the land 
 with the chaff, Mamohera has eaten up the land with 
 the chaff." The simple air to which it is sung is 
 subjoined. 
 
 s^S 
 
 ^ 
 
 g . d d 
 
 &32± 
 
 El 
 
 Ma mo he ra O ye le tsi mo )e li tho ka 
 
 At times there are great games of " shop " or 
 " traders " played with the dolls. The children 
 make a number of clay oxen, goats, hens, imitation 
 mealies, and representations of other articles which 
 their elders actually use in barter ; these imitation 
 articles are bought and sold in play. Many of the 
 boys give ten clay oxen for a small girl-doll, which 
 they pretend is a wife of one of their boy-dolls ; a 
 little polygamist doll may thus have a whole harem 
 of clay wives. This is the one occasion on which boys 
 
166 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 will play with girl-dolls. As soon as a girl-doll is 
 raised in status by becoming a wife, it is in no sense 
 beneath the dignity of a boy to play with it ; but the 
 girl-doll must be truly bought with clay cattle in 
 strict imitation of the rules of real life. Weddings are 
 held, and the true marriage songs are sung. In short, 
 every detail of adult life is imitated with these dolls. 
 Girls have periods of coolness towards their dolls, 
 not infrequently leaving them out in the veld un- 
 visited for days. At other times they treat them with 
 great tenderness, fastening them inside their blankets 
 on their backs, just as though they were fastening real 
 babies there. The children make special doll-feasts, 
 killing a clay-ox for the purpose, and manufacture small 
 clay dishes, pots, spoons, and other articles in strict 
 imitation of real life. Doll-dances are held on these 
 occasions. The boy-doll will go to his hut and will 
 bring out a number of his wives to join in the play. The 
 dolls are specially decked out in tiny toy bangles and 
 bead-work. Children love to take these dolls to bed, 
 but the old people will not allow it, though the girls 
 are allowed to take bangles to bed. Boys, probably 
 because it is forbidden, love to take wet clay to bed 
 so as to make oxen when the old people are asleep. 
 
 II. ANIMALS 
 
 Playing at " animals " is of course a world-wide 
 thing, though, as to detail, it takes on a local colouring. 
 Kafir boys are good imitators of animals, and terrify 
 the small children by roaring like lions ; their horse- 
 play is rather rough, and the small children have good 
 reason to take refuge with their mothers when four 
 or five big rough boys are rampaging round the hut 
 in imitation of wild animals. Boys make an instrument 
 known as the Bull-Roarer, and whirl the piece of wood 
 round their heads till it makes a sound which is thought 
 to resemble the roaring of lions, and which frightens 
 
PLAY 167 
 
 the small children very much. The natives declare 
 that the boys use these instruments for simple pleasure, 
 though the old women sometimes make the boys 
 stop using them, for they think that the noise will 
 attract the wind. The men also tell the boys not to 
 use these things at night, for they say the noise makes 
 people dream of lions. Whatever may have been the 
 original function of these instruments, the people 
 nowadays have quite forgotten it, and declare that it 
 is simply a plaything of the boys. The game of 
 " horses " is a favourite one, a piece of wood being 
 placed in the mouth to represent a bit, grass string 
 being used for reins. 
 
 III. TRICKS WITH THE BODY 
 
 The children play a number of tricks with their 
 bodies so as to pass the time. Sometimes a whole 
 crowd of little children turn the upper eyelids inside 
 out, displaying the red membrane, and laugh at the 
 grotesque appearance. Nasty sores often result from 
 playing at this game. Another pastime consists in 
 droning a chant while the ears are gently tapped with 
 the finger so as to produce a weird sound. 
 
 " Follow-my-leader " is also played with many 
 modifications. Sometimes half a dozen children stand 
 in single file one behind the other, and place their 
 hands on the shoulders of the one immediately in front. 
 This string of children then starts off slowly, each 
 child shuffling the feet in the dust till a clear track is 
 made in a wavy pattern. Then the first child runs 
 off, following the sinuous track, and the others chase 
 him ; but every child has to keep to the pattern on the 
 dusty ground. {See Plate.) 
 
 Some of the games played by the children are very 
 dirty from our point of view. One consists in jerking 
 the body about until the perspiration streams off ; the 
 boy who can make his stream of perspiration flow 
 
1 68 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 farthest wins the game. In another game a boy passes 
 the palm of his hand before his mouth and spits 
 on to it as it passes. He then asks the other player 
 to guess where the spittle hit the hand. If he 
 should guess correctly, he has the privilege of doing 
 the spitting. The boys grow immensely merry over 
 this game, which seems to cause them very much 
 amusement. 
 
 There are endless games in which children jump 
 in the air and kick their buttocks with their heels, 
 or in which they play similar tricks with the body. 
 " The coming down of the rat " is the name given to 
 the game in which the boy lifts himself up to a hori- 
 zontal bar, passes his legs between the bar and his 
 body, and turns a somersault, falling on to his feet. 
 
 Basuto and Fingo children play a game somewhat 
 similar to the English one, in which the small players 
 pile their hands up alternately one on the top of the 
 other until all the hands are wedged together, after 
 which the bottom hands are pulled out in regular order, 
 and thumped down upon the top hand. The native 
 children play this game in the European fashion, and 
 also in a rougher manner. One boy picks up a small 
 piece of skin on the back of another boy's hand, pinch- 
 ing it between his finger and thumb ; the next boy picks 
 up a similar piece of skin on the back of the hand of the 
 second boy, and holds it firmly between his first finger 
 and thumb ; the next boy, or girl, follows suit, till a 
 whole chain of hands is formed. Then all the children 
 begin to swing the chain of hands about while they 
 sing, " Mantsipatsipane, Mantsipatsipane" to a tune 
 somewhat like our " Oranges and Lemons." Suddenly, 
 at a given signal, they all jerk their hands away, each 
 one pinching the skin of the hand he is holding as hard 
 as possible. Large pieces of skin are frequently pulled 
 off in this way, but no boy would dream of crying with 
 the pain lest he should be laughed at for being girlish. 
 The dull nerves of the Kafirs no doubt must force us 
 
PLAY 169 
 
 to discount our European conceptions of the pain 
 caused ; some children do not seem to feel the pain 
 amid the fun of the game. 
 
 IV. SIMPLE PASTIMES 
 
 The children are fond of swings, which they make 
 with the bark stripped from certain trees. The bark 
 is cut into suitable lengths and is chewed in the 
 mouth till friable and soft. It is then twisted by being 
 rubbed between the side of the hand and the thigh, 
 and so forms a very strong rope. When there are no 
 trees to be found near the kraal, the children wait till 
 the parents are away at a beer-drink, or other cere- 
 mony, and fasten the rope to the beam of the doorway, 
 when it is high enough. If the parents catch the 
 children making swings in the doorway, or hanging 
 them from the rafters of the roof, there follow tre- 
 mendous scoldings, for the huts are made in too flimsy 
 a fashion to stand such wear and tear, and are apt to 
 leak if treated thus. But the children are often 
 allowed to fix their swings to the poles at each side 
 of the doorway of the cattle kraal. 
 
 Hoops are unknown, so far as I can find out, but the 
 children frequently roll pumpkins down-hill, kicking or 
 hitting them so as to make them roll the faster. Tops 
 are made from roots, or from broken pieces of old 
 pots, through which spindles are inserted ; these rough 
 tops are spun by rotating the spindle between the sides 
 of the hands, and great competitions are held to see 
 who can spin them the longest. Bangles are also 
 spun on their axis in a way similar to that in which 
 we spin coins. Amongst boys' games must also be 
 included " cock-shies," which are conducted much 
 as in England. Tin soldiers are of course, unknown, 
 and one of the greatest delights of white boys is thus 
 lost. But for all that, the boys on'Jthe Zambesi take 
 mealie cobs, which they place on end like nine-pins, 
 
170 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 pretending that these cobs are warriors. These soldiers 
 are placed in two rows, and two large tops, as just 
 described, are set spinning in the midst of them. 
 Victory remains with the side whose mealie cobs 
 stand the longest. 
 
 Labyrinths in the sand are made by the clever boys, 
 who make their design with amazing rapidity. Duller 
 boys are lost in wonder when they see big boys making 
 these things. The big boy kneels down on one knee, 
 and, reaching out with his forefinger, makes a thin 
 groove in the sand with his finger. The chief's hut 
 is supposed to be in the centre, and a maze is built 
 around it ; the other boys have to trace the way in. 
 Some of these designs are very clever and ingenious. 
 (See Plate.) This is one of the few boyish games which 
 survive into adult life amongst the Kafirs. When 
 natives smoke Indian hemp, they inhale the smoke into 
 their lungs and blow it out on to the earth in bubbles 
 formed of saliva and smoke. They are fond of smoking 
 hemp in couples; they make labyrinths with the 
 smoke bubbles, or else try to outflank one another, 
 pretending that their bubbles are armies of soldiers 
 advancing against a chief. 
 
 A very primitive game consists in joining hands 
 round a large tree, so as to form a circle. The children 
 then dance round the tree ; any one touching the 
 trunk is disqualified, and has to give way to another 
 child. Sometimes the children simply join hands in 
 a large circle, quite apart from a tree, and dance round 
 till they are giddy. 
 
 When there are many rocks or stones in the ground, 
 the boys play at stepping-stones, and jump about with- 
 out touching the earth between the stones ; any one 
 touching the ground between the rocks is disqualified, 
 and has to go back to the starting-point. When ant- 
 heaps abound, the children run up them as fast as they 
 can, and see who can jump the farthest from the top 
 
PLAY 
 
 171 
 
 of the heap, which may be fully ten feet high. At 
 other times I have seen them playing King of the Castle 
 on large ant-heaps near the Zambesi. {See Plate.) 
 They sometimes make rough stilts, either by fixing 
 a piece of wood on to a pole, or else by making 
 notches in the pole. They also practise running up 
 steep hills on their hands and knees, saying that this 
 may prove very useful in after years during war. 
 The boys love anything that requires agility; the 
 following performance is very difficult to do well. 
 The boys run along holding a stick in both of their 
 hands which are extended in front of them. They 
 then jump up into the air as they run, and pass their 
 legs through the loop formed by their arms and the 
 horizontal stick ; as they continue running, they pass 
 the stick over the head and jump again through the 
 loop. By practice they become very smart at this 
 sort of race. They also know how to make " Catharine 
 wheels." 
 
 V. A MEALIE GAME 
 
 A mealie game is played as follows : A number of 
 mealies are placed in two long rows that are some- 
 times fully three yards in length. The mealies are 
 placed about two inches apart, the rows being about 
 six inches from one another. The first player places 
 himself, let us say, on the right side of the two rows. 
 He is then bound to shut his eys tightly so that he 
 cannot see. A boy is told off to act as judge, whose 
 duty it is to make sure the player does not open his eyes. 
 The boy with his eyes shut has to bend over to the 
 left row of mealies, move the first mealie from the 
 left-hand row across to his own side, causing it to 
 pass between the first and second mealie of the right 
 row. He then has to bend over and draw the second 
 mealie of the left row across to his side, causing it to 
 pass between the second and third mealie of the right 
 
172 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 row, and so on till he has finished the whole row suc- 
 cessfully. Should he peep out of his half-closed eyes, 
 the judge makes him start over again from the begin- 
 ning. The boy who succeeds in drawing all the 
 mealies of the left row in correct order through the 
 spaces in the right row, without touching the 
 mealies in passing, is given a free smoke of Indian 
 hemp as a prize. 
 
 VI. STONE GAMES 
 
 As the children grow a little older they play many 
 games with stones, and show great skill in the way they 
 catch them. A favourite pastime is to throw up a 
 pebble into the air, and, quickly grasping a large stone 
 in the hand, to allow the falling pebble to hit the large 
 stone held in the open palm of the hand. When tired 
 of doing this, the boys throw up a pebble in the air, 
 catch up a large stone in the hand, reverse the hand 
 and catch the falling pebble on the back of the hand. 
 They also try to keep a large number of stones in the 
 air, throwing up the first before the second has had 
 time to fall ; in this way they may keep up as 
 many as half a dozen in the air at once. Another 
 game is played as follows : A stone is thrown up into 
 the air, and before it has time to fall, another is 
 picked up between the ring and little fingers ; the 
 falling stone is then caught between the index and 
 middle finger. It is wonderful how clever Kafir boys 
 are at doing this. There are endless modifications of 
 these stone games ; sometimes a stone is thrown up in 
 the air ; another stone has then to be grasped in the 
 hand with which the falling stone has subsequently 
 to be caught ; then the original stone is thrown up 
 again, and two others are grasped in the hand which 
 has to catch the falling stone. This is repeated again 
 and again, one more stone being picked up each 
 succeeding time. 
 

 
 
 'KING OF THE CASTLE 
 
 ON AN" ANT-HEAP (ZAMBESI) 
 
FLAY 173 
 
 Another stone game is played as follows : A number 
 of children sit in a circle, in the centre of which a 
 small hole is dug in the ground. Some stones, usually 
 about fifteen, are placed in this hole ; the first boy 
 takes one and throws it into the air ; he then grasps 
 all the other stones in his hand, and scoops them out 
 of the hole, and must yet catch the falling stone. 
 He then throws it up again, and while it is in the 
 air he has to put back into the hole in the ground 
 all the stones but one, and must yet catch the falling 
 stone as before. If he should catch the falling stone 
 aright, he places the stone he had retained on one side, 
 and that counts one to him. He then has to go on 
 with the fourteen stones and repeat the game as before. 
 If he succeeds again, he places a second stone on one 
 side, and that brings his score up to two. His innings 
 is ended when he fails to catch the falling stone 
 properly, or when he fails to put back all the stones 
 but one into the hole. When he fails, the next boy 
 tries his luck, and so the game continues. One point 
 has been ommitted, for sake of clearness. When only 
 two stones are left in the hole, the boy has to throw 
 a stone into the air, and, before it falls, he has to place 
 the two stones, one on the far, and one on the near, 
 side of the hole. He leaves these two stones in that 
 position, and quickly removes his hand to catch the 
 falling stone. The ingenuity shown in the plan of the 
 game is somewhat surprising, for the native children 
 who play this game can hardly have learnt it from 
 Europeans, seeing that the district of Gazaland in 
 which it is played has only quite recently been in- 
 habited by white men. The game would seem there- 
 fore to be of purely local invention. I can find no 
 trace of it in any other than the Tshindao-speaking 
 tribe. 
 
 In another game, a boy takes a small stone and shuffles 
 it from one hand to the other behind his back, and then 
 
174 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 suddenly throws out both clenched hands in front of 
 him. Another boy has to guess in which hand the 
 stone is, and if he should guess wrongly, the first boy 
 repeats the shuffling ; if, however, the guess be correct, 
 the second boy takes the stone and shuffles it between 
 his hands in the same way. This is done so rapidly 
 that the onlooker can hardly follow the movements. 
 In Basutoland, according to Casalis, when the rival 
 guesses correctly the other cries out, " You eat the 
 beef, I eat the dog," and with that hands the stone 
 to his rival. When, however, he guesses wrongly, 
 the other cries out, " You eat the dog, I eat the beef," 
 a dead dog being the one animal natives do not eat. 
 There is a " round " game in which a number of boys 
 and girls sit down in a circle and pass a small stone, 
 or a grain of Indian corn, from hand to hand under 
 their blankets, or behind their backs. A boy or girl 
 standing in the centre of the ring has to guess in whose 
 hand the stone is, when at a given signal all shuffling 
 ceases. When the child in the centre guesses correctly, 
 he sits in the circle, exchanging places with the one 
 in whose hand the stone was found. Sometimes the 
 stone is hidden in the mouth, or under the arm-pit. 
 (See Plate.) 
 
 The most famous of all games, however, is not played 
 by small children, for they cannot grasp the rules. 
 The game is called Morabaraba in Basutoland, and 
 Tsoro in Gazaland. It is played with a large flat stone, 
 or plank of wood, in which a number of small holes 
 are bored out — in four rows — as if for a modified 
 game of solitaire. Two or more stones of different 
 colour are chosen and placed in these holes ; they are 
 moved about as in our game of draughts. The game 
 can be played equally well by making a number of 
 small holes in the ground — the natives at the Johannes- 
 burg compounds being very fond of playing the game 
 thus. The game is said to be played all over Africa. 
 
PLAY 1 75 
 
 It so happens that I was writing out the present 
 chapter in Egypt ; on going out for a walk, I found 
 the game just described being played at the foot of 
 the Great Pyramid. Doubless it was also played in 
 the days when the pyramid was being built. 
 
 In somewhat the same category is the ancient game 
 of " noughts and crosses," which it is said the children 
 play in some districts, though I could not trace it 
 myself. The game is played as in England. 
 
 VII. BATHING GAMES 
 
 Boys are very fond of spending hours over their 
 bathing on hot days, playing games in the sand between 
 the periods spent in the water. For example, they 
 love to play in the sand at the edge of the river, making 
 one of their number into a small chief. Huts are built 
 of sand, the best being reserved for the little chief, 
 who orders all the boys about in royal fashion. This 
 love of authority is very dear to the Kafir heart. The 
 little chief is given a small white shield, and in the 
 tremendous fights which follow, no one would dare 
 to hit the boy with the white shield even in play ; 
 it is thought a very bad thing to hit a chief, and 
 therefore it is very bad to imitate such an action. 
 
 At another time the boys make a number of sand 
 mounds about two feet high ; these mounds being 
 about two feet apart. Each boy has a mound or hut 
 on which he sits. Some one gives the word much as 
 in our game of " General Post," and, at the word, every 
 boy has to raise himself on his arms and jerk his body 
 through the air, so as to come sitting down on the 
 heap next to him on his right. Any boy who allows 
 his feet to touch the ground is disqualified. The 
 game continues till only one boy is left. 
 
 As the boys are going to the river to bathe, they 
 will sometimes see who can run the farthest while 
 
176 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 balancing a stick on the first finger of the right hand, 
 or else on the nose. The reward for the winner is 
 that he shall be let off herding the cattle all day, and 
 shall be constituted a petty chief, being allowed to 
 fag other boys to fetch him food ; or else the reward 
 may be that the winner shall have the largest bird 
 caught that day in the traps. 
 
 When tired of playing in the sand, all the boys may 
 commence skipping or hopping, or they may stand 
 on their heads, and see who can run farthest upside 
 down, balancing the body on the hands with the feet 
 up in the air. This sort of racing is called " Running 
 with the horns," the legs being supposed to resemble 
 the horns of oxen. When tired of this game the 
 children sit down and play string games, making twine 
 out of plaited grass or reeds. 
 
 VIII. STRING GAMES 
 
 In many districts the children play " Cat's Cradle " 
 in the very same way that we do. Mr. Hawkins, 
 of Zululand, assures me the children in his district 
 play cat's cradle in almost exactly the same way that 
 English boys do ; the game is also played in Basutoland. 
 The natives call the game Uzatnanyeka, which means 
 " It sways of itself." In Basutoland a favourite 
 modification gives to the game the name of " Fowl's 
 Foot," because the foundation pattern of the string 
 looks like the foot of a hen. Unfortunately, I have 
 been unable to get details of this modification. When 
 the children are tired of playing this game, they modify 
 it thus : two boys lie down on the ground with feet 
 to feet ; a third boy takes a piece of string and loops 
 it in an intricate tangle round the toes of the two 
 boys, who have to release their toes without touch- 
 ing the string with their hands. 
 
 Another string trick often practised by the boys 
 
PLAY 1 77 
 
 is as follows : A boy takes a piece of string about two 
 yards long, and joins the free ends so as to form a loop. 
 He places this loop round his head and around his two 
 hands which are held out in front of his face. A string 
 circle is thus formed which touches the back of his head 
 and the backs of his two hands. The string is steadied 
 by being hitched half round the thumbs after it passes 
 over the backs of the hands. The boy, holding the 
 string taut, moves his left hand in front of his open 
 mouth, passes the string through the mouth and 
 loops it under the chin. He then moves his left hand, 
 still carrying the string, away to the left side. A 
 similar operation is performed with the right hand, 
 and the string in front of his face is made taut. When 
 this is accomplished, the boy passes the loop of string 
 which is in front of his face, over the back of his head, 
 claps his hands and quickly separates them. The string 
 is then seen to be entirely free from his mouth and chin, 
 and also free from the head, which is disengaged from 
 the loop by the manoeuvre. This trick is the most 
 elaborate one I have met with amongst the Kafirs, and 
 is by no means easy to describe lucidly in a few words. 
 
 IX. ORGANISED GAMES 
 
 It is very striking to notice how many of the games 
 played in Europe are also played by the Kafirs. The 
 children are very fond of playing three or four varieties 
 of " Touch," sometimes marking off a " Home " 
 where the players can take refuge. But sometimes 
 there is no " Home " at all. One form of the game 
 is called Caba. A boy touches another on the shoulder 
 to start with ; the boy who was touched has to run 
 after the other boys, and tap one of them on 
 the shoulder. They run all over the country when 
 playing this game, which causes great excitement. 
 Hide-and-seek is also played, though in some districts 
 
 M 
 
178 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 it is called " Wolf." The party that hides has to 
 call out " Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo," which is supposed to 
 be an imitation of an owl. When a boy is caught, he 
 is eaten in pretence by the boy who has caught him. 
 The little chap then pretends to cry, and shouts out, 
 " The wolf has caught me ; the wolf has caught me." 
 But if a boy can escape to the area marked off as 
 " Home," he is considered safe. 
 
 I am told that the children in Gazaland have a 
 game exactly like our game of " Oranges and Lemons," 
 though I have not seen them play it. But on the 
 Zambesi I have seen the children playing the game 
 of " Frogs," in which a dozen little boys imitate frogs 
 to perfection, and form a long straggling line of 
 jumping frogs in a way that is very droll. When 
 tired of that, they stand on their heads ; after that 
 they play at " Leap-frog," for they have no superstition 
 to make this game unpopular. 
 
 (a) Inzema 
 
 A game called Inzema is played in Natal by the 
 children as follows : A large gourd, something like a 
 pumpkin, is rolled along the ground where it is fairly 
 level. On either side of this pitch, which is about the 
 length of a cricket pitch, the players take their stand 
 with sharpened sticks or assegais. A boy at one end 
 of the pitch makes the big round gourd roll along 
 the ground as fast as he can, while the boys at the 
 side try to spear it as it passes them. The game 
 is very difficult when there is a good bowler. The 
 boy who succeeds in spearing the passing ball has the 
 right to bowl the next time. In Zululand it is often 
 arranged that the boy who spears the passing ball 
 first shall have the first choice of meat when the next 
 animal is killed, for the grown-up men like to en- 
 courage the game, thinking it helps boys to learn to 
 become skilful in the use of the assegai. No prize is 
 
PLAY 
 
 179 
 
 so much coveted as the choice of the best piece of 
 meat. In Gazaland the game, which is called Dema, 
 is played with a large pad of grass about a foot in 
 diameter. 
 
 (b) Hockey 
 
 A game very like Hockey, called Ndoma, is also played 
 in Gazaland, sticks, like our hockey sticks, being 
 employed. But Golf does not yet seem to have been 
 evolved. The game like hockey is played with a 
 lump of wood instead of a ball, and is responsible 
 for the destruction of many gardens by goats, because 
 the little herd-boys get so keen on it that they 
 forget all about their herding. The ground where 
 Ndoma is played becomes quite bare, which fact shows 
 how very popular the game must be. There are no 
 goals used in this game, for the ball is just knocked 
 backwards and forwards. 
 
 (c) A Round Game 
 
 A favourite round game, called Qakela, is played 
 out of doors by a large number of children who 
 stand or sit in a circle. A boy is chosen by lot, 
 and is sent far away out of hearing with another boy, 
 whose duty it is to make sure that he cannot see what 
 is being done by the group of children. Every child 
 in the circle puts something in the right hand, choosing 
 such things as a mealie-grain, a stone, a bean, or other 
 similar article. Then the boy is called back from a 
 distance and is placed in the centre of the circle. 
 Each child has to hold out his or her clenched right 
 hand. The boy in the centre looks round the circle 
 and picks out any hand he may choose, and has to guess 
 what it contains. If his guess be correct he sits down 
 in the circle ; the child who is found out has to take 
 his place, and is led away to a distance while all shuffle 
 the contents of their hands. But should his guess 
 
i8o 
 
 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 be wrong he has to go back and try his luck again. 
 If he should fail time after time, he is told he is silly ; 
 he has to sit on one side while another boy takes his 
 place. 
 
 (d) the Caterpillar 
 
 The game called Gurgwe, or The Caterpillar, is 
 only played in Gazaland, so far as I can discover ; 
 but it is a very favourite game there, for it is regarded 
 as a test of strength. A boy kneels down on his hands 
 and knees, and two children sit down on the ground, 
 one on either side of him, facing one another. They 
 then put their legs over the back of the boy who is 
 kneeling, and grasp one another firmly by the hand. 
 The kneeling boy has then to rise with these two 
 children clinging to his back ; as he walks away 
 with them, all the other children grow very excited, 
 and sing out, " The caterpillar and its child ; the 
 caterpillar and its child." Any one failing to lift 
 the two children and walk away with them, is laughed 
 at for being weak and feeble. The tune of the refrain 
 is as follows : 
 
 =£ 
 
 m d 
 
 ^ 
 
 Gu 
 
 rgwe 
 
 no - rawa - na wa 
 
 (e) The Calabash 
 
 A game called " The Calabash is tied up," is played 
 in Gazaland thus : Two boys interlock their arms 
 round another boy who stands between them. This 
 boy is supposed to be a calabash locked up, and has 
 to wriggle until he can escape. The boys who lock 
 him in move their arms up and down so as to prevent 
 him from escaping. 
 
PLAY 181 
 
 (/) Gambekambe 
 
 A most interesting game to be described is that of 
 Gambekambe, which is played in Gazaland. It shows 
 a certain childish humour. A number of boys and 
 girls sit down on the ground while another boy pre- 
 tends to be the " father." It is imagined that he has 
 been out looking for meat which he has brought home 
 in the shape of small pieces of stick. All the other 
 children sit down in a row with their feet straight out 
 in front of them. The " father " sticks the pieces 
 of wood in between the toes of the children. He then 
 pretends to be sleepy and lies down across the legs of 
 the children. As soon as he pretends to snore in his 
 sleep, each child pulls out the piece of wood between 
 the toes and prods the sleeping " father " with it. 
 He wakes up and scratches himself, pretending that 
 the ants are biting him. He says he must shake his 
 sleeping-mat — which of course is represented by the 
 legs of the children on which he has been lying. So 
 he lifts up all the legs one by one, and pretends to shake 
 the ants out of them. He goes to sleep again, and 
 again wakes up with the same complaint, and goes 
 over all the legs, shaking them in turn. The children 
 are bound to keep their legs quite stiff while he does 
 this. As he is preparing to shake the legs, he sings the 
 following song : 
 
 Ra a gambekambe, It is " gambekambe," 
 
 Ra a muti u no rgyiwa ; It is a tree that is eaten ; 
 
 U no rgyiwa mangoingoi. It is eaten mangoingoi. 
 
 Mangoingoi nga ani i Whose is the mangoingoi i 
 
 Nga a mutshutshubanga. It belongs to Beetle-knife 
 
 Ta zo ku ona We have seen you 
 
 Nyamutshia, Nyamutshia, 
 
 U nembare pamutsana, You have a burn on your back, 
 
 Tshiatshia nyamutshia. There it is, there it is, nyamutshia 
 
 Many of the words in this song are purely onomatopoeic 
 and have no meaning, being invented on account of 
 
'182 
 
 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 their rhythmical tone. The tune of the song is 
 subjoined. 
 
 FT 
 
 22; 
 
 22 
 
 cJ. a 
 
 Ra 
 
 ga mbe ka - mbe Ra 
 
 -m—w 
 
 22 
 
 32 
 
 7^ <rJ rJ 
 
 u no rgyi - wa 
 
 U 
 
 rgyi - wa ma - ngoi - ngoi. 
 
 i 
 
 Ma ngoi - ngo - i 
 
 nga 
 
 nga 
 
 5 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 i 
 
 mu tshu-tshu-ba - nga ta zo ku o 
 
 nya- 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 22: 
 
 22 
 
 mu tshi 
 
 ne - mba • re 
 
 I 
 
 pa 
 
 tsa- 
 
 Z2T 
 
 22 
 
 IS 
 
 9 
 
 22 
 
 32 
 
 na 
 
 tshi 
 
 tshi 
 
 nya - mu - tshi 
 
 X. INDOOR GAMES 
 
 Two indoor games are described by Bryant in his 
 dictionary ; not having seen these games myself I 
 give the account in his words : " A common indoor 
 pastime of children is to place a row, or rows, of mealie- 
 grains on the floor of the hut, supposed to represent 
 different birds. The mass of children then form a 
 chorus, singing in a pleasant minor tone the refrain, 
 Bula ! 'msentse ! (Divine, clever fellow !), to which 
 another single girl, singing in a similar pleasant tone, 
 and pointing to one of the mealie-grains, replies, 
 E ! e ! es'matoleni, imbalane, ijaha elikulu (Very 
 well ! the one among the calves, the yellow-finch, 
 
PLAY 183 
 
 a very fine-looking young fellow). At each, round a 
 different bird must be mentioned, and the game 
 consists in the child being able to think of so many 
 birds as will get him or her through all the row of 
 mealies." 
 
 The other game is described as follows : " A 
 favourite pastime of the native children is to draw 
 certain figures, consisting of lines, rings, &c, on the floor 
 of the hut, whereafter one of the girls, having noted 
 the position of the several figures, covers her eyes 
 with one hand, and, in a pretty minor song, replies 
 to another of the girls who, pointing to the first of 
 the figures as they stand, inquires, in a similar singing 
 tone, Ngibuza ! (I ask what this is). There are three 
 varieties of figure and three different replies, viz., 
 Ngibuza umlomo wesibamu, yeyeni ! (I ask about the 
 mouth of the gun, Ya ! Ya !). , N tsikintsiki, siy'azi 
 sonke, yeyeni I (Lump of a thing, we all know it, we 
 do, Ya ! Ya !). Vuta, 'nkzvenkwezi ezipum' elzoan- 
 dhle ; stye sambamba endayimana, yeyeni! (Flame up, 
 twinkling thing, those which rise up out of the sea ; 
 we went and caught him at the Diamond-fields, 
 Ya! Ya!). If the girl who is replying, through forget- 
 fulness of the relative positions of the different figures 
 sings out an unsuitable reply, she has lost the game." 
 
 In closing this chapter it may be well to point out 
 that not only do the games of savage children bear 
 striking witness to the high development and rich 
 content of their minds, but also suggest valuable 
 lessons on the subject of education. Play is educa- 
 tional in its tendency. It is most suggestive that 
 children when left to themselves play games which 
 mimic their adult work, or which in some way develop 
 acquirements which prove useful in adult life. It is 
 thus that they educate themselves. " It is often re- 
 garded by stupid parents as a sign of the child's 
 inherent frivolity and silliness ; it is permitted only 
 
1 84 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 as a concession to weakness, as a thing to be checked 
 within the narrowest possible limits, not one to be 
 extended within the widest possible bounds. The 
 instinctive, unconscious, but purposeful wisdom of 
 the child's behaviour is hidden from them. In reality 
 the play of a child is the most beautiful, the most 
 wonderful, the most suggestive phenomenon in 
 nature."* It is therefore impossible to study too 
 carefully the games of children, and so far from 
 apologising for taking up so much space with the games 
 of the Kafir children, the one regret is that so little 
 is here offered to the reader. But the subject is 
 continued in the next chapter, for fortunately the 
 Kafirs wisely allow their children to regard much 
 of the work they have to do as a sort of play. 
 
 * G. Archdall Reid, The Principles of Heredity, second edition, 
 p. 243. Further extracts from Mr. Reid's valuable book are given in 
 the Appendix. It would be well if every one who is engaged in edu- 
 cating the Kafirs would read Mr. Reid's stimulating and suggestive 
 book. The quotations given in the Appendix may possibly serve as 
 hors-d'ceuvres. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 
 
 The chief occupation of the boys consists in herding 
 the cattle, while the main work of the girls consists 
 in fetching wood and water for the kraal. During the 
 months in which the Kafir corn is ripening, all the boys 
 and girls available are turned out into the fields to 
 scare away the birds. This is the chief occasion on 
 which boys and girls mix, and, since it is the first work 
 the children are set to, it is best to begin this chapter 
 with an account of such work. 
 
 I. PEMPES 
 
 When they see the Kafir corn beginning to ripen, 
 the men make small huts at the edge of the fields, 
 choosing spots that command a good view of the ripen- 
 ing crop. These booths, which are called Pem-pes 
 in the tribes south of Natal, Amadhladhla in Zululand, 
 and Tshitarawhi in Gazaland, are flimsy erections 
 which serve to screen the children from the heat of 
 the sun. All the children who can be spared are sent 
 off to the fields soon after sunrise, and are given some 
 food for the day. They not infrequently refuse to go 
 unless properly fed ! Not being expected to return 
 home till dusk, they are allowed to take what food they 
 may need from the gardens. So long as they scare 
 the birds, they are allowed to behave as they like, 
 and small children are often keen to go to the fields 
 
1 88 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 with the bigger children because of the glorious fun 
 that is to be had on such occasions. 
 
 The children consequently make a social order of 
 their own, as well developed as that which obtains 
 at an English school. The boys form their own rules 
 of honour, initiate their own slang, invent their own 
 
 A PONDO PEMPE 
 
 punishments, devise original ways of teasing and bully- 
 ing, institute a scheme of fagging, and arrange their 
 own methods of drawing lots. The first thing to do 
 when on the way to the fields is to choose a head-boy 
 who shall act as a little chief for the day. 
 
 (a) Head-boy 
 
 In the nature of things, the boy fittest to rule is 
 sure to be selected, for he is generally the best fighter, 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 189 
 
 and so reigns by virtue of muscular strength, which is, 
 naturally, the final arbiter amongst savages. Now 
 and then a boy may be chosen, not for his strength, 
 but for his good-nature and general popularity ; if 
 a stronger boy were to try to depose him, the other 
 boys would join forces, and their corporate strength 
 would win the day. Popularity is as great a force 
 amongst Kafir boys as amongst white ones. 
 
 The little head-man chosen for the day never lacks 
 a suitable dignity, for every Kafir is fond of exercising 
 authority over others. The boy orders the others 
 about with a very stately bearing, which, however, 
 does not degenerate into mere swagger. If the day 
 be hot, he throws away his rag of a blanket, and stalks 
 about unclad, for his dignity and authority do not suffer 
 a whit by this lack of clothing. Carlyle's famous 
 picture of the naked assembly in Sartor Resartus would 
 in no sense apply to Kafirs. The head-boy then tells 
 off most of the girls, and sends them to fetch wood and 
 water for' the day's necessities, for much cooking will 
 be done before nightfall. Next, a number of small 
 boys are sent to suitable spots to set bird-traps, while 
 the cleverest boys are sent to steal a sweet cane (called 
 imfi) of which they are very fond. Other children 
 are stationed at strategic points round the field, and 
 are told to keep shouting all the time so that the grown- 
 up people in the distance may think that every one 
 is very busy. These small watchers are told to throw 
 stones or sticks at any birds that may be seen. When 
 all his forces are distributed, the petty chief selects 
 the best-looking or fattest girl for his sweetheart 
 for the day. The amorous nature of the children is 
 developed at a very early age, and it is not thought 
 wrong for a small girl who may be alone in a pempe, 
 and who sees some boy passing, to call out to him 
 to come and be her sweetheart.* Missionaries are 
 * The shameless and seductive language used by small girls at 
 
190 
 
 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 probably quite right in their condemnation of the evil 
 that occurs at these fempes. 
 
 (b) Bird-traps 
 
 Traps are made in several ways. The commonest 
 way, perhaps, is to prop up a slab of stone, at an angle 
 of about forty-five degrees, with pieces of stick as 
 shown in the accompanying sketch. Grain is placed 
 
 so that no bird may be able to get at it without 
 touching the trigger of the trap, which instantly 
 releases the stone, so that it crushes the bird. Another 
 very common form of trap is made with a number of 
 pieces of reed which are stuck in the earth so that 
 they form an inverted cone. A small opening is left 
 at one side of the cone, and in this opening a hair from 
 
 such times is well-nigh incredible ; it could not be printed in a book 
 written for the general reader. Those who condemn missionaries for 
 exaggeration on the point should refer to Byrant's Dictionary under 
 the word " Ungqoyingqoi " (p. 428). Even in a dictionary, the 
 phrase used by the small girls is left in the decent obscurity of the 
 Zulu language. 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 191 
 
 the tail of a cow is fixed in a slip-knot. The bird 
 can easily thrust its head through the loop, and peck 
 at the grain or white ants placed inside the trap as 
 bait ; but ' yet when the bird tries to withdraw its 
 head, the slip-knot tightens, and the head is firmly 
 caught in the noose. 
 
 When the children wish to catch larger game they 
 fix one end of a long flexible stick in the ground and 
 fasten a piece of cord, with a slip-knot on it, to the 
 free end of the rod, which is then bent over till 
 the noose can be fixed to a trigger on the ground. 
 As soon as a big bird, or a small animal, places its head 
 through the noose, it releases the trigger, and the rod 
 flies into the upright position, carrying the animal 
 into the air in the tightening noose. In the more 
 northern tribes large animals are caught thus : A 
 hedge of thorn-bush branches is made in a suitable 
 position, the hedge being sometimes several miles 
 long. Here and there narrow openings are made 
 in the hedge ; over these openings huge tree-trunks 
 are placed in such a way that as the animal bolts 
 through the opening, it releases a trigger and so causes 
 the tree-trunk to fall on and crush it. In Gazaland 
 the boys make figure- of-f our traps, and catch rats and 
 mice in funnel-shaped traps, from which a mouse cannot 
 escape once it has entered the narrow portion of the 
 trap. The boys also set fish-traps, which are some- 
 what like European lobster-pots. On the Zambesi 
 these traps are placed at parts of the river where the 
 current runs fast. In Gazaland the boys catch fish 
 in hand-nets, diving into the river and frightening the 
 fish into the nets which they hold with one hand. 
 
 The natives on the Zambesi make canoes by scoop- 
 ing out the trunks of huge mahogany trees. Small 
 boys love to be taken out for a day's canoeing in these 
 "dug-outs," when their fathers or big brothers wish 
 to spear some fish. (See Plate.) The river abounds 
 
192 SAVAUE CHILD JrlOUIJ 
 
 in crocodiles ; and the fact that these canoes are very 
 easily upset adds zest to the day's outing. The boys 
 are taught to swim by being made to jump into the 
 river where it is out of their depth ; a big brother 
 undertakes to prevent the little fellows from drowning. 
 Small boys will pluckily plunge into rapid rivers, 
 trusting to their brothers to help them in case of 
 danger. 
 
 Medicines are placed in traps to make the wild 
 animals blind, so that they may not be able to see the 
 trap. When boys wish to catch many birds they 
 sometimes beg their fathers to give them special 
 intelezi with which to wash the string of the trap. 
 The boys speak to the string in coaxing language, 
 saying to it, " Please work nicely and catch many 
 animals." They also beg their amatongo to give 
 them good luck, and to bring many animals to their 
 traps. When they catch game they frequently return 
 thanks to their amatongo for the success. No European 
 boy of a religious turn of mind ever prayed so fer- 
 vently for success in sport as do these Kafir boys at 
 certain times. 
 
 When the boys only wish to catch animals such as 
 mice or small birds, they frequently make bird-lime 
 out of the inomfi tree, the seeds of which, when pounded 
 and boiled, yield a very sticky material. The boys, 
 however, are not dependent on traps to catch birds : 
 they frequently stalk birds and throw their knob- 
 kerries at them most successfully. So skilful are they 
 at throwing these sticks that they not infrequently 
 hit birds when on the wing, and kill small animals 
 like the rabbit when running. The boys also some- 
 times use slings and stones for killing birds, and, in a 
 few tribes, shoot with the bow and arrow. There is 
 a strong belief that one's aim can be improved by 
 placing a shell-bangle round the wrist, or else by 
 anointing the string of the bow with medicines. 
 
WU1S.JV AINU rib SIDE-ISSUES 193 
 
 (c) Bird-catching Regulations 
 
 I have frequently come across a small boy or girl 
 in the veld eating a bird, and have invariably noticed 
 a guilty expression on the face, which I took to be 
 due to the embarrassment natural on such occasions. 
 It was most amusing to watch the tell-tale expression 
 on the face as the child stuffed a half-roasted bird- 
 roasted, of course, with all the feathers on, and without 
 any preliminary cleaning — into its capacious mouth. 
 The wretched and intractable feathers would keep 
 sticking out at the angles of the mouth in spite 
 of the frantic efforts made to negotiate and cram 
 them in between the lips. However, at length the 
 secret of this embarrassment was revealed. It seems 
 that it is a rule that a boy who catches a bird should 
 take it to his grandfather, or if he be dead, to his father, 
 who bites off the head of the bird and keeps the body 
 as an appetiser for his next meal, while he simply 
 gives the head to the boy to eat. Similarly a girl 
 is supposed to take the bird she may catch to the grand- 
 mother, or mother, who keeps the bird, but gives the 
 head to the child. Children do not see the logic of 
 this rule, and consequently try to eat the bird in the 
 veld, when they think they will not be found out. 
 There is, naturally, unusual haste in cooking and eating 
 under such conditions, and, when a troublesome white 
 man is seen cantering up, the child is apt to gulp the 
 bird down half cooked, feeling that once the bird is 
 eaten it cannot be demanded back again. If the parents 
 catch children eating birds in the veld, they tell them 
 that they will turn out witches or wizards when they 
 grow up. The boys naturally get sound thrashings 
 from their fathers, who feel it their duty to prevent 
 their sons from turning out abandoned wretches in 
 after life. There is no time when boys and girls 
 are so free from observation as when watching the 
 
194 SAVAGE CHILDHUUU 
 
 fields ; consequently at such times they have glorious 
 feasts off the birds they catch. 
 
 (d) Stealing Sugar-cane 
 
 When there is but a poor chance of catching many 
 birds, special squads of boys are sent out to steal imfi 
 (sweet water-cane). Boys are not allowed to cut this 
 cane from their fathers' gardens, and so they proceed 
 to steal it from the gardens of other people. These 
 young rascals pluck all the sweet cane they require, 
 and cut it into short lengths, binding bundles of the 
 cane round their legs. They can then walk through 
 the long grass, and no one would dream that they 
 had quantities of the stolen cane bound round their 
 persons. If by any chance the owner of the cane should 
 see the boys stealing his goods, and should give chase, 
 they immediately scatter in all directions, and so the 
 infuriated pursuer is at his wit's end to know what 
 to do, for he cannot see which boys have the cane tied 
 to their legs. He will probably chase a boy who lags 
 behind, and who has purposely tied no cane to his 
 legs. The boys run immense distances and gradually 
 wend their way to their rendezvous, and enjoy their 
 spoil undetected. Of course no cane is so sweet as 
 that which has been stolen amidst so much excitement 
 and risk. Should a boy get caught with cane strapped 
 to his legs, he will get such a thrashing that he will 
 never forget it. When a boy is seen to be thieving 
 and yet runs away, the owner of the stolen goods 
 often shouts ironically after him, telling him to catch 
 the sun and stop its course. This is a virtual threat 
 to catch the boy at sunset. 
 
 When the weather is wet and the ground muddy, 
 the boys know they could be detected and followed 
 by their footprints ; so they walk backwards, and bend 
 their heads round over their shoulders. They practise 
 this dodge in dry weather so as to be prepared for all 
 
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WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES i 9S 
 
 emergencies. When the owner notices the footmarks 
 all tending towards his garden, he lies in wait for the 
 boys for a long time till he feels sure they must have 
 cut a good deal of cane. But on pouncing on the 
 supposed thieves he finds that they have all gone, 
 having tricked him by walking away backwards from 
 the garden with their feet pointing to it. Sometimes 
 the boys chew a special root before going to the gardens 
 to steal, thinking that they can thus render their 
 footmarks invisible. On leaving the field where they 
 have been stealing, they chew bitter medicines and 
 spit them out over their shoulders on to their retreat- 
 ing footmarks. This charm makes the pursuer silly, 
 so that he cannot see the footmarks clearly ; it also 
 makes him stupid, so that it is easy for the boys to 
 escape by guile. But the owners of gardens also work 
 magic to catch the boys. Men put special medicines 
 on the stalks of mealies or sweet cane — especially on 
 the bruised or chewed stalks — thinking that the thieves 
 will thus be bound to return to the garden again ; 
 the owner, who hides himself from view, can then 
 easily catch the boys. The medicine placed on the 
 fresh, unchewed, sweet cane is supposed to make the 
 boys silly and mad, so that they cannot escape from 
 their pursuers. Boys who eat doctored cane are also 
 supposed to run about all over the country in a stupid 
 fashion till they feel bound to confess their theft. 
 
 When there is no chance of catching birds, or of 
 stealing sweet cane, the boys hunt for caterpillars, 
 which they spit on sticks and roast over the fire. 
 There does not appear to be any deliberate cruelty 
 in roasting these caterpillars alive, for the children 
 think that it is in the course of nature that food should 
 be cooked, and it never occurs to them to think of the 
 feelings of the caterpillars. Nor is there necessarily 
 any intentional cruelty when these children pull off 
 the wings and legs of insects ; they do it half 
 
196 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 unwittingly, wondering what sort of blood the insects 
 have, and being amused to see how they hop with only 
 one leg. But there is deliberate cruelty in the way 
 they torture some insects and animals which they think 
 hurt men and women. They often choose a harmless 
 lizard under a mistaken idea that it stings human 
 beings ; they slowly torture it to death, talking to it 
 all the time, and telling it that it deserves to suffer 
 because it is an enemy of man. Sometimes parents 
 stop boys from doing this, but often they pay no heed 
 to what the boys are doing. 
 
 (e) Bullying and Fagging 
 
 The system of fagging is well developed. The head- 
 boy fags all the other boys and girls under him, and 
 each one in turn fags a smaller one if he can. If the 
 head-boy should happen to be absent for five minutes, 
 the next big boy will promptly order all the others 
 about ; but he abandons his air of superiority as soon 
 as the head-boy returns. The fag-master has a glorious 
 time of it, for he lies down in the shade and makes all 
 the other boys do his work for him, ordering them to 
 fetch him food or drink as he may wish. If there 
 should not be sufficient food, the big boy makes the 
 little ones go and steal some. If the small boy should 
 be found out, he gets the thrashing ; if successful he 
 gets but little of the stolen food, for the big boy takes 
 the lion's share. It therefore seems a one-sided affair. 
 But then the little boy looks forward to the day when 
 he will be able to fag others, and so sees that the custom 
 must be kept up. And, moreover, if the little boy 
 were to get into a scrape with boys of a rival kraal, 
 his master would take his part and fight for him. 
 The small boy is thus "under the shadow," or protec- 
 tion, of the big one, and this is no small advantage. 
 There is very little fagging amongst the girls, for it is 
 said that, in the feminine nature of the Kafirs, sub- 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 197 
 
 mission is a somewhat rare quality. If boys try to 
 fag girls against their wish, the girls are said to re- 
 taliate by spreading the most atrocious slander about 
 the boys, who are somewhat sensitive in this direction. 
 
 There is endless teasing and petty bullying amongst 
 the boys, as might be expected. Children of two or 
 three years old are teased by bigger boys, who declare 
 the mother of the child has been divorced and sent back 
 to her father. The small child imagines it will never 
 see its mother again, and is thus very terrified. Small 
 boys are chaffed mercilessly by the big ones who have 
 been circumcised. These older boys twit the little 
 ones with being but babies or girls, and they have a 
 special vocabulary of offensive names for the small 
 boys, which cut them to the quick, and which leave 
 a nasty and bitter taste in the mouth. A boy is a 
 nonentity in the kraal until he is circumcised, and 
 is therefore subject to a good deal of chaff, for even 
 the girls throw his immaturity in his face. 
 
 When old women have no children, they have to go 
 into the fields themselves and frighten away the birds 
 while the crops are ripening. They complain very 
 much of their loneliness. The boys wait till such 
 an old woman goes to sleep in the pempe ; then they 
 creep up quietly and steal her mealies, and, as they are 
 going off with their booty, make a noise to awaken 
 her. The poor old creature has no defenders, and 
 gets furiously angry with the young rascals, but this 
 only makes them the more merry. Then the old 
 woman has to go home crying ; but no one seems to 
 trouble much, for old women are of no importance 
 in a kraal ; they are " cast-off things." It is only 
 fair to add that this treatment is rarely meted out 
 to any old woman except when she makes herself 
 obnoxious to the boys by her sharp tongue. A Kafir 
 boy knows well how to take his revenge in a telling 
 way, and most sensible old women take good care to 
 
198 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 keep on good terms with the boys. A woman who 
 was kindly and considerate would rarely be teased in 
 this fashion, which is the boy's method of self-defence 
 against the uncalled-for intrusions of old women. 
 
 Boys of the same age tease one another by well- 
 known methods. One boy will say to another, " Your 
 mother is an ugly old thing " ; " Your people are all 
 witches and wizards " ; " Your mother is a crow," 
 and so on. Strange to say, they do not tease one 
 another much about their fathers, nor about their 
 sisters. The great insults centre round speaking evil 
 of the mother and grandmother. If a lad should wish 
 to make the boys of another kraal angry, he will let 
 the cattle he is herding graze on the gardens of the 
 rival kraal, or on ground which the herds of the other 
 kraal wish to keep for their own cattle. But a boy 
 would not do this unless he were sure he could thrash 
 the boys of the rival kraal. If a small boy should cry 
 when he is bullied, he is made to herd the cattle all 
 the day, while the bully lies down in the shade at his 
 ease. Often a small child is spoiling for a fight ; he 
 goes up to another boy of about his own size and 
 brandishes his stick over the other boy's head, where- 
 upon the insulted boy would have to fight, or be con- 
 sidered a coward. But the surest way to make a boy 
 fight is to take his stick from him, and hit him over 
 the shoulders with it, saying, " You are an old woman ; 
 I hit you with your own stick, you tail of a dog." No 
 boy can stand the insult of being hit with his own 
 stick. Big boys often tease small ones by making them 
 put their hands together, finger-tip to finger-tip. 
 The big boy then hits the small one on the back of 
 his hands, saying, " Point out to me the direction of 
 the hut in which your mother's brother was born." 
 This is felt to be a great insult. 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 199 
 
 (/) Fights 
 
 Squabbles arise in the case of individual boys in 
 connection with the girls, for every small boy has 
 a sweetheart or two. These squabbles often lead 
 to very serious fights. But the great fights, in which 
 as many as thirty or forty boys take part, usually 
 arise over such things as the herding of the cattle, 
 or the setting of bird-traps on other people's property. 
 It is supposed to be a point of honour for boys to regard 
 the happy hunting-grounds of rival kraals ; but not in- 
 frequently a big boy will make his little fag set traps 
 on the ground which boys of a kraal, against which 
 he has a grudge, regard as their special reserve. The 
 head-boy who has made his fag set the traps on the 
 wrong ground, arranges for a fight between his fag 
 and the herd who has taken offence. The justice 
 of the quarrel is decided wholly by the result of the 
 combat, though the head-boy, who sent the fag to 
 set the traps, always takes the matter up, and fights the 
 rival head-boy, should his own fag be beaten. But 
 should the fag have gone to hunt on this own account, 
 and then afterwards win his fight, he must still fight his 
 fag-master. Whatever happens the head-boy demands 
 the larger share of the birds which have been caught, 
 for if his fag should be defeated, he demands payment 
 from the plaintiff for giving him justice, and should 
 his own fag win the fight, he sets to and gives him a 
 thrashing so as to level up all differences — and of course 
 demands most of the prey. The parents do not 
 recognise this method of settling disputes, but no boy 
 would complain to his father, or his life would be 
 unendurable. Boys all the world over scorn to tell 
 tales. 
 
 Fights between the boys of neighbouring kraals 
 frequently arise from the intoxication caused by 
 smoking Indian hemp. The boys start by smoking 
 
200 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 together in a friendly way, but when intoxicated by 
 the drug they become very quarrelsome, and begin to 
 squabble without knowing what they are doing. 
 Serious fights follow, and the boys, on recovering from 
 the effect of the hemp, do not remember what they 
 fought about. 
 
 When a boy has been insulted and holds back from 
 a fight, the head-boy, when present, precipitates 
 matters by the following method. He makes a small 
 mound of sand or earth, and says to the assembled 
 boys, " That is the grandmother of So-and-So," 
 mentioning the name of the boy who hangs back from 
 fighting. The boy who wishes to provoke the fight 
 then goes up to the mound of sand and kicks it over 
 in contemptuous manner, saying some very offensive 
 and unprintable things about the grandmother. 
 At once the head-boy and all the onlookers say to 
 the hanger back, " Look, he is kicking your old grand- 
 mother." This insult is so great that only the most 
 craven-hearted boy would refuse to fight. He 
 who tamely sat down under such an insult would 
 be called a girl ever after. A circle is cleared and 
 intense interest is seen on every face, for fights are 
 the great joy of life to the boys. 
 
 The favourite method of fighting is with sticks, 
 each boy having two long sticks — one to thrust, and 
 one to parry with, though either stick may be used 
 for striking if required. The boys show remarkable 
 agility at this sort of work, and keep their temper in 
 a splendid fashion. It is amazing what knocks on the 
 head they can stand. Sometimes the boys wrestle 
 instead of fighting with sticks, but they never use' 
 their fists until they have come into contact with 
 Europeans. There are strict rules in connection 
 with wrestling which no one would think of breaking. 
 Wrestling is regarded as a test of strength, and so no 
 tripping up is allowed. A wrestler has to place one 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 201 
 
 arm under, and one arm over, the arms of his rival, and 
 on no account may one boy place both his arms under 
 those of his opponent with a view to throwing him 
 down. It is forbidden for one boy to catch the other 
 by- his leg ; boys may not bite or use any personal 
 violence while wrestling. A boy is considered defeated 
 when the nape of his neck touches the ground. No 
 boy would ever think of fighting with a girl, or he 
 would never hear the end of it, for he would be 
 regarded as a coward — the basest of all epithets in the 
 estimation of the Kafirs. Sometimes a big boy will 
 wrestle with a little one for fun, but in such cases 
 the big boy will only use one arm, or else will wrestle 
 kneeling down so as to give the small boy an advantage. 
 The sporting spirit of fair-play is well developed 
 amongst the boys. 
 
 (g) Drawing Lots 
 
 When there is a dispute about unpleasant work 
 to be done, the matter is often settled by drawing 
 lots. There are many methods of doing this in 
 vogue. The simplest method is as follows : A number 
 of pieces of grass are plucked, and on one of these 
 a knot is tied ; these pieces of grass are held between 
 the hands of the head-boy. Each boy has to choose 
 one of the projecting ends of grass. He who draws 
 the piece of grass with the knot on it has to do 
 the unpleasant work. When only two boys are con- 
 cerned, one of them plucks a blade of grass and presses 
 it firmly between his thumb and first finger ; the 
 other has to guess which finger the grass will 
 stick to when the finger and thumb are parted. 
 When many boys are concerned, the following method 
 is sometimes adopted : A piece of grass is taken to 
 represent every person present. One of them takes 
 these pieces of grass and secretly throws away a certain 
 number. The boys have to guess, one by one, the 
 
202 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 number of pieces of grass left in the hand of the holder. 
 If a boy should guess correctly he is exempt. The 
 whole operation is then repeated again and again with 
 the others till only one is left. If at any period in the 
 successive guessings no one should guess the correct 
 number, then he who holds the grass is exempt, and 
 another has to do the sorting of the blades of grass. 
 Here is a very cumbersome method often used. One 
 boy takes a piece of grass and marks it ; he then selects 
 a piece of grass to represent every person present, and 
 shuffles all the blades of grass in his hands. The boys, 
 seriatim, choose a piece of grass out of the boy's 
 hand, and, should the marked piece of grass be left in 
 the hands of the holder, he has to do the unpleasant 
 work. But if the marked piece of grass should not 
 be left in his hands he is free, and the boy who has 
 chosen the marked piece of grass has to do the sorting. 
 This is repeated until the marked piece of grass is left 
 in the hands of the boy who shuffles the lots. 
 
 A rough-and-ready method is often used in the 
 following fashion : If two boys have to decide who 
 shall round up the cattle, one of them grasps a stick at 
 one end, with, say, the right hand ; the second then 
 places his right hand just above the other boy's hand ; 
 then the first boy places his left hand above the other 
 boy's right hand, and so on alternately, until the top 
 of the stick is reached. He whose hand touches the 
 top of the stick has then to swing the stick between 
 his finger and thumb, while his rival tries to knock 
 it out of his hand with a sudden thrust or jerk. 
 If the latter should succeed in jerking the stick out 
 of the other's hand, he is free ; but should he fail, then 
 he must round up the cattle. A simpler method of 
 deciding a difficult point amongst a number of boys 
 is that in which a mantis — an insect called the Hotten- 
 tot god — is placed on the finger of one of the boys, all 
 of whom are sitting ina circle. The mantis is dis- 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 203 
 
 turbed for a moment or two, and is then left to come 
 to rest on the vertical finger of the person who holds 
 it. The mantis thus points with its head to a certain 
 individual in the circle, and that boy is chosen for the 
 work. When a number of girls wish to decide who 
 shall go and fetch water or wood, they pile up their 
 hands alternately one on on the top of another, and 
 then withdraw them one by one, and slap them 
 down on the top of the heap of hands. The girl 
 who is slowest at this game finds both her hands left 
 at the bottom of the heap, and is chosen for the work. 
 
 In Gazaland the people — even boys — decide many 
 difficult or disputed points and divine the future by 
 means of what are called Hakata. These are small 
 pieces of nut which look like shells ; they are round 
 on one side and flat on the other. The " pack " con- 
 sists of six of these discs, which are thrown on to 
 the ground as if they were dice. By .the way they lie, 
 whether with face upwards or with face downwards, 
 the decision is arrived at. To explain the method 
 of divining or settling matters it will be necessary to 
 classify the possible falls under consecutive letters 
 thus : 
 
 A = When one falls face down and five face up. 
 B = When two fall face down and four face up. 
 C =When three fall face down and three face up. 
 D = When four fall face down and two face up. 
 E = When five fall face down and one face up. 
 F = When all fall face up. 
 G = When all fall face down. 
 
 Suppose some one should wish to know whether 
 a spirit is troubling a patient or not, whether wild pigs 
 will be seen in the hunt, and whether a friend will 
 arrive that day — the hakata are thrown. If in two 
 throws they fall consecutively as in B, then no spirit 
 is the cause of the sickness, no pigs will be seen and no 
 
204 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 friend will come. Suppose the hakata fall as in A 
 at the first throw, and as in D at the second, then a 
 female is indicated : that is to say, a friend will come 
 with his wife, a sow will be killed, and a female spirit 
 is at the bottom of the sickness. If the hakata should 
 fall as in A the first time, and as in C the second, or 
 as in C consecutively, then a spirit is troubling the 
 patient, a pig will be seen, but will escape, and the 
 friend will not come because he is quarrelling. But 
 should the hakata fall as in A at the first throw, and as 
 in B at the second, then the luck is good ; no spirit is 
 causing sickness, pigs will be seen and killed, and the 
 friend will come. Should the discs fall as in F, then 
 blood is indicated ; the patient will die, the pigs will 
 be killed and the friend will be prevented from coming. 
 If the discs fall as in G, then the luck is bad. Suppose 
 the question asked were : " Shall I find my friend at 
 home ? " then if the hakata fall consecutively as in A, 
 the answer is " No " ; if they should fall consecutively 
 as in B, the answer is " Yes " ; and if they should 
 fall consecutively as in A, B, C, then the reply is 
 also " Yes." The combination of possible throws is 
 enormous, but the above will suffice to make the 
 ground-plan of the method clear. 
 
 (h) Slang 
 
 Boys and girls have a slang-language of their own 
 in which they can converse with one another before 
 their parents without being understood. The actual 
 form of this slang varies from time to time, for it is 
 always undergoing change. If the slang did not 
 constantly change it would soon cease to be a private 
 language. It is, of course, well known that there is a 
 woman's language which arises from the hlonifa 
 custom ; but slang is a different thing. Boys have a 
 slang of their own, and so do girls, neither fully under- 
 standing the other. Girls frequently use an exag- 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 205 
 
 gerated " baby " language, such as grown-up people 
 use when talking to small children. School children 
 also make up a number of fanciful words, or change the 
 meaning of well-known ones, so as to bamboozle the 
 teacher. For example, a native teacher told me that 
 he was very puzzled what children meant when they 
 asked one another, " Have you kissed the slate ? " 
 The native teacher thought the words meant what 
 they appeared to on the surface ; but he found out, 
 after many months, that this was a way the children 
 had of asking in his presence whether any one had 
 surreptitiously written a letter which might be passed 
 down during lesson time, so as to create a diversion 
 from the dull work. In a somewhat similar way 
 when natives wish to speak about a white man to 
 one another in his presence, they refer to him as 
 " the animal," and so say things but little suspected. 
 They use similar methods also when talking of one 
 another. 
 
 Boys in Natal make a secret language by taking the 
 leading syllable of a word to which they add " lande." 
 They then skip the rest of the word, and pick out the 
 leading syllable of the next word, and add " lande " 
 to that. By this method boys converse very rapidly, 
 and their talk is utterly unintelligible to the listener 
 who has not practised this mode of forming a language. 
 Sometimes the method is modified, especially when it 
 is becoming a little too widely known, by adding 
 some other syllable, or by cutting the word in two 
 and adding a syllable to each half of the word. Fingo 
 boys change the order of the syllables, placing the first 
 half of the word last, and the last half of the word 
 first ; they thus completely mystify their parents, who 
 cannot make out a word of what the boys are saying. 
 A friend of mine was listening to a number of boys 
 in Gazaland talking together, and at first thought 
 they were talking gibberish ; but after some time he 
 
206 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 discovered that they were talking a private language, 
 which they made up thus. The language was Tshin- 
 dao. The boys cut the words in half and inserted 
 Tshini, Tshino, or Tshina between the two syllables. 
 Thus the phrase " Ask for fire " is, in Tshindao, " Kum- 
 biro mzvoto." When the boys changed this into their 
 slang language it became " Kumbitshinoro mwothsi- 
 noto." The effect is most puzzling when the words 
 are spoken quickly. The boys practise their secret 
 language when at work in the veld, and come to speak 
 it as easily as their own normal language. And 
 similarly the boys devise methods of talking about 
 the cattle in a way that misleads their fathers. A boy 
 who had lost the cattle while herding them, or who 
 had let them stray into other people's gardens, might 
 freely discuss such things with other boys before his 
 father, by speaking as if it were some other boy who 
 had been the defaulter, or as if it were a bangle or 
 stick that had been lost. The other boys know in- 
 stinctively that the herd-boy is referring to his own 
 cattle, while he calls them the cattle of other people, 
 or refers to them as bangles or sticks. When to all 
 these ways of speaking in secret is added the fact that 
 the normal woman's hlonipa language cannot be 
 properly understood by a man when his own wife is 
 using it to another woman, we see what a babel of 
 languages exists in the Kafir kraal. 
 
 II. HERDING CATTLE 
 
 The herding of the cattle is not given to the small 
 boys as soon as they cut their second teeth, for the 
 people think a child should be older before he under- 
 takes this somewhat arduous work. The natives say 
 that a boy should not herd the cattle until a certain 
 muscle stands out on the outside of his thigh over the 
 trochanter of the femur. When a boy gets to the age 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 207 
 
 at which, this muscle becomes prominent, the people 
 say it is time for him to herd the cattle. 
 
 The cattle are kept at night in the cattle-kraal, 
 which is usually in the centre of the kraal. The cattle 
 are not let out till the dew is off the grass, but as 
 soon as the grass is seen to be dry, the men take out the 
 poles from the door of the cattle-kraal, and the herd- 
 boys lead the oxen off to the pasturage. The oxen 
 stream out of the kraal in single file and a small boy 
 generally goes in front to lead them to the right place. 
 Another boy frequently brings up the rear to prevent 
 any oxen from wandering off to the gardens. In some 
 districts the boys have to bring back the cows for milk- 
 ing at noon, but in many districts the cows are milked 
 early in the morning. The little herd-boys are often 
 but very sparsely clad, and even if they have a blanket 
 they generally throw it over the arm in warm weather. 
 As soon as the oxen have reached the pasturage, the 
 boys sit down, and the biggest boy makes the little ones 
 fag for him, and look after the cattle. If there happen 
 to be trees in the neighbourhood, the big boy will lie 
 in the shade, or sit up in the branches, from which he 
 can not only get a good view of the cattle as they 
 graze, but also issue suitable orders. 
 
 Certain rules are laid down by the men with regard 
 to herding cattle ; thus boys are told to make the 
 oxen spread out so that they may get the best pastur- 
 age ; they are bidden not to allow the cattle to go 
 near other people's gardens ; not to let them stick 
 in marshy ground ; and above all not to drive the 
 cattle near the oxen belonging to other kraals. But 
 no sooner are the herd-boys out of sight than most 
 of these instructions are also out of mind. The 
 company of their neighbours is so interesting, and the 
 lads are such gossips, that they soon join forces with 
 the boys of other kraals to play games. 
 
 In olden days the people trained their cattle to 
 
208 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 race with no one riding on their backs ; the oxen 
 learned to understand the orders given to them, and 
 could be made to run, stop, turn round, race, and do 
 well-nigh anything the people wished. But nowadays 
 the boys are satisfied if they can teach the oxen to obey 
 one or two orders. If an ox should get into a bad place 
 time after time and so should need much attention, 
 the boys all surround the animal, drive it into a corner, 
 and then belabour it with sticks, shouting out some 
 pre-arranged word every time the animal is hit. The 
 ox thus comes to know the sound of the word ; then 
 the herd-boy can lie down, and when he sees the ox 
 straying into danger he need only call out the word 
 which the ox has been taught. The boys make great 
 use of whistling. They whistle one note when they 
 wish the cattle to come and stand for milking ; they 
 use another note when they want the cattle to avoid 
 certain pasture ; they use a third note when they want 
 the cattle to leave the pasture and follow them to fresh 
 ground, and so on. Boys have several ways of whistling. 
 They use the common method which every English 
 boy employs, and they also whistle between their front 
 teeth as street arabs do in London. They have a 
 third way of whistling which is difficult to describe, 
 for the sound gets its peculiar quality from the shape 
 of the tongue and mouth. But fortunately they do 
 not whistle with their fingers in their mouth, a method 
 which produces such ear-piercing sounds. Girls 
 only whistle when they have no brothers, and are 
 bound to herd the cattle. People in the kraal some- 
 times whistle chants to please the children ; they even 
 take parts in such chants. The Kafirs have also one 
 mode of whistling to call a dog, and a different mode 
 to call a man. A small child who cannot whistle 
 allows a certain water-beetle to bite his tongue ; 
 this is supposed to make whistling easier. Another 
 method of improving the power of whistling is very 
 
A TE.MHU MILK BUY 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 209 
 
 disgusting : the boys fill their mouths with the urine 
 of bulls, and then try to whistle. They have great 
 faith in this method. 
 
 The boys are, of course, up to every conceivable 
 and inconceivable sort of mischief when herding the 
 cattle. They love to catch the calves, and to have races 
 on their backs. If the father should come upon the 
 scene at such times, the boys get a good thrashing; 
 but should the boys get warning of the approach of 
 the father, they slip off the calves like lightning and 
 suddenly become suspiciously busy at their work. 
 The boys are very fond of sucking the milk from the 
 goats ; or of milking the cows into one another's mouths, 
 or into broken pieces of calabashes which they hide in 
 the veld. They sometimes keep an old ox-horn for this 
 purpose, and allow the milk to ferment and to form 
 their beloved amasi. If a goat from a neighbouring 
 kraal should cross their path, it is not allowed to go free 
 till all its milk is sucked from it. By rare good fortune 
 it is also possible, sometimes, to find a cow trespassing ; 
 and in that case the herd-boys have a fine time in 
 milking it ; when they have taken all its milk they 
 career about the country on its back. The boys who 
 herd the cattle are not given any food to take into the 
 veld, for they are required to get accustomed to run 
 about all day without food, the idea being that this 
 hardening policy will be useful in after life. So the 
 boys steal all they can in revenge. 
 
 (a) Hiding Thefts 
 
 The boys have many ways of avoiding detection. 
 If a boy should have let the oxen stray into the gardens, 
 he knows his father will beat him when he returns 
 at night ; and if a boy of such an age were to cry 
 when being punished, his father would thrash him the 
 harder for being childish. These thrashings are not 
 very common, for the parents are very sensible ; but 
 
210 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 when they give a boy a beating they do it in the most 
 consummate style. The Kafirs think that vigour is 
 the soul of a thrashing, and the boys have a very whole- 
 some fear of their father's anger. If a boy should have 
 misbehaved himself he will frequently stay out in the 
 veld all night, hoping that his father may have forgotten 
 the matter by the next evening. 
 
 Boys chew certain bitter roots when they are 
 expecting punishment, for they think they can thus 
 bind the anger of the father. They do this when 
 baboons come down and make a raid on the exposed 
 gardens. The fathers tell the boys they should have 
 fought the baboons, but the boys dread baboons too 
 much ; so they chew the medicine on the way home 
 hoping that the father may not be excessively angry with 
 them. Boys often get thrashed for losing the oxen they 
 are herding. But before they harden themselves for the 
 beating which they expect, they hunt for a mantis 
 (Hottentot god), and place it on a reed or on a piece 
 of grass ; they then disturb it, asking it to point out 
 the direction in which the oxen have strayed. They 
 wait till the insect comes to rest, and follow up in the 
 direction in which the head points. But if they fail 
 to find the cattle, they walk home sorrowfully, looking 
 out for small white stones to bite or swallow so as to 
 harden their hearts. 
 
 The boy has only one chance of escaping a thrashing 
 when he has lost the oxen. This last hope consists 
 in taking refuge in the grandfather's hut. No father 
 would thrash his son in that safe refuge. It would 
 be unseemly. But suppose the boy had, in the past, 
 been guilty of eating the birds he had caught, without 
 taking them to his grandfather, the old man would 
 offer him but scant protection, and might even help 
 in the punishment. When a boy is in extreme fear, 
 his last resort is to hide in an ant-bear's hole for several 
 days, waiting for his father's anger to pass away. 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 211 
 
 These holes are also favourite hiding-places for cowards 
 during war-time. 
 
 A favourite excuse, which the boys plead when the 
 father notices that the cows give very little milk, is 
 that the cattle have been eating certain plants that are 
 supposed to reduce the quantity of milk, or that a sleepy 
 lizard, called the imbulu, has been sucking the cows. 
 The people firmly believe that this lizard can suck the 
 cows, and the father is puzzled sometimes to know 
 whether this excuse is valid or not. In connection 
 with the imbulu may be mentioned the belief that a 
 boy who imitates the sound this lizard makes is sure 
 to get a toothache. 
 
 (b) Racing and Tobogganing 
 
 In the intervals of herding the cattle, the boys 
 frequently run races. These may be quite informal 
 affairs or may be treated seriously. When the weather 
 is wet, the boys try to steal a stiff kaross, or piece of 
 ox-hide, on which to toboggan down wet hills, two 
 or three boys sitting on a single skin. If the cattle 
 happen to be grazing near a river, the big boys fag 
 thexlittle ones and make them carry up large pots of 
 water from the river, so as to make a mud " run " 
 down the banks of the river. When sufficient water 
 has been poured on the steep bank of the river to make 
 it very slippery, the boys remove all clothing, sit down 
 at the top of the hill, and stiffening their backs by 
 placing their hands between their legs, sl^de down the 
 bank into the river, where furious fights and scrambles 
 take place. If the children can manage to run off 
 with an old blanket they wrap themselves in it, leaving 
 their heads out, and then roll down the slippery hill 
 like logs of wood. The splash in the water at the 
 end of the run is the climax that is awaited with 
 excitement. 
 
 The boys are excellent runners and can travel great 
 
212 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 distances at a rapid rate. This is, of course, invaluable 
 for hunting, in which, however, the boys take a very 
 subordinate part, merely acting as beaters to drive 
 the game up for the men to kill. Hunting is hardly 
 the work of the boys, though they help in it a little. 
 
 There are very funny ideas about methods of im- 
 proving the " wind." Boys start off running slowly 
 and hold their breath as much as ever they can ; they 
 refrain from breathing except through the nose, for 
 they think that this saves the needless expenditure 
 of breath, and makes the body light. They then run 
 faster and breathe a little more fully, and at length 
 give themselves free scope both as to pace and breath- 
 ing. A Swazie boy will not swing his left hand, but 
 will hold it slightly flexed as he runs. He works the 
 right arm like a windmill. If he were to swing the 
 left arm he would be called a girl, for that is the way 
 in which a girl runs. When a woman or big girl runs, 
 she is supposed to hold her breasts firmly with her right 
 hand. The people are very fond of singing as they 
 run along in company — in single file, of course. The 
 chant which they sing in Basutoland is as follows. 
 One boy will sing out, " Where was Saoole going with 
 his big knob-kerrie ? " and the other boys join in 
 the refrain, " With his big knob-kerrie ; with his big 
 knob-kerrie." Then the first boy sings out again, 
 " Where was Saoole going with his big knob-kerrie ? " 
 and the others join in the chorus once more, " With 
 his big knob-kerrie," and so on. This chant is kept 
 up for miles and miles, and is supposed to be a specific 
 forgiving a " second wind." It is possible that Saoole 
 may be a modification of Saul, who was hunting for 
 his father's asses ; and the idea may have been gathered 
 from missionaries, the knob-kerrie in this case being 
 a touch of local colour. But the plan may have 
 been evolved long before missionaries visited Basuto- 
 land. It should be added that Saoole is pronounced 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 213 
 
 Sowooli. However, more sensible than this charm is 
 the method adopted by a boy when he gets a stitch 
 while running. He lies down on the ground and gets 
 another boy to massage the place where the pain is, 
 and then runs on again. 
 
 When great races are held, both men and women 
 take part, and the women not infrequently beat the 
 men. Prizes are given for the winners ; these prizes 
 consist of ornaments in the case of women, and of nice 
 pieces of food in the case of boys. In Basutoland 
 the natives also indulge in horse-racing, making small 
 boys into jockeys. Ox-racing is sometimes kept up, 
 but it is a pastime that has sadly fallen from its former 
 high estate. The natives bet a good deal on such 
 races, and a man might bet an ox that a certain man 
 would win the race. Boys bet new sticks and girls 
 bet ornaments, though strange to say it is said that 
 girls ought not to bet while the oxen are out of the 
 cattle-kraal. They may bet before the cattle leave 
 the kraal in the morning or after they have been shut 
 up at night. Boys bet about all sorts of things ; 
 when a good fight between two boys of the same size 
 is to be held, there is much betting on the issue. If 
 two boys differ in judgment as to the direction in 
 which the oxen have strayed, they may bet on the 
 subject, one boy risking his knob-kerrie, and another 
 boy staking his knife, or some edible root, or even a 
 goat. 
 
 In olden days the oxen were taught to follow a 
 certain man who blew a horn. This was done so that 
 in case of war there might be little risk of the cattle 
 being captured. If the enemy were trying to sur- 
 round the cattle, this man would run off to a safe 
 place, blowing his horn furiously; the oxen would at 
 once leave their pasture and gallop after the man who 
 was blowing the horn ; thus the aims of the enemy 
 were frustrated. 
 
2i4 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 III. GIRLS' WORK 
 
 The work of the girls consists chiefly in fetching 
 wood and water, in mudding the huts, in looking after 
 the weeding of the gardens, in reaping of the crop 
 (in this the men help), in winnowing the grain, in 
 grinding it, and finally in cooking. Girls are not 
 supposed to have anything to do with the cattle or 
 the milk. 
 
 It is a very pretty sight to see a dozen little girls 
 each carrying a large pot of water on her head. The 
 Kafirs always walk in single file, the paths being 
 worn by countless feet into very narrow tracks. The 
 habit of carrying weights on the head gives the girls 
 very finely shaped backs, which make them look stately. 
 The children soon learn to balance things on their 
 heads in the most wonderful fashion, scarcely ever 
 dropping anything carried thus, even when walking 
 through rivers. A girl when carrying a pot of water, 
 generally puts some green leaves on the top of the 
 liquid to prevent it from spilling : she also throws 
 a small stone into the water as a charm to prevent 
 her being tripped up by the stones on the path. The 
 toes of the children are also very supple, and if by chance 
 a little girl, when carrying a pot of water on her head, 
 were to drop a stick or other small article, she could 
 pick it up quite easily with her toes. 
 
 As the girls go to the stream to fetch water, they 
 chant songs, bringing in the names of all the women 
 against whom they have grudges ; at such times they 
 sing the most outrageous libels, and endless quarrels 
 in the native courts follow. When grinding the grain 
 they sing songs also, often using love-songs of the very 
 coarsest nature ; they also praise the brave men at 
 such times and pour contempt on the cowards, much 
 as in Scott's " Eleu loro," though in much ruder 
 verse. 
 
'*&&#'. * ^ ww ** " i ' . ■ ii m^ ii ^rw w M f U^MWi 
 
 ^sr" r " " " " "f' "■ -t w w 
 
 , rT^r-wr-r 
 
 IV* 
 
 ZULU GIRL CARRYING WATER 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 215 
 
 In addition to such, impromptu songs, the children 
 love to sing many others which seem to date from^a 
 distant past. These songs are so old that the meaning 
 of many of the words and references has been forgotten 
 by the people. As the children run along the Kafir 
 paths to the water-springs, they drone these chants 
 on a single note, one group of children singing the 
 first line and being answered by another group of 
 children who chant the second line. The song is 
 thus broken up into separate parts. My thanks are 
 specially due to my friend Mr. Robinson, of Pondo- 
 land, for the following Pondo songs, which are also 
 sung as far south as the Bashee River. Mr. Robinson 
 says that when he chants these songs to the grown-up 
 women, they simply roll about on the ground with 
 laughter, for they are thus reminded so forcibly of 
 their childhood. 
 
 KAFFIR CHILDREN'S NURSERY DITTIES 
 
 1 
 
 Yemagoboza amatol api ? " Hallo ! magoboza where are the 
 
 calves ? " 
 Akakwes apa wena wenzani ? " They are not here." " What 
 
 are you doing f " 
 Andimb amatye endlini ka geja ? " I am not digging rocks in Geja's* 
 
 house." 
 Atini yena andimtshayi " What is he saying ? " "I am 
 
 not beating him 
 Ngenduk warn le emagoboza With this my duko, it of emago- 
 
 boza 
 Eyatshay inja iyapapateka Even that one which beat the dog ; 
 
 Iyabek elusutu, iyahlangana It ran to Basutoland and there it 
 
 met with 
 Namakwababa emabini ilel enda- Two jackdaws who lived together ; 
 
 wonye ilat elinye said one to the other, 
 
 Vuka vutele, ndi vuk engapi ? ' Get up and light the fire.' 
 
 ' How can I ? 
 Ndixoliwe nje ngamakwenkwe Thus damaged by Sabisa's sons ; 
 
 Akwasabisa. Jiji nkabi le ' Twist off the tail of this ox, 
 
 Sinqunqute umsila lo And let us devour it 
 
 Njengesonka sokuza kusa As food that comes at the dawn.' " 
 
 * Geja is a brick-coloured mouse-hawk. 
 
2l6 
 
 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 Hlungulu hlungulu goduka 
 Amas'omnta wako adliwe 
 Adliwe ngukwababa 
 Kwababa kwababa goduka 
 Ubuye ngezotwasa 
 
 Crow, crow go home. 
 Jackdaw has eaten 
 Your babe's sour milk. 
 Jackdaw, jackdaw go home. 
 You will come back 
 At the new moon. 
 
 Yenangoyoyo 
 Uyawapeteni 
 Ndi ya pet'inja. 
 Uyakuyosapi ? 
 Ndiyakuyosendle. 
 
 Ekaya kunani ? 
 
 Ndoyik izilonda 
 Zabantu abadala 
 Ziya bukuqueka 
 Sixel'upoyoyo 
 Ndafika kwambi 
 Ku pekwizinkobi 
 Ndanga ndiyasuba 
 Wafika uLaxoba 
 Ubefike nini ? 
 Ubefik izolo 
 Wahlinzelwa ntoni ? 
 Wahlinzelw inciyo 
 
 Inciyo ay inanyama 
 Inyama ikomvubu 
 Apo bodla bahluti 
 
 Nezinjana zabo 
 Tshona esizibeni ! 
 
 Hallo there ! Noyoyo 
 
 What are you carrying about ? 
 
 I am carrying the dog 
 
 Where are you going to roast it f 
 
 I am going to roast it outside the 
 
 kraal. 
 Why what is the matter with your 
 
 home ? 
 I fear the sores 
 The old people have 
 They turn upside down (literally) 
 We are like upoyoyo 
 I got to uBbi's place 
 They were cooking mealies 
 I wanted to take some 
 Then uLaxoba came 
 When did he arrive f 
 The day before yesterday 
 What did they kill for him ? 
 They killed an inciyo (" inciyo " — 
 
 not known). 
 An inciyo has no meat 
 There is meat on a hippopotamus 
 There is where those who eat are 
 
 satisfied 
 And also their dogs 
 Down to the pool with you. 
 
 The Song of the Turkey-buzzard. 
 
 Female Bird Sings. 
 Ndemka ndemka ndayakowetu 
 Ndemka ndemka ndayakowetu 
 
 Male Bird Sings. 
 Hamba hamba kade usitsho 
 Hamba hamba kade usitsho 
 
 Female Sings. 
 I shall go and at once 
 To my father's place 
 
 Male Sings. 
 Then go ! then go ! 
 You always talk so. 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 217 
 
 The Boots of the Cockroach. 
 
 Abamihlantlani ingela ngelayo 
 
 Apo ukozi ufak izicumo 
 
 Apo impukani itwal umnqwazi 
 Apo ipela ipat izihlangu 
 
 Apo uhlungulu uvuka vutele 
 
 Apo untloyili ujangajangayo 
 
 Those who have spaces between 
 
 their front teeth 
 There where the eagle puts his 
 
 beads 
 There where the fly carries a hat 
 There where the cockroach wears 
 
 boots 
 There where the crow gets up and 
 
 There where the great hawk wan- 
 ders abroad. 
 
 Njikinjikinjiki 
 Kwelikangatsa 
 Apo liyayo 
 Liyakungcofela 
 Umnta ka Tyali 
 Isikukwazana 
 Sinamaqanda 
 Kwabasegxeni 
 
 VI 
 
 Njikinjikinjiki. 
 
 The Njikinjikinjiki * 
 
 That of gantsa 
 
 There where it goes 
 
 It will go to uNgcof ela 
 
 One of Charlie's people 
 
 The little hen 
 
 It has eggs 
 
 At the people's in the valley. 
 
 Balela balela ilanga 
 
 Indlebe zonyoko 
 
 Zimaqotongo 
 
 Tshayi izicwewcwe 
 
 Zompotulo 
 
 Nantsi ingqoto eqolo 
 
 Uyabizwa endlini kwenu 
 
 Wati sigmya gahle.t 
 
 Burn ! burn ! sun 
 
 The ears of the serpents 
 
 Stand out 
 
 Crush the mealies evenly 
 
 Zompotulo 
 
 There is the leathern girdle 
 
 You are being called from your 
 
 house 
 Siginya says " steady " 
 He says we must eat quietly 
 
 * It is not known what this word refers to. 
 
 t The sense is ambiguous. It is not clear whether Sigmya is a person 
 or part of the verb ginya, to chew ; what makes it difficult to be sure 
 is that if it is the former, then Siginya should be uSiginya ; if the latter 
 it should be siginya. 
 
218 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 IV. GIRLS' QUARRELS 
 
 Girls have their quarrels quite as much as boys 
 The chief causes of quarrels amongst the girls are as 
 follows : First, rivalries over sweethearts. Secondly, 
 disputes about age, girls liking to be thought older 
 than they are until they either get married or have 
 women's work to do ; then they like to be thought 
 younger than they really are. Thirdly, troubles 
 arising out of gossip and slanders. These are very 
 common, and generally revolve round the subjects 
 of immorality and witchcraft. Fourthly, many quarrels 
 arise over the question of prettiness and good looks, 
 vanity being plentifully developed amongst the Kafirs. 
 Lastly, many quarrels arise over the question as to who 
 is the strongest girl of the party. Women are much 
 respected when they can lift heavy weights and do 
 hard work, for their market value turns not a little on 
 this matter. 
 
 Quarrels amongst women and girls are never settled 
 by sticks or by wrestling. But good scratching, or 
 biting matches are not unknown. Biting is - sup- 
 posed to be forbidden, but angry girls often forget 
 their own rules. A great many of the disputes are 
 decided by heated talk ; meetings are held to discuss 
 the accusations, and the parents are even called 
 in to decide the matter in serious cases ; but if 
 the judgment should not be satisfactory, a masterful 
 girl would make her final appeal through nails and 
 teeth. 
 
 Girls have a much poorer time of it than boys, and 
 often wish that they had been born boys instead of 
 girls. There are only two occasions, I believe, on 
 which boys say that they wish they were girls. One 
 is at the time of sowing the mealies, when the fathers 
 are always very cross and tired, and so are severe 
 on the boys ; the other occasion is when the cattle 
 
WORK AND ITS SIDE-ISSUES 219 
 
 have to be herded on cold wet days. Kafirs are very 
 susceptible to extremes of heat and cold. 
 
 On the whole, Kafir children have a very good 
 time of it. They are never overworked ; they are 
 allowed to mix as much fun as they please with their 
 work so long as they do not neglect their plain duty. 
 And it must be said that on the whole they do their 
 work very well. It is often stated that the Kafirs 
 are inherently lazy and disinclined to work. A little 
 reflection shows how distorted is this idea. It has 
 just enough truth about it to be thoroughly false. 
 The Kafir shows a marvellous power of endurance and 
 of toil when given a desirable end to work for. He 
 does not much care for the rewards held out to him by 
 the white man, who therefore thinks that the Kafir 
 is indolent. He is indolent when there is no special 
 end to be attained by work ; but when given what 
 he considers an appropriate reward he will work 
 wonderfully well. There is a sense in which no man 
 loves pointless work. In that sense the Kafir does 
 not love it. The Kafir is only slowly learning the 
 value of money and the advantage of civilised com- 
 forts, and so he does not show much keenness to 
 work for what the European considers a good rate of 
 pay. But the Kafir works hard enough when building 
 his own hut, when hunting, or when engaged in the 
 work he thinks worth doing. When he owns land 
 under the Glen Grey Act, he displays remarkable in- 
 dustry. And the boys show quite as much exuberance 
 of spirits and desire to exercise their muscles as 
 English boys do. There seems therefore to be no 
 reason why the Kafir should not become increasingly 
 valuable as a labourer as he becomes more civilised, 
 and as he begins to feel the need of comforts and 
 luxuries. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 SURPRISE STORIES 
 
 NURSERY-TALES OF THE TSHINDAO-SPEAKING 
 NATIVES OF GAZALAND 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SURPRISE STORIES 
 
 NURSERY-TALES OF THE TSHINDAO-SPEAKING 
 NATIVES OF GAZALAND 
 
 The natives sometimes call their nursery-tales by 
 the expressive title of Surprise Stories. Such tales 
 reveal the state of the imagination of the people, and 
 form the pabulum on which the fancy of the child is 
 fed. The following nursery-tales are all gathered from 
 the Tshindao-speaking people of Gazaland ; and since 
 there is but a handful of white people who know this 
 language, it^is safe to say that these stories are now 
 given to the public for the first time. The animal 
 stories are somewhat similar to those current in Zulu- 
 land, and in one case the story is but a variant of a 
 well-known tale. But in all these stories there is a 
 distinctive flavour which marks them off from those 
 to be gleaned in other districts. The wording of the 
 stories is based on a literal translation of the actual 
 narratives of the natives, and therefore little more 
 had to be done than to select, classify, and render the 
 translation intelligible to European readers. In doing 
 this, care has been taken to adhere to the literal trans- 
 lation where possible, but in many cases the abrupt 
 way in which a native speaks when telling such tales 
 renders the tale so obscure that some editing is neces- 
 sary. A native gets so excited at times over his story 
 that he runs his dialogue into a continuous sentence. 
 
224 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 without indicating even the full stops. He is also 
 apt to anticipate his own knowledge of the end of 
 the story, and so, with infinite zest, makes statements 
 which are quite unintelligible to his listeners who do 
 not happen to know the story beforehand. 
 
 A few of the animal stories of the Brer Rabbit 
 type are also given. The story of the Lion and the 
 Gazelle is wonderfully similar in moral to the 
 Persian story of the Camel and the Miller, in which 
 the camel grumbled till the miller allowed it inch by 
 inch to put its nose, head, front legs, hind legs, and 
 tail into the small room; finally the camel turned 
 the miller out of doors for his charity. 
 
 It need only be added that these stories, which have 
 considerable anthropological interest, are told usually 
 by the old women to the small children after dark, 
 while sitting round the fire. They are passed on from 
 mouth to mouth, and some of them probably date 
 from an immense distance in the past. 
 
 I. HOW SKIN-SORE KILLED A CANNIBAL 
 
 Once upon a time a man married a wife by whom 
 he had six children. When hunger began to bite, 
 he said, " Let us go to a place where there is food to 
 eat." 
 
 So they started, and on reaching a river found it 
 full. 
 
 " What shall we do ? " said they. " The river is so 
 full and is running so high." 
 
 " I will get you across," said the father. 
 
 So he ferried across four of the children, leaving 
 two, a boy and a girl, the latter having a navel bump,* 
 and the former having a skin eruption. 
 
 " As for you," said the father, " I have no intention 
 
 * Umbilical hernia is very common amongst all South African 
 natives. 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 225 
 
 of putting you across the river ; I'm tired — I shall not 
 put across children who have navel bumps or skin- 
 sores." 
 
 So off they all went, husband, wife and four 
 children, leaving behind the two children, who at once 
 started to follow the course of the river. Two dogs 
 had been left with them, called Black and White. 
 Happening to see some ants carrying grain, the boy 
 said, " Let us follow the ants and see where they come 
 from, and pick up grain on the way." So doing they 
 came to a cave full of grain. 
 
 " We're saved," said they. 
 
 " Grind some grain and cook for us," said the boy 
 Skin-sore to the girl. 
 
 So she ground some grain and made porridge. 
 
 They spent several days there, and during that 
 time the boy planted a castor-oil tree, saying, " I am 
 going away." 
 
 " Where are you going to ? " said the girl. 
 
 " I am going to the heart of the country over there," 
 said Skin-sore, " and if you see my castor-oil tree dying, 
 you may know that I am dead ; now I am going to 
 take White with me, but will leave you Black." 
 
 So he went away with his dog, leaving the other 
 with his sister. 
 
 Coming to where a buffalo was lying dead, the dog 
 sniffed at it, but forbore to eat any : so the boy also 
 forbore. Passing on, the dog drank some water, so 
 the boy also drank. He spent ten days on the journey, 
 and at length came to a kraal that had only women 
 living in it. 
 
 " Where have you come from ? " said they. 
 
 " From the heart of the bush, over there," replied 
 the boy. 
 
 " There's an old woman in that hut there," said the 
 women, " who eats people. She has finished off all 
 the males." 
 
226 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 The old woman happened to see the boy, and said, 
 " Come into the hut, my grandson." 
 
 Then the old woman cooked him some porridge ; 
 but the dog left the porridge, and only took the 
 vegetable.* So the boy Skin-sore did the same. 
 
 " Why are you leaving the porridge, my grand- 
 son ? " said the old woman. 
 
 " Oh, it's our custom at home," said the boy, " to 
 eat the vegetable and leave the porridge." 
 
 So he ate the old woman's vegetable, but left the 
 porridge uneaten. In the afternoon he was called 
 to a meal by the same old dame. This time the dog 
 ate the porridge, but left the vegetable. So the boy 
 did the same. 
 
 " But why do you eat the porridge all alone, and 
 not eat the vegetable ? " said the old woman. 
 
 " It is the custom at our kraal. Some days we eat 
 our porridge without any relish," said Skin-sore. 
 
 " Then, good-night," said the old woman. 
 
 So the boy lay down to sleep, the dog lying at his 
 head. Then the old woman tried to steal up stealthily 
 with a red-hot hearth-stone, wishing to put it in the 
 boy's ear. But the dog gave her a bite, and she called 
 out, " Your dog is biting me, my grandson." 
 
 " Do not come near to the place where I am lying 
 down, for you may be bitten," said the boy ; " lie 
 down and sleep over yonder." 
 
 So they lay down again ; but later on the old woman 
 arose, and having put on water to boil, tried to put 
 it in his ear, as the boy lay asleep. But again the dog 
 bit her, and so she gave up the attempt. 
 
 In the morning he left the hut ; but the old 
 woman remained behind, and dug a pit close to the 
 door, and then called the boy, saying, " Come and 
 eat." 
 
 So up walked the boy with his dog in front of him; 
 
 • In Gazaland the natives take some relish, with their porridge. 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 227 
 
 but as the dog entered by the window he also entered 
 that way. 
 
 " Do you choose to come in by the window ? " 
 said the dame. 
 
 " Yes," said the boy, " that's what we do at our 
 kraal : some days we enter by the window." 
 
 " Then have some of that porridge," said the old 
 woman. 
 
 Skin-sore ate it as the dog did so ; he ate the porridge 
 and vegetable — all that was there — and then went out, 
 leaving the old woman alone. This time she started 
 to dig a hole under the window, and in the afternoon 
 she called the boy again ; but as the dog was about 
 to reach the doorway it turned back ; and when it 
 would go in by the window it turned back. So the 
 boy said, " I do not want anything to-day." 
 
 " What, are you going all day without anything 
 to eat," said the dame. 
 
 " Yes, that's what I mean to do ; it is what we do 
 at our kraal." 
 
 " Well, my grandson," said the woman, " please go 
 and cut me some firewood in the bush over there." 
 
 " All right, let us go," said the boy. 
 
 " But leave your dog behind," said the woman. 
 
 " I cannot leave my dog behind ; I like to have him 
 with me." 
 
 " No, leave it behind this time," said the woman. 
 
 So he left the dog behind, and they came to where 
 there was a dried-up tree in the middle of a pond. 
 The old woman asked him to climb up the tree and 
 to cut it down. 
 
 " But how shall I climb that tree and cut it down 
 when it is in the centre of a pond ? " said Skin-sore. 
 
 "Well, please climb up and cut," said the old woman. 
 So he climbed the tree and started chopping. Then 
 the old woman called out, " To-day you die, you who 
 were so cunning." 
 
228 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 " But why should you kill me ? " asked the boy. 
 
 " Ah, I shall just kill you," replied the woman. 
 
 Then Skin-sore began to call his dog. But the old 
 woman said, " I shall cut you down with my big 
 tooth," and commenced biting the tree. Just as the 
 tree was beginning to fall, up came the dog and bit 
 the old woman ; whereupon the boy came down from 
 the tree with his chopper and cut up that old woman 
 all to pieces and killed her. Just then up flew her 
 child, a bird called Jirimafimbiro. 
 
 " Why have you killed my mother ? " said the bird. 
 
 " I killed her because she tried to eat me." 
 
 " Well, I shall eat you in revenge," said the bird. 
 
 The bird, as it was speaking, was perched on a stone. 
 Now the bird was so big that had it tried to settle on 
 a tree it would have broken the tree at once. And as 
 the bird tried to eat the little man, up came his dog. 
 The bird caught hold of the dog and would have killed 
 it, but Skin-sore came with his chopper and cut the 
 bird to pieces. Then he cut some firewood, and burnt 
 the bird and the old woman to ashes. 
 
 On going back to the kraal the people said, " Where 
 have you come from ? " 
 
 " I have killed that old woman and her child," 
 said he. 
 
 Thereupon they all saluted him as their chief with 
 their shrill cries, saying, " You are our chief." 
 
 " But why should I be your chief," said the boy. 
 
 " Because you have killed the one who was devour- 
 ing us, who used to leave the girls alone, devouring 
 only the men. On account of this the men used to 
 live in the thickets, whither we took their food. The 
 old woman, on the birth of a male child used to devour 
 it, leaving the girls alone." 
 
 " Very well," said he, " then I am your chief as you 
 say." 
 
 After staying there some time he told them, saying, 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 229 
 
 " I have left my sister behind on the way ; I want to 
 send some one to go and fetch her." 
 
 " But how shall we know the way ? " said they. 
 
 " Oh, the messenger will know it all right, for 
 I shall send my dog with him ; what the dog 
 eats he must eat, and what the dog leaves alone he 
 must leave alone ; the path the dog takes he must 
 take." 
 
 So the messenger started off with the dog, keeping it 
 in front of him. On coming to where a buffalo had 
 been killed, the dog sniffed and left it alone ; on 
 coming to where a bush-buck had died, the dog ate 
 it, and so did the man. Where the dog rested at 
 midday, the man rested too ; where it drank water, 
 he drank also, until at last it came to the place where 
 the sister was. The dog wagged its tail on seeing 
 her, whereupon she said, " My dog has come alone : 
 where has my brother stayed ? " 
 
 " No," answered the man, " Your brother is a chief." 
 
 " But how can he be a chief, when he was once 
 such a poor, forlorn fellow ? " 
 
 " He is a chief because he killed that old woman 
 who was there, and who was in the habit of eating all 
 the people who were males." 
 
 " I once saw," said the girl, " something by the 
 castor-oil tree that had faded ; but during these 
 last ten days it has been flourishing again." * 
 
 " That is why I have been sent," said the man. 
 " Let us go." 
 
 " Very well," said the girl. 
 
 So off they started, the two of them together, taking 
 the two dogs with them. They spent ten days on the 
 way, and the dogs had many puppies born to them 
 during the journey. When the girl had reached the 
 
 * The girl divined the fortunes of her brother by means of the 
 castor-oil tree that he had planted. This tree suffered in sympathy 
 with the boy who had planted it. 
 
230 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 place where her brother was, she was welcomed by the 
 boy, who said, " You have come, my sister." 
 
 " Ndawe," answered the girl. 
 
 " I was on the point of being killed," said the 
 boy, " by that old woman who was here ; but now 
 I have managed to kill her, and so the people said to 
 me, ' You are our chief.' So go, my sister, to the 
 husband to whom you are betrothed." 
 
 " Very good," said the girl. 
 
 So they two lived there, and Skin-sore became the 
 chief of the elephants, and helped in cutting them up. 
 
 II. THE MAN, THE LION, AND THE MOUSE 
 
 Once upon a time a man, the owner of some dogs, 
 said, " Let me go and look for my cane rats." 
 
 So he started looking for the rats, killing those he 
 found. One day the rain said, " I shall fall ! " So 
 the man started running to a cave, and entering therein, 
 sat down. As he did so, lo and behold ! a lion came 
 out, only to re-enter and sit down also. Then in 
 came a mouse, and sat down also. 
 
 Said the lion, " O man, give the dogs your rats, 
 and then you eat the dogs, and then I will eat you." 
 
 Quoth the man, " Was there ever any one who ate 
 a dog ? " 
 
 Said the lion, " Yes, forsooth ; be willing to eat 
 your dogs ; do not find fault with the word that I 
 speak." 
 
 Said the mouse, " Yes : agree to what the lion says, 
 namely, eat your dogs, and then you be eaten by the 
 lion, and I will, in my turn, eat the lion." 
 
 Said the lion, " Yowe ! I don't agree to being eaten 
 by a mouse, I that am so big, while the mouse is so 
 small." 
 
 So the lion ran at the mouse, which ran off. The 
 lion returned to the cave, and so did the mouse. 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 231 
 
 Said the lion, " Give the dogs your rats, O man, 
 and I will eat you in turn." 
 
 The man refused, and kept silence. 
 
 Said the mouse, " Agree to what the lion says, and 
 then I too will eat the lion." 
 
 Said the lion, " Yowe ! " and chased the mouse far 
 away. The mouse entered in amongst some roots 
 of the trees, and the lion started digging him out, 
 while the man stayed behind, and finally went off 
 home. Upon the lion returning to the cave, the man 
 is no longer there : he has gone. 
 
 Says the lion, " It's the mouse that has rescued the 
 man, whom I wanted to eat." 
 
 The mouse, meantime, went on its way, and coming 
 to where the man was, said, " 'Tis I that have saved 
 you ; now you must cover the mountain completely 
 with traps." This the man did, covering it from top 
 to bottom. The mouse then kept looking there every 
 day, eating the mice caught in the traps. 
 
 One day on looking, he found no mouse caught, and 
 on coming to the trap furthest off, he found a beetle 
 inside. 
 
 Said the mouse, " Hi ! beetle, you it is that has been 
 clearing off my mice." 
 
 The beetle made answer, " I haven't been clearing 
 off your mice." 
 
 " Where have my mice gone to, then ? You it is 
 that is caught here ; what makes your stomach so 
 full ? " 
 
 " It's not full ; it's only its natural shape," said the 
 beetle indignantly. 
 
 " Well then," said the mouse, " let us go to the 
 diviner." 
 
 As they were on their way to the doctor the mouse 
 said, " What sort of doctor is it that we are going to ? " 
 
 " The doctor of the path," said the beetle. " If 
 you jump the path and die you are caught ; let us go." 
 
232 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 Reaching the path the beetle jumped clean across 
 it. Then the mouse said, " Let me have a try too." 
 As he did so, fititi ! the mouse fell down dead on the 
 path ; and to-day the mouse cannot leap the path ; 
 if he should try to do so, he dies. 
 
 III. THE MAN WHO HID HIS HONEY 
 
 Long, long ago, a man married a wife, and had three 
 children by the marriage. As hunger began to gnaw, 
 he went out to look for food, and finding out where 
 there was some honey, he tapped it, till he had filled 
 a pot. He then took a reed and hollowed it out. 
 Coming home^ he dug a hole beneath the fire ashes, 
 and placed the pot of honey in the hole, covering it 
 over with leaves. Having done so, he inserted the 
 reed. In the afternoon, as the sun was about to set, 
 the father called his children, saying, " Come here 
 and sing." Meanwhile the father was sucking at 
 the reed which he had stuck among the ashes. This 
 the children noticed, saying, " Father is sucking up 
 ashes, doing so every day." 
 
 One day the father went to look for some more 
 honey, but failed to find it. His youngest born, who 
 remained at home, said to himself, " Let me suck too 
 and be like my father." He also told his elder brothers, 
 " Please sing." This they proceeded to do. 
 
 " Ah, that's good ! " said the child. So again he 
 had a suck, till his cheeks were nigh bursting, so full 
 did he cram them with the honey. 
 
 " Ah, that's fine ! " said the children ; " let's dig 
 it up." So they dug it up, and lo ! the pot was full 
 of honey. They inserted that reed, and sucked up all 
 the honey. Then they left the reed and vessel just 
 as the father had left it. 
 
 In the afternoon the father thought of returning, and 
 told his children to come and sing again; which they did. 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 233 
 
 " Let me draw up ashes," said the father. This he 
 proceeded to do, spitting as he did so. 
 
 " Let me have another suck," said the man. 
 
 Again he drew up nothing but ashes, having to spit 
 them out again. 
 
 " Why are you spitting ? " said the little child. 
 " Were you wont to do so in time past ? " 
 
 " Who has been raking aside these ashes ? " said 
 the man to his wife. 
 
 " It's the little ones who have been playing there," 
 said the wife. 
 
 Thereupon the husband raked aside the ashes, 
 wanting to look for himself. There was no longer 
 any honey-pot there ! 
 
 " Why did you hide it there ? " said the wife. 
 
 " Oh, I was just having a suck at the ashes." 
 
 " Is not that the honey-pot ? " said the wife. " Ah, 
 here it is ! " 
 
 So the husband was astounded and put to shame. 
 
 That's all. 
 
 IV. THE CHILD IN THE DRUM 
 
 Once upon a time a man, having hollowed out a 
 drum* for himself, went on a journey. Presently 
 he reached a place where there was a child watching 
 a field of millet. The man caught the boy and put 
 him in his drum, and walked off. Arriving at a kraal 
 the people said, " O man, please play your drum." 
 
 " Very well," said the man. 
 
 So he started playing. 
 
 Eububu, drum please speak : Tete ndende. 
 
 Bububu, drum please speak : Tete ndende 
 
 Bububu, drum please speak : Tete ndende. 
 
 Tell me of thy mercy : Tete ndende. 
 
 * The drum is hollowed out of a log of wood : a piece of skin is 
 stretched tightly over the opening. 
 
234 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 I was watching the millet : Tete ndende. 
 
 When suddenly I am in the drum : Tete ndende. 
 Bububu, drum please speak : Tete ndende. 
 
 Three times. 
 
 -&■ 
 
 bu bu ngo - ma tshi - rea 
 
 Ndi 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 nya - sha we 
 
 e, Nda i - te ndi ri nde mhu-nga 
 
 =£==2 
 
 *■ <* w 
 
 =£ 
 
 Pa ti ke nda a mu ngo - ma Bu bu bu 
 
 I 
 
 S 
 
 1EEEF 
 
 £ 
 
 ngo - ma tshi - rea : Te te nde nde. 
 
 So the man played, and played and played ; then 
 the people cooked some porridge for him ; they also 
 gave him a fowl, part of which he ate, and part of 
 which he gave to the child in the drum. Then 
 when he had finished eating he continued his 
 journey. 
 
 Arriving at another kraal the people say, " Please 
 play your drum, and we will give you a pot of 
 beer." 
 
 Very well," said the man. So he played, saying : 
 
 Bububu, drum please speak : 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Tete ndende. 
 &c. 
 
 When he had finished playing his drum, the people 
 gave him beer, some of which he drank, and some of 
 which he placed in the drum. When the beer was 
 finished he continued his journey, and arriving at 
 the kraal belonging to the child's father and mother 
 he was given beer to drink. The people said, " Man, 
 play with that drum, and we will slaughter a goat 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 235 
 
 for you, and will give you a pot of beer." So again 
 lie played his drum. 
 
 Bububu, drum please speak: Tete ndende. 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Then the man became drunk, and started dancing 
 in the hut ; whereupon the elder brother slipped out 
 of the hut and made a hole in the drum to see what it 
 was that was speaking inside it. As he opened it he 
 said, " E : my young brother." 
 
 So he took the child and put him in the hut. Then 
 he called the man, saying, " Come out again and play 
 your drum once more." 
 
 But when the man tried to play his drum it gave 
 no reply any more. So he said, " Ah, that is not my 
 drum." 
 
 The people answered, " Ah, let us kill him." 
 
 So the man popped into his drum and ran off, saying, 
 " Guduru, Guduru, Guduru," and vanished in the 
 direction of his home. 
 
 Once is how many ? 
 
 V. THE JEALOUS WIFE 
 
 Once upon a time a man married a wife and built 
 her a hut. Some time afterwards he married another 
 wife. Whereupon the first wife looked out for a 
 little bird called an Horiro. Having found it, she 
 placed it at the spring where the water was obtained. 
 The wife who had been married second, having put 
 her vegetables on the fire to cook, took a pot to go and 
 draw water at the spring. When she got there she 
 found the little bird singing : 
 
 Ah, my daughter Horiro : Horiro. 
 
 We spent the day at the river : Horiro. 
 
 To look at the Horiro : Horiro. 
 
 Oriroriroriro : Horiro. 
 
236 
 
 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 Twice. 
 
 p^-i^M^=^=^ 
 
 9 
 
 A mu ku nda ho - ri - ro Ho - ri ro : Nda ta ka 
 
 MM 
 
 3=t 
 
 I 
 
 ti ra pa rgwi zi, ku ri ngi si se ho - ri - ro 
 
 Be 
 
 9 
 
 W^f 
 
 O - ri ro - ri ro ri ro Ho ri • ro. 
 
 When the woman returned home she found the vege- 
 tables all burnt. Of course she had been beguiled 
 by that bird in order that her vegetables might be 
 burnt, and that so she might be disowned by her 
 husband for doing wrong. So the first wife said to 
 her husband, " Husband, your wife is a bad woman ; 
 she burns the vegetables." 
 
 Upon this the husband drove his second wife away 
 with the words, " I don't want a wife who spoils the 
 vegetables by cooking them badly." 
 
 Then the husband looked out for another wife, 
 and having seen her, built her a hut. When she was 
 cooking she left her vegetables on the fire, saying, 
 " I am just going to the spring to draw water." 
 
 On reaching the spot she found the little bird there, 
 singing : 
 
 Ah, my daughter Horiro : 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Horiro. 
 &c. 
 
 Returning home, lo ! she found the vegetables were 
 burnt. Then out came the first wife, and said, 
 " Woman, come here ; you've spoilt the vegetables ; 
 they are all burnt." 
 
 The husband then asked, " Was it you then who 
 burnt them ? " 
 
 " Yes," she replied, " they got burnt ; I was 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 237 
 
 beguiled by a little bird that is by the spring over 
 there." 
 
 " What does the little bird say," asked the 
 man. 
 
 " It sings," replied the woman. 
 
 So the man strung his bow, and got his arrows 
 ready ; then going to the spring he lay in wait for the 
 coming of the bird. As it was about to sing he shot 
 it, and killed it. After this the third wife always 
 cooked nicely, and made him comfortable. 
 
 " Did I not tell you," said she, " that it was 
 that little bird that was beguiling me ? But 
 now, seeing that it is dead, shall I do wrong any 
 more ? " 
 
 " No," said he, " you will not do wrong any more. 
 You can stop on here all right." 
 
 That's about the end of the story. 
 
 VI. TAKING HOLD OF THE MOON 
 
 Said the people of long ago, " Let us go and get 
 hold of the moon." So they summoned every one 
 in those lands and gathered all together with their 
 wives. Said they, " Let us build while the women 
 bring us the stones." The women therefore carry 
 up the stones and give them to their husbands. It 
 is said, " We want to get hold of the moon, the Lord's 
 plate, because it is so bright and white." So they 
 kept on building, building, until the tower grew to 
 a great height. When the people were on the point of 
 seizing the moon, the tower said, " I shall fall down," 
 and down it fell ; and the people died, leaving only 
 their little children. Said they, " Alas, now that our 
 fathers have perished thus, what shall we do ? They 
 died because they said, ' We are going to get hold of 
 the moon ! ' shall we too then go ? " They concluded, 
 " No, we won't go there any more, because the moon 
 
238 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 was created by the Lord. As for us, let us start and 
 hoe." So tftey began to cultivate.* 
 
 VII. WHY THE SUN SHINES EVERY DAY 
 
 Once upon a time, long ago, an old woman with her 
 grandchild caught the sun, and put him in a pot — 
 a big earthen vessel. The old woman was summoned 
 to a beer-drink at the chief's kraal, and said, " My 
 grandchild, do not uncover that pot." The little 
 one said, " Hi." So off went the old woman to the 
 chief's kraal, where the people spent two days drinking 
 beer. Said the child, " Seeing that my grandmother 
 has told me not to uncover that pot, what has it got 
 inside ? " So he uncovered it, and as he was about to 
 look in, lo ! out came the sun. It slipped from his 
 grasp and got out. As he tried to seize the sun to 
 put it back, the sun fled away. Then the child began 
 to cry, for the sun which was in his charge had gone. 
 
 So the sun fled away and started shining, going off 
 to the chief's kraal, where the beer was being drunk. 
 Thither ran the child, going to tell the old woman 
 that the sun had got out of the pot. When he arrived 
 there, the chief said, " Old woman, you it is who were 
 in charge of the sun." So he killed the old lady. 
 The sun continued to come forth every day. 
 
 * It is extremely difficult to decide in all cases whether a story is of 
 European origin or not. The Tshindao-speaking people have one story 
 that is probably derived from the opening chapter of Genesis, as the 
 points of agreement are very great. It also shows a development of 
 theological thought far beyond that possessed by any South African 
 tribe. The story of building a tower to the moon looks as if it were a 
 modification of the story of the Tower of Babel. It may be original, 
 though the use of the phrase " The Lord," is probably due to European 
 influence. 
 
SUKfKlSE STUK1ES 239 
 
 VIII. THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE 
 
 One fine day a hare met a tortoise, and said, 
 " Tortoise, you don't know how to run." 
 
 " Get along with you," said the tortoise, " I can 
 beat you at running." 
 
 " No, you cannot," replied the other. 
 
 They agreed that he who should win should have 
 a whole mushroom to eat. 
 
 " We will have a try to-morrow," said the tortoise. 
 
 " Very well," said the hare. 
 
 Upon reaching home the tortoise summoned all 
 his relations, and brought them with him to the place 
 of contest, saying, " You go and stand on the slope 
 over there ; and you others go and stand over there." 
 
 But the tortoise himself remained behind at the 
 starting-place all alone. 
 
 " Let us race one another," said the hare, " and let 
 us toe the line so that we may get an equal start." 
 
 " Let us run," said the tortoise. 
 
 So off started the hare while the tortoise remained 
 behind, hidden in a clump of grass. On reaching the 
 slope, the hare said, " I am here." 
 
 " I am here too," said a tortoise, who had been 
 waiting there all the time. 
 
 Then the hare started back again alone at full speed, 
 saying, "lam here." 
 
 " I am here before you," replied another tortoise 
 which had hidden at that spot. 
 
 Then the hare turned back again, and arriving at 
 the goal the tortoise said, " I am here." 
 
 " It is no good," said the hare, " you have beaten 
 me. Go and eat the mushroom, because you have 
 beaten me." 
 
240 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 IX. HOW THE HARE FOOLED THE BEASTS 
 
 Once upon a time a hare went to sleep at the foot 
 of a Nux Vomica tree,* when down fell one of the 
 nuts, making the hare jump up, saying, " I heard 
 something say ' Vee ! ' and ' Make a grab at the head 
 of a hare.' " So the hare began to run. 
 
 Coming up to a bushbuck, the latter asked, " What 
 are you running for, hare ? " 
 
 " I heard something say ' Vee ! ' and ' Make a grab 
 at the head of a hare,' " said he. 
 
 Thereupon the bushbuck started running too, and 
 coming to a buffalo, the latter asked, " What are you 
 running for, hare, I say ? " 
 
 " I heard something say ' Vee ! ' and ' Make a grab 
 at the head of a hare,' " said the hare. 
 
 Thereupon the buffalo started running also. Then 
 they came to an elephant, which said, " What are you 
 running for, hare ? " 
 
 " I heard something say ' Vee ! ' and ' Make a grab 
 at the head of a hare.' " 
 
 So the elephant started running. So they all kept 
 running till there was not a single animal that had 
 not heard this tale of the hare, or that had not joined 
 in the flight. Finally they reached a spot where there 
 was no water. 
 
 " Now, what shall we drink," said they, " seeing 
 you have placed us where there is no water ? " 
 
 " Let us go and dig for water," said the hare. 
 
 So they started digging for water with the words, 
 " You, hare, begin to dig that we may see whether 
 you can produce water." So the hare tried to dig 
 the water out, but it would not come forth. Nothing 
 but a lot of dust ! Then they told the leopard to 
 dig, saying, " Come in here and have a dig too, that 
 we may see whether you can raise the water." 
 * Sometimes called the Gazaland orange. 
 
&UKrKiaiL oiuKiiib 241 
 
 The leopard thereupon entered the hole, but was 
 unsuccessful. Then the elephant was told, " Enter 
 you too, elephant." 
 
 The elephant tried to dig it out, but failed like- 
 wise. Then all the beasts had a try, but every one 
 of them failed to produce any water. Then the 
 toad was told, " Enter in here, toad, and produce 
 water." 
 
 Upon his entering, the water at once sprang forth. 
 The elephant thereupon grew angry, and said, " Come 
 out of there, toad, and let me have a try." 
 
 But upon his entering the hole, the water dried 
 up. 
 
 " Stop," said the other beasts ; " let the toad go in 
 and produce the water." 
 
 " Go in, toad, and raise up water for us," said all 
 the animals. 
 
 So the toad went in and raised water till the hole 
 was full. Then said the beasts, "Let the hare be 
 driven away because he put us where there was no 
 water." 
 
 So they drove the hare right away, and off he went ; 
 but finding that he could not get anything to drink, 
 he proceeded to tap the honeycombs, and so filled his 
 calabash with honey. Then the other beasts which 
 were left behind agreed, saying, " Let us leave here 
 the leopard to watch the water." 
 
 " If you see the hare come up, leopard," said 
 they, " you must bite him, that he may not drink this 
 water." 
 
 " Very good," said the leopard. 
 Shortly after, up came the hare with his calabash 
 of honey. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " quoth the leopard. 
 " I too want water," replied the hare. 
 " What's in your calabash ? " said the leopard. 
 " Just some broth for licking, that I've got," replied 
 
242 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 the hare ; " do you agree to make a bargain with me 
 for the licking ? " 
 
 " Give me a lick," said the leopard, " that I may 
 taste it." 
 
 So the hare gave the leopard a lick, with the result 
 that the leopard said, " Come now, hare, give me some 
 more of it." 
 
 " I'm afraid of being bitten by you ; but if you 
 let me tie you up, then I could give you some more 
 of my broth to lick." 
 
 " Very well," said the leopard, " tie me up." 
 
 So the leopard allowed himself to be tied up by 
 the hare, who thereupon gave him a lick of honey, 
 and then drew the water he wanted for himself. 
 
 " Untie me, hare," said the leopard. 
 
 " Not a bit of it," said the hare, who went off with 
 his water. 
 
 Playing this game he succeeded in tying up every 
 one of the beasts, one after the other, till they said to 
 the tortoise, " Come now, tortoise, it's your turn to 
 watch by the spring there." 
 
 So the tortoise proceeded to cut some gum-trees, 
 and with them he smeared all around the spring and 
 all the bush in the vicinity. Then up came the hare. 
 
 " Ee," said the hare, " I'm not going to give you 
 any of my broth for licking to-day ; they have only 
 left a poor fool of a tortoise that has no strength ; I 
 will go and drink right off." 
 
 " Come and drink," said the tortoise. 
 
 So the hare went up to the spring to drink, and got 
 caught by the gum j whereupon the tortoise called 
 out, " Come here, the hare's caught." 
 
 Up came the lions, but the hare pretended to be 
 dead, all its body being covered with the gum. When 
 the beasts came up, lions and all, they asked, " Is the 
 hare dead ? " 
 
 " Yes," was the reply, " It's dead with the gum ; 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 243 
 
 don't strike it ; it's dead from the effects of the 
 gum." 
 
 " Well, wash it," said the other animals, " and put 
 it out_ in the sun that it may dry ; we will singe it 
 when it is dry." 
 
 So they washed the hare, and put it in the sun. 
 After a short time they said that it was dry. 
 
 " Light a fire, and singe it," said the animals. 
 
 But off went the hare. 
 
 " Well, to think the hare was alive after all," said 
 the animals, who proceeded to abuse the tortoise, 
 saying, " Why did you not kill it outright ; who ever 
 heard of a hare dying just from being caught in the 
 gum ? " 
 
 " Well," retorted the tortoise, " why didn't you 
 kill it ? " 
 
 X. THE LION AND THE GAZELLE 
 
 Once upon a time, a man was wont to set his traps 
 and catch game therein. A lion, however, kept in- 
 specting that man's traps, eating the meat. So the 
 man set a big trap in the lion's track, and the lion got 
 caught there. When the man arrived on the spot, 
 lo and behold ! the lion was caught. 
 
 " Let me free, O man," said the lion. 
 
 " I won't set you free," said the man, " because 
 when I set you free you will bite me." 
 
 So off the man went, leaving the lion there. The 
 lion spent four days in the trap. Finally up came 
 a gazelle, with her six children. 
 
 " I entreat thee, mhara we," said the lion, " let me 
 out ; if you will only let me out I promise not to bite 
 you any more ; and I will also forbid all other lions 
 to bite the mhara and her children." 
 
 " Will you promise," said the mhara, " never to 
 bite me ? " 
 
244 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 " I will not bite you, for being the one who set me 
 free," said the lion. 
 
 So the gazelle set the lion free, and the latter said, 
 " Many thanks, mhara, for setting me free ; good- 
 bye." 
 
 Off went the mahara with her children ; but as she 
 was hopping away the lion called out, " Mhara we, 
 give me one of your children to assuage my hunger." 
 
 " E, uncle, will you deprive me of one of my 
 children when it was I who set you free ? " said the 
 gazelle. 
 
 " I entreat you," said the lion, " I want to assuage 
 my hunger ; I can no longer manage to walk so as to 
 look for my food till I am strengthened by having 
 your child inside me." 
 
 So the mhara consented, saying, " Take this one." 
 
 The lion devoured it. Then the mhara went off, 
 the lion stopping behind to finish his dainty tit-bit, 
 which left an uncommonly nice taste in his mouth. 
 So he called the gazelle again, saying, " We mhara, 
 mhara, mhara, oo ! Stand still there for me to talk 
 to you." So the gazelle stood still. 
 
 " Give me again one of your children," said the 
 lion, " I am still hungry, and I have no power to 
 walk." 
 
 " Uncle," said the gazelle, " will you finish off all 
 my children ? " 
 
 "Let me have just one little one to eat," said the 
 lion ; " then I won't eat any more." 
 
 So the gazelle gave him one, leaving only four 
 alive. 
 
 " All right, you can go," said the lion. 
 
 So off she started; but again the lion called out, 
 " Ye, mhara, mhara, stand still there, E ! " 
 
 Upon her standing still, the lion said, " Mhara we, 
 give me again one child ; do you think I'm satisfied 
 with only two of your little things f Don't you see 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 245 
 
 I'm a big person and need to eat something big. 
 To eat anything small does not satisfy me." 
 
 So the gazelle gave him another of her children, 
 which the lion ate. Then she started off again, but 
 again he called, " Mhara, mhara." 
 
 Upon her answering, he said, " Give me one of your 
 children ; I've not been satisfied ; my mouth is just 
 aching for something more." 
 
 So she gave him one more child, leaving only her 
 little one remaining. She started off with a run, 
 when the lion called out, " Ye, mhara, mhara we." 
 
 But the gazelle kept perfectly silent. 
 
 " If you don't speak," said the lion, " I'll eat you 
 and your child ; stand still there, E ! " 
 
 So she stood still. Coming up, the lion said, " Give 
 me that remaining child of yours." 
 
 " But, uncle," said the gazelle, " now that you're 
 started, are you going to deprive me of all my 
 children ? " 
 
 " Give me just that child of yours," said the lion, 
 and you can go free yourself. 
 
 So she gave the lion the child, and he devoured it, 
 saying, " You can go." 
 
 So she went at a run. 
 
 " Ye, mhara, mhara we," called the lion. 
 
 But there was dead silence. 
 
 " Ye, mhara, mhara we." 
 
 Again there was dead silence. 
 
 " If you persist in being silent, when I see you, I'll 
 eat you," said the lion ; " I can see you keeping close 
 over there." 
 
 But the mhara did not see through the lion's 
 devices, and foolishly answered the lion. 
 
 " Stand still there," said the lion, coming up 
 to the place where the gazelle ^lay hidden ; " Ee, 
 give me a chance, mhara we ! Just give me one 
 front leg to eat, and then you can go." 
 
246 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 " But if you take off one of my legs how shall I 
 manage to walk ? " said the gazelle. 
 
 " Oh, you can walk very well on three legs." 
 
 Then up came a hare, and said, " What are you 
 two squabbling about ? " 
 
 " We are squabbling," said the gazelle, " because 
 uncle here has eaten up all my children after I had set 
 him free from the rope that bound him ; he has 
 rewarded me by eating up all my family." 
 
 " What sort of rope was it that could hold uncle," 
 said the hare. 
 
 " It was a big one," said the gazelle. 
 
 " Let us see whether the lion can really be held," 
 said the hare. 
 
 " All right," said the lion, " twist a rope and see 
 whether I can be held or no." 
 
 So they made a rope and looked out for a big tree 
 wherewith to make a trap. 
 
 " Come, set the trap," said the lion. 
 
 So they set the trap, and said, " Come along, uncle, 
 have a try and see whether you can be held." They 
 tied his leg then to the trap and let the pole carry 
 him up in the air.* 
 
 " Come on, mhara," said the hare, " let us run off." 
 
 So off they ran, while the lion said, " Certainly 
 the hare was deceiving me all the time, was he ? that 
 I might remain a prisoner here." 
 
 " Yes," answered the hare," I did so because you 
 finished all the mhara's children." 
 
 So the lion remained there, while the gazelle and 
 the hare got away safely, leaving the lion to die of 
 hunger. 
 
 * The pole was bent as a spring : on being released, it carried the 
 lion up in the air in a noose attached to the pole. 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 247 
 
 XI. THE CRAB WHO HELPED A MAN TO GET 
 HIS SPEARS 
 
 Once upon a time a toad lived in its hole. Up 
 came a man, saying, " Toad, why do you live in a 
 hole?" 
 
 " I live in a hole," said the toad, " because that's 
 where I like to live." 
 
 So the man killed that toad, and the toad said, 
 " Why have you killed me ? " * 
 
 " I have just killed you," said the man, " that's 
 all." 
 
 Then he took his spear and stabbed it again that 
 it might die. And die it did. The man continued 
 his journey, and coming to where there was a lizard, 
 said, " Lizard, why are you sitting on a stone ? " 
 
 " I am just sitting here," said the lizard. 
 
 " I am going to kill you," said the man. 
 
 So he killed it, and continued on his way, and coming 
 to a tortoise found it in a pool. On arriving at the 
 pool the man sat down on a flat rock, and took a pinch 
 of snuff. Then the tortoise gave out a flood of water, 
 and caused that man to flee, leaving there his spear 
 and blankets. Going on his way he came to where 
 there was an elephant which said, " Man, why are 
 you running ? " 
 
 " I am running because I have been robbed of my 
 spears by something that is in the water over there." 
 
 " Let us go there, and I will get you your spears," 
 said the elephant. So off they went, and on reaching 
 the spot the elephant said, " Where were you ? " 
 
 " I was on that flat rock over there by the pool," 
 said the man. " Please go and get my things if you 
 have the courage ; as for me, I have not the courage 
 to go there any more." 
 
 * When a Kafir is very much injured by an accident he says he is 
 killed. 
 
248 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 So the elephant went up, and as he was about to 
 reach the spot the little tortoise, as it lay in the pool, 
 let flow the water, and made the elephant flee. The 
 man then said, " Didn't I tell you the thing in there 
 is too dreadful for words ; it makes such a crickly 
 crackly noise." 
 
 " You're right," said the elephant. " I'm not 
 going there any more." 
 
 So off they went, and, meeting a buffalo, were asked 
 what they were running away from. 
 
 " Ah, my friend," said the elephant, " the thing 
 we've seen is too dreadful to be mentioned : it is 
 too terrifying ; this man was robbed of his spears, 
 and then I saw him running away, and asked him 
 what he was running away from ; he said he was 
 running away because his spears had been taken away ; 
 and," added the elephant, " I've been driven away 
 too." 
 
 " Come on," said the buffalo, " I will get them for 
 you." 
 
 " Let us go," said the man. 
 
 So they went, and reaching the pool, the man said, 
 " I was robbed just over there." 
 
 So the buffalo went up, and as it was on the point 
 of entering the pool, lo ! it saw the water coming 
 with a crickly crackly noise. So off it flew, saying, 
 " No, no, my friend ; your spears will have to stay 
 there." 
 
 Then the man met a crab, which said, " What are 
 you running away from ? " 
 
 The man said, " Ee, to think of stopping to answer 
 a crab's questions. If I were to tell you, would you 
 go and get my spears, seeing that the buffalo and 
 elephant asked me the same question, and on going to 
 get my spears were driven away in flight ? I can fancy 
 I can see you too, crab, going to get my spears ! " 
 
 " I mean to have a try also," said the crab. 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 249 
 
 " Well," said the man, " if you give me trouble 
 and fail to get them, I shall kill you." 
 
 " I'm just going to have a try," said master crab, 
 and off he started. 
 
 " Go to the pond over there," directed the man, 
 " that's where I was robbed of my spears." 
 
 The crab accordingly went over there, calling out, 
 " Who has taken the spears ? " 
 
 On this the tortoise gave forth the water, and the 
 crab too entered the water, though the tortoise gave 
 forth the crickly crackly noise. So they had a struggle 
 in the water, till the tortoise cried out, " It's no good ; 
 neither of us has overcome the other ; let us both live 
 in the water here." 
 
 " I don't want to live in the water," said the crab. 
 
 " Please stay here in the water," besought the 
 tortoise. " I'll give you the spears and you can give 
 them to your man." 
 
 " Well, give them to me," said the crab. 
 
 So the crab went out of the pool and gave the spears 
 to the man, who thanked him. Then the crab re- 
 entered the water, and lived, as well as the tortoise, 
 in the water there. That is why crabs live in the 
 water. 
 
 XII. THE MAN WHO BECAME A PYTHON 
 
 Once upon a time a man married a wife, and com- 
 menced to hoe his land. The woman gave birth to 
 a child, and said, " Let me fetch my young sister to 
 come and play with my babe." 
 
 So she went to fetch her, and brought her back. 
 The little sister played with the infant. 
 
 One day the mother went to the lands and forgot 
 the child's porridge ; so she sent her sister, saying, 
 " Sister, go and get the child's porridge which I left 
 by mistake in the house." So off the girl went to 
 
250 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 fetch it. Reaching the hut, she found that the husband 
 of her sister had become a python, and was singing, 
 thus : 
 
 Brother-in-law, O brother-in-law, Teera mangaingai, 
 
 I have been sent for the porridge by my sister, Teera mangaingai. 
 
 Enter and take it. Teera mangaingai. 
 
 I'm frightened, brother-in-law. Teera mangaingai. 
 
 " No, enter and take it," said the python. 
 
 The girl went in and took the porridge, and came 
 out again to go to the field to join her sister. 
 
 " Sister," said she, " Your husband has been changed 
 into a python." 
 
 " Hi ! You are libelling my husband, in that you 
 say he has been changed into a python." 
 
 So the woman beat her little sister. 
 
 " To-morrow," said the married woman, " we will 
 put the porridge in the hut on purpose, and I shall be 
 able to see, for myself." 
 
 " Very good," said the child. 
 
 Early next morning she left the porridge in the hut 
 on purpose. When in the field she said to the younger 
 sister, " Come, let us get the porridge." 
 
 Reaching the hut, lo ! the husband was a python. 
 The young sister sang : 
 
 Brother-in-law, O brother-in-law, Teera mangaingai, 
 
 &c. &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Then she entered the hut and took the porridge 
 and reproached her sister thus : " Sister, seeing that 
 you beat me because as you said I was libelling your 
 husband that he was a python, now haven't you seen 
 for yourself ? " * 
 
 Said she, " I have seen." 
 
 Then she took some grain wherewith to cook beer 
 at the home of the wife's father ; she cooked her beer 
 
 * This delightfully mixed sentence is too typical to be altered. 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 251 
 
 in company with her husband. When they began to 
 drink the beer, the younger sister started singing : 
 
 Brother-in-law, O brother-in-law, Teera mangaingai. 
 
 The husband is a python : Teera mangaingai. 
 
 Then the man answered, saying, " Do not sing ; 
 be quiet sister-in-law." But she persisted in singing, 
 till finally the man began singing also. And lo ! 
 he become changed into a python. Upon that the 
 people who were in the hut fled, having set fire to 
 the hut so that the python might be killed in it. 
 
 So that was the end of the python. 
 
 XIII. THE PAUPER WHO BECAME A CHIEF 
 
 Once upon a time there was a man who said, " I 
 am a wretched beggar ; I shall go for a tramp through 
 these parts." 
 
 " Very well, begone," said his people. 
 
 So he started off, and coming to a kraal, said, " I 
 have come here ; give me something to eat." 
 
 " Give you something to eat, you beggar," said 
 the people of the kraal ; " why should we give you 
 anything to eat ? " 
 
 " Why shouldn't you give it to me ? " said the 
 man. 
 
 " We will not give you anything to eat, because you 
 are such a wretched sort of fellow. Forsooth, what 
 would you give us in return if we were to give you 
 something to eat ? " 
 
 Just then there came out a small child belonging 
 to the kraal. The child said, "Will you not give 
 this man something to eat ? " 
 
 " No," said the people, " we will not give him 
 anything to eat." 
 
 " But why," said the child, " will you not give 
 him something to eat ? " 
 
252 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 " Because a pauper such as he is has nothing to 
 give us in return ; that is the reason." 
 
 " Well, but even if the man be a pauper, is he for 
 that reason to be given nothing ? Just give him 
 something, so that he too may eat." 
 
 " No, we won't," said the people. 
 
 The child entered his mother's hut, saying, " Mother, 
 give me some porridge that I may give it to a man 
 who says, ' I'm perished with hunger.' " 
 
 " No, child, I will not give you any food," said the 
 mother. 
 
 " Well then," said the child, " I will take it myself." 
 Upon this the mother beat the child, and made it cry. 
 
 The child went to the garden and picked some 
 mealies, which he gave to the hungry man ; and when 
 the mother had gone out from the hut the child 
 remained behind, and took some porridge, which he 
 gave to the man. 
 
 " Many thanks," said the man ; " you have saved 
 me ; had it not been for you I should have died of 
 hunger. I thank you for having saved me, and for 
 having had mercy on me." 
 
 When the beggar had eaten, he said, " Good-bye, 
 my child ; tell me what is your name." 
 
 " I too am a friendless pauper," said the child ; " but 
 tell me in return what your name might be." 
 
 " Oh, as for me, I am a friendless pauper ; that's 
 all ; but good-day ; I must be going. You'll see 
 me when I return." 
 
 " But whither are you going ? " said the child. 
 
 " Well, seeing that you have given me something 
 to eat, I shall succeed in getting to my destination, 
 eating the food you have given me. I shall return 
 before the food is all finished." 
 
 So off went the beggar. Coming to a kraal he said 
 to the people, " I have come here ; give me something 
 
 to eat." 
 
oujvrjvior- oiUKliia 253 
 
 " We will not give you anything to eat," said the 
 people, " because you are a poor friendless beggar." 
 
 " Very well," retorted the beggar, " stick to your 
 wretched food." 
 
 The man walked on into the heart of the bush, 
 and slept by the side of the path, where there was no 
 human being. 
 
 " What shall I do ? " said he, " I have no fire ; 
 how shall I manage to roast my mealies ? " 
 
 As he was saying this to himself he met Tshibru- 
 mandzi, who said to him, " Why are you sitting in 
 the darkness, without any fire ? " 
 
 " Where should I find any fire ; I who am a poor 
 beggar ? " 
 
 " Well, look for some wood," said Tshibrumandzi, 
 " and I will give you the fire." 
 
 So the beggar looked for some wood and lo ! "Pgzva / " 
 said the fire, and kindled into a blaze. 
 
 " But why don't you carry fire about you when you 
 travel ? " said Tshibrumandzi. 
 
 " Where should I see it — I who am but a wretched 
 pauper," replied the beggar. 
 
 So he was given a red stick with these instructions : 
 " Whenever you want to sleep, first chop some wood, 
 and then take the stick and put it among the chips of 
 wood, and the fire will burst forth ; then withdraw 
 your stick. You can do so daily without the fire giving 
 out." 
 
 " Good," replied the beggar. 
 
 " Why did you give yourself that name," said 
 Tshibrumandzi, " saying, ' I am a friendless pauper '? " 
 
 " I called myself by that name because I am a 
 friendless pauper ; I have nothing in the world ; 
 Others are chiefs ; others have wives ; others have 
 goats, and fowls, and cattle, and everything ; but I — 
 No." 
 
 " Suppose I were to give you a kingdom," said 
 
254 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 Tshibrumandzi, " would you consent to receive 
 it ?" 
 
 " I would consent," replied the pauper. 
 
 " But the kingdom that I would give you would 
 be such that you would overcome all other chiefs, 
 for the possessions that I would give you would be 
 many. I would give you a great number of people, 
 men, women, and children, together with large herds 
 of cattle, and goats, and dogs." 
 
 " Well," said the beggar, " I am willing." 
 
 " But suppose I come to you when you have built 
 that kraal of yours ; will you promise not to revile 
 me ? " 
 
 " I promise not to revile you. Why should I revile 
 you, my father, who has given me the kingdom ? " 
 
 " Well," said Tshibrumandzi, " go to the place 
 where that child lives ; the child that gave you food ; 
 that is where you are going to be chief ; for it is only 
 right that you should be made a chief after having 
 been so continually laughed at on account of your 
 poverty. And as for that child who gave you food, 
 you shall give him a kraal, because he had compassion 
 upon you." 
 
 So off the beggar went to the kraal. No sooner 
 had he arrived than the people saluted him with the 
 words, " Thou art our chief." (The former chief 
 had long ago been killed.) 
 
 I " But now," said the beggar, " seeing that you salute 
 me, why do you salute me ? " 
 
 " We salute you," said the people, " because you 
 are the chief." 
 
 " But when I came to this kraal long ago, did you 
 give me something to eat ? " 
 
 " No," said the people, " we played the fool ; we 
 refused our chief." 
 
 " Well, now, shall I not put you all to death, and 
 just leave the child who gave me food ? " 
 
SURPRISE STORIES 255 
 
 " Nay ; kill us not ; would you kill your sons ? " 
 
 " Very well," said the beggar. 
 
 So he stayed there, and all the people of those parts 
 came to salute him ; there was no longer any rival 
 chief. Then the beggar gave a kraal to the child 
 who had given him food, saying, " This is your kraal 
 too, because you gave me food that day." 
 
 " Many thanks, O chief ! " replied that small 
 mortal. 
 
 So the child lived at his kraal, and to him too came 
 the chiefs, even his elders, that they might salute 
 him who had been given that one kraal. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 
 
 When a party is to be held, the parents have to consider 
 very carefully which kraals should be invited. There 
 are frequent feuds between certain families, and if 
 the boys and girls from these rival kraals were to meet, 
 quarrelling would be sure to follow ; there would be 
 bruised limbs, and probably broken heads, before the 
 party broke up. It is therefore necessary to consider 
 what kraals are on good terms wjth one another. 
 
 The Kafirs Have no written language, and therefore 
 invitations have to be sent out by word of mouth. 
 As a rule the boys invite the boys, and the girls invite 
 the girls. In the early morning, when the boys are 
 driving out the cattle to pasturage, they arrange to 
 meet the boys of another kraal, and the chief boy says, 
 " Will the boys of your kraal come and play with us 
 on such and such a night ? " 
 
 " We shall be very glad indeed to come," replies 
 the head-boy of the kraal invited, " but at what time 
 shall we arrive ? " 
 
 " Oh, come when you have finished milking the cows 
 in the evening." 
 
 " We shall be very glad to come." 
 
 It is always understood , that the invitation is ad- 
 dressed to all the boys of the kraal, for no one expects 
 a separate invitation ; only the very small children 
 are kept at home and not allowed to go out to the 
 party. 
 
 In similar fashion, when the girls go to fetch the 
 
2 6o SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 water or wood for the day, they get into conversation 
 with the girls of the kraals to be invited. When they 
 have all filled their water-pots at the river, they sit 
 down to chat, and the chief girl says, " We invite 
 the girls of your kraal to a party at the Mabeleni (or 
 whatever the name of their kraal may be) on such and 
 such a night." 
 
 " We shall all be delighted to come ; but tell us 
 the hour at which you will expect us." 
 
 " Come at the time of the cooking of the evening 
 meal." 
 
 The invited guests tell by the amount of time 
 allowed for preparation how great a function to 
 expect, and how to dress up. When the party is to 
 be a great affair, the invitation is sent out a fortnight 
 in advance ; if only a few days' notice be given, every 
 one knows that the party will be a small one. It takes 
 about a fortnight for the boys and girls to prepare 
 paint, bead-work, karosses, bangles and other orna- 
 ments for great occasions. At these great parties 
 fully a hundred children may be present, and every 
 one does his very best to look as smart as possible so 
 as to attract attention. 
 
 For several days before a party, the children are very 
 busy in the kraal ; the girls bring out small grinding- 
 stones very similar to those used by grown-up women 
 for grinding corn ; soft white stone is then broken 
 into little pieces which are ground into a fine powder 
 between the grinding- stones. This white powder 
 is mixed with water, or fat, and smeared on the body. 
 The children frequently paint their bodies in very 
 fantastic ways, invariably making themselves look 
 extremely ugly from the European point of view. 
 There is much variety as to the colours used for paint- 
 ing, and as to the parts of the bony painted. In 
 Basutoland the girls are fond of red paint, while 
 in Fingoland they prefer white. In these tribes the 
 
THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 261 
 
 boys do not often paint themselves for parties ; but 
 in Zululand the boys frequently smear their head, 
 trunk and legs with white paint, the girls only painting 
 a white circle or band round their waists, sometimes 
 adding a few touches of white on the cheeks. 
 
 The bigger children make extremely pretty bead- 
 work, choosing very good combinations of colour. 
 Bangles are made with grass, or with brass wire, and 
 are worn round the ankle, calf, knee, waist, neck, elbow 
 and wrist. Blankets are well rubbed with red clay, 
 and often have their edges very prettily ornamented 
 with bead-work. The skins of wild animals are worked 
 up with grease until they are very soft and supple, 
 and the tails of wild cats are made into ornaments 
 for the loins. The children frequently tatoo them- 
 selves specially for these parties, using a pointed stick, 
 which makes whitish marks in the skin ; these marks 
 only last for a few days. Thus the face and arms can 
 be richly tatooed without leaving any permanent 
 marks, as would be the case if they used hot embers. 
 However, the girls sometimes make permanent marks 
 on their skin ; they cover a small portion of the arm 
 with cow-dung, and then place glowing embers against 
 the protected flesh. As soon as the heat reaches the 
 skin small circular burns are made. When these 
 burns heal, smooth circular patches of a lightish 
 colour are left. The girls think such patches very 
 beautiful. 
 
 On the day of the party the girls sometimes make 
 garlands or coronets of leaves, very occasionally adding 
 a few wild flowers to heighten the effect. The con- 
 trast of the bright green leaves against the dark burnt- 
 sienna skin is very effective. The children have a 
 special coating of grease given to their bodies so as to 
 make them look smart and clean. It is striking how 
 much improved in appearance are the boys after 
 they have received a good rubbing with grease, for 
 
262 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 the scratches, which usually cover the body as a result 
 of playing in the veld, are thus hidden. 
 
 The anxious mothers are also busy for days in advance 
 of the party, telling the boys to be sure not to quarrel 
 with other boys, lest it should be said they come from 
 a quarrelsome kraal, and so the whole family should 
 be disgraced publicly. They specially impress on the 
 children not to eat too much ; they tell them that if 
 they show any signs of greediness the people will all 
 say, " See, those children come from a kraal where 
 there is famine." After that cutting sarcasm no one 
 in the kraal could look the world in the face for many 
 a day. But in spite of these days of coaching by 
 anxious mothers, the children always eat too much, 
 and the boys always quarrel and fight. As the children 
 go off to the party the parents finally impress on the 
 boys that they must not annoy the girls, nor forget 
 to be very polite to the owners of the kraal who are 
 giving the party. 
 
 The children are all very excited as they put the last 
 touches on their toilette, which is very simple and 
 strangely scant according to our ideas of what is 
 decent. Europeans are inclined to call children un- 
 dressed when they are thus decked out in bead-work. 
 As the twilight dies and a rich afterglow of the deepest 
 purple or violet suffuses the sky, there can be seen 
 a string of little children streaming out of a hut 
 on hands and knees — all silhouetted against a few 
 low-lying clouds of orange colour — and hurrying 
 over the veld in single file along the narrow Kafir 
 footpath. At length this thin, wavy line of excited, 
 talkative, chattering children arrives at the kraal, 
 which is the focus of many other groups of children, 
 dimly seen to be converging on it in the dusk. 
 
 On arriving at the kraal the guests have to salute 
 the head-man of the place. If there should happen 
 to be a chief present, the children walk up to him 
 
THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 263 
 
 in single file, and as each child passes the chief, he or 
 she has to stand still, shuffle the feet, point to the 
 sky with the right hand, and say, " Bayete." If the 
 greatest man present is only an ordinary head-man, 
 the children shuffle their feet, and say, " Numzaan," 
 rarely pointing with the hand to the sky. In some 
 tribes it is not correct etiquette for guests to speak 
 first on arriving at a kraal ; it is expected that they 
 should sit down in silence until the head-man first 
 addresses them. 
 
 The greeting of the head-man of the kraal is one of 
 the ways in which a Kafir shows respect and honour to 
 him. But it has another very practical aspect. It is an 
 excellent way of attracting attention, not so much to 
 the head-man, as to one's self. It is as if the person 
 were to say, " Take notice, all ye people ; it is I who 
 have arrived at the kraal." A Kafir loves to draw 
 attention to himself and to obtain recognition ; and 
 of course he thinks a person cannot start too early 
 in shuffling to the front in the race of life. 
 
 When the guests have saluted the great person, they 
 next go and shake hands with his " great " wife, and 
 after that they shake hands with the other women 
 present and with the various guests, not a little kissing 
 being indulged in between the women and the small 
 children. When this process is over, the guests are 
 told which huts are set apart for the evening, and, if 
 the weather be cold, the children are ushered into one 
 of the other huts, where the girls of the kraal usually 
 hang up their blankets on a leather thong stretched 
 between two poles. The guests pile their blankets 
 on these leather ropes ; they will not need their 
 blankets again till the morning, for there are fires 
 kept burning in every hut all night. 
 
 Since the party is to last till dawn, any children 
 who may get unduly tired are free to go to one of 
 the huts and enjoy a sleep whenever they like ; when 
 
264 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 refreshed they can return to the party. If the party 
 does not last the whole night, the children all sleep 
 at the kraal of the person inviting them. Beds are 
 quite unknown, for the people sleep in their blankets 
 on grass mats, using blocks of wood for pillows. It 
 is therefore a simple matter to find floor-space for a 
 hundred visitors. 
 
 The Kafirs have no brightly lighted rooms with 
 charming furniture and costly pictures ; there are 
 no soft carpets and draped curtains ; nor are there 
 any marble chimney-pieces. No carriages drive up 
 to the door, and no liveried servants usher in the 
 guests. The children creep in through a low doorway 
 on their hands and knees, and find themselves in a large 
 round hut with a fire burning in the centre of the floor. 
 The smoke wanders round the blackened rafters and 
 fills the hut, escaping as best it may through the 
 dense thatch, which may be several feet thick. The 
 walls of the hut are made of wattle and daub, and the 
 floor consists of dried mud. Everything is of the 
 colour of the earth, and at the back of the hut are 
 to be seen some earthenware pots and calabashes. 
 A tiny calf, or a few goats, may be tied up to one of the 
 poles which support the roof, and a number of hens 
 and dogs are sure to be found prowling round the hut, 
 hunting for any small pieces of food they may chance 
 to find. 
 
 When the visitors become accustomed to the smoke 
 and darkness, thev see some earth-coloured children 
 putting the finishing strokes to their toilette, for there 
 are no nurseries or nursery-maids. A number of 
 gleaming eyes and glistening white teeth indicate 
 these children. 
 
 As the guests arrive, one chubby little fellow about 
 five years old is to be seen walking about with immense 
 dignity ; he looks as if he were weighted by vast State 
 secrets which he is bursting to tell to some one. He 
 
THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 265 
 
 is the eldest son of " the great wife," and so takes 
 precedence of his many elder brothers. This little 
 boy, who is called the " Bull of the Kraal," runs up 
 to each party of guests as it arrives, singles out some 
 big boy, and confides to him in a loud stage whisper, 
 and with a most confidential air, some great mystery. 
 It is impossible to translate the baby-talk of one 
 language into the baby-talk of another, without 
 making use of a very free translation. 
 
 " I say ; do you know ? Don't tell any one, but 
 we have got twenty-free mouses all being cooked with 
 their skins on ; and we've firteen ickle birds which 
 are to be eaten on the hill in the dark ; they have 
 all got their fevers and moufs and heads and tails on ; 
 so they will be ever so nice ; but you won't tell any 
 one, will you ? it's a secret." This pantomime is 
 acted over again at the arrival of each fresh batch of 
 children. Since the little boy is to be a chief one day, 
 and since every one is in a good humour at the begin- 
 ning of a party, all the big boys patronise the little 
 chap in a fatherly fashion. It is always well to keep 
 in with the prospective chief. 
 
 The first great interest of the evening centres in 
 the food. The big boys eat by themselves, and the 
 small boys by themselves ; the girls club together 
 for their food. In ordinary daily life, as we have seen 
 in a previous chapter, the men eat their food first by 
 themselves, and give what is over to the women and 
 children. If there is not much meat, the men eat this 
 by themselves, giving none to the women and children. 
 But at a party, the children have the best of every- 
 thing. The food may consist of the following : beef, 
 mutton, goat and old hens ; these are always boiled, 
 unless small portions are cooked over the fire on little 
 wooden skewers, or are placed on the embers. In addi- 
 tion to meat there is usually sour milk, pumpkins, fried 
 locusts, Indian corn, and mice. But the favourite 
 
266 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 food is beef. Eggs are not eaten in most tribes, 
 for it is sometimes thought that the eating of eggs 
 causes the eyes to squint. A number of small birds, 
 caught in traps, are sure to be found roasting over the 
 fire. Such birds are cooked with their feathers on, 
 and without receiving any cleaning. The little 
 " Bull of the Kraal " has informed every one by this 
 time of the fact ! 
 
 The Kafirs have no " tea-things," but the children 
 are very fond of making small toy clay plates and 
 dishes, which they dry in the sun and afterwards 
 bake in the fire. These are arranged on the floor 
 for the small guests, for of course tables and chairs 
 are unknown. Wooden spoons are supplied for these 
 parties. In Basutoland the children imitate their 
 elders and make, not small plates of earthenware, 
 for Basutos do not use such things, but small grass 
 mats and baskets to eat the food off. Small toy pots 
 are also made to cook portions of food in. 
 
 Black girls are denied the supreme pleasure of white 
 girls which consists in " pouring out " at a tea-party ; 
 but one privileged girl is allowed to " preside at the 
 pot " (of the girls) which is the Kafir equivalent to 
 pouring out the tea. A big boy presides at the boys' 
 pot, unless the little " Bull of the Kraal " is very 
 importunate. Most of the food is eaten out of the 
 fingers because forks are unknown. Big boys, how- 
 ever, frequently have pocket-knives nowadays, and feel 
 very proud in producing them at parties. 
 
 The small children get themselves into a dreadful 
 mess during meal-time, for they are not bothered 
 with bibs or napkins. They smear their faces and 
 bodies with their food, and at the end of the meal the 
 dogs come up and lick them clean. 
 
 No sooner is the food eaten than the children 
 clamour for a game involving violent exercise. They 
 may play at " horses," or the big boys may start off 
 
THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 267 
 
 at once to disregard the coaching of their mothers ; 
 they cover themselves with blankets or karosses, tear- 
 ing round the dark hut shouting " Woooo, Wooooo," 
 at the top of their voices, in imitation of wolves. The 
 small future chief, who was but a little while ago 
 bursting with importance and with the desire to tell 
 his State secrets, has a special fear of wolves ; as soon 
 as he sees the rough play of the big boys, and hears 
 the dreaded sound of the imitation wolves, he runs 
 off to his mother for protection. A tremendous romp 
 ensues, and all the boys pretend to be wolves or other 
 wild animals, till, after a long period of confusion, the 
 head-man interferes and suggests a quieter game. 
 So the boys play at " wagons," or else drag one another 
 about the floor on old ox-skins. Then the perspiring 
 children sit down and discuss the next game. A 
 little boy about twelve years old seizes an old coat 
 his father has brought from the Goldfields, takes a stick, 
 and marshalls five or six diminutive boys who have 
 lost their first teeth. The little fellow who is dressed 
 up says, " I am a schoolmaster," and at once begins 
 to teach the small boys their A, B, C. These three 
 letters are known in kraals where masters or schools 
 are unknown. So the little schoolmaster says to the 
 row of small boys, " Now, say A, B, C." 
 
 The first tiny fellow begins, " A, B, Thee." 
 
 " Wrong," says the teacher ; " hold out your hand ; 
 it is not Thee but C." 
 
 The child, who has no front teeth, says, " But I 
 diierrCt thay Thee, I thaid Theeeee." 
 
 " Exactly," says the inexorable teacher ; " so hold 
 out your hand and be beaten." Amid roars of 
 laughter the schoolmaster pulls up his coat-sleeves, 
 which are about a foot too long, hitches up the old pair 
 of trousers, whose legs have been doubled up half a 
 yard, and having thrashed the first child, says to the 
 second boy, " Now, sir, say A, B, C." 
 
268 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 The little fellow wriggles on his feet with confusion, 
 and says, " But I can't thay it." 
 
 " Oh, you can't ' thay ' it, can't you f Well, I'll 
 teach you to ' thay ' it. Now, sir, say A, B, C." 
 
 The embarrassed boy thinks that he may sound the 
 letter correctly if he pronounces it with great emphasis. 
 So he calls out, " A, B, Ftheeee." 
 
 " Wrong again," says the teacher ; " it is C, and not 
 Ftheeee." 
 
 " But I can't fthay Fffthee ; I've lost my tooths." 
 
 " Then hold out your hand, and I'll teach you to 
 loose your ' tooths,' " says the mischievous teacher. 
 Amid roars of laughter the small boy is beaten. After 
 this the teacher pretends to get very angry, and makes 
 the next boy say his A, B, Thee, rejoicing inordinately 
 in the joke he is indulging in. The entire audience, 
 men, women and children, roar with merriment, and 
 call out, " Again, again." So the whole farce has to 
 be re-enacted from the start. At last, however, some 
 big boys pull the schoolmaster's borrowed plumes, 
 one pulls his coat, another catches at his trousers, 
 and in a few moments that game is over. 
 
 A big boy says that he has been away on a journey 
 and has seen a Mission Station ; he retires for a 
 moment to the back of the hut, takes a piece of goat- 
 skin with hair on it (or the hairy strands plucked from 
 a mealie-cob), and gums this on to his face with the 
 thick juice of the euphorbia plant ; he borrows an 
 old coat, a pair of trousers, and an odd boot, and 
 then begins to play at Missionary. The other children, 
 who do not really understand what they are saying, 
 call out one after the other, " I am God," " I am. his 
 sister," " I am his auntie." Nothing has escaped 
 the observation of the boy who acts as preacher ; 
 he parodies the Sunday service to the delight of the 
 company present, imitates the action of playing the 
 concertina, gives out a hymn from an imaginary book, 
 
THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 269 
 
 and preaches a mock sermon in which he pillories 
 every mistake in language made by the missionary, 
 who thought that the sober face of his audience was 
 a proof that his language was perfect. No mistake 
 in the use of the language escapes the observation of 
 the boys. The people living on a station get used to 
 the endless mistakes of their missionary, and grow 
 accustomed to his accent and pronunciation, but a 
 strange boy is immensely tickled by these stereotyped 
 mistakes which the courtesy of the people ignores. 
 It is but natural that the missionary new to the 
 country should make mistakes in the language. These 
 mistakes are frequently very slight, arising from placing 
 a wrong letter in a word, or some other such trifle. 
 A young missionary in Swazieland, who disliked killing 
 animals, wished to say to some boys, " Bring me a 
 goat and kill it for me, and I will give you six shillings." 
 Unfortunately, he made a mistake of a single letter 
 when using the word for " goat," and asked the boy 
 to bring a rat and kill it. The boys consequently 
 brought a rat to church on Sunday, and amputated 
 its head with a carving-knife before the face of the 
 astonished missionary and congregation ; then they 
 demanded six shillings for having fulfilled their part 
 of the contract. Such a mistake as this would cause 
 endless merriment amongst the high-spirited boys 
 at the next party. 
 
 So the play-preacher with a serious face, but with 
 a merry twinkle in his eye, imitates all the errors he 
 had noticed at the church service that he had attended, 
 and finally calls up a small boy and girl, and pretends 
 to marry them, amidst peals of laughter from the 
 audience. 
 
 When the mock service is over, the boys propose 
 playing at " lovers " ; the girls are as keen as the boys 
 over this amusement. The boys rush off into the dark 
 with their sweethearts and build small temporary 
 
270 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 huts with a few sticks, placing their blankets over the 
 rough wicker work erection. In these huts the small 
 boys and girls play at husband and wife, the boy 
 making the girl cook for him ; they imitate every 
 detail of the actual life of husband and wife.* Even 
 little boys, who do not in the least understand what 
 is taking place, want their sweethearts, and go up to 
 big brothers or sisters — it does not matter which 
 in their case — and beg them to act as sweethearts 
 for the evening. Sometimes a big girl who is not a 
 favourite of the boys, will humour the little fellow, 
 and will build him a hut for fun. 
 
 Previous to the holding of the parties there is much 
 bargaining with doctors for love-charms, which are 
 innumerable amongst the Kafirs. A classification of 
 such charms is impossible, but there seem to be four 
 main varieties ; a boy may use (i) charms to make 
 him attractive in the eyes of his favourite girl ; (2) 
 charms to make the girl dream of him ; (3) charms 
 to make other boys (of whom his favourite girl may- 
 think highly) appear unattractive ; (4) charms to 
 counteract the charms used by others to make the girl 
 dislike him. Everything, from the simplest weed in 
 the veld up to imported steel magnets, is pressed into 
 service, traders sometimes charging high prices for the 
 most absurd charms, which may consist of anything 
 likely to appeal to the imagination of the natives. 
 
 When it is thought that the lover's game is played 
 out — and it takes a long time to play it out, for it 
 is ever fresh — dancing is suggested. A dance is a 
 never-failing source of delight to the children. The 
 European must first empty his mind of all his ideas 
 about dancing if he would understand how the Kafirs 
 dance. To start with, boys and girls never join hands 
 
 * For a description of the hlobonga custom, which is indulged in 
 on such occasions, the reader is referred to a Zulu dictionary : the 
 custom cannot be described in a work of this nature. 
 
iriii CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 271 
 
 or touch one another when dancing ; the action of 
 the arms and trunk is as important as, or more so than, 
 that of the legs and feet ; chanting is indulged in by 
 the performers themselves ; posturing forms a large 
 part of the dance ; and finally, jerking of the body in 
 fantastic ways is essential. 
 
 There are three main types of dance held by the 
 Fingos, for example. The Umgubo is danced sedately 
 by men and women fairly well advanced in life. The 
 chant used is sung in a slow and stately fashion, and 
 the dancers are careful to avoid any excess in posturing. 
 The Ukubaca is a wedding-song, and so the music is 
 a little more lively, the dancing being in keeping with 
 the music. Then there is the Umsino, which is very 
 brisk, being the favourite dance of the young un- 
 married people. This gives great opportunity for a 
 young man to show off his gracefulness and agility, 
 for sticks are held in the hand during this dance. 
 There are other dances which consist of the lewdest 
 posturings. 
 
 The following rules hold, more or less, in most tribes. 
 The children are told to keep time as they dance ; they 
 must sing, but must not force their voices or attract 
 attention by loud singing ; they must remember that 
 certain posturings of the body are suitable for certain 
 dances, and other postures suitable for different dances ; 
 clapping of hands is only allowed in certain dances. If 
 they dance with sticks, they are told to raise the stick in 
 the left hand while they lift the leg on the opposite 
 side ; they must not raise the stick on the same side as 
 the leg they are Hf ting. The boys and girls have to keep 
 the dancing-lines separate. There are dances at which 
 only men perform, and others in which only women 
 take part ; sometimes men and women join in the 
 same dance, but it is a general rule that boys should 
 dance more briskly than the girls, who are supposed 
 to move more slowly. There are dances in which 
 
272 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 people need not pay any attention to the harmony 
 of their chants, and in these dances the children may 
 make what posturings they please. In Basutoland, 
 during such dances the people call out " Seweliwelele " 
 repeatedly, for it is an exclamation which is supposed 
 to make people very excited and wild, and in such 
 free dances wildness is part of the charm. When 
 soldiers dance the war-dance, they do so solemnly 
 and sedately, for people are about to die in the fight ; 
 boys are told that they must not imitate or make fun 
 of it. For this reason they love to " play " this dance 
 when they are not being watched. In wedding- 
 dances the music chanted is in harmony with the words. 
 Young men and women have a special dance which they 
 engage in very smartly, using sticks to add to the gay 
 effect. Let us try and picture the children dancing 
 one of the Basutos dances in which the music is wild. 
 Imagine thirty boys in a row in the open air at 
 night ; they are clad in slender bead-work, or with the 
 tails of wild animals tied in small bunches and sus- 
 pended round their loins ; the rest of the body is 
 naked, except for bangles and ornaments. Opposite 
 these boys are as many girls clad in blanket or skin 
 petticoats of a scanty nature ; frequently they are 
 dressed only in very slight bead-work ; round their 
 arms, legs and waists are innumerable ornaments of 
 brass or copper wire, or of bead-work. Every boy 
 and girl holds a stick (or a bundle of sticks) in each 
 hand. The dance begins with a low dull chant, to 
 which all the dancers stamp the feet in time. Every 
 now and then at certain turns in the chant, the rows 
 move nearer to one another, and at other periods in the 
 tune everybody lifts the right leg and left arm, bending 
 the body into an awkward shape. The leg is poised 
 in the air and suddenly thumped down on the ground. 
 The music grows louder and faster, and the contortions 
 of the limbs increase. Little children look on with 
 
PARTY 273 
 
 interest as the tune grows wilder. Suddenly every 
 one sings out, " Seweliwelele, Seweliwelele," and at 
 the sound of these words the contortions of swaying 
 and stamping bodies grow more fierce, and each 
 dancer moves round and round a little faster on his 
 own small patch of ground. Soon the singing increases 
 to a tremendous pace, and every one shouts " Seweli- 
 welele, Seweliwelele" till a wild frenzy of excitement 
 seizes the dancers, who stamp and jump, and swing 
 their bodies in the most bizarre way. Every one 
 vies with every one else to be as fantastic as possible. 
 The appearance of the dancers in the moonlight is 
 most weird, for it is chiefly on moonlight nights that 
 these open-air dances are held. The shouting, con- 
 torted, perspiring boys and girls, each intent on his 
 or her own tune and contortions, make the most absurd 
 grimaces as they chant their song. The admiring 
 crowd of onlookers, young and old, applaud the various 
 dancers and egg them on to wilder attempts. Suddenly 
 the whole dance collapses abruptly in a torrent of 
 sound ; then dancers and audience chatter and jabber 
 about the fun they have had. A boy, who thinks he 
 has been doing wonders before the eyes of the girl 
 whose love he wants to win, goes up to her boldly to 
 make love, and is repelled by the biting saying of the 
 girl, whose heart is fixed on another boy, " A cat and a 
 mouse do not associate." The boy feels his ardour 
 damped by this spiteful saying, and vows he will tame 
 the girl later on. Dance after dance is held till every 
 one seems tired, though it is surprising what an amount 
 of dancing can be indulged in without tiring the people. 
 When it is about an hour or so past midnight the 
 great event of the party — so far as the boys are con- 
 cerned — takes place. For this the boys have been 
 watching all the evening. The head-man tells the 
 big boys — what they knew hours ago — that he has a 
 sheep cooking for them in a large pot. The boys all 
 
274 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 fly off to the vessel, pull out the cooked sheep and tear 
 it to pieces with their hands. Then they all rush off 
 to some hill close by, where wood for fires has been 
 collected before the party commenced ; camp-fires 
 are made, and the boys have a royal feast. It is at 
 such times, when everything is in confusion in the kraal, 
 that the boys pay out any grudges they owe to can- 
 tankerous women. The cats belonging to such women 
 are stolen and carried off in the darkness, and are killed 
 and cooked with their fur on. The unpopular aunt 
 may complain next morning that she cannot for the 
 life of her make out what has happened to her cat : 
 it has vanished during the night ; have any of the boys 
 seen it ? Though uncomfortably conscious of having 
 eaten too much cat, and though they are feeling 
 rather unwell from over-eating in general, the young 
 culprits affect the utmost interest in the lost cat, 
 and offer with unusual courtesy to go at once and 
 hunt for it in the bush. Truly the Kafirs know how 
 to pay out any person who makes himself or herself 
 objectionable. 
 
 The cooked heart of the sheep is often impaled on 
 a pointed stick, which is fixed in the ground. The 
 biggest boy, whose hands are tied behind his back, 
 tries to bite a mouthful out of the heart when it is fixed 
 thus, and all the small boys are allowed to belabour 
 him with sticks while he is trying to eat it. Then the 
 next biggest boy has a bite under the same conditions, 
 and as a result very little of the heart is left for the 
 small ones. Lest the parents should think the tiny 
 boys have received no share of the heart, the bigger 
 boys smear the faces of the little ones with the half- 
 cooked blood, and so the phrase, " You smear me with 
 blood," comes to mean, " You accuse me falsely." 
 The parents are supposed to imagine that since the 
 faces of the small boys are bloodstained, they have 
 had their due portion of the heart, though it is hard 
 
inn L,rilLL>KEN J S EVENING PARTY 275 
 
 to believe the fathers forget the customs of their boy- 
 hood. The small boys dare not complain to their 
 elders, or they would get unmercifully beaten for not 
 having the sportsmanlike quality of refusing to tell 
 tales. 
 
 The boys produce from their pockets the most 
 marvellous things. Most boys carry under their arms 
 a small bag which is suspended from the neck. This 
 bag does duty for a pocket. It is proverbial what 
 the pockets of an English boy can contain, but the 
 Kafir boys have no cause to be ashamed of their per- 
 formances in this direction. Here is a list of things 
 found in the pockets of a few Kafir boys : string 
 made from grass, mice, old pieces of food, bangles, 
 dead birds, pins, needles for sewing frayed skins (these 
 needles have no eyes), wooden spoons, snuff-boxes, 
 edible roots, Indian hemp and a small horn to smoke 
 it with, tobacco-pipes made from roots of trees, cater- 
 pillars, and, finally, lizards. A weird confusion of such 
 articles is turned out beneath the silent stars, and all 
 that is edible is cooked over the fire. Thus the sheep is 
 supplemented with mice, rats, lizards, caterpillars, birds, 
 edible roots, and other things of a similar nature. 
 
 When the mutton has vanished — all except the 
 skin and the bare bones which have been gnawed clean, 
 broken, and robbed of the marrow — the boys wax fat 
 and " coxy." Every one seems to develop a fighting 
 spirit. It needs but a few whiffs of the intoxicating 
 smoke of Indian hemp to precipitate matters. Sides 
 are soon formed, possibly one set of kraals fighting 
 another set as in real life. The boys all pretend to 
 be soldiers ; there may be as many as twenty or thirty 
 boys on each side. To prevent confusion in the dark, 
 the boys of one side deck themselves with white paint. 
 If there should be no men looking on, a war-dance is 
 indulged in, the war-song being sung slowly and 
 solemnly in subdued voices, for in all things the boys 
 
276 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 imitate their elders. The excitement grows as the 
 song increases in volume and rhythm ; before long the 
 chant becomes boisterous and noisy, and when the 
 spirit of the boys gets beyond control, the fighting 
 commences in real earnest. Sticks are freely used, 
 and many are the bruises received, and many are the 
 scalps cut open. The natives say that in olden days 
 boys were even killed in these midnight fights. There 
 is such a strong sense of honour amongst the boys 
 that they would scorn to " sneak " about their injuries, 
 just as much as English boys at a public school would 
 scorn to do so under similar circumstances. Wounds 
 are patched up with a free coating of mud, and if any 
 awkward questions should be asked next morning, 
 the boys account for the suspicious-looking marks of 
 mud, which rather accentuate than hide the wounds, 
 by saying that they fell down hill in the dark, or got 
 cut while playing games. The parents do not press 
 their questions at such times, though they are shrewd 
 enough to know what value to attach to the excuse. 
 
 Later on, swinging and dancing are indulged in on 
 the hill-top, some suitable tree being selected for 
 hanging the swing on. Games are played in the 
 dark, and contests of skill are held. The boys do a 
 good deal of betting over these contests in the dark- 
 ness, and one may bet a hen, a goat, or some edible 
 roots, when the comrade whom he idolises stands forth 
 to fight a rival. If any one should misbehave himself, 
 a court of imaginary chiefs is held to try the case. 
 These boys' courts are often held in the veld by day, 
 when the boys want to have some fun ; but there is 
 a peculiar charm in a court held at night. The ablest 
 boy sits as chief, and the accused is brought before 
 him ; a full inquiry, with regular accusers and de- 
 fenders, is instituted. But the decision of this play- 
 court — like many of the more serious ones in after 
 life — is fixed in advance. If the boy be popular, he 
 
THE CHILDREN'S EVENING PARTY 277 
 
 is sure to be acquitted, but if he be not liked, he is 
 certain to be found guilty. The boys thus pay out 
 any one who makes himself disagreeable. The victim 
 when found guilty is often tied to a stick, and another 
 boy is told off to beat him ; the blanket is, of course, 
 removed for the operation, and the beating, which is 
 given in real earnest, is usually taken in silence, for 
 tears would but lead to a more severe thrashing for 
 cowardice. But sometimes, in addition to corporal 
 punishment, the little fellow is condemned to fag 
 after the cattle all the next day, and is not allowed to 
 eat any food in the veld, having to look on while the 
 others enjoy themselves. If the weather should be 
 cold — and children hate the winter, for they say the 
 country is then desolate and devoid of edible berries — 
 the boy may be made to go long distances to fetch 
 wood for a fire in the veld, at which the others 
 warm themselves, while the victim is made to sit 
 far away from the fire, and is left to shiver in the 
 cold. 
 
 Before returning to the huts at the first streak of 
 dawn, the boys sit round the fire telling stories, all 
 bragging of their prowess. At length a move is made 
 to the huts, and an uproarious crowd of naked boys 
 is seen sweeping down the hill with blankets waving 
 from many an arm, for a race is being held, and 
 blankets are carried on the arm so as not to impede 
 the movement. 
 
 All the time the boys have been enjoying their 
 midnight orgy on the hill, the girls have been occupied 
 with quieter pursuits ; some have been playing with 
 clay dolls, and others have been gossiping about their 
 sweethearts, while not a few have coaxed an old 
 grandmother into a good temper, and have persuaded 
 her to tell them some of the old nursery-tales, samples 
 of which have been given in the preceding chapter. 
 During the night some of the smaller children have 
 
278 SAVAGE CHILDHOOD 
 
 been sleeping peacefully in another hut, having been 
 worn out with excitement. 
 
 The return of the boys, who rush into the kraal 
 like a hurricane, is the sign for the party to break up. 
 Blankets are fetched out, and the tired children go 
 to say good-bye to the head-man, shake hands with 
 the women, and then emerge from the hut on hands 
 and knees. There are many last words between the 
 departing guests, and slowly a number of straggling 
 rows of children file off along the various pathways 
 to their respective homes. The children walk home 
 with wavering, unsteady gait, for most of them are 
 tired, and all of them are grumbling and cross. As 
 the children reach home everything looks dreary in 
 the false light of dawn ; the old people are cross at 
 being roused too early from their slumber, and resent 
 the barking of the dogs and the sudden intrusion of 
 the children. There arises a confused noise from the 
 shouting out of angry orders to children and dogs ; 
 children are crying or simpering ; the very cocks and 
 hens are flying about the hut, for they have been 
 disturbed from their roosts. Every one votes parties 
 a nuisance ; the girls wish they were boys to enjoy 
 the midnight feast on the hill ; the boys are aching in 
 limb and bruised in body ; the parents are suffering 
 from the irritability that comes from a disturbed sleep. 
 Yet with wonderful wisdom everybody will look for- 
 ward to the next party with delight, not being one 
 whit disillusionised by the memory of their experiences. 
 It would be hard to recognise in these grumbling, 
 weary, bedraggled boys and girls the eager and 
 excited children who star Led off for the party but 
 twelve hours previously with such gaiety and joy. 
 
APPENDICES 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 IDHLOZI AND ITONGO : THE PERMANENCE OF 
 THE SELF 
 
 It is doubtful whether a white man will ever fully understand 
 the thoughts of a Kafir on the subject of religious beliefs. The 
 most we can hope for is to arrive at an approximation to the 
 truth. The following note is therefore presented with con- 
 siderable hesitancy, for, in spite of its positive tone, it is 
 purely tentative ; the reader is warned that the whole 
 subject is most debatable. 
 
 Having taken an amateur interest for fifteen or sixteen 
 years in the meaning of the words idhlozi and itongo, I have 
 asked a considerable number of missionaries to explain the 
 difference between the words. Without exception all have 
 stated that there is no distinction in the meaning of these 
 words. When it has been objected that it is very unlike the 
 natives to have two words for a single thing of such importance, 
 the answer has been, that, in spite of the strangeness of the 
 matter, the two words have no distinction in meaning. 
 Bryant's Zulu Dictionary gives the following translation of these 
 two words : " i(li)dhlozi, n. Spirit of a man, when gone 
 from the body in death ; ancestral spirit, q.e., spirit of some 
 former member of family = i(li)Tongo." On turning to the 
 other word, the following is found: " i(li)tongo, n. Ances- 
 tral spirit = i(li)Dhlozi." Thus the words seem to be 
 interchangeable and synonymous. 
 
 To test the accuracy of this universal statement I have from 
 time to time asked many natives as to what the distinction 
 between these two words might be. One and all have com- 
 
282 APPENDIX A 
 
 plained that the European wrongly states that they are synony- 
 mous. The natives consulted have all said that it is quite true 
 that the two words are used nowadays, even by natives, as 
 though they were synonymous ; but they equally agree that in 
 their grandfathers' days the words had entirely separate mean- 
 ings. When asked how the misunderstanding arose, a most in- 
 telligent native told me that he remembered being puzzled on 
 the subject when he was a boy, for he heard some old men con- 
 fusing these words in speech. He asked his grandfather why he 
 used these two words as though they meant the same thing ; the 
 old man replied that natives never confused the words in olden 
 days, but that when white men asked for an explanation of these 
 two words the natives tried to explain the difference. The 
 white men, as usual, asked leading questions, saying, " These 
 two words mean the same thing, don't they ? " A Kafir 
 could only give one answer to a question put in such a way. 
 Wishing to please the white man, and disliking the trouble 
 of explaining a distinction that was somewhat subtle and 
 none too clear to their own minds, the natives answered, 
 " Yes, they mean the same thing." It must be remembered 
 that Kafirs do not naturally think out such problems. The 
 old man told his son that since they began to misuse these 
 words when speaking to white men, they also formed the habit 
 of using the words carelessly even when talking among them- 
 selves. And so the words are used nowadays as though they 
 were synonymous. Possibly, therefore, a dictionary which 
 must give the modern usage of words is quite justified in 
 saying that the words are synonymous. They have 
 become so. 
 
 This contention of the above-mentioned native has been 
 corroborated by others along the same line. Without for a 
 moment suggesting that the following distinctions are proved, 
 it may be well to give an outline of the distinctions given me 
 by natives. (The contention that the word idblozi may be 
 connected with the word Umkosi or even with Inkosi, and the 
 fact that the ancestral spirits are sometimes called Amakosi, 
 have a very doubtful bearing on what follows, but reference 
 
APPENDIX A 283 
 
 in this connection may be made to those words in Bryant's 
 dictionary.) 
 
 (1) The idhlozi is an individual thing, and so every person 
 has an idhlozi of his own. The itongo is a corporate thing, 
 and various members of a family have part of the itongo of the 
 same grandfather. It is the amatongo who are the " ancestral 
 spirits." 
 
 (2) The idhlozi is born with the child in the ordinary course 
 of nature, no ceremony being required to impart it to a baby. 
 The itongo is not born with a child, but is imparted to it by a 
 ceremony after birth. (So far as I can find out there is no 
 Totem-ceremony performed in infancy.) 
 
 (3) The idhlozi is never lost during life, for it cannot be 
 forfeited even if the person should become a Christian. The 
 itongo can depart from a person who abandons tribal custom. 
 It then returns to the grandfather or to the bosom of the 
 amatongo from whence it came out. The idhlozi would thus 
 seem to be an inalienable part of the man's individuality, 
 while the itongo can only be retained in connection with the life 
 of the clan. 
 
 (4) At death the idhlozi continues its individual life, and 
 generally lives near the grave of the dead man. The itongo 
 does not haunt the grave, but lives in the hut of the living 
 members of the family. Thus it would seem as if the idhlozi 
 represented fairly well the European conception of a ghost, 
 which haunts the place of death or burial, the itongo being more 
 like the theologian's immanent Divine Spirit in man. 
 
 (5) At death the idhlozi may enter a snake or whatever the 
 totem-animal of the clan may be. The itongo never enters 
 the totem, nor does it seem to have anything to do with it. 
 Is it possible that the itongo and the idhlozi were developed 
 during two different stages of culture and progress, the idhlozi 
 being the relic of the totem stage, while the itongo was developed 
 later ? 
 
 (6) Offerings are frequently made to the itongo, but rarely 
 to the idhlozi ; such offerings to the itongo are usually placed 
 on the Umsamo, or that part of the hut where goods are stored. 
 
284 APPENDIX A 
 
 The offering placed in the grave of the dead man at his burial 
 may be intended for his idhlozi to feed on ; but the matter is 
 not quite clear in the minds of the Kafirs. 
 
 (7) The idhlozi does not as a rule appear to people in dreams : 
 it is the itongo which causes men to dream and which visits 
 them thus. When a man has a dreamless night he says the 
 itongo (and not the idhlozi) has gone visiting its friends. 
 
 (8) Sickness is not sent by the idhlozi but by the itongo. 
 All the Kafirs I have questioned critically are strong on this 
 point. Some even state that itongo was originally a name for 
 a special kind of sickness sent by the ancestral spirits. 
 
 (9) The idhlozi cannot transcend space ; if it is present in 
 the snake, or totem, which visits the kraal, then, so long as it 
 is in the snake, it is not in the grave ; if it is in the grave, it is 
 not in the totem. But the itongo has the power of being in 
 several places at once. Thus, it may be living in the huts of 
 a number of different people at one and the same time, and can 
 also, at the same time, be an immanent spirit in several people 
 as if it were a deity or being of wide powers. A man has a 
 whole idhlozi to himself ; a hundred individuals may share 
 the itongo. 
 
 (10) An animal might have an idhlozi, even as a dog might 
 have a ghost : but no animal could have an itongo. When I 
 have asked natives whether a dog or an ox could possibly have 
 an idhlozi, they have generally been taken back by the question, 
 and have said that they never heard the idea mentioned before ; 
 but on reflection they have said that there is no reason why 
 a cow should not have an idhlozi. Asked whether she could 
 have an itongo, the natives have laughed out, " No, no, no ; 
 quite impossible ; who ever heard of a cow with an itongo f 
 Oh, no, no, an animal could not possibly have an itongo." It 
 is difficult to see how the words can be synonymous in the face 
 of this clear distinction. 
 
 (ir) When a tribe migrates, the idhlozi of the grandfather 
 remains near his grave, while the itongo travels with the tribe. 
 
 (12) After death the idhlozi lives for a limited time. A 
 European ghost seems vaguely to die out of men's memory — 
 
A-r.riiJN.DiX A 285 
 
 in which alone, indeed, it lived and had its being. Even so, 
 as soon as there is no one to remember the actual grandfather, 
 his idhlozi ceases to live in the people's minds ; his successor 
 attracts the attention of the living. (Whether the idhlozi 
 actually is annihilated or not, the Kafir never stops to consider ; 
 probably the idea of annihilation never entered his head till 
 Europeans placed it there.) But the itongo has a long-con- 
 tinued and vigorous existence. The itongo, being a corporate 
 thing, has a long life even in the memory of the people. The 
 individual idhlozi gets forgotten owing to neglect, while the 
 itongo lives through constant attention, for it is prayed to 
 continually. The light that this throws on the Kafir's ideas 
 as to the permanency of the self is suggestive. 
 
 (13) There was an old Zulu ceremony, which is being for- 
 gotten nowadays. When a chief or head-man was dying, the 
 heir was brought to the dying man that the brass bangle worn 
 round the forearm of the head-man might be taken off the 
 dying man and placed on the forearm of the heir. All the 
 members of the family had then to kiss the bangle. It was 
 said that by this ceremony the itongo (not idhlozi) possessed 
 by the dying man was passed on to the heir. If the heir were 
 to sell that bangle, he and his family or clan would lose 
 the itongo, which would return to the grandfather. The 
 members of the family would then become fools, devoid 
 of good luck ; and they would lack the mental qualities 
 which are essential to success in the life of the kraal. But 
 none of them would lose their amadhlozi. My informant 
 took me to a kraal where the head-man had sold this bangle, 
 and pointed out to me the fact that since the selling of that 
 bangle every member of that family had become a drunkard, 
 or a waster, or hopelessly depraved by excessive smoking of 
 hemp. The Kafirs in the neighbouring kraals all say that 
 this result is due to the fact that the people have now no itongo, 
 though they say each of these people has an idhlozi. 
 
 The above points were elicited by a great many discussions 
 with natives, and force one to regard the itongo as wholly 
 different in every possible sense from the idhlozi. The Kafirs 
 
286 APPENDIX A 
 
 9 
 
 consulted did not all agree as to every detail, for most of them 
 said that^ natives nowadays thought very little about such 
 subjects. One of the difficulties in investigating such questions 
 consists in the fact that those natives who are able to explain 
 their thoughts have unconsciously absorbed European ideas 
 in a distorted fashion. They love to find analogies between 
 Kafir and European thought, and show plainly that they do not 
 really understand Western ideas. 
 
 The conclusion of the matter seems to be that what we would 
 call the man's personality is split up at death into two things : 
 the idhlozi, or ghost, retains its individuality, and lives on 
 for a variable period close to the grave, slowly dying out in 
 course of time ; the itongo, or spirit, retains a certain amount 
 of individuality so long as the people in the kraal remember 
 the dead man ; when those who knew him in flesh and blood 
 have died off, the itongo becomes merged in the corporate 
 " spirits of the ancestors." The idhlozi is the individual side, 
 while the itongo is the corporate or clan side of the per- 
 sonality. Consequently the living are more interested in the 
 itongo of a man than in his idhlozi. It must never be for- 
 gotten, however, that the Kafirs have not thought out the 
 philosophy of the thing. The white man has to interpret 
 to the Kafir the logical conclusion of his vague ideas. 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 TRIBAL VARIATIONS OF BIRTH CUSTOMS 
 
 Even in Zululand many details in the ceremonies described in 
 the text have long since been discontinued, so that only the old 
 people remember them. This same proviso must be borne in 
 mind when any custom is described, for since European civi- 
 lisation has been in contact with native customs, the latter have 
 suffered great changes. There are also slight tribal or clan 
 modifications of every detail in the list of ceremonies described, 
 which must be regarded as an attempt to weave together 
 isolated scraps of information received from various native 
 sources so as to construct the original pattern or primitive 
 type adopted by black men. It is quite common for the 
 mother to be isolated for but a day or two in what old Kafirs 
 regard as " these degenerate days." In some clans the mother 
 is said to be isolated for seven days if her child be a boy, and 
 for three days if it be a girl. In Gazaland the period of seclu- 
 sion is usually five days. In other districts the mother's seclu- 
 sion is supposed to last until the cord sloughs off from the baby. 
 (The cord is usually severed midway between the mother and 
 child.) It will be seen that the period of seclusion varies 
 immensely, and no rule on the point is held with any strictness. 
 In Basutoland the mother does not smoke her child over a fire 
 made with scented wood, nor does she smear her own hut ; 
 this is done for her by the midwives on the eighth day after the 
 birth of her child. As soon as her child is born, the people 
 place a reed outside her hut, which is understood to be a sign 
 that a child has recently been born. According to one of the 
 nursery-tales common amongst all South African tribes, men 
 
288 APPENDIX B 
 
 were originally " broken off " from a reed, or " came out " 
 from a bed of reeds. The accounts of this origin of mankind 
 have many variations, and it is difficult to get hold of the exact 
 idea in the mind of the natives, who usually say that white 
 men have much misrepresented their meaning in regard to 
 this matter. But the presence of a reed outside the hut is a 
 sign to the Basutos that no one may enter the hut without first 
 obtaining permission. Casalis says that the Basutos have also 
 a queer way of informing the father of the birth of his child. 
 If the child should happen to be a boy, a friend walks up to the 
 father from behind his back, and hits him on the shoulders 
 with a sharp instrument ; if the child should be a girl, a calabash 
 of water is thrown over the father. 
 
 There is considerable variation concerning the date on 
 which the feast of purification is made, and concerning the 
 " ox of the ancestors " which is given to the girl on her marriage. 
 In some tribes, as, for example, the Fingos south of Basutoland, 
 there is no ox of the ancestors at all ; in other tribes, as in the 
 case of the Basutos, this ox is killed on the day of marriage; 
 while in other tribes this ox is sacred and is never killed, except 
 when ordered by the diviner in times of great family disaster. 
 In consequence of these variations there is concomitant varia- 
 tion in the custom of placing a hair from the tail of the cow 
 round the child's neck. A striking thing about tribal varia- 
 tions in customs is that it frequently happens that when one 
 tribe abandons a custom a neighbouring tribe, which never 
 practised it before, adopts it. There is therefore a continual 
 but slow change of tribal customs which tend to move in 
 cycles. 
 
 There is a rite performed when the child is about ten days 
 old, that is said to have been practised by the Zulus, 
 though I have been unable to find any Zulu who has 
 seen it practised. Some modern Zulus say the custom 
 has lapsed, as it was found to do no good ; but this excuse is 
 palpably artificial. The parents are said to have taken the child 
 into the veld, and to have placed it in a large hole dug in the 
 ground. Earth was filled in till the baby was buried up to 
 
ArrmMJix a 289 
 
 its neck. The parents then walked away to a distance where 
 the mother wailed as if for a dead person, refusing to look back 
 at her child when it cried. It was thought that if she were to 
 look back at her baby, the charm would not only be spoiled, 
 but evil would also befall the child through life. When the 
 baby had been left for a sufficient time in this half-buried 
 condition, the mother and father returned, took it 
 out of the hole, and caressed it most affectionately. It is 
 difficult to get at the real import of this custom, for the people 
 scarcely know how to explain the rite. It may be a method 
 of appealing to the tender hearts of the amatongo, who are thus 
 induced to take a special interest in the child, being touched by 
 the wailing of the mother ; or it may be that the people in 
 olden days imagined that their babies were changelings which 
 some sorcerer had given them instead of the real child born to 
 them ; by the burying rite it may have been thought that the 
 amatongo gave back the original child.* If we must choose 
 between these two explanations, it would seem preferable to 
 choose the former, for the latter theory is somewhat too fine- 
 spun for a Kafir's brain to conceive. The former idea is in 
 keeping with the custom of wailing during periods of excessive 
 rain or thunder, so as to make the heavens melt in tenderness 
 at the sorrow of the people, and thus to cause the sky to stop the 
 rain or thunder out of pity for the people. 
 
 Though this burying custom seems to have died out in many 
 districts, yet a very similar custom is observed at times of 
 severe epidemics. A number of mothers go to a sandy spot, 
 each carrying a small baby on her back. Having arrived at the 
 spot selected, a number of holes are dug in the sand, and the 
 infants are buried up to their necks ; then the mothers 
 retire and wail for a short period, after which they dig out 
 their babies, which are thus rendered immune to the disease. 
 
 With regard to the period at which the father is allowed to 
 see the baby, there seems to be much variation, the rules on this 
 
 * A somewhat similar custom is practised in Syria. See Robertson 
 Smith, Religion of the Semites, new edition, p. 174. 
 
290 APPENDIX B 
 
 point not being very strict. In Gazaland the father must not 
 see his child until the cord drops from the baby in the course 
 of nature. As he enters the hut to pay his first visit to his 
 child, he has to step on to a piece of white cloth laid on the 
 floor. 
 
APPENDIX C 
 
 FERTILISING THE CROPS, &c. 
 
 Considerable importance attaches to the method of fertilising 
 the crops referred to in the text, for it throws light on the 
 methods recorded in Frazer's Golden Bough . 
 
 The details of the process as practised by the Zulus are as 
 follows. The doctor selects the corpse of a man who has died 
 in full vigour, and proceeds to cut minute portions of tissue from 
 the foot, the leg, the arm, the face, and the nail of a single 
 finger. These portions are so minute that a cursory glance 
 at the corpse reveals no traces of its having been tampered 
 with. I have heard that even medical officers, when making 
 a ■post-mortem examination, have at first overlooked these 
 excisions of skin. But the most important part of the medicine 
 consists in the dead man's generative organs, which are removed 
 entire. All these selected portions of the corpse are dried, 
 after having been fried with herbs and other medicines in an 
 earthenware pot over a slow fire. The fried medicines are 
 ground to powder, and the whole mass is made into a round 
 ball about the size of the fist. Small portions of this ball are 
 sown all over the fields. 
 
 Other methods of increasing the productiveness of the fields 
 are also used. A small plant (pink gladiolus) is kept in the seed- 
 pot, and is said to increase the productiveness of such seed. 
 The vomit of wild animals, such as lions, is also said to be very 
 valuable for the purpose. Sometimes a pregnant woman grinds 
 corn, which is subsequently burnt amongst the half-grown 
 crops ; this custom is thought to fertilise them.* 
 
 * These three facts are gathered from Byrant's Zulu-English 
 Dictionary. 
 
292 APPENDIX C 
 
 In addition, there are many customs for killing locusts and 
 other pests. The locust cure is as follows. An ant-heap is 
 cleared out, and a sparrow's nest, which has been built under 
 the eaves of one of the huts, is placed in it. Special wood is. 
 brought from the mountains and is piled up till the ant-heap 
 is full. The wood is made to burn furiously, the fire being fed 
 with the special wood till the earth is red-hot. A number of 
 locusts (in the hopping stage) are thrown into the fire, and 
 the hole in the ant-heap is filled in with clay. The women 
 in the district have to abstain from washing for six days, at 
 the end of which period the charm is considered to be com- 
 plete. No locust pest is expected for at least a year after this 
 charm has been performed. 
 
 Caterpillar pests are removed by a number of small girls 
 who go singing through the fields. They wail as they pass 
 through the affected crops, and thus invoke the aid and pity 
 of some ancestral spirits. The ceremony closes with a dance 
 on a plot of ground overlooking the fields. 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 
 
 The case of the baby referred to in the text may be but an 
 instance of the awakening of what Mr. Chauncey Wright has 
 called the outward self-consciousness. Two or three short 
 extracts from Mental Evolution in Man, by Romanes, may be 
 given : 
 
 " Alike in conflict, rivalry, sense of liability to punishment or 
 vengeance, &c, the truth is continually being borne in upon 
 the mind of an animal that it is a separate individuality ; and 
 this though it be conceded that the animal is never able, even 
 in the most shadowy manner, to think about itself as such. In 
 this way there arises a sort of ' outward self-consciousness,' 
 which differs from true or inward self-consciousness only in 
 the absence of any attention being directed upon the inward 
 mental states as such. This outward self-consciousness is 
 known to us all, even in adult life — it being but comparatively 
 seldom that we pause in our daily activities to contemplate 
 the mental processes of which these activities are the expres- 
 sion." {Loc. cit. p. 199.) 
 
 " All observers are agreed that for a considerable time after 
 a child is able to use words as expressive of ideas, there is no 
 vestige of true self-consciousness." {Loc. cit. p. 200.) 
 
 " The change of a child's phraseology from speaking of self 
 as an object to speaking of self as a subject does not take place 
 — or but rarely so — till the third year. When it has taken place 
 we have definite evidence of true self-consciousness, though 
 still in a rudimentary stage." {Loc. cit. p. 201.) 
 
 Unfortunately, it only occurred to me to test the age at 
 
294 APPENDIX D 
 
 which Kafir children commenced to refer to themselves as 
 subjects too late to make any adequate inquiries on the point. 
 It would be very easy for people living amongst the natives 
 to record the result of their observations on this point. 
 
 The passage in the text referring to the way in which a dog 
 bit its tail, recalls a passage from Professor Sully's Outlines 
 of Psychology : 
 
 " The Pictorial or Bodily Self. — The first crude idea of a 
 self arises in the child's mind in connection with the perception 
 of his own organism. This is from the outset known as an 
 object different from external objects, partly by its continuous 
 presentation, and still more by its intimate connection with 
 his painful and pleasurable sensations. It is only gradually 
 that he attains to his first differentiation of the self from the 
 not-self. Thus it has been observed by Preyer that his boy 
 when more than a year old bit his own arm just as though 
 it had been a foreign object. This first stage of self-representa- 
 tion, in which self is the ever-present body that feels, seems to 
 correspond roughly at least to the early period of life in which 
 the child speaks of himself by his proper name. In this crude 
 idea of self, before the meaning of the ' I ' becomes clear, we 
 have to suppose that the child does not fully realise the opposi- 
 tion of self and not-self, but rather tends to regard himself 
 as a kind of thing after the analogy of other objects. 
 
 " The Inner or Mental Self. — This pictorial representation 
 of the body remains an integral part of the idea of self through- 
 out its development, forming, indeed, its fixed presentative 
 base. The next stage in the development of the idea of the 
 ego is the separation of an inner or mental self from the body. 
 The child is led on to this by a closer attention to his pleasurable 
 and painful sensations, more particularly the organic sensations, 
 with their preponderant accompaniment of feeling, which play 
 so prominent a part in early life, and which are known to con- 
 stitute the organic basis of the later self-consciousness. As 
 he learns to abstract from outer things and attend to his sensa- 
 tions, his desires, and his actions, he begins to form a dim 
 conception of an inner self. His power of doing things 
 
AiTEWDlA. V 295 
 
 ■when he wishes, would be among the most interesting of the 
 manifestations of this self, and among the first to attract his 
 attention. 
 
 " This idea of an inner self would not, however, attain any 
 great clearness until the development of the life of ideation, 
 as distinguished from the observation of external things, had 
 reached a certain point. It is only when this inner representa- 
 tive life is sufficiently strong and coherent to assert itself against 
 the more powerful stimuli of sense, and when as a consequence 
 of this the child begins to realise the difference between imagin- 
 ing and actually perceiving, that he is able to demarcate the 
 self from the not-self. 
 
 " This attainment of an idea of a self is greatly aided by 
 language. The fact that the child is always addressed by one 
 and the same name has a powerful effect in impressing on his 
 mind the fact of his individuality. Still more effective is the 
 use of the second person, you (or thou), in bringing home to 
 him this idea of himself. By the use of such language, as in 
 condoling with the child when hurt, in inquiring as to his 
 feelings, in asking him whether he wishes to do something, 
 and so forth, his companions have a very powerful means of 
 directing his attention to his inner states." (Loc. cit. pp. 
 295, 296.) 
 
APPENDIX E 
 
 THE USE OF THE LEFT HAND, AND VARIATIONS 
 IN NAMING THE FINGERS 
 
 It is said amongst the old Zulus that no person of importance 
 ever counted with his left hand. They admit that the common 
 people sometimes used both hands thus, but maintain that no 
 one of good birth and breeding would have thought of doing 
 so. Even to-day a child is taught never to give anything with 
 the left hand. When a child offers something to another 
 with the left hand the old people hit the hand without speaking 
 to the child ; and they go on hitting the hand till the child 
 sees its mistake. If the child should drop the article through 
 pain, the old people pick the thing up and give it to the child 
 into its right hand, as a sort of prompting suggestion. If a 
 child should eat porridge with the left hand, the people place 
 both of the hands of thechild into the hot porridge as an object- 
 lesson. The left hand is used for mean purposes such as scrap- 
 ing away dirt, and so it must not be used for other purposes. 
 If a child should seem to be naturally left-handed, the peonle 
 pour boiling water into a hole in the earth, and place the 
 child's left hand in the hole, ramming the earth down round it ; 
 by this means the left hand becomes so scalded that the child 
 is bound to use the right hand. This dislike to using the left 
 hand led the people to count only with the right hand ; and 
 so it is said that in olden days the number six would have been 
 represented by holding up all the fingers of the right hand, 
 closing them quickly, and then holding up the right little finger. 
 If an old Zulu held up all the fingers of the right hand thrice 
 and then held up his middle finger of the right hand, the 
 number indicated was eighteen. Occasionally they held up all 
 
APPENDIX E 297 
 
 the fingers of the left hand bunched together when they wanted 
 to indicate one, but this seems to have been a plan of more 
 recent growth. The old people who assert these facts admit 
 that when they saw white men using ten fingers to count with, 
 they followed the custom ; but even to-day in some out-of-the- 
 way places the Zulus retain the old custom, and count only 
 with the right hand. But the other method of counting with 
 ten fingers has already become stereotyped in the language of 
 the people. 
 
 That the method of counting with the ten fingers is now 
 common amongst the Zulus is shown by the fact that this is 
 the method described in Bryant's new Zulu dictionary, where 
 an entirely different set of names from that given in the text 
 is given for the fingers. {See under Ucikicane.) Mr. Hawkins 
 assures me that the people around his Mission station in Zulu- 
 land all count as in the method given in Bryant's dictionary. 
 The following is the list supplied to me by a Zulu who main- 
 tained that only the right hand was used in counting. The 
 translation is also his. 
 
 Right hand. : 
 
 (1) Little finger : Ucikicane = This is the little one that 
 goes into the ear. (The word is onomatopoeic, and is 
 said to represent the sound caused by " waggling " the 
 end of the little finger in the ear. No other finger will 
 fit the ear in the case of a native ; the sound of the two 
 clicks in the word represents the tinkling sound caused 
 by the action wonderfully well.) 
 
 (2) Ring finger : Umunwe Munya= the finger next to ten. 
 (This meaning seems somewhat to contradict the alleged 
 counting with only one hand.) 
 
 (3) Middle finger : Umunwe mute = the long finger. 
 
 (4) Index finger: Unkota = th.e one used for licking or 
 scraping up things. 
 
 (5) Thumb : Untupa = the dwarf. 
 
 There is no need to point out the bearing of the above on 
 the subject of ambidextry. 
 
APPENDIX F 
 
 THE GREGARIOUS TENDENCY 
 
 In the games and work of Kafir children there is much that 
 looks like sheer animal love for gregarious fellowship. A small 
 boy will tickle or scratch another, provided the other will 
 scratch him in return. This reminds one of the Kafir proverb, 
 " The cow licks the one that licks her." At an earlier stage 
 the child expects to be scratched without giving any quid 
 pro quo ; at a later stage a Kafir will do a good turn for 
 another, without expecting any return : he begins to realise 
 that his friend is a person, and that he has similar feelings to 
 his own. 
 
 Professor Baldwin writes : 
 
 " It is evident that if the objective epoch precedes the 
 subjective — if the child gets objects and reacts upon them 
 without reflection, first, and only later deliberates upon their 
 meaning to himself, and then aims at his own pleasure or profit 
 in his behaviour towards them — it is evident that there will be 
 a great difference between the way he looks at other persons 
 at these two stages of his growth respectively. Before he 
 understands himself, that is, during the objective epoch, he 
 cannot understand others, except as they are also objects of 
 a certain kind ; but in learning to understand himself, he also 
 comes to understand them, as like himself, that is, as themselves 
 having objects to act toward and upon just as he does. Here 
 are, therefore, four very distinct phases of the child's experience 
 of persons not himself, all subsequent to his purely affective 
 or pleasure-pain epoch ; first, persons are simply objects 3 parts 
 of the material going on to be presented, mainly sensations 
 
APPENDIX F 299 
 
 which stand out strong, &c. ; second, persons are very peculiar 
 objects very interesting, very active, very arbitrary, very 
 portentous of pleasure or pain. If we consider these objects 
 as fully presented, i.e., as in due relationship to one another 
 in space, projected out, and thought of as external, and call 
 such objects again projects, then persons at this stage may 
 be called personal -projects. They have certain peculiarities 
 afterwards found bythe child to be the attributes of personality; 
 third, his own actions issuing from himself, largely by imitation, 
 as we shall see, in response to the requirements of this ' pro- 
 jective ' environment, having his own organism as their centre, 
 and his own consciousness as their theatre, give him light on 
 himself as subject; and, fourth, this light upon himself is 
 reflected upon other persons to illuminate them as also subjects, 
 and they to him then become ejects or social fellows. ... If 
 by ' project ' or persons we understand the infant's conscious- 
 ness of others before he is conscious of himself, by ' subject ' 
 his consciousness of himself, and by ' eject,' as Clifford sug- 
 gested, his consciousness of other persons as similar to himself, 
 we have, I think, safer terms than before and, at the same time, 
 full opportunity to define the content of each as the facts 
 require. 
 
 " The parallelism with animal development is quite clear 
 from this new point of approach. The only stage for which 
 an evident analogy has not been pointed out by other writers 
 is that called ' projective.' Now in the fact of herding, 
 common life and arrangements for the protection of the herd, 
 animal societies of various kinds, animal divisions of labour, 
 &c. — whatever be the origin of it — we have what seems to be 
 such an epoch in animal life. These creatures show a real 
 recognition of one individual by another, and a real community 
 of life and reaction, which is quite different from the indi- 
 vidualism of a purely sensational and unsocial consciousness. 
 And yet it is just as different from the reflective organisation 
 of human society, in^which self-consciousness and personal 
 volition of the individual play the most important role. I 
 see no way of accounting for the gregarious instinct anywhere, 
 
300 APPENDIX F 
 
 except on the assumption of such an epoch of animal 
 consciousness." * 
 
 The above extract from Professor Baldwin's book throws 
 much light on the subject of the " Dawn of Self-consciousness," 
 as well as on some details of the social order developed by the 
 children, and described in the above chapter on " Work." 
 In the case of the Kafirs it would seem as If the development 
 from " project," through " subject," to " eject," were very 
 slow. Even in adolescence there seems to be something of the 
 " project " stage visible. Is it possible that the existence of 
 the clan-system indicates the fact that the race has not as yet 
 fully emerged into the " eject " stage ? The rights of the in- 
 dividual are often ignored in the interests of the demands of 
 the clan. When the claims of the individual are clearly seen, 
 there arises a discontent with the clan-system and the way in 
 which it tramples on the interests of the individual. The 
 Kafirs are the most gregarious of beings : when they become 
 " educated " they lose some of this pleasant characteristic. 
 
 * Mental Development in the Child, and. the Race, pp. 17-19. 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PLAY 
 
 " Among man's surviving instincts none is more important 
 nor presents features of greater interest than the love of play. 
 Young animals of a purely instinctive species, most insects for 
 example, never sport. Their lives are entirely businesslike. 
 Play would be useless to them, since their bodies develop 
 without exercise, and their minds without experience. Young 
 ants are said to play, and the statement is very probable, for 
 their power of making mental acquirements is very great. . . . 
 The young of the higher animals, however, are full of play. 
 The kid, the kitten, the puppy, the young monkey, and the 
 young elephant spend their lives in eating, sleeping, and 
 especially in sporting. The higher the animal the more capable 
 of making physical and mental acquirements, the more sportive 
 it is. Man, unlike most animals, loves sport even in extreme 
 old age, because even in old age he is somewhat capable of 
 learning. It is a significant fact that the sport that every animal 
 loves and follows in youth is such as exactly fits it for the future 
 business of its life. The kid delights in climbing steep places. 
 The kitten goes elaborately into ambush and stalks and pounces 
 just as the old cat does later in life. The puppy sports in 
 quite a different fashion. His play is a pretence at furious 
 pursuit and fighting — but only a pretence ; his instinct prevents 
 the infliction of injuries on his companions. The young 
 monkey delights in climbing trees. His eager curiosity, his 
 very mischievousness, are due to instinct, and are indications 
 of his high powers of making mental acquirements. Similarly, 
 games that children delight in are all educational. The very 
 young child is content with play that involves mere ' physical ' 
 
302 Arrn-iNmA u 
 
 activity. When the baby moves his limbs aimlessly, he is 
 learning to move them purposefully. When he crawls on 
 hands and knees or totters on uncertain feet he is learning to 
 co-ordinate his muscles that he may be active ; he is supplying 
 them with the stimulus necessary for growth that he may be 
 strong. The little girl dandles her doll as later she will dandle 
 her baby. The little boy for ever pits his strength 
 against the skill and strength of his childish companions, as 
 later he will pit them against the skill and strength of adult 
 competitors, and as his savage ancestors pitted them against 
 the competitors and the wild beasts with which they con- 
 tended. The games of older children, especially those of boys, 
 almost always involve a contest. Not only do they tend to 
 increase strength and activity, but the intellectual faculties 
 are brought into play and developed. This intellectual 
 element in sport increases as the individual approaches maturity, 
 since long after his body has ceased to grow, his mind is still 
 capable of some increase. After maturity active sports do 
 no more than maintain the previously acquired physical 
 development, or supply temporary additions to it. 
 
 " Play is in fact educational. Without it the higher animals 
 could not reach their full development ; the stimuli necessary 
 for the growth of their bodies and minds would be lacking. 
 The first and by far the most important part of a child's educa- 
 tion, therefore, is achieved by itself through the medium of 
 sport aided by the instincts of imitation and curiosity. On 
 the foundation thus laid it is possible for the parent or teacher 
 to build. Without that foundation all formal education 
 would be impossible ; for nothing the parent could do or say 
 would convey any meaning to the blank mind of the baby ; 
 by no imaginable means could the child be taught to co- 
 ordinate its muscles or think rationally. Play, a new instinct, 
 which has been evolved in the higher animals, therefore, 
 brings into effective operation the new power of making 
 physical and mental acquirements."* 
 
 * Archdall Reid. The Principles of Heredity, 2nd edition, pp. 241- 
 243. 
 
The following quotation from Professor Baldwin throws 
 further light on the subject : 
 
 " The phenomena of the infant consciousness are simple, 
 as opposed to reflective ; that is, they are the child's presenta- 
 tions or memories simply, not his own observations of them. 
 In the adult consciousness the disturbing influences of inner 
 observation is a matter of notorious moment. It is impossible 
 for me to know exactly what I feel, for the apprehending of 
 it through the attention alters its character. My volition also 
 is a complex thing of alternatives, one of which is my personal 
 pride and self-conscious egotism. But the child's emotion 
 is as spontaneous as a spring. The effects of it in the mental 
 life come out in action, pure and uninfluenced by calculation 
 and duplicity and adult reserve. There is around every one 
 of us a web of convention and prejudice of our own making. 
 Not only do we reflect the social formalities of our environment, 
 and thus lose the distinguishing spontaneities of childhood, 
 but each one of us builds up his own little world of seclusion 
 and formality with himself. We are subject not only to 
 ' idols of the forum,' but also to ' idols of the den.' 
 
 " The child, on the contrary, has not learned his own im- 
 portance, his pedigree, his beauty, his social place, his religion, 
 his paternal disgrace ; and he has not observed himself through 
 all these and countless other lenses of time, place, and cir- 
 cumstance. He has not yet turned himself into an idol, 
 nor the world into a temple ; and we can study him apart 
 from the complex accretions which are later deposits of his 
 self-consciousness. 
 
 " Perhaps one of the best illustrations we can find of the 
 value of this consideration in the study of the child-mind is 
 seen in the reversion to the child-type occasioned by hypno- 
 tism. One of the signal services of hypnotism, I think, is 
 the demonstration of the intrinsic motor force of an idea. 
 Any idea tends at once to realise itself in action. All con- 
 ventionalities, proprieties, alternatives, hesitations, are swept 
 away, and the developed mind reveals its skeleton structure, so 
 to speak, its composition from reactive elements. But hypnotism 
 
304 APPENDIX G 
 
 need not have been waited for to show this. The patient obser- 
 vation of the movements of a child during his first year would 
 have put it among the safest generalisations of the science of 
 mind. In the absence of alternative considerations, reflections, 
 the child acts, and act it must, on the first suggestion which has 
 the faintest meaning in terms of its sensations of movement." * 
 
 The motor force of an idea is very clearly seen in the case 
 of the play of savage children, who are less self-conscious than 
 civilised children. No sooner does an idea enter the head of 
 a small Kafir child, than he wishes to realise his idea in action. 
 A child sees another do a certain thing ; the idea which the 
 observed action produces at once urges the child to imitate 
 the action he has seen. If adults are looking on, the child 
 represses his inclinations. If the child is free from external 
 causes of inhibition, he at once imitates the action, and finds 
 pleasure in so doing. No wonder such games as " Follow my 
 leader " are world-wide ; they are natural, and arise sponta- 
 neously without suggestion from grown-up people. The 
 children educate their nerve-muscle mechanism, and learn 
 useful adaptations by means of games. The more a teacher 
 studies the games of children, the better able will he be to 
 make lessons pleasant and effective. 
 
 A striking literary recognition of the motor force of an idea 
 is seen in the case of the charming essay on Dream Children, 
 by Lamb. The children realise so vividly the story that is 
 being told them — in the dream — that they unconsciously 
 imitate the chief actions described. This essay alone would 
 show that Lamb had remarkable powers of observation. 
 
 * Mental Development in the Child, and, the Race, pp. 4, 5- 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 THE DANGER OF LOOKING BACKWARDS 
 
 It must have sorely puzzled the inquisitive minds of many 
 European children why Lot's wife should have suffered such 
 calamities for the apparently small sin of looking backwards. 
 But the idea that evil consequences are certain to follow such 
 an action under some conditions is widely spread amongst 
 primitive peoples. Three examples may be added to that 
 already referred to in the text on p. 24. 
 
 When a small child is sick, it is sometimes told to go to an 
 ant-bear's hole, and to call out, " Imbulu, come and stand on 
 my back." The child has then to kneel down on all fours, 
 and must wait to see whether the ant-bear will come and do 
 as requested. It is thought that if the animal can be persuaded 
 to stand on the back of the child, the sickness will depart. But 
 the child must not turn round so as to look at the ant-bear ; 
 it must scamper off home, without once looking round, or the 
 sickness will overtake it. 
 
 When a small child is ill, it is sometimes taken to an ant- 
 heap and washed with water. The dirty water has to be placed 
 in a hole in the ant-heap. When this is done, the hole has to 
 be filled in with earth. It is thought that the ants cement 
 up the hole, and thus prevent the sickness from escaping. 
 But the child must help in the process. On no account must 
 the child look back as it is being carried home. The little 
 patient has its eyes smeared over thickly with grease or with 
 lard, so that it may not be able to look back. 
 
 When mealies are ripe, the children are sent into the fields 
 to help in stripping the white glistering cover from the cob. 
 
3o6 APPENDIX H 
 
 The cobs and the white coverings have to be gathered into a 
 heap and burnt. When the flames are mounting high into the 
 air, the children are told to run away home, and to take great 
 care not to look backwards. Should the children have eaten 
 any of the new mealies while helping in the reaping process, 
 the grain would swell in their stomachs unless they made the 
 fire as described above, and ran away without looking back. 
 Any child that looked back by accident would find the mealies 
 swelling in a very painful fashion.* 
 
 There are probably many factors in the problem, but it 
 seems clear that the Kafirs think that evil spirits or evil in- 
 fluences can see a person best when the person could see the 
 spirit (if it became visible to human eyes). The consciousness 
 of the person has much to do with the process. The fear is 
 personified, objectified, and rendered concrete through the 
 person's consciousness. A Kafir would dimly think . thus : 
 " If I cannot see the place where the spirit is, then the spirit 
 cannot see me ; if I cannot see the object to which the sickness 
 has been transferred, then the sickness cannot see me ; if I 
 cannot see the ant-bear, the probability is that the ant-bear 
 cannot see me very well ; if the tendency of the mealie to swell 
 is burnt in the fire while I cannot see it, then the tendency 
 of mealies to swell cannot see me and take hold of me. If I 
 look back at such critical moments I am at a disadvantage, for 
 the evil can pursue and overtake me." The calamity taking 
 place in Sodom and Gomorrah could only follow and overtake 
 the person who looked back and saw it — at least that is the sort 
 of thing people in a primitive state of culture might think. 
 * See also Appendix B. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 Age, respect for, 98 
 
 Aim, improving, 192 
 
 Altruism, 17, 75 
 
 Amadhladhla, 187 
 
 Amadhlozi (see Amatongo, Idh- 
 
 lozi, Itongo), 14, 150 
 Amasi, 37, 39, 209 
 Amatongo (see Amadhlozi, Idh, 
 
 lozi, Itongo), 8, 13, 14, 15, 23- 
 
 25, 26, 40, 41,46, 106, 123, 12,4 
 
 147, 192 
 Ambitions, 142, 144 
 Ancestral spirit (see Amadhlozi, 
 
 Amatongo, Idhlozi, Itongo), 14, 
 
 32, 62 
 Anger, binding the, 210 
 Animals, 3, 13, 133 
 Ant-bear, 210 
 Ant-heaps, 171 
 Ants, 90, no 
 Anti-social tendency, 120 
 Appetites, 122 
 Art faculty, 126 
 Ashes, 13, 22, 46, 106 
 Assegai, 68, 178 
 Aunts, 98, 274 
 
 Baby : appearance of, 29 ; audi- 
 ence, of, 16; bath, 51 ; bottle, 
 38; carrying, mode of, 51; 
 chief, 19 ; dedication of, 29 ; 
 doctored, 18, 22 ; features of, 
 30 ; protection of, 41 ; recep- 
 tion of, 27 ; smoking, 42 ; 
 origin of, 85 ; visiting, 16 ; 
 washing, 11 
 
 Balancing, 214 
 
 Bathing, mixed, 130; games, 175 
 
 Beauty, sense of, 125 
 
 Bedtime, 166 
 
 Beer offerings, 29 
 
 Beetle, 105 
 
 Betting, 213, 276 
 
 Bile, 26 
 
 Bird : catching regulation, 193 ; 
 lime, 192 ; traps, 1 19, 124, 189, 
 190 
 
 Birth, 3, io ; days, 9 ; discharges, 
 20 ; feast, 25 ; mode of, 85 
 
 Biting nails, 52 
 
 Blacksmiths, 143 
 
 Blood : offerings, 26 ; smear with, 
 274 
 
 Boots of cockroach, 217 
 
 Bows, 86, 192 
 
 Bravery, 154 
 
 Breasts, 114 
 
 Bryant, quoted, 8, 89, 144, 182 
 
 Bull of Kraal, 265 
 
 Bull-roarer, 166 
 
 Bullying, 196 
 
 Burial custom, 66 
 
 Bushmen, 137 
 
 Caba, 177 
 Callaway, no 
 Camel and Miller, 224 
 Cannibals, 138, 224 
 Canoes, 191 
 Castor-oil tree, 225 
 Catharine wheels, 171 
 Cat's cradle, 4, 176 
 
3io 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Cattle herding, 206 
 
 Chief's bathroom, 20, 92 
 
 Chivalry, 120 
 
 Choking, cure of, 43 
 
 Circumcision, 33, 197 
 
 Clan, 74 ; entrance to, 14 ; in- 
 terest, 127 ; restraint, 76, 122 ; 
 system, 85 
 
 Clean day, 20 
 
 Cleansing from evil, 16 
 
 Clicks, 136 
 
 Clothing, 66 
 
 Clouds, 150 
 
 Colour, 29, yj, 126 
 
 Confusion of thought, 66 
 
 Conscience, 121 
 
 Constructive faculty, 124 
 
 Cooking, 96 
 
 Counting, 100 
 
 Courage, 1 54 
 
 Courtesy, 127 
 
 Couvade, 11 
 
 Cow-dung, II 
 
 Cow's hair, 28 
 
 Crocodile, 91 
 
 Crops, 31, 154 
 
 Cross-roads, 42 
 
 Cruelty, 107, 195 
 
 Crumbs, 112 
 
 Curiosity, 123 
 
 Cunning, 119 
 
 Custom, 123 
 
 Dance, 88, 170, 270, 271 
 
 Deformities, 49 
 
 Dignity, 189 
 
 Dirt from forearm, 12 
 
 Discipline, 98 
 
 Doctoring huts, 1 14 
 
 Dogs, 98, 107 
 
 Dolls, 161 etseq. ; houses, 164 
 
 Dreams, 104, 105 
 
 Dress, 29, 90 
 
 Dust, sweeping up, 113 
 
 Ears, tapping, 167 
 Earth, 147 
 Earthquake, 150 
 Echoes, 152 
 Ego, 65 
 
 Emotion, signs of, 87 
 Etiquette, 107, 112 
 Evening party, 259 
 Evil eye, 146 
 Eyelids, 167 
 Examination of girls, 129 
 
 Fabulous monsters, 85, 136 
 
 Faculties, 1 17 
 
 Fagging, 196, 277 
 
 Fairy-tales, 114, 223, 277 
 
 False evidence, 128 
 
 Father, 21, 28, 84, 139 
 
 Fears, 52, 131 et seq., 156 
 
 Feathers, 20, 21, 52 
 
 Feeding baby, 38 
 
 Fermented offerings, 41 
 
 Fighting, 199, 275 
 
 Figs, 141 
 
 Fingers, 66 ; game, 99 ; song, 100 
 
 Fire, carrying, 113 
 
 Fish-traps, 191 
 
 Flattery, 108 
 
 Flowers, 125 
 
 Fontanelle, 8, 24 
 
 Food, 36, 95, 265 ; influence of, 
 
 7 ; taboos, 8, 37 
 Funny sayings, 93 
 
 Gall-bladder, 26, 28 
 
 Games (see Play), 99, 131, 161; 
 animals, 166, 267 ; bathing, 
 175 ; calabash, 180; caterpillar, 
 180 ; cat's cradle, 4, 176 ; cock- 
 shies, 169 ; coming down of rat, 
 168 ; court, 276 ; dema, 179 ; 
 educational, 183 ; finger, 99; 
 fowl's foot, 176 j frogs, 178; 
 gambekambe, 181 ; gurgwe, 180; 
 follow-my-leader, 167; hide-and- 
 
1JNDEA. 
 
 3" 
 
 seek, 177 ; horses, 167, 266 ; 
 hockey, 179 ; indoors, 182 ; 
 inzema, 178 ; king of castle, 
 171 ; leap-frog, 144, 178 ; 
 mantsipatsipane, 168 ; mealie, 
 
 171 ; missionary, 268 ; mora- 
 baraba, 174 ; ndoma, 179 ; 
 noughts and crosses, 175 ; 
 oranges and lemons, 178 ; qa- 
 kela, 179 ; round, 179 ; running 
 with horns, 176 ; schoolmaster, 
 267 ; shop, 165 ; soldiers, 169, 
 275 ; solitaire, 174; spitting, 168; 
 stepping-stones, 170 ; stone, 
 
 172 et seq. ; string, 176 ; touch, 
 177 ; tsoro, 174 ; wagons, 
 267 ; with body, 167, with 
 hands, 168, 176; wolf, 178, 267 
 
 Girls, value of, 26, 120 
 Glen Grey Act, 219 
 Goats' milk, 40 
 Good-nature, 6 
 Grandfather, 193, 210 
 Grandmother, 193 
 Gratitude, in 
 Greediness, 262 
 Gregarious instinct, 120 
 Grinding song, 164 
 Growth, 143 
 
 Hair-cutting, 91 
 
 Hakata, 203 
 
 Headache, 61 
 
 Head-boy, 188 
 
 Heart, 121 
 
 Heitsi-Eibib, 31 
 
 Hens, 107 
 
 Hiccough, 106 
 
 Hili, 136 
 
 Hlobonga, 270 
 
 Hloele, 83 
 
 Hlonipa, 33, 68, 84, 108, no, 206 
 
 Hoffding, quoted, 58 
 
 Hoops, 169 
 
 Horse-racing, 213 
 
 Hottentot, 30 ; god, 210 
 Hunting, 212 
 
 Ibandhla, 85 
 Idea, motor-force of, 4 
 Idhlozi (see Amadhlozi, Ama- 
 tongo, Idhlozi), 14, 15, 26, 124 
 Igama, 33, 108 
 Imagination, 130 
 Imbulu, 211 
 Imfi, 189 
 
 Imitation, 99, 119, 124 
 Impepo, 27 
 Incense, 27 
 Incubation period, 82 
 Indian hemp, 170, 199, 275 
 Individual rights, 75 
 Infancy, 3 
 Inomfi, 192 
 Intelezi, 19, 27, 40, 6j, 68, 91, 
 
 99. 144. . 
 Interdentition period, 81 
 Inquisitiveness, 123 
 Investigation of girls, 129 
 Ipakama, 19 
 Itongo (see Amadhlozi, Amatongo, 
 
 Idhlozi), 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 26, 
 
 2 7, 2 9> 4 Z > 47> 69, 136 
 Isibongo, 33, 109 
 Isiswepu, 27 
 Isitakazo, 109 
 
 Jealousy, 17 
 Jins, 132 
 Justice, 128 
 
 Kaross, 28 
 
 Knob-kerrie, 192, 212 
 Kreli, 155 
 
 Labyrinth, 170 
 Landscape, 125 
 Land tenure, 74 
 Lawyers, 143 
 Laziness, 219 
 
312 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Leap-frog, 144, 178 
 
 Lies, 128 
 
 Lightning, 22, no, 114, 152 
 
 Lions, 72, no 
 
 Long-Toe, 74 
 
 Lots, 201 
 
 Love-charms, 270 
 
 Lying punished, 128 
 
 Lullabies, 50 
 
 Making age, 124 
 
 Mamohera, 165 
 
 Mankokotsane, 144 
 
 Manners, in 
 
 Mantis, 210 
 
 Mealie-cob doll, 163 
 
 Meals, 95 
 
 Meat feast, 27 
 
 Medicated breath, 16, 44 
 
 Medicines, 16, 18, 22, 39, 44, 93 
 
 Melody, 124 
 
 Metaphor, 74 
 
 Meteorite, 12 
 
 Midwives, 9 
 
 Milk : charms, 38 ; contamina- 
 tion, 42 ; customs, 37 ; drink- 
 ing, 39 ; excuse for lack of, 
 211 ; intelezi, 40; libation, 
 40 ; mother's milk doctored, 
 22 ; offering, 39 ; sour (amasi), 
 
 37, 39. 20 ? ; taboo > 9, 2 S, 39 
 Mimosa pudica, 71 
 
 Mistakes, 93, 269 
 
 Modelling, 126, 162 
 
 Modesty, 115 
 
 Moon, 23, 147, 148, 149, 237 
 
 Moses, picture of, 72 
 
 Mother : forgotten, 84 ; isolated, 
 
 11, 24; last ceremony, 28; 
 
 name, 33 
 Mourning, 93 
 Musical instruments, 124 
 Mutilation, 49, 91 
 
 Nakedness, 29 
 
 Name, 32, 34, 72, 98 
 Napkin, 38, 266 
 Nature, ideas of, 145 
 Navel-string, 32 
 Nerves, dulness of, 64 
 Nightmare, 105 
 Njikinjikinjiki, 217 
 Nomgogwana, 96 
 Nose-bleeding, 106 
 Novelty, 124 
 Nursery ditties, 215 
 Nursery tales, 114, 223, 277 
 Nux Vomica, 141, 240 
 
 Obedience, 98, 108 
 Ocean, 151 
 Onodendwana, 149 
 Orators, 143 
 Oxen, 107, 213 
 
 Pain, catoling, 61 
 Parturition, 9 
 Peacock, 21 
 Pempe, 187 
 Personality, 12, 14, 67 
 Personification, 104 
 Perspiration, 67 
 Pet animals, 106 
 Photograph, 71 
 Picture, 71 
 Pipe, taste of, 62 
 Pitso, 143 
 
 Plants, growth of, 152 
 Play (see Games), 161 
 Pleiades, 149 
 Pockets, contents of, 275 
 Popularity, 189 
 Porcupine, 8, 110 
 Poverty, 112 
 Pre-natal influence, 7 
 Presents to baby, 17 
 Pride, 125 
 
 Prohibitions, 1 1 2, 113 
 Puberty, 103 
 Purification feast, 24 
 
Quarrels, 198, 199, 218 
 Queen of heaven, 153 
 Questions, 85 
 
 Racing, 211 
 Rain, 144 
 Rainbows, 153 
 Red clay, 30 
 Red Dawn, 31 
 Reeds, 85 
 
 Reflection, effect of, 9 
 Reid, Archdall, quoted, 184 
 Reincarnation, 13 
 Religion : not taught, 14 ; prob- 
 lems, 123 
 Rhythm, 124 
 Riches, how to get, 142 
 Right hand, 101, III 
 Rivers, 115, 151 
 Running, 211 
 
 Santa Claus, 98 
 
 Saoole, 212 
 
 Sartor Resartus, 189 
 
 Second child, 82 
 
 Secretions, 12, 68 
 
 Selaqoqo, 138 
 
 Self, 65 ; awakening of, 57 ; 
 
 consciousness, 57 ; conceptions 
 
 of, 76 ; confusion of, 73 ; 
 
 indulgence, 122 ; praise, 65 ; 
 
 restraint, 91, 122 
 Sense impressions, 77 
 Seweliwelele, 272 
 Sex, 8, 58, 86, 94 
 Shadow, 68, 70, 196 
 Shame, 88 
 Shaving head, 93 
 Shyness, 89 
 Sickness, 7, 42, 62 
 Sighing, 106 
 Sight, 77 
 
 Sitting posture, 1 12 
 Skin : disease, 31 ; sore, 224 
 Sky, 149 
 
 3*3 
 
 Slang, 204 
 
 Slate, kiss the, 205 
 
 Sleep, 193 
 
 Sleeping : arrangements, 102 ; 
 mat, 49, 69, 84, 113 
 
 Slings, 192 
 
 Slumber, 62, 103 
 
 Smell, 77 
 
 Smith, Robertson, 41, 74 
 
 Smoke, 13 
 
 Smoking baby, 12, 18, 28 
 
 Snake, 14, 43, 70, 136 
 
 Sneaking, 276 
 
 Sneezing, 106 
 
 Sociability, 119 
 
 Soldiers, playing at, 169, 275 
 
 Songs, 50, 100, 102, 165, 180, 
 181, 215, 234, 236 
 
 Sound, 77 
 
 South African Folk-lore Journal, 
 32 
 
 Spiders, 105, 153 
 
 Spirits, evil, 131 
 
 Spoons, ill 
 
 Squabbles settled, 46 (see Quarrels) 
 
 Stars, 149 
 
 Stealing, cure for, 73 ; sugar- 
 cane, 194 
 
 Sterility, 8, 82 
 
 Stilts, 171 
 
 Stone : charm, 214 ; feel, 146 ; 
 games, 172 
 
 Stupidity, 65 
 
 Sucking : finger, 52 ; toe, 52 
 
 Sully, Professor, 77, 151 
 
 Sun, 147, 238 
 
 Sunday, 149 
 
 Superstition, 153 
 
 Surprise stories, 223 
 
 Swallowing pips, 141 
 
 Swings, 169, 276 
 
 Sympathetic magic, 35, 48, 154, 
 229 
 
 Taboos relaxed, 24 
 
3H 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Taste, 77 
 
 Tatooiiig, 126, 261 
 
 Teasing, 97, 197 
 
 Teeth, 64, 81, 83 
 
 Tennyson, naming child, 35 ; 
 
 quotation, 57 
 Thefts, hiding, 209 
 Thieves, catching, 195 
 Thumb, doctored, 20 
 Thunder, 152, 154 
 Tickoloshe, 136 
 Time, flow of, 1 16 
 Tobogganing, 211 
 Toes, supple, 214 
 Tooth, first, 82 ; new, 83 
 Tops, 169 
 
 Totem, 14,41,91, 135 
 Trades for boys, 143 
 Traps, 246 (see Bird-traps) 
 Tribal register, 32 
 Tricks with body, 167 
 Truth, sense of, 108, 126 
 Turkey buzzard, 216 
 Twins, 14, 45, 47, 48 
 Twoness, 48 
 
 Ugilikakwa, 136 
 Ugliness, 126 
 Ukubaca, 271 
 Umbilical cord, 23, 32 
 Umbilicus, 24 
 
 Umgubo, 271 
 Umsamo, 26, 69 
 Umsino, 271 
 Umvelincgange, 152 
 Uncle, 18, 34 
 Uncleanness, 16 
 Uzamanyeka, 176 
 
 Vanity, 125 
 Vices, 122 
 Voice, inner, 121 
 Vulture, 20 
 
 Walk, learning to, 90 
 
 War-dance, 275 
 
 Washing, 99, 114 
 
 Washing water, 113 
 
 Water babies, 61 
 
 Watersprings, 85 
 
 Weaning baby, 89 
 
 Whistling, 114, 208 
 
 White men, 139, 151 
 
 Wind, 150, 151, 167; second, 212 
 
 Wizards, 87 
 
 Wolves, 135, 267 
 
 Women, 84, 197 
 
 Work, 87, 187, 214 
 
 Worms, cure of, 40 
 
 Wrestling, 200 
 
 Yawning, 113 
 
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