:wmsMsrnsmmM^^ THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS > LIBRARY 9 lfe-1 T<=^ Y.Z Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. University of Illinois Library .i m 2 a 1962 fiPR 25 1962 Dc - 1 JMri O L Jim 1 n MBY 23 m 4 ivJ MQO O i PlHIi o X M32 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO VOL. II Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/georgegrenfellco02john_0 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CONGO INDEPENDENT STATE AND ADJOINING DISTRICTS OF CONGOLAND TOGETHER WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NATIVE PEOPLES AND THEIR LANGUAGES, THE FAUNA AND FLORA ; AND SIMILAR NOTES ON THE CAMEROONS AND THE ISLAND OF FERNANDO PO FOUNDED ON THE DIARIES AND RESEARCHES OF THE LATE Rev. GEORGE GRENFELL, b.m.s., f.r.g.s. by SIR HARRY JOHNSTON G.C.M.G., K.C.B., Hon. D.Sc. Cambs. IN TWO VOLS. With 496 Illustrations from Photographs by the Revs. GEORGE GRENFELL and William Forfeitt, the Baptist Missionary Society., and others And from Drawings by the Author And 14 Maps by the late Rev. GEORGE GRENFELL, and also by J. W. ADDISON, r. geo. soc., the last-named being based mainly on Grenfell’s Surveys And on Additional Material contributed by Mr. E. TORDAY, the AUTHOR, Mons. A. J. WAUTERS, the Publications of the CONGO STATE, THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, And THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY VOL. II NEW YORK D. APPLETON & COMPANY 1910 Printed in Great Britain VOL. II 3 " 64 ^ CONTENTS OF CHAPTER XXI P AGE Anthropology ........ 497 CHAPTER XXII Native Diseases . . . . . . . 547 CHAPTER XXIII Artificial Adornments or Mutilations of the Body; Dress, etc. 558 CHAPTER XXIV Food, Agriculture, Cooking . . . . . 600 CHAPTER XXV Religion; Burial, Marriage, and Birth Customs; Initiation Ceremonies; Social Laws, Slavery; Administration of Justice, etc. ....... 632 CHAPTER XXVI Houses . . . . . . . . 726 CHAPTER XXVII Hunting, Warfare, Navigation . . . . . 762 CHAPTER XXVIII Trade and Currency . . . . . . 789 \ CHAPTER XXIX Arts and Industries . . . . . . 798 CHAPTER XXX Traditions, Stories, Folklore . . . . . 814 299035 CONTENTS viii CHAPTER XXXI The Languages of the Congo Basin and the Cameroons . . 826 Appendix I. the fernandian or bube language . . . 882 „ II. bibliography of congo-cameroons languages . . 887 „ III. THE FAN DIALECTS . . . . . 891 CHAPTER XXXII Natural History Notes: I. Meteorology, Geology, and Botany of the Congo Basin . . . . . 892 CHAPTER XXXIII Natural History Notes: II. Zoology of the Congo Basin . .912 ADDITIONAL NOTE ON ELEPHANT TUSKS . . . 945 CHAPTER XXXIV Notes on the Island of Fernando Po . . . . 946 Additional Note on Congo Problems ..... 963 Index 967 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 250. Alfred Henry Baynes, Esq., F.R.A.S., Hon. Secretary of the Baptist Mis- sionary Society . ... 251. Skull of an Englishman (male), for com- parison with the skulls of Congo negroes 252. A Manbettu or Mombutu skull (male), from North-East Congoland 253. A negro skull (male) from the West Coast of Africa, probably Ashanti (for pur- poses of comparison) 254. Group of Bambute Dwarfs taken by Grenfell at Bomili, near the confluence of the Aruwimi and the Nepoko . 255. Skull of Bambute Pygmy (male) from Ituri Forest, north-east Congo : col- lected by Sir Harry Johnston 256. Chief Senga and Lokele people at Yakusu (the European is the late Rev. Harry White). The Lokele of the north-east Congo bend are rather of the Forest negro type — big torso, long arms, short legs . . ... 257. Three types of Bopoto men (these belong more or less to the Ngombe group of Central Congoland) 258. Banalya people, on the middle Aruwimi River . . ... 259. A Turumbu chief and his attendant : Yalemba . ... 260. An example of the “Hima” type from Yalemba, north-east Congo 261. An Mpo woman from the Busira River (her skin has been whitened for decora- tion) . . ... 262. Mongo boatmen from Upper Congo 263. Bagenya canoe paddlers, Lualaba-Congo 264. Kongo (on left) and Holo types con- trasted. The Bakorigo and Eshi- kongo occupy much of the country west of the lower and middle Kwango River. The Baholo inhabit the middle Kwango . ... 265. A Bateke man, woman, and child, from Stanley Pool . ... 266. Bayaka people from the banks of the Kwango, near Franz Josef Falls SOURCE PAGE Photograph by Elliott and Fry Frontispiece Photograph lent by Royal College of Surgeons . . . 498 Collected by Dr. Schweinfurth. Photo lent by Royal College of Surgeons . ... 498 Photograph lent by Royal College of Surgeons . . . 500 Photograph by Grenfell . .501 • 5 °3 Photograph by Grenfell . • 505 Photograph by William Forfeitt • 5°9 Photograph by Grenfell • 5 i 3 yy yy y y • 5 H yy y y yy . 516 yj yy yy . 518 yy yy yy • • 5 J 9 Photograph by H. Sutton-Smith . 521 Photograph by Grenfell . . 522 » » • 5 2 3 n 5 j • 5 2 4 II.— A 2 X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 267. Skull of Bambala negro (male), South- West Congoland : Torday Collection . 268. Front view of the skull of male Bambala, same specimen as No. 267 269. A skull (female) of south Bambala tribe, Kwilu River, South-West Congoland : Torday Collection 270. Skull (female) in two different aspects of south Bambala type, same specimen as No. 269 : Torday 271. Skull (male) of north Bambala tribe, Kwilu River, South-West Congoland : Torday 272. Skull of north Bambala negro (same as 271) . ... 273. Skull (male) of Bahuana negro, Kwilu River: Torday . . 274. Skull (male) of Bahuana negro, same as No. 273 : Torday 275. Bangala people (New Antwerp) 276. A Bangala type . ... 277. A woman of the northern Ngombe type from neighbourhood of Bopoto, north- ern Congo . ... 278. Bangala people of the Upper Congo, north shore . ... 279. Ilua, the pilot of the Mission steamers. A Mongata from the western Equatorial Congo. (The Bangata are allied to the Bayanzi and the Balolo) . 280. A group of men, women, and children of the Bwela country between the Motima affluent of the Mongala and the Congo . ... 281. Bayanzi skull (male) from Mbongo, near Bolobo, western Congo : collected by Sir Harry Johnston 282. Skull of a male Muyanzi, of the Eastern type, from the Kwilu River, South-West Congoland : Torday Collection 283. Skull of male Nyamnyam (Azande), north Congo basin, Wele-Mubangi valley : collected by Schweinfurth 284. A skull of Lower Congo negro (male), probably from Boma : collected by Captain Fishburn, R.N., Congo Ex- pedition, 1816 . ... 285. A Bolobo chief, Ekwayulu (and his wives and son) : examples of the mixed ab- original and Bayanzi population of the banks of the western Congo, between Stanley Pool and Lukolela 286. Inquisitive Bapoto people of the northern Congo . . ... 287. A chief of the Bwela people, northern Congo . . ... 288. Glossina p alp alts : the tsetse fly that carries the trypanosome of sleeping sickness . ... SOURCE PAGE Photo lent by Professor D. W. Cun- ningham, Edinburgh University. 525 >> >> >» • 5 2 6 Photograph from specimen in Brit- ish Museum . . . 527 >> >> • 5 2 8 British Museum . . . 529 >» » ... 530 » „ ... 531 » ... 532 Photograph by Grenfell . . 533 >> >? >> • • 534 Photo by William Forfeitt . . 535 a >> >> • • 536 Photograph by Grenfell . . 537 >> >> j> • • 5 38 >> >> 5 j • • 539 . 540 Photograph lent by Royal College of Surgeons . . • 54 1 Photograph lent by Royal College of Surgeons . . . . 542 Photograph by Grenfell . . 543 Photo by William Forfeitt . . 545 Photograph by Grenfell . . 546 Adapted from drawings by Mr. Engel Terzi, by permission of British Museum . . . 550 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi NO. TITLE 289. Bopoto women decorated with beads and coloured clay, for a ceremonial pro- cession . ... 290. A dancing- woman and her attendants of the northern Ng-ombe people : to show paintings on the body and face . 291. Method of cicatrizing- the face at Bopoto: this picture also exhibits the simplicity of clothing- amongst the Bapoto and northern Ng-ombe women of the northern Congo . . ... 292. A native of Bopoto, showing cicatrization of face . . ... 293. A Muyanzi, to show pattern of cicatriza- tion on body and style of hair-dressing 294. An Ngombe (Bwela) man from the region between the northern Congo and the Motima River — to show circatrices on the face and method of hair-dressing . 295. Lokele men (from Topoke), one of whom (on the left) is wearing a lip-ring . 296. Illustration of unchecked growth of head hair in a Mongo negro of the Upper Congo, typical of all the Congo peoples 297. Specimens of razors from the Upper Congo ; also (in sheath) a knife for cutting cicatrices 298. A woman from the Bwela country, North- ern Congoland, wearing her hair in the cylindrical fashion adopted by the Man- bettu women . ... 299. A method of hair-dressing amongst the northern Ngombe women, similar to the Nsakara fashion 300. “ A holiday spent with the hair-dresser ” : Bondonga style of wearing hair . 301. A fashion in hair-dressing, Yalemba, northern Congo . ... 302. The chignon and coiffure of a Bateke man from near Stanley Pool 303. (1) Wooden pats for marking native pottery. (2) Specimens of native combs, Lower Congo. (3) Hairpin from the Upper Congo. (4) A spoon from the Bangala people, Upper Congo SOURCE PAGE Photo by William Forfeitt . . 559 » ,, „ • 5 6 ° j> >) j> • • 565 Photograph by Grenfell . . 567 Drawing by Sir Harry Johnston (Bolobo, 1883) . . . 569 Photograph by Grenfell . . 574 >> >> >> • 577 „ » • 578 Photograph from examples in the Baptist Missionary Society’s col- lection . 580 Photo by William Forfeitt . 581 Photograph by Grenfell . 582 M )) • • 583 )) n )) • • 584 Sketch by Sir Harry Johnston • 585 Photograph from specimens in the collection of the Baptist Mission- ary Society . . . 586 „ „ » • 5 8 7 Photograph lent by Lawson Forfeitt 588 Photograph by Grenfell . . 589 304. (1) Native copper collar worn by women on the upper Mubangi River. (2) Neck- lace of copper-wire beads and five leopard’s teeth (worn by a Lokele chief, north-east Congo). (3) Necklace of pig’s teeth often worn by sorcerers (Upper Congo) . ... 305. Solid brass collar weighing nearly 25 lb., worn as an ornament by the wife of a Bangala chief on the Upper Congo. (These collars are more often of copper away from the great trade routes) 306. A slave woman of Bwemba, western Congo, wearing a brass collar . Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 307. (1) A Mubangi leg ornament (coils of brass wire). (2) and (2) Brass collars worn round the neck by women as a token of servitude : from the country south of the main Congo, between Stanley Pool and Lake Leopold II 308. (1) Iron bangle from Banalya, Aruwimi River (native iron roughly worked). (2) Woman’s anklet of brass, Mubangi River . . ... 309. Bakwese neck ornament formed of native- made beads of blue glass which are from the Katanga country. Pendant represents miniature bellows such as are used in native forges . 310. Women’s girdles of woven grass or palm bast, Upper Congo 31 1. Pusxi : bast or fibre stripped from the fronds of the Raphia palm 312. Grass skirt of the Ngombe women. 313. Bangala woman’s skirt (made of Raphia- palm fibre) . ... 314. Bustle of palm fibre worn by Bangala women, northern Congo . 315. A Mukuba chief (Sankuru River, in full dress) . . ... 316. (1) Cap from Congo coast region made of dried grass. (2) War head-dress of feathers from the Upper Congo . 317. A ceremonial cap of the western Bayaka people (Kwango River), made of fibre and string . ... 318. A horned cap from the upper Sankuru River, made of string. This gives a conventional imitation of ox-horns : collected by Captain S. L. Hinde 319. Ceremonial decorated wig or cap worn by the Bakwese people, South-Central Congoland : Torday Collection . 320. Experimental vegetable garden and nursery, Bopoto, northern Congo: Rev. William Forfeitt. 321. Swahili trader and people coming with Arab-grown rice for sale (mouth of Lomami) . ... 322. Manioc plants . ... 323. (i)Nativepipe(UpperCongo). (2)Carved buffalo-horn, for storing tobacco, hemp, or other drugs (Kasai). (3) Snuff-box of the Bakwese, worn sometimes in the ear-lobe . ... 324. A native of Upper Congo climbing oil palm to obtain palm wine . 325. Oil palms in a Bayanzi village 326. A covered pot from the Congo coast region in which maize and manioc beer is sometimes kept SOURCE PAGE Photograph from specimens in B.M.S. Collection . • 590 i i i y i i 59i Photograph from specimens lected by Torday col- 59i Photograph from specimens in col- lection of Baptist Missionary Society . ... 592 Photograph by Torday Photograph from specimen B.M.S. Collection . in 593 594 »> >» >> 595 Photograph by Grenfell 595 Photograph by Torday 596 Photograph from specimens B.M.S. Collection . in 597 Photograph from Torday Collection 598 Photograph from specimen British Museum in 599 601 Photograph by Grenfell 603 11 91 11 11 11 11 • 605 608 Photograph from examples in B.M.S. Collection . . 609 Photograph by Grenfell . 610 11 11 11 . 61 1 Photograph lent by Torday . . 613 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 327. A Manbettu honey-pot with a cover of matting - . ... 328. Hydrocyon goliath : a large fish obtained from the Cataract Congo and the Upper Congo, and much appreciated for its salmon-like flesh. It is armed with tusk-like teeth, and bites fiercely 329. A cooking-pot from the western Equa- torial Congo (Lukolela), used for boiling manioc flour . ... 330. A dwarf domestic sheep of the South Cameroons region (Ovis jubatus ?) 331. Congo sheep at Bolobo 332. Babangi dogs, western Equatorial Congo 333. A bull of the type of cattle belonging to the Bayanzi on the western Equatorial Congo (1894) . ... 334. Herd of semi-wild cattle in the Bayaka country, Lower Kwango River . 335. The handle of a hoe from the Bapindi people, upper Kwilu River, South-West Congoland. The two wooden points are used as a rake : Torday Collection 336. Native women making cooking - pots, northern Congo . ... 337. A dish in whitish clay of the Batende people . . ... 338. A large stewpan in whitish clay of the Batende or Babuma people (lower Kasai or Kwa River) 339. A cooking-pot of the Bangala, north- west Congo, for use in canoes. (Fire or charcoal is put in the lower receptacle) 340. Carved and incised wooden drinking-cup, central Kasai region : Torday Collection 341. Wooden cups from the Bayaka country, Kwango River : Torday Collection 342. (1) Native spoon from Upper Congo. (2) An axe-handle from the Lukuga River (Eastern Cong'oland) 343. Wooden spoons from Upper Congo, used for eating thick porridge of manioc flour . . ... 344. A fetish shrine (painted in four colours) from the Congo coast region, near Banana . ... 345. A roadside shrine, Zombo Plateau, Western Congoland 346. Fetish placed at entrance to village on Zombo Plateau, to drive away evil spirits . . ... 347. A fetish hut at the entrance to a Zombo town (Zombo Plateau) 348. A carved fetish of the southern Bambala people, South-West Congoland: Torday 349. The corpse of a woman decorated and laid out for burial (Bopoto, northern Congo) . ... xiii SOURCE PAGE Photograph lent by Torday . . 614 Photograph from specimen in British Museum . . -615 Photograph by Grenfell . .617 Photograph from specimen in British Museum . . .618 Photograph by Grenfell . . 619 Drawing by Sir Harry Johnston . 621 Photograph by Grenfell . . 623 » » >> • 624 . 625 Photo by William Forfeitt . . 626 Photograph of specimen from B.M.S. Collection . . . 627 Photograph from specimen in Gren- fell’s Collection . . . 627 „ „ ,, 628 . 628 . . . . . 629 Photograph from specimen in British Museum . . . 630 From specimen in B.M.S. Collection 631 Photograph from specimen in Congo Museum at Tervueren . 633 Photograph by Grenfell . . 638 Photograph from B.M.S. Collection 639 Photograph by Grenfell . . 641 . 643 Photograph by William Forfeitt . 645 XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 350. A funeral dance : wives wailing - under the eaves of houses 351. The funeral of Chief Ekwayulu at Bolobo . ... 352. A funeral dance amongst the Bapoto, northern Congo . ... 353. Native graveyard at Palabala, near Matadi, cataract region. (Note the graves marked out with empty gin bottles and strewn with empty rum demijohns, besides crockery) 354. Grave of native chief, Monsembe, Ban- gala country . ... 355. Grave of a native notability in the Buja country, near Bumba, northern Congo 356. (1) Fetish brush or whisk made of a bushbuck’s tail. (2) An executioner’s knife. Both from northern Congo 357. A fetish mask from the Bayaka country, Kwango River . ... 358. A Bayaka friction-drum from the lower Kwango . ... 359. Nkimba boys, north bank of the Lower Congo (Basundi people) . 360. Boys of Bopoto, Upper Congo, bathing and playing on beach 361. “Woman’s work”: a woman of the northern Congo, near Bopoto, making pots . . ... 362. Woman as a beast of burden in the Babangi countries. (Lukolela women carrying loads of firewood) 363. Bakongo woman and child, Kibokolo, Zombo Plateau . ... 364. Thb wedding of Bungudi, a Mission- steamer engineer. (Bungudi was a Muteke of Stanley Pool) . 365. A pot from the Lower Congo, used for the dispensing of beer at a wedding feast . 366. A fly-whisk always carried by head-men, chiefs, or public orators at trials held among the natives of the lower Mubangi 367. A clay pot from the Babangi or Bayanzi people of Lukolela in which the Nka decoction has been mixed for an ordeal 368. B.M.S. house at Bolobo, built on the place at which ordeals were adminis- tered twenty years ago 369. Specimens of executioner’s choppers and knives from the Bangala country, northern Congo . ... 370. An executioner’s scimitar from the lower Aruwimi . ... 371. A Bahuana executioner’s sword, South- West Congoland : Torday Collection . 372. Staff of office of the Baluba chief Kay- umba, Lake Kasale, northern Kitanga country : Torday Collection 37 3. The official staff of the chief of Bulu on the Lualaba-Congo : Captain S. L. Hinde . . ... SOURCE PAGE Photograph by Grenfell 646 99 9999 • 647 Photograph by William Forfeitt 651 Photograph by Grenfell 653 9 9 99 99 • • 654 99 99 99 • • 657 Photograph from B.M.S. Collection 662 Photograph from Torday Collection 664 9 9 99 99 666 Photograph by Grenfell 668 Photo by William Forfeitt 673 99 9999 • • 675 Photograph by Rev. R. D. Darby . 678 Photograph by Rev. Thomas Lewis 680 Photograph by Grenfell 681 Photograph from example in B. M. S. Collection . ... 683 99 99 99 688 99 99 99 690 Photograph by Grenfell 691 )) 5 > ft • 694 Photograph from specimen in B.M.S. Collection . 695 696 698 701 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 374. The “ Linguisteiro ” or spokesman of a Lower Congo chief : sketched by Sir Harry Johnston in 1882 375. A professional dancing woman commenc- ing her performance (Bopoto, northern Congo) . ... 376. A funeral dance, northern Congo . 377. A funeral dance amongst the Babangi . 378. Masked dancers, Zombo Plateau . 379. A tom-tom from the Balovale people at the south-westernmost corner of the Congo basin, near the sources of the Zambezi, formerly used by the chief Kakenge to summon his subjects 380. The drums of the Bayanzi (Bolobo) 381. Friction-drum from the south Bambala country (South-West Congoland) : Tor- day Collection . . . . 382. Natural and artificial rattles from central Congo basin. (1) is the section of a seed pod of an Albizzia tree ; (2) and (2) are rattles made from split canes . 383. A xylophone from the Bangala country, northern Congo : upper surface, with continuous resonator behind 384. Another type of xylophone, back view, showing separate resonators probably made from very large seed pods, Ban- gala country . ... 385. A gong of iron from the Baluba people (South-Central Congoland) : Torday Collection . ... 386. A wooden flute from the Mongwandi country, upper Mongala River (prob- ably made in rough imitation of human thigh-bone) . ... 387. A whistle or flute of wood from the Kasai 388. Pan-pipes of the Bangondo people, South- Central Congoland : Torday Collection 389. A musical bow from the Kasai (top figure) ; another type of musical bow from the central Aruwimi, with two strings and pegs 390. A metallophone from the Balua country, South-West Congoland : Torday Col- lection . . ... 391. Harp of the Ababua people, Wele River 392. A Bangala harp from the northern Congo 393. A harp of the Bajande people, lower Aruwimi basin . ... 394. A Bayanzi guitar from Bolobo 395. A lyre from the Nyamnyam (Makarka) people of the Wele River . 396. A zither from the Bajande tribe, lower Aruwimi. (A somewhat similar instru- ment comes from western Tanganyika) XV SOURCE PAGE . . . . . 702 Photo by William Forfeitt . . 703 >> >> >> • • 7°4 Photograph by Grenfell . . 705 Photograph by Rev. Thomas Lewis 707 Photograph from specimen in the British Museum . . . 708 Photograph by Grenfell . . 709 . . . . . 710 B.M.S. Collection . . 7 1 1 Photograph from specimen in Congo Museum, Tervueren . .712 „ „ » 7 12 Photograph lent by Torday . . 713 Photograph from specimen in Congo Museum, Tervueren . . 714 . 715 Photograph lent by Torday . . 715 Photograph from specimens in the Congo Museum, Tervueren . 716 Photograph lent by Torday . . 717 Photograph from a specimen in the Congo Museum, Tervueren . 718 „ „ „ 7i9 „ 1, » 7 T 9 Sketch by Sir Harry Johnston . 720 From a specimen in the Congo Museum, Tervueren . .721 From a specimen in the Grenfell Collection . ... 723 XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 397. A cup from the Kasai : Torday Collec- tion . . . 398. An ancient rock shelter in the cataract region (the Tor at Palabala) 399. A Raphia palm in flower and seed. (The Raphia palm in several species is the principal material used in Congo house- building) . ... 400. Making palm-frond thatch at a mission station . ... 401. A typical house of the Congo cataract region . . ... 402. Native village on Kakongo coast, near Kabinda . ... 403. A village in the Nkusu country, king- dom of Kongo, south of cataract region . . . . 404. Riverside town, northern Congo, near Bumba. . . . . 405. The village of chief Senga at Yakusu, near Stanley Falls 406. Style of house near the Motima River (between the Mongala basin and the northern Congo) 407. A typical village of the interior of the northern Congo (Bopoto district) 408. House-building, Bolobo 409. Stool from Lake Mweru, South-East Congoland . ... 410. A head-rest for supporting the head during sleep, northern Bambala country, South-West Congoland 41 1. A stool ornamented with brass nails and hung with a bell and white beads, Ngombe country, Upper Congo . 412. Vase for drinking-water, from theBabuma people, near the Mfini River : Torday Collection . ... 413. Head-rest or pillow, and wooden powder- flask, Bangala people, north-western Congo . . ... 414. Bwela houses, near Motima River, show- ing roofs of palm midribs 415. A view in a Bwela town, northern Congo, to show nearly continuous houses built in streets . ... 416. Entrance into a stockaded town of the Ngombe people (the lady in the fore- ground is Mrs. William Forfeitt) 417. Banana-leaf hut with porch, called by Grenfell a Burumbi dwelling. This style prevails as far east as the slopes of Ruwenzori . ... 418. In a Banalya village, Aruwimi River; to show conical steeple-crowned houses roofed with leaves 419. A stool from the Banalya country, Aru- wimi River, covered with beaten copper SOURCE PAGE . 725 Photograph by Rev. K. J. Pettersen 727 Drawing by Sir Harry Johnston . 728 Photograph by William Forfeitt . 729 Drawing by Sir Harry Johnston . 732 n n n • 733 Photograph by the Rev. Thomas Lewis . ... 735 Photograph by Grenfell 7 3 6 n j > • • 737 Photograph by William Forfeitt 740 »> >> • Photograph by Grenfell 741 742 Photograph from example in Torday Collection 744 n n n 745 Photograph from object in B. M. S. Collection . ... 746 747 Photograph from object in B.M.S. Collection . ... 748 Photograph by William Forfeitt 749 >> M JJ 750 >> >> 75 1 Photograph by the late Major Sitwell . ... 752 Photograph by Grenfell 754 Example in B.M.S. Ethnographical Collection . ... 757 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XVII NO. TITLE 420. A six-pronged stick used as a back-rest, northern Congo. (This illustration also shows pile cloth of the Bakuba country, which makes its way in trade to the northern Congo, and also the curiously woven caps of the Ngombe people) 421. A B.M.S. house built on piles, Bopoto, northern Congo . ... 422. A wrestling match on the northern Congo . . ... 423. A wrestling match at Bopoto, northern Congo . . ... 424. ( 1 ) Boomerang-shaped executioner’s knife, Stanley Falls region. (2) A war-axe mounted on long wooden handle, from northern Congo ; probably derived from the halberd idea of Lubaland 425. Throwing-knives from the Aruwimi River 426. Antelope-skin quiver and arrows used by the Pygmies of the Ituri Forest . 427. Hunting and war arrows (usually poi- soned) from the north-eastern Congo (Mongo country) 428. Ngombe war-shield, northern Congo 429. Reverse side of Ngombe shield, northern Congo . . ... 430. Lokele war-shield, north-eastern Congo ; back and front view 431. Shields from the Mongo country, north- central Congo . ... 432. War-spears (Bangala, Bayanzi, Basoko) from the northern Congo. (The barbed spear is used in hunting) . 433. “Flounder-shaped” knives of the Bay- anzi (Wanguli) of the lower Kasai : Torday Collection 434. Scimitar-shaped sword from the Nyam- nyam country, Wele River, and also knife from the Bamanga country, Stan- ley Falls . ... 435. (1) Bayanzi chopper-sword. (2) Dagger with wooden sheath 436. Knives from Banalya, Aruwimi River, with ivory handles (incised patterns) and riveted with brass 437. Basoko dagger in sheath, lower Aruwimi 438. An Ngombe man of the northern Congo with hippopotamus harpoon and float . 439. A hunting-spear of the Lokele people with detachable spear-head 440. Fishermen with their seine nets on the northern Congo (Bopoto) . 441. Letting down fishing-net at Bopoto 442. Synodontis decorus , a black-spotted fish from Stanley Pool and the Upper Congo, about nine inches long : eaten by the natives . ... 443. Mastacembelus congicus , an eel-like fish of the Upper Congo, good to eat, but regarded by the natives as a kind of water-snake . ... SOURCE PAGE Object in B.M.S. Collection . . 758 Photograph by Grenfell . 760 Photograph by William Forfeitt • 763 yy yy yy . 764 From B.M.S. Ethnographical Col- lection . ... 7 6 5 Grenfell Collection 766 yy yy ... 767 yy yy ... 768 yy yy ... 769 yy yy ... 770 B.M.S. Ethnographical Collection. 771 772 77 3 • 774 Grenfell Collection >> • >> >> >> if Photo by William Forfeitt Photo lent by Lawson Forfeitt Photo by William Forfeitt yy yy yy • 775 776 777 778 779 780 78 1 782 From photo lent by Mr. G. A. Bou- lenger, f.r.s. . . . 783 784 XV 111 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 444. Labeo falcifer, a strange carp-like fish from the Lower and Upper Congo, with a “drunkard’s nose” ; really a nuptial ornament in the breeding season. This type is frequently caught in the baskets of the weirs . ... 445. Adzing and finishing a canoe at Ilingi (Ngombe country, on the bank of northern Congo) 446. Mission canoe, Bopoto 447. Bateke pottery, Stanley Pool ; a good deal used in commerce with the northern Congo . . ... 448. Bateke pottery from near Stanley Pool . 449. Bateke pottery, Stanley Pool. (This and the preceding article were at one time much exported from the Bateke country to the Mubangi River) 450. Grass-cloth squares used as a currency on the north bank of the Lower Congo . . ... 451. Northern Bambala purses for carrying jimbu shells, made of fibre in imitation of pottery (South-West Congoland) 452. Examples of native currency on Upper Congo : — ( 1 ) A brass rod equal to about 160 small brass rods (this at one time was the price of a wife). (2) Ordinary brass rods valued at from five to twenty to the franc, according to the locality. (3) Specimens of “shoka” or spear-head money made of iron 453. Proceeds of a collection at a Baptist Mission church on the Upper Congo (taken especially to illustrate the brass rods which form the native currency). Besides brass rods, the offerings consist of an umbrella, cloths, soap, and a few coins . ... 454. Woman bringing palm nuts for trade, northern Congo . ... 455. An ornamental pot from the Basoko dis- trict, lower Aruwimi 456. Native iron “ bloom ” from Banalya, middle Aruwimi River 457. A Bakwese mat from the upper Kwilu, South-West Congoland 458. Flour-sifter (1) and basket (2) from San Salvador, to show basket-work with cane and grass . ... 459. Drinking-cup made of closely plaited string, Babunda people, Kwilu River, South-Central Congoland 460. Luba cloth of raised pile, made from Raphia-palm bast, Kwilu River, South- West Congoland 461. Specimen of Bakuba cloth (Sankuru River) with raised pile 462. Bapindi pile cloth (South-West Congo- land) . . ... SOURCE PAGE From photo lent by Mr. G. A. Bou- lenger, f.r.s. . . . 785 Photo by William Forfeitt . . 786 >> >> >> • • 787 Photograph lent by Mr. Torday . 790 33 » „ 79 1 „ „ » 79 1 From B.M.S. Ethnographical Col- lection . ... 792 Torday Collection . . . 793 Photo lent by B.M.S. . . . 794 3, ... 795 Photo by William Forfeitt . . 796 From example in Congo Museum, Tervueren . ... 798 Grenfell Collection . . . 798 Torday Collection . . . 799 From B.M.S. Ethnographical Col- lection . ... 800 Torday Collection, British Museum 801 ,, „ ,, 802 B.M.S. Ethnographical Collection . 803 Torday Collection . . . 804 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix NO. TITLE 463. Finely woven cloth from the northern Luba country (Kasai-Lulua) 464. A wooden statuette from Kabinda, near the mouth of the Congo . 465. (1) A thick, rectangular stick of white wood, 4 feet long and 4 inches broad ; the handle contains a small fragment of glass bead fitted in as an ornament. The black figures in relief on the white ground evidently tell a story. This comes from the cataract region of the Congo. (2) Another picture - stick, thinner and more slab-like than the preceding . ... 466. Native boy who has made a model of a river steamer, Bopoto . 467. Model of a house made by a native boy at Bopoto . ... 468. Native pottery drying in the sun, Bopoto, northern Congo . ... 469. Burning and glazing pottery, Bopoto 470. Pot from the Congo coast region of Mayumbe, with blackish lustre . 471. Pot from the coast region of Mayumbe . 472. An ornamental water-pot of the Azande ; from the upper Wele 473. A corner of Tanganyika near the northern end . . ... 474. A water-pot from the Sango country, middle Mubangi River 475. A water-jar with handle, from Stanley Falls region (near Aruwimi). The clay pot is surrounded by a wicker casing of palm-rind, the surface of which is more or less plastered over 476. The crocodile’s opportunity : carriers wading across a tributary of the west- ern Congo . ... 477. The western Congo (above Matadi) 478. The Rev. William Forfeitt . 479. A bamboo at Wathen Station 480. Crinum lilies, Zombo Plateau (3,000 ft.) . 481. Cyathea (?) tree-ferns of South-West Congoland(alt. 3,000 ft. approximately) 482. Tree-ferns at Kibokolo, on the Zombo Plateau (alt. 3,000 ft.) 483. Man-eating Crocodile ( C, niloticus ) killed at Bopoto . ... 484. Polypterus weeksii , discovered by Rev. J. H. Weeks, B.M.S. 485. Polypterus ornatipinnis : collected by the Rev. J. H. Weeks 486. Tetrodon mbu , a handsomely marked fish of the Upper Congo and Mubangi, about twenty inches long 487. Anabas weeksii , discovered by Rev. J. H. Weeks. This fish belongs to the family of the climbing perches (of Ceylon) SOURCE PAGE B.M.S. Ethnographical Collection . 805 From example in Congo Museum, Tervueren . ... 806 99 99 807 Photo by William Forfeitt . 808 99 99 99 . 809 99 99 99 • . 810 99 99 99 . 81 1 Congo Museum, Tervueren . . 812 Grenfell Collection . 815 9999 • • . 816 From a photograph by a German officer . ... 817 Grenfell Collection . 818 >> tt ... 820 Photo by Rev. Thomas Lewis 822 Photo by Rev. E. Domenjoz . 824 Photo by Mr. E. Jenkins, Red Hill 845 . 903 Photo by Rev. Thos. Lewis, B.M.S. 907 >> tt tt 908 9 9 99 99 909 Photo by William Forfeitt 929 Photo from specimen in British Museum . ... 93 1 tt tt ft 932 tt tt tt 934 99 99 99 935 XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NO. TITLE 488. Pelmatochromis tceniatus , a fish of the Upper Congo : collected by Rev. J. H. Weeks . . ... 489. (1) Polypterus congicus , the polypterid of Tanganyika, also found in the Upper and Lower Congo by the late Dr. Hol- man Bentley, B. M.S. (2) Barilius \ weeksii , a small fish of the Upper Congo . . ... 490. Dutch trader purchasing ivory at Bu- mangi, northern Congo. About 1890 . 491. Bube people of Fernando Po, north end of the island . ... 492. Flat-headed spear and barbed lance of the Bube. These weapons are made of wood. Round the spear, which is used for fetish purposes, monkeys’ skulls are hung. (These specimens, collected by Baptist missionaries, are now in the British Museum) 493. A primitive sail : Raphia frond stuck in canoe . . ... 494. Shell ornaments of the Bube 495. An affluent of the western Congo in the Cataract region 496. Baptist Mission steamer Endeavour SOURCE PAGE Photo from specimen in British Museum . ... 936 Photo lent by Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S. . . . . 937 Photo by William Forfeitt . *945 Photo by the late Mr. Sam. Hall . 951 Photo from specimens in British Museum . ... 956 Drawing by Sir H. H. Johnston . 958 Photo from specimens in British Museum . ... 959 Photo by Rev. Thos. Lewis . . 963 Photo by Rev. John Howell . . 966 MAPS IN VOL. II Map showing distribution of Congo Pygmies of more or less pure type living apart from the other tribes as a prominent Pygmy element in the population . 499 Ethnographical Map of Central Africa : by Sir H. H. Johnston and J. W. Addison ...... End of Volume GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO CHAPTER XXI ANTHROPOLOGY T HE oldest indigenous race of man in the Congo basin is no doubt represented by the Pygmies. What may have been the length of period during which the whole of the Congo basin has been inhabited by the human genus we do not yet know. It is quite conceivable that long after the rest of Africa was thickly settled with mankind, the inner basin of the Congo still remained in too lake-like or swampy a con- dition to admit of human habitation ; or the density of the forests, which succeeded the shallow water of the sinking sea and the swamps of pandanus and palms growing up out of the mud, may have been so great at first as to daunt the human pioneers. For man of the genus Homo had long ceased to be a forest animal before he reached Africa from his Asiatic centre of evolution, and the primitive negroid type that first peopled Africa must have taken some time to regain an aptitude for the forest. So far, no stone implements have been found in the central basin of the Congo, east of the lower Kasai, and it is quite conceivable that the Congo Pygmies and some of the forest negro tribes (like the indigenes of Fernando Po) may represent a form of culture earlier than the Stone Age, a stage in the development of civilization in which implements, utensils, and weapons were made from bone, shell, thorn, sinew, and skin ; from sticks, reeds, bamboo, palm rind, and fibre. Undressed stones or pebbles were of course used as hammers. Friable stones were even perforated (no doubt by a twirling stick of wood hardened in the fire) and used as weights on the handles °f digging sticks, much as Bushmen or Hottentot tribes are II. — B 498 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO said to use them at the present day. At any rate, round per- forated stones of this kind are occasionally dug up in regions to the south and south-west of Lake Tangan- yika, as also in parts of Nyasa- land, and these are said to re- semble similar perforated stones attributed to Bushman use in South Africa. In the cataract region of the Congo stone implements are fairly abundant, and consist of axe-heads with one end broad, spear-heads or jave- lins, arrow-heads (some with barbs), and double- headed axes pointed at both ends. These imple- ments are made ( i ) of flint, in the coast region near the sea ; (2) haematite ironstone ; (3) quartz ; (4) diorite ; (5) sandstone ; (6) chert (Devonian sand- stone). But in common with the stone implements of the Zambezi basin, they are said to be of a late Paleo- lithic character ; whereas the stone axes and other implements discovered by various explorers in the eastern valley of 251. SKULL OF AN ENGLISHMAN (MALE) FOR COMPARISON WITH THE SKULLS OF CONGO NEGROES (Royal College of Surgeons.) 252. A MANBETTU OR MOMBUTU SKULL (MALE) FROM N. E. CONGOLAND (Collected by Dr. Schweinfurth : Royal College of Surgeons.) 500 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the Mubangi-Wele (especially near the Bomokandi River), along- the north of Congoland, and in the Bahr-al-Ghazal are similar to those found in the valley of the Nile and of the Shari-Chad region, and are of a decidedly Neolithic charac- ter ; x in any case, greatly superior (as evidence of culture) to the stone implements of the cataract Congo. 2 These last are not restricted in their distribution to the western Conoco regions, but are also found in the coast region of Angola as far south as Mossamedes, and along the coast £> o regions o of Guinea. Stone implements have been found in the valley of the upper Aruwimi. No doubt they have been, or will be shortly, dis- covered on the Lunda Plateau, and elsewhere in south Congoland, but so far the only indica- tions of their presence have been found in western Katanga and ... the vicinity of Lake Mweru. Nothing has been recorded from the central Congo basin, except perhaps in the Kwa valley (lower Kasai), where several stone scrapers have been picked up. The Pygmies who are still dotted about this region as independent tribes, or who are met with in various degrees of hybridism with the taller negroes, are evidently the relics of a primitive type of negro which at one period inhabited tropical Africa from the southern borders of the Sahara to the Zambezi-Congo water-parting, and from the east coast to the Atlantic. At any rate, there are traces at the present time of an original Pygmy population right across the forest belt of Equatorial Africa, from Mount Elgon (or even western Galaland) on the east, ^."A^NEGRO skull (male) from the west COAST OF AFRICA, PROBABLY ASHANTI (For purposes of comparison.) 1 These have been amply described in LAge de la Pierre au Congo, by Dr. Xavier Stainier (published by the Congo Museum, Brussels). 2 These indeed are of much the same character as the stone implements found in Ashanti. fwsl 254. GROUP OF BAMBUTE DWARFS, TAKEN BY GRENFELL AT BOMILI, NEAR THE CONFLUENCE OF THE ARUWIMI AND NEPOKO U3RARY OF THE UNIVERSITY Or ILLINOIS ANTHROPOLOGY 503 to the Cameroons on the west ; 1 * * * * * 7 and when we come to understand better the anthropology of the Guinea coast-lands we may find this Pygmy type even extending as far west as Portuguese Guinea. Traditions among the Fula and other negroid races now inhabiting western Nigeria point to the former existence of “red dwarfs” in the region between the northern Niger and the coast. The Bushman and the Congo Pygmy are only related in 255. SKULL OF BAMBUTE PYGMY (MALE) FROM ITURI FOREST, N.E. CONGO (Collected by Sir Harry Johnston.) 1 Mr. G. L. Bates, the well-known naturalist, who resides in the South Cameroons country, informs me there is a Pygmy tribe in the western upper Sanga basin known as the Bebaya’a (“ great hunters ”). Paul Crampel discovered Pygmy tribes on the upper Ja River (South Cameroons), whose name he gives as Bayaga. These may be the same as Bates’s Bebaya’a ; possibly these Pygmies are unwilling to pronounce the k or g, like the Bambute in the east. To the north of the Bayaga, on the Nyong or Batanga River, are the Pygmy tribes of Banek and Bapiele. Along the upper courses of the Nyong (Lombe) and the Sananga (Lorn), in the western part of the Baya country, there is the dwarf tribe of the Bateke, who are probably the same people as those described by Koell ^(Polyglotta Africana, p. 12) as “ Betsan” or “ Kenkob.” In the Gaboon region south of the Ogowe River as far as the second parallel of S. Latitude a scattered Pygmy race is found dwelling in the forests and known by the names of Babongo, Balia, or Akoa. All descriptions of these dwarf forest dwellers throughout West Central Africa unite in emphasizing the follow- ing points : — Yellow or reddish-yellow skin, much short, “felted” hair on body of a greyish-brown or yellowish colour (interspersed sometimes in the males only with coarse black curly hairs) ; flat, broad noses, long upper lip, and body well proportioned, but with a short, weak neck. The height of the adult men is seldom above 4 feet 7 inches, and that of the women is often below 4 feet. They have invariably a very 504 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO origin in so far as each type is a development — arrested or divergent — of the negro stock. Structurally, the Congo Pygmy is much more nearly connected with the lower types of black negro, is indeed little else than a primitive and also somewhat de- generate development of the true negro. The Hottentot and Bushman of course belong to the Negro species, but constitute such a very divergent type as to be almost of sub-specific rank. At the same time, it is possible to exaggerate the degree of isolation in which the Bushman stands 1 as apart both from Congo Pygmy and other breeds of true negro. It might be mentioned incidentally that although in points of structure there is scarcely any suggestion of affinity between the Pygmies and the Bushmen, still, female Pygmies do occasionally exhibit that curious development of the buttocks known as steatopygy which is so monstrously developed in the Hottentots and some- what less so in the Bushmen. This feature, however, occurs sporadically in the negro races of the Eastern Sudan. The southernmost range of the Congo Pygmy at the present day is more or less limited to about 6° 30' S. Latitude. The northern and western limits have been dealt with in chapter xiv., and in the note on page 503. The eastern limit of the pure Pygmy race at the present day is the eastern flank of the Albertine Rift valley down to the north end of Tangan- yika. But the dwarf peoples of the Lake Rudolf and western Gala region may belong to this stock. The Kasekere tribe of dwarf hunters found in south-east Angola and first recorded by Serpa Pinto are thought by some authorities to belong to the Pygmy race rather than to the Bushman. So little is known about them that the point is hardly worth discussing. The physical characteristics of the Congo Pygmies have been touched on in previous pages of this work ; but additional information on the subject is here given. Lord Mountmorres supplies the following description of the Bambute Pygmies in the forests of the Aruwimi-Ituri : — “ The men are 4 feet 2 inches to 4 feet 6 inches in height, have large, brachycephalic heads and long, black beards, which grow freely, and make them remarkable in a region where almost all the popula- strong skin odour, that of the negro, “ only more so . 55 When standing on their well- shaped sturdy little legs, the big toe turns inwards, away from the second toe. What is further remarkable is the association of certain widespread tribal names with both Pygmies and dissimilar negroes of ordinary or tall stature. Thus though there are Bateke, Bayaka, Babongo, and Balia Pygmies in the north-west, there are also Bateke, Bayaka, Babongo, Balila (besides Batwa, Baputu, Barumbe) tribes of normal height. These may have displaced Pygmies and inherited their tribal names. 1 The Hottentot, though a very old cross, seems to be little else than the result of an ancient mingling between the Nilotic negro or Bantu and the Bushman. 256. CHIEF SENGA AND LOKELE PEOPLE AT YAKUSU (The European is the late Rev. Harry White.) The Lokele of the N.E. Congo bend are rather of the Forest Negro type— big torso, long arms, short legs. ANTHROPOLOGY 507 tion is clean shaven. The women are considerably shorter than the men. Both sexes run practically naked. There is little or no tatooage amongst them. . . . They live sequestered in the depth of the forest in small groups of tiny huts. . . Lord Mountmorres states that he saw in the vicinity of Avakubi a more primitive and simian type of Pygmy than the Bambute. These he first took to be a group of chimpan- zis, springing from branch to branch, and stopping from curiosity to look at the intruder in exactly the same way as do the larger apes. He would have continued to think them chimpanzis but that they shot some tiny arrows which fell close to him. They appeared to be at most 3 feet 9 inches in height, and to have exaggeratedly long arms. They were absolutely unclothed, had features as flat and foreheads as receding as a chimpanzi. The same writer states that M. Wieslet, of Avakubi, had also seen these tree-dwelling Pygmies, and had noted their shelters or habitations built in the forks of trees. Lord Mountmorres in another part of his interesting Congo explorations verified the existence of a dwarf tribe in western Congoland : — “ Amongst the indigenous people of the Lake Ntomba district are the Bua, a dwarf tribe leading a hunting life. In colour they are much lighter than the other inhabitants of the neighbourhood. They are small of stature, well built and wiry, and carry a diminutive bow and vast quantities of primitive little poisoned arrows, for the most part without either quills or barb, consisting simply of a short length of sharpened cane dipped in a liquid poison, a vegetable extract which they carry in little pottery bottles round their shoulders. They dis- charge these arrows . . . with almost incredible rapidity, and one little fellow in order to display his skill shot some twenty arrows in such quick succession that he had fired the last before the first had reached the ground. These dwarfs are clearly very closely related to the dwarf tribes that one meets amongst the Aruwimi peoples and in the eastern province.” According to Mr. S. P. Verner, the Batwa Pygmies in the north-western Luba country (between Kasai and Lulua) speak a language which more resembles the gabblings of an ape than the ordered speech of the intelligent Bantu. These Pygmies do absolutely no agricultural work, devoting themselves en- tirely to hunting. They keep yellow, diminutive dogs, with wooden bells. Verner never heard of cannibalism or the prac- tice of eating dogs amongst these people. The bow of these Pygmies is made from a strong and tough tree, the colour of the heart of which is bright crimson. The bow-string is a strip of rind from the raphia palm. The arrows here are not 508 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO tipped with iron, nor furnished with any feathery barb. The arrow-head is a sharp needle of bamboo, the point of which is thickly smeared with a poison said to be derived from a euphorbia. The juice from the root of this poison tree is boiled until it becomes a black, sticky slime. It is extremely deadly and rapid in its effects. The average height of fifty grown men of these Batwa was 4 feet 4 inches. Seven adult men, how- ever, averaged less than 3 feet 9 inches high, whilst on the other hand five of them were over 4 feet 6 inches. Eight women aver- aged just under 4 feet. The prevailing colour was light choco- late-brown. The older men wore scanty beards. The mean cranial index of the skulls of eight adult males was eighty-one degrees. The head hair was a shade of greyish-brown} Verner declares that the Pygmies’ sense of smell was highly developed, nearly as keen as that of a dog. Regarding their language, he says that it is strongly ono- matopoeic. The names of animals are made of sounds which are supposed to imitate them in some way. Thus, an elephant is called humba-humba , a snake is luwilya-wilya? Their own vo- cabulary is said to be much more limited than that of the Bantu. Just as there is an underlying Bushman element in western and southern Nyasaland, and an undefined dwarf negroid type in so much of eastern and north-eastern Africa, so the Congo Pygmy element permeates the population of well-nigh all the Congo basin, much of the Gaboon and Cameroons, a portion of the Bahr-al-Ghazal, and the Uganda Protectorate as far east as Elgon. There are half-and-half types resembling the Pygmies in many physical characteristics, but of medium stature and improved culture. Such for example are some of the Mongo or northern Balolo people, possibly also the Wanda 3 between the Lulua River and the Lubi, a proportion of the Bayaka and other peoples of the lower and middle Kwango and the lower Kwila, and the Bakoa or Bakwa, an agricultural people living between Stanley Pool and the Kwango River. In the Aruwimi and Mubangi-Wele 4 basins, there are many evidences of a Pygmy element in the population due to ancient or recent crossing between the dwarf types and the big 1 This is a constant feature in the true Congo Pygmy. Very often the hair of the occiput and forehead is red, and that of the back part of the head, greyish-brown. 2 A somewhat similar root for “ snake ” is found in the western Balolo dialects. 3 Regarding the Wanda people (now perhaps exterminated by the Zappo-Zap slave raids), Henrique de Carvalho (. Etlmographia e Historia) states that they strain the skin of the lower abdomen downwards till in course of time it hangs like a flap over the pudenda. Vide Grenfell’s note, p. 138. 4 Grenfell’s Barumbe or Bambenga, “a very light-coloured bush people.” Vide p. 132. 257- THREE TYPES OF BOPOTO MEN These belong more or less to the “ Ngombe” groups of North Congoland. LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ANTHROPOLOGY 5 ” negroes. As to the likelihood of these crosses taking place, I can only say that on the Uganda-Congo border-line Pygmy wives 1 were much sought after by the six-feet-high Sudanese soldiers, and these unions were nearly always fertile in offspring. The average negro of the Congo basin is composed, in varying degrees, of three or four racial elements (besides the exceptional results of direct Caucasian intermixture) : — (i) Negrito — i.e. Pygmy (all over the Congo basin except the south) and (2) Bushman (perhaps in southern Lundaland, Katanga, Mweru, and Bangweulu). (3) Forest negro. (4) Nilotic negro. The Forest negro has been defined by the present writer in his work on the Uganda Protectorate. The type can be traced in a more or less marked form all over negro Africa. It is evidently the next stage in evolution above the Pygmy, but the development of the body is only partial. The Forest negro may have a splendid torso, but he has very long arms and (proportion- ately) short legs. The skull is dolichocephalous and the face is prognathous, sometimes markedly so. The brow ridges in some examples are prominent. The head and body hair, as in the Pygmy, are abundant. There is no tendency to steatopygy, though there may be an excessive breadth de- veloped transversely across the pelvis and thighs, with no special prominence of the buttocks. In short, in almost every physical feature the Forest negro is the opposite pole to the Bushman in the sphere of the negro species. [See illustration No. 194 on p. 353.] The Nilotic type of negro in its extreme development, in the upper Nile basin and in East Africa, is less prognathous than the Forest man or the Pygmy, but is long-headed and rather dark in skin colour. The body hair is not much de- veloped ; the head hair may, in a natural state, grow longer than it does in the more typical negro, but there is much less beard and moustache. The predominant feature, however, which marks off all negroes of the Nilotic group is the exces- sive length of the legs. These — according to the European standard of beauty — are disproportionately long in contrast to the legs of the Forest negro, which are disproportionately short. The Nilotic type is evidently a very early hybrid between the Caucasian invaders — the Mediterranean men of the Nile valley and of Arabia — with the pre-existing negro stock of 1 Most of these women measured at my direction were under 4 feet in height, while their Madi, Bari, Acholi husbands were 5 feet 1 1 inches to 6 feet 2 inches. 512 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO north-east Africa: Bushman, Hottentot, Forest man, or Pygmy. The Nilotes became herdsmen, receiving from Egypt their cattle, sheep, and goats. They probably also learnt from Egypt or the Nigerian Sudan the use of metals and other elements of Neolithic culture, and thus armed they penetrated right across Africa to the Atlantic and down the eastern sea- o board to the Zambezi. The mixture — in all degrees — between the Nilote and the Forest negro (with the absorption of Pygmy and Hottentot- Bushman and occasional injections of the Caucasian) accounts for all the known negro types of modern Africa, except, of course, the undiluted Pygmy or Bushman. The equal blend of the Forest negro and the Nilotic giant 1 gives us some of the handsomest peoples of Congoland — the Ababua Bantu of the Wele- Bomokandi ; the non -Bantu Banza, Sango, Banziri, Nsakara, and Mongwandi of the western Mubangi basin ; and the Bantu-speaking Bangala, Babangi, and Bapoto of the northern Congo. The Ababzia 2 Bantu are lauded by all travellers who have seen them for their physical beauty, the good looks even ex- tending in the men to the facial outline, though the women are more typically negro, Amongst the Sango tribes a type of face appears here and there that is singularly Ethiopic, with a delicately shaped nose, well-formed chin, and pointed beard ; but with a particularly long head, that develops quite a con- siderable bulge at the back. The present writer has seen this same racial type as far west as the upper Cross River, and it is met with occasionally amongst the P'anwe of F'rench Congo and the Baya of the German Cameroons, while it may reappear in the regions behind the Guinea coast. It is due in some instances, no doubt, to a trickle of Caucasian blood, our species or sub-species having permeated Negro Africa from a most remote period. The Mongwandi of the upper Mongala are described as like bronze statues. They have thin lips, aquiline noses, and are compared in physical appearance to the better type of Azande. But athwart all this region of the northern Congo, in the basin of the Aruwimi, of the Wele- Mubangi, of the Likati, Rubi, Mongala, and Sanga, there are layers and 1 The Nilotic negroes produce the tallest races in the world, tribes like the Turkana, in which nearly every man is over six feet and giants of seven feet are not uncommon. 2 This word should really be spelt Babua without the Nyamnyam prefix A - ; the language type of the Babua or Babati is also shared by Pygmies and Forest negroes of low type, an example of how in the Congo basin language affinities and physical features are quite at variance. ANTHROPOLOGY 5*3 groups of Forest negroes of powerful torso, short legs, long arms, short necks, and great prognathism. These shade off again into the bigger type of Pygmy. In physical appearance the tribes of the lower Aruwimi, lower Lomami, Lindi, and Chopo rivers — the Basoko, Babali , Turumbu,Lokele , Topoke^Bamboli^wdiBakumu — are a less hand- some physical type than the Bayanzi-Bangala, Ngombe, and Bamanga (the latter not speaking a Bantu language ). 1 The body is some- times well formed, though they tend more towards the Forest negro type with short legs. The face is often ugly and progna- thous. The far- ther one travels away from the banks of the main Congo or the middle course of the Aruwimi, the more these people tend to be short- legged, long- armed, and of ugly appearance. The handsome type of Bantu scarcely re- appears until the 2 ^g BANALY a people, on the middle aruwimi river traveller reaches to the eastern limits of the Congo basin, and finds himself in touch with the hill or plateau tribes speaking very pure Bantu lan- guages, and influenced by an intermixture with the Ethiopian aristocracy abJIit to be described. Even the Bakonjo, and still more the Bctamba of Ruwenzori and the semi- Bantu negroes of the eastern Ituri forests, are of the Forest negro type, though 1 It is stated that the bows of the Bamanga resemble those of the Azande, and of Sudanese tribes to the north of the Congo basin. Stuhlmann was struck with the resemblance in some characteristics between the Bamanga and the Manbtttu. Vice- Consul Michell describes the Bamanga of the Congo banks as a very handsome people. They are, however, noted for their extreme licentiousness. II. — c 5 i4 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the Bakonjo occasionally offer comely examples. The Balega people of eastern Congoland, between the Tanganyika basin and the Lualaba-Congo, and the Baguha of north-west Tangan- yika, are interesting in that they speak a less corrupted type of Bantu language, more connected with the eastern Bantu groups than with the western Bantu of the Congo basin. But they are of the Forest negro category in physi- cal appearance. The Nilotic type of negro with- in the whole southern basin of the Nile must have been early con- verted to Bantu influence [though the mother form of the Bantu lan- guages was pro- bably a Forest negro speech]. But though the fusion of pygmy and giant, of the short-legged wood- land people and the long-legged black- men of the open country, may have sufficed for the 259. A TURUMBU CHIEF AND HIS ATTENDANT: YALEMBA Creation of the various Bantu dia- lects, the culture, the conquering instinct, the dominant position of the Bantu negroes 1 to-day are probably due to the immigra- tion into East-Central Africa of a superior type of humanity : that aristocratic negroid, known under many names, Fula, Songhai, Nubian, Ethiopian, Nyamnyam, Manbettu, Hima, Gala, Masai — the product of the oft-repeated hybrids between the Mediterranean white man and the negroids or negroes of 1 In all their varying physical types ranging from Pygmy or semi-Bushman to a type almost Hamitic and non-negro — the only bond of unity being the tie of language affinity. ANTHROPOLOGY 5i5 northern tropical Africa. It was probably the Hima variety of this semi-Caucasian type that first invaded the Congo basin on the north-east. The Hima 1 or Huma (Tusi or Tutsi, Ruhinda) cattle- keeping aristocracy of Unyoro, Uganda, Toro, Mpororo, Ankore, Karagwe, Ruanda, Burundi, and the southern shores and islands of the Victoria Nyanza seems to have found its way into eastern Congoland along the lofty plateaux and mountains bordering on the west the great Tanganyika- Albertine Rift valley. This caste of straight-featured, handsome negroids has obviously influenced the looks of the Manyema, the Rua and Luba peoples, the Balolo, and above all, the Bakuba ; and even crops up here and there among the Forest negroes of the north- eastern Congo. It is itself essentially Gala and Somali in its affinities, and to a lesser degree Egyptian and Ethiopian . 2 In the Congo basin the Hima type is probably nowhere more marked than in the Bakuba , the ruling people of central Congoland, who, as an aristocratic caste, possess a consider- able territory which stretches between the Kasai, Sankuru, and the Lulua, and perhaps overlaps the Sankuru to the north- east. They form a very powerful and industrious people, chiefly occupied in the ivory trade. Big and strong, they live chiefly on game and fish. From religious motives, they abstain from eating the goat and sheep, and do not take their slaves as wives. They smelt and work iron, weave cloths to perfection, embroider them and dye them. They also make large mats on a frame and carve wood with much artistic taste. They are 1 To avoid the wearisome repetition of half a dozen local appellations it is best to restrict oneself to the one name of Hima to designate the type of Gala-like negroids of Central Africa. 2 The Gala and Somali and the allied peoples between the Nile and the Red Sea speak languages that are classified as “ Hamitic.” This group is obviously, though distantly, related to the Ancient Egyptian and to the Semitic families, and still more distantly, yet with equal certainty, to the Libyan or Berber tongues, which are spoken even at the present day between the western basin of the lower Nile and the Atlantic coast (earlier still, as far west as the Canary Islands). Dialects of Libyan speech extend southwards to the Senegal River and across the upper Niger. Libyan languages acting on a basis of West African negro speech brought into existence the curious hybrid Hausa tongue, which is sex-denoting, and which in other grammatical features is almost a member of the Libyan-Semitic-Hamitic group, a group which may once have extended its range across Spain and France to Britain and Ireland, leaving its traces even at the present day in the fundamental structure of Irish, Welsh, and Basque, just as it has done in Hausa and in some of the other semi-negro languages of North-Central Africa. Physically speaking, the Hamitic or Ethiopian race of man is distinguished from the Semite and the Libyan by a greater degree of intermixture with an early negroid type, by its darker skin colour, less prominent and never aquiline nose, and perhaps lesser tendency to growth of body hair. It is (I should think) a very ancient hybrid compared to most African races of the present day. 5 1 6 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO 1 “ The Bakuba properly so called are divided into two groups : the tribe on the banks of the Sankuru, which is independent, and another under the sway of Lukengu. At the death of Lukengu’s predecessor, his aunt, the sister of the dead chief, at the head of certain malcontents, refused to recognize the chief (Lukengu) elected by the majority and formed an independent group. Itoson, this woman’s son, is destined to succeed Lukengu.” (Torday.) much given to trade, but are entirely different from the Baluba in language and customs. Formerly every stranger who entered the territory of the Bakuba was condemned to death. Ludwig Wolf, the German explorer, was the first to enter their country, in 1885. The tradition among the Bakuba is that they came from the north-east and settled down as conquerors on the banks of the Sankuru ; that they were one peo- ple once with the Basonge (now dwel- ling to the east of them); and that when they crossed the Sankuru and advanced towards the Lulua and Kasai they ran up against the Baluba coming from the south - east. They are described now as the most power- ful, conservative, least changed, and most tenacious of their own supersti- tions and customs of all the surrounding tribes. They are also probably the intelligent, except (it may be) the “ Zappo-Zaps ” (Basonge) dwelling to east of them, an allied people also tempered with the Ethiopian element. The leading chief among the Bakuba is Lukengu, who resides ordinarily at Bashibushong some distance to the north of the Lulua River. Lukengu seems to be his hereditary title rather than his name. 1 most capable and 260. AN EXAMPLE OF THE “HIMA” TYPE FROM YALEMBA, N.E. CONGO ANTHROPOLOGY 50 Here is a pen portrait by Mr. S. P. Verner 1 of a typical Kuba chief (the nephew and successor of the celebrated Maimunene who received Pogge, Wissmann, and Wolf) : — “Ndombe, chief of the Bikembe, was nearly 6 feet 6 inches in height, of a bright copper colour, broad, square shoulders, herculean limbs, and handsome features ... as straight as an arrow, splendidly proportioned. He had a broad, high forehead, straight and somewhat aquiline nose, a pair of magnificent brown eyes — restless, searching, seeming to take in the whole horizon at a glance. His cheekbones were high, his mouth clear-cut and rather mobile, the chin firm and broad, the whole face beaming with intelligence, bespeaking a character at once resolute and benign.” 2 Here is a portrait of his son Mianye (“ Bow-string”) : — “ Straight as an arrow, with bodily lines so symmetrical, the poise so erect and free, the person so clean and lacking in any savage or uncouth ornaments, his eyes full and lustrous, delicately chiselled features — this boy was an aristocrat to compare with the scions of the royal houses of Europe.” Grenfell describes the Bakuba as “ handsome, proud, in- clined to be cruel, and very superstitious.” Lukengu, the king of Bashibushong, encouraged burial murders and witchcraft persecutions. But Ndombe (who I trust still lives and rules his people wisely) seems to have been a model of good sense, according to Verner, Martin, and Morrison . 3 Here is an anecdote by Verner as to Ndombe’s contempt for superstition : — “ A man named Tambu (‘ Lion ’) had a pretty wife whom he had recently married. One day he came running down, saying that one of Ndombe’s men had cast the evil eye on his wife whilst she was cooking, and that it meant death unless expiated. He wanted to go and kill the offender, and being a terrible man, soon a tremendous uproar resulted. Ndombe came and heard the casus belli , went to Tambu and his wife, and in a most fatherly manner laughed their fears to scorn. ‘ Why,’ said he, ‘ such talk is sheer nonsense. If you like I will call all my thirty wives and let this man look at them all day long if he can do any harm. If you have nothing more to fear from my people than their eyes you can go and sleep in peace.’ ” The Bakuba strain has given a ruling class to the Balolo in the central basin of the Congo. Ba-lolo is said to mean 1 Pioneering in Central Africa. 2 A less pleasant-tempered Bakuba chief, Belinge, was described as “copper- coloured, large of stature.” 3 American Presbyterian missionaries. 5 1 8 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO “men of iron,” “ iron-workers,” 1 2 and indeed nearly all these aristocracies founded by Hima adventurers have been asso- ciated in legend with the introduction of metal-working into a land still in the Stone Age, or in the even earlier culture that uses bone, horn, thorn, thong, and wood. But the more aboriginal “Balolo” are better termed Mongo or Bankutu? They are of poor physical development and primitive in mode of life. LordMount- morres describes the Mongo people between the Lo- mami and Lopori as “small of stature and meagre of build, a backward forest race.” “ Their clothing is of the scantiest, and, curiously enough, when the men of this region and along the upper Lopori start to paddle a canoe or to carry any loads they strip themselves stark naked. Like some other of the popula- tions in the northern basin of the Congo, and at intervals as far west as the upper Cross River and the Niger Delta, they have peculiar ceremonies connected with hand- shaking, elaborate grips, and the snapping of the fingers of the person they are greeting.” 261. AN MPO WOMAN FROM THE BUSIRA RIVER (Her skin has been whitened for decoration.) According to Grenfell, the pile-dwellers of mixed Mongo and Lokele stock, who live chiefly on roots and fish, and inhabit 1 On the other hand, it should be noted that Lolo or Ki-lolo is the name of one of the aristocratic clans among the Luba-Lunda peoples who are obviously impregnated with Bakuba civilization. 2 They are also styled Ndolo in the west, Mpd in the centre of their range, and Bankundu in the north. ANTHROPOLOGY 519 the swampy Lianza country between the Lualaba-Congo and the Lomami, are a weakly, lean, insignificant-looking people. Lord Mountmorres thus describes the higher type of Balolo : — “The Mantomba tribes on the north-east shores of Lake Ntomba are probably related to the Mongo (Balolo). They are a fine virile race of very dark skin, almost black ... of a high order of intelligence . . . one large group of villages in particu- lar, that of Mwangi, was a model of native African architecture and discipline. Huts were ornamented ex- ternally with elabo- rate reeding 1 execu- ted with very primi- tive local knives. At Pikoro and Ikoko on Lake Ntomba the na- tive population is diminishing, and has diminished enor- mously in recent years. Whole villages are deserted and abandoned, planta- tions absorbed by the quick - growing bush ... a general scene of ruin. The natives are very shy and sullen about meeting a white man : in the past they were 262. M0NG0 boatmen from upp r congo notable traders, es- pecially in the very beautiful black pottery, which they made \\ ith extra- ordinary skill from the mud at the bottom of the creeks round the lake. In former times this black pottery was sought for even by tho Sango on the upper Mubangi, who used to exchange slaves and live stock for these shiny black pots. The decay of the people is partly due to a devastating war carried on for a long time by a chief named Lukola Ngonya, who rebelled against the Congo State.” A race influenced perhaps by the better class of “ Balolo ” is the Bavumbo , who dwell on the banks of the upper Lukenye. 1 This reed-work recalls a similar art in Uganda. (H. H. J.) 5^0 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Their dress is composed of a piece of material made of beaten fibres of palm tree, manufactured with taste and skill, held round the body by a thong of buffalo hide. Like the natives of the Kasai basin, they are clever at hunting, and do not give themselves up to fishing. None of their villages are to be found on the banks of the river ; they are all several miles in the interior. The Bavumbo show a good deal of fastidiousness in the arrangement of their o o ## houses. These are constructed of raphia-palm midribs, and are covered with a roof of palm fronds. “They possess large planta- tions, and, strange to say, cultivate cotton ( Gossypium acumina- tum'), which they spin and of which they make pretty head-dresses in crochet. These bonnets would call forth the admiration as well as labour of skilled workers. They put much art in the workmanship of all their productions ; their stuffs are very fine and of good designs in different colours, resembling pile velvet. Their vases in clay and wood, their knife-handles, the shafts of their arrows and spears, their musical instruments, pipes, etc., are ornamented with elegant carvings recalling Egyptian designs, which denote, in the case of this “savage” people who have never been in contact with white men, a rare spirit of inventiveness and an intelligence which only requires development.” (Torday.) The Basongo 1 form a very powerful and numerous tribe, inhabiting the region comprised between the right bank of the Kasai, the Sankuru, and the Lubefu. They are intelligent people, owning large plantations and building themselves curious-shaped huts. Their nation contains magnificent brawny men, who are skilful workers in iron, copper, clay, and wood. In remarkable contrast with the majority of other African races, the men assign to themselves the work of the fields, and leave to the care of their wives the carrying on of industries and the direction of the household. Unhappily their religious rites are sometimes accompanied by cannibalism. Wissmann praises their haughty beauty, natural intelligence, and native kindness. Their villages are numerous and the population is of extraordinary density. That great traveller took sometimes five hours to cross one of their market towns, and Wolf estimates at fifteen thousand the number of inhabitants in the largest villages. The Batetela , and their next of kin the Basonge (“Zappo- Zaps ”) on the south, dwell to the east of the Basongo, and are Or Basongo-meno. The name means “ they sharpen teeth. : ANTHROPOLOGY 521 much permeated with Bakuba blood. Verner writes of them : — “ Owing to the fertility of their country the Batetela are abun- dantly supplied with food, and have become men of great stature, while their numbers have increased and made the district fairly black with people. They are brave, hospitable, and kind-hearted, and some of them are good-looking. Not all are so very black, though this is their prevailing’colour. Some are of light yel- low.” The Many etna , who have been a good deal dimin- ished of late by sleeping sickness and w~ars, are a peo- ple of somewhat di- verse physical ele- ments. They are not usually very tall, but their supple bodies are well formed and well pro- portioned. The face often betrays early Ethiopian intermix- ture. Related in language to the Manyema, and ap- parently in physical type, are the Wango- belio or Waujabilio, a race of canoe men who inhabit the 263. bagenya canoe paddlers, lualaba-congo banks of the Lua- laba- Congo south of Hinde Rapids and about the Cameron Falls. The Bagenya 1 are of all the Congo peoples the most water-loving. They inhabit the banks of the Lualaba- Congo from Stanley Falls to the Hinde Rapids south of Nyangwe. Yet, according to Hinde, though they spend the 1 The Bagenya are said to have driven the Bakumu away from the Stanley Falls. Also known as Baenya, Waginya, Wenya. 522 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO greater part of their lives on the water in canoes, they are usually bad swimmers. The torso and arms are splendidly developed, but the legs are short. They detest having to walk, and will not will- ingly go anywhere except by canoe, never travelling by land if they can help it. Their vil- lages consist of grass huts about six feet high with nearly fiat roofs. They are almost without religious beliefs or practices, so far as can be ascertained. They get their living o o chiefly by fishing and making bad pottery of river mud. They ex- change their fish and pottery with the forest people of the interior for pro- duce and also for canoes, these last being made by the forest folk and not by the Bagenya. They go ashore to sleep ; otherwise their lives are mainly passed in their canoes, in which even their dances are performed. In origin and language they are about equally related to the Manyema and to the forest Bantu of the Equatorial Congo. South of the Manyema, one enters apparently a region of Bantu-speaking people much influenced by relatively recent invasions across Tanganyika from the east. Their language 264. THE KONGO (ON LEFT) AND HOLO TYPES CONTRASTED The Bakongo and Eshi- Kongo occupy much of the country west of the lower and middle Kwango River. The Baholo inhabit the middle Kwango Valley. ANTHROPOLOGY 523 belongs to a more archaic Bantu type, recalling some features found in the Uganda group of tongues, and also in the languages of South and East Africa. The mass of the population is of course essentially negro, but many of the ruling chiefs have an Ethiopian type of countenance. As already mentioned, this E thio pian cast of feature is very promi- nent in the mysterious Bakuba, but it is also characteristic of the Baluba chiefs and freemen. Indeed the original Bakuba , Ba- /uba, 1 Ba-lua , Ba-lolo , must have been one clan of Hima inva- ders, the members of which (bold hunters, warriors, smiths, and enjoying from their wits and physical beauty the present prestige of the “white man”) took up and moulded different groups of vassals among- the r orest negroes, o 7 whose dialects they modified and adopted. The western Ba- luba, who are some- times called by the , , J 265. A BATEKE MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD FROM alternative name of Stanley pool Bashilange , are de- scribed by some explorers as an ugly, weakly folk, and likely to have arisen by a mixture between the real Baluba conquerors of Hima stock and the Pygmy or semi-Pygmies whom they found in occupation of the lands between the Sankuru and the Kasai. Lubaland is also shared by two servile races, the Bateke 1 Bakuba in the eastern Luba dialects means “ the people of thunder ” ; Ba-luba means “ the wanderers.” fundamentally of the Forest negro stamp. The freemen, however, the conquering aristocracies, the chiefs, the pre- datory clans exhibit over and over again that Ethiopian type of countenance, which in some individuals is almost Egyptian, and would be more markedly so but for the persistent wool of the negro. This last feature is indeed of remarkable persistency in these African hybrids. The handsome Hima aristocracy of Ankole, for example, though it may be almost identical in physiognomy, here with a Gala, and there with an Ancient Egyptian, has head hair of an absolutely negro type. The Ba-holo of the River Kwango show a refined type of 524 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO and the Bakete , of Forest negro type [and by numerous tribes of dwarfs — Batwa, Bakwa, Yeke]. The “Bateke” noted by Wolf, Grenfell, and Wissmann in the angle of country between the lower Sankuru and the Kasai may be related to the Bateke of Stanley Pool, or this widespread name may only indicate another dwarf race. The “ masses” rather than the “classes” throughout all southern Congoland — amongst the Baluba, Balua, Alunda, Basanga, Basambo — are of an average negro type, which as one proceeds southwards gives a hint here and there of ancient Bushman or Hottentot intermixture, but is 266. BAYAKA PEOPLE FROM THE BANKS OF THE KWANGO, NEAR FRANZ JOSEF FALLS ANTHROPOLOGY 5 2 5 face and feature, and a somewhat light-coloured skin, which may be due merely to local variation. 1 In Grenfell’s picture (p. 522) the physical contrast between the Kongo type west of the Kwango and the Holo dwelling mainly to the east is aptly illustrated. The coast peoples of south-west Africa, from the Berg-Damara and the Ovambo on the south, through Angola and the Kongo province, across the Congo estuary northwards to the Gaboon and almost up to the 267. SKULL OF BAMBALA NEGRO (MALE) S.W. CONGOLAND (Torday Collection.) Cameroons, are ordinarily an ugly, coarse-built, hairy, black- skinned type of negro, mainly of Forest stock, with some ancient Pygmy intermixture. Here and there a tribe attains to a tall stature, but the physical proportions, the facial aspect, are nearly always unpleasing. This is (or was) so much the 1 In his book on the Kasai regions recently published, Dr. Frobenius gives portraits of Kioko and Luba women that are almost Egyptian in profile and com- plexion. Livingstone fifty years ago remarked the same Ethiopian elements in the races of the Zambezi-Congo water-parting. The Ethiopian crops up again among the Herero, in the Batonga of central Zambezia, and in the South African Kafir-Zulu, just as the low Forest negro and Hottentot elements are also apparent. 526 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO case with the Lower Congo peoples that one of the many sur- prises which met the early explorer on attaining Stanley Pool 268. FRONT VIEW OF THE SKULL OF MALE BAMBALA. SAME SPECIMEN AS NO. 267 was to behold the pleasant faces and well-shaped bodies of the Bayanzi or Bangala traders. The Bateke of Stanley Pool, the western Upper Congo, and the Ogowe watershed are very mixed in physical type. Some ANTHROPOLOGY 527 of the chiefs are fine-looking men, with faces recalling the good-looking Bayanzi. Many of the common people, however, are coarse in type, with ugly, unintelligent faces. So are the Bombuno , or Bamfunu , near allies of the Bateke, who inhabit parts of the country between Stanley Pool and the lower Kwango. The Babuma or Bctboma, and Bakutu of the Kwa or lower Kwango are also coarse in build ; the lower part of the nose is large, with big, fleshy nostrils. They, like the Bayaka of the lower Kwango, are very dark in skin colour. The Ba-huctna, dwelling between the Kwilu and the Kancha, are described by Torday as being reddish-brown to choco- late colour and rather short in stature. Their hair is finer in texture than that of the ordinary negro type, is less tightly curled, and may vary from glossy black to dark brown in tint. The same traveller de- scribes the Ba- bunda , farther to the south-east in PPn f- rP n f tV| P 269. A SKULL (FEMALE) OF SOUTH BAMBALA TRIBE, KWILU . . RIVER, S.W. CONGOLAND (TORDAY COLLECTION) Kasai - Kwilu dis- trict, as very dark in skin colour, of heavy build, and large boned. The Bambala of the Kwango- Kasai region do not seem to be an especially ugly or degraded race — ethnically, they stand fairly high among the Congo peoples ; but Professor D. J. Cunningham remarks that the Bambala skull 1 illustrated on page 525 “is markedly prognathous, dolichocephalic, and has its two nasal bones completely fused.” All the peoples of south-west Congoland between the lower Kwango and lower Kasai appear to be interrelated physically, though they may differ in language, arts, and customs. They are noteworthy for the marked prognathism of their skulls. This trait now characterizes the eastern Bayanzi as compared with the western. The Bashilange north of the central Kasai are among the black races who are the most intelligent, powerful, and capable 1 Of Mr. Torday’s collection. 528 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO of improvement in Africa. Their villages are arranged in groups, and crossed by fine roads fringed with banana and palm trees. They are akin to the Luba group. The most remarkable Bantu peoples of the central Congo basin are, without doubt, the Bayanzi (Babangi), Bang ala, and Ngombe , together with the closely allied Bangata , Akula , Bamangi , Babwela , Bakatula , Abuja , and Bapoto of the northern Congo. Linguistically, there is a nearer relation- ship between the Bayanzi and the Bangala than there is between the Yanzi language and all the various Ngombe o o o 2 70. SKULL (FEMALE) IN TWO DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF SOUTH BAMBALA TYPE. SAME SPECIMEN AS NO. 269 (TORDAY) dialects. [The Bangata speech may be connected more with Lolo than with Yanzi.] But physically there is an obvious resemblance between all these riverain tribes of the north- western Congo, the northern Kasai, and the lower reaches of the Mubangi, Mongala, Ruki, Rubi, Lulongo, and Lopori. Their beauty of bodily proportion and of poise indicates that subtle element of the Caucasian, coming through the Ethiopian and the Nilotic negro, which in the case of the Balolo-Bayanzi-Bangala-Ngombe came rather from the south- east than from the north, the reverse almost of the route followed by the same element in the northern basin of the Congo. The Bantu-speaking Ababua of the Wele and the upper Rubi, and the non- Bantu Banza and Sango-Mongwandi ANTHROPOLOGY 529 of the Mongala and Dua, meet and mingle with the Poto, Buja, Bwela, Ngombe, and Ngala coming up from the south. There is a great physical resemblance between all these tribes; but the northern groups may derive their element of Caucasian comeliness from the regions of eastern Nigeria, the Bahr-al-Ghazal, and the Mountain Nile, while the Bayanzi- Ngombe peoples have received their tinge of Ethiopian blood through the Bakuba-Baluba aristocracy in the south-east . 1 The now dwindling Bayanzi, who at one time dominated the carrying trade of the western Congo between Stanley Pool and the Equator, were some twenty years ago the more or less indigenous people along the south or east bank of the Congo from the Kwa-Kasai junction to Irebu. They also dwelt in patches along the north or west bank from about twenty miles north of the Nkenye River to the delta of the Mu- bangi, and up the Mubangi for thirty or forty miles. Allied in language with the real Babangi (seemingly) were the so-called Bayanzi people between the east bank of the Congo and 1 But though the Hamitic or Hima element found a fresh focus of development and influence in the lands between Sankuru and Kasai, it had obviously migrated thither some seven or eight hundred years ago (or earlier) from the countries west of the Victoria Nyanza, and of course ultimately from Galaland or the Nile valley. The place of origin of the Bayanzi has long been a subject of controversy among African authorities. Stanley first reported them in 1877 as being the dominant river people between the Equator and Stanley Pool. He gave their tribal name as “Yanzi” (Byyanzi was often his spelling). The present writer, following him in the western Congo, described them under the same appellation — Yanzi, which was certainly the one employed in his hearing. Comber, Grenfell, and Bentley, on the other hand, adopted (the last-named with some vehemence) the term Bangi (Babangi, Bobangi). Bentley, indeed, asserted that “Yanzi,” “Bayanzi” was a misnomer, a non-existent name due to some mishearing or misunderstanding on the part of Stanley. The present writer, however, can affirm that in 1883 it was the commonest designation of this trading race of the western Upper Congo amongst the Bakongo who came to Stanley Pool, amongst the Bayanzi themselves, and the Babuma of the Kwa River. The Bateke, however, called them Babano. Torday was the first explorer to revive the discredited name Baya?izi. He found this in common use in the regions of the lower Kasai. He and Frobenius, indeed, 11. — D 530 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Lakes Leopold and Ntomba ( Ba-moye , ? Ba-nunu, Bampama , Bangata, Losakani , l and Bokuti , though the Bakuti are also claimed as dwarfs and as an outlying Bangala people). Gren- fell found colonies of Yanzi-speaking people at the mouth of the Lulongo River, and high up its affluent, the Lopori. Gren- fell himself thought they might have reached the main Congo from the east, travelling along the Busira-Juapa. His guess (judging by language indications) is probably nearest to the truth, the only alternative being to regard their origin as taking place from that womb of adventurous Bantu 272. SKULL (MALE) OF NORTH BAMBALA NEGRO (SAME AS NO. 27 1 ) peoples, northern Lubaland, 2 and their migration route west- wards as having followed more or less the Lukenye River or the Kasai. No doubt they may have made a fresh home and centre of activity in the delta of the Mubangi River, from which they came to be known in the westernmost part of their range as Bobangi or Babangi. assisted to clear up the Bayanzi or Babangi mystery by identifying this tribe (under various designations) among the peoples of the lower Kasai basin. “ The Bayanzi,” he says, “extend a long way up the Kasai-Kwilu, and seem, according to Frobenius, to include the Bakonde and Badinga. The best physical types of this race, apparently, are found away from the river banks.” Torday, however, deprecates a hasty conclusion that his “ Bayanzi ” are identical with those of Stanley (dwelling on the main Congo), who are perhaps more correctly styled Bobangi or Baba?igi. 1 According to Stapleton, the Losakani speak a Lolo dialect. 2 The valley of the lower Sankuru. ANTHROPOLOGY 53i A somewhat similar history has no doubt been that of the closely allied Bangala. The universal name now applied to this river people of the northern Congo arises from a European misunderstanding. There is or was a large settlement of this people at Mangala, near the confluence of the Mongala River. From this they derived a generic name which they do not themselves recognize. The Ngala group of peoples owning the common ties of language (with dialectal differences) are the Baloi(?) } Bantoni, and Bampondo of the lower Mubangi, Boloki and Liboko (? and Akula) along the north bank of the main Congo, and the Boloki , Bolombo , Dibululct , Bokumbi , and Mbala of the south bank. Some of these Ngala tribes extend up the lower courses of the Ruki - Busira and the Lulongo. The N gombe people, according to Stapleton, in- habit the inland country behind the Bomangi - Bopoto settlements on the north bank of the northern Conoco. The general term Ngombe (of doubt- ful origin 1 ) includes the Mabali , Bwela, Buja , and perhaps Akula and Baati tribes north of the Congo. They are also met with in separate colonies behind both east and west banks of the lower Mubangi. They are, however, most strongly represented along or behind the south bank of the northern Congo between Irebu in the far west and the Lomami in the far east. They seem to be almost the exclusive inhabi- tants of the long narrow strip of country between the main Congo and the Lopori- Lulongo. As regards Babangi, Bangala, and Ngombe alike, except when rendered hideous by cicatrices or artificial deformations, 1 The designation of “Ngombe” is a difficult problem to solve. Nearly all Congo travellers persist in using the racial name Ngombe as a general designation for this much-scattered tribe. There is more than a suspicion that Ngombe is simply a Swahili and in general a Bantu root for “ high bank,” “ high ground beyond water,” “ interior,” “bush people” ; yet the word seems to have been naturally in use amongst the Bayanzi and Bangala to express the wilder people behind their settlements. 273. SKULL (MALE) OF BAHUANA NEGRO, KWILU RIVER (TORDAY) 532 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the faces of the men are nearly always agreeable, and even handsome, exhibiting no marked prognathism. The women, though generally pleasant-looking, have a lower facial angle. The bodies of the men are almost perfect in proportion — according to a European standard. They sometimes reach the climax of negro beauty, from the sculptural point of view. The women fall away from our European ideal of figure, but they are more comely than the average negress. “ Physically the Bayanzi of the Congo are of a fine appearance. In general their height is above the medium, in some cases considerably 274. SKULL (MALE) OF BAHUANA NEGRO SAME AS NO. 2 73 (TORDAY) so. The body is well set up, the limbs wiry though somewhat slight, the shoulders broad, the chest well built, but the muscles of the arms somewhat poorly developed. The face, slightly flattened, gives them a characteristic physiognomy ; the facial angle is high, the head round, rarely pointed. The beard is thin, and but rarely seen. Chiefs alone wear it on the chin, when it is usually plaited ; with this exception, in favour of members of ruling families, all the Bayanzi, men and women, pluck all the hairs from the face, eyelashes and eyebrows included.” The Ngombe people are (according to Torday) “splendidly built and of an irreproachable frame. It is impossible to imagine beings better formed.” The Bangala and Bapoto might be defined by the same words. It is not until one passes the Rubi confluence with the Congo (going eastwards) that the ANTHROPOLOGY 533 short legs and long arms of the Forest negro begin to affect the handsome proportions of the riverain folk. The Bangala and allied tribes have furnished the State with the best and most faithful of its soldiers. Grenfell writes the following passage illustrating their disposition : — “ Our Bangala are a rowdy lot. Such a time we are having ! Palavers no end. Yet they are a fine lot of people, and should make a niche for them- selves in the history of the Congo. Brave to desperation. . . . Steamer going ahead full speed, over they go to get anything, and not feeling sure we shall stop to pick them up or that they can keep afloat till then. One of our men tackled a six-foot crocodile and caught him ; also wounds enough to cripple him for a mouth.” Amongst the negroid races of the northern Congo, the Manbettu were early singled out for description by Euro- pean Congo ex- plorers. Their geo- graphical distribu- tion has been already indicated in chapter xiv. The territory they occupy is approximately bounded by the second degree of N. Lat. on the south and 4 0 30' on the north, 28° 30' E. Long. (Greenwich) on the east and 27 0 E. Long, on the west. Schweinfurth was the first European to describe them after his discovery of the Wele in 1870. He called them “ Mon- buttu.” Junker made a much longer stay in their country in 1881 and transcribed the name as Mangbattu [Manbettu seems 275. BANGALA PEOPLE (NEW ANTWERP) 534 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO nearest the native pronunciation]. Just before Junker reached the Wele, Munza, the powerful monarch of the Manbettu so graphically depicted by Schweinfurth, had been killed in a fight with the Nubian slave-traders of the Bahr-al-Ghazal. Many princes of the royal house fell at the same time, and the Man- bettu kingdom was dismembered. For some years the Sudanese slave-traders, aided from time to time by the Mahdists, endeavoured to rule Manbettuland through a number of petty chiefs. But the adherents and relatives of Munza kept up a continual guerilla warfare, and by the time the Belgian pioneers came on the scene in the early ’nineties they found the Su- danese slave-traders and Mah- dists expelled, while they were just in time (under Ponthier) to save the remains of the Manbettu from being con- quered by the more powerful and resolute “Arabs ” 1 of Tan- ganyika. The far-reaching rule of Munza was apparently not re- stored by the Belgians in the person of any member of M unza’s dynasty — a dynasty which native tradition carried back for over a hundred years ; but the different clans of the (so- called) Manbettu people have each their independent chief. This is a people obviously of very mixed elements. One or more of the sub-tribes still bear names of possibly Bantu origin, such as the Bangba of north Manbettuland, who recall the Bangba of the central Aruwimi. The serfs are of the average Forest negro type, the nobles and princes obviously of an Ethiopian caste, though not so pronouncedly “ Hamitic” as the Ba-hima or Fula. The skins of the men and women of this aristocracy are a pale olive-brown, the features of the face (in the men especially) are refined, the nose well bridged, though the nostrils are rather broad and spreading. The eyes are large, well shaped, and far apart, the lips are less coarse than those of the average negro. The men grow an ample moustache and a 1 Really, of course, Arabized Manyema for the most part. 276. A BANGALA TYPE ANTHROPOLOGY 535 thick, square beard. Their bodies tend to be rather hairy ; their proportions are good, though the stature is not exception- ally tall, as it is amongst the Ba-hima. This ruling caste of the Manbettu is endowed with an intelli- gence and judgment which few Africans possess. Their word is to be relied on, and their friendship is lasting. The Sudanese slave and ivory traders who dwelt among them at the time of Sch weinfurth’s visit had not enough pane- gyrics to praise the constancy of their affec- tion, their military ex- cellence, their skill, and their bravery. Their industries are comparatively highly developed : as potters, carvers, and boat- builders, they have no rivals in all this region. But it is above all in the art of building that their knowledge and competency display themselves. In the size, arrangement, and richness of their deco- ration, their dwellings are superior to all those described by travellers in Central Africa. The great hall of the palace of Munza depicted by Schwein- furth was ninety-three feet long by forty-six and a half broad, and thirty-nine feet high. In shape it recalled a European railway station ; its vault rested on three rows of columns of glossy wood richly ornamented and full of taste. Among the Manbettu the chiefs enjoy prerogatives far more extended than those of the Nyamnyam. To the ivory monopoly they formerly united a revenue of regular contribu- tions, levied on the products of the earth. Besides their body- guard, they had a considerable number of attendants. Munza 277. A WOMAN OF THE NORTHERN NGOMBE TYPE FROM NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BOPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO 536 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO never left his residence without being accompanied by a suite of many hundreds, armed with pure copper lances, glittering in the sun, and he was always preceded by a file of drums, and by trumpeters and runners beating iron bells. As a dialect of the Manbettu language is spoken by the Pygmies north of the Aruwimi, and another dialect by the Mabode and again by the “ Mombutu ” (if there is any real distinction between “ Mombutu ” and Manbettu), and as there is a very slight resemblance in word roots between Manbettu and the lan- guages of the Ndonga (upper Rubi River) and of the Bamanga 278. BANGALA PEOPLE OF THE UPPER CONGO, NORTH SHORE (between Stanley Falls and the Lindi River) : this Manbettu or Mombutu language group may be the characteristic speech of a north-east Congoland congeries of negroes, and not the introduced language of the Ethiopian aristocracy which domi- nates the Manbettu country. The Nyamnyam are divided into a number of tribes. The two more universal native designations seem to be Makarka and Azande. The principal tribal designations are given in chapter xiv., and in some cases may have been originally Bantu, the names, still lingering in the land, of Bantu peoples conquered and assimilated by the Nyamnyam. Amongst the chiefs there is a physical type predominating ANTHROPOLOGY 537 which is decidedly negroid rather than negro, and recalls the Abyssinian or Gala : in fact, is Ethiopian, and of the same source as the Hima aristocracy of Uganda, and possibly of Manbettu-land. But it is a great mistake to class all the Nyam- nyam people as negroid. The bulk of them are of the average Sudan negro type, which is a varying degree of intermixture between Forest negro and Nilotic, with an oc- casional suggestion of Congo Pygmy or Hot- tentot. The same de- scription applies to the Nsakara, who may be related linguistically to the Nyamnyam, or yet again may be semi- Bantu. Thus the basin of the Congo, as the reader will have perceived from this review, is inhabited al- most entirely by the negro species in more or less typical form, tinged in many parts by the Cau- casian races of north- eastern Africa. But there is a slight infiltration of European blood in the extreme south-west and along the Congo coast-line between Angola and Luango. This very slight element 279. ilua, the pilot of the mission steamers, of the white man is due a mongata from the western equatorial to ancient and modern are aiiw th« Ba y a„zi and the Baioio.) Portuguese intermixture with the coast negroes, with here and there a slight infusion of Dutch and French blood, and possibly a few descendants of British bluejackets about Kabinda. This tinge of the western Caucasian is very slight indeed, but yet has sensibly modified the features and complexions of the coast people. It has given a commerce and agriculture is making for them a notable position in the development of Portuguese Africa. Races like these traders of Ambaka, distinctly tinged with the blood of the old Portuguese Conquistadores, have penetrated across the Kwango into the Lunda countries ; and Portuguese half-castes during the last two centuries have influenced the blood and appearance of the ruling families in the western part of the now disintegrated Lunda empire. 538 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO fuller beard to the men here and there, and prettier features and lighter complexions to the women. Penetrating inland from St. Paul de Loanda up the Kwanza River to Ambaka, it has created the caste of the Ambaquistas : well-educated Portuguese-speaking negroes, whose energy in 280. A GROUP OF MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN OF THE BWELA COUNTRY BETWEEN THE MOTIMA AFFLUENT OF THE MONGALA AND THE NORTHERN CONGO ANTHROPOLOGY 539 In the eastern part of Congoland there is a slight infusion of the Arab, and even of the Dravidian ; 1 but the Arab type that founded — or just failed to found — a huge Muhammadan state between Tanganyika and the Lomami was already so infused with negro blood in most instances as not to produce by its intermixture with native women anything like a half-caste type. There are of course a few Arabs of the Oman race [which is physically related to the Armenian and Persian, with a long, long nose, a spare habit of body, a yellowish skin, and full beard]. As at Zanzibar, so in the heart of Central Africa, all degrees of intermixture between Arab and negro have resulted in a remarkably fine cross, so far as physical development and intelligence are con- cerned. A great many different estimates have been put forward durinor the last twenty-five years as to the total population of the Conoco Free State. o Stanley in 1885 placed the total (on very little evidence) at 30,000,000. The district of the Lower Congo under Bel- gian rule (which we might consider to be bounded on the north and east by the Kwa- Kwango rivers) probably contains in all 400,000 people. The Central Congo , bounded by the Congo on the north, the Lomami on the east, and the Kasai- Sankuru on the south, has undoubtedly been much depopulated by the foolish or criminal policy of the concessionnaire companies and the administration of the Crown Domain, and the population in the northern part of this central region may have undergone a marked 1 In the ’fifties, ’sixties, and ’seventies of the last century, numerous Baluch traders, soldiers, or adventurers penetrated inland from Zanzibar with Arab caravans. They represented a tall, rather handsome, light-skinned, very hairy type of northern Dravidian, the Dravidian element which is mixed with the eastern race of Mediter- ranean man. These Baluch adventurers were greatly admired by the native women for their full beards and handsome features, and begat such a numerous progeny in the regions east and south-west of Tanganyika as to have left a distinct trace in the modern population. 281. BAYANZI SKULL (MALE) FROM MBONGO, NEAR BOLOBO, WESTERN CONGO (Collected by Sir Harry Johnston.) 540 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO diminution since the assumption of European control (though probably quite as many people have lost their lives through sleeping sickness as through atrocities, raids, punitive expedi- tions, and that incessant deportation of children to centres of education, on the plea of their being orphans). In this vast region of the Central Congo there are, in the riverain district at the back of Bolobo, about 300,000 people, about 2,500,000 in the Equatorial district, including the western basin of the Lomami, and about 1,500,000 in the Lake Leopold II district and the adjacent territories down to the Kasai-Sankuru and up to the Lomami. In the region between the Kwango and the Kasai there is a population approximately of 700.000. Between the Kasai, San- kuru, Lomami, and, on the south, the Zambezi water- shed, there may be as many as 1.000. 000. Ka- tanga , construed in its largest geo- graphical sense as being all the re- gion of the upper Lualaba, has not perhaps more than 500,000 peo- ple, if as many. Between the west coast of Tanganyika and the upper Lomami, across the Lualaba , there has been much depopulation owing to sleeping sickness, small pox, military mutinies, and old Arab raids. In all this considerable stretch of territory there cannot be more than about 1,250,000 inhabitants. There are another million between the River Lindi on the north, the Anglo-German frontier on the east, and the Lomami on the west. Probably the Northern tei'ritories of the Congo are the best peopled, just as (outside the area of the rubber concessions) they show the clearest proofs of benefit derived from White adminis- tration. In this region, bounded by the Mubangi-Mbomu and the Congo-Nile water-parting on the north, by the main Congo 282. SKULL OF A MALE MUYANZI, OF THE EASTERN TYPE, FROM THE KWILU RIVER, S.W. CONGOLAND (TORDAY COLLECTION) ANTHROPOLOGY 54i and Aruwimi-Ibina on the south, there are quite 6,000,000 people (excluding the population of the Lado Enclave). Adding to these calculations an approximate 350,000 to cover the purely riverain population of the main Congo- Lualaba, between Stanley Pool and the junction of the Lualaba and Lukuga, we arrive at a total sum of 15,500,000 as the probably correct estimate of the present native population in the Congo Free State. Stanley assumed that the banks of the Congo between Stanley Falls and Stanley Pool were densely peopled. But his estimates undoubtedly were exaggerated. Writing in 1902, Grenfell expressed himself as follows : — “The difficulty of ob- taining food from the na- tives is hardly credible to those who regard the Congo banks as populous and fertile ; if they were more populous they could easily be made productive. As things are at present, steamers going down to the Pool have to shorten their stay to the fewest possible days on account of the difficulty experi- enced in feedin g their crews, and after leaving the Pool, nothing or next to nothing is to be ob- tained for the first 180 miles. The great lack is that of people to cultivate the ground. After carefully counting the houses in the villages on the banks of the river, and allowing a very full average for the inhabitants of each house, it is perfectly clear that there are not more than 125.000 people in the villages and towns along the 980 miles of waterway. The great necessity of the Congo, as of all African colonies, is people for its development. We know there are many places in the Congo State where the population is much more dense than on the river banks, but nowhere else are people of such advantage to the Government or to commerce as they would be if settled on the banks of the great central waterway of the continent. A policy which made the river banks to be more desired by the people than the interior would best serve the interests of the State, and would help forward at a greatly quickened pace the opening up and civili- zation of the country.” 542 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Statements have appeared, I am told, to the effect that the native population along the banks of the main Congo was reduced to a little over a thousand, and so forth. There is a good deal of missionary testimony to the effect that the riverain peoples have diminished considerably since 1885, but probably Grenfell’s estimate of 125,000 in 1902 is equally true of the present day. Lord Mountmorres pointed out that between Stanley’s first detailed impressions of the Upper Congo and the period of note-taking on the part of later explorers had ensued the disastrous raids of Tipu-Tipu and the Arabs (often alluded to by Grenfell), resulting in the practical anni- hilation of the indige- nous population along the river banks be- tween Stanley Falls and the mouth of the Aruwimi, while un- doubtedly the Arabs caused much loss of life amongst the na- tives up and down the unfortunate Lomami River. We also know, according to Grenfell’s testimony, that the Arabs or their Man- yema slaves practi- cally wiped out the indigenous population of the upper Aruwimi and Ituri. It seems, however, to be the case that the riverain popula- tion along the Upper Congo between Bolobo and New Antwerp has increased of late. This is not observable to those who travel on steamers, because steamers usually follow the right or north bank; but to anyone who explores the Upper Congo in a native canoe and follows more closely the left or southern bank, the riverain population is a large one, especially as this is the better fishing-ground. To this Grenfell in various notes has drawn attention, as also to the great increase in population during recent years on the Aruwimi and the lower Mubangi. As to the Aruwimi, Lord Mountmorres (and he is con- firmed by other travellers) states that the banks of this river (at any rate in its lower portion) are now so densely populated 284. SKULL OF LOWER CONGO NEGRO (MALE), PROBABLY FROM BOMA Collected by Captain Fishburn, r.n., Congo Expedition, 1816. 285. A BOLOBO CHIEF (EKWAYULU) AND HIS WIVES AND SON Examples of the mixed aboriginal and Bayanz population of the banks of the Western Congo between Stanley Pool and Lukolela. U3RARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS II. — E ANTHROPOLOGY 545 that one may travel past an almost unbroken succession of villages, while in the valley of the Wele, in regions described by Schweinfurth as being no more populated than Siberia, this last-named traveller passed for days either along rivers or roads through a country so densely populated that there appeared to be no open land in the immediate neighbourhood sufficient to support a further increase. This dense population appears to extend from the middle Mubangi-Wele right across the Banza country to the lower reaches of that great river. In these lands 286. INQUISITIVE BAPOTO PEOPLE, NORTHERN CONGO one may march for a week without ever being out of sound of human habitation. There is also a distinct rise in the population now stated to be occurring in the countries of the middle Lualaba and in Manyemaland. Sleeping sickness here seems to be diminish- ing in its ravages, while the beneficent work of the railway construction has attracted large numbers of labourers, who get good pay and good food, and consequently settle down near the river with their families. On the other hand, between the Lomami and Kasai the shocking ravages of the Zappo-Zaps still continue, according to the statements of American missionaries. Various travelling missionaries have computed that within 546 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the central basin of the Congo there has been a loss of not less than half a million people between 1894 and 1907, due to loss of life through punitive expeditions, deportation to other districts, sleeping sickness, and other maladies and epidemics caused indirectly by neglect of agriculture and extreme shortage of food supply. A good deal of labour has also been deported from this region, either as conscripts for the army or as State labourers. The people thus taken away from the regions of the centre seldom or never return to their homes even when free to do so, as they prefer to settle in the west or north, out of the range of concessionnaire companies or the special administration of the vast Crown Domain. 287. A CHIEF OF THE BWELA PEOPLE, NORTHERN CONGO CHAPTER XXII NATIVE DISEASES T HE most prominent diseases among the Congo negroes and the most fatal are sleeping sickness , smallpox , dysentery , malarial fever , and pneumonia. It is fairly certain from the Arab records of Western Nigeria that some form of sleeping sickness was known there about the twelfth century of the present era, and that several notabilities died of this sleeping disease. It was certainly heard of in sporadic cases on the Gambia, at Sierra Leone, and in the western part of Liberia between about 1785 and 1840. Between 1820 and 1870 it occurred with some fre- quency in the coast region of Liberia. It is not by any means extinct in that country yet. The Mandingo trader whose portrait appears as a frontispiece to my book on Liberia, and who travelled with me on the St. Paul’s River in 1904, died of sleeping sickness at the end of 1905. Winwood Reade alludes to the disease as one that is well known on the West Coast of Africa. This would be about the middle of the ’sixties of the last century. The present writer heard a good deal about the sleeping sickness when he first visited the Congo in 1882-3, but the disease appar- ently did not exist then east of Stanley Pool. One only heard of cases on the north and south banks of the Congo between Matadi and the sea. The opening up of the Congo by Stanley’s expedition and other agencies seems to have carried sleeping sickness on to the upper reaches of that river, from which it rapidly spread to all parts of the Congo basin, making a special nidus in the Ituri Forest on the north-east and on the upper Aruwimi (I quote from information given me in 1900 by Swahili traders and intelligent natives coming from those regions). Emin Pasha’s Sudanese when they settled down in the Lendu country to the west of Lake Albert seem to have become infected with the disease. A portion of these troops was moved somewhat rapidly into Busoga, the district of the 547 548 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Uganda Protectorate which is on the opposite bank of the Victoria Nile to the kingdom of Uganda. After the Sudanese troops of Lugard’s recruiting had thoroughly settled down in Busoga, sleeping sickness began very slowly to develop. Possibly its spread was checked by the convulsions and dis- placement of population occurring during the Uganda mutiny. The present writer first heard of cases of sleeping sickness [which reminded him of those met with many years before on the Congo] in the early spring of 1901, when visiting the coast of Busoga and the island of Buvuma. Since that date the history of this disease in the Uganda Protectorate is too well known to recapitulate. But what deserves special attention at this moment is the appalling ravages of sleeping sickness in the western part of the Congo basin, as reported by travellers like Torday and Frobenius and by numerous missionaries. It seems to be kill- ing out sections of the Bayaka on the Kwango River. In some of these districts it would almost seem as though sleep- ing sickness had returned , as though somewhere in the Congo basin this disease had acquired a new, a sudden, and very serious virulence. I cannot recall any traditions or recorded history of the West Coast of Africa from the Senegal to the Congo mouth in which any serious epidemic of sleeping sickness is mentioned. Through the centuries which have elapsed since Arabized negroes inscribed the history of the Muhammadan Mandingo kingdoms round the sources of the Niger, sleeping sickness has been a known disease, occurring sporadically here and there, but never to such an extent as to create widespread alarm or serious depopulation. It scarcely bore this devastat- ing character even in the early ’eighties, when it affected the Lower Congo. Indeed the records of the Baptist Mission at San Salvador, etc., would seem to show that sleeping sickness has come back there from the east, from the inland basin of the Congo, and is afflicting the country far worse than it did in the ’sixties and ’seventies. The matter is really becoming very urgent for those who take an interest in the commercial development of Africa, as the spread of the disease is attaining such proportions as may almost end in the de- population of the Congo basin and of the Uganda Pro- tectorate, while the extension of the malady into British Central Africa and the Egyptian Sudan is also a matter of concern. The area of sleeping sickness certainly seems to be limited by the range of one or more species of tsetse NATIVE DISEASES 549 fly that do not care about parts of Africa without heavy rainfall and abundant vegetation, and it may be that where these forms of tsetse cannot live no other agency may be present to transmit the trypanosomes from the blood of infected human beings to the veins of other people not yet inoculated. Sleeping sickness is “a human tsetse fly disease .” 1 How it started is a mystery as much unsolved as the original incep- tion of most other diseases. It is due to a trypanosome 2 — possibly Trypanosoma gambiense — passing from the blood of an infected human being into the cerebro-spinal fluid. From the moment these micro-organisms enter the spinal marrow, and thence the brain, death is almost certain, after a more or less lengthy period of increasing somnolence. The trypanosomes which cause this 'disease are conveyed to the blood of human beings by one agency only (so far as we know) — the Glossina palpalis fly, in one or more varieties. They multiply rapidly, and their presence in the blood causes a peculiar fever, “ trypanosomiasis.” Removed from further sources of infection and treated with proper remedies for expelling the trypanosomes from the blood, the sick person recovers ; but if the case be not treated promptly the organisms will make their way into the spinal marrow and sleeping sick- ness sets in. The fly which acts as the principal if not the only agent of transmission in conveying these trypanosomes to the human system — the Glossina palpalis — has at present a range extend- 1 Further Report on Sleeping Sickness , by Lt.-Col. D. Bruce, Dr. A. Nabarro, and Captain Greig. 2 The genus Trypanosoma is a micro-organism of the class Flagellata , sub- kingdom Protozoa. The flagellates are mobile cells very similar in shape and move- ments to the spermatozoa of the higher animals ( Metazoa ), to the male element in life. Apparently, to pass completely through all their life stages and be able to reproduce sexually instead of by fission, they enter the digestive organs of a gnat, a fly, some other insect, or possibly a tick. This insect host conveys the multiplied trypanosomes into the blood of the creatures it sucks, and in doing so receives apparently more germs for maturing and redistributing. The genus Trypanosoma has a terrible record as a devastating agency among vertebrates. Trypanosoma evansii is the cause of the “ surra ” disease among cattle, sheep, goats, antelopes in India ; T. bruceiis the germ of the “nagana” or tsetse disease among cattle and horses in Africa ; T. rongete produces the “ dourine” malady in horses, dogs, and rodents in Hungary, the Mediterranean basin, and Spanish America ; in the last-named region T. equinum imparts the “caderas” or falling sickness to horses, mules, and many other mammals ; T. iheileri is the origin of a bad cattle disease in the Transvaal. According to Dr. Marcus Hartog of the Cambridge Natural History , another flagellate, nearly allied to Trypanosoma — Treponema — is, in different species, respon- sible for syphilis, relapsing fever, and that terrible African skin disease the “ yaws ” (- Fratnbaesia ). The transmitting agent in Indian relapsing fever seems to be the head louse ; in Africa it is a tick [which is not an insect, but an arachnid]. A tick also seems to communicate the yaws from one negro to another. 550 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO in g from the Senegal and Gambia to the Bahr-al-Ghazal, the eastern shore of the Victoria Nyanza, and the west coast of Lake Rudolph up to the River Omo. Southwards it ap- parently covers the whole Congo basin up to Tanganyika and the Zambezi watershed. 1 In Angola it develops a local variety — G. palpalis wellmani , discovered by Dr. F. C. Wellman near Benguela. Benguela, so far, is the southernmost limit of the sleeping disease on the Angola coast. The appearance of Glossina palpalis is sufficiently indicated in the accompanying illustrations, which I have been permitted to publish by the trustees of the British Museum and which are adapted from Mr. Engel Terzi’s illustrations to Mr. E. E. Austen’s monograph. The smaller figure is approximately life size with wings folded over back, the position as- sumed by the fly when at rest. It is never seen (un- like the house fly) with separated wings except when 288. GLOSSINA PALPALIS : THE TSETSE FLY THAT 111 A^^t. CARRIES THE TRYPANOSOME OF SLEEPING SICKNESS The general colour is darkish brown. The veins of the wings are brown, the back of the abdomen is blackish brown, the back of the thorax ash-grey with dark brown ocelli and markings. It is altogether a much darker fly in coloration than the other species of Glossina , and perhaps the smallest in size. I have mentioned that sleeping sickness was known in Angola and along the Lower Congo in the middle of the 1 My information is mainly derived from the monograph of the Tsetse Flies by E. E. Austen published by the British Museum Trustees in 1903, and the later pamphlet of Mr. Austen on the Distribution of Tsetse Flies issued in 1905 by the Royal Society. In his earlier monograph Mr. Austen identifies tsetse flies caught by Sir John Kirk on the (? Central) Zambezi circa i860 as Glossina palpalis trachinoides , but apparently abandoned this definition subsequently in defining the limits of the “sleeping-sickness fly.” Palpalis , however, does extend to the south-eastern parts of the Congo basin, and already sleeping sickness has made its appearance in the northern parts of British Central Africa. NATIVE DISEASES 55i nineteenth century. It seemed to lessen in frequency after about 1870, but reappeared again at the close of the century in the kingdom of Kongo (San Salvador) and in southern Angola, coming from the north-east. At the same time — between 1892 and 1898 — it spread rapidly eastwards from a centre on the Kwa or lower Kasai, reaching the Nile watershed on the north-east and the west coast of Tanganyika on the east. Thousands — perhaps hundreds of thousands — of negroes have died of it since 1895 along the main course of the Congo and Mubangi, up the Kasai, on the Lualaba-Congo and along the west coast of Tanganyika. As related on p. 547, it seems to have reached Lake Albert along the courses of the Aruwimi and Wele-Mubangi, passing from the head waters of these rivers to the Lendu country where Emin Pasha’s Sudanese were settled. It infected their Lendu slaves and followers, and thus was transported in the subsequent movements of the troops to Busoga and Uganda. On the main Congo itself the disease does not appear to have been a complete novelty. According to the researches of Father De Vos, a Belgian missionary, it was known traditionally among the Bayanzi-Babangi as a disease once prevalent among them on the banks of the lower Kasai. It reappeared in this region ten to fifteen years ago. Torday states that “the right and left banks of the Congo eastwards as far as Nouvelle Anvers (Bangala) and the Mubangi as far as the highlands near the Grenfell Falls may be regarded as centres of infection : here the disease is endemic. There is a great deal of sleeping sickness, called Tol\ amongst the Bahuana along the banks of the great Kwilu River. Persons taken with this disease are rubbed violently with manioc leaves.” Among the Balolo, Ngombe, and Bangala, sleeping sickness is called the disease from the sky, “ Bokono na Likolo.” “ When a native,” writes Father Heymans, “attacked by this illness or some other, is on the point of death, he is made to sit on a mat stretched on the ground, and his back is supported by two sticks, fixed vertically in the ground. After that, the whole body of the sick man is covered with “ ngola,” a colouring material of a bright red, extracted from a tree of the same name. That done, they quietly prepare before his eyes the numerous mats destined to bury him.” Holman Bentley, writing in 1899, refers to sleeping sickness as a disease which appears and disappears from time to time. He wrote of course unaware of the Trypanosoma and Glossina explanation, which was not to be made known until four years 552 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO later, 1 but he guesses at the cause being a blood parasite and the transmitting agency a blood-sucking insect. At the same time he discusses the theory [also advanced by other authorities in Uganda] that the disease may be conveyed from one person to another by infected saliva. He instances the great mortality from sleeping sickness occurring among parties of natives who eat out of the same bowl and drink from the same gourd or vessel (putting their fingers into their mouths, and then into the food receptacle). He refers to the “terrible mortality ” at the American Baptist mission stationat Banza Manteke about 1892-3, attributed to the administration of the Communion to a large number of Christian natives, fifty to sixty per cent of whom died. The natives throughout the Lower Congo believe in the contagion of sleeping sickness through the mouth ; but of course this theory of infection may be explained by proximity on these occasions of meals and festivals; the mur- derous tsetse fly passes from one body to another transmitting the trypanosomes. Grenfell in the later years of his life advanced the theory that the best foe for combating the tsetse flies was a species of heron. This bird he once wounded and placed in his boat. He was surprised to see it, even though scared and in pain, dili- gently picking the tsetse flies off the legs of the native boat- men. He subsequently noted how this type of bird (unfortu- nately he gives no clear indication of the genus) snapped at flies as it strode along the river banks. The small white herons 1 The history of sleeping-sickness research is herewith summarized from articles in the British Medical Journal , May and November 1903. Four stages in the development of knowledge with regard to the relation of trypanosomes to disease may be distinguished : (1) The recognition of a trypanosome in the blood of a mammal (rat) by Dr. Timothy Lewis in India in 1877 ; (2) the dis- covery in 1880 by Griffith Evans in the Panjab of a trypanosome in the blood of horses, mules, and camels suffering from a disease well known under the name of surra in India, and the demonstration by Sir David Bruce in 1896 that the nagana or fly disease of horses, cattle, and some wild animals in South-East Africa (Zululand) was in truth carried by a biting fly ( Glossina ), and that the infective agent carried was a trypanosome, since appropriately named T. brucei ; (3) the discovery by Forde in the blood of man of a trypanosome fully described by Dutton (T. gatnbiense ), and the recognition by (Sir Patrick) Manson and others that the presence of the trypanosome in the blood in man caused fever and certain other more or less characteristic symp- toms ; (4) the proof afforded by the researches of Dr. Castellani (in Uganda) in 1902-3 and of Colonel (Sir David) Bruce and Lady Bruce, Dr. Nabarro and Captain Greig, I.M.S., in 1903 that the trypanosome finds its way into the cerebro-spinal fluid (as stated by Dr. Castellani) and that when it does so it produces sleeping sickness ; and finally (5) that the parasite is carried to man by a biting fly which is a species of the same genus, Glossina , as that which carries the trypanosome of nagana to cattle. The fly which carries sleeping sickness is Glossina palpalis , that which carries nagana Glossina tnorsitans. They are so much alike that without care the one may easily be mistaken for the other, yet the limitation of sleeping sickness to the area in which Glossina palpalis occurs appears to prove conclusively that its congener does not harbour the trypanosome of sleeping sickness. NATIVE DISEASES 553 (. Bubulcus ) and the Squacco heron ( Ardeola ) have been observed by the present writer in Central Africa to live mainly on insects, and to frequent the herds of cattle or buffalo in order to pick the flies off their flanks and limbs. If it could be established that they made a special attack on the tsetse, then they should be protected and encouraged till they swarmed over tropical Africa. The disease next in rank to trypanosomiasis as a depopu- lator of the Congo basin (and much else of Africa) is smallpox , which, so far as the Congo regions are concerned, is of relatively recent introduction, perhaps not having reached this part of Africa till the beginning of the nineteenth century, when it penetrated inland from Angola. Smallpox is said to have originated in Asia, and to have been known there from remote antiquity. Procopius and Gregory of Tours (550-600 a.d.) probably make the earliest references to its existence (from a European point of view), and mention its occurring in epidemic form in Arabia, Egypt, and southern Europe. Noldeke 1 in dealing with the history of Persian movements in Arabia, Abyssinia, etc., states that in a raid made by the Abyssinians against Mekka about 550 a.d. the raiders contracted smallpox there. They may have carried it back with them into North-East Africa. The disease was really made prevalent in Europe by the Crusades, and was already established in England by the thirteenth century. By the eleventh century at any rate it had become known in the valley of the Niger, and two or three hundred years afterwards it commenced its ravages on the East Coast of Africa. The Portuguese introduced it into Angola and the Lower Congo, but it does not seem to have penetrated the vast inner basin of that river till perhaps a hundred years ago. It first got a hold of the Lunda Empire, brought thither of course by overland trade with Angola. It had become well established on the banks of the main Congo long before the arrival of Europeans thirty years ago. Arab caravans carried it across East Africa and the region of the Great Lakes to the Manyema country and the Lualaba- Congo. It has already been noticed how Grenfell’s journey with the Portuguese Commissioners through the Lunda kingdoms to the Kasai in 1892-3 was baulked of its completion by an epidemic 1 Geschichte der Perser , etc., Leyden, 1879. See on this subject Encyclopedia Britannicu , Vol. XXII, ninth edition. 554 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO of smallpox that decimated their caravan. Before and since that period, smallpox frequently ravaged Bolobo and other mission settlements on the main river. In fact, from the ex- periences recorded by Grenfell and other Baptist missionaries, 1 and those only too deeply engraved on the memory of the present writer (who in earlier days in East and South-East Africa again and again had his journeys threatened with com- plete disaster by outbreaks of smallpox amongst the native por- ters), it is evident that smallpox between its introduction by the Abyssinians or Arabs about thirteen hundred years ago and the present day must have been a considerable factor in keeping down the population of Africa. It is probably not an exaggeration to say that in some instances small tribal communities have been completely wiped out by this disease ; but it would seem to be assuming now a slightly less virulent and deadly form. Of course the negro takes readily to vaccination, the idea and theory of which appeal strongly to his therapeutics. If anti- vaccinationists in England desire conviction as to the general beneficence of the results of injection of vaccine, they should visit those regions in Africa infested by smallpox, and watch the extraordinary immunity which attends vaccination, and the way in which this disease is by that means becoming slowly extirpated. Dysentery , according to Grenfell, is most prevalent — of all parts of the Congo basin — in the north-eastern districts, between the Rubi River on the west and the Maiko River on the east. It is a very common disease in the valley of the Aruwimi and in the Ababua country and along the course of the upper Wele. In 1890 the outbreak of dysentery on the lower Aruwimi was so disastrous to black and white alike as to lead to temporary abandonment of Belgian posts along that river. Basoko station at the Aruwimi confluence has had an unenviable notoriety for this disease. The Rev. Lawson Forfeitt asserts that dysentery must be communicable on the Congo by other vehicles than water, to account for its attacking white people in spite of their observing the most elaborate precautions in regard to drinking and cooking water. Beri-beri , a disease described medically as “a specific form of multiple peripheral neuritis,” was introduced into the region of the Lower Congo about 1892, apparently direct from 1 The Baptist missionaries at Yakusu reported that the Babango (Bango-Bango) tribe beyond the Basoko west of the Aruwimi confluence had recently been extermi- nated in a smallpox epidemic. NATIVE DISEASES 555 the West Indies, 1 but it may also be from the Guinea Coast, where beri-beri had existed for a longer period, though equally derived from tropical America. Beri-beri is slowly spreading inland from the Congo cataract region, where between 1892 and 1896 it developed into a veritable plague. Originally a disease of Eastern Asia, of great antiquity, it found a special nidus in Japan, say a hundred years ago. From the Philippines and Japan it spread across the Pacific to tropical America and the West Indies, and thence to West Africa. From Ceylon it travelled westward to Mauritius, Madagascar, and the East African coast. It is now engaged in crossing tropical Africa from both sides of the continent, so that the unfortunate negro may be afflicted with another cruel malady. The germs of malarial fever have been in the negro’s veins from a remote period, no doubt, and this disease is one that in a sense he has survived and grown used to. Nevertheless the negro in the Congo basin as elsewhere suffers much from malarial fever — less within the area or climatic conditions to which his tribe has become habituated, much, however, if he is moved to a part of Africa to which he is not physically accustomed. These remarks apply still more to that intensification of malarial poisoning which we know as “ black- water fever” (. Hcemoglobinurid ). Ordinarily this last terrible disease is not met with among negroes residing in their native land, but if they are transported rapidly, as by steamer or rail, to a new country (such as from Uganda across the Victoria Nyanza to Usukuma, or from east Tanganyika to the northern Congo), they may fall ill with black-water fever, not, however, so severely as a European. In a general way Hcemoglobinuria is very rare among Congo negroes, ordinary malarial fever very common. Pneumonia is a widespread and very fatal disease in all Central Africa, amongst negroes as amongst white men. Pleurisy is recorded by Torday as a malady in south-west Congoland. Syphilis — of relatively recent introduction — is commoner in the west, east, and south than in the centre and north ; and among the riverain populations of the main Congo rather than the tribes removed from this great artery of travel. Syphilis in all probability was unknown in these regions till the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, when Europeans — Dutch and Portuguese — introduced it into Angola and the Lower Congo. It spread thence to the Lunda Empire, but 1 By West Indian negroes engaged for railway construction work. 556 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO obtained no great hold. 1 About i860 it had reached the Manyema people from Tanganyika in the train of the Zanzibar Arabs. About the same period the Nyamnyam became infected from the Sudanese (Arab, Nubian) slave- traders of the Bahr-al-Ghazal. But the disease did not appreciably affect the population till the European laid bare the Congo mysteries in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Then the Zanzibaris introduced by Stanley’s ex- peditions and the Swahili-speaking followers of the Arabs between them spread the infection of syphilis along the banks of the Lualaba-Congo, between the Lukuga confluence in the east and Stanley Pool on the west. The Congo State authorities accentuated the evil by herding together in villages and settlements the liberds — prisoners of war, released slaves, State workers — in the manner described in chapter XX. In some districts along the main Congo and Kasai the missionaries consider the ravages of syphilis so serious that in their opinion the State, to prevent depopulation or deteriora- tion among the Congo peoples, should make and enforce laws against adultery. Leprosy and elephantiasis 2 exist throughout the Congo basin, though not so commonly as in eastern Equatorial Africa. Bentley 3 and Whitehead 4 record in the western basin of the Congo goitre , scrofula , ophthalmia , scarlet fever , “a disease like measles ,” malarial ulcers [from which the people suffer terribly, especially in the cataract region], yaws [Frambcesia ), craw-craw [a terrible itch or skin disease, ? Impetigo\ hydrocele , inflammation of the bladder, piles, rheuma- tism, sciatica , “ ainhum? a Gold Coast disease leading to amputation of the toes, asthma, bronchitis, dropsy, mumps , epilepsy, hernia, disorders of the womb, leuco derma (a whitening of the skin of hands, lips, etc.), paralysis, and insanity : a list to which the present writer can add whooping-cough, which he has observed among the Bateke and Bakongo. So that what with the ills the white man has introduced, those common to all mankind, and those specially evolved on the African soil, the natives of the Congo have their full share of physical suffering. As regards their ideas of medicine, remedies, surgery ; they 1 “The Bahuana and the Bayaka attribute the introduction of syphilis in the Kwango- Kasai territories to the Ba-mbala people, who brought it from the south or south-east.” (Torday.) 2 “Elephantiasis is very prevalent in the fishing villages of the northern Congo.” (Lord Mountmorres.) 3 Dictio?iary and Grammar of the Kongo Language: Rev. W. Holman Bentley, d.d. 4 Bobangi Grammar and Dictionary : Rev. John Whitehead. NATIVE DISEASES 557 commence in the almost brute instinct of the Pygmies, who have found here and there among roots, leaves, seeds, or animal fats substances beneficial and healing. The Pygmies, however, have, little idea of surgery. The races above them in culture will combine with a genuine and ancient knowledge of drugs, or a treatment of disease by massage or sudorifics, a vast deal of empiricism, “magic,” mesmerism, and faith-healing. Some of these methods and practices are described in chapter XXV, where they trench on religious beliefs. Manioc leaves are much employed in the native pharma- copoeia, owing to the prussic acid they contain. Oddly enough, though the castor -oil plant grows over much of the Congo basin, its oil is never used as a laxative, only as a lubricant for the skin. Charcoal, burnt banana-stems, decoctions of the bark of many different trees or of leaves steeped in boiling water ; palm oil, the oils of certain nuts, such as Coula edztlis , the kola nut, macerated roots (? Strychnos , Cassia , etc. etc.), Strophan- thus seed, are amongst the materia medica of more or less rational application internally or externally. Enemata are in- jected into the lower bowel by means of a narrow-necked gourd. Hot fomentations are applied to swellings, rheumatic pains, and strains. A medicinal hot bath is usually administered as follows : A hole is dug in the floor of a house, and the sides are plastered with clay and lined with banana leaves. Into this extempore bath (an excellent and simple construction) boiling water is poured mixed with medicinal herbs. The idea of the “ Turkish ” bath is quite familiar to them. They keep up a roasting fire in a hut which is often crammed with people till the patient has sweated profusely . 1 Massage with both hands and feet is much in vogue (and most beneficially applied) for severe indigestion, rheumatism, sprains, lumbago, headache, fever, and faintness. A broken arm is set in rude splints of bark. For a broken leg, the man or woman is made to recline, the leg is straightened, and splints applied. Earth is then heaped over the whole limb, and the patient remains immobile till the bone is set. As sick nurses these Congo negroes often display to each other much kindness, patience, and unselfishness. 1 Vide my River Congo , p. 274. CHAPTER XXIII ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS OR MUTILATIONS OF THE BODY; DRESS, ETC. C OMPLETE absence of clothing amongst men is a relatively rare trait among the Congo races, compared, that is, to Eastern Equatorial Africa and Central Zambezia. References to its occurrence are noticed here and there in this book in connection with the geographical distribu- tion of peoples and idiosyncrasies, and can be located through the index. 1 Absolute nudity in the female is far more common in the northern half of the Congo basin. The nudity of women at Bopoto in 1886 was complete. In February 1890, though 1 It has already been mentioned in this record that Grenfell found the natives above 3 0 N. Lat. on the lower Mubangi practically nude, men perhaps more than women. Nudity in women occurs far more frequently in West Africa than with men. A total absence of clothing or sense of decency on the part of male negroes is particularly characteristic of the Nilotic group, and by no means goes in conjunction with a low or degraded condition, either of physical, mental, or moral development. Many of the Nilotic negroes from the White Nile to the Zanzibar coast-lands are strongly impregnated with Caucasian (Hamitic) blood, but the almost universal characteristic of them — at any rate ten years ago, before they came within the influence of European civilization — was for the men either to be entirely nude, or if they wore clothing, to do so with no intention of preserving decency. The Congo Pygmy may be leading a life hardly superior to that of a predatory ape, yet in this particular he is usually more squeamish. This disregard of covering even seems to have been a trait in the Hamitic or Libyan races (who are Caucasian) at no very distant period, or in the wild regions of Africa at the present day. The natives of the Canary Islands when they were first discovered by Spain are said to have been com- pletely nude so far as the men were concerned. The Pagan Gala (who originally came from the Nile valley) and allied Hamitic races in Eastern Africa have no feeling of shame in regard to male nudity. In Equatorial Africa this trait occurs in the Ba-hima and spreads to the Bantu people on the verge of the Nilotic sphere. The Bantu races of the north end of Lake Nyasa (by their physique obviously related in descent to the Nile peoples) were quite nude when the country was first visited by Europeans. So also were the natives of Central Zambezia (Batonga, Baila). As regards the Zulus, very much the same thing was in vogue not more than fifty years ago. Male nudity occurs along the northern bank of the central Mubangi. A recent traveller, A. Savage Landor, alludes to the complete lack of clothing on the part of the men, but nevertheless reports the measures they took to present them- selves decently before the stranger, showing that they were conscious of their nudity, which is not the case with the Nilotic negro. Far away westwards, in the hinter- land of the Cameroons, amongst the semi-Bantu people, male nudity of what may be called the Zulu type still exists. This is described by Staff-Surgeon Hoesemann, on page 170 of Mitteilungen von Forshungsreisenden , etc ., aus den Deutschen Schutz- gebieten , 1903. The custom of absence of clothing in the male was just dying out on the Cross River and in the regions behind Old Calabar twenty-five years ago. 558 ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 559 they still wore no cloth, Grenfell records that they “wear many more strings of beads round their necks.” Some tribes of Pygmies are said to wear no clothing of any description, but this has not characterized those northern sections of the dwarf peoples carefully described by competent observers, whereof the men at least conceal the pudenda with a small piece of bark cloth. Still, premising that the actual claims of decency are more nicely respected among even the least clad of Congo negroes than they are by the shameless Nilotes and Masai, it must be admitted that a bare, and usually glistening, chocolate- 289. BOPOTO WOMEN DECORATED WITH BEADS AND COLOURED CLAY FOR A CEREMONIAL PROCESSION brown skin is (or was) the first feature in the aspect of the natives of the inner Congo basin that used to impress the explorer arriving at Stanley Pool from the semi-civilized regions of the west (where print goods, American calico, and store clothes have long been in use). In the eastern part of the Congo basin the Arabs have introduced the graceful, ample clothing of Zanzibar. In the north (Mubangi-Wele basin) the civilization of the Egyptian Sudan has penetrated, bringing with it Turkish breeches for the men and ample draperies for the women. But in the vast centre, from Stanley Pool to Stanley Falls and from the Bantu borderline beyond the northern Congo to 560 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the Lunda plateaux and the Zambezi watershed, the people are naked ; and like most primitive races in that condition the Congo negro has sought to decorate his skin by designs in relief or in colour — to a greater extent perhaps than anywhere else in Africa. Between Stanley Pool and the Albertine Rift valley, most of the naked tribes colour their bodies all over with a crimson paste made of triturated wood and palm oil [tukula or nkula of the Bakongo, ngola of the Babangi, Bangala, and Bapoto, kakola of the Baluba, liboi of the Ngombe, mboli of the Basoko, and sele of the lower Lomami). This intensely 290. A DANCING WOMAN AND HER ATTENDANTS OF THE NORTHERN NGOMBE PEOPLE crimson cosmetic is derived from the rotted, triturated bark of a species of Baphia (camwood), a pretty little tree with dark glossy leaves and yellow-centred white bean-flowers, 1 called Eseu in Lobobangi. Away to the south, in the countries where the Baphia ceases to grow and the oil-palm is scarce, the red pigment is made from iron rust or from the intensely red clay of the decom- posed granite, and is mixed and applied with mutton fat. 2 But 1 Some writers attribute the red dye in the western Congo to the seedpods of Bixia orellana (an American introduced tree — “ Arnatto”) or to the bark of Pterocarpus tinctorius. Pterocarpus is certainly used in the Tanganyika region. 2 On one occasion Grenfell picked up what seemed to be an aerolite on the Bangala shore of the Upper Congo and sent it home for examination. Professor Rupert Jones reported on it as follows : “ It is an ochre box nearly three inches in ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 56i this crude “red lead” colour is hideous beside the beautiful carmine of the northern Congo. It is really a pleasure to ones colour-sense to behold a throng of well-built Ngombe or Bayanzi men and women, nearly naked and painted a dull, dry crimson (deep rose colour) from head to foot, emerging from the dark forest background on to a river shore of golden sand above a reflected sky of deep grey-blue. A white pigment is usually made from pipeclay (kaolin) or ashes ; yellow from clay or from the dye of certain saps or seeds ; blue-grey and mauve from other kinds of wood ash. or from clay, indigo, or the sap of various plants ; soot and charcoal are both used for black or dark grey. The paintings of the body for magical or initiation ceremonies or for marriage (or again, mourning) are described in another chapter. There are also many allusions in previous passages quoted from Grenfell’s diary as to the painted people of the Upper Congo, Lulongo, and Lomami. Among these Ngombe, Mongo, and Lokele (Topoke) variegated colouring is the privilege of the men : the women seldom do more than plaster the whole body with the powdered, crimson camwood . 1 diameter, and has a round concretion of ferruginous sandstone, brown outside, and rough, with small lumps, some of which retain a position due to the original stratifica- tion of the sandstone in which the concretion was found. The interior is dark red for the outside and gradually of a paler red towards the central cavity (about three-quarters of an inch wide), once occupied by a small ball of red ochre. This specimen resembles the natural ‘ paint pots ’ in the Karoo sandstone of South Africa ; but the walls of the latter are usually thinner. The Bushmen frequently used them (if they do not now), when broken open, with the addition of some moisture to the contents, as pigments for body ornamentation, and anciently for painting the figures on the walls of caves, ob- taining from them certain tints, such as the purple for a human form or for other objects.” 1 “At Mwembe,” writes Grenfell in 1885 (on the Juapa), “two hundred armed men paraded up and down rubbing ashes and soot on their bodies. Several wanted to shoot, but these rash persons were always restrained by the older men. . . . Beyond Eyombe, three hundred men painted red, black, and white danced, shooting arrows.” These were probably Mongo people, who often use grey or white as a “war” colour. The Ikasa and Yalundi of the south bank of the northern Congo (allied to both Ngombe and Mongo) paint the face with some indigo dye (? Randia ) in dots and geometrical figures. The body is covered with a network of indigo lines. The Basoko use white as a war colour. Some of the northern Babati clans (Wele River) paint the body all over with grey clay, then paint on top of this indigo spots and stripes with Randia sap. This is very effective. Some of the southern Ngojnbe paint the body red and the face black (with soot). The Azande, besides striping their brown skins with Randia juice, paint themselves red for war, and blacken their foreheads with charcoal and oil. The Bangala paint themselves red and black as a protection against evil spirits. The Bakuba of Central Congoland apply red camwood powder all over the body, but in war-time or at great feasts paint the brows with a great black streak and the eyes with white circles. The Babwende of the northern cataract Congo use a great quantity of red and white in colouring their bodies. The red is the usual camwood paste ( nkula ), and is applied to the body and even to the hair. The white ( pembe ) is nothing else but kaolin, found in small quantities all over the district. It is used to draw thin lines under the eyes or on the forehead. But it is above all ap- plied to the limbs as a curative dressing. [These notes are derived from Grenfell, Father Geens, and the compilation of Mr. T. A. Joyce.] II. — F 562 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The Ngombe men sometimes carry out the most elaborate decorations in four colours. These consist usually of parallel lines of blue-grey, yellow, red, and white, running along the two arms and meeting over the shoulders in curved scrolls almost exactly like the military braiding on a Zouave’s jacket. Simi- larly the chest, abdomen, and lower limbs are painted with these parallel lines of four colours. Occasionally, starting from the navel as a kind of bull’s-eye, the stomach is painted in concentric rings like a target ; with smaller circles on each breast. One of the two eyes will be painted with a circular white patch, and the cheeks, forehead, and chin be decorated with minute and sometimes beautiful designs in lines of coloured pigment applied very carefully and accurately by a feather. 1 The Alunda of Southern Congoland paint the whole body with white kaolin (this is a frequent practice among the women) or decorate their brown skins with white squares, dots, and crosses. These body paintings extend northwards to the Ababna- Babciti of the Wele district, who (in both sexes) decorate their bodies with crimson camwood, white clay, and charcoal paste. The Manbettu women paint the whole body in diverse figures with the black juice of the Randia malleifera. The body is sometimes striped like a zebra, sometimes covered with irregular spots. After wearing these patterns for a few days they are washed off and replaced by others. Body painting does not occur (or has not been recorded) amongst the Pygmies. Except in regard to certain marriage, burial, and fetishistic customs, it has almost entirely ceased amongst the more clothed peoples of the south, east, west, and north. In the centre of the Congo basin the natives (almost more than any other African peoples) cover their faces and bodies with scars — usually raised lumps of smooth skin, sometimes merely patches or dots not in relief, but of different surface texture to the unscarred epidermis. This is incorrectly called “tatuing,” but the word tatu (spelt in old English tattoo), 1 Torday writes in connection with his studies of the Bambala people of the Kwilu : “ The ornamentation of his person is the chief occupation of the southern Mo-mbala when at home ; his paint is renewed twice or thrice a day, and his face ornamented with stripes of red, brown, orange, and violet ; the pattern is usually as follows : a horizontal stripe on the forehead, a stripe from each ear to the tip of the nose, and again from each ear to the point of the chin. Personal beauty is an attribute which is highly valued ; it is considered a compliment to speak of a guest as young and handsome, and even war has been known to result when one chief has boasted that his appearance was superior to that of another. 5 ’ ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 563 derived from the Tahitian tatau or tatu, should really be re- served for the art of puncturing the skin and thus introducing a pigment under the epidermis. The designs on an African skin obtained by inflicting a scar should be described as cicatrization . 1 Actual tatuing is rare among the Congo negroes. A clumsy form of it ( nsamba ) appears to be practised by the Bakongo and Eshikongo. A special artist, the nganga mpwata , makes a trade of this operation. It is performed on a child as soon as it is weaned and can walk. The child is placed on its back on the ground, and the medicine-man, using a sharp reed-splinter as a needle, punctures the pinched-up skin in the places (chest, stomach, abdomen) where he wishes to tatu the tribal or clan marks. The colouring matter is calcined wood ash, into which the needle is dipped. This operation results in slightly raised bluish scars. The Manbettu may be slightly tatued on the body, but actually the medley of fantastic or beautiful designs in blue- black with which their trunk and limbs are sometimes covered is more often painted thereon (not pricked) with the rather mordant inky sap of the Randia , already mentioned. The Nyamnyam do the same where Moslem civilization has not introduced ample clothing. The Batetela both paint and tatu themselves with blue spots, using probably the Randia dye. Torday thinks the Baluba follow the same practice, or they may tatu their arms with delicate patterns dyed with decayed rubber latex. Carvalho states that the southern and south- western populations of the Congo basin tatu their bodies and sometimes cheeks and temples by means of imported needles. The needle is dipped into the juice of some tree, possibly a gardenia . 2 The “Saturn mark” so often referred to by Grenfell may also be a tatuing with blue. It was a dot enclosed by a small circle, which again is enclosed by a larger circle about 1 \ inches in diameter. He noticed this among the populations of the lower Kasai, the Mfini, Lake Leopold, and also the Busira- Juapa. It was placed on the temples. 1 It is a remarkable fact that cicatrization as a method of skin adornment only occurs (1) amongst African negroes mainly of the Forest and mixed Bantu types and allied negroes of the Central Sudan and Guinea coast-lands ; (2) amongst the Australian aborigines ; (3) the negroid populations of Papua and Melanesia ; and (4) the Negritoes of the Andaman Islands. Bushmen apparently do not mark the skin. Hottentots practise a limited amount of real tatuing of a North-East or East African type. Savage or semi-civilized peoples of Asia, America, Cis-Saharan Africa, Arabia, and Madagascar (besides much of Eastern Equatorial Africa) tatu, namely, ornament the skin with punctured designs into which colouring matter is conveyed. 2 Torday states that it is a rubber vine (Apocynaceous shrub). 564 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Tatuing is practised (rarely) amongst the Bahuana . The design is usually simple, consisting of a small square on the arm. The instrument used is composed of three or four needles, and the pigment inserted is decayed rubber. The Bakongo and Eshikongo still use a kind of scar orna- mentation, but not in the form of peloids or raised weals : merely little flat scars (possibly burns) which form patches of satiny surface. Infants when a few months old — apparently as some protection against evil spirits — are marked with about fifty tiny incisions on the temples and along the arms. These leave minute scars that are still visible in the adult. Amone the Basundi and Babwende of the Cataract region incisions are made on the back, chest, and belly in the shape of diamonds or a conven- tional design of a crocodile (one broad perpendicular line crossed by two short lines). They also raise hideous lumps of scarred skin (like irregular burns) on the breast-bone and on the deltoid muscle of the shoulder, and sometimes have a diamond-shaped blob on the forehead. Entering Congoland from the west, the Bateke of Stanley Pool are the first people to appear with striking scar-marks on the face. Their cheeks are symmetrically streaked from near the eyes almost to the jaw by five or six parallel slits. There are sometimes also peloids on the temples. Th eBamfunu follow the Bateke custom, but the face striations are more oblique. The Bayaka of the lower Kwango appar- ently do not cicatrize or tatu. The Baboma (or Babuma) of the Kwa-Kasai incise the cheeks and forehead with a multitude of small lines close together, resembling wrinkles, and giving the face a very old appearance. They decorate the body also with peloids (raised lumps of skin). Cicatrization is much developed among the Bangala , Bapoto , and Ngombe . They often carve the skin of the temples into a design like a palm frond or a fleur-de-lis, and decorate the shoulders with an oval of interlaced bands. These designs, sometimes in high relief, are very far from ugly. Indeed, a well built, well “carved” Ngombe man or woman suggests great possibilities in artistic development. On the Bangala forehead there are raised scars from the root of the nose to the edge of the head hair. Or the Bapoto and Ngombe will cut circular ridges more or less following in parallel lines the arches of the eyebrows, orbits of the eyes, and circle of the mouth. The upper lip is sometimes scored with parallel horizontal cuts sufficiently deep for them to be able, as a coquettish attraction, to insert coloured feathers into these slits. Some European LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 567 explorers declare that the general effect of a scarred, lined, and carved Bangala face is attractive to the eye. The Banorala cicatrization of the chest and abdomen is illus- the present writers book on The River Congo , alonor <3 trated in page 420. The Bapoto, Buja, Bwela , Akula people behind or the northern bank of the Upper Congo, or their relatives on the opposite bank, Bakatula, Bakinga, Linkasa, Yalundi, and Malunja, all known generically as Ngombe , have two kinds of racial tatuines O the (1) Down middle of forehead a ver- tical line of incisions pro- ducing large blobs or lumps far apart from each other; in semicircles above the eyebrows similar peloids which are continued in lines starting from the temples and coming down across the cheeks to the chin. “A very characteristic and heroic marking of a peo- ple who are brave, intelli- gent, enterprising (and friendly towards the whites),” writes a Belgian official. (2) The face is covered with numerous lines of “pimples” placed close together. The arms, chest, abdomen, and thighs are also marked with varied o 292. A NATIVE OF BOPOTO, SHOWING CICATRIZATION OF FACE designs in small raised points. The Babangi of the main river make vertical scars down the centre of the forehead, or else a row or band of perpendicular peloids right across the brows from temple to temple. The Eastei'n Bayanzi sometimes substitute for perpendicular slits in these bands small crosses. On some foreheads there is the horizontal band across the brows from temple to temple, as well as the vertical band from the hair down to the root of the nose, and even along the bridge of the nose to its tip. The 568 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO men are sometimes scarred on the chest and abdomen, but not as much so as the women, who are occasionally embroidered with these raised lumps from the throat to the end of the abdo- men, with lateral scrolls winding round the thighs. Mongo and Lolo (Balolo). — These once crowded populations of the great Crown Domain [the basins of the Ruki-Juapa, Ikelemba, Maringa, and Lopori] practise the most exaggerated forms of scar-tatuing. An elliptic blister is often created in the middle of the brow ; on the upper part of the nose between the eyes there is a single or double fleshy excrescence ; on the temples a series of concentric ellipses forming a large blister. Often, particularly among freemen, cicatrization extends along the bridge of the nose in a series of small ridges. This tatuing is of unqualified ugliness. The Mongo women have their chins hideously slashed and deformed, showing repulsive excrescences. The Balolo women of the more aristocratic caste, who are very much admired, have a blister on their ears, but their brows are unmarked. The chin is scarred with several parallel cres- cents, to which the eye rapidly accustoms itself. 1 On the lower Ruki a fan-palm frond is over the forehead, its stalk starting on the bridge of the nose. The body is much decorated with designs in lozenges, dots, and lines. On the Busira River the Mongo people exhibit very complex markings on the face ; on the upper part of the nose there are three parallel lines of small excrescences. From one temple to the other there is a double line of close incisions crossing the cheeks and nose. On the nose and over the brow of these women there spreads a veritable peacock’s tail of dots and streaks. “On the upper Juapa River,” writes Grenfell, “the cicatrices on the faces of the Ndolo or Balolo people consist of three parallel cuts, each from the edge of the cheek-bone to the vicinity of the lower jaw on the side of the face, and a single row of bean-shaped cicatrices down the centre of the forehead.” “ On the upper Lulongo [Maringa] women have lumps the size of large beans regularly spaced over the abdomen, back, and hips.” In the south-west, the Badinga and Bangodi of the lower Kasai and the Kancha rivers have three groups of small lumps between the ear and the hair, over the temple, and are orna- mented with many small scars on the abdomen. The A-lunda , 1 Grenfell writes of these Balolo women : “ The blisters or lumps of skin on the temples (close to the ear) and at the root of the nose are often the size of pigeons’ eggs. These women are scarred all over the body.” ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 569 besides the cicatrizing already described, sometimes scar their foreheads and stomachs. The Bakuba mark the abdomen with 293 - A MUYANZI (drawn by Sir Harry Johnston at Bolobo in 1883): TO SHOW PATTERN OF CICATRIZATION ON BODY AND STYLE OF HAIR-DRESSING a pattern of small lumps, and their temples with three groups of three stars each — nine on each temple . 1 1 Their attachment in this and other details to the number nine recalls a similar trait in the Bahima of Uganda- Unyoro. Vide author’s Uganda Protectorate. 570 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The wild populations of the upper Sankuru, Lualaba, Lufira, and the regions contiguous to British Central Africa practise cicatrization on the body excessively — usually, however, in flat scars like burns. This practice does not seem to prevail much within the western basin of the Zambezi, but crosses the province of North-Eastern Rhodesia into British and German Nyasaland and Portuguese East Africa, extending southwards to Swaziland. The Batetelci, Bakusu , and (?) Manyema do not practise cica- trization. The water-loving Bagenya raise a few large peloids on the shoulder, as may be seen in the illustration on p. 521. The Forest tribes (Lokele, Turumbu, Babali, etc.) of the north-east Conpro basin neglect these adornments, though there are both tribal and individual exceptions. The Basoko of the lower Aruwimi cicatrize the forehead, lips, and chin. The Mabenja and Bajande between the Aruwimi and the Lulu mark the forehead, just above the left eyebrow, with four concentric circles of points, or else smaller concentric circles above each eyebrow, or lines and dots. The Ababua or Babaii mark their foreheads somewhat similarly with many little lines and dots ; 1 the Mabode scar the back and chest ; the Mahbettu women make patterns of scars round the shoulders and on the stomach, and the Azctnde deco- rate the forehead and temples with three or four squares of dots or points (very near tatuing) and do the same on the chest. The Azande (Nyamnyam) also mark with tatuing or with scars a kind of Maltese cross over the stomach, beginning at the breast-bone : a pattern similar to that so often seen woven in their basket-work shields. The Yakoma ( Sango ) of the Mubangi-Wele (Mbomu con- fluence) have as their tribal mark a row of peloids down the centre of the forehead. Most of the other populations south of the Mubangi stream practise some form of cicatrization. 2 The 1 Cicatrization among the Ababua is practised, and is principally applied to the breast and abdomen. If, as stated, the Ababua originally formed one tribe, it is prob- able that in former times the tribal mark in general use was a lateral band on the forehead, composed of four or five lines of punctures, sloping slightly towards the root of the nose. (Professor Halkin : Quelques Peuplades de FUele , etc.) 2 Writing of the populations along the northern Mubangi (Sango group) Lord Mountmorres says: “This tattooing is remarkable for the beauty of the designs at which they have arrived. Many of them resemble very closely conventional designs taught in art schools in this country, and amongst others I came across was the regular fleur-de-lis of France enclosed in an empire framework. How it got there I do not know ; it may have been brought in some cutting of a paper which somehow reached them, but it was so European that I do not believe it could have originated in the locality. It was exactly the same design as on the woman’s arm in The Three Musketeers .” ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 57i Bonjo along the lower Mubangi cicatrize the whole of the body. The Banza mark their faces with a line of dots in relief, start- ing from one ear to the other and passing below the eyes ; or a triple vertical row of dots on the forehead ; or else lines of dots which describe wide circles round the eyes and meet in the middle of the forehead, dividing the upper half of the face into two distinct spheres. Lord Mountmorres, in a paper published by the Society of Arts (May 12 1905), states that these raised scars or peloids are produced in the following manner : — “ The skin is cut, turned back, and filled with a fibre extracted from between the bark and the main wood of a particular tree, which is pounded and dried ; it is put into the wound, and the wound is then sewn up over it. In course of time it suppurates, a little abscess forms, the flesh begins to hang down, and this wadding from inside forces its way out little by little. In one village at which I stopped on my way up-river, the medicine man, the tattooer, was then paying his annual or semi-annual visit, and all the boys in the place were undergoing tattoo- age. You can understand that the noise most of them made over it was considerable, though a large number of them bore the operation with extraordinary fortitude. This man, with an ordinary native knife, would cut three great gashes in the forehead ; he would then put in the wadding, and draw the flesh over it, and with two bits of tendrils of creepers tie up the wound. It was then left alone; I suppose the patients would probably pass many weeks with these terrible festering sores on the face. In some places the natives are simply tattooed all over ; the whole of the face and the body is one mass of tattooage.” Mutilations of the teeth seem to be quite as much in vogue in the Congo basin as they are in that of the Zambezi or in East Africa. Among the Bakongo the two middle upper and lower incisors are sharpened to points or are slightly scooped in a semicircle. On the Luango (Kakongo) coast the men still file their upper front teeth in semicircles, so as to reduce the first and second incisors and canine on each side to sharp points. Most of the riverain tribes of the north , south , and east leave their teeth alone. But a great many of the peoples of the centre and north-east file all the front teeth in both jaws to sharp points. This is particularly characteristic of the Ngombe 1 and Bangala ; and of the Basongomeno between the Kasai- Sankuru and the Lukenye, whose very name means “ they sharpen teeth.” Some of the Bakusu , Basonge (. Bakuba ), and Manyema adopt the same practice, as do many of the Aruwimi tribes ; and such of the Pygmy people as are in close contact 1 “The Rubi people (Bondonga) do not file their teeth” (Grenfell). The non- Bantu Bondonga inhabit the Rubi district behind the northern Ngombe. 572 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO with them. The Eastern Manyema chip a diagonal space between the two middle upper incisors. Sharpening the front teeth to a point coincides, to a certain extent, with the practice of cannibalism, but not invariably. The filing is sometimes done in the upper jaw alone, more often in both jaws, and the filing is performed on the four incisors and two canines, so that all these six teeth are reduced to sharp spikes. A good illustration of this in North Congo Ngombe people is given on page 555 in my Uganda book. I have not encountered records of many tribes from the central Congo basin that actually remove or knock out teeth [a practice which is so common elsewhere in Guinea or in East and South-Central Africa]. But the Babira in the extreme north-east on the edofe of the Ituri forest knock out the lower incisor teeth, borrowing the custom apparently from the Nilotic Aluru. Some of the southern Ngombe or Malunja (south bank of the northern Congo) extract the two central upper incisors. The Bayaka , who ordinarily file their teeth to sharp points, occasionally knock out the central incisors instead, and in con- sequence retire to the bush for ten days to nurse the severe neuralgia that results. Grenfell writes: “The Baloi of the lower Mubangi have a very distinctive appearance on account of the four front teeth having been pulled out. For this or some other reason they are averse to opening the mouth.” The A-lunda women chip the two middle upper incisors into a semicircle and remove the two lower incisors altogether. With regard to the ears , the lobe of the ear is pierced amongst many tribes. Those in the western regions (Babwende, Bakongo) may have adopted the practice in imitation of Euro- peans, and merely wear one or more slender ear-rings, usually of brass. [The Babwende of the north bank of the cataract Congo pierce the septum of the nose and thrust straw through it, or wear a nose-ring of beads.] But on the western and upper Mubangi, 1 along the Wele, and on the Lomami the lobe of the ear is so enlarged by the objects that are gradually thrust through it that some of these peoples are described by Grenfell as “the rope-eared folk,” as they often remove the discs and allow the long, leather-like rings of the ear-lobe to hang loose, nearly touching the shoulder. The Bakango (allied to the 1 Grenfell and Stapleton describe the Mftombo or Banza people of the east bank of the lower Mubangi as having the lobe of the ear distended and deformed by the weight of the pieces of copper which take the place of ear-rings. The Banza also wear nose-rings of copper, the women especially. ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 573 Babati) of the Mubangi-Wele cut out the greater part of the cartilage of the outer ear, and stretch the rim like a rubber tyre on a tin hoop two inches in diameter. With the more eastern tribes of the Ababua or Babati, the centre of the outer ear is pierced, and the hole enlarged so as to allow of the insertion of a disc of wood or ivory two and a half inches in diameter. Several holes are made in the helix, and string, small brass rings, or beads inserted. Some individuals also pierce the lobe and greatly enlarge it. The Sango or Yakoma of the central Mubangi wear large wooden cylinders in the lobe of the ear. 1 The Bakwese of South-West Congoland carry their cane or bamboo snuff-box in the ear (for snuff-box, vide Illustration No. 319). The Pygmies and some of the Forest races of the north- east pierce the upper and in some cases the lower lip with deep holes. When these have healed they insert into them porcupine quills, feathers, flowers, beads, or other objects to attract attention. The handsome Banza of the Mubanoi-Lua- o Mongala region pierce the upper and even the lower lip and wear a copper ring in it. The young women among the Bubu , Sango , Bongo , Nsakara tribes of the upper Mubangi and Mbomu insert in a hole in the upper lip a piece of quartz, ivory, or iron. Far away to the south-east the Bagenya and perhaps the Bakumu of the Stanley Falls district wear some tooth or tusk thrust into the upper lip. Some of the peoples of the Banda and Manjia stock (extreme north of Congo basin) perforate the upper and lower lips in the centre, and gradually introduce a larger and larger disc into the hole until at last the women (to whom the practice is con- fined) are rendered almost speechless, with discs of one to two inches in diameter hanging from either lip. This is the pelele of Nyasaland and South-East Africa. In not quite such an exaggerated form it appears amongst the Balese , Balende, Babira, and other Bantu-speaking Forest tribes of the upper Aruwimi basin, and is also in vogue amongst the Bakumu-Bamanga right across from the upper Aruwimi, down the valley of the Lindi, to the main Lualaba-Congo at Pont- 1 Baert and Werner reported of the allied people of the upper Mongala (in- correctly called Mongwandi ) : “Another mark of high breeding is to increase enor- mously the lobe of the ear by inserting ivory rings which reach to as much as two inches in diameter. To be able to wear this ornament the Mongwandi begins by in- serting in the wound a ring of hard, rolled india-rubber ; at the end of some days he replaces it by a larger piece, and so on till he attains the required size.” 574 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO hierville. The practice exists amongst men as well as women in the eastern Mongo of the Lomami, the Turumbu , Lokele , and other Forest tribes along the north-eastern angle of the Congo between the mouth of the Aruwimi and the Stanley Falls, and then does not reappear again southwards for a distance of about nine hundred miles, until the natives, chiefly of the east shore of Lake Nyasa, are found wearing (exclusively amongst the women) this hideous lip- ring or disc — the pelele of Living- stone. The range of the pelele ex- tends from Eastern Nyasaland well into the Makua country and the vicinity of the lower Zambezi. Outside Africa this deformation (by an entirely independ- ent invention) re- appears in Brazil. The pelele or lip- ornament of the north-eastern Congo is usually a disc of ivory, made of a buffalo’s incisor tooth or a bush- pig’s tusk (Gren- fell). In many of the Congoland tribes, as in those of East Africa, attempts are made to flatten the women’s breasts after they have borne a child. Allusion has already been made to the suggestions of Grenfell and Carvalho that certain tribes on the Lomami or the upper Sankuru River endeavour to loosen and lengthen the skin of the lower abdomen with the idea of its acting as a tegi-pudenda } (Certain Forest tribes of Portuguese Guinea in 1 Can this be related physiologically in any way to the Bushman-Hottentot tablier ? 294. AN NGOMBE (BWELA) MAN FROM THE REGION BETWEEN THE NORTHERN CONGO AND THE MOTIMA RIVER— TO SHOW CICATRICES ON THE FACE AND METHOD OF HAIR-DRESSING ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 575 the far west, and certainly some of the Pygmies of Central Africa, appear to encourage the growth of pubic hair for the same purpose.) The rite of circumcision is by no means universal in Congoland, yet perhaps is more common throughout the length and breadth of the Congo basin than it is over an equal area of East Africa. It is practised by the northern Pygmies, but I have no information on this subject as regards the Batwa of the south-central Congo basin. On the other hand, it is absent from some of the Forest negroes of the north-east borderland, from a few of the Mongo tribes of the centre, from the Bambala and Bahuana of the Kwilu- Kasai, perhaps other tribes of more or less Forest negroes in that region, and a good many of the uncivilized wilder negroes of the south and south-east. As a rule the operation is performed by the medicine-man of the village from two to twelve days after the child’s birth [on the Lower Congo, when the boy is three or four months old]. Among the Bayanzi the mother has a considerable say in the matter, and may for some reason delay the performance of this operation until the boy is able to run about. Postpone- ment to adolescence frequently occurs on the western Congo, and in the Lunda and Luba countries. Amongst the A-lunda the rite is often evaded, but it is absolutely necessary to the assumption of chieftainship or royalty, and Lunda potentates therefore if they have grown up uncircumcised have to submit to this operation before their recognition as chiefs. The Bayaka of the lower Kwango practise circumcision. [In the attendant ceremonies of the “bush school” boys are initiated by an old woman, girls by an old man. Both these old people must be “past the period of fertility.”] Circumcision takes place at puberty, the operator being an old man. The portion removed is put on the great fetish, and the name of the patient is changed. After the operation the boys are considered unclean, and are secluded in the bush until their wounds are healed. During this time they wear grass skirts, do no work, and may not enter a village. Sometimes in front of a hut there is a semicircle of sticks planted in the ground and connected by strings, from which other strings are hanging. This is an indication that a son of the owner has recently been circumcised, and is living in the bush until his wound is healed. Bentley points out that circumcision is not universal in Western Congoland, but as a practice is rather spreading than everywhere adopted. It seems to have reached the Kongo 576 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO kingdom from the north. 1 According to him, it is entirely dis- sociated from any religious or fetishistic ideas. The same might be said about circumcision among the riverain popula- tions of the Upper Congo. Yet in other parts of Congoland there seem to be vestiges of superstition or religion attached to the operation. Father Geens states that an idea is preva- lent among- the Bakongo to the effect that an uncircumcised man cannot live under the same roof as a woman, even his own mother, without contracting a disease difficult to cure. Information collected by Torday in South-West Congoland would certainly show that in some tribes a distinct fetishistic importance is attached to circumcision. On the whole I am inclined to believe that the practice arose in connection with religious belief somewhere in Egypt, Arabia, Syria, or the Mediterranean coast-lands, and gradually made its way south into Africa, assisted very considerably during the last thousand years by the spread of Muhammad- anism. That it is not really necessary to the health or welfare of the negro race is shown by the increase of vigorous tribes like the Kruboys of West Africa, who entirely repudiate the idea. Neither, one would think, can it have been of ancient introduction in Africa, from the fact that it is entirely ignored by the Bahima of Uganda and Unyoro, and by most of the Bantu races whom they have influenced. [I believe the few re- maining tribes of pagan Fula do not circumcise.] The Pygmies, the Forest negroes, and most other human types of the Congo basin are a distinctly hairy race as con- trasted with many of the East and South African peoples. The hair of the head , however, seems to grow longer in the men than in the women. It does not grow to an excessive length amongst the Pygmies (with whom it is often parti- coloured, the front half being greyish and the back reddish), but with them it grows thickly and abundantly, and does not present the same appearance of isolated tufts as amongst the Bushmen, Hottentots, and some of the East African negroes. Torday 2 gives particulars as to the quality, colour, and sections of hair amongst the Bahuana , showing that in this 1 Amongst the Duala and most of the Bantu Coast Cameroons people and those of Ogowe and Gaboon circumcision is much in vogue. The Duala were formerly very particular about the operation, though it was quite unconnected with religious belief. Duala boys are circumcised at seven years old and thenceforth leave the mother’s for the father’s dwelling. They marry at fifteen. 2 “Notes on the Ethnography of the Bahuana,” by E. Torday and T. A. Joyce. Journal of the Royal Anthropo logical Institute , 1907. ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 577 Kwilu River tribe of Forest negroes there is great variation as to the hair section. He states that the colour is often brownish rather than black. The babies of all Congo peoples without exception are born with silky, dark brown hair that is not nearly as tightly curled as that of their parents, As a rule the head and much of the body hair amongst these Congo negroes is coarse and wiry. As regards the body hair , there are two kinds, not ordinarily observable together on the same human type. There is first of all the foetal down of a yellowish or reddish -grey colour discernible on many Congo infants. This is straight, and not curled, and of extremely fine texture. It soon disap- pears on the ordinary negro child, but amongst the Pygmies often persists (much more in the males than in the females) into maturity and old age, becoming thick and matted in growth though remaining and pale- coloured. Some of the Pvcrmv 2 95- L0KELE MEN ( 0R topoke), one of whom (on the oi ine rygrny left) is wearing a lip-ring women retain this fine yellowish hair in the form of slight whiskers, beard, and moustache. But this facial hair is never so marked as to be easily discernible at a glance. Amongst the male Pygmies at puberty coarse, curly black hairs begin to appear on the front of the body and on the face (besides axillcz , pubes , and legs), overlying or growing amid the finer pale- coloured foetal hairs. These last alone grow on the Pygmy back. It is as though the growth of special body hair following on pubescence were an afterthought on the part of Nature in man’s development. This black body hair of the adult male Pygmy grows in separate patches, recalling the peppercorn patterns of the Bushman’s head hair . 1 The Pygmy 1 This is well illustrated in Grenfell’s photographs of Aruwimi Pygmies. II. — G 578 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO women seem to remove what body hair of this coarse black type may make its appearance. When the ordinary negro of Congoland approaches pubes- cence the hair in the male begins to grow on the armpits, pubes, legs, chest, and stomach, as well as on the face in slight whiskers, chin beard, and moustache. In the women the growth is limited to the axillce and the pubes. All the peo- ples, however, ex- cept the Pygmies and some of the Forest tribes, re- move this body hair more or less com- pletely by means of tweezers or by shaving. The Ba- teke, Bangala, Ba- yanzi, and Ngombe men also remove the moustache, whiskers, and even eyebrows and eye- lashes by means of tweezers, but usually retain the beard. The women amongst the same tribes remove the eyelashes and the hairs of the eye- „ brows. The Ba- 296. ILLUSTRATION OF UNCHECKED GROWTH OF , 1 1 HEAD HAIR IN A MONGO NEGRO OF THE UPPER yak a SliaVe tile CONGO, TYPICAL OF ALL THE CONGO PEOPLES mOUStache, but grow a beard. The Bahuana pull out both beard and moustache. So do the Bambala and Babuma, and the tribes along the southern edge of the Congo basin, as well as the people of the Lualaba-Congo. In the Lunda and Luba countries, Angola, Kongo, Kakongo, the Forest tribes of the north-east, and the Manbettu, Nyamnyam, Sango, Banza, Mongwandi, and Ababwa peoples the hair is allowed to grow unchecked on the men’s faces, but the Lunda and Luba chiefs endeavour ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 579 to produce the beard in a long plaited, plastered rod, depending stiffly from the middle of the chin, and artificially lengthened by weaving black fibre into it. As regards dressing the hair of the head, the Pygmies seem to leave it entirely to nature, to grow as it pleases. Nowhere (as far as I can ascertain) amongst the Congo peoples is the head hair shaved away completely. In this they afford a marked contrast to many East African tribes, who, especially as regards the women, have such a preference for closely shaven skulls. Not only is the head hair more abundant in growth and possibly longer than amongst the Hottentot races and the East African Bantu, but the natives take pride (as a rule) in exag- gerating its length so as to make it appear negroid rather than negro. [It is curious nevertheless, as indicated in another chapter, that as an anthropological feature the tightly curled negro hair seems to be the most enduring of elements in the hybrids that have occurred between the Caucasian races and the negro. Many of the Batusi, Bahima, Nyamnyam, and Bakuba people in facial lineaments are quite half Caucasian, and resemble strongly the Galas or Egyptians ; yet their head hair, though if unchecked it may be abundant in growth, is emphatically that of the negro.] Nevertheless some shaving of the head does occur in Congoland. Grenfell states that the Baloi of the lower Mubangi “shave their heads very much, leaving only a patch of short wool behind.” The Bayaka and many of the Kasai- Sankuru peoples shave or clip the head hair into three or five ridges — a design frequently imitated in their pottery. The Bambala shave all round the head, leaving only a long top- knot, but afterwards mask this artificial baldness with plaits of false hair. The Bagenya shave the sides of the head. The northern Ngombe shave all round a central, cleft mound of hair. The Mahbettu women dress their hair with the most elabo- rate care. It is combed and arranged in a great many different styles, but always with the main object of forming a kind of cylinder slanting backwards. This fashion extends southwards to the Ngombe women north of the main Congo. The Man- bettu men also train their hair into a cylindrical shape, but of a shorter length, and the cone is generally covered with a little straw hat which has been carefully woven, and is absolutely square in form. This hat is fixed to the hair-cylinder by means of pins of ivory, bone, horn, copper, or wood. Manbettu women do not wear this hat, but en revanche endeavour to grow the 580 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO cylinder of hair to an extravagant length. To add to this curious pickaxe-like shape of the head (which is imitated in certain masks of South-Central Congoland), the Manbettu mothers press the heads of their new-born children by means of flat pieces of bark which are tied tightly on either side of the little skull. Nyamnyam, Ababua, Sango, and other peoples of the Mubangi- Wele weave black thread into their wool to lengthen the hair. The head hair is even longer in the more aristo- cratic types of N yamnya m, and the me- thods of dress- ing and plait- i n g it are familiar to most students of Africa through the photo- graphs of Richard Buch- ta, an explorer of the Egyptian Sudan just prior to the Mahdistrevolt. On the up- per Mubangi 29 7. SPECIMENS OF RAZORS FROM THE UPPER CONGO ; ALSO (IN SHEATH) KNIFE FOR CUTTING “CICATRICES’' and the Mbomu, as far north as the district of Bangasu. young unmarried girls are entirely nude and their hair reaches their shoulders ; they further lengthen it artificially by plaiting in the hair of the neck long black threads, made of dyed fibres mixed with hair. From a distance this resembles natural hair sufficiently to be mistaken for it, and the false hair often drags as low as the ground. It is very oily, and when they are working or walking they roll it round their arms, thus making up a very bulky bundle. ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 58i .v, if mp t '£$ &$$$-%* The married women of the upper Mubangi wear their hair long, as the men do, and plaited in all kinds of patterns, sprinkled with coloured beads. “This head-dress” (writes a Belgian explorer, Vangele) “is really splendid and provokes the astonishment of travellers. The women are very proud of it. They devote several days to completing their preparations in this fashion. When their hair is not long enough to allow the dressing of their head — which occu- pies them many days — to be com- pleted, or when they are afraid that their head-dress may be- come untidy, they conceal their hair under a net of fine woven fibre. The men do the same. Delicately carved ivory pins uphold the skilful edifice and give the whole a highly artistic ap- pearance.” Among the Nsakara the wo- men make up their head - dress by means of flat plaits literally covered with cow- ries or beads. These plaits start from the neck, are drawn towards the front, and form a sort ol bonnet, sometimes resembling a bishops mitre in shape. The chiefs arrange their hair in the same style. The whole head- dress is plentifully sprinkled with palm oil and red powder. The Mongwandi of the upper Mongala are allied to the Sango of the upper Mubangi. Their hairdressing is thus de- scribed by Belgian explorers : — ■ , * . y. ' ■i * $ , „ Ss 298. A WOMAN FROM THE BWELA COUNTRY, NORTHERN CONGOLAND, WEARING HER HAIR IN THE CYLIN- DRICAL FASHION ADOPTED BY THE MANBETTU WOMEN (Also, note cicatrized face.) 582 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO From each side of the head there fall to the ears two head- bands, made either of copper bars or of little red, blue, white, and green beads of European manufacture. [The neck is covered by a necklace of beads.] The dandies among the men put on a false head of hair, which consists in tying together small blackened strings, reaching down to the ground ; as each string is attached to a tuft of hair, one can form an idea of the patience required on the part of the artist employed in pre- paring such ahead-dress and of the weight which the head has to support. The women dress their hair in much the same way as the men. The necklace is re- placed by a bead mosaic, a masterpiece of pa- tience, which keeps up the hair above the neck. Others likewise tie on strings, only on reach- ing the waist they wind them on a stick in such a way as to form a thick bundle, which they al- ways carry in their arms and which serves them as a pillow at night ! The Banza of the lower Mubangi are passionately fond of stringing red beads on their tresses of hair. The Banza women plait the long hair at the back of the head and bring the plaits forward to make a coronal about the forehead. Or they arrange them in a fan-shaped diadem on the top of the head. The Ngombe about the mouth of the Ruki or Juapa River follow the same fashion of the diadem, and ornament the plaits that form it with beads, discs of copper, and quills of feathers, or even kauri shells. The Bondonga (non- Bantu) of the Rubi River cut their hair into three or more long tufts, like a clown’s perruque, and this fashion (illustrated by Grenfell’s photograph on p. 583) reaches to the north-east bend of the Congo and the Bakumu of Stanley Falls. 299. A METHOD OF HAIR-DRESSING AMONGST THE NORTHERN NGOMBE WOMEN, SIMILAR TO THE NSAKARA FASHION ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS The Forest tribes along the north-east Congo adopt many different fashions in hairdressing, especially amongst the men. These are well illustrated by the accompanying photographs. Amongst the northern Ngombe and Bapoto the hair is trained upwards, as in the illustration, into a kind of blunt cone some- times cleft in the middle. “In 1890 the principal work of the women at Bopoto seemed to be the dressing of the hair of the men into all sorts of fantastic shapes, cones and mitres preponderat- ing, though there is great latitude in the shape, number, size, and direction of horns. The principal work of the men is to get their hair dressed — lying, Samson and Delilah fashion, in the shade of trees or in open court- yards.” (Grenfell.) The Bayanzi of the main Congo had formerly a very characteristic way of dressing the hair. It was plaited and plastered, and the foremost plaits 3 °°* were made to hang down on either side of the head like horns, or like those old greased locks of the middle nineteenth-century butcher. The women adopted much the same fashion, but did not appear to be able to produce such length in the hair as was achieved by the men . 1 Among the eastern Bayanzi apparently the wearing •A HOLIDAY SPENT WITH THE HAIR-DRESSER. BONDONGA STYLE OF WEARING THE HAIR 1 “ But I have seen some women whose heads were completely shaved both sides, and had only preserved their hair in the central zone. This hair is bound up in a pad stuck together with palm oil and presents the appearance of the crest in a fireman’s helmet.” (Father Geens.) 584 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO of the hair in two long- dependent horns appears to be limited to the women. The men rather adopt the Bateke fashion, or else wear the hair in three longitudinal ridges, like the Bayaka. The Bateke men and most of the women straighten and strain the hair up into a kind of chignon, more or less on the top of the head, in the shape illustrated in my drawing. The Bakongo men and women do not appear to have directed much attention to dressing their hair, which is merely clipped from time to time, and in the case of the women occa- sionally parted, plaited, and directed backwards. The Babwende of the northern cataract Congo take more trouble about their hair-dressing. Their coiffures vary infinitely, ac- cording to the more or less original talent of the hair- dresser. Some Babwende wear their hair very short, and without plaits or orna- ments of any kind. Others shave their heads for hy- gienic reasons. o The Holo people of the middle Kwango also dress their hair in long plaits which hang down perpen- dicularly, and no doubt add to its length by artificial means. The Bayaka dress their hair in the following manner. After shaving the head in be- tween three great longitudinal ridges of hair, they comb out and plait these sections (getting the kink out as much as possible with castor-oil). The plait made from the central ridge is divided over the forehead, and each end is passed behind either ear. (Grenfell, Torday.) The Baluba , Bakuba, and other peoples of South-Central Africa adopt many fantastic methods of shaping the hair, gene- rally into a series of helmet-like ridges or cockscombs. These patterns are frequently reproduced in pottery. The Alunda wind long plaits transversely round the head (the rest of the hair being clipped close), and end with a coil or tuft at the 301. A FASHION IN HAIR-DRESSING, YALEMBA, NORTHERN CONGO ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 585 back of the head. Or the hair is plaited and hangs in long ringlets. Wigs, however, are usually worn by the men of importance. The Lunda women and slaves wear their hair short, and even shave a large triangular space above the fore- head. Amongst the Bambala the hair is allowed to grow on the top of the head in the form of a cap, the rest being shaved and painted black with soot and palm oil. Some wear hair at the back of the head, made up into tresses with soot and palm oil. The moustache is usually shaved. The beard, which grows on the point of the chin only, often attains considerable length, but is bound up under the chin, and pieces of clay are often hidden in the knot to give it a more important appearance . 1 As regards ornaments which are not developments of the integument, the Congo peoples are much like all other savages or semi-savages in o. o valuing necklaces , rings , bracelets , anklets. Amongst the grimly humorous cannibals, necklaces of human teeth are in great re- quest. The Forest tribes of the north, north-east, and centre value especially as a manly adornment necklaces of leopards or bush-pig’s teeth. Beads, seeds, and any other objects easily threaded are used by poorer people . 2 Necklaces have gone much out of fashion, however, amongst the better- clothed Kongo and Lunda peoples. The men of all tribes wear rings of iron, brass, palm-nut, or plaited string. The women of the eastern Bayanzi, Banunu , Bakutu , and Losa- kani tribes wear extraordinary collars of brass or copper, sufficiently illustrated in the accompanying photographs. Some of these brass necklaces are an “honourable” sign of slavery, indicating that the woman is a valued slave or concubine. The women on the western Mubangi and on the northern bend of the Congo (Bangala to Aruwimi) wear thick, heavy, rounded collars of copper, iron, or brass (of from twenty to twenty- five pounds in weight), the shape of which is illustrated in the 1 Father Geens remarks of the Babwende : “Chiefs often allow their beards to grow. Some let them grow very long and roll them up under the chin like a ball. I have seen beards 1 m. 50 in length.” This recalls a similar practice amongst the Bateke of the western Congo. Vide Guiral, Le Congo Frangais. 2 Among the southern Ngombe (Ruki River), necklaces are made of beads, claws and teeth, dried fruit and nuts, berries of all sizes, kauris, ends of rushes, rope, etc., with, in the middle, a large mussel shell or a shell of a small tortoise. 302. THE CHIGNON AND COIFFURE OF A BATEKE MAN, FROM NEAR STANLEY POOL 586 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO accompanying photographs. Grenfell, in his diary, queries how they can get them on and off. A Belgian missionary supplies him with the answer : — “ The manner of fixing on the ornament (necklace) is entirely original. When the necklace is nearly completed, an opening is left wide, enough to allow the woman’s neck to pass. She then lies on the floor, one end of the necklace is placed on the anvil, and the smith closes the opening. The operation of removing the ornament is no less complicated. The woman lies on the ground, two stakes are then driven into the earth five metres to the right and left of her, to which the necklace is fastened by means of strong creepers (lianes). Two negroes, one on the right, the other on the left, twist the creepers, and the necklace gradually opens as they get shorter. When the opening is wide enough to allow the neck to pass through, the owner of the ornament retires.” Bangles and anklets ol ivory, copper, iron, and brass (sometimes very heavy) are worn by the women on the Mubangi River, the Upper— nor- thern — Congo, and the Aruwimi ; also among the Ngombe and Mongo tribes. In this last con- geries of peoples, south of the main Congo, the women’s anklets are of copper, very heavy, and sometimes three in number on each ankle. A remarkable point, however, in Congo decorations is a negative one : very little use seems to be made of ivory, as compared to the customs of other parts of tropical Africa ; and in the same way not so much prominence is given to iron in 303. (i) WOODEN PATS FOR MARKING NATIVE POTTERY. (2) SPECIMENS OF NATIVE COMBS, LOWER CONGO. (3) HAIRPIN FROM THE UPPER CONGO. (4) A SPOON FROM THE BANGALA PEOPLE, UPPER CONGO ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 587 these adornments. Leg and arm ornaments of coiled brass or iron wire are worn by the women of the Mubangi and the western Congo, and also by those in the far east and south of Congoland ; but this type of ornament is likewise less common than in Eastern or Sudanian Africa. The Ababua or Babati women of the Rubi-Wele wear on their legs spirals of fine iron wire (the men wear iron anklets). The Banza women wear armlets of cowries and leg-spirals of thick copper wire. Some art and attention is be- stowed occasionally on the waist-belts and girdles, es- pecially by the men. These are more usually worn just above the hips, rather than round the waist. In the northern regions they are sometimes made of the stiff bristles of an elephant’s tail. Young Ababua women wear girdles of two or three rows of iron hoops. Aba- bua men use a girdle of bark fibre twisted into a thick string. In the southern part of the Congo basin the girdle is often made of plaited grass. As regards clothing , it has been already stated that many tribes of the north-west, north, north-centre, and north-east wear tegipudenda of the scantiest description in the case of the men and allow the young women to go naked and the matrons to wear at most a narrow girdle or a minute apron. 304. (i) NATIVE COPPER COLLAR WORN BY WOMEN ON THE UPPER MUBANGI RIVER. (2) NECKLACE OF COPPER - WIRE BEADS AND FIVE LEOPARD’S TEETH, WORN BY A LOKELE CHIEF (N.E. CONGO). (3) NECKLACE OF PIG’S TEETH OFTEN WORN BY SORCERERS (UPPER CONGO) 588 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The simplest garment of the women is a bunch of leaves [this may be seen in the north-east of Congoland or perhaps among the Mongo tribes in the centre]. Men rarely if ever adopt this plan, and usually advance at once from scarcely qualified nakedness to the simple tegipudenda of dressed skin or bast cloth. In the next stage of costume this mere sporran or rag hanging from the loin-girdle is supplemented by a 305. SOLID BRASS COLLAR, WEIGHING NEARLY 25 LB., WORN AS AN ORNAMENT BY THE WIFE OF A BANGALA CHIEF ON THE UPPER CONGO (These collars are more often of copper, away from the great trade routes.) narrow continuation of string or thong which passes between the thighs and is drawn up under and over the loin-girdle at the back, perhaps afterwards hanging down between the nates in a tail, 1 then, in a further advance, the cloth flap in front is balanced by one behind, a gap being left over the side of each hip ; and by degrees with extensions and embellishments we have here the germ of breeches, beginning at first in a 1 The wearing of tails over the buttocks has been a favourite custom with the negroes from early culture stage, though it now only lingers among the bush tribes. Elsewhere it has given rise to the many legends of tailed men. ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 589 garment like a pair of bathing-drawers. [This is illustrated in the figure of the Ngombe negro on page 786.] In the western and southern regions of the Congo this o o somewhat becoming garment is not adopted. Instead a waist- cloth is worn all round the body from below a waist-girdle, down to the knees — an ugly, graceless costume. The dress of the Bayanzi is somewhat scanty. It con- sists, in the case of women as in that of the men, solely of a loin-cloth, or piece of native material rolled round the thighs and hanging down as low as the knees. On days when it is cold and in the evenings, the “ men of leisure ” wear in addi- tion a piece of cloth of the same kind which they wind round their bodies, and which they take care to lay aside when the temperature rises. The natives now usually pre- fer and obtain European cali- coes ; but in older days they wore cloth manufactured from raphia-palm bast (ptcsu). This was tinted a dirty red by means of camwood, and fringed with a small band of red cloth. On the west (ignoring* for the moment the far-spreading cotton goods of Europe and America) and in the south-west and south-centre, the native cloth was made almost entirely from this raphia “bast” ( pusu , dipusii)} In the east, north- centre, and north (besides parts of the west) the dress material was the inner fibrous bast of the Ur 0 stigma fig tree, 1 2 after the outer rind or bark had been removed. This is the “ bark cloth ” of Uganda, described at length in my book on that region. These strips of fig-tree bast are soaked in 306. A SLAVE WOMAN OF BWEMBA, WESTERN CONGO, WEARING A BRASS COLLAR 1 It is really, I believe, the outer skin of the young growing fronds of the Raphia palm : see p. 593. Short cloths were also made in the western and south-western Congo basin from grass. 2 Or a kindred species of the Urostigma. 590 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO water, and then felted by being beaten with wooden mallets to reduce them to a uniform thinness. After this the lone strips are joined together with stitches. “Bark” or felted bast cloth of this description was the universal wear of Negroland at one time, from Liberia, the Gold Coast, and forested Nigeria to the Cameroons, Congo basin, Angola, Nyasaland, Mozambique, and all parts of East Africa well supplied with Urostigma fig trees. Outside the “ bark cloth ” region the negroes and negroids wore skins. Then at some date not yet determined Bantu (Hima) civilization brought down into Central Congoland the loom and the weaving of bast or other fibres which could be made into yarn. 307. (i) A MUBANGI LEG ORNAMENT (COILS OF BRASS WIRE). (2) AND (2) BRASS COLLARS WORN ROUND THE NECK BY WOMEN AS A TOKEN OF SERVITUDE (From the country south of the main Congo, between Stanley Pool and Lake Leopold II.) Later still Moslem civilization taught the spinning and weaving of cotton , though this art scarcely reached any part of the true Congo basin except perhaps the Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau, or the regions of the Lower Congo under Portuguese influence and the far interior of the Cameroons-Congo water- parting. Whilst the Bayanzi, therefore, and most of the peoples south of the western Congo used raphia cloth (“ Kasai cloths ” of some writers) for their garments, 1 north of that great river the common material was fig-tree felted cloth (“ bark cloth ”). 1 Or in some cases (especially in the Kongo states and south-western region) grass cloth, long grass filaments being plaited or woven instead of raphia bast. This even gave rise to a currency. ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 59 1 This — before the inrush of North African and European cotton goods — was the clothing material of the Nyamnyam, Manbettu, Ababwa, Banza, and the peoples of the Aruwimi and north-east Congo, although in the course of trade the Ngombe people carried raphia cloth to the Mongala River. 308. (i) - IRON BANGLE FROM BANALYA, ARUWIMI RIVER (NATIVE IRON ROUGHLY WORKED). (2) WOMAN’S ANKLET OF BRASS, MUBANGI RIVER The Manbettu men obtain a wide and long piece of bark cloth (composed, of course, of many narrow strips sewn together), and pass it loosely between the legs, bringing the ends up back and front under a girdle. When the cloth is 309. BAKWESE NECK ORNAMENT FORMED OF NATIVE-MADE BEADS OF BLUE GLASS WHICH ARE FROM THE KATANGA COUNTRY The pendant represents miniature bellows such as are used in native forges. new and stiff (it is a ruddy-brown colour, as in Uganda) the rather crimped ends spread out like great fans in front of the chest and below the shoulder-blades, suggesting occasionally some of the extraordinary forms of pleated cloths assumed in the garments of the ancient Egyptians. When this bark cloth 592 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO is new its lack of suppleness compels the Manbettu to walk in an ungainly manner, with his legs far apart, but as this shows that his cloth is new, he is proud of his awkward stride. The chiefs and other great personages on festive occasions at dances wear an extraordinary bustle behind, which with their tucked-up cloth gives them the ungainly appearance of female trippers at the English seaside who desire to paddle without wetting their petticoats. Manbettu women wear a small apron, also made of felted bark cloth, but over their stomachs they hang a kind of “ sporran ” made of leaves plaited together in a heart-shape. The clothing of the Ababua is much more summary : a small piece of bark cloth passed between the legs of the men, 310. women’s girdles of woven grass or PALM BAST, UPPER CONGO and attached before and behind to the loin-girdle. This some- times ends in front with a bundle of hair or the furry tail of a wild cat. A somewhat similar object may be seen in the dress of one of the Pygmies in Grenfell’s photograph on page 332. Ababua children and unmarried girls go naked, but after marriage a young woman wears a very minute piece of bark cloth as a tegipudenda ; perhaps a larger covering after she has borne a child. The southern Ababua (Babanda, Magboro, Mabenja) wear remarkable “embroideries” of iron beads or iron rings (like mail-shirts) on their small aprons of bast felted cloth. Grenfell noted in 1885 that the Ngombe women on the east bank of the lower Mitbangi wore full, short skirts of grass or palm filaments. This is also the custom of the Bangala women and of some of the Ngombe tribes along the northern Congo. Sometimes the Bangala women confine their dress to a double, ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 593 broad girdle of closely plaited grass cloth with a large bustle of loose filaments behind, as in the illustration. In other cases the short skirt of filaments is continuous. Amongst some of the Npombe women it looks like the dress of a conventional o ballet dancer. The thickness is attained sometimes by their putting on as many as twenty skirts of filaments, one on top of the other. The B age ny a men near Stanley Falls in 1885 (accordingto Grenfell) wore only a short skirt or apron of banana felted fibre, while the women were contented with the bunch of leaves so charac- teristic of the northern forest tribes. But just as they have almost put aside their own language in favour of Swahili, so they have now adopted the Swahili mode of dress. The Baluba , Bakuba , Bambala, and most other peoples of the south-cen- tral and south-west Congo basin (except they are chiefs or personages of importance) wear simply a palm-fibre cloth in a strip about a yard in length and half a yard in width. This is fastened round the waist, usually attached to a girdle of similar cloth or of woven grass which is coloured with red clay. The cloth is usually tied at the back so as to leave the upper part of the posterior bare. Under this cloth women wear strings of beads round the hips. Over the cloth, in front, the men wear sporrans made of the skins of goats or, more rarely, small antelopes. These are dried in the sun and oiled, but the hair is not re- moved. They are usually cut into the shape of a small apron. 311. PUSU ; BAST OR FIBRE STRIPPED FROM THE FRONDS OF THE RAPHIA PALM II. H 594 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Torday mentions that the Bambala sew their garments with eyed iron needles of native make, and use palm fibre for thread. These native-made needles (not unlike large sail-making needles) are widely spread over the Congo basin, though no doubt they only date from the introduction of Hima civilization, and were preceded by splinters of bamboo or of bone. Some of these are still used for coarse work. They serve to make a hole through which the thread is pushed. Grenfell several times mentions the extent to which clothes 312. GRASS SKIRT OF THE NGOMBE WOMEN of European make or shape are spreading amongst the Baluba and Alunda, who have an equally strong fancy for European boots. It is only in the western and south-western regions of the Congo basin that we find elaborate clothing. The dress of the Kongo peoples has been so largely Europeanized during the last twenty-five years that they can hardly be said to have a national costume. But the least clothing on behalf of the men is a rather long loin-cloth hanging from the girdle, and in the case of the adult women, draperies beginning at the arm- pits. The Bakuba-Bahiba-Lttnda peoples have adopted an extraordinary costume for the men when in full dress, which ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 595 would appear to have been imitated from the clothing- of Euro- pean women one hundred and fifty or sixty years ago, though the resemblance may be quite accidental. Pictures in Henrique de Carvalho’s Eth- nographia e His- toria of the Lunda Empire show various chiefs and potentates dressed in skirts, bodices, and caps, like Euro- pean women of the lower classes in the middle nineteenth century. Li vingstone was received in 1868 by the Kazembe of Mweru and found this Lunda viceroy dressed like a woman in ample blue and white cotton skirts and cape, with a crown of yellow feathers. As the Kazembe had been lono- uninfluenced by Lunda fashions (the separated satrapy being about one hun- dred and fifty years old, at least), this cos- tume must be tolerably ancient. The full dress ot the Bakuba chiefs is illustrated on page 596. In this case the skirts are not particularly un- manly, and are rather gracefully disposed. All the common peo- ple in this region content themselves with a mere loin-cloth or a piece of furred skin. The women are much less clothed than the men, even in the higher classes. In Livingstone’s day the Alunda women and girls appeared to be nearly nude. Now they usually wear a short apron in front. 314. BUSTLE OF PALM FIBRE WORN BY BANGALA WOMEN, NORTHERN CONGO 313. BANGALA WOMAN’S SKIRT (MADE OF RAPHIA PALM FIBRE) 596 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Women of importance add to this a long strip of calico behind, which depends from the girdle, and a short strip of calico or of leopard skin over the breasts. In the eastern part of the Congo State , the Zanzibar- Arab fashions of dress — long white shirts and other flowing draperies — are obtaining an increasing hold over the people, and constitute certainly — be- yond all question — the most picturesque and ap- propriate costume which could be adopted. In fact, whatever we may do about religious principles, the sumptuary fashions of the Muhammadan world ought to be placed in- sistently before the negro and negress resident in Africa. They suit these people admirably, making them both dignified and good-looking. The use of skins for clothing is non-existent over a great part of the Congo basin, with little or no tradition to show that it ever did exist as a means of coverinof, after total nudity had been given up. It would rather seem that in the forest regions of West -Central Africa leaves and bast were the first substances used for this purpose. But feathers, tufts of hair from various beasts have entered largely into Congo adornments, while the idea of the sporran — aTragment, large or small, of furred skin hung in front of the lower abdomen (generally over some other covering) has been a fairly frequent custom amongst the men. At the present day, 315. A MUKUBA CHIEF (SANKURU RIVER) IN FULL DRESS ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 597 aprons of the black and white Colobus monkey skin are worn by the Nyamnyam. Amongst other peoples of the west or north- east it is a genet skin or that of the Forest Cat ( Felis aurata). In the south it is usually a portion of a goat or small antelope’s skin, but the very striking black and white pelt of the Colobus monkey crops up again and again, and is often used by medicine- men for their adornments. Mention has already been made of the Baloi “sleeveless waistcoats ” of buffalo hide. Grenfell traced the use of this armature as far up the Mubangi as \° 8' N. Lat. Curiously * I ■ * 316. (i) CAP FROM CONGO COAST REGION, MADE OF DRIED GRASS. (2) WAR HEAD-DRESS OF FEATHERS FROM THE UPPER CONGO enough, the same “corselet” of dressed buffalo hide is met with amongst the western Babira, the Balese , and other Forest tribes of the north-east (upper Aruwimi basin). Feather head-dresses are commoner in the east than in the west. They reach their culmination probably in the forest region between the west coast of Tanganyika and the Lualaba- Congo. There may be seen in the British Museum a stupen- dous head-dress collected by myself from the west coast of Tanganyika, 1 which is composed of hundreds of scarlet feathers from the tails of Grey Parrots. It is really a magnificent piece of work, and was said to have been worn by great chiefs 1 It was brought to me by natives from the regions north-west of the lake. 598 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO in ceremonial dances. Smaller caps of the same style are frequently sent home from this region and also from the northern Congo. Feather head-dresses are worn by some of the people on the lower Aruwimi. They were even used by the late Kazembe, a Lunda potentate of Lake Mweru. As regards other head-gear , tall hats woven of basket-work used to be very fashionable amongst the Bayanzi chiefs. They are illustrated in my portrait cf Ibaka. The Babuma, both 317. A CEREMONIAL CAP OF THE WESTERN BAYAKA PEOPLE (KWANGO RIVER), MADE OF FIBRE AND STRING men and women, would sometimes affix a flat brass plate to the top of their hair. The square cap of the Manbettu has been already described. The great flapping straw hat of the Sudan (which in slightly varying fashions ranges from the south of Tunis to the interior of Lagos) has penetrated parts of Northern Congoland amongst the Nyamnyam and the Nsakara. But except where European fashions have been introduced amongst the Lunda or Kioko peoples in the south-west, the Congoland negroes as a rule do not much affect covering for the head. It is very rare also to see them decorate the hair with feathers as is done in Eastern Equatorial Africa. The Imban- ARTIFICIAL ADORNMENTS 599 gala of the middle Kwango used to wear striking head-dresses o o o of Colobus monkey skin, black and white, and these seem to have been recorded by Grenfell from the Lomami and perhaps the Lulongo-Maringo . 1 * * * They also appear sometimes to be made of different and red-coloured monkeys amongst the vari- ous tribes of the north-east. The Alunda men wear wig-like caps or cap-like wigs, made seemingly of hair, plaited fibre, grease, and soot, with excrescent tufts and horns, ornamented with beads or kauri shells. As to foot-gear , sandals are almost unknown amongst the aboriginal Congo natives. The Bakongo and the Baluba have o o ^ . ^ 5 1 8 . A HORNED CAP FROM THE UPPER rfANKURU RIVER, MADE OF STRING This gives a conventional imitation of ox horns. (Collected by Captain S. L. Hinde.) a great fancy for European boots. So far the use of sandals has only been recorded from the south-eastern portion of the Congo basin (where they are of hide) and from the south-west (Lunda plateau). Here they are only worn by the Lunda and Kioko chiefs, and in some cases with their straps or strings round the ankle resemble the classical buskin. 1 Also amongst the Bangala and the northern Ngombe. “ At Mbudza (? Buja), near Bopoto, men wear tall, conical hats covered with monkey skin. Poles are erected and hung with skulls. One had as many as eight on it. They use scimetars and Rubango knives. There is plenty of copper at Mbudza. 5 ’ (Grenfell, 1885.) CHAPTER XXIV FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING I T has already been pointed out in this book and in other works by writers on tropical Africa that Negroland, especi- ally in the Congo basin, was badly supplied with vegetable food-stuffs until the Portuguese and later on the Arabs intro- duced a number of cultivated cereals, tubers, berries, and fruits from America or from Asia into West and East Africa. East Africa, through the early trade that had sprung up with India, Arabia, and, earlier still, Egypt, had already been en- riched with many food-plants of Asiatic or European origin. But few if any of these penetrated into the Congo basin prior to its discovery by the Portuguese. In fact, down to the end of the fifteenth century the indigenous food-stuffs of the Congo basin must have been limited to the banana, the coco-yam (a Colocasia aroid), the Dioscorea yam, and, amongst grains, possibly “millets” \Panicum frumentaceum , P. sarmentosum , P. maximum , P. spec- tabile, P. burgu; and Pennisetum typhoidcum\ sorghum ( Andro - pogon), and eleusine, another millet-like grain. There were no sweet potato, tomato, chili-pepper, manioc, onion, sugar-cane, pineapple, rice , 1 maize, or tobacco ; and probably no ground-nut (. Arachis ). There may have been pumpkins and gourds, also a few cultivated forms of beans and peas — Phaseolus , Cicer y Cajanus ; though these are very rarely met with in Congoland away from the centres of European or Arab and Sudanese influence. Even the cultivation of the millets {Panicum and Pennise- tum ), eleusine, and sorghum — all these grains except Panicum not indigenous to tropical Africa — probably did not exist in the central basin of the Congo ; but only where it had been carried by the invading Hamitic organizers of the eastern Bantu or of similar negro tribes in the park-lands of the northern Mubangi. No doubt the greater part of the Congo basin was dense forest, 1 A species of wild grain allied to rice — Zizania — is perhaps indigenous to the Upper Congo, and is sometimes eaten by the people in times of scarcity. Grenfell refers to it as “hungry rice.” FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 601 except on the Lunda and Lualaba plateaux. The people were much more carnivorous, and lived very much as the Pygmies do now — on the flesh of wild mammals, birds, and even insects and reptiles, the honey of the wild bees, fish in the rivers, fungi (which are most abundant, appetizing, and wholesome in the great forests), bananas, and the seeds, roots, and tubers of wild plants now neglected by the much more fastidious peoples of to- day. Of course in the regions north of the sixth degree of South Latitude and the south of the third degree of North Latitude there was the oil palm, which furnished the natives with an appetizing, nourishing fat from its nuts and a delicious vegetable in the heart of the palm. The coconut palm on the coast 319. CEREMONIAL DECORATED WIG OR CAP WORN BY THE BAKWESE PEOPLE, SOUTH-CENTRAL CONGOLAND (TORDAY COLLECTION) seems to have been introduced by the Portuguese. The negroes of course obtained in abundance the sweet, palatable, and nutritious sap of the oil palm, the raphia, and the borassus. The leaves of Portulaca and other wild vegetables were boiled and turned into spinach. Even at the present day the Congo basin has greatly benefited by the incoming of the European as regards improved food-supplies. For example, rice was practically unknown in the central basin of the Congo (though there is a kind of wild rice, Zizania , of poor quality, apparently indigenous to the rivers of the northern territories) until the German ex- plorer Dr. Pogge introduced it in 1875 or 1876. It is now cultivated in all directions by the Bashilange, many of the Baluba people, the Bakuba, and the Bakusu. About the same 602 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO time the Manyema and the populations of the Lualaba received rice seed from the Zanzibar Arabs, and it is crown in enormous quantities up and down the Lualaba-Congo and in parts of the Lomami basin. The sugar-cane ( Saccharum ) was introduced by the Portu- guese on the west from Brazil and the Arabs 1 on the east, and is now found far and wide over the Congo basin. The extra- ordinary growth of the pineapple from the West Coast inwards has been already mentioned in various chapters. It has found a new home in South-Central Congoland. The spread of both maize and tobacco is one of the wonders of ethnology, tobacco perhaps most wonderful of all. This plant cannot have been introduced by the Portuguese to the West Coast of Africa until well towards the middle of the sixteenth century, because it was long before it caught on as a narcotic with Europeans. In fact, it is probably not inaccurate to maintain that the Portuguese cannot have made any serious attempt to acclimatize tobacco on the coast of Guinea, Kongo, and Angola before the beginning of the seventeenth century. Yet — so far as we can guess from native traditions and by the observations of early European explorers — between 1600 and 1800, tobacco must have penetrated almost everywhere into the innermost recesses of the Congo basin as well as elsewhere throughout negro Africa. In the majority of cases it has kept its name — something like taba — in the most of the languages of the people who use it. But it has already started indi- genous varieties ; and those who had not carefully studied the history of the tobacco plant would swear that it was indigenous [like one or more species of cotton] to tropical Africa. Even as regards the cotton plant, it is curious to know that the species most widely spread in native cultivation seem to be American, and not the one or two indigenous African types. Wild coffee was first discovered by Grenfell on the lower Sanga and lower Mubangi rivers. It is found principally in the northern part of the Congo basin within the forest belt. So far as I am aware, no species of wild coffee has yet been found indigenous to the south of the main Congo. It seems to be a species characteristic of the true Equatorial forest belt of West Africa, with an extension to Abyssinia and westwards to the River Senegal. 1 The Zanzibari Arabs may also have introduced from the Zanzibar coast (whither it came from India) the sweet sorghum which is sometimes cultivated on Tanganyika — Andropogon saccharatum. The sugar-yielding Panicum burgii which reaches south to the northern Mubangi may be indigenous to the Sudan. 320. EXPERIMENTAL VEGETABLE GARDEN AND NURSERY AT BOPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO (REV. WILLIAM FORFEITT) LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 605 Manioc ( Manihot utilissima) [the tuberous roots of an Euphorbiaceous plant], introduced by the Portuguese also about 1600 and better known to us under the name of “tapioca/’ has now become the staple food of all Western Congoland. It penetrates, of course, right across to the coast of the Indian Ocean, but east of Longitude 24 0 rather gives way to sorghum grain as a staple of food. Its use in the form known as kwanga has already been referred to. This is or was the staple food of the riverain peoples of the Upper Congo. The root, after being well washed to get rid of its inherent prussic acid [there are two forms of manioc, one (M. utilissima ), the semi-poisonous, is bitter, and the other (M. palmata) is sweet and wholesome and does not require washing], was ground into a white flour SALE (MOUTH OF LOMAMl) and then mixed with water till it formed a stiff dough. This was made up into rolls of sausage shape (or large round balls), wrapped in banana leaves, and boiled. The root before being made into flour is not only soaked for three days in fresh water, but is boiled and dried in the sun. Manioc leaves are sometimes boiled and eaten as a spinach. The tall sorghum (. Andropogon sorghum — in many African varieties) — sometimes growing to nine or ten feet in height — has a robust, knotty stalk as thick as a finger, and alternate, drooping, sword-like leaves. The ear of corn is a little like a diminutive cob of maize, with the seeds more numerous and growing less closely to the main stem. The grains are the size and shape of flattened buckshot. They are smooth, shiny, with a tough husk, and in colour are glistening white or pale 606 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO pink. Other varieties are almost black when ripe, or are a bright red. The special red sorghum of Angola is cultivated eastwards as far as Katanga. In that country sorghum is planted at the beginning of the rainy season (October- Novem- ber). It is ripe in May, but is left standing for two or three weeks until it dries. The harvest is usually gathered by women, who bend the long stalks down and snip off the ear of corn. When these have been thoroughly dried in the sun, the grains are rubbed off and are piled in granaries of wickerwork plastered with clay or mud. Sorghum grain, usually pounded in stone mortars, produces coarse, impure flour, as it is difficult to separate the husk from the grain with the means at the disposal of the natives. As this hour does not rise, it cannot be used for bread, so the negroes make a kind of porridge of it, to which other things are added, such as beans, peas, palm oil, ground-nuts, animal fat, okroes (the buds of a mallow, Hibiscus — possibly indigenous), or small pieces of meat. The taste of sorghum dour is fairly agreeable, but it is very coarse-grained, and appears to be peculiarly unwholesome for Europeans, provoking intestinal disorders resembling dysentery. It is said that this is due to the coarse dour being mixed up with minute particles of granite from the hollowed stone in which it is ground. Millets of various species of Panicum are but little cultivated except in the north and east, chiedy in the valley of the Wele- Mubangi, along the coasts of Tanganyika, and in the country of Katanga. These grains are even less cultivated in Congoland than sorghum or eleusine ; as a rule, the natives merely plant them to make the grain into beer ; but this practice is entirely foreign to the forest-dwelling negroes, who make their beer out of bananas — if, indeed, they are not content with the ordinary palm wine. It is not until one has passed beyond the limits of the Congo basin into the Egyptian Sudan or possibly German East Africa that the millets become of importance amongst the cultivated grains. Numerous wild millets are indigenous to West and East Africa, some growing to a height of dfteen feet. Eleusine, which in appearance is more like the “millet” sold for bird-seed, appears to be condned in its distribution to the cultivated park-lands of the Congo outside the region of dense forests. The cultivation of ground-nuts is pretty well distributed over the whole of the Congo basin except in the densest forests. In some parts also the voandzeia has been introduced from the FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 607 north and east [the Bayanzi grow it]. This ground-nut is said to be of Madagascar origin. Beans and peas (. Phaseolus , Dolichos , Cajanus , Cicer) are likewise only found in the more or less well-cultivated coast- lands or open park-like country away from the great forests. They are probably of eastern origin, and a relatively old intro- duction into the Congo basin. In Portuguese Congo the Portu- guese have introduced their favourite haricot bean, which forms the great national dish of Portugal (feijao). Sugar-cane before ever Stanley discovered the Congo was widely cultivated up and down the course of that river and its great affluents, though it may be no older in use than the beginning of the seventeenth century. The riverain peoples of the Con^o and its tributaries make a fermented drink out of the juice of the sugar-cane. The canes are pounded in a large mortar made of a hollow tree trunk. The product of the crushed cane is then passed through the fibres gathered from a palm tree, which serve as a strainer. The juice after fermentation and the admixture of water is bottled in earthenware vessels or glass bottles derived from Europeans. The Bashilange excel in making a kind of sugar-cane wine, which is declared excel- lent. Gourds ( L agenaria) and pumpkins ( Cucurbita ) are much cultivated everywhere, the former as receptacles. The empty husk of the bottle-shaped gourd is an indispensable utensil — whole, or neatly cut in half — of even the most elementary Congo civilization above the Pygmy standard. The Kola nut (in a cultivated state and growing on a comely tree) is found in all Northern and Western Congoland, as far south as about 6° S. Lat. and perhaps eastward to Tanganyika and the upper Aruwimi. The nut is chiefly valued in Western Congoland as an aphrodisiac. It is not as much used or valued, however, as in Western Nigeria. Sweet potatoes ( ' Ipomcea batatas ), the tuber of a South American convolvulus, are a good deal cultivated in Western Congoland and in the Mubangi-Wele basin. The Zanzibaris have greatly increased the cultivation of this plant in the east (Manyema, Aruwimi, Lomami, Tanganyika). Hemp was introduced into Central Africa by the Arabs probably before tobacco came in the footsteps of the Portuguese, and hemp-smoking, originating in Asia, prepared the way for the smoking of tobacco. Hemp as a narcotic is not much used in the Congo basin except in the southern, south-western, and south-central 608 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO parts, 1 and on the western Mubangi. This practice has nearly died out in the kingdom of Kongo, though it was prevalent once. Of late years hemp-smoking has developed in a rather sensa- tional fashion amoncr the excitable Bashilanee, a Luba-like tribe dwelling between the eastern Lulua and the upper Sankuru. The Bashilange are described by Torday as “clean, tall, and of good bearing . . . much attached to the Whites, anxious to learn, eager for the products of Europe ; but unhappily abandoned to the terrible habit ot hemp-smoking, which brutalizes them and makes them incapable of progress.” Hemp- smoking amongst these people became — as far back as the ’seventies of the last century — a vice associated with semi- religious “ Masonic ” societies, calling themselves “ Bena Diamba ” 2 = Brothers (of the) Hemp. Excessive abuse of this drug - led to an almost national o 1 The practice — still very common in German East Africa, Nyasaland, Portuguese East Africa, and Zambezia — must have existed at one time in the north and north-east of Congoland and along the course of the main Congo, to account for some of the forms of pipes found there, pipes afterwards adapted for tobacco. 2 This is given in most books as “ Bena Z?iamba.” R is rare as an original initial consonant in Bantu Africa and is often a European or Arab mishearing of the Bantu d or /. Bena means “ brothers ” not {band) “ children.” 322 . MANIOC PLANTS FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 609 movement against it : other secret societies were formed to o combat the potence, it population vice. As excessive hemp-smoking produces im- is one among the many checks to the increase of in uncontrolled negro Africa. Congo o more pipes Tobacco fortunately produces peoples. It is everywhere culti- vated (except by the dwarfs, who nevertheless love it), and is smoked in than taken as snuff — co mpared to East Africa, where- in snuff-taking pre- dominates over smoking. 1 o Among the Forest tribes of Eastern and N orth - Easter n Congoland the stem of the banana leaf is used no ill effects on the long tobacco-pipe in the manner de- scribed and illus- trated in my work on the Uganda Protectorate. In the centre it is the midrib of the raphia palm. 323. (i) NATIVE PIPE (UPPER CONGO). (2) CARVED BUFFALO HORN FOR STORING TOBACCO, HEMP, OR OTHER DRUGS (KASAl). (3) SNUFF-BOX OF THE BAKWESE, WORN SOMETIMES IN THE EAR-LOBE “ It is a matter of gratification,” writes Grenfell, “ that the international prohibition of the importation and sale of intoxicating liquors in the interior Congo basin has been so effectively executed. There is relatively little drunkenness amongst the natives. The sap of the oil palm which makes the famous palm wine is usually mild and innocuous, and only when fermented is it 1 The Ba-mbala take snuff in profusion as well as smoking tobacco in a pipe. The men have the upper lip so thickly plastered with snuff that it gives them the appear- ance of wearing a green moustache. (Torday.) 11. — I 610 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO sufficiently alcoholic to intoxicate. The impatience of the natives to drink it as soon as possible prevents much of this fermentation, and the juice is very much like fresh apple cider.” Nevertheless a vast deal of harm has been and is being Q done on the Lower Congo and the Kakongo coast by German gin, Portuguese rum, bad French brandy, and vile British whisky. The Sudanese in the far north and north-east are 324. A NATIVE OF UPPER CONG« CLIMBING OIL PALM TO OBTAIN PALM WINE teaching the natives to distil a very powerful arrack from mead, palm wine, banana juice, or grain beer. Grenfell’s statement, however, that there is relatively little- drunkenness amongst the Congo negroes must be taken to mean intoxication of the dangerous, murderous character pro- duced by the poisons issued for human consumption by the distilleries of Europe and America. There is much insobriety of a Bacchic kind throughout all negro Africa, especially in the Congo basin. 1 The Pygmies, with rare exceptions, make 1 Grenfell’s own references to palm-wine tipsiness and drinking bouts are many when writing of Babangi and Bangala. Other Baptist missionaries have referred to the drunkenness of the Basoko (Aruwimi confluence), “ who drink an enormous quan- tity of palm wine.” Torday writes of the “continual intoxication of the Bambala,” Verner of the drunken brawls among the Bena Lulua. named affords the most delicious drink (when fresh) — like sweet cider. Palm wine that has fermented and been kept for some time, evaporating and almost undergoing a natural distillation, is scarcely to be distinguished from a powerful liqueur, like kirsch, and is very intoxicating. The Bakongo and Eshi-kongo make a fermented liquor (a beer ) from maize and manioc. The maize is malted by the encouragement of germination and then by drying in the sun the sprouting grains. A mash of manioc roots is mixed with the malted maize and a sufficient proportion of water, is boiled, strained, and left to cool. It is then drunk as a sweet, non- intoxicating beverage ; but after being allowed to ferment it becomes sour and heady. FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 611 and take no fermented liquor, but all the other races indulge moderately or immoderately in some form of wine, beer, or mead. The fermented juice of the sugar-cane has been already referred to. It is chiefly used on the western Upper Congo, lower Mubangi, the Kasai, and Sankuru. The use of malafu or malebu, “palm wine,” is universal. It is derived from the abundant sap of the oil palm, raphia, or borassus. The first- 325. OIL PALMS IN A BAYANZI VILLAGE 6 1 2 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO A sweet and intoxicating beer is made from bananas or plantains by the Ababua of North Congoland, and probably by all the tribes of the north-eastern forest-lands . 1 Mead is a favourite drink among the Nyamnyam and their subject peoples in North Congoland, especially along the middle Mubangi-Wele. Honey is mixed with water in big pots and left to ferment. Honey is also mixed with beer made from millet. But these honey drinks are really foreign to Congoland, and are recent Sudanese introductions. One does not hear much of honey being obtained and eaten in Central Congoland and the densely forested regions. Honey only becomes prominent 2 as an obtainable and sought-after article in native diet outside the former area of the great Congo Lake, where the land rises above 2,000 feet in altitude. The honey bees of the Nyamnyam country are like the Ligurian and may be the same. The Manbettu also possess this type of bee, which makes innumerable hives in the wooded hills of their country. The Barambo, Momvu, Mayogot of the Wele-Kibali valley are all fond of honey, but with the Manbettu honey-eating is a passion. In most Congo regions the natives eat not only honey and wax, but also — and with gusto — the bee grubs. 1 In all probability there are only plantains in this northern and north-eastern region. “ Plantain ” means the long, ribbed, curved banana, probably indigenous as a cultivated type to West-Central Africa. ‘‘ Banana” stands for the short, fat, smooth- skinned, very sweet fruit seemingly introduced by the Portuguese from tropical America. This is never met with in tropical Africa away from the influence, ancient or modern, of the Arab or European. The word “ banana ’’ seems to have been borrowed by the Portuguese from the negroes of Sierra Leone and West Liberia when those coasts were first discovered. A cultivated banana or plantain arose in Northern Asia from the indigenous wild types, and seems to have spread in several varieties to tropical America (? before the intervention of the white man). There are indigenous wild bananas ( Musa ensete and other types) in tropical Africa, from Abyssinia to Senegal and to South-East Africa, but they are usually confined to districts of a certain elevation, and do not grow in the great forests nor much above sea-level. Whether the long plantains of negro Africa are developed from a wild indigenous type (all the wild forms have short , stumpy fruit), or whether they were introduced to this continent from tropical Asia by prehistoric Arabs, Malays, Persians, is one of Africa’s many unsolved problems. Linguistic researches show that this cultivated plantain (though not the short-fruited banana) has been familiar to the negro of Central Africa for many hundreds of years, perhaps prior to the Great Bantu Dis- persion some two to three thousand years ago. At the present day in Western Congoland (Bakongo and coast region) there are often eight varieties of cultivated banana ; including (1) the ordinary, not very sweet, rather long, curved plantain ; (2) a variety of this — found also on the north-east and east of Congoland — curved, ribbed, and very long (twelve to twenty-four inches); (3) a red-skinned sweet banana (? West Indian) ; and (4, 5, 6, 7,8) various kinds of short , sweet bananas, supposed, like the red one, to have been introduced by the Portuguese. Only Nos. 1 and 2 seem to exist away in the districts unaffected by intercourse with Portuguese or Arabs. 2 To some degree it exists everywhere, and there is a word for honey in every negro language. FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 613 They are, in fact, great insect-eaters. The male termites (“white ants”) as they issue from the nest in thousands are a delicacy universally devoured, and often figuring in legends and folk-lore as sweetmeats would in European stories. Locusts are also eaten. The large, white grubs of a palm-boring beetle are considered good, even dainty food. Grenfell’s notes on pages 143, 198 illustrate the fondness of the Mongo and Ngombe tribes for certain caterpillars. Even the much more civilized Bakongo include two kinds of caterpillars in their dietary. Fish are in almost universal demand, are in fact the main staple of food amongst the Congo peoples, except on the Lunda plateau and the mountain- ous regions of the south-east and east (the fish of the mountain streams being small and bony). This must be ob- vious from the magnificen t fish fauna of the Congo. Fish is cured, by drying and smoking, on the islands of Stanley Pool and all the way up the main Congo, Kasai, and the navigable reaches of the other great affluents, and is then an important article of commerce inland. When it finally reaches the consumer the smoked fish may be full of maggots, which does not in the least detract from its value. Fresh- water oysters ( FEtheria ) and crayfish are much liked, and land crabs are also eaten, though more rarely. Frogs of the bull-frog type are eaten by some tribes — or by the women of the tribe — but are violently rejected by others on the plea that the consumption of a frog will make the eyes bulge. The flesh of land — or water — tortoises is not disliked : one kind is eagerly sought after, probably a Trionyx. Crocodile flesh is in some districts eaten greedily ; in others it is eschewed for fetish istic reasons or because of some vague totem tradition. 326. A COVERED POT FROM THE CONGO COAST REGION IN WHICH MAIZE AND MANIOC BEER IS SOMETIMES KEPT 614 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The small, short-headed crocodile ( Osteolcemus ) of the Mubangi is eagerly devoured, and is said even to be kept in enclosed pools and bred for consumption. In fact most of the Congo peoples are nearly omnivorous, only abstaining from any form of flesh , 1 fowl , 1 fish, or even reptile for fantastic reasons related to a vanished totemism or to some local prejudice or superstition. Certain fish are thought to produce itching diseases or leprosy. The prejudice against frogs has already been explained. The Nyamnyam are said to have im- ported from the north a superstitious dislike to eating hares, but as the hare is absent from all the forested parts of the Congo basin it loses its mystical importance in the eyes of the Congo negroes in favour of a small type of antelope or the Dorcatherium. There is also a selfish sexual tabu en- forced to the disadvantage of the women. Amongst the Bayaka fowls and eggs are forbidden to women as articles of food. Amongst the men a male fowfl must be eaten by one man alone, but a hen must be shared by several. Amongst many of the western tribes ( teste Grenfell, Bentley, and Torday) women are forbidden to eat owls — not so serious a deprivation, however, as fowls. Nearly everywhere women are inhibited from eat- ing human flesh, a restriction they quietly evade when it suits their purpose. The eastern Bayanzi dis- approve of chiefs eating human flesh, and it is not considered in good taste to eat one’s own relations or persons who have died a natural death. The comely Ababua of Northern Congoland, besides being ardent cannibals, eat rats, locusts, lizards, snakes, some insects, and crocodiles, regarding the latter as dainties. The eating of hippopotami is, however, strictly prohibited, and in some sub- tribes there is a tabu on gorillas and leopards. Dogs, though they are valued as an auxiliary in hunting [Central African — negro — dogs are of but little use as guards : they cannot bark, and are afraid to bite], are even better loved as an article of diet, ranking only second to that obsession of the Congo palate — human flesh. Grenfell mentions that the women of the western Upper 327. A MANBETTU HONEY-POT, WITH A COVER OF MAT- TING 1 Except shrews and goatsuckers. FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 615 Conefo cram dogfs with food as we do chickens in order that o o they may be plump for killing* and eating*. “The Bangala at Lukungu market, bought a bit af meat. A dog ate it. They wanted their own bit of meat, so seized and opened the dog to get it, thus succeeding in getting what they prized more — the carcass of the dog.” (Grenfell.) The Bahuana of the great Kwila River, besides the usual vegetable diet of manioc flour, leaves, palm oil, red pepper and an indigenous black pepper, eat almost every form of animal food they can procure, including human flesh, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, frogs, owls, hawks, vultures, snakes, and certain kinds 328. HYDROCYON GOLIATH, A LARGE FISH OBTAINED FROM THE CATARACT CONGO AND THE UPPER CONGO, AND MUCH APPRECIATED FOR ITS SALMON- LIKE FLESH. IT IS ARMED WITH TUSK-LIKE TEETH AND BITES FIERCELY of clay, especially clays that are of a red or violet tint. 1 The adjoining Bambala draw the line at frogs, and taunt the Bahuana tribe because it allows its women to consume certain kinds of frog, from which, however, the Bahuana men gallantly abstain “because this diet makes them ill.” The Bambala regard as special delicacies human flesh (usually after it has been buried for some days), a large, thick, white beetle grub found in palm trees, rats, locusts, and blood (human or goat’s) boiled with manioc flour. But the women of this tribe are forbidden by the men to eat the following things (reserved for the privileged sex) : human flesh, goat’s flesh, hawks, vultures, small birds, snakes 1 According to Torday, the clay or earth eaten is said to be a cure for stomach- ache, and has an astringent taste. It may be some form of decayed vegetaticn or loam. 616 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO parrots, crows, and all animals hunted with weapons except antelopes and a small kind of rat. According to Torday, however, the Bambala women do not attach overmuch im- portance to this tabu, at any rate as regards human flesh, which they obtain when they can from the graves, and eat with great enjoyment. Amongst the Bambala, enemies killed in war, people buried alive after the poison test or dying in consequence of it, relations (except father, mother, children, uncles, or aunts), and some- times foreign slaves, are all eaten ; in fact, any corpse which is not in the last stages of decomposition is considered a dainty. 1 As regards agriculture and the keeping of domestic animals , Congoland is (on the whole) the most backward part of Africa, with the exception (as regards agriculture) of the Bushmen and Hottentot territories. The Pygmies keep no domestic animals but small yellow dogs, and some tribes of dwarfs are even without these. They never till the soil or grow any plants for their own delectation, not even tobacco, of which they are passionately fond. 2 Among all the other Congo peoples superior to the Pygmy in culture, the dog, goat, sheep, and fowl are almost universal. The pig (originally from Portugal, Europe) is kept in many parts of Western and South-Western Congoland. It is a de- generate and smaller form of the average unimproved domestic swine of the Iberian peninsula. One interesting feature about it is that (as on the Guinea Coast) the piglings are often born with greyish-yellow pelage, marked with broad horizontal whitish bands and spots, as in the wild swine of the genera Sus and Potamochoerus. As regards Potamochoerus , the Red River Hog (illustrated on page 321) is tamed and kept as a domestic animal by the Nyamnyam and perhaps the Manbettu. The Bateke of French Congo are exceedingly fond of pigs, not necessarily to eat, but as pets. A favourite boar may be the friend of the whole village, and come readily at call to be fed or played with. The goat of Congoland is the typical dwarf domestic goat of unadulterated negro Africa. It is a breed, of course, that 1 Further details of this gruesome subject may be found in the interesting paper of E. Torday and T. A. Joyce on the ethnography of the Bambala — Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute , Vol. XXXV. 2 These sweeping statements refer necessarily to the Pygmies who have not come under the influence of superior tribes. Among the Batwa of the Southern Forest, fowls are sometimes kept. FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 617 originally came from Egypt, and which, no doubt, was originally derived from the wild Capra hircus of Western Asia. It is curious that although the Egyptians first tamed the indigenous ibex of Egypt and Nubia (there is also an Asiatic-like ibex on the high mountains of Abyssinia which has had nothing to do with any domestic goat in Africa), this breed in its domestic form seems to have died out completely, without penetrating into negro Africa, and even without in any way influencing the existing domestic breeds in Egypt or Hamitic Africa, all of which, though greatly varying from the parent stock, seem to be traceable to one wild species — Capra hircus . The coloration 1 of the Congo goat in its oldest and com- monest type reverts very much to that of the wild Capra hircus , even exhibiting sometimes the broad, dark brown stripe on the shoulder of the males ; but it nearly always develops a black instead of a white belly, a variation curiously paralleled in the domestic sheep of negro Africa. The horns are much reduced. In the male they are broad and set rather close together, and are very like those of the genus Hemitragus. The oldest type of the domestic sheep of Negroland is undoubtedly that remarkable dwarf form which is found in the Cameroons, and which apparently extends to the north-western limits of the Congo basin. Its coloration is a little like that of the female European mouflon, with the exception that where in the latter there are white markings (on the gullet, along the belly, inside the hind-legs, and on the front of the lower half of the fore-legs), in the dwarf domestic sheep of the Cameroons and North-West Congo all these parts are black or very dark brown. (This abrupt change of white to black or black to white markings occurs to a limited extent in the Tragelaphs as a sexual difference.) The ordinary and commonest type of the domestic sheep on the Congo is black and white, with a preponderance of white. It is almost identical in type with the average domestic sheep of the Guinea Coast, and belongs to the group tentatively named 1 Fawn-colour, with dark brown or black line down the middle of the back, a dark brown forehead, blackish beard, and dark brown or black longitudinal stripes along the front aspect of the limbs. 329. A COOKING-POT FROM THE WESTERN EQUATORIAL CONGO (LUKOLELA), USED FOR BOIL- ING MANIOC FLOUR 618 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Ovis jubatus , from the very considerable amount of hair along the throat and under-side of the neck in the male. The tail in all Congo and West African sheep is without any deposit of fat, and is of the same proportionate length as in the domestic sheep of Europe, if anything, a little shorter. When one passes to the south and east of Congoland (the change is abrupt all along the Albertine Rift valley) one ex- changes this smaller white and black thin-tailed sheep for the larger, taller domestic sheep of East and South Africa, which ordinarily develops a great deposit of fat along the upper por- tion of the tail, changes its throat-mane into a dewlap, and is more often (though by no means always) fawn-colour all over, without black markings on the legs. But the East African sheep, pre- serving their fat tail and dewlap, may be as perma- nently black and white (or all black) as is the case with the Maned Sheep of West Africa. I never remember to have seen a Maned Sheep that was fawn-colour; other- wise I do not think there is any permanent distinction between the two types. In both the horns are considerably reduced so far as resemblance to a mouflon or even the more primitive domestic breeds of Western Europe is concerned. The ears in the West African Maned Sheep are always erect, short, and narrow. With the Fat-tailed Sheep, especially as one proceeds nearer to North- East Africa and Nubia, the ears become long and pendent. Personally, I can see no sufficient justification for giving specific rank to either of these types of African domestic sheep — calling the maned variety Ovis jubatus and the fawn-coloured, fat-tailed sheep of East Africa Ovis longipes. Both forms, I consider, can be traced back to the same (as yet undiscovered) wild form of Asiatic or Mediterranean mouflon as gave rise to the Ovis aries of Europe and Asia. The Egyptians first domesti- cated the Audad, the Thar-like wild sheep of the Nubian and 330. THE DWARF DOMESTIC SHEEP OF THE SOUTH CAMEROONS COAST REGION (OVIS JUBATUS?) FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 619 North African deserts ; but this, like the ibex, seems to have led to nothing. The experiment was apparently discarded at a later date in favour of an imported domestic mouflon from Syria or the northern Mediterranean, Ovis aries , in fact. It is evident to me that an early type of this first domesticated form of Ovis aries penetrated up the Nile valley into Negroland, becoming more and more degenerate in size and horn growth, till it reached the forests of the Cameroons, where its pygmy descendants exist to this day. Elsewhere over Congoland and Guinea it became the ordinary existing black-and-white maned sheep, the mane being peculiar to the male, and really no larger than the mane of the mouflon ram of Corsica. The breeds of East Africa and of Nigeria have been subsequently reinforced by repeated introductions of new varieties of sheep from Galaland and the Egyptian Sudan, these in their turn having reached the Nile valley from Asia Minor or Syria. It is scarcely neces- sary to mention that the sheep of Congoland, as of all negro Africa ex- cept the valley of the northern Niger, are entirely without wool. The woolly sheep of Timbuktu and the northern Niger are of Tawareq introduction : a degenerate merino breed. The dog of Congoland is nearly always the fawn-coloured, pariah type, sufficiently illustrated in my drawing. In Southern Congoland, however, there is a large blackish dog, and a big breed of dogs is said to exist amongst the Nyamnyam and the populations of Northern Congoland. In the case of the large black dogs of the Lunda and Kioko, their origin is undoubtedly Portuguese. The larger breeds of Northern Congoland may be derived from the Egyptian Sudan. Nowhere in negro Africa or in Upper Egypt is there any trace of the handsome Eskimo-like, Chow-like dog which is so characteristic a feature in the life of the Berbers and Tawareq of Northern Africa and the Sahara Desert, nor of the primitive greyhound type ( slugi ), also found in that region. The domestic fowl of Congoland is of the usual short- legged, Bantam-like breed found throughout Negroland. But 331. CONGO SHEEP AT BOLOBO 620 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO right across the southern basin of the Congo, from Angola to German East Africa, and thence to Zanzibar, there is to be met with a long-legged, Malay type of fowl. This may have been introduced both by the Portuguese on the west and the Arabs on the east, and thus have found its way right across South- Central Africa. The Muscovy duck introduced by the Portuguese is now found here and there all over the Congo basin. It is of course originally a Brazilian bird ( Cairino ), and according to systematic zoologists is considerably removed in classification from the true ducks of the sub-family Anatince , is, in fact, much more nearly related to the Spur-winged and Pygmy “ Geese.” Never- theless it will interbreed with the domestic duck of the genus Anas , and hybrid forms are not infrequently met with in Angola and Western Congoland. The pigeon (blue rock) is kept as a domestic bird in no part of the Congo basin which has not been subjected to Portuguese, Arab, or Sudanese influence. Thus it is absent from nearly all the interior part of the Congo basin except amongst the Arabs and Manyema of the east, the Bakongo of the west, and the natives of the northern Mubangi. The Bakongo call the house- pigeon eyembe dia mputu = the “dove of Portugal.” It has been carried by them in their trade to the Kwango River and Lunda Plateau, nearly meeting the Arab-introduced pigeon of Tan- ganyika and the Lomami. With reference to the pigeons of the upper Mubangi, Lord Mountmorres thus describes their lofty dove-cots : — “ The fowls, but more particularly the pigeons, are kept in extra- ordinarily elevated abodes. You often see the fowls flying up from roof to roof in order to reach the fowl-cot, which stands about ten or twelve feet from the ground. The pigeon-houses, of which there are dozens, must be twenty-five or thirty feet high. I could not find out why they were raised to this extreme height, but it was a common custom of the people in this part to build their dove-cots and fowl-houses to a con- siderable height.” Cattle are almost absent from the forest region of the Congo basin. To a number of the Forest negroes they are absolutely unknown, and when brought to notice are described by the same name as the buffalo. Domestic cattle scarcely exist in Northern Congoland, even in the park-lands outside the forest belt. There are no cattle amongst the Nyamnyam, Manbettu, or the tribes of the northern Mubangi. They are absolutely unknown on the Aruwimi, though the instant the traveller leaves the watershed of the Congo to enter that of the Nile 332. BABANGI DOGS, WESTERN EQUATORIAL CONGO . •• U3K0 UNIVERSITY OF >EUN0\a FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 623 he will find amongst the Bantu-speaking peoples of Hima or Unyoro stock the magnificent oxen of the Gala type ( Bos cegyptiacus). These large, long-horned cattle (with or without a hump) penetrate into the Congo basin from the Albertine Rift valley in Burundi and the north-western coast regions of Tanganyika, perhaps also as far west as Burega. In a much modified form, and perhaps mixed a little with the zebu , humped ox of East Africa, they have entered Southern Congoland from the direction of the Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau, and so have made their way into the Lunda and Luba territories. Thence, this long-horned type (to be distinguished from the long-horned cattle of Western Europe by the different direction of the horns) has even reached Damaraland from Southern Angola and the regions of the upper Zambezi. But the Portu- guese early in their work of coloniza- tion introduced the long-horned cattle (. Bos taurus ) of the Iberian peninsula, and these have been carried east- wards as presents to notable chiefs, and so have min- gled with the zebu and the Gala types to produce the present existing cattle of South-West Congoland, which now extend their range (not commonly) in the valley of the Kwango as far north as the Kingunji Rapids. Grenfell remarks that although cattle are kept by the Bayaka, they live in a semi-wild state, with no accommodation provided for them, and he illustrates this by a photograph of a nearly wild herd by the banks of the Kwango. He relates that when an ox is presented to the traveller by a chief in South- West Congoland it is necessary to stalk and shoot it as though it were a wild animal. It is needless to remark that any idea of milking the cattle or goats is entirely absent from the minds of the Congo negroes, except on the border of the Nile water- shed, where a Hima people like the Ava-tusi are as devoted to 333. A BULL OF THE TYPE OF CATTLE BELONGING TO THE BAYANZI ON THE WESTERN EQUATORIAL CONGO (1894) 624 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the drinking of milk as is the case with the Damara on the south-west and the Masai in the Equatorial east. The Bayanzi, who obviously originated on the borders of the Luba-Kuba civilization centre, seem to have brought cattle with them thence to the banks of the Congo before the arrival o of Europeans, and not only that, but to have preserved in their language the characteristic Bantu word for ox — nombe — not existing anywhere else in the central or northern basin of the Congo except amongst the Ba-kongo. 1 334. HERD OF SEMI-WILD CATTLE IN THE BAYAKA COUNTRY, LOWER KWANGO RIVER The superstitious fuss and reverence attached to the keeping of cattle seems to have penetrated slightly from the east into the Luba and Lunda countries. It is evidenced by the head- dresses adopted, which are more or less conventional represen- tations of the horns of cattle (and not always of buffaloes). 1 One of the unsolved problems in Bantu studies is the possession by the natives of Fernando Po in one or more dialects of an indigenous word for buffalo or ox — nkopo — which is possibly allied to the nkomo root in South Africa, a parallel variant with the other root -ombe of the eastern Bantu. The ox as a domestic animal is known and valued in the Northern Cameroons and the regions of the upper Cross River, from whence this word may possibly have reached F ernando Po ; though the root word for ox in the semi-Bantu languages of the Cross-River-Cameroons region is Mfon , a word also used to express “ chief,” “ nobleman.” The common word for ox in Fernando Po is Mboko , perhaps the same as Mbogo , a widespread eastern Bantu name for buffalo. FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 625 ■ - Agriculture amongst the Congo peoples is that of the negro type, uninfluenced by any Caucasian ideas of a later date than the most early Neolithic times. One negative feature of the negro peoples throughout tropical Africa is their ignorance of the plough. Where you meet with a plough, however rude, in tropical Africa, you are amongst a race whose connection with the Caucasic stem preponderates over their negro element. The plough, for example, is almost universally used amongst the Gala down to the verge of British East Africa, but it is never employed by the uninfluenced Nilotic or Bantu negroes. Another negative charac- teristic of negro agriculture is the neglect of animal manure. The negro’s only idea of enriching the soil is to burn the scrub or forest which he cuts down to establish a plantation. He seems to have grasped the idea that the mingling of the ashes of this vegetable refuse with the soil will enrich it. But negroes are totally unaware of the im- portance of using other forms of refuse as manure, especially the dung of beasts or birds. The Nyamnyam, it is true, plant tobacco in the kitchen-middens or heaps of refuse about their houses, but do not apply the principle any further. The result is that negro agriculture is extremely wasteful, and attempts to restrain this on the part of the Congo State authorities have led to the same troubles as have occurred similarly in British dominions. The native, for example, clears a fresh patch of forest or scrub each year for a new crop. The old plantation reverts to a condition of unprofitable jungle, and the magnificent forest, naturally, cannot be re- placed. The result is, as Grenfell points out in his report on the Lunda Expedi- tion, that the average Bantu peoples are really nomads ■ — incessant migrants. They soon exhaust a neighbourhood from the point of view of agriculture, and then are com- pelled to move on elsewhere. This has led to enormous destruction of forest growth in Africa, and, of course, to incessant wars of offence and defence, and has been one of ill 335. THE HANDLE OF A HOE FROM THE BA- PINDI PEOPLE, UP- PER KWILU RIVER, S.W. CONGOLAND The two wooden points are used as a rake. II. K 626 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the causes of the comparatively small population of the richest continent in the world. The only agricultural implements used in the Congo are the hoe, and possibly a two-pronged rake. As may be seen by illustration No. 331, this rake is occasionally an adaptation of the hoe-handle. Originally the hoe was simply made out of a forked tree-stem, cut off just below the bifurcation. One branch was shortened and pared to a fine edge, the other was 336. NATIVE WOMEN MAKING COOKING-POTS left round and long as a handle. This form of primitive wooden hoe occurs frequently in the Congo basin. When, however, the use of iron was introduced by Hima immigrants at any time between 2000 b . c . and the present day, an iron blade was substituted for the wooden spatula. As agriculture is mainly the task of the women, the hoe has been considered specially their implement, of offence and defence as well as for its proper purpose. Grenfell points out (page 122) that when the women are given a victim to execute, they despatch the unfortunate person by chopping with their iron hoes. FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 627 Sharpened stakes are used for many purposes in agriculture, and, of course, axes are employed for cutting down trees, and a kind of bill-hook or sword for the scrub. A good deal of detailed information has already been given about the agriculture of the northern people, especially the Banza, and it has also been mentioned that whereas the men cut down the forest and the rank growth of the scrub, nearly all the remainder of agricultural work is allotted to the women, with the special ex- ception of certain tribes already mentioned. The first approach to cooking in the development of the human 337- a dish in whitish clay of race may have been a practice which — if Grenfell’s stories of gorillas given to him by the natives are correctly founded — has already been inherent in the anthropoid ape — that is the softening of the fibres and partial disintegration of flesh by the commencement of putre- faction. Certain races of savages all over the tropical world still prepare for consumption articles of animal and vegetable food by burying them and submitting them to a certain degree of decay. Others again ma- cerate flesh, roots, leaves, etc., in water for the same pur- pose. If the accounts given by Wissmann, Wolf, and other Ger- man explorers of the south-central basin of the Congo twenty and more years ago are correct, the Pygmy races in that region were, in the wilder districts, without the use of fire. Arabs and Swahilis from the same region have told the present writer that the Pygmy people between Tanganyika and the Lualaba never cooked their food, but ate it raw or partly rotten. The affection of almost all the Congo races, except those of slightly European culture in the south and west, for putrid meat or fish is remarkable. Of course, very early in the development of the human 338. A LARGE STEWPAN IN WHITISH CLAY OF THE BATENDE OR BABUMA PEOPLE (LOWER KASAI OR KWA RIVER) 628 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO race in Africa meteorological conditions introduced man to the agency of fire. I n previous works on African questions the present writer has drawn attention to the relative f re- quency within his own personal experience of flashes of light- ning setting fire to dead trees, grass, or native huts, and, in fact, of bush fires on a large scale be- inor sometimes started by a flash of lightninginthe tornado season. In the train of 339. a cooking-pot of the bangala, n.w. congo, these devastat- FOR USE IN CANOES • bush fires (tire or charcoal is put in the lower receptacle.) / 1 • i (which naturally occur almost entirely outside the true forest region, wherein the dampness would make such a thing impossible) follow human beings, kites, wild dogs, jackals, and storks, searching for and de- vouring numerous rodents, small antelopes, lizards, snakes, and birds which have been surprised and roasted by the flames. It is quite probable that in this way alone early man (in Africa, at any rate) became acquainted with the use of fire as a means of preparing substances for easier digestion. At the present day the almost universal mode of producing fire amongst the Congo peoples (where neither flint and steel nor matches have penetrated) is by friction between pieces of wood. 1 The 340. CARVED AND INCISED WOODEN DRINKING-CUP, CENTRAL KASAI REGION 1 The commonest method of fire-production in Africa is well illustrated in my book on the Kilimanjaro Expedition, page 435. FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 629 tinder most commonly in use is the pith of the raphia-palm fronds. Early in the sixteenth century the Portuguese on the West Coast introduced flint and steel, and this to a certain extent became the favourite method of fire-production in South- Western Congoland. Muhammadan influence may have intro- duced like methods in the far north of the Congo basin, but so far as my information goes, the almost universal method is the friction of wood. The Congo brain has not been racked with the need of inventiveness in fire-production, once fire was started by one method or another, or by natural causes ; because within each native community the tribal fire (so to speak) is constantly kept 341. WOODEN CUPS FROM THE BAYAKA COUNTRY, KWANGO RIVER going, never goes out. Each native household keeps up a perpetual wood fire. When proceeding on a journey or migrat- ing, smouldering sticks are taken with the party, so that it is a somewhat rare incident when fire has to be produced by arti- ficial means. The dwarfs have probably never for themselves invented methods of fire-making, but as soon as they take to this principle in cooking carry off borrowed fire (and continue to do so) from the taller negroes in whose vicinity they live. The Pygmy in his untutored condition, where he is un- influenced by the Neolithic civilization around him, makes no more use of fire in cooking than to broil meat or vegetables and to bake these substances under hot ashes. Where he has taken to the use of (borrowed) pottery, he may of course have risen to the stage of stewing and boiling. But all the other Congo negroes above the Pygmy stage of 630 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO X J vj culture prepare their food with some care. They roast, bake, broil, stew, and boil. The Bangala and some of the other riverain tribes do a great deal of cooking I in their canoes, and for this purpose have in- vented a very clever (and artistic) cooking- pot which contains an _ earthenware receptacle below for fire or char- coal. Dishes and plates are made out of clay, and also of wood, though not so commonly of this last material as in the V interior regions of Guinea. Of course the gourd , cut into various shapes, makes a useful bowl and drinking- vessel. The more civi- lized peoples of the south - west have im- ported during the last two centuries pottery shapes from the Portu- guese, and turn out cups, mugs, and goblets not only in earthenware, but also in carved wood, and in closely plaited string. Many vessels for holding - water and o palm wine are made in the Congo regions out , o o of plaited string or fibre, so closely woven that 342. (1 ) native spoon from upper congo. ( 2) with a slight smearing AXE-HANDLE FROM LUKUGA RIVER (EASTERN of reSin for eVdl With- CONGOLAND) x ! \ out) they become water- tight (see page 801). Knives may be used for cutting up meat, but the fingers take the place of knives and forks for FOOD, AGRICULTURE, COOKING 631 the consumption of a meal, the only implement for conveying food to the mouth used throughout untouched Negroland being the spoon. On the spoon , which of course in origin is little else than a small bowl with a handle, the negro has lavished a surprising amount of inven- tive and decorative art, perhaps not quite so much in the Congo basin as in the regions of Guinea and of South- Central Africa. (Some of the Barotse, Batonga, Bechuana spoons are really things of beauty, though of course their manufacture has nearly come to an end under the paralysing influence of Euro- pean trade articles.) It would seem as though the abo- riginal Congo spoon was the shell of some fresh-water mollusc with a hole drilled in the edge that affixed it to a wooden handle. Most of the Congo peoples, except the Bayanzi and the Pygmies, are clean in their cooking ; and some of their stews, soups, or porridges are quite appetizing to a European, who, however, in the interior regions (at any rate until recently), required to be very wary of sharing in native repasts if he did not wish unconsciously to become a can- nibal. Meals are usually eaten early in the morning and after sunset, with little more than a snack in between ; the evening meal is probably the most im- portant. In many districts husband and wife eat together off the same plate, but as a general rule the man and boys of the household eat by themselves. Even in the great feasts there is to a certain extent a separation of the sexes. This arises partly from the tabu placed on the unfortunate women in respect of articles of food, to the advantage of the male sex. 343. WOODEN SPOONS FROM UPPER CONGO, USED FOR EATING THICK PORRIDGE OF MANIOC FLOUR CHAPTER XXV RELIGION; BURIAL, MARRIAGE, AND BIRTH CUS- TOMS; INITIATION CEREMONIES; SOCIAL LAWS, SLAVERY; ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, Etc . 1 I T is said of the Ababua of Northern Congoland and of the Bagenya on the Lualaba- Congo that these people are with- out a religion and “ do not believe in any God.” If the term “religion” may include within its scope a belief in a personal life after death and in a force or forces outside the visible world, I scarcely think this statement is true of any human race in the Congo basin, the Pygmies not excepted. Even these dwarf hunting nomads, leading a life equivalent to one of the earliest stages of human culture, believe — so far as their impressions have been recorded — in some vague, super- human power of the sky ( Nzambi , if they speak in Bantu dialects), and think that chiefs or village elders live again after death in the form of bush-pigs or snakes. The stalwart Banza negroes of the western Mubangi basin believe that their chieftains are reincarnated in chimpanzis. Up and down the main Congo the Bantu populations consider it possible for the spirits of dead and living men to enter the bodies of buffaloes, leopards, or crocodiles, in order that they may inflict injuries on their enemies. The Basoko cannibals of the lower Aruwimi believe in a kind of transmigration of souls and in a continuation of consciousness after the death of the body. In a general way the negroes of all Congoland [and of nearly all pagan Africa] have imagined a Supreme Spirit of the Sky, a Jove, the utterer of thunder, the giver or withholder of 1 A little of the information that follows (derived from Bentley, Grenfell, Staple- ton, and other Baptist missionaries) and two or three of the illustrations (by William Forfeitt and Grenfell) have already appeared in the volume on Religion , published in 1906 in the “Annales du Musee du Congo ” (Tervueren, Brussels). But as far as possible I have avoided covering the same ground or using Baptist Mission photo- graphs which have appeared before. No one who wishes to study the religious beliefs, burial customs, initiation ceremonies, or trials-by-ordeal of the Congo peoples should fail to examine the above-mentioned publication, which is much indebted to the researches and collections of missionaries, British and Belgian. 632 344- an example of negro art : a fetish shrine, painted in FOUR COLOURS, FROM THE CONGO COAST REGION NEAR BANANA (In Congo Museum at Tervueren.) , . or THE UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 635 rain, the Hand that wields the levin-stroke. This is the Nzambi Nyambe , of Western Congoland ; Nzakomba,Liyanza, and Chctmbi of the centre ; the Kabezya-inpungu of the Luba countries ; Mfidi of the Bakuba ; Leza of the south-east ; and Loula , Firie , Ruhanga , Namwanga, Ori, Mbdri , Ehketa , Ala, and Zaba 1 2 of the east and north. Even the Bambute Pygmies possess an original name for the Sky-god — Alidida. The conception of the Supreme God, the ruler of the sky and pervader of all things, is but little associated in negro Africa with the worship of sun or moon — in the Congo basin, at any rate. Little interest or superstition appears to be attached to these luminaries. [Vide p. 815.] The nature of the Sky-god is more or less anthropomorphic. In the east and south-east of Africa the conception of the Deity may be gradually attained through steps of ancestor- worship : the mighty chief, great-grandfather and founder of the tribe, may, from haunting a cavern or a tree or living again in the lion or elephant, gradually mount (in the imagination of his descendants) to the cloud-world above, and in the interests of his children’s children take charge of the thunder, lightning, and the rain. But in the Congo basin God is rather imagined as the pre-existing Creator, 3 who has probably called man into existence, however indifferent He may afterwards show Himself as to the fate of each human being. In some districts, especially in South-West Congoland, the Sky-god is regarded with sorrowful reproach as “He who makes us die.” He is feared, is reverenced, is thought to be just in His punishments ; but no expressions of love or gratitude towards Him seem to be recorded. According to Mr. E. W. Smith’s Handbook of the I la Language , 4 the Baila of the Zambezi-Congo frontier ascribe to the Almighty the following attributes : — “ The one who throws down for himself the imbula fruit. “ The one who institutes customs, etc. “ The one who gives gifts and rots them. “ The one who rots the masuko [a fruit which goes rotten in the rainy season]. “ The Creator. 1 The fullest form in the Kongo language is Nzambi-ampungu = God of Heaven. 2 These last nine words are from the following languages in order of rotation (beginning with Ldula ) : Manyema , Kilega , Lukonjo , Mbuba , and the Ruwenzori dialects, Madi , Nyamnyam , Northern Congo Bantu, Ababna, and Sango. 3 I am quoting a good deal from Grenfell’s notes in these remarks. 4 A most useful compendium of information on Bantu customs and beliefs, pub- lished by the Oxford University Press. 636 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO “ The sender of so much water that there is no place left dry. “ The giver of thunder and much rain. “ The one who does what no other can do. “ The rain giver. “ That all things are his, and he can do as he wishes.” [Note. — See also the ideas about God held by the Batabwa of Marun^u, set forth in Rev. Father V. Acker’s Dictionnaire Kitabwa Frangais , published by the Musee du Congo, Ter- vueren.] In the beliefs of many of these Congo negroes the Supreme God of the sky is too far off to care about humanity : He created all things and left everything but the supreme control to a multitude of petty spirits ; or He allowed unchecked the spitefulness of a lesser god, a more or less malignant Devil. Such is the Moloki 1 of the Bayaka (Kwango-Kwilu rivers) and much else of Southern, Central, and Eastern Congoland ; or the Ngumba of the Nsakara (north Mubangi), the Nkadi of the Eshi- Kongo, the Elemba of the Ababua, the Banda of the Basongomeno, and the Ngulu of the Batabwa. The conception of a single Evil god is sometimes split up into several or many individual devils or quite a host of demons, 2 each and all of which have to be placated or defeated. Some of these may be the souls of dead people — souls can act as demons and must be propitiated. But for the most part in Congoland and much else of negro Africa, God, Devil, demons seem to be considered as entities or forces distinct from humanity. 3 They — the lesser spirits, at any rate — are human in their intelligence, can be flattered, propitiated, deceived ; are sometimes kind to the individuals or clans they patronize or who adopt them as protectors or allies. 1 “The Bayaka believe in the existence of a malign spirit called Moloki. Moloki is supposed to cause sickness and death, and to be able to possess some old man or woman, who thus becomes a witch. These witches are compelled to submit to the poison ordeal.” (Torday.) loki , - doki , - loshi , -lozi, - loi , in varying forms, is a widespread Bantu root — from east to west — for an evil spirit or the evil spirit. The word is consequently much associated with “ witchcraft,” “ wizard,” and other associations of spiritual evil. 2 Nkwiya of Kongo ; Bizo of the Babangi ; Ifiwa , Ivibanda of south-west Tanganyika. 3 According to the missionaries of the Kasai-Lulua, the Baluba believe in a crowd of fantastic beings called bashangi , bakishi , who wander every night through the darkness, indulge in a thousand playful and grotesque games, and allow a glimpse of themselves from time to time in the form of shooting stars ; they often come to terrify the living and scatter death in their villages ; they are an evil race — “wicked fairies” — whose sole aim is to injure and whose chief happiness is to make people wretched. But it is also thought that these spirits can be the tem- porarily disembodied souls of wicked sorcerers. In Fernando Po, a distinction is made between a demon or spirit ( niorimo ) and a man’s soul ( mwe ). RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 637 These spirits or devils may inhabit — or repose a portion of their influence in — certain trees, rocks, caverns, whirlpools ; or they can be induced to permeate small substances such as figures of clay, wood, or metal ; bags of powder ; messes of leaves and mud ; posts, notched sticks ; stones of strange shape ; human skulls, serpents’ heads, birds’ beaks, bundles of feathers, leopards’ claws ; live animals or birds (usually male). The com- monest type of spirit-indwelt object or fetish 1 (as apart from a mere charm or amulet 2 ) is a head, a mask, or a large or small figure. For the most part it is humanity that is mimicked ; but the demon may be associated with the model of a dog, leopard, crocodile, buffalo, or snake. Many of these are “idols,” in the strict sense of a word which once inflamed Christendom with zealous horror; though some 1,000,000,000 Christians, Muhammadans, Buddhists, and Hindus are as much — and no more — idolaters as fetish- worshipping Africans. Much needless controversy has raged round this wholly unessential point (for conduct is the only 1 Teke in Kongo, Elima in Bangi, Nketo in Lolo. Teke , the Kongo word, means more distinctly a human image, a dwarf representation of humanity, and may even come from an old Bantu root meaning “pygmy” (compare Ba-teke). 2 Amulets or charms worn on the body (Nkisz in Kongo, Hemba in Ki-yaka) may be knotted string necklaces, metal bracelets or anklets, catskin bags of powder, beans or large seeds or shells on a string, and many other small objects. According to Grenfell and Father Geens, the following charms and fetishes are in vogue on the Upper Congo among the Babangi, Bangala, Ngombe, and Bapoto : — There is the Ebidza , much employed all over Equatorial Congoland. It consists of a young palm tree bound on a stick to be set in the plantations before a small hut in order to divert evil spells. In case of sickness the Bibidza (known as Ntsekia , and Likinda by the Babangi) are always stuck in places about the dwelling-house. If any one dares in spite of this to put witchcraft on the sick man, such person will quickly die of hemorrhage of the nose. The same fate is in store for any robber trying to enter the house of a man who, on starting for a journey, has protected his door by an ebidza [which every native takes care to do]. The robber will bleed from the nose to such an extent that people will be able to follow him by his bloodstained steps. Sepo or Sefo consists of a small piece of wood, with a hole bored in it, which by means of a string is worn on the arms, legs, neck, or even round the waist, to preserve the wearer from all evils. The sepo also gives strength, and especially much reliance. For this reason it is worn in warfare to drive away fear. They put it round small children to make them strong. Slaves wear it that their masters may at the moment of flogging them suddenly change their minds. It is likewise a protection against an evil spell and at the same time a bringer of luck to its wearer. It is also said to permit the wearer to eat as much as he likes without suffering from indigestion ! The Nyeka is a piece of hollow wood, a kind of whistle, which is worn round the arm, or more often round the neck. People keep several of them, each of which serves its own purpose. Of such is the nyeka for rain. If one whistles on it, one can at choice stop the rain or bring it on. The whistle for war is larger : it suffices to use it once only at the beginning of hostilities to avoid all injury. Another very useful nyeka is that on which if one whistles at the door of one’s debtors the latter will be found at home and ready to pay their debts ! 638 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO thing- that really counts as the outcome of religious faith) : does the African worship the graven image or the ttnseen force it represents or contains ? In some cases he distinguishes readily between the crude material symbol of no intrinsic value and the god, demon, dead man’s soul, or elemental natural force [generative powers, 1 rainfall, disease, craft of wild animals] it represents, or for which it acts as a temporary home or receptacle. But from this attitude the minds of many negroes slide easily (as do those of other religionists of other races) into identi- fying the image with the deity or force, and lavishing their worship and regard on a ma- terial emblem. In reference to the appreciation of the idol or fetish as merely visualizing the Divine Force, and not as em- bodying the divinity itself, Grenfell in- scribes this note in his diary : — “ Mr. Banks tells me of an instance where a native at Mukimvika, upon being accused of 1 According to some notes of Grenfell concerning fetishes in use on the Zombo plateau (west of lower Kwango), a certain amount of “ phallic ” worship exists or existed among the eastern Bakongo ; not that the representations of the generative powers — male or female — were worshipped, but that these rude images were the abiding place of a spirit force which, if rightly propitiated, would promote fruitful intercourse between men and women. Torday reported a somewhat elaborate ritual amongst the eastern Bayanzi (Kwilu-Kasai). Vide “The Ethnology of the Congo Free State,” R. Anthrop. Inst., 190 7. He noted among the fetishes of the eastern Bayanzi the male emblem in various forms (called, in fact, Mulume or “Male”). Usually the male fetish consisted of a shallow basket in which were set from one to four phalli made of clay. These were anointed with kola juice when being prayed to. Another fetish represented the female principle. Either or both received “worship” with the idea of propitiating the forces they symbolized, and thus promoting fertility amongst the women, or even the crops. According to Lord Mountmorres, in many parts of the Mubangi phallic worship is common, probably of the same character as that described by Torday in con- nection with the Bayanzi of the Kasai. 345. A ROADSIDE SHRINE, ZOMBO PLATEAU RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 639 stealing from the Mission, invoked the curse of death upon himself if he were guilty, and knocked a nail into his nkisi (fetish) as a proof of his good faith. At that time he was hale and well built, but soon grew meagre and thin, and in three months he was scarcely recognizable. At last he came to Mr. Banks and asked him to pray to God on his account, for he had stolen the things, and would die if God did not forgive him.” So far from the aver- age Congo negro being “materialistic” in his con- ceptions of the world around him, he, like most savages, is profoundly “animistic.” Everything of importance has a “soul,” an impalpable spirit behind it. Genii or fairies 1 are believed in, apart from the souls of men. Writing of the Lokele tribe on the northern Congo near Stanley Falls, the Rev. W. Millman (of the Baptist Mission, Ya- kusu) writes “ Man easily perceives a principle of suitability that is to be desired and worked towards . . . and also a principle of mischief that is to be guarded against. ... It is not surprising that every force which appears to work 346. FETISH PLACED AT ENTRANCE TO VILLAGE ON ZOMBO PLATEAU, TO DRIVE AWAY EVIL SPIRITS 1 These in the Kongo language are called Shimbi. Amongst the Babangi they are known as Bakula. They are the Ngulu of South-West Tanganyika and the Mipashi of South-East Congoland (Luapula). In many Congo countries they are thought to haunt streams, cascades, whirlpools. They are supposed to have wrought the great chasms in the hillsides — which as a matter of fact are usually the work of water — and they are also the causes of whirlwinds. “ Sometimes they become in- carnate ” (writes Bentley). “A pregnant woman dreams of fairies or of water, and then knows that her child is the incarnation of a shimbi The child grows up with this reputation, and takes advantage of it to demand presents from its relations on account of its privileged fairy nature. 640 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO in accordance with either of these principles is made into a sort of divinity and given a shadowy kind of personality, that coincidences are counted as proofs, and that the easy, mobile mind of the native has rushed off on tracks of wildest superstition.” In the “animism” of these people, he says, every natural object has its proper, resident spirit. “ When a thing breaks up or wears out, it is said to be dead, the assumption being that its spirit has departed. A girl not growing so fast as she desires learns from the older women of the tribe that her development may be hastened by weeping at the foot of a thorn tree at night. She seeks out a thorn tree, and there one evening, beating her breast, she sobs until tears run down on to the ground, and, in due time, she grows as she has desired. The natives at Yakusu do not say that there is a spirit presiding over the thorn trees that can only be approached through thorn trees, neither do they assert that the tears are a gift to the tree or to its supposed resident spirit. But while our people do not declare the presence of an indwelling spirit in their charms and amulets, they nevertheless assert the advantages of wearing them because of the spirits. It seems as if the primitive, fearsome soul of man is content with his phylactery, without troubling overmuch about the mystery of its working. However, this is not to say that they deny the existence of spirits and spiritual influences, though, as far as appears to me at present, the spirits most generally recognized are those of their own people, living or dead. “ A man in trouble will call on the name of some known ancestor or deceased friend and ask him to help him, but makes no specific sacrifice or offering. Any man may do it without the help of a priest. A man in declining health may be permitted by such a spirit to see the shade of the man responsible for his sickness. It is generally believed that such a vision portends the death of the sufferer, failing the intervention of this responsible person. It seems strange, but it may have no real significance, that on the first appearance the shade generally shows only its back, and is not always recognized. On a second or third appear- ance it shows its face. A message is immediately sent to the inimical individual informing him that the malevolent state of his heart is known, and that he must come and pour water over the head of the sick person. I have known a man to paddle himself over thirty miles against stream to respond to such a summons. “ To come instantly would obviously lend some support to the charge, which doubtless often has some foundation in fact, and such bewitchery is punishable by fine. The offender generally declines the invitation until he is promised exemption, when he at once puts in an appearance. The sick man is carried down to the nearest running water, and the alleged bewitcher takes a piece of a broken pot, scoops up some water, and pours it over the invalid’s head. Such is the faith in this operation that of a dozen cases noted not one failed to restore health — for a time.” According to Torday, the Bay aka of the Kwango- Kwilu RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 641 believe in the existence of an imperishable principle or soul, which they call doshi. It leaves the body at death, and may visit the living in dreams. It may inspire the living with evil thoughts, and will reproach them if the grave is neglected. Under some fortunate conditions the soul of a man may enter the body of a large animal. A man who has been killed in battle may send his soul to avenge his death on the person who killed him. The latter, however, can escape the dead man’s vengeance by wearing the red tail-feathers of the parrot in his hair and painting his forehead red. The Bayaka consider that big animals have souls, but no inani- mate object can pos- sess a spirit. Souls are thought to fly about in the air. The Ba-huana of the great Kwilu River believe that man is composed of three principles : body, soul ( bun , which also means “heart”), and a spirit or phantom — doshi — which is a kind of “ double.” “ The bun or soul of a dead man ‘ who has had no fetishes ’ can appear to other men ; such an apparition, called fakulu , occurs at night only, and the bun is seen in human form and appears to be composed of a white misty substance. It portends approaching death. The doshi is a shadowy second self, corresponding to the kra of the /^-speaking tribes of the Gold Coast and the ka of the Ancient Egyptians. It leaves the body in sleep and visits other people in dreams ; the doshi of the dead appear to the living in the same manner. All people have doshi , but only the adult have bun . In the case of a man killed by lightning, his bun is supposed to be destroyed ; but suicide leaves both bun and doshi intact. Animals have doshi , but not bun. At death the bun dis- appears, no one knows whither, but the doshi lingers about in the air, visits its friends and haunts its enemies ; it will persecute the relations if the body has not received proper burial ; there are no means of exorcising it. In the case of a man who has been the possessor of many fetishes, the bun enters the body of some large animal — elephant, hippo, buffalo, 11. — L 347. A FETISH HUT AT THE ENTRANCE TO A ZOMBO TOWN (ZOMBO PLATEAU) 642 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO or leopard ; animals so possessed are recognized by their ferocity. Fetishes have doshi , but no bun; plants and weapons have neither.” (E. Torday and T. A. Joyce.) Much the same belief prevails among the Bambala of the same Kwilu region, except that they call the bun element mtyema — an older Bantu root- word for “ heart.” The Baluba of South-Central Congoland believe that death is in no way a separation of soul and body : it is a simple stoppage of the heart, produced either by a fatal accident, or by the power of a sorcerer, or still more likely by an act of the spirit of a deceased relative. A father, mother, brother, etc., having died before, is weary down below in the other world ; he cannot endure being separated from a being loved on earth ; he goes to find Kabezya-mpungu (God). “ Master,” he says, “ I am sad ; I am without friends in the land of the dead ; it would be so pleasant for me to see at my side such an one whom I love ; please set him beside me that he may bear me company and comfort me in this cold and damp earth ” ; and Kabezya-mpungu, yielding to this request, despatches above the ground either the afflicted relative, or a spirit, or some deceased person. The messenger arrives and fastens upon him whom he has come to summon ; this is sickness, and when God gives him the signal he begins to compress the heart until it has ceased to beat ; this is the death agony. That is why they say of a sick man — such an one has seized him, has fastened on to him ; and of a dead man — God has visited him, the All Powerful has got possession of him ; or again — his father has called him, his mother has slain him. Of a baby dying shortly after its mother, they say, its mother’s milk calls it. It sometimes happens that the one who causes death is a sorcerer ; he procures from a wizard or cannibal some fragments of human knuckle-bones ; he mixes them with other ingredients in careful quantities. Immediately the power of death accrues to the owner of the fragments of bone. With this help he approaches an individual and com- presses his throat and heart. After death has taken place the Baluba believe that the soul continues to reside unimpaired in the corpse, with the possi- bility of detaching itself, not freely and untrammelled, but in association with a vague, impalpable something, a kind_ of phantom or spectre which has the exact appearance of the dead body, but has not its real substance. It is under this shadowy form, which is, in short, the dematerialized body, that the soul will henceforth live in the realm of the dead. The Baluba RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 643 believe that the soul itself is a principle distinct from the body and endowed with a more ethereal nature, but unfit to exist alone without some veil or phantom. This phantom has not always the exact shape of a human being ; for instance, those whose flesh has served for the feasts of cannibals will have the appearance of a dried skeleton, those whose bodies have been burnt will for ever appear as a wreath of smoke drop- ping an ashy dust. Bentley remarks that the Bakongo do not regard death as the cessation of life. “If any one dies, they think that some one else has established a connection with the spirit world and has ‘witched away’ the deceased.” Their ideas as to the world of the dead are vague. The oldest idea — and that of Central Congoland also — is a country of dark forest. 1 The Bayanzi sometimes think dead people go to the sky. Until recently it was believed by the coast Congo tribes (since, let us say, the middle of the sixteenth century) that their dead went to a world at the bottom of the sea and there spent their time — un- happy spirits ! — as slaves to the white man, making cloth and trade goods. Among the Baluba , 2 when a sick man has breathed his last, his relatives place over his eyes a thick bandage ; his gaze would bring misfortune upon them ; for through those eyes, glazed by death, his surviving soul sees everything. The body is then washed, shaved, anointed with oil, and, in accordance with the greater or less degree of wealth he has enjoyed, dressed in beads, bracelets, and cloth. These objects will enable him to provide for his first necessities in the other world. His 348. A CARVED FETISH OF THE SOUTHERN BAMBALA PEOPLE (S.W. CONGOLAND, TORDAY) 1 Mfiiida in Kongo. 2 Much of these descriptions of Baluba beliefs and customs have been collected by Grenfell and Torday from the reports of Roman Catholic missionaries on the Kasai. 644 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO family and friends, informed with all speed of the fatal termina- tion, hasten to lay by the deceased some beads or a piece of cloth and assemble to lament. Among certain neighbouring tribes these lamentations take the form of a plaintive chant, soft and cadenced : among the Baluba, on the contrary, there are cries, howls, a wild cacophony, and the louder and more clamorous it is, the better it expresses grief. To listen to them, one would think them ready to die of grief. “ Woe, woe is me, I have lost my dear one, my joy. He whose words used to delight me, whose sight used to comfort me, is no more. Woe is me! What is going to become of me ? Oh ! cruel spirits who have carried him away from me, you make me suffer death. And you, guardian spirits of my dear one, and you, my preservers, give him back to me, for I die ; I am dead already ” ; and it goes on in this style for whole hours, while copious tears run down their cheeks. But to mourn thus without relaxation would be really too much of a punishment ; from one time to another they go to inhale some puffs at the common pipe and to console themselves a little with their neighbours, in order to give way afterwards to a new outburst of grief and be able to turn on a new torrent of tears. To prove still further the depth of their affliction, they encircle their brows and loins with fibres of banana tree, just like sick men wasting with fever. If the deceased has been one of a brotherhood, all the mem- bers in the neighbourhood gather before the dwelling and devote themselves to boisterous dances, for a small consideration. As regards burial ceremonies , the remains of a young child in most parts of the Congo are wrapped in a rush mat and buried in the corner of the mother’s hut. Except, however, first-born and twins. The former of these has for a coffin a pitcher or jar, the latter some leaves of banana trees. An adult is not always buried immediately ; as a preliminary, it is necessary either to consult the sorcerer as to the cause of death or to arrange business matters. Among the Baluba, if the deceased is a married woman, her husband will first have to pay her family a slave or his equivalent in trade goods. While waiting the day of burial, the body lies outside under a little roof of thatch ; mourners of both sexes take up their position round about in separate groups. This may last four or five days or more ; the body as it decom- poses gives out an unbearable smell, but this little troubles the Baluba. When matters are comfortably adjusted, the body is put into its coffin, which most commonly is only a plain mat. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 645 Frequently, however [especially in the case of people of note], a large wicker basket is provided — a sort of panier with a lid. The stiffened limbs are then forcibly bent, the joints made flex- ible if necessary with the handle of a hoe, and the body is restored to the position of a man squatting on the ground, embracing his knees. The body, thus bound, is enclosed in the panier. At sunset the family deputes two men to proceed with the burial ; one is given a hoe, the other a hatchet. They hang the coffin on a long pole and bear it away in silence, followed only by a few near relatives. In this way they proceed to the 349. THE CORPSE OF A WOMAN DECORATED AND LAID OUT READY FOR BURIAL (BOPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO) scrub or the forest in the darkness, avoiding by all means in their power the gaze of strangers. Then, by the uncertain light of a fire of reeds, they hastily dig the grave, and after having placed their burden in it, they carefully level the earth, that one may be able to see at a glance whether the grave has remained intact or been violated. This precaution is not un- necessary. The cannibals, in short, are always on the watch to find a new grave and rob it of the body under cover of the darkness. As soon as the sun has reappeared on the horizon the house of the deceased is set on fire ; to sleep in it after it has sheltered a corpse would be to expose oneself to certain death. Then grave-diggers repair to the river, throw into it their 646 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO mourning-bands, wash and rub themselves with white ochre all over the body. Soon afterwards one of them builds near his house a small hut ; it is there that henceforth the dead man will come to receive the honours, requests, and condolences of the living. Before the entrance of this little temple of the dead is dug a ditch which is filled with water mingled with flour ; another is dug close beside it, and in it is placed a pot pierced at the bottom, into which palm wine is poured. This is the dead man’s meal. The death of a Muyctnzi who is rich or enjoys a certain in- fluence gives rise to a series of ceremonies most interesting to watch. As soon as the deceased has breathed his last his body is washed all over and is next covered with fancy paintings. The legs are bent in such a way as to raise the knees as high as possible, and are kept in that posi- tion by bands made of tree bark or of native cloth. The body is then wrapped in the richest cloths left by the deceased, and after this operation presents the appear- ance of an immense muff of many colours, as broad as high, crowned by a variegated head, the dull eyes of which are wide open. Thus dressed up, the corpse is exposed in front of the hut inhabited before death ; and for eight or ten days the natives of the village and those of the neighbouring towns come to perform round the corpse funeral dances, accompanied by songs, rolling of drums, and discharges of guns. The noise begins at sunrise, lasts the whole day, and continues sometimes well into the night. The palm wine circulates in flowing bowls, and the dancers only retire when they are exhausted by fatigue or dead drunk. The same scenes begin next day and the follow- ing days, till the time when the decomposition of the corpse is advanced to the point of infecting the neighbourhood. 350. A FUNERAL DANCE AT BOLOBO : WIVES WAILING UNDER THE EAVES OF HOUSES 351- THE funeral of chief ekwayulu at bolobo RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 649 Then they proceed with the burial. A hole is dug in the entrance to the house of the deceased, and the body placed there, with all the cloths in which it has been wrapped since the day of death. In the mind of the natives, these cloths are destined to secure the comfort of him who is no more on the long journey he has just undertaken. Hence the richer and more powerful the deceased was, the more bulky is his luggage beyond the grave. Has he not got to maintain his rank in the other world ? Among the Mongo , or northern Balolo, the ceremonies are lengthy. Slaves wash the body and then place it in a hut, where it remains for one and even two months. This putrid mass is then enclosed in a box, carved, painted, and mounted with points resembling horns ; then the whole is buried after having been conducted through the neighbouring villages to the sound of songs and the accompaniment of dancing. The Bangata (Equator) take care to put the dead body into communication with the world of the living by means of a tube, just like the inhabitants of the Cataract region of the Lower Congo. White and black ornaments are prohibited during the period of mourning ; the body is carried by all the inhabitants of the village when the deceased is a chief. The Bangala were until recently such terrible cannibals that it was really difficult to induce them to bury any corpse except in their own stomachs. When they did commit a person to the ground, the grave was only a foot deep, and its exterior was covered with provisions intended to facilitate the dead man’s future existence. The Bapoto, neighbours of the Bangala, decorate the corpse with collars, bracelets, glass trinkets, etc., and the villagers come to lament and sing the virtues of the dead. The women mourners wear bands of green leaves round their bodies. In the Aruwimi countries people are buried in their own house in shallow graves, and one or two slaves are slaughtered at the interment that the master may not arrive in the other world alone like a poor outcast. Among the Manbettu it is the custom to bury warriors in the place where they have fallen. A kind of hut is erected over their tomb, and from time to time relatives and friends come to clean the grave, and place on it baskets filled with pro- visions and jars filled with water. These attentions, they say, give pleasure to the departed. The poor and slaves are buried in an ordinary way, or 650 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO rather the body is given over to the good offices of the thousand insects and beasts who undertake the task of making it dis- appear rapidly, unless the corpse is eaten by human grave- robbers. “ The Abarambo chief, Mburo, had chosen for himself a large tree situated a short distance from his house ” (writes Casati, who was a wit- ness of the fact), “ and had given orders that, when he died, they should dig a hole in its upper part and lay him there, his face turned towards heaven, for he thought it dishonouring for a great chief to be brought into close contact with the earth.” On the decease of an Abarambo [north of the Wele], the relatives and friends, after having assembled to lament for many days in the dead man’s hut, perform the dance of the dead, which lasts for weeks and even for months, according to the social position of the departed. If it is a woman who is dead, the husband disappears in the bush till such time as his grief is assuaged. He blackens his face, binds his waist with a cord, wears nothing but an old garment, and only eats raw food quite unprepared. The woman who has lost her husband acts in the same way, but waits before returning to her village till some one else succeeds in pleasing and purchasing her. Amongst the Bantu Ababua and Baieu (Babati) of the Wele-Bomokandi the dead are buried at a depth of about three feet on a bed ; after a month they are exhumed and buried in another place. This ceremony is repeated at regular intervals as long as the parents live. At each exhumation there is a renewed lamentation, and if the bed has decayed a new one is provided. The gifts to the dead consist only of food, and are placed on the grave. An Ababua killed in war is cremated, to prevent his being eaten by the enemy ; the ashes are carried to his village and buried there. The Baieu before burying the body extract its entrails and dry the corpse for several weeks ; all objects which belonged to the deceased are put into the grave with him. The sacrifice of women or slaves is practised. Among the Nilotic negroes on the north-east Congo fron- tier interments take place, often in the interior of the deceased’s house, in square ditches, into which the body is lowered and placed in a sitting position with the arms folded and wrists fixed to the shoulders. When they are filled with earth and closed, these graves are sprinkled with ox blood, or beer in the case of less fortunate persons. The Azande or Nyamnyam of the Wele-Mbomu dress RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 651 their dead in their finest garments or — in the case of chiefs — in their Arab dress, then lower them into a ditch, where they are placed seated in a coffin cut in one block from a tree. The ditch is filled up with earth trampled flat and a hut is raised to mark the site. On the northern Mubangi, among the Sango , the deceased is buried on the day of his death, wrapped in a native cloth. Certain articles of primary necessity and provisions are also 352. A FUNERAL DANCE AMONGST THE BAPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO put in the grave. His kinsmen and friends go into mourning for a month. When death is evident, they try to wake the corpse by making a hideous noise close to his ears with all the musical instruments they possess. Among the Banziri of the north-west Mubangi the ceremonies which take place at the death of a chief are as follows. The relatives assembled in the hut which serves as mortuary arrange the corpse in a doubled-up position on a kind of gridiron of poles. Then they kindle a fire under the body. Receptacles of baked earth are placed so as to collect the melted fat which trickles from the body under the action of the fire. Those who are present smear faces and hands with this fat, rinse it off with warm water, and these rinsings are drained into vessels 652 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO and drunk by the relatives, who believe that in this way they incorporate in themselves the virtues and qualities of the deceased. If all the fat is not used up, what remains of it is sent to absent relatives or preserved in the house of the dead man, near the corpse, which is not interred until it is in advanced decom- position and the flesh begins to rot off. (Torday.) The ceremonies of which funerals are the cause among the Nsakara are still more disgusting, and are aggravated by frightful human sacrifices and horrible scenes of canni- balism. The Buctka and the Banza of the left bank of the lower Mubanod show their care for the dead in a touching manner. When they lose one who is dear to them, they make a wooden statuette, to which they give the name of the departed child or relative. They carefully preserve this in their home, surround- ing it with loving- care. Father Heymans, of New Antwerp, gives the following description of the death ceremonies among the Ndolo (the Balolo people on the lower Lulongo) : — “ After death, the women hasten to cover the body with a new coating of ngola (red bark paste). Next with the aid of charcoal they accentuate the black of the eyebrows, under which the eyes remain wide open as well as the mouth. Further, the body, painted red, is girt with a new loin-cloth. “ While the women proceed with this dressing, some of the men have gone to cut four long and firm poles, which they set in the ground in the form of a quadrilateral of three feet each way. Sticks fixed horizontally bind the poles, to make their position firm. Finally, at a height of twelve feet, trunks of banana trees, attached to the poles, form a seat. “ These preparations being ended, four strong men hoist the corpse upon the seat mentioned, where, the body being seated, a small stick inserted under the chin keeps the head in a good position, while the hands are spread on the knees. “While the deceased is thus enthroned in the air, women and young girls seated on mats around this strange catafalque weep, chant, and lament in a sad, monotonous tone. Merely a formal expression of grief too, for soon the melody becomes weaker, the weeping girls chatter in groups, till, returning to their duties, they begin with united effort a more sonorous and mournful lamentation. This funeral game lasts all the day, often in spite of squalls and showers. “ On the death of a freeman, all his banana trees are cut down and the fruit of his plantation left to rot on a platform without any one daring to touch them : the penalty of death would be inflicted on any one guilty of so doing.” RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 653 Grenfell writes of the Bolobo people (Bayanzi, Bamoie) : — “ There was a dance for a woman who died two days ago at Bolobo. A basket of fire and branches and roots from her farm as well as her hoes were carried in procession to prevent harm to the plantations.” The Bateke to the north of Stanley Pool bury their dead in an upright position. The Bahuana (Kwilu River) bury their dead in a sitting posture in a grave about four to five feet deep, with a small 353. NATIVE GRAVEYARD AT PALABALA, NEAR MATADI, CATARACT REGION. (Note the graves marked out with empty gin bottles and strewn with empty rum demijohns, besides crockery.) hut erected over the grave. [If any one is killed by lightning, writes Torday, he is buried lying on his back in an extended position.] Among the Bayaka the corpse is painted red and arranged in a sitting posture with the knees under the chin, and the hands clasped round the shins. Among the northern Pygmies — and possibly all other sections of the small nomadic Forest negroes — the corpse is buried in the ground at the place where death has taken place, without any ceremony or any out- ward mark to indicate the grave. Grenfell remarks that graves all over Western Congoland (Bakongo, Bateke, Bayanzi) are, in the case of men, covered with broken pots on the outside ; to these, in some tribes, im- plements and weapons are added. In the case of women the 654 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO pots or implements are buried in the grave with the corpse, not strewn on the outer surface. On the other hand, Torday states that in the case of the Bay aka “ no weapons must be buried with the dead ; if by chance this should occur, the ghost of the deceased visits the heir three nights in succession and on the fourth niorht kills him.” 1 O Over much of Central and Northern Congoland a small hut is built over the graves of persons of any consequence. In the regions between the Sankuru and Lulua rivers there is a different custom noticed by Grenfell in 1886. “ The Bakete ,” he writes, when visiting the junction of the Sankuru and Kasai, “ have adopted a curious practice of marking their graves by an uprooted tree stuck into the earth with the trunk down- wards. Their burying-places — carefully weeded — present an 354. THE GRAVE OF A NATIVE CHIEF, MONSEMBE (BANGALA COUNTRY) extraordinary aspect with many withered tree stumps crowned by gnarled roots.” According to Grenfell, the Babangi people when in mourn- ing rub themselves with soot off their cooking-pots, which is mixed into an adhesive paste with palm oil ; on the other hand, 1 Lord Mountmorres thus describes (1905, in the Journal of the Society 0/ Arts) the graves of the Bantu negroes on the banks of the lower Mubangi : — “ A great deal has been done in organizing and persuading the natives to bury their dead in regular burial grounds, and the natives take considerable care of their cemeteries in some parts. In this particular case there was a large number of graves, all of which were covered with the personal appliances that were necessary during the life of the natives who were buried there. There were cooking utensils, lengths of cloth, in many cases a large tin trunk, and various other objects distributed on the graves. Each one of these objects, whatever its nature, was damaged beyond repair, the natives saying that the reason for this was to prevent the evil spirits from coming and making use of them ; but I rather fancy it is to prevent the less orderly of their fellow-tribesmen from coming and stealing them and making use of them. At any rate, it is the invariable custom to damage the articles that are put on the graves. . . . The graves in this part were beautifully kept up ; everything deposited on them was left untouched, and there was no need to damage the things. All the little cook- ing utensils were kept at one end, the food supply at the other, and when the food decayed it was swept away as having been consumed by the spirit of the dead man on his journey to the other world.” RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 655 the Bangala (women, at any rate) coat their whole body with white pipeclay and remain absolutely naked of clothing. Bangala men shave their heads. The Azande (Nyamnyam) cut their hair as a sign of mourn- ing. As they much value long hair, real or artificial, this is a considerable sacrifice to their feelings. The men amongst the forest-dwelling Balega of the region between the Lualaba-Congo and the north end of Tanganyika cover their faces with a thick coating of black charcoal paste. In this way they show mourning for their wives. The Bahuana men paint the forehead black, the women of this tribe the whole face, when mourning for the dead. On the other hand, the mourning colour of Bayaka women is red. The Bakongo men and women smear face and hair with soot and oil. So implicit is the belief in a life beyond the grave on the part of most of the Congo peoples that this faith actually causes them to commit terrible cruelties in the name of religion, not only in connection with witchcraft superstitions (as will be seen later), but in the ceremonies that attend the burial of kings, chiefs, and free men and women. In chapter xvi. I have recounted the attempts of Grenfell to check the “burial murders” among the Bayanzi at Bolobo. Here is an extract from his diary dealing with the Bayanzi in the Equator district : — “4th of January 1889. I learn on reaching Lukolela that when Mangaba and another chief died recently some dozen people were killed — Mangaba’s principal wife for one, and a little child for a pillow ! ” Burial murders, as explained in chapter xvi., are due to a logical faith in a future life. The beloved husband or wife dies and the spirit of the man or woman goes to the world of spirits. Utensils, implements, weapons, must be buried or broken, to be ready to hand when the dead person awakes in the dim “other world.” A personage of consequence, still more a great chief, must not go to the spirit world without wives or attendant slaves. Husbands, it is true, are not obliged to accompany their wives, but it is evident that (at one time) nearly all over negro Africa widows had to die in the graves of their deceased husbands. Here is the description given by a Belgian missionary of the death of a great Baluba chief : — “ When an important Luba chief expires, every one, great or small, must mourn in a subdued tone ; the members of all the brotherhoods come before the house where the body lies to perform dances ; the 656 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO women violently strike their hatchet and hoe against each other. This deafening hubbub lasts a day. The relatives then make a distribution of beads among all the dancers and the tumult ceases. During this time a young slave is obtained ; his neck is broken by a heavy blow and he is laid by the corpse for two days. He is the chiefs boy atten- dant. His wives, squatting near him, do not cease their lamentations. Some days pass in this way without other incidents ; after which the stiffened limbs are forcibly bent and the body placed in its wicker coffin. In the house, two stages are raised, one above the other ; on the upper one is placed the coffin, on the lower a large earthen pot. The body decomposes ; a noxious liquid infested with maggots escapes from it and falls into the receptacle : it is left there for several weeks. When the body is ready, that is to say when the nails can be taken off easily, the Musungi (lit. ‘ peacemaker ’), the provisional ‘ executor ’ of the deceased, raises the lid of the coffin, removes all the nails from the feet and hands, and the belt of hippopotamus hide, the badge of greatness, cuts off the middle finger of the right hand and a great toe and places them together in a hollowed fruit, which is placed in a small basket with a cone-shaped cover. The bundle is entrusted to the nephews of the deceased ; they proceed to hang it up in the ancestral hut. One of the nephews has it under his special care, and is responsible for the whole under pain of death or banishment. At this time, they sacrifice a slave; his death announces the event. “Finally the burial is proceeded with. The important men of the village, followed by some relatives, proceed by day or night towards a shallow marsh, carrying the remains of the deceased. A great chief can never go thus into the other world without taking away a portion of his slaves ; and so whenever the funeral procession is set in motion, two men are beaten to death with clubs and thrown across the public road without burial ; it is their mission to tell passers-by that their master has gone along that way to his last dwelling. As soon as the site of the grave has been selected, the men build a large square barrier of grass and weed, drain off the water which is within, and set to work with feverish activity to dig a deep ditch of about six feet, taking care to keep the side walls well hollowed out ; and forthwith two female slaves of the dead man, who have as a preliminary been decked in their finest attire, descend of their own accord [or by force, and in spite of their laments and sobs] to the bottom of this tomb, lie on their sides face to face, and stretching out the arm which is next the ground, embrace the decomposed remains of their master. The jar containing the liquid and worms I have described is emptied and broken in the grave. These poor women, mad with misery, do not always show themselves eager to fulfil the task required of them at the funeral ; for that reason they are usually bound, or sometimes their skulls are merci- fully broken. During that time, six slaves brought for the purpose are butchered and their bodies placed in the hollowed walls ; then the ditch is quickly filled up, and the marsh water, escaping over the barrier, makes its way in and covers this sad spot with a silence which will be broken for a moment, some months later, by the piercing cries of new victims. In short, the same grave-diggers will return to the grave, bringing a man in bonds whom they will force to build a wooden RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 657 enclosure on the edge of the marsh ; when he shall have accomplished his task, one of them will drive into his breast the head of his lance, crush his head, and lay him in a ditch beside the chief. Then a few days before the arrival of a successor at the dead chief’s village, they will go again with a slave and some jars of beer, force the wretched man to pull out all the stakes and drop all the jars in a small ditch ; then they will kill him likewise, and bury him on the other side of the grave. The departed is satisfied ; his successor may come.” A Belgian missionary on the northern Mubangi describes thus the funeral of a chieftain among the Nsakara : — 355. THE GRAVE OF A NATIVE NOTABILITY IN THE BUJA COUNTRY, NEAR BUMBA, NORTHERN CONGO “ On a bed, in an immense circular ditch, his head resting on the arm of his favourite wife, is laid the body of the deceased, dressed in his richest attire ; around him, attached to stakes, the strangled bodies of the wives who have been unwilling to survive their husband ; thrown pell- mell in the ditch, the bodies of slaves and servants who have worked for the dead man ; such is the hideous spectacle presented to a crowd, craving for pain and slaughter. The ditch is filled up, and on the newly piled earth begins the sacrifice of the victims destined for the feasts celebrated in memory, of him whom they are lamenting. . . . “ These repasts of human flesh last many days.” Among the northern Balolo (or Ndolo) of the Lulongo River a few slaves and sometimes several wives are killed on the death of a chief. A Congo- Balolo missionary told Grenfell II. — M 658 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO he had seen the grave of a chief who was lately dead. One of the chief’s wives, slaughtered for the occasion, lay by his side in the same ditch ; and the same missionary heard that fifteen slaves had been sacrificed and eaten at the funeral ceremony. Among the Bena Kcinyoka or Balungu of the middle San- kuru the death of chiefs also gives rise to massacres : they bury with the deceased a quantity of provisions and young girls whose limbs have been broken by the blows of a wooden club. The same practice is found amongst the Barua y farther to the east, and was recorded by Cameron. Burial murders have lone since been absent from the funeral customs of the Kongo tribes on either side of the Lower Congo, the Bateke and kindred tribes between Stanley Pool, the Kwa River, and the Sanga, the Bayaka and other peoples of the Kwango, the A-lunda , Bakioko, and most of the tribes dwell- ing west of the main Kasai. On the east they are no longer heard of beyond the Lualaba and among the eastern Bantu or the Nilotic negroes. The practice is one more associated with forest-dwelling negroes. It once existed in Uganda, and was certainly present (centuries ago) throughout all West Africa from the Gold Coast to Angola. Closely bound up with religious belief is the question of sorcery , the exercise of occult powers, which plays such a leading part in the social life of all pagan negroes above the low culture stage of the Pygmies and Bushmen. In all negro communities, with the above-mentioned doubt- ful exceptions, where there has been no recent interference of the white man and no conversion to Islam or Christianity, there are, from primitive times, two pillars of society : the Chief (king, judge, magistrate, leader in battle) and the Magician (sorcerer, medicine-man, priest, lawyer). Some- times — rarely — the two functions are combined in the same individual, a Prince- Bishop, a warrior who is also head magician. But although the village or tribal chief may often conduct the religious rites of the community, 1 he usually leaves the laws, police, medicine, meteorology, prophecy, and practical science of the tribe to a distinct functionary, the Magician, the wise man (or woman, for a woman may equally exercise these functions), the “Nganga” of Bantu Africa. The genesis of the African chief was (1) strongest and bravest man of the community, boldest Hunter, fiercest Fighter. 1 Note Torday’s remarks on Bayanzi Chiefs, p. 141, Journal of Royal Anthropo- logical Institute , 1907. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 659 The Magician represents the triumph of mind over matter, of cunning and intelligence over mere muscular strength and physical beauty. 1 The sorcerer in Congoland has often great powers of hypno- tism over other persons and over his own mind. He deludes himself quite as much as his fellow man or woman. He spreads strange beliefs among his adepts, so that vast masonic or cryptic organizations may arise in a negro nation, believing themselves possessed of supernatural powers and assisting their faith by strange and often horrible rites, such as those of the Bakanzanzi, described in chapter xvi. Baluba-Bakuba peoples between Kasai and Sankuru are singularly superstitious, and wizards, occult practices, mysteri- ous guilds and brotherhoods abound in this fertile, rankly forested region. The Baluba sorcerers ( baloshi , bena mifongo , batempeshi, etc.) believe, amongst other tenets, that they can make themselves and their adepts invisible by means of certain charms. Once invisible (or believing themselves so), they can indulge in horrible ghoulish practices or in disgusting im- moralities. Here are some Baluba magicians’ receipts for making spells that will bring death to those whom they want to injure : — The spell-weaver first provides himself with the body of a very large beetle, probably the Goliath Beetle. The empty receptacle of the insect is crammed with small human knuckle- bones and red scrapings of Kakula (camwood). If such a beetle (which is about two and a half inches long) cannot be found, then he takes a small horn of sheep, goat, or antelope and fills it similarly. He puts this object in his mouth and thereupon becomes invisible. The sorcerer next procures a Tragelaphus horn filled with various ingredients and encloses this in the very long pod of the Kigelia tree. At the moment of casting the spell, he adds to the hidden beetle or horn a paste made of charcoal, then covers up the whole pod and its con- tents with a piece of native cloth tied with a small plait and wooden pins. Armed with this he betakes himself to the house of the person whom he seeks to bewitch. Before the thres- 1 Here written down and translated by the Rev. W. H. Stapleton is a northern Congo tradition regarding “ The making of a medicine-man ” (amongst the Ngombe). “The ghosts call him from the bowels of the earth. He goes into the grave, underground, and stays there four months. When the four months are finished he comes forth, rubs himself with camwood, and dances, contorting his body. Whenever a man is sick he is carried by others to the Nganga. They accompany him to the man of ghosts. He looks at the body, then recites to the spirit (? the embodiment of the disease). They lift up the man and go out. All the people dance, and he who is afflicted with sickness is brought to the doctor for medicine.” 66o GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO hold of his victim’s dwelling he digs a hole, places in it the wrapped-up magic horn, covers up everything, and scatters twigs and shavings over the surface. The sleeper wakes and tries to go out, but the moment he touches with his foot one of the twigs, his leg contracts, his sinews shrivel, and he falls back dying on his mat. The wizard takes up his horn and dis- appears, rejoicing at the success of his enterprise. Another plan is for the Muloshi or sorcerer to place the magic horn on the road which his victim will take to reach the water. The moment he steps over it he falls and dies. Or the Muloshi places two straws on the threshold of the door at the house of the doomed person, two at the back of the house, and two on the path leading from the dwelling to the water- side. Then he draws water from the victim’s accustomed water supply, boils it, fetches the straws from house and path, and throws them into the water. As the water evaporates the victim pines away. A third spell is to take grass from beneath the tree which has often sheltered his victim, bind it in small bundles, and hang it up in his house; when it is dry, his enemy has quitted this world. Or very often, again, he fashions a wooden figure and then cuts it in pieces, which he throws in boiling water ; when the last is thrown in the victim has ceased to live. Finally, the sorcerer, again, may take a pinch of flour prepared for him on whom he wishes to cast his spell, some red feathers and shavings of nkula (red dye-wood), and stuff them into a small hollowed pumpkin, drive in a native nail with two blows, then throw the whole into boiling oil and leave it to cool : his enemy dies at the same time. It is needless to say that these spells are carried out in secrecy, and are in most cases only asserted to have been executed by the wizard to account for an opportune death. But the Baluba sorcerers also assert that they can steal away a man’s personality and leave his body a mere mindless auto- maton, “an empty ear of corn.” They pretend to accomplish it thus : — A negro is walking calmly and thoughtlessly along : sud- denly he hears his name, looks round, and sees nothing ; slightly disturbed, he pursues his walk, but hears himself called again ; again he looks round and still sees nothing. He is now filled with the paralysing dread that his soul has been called out of him, stolen by an invisible Muloshi ; he is no longer more than a shadow of himself, an image which before long will dis- solve, unless he betakes himself in all haste to a magician. Meantime the sorcerer who has cast the spell or played the RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 66 1 trick pretends to have deposited the wraith of his victim in a carefully closed jar or in a hollow figure. Perhaps at the same time he may move his abode to another village. Here he may be seen and consulted. Clients come for advice and squat down before his doorway, perhaps to consult him about a sick or deceased relative. The seer \Mpuka-manga or Mutempeshi , as he is called] openly and in a loud voice interrogates his jar or figure, and the latter is heard to reply in a small child-like voice — no doubt by the ventriloquism of the Mpuka-manga. Meantime the deluded victim who thinks he has lost his soul has applied for advice to a sorcerer, possibly to the very Mpuka- manga who has played the trick, or a confederate. The worker of spells thus consulted diagnoses the cause of the patient’s dis- tress and pretends to discover he has lost his identity ; then manufactures certain charms and goes in pretended search of the soul-robber. Sometimes he accosts a perfectly innocent passer-by and blackmails him, thus drawing double fees. In the long run, and after exacting liberal payments from the be- witched client, he either actually restores the jar or figure thought to contain the stolen soul, or if that cannot be done pretends he has somehow broken the spell and allowed the man’s identity to return to him. There are, of course, cases in which it suits the sorcerer’s book to let the “ soulless” man gradually lose his sanity under this powerful delusion. There is a fund of common sense in all communities, and witches, witch-finders, weavers of spells, secret societies, can overdo their frauds, exactions, and crimes, individually or as a body. Then there is a popular uprising and a terrible ven- geance exacted. There are mesmerism, chicanery, poison, assassination, and ghoulish cannibalism on the side of the mystics ; and witchcraft prosecutions, poison ordeals, lynchings of sorcerers or corpse-stealers on the part of the general public. Episodes of witch-finding are dealt with in chapter xvi. Here is another description of the poison ordeal attendant on an accusation of sorcery in Northern Lubaland, collected by Tor- day from a missionary traveller in that region : — “ The official medicine-man ( Mwena chihaha , poison preparer) comes forth, clad in his robe of state — that is to say, a tuft of blood-red feathers on his head, numerous skins around his loins, his body painted with white ochre, his hands holding three spears, a whisk made of an ante- lope’s tail, an axe, and an executioner’s knife. He at once proceeds to build a little hillock of earth, covers it with fresh leaves, and the accused sits on it willingly or unwillingly to take part in the perform- ance of the poison maker. The latter crushes and pounds the reddish 662 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO bark of the poison tree and throws the crushed pieces into a jar of boiling water ; when the liquid has taken a tint satisfactory to the preparer, it is decanted, and the patient has to swallow a good pint and half of this ill-omened beverage and as much warm water. If he can throw up the poison, which is not slow in its action, the accusation is false ; the person who accused him can but fly as quickly as possible, for the relatives of the prisoner on trial have the right to cut the false accuser in pieces before the meet- ing separates ; while the accused will receive in payment from the family of his adversary two slaves or the equi- valent in beads and material. But if he cannot bring up the beverage quickly enough, and this is usually the case, he sinks to the ground ; this is clear proof that he is guilty. At once the rela- tives of the de- ceased (whom his sorceries are sup- posed to have slain) hurl them- selves upon him, cut off his head, then his arms and legs, and the palpitating mem- bers are thrown into a great 356. (1) fetish brush or whisk made of a bush- brazier; t h i s buck’s tail. (2) an executioner’s knife, both they do in order from northern congo utterly to destroy this evil - doer. Most frequently there happens to be present some cannibal who buys the body when it has been cut in pieces, and carries it away for the next saturnalia, at which he and his companions will eat the flesh, burn to ashes all that is not fit for food, preserving for themselves only certain knuckle-bones and the head, to make of them magic talismans and amulets.” Of course the recognized professional sorcerer of the com- RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 663 munity holds a much securer position than the members of the “ uncovenanted ” occult service. 1 Baert, a Belgian explorer and official who with J. R. Werner first explored the Mongala region of Northern Congo- land in 1887, penned the following description of a typical fetish-man (official sorcerer and doctor) of a Mongwandi village on the Dua- Ebola River (the Mongwandi people are not Bantu, but related to the Sango) : — ■ “ Two or three red loin-cloths woven of raphia-palm fibre encircle his thighs ; bells, feathers, and iron bracelets ornament his ankles and wrists ; a collar of white feathers surrounds his neck ; a score more large feathers of various colours are bound in the shape of a tail in his hair; all his body is daubed red, his face painted white; his hands shake little bells. “ Usually the fetish-man is called upon to exercise his skill for the purpose of driving away the evil spirit who, according to the belief of these simple tribes, has taken possession of the body of one of their people and smitten it with sickness. To put the evil being to flight the fetish-man dances for two days before the patient’s hut. It not seldom happens that the latter, already half dead, succumbs to the exhaustion of listening for forty-eight hours to the noise, songs, and dances which accompany the rites of exorcism.” Among the Bantu-speaking tribes of the lower Mongala River (below the Mongwandi) this is how the Moganga (medi- cine-man) proceeds to expel the intruding spirit or demon who has caused an illness : — “ His loins girt with two or three pairs of red drawers woven of bamboo fibre, bells, feathers, and iron bracelets on ankles and wrists, a 1 The Duala of the Cameroons estuary down to the establishment of German rule were subject to the same dread of sorcery, and practised the same disastrous ordeals by poison-water as prevail almost all over the Congo basin amongst the uncivilized races. The adjoining Isubu people of Bimbia developed such a frantic dread of sorcery that they allowed their medicine-men to depopulate the country. The inhabitants of the Bimbia peninsula (north of the Cameroons delta) were reduced by witchcraft prosecutions and judicial murders from some 10,000 in number in 1845 to about 2,000 in 1885. The witch-finding was the work of the ngambi or medicine- man (equivalent to the Congo nga?iga). He usually commenced his work by consult- ing the spirits, supposed to inhabit a bowl of water. Gazing into the bowl, he pre- tended to see fish that would tell him whether the sick person would live or die ; or he would learn from them at once the name of the man or woman whose sorcery was the cause of the sickness. Very often the case was met by indicating as a witch the last person who had entertained or given food to the sick one. Once the victim was selected, he dared not move away from the town, as flight would be taken as certain evidence of guilt, and unless he was prepared to support life in the bush he would be everywhere an outlaw. The poison was some decoction of Strychnos nuts or Erythro- phlcemn bark. In some cases the ngambi proceeded by directer methods. All the people of the village where a person lay sick were assembled in conclave and made to sit in a circle. The ngambi would then dance round the circle, working himself up to a con- dition of frenzy, and finally point out the man or woman who had caused the sickness by their witchcraft. Without more ado the victim would then be hurried down to the waterside, beaten to death with sticks, and cast into the river. 664 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO collar of white feathers round his neck, a score more feathers of various colours stitched in the form of a fan in his hair, his whole body coated with red, his face painted white, and shaking bells in his hands, the fetish-man dances usually for two days before the patient’s hut. All the inhabitants of the place surround the Moganga, and an orchestra composed of two great wooden gongs, a war drum, and an instru- ment resembling the xylophone, begins a monotonous air ; the people answer in chorus to the songs of which the fetish- man gives the first strophes. “Such a gather- ing lasts about three hours, the time required to exhaust the dan- cer. The last named is seen leaping, or turn- ing on his big toes for one or two minutes; sometimes he mimics warfare, the departure of the soldiers, the battle ; he imi- tates the attack and the defence, and finally the defeat of the enemy ; immedi- ately after, he be- gins a song of victory. . . .” 357. A FETISH MASK FROM THE BAYAKA COUNTRY, KWANGO RIVER, EMPLOYED IN MYSTIC DANCES He is similar to the Roman augur, and like him (in Northern Congoland) consults the entrails of fowls or deduces omens from the flight of birds. The Arabs on the extreme north or in Eastern Congoland (Tanganyika) have also introduced the practice of divination by sand. A frequent method of seeking to divine the future is by giving some poisonous drug to a fowl and arguing by results : — The magi- cian or his pu- pils also prac- tise divination. “ The Azande, when they desire to know what fate a projected war RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 665 may have in store for them, administer to a hen an oily liquid extracted from a red wood called benge : if she dies, a disaster is to be expected; if she survives, victory is assured. The ceremony of benge is of common practice. “ There is yet another mode of proceeding in order to unravel the future : a cock is obtained and carried to the river, and its head is held under water for a considerable time and at frequent intervals. The cock is then left to itself ; if it recovers, it is a happy omen ; if it dies, defeat is certain.” Closely connected with religion and sorcery are the Initi- ation ceremonies of boys and girls at the age of puberty, the secret societies of men (and less commonly of women), the “mysteries,” devil dances, and other means adopted for creating or maintaining a discipline of terror that might hold children, women, and the bas peuple in subjection to the oligarchy of male elders. Grenfell, at Bolobo, ten years ago stumbled on an interest- ing piece of evidence : — “ One of our boys twirling a serrated stick and producing a roar was stopped by one of the men in his village. ‘ What,’ said he, ‘ you will let the women into the secret! If they understand, we shall no longer be able to make them afraid.’ ” This evidently points to the use of the bull-roarers in parts of the Congo, another of the many ethnographical features shared in common between the negroes and the black Austra- lians. It is well known to all students of Africa that in the Guinea lands of West Africa outside the Muhammadan countries of Nigeria (and even inside these regions where Muhammadanism is of recent establishment), in parts of the Cameroons and of the Gaboon, and on the Lower Cono-o; again, in Bantu South Africa amongst the Bechuana and Zulu Kafirs and other races within the Zambezi watershed ; amongst the Yao and pagan Makua of Eastern Nyasaland; in some of the Bantu tribes of German East Africa and others of the western coast-lands of the Victoria Nyanza; also in some tribes of Nilotic negroes like the Masai, there are, or were, “ bttsh schools ,” ceremonies of initiation into sexual, tribal, and social mysteries for both boys and girls approaching the age of puberty. At this stage between childhood and adolescence the boy or girl was taken away from village life and sent to join companions of the same age and sex at encampments or temporary villages erected in the forest or scrub. This period of seclusion might last for two or three 666 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO months or for only a few days. It was usually associated with a complete change of name, and sometimes accompanied by circumcision in the males or clitoridectomy in the females, 1 and usually with instructions in sexual matters. The girls would be drilled in the domestic arts, and the boys inducted into the preliminary stages of secret societies, or into a kind of male freemasonry, which, amongst other pur- poses, was to keep the wo- men in order and under con- trol by frightening them with unexplained terrors, such as the use of the bull-roarer with its booming noise, 2 the imitation of hobgoblins, devils, jack -in -the -greens, anthropoid apes. Now it is remarkable that north-east of the Cataract region and over the central basin of the Congo these customs of initiating young people have not as yet been noted, and are either non-existent or in abeyance. [The Ababua of the Wele-Bomokandi have no initiation ceremonies.] Even on the Lower Congo, according to Bentley, some of these initiation ceremonies are of relatively recent in- troduction from the coast. But Grenfell apparently met 0 with the custom at Yalemba, 358. A BAYAKA FRICTION-DRUM FROM THE ^ lower kwango (torday collection) on the north-eastern Congo, and “bush schools” cer- tainly exist in the south-central basin of the Congo. There are, for instance, initiation ceremonies among the northern Baluba, and possibly the Bakuba. In the region 1 In Congoland circumcision is very rarely connected with initiation ceremonies, and is usually performed on the infant or young child. 2 The friction-drum in South-West Congoland has replaced the bull-roarer : see P- 394- RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 667 between the Lulua and the Kasai, when the boys reach puberty (about fifteen years old) the medicine-man of the village retires with them into a dense thicket, away from all scrutiny. Here the boys have to lay aside all clothing, retaining only a waist- band of leaves and strings. Their bodies are then smeared with palm oil and decorated in fantastic patterns with bands formed from red clay, white clay, redwood dust, and a resinous vegetable gum. They have to pass through severe physical tests, and are instructed in the science of warfare and the arts of peace. Their time of seclusion is said to last only ten days, during which an unearthly noise is kept up in the secluded pre- cincts, and any one breaking in on the ceremonies would be very severely maltreated. In the Kongo kingdom to the south of the Cataract region, and perhaps also under different names in Kakongo, nortn of the Congo estuary, there are two initiation societies, Ndembo or Nkita (which applies to both sexes) and Nkimba. The Ndembo society or guild, according to Bentley, spreads beyond the Bakongo region into the interior of the Congo basin. A young person of either sex who is to be initiated into the Ndembo guild applies first of all to the Nganga (medicine-man or wizard) of the community. The would-be initiate at a sign from the medicine-man feigns death or a swoon in some public place. A funeral cloth is laid over the novice, who is borne away to a stockaded settlement in the bush called vela. It is usually pretended then that the young person is dead. When one case of this fictitious demise occurs it is usually followed by a number of others, till it may develop into a regular wave of hysteria, so that from twenty to fifty persons, all of whom have feigned death and have been conveyed to the vela , may be ready at one time for initiation. It is then given out that their bodies are decomposing in the vela until they are reduced to a single bone, which is kept by the medicine-man. After a period which may vary from three months to three years, the medicine-man pretends to bring about their resurrection by building up their bodies anew on the single bone that he has kept. On the date that he determines the pretended resurrec- tion is completed, and the now fully initiated Ndembo folk return to their native town dressed in new cloths and in the best of spirits. In their homes they pretend to have come from the spirit world, and invariably assume new names, especially of a type associated with these Ndembo mysteries. 1 “They pretend to 1 Vide Bentley’s Dictionary for list of names. 668 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO be quite strange to this world, do not know their parents or relatives, or how to eat.” Some one must masticate their food for them. They want everything they see, and may wreak vengeance on those who refuse them the desired article, even killing them if they like, without fear of consequences. The town folk look upon them as irresponsible lunatics, and this immunity from justice continues for some weeks after their re- appearance. If any one asks curious questions as to the land from whence they have come, they stick a piece of grass 359. NKIMBA BOYS, NORTH BANK OF THE LOWER CONGO (BASUNDI PEOPLE) behind their ears and pretend to be perfectly unconscious of being addressed. Whilst they are living under the charge of the medicine-man in the vela they are taught a mystic language, which describes common articles by fancy names. According to Bentley, however, this vela dialect is an imperfect gibberish which is soon forgotten. The chief feature of this life within the secluded settlement, however, is that of gross sexual immorality between the young men and women who are living together. The extremes to which this licentiousness was carried caused the Ndembo society to be abolished in many districts, especially those under the immediate control of the King of Kongo. This Ndembo society recalls in this and other RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 669 features similar “ bush ” institutions in the Cross River countries, the Niger Delta, and far away in East Africa amongst the Masai. The Nkimba brotherhood (according to Bentley) is a relatively recent introduction from the coast. An initiatory fee is paid, which formerly consisted of two large pieces of cloth and two fowls, and the novice then repairs to an enclosure out- side the town, where he allows himself to be drugged. Re- covering from insensibility, he finds himself surrounded by his future comrades of the Nkimba who are undergoing their initiation in this enclosure. Their bodies are whitened with kaolin or pipeclay, and they wear a kind of kilt or petticoat of palm fronds. These long, streaming filaments are fastened ordinarily to a wooden belt, which is sometimes rudely decorated with a pattern, and which encompasses the waist somewhat loosely, resting on the hips. Those who have been initiated speak a mysterious language, which is made either by introvert- ing the syllables of words, or by the spontaneous creation of new sound-symbols. The language is governed by prefixes and the usual concords ; but though it observes the same laws of phonology as the ordinary Kishikongo, it is an entirely different speech. 1 The Nkimba confraternity does not confine its life to the space within the sacred enclosure. The young men who are passing from six months to two years in this association wander about the bush and open country in the daytime, searching for edible roots, fruit, nuts, or any rats or birds that they can capture. They also seize unhesitatingly food-supplies, such as fowls, goats, plantains, manioc, if in want of supplies ; though as a rule they avoid in the daytime the haunts of other people. Any one who meets the Nkimba in the open country or on the road takes to flight, because it is their privilege with their long staves to beat unmercifully any one they may encounter, the beaten person not being allowed by native law to make reprisals. At night they rush about villages screaming, and assaulting any unwary person who may leave his house. Whenever met by day or night they utter a peculiar trill — drrrr. 2 * * 1 The deliberate invention of a new language for the purposes of a secret society is no uncommon feature in Bantu Africa, just as in some tribes of the south the women speak a dialect almost peculiar to their sex. It is thus, no doubt, that new and puzzling languages or dialects suddenly spring into existence. 2 “‘The natives run away from the Nkimba, but these last run away from the white man ? Why ?’ ‘ Because the white man will not run from us, and if we touched any one he would die ; so we run away to avoid touching you.' ‘ Why don’t you want to touch us ? 5 ‘ Because we do not want you to die, as there would then be a palaver . 5 “No one undergoing the Nkimba ceremonies can be indicted as a witch. They cannot be drowned, nor can crocodiles eat them . 55 ^Grenfell’s diary.) 670 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO In addition to the white chalky covering or paste with which their sooty skins are covered, the Nkimba youths decorate their heads whenever they can afford it with a wicker crown or cage, to which little strips of scarlet cloth, or the scarlet tail-feathers of the Grey Parrot, or the crimson pinions of the Turaco are fixed. Apparently, various grades of initiation into the Free- masonry are marked by tufts of grass hanging from the shoulders or the neck. A full brother who has passed all the grades is called mbwamvu anjata (according to Bentley), and wherever he goes, all who belong to the Nkimba society hail him as a relative, help him in his business, afford hospitality, and converse with him when doing so in the mystic language of the craft. As in most Freemasonry (no doubt), a good many of the maxims taught in the Nkimba school are sheer unpractical non- sense. The rite is now rapidly decreasing in importance, owing partly to the spread of Christianity, and partly to the increase of trade and the large amount of employment given to Congo youths on railways, public works, etc., an employment which leaves them no time for useless fooleries. The region west of Tanganyika and east of the Kasai “pullulates” with secret societies, guilds, brotherhoods, sister- hoods, and mysterious sects. That of the Bakansanzi for the enjoyment of ghoulish cannibalism has already been referred to. In addition to this the Belgian missionaries aver that there is a sect called Butwci in the country east of the Lualaba and Lukundu in Lubaland which has several grades of initiation, and which has for its main object the practice of very gross immorality. Some of the societies and guilds undoubtedly represent the remains of privileged classes, aristocracies, gifted strangers of superior culture who introduced new arts and industries to the pristine negro. Torday describes an order of this kind among the prog- nathous Bambala (and perhaps Bayaka also). This is the Muri society . The word Muri is a title of honour and mys- tery, and appears to exist among several of the tribes in that rather peculiar region of the Congo basin bounded by the Kwango on the west, the Kwilu and Kasai on the north and east. Muri Kongo has been already mentioned as the honorific title of the principal chief of the Bayaka {Kongo of course would mean “the great hunter”). The men called Muri amongst the Bambala are especially distinguished by the privi- lege of wearing a finely wrought iron bracelet on the arm, RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 671 which is called muena. They must also wear perpetually a head-covering of cloth which may not be removed by any one, even by accident, without incurring the death penalty. The muena bracelet is unpurchasable, and passes at the death of the man who has worn it to his sister’s son after a very elabo- rate ceremony, at the end of which the heir to the muena must steal his uncle’s skull at night. If a Muri is slain in battle and the enemy becomes possessed of the corpse (which as a matter of custom they will eat), they first of all detach the arm which wears the iron bracelet and return this trophy to the dead man’s tribe to be handed on to the rightful heir. It is feared if this precaution is not taken that whoever retains the iron bracelet will certainly die. Torday was told that the institution of the Muri had always existed, but was apparently dying out, as no new iron bracelets are made nowadays. These privileged persons are saddled with the restriction of not being allowed to eat human flesh or that of fowls. It is possible that the institution is a relic of the days when smelting and forging of iron was a new wonder brought into the land by some wandering gypsy blacksmith of superior race (Baluba, Bakuba), and that a superstitious reverence was attached to them and their descendants. Of Birth customs there are not many notes in the diaries or collections of missionaries which form the staple of this book. From other sources of information it is obvious that the practice of provoking abortion is a very common one through- out Congoland (though ignored, for example, by the Ba-yaka), but most of all in the north and centre. This is brought about at the third or at the fifth month by drinking very hot w T ater, by the use of mechanical means of injuring the foetus, or by swallowing certain drugs known to the medicine-men and to the old women. Polygamy is the indirect cause of this unnatural act. Native custom ordains that a husband shall not only cease cohabitation after pregnancy is well declared, but that he shall in any case absent himself from his wife during the whole period of lactation. As he is not restricted by monogamous principles these rules imply no hardship for him. But they prove intolerable for some wives, who in consequence either seek to rid themselves of motherhood in order to remain with their husbands, or wean their children rapidly so as to kill them. As a rule the mother remains secluded in her hut for about ten days after the child is born (until the umbilical cord has dried up and fallen off), and during this period the husband 672 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO may not see her ; though he may — and often does in most tribes superior to the Pygmy — offer sacrifices to the gods for her health and that of the child. Lord Mountmorres states, how- ever, that among the Sango people of the upper Mubangi the husband alone attends to his wife during confinement in a secluded retreat. At Bopoto and among the Ngombe of the northern Congo the head of the infant child is tightly bound soon after birth between fiat pieces of bark in order to compress and lengthen the skull. Great infant mortality and few children in each polygamous household (due to the provocation of miscarriages) have certainly tended to check the natural increase of tribes like the Babangi (Bayanzi), Bangala, and the riverain people of the Mubangi. But it is probable that in the main natural instincts prevail, and that travellers exaggerate occasional instances of vice into a far-reaching custom. That a large percentage of the children die — once they are born — is evident from the Baptist Mission records, extending over more than twenty years. This is chiefly due to unsuitable, indigestible, or insufficient food. Grenfell has numerous notes on the preposterous attempts to feed infants of a few weeks old with manioc-paste (tapioca). A curious custom described by Bentley under the heading of Mpangu (in his Kongo Dictionary ) exists not only among the western Kongo people, but elsewhere in Central and Southern Congoland. “ When a woman is approaching confinement, a doctor is called, who orders a feast. A variety of vegetables are prepared, and certain kinds of meat are also cooked. The feast is eaten only by people of the same clan ( ekanda ) as the woman. The doctor then instructs the mother that the child is on no account to eat any of the meats or fish which were ordered by him for the feast. These meats (not the vegetables) are henceforth to the child lekwa yanipangu = tabued things. The restriction is called mpangu ; to impose such restriction, shia e mpangu ; the doctor is said to place the woman under a spell or charm, kotesa onkento. Some- times the doctor will limit these restrictions ; thus, he may say the child shall not eat these things until it has become the parent of a boy and a girl, after which anything may be eaten. These restrictions are the mere whims of the doctor, although the most frightful consequences are sup- posed to follow any transgression. For instance, the mpangu of one lad are as follows : not to eat ( nguvu ) hippopotamus flesh or ( kwa kia nguvu) yam, the penalty being leprosy ; not to eat crayfish, the penalty being a skin disease on the hand ; nor raw palm nuts, the penalty, an outbreak of scald head ; nor a small spotted fish, called nlumbu , penalty, ophthalmia and loss of eyelashes ; nor the great ezunda frog, penalty, RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 673 his eyes will become big in the same manner as the frog’s. The mpangu restrictions are only those imposed upon an unborn child.” Grenfell has revealed the existence of a similar tabu on the Upper Congo (Babangi), and it seems to exist among the Bangala. It may be anciently connected with totemism. Bentley does not seem to hold that opinion. A Congo child in all the tribes above the Pygmy stage of culture 1 is usually provided with a godfather soon after birth. This is usually the mother’s brother. In fact the maternal 360. BOYS OF BOPOTO, UPPER CONGO, BATHING AND PLAYING ON BEACH uncle plays almost a more important part in the upbringing of the child than the actual father thereof, and inheritance is usually from uncle to nephew. In a considerable part of South Congoland the child when able to fend for itself is sent to its mother’s people.' 2 Children are usually treated with great kindness and indul- gence ; at worst with good-humoured indifference. But when 1 Among the Pygmies abortion appears to be unknown. They have large families and are very fond of their children. 2 Among the Bakwese of the upper Kwilu and the Ba-achinji and hnbangala of the middle Kwango, children are usually supposed to telong to the mother’s brother. II. N 674 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO a state of war has arisen between tribe and tribe and evil passions are let loose, the children of the foe may be destroyed or mutilated pitilessly. This trait was horribly evident when the native soldiers or police appointed to control the rubber forests chose to punish the recalcitrant natives who failed to bring in the supplies demanded. The following notes deal with marriage customs and the position of women. Amono- the Pvp'mies marriage is little else than the tender- ing of a gift of arrow heads or knives or other objects of local value to the father of the girl, who is thereby acquired by the purchaser ; though no doubt inclination counts for much in the bargain and fidelity thereto. Adultery does not seem to be greatly resented among the Pygmies, indeed, according to evidence I have myself collected, they seem to approach very near to promiscuity and even’ incest in their marital relations, within each separate band or community. Among the forest tribes in the north-eastern part of the Mongala basin (Basutanda, for example) the custom of marriage by capture exists. A man carries off a wife by force, betakes himself with her to the forest, lives there by hunting, and only returns to the village when the wife has a child and it is weaned. Returned home, he quits his temporary wife, and gives her half the proceeds of their hunting in exchange for the child. The chiefs of a neighbouring tribe in the valley of the middle Mubangi (. Mosombanza ) have marital rights over the sisters of their wives, the wives of their brothers, and the wives of their wives’ brothers. Among the Nsakara 1 (north of the Mubangi) the marriage tie is very loose. Married women are most unchaste and abor- tion is freely practised. Yet chastity is expected of the widows, daughters, or sisters of dead chiefs (chiefs of great importance). These have to spend their lives maintaining a perpetual fire on the dwelling-tomb of the deceased potentate . 2 No one may see the favourite wives of an Nsakara chief without incurring the penalty of death. The people are warned of the presence of these wives by short squeaks or cries which they utter as they walk. Every one at once withdraws and only reappears when the favourite wives are out of view. The Momvu , a Forest negro tribe more or less subject to the Manbettu, accord women a very honourable position, re- 1 The Nsakara Sultan, Bangasu of Mbomu, has or had fifteen hundred wives. 2 A somewhat similar custom prevailed formerly in Uganda. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 675 garding them as at least the equals of the men. Quite excep- tionally in this tribe, as in the Banza far away to the west, agriculture is mans work, the woman stays at home. As a rule in Congoland (and in much else of negro Africa) tilling and tending the fields, making pottery, and extracting salt from potash are considered specially “woman’s work.” Sewing, on the other hand, is a man’s occupation. Though the Manbettu women work in the fields, they never- theless (as with the Momvu) are much respected. The Manbettu wife is not isolated by her husband, as is the 361. “woman’s work”: a woman OF THE NORTHERN CONGO, NEAR BOPOTO, MAKING POTS case among the neighbouring Azande ; she even plays a con- siderable part in the great gatherings which are held to discuss important questions which concern the fate of the nation, to decide peace or war. It is not long since a wife of the late sultan Nyangara, named Nenzima, directed with great wisdom the policy of the Manbettu people. All the great chiefs who ruled in that country came to her to ask advice in difficult circumstances. Among the Abarambo (a clan of the Ababua Bantu and a subject people of the Nyamnyam) the wife is usually purchased now by a percussion gun ; but formerly the purchase price was 676 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO regulated in mapuka , little bars of iron. In the different groups of the Ababna , Babati , and Baieu (Bantu-speaking) tribes along the upper Wele and Bomokandi and upper Rubi rivers marriage by capture is of common occurrence, but frequently results in war between the two villages ; properly the husband ought to buy his wife, her consent not being absolutely neces- sary. Polygyny is general, and girls are often sold at a very tender age. Men usually take their wives from other villages than their own, and the marriage is celebrated by dancing, eating, and drinking. Conjugal fidelity is expected of women, but not of men. In cases of adultery the injured husband may in theory kill both the culprits, but as a rule the erring wife is only beaten, and the man escapes with a heavy fine. Divorce exists. If the husband is tired of his wife he simply orders her to return to her parents. In this case the price paid for her, or a part of it, must be restored, but frequently one of her sisters is given in compensation. A woman who has born two or more children to her husband cannot be divorced. 1 The invading Nycimnyam (Azande, Makarka) hold their women in great respect and affection and exhibit a very jealous disposition. They dislike their wives being seen by strangers. The crime of adultery meets with a terrible punishment ; the woman rarely escapes her husband’s anger ; as for her accomplice, they cut off his ears and hands, then the executioners do their best to save his life that he may serve as an example. Though polygamy exists, they are apt to concentrate their affections on one wife, the head woman of the household. It is she who manages the whole of the husband’s establish- ment, directs his plantations — seed-sowing and harvesting. She is not only entitled to give her opinion, but is expected to do so, and usually sways her husband in everything. This close attachment between man and wife arises partly from a curious belief that constant cohabitation is necessary to the growth of the child during pregnancy. The Mongwandi of the upper Mongala region and perhaps the closely allied Sango of the Mubangi also tend towards monogamy in their domestic arrangements. This arises partly from the high value — morally and commercially — placed on women. Great chiefs alone possess several wives. A Mong- wandi couple inhabit the one house — a largish hut in the shape of a truncated cone. The Mongwandi youth usually makes these preparations for 1 For details as to sexual morality vide Professor Halkin’s Quelques Peuplades de P Uele. Liege. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 677 eventual marriage. He selects by preference a girl child of six or seven years, because she can be bought cheaper at that age. Her price — some five years before the nubile age — is usually ten milch goats, ten spears, ten knives, and ten dogs. On each visit of the betrothed husband to his parents-in-law he is expected to bring a spear or a knife ; it is a species of rent. At the time when his betrothed has attained the required age and development, the intended husband comes to take her, leads her away to his house, and definitely takes up his abode with her. However, if after a given time the wife remains childless, the parents are obliged to take back their daughter and return a part of the price which has been paid them. A grown woman who has already been a mother costs quite six times the price of a little girl. But after the Mongwandi wife has produced three or four children, the husband considers he has a sufficient family. He is then ready to “lease” his wife to another man for an initial period of ten or twelve months in return for a fixed sum in goods. If during the period of the “lease ” the woman becomes a mother, her child is legally the property of the tenant. If, on the other hand, the child is born after the expiration of the agreed period, it is the property of the lawful husband. Sometimes, in return for a further sum, prolongations of the assignment are granted. Yet the Mongwandi are very rigorous on the subject of marital fidelity (where the woman is concerned). A woman who commits adultery either against her real husband or any tem- porary mate to whom he may have allotted her is punished as follows. Her body is coated with a mixture of soot and oil and her head is grotesquely decorated with cock’s plumes. Then a string is tied to her waist and she is led by her relations to an enclosure in the village square made of hunting-nets stretched on stakes. Inside this enclosure all her family defile before her, loading her with reproaches and whipping her with rods. Then the nets are drawn aside and the wretched woman makes a rush for her husband’s house, followed by many missiles — sticks, stones, clods ‘of earth. The Banza of the region between the Mongala River and the east bank of the lower Mubangi are monogamous in principle, and as they are physically one of the finest peoples of the Congo basin, they show the ultimate advantage of this principle. In this tribe — exceptionally — men attend to agri- culture, and women enjoy generally much consideration. Adultery is punishable by death, but the extreme penalty is not always enforced. 678 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The attractive Bangala woman joins her husband at his fishing, and while he skilfully handles the net, she guides the light canoe with a surprising dexterity. Polygamy is common, and divorce equally so. Nevertheless adultery is sternly sup- pressed ; the guilty one has an ear cut off and the calf of the leg is pierced with a spear-head. The Babangi ( Bayanzi ) women and their relations with their husbands are frequently touched on by Grenfell in the extracts from his diary given in chapter xvi. Formerly, before the influx of the European, the Bayanzi women (slaves or widows) formed little bands of travelling courtesans who plied their trade up and down the Conoco between the Equatorial re- gion and Stanley Pool. The free Ban- gata women (Equa- tor) work like slaves, with the ex- ception of the fa- vourite. The Mongo or Ndolo wife (Equa- tor) is regarded as an absolutely in- ferior being. The Bakongo , Babwende , Basundi , Eski-Kongo, and kindred tribes of the western Congo and coast region have a high regard for the marriage tie, and the woman and man guilty of adultery are, both the one and the other, punished for a crime committed against conjugal fidelity. Young girls are married as soon as they reach the age of puberty, usually about twelve years old ; young men as soon as they are rich enough to buy a consort. Usually marriage takes place by mutual consent, so that there are marriages of affection. Chiefs, with the object of advancing their children and creating friendly relations with the neighbouring tribes, betroth their children very young. The young people go through a courtship. When the lover formally introduces himself, the young girl flies across the fields screaming as if she had seen a wolf, but she does not run away far when the wolf pleases her. 362. WOMAN AS A BEAST OF BURDEN IN THE BABANGI COUNTRIES (Lukolela women carrying loads of firewood.) RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 679 The intended husband buys the young girl of her father. He is obliged to supply the dowry, his wife’s trousseau, and to pro- vide her with a house, with all cooking and cleaning utensils. Further, he has to defray the cost of the feast to which the relatives of both families are invited. The day of the wed- ding there is a banquet at which pork forms the main dish. The feast is accompanied by songs and dances. A mother who sees her daughter of an age to pass under the control of a husband shuts up the young girl in the nzo- nkumbi , the dressing-room. The “dressing” consists in colour- ing bright red all the black skin of the young woman. The first material is the red powder called tukula so much used all over the Equatorial Congo, which is obtained by rubbing against each other two pieces of wood broken from the tree called locally mengamenga or zukunga (perhaps a Pterocar- pus or Baphict). Small stones intercalated between the two pieces of wood serve the purpose of sand-paper, and produce the powder by scraping the wood. The powder, being wetted from time to time by a little water during the operation, is next, when a sufficient quantity has been obtained, largely increased by the addition of palm oil, so as to produce a liquid varnish of a brilliant and sticky red. Of this varnish the woman who superintends the dressing takes a good mouthful, which she vigorously ejects over the face, arms, legs, back, in short the whole body of the young girl. This varnishing is repeated daily for many weeks, lasting a longer or shorter time according to the fortune of the girl’s intended husband. If rich, he can cut short the adornment of his beautiful bride by de- positing the agreed price for the purchase of his future wife. In the contrary case, she will remain shut up, subjected to daily painting, sometimes for two months. In itself, except for the seclusion in the nzo nkumbi, the operation of painting is in no way painful. Even the said seclusion is brightened by the presents which her betrothed sends : a beautiful loin-cloth quite new, a big slice of pork, on which the girl will be allowed to regale herself at home with her friends. There is more: before entering her retire- ment she has had an opportunity of setting in order the plan- tations of her future husband, and he has rewarded her by more than one jug of palm wine. These gifts, however, are not always received with alacrity. The bride knows that thenceforth the joyous days of her youth have passed, and that her future husband, now so generous, will to-morrow and for all her life oblige her to work hard for him. 68o GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO However, in the more civilized region between Matadi and Leopoldville the young husband during the first year of marriage often supplies a female slave to till the ground, while the free woman occupies herself about the yards and only works when she pleases — which is not often. But this indulgence does not generally outlast the birth of the first child. At the approach of a Kongo wedding the women of the village inhabited by the bride go to feast at the house of the future husband. The day after there is a gala repast at the house of the brides father. Here is a description of such a feast. All the women of the neighbour- hood arrive, carrying pots and pans necessary to cook the pig which has been provided by the bride’s parents. The bride appears in festive attire, with her body coloured bright red. Her face is painted white, and this makes her look a perfect scarecrow ; but as it is the fashion neither she nor her visitors feel uncom- fortable. It is the convention, however, for the Qfirl to dance in order to show her happiness at being the occasion of such a feast. “ So this red phantom with a white mask whirls around in impossible capers to celebrate the last feast of her youth and freedom” (Father Geens). Prior to this feast the husband’s father has contracted with the medicine-man of the village to placate and pray to the Mbingu fetish so that his son’s marriage may be fruitful. The day after the wedding feast the bride removes the red dye and resumes the natural tint of her skin. About midday men bind her with bush-rope and carry her in that condition to her husband’s house. She is accompanied by her bridesmaids, who dance and sing- appropriate phrases. She is left tied up in the new home and is speedily released by the husband, who is all amia- bility. But a day or two afterwards she may run back home out of coquetry, outraged modesty, or for some real grievance with her new life. She is speedily recaptured, and perhaps receives a mock beating, or a real one, till at last she settles down into married life. 363. BAKONGO WOMAN AND CHILD AT KIBOKOLO, ZOMBO PLATEAU RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 683 The spread of Christianity and European ideas of marriage have largely rendered these customs above described obsolete along the south bank of the Lower Congo and at San Salvador. In no direction have the Christian missions done better work than in elevating the ideas of the people in regard to marriage and the rearing of children. In South-West Congoland and throughout the southern part of the Congo basin the ceremonies attending marriage are some- what similar to those of the western Congo. There is a drink- ing feast at the bride’s father’s house, and the bride is often painted red, with the dust of red wood in the north, with red clay and mutton-fat in the south. Torday, how- ever, says there is little or no ceremony amongst the Ba- huana of the great Kwilu River. After a prolonged court- ship of the young marriageable girl (not remarkable for reticence on either’s part) the man asks permission to marry her from her mother , and after giving the latter a small present and obtaining her consent takes the young woman henceforth to live with him. Women enjoy much consideration among the Ba-kioko , A-lunda , Baluba, Barua , and Bakuba. In the Luba-Lunda empires and kingdoms there are real queens and princesses, and some of the ceremonies and titles connected with the mothers or consorts of chiefs remind one of similar customs in Uganda. Torday states that in the Bahuana tribe a peculiar tabu, similar to the Hlonipa of the Zulu- Kafir , exists between a man and his parents-in-law; he may never enter their house, and if he meets them in a road he must turn aside into the bush to avoid them. On the other hand, a wife may visit her husband’s parents, and is expected to show them great respect, but she 365. A POT FROM THE LOWER CONGO, USED FOR THE DISPENSING OF BEER AT A WEDDING FEAST 684 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO must avoid her husband’s maternal uncle in the same way as he avoids her parents. The only reason given for this avoidance was that they were “ashamed.” There are traces of this practice among the Bakongo on the west and in the Lunda, Luba, and Tanganyika countries. The social organization of Congoland begins with the clan or even the village. There is little sympathy or fellow-feeling for the stranger, the outlander : though in the north, south, and west the great movements and invasions that have taken place since (we may vaguely guess) the twelfth century have built up here and there a nation, a brotherhood, 1 a caste, an aristocracy, which has beaten down the isolation of villages and small com- munities and created more extended sympathies and sentiments of union against some other nationality or race. But there is very little desire for exogamy or marriage with a stranger, rather the reverse ; there is a greater tendency to- wards marrying in and in, barely stopping short of incest. Marriage between cousins is nowhere disapproved, but uncle and niece (and of course father and daughter, mother and son) is everywhere tabued. So, out of the close blood kinship of the village or the camp have arisen these brotherhoods, fighting castes, nationalities. Outsiders first were killed (and perhaps eaten), then, later, enslaved. Gradually the slaves have de- veloped in the older and more settled nations into serfs, villeins, peasantry, labouring classes. Free men and women, in time, came to be sold — or, in payment of some debt, to sell them- selves. Mothers sold their children in times of famine. And as the need grew for a better and more complex social organ- 1 These brotherhoods or clans are particularly noticeable in the southern half of the Congo basin, where they are indicated by the prefix Bena , an old Bantu plural for “ brothers ” ( not children, as it is frequently translated by writers who confuse it with Ba?ia). Ba-ina (Bena) is the plural form of Mu-ina, of which the terminal root is con- nected with “ mother ” or “womb.” Similar terms originally meaning “men” or “natives,” are the Bakwa -, Bafwa -, Bavwa-, and Bashi -, Ashi- of South-Western and North-Eastern Congoland. There are the Bena-kamba (Brothers of the Tortoise Clan?); the Bena-diamba, Brothers of Hemp (smoking); Bena Lulua (Brothers of the Lulua River) ; the Bakwa Mosinga (Brothers of the Cord) ; Bafwa-mboli (Brothers of the Rouge) ; and Bashi-lange, Eshi- Kongo, etc. Mu -lunda means a brother or comrade; so does Mu -gandaj from which in time grew up the great nations of the A- or Ba-lunda (with their variant prefixes, Kalunda , Tulunda ) and the Ba-ganda. It is possible that the root -yanzi (Ba-yanzi) may be derived from a similar origin as -ga?ida (brother, comrade). \Bangi, in Ba-bangi , seems to mean “forerunner,” “first arrival.”] Many of these clans were associated, no doubt, at an earlier time with Totemism [ vide present writer’s work on Uganda Protectorate\ each family, brotherhood, com- munity, adopting some creature, vegetable, or object as their totem, family fetish, deity, or mythical ancestor. There are traces of this former totemism in many parts of the Congo basin except amongst the Pygmies, but tabus in regard to food ox marriage are now almost extinct. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 685 ization, slaves from outlying tribes were purchased for the labour force of prosperous communities, or wars were made for the express purpose of enslaving whole populations. Now everything is in a state of flux : Jack is as good as his master in many districts directly under the white man’s rule. Therefore the notes that follow are almost out of date, and refer chiefly to the days before the European in ten or twenty years upset Congoland society from top to bottom. Amongst the Bayaka the barrier between the slave and the freeman is extremely well defined. A freeman is restricted by public opinion in his choice of a wife to women of his own class, and is not allowed to keep slave concubines. The aristocratic Bakuba of the central Congo basin also object to unions between freemen and slaves. Among many tribes, however, the slave is treated almost on a footing of equality by his master, and the latter will frequently (on a kindly impulse) declare him free. Amongst the riverain populations of the Upper Congo from Stanley Pool to Stanley Falls (Bayanzi, Bangata, Bangala, Mongo, Ngombe, Bapoto) it is difficult to distinguish the chief and the freeman from the slave. Slaves frequently become chiefs. A slave has the right to possess a house and cultivated lands, but he is obliged to yield part of his harvest to his master, and also a tithe of the results of his hunting and fishing. He has not the right to dispose of his property. At his death all he possesses reverts to his master ; his children are slaves. Among the eastern Bayanzi the great chiefs usually have a confidential adviser or minister, who is almost invariably a slave. This slave often impersonates the chief on the first visit of strangers who are regarded with suspicion. The chief is, as a rule, but not always, the head fetish-man. The slaves of the Bayanzi are mostly Bayanzi themselves, their slave status being hereditary. Some chiefs breed slaves, regularly selecting male slaves for their qualities as sires, and mating them with selected wives. The Basoko slave (Aruwimi confluence) is equally privileged with the slaves of Bayanzi and Bateke in that he has the right to hold property subject to the condition of paying his master tithes on the proceeds of his crops, his hunting, and his fishing. This right of holding property, however, in reality is no more than a right of usufruct : in practice he cannot dispose of his goods, which on his death return to his master. Among the Bateke of the western Congo the master pro- vides lodging and fqod for the slave, and even buys him a wife ; 686 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO he puts him in the way of obtaining his own means of livelihood, and it happens that some slaves are in this way ultimately enabled to grow rich and outstrip their masters. Such was the origin of Ngaliema, alternately the ally and the foe of the infant Congo Free State at Ntamo, Stanley Pool. Ngaliema had been bought as a little boy for a plate (it is said). He set up as an ivory trader at the west end of Stanley Pool, and eventually developed into a great chief. The Banziri and other tribes of the north-western Mubangi were said by travellers and Baptist 1 and Belgian missionaries to breed slaves for the food market, regularly fattening them for the purpose, the slaves even developing into a peculiarly brutish type so far as intelligence was concerned : but M. Auguste Chevalier, in his recent work, 2 which deals with the Chad- Shari- Mubangi regions, denies the exactitude of these stories. The practice, however, may have been in vogue twenty and ten years ago, and have ceased now under French and Belgian rule. Among the Ababua-Babati of the Wele-Bomokandi-Rubi rivers the mass of the population consists of serfs or slaves — the Babua or Babati proper. Defaulting debtors, prisoners taken in intertribal warfare, and the children of slaves assist to make up the serf population, which is ruled over (more or less indulgently) by a caste of freemen and chiefs who are obviously the descendants of a superior negroid race — perhaps allied to the now hated Nyamnyam. All alike, serfs and freemen, speak debased Bantu dialects. As human nature sweetened, however, in the slow upward growth of civilization in the Congo basin, friendship with total strangers and outsiders was conceived as a possibility, either because those strangers wielded or were thought to wield superior powers (spiritual if not physical) or because of some inherent trait of kindliness even in savagest man. So that slavery was not the only alternative to death when some stranger found himself suddenly in contact with a community of Forest negroes. But then the curious logic of the savage mind which underlies so much nonsense of fetish, ritual, and empiric reme- dies came into play. If the new-comer, the outsider, was not to be killed and eaten or enslaved, he “must become one of us,” must be a “ blood-brother.” Hence arose the widespread practice of the exchange of blood. 1 Dr. Holman Bentley, from native reports. 2 LAfrique Centrale Franqaise. Challamel. Paris, 1908. This book gives much ethnographical information on the northern Mubangi basin. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 687 When the present writer attempted to ascend or explore the Upper Congo (beyond Stanley Pool) in 1883, at every place where the boat or canoe stopped for a night’s rest or a prolonged so- journ a proposal of blood- brotherhood was made by the chief or head-man as an alternative to hostilities or isolation. Sometimes the sacrifice was exchanged through delegates, because after I had acquired about half a dozen boisterous black brothers my arms became very sore with the tiny cuts made for the blood- letting. But in those days, before the white man had often shown himself (with many honourable exceptions) a treacherous black- guard, the exchange of blood was an emphatic guarantee for peace and friendship on the part of the native. “ Among the Bapoto of the northernmost Congo” (writes Grenfell), “ before an exchange of blood takes place between the stranger and the chief, the local medicine-man kills a fowl and consults its entrails. If the verdict is favourable, then the exchange of blood takes place. Some- times the ceremony is accompanied by the planting of a tree or the cutting open of a young palm. Each ‘ brother’ must touch or taste the blood of his new comrade.” Among the Mongwcindi or even the Bantu tribes of the Mongala River the following ceremonies were customary : — Two sponsors are appointed for each side, that of the arriving stranger and the community that desires or permits the blood-brotherhood. Then an incision is made in the arm of the chief and in that of the stranger or guest, followed by a rubbing together of the two bleeding arms. After that a dog is brought forward ; the stranger is requested to hold a back paw with his two sponsors, the chief and two men take the other paw, each side pulling against the other. Then a native with the stroke of a knife cleaves the animal in two, after which the chief’s sponsors, with the half of the dog which has re- mained in their hands, sprinkle and cover the stranger with blood, entrails, etc., while the stranger’s sponsors do the same to the chief. In Marungu and on the west shore of Lake Tanganyika the formalities are of a different kind. A big mat is spread on the ground and the two contracting parties sit on it, one facing the other, in the midst of an immense gathering of the dependents of either party, who are ranged in a circle ; a noble, a chief, or an old man presides. The celebrated Captain Storms has described what takes place after these preliminaries. “ The president ordered two chickens to be killed, and their livers 688 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO were roasted in our presence. During this time, one of the * nyampara’ (inferior chiefs) of Mpala made an incision in my chest with a spear-head, while one of my men did the same to the negro sultan. The grilled livers were then brought us steeped in the blood of the future brothers. I put in the mouth of the ‘Mtemi’ (chief) the liver moistened with my blood, while he made me eat the liver moistened with his own. In short, a little lunch not very appetizing. “The first part of the ceremony was over. Next we came to the oaths, which were pronounced by third persons. The whole time they lasted, spear-points were clashed above the head of each of the initiated. “‘Mtemi,’ said a black orator, addressing himself to Mpala, ‘you are now the white man’s brother; if you do him harm, him, or any one belonging to him, you will die ; if you make war on him, you will die, the members of your family will die, and your power disappear.’ “ Lusinga, chief of the district, then took up the discourse and addressing himself to me : ‘ White man,’ said he, ‘the oath of friendship by which you bind yourself to-day to Mpala should be sincere ; you come in the midst of us, you cannot despise us. If you do evil to Mpala or any one belonging to him, you will die; if you make war on him, you will die; all your people will die and your power pass away.’ ” ffM Justice is administered in large and small com- munities by the head-man of the village, the chief of a district, or the supreme king, according to the gravity of the cause or the stake at issue. There is almost invariably a council of elders that takes part in the deliberations and concurs in or sways the verdict. Counsel is heard on both sides, and very eloquent, pithy, and logical can be the forensic oratory. In the kingdom of Kongo, before the direct imposition of Portuguese administration, the ad- ministration of justice — in civil cases, at any rate — had become an operatic farce. The verdict nearly always went to the party that bribed highest king, councillors, and courtiers. An old tradition asserted that pleadings, defence, ex- amination of witnesses, addresses to the court, must be treated rhythmically, poetically, and sung with or without an accompaniment of music. The result (as described by the Rev. Thomas Lewis, of the Baptist Mission in Portuguese Congo) came near to being an African travesty of Gilbert and 1 366. A FLY-WHISK ALWAYS CARRIED BY HEAD-MEN, CHIEFS, OR PUB- LIC ORATORS AT TRIALS HELD AMONG THE NA- TIVES OF THE LOWER MUBANGI RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 689 Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. But elsewhere in Congoland (except in the Lunda, and Luba countries, where there are traces of the same operatic procedure) trials before chief and councillors are often decorous and business-like, and even result in unbribed justice being administered, though the punishments are cruel. In the northern regions, obviously tinged with non-negro blood and culture, trial by combat exists side by side with the trial by ordeal, or summary decisions of the head-man, chief, or chief-in-council. By far the commonest expedient (involving no strain on the intellect or judicial responsibility) is the trial by ordeal. The chief form of ordeal is the drinking of a poisonous decoction, known over much of Western Congoland as Nkasa. This is similar to the Mwavi of Nyasaland and south-west Tanganyika, the Chifafa of Lubaland, Ibunu of the Bateke, Mbondo, Mbondi or Nka of the Upper Congo, Mondenge of the lower Aruwimi, and Samba of the Lokele. In the Lower Congo region the nkasa or ordeal poison is said to be made from the bark of Erythrophlczum guineense , which is the tree used in Nyasaland and perhaps on the Guinea coast. This is stripped off by the medicine-man, who smashes it up and triturates it with water into a paste. If the medicine-man desires to kill his victim outright he mixes a Sirychncs or other poison with it. If the man does not care, or has been bribed to save the life of the accused, the mixture is probably a simple decoction, more or less strong, of the Erythrophlceum bark. “ The person who has to go through the Nka ordeal stands on a stone or other marked spot, from which he may not stir. The ceremony generally takes place in the market-place of the village and in the middle of a great assemblage of people, the girls with their skins painted, the young men with all their showiest adornments on.” (Father Geens .) 1 1 “ The Nka or Mbondo, of which Pere Geens speaks, is probably the root of a Strychnos ( S . dewevrei ) ; but is it really the root which is named Nka or rather the trial, and in that case is not Nka an abbreviation for Nkasa, a name under which this form of trial is known in many regions of the Congo?” (Torday.) The researches of Messrs. T. A. Joyce and E. Torday based on the writings of various Belgiah botanists and of Auguste Chevalier seem to show that the poison of the ordeal is far more often made from the bark or roots of a Strychnos than from Erythrophlceum guineense of Zambezia and Nyasaland. E. gumeense has been re- corded along all the Guinea coast from the Gambia to Old Calabar, and R. Brown, Tuckey’s botanist, is supposed to have collected it on the Lower Congo. Elsewhere it is found in Southern Angola and thence right across to the Indian Ocean. Torday says it is the source of the ordeal poison on the upper Kwilu, but does not make the statement very positively. It is certainly the poison tree of Zambezia and Nyasaland and South-East Africa, and of Northern Guinea. But for the most part writers on West Africa merely copy heedlessly earlier and incorrect authorities in making Erythro- II.— O 690 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Of what is evidently a Strychnos bush (f S. dewevrei ), used in Western Congoland, Father Geens writes the following de- scription in his interesting book Les Missions en Chine et au Congo : — “ Nka or Mbondo is a red-coloured root of a shrub whose name I do not know. That is the source of the poison used in trials by ordeal. The said root is finely grated and infused in cold water, which the man or woman accused of some misdeed is afterwards required to drink. It even happens that people only suspected take it of their own accord, in order to prove their innocence. In short, in the opinion of the negroes, the guilty man invariably dies of this poison ; the innocent is only rendered indisposed. “ The first effect of the drug is to intoxicate. The people who drink it take care to place themselves be- side a tree or stake, which they grasp firmly when their head begins to reel, for a fall at this moment would be proof of their guilt.” Father Geens says he has heard of an antidote to the Nka poison [which must be rapidly applied], but it is rarely given, and is very expen- sive. Grenfell has many entries in his diary regarding the poison and other ordeals, and Bentley has written on the subject in his Kongo Dictionary and other books. Some of these opinions and incidents have been already quoted. Here are some more extracts from Grenfell. Apparently, according to him, the poison could in the case of chiefs be taken by proxy. “25th of April 1890. Ngo Chaka (of Bolobo) is very ill. Ngo Ajilali (his son) is much excited, and has accused Makwanja, his father’s chief slave, of whom he is jealous, of having bewitched the phlceum the source of ordeal poison on the Cameroons, Gaboon, and Congo. With the doubtful exception of the Congo coast region, it is a Strychnos and not an Erythro- phlceum which furnishes the nauseous mixture drunk by the wretched accused at native tribunals. In the Gaboon it is Strychnos icaja ; Angola, S. dekindtiana; Lower Congo, S. dewevrei j Stanley Pool, 5. variabilis , congolana , etc. ; Upper Congo, S. dewevrei, schweinfurthii , longicaudata, fioribunda, demiflora, gracitlima ; River Kwango, S. kipapa, gillettii , tuberosaj in Katanga, S. unguacha (also used as an eye medicine) ; and in Northern German East Africa, S. omphalocarpa. 36 7. A CLAY POT FROM THE BABANGI OR BAYANZI PEOPLE OF LUKOLELA IN WHICH THE NKA DECOCTION HAS BEEN MIXED FOR AN ORDEAL RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 691 old man. Five people in all are accused, and to-night sleep in Ngo Chaka’s house previous to drinking nkasa to-morrow. The Ingana has received a fee of one slave and four brass rods for pointing out the witch (and possibly also that he may accuse Makwanja) ; and all this after Ngo Ajilali had often assured Miss Silvey that he had given up all belief in ndoki and charms ! These people evidently think we are easily imposed on. . . . Makwanja’s slave (a slave’s slave) has been his proxy in drinking nkasa , and has safely passed through the ordeal ; but Ngo Ajilali is not content, and says that Makwanja himself must drink. Makwanja says there will be gun- firing first. I am glad he is holding out. Poor Ngo Chaka’s sister has succumbed to the test 368. B.M.S. HOUSE AT BOLOBO, BUILT ON THE PLACE AT WHICH ORDEALS WERE ADMINISTERED TWENTY YEARS AGO to-day. A man also is so low that he is not expected to recover. Ngo Chaka himself is not dead, but he had nothing to eat till noon to-day. . . .” “25th of January 1894. One of Mpeta’s slaves is accused of theft by a slave of Mpeta’s brother who lives a mile or so further north. To rid himself of the accusation of having stolen a few brass rods he is asked to submit to the nkasa ordeal. ‘No,’ he said, ‘ nkasa is tabu 1 for me, but I will take the juice of a certain tree and put it in my eye, and if I am a thief my eye will never see again.’ But nothing would do but the nkasa test, and the accused, though he successfully passed through the ordeal, succumbed a few hours later to the effects of the poison.” See pages 672, 683. 692 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO “9th July 1894. Bonkanga accused of having bewitched some one, so was in great trouble just as we were leaving. He died a few days ago, and left instructions that they were to dissect his body and search for the witch marks. 1 He knew he had not ill-wished the deceased, and was ready to go through the ordeal, was sure nothing to incrimi- nate him would be found when they sought for it in his own dead body. The ‘wise folk’ now declare after the examination they have made that Bonkanga was not a witch.” As Grenfell indicates in the last paragraph but one, there are other ordeals than that of drinking poison. The Azande administer the poison to a fowl : its death or recovery determines the guilt or innocence of the accused. The Ababua (Abarambo) follow this method. Among- the Ngombe along the south bank of the northern Congo two disputants will agree to drink Mbondo ( Strychnos ) poison out of the same pot or calabash : one will die, perhaps ; the other may eject the poison and survive. Apart from the poison ordeal there are many other methods of determining innocence or guilt. In Western Congoland (Bateke, Bakongo, Eshi- Kongo) a hot cutlass is passed three times over the skin of the leg, or boiling water is thrown over the same place. If the patient is neither scalded nor severely burnt he is innocent. Or a small bead is inserted under the eye- lid. If it works round behind the eyeball the sufferer is guilty. Lots also are drawn from pieces of thatching-grass of different lengths to decide as to culpability in small matters. The Ngombe of the northern Congo practise in some cases the ordeal of the Mokungi^. Sap is drawn from the bark of the Mokungu , an acacia-like tree which grows more or less everywhere in the scrub. This trial is generally reserved for women, who do not drink the sap, but are required to put some drops of it under the lid of one of their eyes. That eye is destroyed in the case of a guilty woman ; the innocent woman is supposed to feel nothing. 2 In consequence of this ordeal a good many one-eyed women are found in Ngombe towns. Then there is the Limbila. If any one is suspected of having committed a theft in the plantations, recourse is had to Limbila. A young palm tree is cut in two pieces, of which one is thrown on the road and the other in the plantations. If the thief returns to the field to continue his depredations he is bound forthwith to contract the beriberi disease. The Ngombe then say, “ Limbila has brought about his sickness.” 1 This is the Likundu of the Upper Congo, and is apparently the bile gland or gallbladder. (H. H. J.) 2 Vide author’s work on Liberia , p. 1068. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 693 The Ekutu ordeal consists of a gourd bound to a stick which is driven into the ground in the plantations. Thence- forth he who would risk stealing a root of manioc or a few ears of maize in a field guarded by this fetish will be rewarded by the likukit (a kind of elephantiasis). The Likwctko ordeal of the Ngombe is like the eye torture of the Western Congo. A small piece of wood is placed in- side the eyelids ; then the eye is vigorously rubbed. If the person is guilty of the crime of which he or she is accused, the portion of wood will not come out, but will penetrate into the head. If it emerges at once after the rubbing the innocence o # O of the accused is proclaimed. When any one is suspected of theft Libako may be offered him. Libako is a little palm leaf which is placed in an anthill. If in two days’ time the palm leaf is not entirely eaten by the termites the suspected person is innocent. Another form of Libako is to place a small stick on the road where this man is accustomed to walk. If guilty, the moment he touches this twig with his foot he will at once be seized w T ith a dysentery wdfich will cause his death within a few days. The name of LEkwako is also given to another test among the Ngombe. A duck has been stolen, for instance, and people have no clue to lead to the discovery of the guilty party. In such case a plate or a shallow pan is filled with water and placed on a level surface on the village street. A small pointed float of palm wood is placed on the surface of the water and the people watch for the direction taken by the pointed end. In the house towards which it points dwells the thief who has stolen the duck. Naturally the occupants of this house will one after another deny the theft, but will have to undergo at their choice one of the tests above enumerated. They may swear “by Mbondo ” that they are innocent. If they are perjuring themselves they will (it is thought) at once die of dysentery. There is further the “ test of the tomb ” (found elsewhere in Congoland). Some one dies, and it is clear he or she has fallen victim to a spell cast by some enemy or impatient heir. Relations, friends, and suspected persons are required one after the other to sit on the grave and say, “ If it is I that have cast a spell over you, may I die this moment.” Sudden death under such conditions very rarely occurs, but if any of the attesting persons do die within a month (say) of their invocation, their family is liable to be heavily mulcted in damages by the relations of the person referred to in the test of the tomb. 694 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The Bangala invite an accused person to step over a sword, believing that if guilty he will fall down dead. The Man- bettu obtain a wild cat, kill it, cook it, and cut the flesh up into small pieces, pushing one of the morsels under the tongue of the accused. The latter must then fill his mouth with water and eject it in a single attempt. If the piece of meat remains in his mouth it proves he is innocent ; in the other event, he is guilty without any possibility of doubt. Akin to ordeals and tests, in a gradually lessening degree, are oaths and affirmations. In many parts of Congoland un- 369 SPECIMENS OF EXECUTIONER’S CHOPPERS AND KNIVES FROM THE BANGALA COUNTRY, NORTHERN CONGO sophisticated natives still believe in a direct punishment of God or the gods following on perjury (Grenfell makes many allusions to this faith), but in W estern Congoland long acquaintance with Europeans and a weakening faith in the powers of their own fetishes have caused most of their invocations to be as trivial as our own. Oaths are taken in the name of a fetish, in the name of a secret society, or by invoking the chief’s or king’s name or the burial-place of the chieftain. In the eastern or north-eastern part of Congoland the oath is sometimes obscene. The most solemn affirmation, rarely if ever used with levity, is “by my father,” “by my mother,” “grandmother,” “younger brother,” RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 695 “elder brother.” “May my mother leave me” 1 reaches the bed-rock of sincerity. Cod (Nzambi) is very seldom invoked, though an oath sworn by the Supreme Spirit of the sky is uttered in seriousness and not lightly used. The guilt of the accused by test or ordeal and in spite of oath or perjury having been de- cided by the chief and council (though some great chieftains of the north may dispense with these time-wasting formulae and deal out summary justice), it only remains to follow up the verdict by a sen- tence, almost certainly cruel. For minor offences or inconvenient madness (harmless insanity is pitied and left unpunished) the stocks are used, release being only granted after the payment of a fine. Beating with rods or hippo- potamus-hide whips was a frequent punishment of a more or less family nature on slaves and women. For more serious yet not capital offences there was tying up and selling into slavery. Thieving or a breach of minor regulations made by the chief was — is — punished right across the southern Congo basin by cutting off one hand, two hands, an ear or two ears. These mutilations are particularly charac- teristic of the Lunda-Luba coun- tries from the River Kwango to Tanganyika and Mweru, and northwards to Manyema. A coward who runs away in battle has one foot amputated. The Manbettu and Nsakara punish theft by cutting off the thief’s ear. The Bangala award this punishment to adultery. The death penalty is nominally reserved for (supposed) murder through sorcery or poison [murder with weapons or manslaughter is usually compounded by paying damages to relations] and adultery. In the last case the extreme penalty is rarely in dieted 1 All negroes feel a passionate devotion to their mothers. 696 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO on the man [except it be adultery with the wife of a big chief] if he can pay damages. In Western Congoland the methods of execution most favoured are (i) throwing down precipices, (2) beating or stoning to death, (3) throat-cutting — besides, of course, the administration of the poison ordeal, which rarely fails to be fatal. On the Upper Congo (Bayanzi, Bangala) beheadal is perhaps the favourite way of killing. The head of the bound and kneeling or seated victim is tied, under the jaws, to a bent-down sapling. The executioner aims a blow at the strained neck with the long broad-bladed knife of the Upper Congo, and — the rest can be imagined. But in this riverain region o # o many victims of justice are drowned (writes Grenfell). A good many of the northern peo- ples (Nsakara, Zande, Bakangai, Aba- bua) employ strangulation or (in the case of the Manbettu) hanging as the mode of inflicting death : the con- demned man is tied by his neck to the trunk of a tree, then the execu- tioners pull his limbs with all their strength till death ensues. Among- the Azande death sentences are pronounced by the chief in public audience and carried out on the spot. The penalty of death involves strang- ling and the abandonment of the body to the beasts and birds of prey, unless the judgment provides that the body shall be buried, or eaten by the deceased’s fellow-citizens ! There also occur “half-and-half” sentences which order half the body to be buried while the other half is to be com- mitted to the scrub for the sustenance of man-eating beasts — or cannibals. In most of these countries chiefs or freemen could purchase exemption from the death penalty, except in the case of sorcery. In a good many tribes or peoples there are (or were, before 371. A BAHUANA EXECUTION- ER’S SWORD (S.W. CONGOLAND, TORDAY COLLECTION) RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 697 the disorganization ensued after the arrival of Arab and European conquerors) national councils , gatherings of the adult men and elders, to discuss questions of war and peace with other tribes, or the internecine quarrels within the limits of their own national community. At these councils — embryo parliaments, which should be preserved, not rudely trampled under foot by some ignorant European official as they often are — the judg- ments are pronounced in accordance with the will of the majority, although it may be the chief who announces them to the assembly, thus clothing them with a legal character. Meet- ings of this description often decide larger questions of coloniza- tion or land settlement, where undisputed virgin land has to be dealt with on a large scale. “ The natives” (writes Grenfell) “ consider that the forests are a common patrimony , which every one , chief, freeman , or slave , has the right to exploit as he chooses .” Personal and real pro- perty is private, and the laws of inheritance are usually very definite in each tribe, though they vary markedly in principle. Fundamentally inheritance and succession seem to have passed collaterally (to brothers or uncles, sisters or sister’s sons) rather than from father or mother to child. It is rare in Congoland law for women to be considered capable of holding property in their own right — they are themselves chattels to be passed on to others at the death of their husbands. Never- theless Nature often asserts herself through the trammels of man-made law, and in some parts of the Congo (notably in the south and south-west) there can be women chieftains and women holding property in their own right. It is the custom, nearly every where, for the mother to act as guardian to a child that is too young to govern his own estate. If the child is the chief of the village, the guardianship is jointly exercised by the mother and the freemen, assisted by their slaves. On the Lower Congo among the A-solongo there exists a combination of the hereditary principle and the elective system ; and although in theory the kingship is hereditary by the collateral line (to sister’s son or to younger brother), the assembly of free- men meets to appoint the successor whom custom designates. In the kingdom of Kongo (south of the Lower Congo) there may have been a brother-to-brother or uncle-to-nephew succes- sion (broken through in individual cases) until the commence- ment of Portuguese influence, which certainly introduced the father-to-son arrangement. Among the Babwende branch of the Kongo stock who dwell 698 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO in the region of the Cataracts, on the death of a freeman his property is divided among his brothers, sometimes among his sons, never among his wives. In 1890 Grenfell notes the customs of inheritance amongst the Babangi at Equator Sta- tion. The elder brother claims the wealth of the younger. The younger cannot buy a wife or go on a journey till the elder brother is married. Upon the elder having secured two wives it be- comes his duty to help pay for a wife for his younger bro- ther. Torday, however, asserts that with the eastern Bayanzi (Kwilu - Kasai) inheritance is from father to son: failing- sons, to bro- thers. A m o n of the Bay aka, inheri- 372. STAFF OF OFFICE OF THE BALUBA CHIEF KAYUMBA, tailCe of prO~ LAKE KASALE, NORTHERN KATANGA COUNTRY (TORDAY , V collection) P ert T passes From the de- ceased to his eldest brother. With the Bakwese , Ba-achinji, and Imbangala of the middle Kwango and upper Kwilu property and authority pass from brother to brother, or to the mothers brother’s son, or occasionally to heirs arbitrarily adopted. Among the Bahuana a man’s heir is his eldest brother, in RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 699 default his eldest sister, and after that the eldest son of his eldest sister. If a man dies without an heir his goods are burnt and his slaves become free. The custom of the Ba-mbala is that a man’s children are considered to belong to the eldest brother of the mother. Kin- ship is reckoned very far on the female side ; on that of the male not beyond the uncle and grandfather. In the Luba countries (south-central Congo) the dead man’s inheritance passes undivided to his maternal uncle; or in default of one, to his brothers, and if there are none, to his nephews. Women and children share in the inheritance, and as for the wives of the deceased, the Levitical law is followed. With the Bakuba, on the other hand, kingly succession would appear to be from father to son . The Basongo of the Kasai- Sankuru transmit all property and all authority by direct succession from father to son. In all the tribes of the northern Congo (Bangala, Ngombe, Balolo) and of the western Mubangi and Mongala, excepting the Bajande (between Aruwimi and Lulu), the inheritance and property of a chief or a freeman pass to his younger brother. If he has no brother his eldest son inherits everything to the exclusion of all the other children. If the deceased leaves no son the property goes to the eldest son of his eldest daughter. Among the Bajande the eldest son inherits all his father’s property ; if there is no son the deceased’s youngest brother is the heir. The Nyamnyam (Azande) of the Wele and the Nsakara of the Mbomu follow the rule of direct transmission from father to son. It is curious that this is the rule with most intruding and conquering tribes in Africa. When a chief dies without an heir his subjects most frequently abandon their village, disperse, and seek shelter among their neighbours. It sometimes happens that some among them assemble and found a new village. In this case the dignity of chief falls on him who takes it. The poiver and importance of the chief in Congoland varies considerably. Among the Pygmies it may only extend at most over a cluster of camps or villages, and be due to an individual’s special wisdom, bravery, or skill in hunting. The Forest or river-dwelling negroes of the centre (Bayanzi-Babangi, Mongo, Ngombe, Bangala, Bapoto; Lokele, Turumbu, Bakumu; Basoko, 700 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Buja, Ababua, 1 Mongwandi, Sango, and Banza) severally recog- nize no supreme chief, ruling over thousands of people and hundreds of square miles : each little community amongst them has its own ruler, who at most is one of many delegates in a council which may represent national unity of language. Empires, powerful monarchies, or great chieftainships have never, so far as we know, appeared in the inner Congo basin north of the Sankuru- Kasai, west of the Albertine-Tanganyika Rift valley, or south of the Mubangi-Wele. In the western region a Bateke dynasty arose in the hilly country to the north of Stanley Pool. Four hundred years ago and perhaps more there was a chief with the hereditary title of Makoko, whose rule over the Bateke and allied tribes apparently extended from the southern shores of Stanley Pool northwards to the Ogowe watershed, and who was sufficiently powerful at that period for a rumour of his existence to penetrate to the Portuguese and Italian geographers and chroniclers of the Congo. Like almost all tribes in this portion of Bantu Africa, the so-called Bateke came up from a southerly direction, and were connected in language and possibly origin with most of the existing peoples of the Kwilu and lower Kasai. Whence they obtained that spark of civilization and power which enabled them to found a tolerably permanent kingdom in what is now French Congo is not very evident. 2 The history of the Kongo kingdom of San Salvador has already been told. The Kongo people are obviously related in origin to the ancient Bantu Lunda-Luba races of the southern part of the Congo basin, and the fillip of improved culture which was the cause of this powerful kingdom coming into existence undoubtedly reached them by way of the middle Kwango River, and was an ultimate reflection of the southern Bantu civilization derived in the most circuitous way from East and North-East Africa. The Kongo impulse was the parent of the similar and allied kingdoms and principalities north of the Congo estuary. 1 The power of the Ababua or Babati chiefs is purely nominal, their principal duty consisting of presiding in the court of justice, where they are advised by the elders. The father is absolute head of the family, but he cannot sell his daughters other- wise than in marriage. This right, as well as the chieftainship and other property, descends in the direct male line. Adoption exists, and no difference is made between adopted and natural children in delegation of the chieftainship. 2 Perhaps the power of the Bateke chiefs may have been founded by negro adventurers from the north, from the Fan we or Baya countries. From the possession of lion skins, both actually and historically, on the part of the Bateke chiefs, it is possible that this was the case, and that these Bantu people of southern origin had got into touch with the northern negroids of the open country, behind and beyond the forests of the Cameroons and the Sanga basin. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 701 There were patches of sheer forest barbarism, Pygmy life, along the coast-lands of the Ogowe and Gaboon and of mucn of the Cameroons ; yet even here there were extraneous influences powerful enough to create kingdoms and chief- tainships. The fact is that an ancient civilization starting with the intrusion of the Caucasian element into Sene- gambia at a very ancient date (and reinforced by vague influences of the classical and Egyptian worlds that reached Nigeria and the Gold Coast before the invasion of Islam) must have crept eastwards and southwards along the coast region of West Africa, following an almost exactly opposite course to the advance of the North-West Bantu tongues and the Southern Bantu civilization. This ancient shore culture of West Africa penetrated along the line of least resistance — the more or less open sea-coast — and may not have been completely exhausted until it reached the deserts of the Hottentot and Bushman. But like the later Bantu civilization, it was scared by the great forests, and therefore the main cul- ture of Congoland, the arts, the in- dustries, and the idea of grouping clans into tribes and tribes into nations presided over by a supreme chief derived its origin almost en- tirely from the north-east , from the Caucasian influence originating in the Nile valley, and entering the Congo basin all along the line of the Mubangi, on the one hand ; creeping southwards past the end of Tangan- yika, on the other. There are powerful sultanates at the present day in the northern territories of the Congo, but some 373. THE OFFICIAL STAFF OF THE CHIEF OF BULU ON THE LUALABA-CONGO (CAPTAIN S. L. HINDE) of them are of the most 702 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO recent origin, dating back scarcely further than the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and due, of course, to the introduction of guns by the slave-trading Sudanese and the infection of the neo-roes or negroids with Muhammadan ideas. Of such are the Nsakara and Nyam- nyam chiefs, sultans, or kings 374. THE “ LINGUISTEIRO ” OR SPOKESMAN A LOWER CONGO CHIEF (Sketched by Sir H. Johnston in 1882.) The Mahbettu monarchy (nowadays split up into principali- ties) is of a much older and more interesting character. It probably had a similar origin to the kingdoms and em- pires of Uganda and Unyoro ; that is to say, it may have been founded several hun- dred years ago by some Hamitic adventurer or adventurers from the Nile regions. Over the rest of Con go land we no- where discern the mak- ings of a great state or the existence of a powerful chieftainship, till, travelling from the north, we reach the Sankuru River, which together with the lower Kasai makes an almost horizontal barrier of athwart the central Congo basin. Here we find established the Ba- undoubtedly to the Hima of The Lukengu chieftainship of the Sankuru and Lulua, seems to have well-established state, and much the origin o kuba caste, akin in Uganda and Unyoro. Bakuba, between the been a powerful and same influence obviously created the Luba and Rua chieftain- ships, all of which were sufficiently powerful from the days of RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 703 Cameron to the present time both to facilitate the transit of South-Central Africa for the European explorer and, on the other hand, to check schemes of European or Arab conquest. The germ of northern culture introduced by the Bakuba and Baluba created the vast Lunda empire , the chiefs of which, the various Ata-yanvua (to give perhaps the correct spelling of the plural of Mwata-yanvua), at one time — say a hundred and fifty years ago — extended their sway from the Kwango River on the far west to Lake Mweru on the far east. Lunda 375. A PROFESSIONAL DANCING WOMAN COMMENCING HER PERFORMANCE (BOPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO) adventurers, again, created powerful chieftainships amongst the southern Angola tribe of Kioko, the Imbangala (the Jaggas of Portuguese historians), the Ba-achinji and Baholo (the Mwene Puto Kasongo), and lastly, the Muri Kongo and Bayaka. The same influence again built up chieftainships (started by bold adventurers) amongst the forest tribes between the Lukenye and the Kasai- Sankuru. In all these regions of the southern half of the Congo basin the supreme chief or monarch gradually became erected into the position of a quasi-sacred tyrant. Even amongst the Bakwese people of the upper Kwilu at 704 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the present day the chief or chiefs are semi-sacred. They may not be seen eating by the common people. They are served with food by elders in their huts. Throughout all South-Central Congoland a chief never sits on the ground, but on a chair or stool cut out of wood, with its base carved very often to repre- sent a hippopotamus, an elephant, a buffalo, or some kind of antelope. These mysteries connected with the eating or drink- ing of the chief appear to have spread even to the Bayanzi of the western Congo. A description is given in the present writer’s work, written twenty-five years ago ( The River Congo , 376. A FUNERAL DANCE, NORTHERN CONGO p. 235), of the ceremonies attending the drinking of palm wine on the part of Ibaka, the principal chief of Bolobo. (As a matter of fact, Grenfell states that Ibaka was an ex-slave and an adventurer who really came from the lower part of the Alima River, and was probably of Bateke origin. Most of the other Bolobo chiefs came from the east.) In the regions just described there is a marked hierarchy in native society, and a considerable range of happiness or misery, wealth and poverty. But through the greater part of the Congo basin amongst forest and riverain tribes social life is remarkably uniform. There are, of course, the slaves, though 11. — p 377. A FUNERAL DANCE AMONGST THE BABANGI UNIVf> ILLINOIS RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 707 some river and forest people, like the Bagenya, keep no slaves ; but where these are not — or were not — killed and eaten, they led much the same lives as the freemen and chiefs. Besides warfare — offensive or defensive — hunting, fishing, agriculture (mainly carried on by women), and the simple arts and industries practised by almost all tribes except the Pygmies, native life was filled up with the terrors and excitements atten- dant on a belief in sorcery, by music and dancing — of which all, including the Pygmies, are passionately fond— by love-making, licit and illicit — and by games . These last, very naturally, occupied the time of the children 378. MASKED DANCERS, ZOMBO PLATEAU more than that of the adults, who had little time to waste on unproductive sports except in the more civilized regions of the western Congo, where some better development of agriculture, some greater degree of security from wild beasts or from inter- necine warfare enabled adults as well as children to give up a portion of their leisure to mere fun and gratuitous physical exercise. Playing-cards seem to have been introduced by the Portu- guese into the western Congo as far back as the seventeenth cen- tury, and to have penetrated into the Lunda and Luba countries at least a hundred years ago. The natives of all Southern Con- ooland and of the western Con^o are oreat gamblers. Some of the tribes of the Kwilu- Kasai basin play with a rude form of dice. It is well known that for two hundred years at least 708 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO c-amblingf in all this region has often been an assistance to the slave trade, for after pledging wives and children a man would finally pledge and perhaps lose himself. A full list of western Congo games is given by Dr. Holman Bentley in his Dictionary and Grammar of the Kongo Language. The list refers more especially to the Kongo kingdom, and includes such world-wide sports as dumb-crambo and riddles, hockey, “odds and evens,” and many games connected with throwing hoops, hiding objects, charades, etc. The following detailed description of games in vogue among the Babangi (Bayanzi) of the western Upper Congo is taken 379. A TOM-TOM FROM THE BALOVALE PEOPLE AT THE SOUTH-WESTERNMOST CORNER OF THE CONGO BASIN, NEAR THE SOURCES OF THE ZAMBEZI (FORMERLY USED BY THE CHIEF KAKENGE TO SUMMON HIS SUBJECTS) from the Rev. John Whitehead’s Grammar and Dictionary of the Bobangi Language , with some additional notes of my own : — “ Ngenza is a game in which midribs of plantain are used. They are cut into pieces about six inches or so long, and each player takes a number of such pieces as can be equally divided among the players. Then hairpins or splinters of the midribs of palms are taken between the fingers of the open hand, usually by putting the second finger on one side of them and all the other fingers on the other. The pieces of plantain stalk are arranged close together one behind the other, then an opponent throws his hairpin or splinter and tries to pin as many as possible at the same time, the hairpin or splinter is left in the stalks, and the owner of the stalks takes aim with his hairpin and tries to pierce as many as his opponent, and if he does so he is said to free his stalks and takes his turn in trying to pin his opponent’s stalks ; if he do not RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 709 succeed in pinning those which his opponent pinned he loses the piece or pieces which were pinned and another opponent takes his turn at the remainder ; if all are lost in this way, the late owner of them is bidden to ‘ go to the forest/ The winner of most pieces of plantain stalk is called the ‘ chief/ “ Ngila is another game. There are two varieties, one played with the arms — ?igil'e maboko , and the other with the legs — ngil'e makolo , but the rules are similar, and the one with the arms is most common with Bobangi folk. There are two sides — mboto and eseke. One member of mboto holds up both hands, and a member of eseke does the same, then simultaneously they each clap their hands or smite their muscles, and the mboto man throws out one or other arm as he chooses, the clapping being repeated as often as the mboto man chooses before throwing out the arm. The eseke man must answer immediately with the correspond- ing arm, if he does not do so he loses, and his loss is called ndongo. If he answer with the correspond- ing arm he wins, and 380. THE drums of the bayanzi (bolobo) the win is called mpela. Twelve mpela make a chief, and whenever a player becomes a chief he leaves the game to the others. “ Bonzo is the Bangi or Yanzi form of the Swahili bao — a kind of draught-board, in which two rows of parallel holes are scooped, the counters being pins or kauris. “ Bwembo is a child’s game of keeping house. “ Ebebe is a kind of game in which the players are all seated except one, who stands in the centre of the ring formed by those who are sit- ting down. One or more rises from their sitting posture, and the one in the centre of the ring makes a rush to touch with his hand one of those 7 io GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO who have risen ; if he succeed in doing so the one touched is said to be left with ebebe, and takes his turn in the centre of the ring. “ In Ebenga a piece of plantain root is hurled along the ground, and as it goes along assegais are thrown at it, and eventually the players stand at a distance from the place where it rests and take aim at it, and if it is not ‘ wounded * it is again hurled along the ground and the play resumed. “ Esenzako , mean- ing lot, is sometimes taken by holding a number of reeds (one of which is tied in the centre) in the hand, and each being drawn by each person in- terested until the knotted one is taken. Esenzako may mean a test of innocence, one method of which is to cause the person charged with wrong- doing, or his proxy, to hold a bush while it is invoked by another person, who com- mences his invocation by the syllable ba and closes it with the syl- lable za . If the bush shakes, the man charged is guilty. Sometimes the test is more severe, and is applied by fire, when a limb of the supposed culprit is put in the fire, and if it does not burn the person is de- 381. a friction-drum from the south bambala clared innocent. This country (s.w. congoland) is also the name of a game of lots as pre- viously stated, but a person is invited to draw the reeds forth one by one, and if he draw the knotted one before any of the rest he is declared a witch, but if it be left until the last he is acquitted. “ The game of lobesi is usually associated with gambling. Six counters ( mbesi ) are used by each person playing. One side of the counter is light ( nkei ) and the other dark (mpili). Two throws are allowed. The stakes ( ndongo ) are taken when in both throws either RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 71 1 the counters fall dark sides up ( mpili ) or light sides up (nkei) or three of each colour up (miso masato). The person putting down the stakes is called mobeti o ndongo , and such stakes when taken are called mizaki. The circle of players is called ngala. The second throw of the counters is called bopuli. The clap which follows the throw is described by the verbs koba and sele. “ Hide-and-seek they call mabonda , and cat’s cradle inisondeke. In the game of mokale-mokale one person is sent away into hiding, and in his absence one member of the company curses him, and the person is called out of hiding by the whole company together greeting him with the cry mokale-mokale , and it is for the person called to find out by guessing who cursed him, and if he find out the curser takes his place, 382. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL RATTLES FROM CENTRAL CONGO BASIN : (i) IS THE SECTION OF A SEED-POD OF AN ALBIZZIA TREE. (2) AND (2) ARE RATTLES MADE FROM SPLIT CANES but if not he returns into hiding to be called again to find out the new person who has cursed him. “ Monkuku is a game in which one bids his fellows laugh, and they cease laughing and become quite grave. He then dances about and pokes fun at them until he forces one of them to laugh. This one then takes his turn until he makes another player laugh. When the game is concluded they sing a teasing song to one of their number who could not make his fellows laugh. “ The children’s game of mwese-mwese is played in the water when the clouds rush along the sky hiding the sun at intervals. They style themselves ‘the children of the leopard/ and cry for the sun until it appears again, when they resume their play until the sun is hidden again. “ Ntsoko li bobinsa is a game in which ntsoko (seeds) are pierced and a splinter pushed through them so as to form teetotums. A place -i2 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO is arranged by means of a plantain leaf, and then the players make their teetotums spin by rubbing the upper part of the splinter in their hands and letting go. Each aims at knocking over his opponent’s teeto- tums. “ Ntsu-ntsu is a game in which two sides are formed. Each side chooses the name of a fish, and one member takes a handful of palm kernels and throws them be- fore him one by one while he re- peats the names of fishes. When he names the name of the fish chosen the kernel which is then thrown by him is closely watched by those who chose the fish. Then on each side is chosen a mokati and a molungoli. The molungoli turns his head while the mokati puts his finger on the kernel, ac- knowledged to be the one thrown at the time the fish was mentioned. This done, the molungoli turns his head, and tries to select the one on which the mo- kati put his finger. The side which obtains most ker- nels wins. “In the game of nteti a seed of this name is held between the third 3^4- another type of xylophone, back view, showing ... ^ SEPARATE RESONATORS PROBABLY MADE FROM VERY and fourth fingers, LARGE seed pods and at the same time a handful of dust is taken up and witlTthe seed thrown forward. It the seed be not hidden by the dust there is a scrimmage for the seed. If the seed be hidden by the dust, the opponent of the one who throws 383. A XYLOPHONE FROM THE BANGALA COUNTRY, NORTHERN CONGO : UPPER SURFACE, WITH CONTINUOUS RESONATOR BEHIND RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 713 measures a distance by means of the outstretched fingers. The fingers are placed down wherever the player selects, and the distance taken is between the tips of the thumb and second finger. If the seed is found between the tips of these fingers, the one who has measured his distance must now throw the seed with the dust. If found outside the limits of these tips, the measurer must either hand over himself or one of his side to the other as slave. This slave waits a chance to seize a seed in a scrimmage, when he becomes free again. The side that gets the most slaves wins, and the leader is styled mokonzi .” A good general description of the dances of the Congo peoples is ofiven in the volume on Native o Music issued by the Congo Mu- seum at Tervueren in 1902. 1 I will venture to supplement it with further particulars, derived chiefly from the writings of the Baptist missionaries [Whitehead, Grenfell, and Bentley], and the works of the Belgian and American mission- aries in Eastern and South-Central Congoland, together with some notes of my own. Dancing without sinofinor in • • o # o negro Africa is almost an impos- sibility : solo songs or chants in chorus, rhythmic shrieks, shouts, grunts accompany the agitation of the body and limbs ; together with clapping of the hands, stamping with the whole foot, or kicking with the heels. The Pygmies dance with the whole body, es- pecially when they are seated — wagging the head, lifting the el- bows, swaying their thighs, drumming on the ground with toes or heels, and making the muscles of the stomach quiver and seemingly gyrate. Their dancing when erect also brings into play most movable parts of the body. They dance generally in a round, or in Indian file, and some of their movements and gestures are dramatic, ridiculous, or grotesquely obscene. But 1 Notes Analytiques sur les Collections Ethnographiques du Musee du Congo, 1902. 385. A GONG OF IRON FROM THE BALUBA PEOPLE, SOUTH-CEN- TRAL CONGOLAND (TORDAY COL- LECTION) 7 i4 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO (as I have written elsewhere) the immodesty in the Pygmy dances appears to be purely perfunctory, and merely intended as some kind of symbolic ritual. Their dances also simulate hunting [as well as love-making], or the conventional attitudes of the beasts they pursue in their search for food. The dances of the taller negroes of Congoland may be divided into these categories: (i) war dances for men only (or the women merely assisting as a stationary chorus) ; (2) dances of a more or less mysterious character for women only, and connected no doubt with sexual phenomena ; (3) dances of solitary performers, either male or female (with a chorus and “a full band”), usually associated with religion, witchcraft, or medicine; (4) funeral dances wherein men and women dance simultaneously, but usually in separate bands. War dances (the mi-teba of western Tanganyika and ngwana among the Ba- bangi) depart ordinarily from the idea of rhythm, and are frequently developed into sham fights. The performers are generally more or less grotesquely attired, and are armed with weapons old and new. I cannot find any record of solo sword dances such as I have seen amongst the Mandingoes in West Africa or amongst the Sudanese. These are probably of Arab or Mediterranean origin, and have not yet penetrated to the Congo. The dances which the women per- form alone are usually associated with the proclamation of the first signs of puberty in young girls, or the birth of children, or they may also have some relationship to the invocation of fertility A special puberty dance in the western Tanganyika basin is called Kisungu, which is equivalent to the word for hymen, or to a term indicating the first menses. These dances, peculiar to the women amongst the Babangi and Bayanzi, are known as Eyenio, Longwango, Mpo , and Ngamandele . Dances of solitary performers may be those already described 386. A WOODEN FLUTE FROM THE MONGWANDI COUNTRY (UPPER MON- GALA RIVER) Probably made in rough imitation of human thigh bone. on the plantations. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 715 on the part of medicine-men when they wish to drive away spirits and the maladies caused by them. Or wise men or wise women may dance themselves into a kind of frenzy and trance, in which they are supposed to be able to reveal the names of suspected witches or criminals or other important evidence. But, more especially along the Upper Congo, dancing may be adopted as a profession without malign associa- tions. This is usually the case with women of a certain age and no moral 3 8 7 - a whistle or flute 1 111 • OF WOOD FROM THE character, who develop a reputation as kasai eccentric dancers — eccentric certainly, even according to Congo ideas, as regards their dress, adorn- o o 1 o ments, and decoration. Their talent for dancing is supposed to be equalled by their skill as singers, and they accompany most of their body movements by a recitative, by shrieks and trills. The “Mpo” women’s dance of the Babangi and of all Central Congoland is often termed the “shrieking dance,” from the hideous yells with which the women work themselves into a choregraphic frenzy. Most of the dances not asso- ciated with war, with women’s rites, sorcery or medicine, are conducted by both sexes simultaneously, and may be held from mere gaiety de cozitr (generally during the nights in which there is a bright moon), in celebration of victories, of the gathering in of the crops, the sow- ing of the grain, of a marriage, or the clearing up of a funeral. At these general dances there are move- ments, generally in Indian file, on 388. pan-pipes of the bangongo the part of the whole chorus of per- PEOPLE, SOUTH-CENTRAL CONGO- r • r ^ land formers, and individual manifesta- tions of skill or of what is taken for grace. Some of the solitary performers will whirl round and 716 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO round on their toes till they fall into a giddy swoon ; men will leap frantically into the air as high as they can jump. Although men and women constantly “set to partners,” I have no record of, and I never personally observed, their dancing together in anything like a European waltz or round dance. Even during the indecent dances — real or supposed — they very seldom come into actual contact. The members of the chorus may link arms or place hands on each other’s shoulders, but the two parties that dance a duo generally do so more in the style of the old minuet. In the Kongo countries the natives seem to be — according to Bentley — particularly addicted to the danse de ventre , and this is the case also amongst the Babangi. The shoulders, buttocks, 389. A MUSICAL BOW FROM THE KASAI (TOP FIGURE) ; ANOTHER TYPE OF MUSICAL BOW FROM THE CENTRAL ARUWIMI, WITH TWO STRINGS AND PEGS stomach, and breasts are all separately or simultaneously rotated, wagged, or otherwise set in movement, and the result on the part of a very finished performer comes near to being disgust- ing. But I have never in this, nor in any other dance of purely negro origin, seen actual indecencies in East, West, or Central Africa. Some of the dancing undoubtedly had a meaning which one could only ascribe to a somewhat stereotyped panto- mime referring to the union of the sexes ; but the representa- tion was so very perfunctory, and was so entirely unaccompanied by anything savouring of lasciviousness in the performers, that I can only imagine either that the presence of a European may have had a sobering effect, or that Congo negroes preserve in their dances, as in most other public aspects of their lives, a certain degree of decorum, not always observed by either RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 717 Europeans or Asiatics. 1 One or two travellers who have written on this subject in earlier days give one the impression of having been in search of indecencies, or even of having “ commande que ion ne se retienne pas”; and no doubt their expectations were duly gratified. At the same time, Torday refers to the grossly indecent songs sung* by some of the Bambalci and Bahuana at their dances, and his evidence is fully supported by that of the Belgian mis- sionaries who have written on lan- guage or ethnology in the Ltiba coun- tries. The badin- age exchanged be- tween men and women on these and similar occa- sions, as set forth in Latin as well as in the native equivalent, in the Rev. Father Van Acker’s Dictionary of Kitabwa , shows that the people of west Tanganyika, at any rate, are not likely to be shocked by anything they may hear from de- praved Europeans. The names, moreover, of some of the favourite dances in the re- gion of western Tanganyika are sufficiently suggestive, since one of them — Bukambwe — means adultery, and another is specially associated with the orgies and what are described as “unnam- able vices ” of the Butwa secret society. Similar dances con- nected with a similar institution occur in the adjacent territory of the Baluba — the dances of the Bnkabo. Torday, Grenfell, and 390. A METALLOPHONE FROM THE BALUA COUNTRY, S.W. CONGOLAND (TORDAY COLLECTION) 1 Africa between the Zambezi and the northernmost limits of the negro’s domain is freer from any public spectacle or behaviour (on the part of the indigenes) which is likely to shock a normal sense of decency than most parts of Europe and Asia. 7 1 8 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO other authorities state that married women are not allowed to take part in immoral dances, the female participants being nubile girls. Certain Belgian writers claim that the dances act to a certain extent as a means of natural selection. The men endeavour to attract the attention of the women by feats of strength, suppleness, and other physical displays. It has been mentioned that the Congo peoples are fond of music. Although under nearly all the headings treating of different forms of culture the Pygmies must be represented by a negative quantity, they are almost more musical inherently than the bigger peoples around them, who are far more advanced in various stages of human civilization. Grenfell has given a good description of Pygmy singing and dancing on pages 331, 332. Though the melodies they invent are sometimes quite charming to European ears, and their sense of rhythm and tune is highly developed, their musical instru- ments seem to be limited to the drum and the bow-string, though of course, where they are closely in touch with superior races, they may borrow more elaborate instruments. Among the other peoples of the Congo basin there are the following features to be noticed in regard to the type and distribution of 391. A HARP OF THE ABABUA PEOPLE, WELE RIVER n ^jsicdl instruments. 1 he universal and the earliest instrument for producing noise is the drum. The simplest type of this is the segment of a tree trunk, the inside of which has been scooped out through a narrow slit or through the larger end. Even the chimpanzis of the African forests appreciate the resonance of a hollow tree trunk, and the dawn of music un- doubtedly is the thumping of these hollow logs by the anthro- poid apes, who shout and shriek in chorus to accompany the artificial sound. The Congo drum is of the following forms : — (1) The Tom-tom. This is a hollow block of thick reso- nant wood, along one side of which a narrow slit-opening 1 In these attempts at describing the area of distribution of musical instru- ments, because a district or area is not mentioned, it is not to be supposed that the author denies the existence there of a particular instrument. It would only mean that nothing of the kind has yet been recorded from that direction. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 719 remains ; sometimes two slits separated by a bridge. Tapping with a heavy mallet-shaped drumstick across the slit-opening gives a highly resonant, somewhat melodious noise. (2) The Drum proper, the hollow wooden receptacle covered at the open end with a stretched skin. ( 3 ) The Tambourine ; a hoop of wood over which a skin is tightly stretched. [Torday, on the authority of various Bel- gians, states that tambour- ines are made by the Aru- wimi and Rubi river tribes, north-east Congo.] (4) The Friction-Drum ( p uit 0 of South - W est Congoland). In this instru- ment (shaped and construc- ted somewhat like an ordi- nary drum) the noise is pro- duced by vi- brating a stick passed through the centre of the leather drum- head. So far the friction-drum has only been recorded from South-Central and South-West Congoland, but it is also found in West Africa, East and South-Central Africa, and the Sudan — thence north to Morocco. A drum of the tom-tom form (i.e. a hollow wooden re- ceptacle of the kind illustrated) is used for that drum signalling 392. A BANGALA HARP FROM THE NORTHERN CONGO 393. A HARP OF THE BAJANDE PEOPLE, LOWER ARUWIMI BASIN 720 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO which is — or was — so marked a feature in the lives of the indigenous tribes of the northern Congo, lower Lomami, Aruwimi, Rubi, Mongala, Juapa, Lulongo, and Mubangi. The art penetrates westward to the Cameroons coast, and is (or was) nowhere better developed than among the Duala of the Cameroons estuary, who, in the last half of the nine- teenth century, possessed a remarkable system of sound signals. These were made by a small tom-tom about two feet in length and nine inches in diameter. “Without this appliance” (writes Mr. George Allan, from whom I quote) “ no great man moved far away from his house. The drum was made from a solid, four-sided block of hard red wood, which was hollowed out through a groove of about an inch broad cut along the side selected for the top. By the patient use of a small adze the interior of the drum was gradu- ally picked and chipped away until at last it was left with comparatively thin walls. In the middle of the inch-wide slit was a kind of bridge, which, however, was not continuous, but perforated by a space of a quarter of an inch connecting the two openings on either side. The drum was beaten with two short pieces of soft wood on the bridge or sides of the groove. By tapping with the drum- sticks on each side of the bridge, four distinct notes of a singularly resonant and pene- trating character were obtained, and through combinations of these notes either an exhaustive signal or a complete alphabet was worked out.” 394. A BAYANZI GUITAR FROM BOLOBO Under ordinary atmospheric conditions, the taps on this drum could be heard and understood two miles away by the person to whom it was addressed, and who would reply by tapping his own signal drum. Thus, a Duala merchant trading RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 721 on board a ship in the Cameroons estuary could signal by drum to his house on shore and call by name any one of his slaves. In this way he could also signal that he wanted so many barrels of palm oil which were stored at such and such a place. A party of men going up-river in canoes could tap back on their drums final orders to their comrades on shore concerning business to be transacted in their absence. On their return, when two miles distant from their homes, they would begin tapping to their wives orders for the meal to be prepared against their return. When the present writer explored the Came- roons region in 1885-7 the incessant (and rather melodious) drum language seemed never ceasing, ex- cept in quite uninhabited districts, or perhaps in the dead of night. We also carried a tom-tom with us (similar to the one de- scribed by Mr. Allan), and would reply to the ques- tions throbbing through the air, or ourselves invite or convey information. Grenfell reports the “drum language” as ex- isting on the lower Lo- mami, the Lulongo, Juapa, and most of the affluents of the northern Congo. Lord Mountmorres and other travellers refer to it with emphasis as a feature in native life on the western Mu- bangi. Stanley gives a description of the drum signalling on the northern Congo in Through the Dark Continent , and of that so prevalent on the Aruwimi in the first volume of In Darkest Africa. The Bakongo possess a tom-tom ( nkumbi ) very similar in design to that of the Duala, and this type of drum is known among the Bayanzi as nkole-nkole and by the Baluba as lunkunvu . Q 395. A LYRE FROM THE NYAMNYAM (MA- KARKA) PEOPLE OF THE WELE RIVER But neither the Bakongo nor 11.- 722 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the Baluba seem to have acquired or retained the art of drum signalling, though they and almost all Congo peoples save the Pygmies appear to possess the right kind of tom-tom for the purpose. It is worthy of remark that drum signalling (so far) has only been noted across Equatorial West and Central Africa in the area covered by what I have styled the Bantu languages of the First Invasion (vide chapter xxxi.). The friction-drum is considered by Professor Henry Balfour ( Journal ’, Royal Anthropological Institute , 1907) to have de- veloped in Negro Africa from the primitive bellows of their iron forges, and from West Africa to have penetrated to tropical America and perhaps to Europe. A similar and in- dependent invention (Professor Balfour thinks) may have arisen in Southern India. Soon after man had developed the idea of the hollow wooden receptacle as a drum, he must have noticed the re- sonance of thin slabs of wood or still thinner keys of palm- rind, and much later, of slips of metal. This idea develops in two directions — into xylophone (the kimbxnda or madinda , marimba of many Bantu countries, the balenje of the Mandingo) and another type of instrument, which in default of any wide- spread native name or other term I venture to call a metallo- phone, though sometimes the keys are made not of metal, but of palm-rind or slips of very hard wood. These instruments are best described by the illustrations. The xylophone (provided with gourds or other hollow recep- tacles to re-echo the sound) is present almost throughout South-Central Congoland over the area of the higher Bantu civilization, and equally extends across the extreme north of Congoland. Obviously, like nearly all African culture of the Neolithic type, it came from Egypt. From the Egyptian Sudan at the present day its range extends westwards across Nigeria to Senegambia. Hitherto it has not been recorded from the innermost and more backward regions of the Congo basin, though the metallophone is much more widespread in that direction. As regards wind instruments, these no doubt began by men blowing into hollow horns of antelopes or cattle, or into reeds and seeds that were pitted by the borings of insects. Thus came about the genesis of the trumpet, whistle, flute, and pan- pipes (ending in the organ). All these varieties of musical in- struments are represented in the Congo basin, but like most other elements of culture are scarcest or non-existent in the central portions. RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 723 The Bahuana of the Kwilu River play their flutes of jointed cane with the nose. The upper end is stopped up partially with gum, and the right hand controls the exit of the air at the lower end. The Bayanzi flute ( Libio ) is also made of cane. The cane is heated, then the outer rind is removed. The playing holes for the fingers are two, and are placed near the lower end of the flute. The player whistles at the edge of the upper end, and modulates the sound with his fingers below. The stringed instruments began, of course, with the twanging of the bow-string (the musical bow is well illustrated in the present authors work on the Uganda Protectorate). Then one or more strings were added to the original bow, and so arose the harp. Or the idea was conceived of placing several bows alongside, and from this we get the fiddle, guitar, zither played by the fingers, finger- nails, or by the friction of another bow. All these types, from the most primitive to some of the more elaborate, are represented in the Congo basin. But certain forms of harp of peculiarly Egyptian type which are also pre- sent in Uganda and parts of Equatorial East Africa are (so far as collections go) limited at present in their distribution over the Congo to the northern, north-eastern, and north-western regions. The Egyptian type of harp has penetrated as far to the west as the T Fan people of the South Cameroons and Ga- boon. In the eastern part of the Congo Free " State it does not penetrate southwards beyond , the north end of Tanganyika. The Bahuana of the Kwilu River have a poor kind of five-stringed harp which they call gunge. Their harp strings are made out of long fern fibres. They are played with the two thumbs, and (according to Torday) are tuned G, lower C, lower D, E, and F. As regards the quality of native music, the airs of many songs have been collected by French and Belgian travellers, and have already been published. Of those collected by the 396. A ZITHER FROM THE BAJANDE TRIBE, ARUWIMI RIVER (A somewhat similar instru- ment comes from western Tanganyika.) 724 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Baptist missionaries I give one example — a famous Babangi boat- ing song written down by the Rev. R. V. Glennie. Mr. Torday contributes the air tune of a Bateke chant which is sometimes sung in the Bateke villages of Stanley Pool. Torday believes that it is a song specially associated with funeral processions. Solo Unison Chorus 1 1 “1 i — l M f_zj ~\ — i : rk Lx m 9 V ! i i zj w ~ 9 .J i 9 1 i! zJ : 2. 2 ~ w 122 1 wLs. J L * Solo Unison Chorus A _ J 1 S w , : __ _ . - 1/ | ^ j 1^ | 1 p 1 . * J 3 - 1 1 1 H — — 1 -1 J - - m -H * at - —9 9 NATIVE BOAT-SONG OF THE BABANGI CALLED “KUMAMBELE” “ A long file of women, distant from each other about twenty yards, walked on slowly, the woman in front stopping suddenly at the entrance to the village. She turned to the east and sang the song (herewith illus- trated) in a very guttural voice. The words as far as I could distinguish them were * Mama pi-enzo, mama pi-enzo.’ Then she continued on her way, and was succeeded by another woman, who equally stopped and sang the song, turning to the east. All the women did the same in turn.” 1 i Lento Mama pi - e - nzo ! Mama pi - e - nzo ! Mama pi - e - nzo iviama pi A FUNERAL CHANT OF THE BATEKE This long chapter dealing with a general survey of the religions, superstitions, social customs, and pleasures of the Congo peoples gives us the impression — except so far as the Pygmies are concerned — of a somewhat sophisticated people living in a Neolithic culture comparable to that of the races of Europe prior to and at the beginning of the age of metals. In some respects, no doubt, these Congo negroes are Palaeolithic, are still more primitive in their mode of life than were our own ancestors when they began to use perfected stone weapons. The people of Fernando Po, as I have intimated in other chapters, are in their indigenous culture wholly Palaeolithic, and in common with the lowest types of Pygmy and other forest- dwellers in the Congo even illustrate an age or a stage in the development of humanity which was outside the use of shaped stones as implements, and perhaps preceded it : an age which may have been paralleled amongst the earliest types of humanity 1 Apparently the words mean (H. H. J.) “ Mother ! (there is) silence in the house ! ” RELIGION: CUSTOMS: CEREMONIES 725 in eastern tropical Asia, a period in which the readiest instru- ments to hand (besides the unaltered stone or pebble) were the reed or bamboo splinter, the stake, the sharp-edged shell, and the bone splinter. Yet except in the case of the Pygmies, most of the Congo peoples as they were seen by Grenfell, Stanley, and the other early explorers of Congoland were sophisticated, they had touched nearly all the elementary prob- lems, the joys, sorrows, anxieties of more civilized humanity. They were really on the same mental plane as ourselves (and it is doubtful if the Pygmies can be excluded from the same category). They could rapidly appreciate our ideas, which in the germ they shared. Their languages have in nearly every case supplied a native word for all the principal features and developments of European arts, industries, and civilization. They were living anything but a life of ideal happiness, and obviously were not in a state of innocence. With the exception of certain erotic aberrations which appear to be normally alien to the negro mind, but which have made their appearance inde- pendently amongst the abo- rigines of America, Asia, and Europe, the Congo races had 397. a cup from the kasai nothing to learn from the de- praved but far better educated races of the north and east. Missionary and medical missionary records, and those of many students of Congo humanity — naturally not of a nature to be published here — show that with the above exception the Congo peoples from childhood to old age were quite as immoral as the races of Europe and Asia. Their bloodthirstiness has already been sufficiently described. In many directions, however, they have acquired marked physical beauty of bodily development ; they are essentially virile, vigorous, and quick to learn ; they are full of generous instincts, and possess such a capacity for whole-hearted devotion to any European who treats them well that one is justified in execrating the many Europeans who have treated them badly. It only remains that they should be taught properly and on the right lines yet to play a very great part, firstly in the political future of Africa, and secondly in the ulti- mate federation of the world’s people. CHAPTER XXVI HOUSES T HE most primitive type of dwelling, no doubt, must be looked for in the extreme north-east and south-east of Congoland, in the Kunde-irungo (Kundelungu) Mountains of Katanga, and in the region of Lake Mweru. In Eastern Katanga are the natural caves inhabited by the Balomotwa and Basanga people, some of whom are thought to offer slight evidence of a former Bushman element. The Balomotwa people hollow out passages of considerable depth into the mountain-side, the entrances to which, in the red cliffs of Kunde-irungo (or Kundelungu), look like tiny gateways into Egyptian temples. A few miles from the source of the Lualaba rises a cone- shaped hill about three hundred feet high, formed entirely of magnetic ore. On, or rather in this hill, lies a Basanga village : Kafunda Mikopo. Its inhabitants are not exclusively cave- dwellers ; they possess some real huts surrounded even with a “ boma ” (stockade) ; still the greater number dwell in the deep fissures which the mass of ore reveals, or under the shelters formed by boulders and fragments. This subterranean village constitutes a fort thrown out against the incursions of the Alunda. These same Alunda have some villages established on a similar plan the other side of the Lualaba ; finally, on the north of Bunkeia, on the banks of the Dikulue [among the rugged rocks of the Manika which form the counterpart of the cliffs of the Kundelungu], the Bena-mulnmbo also live as cave- dwellers. Paul Le Marinel says with regard to these natives, whom he calls Bena-kabombo : — “ They are few in number and very wild, live scattered in caves and grottoes, which they only leave in order to obtain wood and to hunt. They have no huts inside, and it is stated to be only within a few years that they have learnt the art of cultivation, which, moreover, is confined to planting a little maize in secluded valleys far from all roads.” 726 HOUSES 7^7 Many colonies of cave-dwellers are reported to exist on the 'upper Wele at a little distance from Vankerckhoven- ville. There are ancient cave-dwellings on the island of Kilwa, at the south end of Lake Mweru. And numerous rock shelters or caverns in the Crystal Mountains of the cataract Congo appear to have been inhabited anciently by a race using stone implements. Perhaps the earliest type of human dwelling was the 398. AN ANCIENT ROCK-SHELTER IN THE CATARACT REGION (THE TOR AT PALABA 1 .A) shelter in the forest, of boughs bent down and leaves thrown on the sloping interlacing withes and twigs. But as soon as Man emerged from the forest (in Asia, probably) and conquered the open country as a hunter, a carnivore, he must have sought out caves and overhanging rock-shelters for his sleeping-place. As his intelligence advanced he would make his habitation in the soil, the sand, the turf, the friable rock. He would thus invent pit-dwellings, would pile stones one on the other, would dig out an artificial cave from the face of the limestone cliff or the marl river terrace. All these stages in the growth of the 728 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO human dwelling of stone or clay can be seen in the Tunisian Sahara or (less completely) in the British Islands. But the Negros ancestors in Africa — except along the sea-shore or in the great mountains — rapidly reverted to the forest life, and constructed their homes and shelters out of branches, palm-fronds, leaves, fibre, and grass. Later they added puddled clay to the floor and sides, split tree trunks with wedges and adzed down the sections into rough o o planks. The most primitive type of hut in Congoland is that of the Pygmy. This is a mere cage of boughs, stuck into the moist ground at the thick end, and then bent over in a flattened semicircle and pressed into the soil by their tips at the slender end, with other withes bound round horizontally. To the hori- zontal ribs are attached, by their stalks, the tile - like leaves of marantaceous plants. This type of hut — with grass thatch instead of leaves — is really that of the Zulu and Bechuana, and is perhaps the basis of the domed dwell- ing of the Bakuba and Ba- songo, of the beehive huts of so much of East Africa, Nileland, the Shari basin, houses, developed from the roof : the roof and sides are of one piece, though a porch over the doorway may be de- veloped. So also are the strange conical, steeple-like huts of the Aruwimi, the Wele-Mubangi, and of Bakubaland (Kasai-Sankuru) : the sides form the roof and the roof the sides. But by degrees the idea arose of constructing the sides separately — round first, and then rectangular, square, or oblong. The roof framework was next put together and hoisted on to the support of the walls. The most advanced type of dwelling in Western and North-Eastern Congoland, Guinea, 399. A RAPHIA PALM IN FLOWER AND SEED The Raphia in several species is the principal material used in Congo housebuilding. and Eastern Nigeria. These bent-over-bough shelter, are all HOUSES 73i East and South-East Africa, is that in which the ridged roof is erected on the support of columns, and the wattle, plank, or palm-midrib 1 walls are built up to meet it. Finally, in the border regions of the Congo (extreme south, east, north-centre, and north) (prior to 1885) clay was em- ployed as a lining — outer and inner — to the wattle walls. This custom did not exist in the western Cono*o or Angola, where the sides of the house were of grass or palm fronds. Grenfell writes in 1885 : — “ On ascending the Congo, clay houses begin at Bumba. The Rubi clay houses are round-ended. “At Yambinga some of the houses are mud-walled and roofed with bark.” Bumba is on the northernmost reach of the Congo. Yam- binga is near to Bumba and to the mouth of the Rubi or Itimbiri River. Up this stream the people of the interior are Bondonga and non- Bantu. The Waujabilio of the Lualaba also apply mud to the walls of their dwellings. The Dongo people of the western Mubangi were observed by Grenfell to have houses with mud walls. The Bajande of the Lulu River (western Aruwimi) use clay to plaster their wattle walls (the women do this), and the walls of the bigger houses of the Nyamnyam and Nsakara are also probably plastered. The Basoko of the lower Aruwimi and the adjacent Congo — near neighbours of the Bapoto and Bondonga with the clay house walls — build low, poor, square huts, without any clay. Our review of the methods of hut and village construction in Congoland might begin with the west [premising that recent fashions introduced by Europeans are not dealt with]. On the Lower Congo, from the coast regions to near Stanley Pool, the type of house is rectangular, usually oblong, with a ridged roof, and is built of poles, sticks, grass, or palm or reed thatch and walls, and is frequently provided with a roof of sufficient spread of eaves to provide a verandah. There is usually a plank lintel before the doorway. This type of house in Kakongo and the Cataract region is sufficiently illustrated by illustrations Nos. 401 and 402, and is admirably described in detail on page 1 1 1 of Bentley’s Kongo Dictionary and Grammar. 1 In this chapter frequent reference will be made to palm midribs. These are the stalk of the frond of raphia or other palms. The raphia midrib in its lower part is from three to five inches broad, one to two inches thick (often deeply grooved), and from ten to thirty feet long. 732 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO This rectangular, ridge-roofed dwelling, made up of poles, sticks, and thatch, extends up and down the Lower Guinea coast between the Rio del Rey on the north and the Benguela region on the south. These Kongo houses are usually detached and scattered about a square. In the Bakongo countries, on the Lower Congo, or in the Cataract region the art of fortification seems to have been little developed. The defences raised by the inhabitants were not, strictly speaking, fortifications. The villages are [or were] surrounded by a labyrinth of dry or live hedges, made of dracaena, euphorbia, or possibly bamboo. These hedges inter- sect and cross each other, so that to reach the huts one re- quires a guide who knows the road and all the turnings well. For- merly, in times of insecurity the adjacent paths, except the main de- fended one 401. A TYPICAL HOUSE OF THE CONGO CATARACT REGION leading tO the village, were strewn with poisoned splinters — very dangerous to naked feet. Unlike the Kongo customs, the Bateke houses (between Stanley Pool, the Kwa mouth, the Alima River, and the Ogowe) are grouped close together about a square or circular court, or are sometimes placed in rows with their backs to a river. They are built of raphia-palm midribs and are rect- angular, one long side being much higher than the other and the roof slanting at a steep angle from the high side to the low — a “lean-to” type of dwelling, obviously intended to be built enclosing a square, or face to face, a narrow alley intervening. It is remarkable that houses very like those of the Bateke occur in the north-eastern part of the Congo basin (see pp. 755-6). According to Guiral ( Le Congo Branfats) the Bateke houses of the Ogowe highlands swarm with vermin in the dusty floors : fleas, jiggers, head-lice, body-lice, and bugs ! 402. NATIVE VILLAGE ON KAKONGO COAST, NEAR KABINDA U3RARY. . UMIVF-:-’ ry of ILLINOIS HOUSES 735 Here are a succession of notes as to the architecture of South-West Congoland, between the Kwango on the west, the lower Kasai and Lukenye on the north, the Sankuru on the east, and the Zambezi watershed on the south . 1 The houses of the Bay aka are rectangular, made of reeds, and divided into two compartments. The doorway is about five feet in height above the ground ; with a threshold of wooden blocks about eighteen inches high across the entrance. The door is made of raphia-palm midribs fastened together by wooden pegs (a very common type of door throughout Equatorial Africa). In every hut there is a corner where the 403. A VILLAGE IN THE NKUSU COUNTRY, KINGDOM OF KONGO, SOUTH OF CATARACT REGION house-fetish is put, and there weapons and cloth are stored for greater safety. The huts of a village are scattered and not arranged in any order, though they are frequently built with the major axis running north and south. The village, is swept every morning by the head-man. Every married woman has a separate hut for herself and her children and the use of her husband when he visits her. Un- married men live together, several in a hut. (Torday.) In the Baholo country (middle Kwango) chiefs’ houses may (according to Grenfell) be tall and round or square, with a high doorway of heavy timber flanked with squared logs, often richly carved. The heavy grass or palm thatch hangs down to the 1 The exact location of the tribes can be ascertained on the map. 736 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO ground, something after the fashion of the Basongo houses much farther east. [ Vide illustration p. 205.] The huts of the Ba-huana are of two types, corresponding respectively to those of the Ba-Mbala and those of the eastern Ba-yanzi. The last-named type is built of straw and palm leaves on a rectangular ground-plan, the transverse section forming a pointed arch ; there is a verandah in front, and the interior is divided into two compartments. The roof is secured against wind by means of large branches laid across. To the front of the house, under the verandah, are attached various 404. A RIVERSIDE TOWN, NORTHERN CONGO, NEAR BUMBA objects, such as skulls of animals slain in the chase, small pack- ages containing “fetish,” empty eggshells, arrows, etc. The villages are built at some distance from the river bank and are rather straggling ; the wives of a man live each in her own hut, and these huts are arranged so as to form an irregular quadrangle, which is connected by a narrow path with the next and similar group. Unmarried men have each their own hut. The Bambala dwellings are rectangular. Those of the chiefs are sometimes thirty to forty-five feet long. They often include a loft or partial upper story, reached by a ladder and a window or door under the eaves. The Bakwese houses are II. R 405. THE VILLAGE OF CHIEF SENGA AT YAKUSU, NEAR STANLEY FALLS HOUSES 739 made of grass, square, with a domed roof, the walls about four and a half feet high. There is no verandah. The huts of the Lunda and Kioko peoples do not ordinarily exhibit a high degree of taste or ability in design or structure. They are generally of the beehive type, but there are also square, oblong, and round houses with walls distinct from roof, and round houses with hiodi conical roofs. Some huts have the quadrangular gabled roof ending in an apex at the middle. The original type was no doubt the beehive. The materials are poles, sticks, withes, and grass. Chiefs’ or kings’ residences are divided into many courtyards and enclosures like those of Uganda. The dwellings of the Baluba peoples (Bena-Lulua, Barua) are rectangular, with roofs, however, that are more often rounded than ridged. They are usually divided by a partition into a sleeping apartment and a sitting and eating room. Grenfell describes the western Bakuba houses as being rectangular and made of split planks lined with grass, and roofed with mats which end on the roof-tree by their long handles or sticks (to which they are plaited) crossing one another. The corner posts of the houses are sometimes of living wood, which grows at either angle into a bushy tree (this is the appearance of a chiefs house.) The planks to which he refers are possibly of split borassus palms. His colleague, the late Rev. Harry White , 1 sent home sketches and descriptions of the Bakuba and Basongo houses along the north-eastern Sankuru, near Lusambo. They were pyramidal or very tall cone structures of withes and grass, rising to a height of twelve to fourteen feet from the ground, roof and walls in one. On the apex was a kind of chimney-pot of per- pendicular sticks or reeds. The doorway was porched and was rather high. There must have been very little floor space. The smaller houses of the common people were truncated cones, with somewhat domed roofs. Torday thus describes the grass houses of the middle Sankuru — in populous villages sheltered by tall banana groves and oil palms : — “ These constructions are only found on the middle Sankuru : they have a height of fifteen feet, and nine feet of width by twelve feet of length ; the walls are made of big poles of twelve feet in length, fixed vertically in the ground at a distance of four to six inches from each 1 Mr. White visited the Sankuru in B.M.S. Peace in 1891. He collected much information about the northern Congo, which is embodied in this book. White died in 1897. 740 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO other. The frame of the dome is constructed by long flexible sticks which starting from the top of the stakes proceed to meet at the centre, describing the arc of a half-circle. The whole construction is covered with a thick thatching of dry grass. In the upper part of the straw house a rack of wattles is hung ; it serves as a loft for keeping the 406. STYLE OF HOUSE NEAR THE MOTIMA RIVER (BETWEEN MONGALA BASIN AND NORTHERN CONGO) different provisions, which being continually smoked by the permanent fire maintained in the hut, are thus kept free of insects.” Though he describes these dwellings as peculiar to the middle Sankuru, this domed structure is really somewhat wide- spread in South-Central Congoland and is particularly character- istic of the eastern Bakuba. A Basonge or “ Zappo-Zap” dwelling is rectangular , the roof inclining to an oval shape. To build a house the Basonge trace HOUSES 74i an outline nine or ten feet square. Along this outline they dig holes to receive logs of wood about ten inches in diameter, planted one against the other, and rising about three and a half feet above the ground. A long flexible withe is fastened to each of the four corner logs. These withes when drawn to- gether at the top give an oval shape to the roof. Living in a country of prairies, the Basonge use tall grasses to cover their huts, fastening them to the framework by means of small, very flexible lianas or “bush-rope.” A Basonge hut is usually divided 407. A TYPICAL VILLAGE OF THE INTERIOR OF THE NORTHERN CONGO (BOPOTO DISTRICT) into two parts, separated by a partition covered with matting. The bedroom has a small opening on the outer side, hidden by grasses ; by which the natives escape on occasions of nocturnal surprises by an enemy. On the upper Lukenye River the Apamba and Bakuju tribes build rectangular huts as on the Lower Congo. As they are forest dwellers they do not employ grass for thatching, but roof their huts with large leaves about ten inches broad and fifteen inches long, which are arranged regularly like tiles on the framework of the roof and are additionally secured by laths tied with lianas. The Bashilele villages are situated in the middle of woods 742 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO which cover the valleys and the sides of the hills, the more level country being grass-land. A village contains twenty or fifty rectangular huts about tw r elve feet by seven, built continuously in a square, the doors opening on to a central space which serves as a public meeting- ground where assemblies and dances are held. The villages o # ... o are surrounded by a palisade of palm midribs nine feet high, in which four doors are cut, each one protected by a second palisade. The Bashilele manner of establishing a village is as 408. HOUSE-BUILDING, BOLOBO follows. Having found a suitable site, covered with raphia palms, they clear the ground all round and build their huts more or less in a square in between the palms which they leave standing. It is a crime to cut down a raphia or an oil palm. They thus find, on the spot, fibre for the manufacture of stuffs, rafters and laths for partitions, fronds for thatching the roofs, beds and seats, planks for palisades, materials for bows and arrows, and the innumerable household utensils and apparatus for hunting and fishing ; finally, oil and palm wine. The eastern Bayanzi of the Kwilu- Kasai build houses of two, or even three, types : one, rectangular, with ridged roof and two compartments, about four feet and a half high at the sides and twelve feet long, built of grass, the threshold of the HOUSES 743 door rising fifteen inches from the ground ; the second kind, semi-cylindrical, with a verandah supported on poles, similarly divided in two compartments, about six feet high ; also a simpler form of this last, without a verandah. In the eastern part of the Congo basin Grenfell makes fre- quent references to “houses of the Wenya (Bagenya) type, with a lianda.” These he also encountered on the Lomami River (besides the main Lualaba-Congo) at i° 20' S. Lat. Probably he is referring to the semi-cylindrical house with a verandah described by Torday in connection with the eastern Bayanzi. The houses of the forest-dwelling folk between the Congo at Stanley Falls and the Nile water-parting [near Lake Albert Edward and the Semliki] are well illustrated by the accompany- ing picture (No. 417) of a Bakonjo house with a porch. This is probably the “Burumbi” type of hut alluded to by Grenfell. The Arabs and their slaves have introduced the rectangular, clay-bodied Swahili house into much of the eastern province of the Congo State by now, but (it is said by Cameron and Stanley) even before they dominated the land the Manyema on or near the Lualaba built rectangular houses of considerable merit as comfortable dwellings. The high-pitched roof came down very low at the back of the house to shield the occupant from the prevailing wind. In front the widespreading roof sloped more gradually and was supported on poles forming a verandah. The raised platform on which the house stood, and also its walls, were neatly plastered with clay. This description, however, suggests Arab influence in a land otherwise (north of Manyema) given up to conical huts. The houses of the Waujabilio — apparently uninfluenced by Arab suggestion — are quite elaborate : compound mud huts, with two rooms, one square with ridged roof, the other round with domed roof. The walls are of wattle and daub, the roof of grass thatch. This may be an elaboration of Grenfell’s “ Wenya ” hut, because the Waujabilio or Wangobelio immedi- ately succeed the Baganya on the south, as the water-people of the Lualaba-Congo. In the south-east of Congoland the houses are invariably round 1 and rather squat. [The tall conical roofs are probably nowhere found south of 6° S. Lat. and east of 28° E. Long.] The materials used for their construction are poles, sticks, reeds, grass, with hard clay floors ; but near Lake Bangweulu and on the Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau the house walls may be 1 Except of course where Arab or Nyamwezi or European influence has intro- duced the rectangular building. 744 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO plastered with clay — a practice no doubt recently introduced from East Africa. Among the furniture of the Mweru houses are remark- able carved stools and head-rests (“native pillows”). These are found more to the north and west (Lubaland, Lunda, Burua), and it is probably the Lun- da invasion which has brought them as far to the south- east as Lake Mweru. Though these head-rests (necessary for an elaborate coiffure) can be traced back in their origin to Egypt, they are at the present day more characteristic of Western or Equatorial Africa than of the south or south-east regions, wherein shaving of the head is more customary or hair- dressing is neg- o o lected. Torday furnishes some interesting notes on peculiar or exceptional struc- tures in South-East Congoland : — 409. A STOOL FROM LAKE MWERU, south-east congoland « really remark- able fortification was seen by the Bia-Francqui expedition on the banks of the Lubudi, the great tributary of the upper Lualaba west of the Mitumba Mountains. The village, named Kia-Gimea, was situated on the bank of the river, and defended on that side by a long wall of earth, about one yard in breadth, at least three yards in height, and pierced with loopholes. HOUSES 745 “ On the side of the plain, away from the Lubudi banks, there were no less than seven concentric “ bomas ” (stockades) joined up to the wall. These “bomas” were very close one to the other, with just space enough between each for a ditch and a very narrow path. The ditch, a yard and a half deep, was armed with pointed stakes and chevaux-de-frise. A door in the wall gave access to the river ; another on the opposite side in the outer “ boma ” opened to the plain. There was a door in each of the interior “ bomas,” but instead of facing each other these openings were at different points in the semicircle, so that the besieger, having forced the first, would be compelled before finding the second to run round the narrow ledge of path (avoiding the trench alongside), all the time enfiladed by the projectiles of the defenders. 410. A HEAD-REST FOR SUPPORTING THE HEAD DURING SLEEP (NORTHERN BAMBALA COUNTRY, S.W. congoland) “ Towards the sources of the Lualaba there are other noteworthy fortifications, remarkable above all from the position of the villages they protect. The district is studded by small isolated hillocks formed of huge chaotic masses of magnetite, embedded in ferruginous clay. The fall of these blocks caused by some former landslip had left cavities, sometimes extensive, in the sides of the mountain, and the natives have adopted these cavities for their homes, closing them by a simple wall of dry reeds. Each subterranean dwelling is fronted by a small terrace where the family attend to their daily duties. The summit is crowned by fine, large huts, in which the chief and his family live. The base of the hillock is surrounded by a solid “ boma,” well fortified, but not fronted by a ditch. “ In certain regions of the great country of Burua, in the kingdom of Kasongo-Museya, east of the upper Lomami, natural resources are 746 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO much utilized in constructing defensive works. Many of the villages have palisades, but a thick, impenetrable bush surrounds this fortifica- tion, and places where a passage is practicable are set with short, up- right poisoned splinters of reed very dangerous to unshod feet. “In the same districts along the upper Lualaba and in the Garanganze country of Katanga the enclosure is surrounded by strong, thick hedges of Euphorbia arborescens (? E. hermentiana), which form so efficacious a defence that the palisaded “ boma ” is sometimes neglected. Certain villages of the Lunda, such as Lukolela on the upper Lualaba, are surrounded by a live hedge of thorny acacias ; these plants growing in thick, vigorous bushes hide the huts of the inhabitants, and are impene- trable by the naked bodies of the besiegers. “ The important residence of the chief Ntenke in Katanga has a peculiar addi- tion which oc- curs rarely else- where. Its ob- ject is to render the fortified resi- dence able to stand a siege by protecting an access to water, not only to en- able the women to draw a water supply in safety, but also to per- mit the besieged in their last re- sort a hazardous escape by the river. This con- sists of a short tunnel of withes, a diverticulum, projected from the principal palisade, with which it communicates by means of a postern. Fortified like the enclosure with stakes and brushwood, the tunnel-passage goes straight to the river, which runs forty-five feet below. If the river is not wide (as at Ntenke) the twin stockade — like a weir — is carried to the other side, where it is closed. If the river is wide it takes in just enough to give a sufficient supply of water. Besides the chief object for which it was built, this protected access to the water has the secondary advantage of enabling the besieged to attack the enemy in flank.” 411. A STOOL ORNAMENTED WITH BRASS NAILS AND HUNG WITH A BELL AND WHITE BEADS (NGOMBE COUNTRY, UPPER CONGO) In the central part of the Congo basin, beginning on the west above the Kwa confluence with the Congo, we are in a region of rectangular houses, often very long and built con- tinuously in streets. HOUSES 747 Babangi (or ivestern Bayanzi) houses vary from twenty to a hundred yards in length, and are ranged on each side of a fairly wide street, stretching sometimes for several miles. Their appearance is sufficiently indicated by Grenfell’s numer- ous photographs. The materials are the long midribs of the raphia palm (locally termed “bamboos”), and a thatch of reeds or (more often) Blais palm fronds. The threshold is a log of wood, frequently the section of a palm trunk. In the country to the south-east and east of Bolobo, behind the riverain Babangi, the Batende and Batito houses are larger and better built than those on the main Congo. The Batito dwellings have broad palm-leaf walls very neatly laid between laths. They contain a clay platform about one foot above the general level of the floor. The roof is rounded at the end into a semicircular dome. In other re- spects they are rather' like the Ba- bangi houses, with horizontal paral- lel rows of bamboos in the sides, and fine grass thatching. (Gren- fell.) The houses in the neighbour- hood of the River Mfini and Lake Leopold, apart from their frame- work, are entirely composed of fronds of the Elais (oil) palm. The small door which encloses the en- trance of the house is made of raphia midribs. The houses are built on a bed of hard-beaten clay, raised to the height of a foot to prevent the rain water from running into the interiors. Usually the furniture of a house consists of two or three bedsteads, each made out of smooth logs of wood laid on the ground and covered with a mat ; pottery of different kinds used for cooking purposes or for drinking-water [there may be large jars containing a reserve supply of water, or small, often elegant vases of whitish clay in which water is kept cool to quench the thirst] ; baskets or paniers for going to the fields and market ; a pestle and mortar ; some wooden or earthenware plates and dishes, and spoons of wood, iron, or mussel-shell ; and one or two primitive knives. In one corner there is always a collection of dry wood used for keeping up the fire [Congo negroes maintain a fire constantly in the house]. On the walls are hung a number of small objects, such as antelope horns, shell work, 412. VASE FOR DRINKING-WATER FROM THE BABUMA PEOPLE, NEAR THE MFINI RIVER 748 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO birds’ feathers, tufts of leaves, dried grasses, etc., constituting so many charms to which the householder attributes certain powers of healing and preservation. The people of this region manufacture much salt from the potash of the burnt reeds and marsh plants. They also fabricate the Nkula or Tukula colour- ing powder, made of red wood, for body painting. Consequently their dwellings must provide considerable storage room. The houses of the Mongo ( Bankundu , Balolo) are described as rectangular with one of the long sides open half-way up, so that it forms a broad verandah. There is a partition down the 413. HEAD-REST OR PILLOW, AND WOODEN POWDER-FLASK (BANGALA PEOPLE, NORTH-WESTERN CONGO) middle corresponding with the line of the roof-ridge and securing some privacy for the sleeping-room recess, which contains a bed of palm midribs. The houses are often built continuously, end to end, and are arranged in squares or crescents. The Bangala , Bwela , Aknla , Bcipoto , and some of the northern “ Ngombe" tribes likewise build long, low, rectangular houses, similar to those of the Babangi, and use palm midribs much in their framework. The roof is usually prolonged (with a very gradual descent) along the front or street aspect, and, supported by columns of tree stems, makes a convenient and shady verandah. An average Bangala house in the Equator district has a length of twenty-four feet, a breadth of seven and a half feet, HOUSES 749 an altitude of about five feet ten inches under the roof-ridge, while the walls along the long sides are only about three feet high above the ground. The roof has two sides. Like the upright walls, it is covered with palm leaves. A plain frame supports the six sections which form the house, and the palm midribs of the framework are bound by bands of reeds or rushes [rather resembling Uganda reed work]. A single narrow opening placed in the front gives access to them. There is neither a window nor outlook of any kind. 414. BWELA HOUSES NEAR MOTIMA RIVER, SHOWING ROOFS OF PALM MIDRIBS The inside, all glistening and blackened by the smoke of the perpetual fire, is furnished only with a few stools cut in one block from the trunk of a tree, mats, baskets, earthenware, weapons, and finally a low frame which serves as a bed. These houses are easily taken to pieces, carried away, and recon- structed. Well-to-do men with many wives may possess as many as twenty long dwellings. The roof of the eastern Bangala, northern Ngombe, and of the Poto and Bwela houses is sometimes made of closely fitting palm midribs laid like long curved tiles. Farther east, strips of bark are used for roofing. The use of clay in the houses (? of he found many of the riverside populations living in “house- canoes” (vide illustration, p. 126) — a very sensible plan in a country so often under water after heavy rains. In the Equator district the Bangala villages generally consist of a road, nearly straight and parallel with the river, clean, well beaten, and eighteen feet wide. On both sides houses follow’ each other grouped together by the owners, with intervals of ten to fifty yards between the groups. The intermediate spaces are occupied by grass which only leaves room for a straight path. In all the larger Bangala, Babangi, and Ngombe villages 750 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the Ndonga tribe) on the Rubi River has been already noted. These dwellings, of a non- Bantu people, are apparently different in type to those of the Bangala and northern Ngombe. One end is rounded. The Basoko houses east of the Rubi con- fluence are still rectangular, but they are low and poor and like degenerate renderings of the often handsome and com- modious Bangala dwellings. In the eighties, when Grenfell first explored the Upper Congo between Stanley Falls and the mouth of the Aruwfimi, 415. A VIEW IN A BWELA TOWN, NORTHERN CONGO, TO SHOW NEARLY CONTINUOUS HOUSES BUILT IN STREETS HOUSES The square is covered with well-beaten clay of a whitish colour. As a background to the whole view, magnificent groves of banana trees are planted. Some of the northern Ngombe villages are surrounded by strong stockades. Apparently the long rectangular house of the west-centre comes to an end near the confluences of the Aruwdmi and at Stanley Falls (Yakusu). The type also does not extend up the Lomami. The villages of the southern Ngombe (between the main Congo and Lopori) are described by Lord Mountmorres as being filthily dirty and composed of dishevelled-looking (? round) span-roofed huts. They are surrounded by palisades with elaborate gates and heavy beams, so constructed as to fall and 75i there is a guest-house or palaver-house — ngumba — in the centre. [Vide pp. 118-20.] Along the northern Congo the Bangala villages are often built to form a square which is bordered by rectangular patches of banana trees and other vegetation. In addition, some natives raise a double row of palm trees almost in a straight line, the growth of which they arrest in order to develop the trunk and leafage, which gives the village street or square a charming appearance. At the rear and sides of the houses grow masses of high grass sprinkled with oil palms, fig trees, and bombax. 416. ENTRANCE INTO STOCKADED TOWN OF THE NGOMBE PEOPLE (The lady in the foreground is Mrs. Wm. Forfeitt.) 752 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO crush any undesirable intruder — a precaution which is very necessary in a part infested by leopards. The house of the lower Lomami (before the Arabizing of this part) and the dwelling perhaps of the Lindi and Chopo basins and of the country behind the north bank of the Lualaba-Congo was, according to Grenfell, a low, round hut with a projecting front porch, roofed and walled with plantain leaves, neatly retained in place by long withes. This hut is sometimes thatched with grass outside the leaf “ tiling.” Gren- fell calls it the “ Burumbi ’ n house. It is the prevailing type of dwelling between the southern slopes of Ruwenzori and the 417. BANANA-LEAF HUT WITH PORCH, CALLED BY GRENFELL A “BURUMBI” DWELLING This style prevails as far east as the slopes of Ruwenzori. west coast of Lake Albert Edward, on the east and the middle Aruwimi, Lindi River, and Stanley Falls on the west and north. In the much-flooded regions of the lower Lomami, Juapa, Lulongo rivers there are lake dwellings, rectangular houses built on piles. Ascending the Aruwimi from its confluence with the main Congo, the untidy square, ridge-roofed huts of the Basoko, or the clay-covered houses of the Bajande give way to a very marked form of the conical-roofed dwelling shaped like an ex- 1 The present writer has equally associated this porched, round, beehive hut with the Bakonjo people. Grenfell writes that the type extends across the Lualaba-Congo (Bagenya) to the Lomami. HOUSES 753 tinguisher. This type seems to have originated in the north of Congoland (Mubangi-Wele basin) and to have attained special development in the Aruwimi valley, and thence to have pene- trated in a modified form through East-Central Congoland to the verge of the Manyema country, to Bakuba- and Luba- land, and even to the Lunda plateau. According to Grenfell and Mountmorres, the Lohali people of Panga (Aruwimi) make houses that are extraordinarily beauti- ful. The principal form of structure consists of a small square, four-walled hut, as a rule almost exactly six feet square. The walls are four feet in height. The roofs are carried to a con- siderable height , 1 and are like four-sided cones, constructed wholly of large marantaceous leaves fastened in horizontal rows against a frame of basket-work, so that the houses in rows have the appearance of huge, clipped yew hedges. “ The Panga tribe build these in groups and clusters round little squares, varying them with small, span-roofed huts and span-roofed shelters supported on highly polished substantial wooden pillars. The squares or courtyards are enclosed by leaf screens stretching from hut to hut, and the entrance to each hut is not from the courtyard, but from the back, access to which is given by doors in the leaf screens. The courtyards themselves are kept scrupulously clean and well brushed, and contain nothing but the seats of the occupants of the huts and in the centre the smouldering logs which form the source of fire. All the domestic litter and domestic operations are confined to the back behind the leaf screens. In these villages trees are planted, or at any rate left standing, so as to form shelter at intervals in the courtyards and along the connecting streets from one courtyard to another.” “ As one approaches Banalya one comes to another division of this tribe who also construct the quadrilateral, spire-shaped huts of the Panga, but who arrange them in long, severe lines, the length of straight streets devoid of trees or other shade, and this difference is the keynote of the difference of the character of the tribes. For whilst the essential feature of the Panga is picturesqueness, that of the Banalya is sombre dullness.” (Mountmorres.) These leaf-thatched, steeple-crowned dwellings extend in range to the Lindi River in the south-east and the Turumbu of the main Congo. The Pygmy houses of the Aruwimi have already been described. Their low, round, span-roofed hut is a type also met with among the taller Forest negroes of the Aruwimi. For instance, the Babili of Bomili, who are described as a back- ward Forest people of repulsive appearance and extraordinary 1 Eighteen feet is a Belgian’s estimate. II. — s 754 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO timidity, live in dwellings that are very diminutive, with roofs like those of the typical Pygmy houses, the framework of which is simply the span of a long, bent stick describing a hemispheri- cal curve. (Mountmorres.) The confluence of the Nepoko and the Aruwimi marks in 418. IN A BANALYA VILLAGE, ARUWIMI RIVER To show the conical steeple-crowned houses roofed with leaves. the Aruwimi valley the dividing line between two styles ol architecture. Below, the houses are conical ; above, they are rectangular, oblong, surrounded by large trunks of red-wood trees, which form separate courts and act as fortifications. Defended by men armed with weapons of precision, one of these villages could only be taken by a strong attacking force. HOUSES 755 On the upper Aruwimi or Ituri there is a medley of house- building styles. Besides the ever-recurring Pygmy hut, there are the continuous street-like plank dwellings of the semi- Bantu peoples, allied to the far-distant Ababua ( Bagboro , Balese , Iyugu , Babundi). These are either erected in straight rows, face to face, with a narrow passage between, or are arranged in a horseshoe shape. The roof has a single slope, pent-house fashion, like the house of the Bateke people, twelve hundred miles away to the west. These steeply slanting roofs of a single pitch are neatly tiled with huge leaves, the points of which overlap with precision, and give to the tile-like thatch the appearance of a pangolin’s scales. Stanley, in his In Darkest Africa , thus describes these continuous plank dwellings : — ‘'The architecture [of the Balese country] was peculiar. Its peculi- arity consisted in a long street flanked by a long, low wooden building, or rather planked building, on either side, 200, 300, or 400 feet long. At first sight one of these villages appeared like a long gable-roofed struc- ture, sawn in exact half along the ridge of the roof, and as if each half- house had been removed backward for a distance of twenty or thirty feet, and then along the inner sides had been boarded up, and pierced with low doors, to obtain entrance into independent apartments. The light wood of the Rubiacece affords good material for this kind of house. A sizeable tree, one foot, eighteen inches, or two feet in diameter, is felled, and the log is cut into short pieces from four to six feet in length ; the pieces are easily split by hard wedges, and with their small, neat adzes they [the Balese] contrive to shape the plank smooth, tolerably even, and square. They are generally an inch or an inch and a quarter thick. For what is called the ceiling or inner boarding the boards are thinner and narrower. When a sufficient number of boards and planks are ready, the inner ceiling is lashed to the uprights, frequently in as neat a fashion as a carpenter’s apprentice might do it with saw, nails, and hammer ; on the outer side of the uprights are lashed the thicker planks, or broad slabs. The hollow between the inner and outer frame is then stuffed with the phrynia , or banana leaves. The wall facing the street may be nine feet high, the back wall facing the forest or clearing is four or four and a half feet high, the width of the house varies from seven to ten feet. Altogether it is a comfortable and snug mode of building, rather dangerous in case of fire, but very defensible, with trifling labour.” From a note of Grenfell’s in 1902, it would appear that this strange and interesting people (Balese and congeners) and their architecture have been swept away by the Manyema and Zanzibari Arabs. Often as at Iyugu, on a tributary of the Ituri, each set of plank houses was built in a horseshoe or semicircle in such 756 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO a way that the two extremities nearly joined. Two doors closed this curious concentric village, which then formed a perfect circle ; in the middle a large space was left. This formation was adopted for purposes of defence, but was of no avail against Manyema guns. The inhabitants of Utiri have a special system of fortifica- tion, but in reality it is merely the system of the boma, or stockade applied to each private dwelling. The village is composed of a series of low wooden huts, with double-gabled roofs. Each house is surrounded by a courtyard enclosed by a solid palisade of thick logs, and becomes thus a small fortress belonging to a single family, who has charge of its defence. A great dissemination of forces is caused by this plan of organ- ization, but it increases also the difficulties of an attack, each house representing a citadel to be conquered. Still higher up, on the edge of the Nile watershed, in the Busese or Buvira country of Mazamboni [the once-powerful chief of Stanley’s story], architecture again changes. To the west, within the limits of the great forest, there are populous villages, consisting for the greater part of a single street, thirty to sixty feet wide. This is bordered with slant-roofed houses of the same shape and height, and joining one another without any break in the line. One might often estimate a single construction at six to nine and even over twelve hundred feet in length. Around the villages are cultivated fields and pasture land. These strange buildings are low, long, and the slope of the roofs is from front to back. The house of the chief may be recognized by a great block of wood, close upon four feet wide, five feet high, and two inches thick. In this the low, narrow door is cut. The broad eaves rise in front to nine feet above the ground, and at the back to about four feet. The houses are ten feet wide. The roofing projects two and a half feet beyond the front and over two feet beyond the back wall. In the eastern, grass-land part of Mazamboni’s country the huts are round, low, with a pointed roof ; very much like those of Unyoro and much of East Africa. The great Ababua-Babati-Bakango congeries of negroes (linked together mainly by language — a corrupt and somewhat peculiar Bantu dialect) extends from the Bagburu or Balese of the upper Aruwimi westwards to the Likati and upper Rubi, and north to the Wele and Bomokandi. Being composed of many ethnic mixtures and tribes, with but the one link of language, it is not surprising that even the Ababua themselves have more than one type of dwelling. The Baieu section HOUSES 757 builds huts of beehive shape, and occasionally cylindrical houses with the tall extinguisher roof already described. The walls of these cone-shaped houses are sometimes made of a single piece of thick bark, about twenty- four feet long . 1 The Ababua tribes in the basin of the upper Rubi (as well as the non- Bantu Ndonga ) build round houses of poles and fill up the interstices with mud. The more northern Ababua (those more in contact with the Manbettu) construct rectangu- lar dwellings, the walls of which, out- lined by a few stout poles, are built en- tirely of mud. These large oblong houses have a door- way at each end. They contain two or three beds [about five feet long and two feet broad] made of beaten clay. These beds are covered with mats. Chairs are adapted from forked branches or are carved out of blocks of wood ; boxes, made of bark on a wooden base, contain the various possessions of the inhabitants. The fireplace is situated in the middle of the 419. A STOOL FROM THE BAN ALYA COUNTRY, ARUWIMI RIVER, COVERED WITH BEATEN COPPER hut. The village of these rectangular houses is built in the form of a long street, in which is situated a big shelter with a roof similar to those of the huts, in which men with nothing to do spend the day. A sentry is posted nothing before the shelter day and night. Villages are often built in places where swamps form a natural defence, but where this is not the case an artificial hedge with only three or four entrances surrounds them. (Dr. Vedy.) 1 Dr. Vedy. 758 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The original type of house in the countries of the Man- bettu, Nyamnyam , and Nsakara was round, with a peaked roof, and this is the prevailing type still, everywhere in the Mubangi-Wele region and the northernmost limits of the Congo basin, except the chiefs’ houses among the Manbettu, and except the dwellings of the people to the west of the Grenfell Falls at Zongo and on both banks of the lower Mubangi below N. Lati- tude 3°. The exceptions are rectangular. The N y a m ny a 771 (Azande) have no real villages. Gathered in small groups, the peaked- roofed houses form great chaplets, which follow the curves of the streams and there in their continuity by tufts of bananas and palms. Each family occupies one section of the great line, and the interval between one section and another is filled with Elais palms. The Nyamnyam deco- rate their houses tastefully, trace on their doors and walls pictures of animals and men, and even make attempts at rude sketches of scenery either with yel- low clay or charcoal. The houses are round, and the walls are usually plastered with clay. The roof is high, rising in the centre into a tall peak or stalk, and looking like the inverted calyx of a flower. The everted rim of the roof projects beyond the house walls considerably and thus affords a shelter against rain. The part which overhangs rests on posts and forms a continuous verandah round the dwelling. The building, except for its fantastic roof, somewhat resembles the houses of Southern Nyasaland or of Eastern Equatorial Africa. Cooking is done in a special hut, which has a still more pointed roof than those which are used for sleeping. valleys, broken here and 420. A SIX-PRONGED STICK USED AS BACK- REST, UPPER CONGO (This illustration also shows the pile cloth of the Bakuba country, which makes its way in trade to the northern Congo, and also the curiously woven caps of the Ngombe people.) HOUSES 759 Certain small houses called bamogi are covered with a bell-shaped roof. Built in the foriji of a cup, they rest on a foundation of beaten clay, which raises their small door to a certain height above the ground, thereby placing the entrance out of the reach of wild beasts. The framework of the door of the bamogi is ornamented with designs (lozenges, angles, squares, etc.), which are repeated on a kind of frieze, which starts half-way up and runs round the small building. These small houses are reserved for young boys, who are sent to them to sleep as soon as they are of an age to be separated from their elders. Among the Manbettu architecture in timber and palm midribs is advanced to a point of perfection which is said to have been equalled in no other part of Central Africa, Uganda, even, not excepted. The houses of the common people are round, with walls of grass between the withes and with conical roofs. But they build, or used to build, veritable palaces for their princes, side by side with immense halls which served for receptions and public meetings. These last were as much as fifteen feet wide, sixty feet long, and forty-eight feet high. These buildings united in the most complete manner elegance and strength, and called forth the admiration of Schweinfurth. The materials used for their construction, at once solid and light, were the stalks of the raphia palm, whose natural polish and brilliant beautiful brown tint gave the structure a finish and elegance with which the earlier explorers were much impressed. These large buildings of the Manbettu had a gabled roof at each end. The devastation of the Sudanese slave-traders [who slew Schweinfurth’s friend, the stately chief Munza] abolished these mighty structures, made chiefly from gigantic palm midribs. Now the Sudanese or Nilotic influence in Manbettuland, exer- cised through the Congo State soldiery, is tending towards building every dwelling on the circular plan and with much less display of art. All alone- the northern Mubanofi, from the Mbomu con- fluence to the Grenfell Falls at Zongo, the houses along both banks are round or conical with pointed roofs. The villages of the Sango and of the allied Mongwandi (basin of the upper Mongala) are of poor construction (except in the far south at Bokapo, where the cylinder-shaped Mongwandi huts were found by Hodister to be well built and handsome). The house of the Sango-Mongwandi is cone-shaped, the entrance is low and narrow, the roof is formed of bundles of sticks tied together at the apex top and covered with a quantity of dried leaves, so 760 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO that the rain cannot penetrate through. The walls often con- sist of a single huge roll of bark, kept upright by stakes. The doors are made either of dead leaves or rudely adzed planks. Among the Babali , a Bantu tribe who live on the banks of the Dua (the great eastern affluent of the Mongala), there are lake dwellings. These houses are of a rectangular shape, built on piles, and the native enters by climbing up great notched poles or timbers placed against the rim of the house platform. The floor of these lake dwellings is made of logs, laid closely one against the other. The Banza people between the Mongala River and the western Mu- ban g i build houses that are praised by nearly every traveller that has visited this excellent people, whose language relates them to the Mundu of the Bahr-al - Ghazal frontier. The Banza dwelling is spacious, the average breadth being nine feet ; the higher walls and the form of the roof give space for standing up- right. The pointed dome of the thatched roof rests on a (? bark) cylinder, the walls of which and the cap-shaped roof are about equal in height. A straw spire surmounts the dome, artistically covered with long grass. The entrance is above all remarkable, as it opens under a peculiar, very pointed gable, which juts out from the dome, almost similar to the dormer windows seen on the roofs of Gothic buildings, 421 . A B.M.S. HOUSE BUILT ON PILES (BOPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO) HOUSES 761 “The villages of the Banza are admirably planned, well constructed, scrupulously clean. . . . They are composed of lofty, thatched, conical huts, the floor of which is raised above the ground. These huts, in front of each of which is a picturesque shelter, are set along wide, straight streets, at the end of the section of which are often buildings of a semi- public character. The style of architecture and general planning of the villages is entirely different from that of the Banziri.” (Mountmorres.) These last (who may be Bantu or semi- Bantu, and who live to the west of the Grenfell (Zongo) Falls), together with the Bantu tribes of the lower Mubangi, all build rectangular houses. Along the course of the Sanga there are pile dwellings , like those of the eastern Dua River. The rectangular house of grass, palm midribs, or adzed planks with ridged or penthouse roof is, west of the Mubangi, the universal type as far as the Benue basin and right away through the coast and forest regions of Guinea. Only the Pygmy tribes of the Ogowe, Sanga, and South Cameroons build round, span-roofed huts like those of the Aruwimi dwarfs. The round hut is particularly East African in type, but was possibly the earliest form of dwelling in Nigeria and Senegambia, and still exists immediately behind the coast belt of Guinea. The rectangular house is a West African invention, and the steeple-crowned ’ conical hut a peculiar development of the round house, entirely confined in its dis- tribution to the very heart of Central Africa. In all the western region of the Congo between Stanley Pool and the coast, and here and there on the upper river, intelligent and well-to-do natives now deliberately imitate the missionaries or the railway officials in their style of building. The house is invariably rectangular, and is raised above the ground on piles. This is a safeguard against damp and a dis- couragement to mosquitoes. Unfortunately they also aspire to the hideosities of corrugated iron, and have not as yet developed what ought to be one of the great industries of the Congo region — brick and tile making . 1 But the old style of Congo dwelling — grass or palm-thatched — is terribly verminous ; and although corrugated iron may induce sunstroke in a European, it at any rate gives no harbourage to rats and insects. 1 This indictment, I am informed, is a little out of date. In the Cataract region, especially round the B. M.S. stations, whole towns of brick and mortar are springing up. CHAPTER XXVII HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION T HE Pygmies dig pitfalls for catching the okapi and other large game of the forest ; they also envenom their wooden or iron-tipped arrows with a Strycknos or Strophanthzis poison , l so deadly that it usually kills big game in an hour and a man or smaller beast or bird in less time than that. The Pygmies also employ as bird-lime the latex of various Apocynaceous trees, vines (such as Strophanthus\ or shrubs which, though not coagulating sufficiently for rubber- making purposes, yet after a brief exposure to the air become very viscid. They may also make use of springes of raphia- rind, running nooses, and traps, but these arts are not yet recorded of them. The Pygmies, like the Bube of Fernando Po, chiefly obtain their game, large and small, by direct pursuit and by the use of arrow poison. Some of the dwarf tribes (those in the south-centre principally) keep small dogs for hunting and fasten wooden bells to their necks. They seem never to concern themselves with fishing. Before the coming (at any date between 1000 b.c. and 1400 a.d.) of Hima civilization, with its improved weapons of iron and its skill in the manipulation of string and fibre and the carving of wood with iron tools, Congoland hunting in the tribes already superior in culture to the Forest Pygmies was probably limited to the contriving of pitfalls and simple snares, the use of bird-lime, and the poisoning of penetrating weapons pointed with bamboo, palm, or bone splinters. Small mammals were captured in their holes or nests ; dogs may have been employed to hunt and distract the attention of large animals while the human pursuer could approach near enough to shoot his poisoned arrow or aim his wooden javelin. Or dogs may have been of use in driving large animals in the direction of the hidden pitfall (in which, no doubt, a great wooden stake, pointed in the fire, was artfully and firmly planted). 1 They may also derive this paralysing venom from the leaves and branches of a species of Acocanthera which is certainly found in North Congoland. Vide my Uganda Protectorate , p. 873. 763 HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 76 3 But until the Hima element came, with its improved metal weapons, its use of nets and cunning traps and other dodges for surprising or killing, 1 Congo man — Pygmy or bulky Forest negro — was not a very successful hunter. He lived much as a mere predatory mammal, catching fish with the hands, in streams naturally blocked by fallen timber ; shooting fish with wooden arrows ; knocking down birds and monkeys with the boomerang or club ; driving big game into pitfalls or morasses and killing it with poisoned wooden lances and arrows (canes tipped with bone or stone-flake). 2 422 . A WRESTLING MATCH ON THE NORTHERN CONGO In warfare against his own species his weapons were much the same ; plus the use of hands, arms, teeth, and butting head. He wrestles now for sport and in rare good humour, foul play being almost less existent in the wrestling matches of the Congo and the Cameroons than in our own modern gladiatorial contests. Yet wrestling began with the attempt of one male Pithecanthropos to break the back or crush the chest of another 1 It is possible that the unadulterated, aboriginal negro may have been without the dog as an assistant in hunting until he received it from the Nile basin. In Uganda and Unyoro legends the wandering, civilizing, cattle-breeding Hima demigod is always associated with a dog. 2 It is interesting to note that in some of the districts of the northern Congo, “arrow” is expressed by kati = u little stick” 764 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO male, rival in love or too emulous in food appropriation. And wrestling in Congoland is not quite forgotten as a death grapple, any more than biting is left out of account in a hand-to-hand contest. 1 But the Hima civilizer from the Upper Nile — by routes direct and indirect — came pre-eminently to the Forest negro and the Pygmy as the Hunter, armed with weapons of copper and iron, able to devise harpoons, fish-hooks, axes, choppers, spear-blades, scimitars, and sharp-bladed knives ; cunning in net-making ; skilled in basket-work and the devising of subtle traps. Therefore the founder of dynasties, the demigod, the Leader, consolidator of peoples, was a Hunter [in fact as well as in tradition] whose skill, courage, and adroitness could feed his 423. A WRESTLING MATCH AT BOPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO tribe with the spoils of a perpetually successful chase : for man in those days jostled the beasts of the field, who required a century of incessant slaughter before they learnt to flee from his approach. Guns and gunpowder introduced into Western and Southern Congoland by the Portuguese between the later sixteenth and the middle nineteenth centuries still further affected the war between man and beast. Firearms, in fact, have nearly exter- minated the big game in Western Lubaland, on the Lunda plateau, in Angola and in the kingdom of Kongo, while of course they made native warfare far more destructive and slave raids infinitely more depopulating. 1 Wrestling matches were formerly very popular performances with the stalwart Duala people of the Cameroons estuary, who in so many points resemble the races of the northern Congo. They played a great part in promoting courtships and love affairs. HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 765 By the beginning of the nineteenth century the use of flint guns 1 had reached Stanley Pool, and in another fifty years had slowly ascended the main course of the Congo till they had at- tained the Ngombe and Bangala tribes, amongst whom Stanley found them at Rubunga in 1877. The slave trade had given way in importance to the demand for ivory, and the Bateke, the Bayanzi, the enterprising peo- ples of the middle Kwango and Kasai, had become great ele- phant hunters. Still, when the white man entered inner Cong’oland as a ruler in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the mass of the Congo people was primitive in its armature, both for the chase and for war. Guns and gunpowder were practically ig- nored, except in French and Portuguese Congo, along the main Congo as far up as Luko- lela, and among the Arabized tribes of western Tanganyika and the Nyasa - Tanganyika plateau, and of course in Western Lubaland and the Lunda states. Over the greater part of this vast region of Cen- tral Africa the native races con- fined their range of weapons to the bow and arrow, lance, spear, pike, throwing-knife (developed from the wooden boomerang), dagger, scimitar, sword, axe, chopper, harpoon, and club. The halberd [or double-headed axe, combined with a pike] had been introduced into Lunda, together with a caricature 424. (i) BOOMERANG-SHAPED EXECU- TIONER’S KNIFE. (2) A WAR AXE MOUNTED ON LONG WOODEN HAN- DLE, FROM NORTHERN CONGO, PROB- ABLY DERIVED FROM THE HALBERD IDEA OF LUBALAND 1 On pages 204, 209 Grenfell describes the seventeenth and eighteenth century muskets he observed in Western Lunda, a district which now possesses cap-guns and breech-loading rifles in abundance. 766 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO of the medieval helmet, both coming of course from Angola ; and the crossbozv, which was one of the weapons of the fifteenth-century Portuguese soldiers, has also penetrated to South-West Congoland. It is found here and there among the Bayaka, Torday met with it (made out of a raphia midrib) among the southern Bambala, 1 and Bentley records its lingering use among o o the Bakongo, who call it mfumba (in contra- distinction to the word ta for the ordinary bow). Curiously enough, among all these people it is a child’s toy (for killing birds) rather than a man’s weapon. The Fanwe peoples of the Gaboon hinterland also possess the crossbow ; it is met with amongst the Indiki, a remark- able semi- Bantu people of the middle Cam- eroons, all of whose culture comes from the east and north. The crossbow exists among the Bali (North Cam- eroons) and the Baya tribes of the Sanga sources, who extend to the confines of the Shari, Benue, and Mu- bangi basins, and who are related linguistically to the Indiki. These North-Eastern Cameroons people seem to have received this weapon with other culture from the Moslemized negroes of the Shari watershed and Lake Chad, and they, in their turn, have derived the crossbow [as they did chain armour] from Egypt. Egypt acquired these inventions from the Crusaders. 425. THROWING-KNIVES FROM THE ARUWIMI RIVER Vide note by Torday and Joyce in Journal Royal Anthropological Institute for 1 HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 767 Thus when the child’s crossbow of raphia-palm midrib, from the districts south of the Lower Congo, meets the crossbow of heavy wooden stock derived from some Fan invader of the northern Bateke country \north of the western Congo watershed] on the shelves of the British Museum, the inventive idea which created them both may well have reached remote West African Bantu Africa by two very different routes, one via Christian Portugal and the other th rough Moslem Egypt ! The wooden boomerang, I be- lieve, has not yet been discovered in the Congo basin ; but it was obviously (as a throwing - weapon) the parent of the modern throwing- knives of Northern and North-Eastern Congoland. These seem to have origi- nated in the Shari basin and the Bahr-al -Ghazal, and with other northern (as con- trasted with East- ern Bantu) culture types to have per- colated through the forests to the northern bend of the Congo and the Ngombe and Mongo countries south of it. Throwing-knives seem to be absent from the Bakuba- Luba regions, the Kasai basin, the Lualaba, and Tan- ganyika. Their distribution is apparently limited to the Mubangi watershed and the northern and western Congo, the range extending north-westward to the Fan country. In this and many other points Fan culture is Sudanian and not Bantu. 426. ANTELOPE-SKIN QUIVER AND ARROWS USED BY THE PYGMIES OF THE ITURI FOREST 768 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The bow 1 and arrow (the arrow having been originally tipped with a wooden splinter or a bone head) were no doubt possessed by the earliest type of man that entered the Congo basin. It is to this day almost the only weapon of the Pygmies. Owing to the early use of poison, the arrow became as much dreaded as the bullet. Like the use of firearms, it did so much to equalize opponents ; and there is little doubt that the Pygmies have saved them- selves from extermi- nation at the hands of the invading Forest negroes and Bantu by their adroit use of the bow and arrow and employ- ment of deadly venom. By most of the big, muscular races who have quitted the forest for the more open country a strong dislike has sprung up for the use of bow and arrow. Grenfell mentions that in 1885 a sort of Peace Conference sat amongst the tur- bulent Bangala in the Equator district, in which it was agreed that bows and arrows should be eschewed by all parties henceforth in their warfare as being “ too dreadful.” The use of spears and lances to a certain extent involved seeing one’s opponent, and gave greater advantage to those possessed of superior physical force. Nowhere in the Congo basin has the bow developed to such an extent as in the regions of the Upper Nile or of the north-eastern parts of British Central Africa. Nowhere yet in 1 For shape of average Congo bow (akin to that of the Pygmies), vide illustration on page 144. * 427. HUNTING AND WAR ARROWS (USUALLY POISONED) FROM THE NORTH-EASTERN CONGO (MONGO COUNTRY) HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 769 the Congo basin has a tall bow with an inward bend in the middle of the stick been recorded [the Cupid’s bow shape]. Yet this type is common in the Northern Sudan and in British Central Africa. 1 Usually the Congolese bow is short and much curved, with a string- made of the outer rind of the raphia-palm midrib (in the case of the Pygmies and some of the Forest tribes) or else of the twisted string of raphia-palm fibre. The longest and least- curved bows seem to come from country between the Kasai-San- kuru, Lukenye, and Juapa rivers (v. p. 143), where they attain a length of from five to six feet. Similar bows are said to be used by the non- Bantu Bamanga of the north-eastern Congo bend, and Stuhlmann thought he saw in kindred Bakumu bows (on the upper Lindi River) a resem- blance to those of the Manbettu. The arrows of Congoland are usually flighted, not with feathers, but with strips of banana or other leaves or with cat’s skin. There is usually a wad or pad to protect the fingers from the rebound of the bow-string. This pad among the Manbettu and the Pygmies (vide illustration in my Uganda Protectorate ) may also be of wood and be a hollow receptacle for the storing of arrow poison. The bows in use in Western Congoland before they were ousted in favour of gun and spear were small and bound with the skin of the monitor lizard. The tribes of Congoland that use the spear or assagai carry shields. These, however, are practically never made of leather, 1 For typical shapes of the bow in South-Central Africa, vide illustrations in author’s British Central A frit a. II. — T 428. NGOMBE WAR SHIELD, NORTHERN CONGO 770 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO as in the Nile valley, in parts of East Africa, and amongst the Fan of Equatorial Africa. Most Congo shields have a frame of wood or withes, and are faced with wicker, or finely plaited leaves, bast, fibre, or basket-work. There is a wooden centre through which the hand or arm can be passed. But the shields of the Upper Juapa people (p. 144) are made entirely of wooden slabs. The shield of the north-eastern F orest people ( Barega, Kabwari) slightly recalls that of Uganda by having a large spiked boss in front, usually of iron. On the long, oval shield of the Nyam- nyam a design in white is frequently woven resembling a Maltese cross. A somewhat similar design in black occurs in the shields of the northern Ngombe ( vide page 76 9). The Manbettu shield is a rect- angular oblong ; a rectangular form with the corners slightly rounded appears again among the Ngombe of the southern Congo bank, in its northern bend ; and, with sharp corners, among the Bashi- lange, and some of the western Manyema group, and the Bajwe people (Baguha, west Tanganyika). The long Manyema shield is rect- angular at one end, pointed at the other. The Mundu shield is of wood, thick, rounded, and like an exaggerated bow in shape. It has a large boss of hairy skin in front and is bound with the same thick, 429. reverse side of ngombe fyi*j*y hide round either extremitv SHIELD, NORTHERN CONGO 1UI1 / U1UC . 1 ULUIU CUIICI CAllcmil y. It is an indication that the shield may have, in some directions, developed from the bow, held by its taut string to ward off a blow. [This is borne out by the configuration of the bow-like shields of the Australian abo- rigines, which bear a most remarkable resemblance to those of the Mundu people in the north-east corner of the Congo frontier.] The spear and assagai are unknown as weapons, not only among the Pygmies, but in the heart of the Mongo country and among the backward tribes of the Kasai- Kwilu- Kwango, such as o o 7 430- LOKELE WAR SHIELD, NORTH-EASTERN CONGO. BACK AND FRONT VIEW the Congo basin after the introduction of metal-working. The first spears were probably of copper, and were confined to the northern limits of the Congo basin. When the Hima or Bantu invasion introduced the working of iron, spears [together with 1 Some of these forms are now reproduced in metal, while in the island of Fernando Po may still be seen the original barbed wooden spear. HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 771 the Bayaka, Bambala, Bahuana, and perhaps Babuma. Though long-pointed and even barbed stakes were employed in warfare or in hunting long before the introduction of the metal spear, 1 this last, which was the exaggeration of the lance [while the lance or assagai was simply a big arrow], only became used in 772 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO iron hoes, 1 knives, daggers, choppers, and swords], spread over the Congo basin where the immigrants of superior culture had obtained a firm hold. But down to the present day certain districts of the Congo are entirely without spears, and con- sequently without shields, especially the region already mentioned between the Kwango and the Kasai in the very heart of the Congo basin. It is doubt- ful whether the Congo coast peo- ples knew much of the use of the spear when first discovered by the Portuguese. They may have had lances (assagais), knives and chop- pers, but their principal arm seems to have been the (small) bow and arrow. Such spears as were in the coun- try were associ- ated with a su- perior caste of hunters , a hunter aristocracy. In fact, an interesting note in regard to this is the almost- identity in Wes- tern Bantu Africa, from the Northern Cameroons down to the sources of the Zambezi, of the word for hunter and spear (- kongo , konga , kunga ) ; as though the hunting of big game on a great scale — and consequently the profusion of meat for hungry people — has been a sequence to the introduction of metal-working. The spear at the present day is the dominant weapon up and down the northern Congo from the Bateke of Stanley 431. SHIELDS FROM THE MONGO COUNTRY, NORTH- CENTRAL CONGO 1 In some of the western Bantu languages the same root word expresses hoe and spear. HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 773 Lokele of Stanley Balu- Falls. It is also used by the Pool to the Bakuba and ba, by the Ngombe and all the races (except the Pyg- mies) between the northern Congo and the Mubangi. Nowhere do the blades of the spears attain anything like the develop- ment reached amongst the Ni- lotic tribes in Eastern Equatorial Africa. Perhaps the longest spear- blades (about two feet long) are found amongst the Bangala and Ngombe. The most artistically finished spears are those of the Ba- kuba, Basonge, Barega, and Ba- konjo. The Ban- gala spears are mainly flat, with little or no rib. On the other hand, there is a marked rib in the spears. the small spear- blades amongst the Barega and northern Manyema are finely executed, with a crescent-shaped hollow in the middle of the blade on either side of the central rib. 1 Ngombe Some of 432. WAR SPEARS (BANGALA, BAYANZI, BASOKO) FROM THE NORTHERN CONGO (The barbed spear is used in hunting.) 1 This type is illustrated on page 462 of my work on British Central Africa. 43 3- “flounder-shaped” knives of the bayanzi (wanguli) of the LOWER KASAI (TORDAY COLLECTION) perhaps a pointed wooden pike. They do not, as a rule, in hunting, make use of the weighted spear or harpoon, which is so common a feature in the greater part of negro Africa — the spear-head, poisoned or unpoisoned, which is fastened to a heavy block of wood and arranged so as to fall by its own weight when a spring is released, and thus plunge into the back or flanks of a big beast. The Bayaka use a sword which has recently been borrowed from their northern neighbours, and some of the lower Kasai tribes have picked up from the Bayanzi the use of this weighted harpoon as a hunting trap. The Bayanzi , Bangala, Ngombe , and Balolo in the vicinity 774 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO To sum up these remarks as to distribution of weapons. The worst-armed peoples are those backward tribes between the lower Kwango and the lower Kasai, and also perhaps the Forest peoples between the upper Lukenye, Juapa, and middle Lomami, as also the various Pygmy groups all over the Congo basin. These tribes have little else than the bow and arrow, and the arrow, even, amongst the Kwango- Kasai tribes is seldom or never poisoned. Some of these people use, in addi- tion to a bow and arrow, a wooden chib or cleaver and HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 775 of the northern Congo and of the lower Aruwimi use huge, broad knives, straight swords with rounded ends, curved scimitars, hatchets, and extraordinary “ flounder - shaped ” choppers, long-handled axes, besides daggers ; nearly all of which are of northern origin, and can be traced in similar forms to the Fan tribes on the north- r _____ _ west, and right away into the Central Sudan. They also use throwing-knives . The Bakuba and allied tribes manufacture the most beautiful war axes for ornament or for warfare, and use a large sickle- shaped knife, but do not as a rule employ the characteristic round-ended, chopper- shaped sword-knives of the Bayanzi or Bangala. Where the spear prevails, the bow and arrow to a great extent have been given up. All these weapons, of course, are fast disappearing in favour of the gun. As regards defensive operations in war- fare , they have been limited chiefly to the building of stockades round villages or chiefs’ compounds. These have been described in the chapter dealing with houses. The approaches to such villages in times of war are set with sharp splinters of palm midrib or bamboo, or are ham- pered by cunningly devised pitfalls. The Bayanzi arrange their defensive pitfalls in this fashion : In the centre of the road is a pitfall half disguised. On either side of the road are other traps 1 completely disguised. The unwary by 434- scimitar - shaped avoiding the patent pitfall tumble into nyamnyam country, one or other of the well-concealed traps alongside. Except for the slave-raidin o- razzias WELE RIVER, AND A WAR KNIFE FROM THE BAMANGA COUNTRY, STANLEY FALLS in the north, south-centre, and east, war is never made on a large scale. It is chiefly provoked by migratory race movements. One tribe invades the domain of another and then fighting ensues. The conquerors es- pouse the women of the conquered community (unless the latter withdraws beyond reach into the uninhabited bush), sell or enslave the boys, kill and eat the adult male prisoners. 776 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO There are also petty wars between town and town, usually resulting from the abduction of women or the stealing of goats. Peace -making ceremonies are sometimes elaborate, and in North Congoland are often accompanied by the sacrifice of a dog (as in Eastern Equatorial Africa). Hunting meth- ods, like the wea- pons of war, are far more developed in the north, east, and south than they are in the centre or in the Kwango- Kasai region. [In the Lunda countries the early use of guns has almost o exterminated big game.] Among the Ababua, the chief and favourite occu- pation of the men is hunting - . Game is driven by dogs into enormous nets and there killed with spears and small arrows with iron or wooden heads. Fishing is practised by women, who dam a river and take the fish out with their hands. Fish traps also are laid, and sometimes a river is poisoned. In the region between the Aruwimi, the Wele, and the Rubi, most of the tribes of the interior hunt elephants, buffaloes, the Bongo tragelaph and Cephalophus antelopes, monkeys, wild pigs, civet-cats, and birds. The Mabenja, Babongoro, and Baganjoro also hunt the hippopotamus in the upper Rubi. 435. (i) BAYANZI CHOPPER-SWORD. (2) DAGGER WITH WOODEN SHEATH HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 777 Leopards swarm in the whole of this region, but are not hunted. “ When the natives are attacked by these animals they defend them- selves as they can, and sometimes kill them. There is a legend that some women have the power to charm leopards, to fascinate them and tame their savage instincts. These women, it is said, succeed in making the leopard meek, submissive, and obedient, and when it has been well tamed, the woman em- ploys it as an instru- ment of her ven- geance .” 1 These Ababua and Ndonga ne- groes hunt ele- phants, for which purpose they poison the points of their spears and endea- vour to surprise the animals while they are sleeping or feed- ing. They cun- ningly approach as near to the big beast as possible, avoiding getting^ to wind of it, with a patience of which savages alone are capable. When within two yards, with an absolute surety of aim, they spear the animal in the flank or by preference in the trunk. They then run off, certain that the poison will do its work. This method is used by the Mabenja, Bagboro, Baganjoro, and Babongforo. In the plains of the Wele the natives assemble in bands to hunt elephants ; they attempt to surround an individual elephant in a favourable spot and aim spears and assagais at it until it succumbs. This method of hunting being very dangerous, there are several men killed each time. 436. KNIVES FROM BANALYA, ARUWIMI RIVER, WITH IVORY HANDLES (INCISED PATTERNS) AND RIVETED WITH BRASS 1 Extract from a Belgian report quoted by Grenfell. 778 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Elephants are also captured in this district by means of snares. For this purpose the natives dig deep ditches narrower at the top than at the bottom. These are dug in places fre- quented by elephants and are cunningly covered with earth and branches of trees. Soon after an elephant falls in, the people kill it with their spears . 1 The Mabenja and the Ba- soko make use of a special kind of trap. They first choose two trees fairly close to one another, to right and left of a path frequented by elephants. They then tie a piece of wood across the trees tc which they hang a sharp iron spear, loaded with a heavy weight. This spear is kept in place by a kind of catch which is loosened when the elephant treads on a carefully prepared creeper, the jerk of which sets the apparatus in movement, so that the spear plunges into the elephant’s back. To capture antelopes, wild pigs, and other fairly big animals, the same kind of pitfall is used, only, of course, of smaller dimensions. In places where game is found the natives fasten in a vertical position nets of a 437. basoko dagger in sheath, lower more or -i ess w ide mesh. Their dogs, well trained for the purpose, raise the game and drive it towards the nets. The animals caught in the meshes are killed with spears. Birds and monkeys are killed with arrows. Dogs are employed in hunting the large monitor lizard. The hippo- potamus is hunted with harpoons. 1 “I have been told by natives of a case where an elephant was enabled to get out of a pit by other elephants throwing branches of trees, etc., into th£ pit so that their captured comrade could scramble out and escape ; also of a wounded elephant being surrounded by some of its companions, lifted by their trunks, and carried back into the forest in safety . 55 (Lawson Forfeitt.) / HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 779 A hunting-spear with a barbed blade which is detachable from the stem is usually employed for aiming at wild pigs, either the Red river-hog or the Forest pig. The Bapoto people, like those of the Rubi-Aruwimi-Wele, also dig large and small pitfalls for elephants and other ground game. Pitfalls and snares (springes, nooses) are almost uni- versal throughout Congoland, even among the Pygmies. The Mongwandi (Sango) and Banza negroes of the Mongala and western Mubangi kill many elephants by means of the 438. AN NGOMBE MAN OF THE NORTHERN CONGO WITH HIPPOPOTAMUS HARPOON AND FLOAT weighted harpoon. The hunter constructs a hiding-place for himself in some leafy tree overhanging the elephant’s road to the water. As the beast passes below the tree, the native lets fall a strong harpoon, weighted with a heavy log of wood. The animal, wounded in the back, becomes infuriated, and tries to rid itself of the fatal steel ; but the more it tries the deeper the steel buries itself in its flesh. When the beast is at the end of its strength, the native finishes it with spear-thrusts. Here is a description by the late Rev. Harry White of a visit to a village of elephant-hunting people on the lower Mubangi (Ngombe Bantu, bordering on the Banza). 780 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO “ On the Sunday afternoon we visited a village where the wonder was the piles of elephant skulls. At the other villages hippopotamus skulls turned upside down made a general seat under the shade of a palaver tree or outside the dwelling. These are common trophies. And at the village visited the night before we had seen a few elephant skulls and some fine antelope and buffalo heads. But going up to a tree where such trophies were piled now, we counted to our surprise no less than twenty-five elephant skulls, mostly big ones. A hundred yards away was another similar pile, indi- cating, I suppose, the Rialto of another village, though there was no marked boundary. The peo- ple who can show such a trophy must be hardy and daring hunters.” The Sango and the Mongwandi (Mongala- Mubangi) are fond of chimpanzi and monkey flesh, and also like monkey skins for their adornment. When they want to procure a chimpanzi, they set out in little groups and carry one or two nets ; some climb the trees, while others remaining on the ground utter piercing cries to frighten the quarry and drive it to take refuse in an isolated tree. If the ape is already surprised, feeding or playing, on a solitary tree, the huntsmen lose no time in setting their nets round the foot of the tree, while the more agile among them chase the ape about the branches till it falls to the ground, where it is soon captured. As for monkeys of medium size, or birds as large as a guinea-fowl, the Mongwandi is often dexterous enough to bring them down with an arrow. But no native can shoot a bird or monkey in rapid movement. 4 o 9 f the loIc N e1e P peo R Grenfell makes frequent mention of the ple with detach- crocodile traps made of logs on the Upper able spear-head Congo and the Lulongo River, but does not describe the mechanism. As regards Fishing , all tribes but the Pygmies are more or less intent on this method of procuring palatable food. Some tribes make temporary migrations at the right season (March, April, May, north of the Equator, according to Grenfell) in order to follow migrating fish or to poach in new fishing- waters. On the north-western Mubangi, riverain tribes like the Bwajiri and Dambasi leave their villages for two or three HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 781 months and go long journeys westward to fish in more favour- able spots. They live for the time a nomadic life, women and children joining in the work of the community. At the same time they engage in trade. In this way the Bwajiri travel distances of from sixty to a hundred miles from their homes. They go among the Grenfell Rapids and the Zongo country to fish and trade with the Buaka, towards whom they often act as veritable invaders. The abundance of fish in the western Mubangi is ever acting as a lure to population which is steadily setting downstream. As to methods of fishing* angling - with O o 7 o 440. FISHERMEN WITH THEIR SEINE ON THE NORTHERN CONGO (BOPOTO) a rod, line, and hook is seldom practised by grown-up people, but is (very properly) regarded as a pastime for little boys or girls. The adult negro has not the patience to waste his time so ineffectually, but prefers catching fish of large size on a grand scale. Mr. Torday has collected for me the following information (from Belgian sources) on methods of fishing in vogue among the Basoko and Lokele of the Aruwimi confluence and the north-eastern bend of the Congo, with which I have incorpor- ated some notes by Grenfell and Whitehead. [These methods may be said to prevail all along the Upper Congo from Stanley Pool to Stanley Falls ; also on the lower Mubangi, Ruki, and Kwa ; and on Lake Leopold II.] 782 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO (1) Basoko, Liemba. Carried on with an oblong basket in a shallow piece of water where all kinds of refuse are thrown. The native enters the water, stirring it up in walking and pushing before him his basket, which he takes up every minute. Only quite small fish is caught in this manner. (2) Basoko, Inango ; Bayanzi, Libasa, lilobo. Fishing with a rod, line, and hook. It is unnecessary to describe this, as it is well known to every one. (3) Basoko, Itangi ; Bayanzi, Boluba. A small round net, kept open by a creeper, and containing a special kind of bait. 441. LETTING DOWN FISHING-NET AT BOPOTO The voracious fish are caught by their gills in the wide meshes of the net, which is kept on the surface of the water. This way of fishing is chiefly used by women. One person can attend to ten of these nets. (4) Basoko, Yophe ; Bayanzi, Ntseli. Small hoop net placed at the mouth of rivers. (5) Basoko, Ikzvazenge. Small hoop net furnished with a cover which closes quickly when a fish touches the bait. The latter usually consists of a piece of manioc paste. Only one kind of fish, known by the native name of Gonda, is caught in this manner. (6) Basoko, Ikutu; Bayanzi, Ntondo. Lines furnished with HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 783 a small cylinder float made of wood. Generally a frog is tied to the hook, as certain big fish are very greedy of this bait. (7) Basoko, Diote. Lines furnished with a big wooden float and baited with worms. (8) Basoko, Bolo. Ordinary line with a flexible wooden stick. It is generally women who fish with lines, which they fre- quently bait with insects. (9) Basoko, Kotiro ; Bayanzi, Bosilo. Round net kept open by means of a liana or bush-rope used in the same way as a liemba . (ro) Basoko, Moso. Big round net, kept open by a liana. Worked by three natives in a canoe. Two of them stir up the fish from the bottom of the river with long poles, and the 442. SYNODONTIS DECORUS, A BLACK-SPOTTED FISH FROM STANLEY POOL AND THE UPPER CONGO, ABOUT NINE INCHES LONG : EATEN BY THE NATIVES third attends to the net, which he draws up about every five minutes. (11) Basoko, Bulamba . A kind of sweep net held by a bush-rope, one end of which is passed round the fishermans neck. The fisherman throws out the bulamba from a canoe, while a comrade steers the craft at the back. (12) Basoko, Makayulu. An immense net or seine spread from one bank to the other; two canoes are placed at either end, each manned by three men. The makayulu is not taken up until it has been dragged for some time by the accompanying canoes. (13) Basoko, Ikoso. Same net as the above, but smaller. One man remains on the bank, while another puts off in a canoe and spreads the net. After waiting a few minutes the two fishermen draw up the net simultaneously. 784 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO (14) and (15) Basoko, Muva and Soro ; Bayanzi, Solo. Harpoons to spear big fish that swim on the surface of the water. For this manner of fishing, as for the preceding one, the natives are in canoes. (16) Basoko, Eturu ; Bayanzi, Lokala. A long hurdle placed along inundated banks when the waters are receding. The purpose of this is to prevent the fish from getting back to the river bed. (17) Basoko, Lokalo ; Bayanzi, Likoto. Rectangular hurdle about nine or sixteen square metres. One of the sides rests against the canoe whilst the other is slowly lowered into the water by means of a creeper until it is in a horizontal position. 443. MASTACEMBELUS CONGICUS, AN EEL-LIKE FISH OF THE UPPER CONGO, GOOD TO EAT, BUT REGARDED BY THE NATIVES AS A KIND OF WATER-SNAKE It is drawn up every few minutes. With this apparatus only quite small fish is caught on the banks of the river. (18) Basoko, Kesumba ; Bayanzi, Elubwa. An immense cone-shaped net placed at the mouth of rivers, or between two beturu (see 16) when the waters recede. There are no less than fifteen kinds of fish traps (other than those mentioned) in use among the Bayanzi and Bangala. Automatic fish traps with a falling door (released when the fish nibbles at a bait) are employed by the Bahuana on the Kwilu River. 1 4 The Bakongo fish with a line to which is tied a short, straight piece of wood. This is tied in such a way that when 1 Vide Torday and Joyce, “ Ethnography of the Bahuana.,” Journal of R. Anthro- pological Institute, 1907. HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 785 the fish swallows it end on, the wood at once twists round cross- wise and cannot be ejected. The Bakongo and other tribes along the cataract Congo employ many kinds of fish baskets, traps, and weirs, and use hand nets. The basket-work traps (shaped sometimes like the advertisement 'kiosques of Paris) used by the Ngombe (Baati) people along the western Mubangi are so heavy that it takes two canoes lashed together to trans- port them. These great basket traps are generally fixed at the downward edge of rapids, making, in fact, a sort of fish weir. The natives themselves enter the water at some distance above the weir and drive the fish with shouts and drum-beating to- wards the row of baskets. 444. LABEO FALCIFER, A STRANGE- LOOKING CARP-LIKE FISH FROM THE LOWER AND UPPER CONGO, WITH A “DRUNKARD’S NOSE’ 5 ; REALLY A NUPTIAL ORNAMENT IN THE BREEDING SEASON This type is frequently caught in the baskets of the weirs. Torches are also used at night to attract the fish to the surface of the water so that they can be speared. This practice exists all along the Upper Congo between Stanley Pool and the Cameron Falls, beyond Nyangwe. Grenfell seems to have discovered parts of the central basin of the Congo (the lower Lomami, for example) in 1885, where the Mongo, Topoke, or Pygmy-like natives were living in an earlier stage of culture than that which produced the canoe. “The natives,” he writes, “of the Boloko (lower Lomami) River do not employ canoes, but rafts or catamarans.” Torday also brings to light the interesting fact that the Bakwese — one of the very backward tribes of the Kwango-Kwilu-Kasai region — have no canoes, but use rafts instead. 11. — u 445 - ADZING and finishing a canoe at ilingi (ngombe country, ON THE BANK OF NORTHERN CONGO) Elsewhere in Congoland, except along the upper Mubangi River, the canoes, however long and shapely they may be, are nothing but hollowed tree stems, with no carpentering or joinery about them. The prow may sometimes be shaped into a long beak, or even carved into a resemblance to a crocodile or some other creature. Probably the biggest canoes have been those made by the more advanced Ngombe people along the northern bend of the Congo. But some very fine canoes were formerly possessed by the Kongo people of the Lower Congo, some of them capable of seating sixty men. 1 For appearance, see illustration in my book on the Uganda Protectorate. 786 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO These rafts on the lower Lomami and in South-West Congo- land are made apparently of bundles of reeds or papyri, and resemble in appearance similar rafts employed by the natives of the Upper Nile. 1 But Grenfell also notes the peculiar shape of such canoes as are in use on the Lomami and perhaps also on the upper Juapa. These are square-ended, like the canoes of the natives of Fernando Po — a very interesting point of resemblance, for there are features in the Bantu dialects of this same region which recall peculiarities of the Bube language of Fernando Po. HUNTING, WARFARE, NAVIGATION 787 On the Mubangi River, above the Grenfell Falls, and thence eastwards to the confluence of the Mbomu, the canoes are practically boats, and are obviously due to northern Sudanese influence. In fact, they recall somewhat similar boats in use on the upper Niger. Between Mokwangai and Banzyville the boats are in the shape of a long box ; their sides but little raised, their bottoms absolutely flat, and their general outline rectangular. The ends are cut in long flat forms. The planking of these crafts, being but slightly raised above the water, does not allow for their being too heavily laden ; on the 446. MISSION CANOE, BOPOTO other hand, their shape causes them to draw very little water. They are also admirably suited for the navigation of the upper parts of the Mubangi, where they are required to glide along a river whose depth at some seasons is measured by inches. Above -Banzyville, both on the Mubangi- Wele and the Mbomu, the boats have very thick sides and assume a rounded form similar to that of an ordinary ships boat. They also terminate at the stern in platforms, but these are not so long, having regard to the various proportions, as those of the flat- bottomed boats of the north-western Mubangi. This arrange- ment is perfectly adapted for rivers whose course abounds in rapids and rocks. All the boats, flat or round, are divided into a certain 788 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO number of sections, generally three or four, by partitions four to six inches high from the bottom. These are inserted when the body of the boat is first hollowed from a tree trunk. The bow of the boat, as far as the first partition, is reserved for steering, which among the “Watet” (water folk) of the Mubangi and Wele is commonly managed with a kind of sweep or long pole-like oar. The steersmen or punters, provided with poles of nine to sixteen or seventeen feet, press on the bottom of the river and push the boat by walking along the platform within the section reserved for them. Small craft are steered in this way by a single negro, but the larger boats require at least two punters, though there is never need for more than three, in normal con- ditions. Besides men provided with poles, each boat has a crew furnished with little paddles of about thirty inches long. These paddlers are placed in the back, and direct and assist the navigators in front. Such mode of navigation is only practicable in depths not exceeding nine or ten feet. In deep waters boats are towed up- stream, keeping very close to the bank. The descent is accom- plished with the paddle in mid-river. As regards paddles, those of the Lomami region appear to be square-ended, or to be broad at the ends and shaped into one or more short points. Sometimes they are tipped with ivory. The paddles along the main course of the Congo are generally spear-shaped. The surface sometimes is very beauti- fully carved, especially amongst the Ngombe and Aruwimi peoples. CHAPTER XXVIII TRADE AND CURRENCY P ERHAPS trade began in the Congo basin, as in the development of human intercourse elsewhere, by the methods adopted at the present day on the part of the wilder Pygmies. These little people, unless they are in intimate relations with kindly big neighbours (as they are in Bakubaland, or among the Manbettu or Mbuba), creep into the banana plantations at night, or into the maize fields, take away as much as they can carry, in loads of plantains or of corn cobs, and leave behind a present of game — meat from the bush (often very high) — which they know will be appreciated by the owner of the plantation or cornfield. The latter winks at the procedure and tacitly accepts the exchange. Perhaps in time he gains the confidence of the little people (who if offended can be nasty enemies), and a more direct system of barter may spring up. The Sudanese or Bantu negroes of the Congo basin had advanced far beyond these timid, suspicious tentatives of the exchange of commodities, before the white man, the Hamite, or the northern Moslems influenced their domain. The Bantu peoples of the south had reached the great navigable reach of the northern Congo below Stanley Falls, had descended the Lomami, Lulongo, Juapa, Sankuru, Kasai, perhaps from one to two thousand years ago, and sought to get into touch with the Sudanese races, who had equally found their way from the north to the navigable waters of the Mubangi, Mongala, Rubi, and Lindi. The navigable rivers became neutral ground, a route whereon it was easier to pass without undue risk of molestation than was the case with the path through the forest, marsh, or scrub. The Bantu of the south wanted iron, manufactured into weapons and implements ; or copper, salt, brass, beads, possibly new domestic animals or vegetable food-stuffs, or even musical instruments. In exchange they would bring slaves for those who liked human meat ; smoked fish for those who dwelt far 789 790 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO away from rivers ; pottery, if their own indigenous clays were of superior quality ; kauri shells which they had received from the east, and jimbu shells which had penetrated Congoland from Angola. Later on (before the European invasion), ivory was added to the articles bought and sold on the Upper Congo; and from the seventeenth century onwards the Bantu transmitted to the Congolian-Sudanese beads from Europe or Katanga 1 [in exchange for the north Congo metal beads of iron or copper], brass rods, tobacco, manioc, maize, and European cloth or calico. Gradually, as trade increased between community and com- munity, certain always realizable articles became regarded as a sort of currency, because they had a scarcely varying standard value. For instance, a slave was always equal to so many pounds of meat. If he fell sick and could not work for you, you could eat him. An iron or copper axe or spear-head could, if it was not required as money, be forged into a useful imple- ment or into an ornament ; jimbu or kauri shells, blue beads, shell beads, could be worn; rat traps within a reasonable period of time were always available for catching rats; and the squares of grass cloth could be sewn together into garments or mats. In this last item the Congo peoples came nearest to an artificial currency, practically of no value at all, but simply a token ; for some of the smallest and oldest of the grass mats called dikuta in the western Congo became in time a useless bundle of tangled hay. The oldest currencies in all prob- ability were the shell beads — small circles of fresh-water oyster or Bulimus or Achatina snail shell — and possibly the blue beads 1 The Katanga people at an early date, say some six hundred years ago, as soon as they were influenced by Hima metal-working civilization, made blue beads out of the vitreous substances in the slag of their copper-smelting furnaces. 447. BATEKE POTTERY, STANLEY POOL, A GOOD DEAL USED IN COMMERCE QjWITH THE NORTHERN CONGO TRADE AND CURRENCY 79 1 of Katanga and the teeth of leopards, wild pigs, and human beings, which could be worn as necklaces. Then with the increase of cannibalism came the exchange of slaves, and later, slaves grew to be of value for their labour. A thousand years ago or more, some faint im- pulse reaching these lands from Egypt [or possibly from the Byzantine commerce with Eastern Africa] caused ele- phant tusks to become a standard of value. The introduction of the working of iron and copper by the Hima civilization [and at the same time the weaving of grass and of palm filaments] brought about the establish- ment of woven fabrics, of copper ingots , 1 of immense spear-heads of soft iron five feet long, called north-east ngbele ), and of small hoe-blades (now known as shundu or shoka , from the Basoko or Swahili words for axe), as currencies of a standard value in the east and south of Congoland. The trade with the East Coast of Africa conducted by pre- Islamic Arabs and incited by Byzantine traders intro- duced the kauri shell from India, and kauris became not only a favourite item in 44Q. BATEKE POTTERY, STANLEY POOL J , • (This and the preceding article were at one time much OmamentS, but an article exported from the Bateke country to the Mubangi Standard Value OVCT nearly all the Congo basin except perhaps the innermost recesses of the Pygmies’ forest. Soon afterwards arrived the black rat from the valley of the Nile, some time after this rodent had reached Europe from Eastern Asia ; and rat traps became so necessary that after an (about in the 448. BATEKE POTTERY FROM NEAR STANLEY POOL 1 Those derived from the basin of the upper Lualaba are made in the shape of a St. Andrew’s cross. Until quite recently they circulated freely as a coin. 792 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO unknown genius had invented the construction of them out of palm rind, cane, or some other elastic fibre they were easily disposed of in all directions. The Islamic invasion of North-Central Africa was accom- panied by the introduction of brass to a limited extent in the far north of the Congo basin. It also increased the spread of glass beads from Egypt and the Mediter- ranean. But the chief introduction of brass (during the last century such an important staple in the com- merce of Congo- land) was due to the Portuguese settlement on the west Congo coast, from 1484 on- wards. Brass in the form of rods, wire, or large- headed nails be- came one of the chief articles of currency over the western two-thirds of the Congo basin. At the same time 450. GRASS-CLOTH SQUARES USED AS A CURRENCY ON ip THE NORTH BANK OF THE LOWER CONGO tile r OTtUgUeSe aS- sisted to spread the use as an ornament of the pretty little shell — Olivella nana — : which is found on one or more of the islands off the coast of Angola. This is known almost universally (in the plural) as jimbu , and has become a kind of currency not only in Central Angola, but throughout much of South-West Congoland. 1 1 Olivella nana , a pretty little greyish-white spiral shell, appears to be native to certain islands off the coast of Angola and South-West Africa. It was specially noted by Andrew Battell, who visited these regions in the sixteenth century. Filippo Pigafetta, the Italiin who compiled a description of the kingdom of Kongo from the discourses of Duarte Lopes, a Portuguese (1588), alludes to these jimbu shells as TRADE AND CURRENCY 793 Salt very early became an article of well-defined value, a currency, in Congoland, as it did throughout the rest of negro and negroid Africa. Amongst no division of the human genus has salt been more eagerly craved for than with the negro and negroid, and the desire for this condiment has played a very great part in provoking race movements in Africa. Any one who has studied the history of Guinea, written and unwritten, is aware of the part played by the salt mines of the Western Sahara and Nigerian Sudan as a bait for adventurous tribes, conquering chiefs and sultans. Those who could not obtain 451. NORTHERN BAMBALA PURSES FOR CARRYING JIMBU SHELLS, MADE OF FIBRE IN IMITATION OF POTTERY (S.W. CONGOLAND) ready access to the mineral salt found in the western Niger basin, had but one idea — to reach the sea-coast and make salt out of sea-water. The Congo negroes had as a rule only one means of making salt, and that was to obtain it from the lye and potash of certain water plants [such as Pistia stratiotes ], grasses, and rushes. So far as I am aware, no mineral salt has as yet been discovered anywhere in the actual basin of the Congo, but mineral salt was brought by commerce into Northern Congoland a long lumache (snails), and says they were gathered by women from the gravel on the shores of a small island in Loanda Bay. It is now disused as a currency in Western Angola, but is still in vogue on the Kwango, and thence eastwards to the Kasai. Here it meets the kauri, come from the east, and the kauri shell is the currency in Bakuba- land. 794 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE GONGO Congo It was while ago, though it did not succeed in penetrating far south- wards into the forest region of the Congo. Extraordinary to relate, though considerable deposits of mineral salt exist in the volcanic lakes and lake-basins of the Albertine Rift valley, not many miles distant across the Semliki from the actual basin of the Congo, the salt derived from these deposits does not seem, till within the last ten years, to have found its way into the Congo basin, per- haps because of the formidable barrier of the Forest. conveyed south- wards and east- wards into the Tanganyika and Nyamwezi dis- tricts. The principal re- gion for salt-mak- ing within the Congo basin lay to the south-west of Lake Tanganyika, about the Mweru swamp, Lake Mweru, the upper Luapula, and the Zambezi water- parting. Here there is a tendency in certain lakes to be brackish, while the water vegeta- tion secretes a large proportion of salt which can be extracted by burning, soaking, and filtering. It was the rumoured abundance of salt in the Mweru region 452. EXAMPLES OF NATIVE CURRENCY ON UPPER CONGO: (i) A BRASS ROD EQUAL TO ABOUT 160 SMALL BRASS RODS (THIS AT ONE TIME WAS THE PRICE OF A WIFE). (2) ORDINARY BRASS RODS VALUED AT FROM FIVE TO TWENTY TO THE FRANC, ACCORDING TO THE LOCALITY. (3) SPECIMENS OF “SHOKA” OR SPEAR-HEAD MONEY MADE OF IRON that induced one of the earlier Lunda emperors (a Mwata Yanvo of perhaps two hundred years ago) to despatch an ex- pedition for the conquest of that district, a conquest which has resulted in the viceroyalty of the Kazembe, continued down to this day. When the white man first came to the Congo as ruler in TRADE AND CURRENCY 795 1879-85, the native money or currency in the region of the Lower Congo (Matadi to the sea) was principally reckoned in “guns,” i.e. the trade price of a gun. Other units of value were possibly demijohns of rum, pieces of cloth, or slaves. In the Cataract region, the kingdom of Kongo and the country between the Congo and the Kwango, the currency was in small pieces of grass-cloth (or cloth woven of banana or raphia fibre), coral beads, blue cut-glass beads, and rat traps. Also in this region and on Stanley Pool, and along the main 453. PROCEEDS OF A COLLECTION AT A BAPTIST MISSION CHURCH ON THE UPPER CONGO (Taken especially to illustrate the brass rods which form the native currency.) Besides brass rods, the offerings consist of an umbrella, palm wine, cloths, soap, and a few coins.) course of the Congo as far east as Stanley Falls, and up the main courses of the great tributaries of the Congo, the unit of value was the ntaku or brass rod (plural : mitaku ), a thing in shape very like a small croquet hoop or an enormous hairpin. [It usually arrives from Europe in coils of about sixty pounds in weight, in thickness like a brass stair-rod. It is then cut into lengths of ten inches and bent for convenience of trans- port.] Grenfell notes in his journal (April 4 1889) that, according to native tradition, about forty years before 1889, there were no brass rods in circulation at Stanley Pool, “ Manyanga metal 796 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO only” [ingots of copper obtained from the Cataract region]. In those happy days ten cakes of kwanga (manioc paste) could be bought for one brass rod. Gradually the equivalent dropped to five kwanga for one brass rod, and still the price of the precious food rose, till in 1889 a cake of manioc paste cost fifteen brass rods. 1 The Bayanzi use brass rods, salt, and olivella shells as currencies. On the Sanga River and the lower Mubangi the currency is in tobacco leaves. On the upper Mubangi it is in 454. WOMAN BRINGING PALM NUTS FOR TRADE, BOPOTO kauri shells ( Cyprcea moneta) as far as the sources of the Wele. Kauri shells are also a common medium of exchange, a small money along the upper Kasai and on the Sankuru River. East of the Sankuru up to Tanganyika the copper ingot of Katanga (in the shape of a St. Andrews cross) is still in voofue. In the Lunda countries white and red beads and cut- glass beads are the favourite coin. White and red beads (together with brass rods) are (or were) the established currency of Bopoto, on the northern bend of the Congo In the Lokele country at Yakusu and south- 1 At Bopoto in 1890 the price of a slave was only two hundred brass rods. The price of ivory was always reckoned in men (slaves). (Grenfell.) TRADE AND CURRENCY 797 wards from Stanley Falls to Manyemaland there is a “metal money,” represented either by the “shoka,” a narrow, blunt hoe-blade of iron which is worth about sixpence, or the hand- some five-feet-long ngbele , equivalent to about five shillings. 1 In all this region of the north-eastern Congo these pieces of iron circulated as cash, are, in fact, the beginning of a coin currency, have an intrinsic value, since they are pieces of metal which can be hammered into useful implements or weapons. According to Grenfell (writing in 1903), these hoe- or axe-blades ( shoka is the foreign Swahili name) are made in the Kasongo country to the south, of native-smelted iron in the shape of a broad spear-head. “All the smiths in the Stanley Falls district depend upon these in making axes, knives, spears, arrow-heads, etc., and households depend on them as a market currency. All our Yakusu food for work-people and children is paid for with shokas — three bundles of plantain = one shoka — and without these we are in difficulties at once. When I was at Yakusu early in the year the stock was running low, but we thought the interruption of the supply was only temporary, and that the Arabs and others would soon be coming along as before to exchange their shokas for cotton goods, enamel ware, and such-like things which we import for exchange purposes. As it turns out, however, the new railway to the south is absorbing all the supply, and the Government and traders are being compelled to import from Europe. So far, the most popular substitute for the native-made article is one cut from a rolled plate of iron and not worked at all. Some have been sent that are slightly thicker in the middle in imitation of the native pattern sub- mitted, but it has not caught on at all, some say because of the rib in the middle. I think the fault is not with the pattern, but with the quality of the iron, the natives requiring an article that will not run to slag into their charcoal pits as it is being worked up.” The shoka and ngbele of the north-east Congo are suc- ceeded in the south and east by the copper ingot of Katanga, which extends its range from western Tanganyika to the upper Kasai. But this, like nearly all the indigenous staples of value, is giving way to cash as a currency except in the wilder regions, to the coins of silver and copper introduced by the Belgians, Portuguese, and British. 1 I write under correction, but I believe the long ngbele spear-blades come rather from the north or from the west or south-west districts. CHAPTER XXIX ARTS AND INDUSTRIES I T will be evident from the preceding chap- ters that there have been two currents of foreign influence [independent of the recent advance of European and Arab ideas] which have permeated Congoland and raised most of its inhabitants above the culture level of the Pygmy : that the older (?) of these may be called the Hima or Bantu influence, which has pene- trated Congoland from the east and south-east, has traversed the basin of the Kasai, reached thence to that of the upper Zambezi, and has passed northwards through Angola and Kongo along the Atlantic coast towards the Gaboon and Southern Cameroons. The other influence may be described as Sudanian. It has attacked Congoland from the north, from the basin of the Bahr-al-Ghazal affluents of the Nile, and from that of the Shari and of the Benue. Sudanese influence has spread southwards till it has reached the northern Upper Congo between Stanley Pool and Stanley Falls, and has pene- trated westwards into the land of the Bateke and the territory of the Fan tribes and of the semi- Bantu populations east of the Cameroons. Sudanian influence coming from the north met Bantu influence coming from the south, and the two civilizations intermingled in the north- central basin of the Congo. Both of course were de- 45 from the A ea E s N o T ko ms* rived from a common origin -the valley of the Nile; TRICT, LOWER ARUWIMI 798 456. NATIVE IRON “ BLOOM ” FROM BANALYA, MIDDLE ARUWIMI RIVER (GRENFELL COL- LECTION) ARTS AND INDUSTRIES 799 and in their descent on negro Africa were deflected to west and east by the Upper Nile marshes, the Mountains of the Moon, the great Nile lakes, and the dense forests of the north- eastern Congo watershed. But both ultimately derived their inspiration from Egypt, 1 457. A BAKWESE MAT ...FROM THE UPPER KWILU (S.W. CONGOLAND) 1 M. Auguste Chevalier, in his recently' published work V Afrique Centrale Fran^aise (dealing with Congo-Shari-Chad explorations), advances the theory that the Sudanian culture originated in the Niger basin, between Lake Chad and Sene- gambia, and thence travelled south-east to the Cameroons hinterland and the Mubangi-Congo. Besides other evidence of the distinctness of Nigerian civilization from Egyptian he instances the great clay buildings of Nigeria between the Niger sources and the western limits of the Chad region. He points out that there is no connecting link of this style of architecture in Bornu, Wadai Darfur, or Kordofan. This may be the case ; but it is obvious to me that the clay architecture of Nigeria only dates from about the tenth and eleventh centuries, and is due to Libyan-Arab influence from North Africa. Nearly everything else in the domestic animals, cultivated plants, arts and industries, games, weapons, and musical instruments of Nigeria can be traced back to Egypt. (H. H. J.) 8oo GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO though the Sudanian civilization had an important secondary nidus in the Niger basin and owes some of its elements to Libyan (Berber and Tawareq) culture. This, in its turn, no doubt was borrowed from Egypt, so that Egypt stands out emphatically as the white spot on the Dark Continent, the centre from and through which all pre-European civilization has been imported to the negro. Metal-working seems to have reached Congoland (perhaps between two thousand and one thousand years ago) from the north and north- east. Northern Congoland is rich in copper deposits, and these also oc- cur in even greater wealth in the mountain region round about the upper Lualaba and Lufira (Katanga). The smelting and working of copper was perhaps first introduced into the Mubangi - W ele basin by negroids from the Upper Nile and the Bahr- i al-Ghazal, who in 458 . flour-sifter ( 1 ) and basket ( 2 ) from san turn had learnt this and grass art from Egypt. Then, at a later date, came the Hima-Bantu invasions, which will be further al- luded to in the chapter on languages, but which, so far as the Congo basin is concerned, were first of all directed nearly due west from the region of Lake Albert till this impulse had actually crossed Africa to the Bight of Biafra. Then came another in- vasion along the west and east coasts of Tanganyika. By this time iron-working had been introduced from Egypt via the Nile and the Sudan, having been preceded by the use of copper ; and Hima invaders like the Bakuba, Basonge, Baluba rapidly found their way south to the Katanga region, and thence obtained the copper which so soon circulated over Eastern and Northern Congoland as a currency in ingots. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES 801 In the Ababua country, between the Wele and the Rubi rivers, iron ore is found at a depth of two or three yards below the surface of the soil. It is smelted with charcoal, several pairs of bellows being used ; and the metal thus obtained is beaten on a stone anvil with a cylindrical or quadrangular piece of iron. After it has been freed from its impurities it is hammered by the smiths into the required kind of tool or weapon. The bellows are formed of cylinders made of clay or wood, one end of which is covered with a loose skin, moved 459. DRINKING-CUP MADE OF CLOSELY PLAITED STRING, BABUNDA PEOPLE, KWILU RIVER, SOUTH-CENTRAL CONGOLAND (TORDAY COLLECTION) by long wooden handles attached to the middle of it. This is in fact the type of furnace and forge common to all negro Africa. The Babongoro and Baganjoro tribes of southern Ababua in the country north-west of the Aruwimi extract much iron from the ground, smelt it, and export it to other districts as pig iron. In the region of the Aruwimi-Congo confluence the best smiths are the Lokele. The people of the middle Aruwimi are also adroit in their handling of metals. Almost in every place along this river there are forges for the manufacture of iron, copper, and brass ware. These metals are made into spears, knives, necklaces, belts, tools, bracelets, dancing bells, hairpins, various ornaments, etc. 11. — x 802 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Most of this trade in metal is carried on by men ; women are employed in making pottery or in preparing cordage for nets. In certain Basoko villages, iron and copper wares being considered very profitable, are, to a certain extent, a monopoly of the chiefs. The Manbettu smiths are very expert in spite of the primi- tive condition of the tools they have at their disposal. A forge con- sists “of a pair of bel- lows which is made of two vessels of clay or wood whose apertures are closed by a piece of loose skin or slightly stretched banana leaves, the apex of which is pierced by and fastened to a vertical stick which allows this covering to be lowered or raised alternately in such a way as to create a draught of wind aloncr the wooden or clay pipe (or pierced stone) which starts from the bottom of the bellows and opens on to the furnace.” (Grenfell.) Their anvil is a plain mass of iron in the shape of a huge, thick nail, fixed in the 460. luba cloth of raised pile, made from ground ; the hammers RAPHIA - PALM BAST, KWILU RIVER, S.W. o olfnrrptbpr nrimitivp CONGOLAND ell c cuiugcuici pi mu Live and composed of a piece of gneiss ; while a very fine flake of sandstone may serve as a file. 1 These smiths, with tools thus elementary, succeed by patience and ingenuity in manufacturing perfect wire, rings, bracelets, small chains of very fine mesh, etc., of really remarkable work. Copper and brass are worked in the same fashion. 1 Whetstones on which knives, swords, axes, and smith’s implements are sharpened are obtained from the banks of the Aruwimi, Wele, Rubi, and Lomami rivers. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES 803 Copper is much esteemed by the natives of Bopoto. They hold to a certain extent the monopoly of the manufacture of copper necklets, bracelets, chains, etc. Their work on the metal is very skilful, and the results they obtain are astonish- ing, considering the primitive tools at their disposal. Their forges are the same as those of the Bangala, and almost identical with the Manbettu forge above described. “ The Aba- bua of the Wele make excellent ‘eyed’ iron needles like those of a sail- maker.” (Tor- day.) The Kongo people, to the south of the Lower Congo, were workers of iron when first discovered by the Portuguese at the end of the fifteenth century, but to no very great extent. Ap- parently they had developed but little art or industry in that connection as compared with the metal-workers of the south-centre (Bakuba, Baluba, etc.). It is possible that the Bakongo and the cognate tribes may have received their limited knowledge of metal- working from the north, through the Bateke, the Bateke having been impregnated with a Sudanian culture, rather than with that emanating from the Hima of the south-centre . 1 O 461. SPECIMEN OF BAKUBA CLOTH (SANKURU RIVER), WITH RAISED PILE 1 We know that soon after the Portuguese discovery of the Kongo kingdom, the Makoko or principal chief of the Bateke was a powerful personage in the region to 804 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO But the civilization of the Kongo kingdom in nearly all its aspects, including its language, was mainly due to the Hima influence travelling westwards across the upper Kasai to the upper Kwango, and thence down that river and across to the Con^o in its cataract region. From thisdirection came the hunter- o o aristocracy with the iron spears and an elementary knowledge of metal - working which founded the Kongo kingdom o # and civilization, an influence that ex- tended to the sea- coast and north- wards to Luango. Here it met two branches of industry and culture : one, that of the West Coast of Africa, travelling south- wards from Benin and the lower Niger ; and the other that Sudanian influence which had trickled through the semi- Bantu populations at the back of the Cameroons to the Ogowe River. The Hima influ- ence brought with it the use of iron implements to the Kongo people and those of Angola ; but I am inclined 462. BAPINDI PILE CLOTH, S.W CONGOLAND (TORDAY COLLECTION) the north of Stanley Pool, and that a considerable development of Bateke culture had taken place in that region, extending southwards to the large island on Stanley Pool. It is probable, however, that the mass of the Bantu-speaking Bateke came from the south-east, from that congeries of tribes between the Kwango, Kwilu, and Kasai whose worn-down dialects at the present day offer a slight resemblance to the Teke language, though this last belongs in the main to what I have styled the First In- vasion. The original “ Bateke ” were probably Pygmies who— as has occurred fre- quently in other parts of the Congo basin — passed on their name to their big Bantu conquerors. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES to think that it had been preceded, as regards the estab- lishment of an age of copper , by the civilization of the Sudan passing south-westwards through the regions of the upper Ogowe. Copper was early in use in the region im- mediately north of cataract Congo (Manyanga). Here it was cast into ingots about four inches long and three-quarters of an inch thick. In this form it was one of the orioinal arti- o cles of trade between the Bakongo and Babwende, on the one hand, and the Bateke and Bayanzi on the other. In the mo- dern Konoro o language, a blacksmith or worker in metal is styled n g an g u l a , which seems to be an ex- tension of the word ngangu , meaning, ac- cording to Holman Bent- ley, “sharp- ness, cunn- r. . 463. FINELY WOVEN CLOTH FROM 1 HE NORTHERN LUBA mg, crait, art, country (kasai-lulua) subtlety, arti- fice, sagacity, etc.” And this word again is probably only a variant of the widespread Bantu root nganga = doctor, sorcerer, medicine-man. It is interesting, however, to note that the Bateke word for “to forge” is tsula , closely akin to the -tula of South-Central Congoland (Baluba), while the Kongo word also for the same thing is -ftda. The knowledge of metal-working amongst the Bayaka 806 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO seems to have come from the north (from the Bateke, perhaps). The same report is given by all the tribes from Damaraland on the south-west to the Bahuana and Bambala on the north-east, except in the case of the Lunda and Kioko, who trace their smiths work to the east [Lubaland]. The Bayanzi brought the use of metals and spears to the tribes along the lower Kasai, probably from contact with the Bakuba and Basongo. Nowhere in the Congo basin except in the extreme south-east and south does there seem to have been any spinning and weaving of cotton. On the Nyasa - Tanganyika plateau the loom and the use of cotton have long been in existence — perhaps for five hundred years ; but both owe their introduction to Arab in- fluence from the Zanzibar coast. In the extreme north of the Congo basin the Nyamnyam may have introduced the art of weaving, and may possibly have used cotton as the staple ; but so far as researches go, looms and weaving were a Bantu introduction brought by the Hima invaders from the north-east and east ; and they, like the Bakuba, Baluba, and kindred tribes of the present day, right away to the Kongo countries and Angola, only used banana fibre, palm bast, or grass for their staple. An earlier art, as already indicated, was the felting of the bast from fig trees and the using of this for covering purposes. The use of fig-bast felted cloth has been almost universal at one time or another over the whole of tropical Negroland, from Mozambique on the south- east to the lands of Guinea on the north-west. The plaiting of split cane or bamboo, of the rind of palm 464. A WOODEN STATUETTE FROM KABINDA, NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE CONGO ARTS AND INDUSTRIES 807 midribs, of dry reeds, grass, fibre, or string — basket and mat making, in fact — is of course a much earlier art than weaving with the mechanical loom, of which it is the parent. Mat and basket making no doubt dates back to a very remote period in the Congo basin, and exists amongst the few industries indigenous to Fernando Po. It is almost uni- versal over the Congo basin, though carried on with much more art in the south-centre and east than elsewhere. The plaiting of these materials is also a means of making fish traps, baskets, vessels of every description, hats, shields, and even sandals, in the rare instances where sandals are worn. Some of the string basket-work is so fine (though done by hand), the mesh is so close, that the receptacle thus woven will hold water, especially when it has received an interior coat of resin. Some of these baskets or vases were formerly smeared with red clay or kaolin on the outside, and thus could stand moderate heat in the em- bers of a fire and so warm the liquid held within. It was thus that pottery came into existence — independently, in several different centres of culture, in Asia, Europe, America, and Africa. The large, coarsely woven mats of the Bakuba are often so beautiful in design and so strong that they are almost worth exportation to Europe. The Mabenja of the Lulu-Aruwimi 465. (i) A THICK RECTANGULAR STICK OF WHITE WOOD, ABOUT 4 FEET LONG AND 4 INCHES BROAD The handle contains a small fragment of glass bead fitted in as an ornament. The black figures in relief on the white ground evidently tell a story. This comes from the Cataract region of the Congo. (2) ANOTHER PICTURE STICK, THIN- NER AND MORE SLAB-LIKE THAN THE PRECEDING 808 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO country are remarkably deft in the plaiting of small bonnets or caps of straw, rushes, or palm fibre. So also are the Ababua farther north, who make among other basket-work articles very artistic sheaths for spear-heads. The Lohali of the middle Aruwimi work (unlike other Congo tribes) in leather, construct- ing handsome belts and shoulder-straps and bandoliers out of leopard skin, the striped hide of the okapi, or of the Bongo tragelaph. But they also vie with the Mabenja in the delicacy and beauty of their straw or fibre plaiting, making fanciful sheaths for their knives, and skull caps of a softness and delicacy approaching that of China silk. They also plait or 466. NATIVE BOY WHO HAS MADE A MODEL OF A RIVER STEAMER, BOPOTO weave the foundations of wigs covered with monkey skin, often displaying wonderful skill in the arrangement of partings and in fit. Beneath the skull cap or the wig, as the case may be, the hair is plastered with oil and clay to a firm, solid mass. The chiefs and notables wear high, mitre-shaped hats of the finest basket-work, painted with the traditional design of eight red diamonds. Basket-making is well developed in the Kongo kingdom and in the Kwango-Kwilu-Kasai countries. It is somewhat neglected amongst the riverain peoples of the northern Congo, who devote their energies rather to the manu- facturing of pottery or fishing-nets. But it is an art possessed by all the Congolese in greater or less degree except the ARTS AND INDUSTRIES 809 Pygmies, who are represented by a minus in nearly all these categories. As to the “ bast ” or fibre of the raphia palm about which so much has been said in reference to native industries : The method of procuring it is to cut off a bunch of young raphia fronds before the petioles have separated. With a sharp knife the outer rind or skin of the leaf is stripped off. Apparently it separates easily from the under surface. These long filaments are dried in the sun, and look very like the “ bast ” which we employ in gardening for tying up plants. The raphia palm also 467. MODEL OF A HOUSE MADE BY A NATIVE BOY AT BOPOTO yields a stiff cane-like fibre (the piassava of commerce) which is exceedingly useful in basket-work. Carpentering , in unadulterated negro Africa, has never included anything in the nature of joinery , neither has any negro tribe uninfluenced by the European or the Asiatic used a saw. Carpentering began — and has almost remained in that condition in Congoland — with the attempt to hew the desired object out of a block of wood. In this way — with great foresight and ingenuity — the Congo people make canoes, chairs, stools, snuff-boxes, powder-flasks, cups, wooden bells or gongs, masks, head-rests, spoons, and many domestic utensils. Seats or back-rests are sometimes made by the adaptation of a many- 8io GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO branched tree stem (see p. 758). The nearest approach to joinery is the making of boxes out of strips of thick bark. No nails or glue are employed, but where necessary the edges are fastened together by the drilling of holes and the tying of leather thongs or string made of vegetable fibre. The Lohali are particularly clever in the utilization of these slabs of bark. This artistic Aruwimi tribe further orna- ments its bark chests or boxes with string embroidery. The same practice occurs among the Ba-huana of the far distant Kwilu River. 468. NATIVE POTTERY DRYING IN THE SUN, BOPOTO, NORTHERN CONGO There is a strong artistic impulse throughout all Congoland, except perhaps amongst the Pygmies, an impulse which might lead these people far in adding to the world’s store of beautiful designs and inventions, if only it receives an intelligent en- couragement from a kindly administration. On the West Coast it has been slightly influenced by European culture — very slightly, however. Some of the examples here given [the originals of which, collected in some cases by the Baptist missionaries, 1 are in the British Museum or the Congo Museum at Tervueren] will illustrate the strong feeling for design and 1 Some of the earlier collections and photographs of Bentley, Grenfell, and William Forfeitt went to Brussels in connection with the Congo Exhibition of 1895. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES 811 colour on the part of the natives of the Congo coast-lands. Here even they seem to have developed a certain degree of picture-writing, as also in the Luango regions further to the north. The carved ivories, similar to those of Benin art, are intended to tell stories and to point morals. In the Congo coast region, long, flat pieces of wood are carved in relief, with figures of men and animals arranged conventionally to express some sentiment or to place some fact or legend on record. We are here on the verge of o o 469. BURNING AND GLAZING POTTERY, BOPOTO hieroglyphics and picture-writing, by an independent inven- tion of the human mind. Many of the North Congoland tribes paint the exterior or interior of their house walls with more or less conventional designs of animals or geometrical figures, among which the Maltese cross and St. Andrew’s cross or X predominate. The Baluba and Bakuba peoples of the south-centre are steeped in artistic feeling, which finds its expression in the carving of masks out of solid blocks of wood, exquisite iron metal-work (such as may be seen in their axes), the beautiful patterns of their pile cloths, and the fantastic designs and colora- tion of their pottery. How one would like to found a mission for the development of design and of the colour sense in such a 8 1 2 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO region as this, to have the health, strength, and unity of purpose simply to train these deft-handed Bakuba and Baluba and Aruwimi peoples to develop a School of Art of their own, and thus to enrich the world’s all too small store of beautiful objects! I have often felt the same with regard to the Baganda. Under an intelligent instruction, the Baganda might rival the Japanese, not only in natural politeness (as they do already), but in a sense of beauty and the application of a wholly original art to all the surroundings of their lives. Can there be any surer road to earthly happiness ? There is no such thing throughout Congoland as the potter s wheel. All pottery is made by hand, and the women are usually, almost invariably, the potters. 1 This art also has owed a great deal to Sudanese influence coming from the north. The pottery of North Congoland (especially that of the Aru- wimi) is possibly superior in beauty of design and colouring to that of the south. The pottery of the centre is poorly developed, as is also the case with the backward tribes of the Kwango- Kwilu- Kasai region. Beauti- ful and elaborate designs and careful choice of colours and materials again make their appearance in the ceramics of the western Congo and in the Atlantic coast region, though this artistic development is by no means universal up and down the Atlantic coast of South-West Africa. It does not extend far southwards into Angola, nor does it reach the Gaboon and Cameroons [except in the far interior of the Cameroons, where the pottery is obviously of Sudanese designs]. Perhaps it was the early Portuguese influence over the Congo coast that brought about this artistic development in pottery which is so splendidly illustrated in the work pub- lished by the Congo State Museum at Tervueren. 2 In the pottery of the western Congo and Mubangi, the effect of a black “glaze ” is sometimes given by the application 1 Just as it is nearly exclusively the man’s function to ply the needle. Women are assigned agriculture , ceramics , cookery , to some extent medicine , as their special sphere ; while manly occupations are sewing , weaving , basket-making , metal-work- ing , , hunting , warfare , and canoe-making. 2 La Ceramique. Serie III, Ethnographic et Anthropologie. Annales du Musee du Congo. Tervueren, Brussels. 470. POT FROM THE CONG COAST REGION OF MA- YUMBE, WITH BLACKISH LUSTRE ARTS AND INDUSTRIES 813 of charcoal, of vegetable dyes, or of a ferruginous compound mixed with oil, which, when the pot is cooling, is applied to the surface and afterwards polished by the application of a smooth shell or some other very hard, smooth substance. These effects of glaze are never attained in Congoland or negro Africa by that higher art in ceramics, the fusing by great heat of vitreous matter. It is ordinarily by the application of native copal varnish, gum elemi, or some other gum or resin — smeared over the clay when the vessel issues from the furnace nearly red-hot — that the handsome brown, red, purple glazes on the north and west Congo pottery are produced. The clay has probably (before baking) been painted with some colouring matter — the indigo sap of the Randia, the Nkula camwood dye, etc. The varnish smeared over this (or an external coating of palm oil) will not only give the effect of a glaze, but may somewhat mitigate the porosity of the clay. Copal gum is said to be burnt (? in torches) by the Congo negroes when they need more illumination at night than can be obtained by blowing up the fire or lighting a strand of dry grass or a bundle of canes. It is curious that nowhere except perhaps in the Atlantic coast region influenced by the Portuguese, or (recently) in the eastern province under Arab civilization, does the Congo negro use anything in the shape of a lamp, abun- dantly as his country is supplied with oils. Small iron lamps, however, singularly like in design the clay lamps of the Mediterranean world in classical times, exist among the Bali and Baya peoples in the eastern hinterland of the Cameroons and at the head-waters of the Sanga River. These no doubt, together with crossbow, musical instruments, and other types of culture, have been introduced from the upper Benue or the Central Sudan. The oil-lamp is as foreign to negro culture as the plough, the saw, the potter’s wheel, glazed pottery, joinery, and stone-masonry. CHAPTER XXX TRADITIONS, STORIES, FOLKLORE A FEW examples of the traditions, legends, and beast stories of Congoland are given in the following pages. Here is a Bangala tradition collected by Grenfell in 1890 : — “ The natives at Equator Station have a legend as to the origin of death, which in some measure is analogous to the Mosaic account. The natives say that in the beginning men and women did not die, that one day Nza Komba (God) came bringing two gifts, a large and a small one. If they chose the smaller one they would continue to live, but if the larger one, they would for a time enjoy much greater wealth, but they would afterwards die. The men said they must consider the matter, and went away (to drink water, as the Kongos say) ; but while they were discussing the matter the women took the larger gift, and Nza Komba went back with the little one. He has never been seen since, though they cried and cried for Him to come back and take the big bundle and give them the little one, and with it immortality.” The southern Baluba of the middle Kasai explain the marring of the original scheme of creation by the following story (taken down by Father Colie, a Belgian missionary) : — “ God (. Kabezya-mpungu ) created the sun, moon, and stars, then the world, and the plants, animals, etc. When all this was finished He placed a man and two women in the world and taught them the name and use of all things. He gave an axe and a knife to the man, and taught him to cut wood, weave stuffs, melt iron, and to hunt and fish, etc. To the women he gave a pickaxe and a knife, and taught them to till the ground, make pottery, weave baskets, make oil, etc., that is to say, all that custom assigns to them to-day. “ These first inhabitants of the earth lived happily for a long time, until one of the women began to grow old ; but God, foreseeing this, had given her the gift of rejuvenating herself, and the faculty, if she once succeeded, of preserving the gift for herself and for all mankind. Unfortunately she speedily lost the precious treasure, and introduced death into the world. This is how the misfortune occurred. Seeing herself all withered, the woman took the fan with which her companion had been winnowing maize for the manufacture of beer, and shut herself into her hut, carefully closing the door. There she began to tear off 814 TRADITIONS, STORIES, FOLKLORE 815 her old skin, throwing it on the fan; the skin came off easily, a new one appearing in its place. The operation was nearing completion, there remained the head and neck only, when her companion came to the hut to fetch her fan, and before the old woman could speak pushed open the door, when, alas ! the almost rejuvenated woman fell dead instantly. This is the reason we all die. The two survivors gave birth to a number of sons and daughters, from whom all races have descended. Since that time God does not trouble about His creatures ; He is satis- fied with visiting them incognito now and again, and then wherever He passes the ground sinks. He injures no one, it is therefore superfluous to honour him ; so the Baluba offer no worship to Him.” The negroes of Congoland (as elsewhere in Africa) take surprisingly little notice of the heavenly bodies or phenomena of the skies , at any rate so far as re- corded stories or traditions £0. Among the Bakongo the planets (Venus and Jupiter at any rate) are regarded as the spouses of the Moon. On the other hand, the Bangala believe the Sun to be the lover of the Moon, whom he is continually pursuing across the sky. On the rare occasions on which he catches her there is an eclipse. 1 The Azande (Nyamnyam) have the following legend as to the phases of the moon : — An old man saw the body of a dead man on which was fallino- the liorht of the moon which was lying hard by on the ground, having fallen from the skies. He gathered together a great number of animals and said to them, “ Which of you, my friends, is willing to take up the task of con- veying the dead man or the moon on to the other bank of the river?” Two tortoises came forward: the one, who had long feet, took the moon and arrived safe and sound with it on the opposite side ; the other, who had short feet, carried away the 471. POT FROM THE COAST REGION OF MAYUMBE 1 Mr. Torday gives nearly the same story as the English missionaries (I believe from a Belgian source) : — “ The Stars, the Sun, and the Moon. — The Bangala believe that the stars are the slaves of the Moon. The Sun is in love with the Moon. Transported with passion, he unceasingly pursues his well-beloved, but only rarely succeeds in assuaging his burning flame in the embraces of his beautiful mistress. “ When the Moon receives the Sun and the two lovers forget themselves in their duet, the sky becomes overcast, and darkness conceals their amours. (This is evidently a reference to an eclipse.)” 816 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO dead man, but was drowned. For this reason the dead moon reappears every month, but man when he is dead never returns. The Bahuana of the Kwilu basin (and several other Congo tribes) believe that rainbows are great snakes living in the water. When they have eaten enough fish they occasionally come out for a change, and may then be seen. Mr. R. E. Dennett in his work At the Back of the Black Mans Mind gives a good deal of information about the rain- bow legends of the Bavili, the northern branch of the Kakongo people on the Atlantic coast. They likewise believe the rain- bow to be a many-coloured snake. There are many legends in the far north-east and east of Congoland among the Baamba, Ba- konjo, Manyema, Balega, Bahima, Barundi, and other Bantu tribes living in or near the Albertine Rift valley, between Tanganyika and Lake Al- bert, which point to remembrances of past seismic disturbances on a considerable scale. Both Cameron and Stanley have reported native legends as to the origin of Lake Tan- ganyika. Here is another version, told by a Belgian missionary. “ Long, long ago, in the region where you see the lake, there stretched a vast plain inhabited by many tribes who pos- sessed great herds of oxen and goats. “ In this plain was a very large village. As was the custom in those days, all the houses of this village were surrounded by tall hedges containing stalls where people drove in their cattle for the night to preserve them from wild beasts and robbers. “In one of these enclosures there lived with his wife a man who owned a deep spring which fed a pretty streamlet. “ This spring, strange to say, contained innumerable fish which supplied the man and his wife with abundance of food ; but as the possession of this treasure depended on the most absolute secrecy, no one outside the family circle had any knowledge of it. A tradition handed down from father to son said that the day when the spring should be revealed by one of them to strangers, the family would be ruined and destroyed. “ But it happened, unknown to the husband, that the wife loved another man, and her passion increasing, she secretly brought him some fish from the wonderful spring. The flesh was so good and of such an unaccustomed flavour that her lover wanted to know whence 472. AN ORNAMENTAL WATER- POT OF THE AZANDE, FROM THE UPPER WELE TRADITIONS, STORIES, FOLKLORE 817 it came. The woman resisted for a long time through fear of the consequences of her indiscretion. Finally she promised to reveal the mystery. “ One day the husband had to make a journey ; before starting he strictly enjoined upon his wife to observe secrecy regarding the spring, to admit no stranger within the enclosure, and not to gossip with the neighbours. “ The wife promised ; but as soon as the husband had started she went to find her lover, and said, ‘ Come, you are going to learn where the fish comes from.’ Her lover accom- panied her. He en- tered the house, where the woman re- galed him with palm wine and bananas, sorghum porridge and palm oil, sea- soned with pepper, and a quantity of fish. The meal finished, the man said, ‘Show me where you catch the fish.’ She replied, ‘Yes, but it is a secret which you can only betray at the cost of great misfortunes.’ ‘ Fear not,’ said her lover. “ They rose, she led him within the enclosure and showed him what seemed to be a little pool, round in shape and full of limpid 473* A C0RNER 0F Tanganyika, near the north end. water, which bubbled out of the ground. ‘ Look,’ said she, ‘ there is the wonderful spring, and there are the delicious fish.’ “ The man had never seen anything like it, for there was no river in the neighbourhood. A fish coming near him, he stretched out his hand to catch it. Alas ! that was the end of everything ! “ The muzimu (spirit) was enraged. The earth split asunder ; the plain sank so deep that the longest plummet cannot fathom it ; the spring overflowed and filled the great chasm which had appeared in the earth. “And now what do you see at the spot ? Tanganyika.” Tanganyika has probably existed as a lake at least as far back as Miocene times, ages before any type of man appeared 11. — Y 818 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO in Africa; but it is quite likely that some of these persistent East Congoland stories of earthquakes, upheavals, collapses, fire, and flood (which the present writer, among others, has heard from Manyema and Baguha negroes) may be based on the terrible volcanic activity which created the Mfumbiro peaks and cut off Lake Kivu from the basin of the Nile. Here are some animal stories. The first is from the Wele- Mubangi River, and is told among the Azande (Nyamnyam). The Elephant and the Shrew. — One day the elephant met the shrew mouse on his road. “Out of the way,” cried the latter. “ I am the bigger, and it is your place to look out,” replied the monster. “Curse you!” re- torted the shrew mouse furiously. “ May the long grass cut your legs!” “And may you meet your death when you walk in the road!” replied the other, crushing him under his huge foot. Both curses have been fulfilled. From that day the elephant wounds himself when he goes through the long grass, and the shrew mouse meets her death when she crosses the road. [It is a curious and unex- plained fact that shrews of the genus Crocidura are constantly found lying dead on the bare ground of the native paths in tropical Africa. — H. H. J.] 474. A WATER-POT FROM THE SANGO COUNTRY, MIDDLE MUBANGI RIVER The Elephant and the Chameleon [a Manbettu story]. — One day the chameleon challenged the elephant to a race. The latter accepted the challenge, and a meeting was arranged for the following morning. But during the night the chameleon placed all his brothers from point to point along the length of the track where the race was to be run. When day came the elephant started. The chameleon quickly slipped behind with- out the elephant noticing it. “Are you not tired?” asked the TRADITIONS, STORIES, FOLKLORE 819 monster of the first chameleon he met. “Not at all,” he replied, executing the same manoeuvre as the former. This stratagem was renewed so many times that the elephant, tired out, gave up the contest and confessed himself beaten. The Leopard and the Jackal [a Manbettu story]. — The leopard had caught and eaten an antelope. The jackal seeing him said, “You are undoubtedly a greedy animal, but I wager that your voracity is nothing in comparison with mine.” The leopard began to laugh. “ Let us see,” he replied. The jackal ran to a field of white pumpkins, which he stripped of their leaves, and in the midst of which he seated himself, after having smeared his jaws with red [from their pulp]. When the leopard arrived and saw all these pumpkins, which he took for so many skulls, he beat a hasty retreat. “ What is the matter?” cried the jackal. “ I am afraid,” replied the leopard without abating his pace, “and I recognize that you are fiercer and more bloodthirsty than I.” The following is a story from the Nilotic negroes (Aluru) in the north-easternmost corner of the Congo State : — A man had two wives, one gentle and prepossessing, the other such a gossip that he was often made angry. Neither remonstrances nor beatings improved her, and finally he made up his mind to drive her into a wood amongst the hyenas. There she built herself a little hut, in which a hyena came and boldly installed herself as mistress. The wife tried to protest, but the hyena, not content with eating and drinking all that the wife was preparing, compelled her furthermore to look after her young. Now, one day when the hyena had ordered the woman to boil some water, while waiting for her the latter had the sudden idea of seizing the young ones and throwing them into the boiling water ; then she ran all trembling to take refuge in the home of her husband, whom she found calmly seated at the entrance of the house, spear in hand. She threw herself at the feet of her spouse beseeching him for help and protection, and when the hyena arrived foaming with rage, the husband stretched it dead on the ground with a blow of his spear. The lesson was not lost on the wife. From that day forth she became the joy and delight of her husband. A story of the Lokele people, north-east bend of Congo ; collected by the Rev. W. H. Stapleton : — A woman went into the forest to seek for fish in the streams. 820 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Seeing a stream with plenty of fish, she stopped, put her child down on the ground, took her flat basket, went down into the stream, and baled the water out of the stream. When it was dry she picked up the fish. As she was stoop- ing down to pick up the fish the child cried. An ape, 1 hearing the cry of the child, came and held it in its arms and sang songs to it. When the woman had finished picking up the fish she rose up to take the child and saw the animal carrying it, and the mother wondered. The ape spoke to the mother, saying, “ Don’t be afraid. I felt pity for your child because it was crying.” And he said to the mother, “ Take your child.” She took the child and went with it into the town, and said to her hus- band, “I fished for fish in the stream, and an ape came and nursed the child and sang a song to it.” Her husband said to her, “That is untrue.” But the wife said, “Truly, it is no lie.” In the morning- the woman took the child and said to her husband, “ Come along, let us go.” The husband took his spear. They went until they reached to the stream ; the wife put the child down and went into the stream, the husband hid himself, and the child cried. The ape, hearing the cry of the child, came and picked it up and sang a song to it. When the husband saw this he threw his spear ; the ape held out the child (to defend himself) and the spear went into the body of the child. The ape said, “ I felt pity for your child, and you have not killed me, but you have killed your child.” 475. A WATER-JAR WITH HANDLE, FROM THE STANLEY FALLS REGION (NEAR ARUWIMl) The clay pot is surrounded by a wicker casing of palm- rind, the surface of which is more or less plastered over. The anthropoid apes of the Great Congo Forest enter con- siderably into the folklore of these regions and, to a more limited extent, into the beast stories of Sierra Leone. [For 1 Akolika , a Lokele word meaning gorilla or chimpanzi. TRADITIONS, STORIES, FOLKLORE 821 the region between Portuguese Guinea and the Ivory Coast is a parallel in some respects to the Equatorial P'orest zone of the Cameroons-Congo- Uganda region.] Elsewhere, however, they are altogether foreign to these fables. In the districts between the Mubangi-Wele and the main northern Congo, the chimpanzi and gorilla are regarded with some degree of reverence, and their extraordinary resem- blance to humanity is not lost on the observant Sango, Banza, Ababua, Mongwandi, Ngombe, and Bangala. The Bangala have told various missionaries a story to this effect : — “ The chimpanzi ( esumbu ) was every day chased by the children of the villages. They shot at him crowds of arrows and missiles of every kind. One day, however, he fled no longer ; to the general astonishment of the people he was seen coming armed with a spear, and he even slew a man. Then said one of the negro chiefs to the great ape, ‘ Whoever has given you that spear ? J The ape replied, ‘ I ask you, in my turn, who has robbed me of my spears ? Did I not precede you here ? Have you not taken my place, man ? Am I not your father ? ’ ” The Bangala have this legend about the dog. They say that there lives in the Bangala country a night-bird which con- stantly utters the cry of “ Mbwa ! Mbwa! Mbwa!” [Probably a kind of owl.] The noise it makes disturbs the people in their sleep. Their story is that formerly, in the most remote times, this bird used not to cry thus. But one day it saw a very docile and obedient animal which it secured as an attendant. This animal had young ones, which the bird divided amongst other fowls of the air. The animal, thus domesticated, rendered the greatest services to its bird-masters. One day when it was very cold a bird said to its servant, “ Go and fetch me some fire from among men.” The dog — for the animal was a dog — went among men, but found itself so well off there that it re- turned no more to the bird. From this day the bird never ceases to call for the return of his former servant, saying, “ Mbwa! Mbwa ! Mbwa ! ” But the mbiva does not return. 1 The following story about the hippopotamus and the croco- dile is given in its Bangala version ; but the present writer has taken down the same fable from the Bayanzi : — The Hippopotamus and the Crocodile. — The hippopotamus and the crocodile are the best friends on earth, and have been 1 Mbwa , of course, in Bangala and in nearly all Bantu languages is the word for “ dog.” 822 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO so ever since the day when the crocodile addressed himself as follows to the hippopotamus : “If you wish to eat the grass of my domains I allow you to do so, on one condition — you may be the ruler in running water, but recollect that / reign in the marshes and grasses and stagnant pools which border the rivers. Let us understand each other then : you shall undertake to swamp the canoes containing much human game, which I will devour. In return for this service, you shall be able to wander where you will, unmolested, in my marshes and reed banks. 476. THE CROCODILE’S OPPORTUNITY : CARRIERS WADING ACROSS A TRIBUTARY OF THE WESTERN CONGO Here you and your children may browse and sleep as much as you like. . . The hippopotamus was delighted with the suggestion and accepted it. From that day the unfortunate paddler, dragged down in the centre of the stream by the hippopotamus, is delivered over by him to his friend the crocodile. Here is a story collected by Torday from the Bayaka of the Kwango and one which — judging from some scattered notes in his diary — was also told to Grenfell in a slightly different version by the Babuma on the Kwa, farther north. TRADITIONS, STORIES, FOLKLORE 823 The Toad and the Kite. — The toad had lent some beads to the kite. The latter did not want to pay, so he kept on travelling and travelling ; he was no longer seen in the village. When the toad came to ask for the beads back again, the kite would jest : he would not even be there ; he used to say, “To-morrow, to-morrow.” When the toad was weary to death he began to plan schemes to obtain an interview with the kite. At the approach to the toad’s village on this side of the river was a deserted field. It was a dry season, the grass was faded, and the toad set the field alight. When the fire was burnt out, he placed himself on a clod of earth and exposed his white belly to the sky. When the kite saw the smoke of the fire, he soared in the air to see whether there might not be mice lying in the fields on their backs, suffocated and dead. While he was gazing downwards, he spied something shining on a clod of earth and began to beat his wings and to say to himself, “There is a mouse.” The kite swooped and seized upon the white object ; he put it in his bag and carried it through the sky ; but he did not see that it was a toad. That evening when he returned to his village, the kite went indoors with his mice and began to count the number in his bag. When the mice escaped, they ran , but the toad jumped out and said, “ Hulloa, kite! Here I am. Give me my beads ! ” The kite stood amazed ; he was ashamed. He proceeded to take his beads out from his secret chamber and counted them out to the toad. “ My friend, take your beads ; it is right. . . . But how will you return to your village ? I have not carried you for nothing.” The toad said, “ I have taken my beads ; if I had not laid a trap for you, I should not have known how to get back my loan ! I know the paths which lead back to my home.” The kite did not understand the toad’s cleverness. At night when he went to lie down, he proceeded to hang up his bag on the door of his house quite close to the ground. When the toad saw the bag, he jumped inside. The kite took his bag early and went for a walk ; but it 824 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO became very hot, stiflingly hot. So he went to look for a river, placed his bag on the bank, and descended to the water to bathe. The toad then jumped out, crying, “Aha, my friend! I have travelled for nothing after all ! ” If his limbs are feeble, his wits are not wanting. Some wise sayings of the western Congo : — “We are tempted to strike when we go with a stick in the 477 . THE WESTERN CONGO (ABOVE MATADl) The European in the foreground Is the Rev. E. Domenjoz, a Swiss missionary (Congo- Balolo Mission), who discovered the old Portuguese inscriptions on the rocks north of Matadi, pp. 71, 72. hand.” [It is a universal rule to attend meetings for debate un- armed.] “ Men do not kill with their mouths ; we ought not to be angry over words.” [At public meetings speakers are allowed the most complete freedom of speech.] “We argue more calmly and our ideas are clearer when we have had nothing to drink.” [Palavers take place in the morn- ing and fasting.] At these meetings for public discussion the last word of each suggestion is uttered not by the speaker, but by the meet- ing in chorus [a sort of “ missing word ” competition] : any one who does not guess it or who forgets to repeat it is driven TRADITIONS, STORIES, FOLKLORE 825 out. “ He does not listen, therefore he has no right to interfere in the discussion.” (Grenfell’s notebook.) Other stories, proverbs, and wise sayings of the Bakongo and the upper river tribes are given in W. H. Stapleton’s Com- parative Handbook of Congo Languages , in Holman Bentley’s Grammar and Dictionary of the Kongo Language , and other works ; and in Torday and Joyce’s papers on the Bayaka, Bahu- ana, Bambala, and Bayanzi, etc., in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute for 1906-7. Mr. R. E. Dennett (At the Back of the Black Man s Mind ) treats to some extent of the folklore and traditions of the Kakongo people (Luango coast). The Rev. Fathers Geens, Heymans, and Colie have written on these subjects as regards the southern Bateke, Bayanzi, Ban- gala, Ngombe, and Baluba, mostly in magazines and periodicals of the Catholic missions published in Belgium. CHAPTER XXXI THE LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN AND THE CAMEROONS I T has been pointed out already in this book that to the Baptist missionaries on the Congo we owe important data in connection with the study of African languages. Until the records of Grenfell, Stapleton, and William Forfeitt came to hand, it had not been possible in any way to fix the northern boundary of the Bantu language field. We can now, aided by further work on the part of Torday and Vice-Consul G. B. Michell, draw this boundary almost to a nicety. As this geographical fact is sufficiently illustrated on the ethnographical map that accompanies this book, it is not necessary to add a verbal definition, but I would draw special attention to these points : that there is a small loop of non- Bantu speech ( Bamanga and south-western Bakumu) traversing the north-eastern bend of the Congo, that an allied language, the Ndonga , comes down very near to the northern Congo, while on the other hand the Ababua group (now shown definitely to be Bantu) reaches to the upper Wele, if it does not extend beyond . 1 The special features of the Bantu languages have been dealt with by the present writer in previous works on Africa, and more authoritatively in the studies of Bleek, Meinhof, Jacottet, Bentley, Stapleton, Torrend, and others. To the author of this book it is obvious by now that the Bantu languages originated to the north of the Equator, in Eastern rather than in West- Central Africa. The basis of this remarkable language family was some generalized negro speech of Northern Equatorial Africa, in the region that extends from the White Nile right across the continent to Senegambia. Although the range of the Bantu languages — or of those forms of speech so nearly allied as to be called semi- Bantu — 1 The Bantu peoples on this map are indicated by printing their names in red. The greater part of the Bakumu people should be coloured ‘ red but the fact of their speech being Bantu, except in the extreme west of their range, was not made known by Mr. G. B. Michell till after this map was printed. 826 LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 827 extends at the present day farther northwards in West than in East Africa [the northernmost range of the pure Bantu being the 6th degree of N. Lat. on the frontier of the Cameroons territory, while the semi - Bantu extend not only to the middle course of the River Benue, but as far north and west as the 9th degree N. Lat. and the River Kaduna 1 ], yet the focus of origin seems to have lain in Eastern Equatorial Africa, between the 3rd and 4th degree of N. Lat. There are, however, slight affinities with the Bantu in most of the languages of the lower Niger and in those of other West African groups as far west- wards as Portuguese Guinea. No student of African languages can fail to be struck with the remarkable resemblance in gram- mar and structure between the Timne of Sierra Leone and the Bantu family, albeit in this case there is absolutely no connection in word-roots , such as is the case between the Bantu and the Madi group of the Bahr-al-Ghazal and mountain Nile. This last resemblance is, however, easily exaggerated. The affinities of the semi-Bantu group (which includes most of the languages of the middle and upper Benue, of the hinter- land of the Cameroons, the upper waters of the Sanga River, and even possibly the north-western basin of the Mubangi) may result not only from original kinship and ancient propin- quity with the Bantu mother-tongue (evolved as this may have been, in the very heart of Central Africa), but have become accentuated in the more southern regions by the first conquer- ing advance of the Bantu people from east to west. The linguistic material out of which grew up the Bantu language family no doubt once extended right across Northern Equatorial Africa from east to west before the intrusion of Libyan, Teda, Nilote, and Hamite. This essentially negro mother-speech — the language of big black forest dwellers — no doubt overlay and absorbed earlier tongues of the Hottentot- Bushman type, or a still more primitive speech of the Pygmies. The intrusion of the Nilote and the Hamite into the basin of the Upper Nile may have brought about in a short space of time the formation of the true Bantu language family 2 [which, 1 As shown by the recent researches of the Rev. W. P. Low. 2 The present writer has himself been a witness to the sudden creation of a new African language, which might, but for a change of circumstances, have become a lingua franca over South-Central Africa. When he introduced Sikh and Panjabi soldiers into Nyasalarid to combat the Arabs, these Indians had to drill native soldiers, and in doing so attempted to make use of the already existing trade language — Swahili (which is a compromise between Bantu and Arabic) ; but being in a hurry, and not overgood linguists, they impatiently substituted for much of this speech their own corrupt Hindustani, besides certain words of command in English. As these Indian soldiers became very popular amongst the negroes of Nyasa- 828 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO however, betrays little or no affinities in phonology, grammar, or word-roots with the Nilotic or Hamitic groups, and is purely West African in its relationships with the Benue-Niger, Fula, and the innumerable groups of the West Coast forest belt]. Some further convulsion or the emigration of a superior type sent the Bantu negroes (possibly under Hamitic leaders) as con- querors over Eastern and Southern Africa. What the types were of the languages that had preceded them in these regions, and which they absorbed and incorporated, we have at present little means of judging. Various philologists — Carl Meinhof particularly — have revealed the existence of interesting patches of non- Bantu speech (and non-Nilotic) in nooks of German East Africa. The Sandawi smacks of the Hottentot, the Kimhugu is a greater puzzle. It has a Bantu phonology, but presents no very marked affinities in word-roots to any known African group. It may prove to have had a common descent very anciently from the same Central African source as the Ndonora-Bamangfa and other non-Bantu North-Central African o o groups. In the regions of Zambezia the Bantu were undoubtedly preceded by the Bushman and the Hottentot, and these inferior races retreating (where they were not exterminated or absorbed — they were largely absorbed) before the waves of Bantu invasion, remained at last cooped up in the south-western extremity of Africa. So far as the Congo basin was concerned, there seem to have been three principal routes, and perhaps eras, of Bantu inva- sion [and the word invasion must be regarded as meaning rather the implanting of a new civilization and a new type of language by a superior ruling caste of men, than the new peopling of this part of the continent, involving the destruction of a preceding race or the colonization of an uninhabited wilder- ness]. Before the Bantu languages reached the Congo basin, ages before, we may well suppose that Pygmies and Forest negroes were dwelling there, speaking possibly one or more languages related to the fundamental negro speech which at a much later date had been the basis of the Bantu. A preliminary jet of Bantu speech (starting from the obvious land, they soon brought about the existence of an entirely new jargon, composed in equal parts of Bantu dialects, Hindustani, English, and Arabic, a regular hotch- potch, in which the grammar partook of much of the Hindustani character (and that again is Tartar rather than Aryan), while the vocabulary was mainly Arabized Banut. This language was most expressive, and but for the return of the Indian soldiers to India might, supplemented by the efforts of the immigrating Indian traders, have become the great language of commercial intercourse north of the Zambezi. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 829 and only focus of Bantu creation, northern Unyoro) crossed the Nile or the Albert Nyanza, forced its way through the Aruwimi forests and followed the course of the Aruwimi down to the Congo, or struck across due west to the Wele- Mubangi. The easternmost languages that remain to attest this First Invasion of the Bantu are the Lubirct and Libusese and the Lilese of the Ituri sources, the Lihuku of the lower Semliki, and the Kuamba of the north-western flanks of Ruwenzori. Along the northern fringe of the area covered by this First Invasion is the great Babua (Ababua) widespread group of dialects which extends (with interruptions) from the northern sources of the Aruwimi- Ituri almost as far west as the con- fluence of the Wele with the Mbomu. 1 Southwards this group penetrates down the Aruwimi to the main Congo, and may be taken to include the Soko and Kele languages. The most vigorous part, the main body of the First Bantu Invasion, forced its way westwards farther to the south than the Mubangi-Wele, along the main course of the great Congo and up its principal affluents, north and south, finally reach- ing the Atlantic coast between the Congo mouth and the Cameroons. 2 The Second Invasion of the Bantu was (we may suppose) 1 There are evidences in place, river, and tribal names that the whole of the course of the Mubangi-Wele and of many of its northern affluents was once more or less within Bantu limits. The Bantu may have overlaid one or more older speech- groups, such as the Ndonga-Bamanga or the Mundu. But it is probable that the Bubu, Sango, Nsakara, Nyamnyam, and Manbettu groups are more recent arrivals from the north that have counteracted the influence of the Bantu coming from the east and south, and have pushed them back in many directions almost to the banks of the main Congo. The river and tribal names along the Wele-Mubangi are particularly suggestive of Bantu origin. There is, for example, the well-known Bantu river name of Kwango, applied to one of the northern affluents of the Mubangi in its western course. (It is true that Chevalier points out that this river is known by the Banda as Waka, but the Banda, are new-comers in the region.) At the present day the people speaking Bantu languages in the vicinity of the Wele are outlying members of the great Ababua or Babati group. The Babati dialects extend their range eastwards as far as the Balese country on the upper Aruwimi. There is a considerable break of non-Bantu country between the Balese or Bakwa and the Babati, who are found to the west of the River Nepoko, but there can be no question of the general relationship between the Balese dialects of the Ituri Forest and those of the region north of the Aruwimi basin, on the Rubi River, and along the south bank of the Wele. Moreover, the Abanjia and Abarambo of the Azande country may once have belonged to this network of corrupt Bantu speech. There are even evidences in tribal names that the original inhabitants of the Manbettu country spoke similar Bantu dialects. The Abanjia of the Nyamnyam countries may be akin in origin to the semi-Bantu Manjia who range between the basin of the Mubangi, the upper Sanga, and the western affluents of the Shari. 2 The main body of the First invasion accounts in great part for the vocabulary and structure of the Bagenya , Manyema , Balolo ( Mongo ), Ngombe , and Bateke languages, together with the dialects (including the Fan or Fahwe) of French Congo, the Gaboon, Cameroons coast, and Fernando Po. 830 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO almost due south from their place of origin, and skirted the eastern borders of the great Congo Forest, descending the east and west coasts of Tanganyika. From the west coast of Tanganyika, the Bantu languages penetrated at first somewhat falteringly westwards, the invaders being impeded, no doubt, by the dense forest, and obliged to absorb or compromise with the Pygmies or Forest negroes, on whom, nevertheless, they imposed a Bantu speech. But in the clearer, more open country round the south-west and south coasts of Tanganyika, this Second Invasion, which left behind the Kabwari, Kilega, and Kiguha languages on its southward route, found a new Bantu motherland in the Rua, Marungu, and Bemba territories, a second focus and radius of development. Thence pure and melodious forms of Bantu speech grew up outside the obstructive forest and advanced southwards, south-westwards, and due west, besides later ascend- ing the river-courses northwards into the heart of the Congo basin. Between the Sankuru and the Kasai the impulse of the Second Invasion created the vigorous group of Luba dialects. But the main body, preserving an archaic type of Bantu, with many East African features, kept steadily ad- vancing westwards and southwards till it reached the upper Zambezi and the upper Kwango, thence (possibly) spreading out fan-shaped, and eventually culminating in the well-marked, essentially Bantu speech of the Herero cattle-keepers in Damara- land. It then advanced northwards along the Atlantic coast through Southern Angola, and spread rapidly over Western Congoland, strengthened by this access to the sea. Thus it (the Second Bantu Invasion of the Congo basin) formed not only the basis of the modern Kongo language [which is a distinctly archaic type of Bantu, degenerating eastwards into the more corrupt Bayaka and Kasai- Kwilu groups], but created the similar dialects of the Ka-kongo district, and still carried on its pre- eminently Bantu conformation till it had approached the estuary of the Ogowe and Gaboon, where its force mingled with that of the First Invasion, which had reached the Gaboon and Cameroons by a more direct route. The northernmost of unquestionably Bantu dialects is the Barundo or Bakasi of the Rio del Rey, North-West Cameroons. The peopling of Fernando Po seems to have taken place rather from a north-easterly direction, and the first negro colonizers of that island were probably a race speaking a Bantu language of an archaic type, an original relic of the First Invasion across the Congo basin. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 831 The Third Invasion of the Bantu affected the Congo basin but slightly in a linguistic sense. It may have introduced, or more likely accentuated, the Hima civilization, and have trans- ported the Bakuba aristocracy to the banks of the Sankuru, but its main stream of language influence took a more direct southerly and easterly course. The Third Invasion contributed a very archaic form of Bantu speech ( Olu-konjo ) to the southern flanks of Ruwenzori and the highlands separating the Congo basin from the Semliki and Lake Albert Edward. It implanted Hima peoples and dialects of the Unyoro type in the Albertine Rift valley up to the north end of Tanganyika (Ava- tutsi) and along the east coast of that lake to the verge of the Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau. Hima influence in speech also crossed Lake Albert Nyanza and established itself with the usual cattle-keeping aristocracy on the north-eastern verge of the Congo Forest. Here we find the Ru-kobe or Lukyopi speech in abrupt contiguity with a dialect of the First Invasion ( Libusese or Lisese or Lubira akin to the Kuamba of north Ruwenzori). And on Ruwenzori the Unyoro dialects (Orutoro, etc.) and Olu-konjo of the Third Invasion find themselves in equally sharp contrast with this same Kuamba , which is more nearly related to the Bantu languages of the Upper Congo and even of Fernando Pd than it is to the neighbouring Bantu dialects of the Uganda Protectorate. Our knowledge of the distinct families of non- Bantu languages within the northern basin of the Congo is still ex- ceedingly slight. Before the publication of this book it was still more fragmentary ; but the researches of the Baptist missionaries Grenfell, Stapleton, and William Forfeitt, and the vocabularies collected by the late Sir Henry Stanley, by Torday, Michell, and by the present writer, have enabled us to get a little nearer towards a classification of the different types of non-Bantu speech found within the northern area of the Congo basin. This region between the Albertine Rift valley, on the east, and the watershed of the Cameroons, on the west, contains isolated and peculiar African languages, just as it affords harbourage for remarkable examples of the African mammalian fauna and primitive human types. It is earnestly to be hoped, therefore, that before the European and the Arab with their hosts of native followers can lessen or extinguish the special idiosyncrasies of the indigenes together with their peculiar dialects and languages, a careful ethnographical survey may be 832 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO made to place on record information which will assist us to unravel many of the problems of African ethnology. Briefly summarized, so far as our information yet goes, the non-Bantu families of African speech now known to exist in the northern part of the Congo basin may be described as follows : — Beginning on the south-west, the traveller would first observe as he ascended the River Mubangi the non-Bantu speech of the Banza or Mpombo , where this people of fine physique comes down to the eastern banks of that river, north of the 3rd degree of N. Lat. The Banza language, as will be set forth on pages 838-40, shows signs of being related to the Mundu of the Egyptian Sudan, seven hundred miles to the north-east. We may therefore speak of (1) The Banza-Mundu group, as being represented (there may, of course, be intervening enclaves) in the extreme west of the Mubangi- Wele basin and in the extreme north- east. (2) The Sango group, which apparently includes the speech of the M'ongwandi of the upper Mongala River, and perhaps that of the Bwaka, Bwajiri, Bongo, Abodo, and the Kunda, Yakoma, and Gembele. Except that there are a few words in common with the Nyamnyam, and some borrowed terms from the Bantu, this speech, so far as it has been illustrated in a recent vocabulary collected by Torday (together with a few words of Hodister’s or Baert’s transcription), offers no resemblance to any other known group of Congo languages. (3) The speech of the tribes round the north-western bend of the Mubangi and to the north of that river — Langwasi, Ngapu or Ngafo, Alanba, Mosokuba, Bubu, etc. — belong, according to Chevalier, to the Banda family. The Banda language group extends far and wide into the western part of the Bahr-al- Ghazal and the Shari basin. But its affinities are absolutely unknown at this moment, for no traveller in these regions has deemed it worth while to collect any intelligible vocabulary. The Banda are much associated in their movements and rela- tions with the following group (No. 4). (4) The Manjia-Baya. According to Chevalier, the Manjia and their allies would seem to speak a semi-Bantu language, connected fundamentally with that of the Baya. This, there- fore, may be theoretically classified as group No. (4), and will include the Banziri, Ndri, Mburu, and all the languages between the north-western Mubangi and the head-waters of the Sanga. The chain of affinities can indeed be carried much LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 833 farther west, beyond the Congo basin, into the interior of the Cameroons, for the Indiki, Wute, Bali, and Ngaumdere 1 lan- guages are all connected with the Baya, and with the forms of speech in the eastern basin of the Cross River. All these languages may be described as semi-Bantu , in that they employ in a greater or less degree Bantu prefixes to distinguish singular from plural, though they seem to have lost the concord almost en- tirely. There is a slight affinity in their numerals with those of the Bantu, and some word-roots also evince a common origin. My own impression is that the faint relationships between these languages and those of the Bantu are due partly to a common descent, ages ago, from some great fundamental speech of North-Central Africa (the parent equally of the Bantu), and also to a much later borrowing from the language of Bantu invaders and teachers. 2 (5) In the south-eastern part of the basin of the Mongala River, within quite a short distance of the northern Congo, an interesting non- Bantu speech has recently been discovered by the Rev. William Forfeitt. This he calls Bondonga or N donga? I give later on Mr. Forfeitt’s short vocabulary. There is evidence in this, slight, but quite conclusive, to show that the Ndonga language must be associated with the even more remarkable non- Bantu speech of the Bamanga or Western Bakumu. Therefore I propose to call group No. (5) Ndonga- Bamanga. The language of the Bamanga (whose name, like that of the Ndonga, is obviously a Bantu designation con- ferred on them by surrounding tribes) extends from the north-eastern bend of the Congo- Lualaba to the upper River Lindi. [Indeed, Lindi means “river” in their language.] Although the Bamanga speech, so abundantly illustrated by the late W. H. Stapleton, is obviously allied to that of the Ndonga, neither of these (except for a few borrowed words) evinces an obvious resemblance to another known group of 1 This word is sometimes spelt Ngau-mdere or Ngau-ndere. The last syllable seems connected with the tribal names farther east of the Ndri, Pa-tri, Ba-zere, Ban- ziri, described by various travellers as semi-Bantu in speech. 2 I am sometimes inclined to classify this group of semi-Bantu speech, which occupies the eastern basin of the Cross River, the north-eastern hinterland of the Cameroons, and the region between the upper Benue, the Shari basin, and the Mubangi, as the Mfoii languages ; for they nearly all possess in common a word-root resembling Mfoii to indicate the ox, and also use this term as a reverential salute, as a title for a chief or nobleman. 3 I do not believe this is the correct name of the people or language, but is a Bantu designation conferred on them by some interpreter ; but as there is no other term available, this language must for the present be known as Ndonga. The same remarks apply to the tribal names of Mfiombo , Mongwandi , Western Bakumu , Bamanga , etc. These (I believe) are either nicknames bestowed by Bantu neigh- bours or the inherited designations of conquered Bantu tribes. II .— Z 834 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO African speech. At present, with our imperfect knowledge, groups (2) Sango and (5) N donga- B amanga are as isolated in their way as groups (6) Momvu-Mbuba, (7) Lendu, (8) Man- bettu, (9) Madi, (10) Makarka, or Nyamnyam. 1 All but the last-named are found in the north-eastern part of the Congo basin, and into this region may also penetrate from over the border of the Nile watershed fragments of Nilotic speech (. Aluru ). The Krej of the far north is not as yet classified ; it may be connected with the equally un- known speech of the Banda, or it may have Nilotic affinities such as can be traced westwards from the White Nile to the vicinity of Lake Chad. The Nyamnyam {Makarka, Zande ) language has recently invaded the Congo basin. It has a wide domain at present, extending almost from the mountain Nile on the east to the Chinko or Shinko River in the far west. The language of the Nsakara tribe (between the Mbomu and Koto rivers) is as yet absolutely unknown to the student of African philology, but is said by one or two travellers in those regions to resemble Nyamnyam in its structure and vocabulary. Some of the above-mentioned groups like Lendu , Momvu, Mundu, Manbettu , or B amanga- Ndonga may be relics of ancient settlements that preceded the Bantu invasion. Any one of these may have been the original [or a] language of the Pygmies. But the other types of speech instanced in this catalogue, such as Banda, Manjia, Nyamnyam, Madi, Sango , Mongwandi, and even perhaps Manbettu, appear to have pushed southwards into the Congo basin within quite recent periods, overlying or displacing the Bantu. If the original speech of the Pygmies lingers anywhere at the present day, it is in the very centre of Congoland, in the 1 Here and there is a glancing shaft suggesting affinities between this loose con- federation, including also the Banza-Mundu and Banda groups. But no doubt they have all borrowed (in common with the Bantu) from the fundamental language of the Central Sudan negroes. The Nyamnyam and Madi families use prefixes to a slight extent, and have other features which occasionally suggest an affinity with the Bantu syntax. The Manbettu language also seems to employ prefixes occasionally. But the Ndonga and Bamanga use suffixes only in their syntax. Yet it is evident to the present writer that in African forms of speech (as in our own) what is the prefix of one century may easily become the suffix of the next. In proof of this theory may be instanced the com- plete revolution in English as to the place of the preposition in word-formation. The Teutonic practice, which continued down to the eighteenth century, was to place the qualifying preposition before the noun or verb. The modern practice since the be- ginning of the nineteenth century tends more and more to place it after. Thus we have upbringing contrasted with bringing up, onset with set on, etc. In the Fula language the suffixes attached to the noun are in every other respect like th z prefixes of the Bantu, with the same principle of “concord.” LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 835 region between the Sankuru on the south-west and the Lomami and Lualaba on the north-east. 1 It may be that the Lolo, Mongo, Lunkundu dialects of the Balolo group contain many old Pygmy words. They are certainly amongst the most corrupt and debased of the Bantu languages in the Congo basin. Probably this portion of the Congo was the last to be invaded and assimilated by the Bantu invaders, and here their language force became enfeebled before the pent-up speech of the Pygmies. There may also be a good many Pygmy words in the dialects of the central Aruwimi. So far, however, no traveller has recorded any words from the mouths of Pygmies which do not belong definitely to one group or other of African speech identified as that of the big negroes living alongside each Pygmy tribe. 2 The language of the Bambute of the upper Ituri as written down by the author of this book ( Uganda Protectorate ) is shown to be closely akin to Mbuba , which is a member of the isolated Momvu group. Further south or north the Pygmies speak the degraded Kibira , Balese , or Babati dialects of Bantu. When Grenfell encountered the Pygmies on the lower Nepoko (in 1902) and wrote down some of their language he thought he was on the track of an original speech. I append his notes, but have inserted myself a number of parallel words from Manbettu, showing that this speech of the Wambutu (Nepoko) Pygmies is merely a dialect of Manbettu : — 3 1 Grenfell, Verner, and the present writer have all independently noted the peculiar Pygmy pronunciation, by which consonants are sometimes replaced by a kind of faucal gasp (described by Grenfell as a click). Much the same definition is given by Verner ; but the present writer, in listening to the Bambute Pygmies or those that spoke the Bantu dialect of Kibira, noticed nothing approaching a click, merely a sort of gasp or hiatus expressed by an apostrophe. This resembled at times the Arabic ’Ain, or the catch in the voice which is so marked a feature in the Glasgow dialect, and which in Scottish pronunciation often takes the place of the letter /. 2 Dr. J. David, for some time resident in North-East Congoland, gave in the Brunswick Globus for 1904 a brief vocabulary of Pygmy speech from the upper Ituri, but it is only a variant of Mbuba. 3 As already stated, except for peculiarities of pronunciation, the Pygmies merely seem to speak the languages of the big people around them. Those that Grenfell encountered on the Nepoko River used a corrupt form of Manbettu. Those met with by Stanley on the north-western Ituri spoke a dialect (Balese, Bakiokwa) of the wide- spread Babua group of corrupt Bantu. The present writer recorded the use by the Bambute dwarfs of the Mbuba language, and, further south, of the Bantu dialect of Kibira. Stanley in earlier journeys met Pygmies that spoke the Balega language or kindred dialects on the equatorial Lualaba-Congo. The Batwa of Wissmann, Wolf, and Verner used a Luba dialect, or whatever language was adopted by their Bantu over-lords. Lord Mountmorres’ Bua Pygmies apparently speak the Lunkundu or Lolo language. The Bebaya’a Pygmies, recently discovered by Mr. G. L. Bates in the basin of the upper Sanga, talk either a dialect of Fan or of the semi-Bantu Baya. The Babongo Pygmies of the lower Ogowe employ the debased speech of that region. 836 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO WAMBUTU . 1 1 = kana 2 = solo b 3 = kosa 4 = jona 5 = ebuluka 6 = eeka 7 = epo 8 = kemba MANBETTU. ona. 2 . orvvi. . ota. . oswa. zerna. . tengwi kana. . tororwi (? old Bantu root for ‘ five’ = to — com- bined with orwi, ‘ two ’ ?). . gwanda. 9 tengirigi-kana, or tegiligi-kana. 10 tekke-we [vide the word for ‘tens’ in Mundu\. [Note, — Grenfell questions the accuracy of his transcription of the numerals 3 to 8 inclusive.] Afternoon A rm Artery . Bird Boy ( child ) Brain . Canoe . Child . Chin Cloth Elephant Eye Father . Fight , war Fire Firewood Fish Fowl . Goat Hat . Heart . House . Hunger Leg Man nabo. kwo ( Bantu also. Manbettu , netekwo). esisa. b nei (nari in Manbettu). nangwa (. Manbettu , ndrangwa). amedukwokwo ( related to Makarka dudu = brain). nekoko (. Manbettu , nekoko). nangwa (. Manbettu , negongwe). etaka ( Manbettu , netacieci). nogi ( Manbettu , noggi). noko ( Manbettu , noko). nengo (. Manbettu , nengo). papa ( Manbettu , papa), napo (. Manbettu , napu). nago ( Manbettu , nakagu). aki ( Manbettu , ekkirre). engele (. Manbettu , nengere). ahwe (this word is related to the name for fowl in the Madi , Lendu and Mbuba dialects). mbusi (Bantu). ekoti. ebi. logio (. Manbettu , nejo). nemo ( Manbettu , nemu). nenjo (Manbettu, nedo). nombi. 1 WAMBUTU is probably a Bantu plural for the racial name Mbutu , Mbuttu , of which “ Mombutu” (Monbuttu) maybe the Bantu singular. Manbettu is no doubt only another form of the same word. Many of these northern peoples adopt Bantu tribal designations even if they have ceased to speak Bantu dialects. See p. 861, “Bambuttu.” 2 In transcribing these and other African dialects the author has adopted a simple orthography which is nearly the same as the Lepsius’ Alphabet. The conso- nants are pronounced as in English (except that c= ch, ,y = sh, n = ng’)and the vowels as in Italian (6 = 0 in “bone” or oa in “loan”). LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 837 ( Same in plural .) Morning {early) . Mouth . Monkey Mother . Mud Palm nut Path Plantain ( banana ) Rain Shame . Slave . Spear . Sugar-cane . Tongue Tooth . Wall (of house) Water . Wife , woman Wisdom , knowledge nobwobwo. etikpo (. Mahbettu , nettikpo). nambitali (. Mahbettu , nabura). yau. nope (#« old Bantu root for mud or water ; reappears in Fernando PS). nekolokbo. nehi (. Mahbettu , neyi). (h pronounced as with a gasp or click l) ebugu (. Manbettu , ebugu). ekuma (. Manbettu , nekuma). di. amogia. ekonga (Bantu). etolo (Manbettu, naturu). edada (Mahbettu, nekkadra ; Semi-Bantu, Balese, Babati, Bakwa dialects , daka and daga). neki (Mahbettu, ekki). nego. negwo (Mahbettu, eggu). nando (Mahbettu, nandro). amanyela (a Bantu word). This is bad That is good bad hat good „ good banana bad ,, large „ A small „ A short „ A very good man This man is not good One man Two men Many plantains (bananas) All plantains Plantains (are) finished (Shame = di) to be ashamed . amodi. (Fight, war = nap wo) the fight or war is coming nap wo azaku. (Arm = Kwo) He stretches out his arm . . ametenge kwo. Come! .... keza. Go back ! . . . ketu. ebandana amoda. ebanduni amombe (Mahbettu, mombe ; omb e=good). ekoti amoda. „ amombe. ebugu amombe. „ amoda. „ amokwokwo (Mahbettu, nekpopwo = large). „ amegwangwe. „ amipipi. nombi ombapima. nombi ane kokokombe. nombi kana. nombi sholo. ebugu amototo (Mahbettu, mekutu-kutu = many) or ebugu ngwu. ebugu pete (same in Mahbettu). ebugu angebi. 838 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO In previous chapters I have alluded to the interesting dis- covery first made by Grenfell, and subsequently confirmed by Stapleton, that the Mpombo 1 or Banza people dwelling between the River Lua and the western Mubangi, north of the 3rd degree of N. Lat., spoke a dialect which was emphatically not a Bantu language. Upon comparing Grenfell’s list of words and numerals of the Mpombo or western Banza with various languages to the north and east, I discovered that “ Mpombo ” bore a marked resemblance in one direction only, and that to the Mundu of the Egyptian Sudan. The Mundu is spoken in various dialects along the north- eastern borderland of the Congo basin, in and out of a country where the speech of the inhabitants mainly belongs to the Madi, Nyamnyam, and Manbettu language families. So far as I am aware, no dialect of Mundu has been recorded from farther west than the 27th degree of E. Long. ; and from here to the point where N. Lat. 3 0 30' cuts the Mubangi would be a distance of about seven hundred miles. Of course there may be intervening languages akin to both, or it may be ultimately shown that Mundu , Banza , Sango , Nyamnyam , Ndonga, Manbettu , Bamanga , Mbuba, etc., etc., are all members of a vast network of Central African languages akin in some degree to the Bantu language in phonology and even in grammar, but offering little or no resemblance in word-roots (other than in the case of mutually borrowed words). As regards the resemblances in the accompanying vocabu- laries \_Mpombo mainly by Grenfell ; Mundu by J ohnston], though they are slight, they are still sufficiently marked to point to a far-off relationship between a speech of the eastern bank of the lower Mubangi and a language spoken on the north-eastern water-parting between Nile and Congo. MPOMBO . 2 Numerals : — 1. bo, kbu . 2. bisi, bisi . 3. bala, bata 4. bana 5. vwi . MUNDU. biri ( and in composition , ngbo). gbosu, bwesu. bata. bala. burvi. 1 This name was applied by Stapleton (Appendix V, p. 314, Comparative Hand- book of Congo Languages). It is of doubtful authenticity in Stapleton’s opinion, and may be supplanted later by Banza , when we know for certain that the speech of the people on the left bank of the Mubangi above 3 0 N. Lat. is the same language as that spoken by the Banza. 2 The vocabulary here given was compiled by Grenfell in 1885, an d styled “The language of the people above Busembe, Mubangi River, between 3 0 2' and 3 0 30' N. Lat.” A few words are added from Stapleton’s short list compiled in 1897. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 839 MPOMBO. 6. siba, sita . 7. siema, sina 8. sena 9. vwina 10. njokwa . MUNDU. . mwedia. . lorezi. . badzena. . menewa. . njukba (teke is used for 1 tens ’ in the Arm plural). MPOMBO. ngubu MUNDU. kpa. „ below elbow kupe, or pe, or be . kpa. Axe koba gi P^ Banana ndo labolo. Beads lifobo — Brass rod kunga — Beard samu su. Box longo, ipoko, ikunga - — Boy pe ... mbarase. Breast ka ka. Bullet siba — Canoe ga ... — Chin beye — Cloth bongo bongo. Dish muli — Duck ngoto — Ear zi ... je, goje. Eye nzula, nzola jara. Finger lekhwe dzikpa. Fire eva wa. Firewood va ... wa. Fish si ... si. Foot kwalo, teno, pekwano kangandera. Fowl ndun ngo. Girl bosi Goat be ... meme. Gun enele — Hair of head nsue njo, swinzo sunju. Hand tikwe, tekwe, pekwa dzikpara. Head njo, ncu . nju. Hippopotamus ngondo . kunbare. House nduka kambo. Hunger gumu — Iron ka ... se. Knife ke ... — Leg {thigh) ku ... lu. „ below knee biwa . — . Lip kutuma . komo. L ooking-glass ndenge . — Manioc ndembe or ngwende — Man mosi, mevu demu, okpwara Neck pengo pisingoro. Nose no, nyo . go. 840 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Oil M POM BO. mu MUNDU. mo. Paddle manga — Parrot kuku . nwo. Palm wine mana . fi. Rope ku ... — this rope ku ndingi — Sandbank mbangu . — Shield ngo ... . vora. Shore \right bank of Mubangi] mungo — Shore [left bank of Mubangi ] kuba — Skin koto . kora. » of goat koto be . . kora meme. Spear mbenga, mbongo . do. ■Stone timi, ndanga . . teme. Sun bao za. Teeth ti ... . te. Throat ngangu . — Tongue mi ... mi. Water ngo ... . ngu. To sleep laci — To eat zu ... — To go ' ge ... — To drink ngu ... — To look or see siki — To sweep yabo — With regard to the resemblances between Sango and Mong- wandi, this is only evidenced so far by a comparison of the numerals : — SANGO. 1. Oko 2. Muise 3- O ta 4. Osio 5. Okon 6. Omona 7. Blambla 8. Omiambi (? borrowed from Bantu) 9. Gumbaya 10. Bainoko 11. Dunoko 12. Dunise 20. Baise 30. Bainota 40. Bainosio MONGWANDI. 1. Koil 2. Sebu 3. Mta 4. Nsio 5. Oko 6. Batabata (? 3 + 3 ?) 7. Nsio bata (4 4- 3) 8. Miamba (? borrowed from Bantu ?) 9. Okoasio(5+4) 10. Sule LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 841 As regards the remainder of Torday’s short vocabulary of Sango, I can only say it shows this language — and possibly Mongwandi — to occupy a very isolated position. For although the word for 4 evinces a resemblance to Manbettu , and another, 10, to Nyamnyam (besides the universal root for 3, which is -ta, common to the Bantu family and to so many other groups of Central and West African speech), there is only an occa- sional word-root in the vocabulary that points to any affinity ; and these coincidences may be due to deliberately borrowed or interchanged words, just as the numeral 8 — omiambi — may have been acquired from northern Bantu. 1 Nyamnyam ( Azancle and Makar ka) numerals (Johnston, Colombaroli, and Torday). 1. SSL 2. Iwet or ue. 3. Biata. 4. Biama or dogoibet (in the west). 5. Bisue. 6. Batisa. 7. Batiwet or batiwe. 1 As Sango has never been (to my knowledge) illustrated before, I append here some words from Torday’s unpublished vocabulary and one or two collected by Stapleton : — Arm timu Fowl kono Palm Back komo Goat gasa wine kuo Banana fondo Grass gungu Parrot kungu Beard kwambambam Ground sese Pig govo Belly bimu (cf. Bantu ) Hair kwali Rain gu Bird hu Hand timu Road dege Blood mene Head dimu Skin protremo Breast me Heart bemu Sky dzulu Brother nyitambi Hippo- Slave ba Buffalo bita potamus bimba Sleep dalango Buttocks gengele House da ; also nzo S flake mbwo Canoe ngo Hunger ge Son nyikoli Chief manga Knee bambagle Stick keke Child nyinga Knife zemo Stone tene „ my nyinga-mbi Leg glemu Sun la Cloth bongo Leopard je, ije Thief nji Crocodile gundi Lips pronyomo Thigh bundambu Day bio Man zu Tongue mengamu Dog bu Meat susu Tooth temu Ear mamu Moon dje Tree keke Elefhant duli Mother ma Town kodro Eye demo Mouth yangama War tu Fat boh Nail {of Water ngu Father mako finger) zalitimu Woman wali Finger litimi Navel dihema Wind ya . Fire wa Neck dagum f me mbi, mbine Fish mi Night bi All trekwoi mima Foot gremu Nose homo This su Forest gunda Paddle bi 842 GEORGE GRENEELL AND THE CONGO 8. Batibiata. 9. Batibiana. 10. Bawet, bawe. 11. Tiborosa or bawe-bati-sandeyo-sa. 12. Tiboroue or bawe-bati-sandeyo iwe. 15. Hira. 20. Mbodu-mbodu or bororue. 40. Aborawiwe [\ meaning “two persons’ 5 ) or Ziborowe. 50. Aborawiwe na bawe or Bawe-batesindisa. 100. Aborau bisue or Borobilie. The Nyctmnyam speech, like so many other language families of Negroland, is apparently constructed on the quinary system in its numerals. There was evidently a second or an earlier root for 5, ba , which by combination with the first four numerals and a copulative particle gives the present words for 6 [ba-ti-sa = five and one], 7, 8, 9 ; while 10 is obviously ‘twice 5,’ and there is an independent word for 15, hira. It is very probable that the same has occurred in Manbettu. 1 2 The Momvu-Mbuba , Lendu , and Madi language types (Nos. 6, 7, and 9) in my present list are sufficiently illustrated for purposes of general comparison in my Uganda Protectorate , but for convenience of reference I give their numerals here : — MBUBA . 3 4 1. edi, mwedi, tsitse 2. agbe 3. ecena, or -na 4. ecero,eceto,^-zo 5. ecembo or -mbo 6. manca or matya (cf. Mundu) . 7. laludu or arudi (cf. Mundu) . 8. lalo or raro 9. abu - tsuhwa or mini-du LENDU . 3 di, tsi [in composition) alo. . eri, iri. MADI. ru bau thau mbu za . arubwo . rrr (a trilt) na. su. tou, to, tau, nji. azia [or nji-kasia). aziri [or tudieri, njigeleri). arro [or azina or njidalana). deti dritsalo [or njidilensu tfrazisu). 1 The Manbettu language, so much alluded to by Schweinfurth, so important in the study of Central African philology, has never been properly written down. Captain Guy Burrows gives an imperfect vocabulary of Manbettu in his work on The Lci 7 id of the Pygmies , but omits numerals almost entirely. From notes in Grenfell’s diary I have been able to correct Stanley’s list of Manbettu numerals, as presented on pages 836-7 ; and assuming that the word for 5, zerna , is either a misprint or an independent introduction (as often happens), and that the original root-word was more like Tengwi , we have in the numerals 6, 9, and 10 the rudiments of a quinary system. 2 Closely allied to Momva , a tongue spoken farther to the north-west, for which consult Dr. Stuhlmann’s travels. 3 Otherwise called Drudu and Lega. 4 Including also the dialects of Logbwari and Avukaya. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 843 10. avutsi or ki or mini 1 1. ki edi 20. iki akbe 40. iki etsero . 50. iki etsembo de [cf. Kimbugu in East Africa] tsiti thoujuna (? “ four fives”) thaude . mbude . mudri or muddi. dri n’al’o or mudri di lal’o. mudi-’ri. mudi-su. mudi-to. In neither Mbuba nor Madi are there traces of independent words for ‘ twenty ’ (as distinct from ‘ twice ten ’). On the other hand, the thoujuna of Lendu certainly begins with a syllable like ‘ four,’ and if the rest of the word -juna is an alternative term for ‘five’ may mean ‘four fives.’ But the other decades in Lendu are formed by the use of de= { ten.’. This particle may be related to the ’ ddi or 'dri which is a portion of the vocable for ‘ten’ in the Madi group. It is significant that the word for ‘ hand ’ in Madi is also ddi , dri. The words for ‘one’ (edi, tsitse) in Mbuba resemble the term for finger, Heditsitse , and also suggest some affinity with the tsi (in ‘one’ and ‘eleven’) in Lendu. Apparently 3, 4, and 5 in Mbuba (and the speech of the Bambute dwarfs) are preceded by a kind of prefix, ece- or etse-. The root for ‘five,’ mbo , is obviously related to the mbu of Lendu ; and here we have turning up again an old term for both ‘ five ’ and ‘ ten ’ \bu, pu, bo, fu, mbu, mpii\ which permeates all Equatorial Africa from Senegambia to the White Nile. This bu for ‘ five ’ or multiples of five even crops up in the Bantu dialects of the northern Congo, 1 or in Fernando Po and the region of the North-West Cameroons, besides the languages of Guinea. Note the word for ‘ten’ in Mbuba — avu-tsi: avu being perhaps an old plural for bu or mbu (five), and tsi meaning ‘one’ — ‘one lot of fives,’ ‘one pair of fists.’ The alternative roots for ‘ten’ in this group, mini of the Bambute and ki or iki used in Mbuba decades and teens, recall respectively the mine, mene of Kuamba, that strange and interesting language of northern Ruwenzori, and the digi- of Lihuku (north-west Semliki). The root mine even penetrates to the Cameroons, and may finally expire in the mie of Fernando Po. A feature which is noteworthy in the construction of the numerals of so many African languages of the Equatorial belt between Senegambia and Somaliland, a phase which to a lesser extent affects the Bantu languages, is the multiplicity of word-roots for conclusive numerals like five, ten, fifteen, twenty. 1 Cf. ebumoti, <^muti (five-one), ma -bo, la -bo (‘fives,’ i.e. ten) in Babua, Babati, Soko, etc. ; bwe- or bwesi for ‘ twenty,’ ‘ twenties ’ in Kuamba. 844 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO I term these figures “ conclusive ” because in all these regions of Africa (to say nothing of the rest of the world) counting is so obviously based on fingers and toes . 1 So much is this the case in Equatorial Africa that one explanation of the extra- ordinary divergence in existing words for numerals between tribe and tribe, otherwise related, is the tendency to hark back to the fingers and toes in counting. A community of people may by degrees accustom themselves to the invention of special words for six, seven, eight, nine, and ten — sudden jumps to totally new terms quite unconnected with any root meaning five ; or, after they have substituted special words for six, seven, eight, nine, they may still leave in their expression for ten the trace of its having been a plural of five, or this trace may crop up in other multiples of five, such as fifteen or twenty. Yet some change of fashion or circumstances arises, and suddenly a people speaking a fairly well-developed, abstruse language like Nyamnyam will revert to direct allu- sions to the fingers or the body for their numerals . 2 In these Equatorial African languages an old word for five may be cast aside in favour of an entirely new term, which perhaps may mean ‘ fist ’ or ‘ one hand,’ or something of that 1 The Rev. W. H. Stapleton, in his study of the northern Congo Bantu languages, supplies this note as to finger-counting : — “ On the Upper River calculation is done principally by the aid of the fingers ; the counter makes the proper sign, and the person addressed supplies the numeral. Thus in Ngala : ‘Ngele 5 (brass rods), says the speaker, and holds up his fingers giving the sign for the number. Sometimes the person speaking makes the sign, and supplies the leading syllable, as ‘ Oteni miete boi?’ [How many trees hast thou cut?] asks one; ‘Mi-’ responds the person, holding up three fingers; ‘-tatu,’ says the other, thus completing the numeral mi-tatu, three. “ The following are the signs in use amongst the Bangala : — Raising the index finger ..... „ „ with the next Raising the three last fingers .... Raising the four fingers in pairs, divided by the thumbs inserted at the roots of the fingers Raising the four fingers and the thumb The sign for three on each hand .... The sign for four on one hand and three on the other The sign for four on both hands .... The sign for five on one hand and four on the other Clap both hands together, or double up one fist Two claps of the hands, or shake of the fist And so on. “The signs differ in the several languages. Thus the Ngombe shuts one fist for five, and for seven beats the back of the four fingers of one hand on the front of three in the other hand, etc.” 2 Father Colombaroli, in his study of the Azande or Nyamnyam language (Cairo, 1895), finds many allusions to fingers, toes, and “whole men” in the Nyamnyam numerals. But the present writer cannot agree with all his etymologies, though this theory deserves examination. The Rev. W. G. Robertson writes on this subject in his Handbook of the Bemba Language (p. 53), and Mr. E. W. Smith in connection with the northern Zambezi people (Grammar of the lla Language , p. 66). LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 845 kind, but the older designation of five will still linger in the for- mation of the succeeding numerals, six, seven, eight, and nine. Nine is frequently expressed by a phrase meaning ‘ten less one.’ Twenty is not infrequently a wholly different word to ten, whether or no it can be traced back to ‘four fives’; and in calculation after twenty the succeeding decades will be numbered by scores or scores and ten. Thus forty will be ‘two twenties,’ eighty ‘four twenties,’ a hundred ‘five twenties.’ Sometimes there is a special word for fifty, and not infre- quently a peculiar term for fifteen. In the subsequent re- view of the Bantu lan- guages of the Congo basin it will be seen that, although they are gene- rally faithful to one root- word expressive of five, they have often two alter- native terms for ten, tens. This idea in speech can of course be paral- leled in the languages of Europe and of Asia. We are accustomed to speak of a ‘ score ’ and a ‘ tithe ’ as well as of ‘ twenty ’ and ‘ ten,’ a ‘ century ’ as well as a ‘ hundred.’ 478. THE REV. WILLIAM FORFEITT (Jf all the known non- Bantu languages the group (No. 5) which I have styled N donga- Bamanga penetrates farthest south into the Congo basin, as can be seen by a reference to my ethnographical map. Bondonga or Ndonga occupies the south-eastern por- tion of the Mongala basin (its northern limits are unknown), and the Bamanga 1 language ranges from the upper Lindi River on the north-east to the vicinity of the Lomami on the south-west. These two related and very peculiar forms 1 Bamanga , like Ndonga , may be a Bantu appellation. Bakinnu and Bamanga were formerly used by most travellers indifferently for the same people (apparently) and language. Stapleton started by attempting to discriminate between Bakumu and Bamanga, but gave it up ; but Vice-Consul G. B. Michell has now shown that the Bakumu of the Chopo River are quite distinct from the Bamanga and speak a degraded Bantu dialect. 846 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO of non- Bantu speech are therefore completely cut off one from the other by a band of Bantu dialects some two hun- dred and seventy miles broad. The Bakumu and Bamanga tribes have been known by name to geography since Stanley’s journey down the Congo in 1877. Stuhlmann was probably the first traveller to suspect the Bamanga of not being Bantu in their speech, but the late Rev. W. H. Stapleton, B.M.S., was the first to prove this interesting fact by a study of their language. Stapleton attributed the use of a similar dialect to the western Bakumu, but he may have been in error. In 1907 the Rev. William Forfeitt, B.M.S., of Bopoto, northern Congo, sent home a small fragment of the Bondonga or Ndonga language, and an examination of these few words will soon reveal not only its absolutely non- Bantu character, but its affinities with the dialect of the Bamanga. Here are the Ndonga and Bamanga numerals : — NDONGA. BAMANGA. I. Ewimi -ima 2. Bine Bini, sini, or bine, etc. 3- Bela Biala 4- Ififi Anbuti 5- ICabe Buma 6. Ibebela Tetele 7- Ifibela Moti isini 8. Sebiara 9- Dibwa {Bantu) Sianbuti 10. Akalabe Obusa, abusa, kami {v. p. 865) 1 1. „ te wimi — 12. „ „ bine — G. „ „ bela — 14- „ „ ififi — 15- Akalabe te kabe — 1 6. „ „ ibebela — 17- „ „ ifibela — 18. „ „ ifififi — 19. „ „ dibwa — 20. Litindale Kami bini 30. „ t’akelabe — 40. Matindase bisene — 50. „ „ t’akalabe Kami buma 60. „ bela — 70. „ „ t’akalabe — 80. „ ififi — 90. „ „ t’akalabe — 100. „ kabe — The real root of numeral ‘ one ’ appears to be -mi (in Bamang a it is - ima ), and of ‘two,’ the particle -ne (ni or ne in LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 847 Bamanga). Ewi- and bi- are perhaps prefixes, like the u or hu and the bi- of Bamanga. The word for ‘ three ’ [be la, biala ) may be related to the widespread -la or ta of Western Equatorial Africa. The words for ‘four,’ ‘five,’ and ‘ten’ [‘six/ ‘seven/ and ‘ eight ’ are only reduplications of previous numerals] are quite peculiar. ‘ Six ’ in Bamanga ( tetele ) is not easily ex- plained, unless it is an idiotism derived from Bebela. ‘Nine’ in Ndonga is borrowed from the Bantu, and also the root for ‘ twenty ’ ( litinda ) and the ‘ twenties ’ 1 ; but these are supplied with special suffixes peculiar to Ndonga -Bamanga speech. The conjunctive particle te- suggests the similar particle ti- used in combining numerals in Nyamnyam. The word for ‘four’ in Bamanga is altogether peculiar. ‘Five’ — buma — is apparently a combination of the widespread root bu and -ma ( = ‘ one ’) : ‘ one five/ ‘ one fist/ The alternative root for ‘ ten ’ — kami — may be related to the kama of some north-east Congo Bantu languages or be related to the kabe (=‘five’) or akalabe (=‘ten’) of Ndonga. The following are a few words and phrases in Ndonga, with comparisons added to show the resemblance in the Bamanga speech : — bee bees children cow dog father food goat hoe house houses leopard leopards man (male) man (a person) persons sheep woman (female) women (females) I, me thou, thee he, she, him we, us ye, you they huonge huose deye bokolimba bala {Bamanga, bia) eba ; ta ( „ ata, mata, tumu) agwiye meme {Bamanga, meme) motumu {Bantu) sika sikeye mambikola {Bamanga, biu-ki) „ ( „ biu-si) kwanda ndoa-nge {Bamanga, njwa-ge) ndo-se ( „ njwa-si) bata {Bantu) jua {Bamanga, ju) jue-ye ( „ ju-bi) ne {Bamanga, no) mo ( „ mo, mu) me {Bamanga, ndi) nu ( i) na ( „ nya) lame ( „ be) 1 See page 864. 848 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO One good house = Sika ewimi mba. Three good houses = Sikeye bela mba. Two houses = Sikeye bine. Many houses = Sikeye egugwa. A good dog = Bala mba. My father =Eba ta ne. Thy father = Ta ta ma. His father = Ta ta ikime. Our father = Ta ta nu. Your father = Ta ta na. Their father = Ta ta lame. Thy house = Sika tamo. Thy dog = Bala tamo. Our goats = Meme iki nu. Their goats •-= Meme iki lame. Your sheep = Bata ta na. Our children = Deye ta nu. Give me = Aho ne (. Bamanga , ho = give). I gave thee = Ne ’ho mo. I gave thee not = Tse ne aho mo. We shall not sell food = Nu itse delazage agwiye. Thou dost not love me = Mo itse moyege ne. He laughs = Me liyolo. He laughs not= Tse me yolo ge. We fall = Nu tete (Bamanga, te = fall). We do not fall = Tse nu te ge. Ye dance = Na liyabe (Bamanga, dance = langwa). Ye dance not = Itse na ya ge. They kill = Lame liwingeu (Bamanga, kill = kwi). They do not kill = Lame tse kwinge ge. The resemblances between the details of this short vocabulary and such record as we have of Bamanga are few, but significant. Unfortunately in Mr. Stapleton’s manuscript vocabulary of Bamanga the numerals (all but ‘ one ’ and ‘ two ’) are missing, as well as the pronouns ; but these have been kindly supplied to me by Mr. G. B. Michell. 1 It is obvious that N donga (though it is possibly a more altered and influenced language) has much the same syntax as Bamanga, and forms its singular and plural by varying suffixes — nge and se, a and eye. The first two of these corresponds to the ki, gi, or ge (sing.) and si or se of the Bamanga (tijwage = a man, njwase = men; nzinoge = a lung, nzinose = the lungs; biu-ki= a leopard, biusi = leopards; kwegi= a louse, kwesi= lice). -A and eye are not so easily paralleled, though in Bamanga there are words like komb-a which form their plural thus : kombe. The following short list of words in Bamanga may serve to give some idea of the affinities and structure of the language : — all bomuna banana bogo amidst ngwegi PI. boge and te be (to be) ku animal noigi bear, to zu PI. noisi beard sa arm kwe-ki beat, to kio PI. kwe-si belly yali left arm kwe kobe PI. yasi right arm kwe ange bewitch, to kumami arrow jili big goi PI. jisi beard nui bad sisige bite nomo 1 H.B.M. Consul, Paris ; formerly Vice-Consul on the Congo. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 849 blood izima food ze PI. izimi (flesh is muni) bone bebi foot hwamba bow jeli forest za PL jesi fowl ngoi brain mbuli give, to ho PL mbusi go, to do break, to geme goat meme brother ngwondo-ge good dobo PL ngwondo-bi hare mbesi buffalo gwage hand labeke PL gwasi hat pu build, to su PL pi . buttocks ngweni he ndi PL ngwesi head mbia-la by yi PL mbie-si camwood ngu heart jua-ni PL ngi PL jua-si canoe ku hippo- PL kusi potamus ndifo chief joma PL ndifi PL jome hoe yembe child bia honey kanozi PL bibi house lage chin ngaga I no PL ngage in -ni (locative come, to bo suffix) cook, to no knife ko, ke crocodile ngonde leg ku die, to kwi leopard biu dying kwigi little side dog bia love kunda PI. be male kia down chu man njwa dream, to do young man ngonjo drink, to nju PL ngonje ear jombo-je medicine hwi PL jombe moon he, or ihe eat, to zo mother aiya elephant nge ^ name de (deli, desi) evil sisigi nose ohombo eye la, or lali PL ohombe PL Iasi oil suku face sibe-le paddle kofi (kofi-gi, PL sibe-si kob-bi) (Bantu) fall, to te permit, female iu, or jwi allow a, a finger teli poison PL tesi ordeal zeme fire uwu rain mba fish siso river lindi II. — 2 A 850 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO road kwa to-day mide PI. kwe toe tele salt to (tome, tote) PI. tesi see, to hu tongue mine sell, to ma PI. mise send, to li tooth te (teki, pi. tesi) sew, to hlo tree g a (gal', gasi) sheep shield nodogo ngubu {Bantu) war to make go sleep na war be snake kia water ngome stick ijoli wife mwigi stone nga witch koma take, to to PI. kome thief hzi woman j u thing gobe PI. jwi one thing gobe ima two things gobe bine work, to hwa The singular and plural of nouns in Bamanga is formed by suffixes. Apparently the root of the noun remains unaffected by these changes except in regard to the terminal vowel, which in some instances changes from a , o, or it in the singular to e or i in the plural (thus : ngombo-ge , an axe, becomes ngombe-bi , axes ; komba , master, is in the plural kombe ; uya, pi. uye (flea) ; ngungu , pi. ngunge (sugar-cane) ; bwubwu , pi. bwnbi (hill). The principal suffixes are as follows : — SINGULAR. PLURAL. ki, gi, or ge si li, ne, ni si ge bi mi, me bi or te In addition to this suffix, there is apparently a kind of “ concord ” which applies to the numerals ‘ one 9 and ‘ two,’ and perhaps ‘ three,’ ‘ four,’ and ‘ five ’ ; but not to adjectives likewise (as it does in Bantu). Thus ‘a good man’ is njwa ciobo (dobo = good) ; but ‘one man’ is njwa uma (-ma=‘one j ; ‘two men’ is njwe bine (-ne = ‘two’). ‘One canoe’ is kit or kuki kima ; kusi sine =‘ two canoes.’ Mbolo uma=' one cord’; mboli bine = ‘ two cords.’ Jomboge gima, ‘ one ear ’ ; jombebi bine = ‘ two ears.’ Teli lima = ‘ one finger ’ ; tesi sine=‘ two fingers.’ Cone lima = ‘ one neck ’ ; co si sine=‘ two necks.’ Tome mima = ' one (lot of) salt’; tote bine = ‘ two (lots of) salt.’ Keke huma=‘ one rib’; keke bine = ‘ two ribs.’ The concord particles therefore in the singular number seem to be u- or hu-, ki- or gi-, mi- or me ; in the plural, bi- or si-. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 851 There are one or two irregular plurals in Mr. Stapleton’s list. Bebia , ‘a place,’ has bobe as plural ; bolo, ‘rope,’ becomes belo ; siso, ‘a fish,’ soso, ‘fishes’; bia , a ‘child,’ bibi, ‘children’; pu, ‘ hat,’ pi , ‘ hats.’ In the personal pronouns, the N donga language (the pro- nouns of Bamanga are only imperfectly recorded by Stapleton) offers a certain resemblance to Nyamnyam. A few — very few — of the word-roots in Bamanga are shared by Manbettu , Mpombo, Mundn , Mbuba , and by the Bantu family. Some of the last may be borrowed words. It is remarkable that with the exception of one or two verbs expressing fundamental ideas, most of the “ Bantu ” roots in Ndonga and especially in Bamanga are names for implements (such as hoe or paddle) or domestic animals, although the Bamanga forest people were rather more aborigines than the Bantu invaders and had received some additional civilization at their hands. The Bamanga word for ‘ river ’ is interesting — ‘Lindi.’ This root expressing a river (Lulindi, Malindi, Ndindi, Kilindi) appears not infrequently in the geography of Bantu Africa, and may be an indication of the prior presence of Bamanga-speaking autochthones. On the whole the Bamanga affinities lie mostly with the Mundzt group. With the exception of the coast-lands of Tanganyika or the Bukonjo highlands bordering Lake Albert Edward, the Congo basin and the whole of West Africa does not now include a single Bantu dialect of the “first class,” of the most archaic type as represented in the regions of the Great Lakes or the western watershed of the Zambezi. The four great foci of pure Bantu speech at the present day are (1) the territories of the Uganda Protectorate [from the Congo watershed to Mount Elgon], (2) the south-western coast of Tanganyika (especially the Bemba language), (3) the north end of Lake Nyasa, and (4) the south-western Zambezi (Subiya) and thence to Damaraland. I have already suggested that the existing Bantu languages of the Congo may, for the most part, be properly classified in three great groups — those of the First , Second ’ and Third invasions. The languages of the First Invasion , which occupy the northern half of the Congo basin and extend westwards to the Atlantic coast of the Cameroons and the Gaboon and to the island of Fernando Pd, are the most corrupt. Their northward range is that of the Bantu family ; on the east they are bounded (very nearly) by the line of the Nile-Congo water- 852 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO parting and that of the Lualaba-Congo and of Tanganyika (the Mwalega or Kilega of the Balega people is a language of the Second Invasion, though it penetrates the watershed of the Lualaba-Congo between the rivers Elila and Lulindi). The southern limits of the present extent of the First Invasion languages are less certain of definition. Beginning on the east, their boundary line would be approximately S. Lat. 4° 20' as far west as the River Kwango, and thence, with a slight dip to the south, the divisional line between the Bateke peoples and the Bakongo, striking the western Congo a few miles south of Stanley Pool. Thence the line would cross the Congo, follow the Niadi River for some distance and then the Nyanga, until the Atlantic coast was reached in the Sete Kama country. Every Bantu language spoken to the south of this line may be considered to belong in general to the group classified as that of the Second Invasion , though in the kingdom of Kongo and the triangle between the Kwango and the lower Kasai the influences of First and Second Inyasion mingle considerably. The influence of this Second Invasion extends as far to the south-west as Damaraland, and includes the wonderfully in- teresting language of the Ova-herero, besides perhaps the principal forms of speech in the northern and western basin of the Zambezi. The territory occupied by the languages of the Third Invasion , those which are in the main of the most archaic type of existing Bantu languages, is (as already noted) a very small portion of the Congo basin on the north-east and east. This group continues its range southwards along the east coast of Tanganyika, to the Zambezi and onwards to South and South-East Africa. There are of course necessary compromises with these theories [which in the main will be found to work very well for a classification in general of the Bantu languages, and in a general purview of that family of speech might be more con- veniently described as North-West ( = First Invasion), South- Central ( = Second Invasion), and East African ( = Third In- vasion)] : one group may overlie another, there may be an interchange of words or numerals or an imitation of prefixes; or isolated languages may preserve archaic features lost in the other members of the group, and yet be more properly classified as belonging (in the majority of their features) to one of the three cohorts. For example, the Kongo language spoken along the LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 853 western Congo, both north and south, is a language of the Second Invasion in its history and features, and is more nearly allied to the speech of Benguela, Lunda, Luba, and even Damaraland than it is to Teke, or to the languages of the Gaboon or Cameroons. Yet it also represents a compromise, and obviously overlies (and has absorbed) existing dialects belonodnof to the First Invasion which had occupied territory to the south of the western Congo, 1 but had not penetrated far into Angola. Some of the Angola dialects, specially those on the middle Kwango and to the south of the River Kwanza, have developed peculiar features of their own. Nevertheless in the majority of points they belong to the group of the Second Invasion, and can scarcely be said to constitute an independent and fourth section of the Bantu family. Oci-herero of Damaraland retains archaic features found in the East African Bantu, in Zulu, and perhaps also in the speech of Uganda and Unyoro; yet in its numerals and in the majority of its word-roots it belongs emphatically to West Africa, and is more allied with the languages of the Second Invasion, of which it was probably one of the pioneers. The Kirundi lancruaoe of northern and north-eastern Tan- 00 ganyika is a language of the Third Invasion of the East African Bantu, yet it has transitional forms in its numerals and vocabularies which ally it in a minor degree with the languages of the Second Invasion that have taken unto themselves the occupancy of the west coast of Tanganyika, and thence have pushed right across the southern Congo basin. In the speech of south-east Tanganyika, and about the Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau and the Zambezi borderland, we have several groups of dialects not easy to classify dogmati- cally as belonging exactly to the eastern or south-central 1 The Kongo language of to-day would seem to have been derived, perhaps eight or nine hundred years ago, from invaders of the Atlantic coast-lands south of the Lower Congo coming from the middle or upper Kwango, and eventually from the lands of the south-central part of the Congo basin. These Kongo invaders, this hunter aristocracy, as their name imports, must have found in possession of the western Congo coast-lands races influenced by the First Invasion, speaking languages akin to the Teke and the dialects of the Upper Congo, of the Ogowe and middle Cameroons. These were to some extent absorbed, and have left some of their distinctive features in the Kongo language of to-day. Amongst these is the use of the 17th (diminutive) prefix, expressed in modern Kongo by Fi — a prefix quite foreign to the south-central and eastern Bantu groups. It is possible that the invasion from the south-east which created the language and the kingdom of Kongo may have passed on northwards up the coast-line till it reached the Gaboon, where, by a similar mingling with preceding languages, it may have founded the rather peculiar Mpongwe tongue, which has certain features in its prefixes and vocabulary that suggest an ancient connection not only with Kongo, but with the more archaic Bantu languages of the south and east, such as, for example, the retention of the loth prefix [6Y- in Mpongwe, Zi or Tsi in original Bantu]. 854 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Bantu. A complete examination of these would turn the scale in one or other direction. Of a like nature also is the still greater problem of Zulu and Chuana. The East African proclivities of the numerous Bechuana dialects or languages are perhaps more obvious than their connection with South- central Bantu, but in the case of Zulu the affinities are very nicely balanced. If it were not for the intimate [though not always easily detected] relationship between the Zulu and the Chuana groups and the affinities between Zulu and the Zambezi-Nyasa dialects — both of which connections link the highly aberrant Bantu languages of southernmost Africa with the eastern section — it might almost have been necessary to classify the Zulu- Kaffir language as a fourth and independent Bantu group. It is, in any case, the most divergent and independent of all the forms of Bantu speech which have sprung from the mother language in Northern-Equatorial Africa. The most convenient plan on which to classify these three groups (so far as they occupy the Congo basin and the Cameroons) and to indicate their mutual affinities and divergencies, is the comparison of their numerals. But before proceeding to this I might point out some other striking features, negative or positive, which characterize each of the groups, and further justify their separation into three distinct cohorts. To make these points and comparisons clearer, it is advisable to commence by stating in a summary fashion the original plan 1 of the Bantu prefixes in their shortest form. SINGULAR. PLURAL. 1st prefix Mu- 2nd prefix Ba- 3 >-d Mu- 4th „ Mi- 5 th n Di- 6 th „ Ma- 7th Ki- 8th „ Bi- 9th In- 10th „ Zi-, Tsi-, or Di- i ith >> Lu- or Du- 12th ,, Tu- (Diminutive) 13th n Ka- (Diminutive) 14th >> Bu- (This is sometimes used as a Plural to the 13th) 15th )> Ku- (Locative, meaning to, in the direction of ) 1 6th >> Pa- (Locative, meaning on, here') 17th Fi- or Si- (Used as a Diminutive) In archaic Bantu these prefixes were — and in many modern dialects are — preceded by a further particle, especially when em- ployed in a definite sense. This for the prefixes i and 3 was Gu ( Gu-mu ), reduced in nearly all the languages existing at the present day to U- and 0 -. For the 2nd prefix the definite particle 1 Bleek’s classification is the only one which has stood the test of time. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 855 was Ba- or Ga -, reduced in almost all cases now to A- (Ada) ; for the 4th prefix it was Gi (reduced in most cases to /-) ; for the 5th it was I- or In- (. Idi or Indi) ; for the 6th, Ga (Gama, Ama). The particles of the 7th, 8th, and 10th were I- or hi- ; those of the 11th, 1 2th, and 15th were U- ; of the 14th, Bu- ; of the 13 th and 16th, A-. Now as regards the languages of the First Invasion which occupy the northern half of the Congo basin, Gaboon, Came- roons, etc. — The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 1 1 th, 12th, and 14th prefixes exist more or less undisturbed, and easily recognizable. The 4th prefix occasionally becomes Ni- or /- ; the 3rd is sometimes shortened into Ah- or U-. In Teke of the Ogowe and western Congo, in Mpongwe of the Gaboon, and in Manyema and one or two dialects of the north-eastern Congo the 6th prefix may be shortened to A-. In the languages of the north-east Congo and of the north-centre ( Lolo-Mongo ), and also in the northern and eastern dialects of Fernando Po, the 6th prefix becomes Ba , just as in the same groups the 1st and 3rd may be corrupted into Bo- by a preference for the un- nasalized labial. It is in the fih, ifih, and 15 th prefixes that the languages of the First Invasion display their most marked differences from those of the other two groups. The 13th prefix, Ka -, has almost entirely died out over the whole of the immense region occupied by the languages of the First Invasion, except in the speech of the Bagenya } on the Congo above Stanley Falls, and in the mongrel, indeterminate dialects north of the Sankuru and on the lower Kasai, which are formed of a mingling between the languages of the First and Second Invasion. The Ka- prefix is now practically extinct in the Bube language of Fernando Po, but some forty years ago still lingered in an adverbial capacity with the numerals expressive of time (once, twice, thrice, etc.). 1 2 This absence of the 13th prefix is the most marked feature of the north-western group, because it stands in abrupt contrast to the languages of the Second In- vasion, which make an almost extravagant use of the 1 3th pre- fix, developing it from a diminutive to a title of affection, and even of honour. It is true that this particle is nearly extinct in the Kongo language, but it still lingers in a few words, and was traditionally more in evidence several centuries ago. 1 Here it takes the place of the 17th (St-) and has To - as plural. 2 The Ka- prefix may perhaps be traced still in some of the semi-Bantu languages of North Cameroons and Eastern Nigeria. 856 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO The 7th prefix (. Ki -) has ceased to appear in its fullest form in the languages of the First Invasion (with very few excep- tions in the east and west). Its almost invariable rendering is in the abbreviated form of E- or /-. In one form or another it is found in all these languages. It still appears as Ki- (some- times deepened into Gi-, or by a vowel change becoming Ke- or Ge -) in some of the Cameroons and Gaboon languages, notably in the most north-western existing Bantu languages — Barundo and Bakasi — from the borderland between the Came- roons and the Cross River estuaries. In the Kuamba of Ruwenzori it remains Ki-, but in the adjoining Lihuku has crumbled to E- [with an irregular plural, Di-]. The Bagenya retains it as Ci-, but in Manyema it is reduced to /-. In the Mpongwe language of the Gaboon, the original full form of Iki- \Eki in Kongo] has become Ez\ In this and other Gaboon dialects it is often represented by Yi-, or Ye-, and occasionally by J-. In the semi- Bantu languages of the Cross River Cameroons it occasionally reappears in its old form of Ki-, but in Fernando Po and over the greater part of the northern basin of the Congo it is one of the commonest prefixes in use, to- gether with its plural Bi -, and is invariably in the form of E. In Teke it appears in one or two nouns as Ki-, but is usually reduced to I - ; and in this form is often confused with the similar abbreviation of the 17th prefix. The absence of the 10th prefix ( Zin - or Din-, Zi- or Di-) is as marked a peculiarity in the languages of the First Invasion as is that of the 13th ( Ka -). In no single language of this group are there any traces of its existence, even as a concord particle, except in Lihuku of the northern Semliki, Bangi (of the Babangi-Bayanzi), and Mpongwe of the Gaboon. In Lihuku (as will be seen by referring to the vocabularies in my Uganda Protectorate ) there is a plural prefix Di- which answers to a singular E-, but there are strong reasons for supposing that this is a senseless corruption of Bi-, the 8th prefix. 1 It is there- fore probable that the original 10th \_Zi- or Di-] plural prefix of archaic Bantu has no existence in this direction, west of the Uganda-Unyoro group. In the language of the Babangi or Bayanzi its corresponding pronominal particle lingers in the form of -It-, derived from an older -di-. On the other hand, in Mpongwe of the Gaboon — a language with many peculiar features of its own, and which may have 1 The unfortunate 8th prefix is liable to the most abrupt transitions among the Bantu languages. In the course of a generation it can be changed from Bi- [through Pi-, Fi-, Si-, or Bzi-] to Zi- and even Ri-. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 857 received some centuries ago an intermixture along the sea- coast from the Kongo language of the Second Invasion — the 10th prefix still lingers in the form of Si- or Si-. The 1 2th prefix Tu- in the languages of the First Invasion is sometimes corrupted into Tso- y Ru, or Lu ( Ro - or Lo-), or may be even abbreviated to U in the Barombi and Barundo dialects of the North-West Cameroons, or capriciously changed to Vu- or Vo- (Banoho, Bapuku of the South Cameroons coast); but it is scarcely absent from any one of this great cohort of languages, except Bangi and Ngala. In all of these it serves as a plural to the 17th prefix, 1 which as a diminutive has taken the place of the banished Ka-. The 15th prefix, Ku-— possibly because it begins with a K — is nearly as foreign to the languages of the First Invasion as the 13th (a fact which may be due to intermixture with Pygmies, who have a dislike to initial gutturals). Where it does linger in the form of O- it is used as a preposition or a locative. But there are more definite traces of its existence in some of the Ogowe languages ( Go-), and it exists fully (in the shape of Go-) in Mpongwe. In Fernando Po it is used as an infinitive and a locative in the form of 0 -. The Pa- prefix ( 1 6th) has vanished from this group except as a preposition. That is to say, like the 15th and 13th prefixes, even where it lingers it has lost the concord and the right to be called a prefix. It is merely a preposition, and in that capacity is traceable in nearly all the languages of the First Invasion. Only, however, in those of the Northern Gaboon coast does it retain its ancient form of Pa-. Elsewhere it softens into Fa-, Va-, Wa-, Ha-, or A-. We now come to the consideration of the 17th prefix, Si- ox Fi , 2 the possession of which is the distinguishing feature of 1 In Kongo and Oci-herero [perhaps also in the numeral for ‘ten,’ ‘tens’ in the North-West Cameroons tongues], Tu- stands as plural for the nth prefix (Lu). 2 The 17th prefix of the Bantu languages is sufficiently important in matters of geographical distribution, relationship, and classification to deserve a few explanatory words. This prefix was unknown to Bleek (or at least unrecognized by him) when he wrote his commencement of a grammar of the Bantu languages. He did, it is true, note its appearance amongst the Cameroons languages and that of Fernando Po, but attributed the form it assumed to an eccentric variation from that of the 7th prefix (A 7 -). It was Holman Bentley of the Baptist Mission who first, in his Grammar and Dictionary of the Kongo Language, established the existence of this diminutive prefix (in the form of Fi-) as an independent and consequently a supernumerary prefix, having its own concord. He identified it very rightly with the similarly employed diminutive prefix — in the form of Vi of languages in the Gaboon and South Cameroons. The present writer, a few years after Bentley’s discovery, found this 17th prefix in the form of 1 - (or rarely Fi-), in the Manyema dialects to the north-west of Tanganyika, besides identifying it in a similar shape in the Teke language, in numerous languages of the Cameroons, of Fernando Po, and of the semi-Bantu people on the upper Cross River and North-Western Cameroons. Professor Carl Meinhof [the well-known 858 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO the north-west Bantu languages, and the most striking point in classification which separates this group from the other cohorts of Bantu speech. This 1 7th prefix has been adopted by the Kongo and Kakongo dialects, but otherwise is com- pletely foreign to the Bantu languages of the Second and Third Invasions, to those of East, South, and South-West Africa. With regard to the definite particles preceding the prefixes, as set forth on pages 854-5, though these exist in a strongly marked form in the languages of South-West Africa, the Zam- bezi-Congo borderland, and the shores of Tanganyika, and still more so in the languages of inner East Africa, they are practi- cally absent from all the languages of the First Invasion , except Mpongwe and the Bube language of Fernando Po. In the last-named their existence as definite articles is obvious, but in Mpongwe they have merely fused with the prefix and are “fossilized.” There is a slight trace of them [fused with the prefix] in Teke. The languages of the Second and Third Invasions differ from those of the First in that they possess and use all the prefixes except the 1 fih. In Kongo the 1st and 3rd prefixes are usually shortened to M- or IV- , but in almost all other members of the South-Central African group, and in all the western and southern languages of East Africa, the vowel of these prefixes is retained. In Lunda, Kioko, Ovimbundu, and German exponent of the Bantu languages] also identified independently this 17th prefix, but ascribed to it the original form of Pi-. The present writer is disposed to differ from him, and to argue that the original form was more likely to have been Si- or Ft-. In Fernando Po the 17th prefix is Si-, and it takes that form in the Manyan of the eastern Cross River, and Si- in certain languages of the region between the upper Cross River and the eastern Benue. It is Si- in the Lokele and Losoko lan- guages (north-eastern bend of the Congo). In Manyema it is Fi-, in modern Kongo and Kakongo it is likewise Fi-. In the Cameroons and Gaboon languages it is either Vi- or /-, and this last is the abbreviated form that it assumes in the various dialects of Lolo speech, in the Teke language, and in other forms of speech in the north and central part of the Congo basin. The corresponding plural prefix is almost invariably the 12th of Bleek’s system, namely, Tu- (in the form of Tu -, To-, Tso -, Lo -, Ld-, Ro-). In Kakongo , however, it takes Bi- (the 8th) as a plural. In the semi-Bantu languages between the Cross River and the Cameroons the corresponding plural is in the form Ke-, a type unknown to the true Bantu languages, or else Me-. Recurring to Meinhof’s argument that this prefix was originally Pi- or Pyi -, it might be said that no trace of it in that form has yet been recorded. Fi- is more likely to have been its ancient type. F is a consonant which in the Bantu languages rarely, if ever, becomes P. On the other hand, it readily permutes with S, by way of H. [The 17th prefix is Hi- or He- in one or two semi-Bantu dialects.] A great many instances could be quoted of original Bantu f’s or Ps becoming s in languages like Zulu, Herero, or Fernandian, or vice versa of an s followed by a w changing to f (sweswe=“ we” becomes in several dialects fefe). LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 859 the Nano dialects (Benguela), Kimbundu (Angola), and Kishi- Kongo the 2nd prefix fades to A- (or Wa -), but resumes its older form of Ba- in Kakongo. In Herero it is Va - ( Ova ), and also in southern Luba and some of the dialects about the Kasai sources. The 8th prefix, Bi-, frequently becomes Vi- in south- eastern and southern Congoland, and in the west shares the fate of the 2nd by losing its initial labial altogether. In Kimbundu and other Angola districts, in Kishi-Kongo , and in Lunda it becomes Yi- or /-, and in the middle of the Zambezi- Congo watershed displays the tendency so marked in the Zulu and Nyanja languages to pass through Byi- or Bzi, to Zi or Si. The 10th prefix (Zi, Zin) is almost dropped in the Second Invasion languages of east and south-east Congoland and in Luba (though always represented by its concord particle and pronoun), but flourishes in the regions west of the middle Kasai in slightly varying forms (Zin-, Zin-, Zon , Thon-, Sin-). The 14th prefix, Bu-, loses its labial (like Ba- and Bi-) in the west and becomes U- in the Lunda, Kongo, Angola, Benguela, and Herero languages. This dislike to the initial b in the south- west is curiously paralleled in the eastern coast-lands of Bantu Africa. The 1 6th prefix, Pa-, reaches its extreme development of use in the languages of south-west Tanganyika and the Nyasa- Tanganyika plateau. Its vogue lessens somewhat as one proceeds westward. Still it scarcely fails in any of the languages *of the Second Invasion, and always retains its concord particle, which is completely lost in those of the First Invasion. In the Urututsi , a Hima type of language to the north of Tanganyika, the 16th prefix takes the form of Va-, but in all the other languages of the Third Invasion anywhere near the Congo basin (except Luganda, which adopts the less modified form of Wa-), the locative prefix in the form of Ha-. This type extends right down the west coast of Tanganyika till the Bemba language is reached on the south-west corner, and here the 1 6th prefix is restored to its original form — Pa-. The Ha- disease (as I have been sometimes impelled to call it) is a very curious one : I mean the abrupt change of the labial p to the aspirate h. It is a marked feature of the eastern Equatorial Bantu languages, and reappears also in the middle languages of the Second Invasion (Luba and its allies), 1 and also amongst 1 Except southern Luba of Katanga. Here the locative particle is Po- or Pa-. 86 o GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO some forms of speech of the First Invasion along the north- eastern Congo. In Kongo and Angola the 16th prefix or locative particle is Va-. In the Herero group of languages it more often retains the initial consonant E, but the vowel sound (through the prefix being given a relative sense) is often changed to o. The languages of the Second and Third Invasions differ o notably from those of the First in their far more frequent use of the definite particle before the prefix. This practice, it is true, has died out in the Luba dialects, in Lunda and some of the upper Kasai and Kwango languages, but it still survives in Kongo, in Kimbundu (Angola), and notably in the Herero group, and the Tonga-Ila-Bisa type of Bantu along the Zambezi-Congo water-parting. The particle A-, /-, U- (accord- ing to the vowel of the prefix) is still in effective use in the languages of the south-west coast of Tanganyika and on the Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau. It is more prominent in the Kongo speech of the seventeenth century than in that of the present day (wherein it is reduced to O- and E-), and has disappeared altogether from the Kakongo north of the Congo estuary. It attains a very peculiar development in the Bantu of South-West Africa, notably in the language of the Herero. In this, as in related dialects of the north (Benguela province), even in the languages of Angola, this definite particle, instead of being in harmony with the vowel of the prefix as in the other Bantu groups (A, /, U , or A, E, O ), is reduced almost entirely to the single form O. Thus, instead of Aba we have Ova; instead of Ibi, Ovi ; in place of Izin, Ozon or Othon . But this corruption does not extend to the particle of the 6th prefix ( E - ), which, on the other hand, is fused with the prefix ( Edi ), and becomes Ei or E . In order to assist these theories of classification and to indi- cate the interrelationships of the various Congo and Cameroons languages, it may be of interest to give a selection of the numerals from all the principal types of Bantu speech in this region We will commence our survey with the languages of the First Invasion and with Kuamba their north-easternmost example, which is mainly spoken within the Albertine Nile Valley, on the northern slopes of Ruwenzori, but also on the adjoining frontiers of the Congo State. 1 1 Kuamba is fairly well illustrated in my book on the Uganda Protectorate. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 86 1 KUAMBA (north and west Ruwenzori). (The speech of the Baamba people of the north and west slopes of Ruwenzori.) 1. moti 2. bare 3. saru 4. ine 5. tanu 6. mkaga (borrowed from Uganda-Unyoro speech) 7. nsambu 8. nane 9. subi (peculiar to Kuamba and Lubira ) 10. kumi 11. kumi na susimoti 12. kumi na murubare 20. bwesi muti (note independent word for * twenty ’) 40. bwe’bare 100. bwe’tano LIHUKU. (North-west of the lower Semliki, Mboga country.) 1. ingana 2. diwiri 3. diletu 4. gena 5. boko (cf. word for 15 in Ngoinbe) 6. madia (cf. Mundu) 7. madaneka 8. bagina (cf. Mundu ) 9. bagina ngono 10. mine (cf. Mundu for 9, and Mbuba for 10, also Bambute ; also Ababua and Isubii 11. baitoda 12. bakumba 13 - 14 - G- (cf. Nyamnyam ) digi-diletu digi-gina digi-boko (And so on, combining digi with the numerals for 6, 7, 8, and 9.) 20. bamene bawiri (cf. mine for ‘ ten ’) 30. bamene baratu 40. bamene gina 100. radi BAMBUTTU. (? Pygmies of the Ituri-Aruwimi near Bomili and Nepoko.) 1. munga 2. bape, bapeni 3. batu 4. bagena, bageni 5. boko 6. madianika 7. mananika 8. amadyina 9 - ? 10. boko-boko 862 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO KIBIRA. (Upper Ituri forests and thence southwards to the Lindi River.) 1. kadi 2. ebare 3. esaru 4. sina 5. etanu 6. mutuba (cf. northern Congo and Cameroons dialects) 7. sambu 8. munane 9. ? 10. moko (cf. word for ‘five’ in Lihuku and ‘ ten * in Bakio- kwa) BAKIOKWA or BAKWA. (Stanley’s “ Bakumu,” also said to be spoken by some of the Bambute Pygmies, Ehuru or Epulu River, north-western Ituri.) 1. kadi 2. ibari 3. saro 4. zinna 5. itano 6. mutuba (cf. supra ) 7. kitanai 8. kibbe 9. elalo (cf. word for ‘ eight ’ and ‘ seven ’ in Lubira) 10. mukko (cf. the ’ntuko, mituku of the Congo languages) 20. mukko ibali BAKUMU. 1 (Cf. Chopo River, south of Lindi River, N.E. Congo.) 1. -muti 2. -be 3. -sau 4. -gena 5. -mambunja LUBIRA. f) £>’ [no record 9 J 10. boku (Lubusese forest and grassland regions, upper Ituri sources, west of Lake Albert Nyanza, in the middle of the Lendu country.) 1. buigiri or ngilini 2. -bala or -bali 3. -sato or -saro 4. ine or aini 5. -tano 6. madya (cf. Mundu) or kiboko-bari [cf. -boko for * five ’ in Lihuku. Kiboko-bari may mean ‘ the second five ’ 2 ] 7. lalodu (cf. Mbuba and Lendu ) 8. lalo (cf. Mbuba ) 9. sobya (cf. Kuamba) 10. ikumi 20. kumi bali 100. igama 1 Most of the Bakumu forest tribes speak corrupt Bantu dialects, but the western- most Bakumu, according to Stapleton, use the non-Bantu Bamanga language. flPJBL 2 In these dialects grouped under the general title of Lubira the word for finger would appear to be kiboko. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 863 BABALI. (Between River Lindi and middle Aruwimi.) 1. -moti 2. -bali 3. -sialo 4. -zina 5. -buku 6. madia-amoti 7. madi-ambali 8. madi-ansalu 9. madi-azina 10. bapi-bali ; edingu limoti (cf. digi of Lihuku ) 20. amodingu mabali 50. amodingu boku [The word for 6 or numerals following on 5 — madia — is peculiar and interesting. It appears in the non-Bantu Mundu language, and in the Bantu dialects Lihuku, Bambutu, Lubira, and Babati {add). The words for 10 consist first of some variant root for ‘ five’ {-pi) duplicated, and secondly of a very interesting form, edingu plural amodingu. This may be connected in origin with the digi of Lihuku and even the tuku , -rongo of Central Congoland or of eastern and south-western Bantu ] BALESE. (Stanley’s Pygmy language of Mbarukukaru, of the upper Ituri, west of Lubira : an outlying member of the Ababua group.) 1. ujju (peculiar) 2. ibari 3. ikaro 4. ikwanganya (cf. Ikwa of Bali , N.E. Cameroons) 5. bumuti ( = five-one. Cf. Ababua and Babati) 6. ijju (peculiar) 7. bumuti na ibali 8. bumuti na iharo 9. bumuti na ikwanganya 10. mabo (cf. Losoko and Likan - gana ; also Babati and Abo- bwa) 20. mabo ibari ABABUA. (Region between the Wele River on the north and the Aruwimi basin on the south.) 1. nkai (cf. Lihuku ) or muti 2. mibali 3. bisalu 4. bikwangani (cf. Balese) (-ne in composition). Cf. Lihuku , Mundu , etc. 5. bumuti (-tano in composition) 6. mutuba 7. sambo 8. moambi [a widespread root for eight in N.W. Bantu] 9. ivvoa or libwa (cf. Cameroons, W.and S.W.Congolanguages) 10. jumi 1 1. jumi na muti 12. jumi na mibali 20. mituku mibali (cf. word for ‘ tens ’ in Lolo-Lunkundu) 30. mituku misalu 40. ,, mine 50. „ mitano 100. kama 864 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO BABATI. (Westernmost Ababua, around sources of upper Ebola and Likati rivers.) 1. moti 2. mibale 3. misalu 4. ekwengena 5. ebu-moti ( = five-one) 6. adanso moti 7. adanso bali 8. „ salu 9. „ ekwengena 10. mabo r The particle ada in adanso may be con- nected with the madia of ^ Lihuku , etc. 20. mabo ibali ABOBWA. (North of middle Aruwimi.) 1. -moti 2. mi-bale 3. mi-salu 4. -kwanga 5. bumoti 6. ada-nsi-moti (cf. Babati ) 7. ada-misi-mibale 8. ad.i-misi-misalu 9. ada-misi-mikwanga 10. mabo or abeti (mabo = hands) 20. mutu (man) asi moti (? = one man finished?) 50. batu basi bumoti 100. batu basi mabo [Ada -nsi in six and succeeding numerals may be related to the madi , madia given above. If mutu asi moti for 20 is to be translated, as its transcriber, Mr. G. B. Michell premises, ‘man finishes one’ (i.e. ‘one man finished ’ — with fingers and toes), then it is difficult to account for the etymology of 50 — batu basi bumoti — since five finished men would equal 100. But in some of these languages the toes are not always counted, and sometimes a ‘ man * with his two hands stands for ‘ ten.’] KELE or LOKELE. (Region between southern basin of Aruwimi, north-east bend of Congo and lower Lomami.) 1. omwito 2. -bale 3. -sato 4. -nei 5. bo-omwi ( = five-one) 6. liambi (cf. word-root for ‘ eight ’ in Ababua , northern Congo, and Cameroons) 7. bosambali (cf. western Congo words) 8. bonanei 9. libwa 10. kiu 20. litinda [cf. northern Congo, semi -Bantu, and Fernandian languages] (‘ twenties * = matinda) 40. matinda manei SOKO or LOSOKO. (Spoken by the Basoko along the lower Aruwimi and adjacent Congo.) 1. -omoi 2. -hele 3. saso 4. mekeleka (peculiar to Soko and Likangana) LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 865 5. homo [probably for bomo. Vide bumuti in Ababua, etc.] 6 . 7 - mbalamoi mbaitohele [These are forms peculiar to Soko. They may reveal an old root-word for ‘ five’ (plus = one, two) akin to the Nyamnyam ba] [These phrases evidently mean ‘ to take away one — or two — from ten ’] labo [cf. Likangana , Balese , Babati\ bokolohomoi [cf. word for ‘ five ’ — boko — in Lihuku\ 20. fefe [peculiar: unless it be the relic of ‘[fives] four’ — 4 in Ndonga Ififi] (‘twenties’ in Soko = bafefe) 8. olimbonga-hwele 9. olimbonga-omoi 10. IS- LOKUSU or LOFOMA. (Dialect spoken at Yakusu, Stanley Falls.) 1. -mo 2. -api 3. -satu 4. -ne 5. -tano 6. liambi (cf. Kele supra) 7. bosamberi ( „ „ ) 8. onanei 9. libua 10. diumu BAMBOLI. (Between lower Lomami and Lualaba-Congo at Stanley Falls.) 1. mitu ; -emu 2. -ambali ; -ede 3. -sasu, -saso 4. anci ; -nai 5. ohomoi (cf. Soko ) 6. osambali (?) ; liame 7. osamede (?) osambali and its variant osamede may be the word for 7, and liame the right word for 6. Cf. Lokusu and Kele 8. onanei 9. limbwa or luwwa 10. okama (cf. Genya , Fanwe , and root- word for 100 in western Bantu) 20. okama imbale 50. okama ohomoi GENYA. (Spoken by the Bagenya from Stanley Falls southwards along the Lualaba.) 1. -mo 2. -be 3. -sato 4. -na 5. -tano 6. motoba (cf. Kibira , etc.) 7. mocomwendi (peculiar) 8. cenana 9. abwa 10. kumi [in multiples, kama 1 ] 20. kama ibe, or bolumbu (this last peculiar) 100. kama ikumi, or ekoi emo (Plural of ‘ hundreds’ = makoi : 1000 = makoi kumi) 1 Note this peculiar variant kama , for ‘ten.’ It may be related to the widespread -kama, -kana used for ‘hundred.’ Cf. Bamanga, p. 846 ; and Fanwe, p. 869. II, — 2 V 866 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO MANYEMA and BAKUSU. (Spoken between the Lomami, Lualaba, and watershed of Tan- ganyika, bounded on the south by the River Luama and about the 4° 30' parallel of S. Lat. Although Manyema and the allied Bakusii or Bankusu and Batetela lie so far to the south, they belong in their affinities rather to the First Invasion than any other group. The relationship in the numerals is marked.) 1. -mo, -solo 2. -epe, -fi, -endi 3. -satu 4. -enem 5. -tanu 6. samaro (cf. Kikuba ) 7. sambele ( „ „ ) 8. enanem 9. diowa or divwa (cf. the dibua, libuka , etc., of N. and W. Congoland and Cameroons) 10. vum 20. gumu ape or urn bafi or mafi 30. om or gumu asatu (cf. the form oma for ‘tens’ in Basongo- meno) 40. omu anei 50. omu atanu 100. lukama LIKANGANA. (North bank of Congo, west of Bumba.) 1. moi 2. iyele 3. isaso 4. mekeleka (cf. Soko) 5. homo (cf. Soko ) 6. isamano 7. sambo 8. monanei 9. libwa 10. naabo 20. lintinda (cf. Lokele, etc.) (‘ twenties ’ = atinda) 40. atinda haile NGOMBE and LIFOTO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 (Spoken along south bank of northern Congo southwards to the Lopori and even Lulongo and Busira rivers, and westwards across the Congo to the vicinity of the Mubangi.) 1. -oko, mboko, emoi, moti, or moci 2. bai, -bale, or -wali 3. -sato 4. -nei or -nne 5. -tanu 6. isamano 7. isambu or isamo 8. muambi or bomwambi or munanai 9. libwa 10. domi or jumi (In Ngombe 10 is sometimes liko, and ‘ tens ’ are mako. Cf. Kibira , Bakiokwa) 1 5. bokolomoi (cf. Soko ) 20. li-tinda or li-cinda (cf. Lokele , Fernandian , etc.) (‘ Twenties ’ = ma-tinda, ma-cinda) 100. (In Lifoto is sometimes lon- tuko ; a borrowed word is used in Ngombe. Cf. root for ‘ ten ’ in Lolo and Ababua) 1 For the purposes of their numerals, though there is a distinction between them otherwise, Ngombe might be grouped with Lifoto , the language of the Bapoto of the northern Congo. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 867 BWELA-ABUJA. (The interior of northern Congo, behind Ngombe and Bopoto.) 1. emoci 2. iba, -wa 3. ihato 4. nei 5. itano 6. hamano 7. hambo 8. monana 9. ibwa 10. domi or liomi 20. ekata or mohei (‘ twenties ’ = ikata or mihei) 40. ikata iba, or mihei miwa NGALA. (Mangala, Bangala, spoken along either bank of the north-west Congo.) 1. awi 2. -bale 3. -satu 4. -nei 5. -tanu 6. motoba 7. nsambu 8 . 9 * 10. 40. 100. muambi libwa jumu or jumi ; also mokangu, PI. mikangu (cf. Kikuba and Isubu) mikangu minei monkama LOLO or LUNKUNDU or LUMONGO. (This language, somewhat vaguely called Lolo or Lulolo, is spoken by the Bankundu, Bamongo, and allied peoples from the Lomami on the east right across the Congo basin to the western Congo and Lake Ntomba.) 1. -omo or -monkole 2. -pe or -fe 3. -satu 4. -nei or -ne 5. -tanu 6. botowa or -towa 7. ntsambo 9 - 10. 20. 100. mowambi or bonane ibwa or iboi jumo or jumi or lotuku (‘ tens ’ = ntuku) (cf. Ababua , etc.) ntuku ipe bonkama LO-BOBANGI, LU-YANZI. (The language of the Babangi or Bayanzi, spoken in patches along the south bank of the north-western Congo, at the estuaries of the Lulongo, Busira, and Mubangi, and eastwards and southwards as far as Lake Leopold II, and perhaps along the lower Kasai.) 1. -oko 2. -bali 3. -sato 4. -nne, -nei, -nezi 5. -tano 6. motuba 7. ntsambo 8. muambi 9. libwa 10. zumo or zumu (‘tens’ = momu; also makwa, PI. of nkwa) 20. makwa’bali 30. bweli (peculiar : cf. the ‘ bwe ’ in ‘bwesi,’ the Kuamba word for ‘ twenty.’ ‘ Thirties ’ in Bangi are rendered by -meli) 868 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO 40. yu-minei or nyum’minezi 80. luasi (peculiar and unex- 50. nyu’mitano plained, but again cf. -si in 60. nyu’motuba Kuamba ‘ bwesi ) 70. nyu’tsambo (Plural, counting in ‘ eighties/ ndwasi) 90. mubwa 100. munkama KIKUBA. (Of Lusambo, northern Sankuru River.) 1. moko 2. -api 3. -satu 4. nei- . -tano . basamalu 7. sambwali 8. nana 9. dibwa 10. diu singele (thislast is peculiar and unexplained. Basengi’ appears to be the plural : cf. the form isangi in Basongo- meno, isaka of Isubn , and -kangu in Ngala) 1 1. singele kimoko [vide 20. The root of this variant for “ten” is evidently sengi] 12. singele ipi 20. basengi-bapi 30. basengi-basatu 60. „ -basambanu 70. „ -sambwali 100. kama kimoko BASONGO-MENO. (Region between northern Sankuru and Lukenye.) 1. omo 2. -ape, -b’pe 3. -satu 4. -nei 5. -itanu 6. bisamalu 7. sambwali 8. inana 9. liboa 10. jumi or isangi (cf. Isubu , etc.) 11. isangi-lomo 20. oma-b’pe [peculiar form, per- haps corruption of mdom (makumi) ’ape\ 30. tojangi-misatu (-isangi with the diminutive plural prefix to) 100. kama BOMA or BUMA (or KIBUMA). (Spoken by the Baboma or Babuma along the lower Kasai and Lukenye and in the eastern verge of the Bateke country.) 1. mui or more 2. -pe or -pi 3. -sera or -saru (cf. tiru of Teke) 4. -nni 5. -tano 6. -siamo, -semun, or samo 7. kisale or kisane (a contraction of ki-sambu-bali) 8. inana or kenana 9. iva or levva 10. jium or jomo 11. jumi mori, or jium mui LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 869 20. muare or mopi 30. musaru or mosera 40. morn' 50. mutano 60. musamen’ or musiamo 70. tokisaali or tokesane {vide method of forming 30 in Basongomeno , and 70, 80, etc., in Kongo') 80. majimkenan (a contraction of majium, majumi, etc.) 90. majimlevva 100. nkama TEKE or ITEO. (The language of the Bateke or Batio, Atio or Bateo, whose habitat stretches between the western Congo and Stanley Pool and the lower Kwango River to the basin of the Ogowe, and on the north almost to the domain of the Fan.') 1. umo 2. -oli, -yoli, or muoli (cf. Kongo ) 3. -tiru (a peculiar variant of the root -tatu via taro , tyaru ) 4. -nna 5. -tanu 6. sieno D 7. ntsana or nsambu 8. mpuomo (cf. Aduma ) 9. bwa 10. kfumi, or nkwa (cf. for nkwa, akwa , Lo-bobangi). In Teke, ‘ tens ’ = akwa or akum. 20. akum’uoli (cf. abbreviation in Kongo) 30. akwa-itiru 40. akwa-na 50. akwa-tanu 80. likumpomo (cf. Kongo , Bit- map etc.) 100. FANWE Dialects and NJIEM. (The language of the far-reaching tribes grouped under the names of Fan, Fanwe, or Panwe, Ntum, Make, Bulu, Yaunde, etc. The Njiem- Mabea group is somewhat distinct ( v . p. 891). Its numerals are placed last in the series. These languages range between the vicinity of the Atlantic coast of the Gaboon and the upper Sanga River on the east.) 1. ndze, ivora, fok, ngwar 2. bei, mba 3. -lal, laa, le 4. -nee, nyin, na 5. tarn, tan, ten 6. same, samen, tobo, ntoa 7. sangual, hembwedi 8. engwam, ngwom, lombi 9. ebul, ebua 10. awom, womi, bom ; kam (cf. for kam, Bagenya , Bamboli , etc.) 20. mewom, mebe, etc.; or mekam meba 100. nkama, ntet, bwea (cf. Bube ) ADUMA. (The principal language of the Ogowe.) 1. -mo 2. yole (cf. Kongo ) 3. -tato 4. -na 5. -tano 6. masamunu 7. cambo or tsambo 8. pombo 9. liboa 10. likumi 20. makumi-mole 100. mukuma 870 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO MPONGWE. (The language of the Gaboon coast) 7. orogenu or rogenu (peculiar) 8. nanai 9. inogomi 10. igomi 20. agomi mbani 100. mkama 1. mori (cf. ivora in Fan) 2. -mbani or -vani 3. -tiaro or -taro 4. -nai 5. -tiani or -tani 6. orowa or rowa (the -toba, inu- toba of the Cameroons and northern Congo) The BAKELE language, possibly known as Dikele, of the people formerly inhabiting the Gaboon interior east of Mpongwe, has only these points remarkable about its numerals: i=yuvoto; io = diom; plural of 10 : mabom (? akin to the inabo of north-eastern Congo : probably not). DUALA or DIWALA. (The language of the Cameroons estuary.) 1. ewo, -mo (In the adjoining Basa dialect 1 is yata or yada) 2 and 3 and 4 are of the common types 6. mutoba 7. samba 8. lombi (recalls the -ambi of the northern Congo) 9. dibua 10. dum’ In multiplication 10 is mu- 1 20. mwaba 30. mwalalu [i.e. makumi-atatu] 50. mwatan’ 100. egbwea [cf. Fernandian and Njiem\ In the adjoining Basa language, 6 is sama. In Bonken of the Cameroons hinterland, 6 is mutoba , and in Abo , on the upper Cameroons River, it is mitu. In Bonken , 7 is samba , and 8 is lombe or buambi. Multiples of 10 are expressed by mu-. In Bakundu of the northern Bantu Cameroons, 10 is luundaru ; 20 is dil -, 2 and the ‘ twenties * are mu-. In Barundo , a language of the northern Cameroons coast (Rio del Rey), 20 is diti, plural mati (cf. Fernandian, and the litinda of Northern Congo). In Barombi , an adjoining language, 30 is mboko [cf. word for 15 in Soko.~\ 1 This form is characteristic of Duala , Basa , Bakundu , and Bonken , and partially of Isubu and Bakwiri. It is probably a contraction of Mau, and this of Maku’, Makum’, Makumi ( = plural of Dikumi, ‘ten’)- We may notice this contraction beginning in Kongo. 2 The etymology of these forms is as yet quite unexplained. The lu in lu-undaru [for ‘ten’] is no doubt the contraction of a longer form, and may be pluralised by du or do. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 871 The numerals of Isubu- Bakwiri, the language of the great Cameroons Mountain sufficiently interesting in their detail : — 1. -oko or iyo 2. -ba 3. -yau, and also -lalu 4. -ni or -ne 5. -ta’ or -tanu 6. mutoba 7. lisamba 8. lombi or wambi 9. libuka 1 10. isaka, 2 also liumi, and (in mul- tiples) mini and its seaward slopes, are affinities to be given in more 20. do’ or mbangi (mbangi is peculiar) 30. isakalalu or sakiyau 40. mwani^r mini-mine(mine = 4) 50. sakitanu or matano, or mini- meta 60. mumutoba or mini-mutowa 70. musamba or mini-samba 80. mulombi or mini-wambi 90. mulibuka or mini-libuka 100. ewoke In the Barombi language to the north of the Cameroons Mountain, whilst 6 is motuwa , 7 is sambia , and 8 is described as motua-beke. In the adjoining Barondo or Barundo , 8 is njambwe. The numerals of the Fernandian or Bube languages are separately treated in the account of that language on pages 882-5. [For convenience of reference, two illustrations may be given here of the semi-Bantu languages of the eastern Cameroons hinterland. These may to a certain extent illus- trate the types of the numerals in semi-Bantu speech between this region and the sources of the Sanga. BALI. (N.E. Cameroons.) 1. iin 7. kwatet (i.e. 4+ 3) 2. iba 8. ifum (compare words for 8 in 3. itet Aduma and Batekei) 4. ikwa (cf. Ababua groups, 9. njibo p. 863) 10. gom, ngom 5. itan 20. ba-ngom 6. ntu 1 This is interesting, as it is possibly the oldest form of the widespread dibna or libua , which is the word for 9 over such an enormous area of West-Central Africa. It is further to be noted that 9 in the Ila language of the Zambezi-Congo watershed is ifuka. 2 Compare with the - kangu , isangi , -sengi of the Ngala , Basongo , and Kiknba of the North and Central Congo; also for mini, cf. the mene, mine of N.E. Congo- land (. Lihuku , etc.). This survival of this alternative term for ‘ten’ in Isubu , 1,500 miles to the W.N.W., is very remarkable. It may account for the Mie (contraction of mine ) in Fernandian. 872 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO INDIKI. (The Penin of the Rev. S. Koelle ; near Mbam River, northern Cameroons.) 1. imoti 2. bifande (the bi-, be- in these numerals 2 to 8 is only a prefix : -fande = fare, -bale) 3. belar 4. binis 5. belan 6. belandar (compare tandatu, tan- daru of eastern and southern Bantu) 7. berenderunum’ (6 + 1) 8. binamane 9. ibo 10. bihoar, bohar (probably the dual of bo , old root for 5, bo-fare , bo-bale = twice 5) 15. buni 20. hit; rina ; titade (‘ twenties ’ = merina). Cf. Fernandian. In dealing with the numerals of the Congo- Bantu languages belonging to the cohort which I have associated with the Second Invasion, we might once more commence our survey from the eastern side ; but in order to avoid a tiresome repe- tition in mental journeys across Central Africa, we will consider first the numerals of the languages of the Third Invasion [ Uganda - U nyoro group] in so far as they are connected with the study of Congo- Bantu. In nearly all the members of this Ugctnda-Unyoro group, ‘one ’ is mu or mwe ; but in Lusoga and the languages of the north and north-east coasts of the Victoria- Nyanza it is generally -dala or - lala , which means a finger. The classical root for ‘one,’ however, reappears in that most archaic form of Bantu — the Lukonde of north-west Mount Elgon, in which it is gumwe . [In Olukonjo of the Congo border it is gumai] The root for 2 is - biri or wiri, never -bari ; 3 is either - satu , - datu , or -taru ; 4 is -nya, - nai , or nne ; 5 is usually -tano. The word for 6 is peculiar to this group and to some of its adherents in the south-west and south-east — mukaga} except in one language, Lusokwia of West Elgon, in which it is sesaba; 7 is musanju, musanzu, musa?nvu , or musafu, except in the antique dialect of the Sese Islands, in which it is musamba ; 1 2 3 8 is munana in most of the dialects, except Lukonde and Lusokwia of West Elgon, in which it is kinane or sinane ; s 9, in all these dialects, is either mwenda ) kenda , or kienda ; and 10 is invariably ikumi , ekumi , or likumi ; 20 is simply the plural form of 10 — amakumi. The word for 100 varies a good deal, but the commonest and oldest root is - gana , though in some lan- guages to the north-east or east of the Victoria-Nyanza the 1 This form is borrowed by Kuamba. 2 This is the West African - sambo , - samo , etc. 3 Cf. the Kinane of so many West African Bantu languages. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 873 plural mirongo turns up [merely meaning plurals of 10, actually a hundred. Cf. Herero mirongo and many East and South African dialects and the North-East Congo mituku?\ Olukonjo , of the southern slopes of Mount Ruwenzori, the upper Semliki valley, and the highlands along the western edge of the Albertine Rift valley, has peculiar and ancient features of its own, but is nevertheless a member of the Uganda and Unyoro group. The root for 1 is -guma } for 2 -here, and for all the other numerals it is practically the same as the slightly varying formations already cited of the other members of this group. The word for 10 sometimes assumes the very full form of erikumi, and 100 is erigena. Between the north end of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kivu there are the languages or dialects of the Ruanda people (Awa- nya-ruanda) and the Avatutsi or Avatusi (with whom may be included the Ababa or Waha of north-east Tanganyika). The Ruanda and Tusi speech is closely related to that of the Hima, Toro, and Unyoro folk, and the numerals agree in all their features with those already cited in connection with the Uganda languages ; for instance, 6 is Mukaga. The Kirundi language (north and north coast-lands of Tanganyika), however, while agreeing in most features with this Uganda- Unyoro group, differs from them somewhat interestingly in its numerals. These are : — 1. umwe 2. -wiri 3. -tatu or satu 4. -nne 5. -tano 6. -tandatu(Eastand South African. Cf. Semi- Bantu and Fernandian ) 7. indwi (cf. Kabwari) 8. umunane 9. icienda (cf. Uganda-Unyoro and all East Africa) 10. iciumi; also umurongo (‘ tens ’ = imirongo. Cf. Herero') 100. igana The languages of the Second Invasion commence on the north-east with the KABWARI-KILEGA. (Kabwari is spoken on the north-west corner of Lake Tanganyika, and is closely allied to Kilega, the language of the Balega farther west.) 1. -mwe 2. -biri 3. -tatu 4. -tano 6. mtanda 7. ndui (cf. Kirundi) 8. munana 9. kenda (East African) IO. kumi, and mlongo (‘ tens’ = milongo. Cf. Herero of S.W. Africa, and the ntuku, mi-tuku of the western Congo) 100. zama 874 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO KIGUHA and KITABWA. (Languages of the west coast of Tanganyika, nearly alike in their numerals, but not in all other points.) 1. -mo 9. habula (cf. the pabula of Ki- 2. -wiri, bili bemba) or fundi-lubali {Ki- 6. ntanda or mutanda (cf. Kibemba) tabwa ; same in Kibemba) 7. kilowa or kiloba (cf. Chila of N. 10. kumi, likumi Zambezia) 100. zana, kinunu 8. mwanda As regards the word for 6 — mutanda — this form extends to all the languages of the Second Invasion. It may be connected with the -tandatu which prevails over so much of East and South Africa, and which reappears again in the far north-west amongst some of the semi- Bantu languages, and perhaps in the island of Fernando Po. 7 in Kirundi and Kabwari is represented by a peculiar form — ndui or indwi — not as yet traceable to other groups. 7. In Kiguha and Kitabwa — lilowa or liloba recalls the - tuba , -rowa, toba for 6 in the north-west group, and may be an instance of a term transferred from one “new” numeral to another — all the numerals after 5 being “ new ” to the con- cepts of the savage mind. This same root -roba or -toba re- appears as ‘1,000’ in Ki-bisa. Some of these languages of the Second Invasion — Ki-guha, Kitabwa, Ki-emba or Ki-bemba — employ a special word for 8 — mwanda ; but this in the capri- cious way already mentioned reappears in some of the languages of this group (Kibemba and Kibisa, and the far-distant Chila of the central Zambezi frontier) as the term for 100 in place of the familiar kana, zana , or kama. In the Bemba or Emba dialects the words for 7, 8, and 9 1 are special compounds, fully explained in the Rev. W. G. Robertson’s Handbook of the Bemba Language . The habula (9) of Kiguha reappears farther south as pabula , and really means “ Where there is none remaining . . . no more fingers to be counted,” thumbs being regarded apart as quinary symbols. None of these languages of the Second Invasion, or any other groups of eastern, southern, or south-western Bantu have any special word for 20. Counting is emphatically by tens, 2 * even though the 10 may sometimes be called by a “ fancy ” name instead of the familiar kumi. In the Wisa or Bisa language, which with its affiliated 1 7 — cine lubali , 8 = cinekonsekonse , 9 = fundelubali or pabula. 2 The Bisa language, however, has almost reverted to quinary ideas, and frequently expresses ‘ten 5 by tusa 7 io na tusano (5 and 5). LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 875 dialects occupies so much of the south-east corner of the Congo basin, the numerals between 5 and 10 are simply com- posed of 5 and 1, 2, 3, and 4. This is also the case with the remaining languages of the southern Tanganyika water- shed, several of which use the term murongo (plural marongo or mirongo ) as an alternative word for 10. This root - rongo ranges up and down eastern Bantu Africa from the northern limits of the Bantu range in Eastern Equatorial Africa down to the Zambezi and beyond to the far south-west in Damara- land. It is quite likely that it may be of the same origin as the -tuku of the northern Congo. T constantly permutes with r, and a nasalized n (ng) can easily become k ; in fact, in some of the southern Bantu languages the root - rongo becomes -logo. We have now to deal with a particularly interesting section of Congo Bantu, which may still, with attenuated force, be called of the Second Invasion. I refer to the great Luba (Lua-Rua) group which stretches from the west coast of Tan- ganyika (south of the River Lukuga) right across to the Kasai River; also some distance northward down the Lomami. In the Kasai valley it fuses to some extent with the Lunda con- geries, and with the far more corrupt forms of Bantu speech which cover the triangle between the Kasai and the Kwango. In the north the Luba influence penetrates almost to the Sankuru River, perhaps here and there beyond. Its most northern form is sometimes known as Moiyo (from the familiar greeting Moiyo !), and has been well illustrated by the Rev. R. V. Glennie of the Baptist Missionary Society. The following are the principal features (derived from Glennie’s and Consul G. B. Michell’s MS.) amongst the numerals in the Luba group, which group in the south extends to not far from the Zambezi water-parting. 1. -mwe (N.E. Luba , mune) 2. -bidi 3. -satu 4. -nai (N.E. Luba . nanka) 5. -tano 6. sambombwe (asamombo) (i.e. six-one) 7. mwandombi tikiti (cf. 8 in Kiguha, etc. Tikiti means ‘ little '). (Musambo obili in N.E. Luba) 8. mwando mukulu (cf. 8 in Kiguha, etc. Mukulu means ‘big’). (Moanda in N.E. Luba) 9. citema (a word for ‘ nine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 peculiar to the Luba group) 10. dia-kumi, ikumi Alternative word for 10, dikwa, plural, makwa. (Cf. Lobobangi and also the Umbundu or Nano dialects of the far west) 20. makwa-mabidi, makumi abili 100. kulakase ; ndukama (N.E. Luba) 876 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO In the more classical Luba of the Lulua River, the numerals only differ from the above in that 7 is Muanda mutekete or muakunyi ; 1 10, dikumi , and there is apparently no alternative term for ‘ ten,’ ‘ tens/ like dikwa , makwa. 100 in Luba proper is the classical Lukama. In the Southern Luba, spoken in the Katanga country (and recorded by Mr. C. A. Swan, of the Plymouth Brethren Mission), the following are the differences : 2 is vidi ; 6, 7, 8, and 9 are more often combinations of 5, with 1, 2, etc. But where the older forms persist they are : 6 = sambo , 7 = samba - vidi , 8 = mwanda , 9 = citana, 100 is citota . The Lunda group farther to the west differs from the Luba in that it preserves that more western type of the root for 2. 2 2 in Lunda is - adi , 6 is - sambano , 7 - sambuari , 8 = cinana , 9 = divu, 100 is citota . In its numerals, therefore, Lunda cer- tainly belongs rather to the languages of the First Invasion than to those of the Second. Like so many of these tongues westward of Luba, it is a fusion and compromise between the two influences. Far to the south of Lunda, on the Zambezi side of the water- parting, we have the Ila or Chila language of that wild, pictur- esque and naked people formerly known as the Mashukulumbwe. 3 The dialects of both sides of the Zambezi-Congo frontiers are very nearly allied, and belong more naturally to the South-Central Bantu group rather than to East African Bantu. In Ila we have the very interesting feature, already alluded to, of ifuka for 9. Ifuka is obviously (in common with libuka of the far-away Isubu, Cameroons coast) the older form of the dibua , which is such a widespread term over nearly the whole of the Congo basin, except Lubaland and west Tanganyika. Ila and the dialects north of it within the Congo boundaries have the eastern root bili for 2. 6 is ci-sambomwi , 7 is ci-loba. This, like the kilowa of Kiguha for the same numeral, would appear to be the North-West Bantu root doba or -tuba for 6, shifted to 7 with a different prefix. Mr. E. W. Smith, however, states that in the Lumbu , a southern dialect of Ila , there is (apparently) an alternative term for 5, Kole ; from which is formed Kakole (“little” Kole) = 6 ; 1 Mutekete means “weaker,” muakunyi— “junior.” Mukulu in mwando mukulu (8) means “ elder.” 2 The Bantu group must have started on its career with two co-existing roots for the numeral 2 , bali and bili. Probably the older of the two is balij and the root ba signifying ‘ two ’ is found most widely throughout the languages of the Equatorial belt of Africa, chiefly, however, in the west. 3 Vide the Handbook of the Ila Language published by Mr. E. W. Smith. LANGUAGES OF THE CONGO BASIN 877 Tukole = 7, Tukole totatzve = 8 , Ttikole tone = 9. In I la and some of the other dialects of the southern limits of the Congo basin, the word for 8 is lusele, a form which extends eastwards and south-eastwards to the mouth of the Zambezi. 100 is Mwanda. Although the Herero or Damara language of South-West Africa comes nowhere within the basin of the Congo, it is interesting to notice how closely it agrees in some of its numerals with the languages of the Congo, though it also preserves old roots of East African origin. 1 is mwe , 2 = vari, 354> 395» 5^0 et seq., 655, 667, 679, 953 Colours of the water of the Congo and its tributaries 112, 116, 128, 150, 287, 290, 335“6 Comber family, the 224 Comber, Rev. Percy, B.M.S. 224 Comber, Dr. Sydney,, B.M.S. 224 — Rev. Thomas J., B.M.S. 2, 41, et seq., 51, 63 et seq., 68, 85, 87, 89, 91 et seq., 97, 109 et seq., 128, 223, 224, 226 Combretum (shrub) 906 Combs, native 586 Comite d’ Etudes du Haut Congo 90, 409-10, 446, 451-2 Commerce between negro tribes 789 et seq. Commissions for protection of natives or inquiry into misdoings 377-8, 440-1, 465 Companies, Concessionnaire 318, 417, 439, 445, 451 et seq., 454, 458 ; enum- erated and described 476-80, 539 et seq. Conference of missionaries at Stanley Pool, 1906 381 Conglomerate formations 117, 128-9, 140, 1 56, 289, 894 et seq. Congo Independent State 4 et seq., 8, 87, 186, 187-9, 333-4; Grenfell’s opinions on it 375 et seq., 480-4 ; foundation of 409 et seq. ; and Katanga 419-23 ; and the Sudan 435-7 ; an- nexation by Belgium 437-8 ; condition in 1907 441 et seq. ; origin of name 445 ; monopoly of land 446 ; its employes 448 ; work of 273, 486, 491 ; obstruc- tion of missionary societies 446-7 ; lack of statesmanship 447-8 ; finances 45 1 et seq. ; treatment of officials 484 ; .good work of 473, 486, 491 Congo-Balolo Mission 254, 439, 461, 465 Congo kingdom and people : see Kongo Congo lake, the ancient 109, 129, 155, 280, 348 ; ancient Congo plateau 288 Congo loans 418, 451-2 Congo Museum 451, 491 et seq., 632-3, 713, 810-12, 922 Congo peoples, the, viewed generally 724-5 Congo Railway, the 188, 272, 418 Congo Reform Association 440 Congo, River, 70 (discovery of), 80 ; cataract region of 188, 190-2, 270 et seq. ; channel between Stanley Pool and Kwamouth 103 et seq., 287-8 ; above Bolobo 106, 109 et seq., 111, 115, 288 ; Bangala and beyond 118, 289 et seq. ; above Aruwimi confluence 292-4 ; broadest parts of 123, 290 ; estuary of 266-7 J narrowest parts of 277, 282 ; history of “ Banana ” river outlet 280 ; native names of the Congo 283 ; rise and fall of levels 283, 299 ; altitudes of the Congo 283, 296-9 ; colour of the river water 287 ; its current, channels, etc. no, in, 259-63, 266 et seq., 271, 285, 292-4, 299 ; islands and sand- banks 106, no, 123, 257-63, 267, 286, 289, 290, 294 ; the rank of its tribu- taries 265; the Congo a barrier to spread of mammalian fauna 344-5 Congoland, Central 539 — Lower or Western 539, 548 Conifers 947 974 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Cooking, the art of, in Congoland 627 et seq. Copal gum 136, 175, 176, 813, 909 Copper 123, 129, 349, 356, 368, 536, 585, 757. 77 1. 790-803, 805, 895 Coquilhat (Belgian administrator) ; Co- quilhatville 105, 400, 410 Corpse, decoration of 645, 649, 653 Corpse-eating 398, 405-7, 645, 649, 652 Cornet, Dr. 317, 932 Cornwall j, 20 Cottingham, Rev. W. F., B.M.S. 225 Cotton 109, 129, 590, 806, 908 Cotton, Major Powell 341 Court of Equity in the Cameroon s 5 5 Cow, names for 878-9 Cowe, Rev. Alex., B.M.S. 225 Crabs 268, 936, 950 Crampel, Paul 97, 99, 503 Cranes, Crowned 167, 321, 927 Crater lakes, craters 947 Craven, Mr. Henry 63 Crawcraw 362 Crayfish 613, 672, 936, 958 Crespel, Capt. 409 Crickets 233 Crinum lilies 126, 242, 906-7 Cristal, Serra do, Monts du (Crystal Mountains) 280, 892, et seq. Crocodiles 105, 1 1 5, 138, 153, 167, 228, 268, 494 et seq., 564, 613, 780, 821-2, 929. 950 Cross, the (as symbol or ornament) 570, 769, 81 1 Cross River (Old Calabar) 21 ; languages 833, 856, 884-5 Crossbow, the 766-7 Crucifixes, crosses, in Western Congoland 85, 86, 160, 188 Crudgington, Rev. H. E., B.M.S. 85, 89, 95 Cruickshank, Rev. Andrew, B.M.S. 225 Crustacea of the Congo basin 936 Cucumbers 109 Culcasia aroids 905 Culex 941-2 Culture, Negro 813 Cunningham, Prof. D. J. 527 Cunnington, Dr. W. H. 936, 944, 945 Cups, native 628-9 Currency, articles of 397, 490, 790 et seq. Current of rivers: Congo no, hi, 270 et seq., 285, 287 ; Mubangi 129 ; Lu- longo 137 ; Kasai 150, 153; Sankuru 153 ; Lukenye 169 ; Mfini 167 ; Aru- wimi, 335 Cycads 905 Cyrtosperma arums 153, 905 Daenen, Lieut. 436 Daens, M. 468 Daggers 776, 778 Damaraland, the Damara peoples 525, 623, 852-3 Dambasi people 780 Dances, dancing 142, 202, 331-2, 405-7, 665 et seq., 703-5 et seq., 713 et seq., 959-60 Dancing women, professional 560, 703, 7i5 Darby, Rev. R. D., B.M.S. 183, 254 Darfur 436 Darling, Rev. F. C., B.M.S. 226 Darters 153 Date palms, wild 897 David, Dr. J. (pygmy language) 835, 888 Dead, the world of the, the spirit world 643 Deane, Capt. 165, 166, 171 Death (ceremonies, customs, beliefs) 208, 643 et seq., 954 De Brazza, L. Savorgnan 56, 84, 91, 95, 96, 107, 1 16, 408, 453 — Jacques 107 Debruyne, Lieut. 425, 429 Decency, indecency 716-17 Declercq, Rev. P&re A. 887, 889 Delanghe, Capt. 436, 437 Delcommune, A. 315, 419, 453 Delcommune Falls 315 Delhez, M. 492 Demons, belief in 636 et seq. Dendi people 366 Denmark, Danes 18, 381 Dennett, Mr. R. E. 816, 825, 889 Depilation 532, 578 Depopulation of Congoland under State government 380, 539-40 Dervishes of the Sudan 436, 437 Descamps, Capt. 427, 433, 492 Devil (the Real) 463, 636, 942 Dew&vre, M. A. 491 Dhanis, Baron 190, 196, 310, 347, 426 et seq., 428, 431, 453, 466-7 Dido, Chief (Cameroons) 29 Dikuluwe R. 422 Dilanga 126 Dilke, Sir Charles 377, 439 Diseases, native 362, 547 et seq., (list of) 556, 954, 965 Dishes, native 627, 630 Distichodus 492, 935 Divination 664 Divorce 676 Doctors, native (medicine-men, sorcerers, etc.) 395, 663 Dog, the domestic 507, 614, 616, 619,621, 762-3, 776-8, 821 Doggett, Mr. W. G. 341 Dogs, wild 349 Dolichos 607 “ Domaine de la Couronne,” the 440, 451-2, 454, 457, 459, 478, 539 et seq. “ Domaine Prive ” (now Domaine Nation- al), the 454, 478 Domestic animals 616 et seq. Donckier, Lieut. 437 Dongo people (Mubangi) 362-3 Donkeys 190 Doorm, Capt. 426-7 Dorcathevium 614 INDEX Douville (French explorer) 80 Dover Cliffs (Stanley Pool) 102, 104, 286 Dracaenas 174, 905 Dravidian element in Eastern Congoland 539 Drinking ceremonies 704 Droughts 300 Drums 142, 709, 718 et seq. — friction 394, 666, 710, 719, 722 — signalling 719-22 Drunkenness among natives 609-10 Dua River (Wele) 133; (Mongala) 337, 760 Du ala people and language 27 et seq., 31, 35> 5 !. 576, 663, 720-1, 764; language 870, 885, 889 Dubois, M. Alphonse 292, 927 Duchesne, Lieut. 430 Ducks 78, 153, 321, 620 Dunart, Lieut. 197 Duparquet, Pere 12, 90 Dutch, the, in the Congo 71, 72, 84, 91, 417 Dutch trading house (A. H. V.) 64, 65, 91, 185, 262, 417 Dysentery 224, 487, 547, 554 Ears, mutilation of, earrings 123, 129, 355. 572-3 Earth-eating 615 Earth-worms 929, 944 Ebony 906 Eddie, Mr., A.B.M.U. 149 Ediya (Fernandian) 922, 954 Edward VII, King 456, 457 Edwin Arnold River 279 Efik people, language 52 Egrets 104, 927 Egypt, Egyptians 512, 515, 525, 617, 722-3, 766, 791, 799-800, 934 Egypt, Government of 492 Egyptian Sudan 548, 559, 606 Eleusine 600, 606 Ela'is guineensis : see Oil palm Eland, the 349, 923 Elephantiasis 556 Elephants 52, 149, 238, 320, 777-80, 819, 921, 945, 965 Elephants’ tails, bristles 587 Elgon Mt. (languages) 508, 851, 872 Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 171, 179, 413 ; Emin Pasha 416, 424, 435, 547 En Avant (steamer) 98, 149, 410, 426 Endeavour (B.M.S. steamer) 966 England, English 6, 83, 91, 179, 425, 463, 498 Epulu R. 335, 336 Equatorial Congo, Equatorville 105, 1 14, 410, 437, 540, 814 Eriksson, Mr. Karl 341 Erythrophlceum 197, 663, 689 Ethiopian type, the 523, 525, 537 Ethnography of Africa 492-3 Euphorbias 746 European intermixture in natives of West Congoland 537-8 975 Eutropius grenfelli 324 ; — laticeps 168, 934 Evil eye, the 517 Executions, executioners and their weapons 662, 694-6 “ Exeter Hall ”475 Fairies, belief in 636, 639 Fan palms : see Borassus Fanwe, Fan (Pan we) people and lan- guage 371, 512, 700, 766-7, 775, 829, 865, 869, 889, 891 Fashoda 436 Fat 403, 651-2 Feather head-dresses 597-8, 661 Felis aurata (Golden Cat) 341, 597, 918 Felspathic rock 291 Fernandian people and language (see also Bube) 19, 624, 636, 724, 771, 786, 829, 831, 837, 843, 855-8, 863-77, 879. 882-7, 922, 953 et seq. Fernando Po, Island of 2, 10, 19 et seq., 100, 127, 498, 636, 946 et seq. — mountains of 45 (see Clarence Peak), 947 Ferns 907-9 ; tree ferns 47, 908-9 Ferruginous rock 168 Fetishes, Fetish shrines, Fetish worship 161, 209, 633, 637 et seq. Fevers 169, 226 et seq., 545, 555 Fig trees 589-90, 905 Fingers used in counting 844 et seq. Fire 332, 627 et seq., 653 Fires, bush 145, 206, 628, 823 Fish of the Congo basin 168, 178, 243, 268, 324, 349, 362, 492, 615, 780-5, 931 ; of the island of Fernando Po, 950 Fish as food 168, 177, 178, 613, 615, 780-3, 816 Fishing 141, 168, 277, 776 et seq., 781-5 Fish-traps 154, 779-85 Five Days’ Debate in Belgian Parlia- ment on Congo question, 1906 471 Five, the numeral, in Central African languages 842-3 et seq. Flag of Kongo and of Congo Independent State 87 Flamingoes 321, 927 Fleas 732, 943 Flemish, the 77, 79 Flies 230, 942-3 Floods 137, 149, 234, 289, 338-9, 818 Flora of the Congo 164, 21 1, 241, 896 et seq., 964 ; of Fernando Po 947 Flutes 714-15, 722-3, 959 Fogs, mists 893 Foliage 241 Folk-lore 814 et seq. Food of the Congo negroes 78, 143-4, 600 et seq., 672-3 ; F. Po 957-8 Football 238 Forest 156, 158, 211, 267, 271, 281, 320, 338-9. 349. 697, 701, 892-3, 896 Forest belt 340 et seq., 343, 349, 912 et seq., 943 Forest Negro (see Negro) 352, 953 976 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Forfeitt, Lawson, Rev., B.M.S., Pre- fatory remarks 106, 224, 230, 265, 290, 438, 486, 5 54, 632, 778, 912, 939 Mrs. 224 — William, Rev., Prefatory remarks 224, 335, 425, 466, 603, 810, 831, 833 et seq., 845, 890 Mrs. 224, 246, 334, 494 et seq., 751 Forges, native furnaces and forges for metal-work 801-2, 805-6 Fortification, native ideas of 118, 132, 369, 744-6 Fox-Bourne, Mr. H. R. 439, 440 Fourneau, M. (French explorer) 107 Fowl, the domestic 137, 197, 614, 619-20, 879 Fraipont, M. Julien 492, 925 France and the French 59, 73, 74, 84, 91, 96, 416, 475, 481 Francis, von (German explorer) 97, 135, 146 Francqui, Capt. 423 Franz- Josef Falls of Kwango 204 Fraser, Mr. Louis 946, 948 Freemasonry 670 Frees, Albert 426 Friction-drums 394, 666, 710, 719, 722 Frobenius, Dr. (German explorer) 124, 49L S25. 901 Frogs 613, 615, 672, 930, 950 Froment, M. 188, 190 Fuller, Rev. Joseph J., B.M.S. 71, 889 Funeral ceremonies, dances 647, 651, 704-5 Funtumia 910-11 Furniture in native huts 12 1, 744 et seq., 747, 757 Gaboon languages 856 Gala tribes, languages 515, 524, 558, 623, 625 Gall bladder, the (sign of a sorcerer) 391, 393 Gambling 707, 710-11 Game, big 150, 152, 215, 271, 320, 349, 776 et seq. Games 707 et seq. Garenganze 319, 419 Geens, Rev. Father 561, 576, 583, 637, 680, 689-90, 825 Geese 153, 321 Gembele people 368, 832 Genets 919, 948 Geographical Society, Royal 5, 44, 68, 81, 128, 170, 265, 408 Geology of Congo basin 155, 168, 188, 1 90-1, 210— 1 1, 278, 280-2, 289, 291, 312, 337, 340, 964 Georges, Father (first martyr of Chris- tianity, Congoland) 73 Gerard, Lieut. 437 Germany, Germans and the Cameroons 42, 47, 59 et seq., 62 ; and the Congo 83 et seq., 91, 107, 146-9, 172, 197, 381, 416, 421, 424, 437 German East Africa 434, 475, 493 Ghouls (corpse-eaters) 390, 398 et seq., 405 et seq. Gillian, Lieut. 427 Giraffe, the 320, 349, 926 Giraud, Capt. 314 Girdles 587, 592 Glasgow 63, 421 ; University of 85, 890 Glave, E. J. 106, 410, 438 Glennie, Rev. R. V., B.M.S. 224, 301, 724, 875, 890 Glossina (tsetse fly genus) 229, 549 et seq. ; Glossina palpalis 549-50, 964 Gnathonemus 349, 934 Gneiss 188, 802, 894 Goat, the 129, 362, 370, 616, 878-9 God, native ideas of 114, 201, 386, 632 Godparents, sponsors, guardians 673 et seq., 642, 694, 814 et seq., 954 Goetzen, Count 310 Goffin, M. Louis (chief engineer, Congo Railway) 272, 486 et seq., 490 Gold 336, 349, 895 Goldie, Rev. Hugh 12 — Sir George T., Prefatory remarks 56, 455, 456 Goldsmid, Sir Frederick 413 Goliath beetle, the 405, 659, 944 Gongo Lutete 426 et seq., 429-31 Gongs 664, 712, 809, 959 Goodwill (B.M.S. steamer) 183, 186, 257, 259, 297 Gordon, Gen. 413 Gorilla, the 341, 343—5, 614, 913 Gorin, Capt. 187-8, 200 Gourds 600, 607, 630 Graga (Portuguese explorer) 318 Graham, Rev. R. H. C., B.M.S. 224 Grandy, Lieut. 65, 82 Granite 894 Grass cloth 590 — (as a currency) 590, 790, 792, 795 Grasses of the Congo 192, 21 1 Graves 653 et seq., 954 Green grasshoppers 939 Greig, Capt. 549, 552 Grenfell, Rev. George ; see Prefatory remarks ; birth, early life, and marriage p. 1,2; outline of journeys and events in his life in Africa p. 2, 3 ; death 3, 374 ; appearance 4 ; Wauters’ estimate of 4, 5 ; honours bestowed on 5, 221 ; methods of work in surveying 5-7, 170 ; special friends 9 ; his place among Congo explorers 146 ; visits Fernando Po and the Bubes 25 ; exploration of Cameroons 43 et seq., 51 et seq. ; starts for the Congo 63 et seq. ; second mar- riage 68 ; resumes work on Congo mis- sion 95, 97 et seq. ; constructs the Peace and commences exploring work on Upper Congo 100 et seq. ; discovers Mubangi River 107 ; second journey in B.M.S. Peace 1 1 5 et seq. ; description of Ngumba houses 120 ; ascends Rubi River 123, 337 ; visits Arabs and Tipu- tipu at Stanley Falls, 1884 125-6 ; INDEX 977 explores Lomami 126-7, 3°$ > traces the Mubangi upstream to Zongo (Grenfell Falls) 127-8, 132, 346; starts to explore rivers of Central Congoland 1 3 5 et seq. ; describes people of Lulongo River 138 et seq ; explores Ruki-Juapa i^g et seq. ; describes pygmies 145, 161, 33 1 — 3, 501 ; explores Kasai, Lulua, Sankuru 146 et seq., 157; praise of Kasai scenery 156 ; visits Tipu-tipu 165 ; explores Mfini R. and Lake Leopold II 167 et seq. ; visits Kwango River with Bentley 170 ; completes chart of main Congo (1886) 170; re- ceives Gold Medal, R. Geo. Soc. 170 ; visits England, 1887 171 ; returns to Congo, 1887 176 ; moves head-quarters to Bolobo 176, 178 ; his synopsis of an African story 178-9 ; notes on the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 179 ; and on the Portuguese at San Salvador and in West Africa 179-84 ; launching of the Goodwill 183 ; G. and Capt. Lehrmann 185 ; G. returns to England, 1890 186 ; selected as King Leopold’s commissioner for Lunda Delimitation 188-9 e t se( l-> 553 ; G. on petrology of cataract region 188, 190 ; G. and the Kiamvo of the Bayaka 197 et seq. ; G.’s views on Africa and negro rule 202-3, 375 et seq., 382 et seq. ; on Lunda scenery 2 1 1 ; description of riding oxen 216-18 ; returns from Lunda via Sao Paul de Loanda 220, and resumes resi- dence at Bolobo 221 et seq. ; his health and constitution 226 et seq. ; travel notes 238 et seq. ; G. on Congo scenery 241 ; on incidents of native life at Bolobo 248, 250 et seq., 451 ; on burial murders, native customs, and teaching of Christian dogmas 250 et seq., 382 et seq., 655 et seq., 665 ; on steamer difficulties 254, 25 7 et seq. ; his explora- tions of the main Congo 265 et seq., 372-3 ; last visit to England 265 ; his portrait in 1878 3 ; in 1893 265 ; in 1901 frontispiece ; in 1886 166 ; in 1906 372 ; his Aruwimi and Lindi explorations 302 et seq., 326 et seq., 372; Grenfell on Congo altitudes 280-1, 283, 296-9, 308, 31 1 ; journey to Nyangwe 3 1 1 et seq. ; last survey work 290 ; on gorillas 344 ; on Aruwimi peoples and languages 328, 354-8 ; on Congo State administration 333-4, 373 et seq. ; on the Bantu border-line and Mpombo language 363, 381, 440, 445, et seq., 480-2 ; G. on native obstacles to trade 398 ; G. on witch- craft prosecutions 391 et seq. ; his death 374 ; Lord Mountmorres’s opinion of G. 377-8, 484-5 ; G.’s speech at Conference, Jan. 1906 381 ; other references to G. 416, 423 ; G. on cica- trization 568 ; on teeth-mutilation 571 ; hairdressing 582-3 ; affixing of heavy II. 2 I metal necklets 586 ; native clothing 59 2 -3. 594. 597 ; wild coffee 602 ; on prohibition of sale of alcohol to the Upper Congo natives 609-10 ; on edible caterpillars 143, 198, 613 ; dog-eating by Bangala 615 ; G. on domestic cattle of S.W. Congoland 623 ; G. on native religious beliefs 632-5 et seq., 638 ; on graves and burial ceremonies 653, 654-5; secret confraternities 669 ; infant mor- tality 672 et seq.', blood-brotherhood 687 ; poison ordeals 690 et seq. ; native land tenure, forest rights 697 ; natives’ rules of inheritance 698 ; drum signal- ling 721 ; huts and native architecture 73 1— 5 5 ; weapons 765 et seq. ; fishing, etc. 780-1 ; rafts and canoes 785 ; on native currencies 795-7 ; Manbettu forges (Nepoko R.) 802 ; Folk-lore 814 et seq. ; on Congo languages 831 et seq., 879-90 ; on Raphia palms, etc. 899-901 ; coffee 910; rubber 91 1 ; G. and the discovery of the Forest Pig 922 ; of the Okapi 926 ; G. and Congo fish 931 ; and Fernando Po 946 et seq., 958-60 ; G. and discovery of “ ochre- box,” and the coloration of natives’ skins 560-3 ; G. on the population of the main Congo 541 et seq. ; on sleep- ing sickness 552-3 ; on the Bakuba 517; on the Bayanzi 530; on the Bangala 533; on the Belgians and their achievements 482 ; on the labour question 486 ; G. and collections of natural history 492 ; G. on Concession- naire companies 445, 466, 481-2 ; G. on atrocities committed in Congoland 466, 480 et seq. ; on family ties among negroes 472 ; on cannibalism 399, 401 et seq. ; on the ivory trade, 178, 416, 445 ; on the Arab war, Arab raids 125, 375, 426-9, 432 ; on the Batelela mutineers 432-3 Grenfell Falls (Zongo) 127, 132, 348, 893 Grenfell, Miss Patience 135, 146, 238-9 — Mrs. (Miss Edgerley) 2 et seq., 22, 89, 98, 135, 146, 183, 200, 247, 328 (Miss Hawkes) 2 et seq. Grenfell’s journeys summarized 131 Greshoff, Mr. (of the Dutch house) 89 Grey, Earl 408 Grogan and Sharpe (explorers) 310 Ground-nuts 78, 132, 206, 600, 606 Grubs eaten by natives 613 Guava 78 Guha people : see Bagulia Guinea (the westernmost coast-lands of tropical Africa north of the Equator) 503 Guinea-fowl 342-3, 927 Guinness, Dr. Grattan 63, 74 Guitar, the Congo 720, 723 Guns and gunpowder 177, 181, 201, 204, 209, 397. 4i9. 430. 764-5. 795. 955 Gypohierax 927 978 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Hemoglobinuria 555 Hail-storms 234 Hailes, Miss Lily de 246 Hair (head) 145, 205, 350, 355, 367, 503, 508, 527, 576, 580 et seq. ; hairdressing 569, 580 et seq., 953 — (body) 145, 350, 367, 503, 535, 5 77 et seq. Halkin, Prof. J. 393, 492, 676 Hambursin, Lieut. 427 Hamitic race: type, languages, the 162, 353 . 5 i 5 . 558 , 827 Hammock- travel 191, 196 Handshaking, methods of 518 Hanolet, Capt. 418, 435, 453 Hanssens, Capt. 410 Hares 920-1 Harley House Mission 64 Harpoons 774, 779 Harps 367-8, 718-19, 723 Harris, Rev. J. H. 465 Harrison, Col. 468 Hartebeests 349, 924 Hartland, Rev. J. S., B.M.S. 85, 91, 92 Hartley, Rev. J. W., B.M.S. 107, 225 Hartog, Dr. Marcus 549 Hats 598-9, 956 Hausa people, language 44, 127, 166, 427, 487 Hawkes, Miss, Prefatory remarks (Mrs. Grenfell) 2, 3 — Mr. Joseph, Prefatory remarks ; 9 Head, deformation of (Upper Congo) 580, 672 Head-dresses (see Caps) 152, 579, 597 Head-rests 744, 745, 748 Health on the Congo 226 et seq. Heat in the Congo climate 226 et seq. Heavenly bodies, native ideas of the 815 et seq. Hecq, Lieut. 436, 492 Helix 935 Hell’s Cauldron 271-2 Hemp 78, 607-9 Henry Reed, the A.B.M.U. s.s. 147; Mr. Henry Reed 147 Herero language and people 525, 830, 852, 873-9 Herons 153, 167, 242, 321, 552-3, 922 Heusch, de, Lieut. 427 Hewett, Admiral 83 — Consul 56 et seq., 60 Heymans, Rev. Father 338, 551, 652, 825 Hills in the Congo basin 109 Him a type of Negroid 162, 194, 364, 515, 523-4, 558, 569, 576, 579, 590, 594, 623-6, 762-4, 800, 859 Hinde, Capt. S. L. 228, 312, 426 et seq., 429, 521, 599, 701 Hinde Rapids 310, 312 Hippopotami 103, 104 et seq., 106, 169, 228, 776-80, 822, 922 Hodister, M. 416, 418, 425, 453, 759 Hoes 122, 388, 625, 653, 772, 791-7 Holo, Ba-, people 204-5, 2IO > 5 22 . 524-5, 584 Holt and Co., John 24 Homeyer, Capt. von 83 Honey 129, 612 Hooker, Sir Joseph 946-7 Horns in sorcery, medicine, etc. 659 Hornbills 343, 928 Hottentots 498, 504, 563, 828 Houses of the natives (see Huts) 118, 120 ; of the Baptist Mission 112, 760-1 ; houses in connection with native burials, 645 et seq. Howell, Rev. J., B.M.S. 224 — Mrs. B.M.S. 246 Human flesh 399-400 et seq. Hunt, r.n., Capt. 80 Hunter aristocracies 160, 523, 764, 772 Hunters, negro 145, 369 et seq., 762, 776 et seq. Hunting 762 et seq., 774, 776-80 Hutchinson, Mr. Thos. T. 953, 955, 957 Huts and native architecture : Aruwimi 356, 753-6; Bagenya 522, 743 ; Bakonjo 743, 752 ; Bakuba, 739 ; Balese 755-6 ; Balolo 519, 748 ; Bambala 736; Ban- gala 748 ; Bashilele 741-2 ; Basonge 740-1 ; Basongo 739-40 ; Bateke 732 ; Bavumbo 520 ; Bwela 750 ; Bayaka 735 ; Bayanzi 120, 747-9 ; conical 132, 356, 368, 744-61 ; Fernando Po 957; Kongo 731-3 ; Lunda, Luba 739 ; Man- bettu 758-9 ; Manyema 743 ; Ngombe 1 18, 748; Nyamnyam 758; on piles 138, 139, 752, 760 ; plank houses 755 ; Pygmy 728 ; rectangular, oblong 143, 144, 731 etseq. ; round 743, 753, 757-8 ; Rubi people’s 123, 731 ; square 144, 340, 731 ; Waujabi lio 743 Hydrocyon 615, 934 Hyenas 349, 407, 819, 919 Hylochoerus 341-2, 369, 492, 922 Hyphcsne palms 897 Hypnotism 659 et seq. Hyrax ( Procavia ) 341, 921, 949 Ibaka, “ King” of Bolobo no, 119, 177, 388-9, 598, 704 Ibina R. 335, 541 Ibis, Sacred 167, 242, 321 Idiurus 920 Idols 637 Igneous rocks 282 Ikelemba R. 117, 118, 145, 290 Ila (Chila) language (Northern Zambezia) 844, 871, 876, 888 Ilebo, Irebu 112, 135, 174 Imbangala people, language 70, 71, 161, 195 . 673 Imese 362 Import duties 417, 452 India-rubber, caoutchouc : see Rubber Indians in Africa 827-8 Indigo 561 Indiki people, language 766, 833, 872, 884-5, 889 Industrial teaching at mission schools 35, 41, 237, 243, 247 INDEX 979 Infant mortality 672-3 Influenza 429 Ingots of copper 791-7 Inheritance, laws of 697 et seq. Initiation ceremonies 665 et seq., 954 Inkisi R. 280 Inscriptions, old Portuguese 71, 72 Insectivores 917 Insects of the Congo basin 229 et seq., 9 37 et seq. Intoxicants : see Hemp, Drunkenness, Palm wine, Alcohol Ireland and the Iberian race 515 Iron, ironworkers 127, 129, 162, 168, 176, 188, 281, 312, 320, 356, 367, 518, 560, 585, 670-1, 676, 790 et seq., 798-806 Isabel, Santa (see Clarence) 21 Isangi (Lomami) 126 Isangila 80, 95, 97, 98, 188, 271, 275-9, 410 Islands, floating 117, 150 ; on the Congo, Kasai, etc. 148 Isubu language and people 27, 35, 867- 7 1, 889 Italy, Italians on the Congo 72 et seq., 77, 84, 96, 167, 463, 468, 481 Itunzima Rapids 278 Ituri R. 335-6, 352, 503-4 Ivory 67,90, 106, 145, 178-9, 415-16,445, 45 3. 586, 791, 945 Ja R. (Cameroons-Congo) 503, 891, 913 Jabir 348, 435 Jacottet, M. 830, 888 Jackals 819, 919 Jacques, Capt. 423 “ Jaggas,” the 70 et seq., 78, 195 Jakoba Falls (Lualaba) 310 Jamaica 18 Janssen, M. Camille 413 Jesuits, the 70, 90 Jigger, the (burrowing flea, Sarcopsyllus) 73 2, 943 Jimbu shells 790, 792-3 Johnston Falls 314, 316 Johnston, Sir H. H. : see Author Joyce, Mr. T. A., Prefatory remarks, 561, 576, 616, 642, 689, 825 Juanola, Joaquin, R. P., 24, 882-3 Juapa R. 1 17, 140 et seq., 786 Junker, Dr. 134, 335, 342, 346, 533 Juo Lake 317 Justice, administration of 688 et seq. Kabambare 431-2 Kabinda 70, 76 Kabwari (people and language) 324, 830, 873 Kaiser (German explorer) 83, 416 Kakongo (country, people, language) 74, 91, 268-9, 284, 858, 889 Kalambo, King of the Bena Lulua 444, 461 Kallina Point and Lieut. Kallina 102, 285 Kalulu Falls 281-3 Kamea, Mt. 317 Kamerun (see Cameroons) 27 Kanyoka tribe 163, 658 Kaolin (white clay) 1 5 1 , 561 Karema 409 Karungu R. 314 Kasai R. and district 77, 80, 109, 146 et seq., 154-6, 491, 500, 540, 551 Kasai Company 444, 468, 476-80 Kasale, Lake 315 Kasongo (Lualaba) 185, 310, 31 1, 429 Kasongo, the title of (see Kiamvo) 190, 192, 195, 200 Katanga 316, 318, 419, 476-80, 493, 540, 591, 726, 746, 790, 796-7, 800, 876, 895 Kauri shells 132, 138, 143, 79oyt seq., 796 Kazembe, the 194, 319, 420, 595] Kebwa 493 Kele language and people (see Lokele, Bakele) 354, 829 Keltic consonants 880 Keltie, Dr. Scott, Prefatory remarks, etc. 9 Kenka R. 284 Kenred Smith, Rev., B.M.S. 224 Kenya Mt. 340, 342-3 Kerckhoven, Van : see Van Kerckhoven Kethulle, de la, Lieut. 435, 794 Kiamvo, the (Mwene Puto Kasongo) 190, 193 et seq., 197-203 Kibali (Wele) R. ; also Kibbi 133, 347 Kibira language 835, 862, 885, 922 Kibombo Rapids (Lualaba) 309 Kilega, Kirega language : see Balega Kilo Mts. 336, 895 Kindu 307, 309, 493 Kinena 424 Kingunji Rapids 1 5 1 , 170, 192 Kinsembo (Congo coast) 76 Kinshasa 96, 285 Kioko, Ba- 71, 160, 194, 215, 525, 966 Kiombe language 877-8, 889 Kirk, Sir John 409, 550, 897-900 Kirundi language 853, 873, 889 Kitchen-middens 152 Kitchener, Viscount 437 Kites ( Milvus ) 153, 823 Kivu, Lake 313 Knives 138, 354-5, 630, 774-7; throwing- knives 766-7, 775 Kobe, Ru-, Kyopi, Lu- language 831 Koelle, Rev. Sigismund 19, 163, 503, 872 Kola nut, the 354, 557, 607, 638, 909 Kongo, name of 70, 77, 160, 283 Kongo, Kings of 64, 69, 75, 87, 179 et seq. Kongo, Kingdom of 63, 69, 75, 87, 179 et seq., 194, 551, 688, 700 Kongo, Ba-, Eshi- (people) 63, 69 et seq., 160, 284, 522, 563, 571, 575-6, 595, 61 1, 6SS, 667, 678-83, 784-5, 803-4, 824, 879 Kongo, Kishi- (language) 63, 635, 852, 858, 877-8, 879, 890 Kongo, Tu- 160 Konjo, Ba-, Lu- (see Bakonjo) 872-3 Koto R. 348, 436, 834 Krej language 834 Kruboys 100, 576 980 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Kuamba language 829, 831, 843, 856, 860-1, 867, 885 Kuba, Ba-, Ki- : see Bakuba Kunda people 832 Kunde-irungo Mts. (Kundelungu) 317, 420, 726 Kungu fly 234, 943 Kusu, Ya-, Ba-, Lo- (people near Stanley Falls) Kwa R., Kwamouth (outlet of Kasai) 104 et seq., 109, 146, 147 etseq., 150, 287, 5oo, 551 Kwanga (manioc) 102, 177, 796 Kwango R. 70, 76, 80 et seq., 109, 150 et seq., 154, 193 et seq., 623-4 Kwango R. (affluent of Mubangi) 77, 80 et seq., 348. 829 Kwangu, or Kwango : name of Congo, of Mubangi, and other rivers in Bantu Africa 70, 133, 150, 283, 348, 804 et seq. Kwilu R. (the great Kwilu) 15 1, 154, 212-13, 219, 540, 551, 577, 804 et seq. Kwilu R. (affluent of Cataract Congo) 280, 824 Labeo 785 Labour, negro 486 et seq., 546 Lacerda, Dr. 76, 318 Ladders up trees or steep clay banks of rivers 115, 123, 132 Lado Enclave 436, 437 Lady Alice Rapids 282 Lake dwellings 138 Lake, lakes, ancient Congo 308 Lamps 813 Landana 90 Landslips 191, 287 Land question in Congo State 446-7, 454 et seq., 458, 697, 965 Landolphia 910-11 Landor, Mr. A. Savage 468, 558 Lange, Lieut. 427 Language notes (general) 364, 370, 826, 966 Languages, secret, artificial 669 Langwasi, Linguasi, Alanba 366, 370, 832 Latin language 74 Latrines 957 Laundry work 245 Laurent, M. Emile 491, 910-11 Lava 47, 50 Leather 117, 597, 769, 808 Leaves as clothing 588, 649 ; as thatching 728 et seq., 753-4 Leeches 944 Leeds 63 Lefini or Lifini R. 116 Lefranc, M. S. 468, 471 Leg ornaments 590 Lega (Lendu) people 351; see Lendu; also Balega Lehrmann, Herr Drag 185, 196, 199 et seq. Lemurs of the Congo basin 916 ; Fer- nando Po 948 Le Marinel, Georges 154, 418, 435, 453 — Paul 317, 419, 423, 436, 453, 726 Lendu (Drudu, Lega) people and lan- guage 351, 547, 551, 834, 842-3 Lenz, Dr. 165 Leopard, the 231, 777, 819, 917-18 Leopard’s claws, imitation in iron (Aru- wimi) 351 Leopold II, King : engages Grenfell as commissioner 8, 188-9 J commences international movement to develop Congo 82 et seq., 91 ; commission to Grenfell 189 ; bestows decoration on Grenfell 221 ; grants concession to Ka- tanga company 319; Grenfell’s opinions on 376 et seq., 408 et seq. ; attempted occupation of Egyptian Sudan 436-7 ; makes his will in favour of Belgium 437-8 ; appoints a Commission of Inquiry 440 ; King L. and the Zappo- zaps 442 ; and the ownership of land 446-7 ; his account with the Congo State 451-2 ; the summing up of his work in the Congo basin 453 et seq. ; his position and connections 455 ; his treatment of Congoland 462 et seq. ; the view of him which history will take 473-4 Leopold II, Lake 109, no, 167 et seq., 410, 540 Leopoldville 93, 96, 98, 102, 177, 284-5, 410 Leprosy 556, 672 Lewis, Thomas, Rev., B.M.S. 16, 42, 52, 65, 223, 265, 284, 688 Mrs. 224, 265 ‘‘ Liberes,” the 471-3, 556 Liberia 18, 21, 23, 25, 63, 91, 100, 342-3, 399, 409, 426-7, 457, 547. 962 Liboko (station, river) 114, 115, 127-8, 410 Libyan peoples 515, 558, 800 Lice 732 Licentiousness amongst the natives in, 473. 7I3-I7. 725 Liebrechts (Lieut.-Col.), Secretary for Interior in Lifoto language 866 Lightning 234, 628, 653 Lihuku (see Bahuku) 843, 856, 861, 871, 879, 884 Likangana language 866 Likati R. 123, 337 Likuala R. 288 Lime, the 78 Limestone 88, 155, 156, 192, 278, 895 Limnocnida 944 Limonite 188 Lindi R. 302, 305, 353, 430, 833 ; name for “ river ”851 Lion, the 215, 320, 349, 700, 918 Lip, lips, mutilation, ornaments of 126, 35L 353-4. 370, 573. 577 '• see also Pelele Lippens, Lieut. 425, 429 Liquor traffic 375 Lisbon 74 Lissochilus orchids 51, 267, 904 INDEX 981 Liverpool 56, 63, 82, 953 Livingstone, David 4, 42, 63, 80 s^., 124, 154, 157, 3i3. 3i7» 318, 416, 595 Livingstone Inland Mission 113, 226, 397 Lizards 145, 276, 769, 778, 928, 950 Loanda, St. Paul de 81, 86, 220 Lobai R. 362 Locustids (“ green grasshoppers ”) 233, ► 939 Locusts 230, 233, 613 et seq., 939 Logo people 351-2 Lohali 753, 8o8, 810 Loika R. : see Rubi Lokandu 465 Lokele (see Kele) 354 Lokele people and language 302, 354, 505. 513. 56i, 77L 780-1, 796-7, 819 et seq. ; language 829, 864, 879, 884, 890-1 Lolo, Ba- (people and language) 127, 139, 158, 301, 508, 517, 523, 568 et seq., 652, 657 et seq. ; language 835, 855, 867, 887, 890 Lomami R. 124, 125-6, 137, 158, 308, 375. 539 et seq., 752, 786 London Missionary Society 12, 80, 326, 424 Lone Island 1 10 Lopes, Mr. Jose 949 Lopori R. 136, 518 Lorand, M. 468 Losakani people 530, 585 Lothaire, Major 427, 430-1, 436, 478-80 Louis Philippe, King 455 Low, Rev. W. P. 827 Lowa R. 307-8 Lower Congo region 539, 554, 892 et seq. Lua R. 360, 362 Lualaba R. (Upper Congo) 63, 81, 82, 84, 124, 126, 158, 307 et seq., 315-17, 321, 493. 540, 746 Luango (Congo coast) 70, 78, 84, 571, 804, 811 Luanje R. 21 1, 215 Luapula R. (Luvua) 313 etseq., 315, 421-3, 493 Luba, Ba (also Lua, Rua) people and language 148, 160, 163, 193, 324, 405 et seq., 442, 444, 523, 563, 593-4, 624, 636 et seq., 642 et seq., 655 et seq., 659 et seq., 670-1, 683, 700 et seq., 805 et seq., 81 1, 814 et seq. ; language 830, 859-60, 878 et seq., 888 Lubefu R. 493 Lubira language : see Babira Lubilash R. (Sankuru) 154, 157 Lubudi R. 156, 316-17 Luddington, Rev. W. B. 890 Luebo R. 149, 156 Lufira R. 316-17 Lukenge R. 163, 169, 243, 346, 917 Lukengu 516 Lukolela 105 et seq., 111, 112, 229, 289, 388, 410, 655, 678 Lukuga R. 309, 312-13 Lulanga 1 14 Lulindi R. 307 Lulongo Company, the 485 Lulongo R. 4, 7, 1 12, 1 14, 136 et seq., 400, 652 Lulu R. 335, 356 Lulua, Bena- tribe 163, 444 Lulua R. 146, 154, 157-8, 346, 441 Luluabourg 431, 441 Lumbu (enclosure) 66, 200 Lunda country, plateau 156, 193 et seq., 210-11, 215, 320; Expedition, Gren- fell’s 5, 187 et seq. — language 193, 200, 203, 860 ; people 160, 163, 193-4, 203, 215, 316, 320, 325, 405, 420, 442, 444, 553, 562, 572, 574, 594-5. 598-9. 624, 683, 700, 703, 876, 888, 966 Lungasi R. and people (Cameroons) 30, 43, 55 Lunkundu language 835 (see also Lolo) 867, 887 Lupton Bey 435 Lusambo 154, 186, 426 Lushiko R. 2 1 5 Lutete 279 Luyi language 888 Lycanthropy (men assuming the form of beasts, crocodiles, etc.) 494-6, 632, 641-2 Lycopodiums 95 7 Lydekker, Mr. R. 921, 948 Lyre, the Congo 721 Mabea language 869, 891 Mabenja people 356, 777, 778, 807-8 Mabode people 352-3 403, 570 Mackenzie, Sir George 455 Mackinnon, Sir Wm. 408, 437, 455 McKittrick, J. and F. T. 887 Macmillan, Donald 225 Madan, Mr. A. C. 890 Madi people and language 253, 364, 827, 834, 842 Magboro people and language 354 Magic, magicians 658 et seq. Mahdists (Dervishes) 437 Mai (word meaning water or river) Mai- ma-mbosi (Alima) 116 Maimunene (chief) 517 Maize 78, 361, 600-2, 61 1 Makarka (Nyamnyam) 364, 834 Makoko, the 76-7, 700, 803 Makua R. (Wele) 133 Makuta district 65 et seq., 91 et seq., 95, 191, 396 Malachite 318 Malamine, Sergt. 96 Malarial fever 545, 555 Malet, Sir Edward 459 Malfeyt, State-Insp., Major 333, 373 Malunja (Ngombe) people 572 Mammals of the Congo 341 et seq. — of Central Congoland 346 — of Forest Belt 341 et seq. — of Fernando Po 948 et seq. 982 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Man : as an article of food 399 ; early types of, in Africa 497 ; as a forest dweller 727-8 Manati, the 922, 929 Manbettu people and language 352-3, 364, 399, 403, 498, 533 et seq., 562 et seq., 579 et seq., 591, 612-14, 649, 702, 802, 818 et seq., 834-51, 888, 966 Manchester 56, 63, 82 Mandingo negroes 547-8, 722 Mandrill, the 914, 949 Manenguba Mts. (Cameroons) 43, 44 Manga, Ba-, Wa- : see Bamanga Mangabeys, the 914 Manioc (tapioca) 78, 102, 132, 158, 177, 199, 405, 551, 557, 600, 605, 608, 611 Manis (Ant-eater) 346, 926, 949 Manjia people 371, 832, 834 Mann, Gustav 38, 47, 946-7 et seq. Manning, Cardinal 408 Manson, Sir Patrick 552 Mansonia 942 Mantises 233, 938 Mantumba, Lake : see Ntomba Manure, use of 625 Manyan language 884 Manyanga 72, 76, 97, 278 et seq., 410, 795, 805 Manyema country, people 124, 310, 321, 346, 404, 426, 428 et seq., 515, 521, 545, 57i — language 829, 855, 857, 866 Maps, old Portuguese, Flemish, etc. 77 Marchand, Col. 132, 436 Marinel, Le : see Le Marinel Maringa R. 136, 139 Marriage customs (Pygmies) 145, 674; Kongo 180, 678 et seq. ; other tribes 674-84 Married women, law dealing with 473 Martin, Rev. M. 442, 517 “ Martyrdom of Man,” the 174 Marungu country and people 405, 636, 687, 830 Masks 407, 580, 637, 664 Mason wasps 230, 939 Masonic societies 659, 888 Massage 557 Mastacembelus 784, 934 Mata Bwiki 388, 399, 400 Matadi 63, 71, 72, 8o, 271-5, 283, 418, 447, 493 Matombi (story of) 494-6 Matschie, Prof. P. 342, 492, 913, 922 Mats, mat-making 515, 799, 807 Mawambi 326-7, 333 Maxwell, r.n., Capt. 80, 91 Mayflies 233 Mayombe Forest 271 Mayombe people, language 284 Mbirizi R. 76, 92 Mbomu R. 132, 346-7, 364-5, 436 Mbuba people and language (Momvu) 323. 352-3, 834, 842-3 Mbundu, Ki- 859 Mbundu, U-, Ovi- 858-9, 877, 879, 888 Mburu people 832 Mbutu people, pygmies : see Bambutu, Mombutu Mead 612 Meal-times 631 Measles 149, 556 Mechow, Major von 15 1, 192, 204 Medicines, native 557 Medicine-man (see Doctor, Sorcerer) 563, 571, 575, 658 et seq., 661, 663, 689 Medusce 944-5 Meinhof, Prof. Carl 826-8, 857-8 Menena R. 356 Mense, Dr. (German explorer) 4, 97, 1 5 1 Merrick, Rev. Joseph, B.M.S. 18, 27 et seq., 38, 889 Metallophones 201, 717, 722 Metal-working, use of metals 117, 762-4, 800-6 Meteorology of the Congo 192, 491, 892 et seq. Methodists, Primitive (Mission) 12, 24, 882, 890 Meura, Lieut. 341 Mfini R. 109, 167 et seq. Mfumbiro volcanoes 310, 895 Mfutila 18 1 Miani (Italian explorer) 127 Mica 188 Mice 230, 920 Michaux, Lieut. 427 Michell, Vice-Consul G. B., Prefatory remarks, 461, 468, 826, 845, 848, 864, 875, 891 Midges 230, 942 Military training for the negro, value of 494-6 Millet 361, 600, 606 Milk, milking of cattle 623 Millman, Rev. W., B.M.S. 639 Milz, Lieut. 436 Minerals 895-6 Misa people 351 Missions, missionaries, mission work 10 et seq., 5 6 , 174, 222 et seq., 242 et seq., 465-8 ; mortality in mission work, 223 ; see Baptist, Catholic, Universities, Presbyterian, Church of England Mists, “ Cachimbo,” fogs 192 Mitumba Mts. 317, 895, 932 Mitwanzi Gorge 313 Mizon, Lieut. (French explorer) 107 Mohara, Mwinyi 185, 425 Mohun, Consul, U.S.A. 312, 427 “ Moiyo ” 163 Moka (Fernando Po) 947, 961 Mokwangai 132, 348, 366, 787 Moloney, Dr. 419 Mollusca of Congoland 935-6 Mombutu, Wambutu negroes 353, 536, 835-6 Momvu, Momfu people, language 335, 352, 674-5, 834 Mondole Id. (Cameroons) 37, 39, 46 Mongala 12 1, 290, 337-8, 359, 418 INDEX Mongo people, language 139, 158, 518, 561, 568 et seq., 649, 768, 829 Mongwandi people and language 359, 512, 573, 581, 663, 676-7, 687, 759-60, 779, 832 et seq., 966 Monkeys of the Congo basin 267, 913-16 ; Fernando Po 948 Monkey skins 138 Monogamy 179, 677 Monrovia 426 Monsembe Station 121, 247 Monteiro and Gamitto 313 Moon, native ideas about the 8 1 5 et seq. Moore, J. E., 310, 935-6, 944 Moreau, P&re 906 Morel, Mr. E. D., Prefatory remarks, 440, 465, 468 Mormyridce 349, 934 Morrison, Rev. W. M. 442, 517, 887 Mortality amongst Baptist missionaries 222 et seq. Mosokuba people 832 Mosquitoes 23, 36, 126, 223, 229, 941-2 Mother-right 673 Motima R. 337, 574, 913 Mountains, hills of Congo basin 156, 158, 271 et seq., 310-11, 316-17, 336-7 Mountmorres, Lord, Prefatory remarks, 1 45> 1 75> 302, 321-2, 331, 334, 353-4, 362, 366, 377, 468 ; on Grenfell and the Concessionnaire companies 484-5 ; on Pygmies 504 et seq. ; on the Mongo peoples 517-18 ; Balolo 519 ; on popu- lation of Congo 542 et seq. ; scar-tatu- ing 570 ; pigeons 620 ; on Bantu graves 654; drum - signalling 721; house-building 751-3 Mourning, customs regarding 645-6, 649 et seq., 654-5 Moye people no, 301 Mpala 317, 688 Mpemba (Kongo) 69 Mpo people 518, 714-15 Mpombo people, language 134, 363, 572, 832 et seq., 838-40, 890 Mpongwe language 855-7, 870, 889 Mpozo R. 280, 487 Msiri, Msidi 318-19, 419 et seq. Mswata 102, 108 Mubangi River (see also Wele) discovery by Grenfell 107, 109, in, 116, 127-8 et seq., 132, 340 et seq., 346 et seq., 399- 400, 418, 436, 787 et seq., 832 et seq., 893, 896, 929 Mud, used in building 123, 129 ; old word for, in Bantu tongues 837, 886 Muellers, the (German explorers) 146 Muhammadans, Muhammadanism 539, 596 Mundu people and language 351, 363, 770, 832 et seq., 838 et seq., 966 Mungo River (Cameroons) 30, 37, 41 etseq., 4 3 > 5i Mungulu, Chief, of Bolobo 385-9 Munza, King 534 Muri, title of 670-1 983 Museum, British 74, 492, 550, 597, 922 — Congo : see Tervueren Music (native) 67, 201, 209, 331, 492, 536, 722 et seq., 959 ; musical instruments 201, 492, 710-23, 959 Musical bow, the 716, 723, 959 Musscenda flowers 1 5 1 , 241, 267, 906 Musuko 2, 64, 69, 89 et seq., 188 Muta-nzige (Lake Dweru) 164-5 Mutilations of body, face, etc. 353-4, 571 Mutineers of Congo army : see Batelela Mutumba, Bena- 316 Mwata Yanvo, or Yanvua, the 84, 193-4, 318, 319, 396, 420, 703 Mwene, Mani, etc. (title) 70 Mweru, Lake 81, 194, 314-15, 317, 319, 438, 493. 5oo, 598, 727, 744, 794, 913, 928, 932, 965 Nabarro, Dr. A. 549, 552 Nana R. 128 Nassau, Rev. Hamilton 889 Native rights 456-8 — - teachers, artisans, etc. 15, 186, 261, 262-4 Navigation, navigability of rivers, diffi- culties or facilities of 104 et seq., 129, 133, 1 5 1-2, 257-64, 284 etseq., 288, 290, 292 et seq., 295-6, 306-7, 314-15. 335. 337 , 347-8, 493- 495 Ndaka language (Aruwimi) 328, 354 Ndembo society 667-8 Ndirfi 347, 431, 437 Ndonga people and language 360, 536, 571, 582-3, 750, 777, 826, 833-51 Ndobo country 338-9 Ndombe, Chief 517 Ndri peoples (Pa-tri, Bedri) 371, 832 Necklaces 122, 129, 585 et seq., 591, 957 Neck-rings (see Collars) 15 1, 957 Needles 563, 594, 803 Negro, the, in general 174, 382 et seq., 461, 486, 500, 5 1 1, 579 ; Forest, short- legged type 161, 366, 498, 505, 511-12, 658, 763, 827, 953 ; Nilotic, long- legged type 511-12, 514, 658 — condition of the, before White inter- vention 207-8 — West Coast 500 Negrito races 51 1 Neolithic culture of the Congo negroes 724-5 Nepoko R. 331, 829 Nets, fishing 781-4 Newbegin, Dr., B.M.S. 23 Newton, Mr. Frank 946, 948-50 Ngakabi, Queen 109 ' Ngaliema 96, 177, 391, 686 “ Nganga,” the 563, 658 et seq., 667, 805 Ngapu people 366, 832 Ngaumdere people 833 Ngiri R. 289, 340, 380 Ngoie, Chief 245, 389-90 Ngoko R. 107 Ngoma, Mt. 277 984 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Ngombe people, language 118, 138, 158, 302, 359, 402-3, 433, 509, 528, 531, 560-2, 564 et seq., 571, 583, 592, 692-3, 7 51, 773, 779, 786; language 829, 866, 879 Ngombe (place, W. Congo) 106, m, 289 Ngombe (Bantu word for ox) 624, 878-9 Nicholls, Lieut.-Col. (Governor, Fernando Po) 20, 28 Niger R., Nigeria 80, 503, 799 Nightingale, Consul 468 Nile Quest, The (Author’s book) 900 Nile, R. (Nile system, watershed) 317, 436 Nilis, Major 435 Nilotic Negro, the, race and languages 351, 5 1 1, 514. 558, 650, 819, 827, 834 Nimptsch, Baron von 146, 149, 215, 41 1, 4i3 Nine, roots for, in Bantu 871, 876 Njima, Njiem people and language 869, 891 Nkasa (poison) 689-91 Nkenge R. 116 Nkimba Society 667-9 “ Nkula,” “ Ngola,” “ Tukula ” (red colouring material) 551, 560, 652, 679, 748 Nlemvo 238 Noki 80, 270-1, 283 Nomad habits of Bantu negroes 157, 212 Northern territories of Congo basin 540-1 Norway, Norwegians 381 Nose mutilations 143, 370, 572 Nouvelle Anvers 338, 449, 542, 551 Nsakara (Mbomu) people 364, 365-6, 399, 402, 512, 537, 580-1, 652, 657, 834, 9 66 Nshasa (Stanley Pool) 96, 177, 381 Ntamo, or Kintamo 177 Ntamo (Stanley Pool) 96, 177, 283 (Ntamo Falls) Ntomba, Lake 109, 128, 145, 168, 173-5, 176, 300, 519 Nudity among negroes 33, 55, 129, 144, 367. 507. 558-9. 565> 580, 587 et seq., 655. 956 Nuts (food or medicine) 557 Nyamnyam people and language 348-9, 353. 359. 364-5. 399. 402-3, 435. 536, 541, 570, 580, 625, 650-1, 676; lan- guage 806, 834, 841-2 et seq., 865, 884, 888 Nyamwezi, U-, Ua- 419 Nyangwe 82, 124, 310 et seq., 429 Nyari-Kwilu R. 271 Nyasa, Lake, Nyasaland 81, 234, 424, 558, 933-4, 942 Nyasa-Tanganyika plateau 314, 325, 85 1 et seq . Nzilo R. (Lualaba) 313, 315 Oaths 694-5 Obscenity 713, 717 Ogowe river, peoples 869 Oils 361, 557 Oil palm ( Ela'is ) 129, 157-8, 215, 305, 340, 361, 601, 610-11, 747, 900-1 Okapi ( Occipia ), the 341, 492, 808, 925-6 “ Okroes ” ( Hibiscus buds) 606 Olivella shells 792, 957 Onions 600 Oporto 946 Oranges 78, no, 15 1 Orchids 51, 136, 156, 267, 904 Ordeals (poison and other kinds) 32, 197, 391 et seq., 661 et seq., 689 et seq., 692-3 “ Orphans, law dealing with ” 471-2 Osorio, Dr. 889, 946 Oswell, W. Cotton 80 Otters 145, 948 Ovis ; Ovis jubatus 618 Owen, Capt. W. F. 20, 80 Owls 268, 614, 950 Oxen 208, 216-18, 623-4, 955 ; Bantu words for 624, 956 Oxytenanthera (Bamboo) 902-4 Oysters {Mtheria) 132, 152, 613, 936 Ozo R. 308 Paddles 138, 354-5, 788 Palabala 63, 226, 397, 653, 727 Palm wine 601, 610-11, 899 Palm oil, palm kernels 601 Palms 126, 136, 157-8, 215, 601, 896 et seq., 964 : see also Oil palm, Calamus, Borassus, Date (wild), Hyphaene, Cocoa- nut, etc. Pandanus 136, 140, 153, 305, 901, 964 Panga (Aruwimi) 354, 753 Panicum 600, 606 Panpipes 735 Papaw, the 78, 158 Papyrus 15 1, 153, 901, 964 Parinarium trees 905 Paris 74 Parke, Dr. 426 Parliaments, native 697 Parr, Rev. Theophilus, Prefatory re- marks 882 Parrots, grey parrot 41, 136, 145, 597, 641, 670, 928 Patriote, Le 471 “ Peace,” the B.M. steamer 2, 16, 97, 98 et seq., 100 ; first journey 108 et seq. ; second journey of 1 1 5 et seq. ; third journey of 135 et seq. ; fourth journey of 146 ; fifth journey 167 ; sixth journey 169 ; impressed by Stanley 1 71 et seq. ; navigates Lake Ntomba 173 ; seized by Congo State 186 ; in- struction given on board 328 ; dangers to 133, 146, 168, 257 et seq. ; and the Arab War 426 Peas 600, 607 Pechuel-Loesche, Dr. 84 Pedro V, Dom 87, 180 Pelele or mpelele (lip-ring) 126, 323, 573-4 Pelicans 153, 167, 242, 275, 927 Pelmatochromis 935-6 Peloids (scar-tatuing) 564 et seq. Pennisetum 600 Pepper, red 158 Periophthalmus fish 268 INDEX Peto, Sir Morton 34 Petrology of Congo basin 188, 192, 210- n, 278, 280-2, 894-6 Phallic rites, worship 192, 638 Phantoms 643 et seq. Phaseolus beans 600, 607 Phasidus 342, 927 Phillips, Rev. H. Ross, B.M.S. 224 Pholidota (Manises) 926 Phonology of the Bantu 880-1 Physical characteristics of negro tribes 353-4, 359, 362-6, 366-8, 370-1, 503, 507-8, 512, 517, 532, 534 et seq. Pickersgill, Consul 468 Picture-writing 807, 81 1 Pig, domestic 192, 197, 616, 679-80 — forest 341, 492, 779, 922 — red river, wild “ bush ” 192, 243, 321, 616, 779 Pigeons 620 Pigments in native use 560-1 Pikes, wooden 354 Pile-dwellings 518, 752, 760-1 Pineapple, the 78, 153, 15 6 et seq., 158, 200, 600 et seq. Pinnock, Rev. John (sen.), B.M.S. 225 (jun.), Rev., B.M.S. 11, 224, 225, 889 Pipes 12 1, 609 Pitfalls 762 et seq., 775, 778-9, 955 Plaited -string work 630, 801, 807-8 Plantains 612 Plantain-eaters (see Turacos) 928, 950, 965 Plateaus 188-92, 210-11, 280, 310-11 Plates and dishes 747 Plough, the 625 Plumatella 945 Plymouth, the (sailing boat) 97 Plymouth Brethren, Mission of the 319, 421, 876 Pneumonia 237, 547, 555 Pocock, Mr. R. I. 341, 914 Pogge, Dr. 83, 146, 517, 601 Pogge Falls 155 Pogge, Mt. 153 Poiana 948-9 Poisons 197, 776, 910 ; arrow, spear 762 et seq., 777, 955 Polygamy 363, 365, 671, 676 Polypterus 931-3 Polyzoa 944-5 Pombeiros, the 318 Ponta da Lenha 269 Ponthier, Capt. 306, 426-7, 436 Ponthierville 306, 493 Popes, the, and Congo evangelization 72 et seq. Popoie (Aruwimi) 354 Popokabaka 193, 198 et seq. Population of Congo State 539-46 Porcupines 920, 949, 957 Porters, and their loads 98 Portugal, Portuguese in West Africa 5, 8, 13, 27, 182 et seq., 188-90, 396, 442, 792 ; in Congoland 70 et seq., 75 et seq., 985 86, 91, 180 et seq., 396, 442 ; knowledge of the Congo interior 76 et seq. ; benefits conferred on Africa by introduction of plants and animals 78, 600, 605, 623 Portuguese language, the 83 Portulaca 601 Potagos, Dr. 346 Potamochoerus pigs 192, 616 Potato, the sweet 78, 607 “ Poto ” negroes of Fernando Po 961-2 Poto, Ba- (people of Upper Congo) 122, 402, 509, 512, 528, 545, 564^ seq., 583, 651, 687 Poto language (Lifoto) 866 Pottery, pots 133, 163, 167, 371, 492, 519, 586, 613, 617, 626-8, 653 et seq., 67$, 683, 747, 790-1, 798, 809-18, 959 Powell-Cotton, Major 468 Prain, Col. D., Prefatory remarks, 902 Prawns 27, 936 Prefixes, the Bantu 854 et seq., 886 ; the 13th prefix 855, 886; 7th 856, 886; 10th 856-9; 12th 857 ; 15th 857, 886; 16th 857-9, 886 ; 17th 853, 857—8 ; 2nd prefix 859 ; 8th 856, 859 ; particles 854-5, 860, 886 Prefixes and suffixes in African languages 834 Presbyterian Missions 12 ; United — 12, 56 ; American — 439,442, 461, 466, 517 Prince, Dr. G. K., B.M.S. 18 et seq. Printing at the Baptist Mission 34, 41, 248 Problems, Congo 963 et seq. Property, native ideas as to 697 Protopterus 243, 244, 933-4 Protozoa 944-5 Proyart, Abbe 91 Puberty customs 666-7 — dances 714 Pudenda, concealment of 559 Pumpkins 600 et seq., 607 Punishments, native 695-6 Purses, wicker-work 793 Pygmies, Pygmy races in Congoland 145, 161, 175, 301-2, 331 et seq., 350 et seq., 497 et seq., 504, 789 ; geographical distribution of 499, 504, 507, 524 ; language of 508, 834-7 ; sense of smell 508 ; nudity 558 ; physical character- istics 504-8 571-3, 575 et seq. ; food 601 et seq. ; knowledge or ignorance of producing fire 627 et seq. ; religious belief 632 ; burial customs 653 ; names given to 145, 301, 501, 504, 637 ; treat- ment of children 673 ; marriage 674 ; hut-building 728 ; hunting and weapons 762 et seq., 768, 779 ; dances and songs 331-2, 713, 718 Pythons 269, 950 Quakers, the 18, 440 Quartz 132, 188, 312 Quelimane 146 Quinary system in numerals 842-3 et seq. g86 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Rabinek, Mr. (Austrian trader) 438 Rafts, catamarans 127, 785-6 Railway, Railways, Congo 188, 272 et seq. ; Upper Congo 306, 309, 328, 418, 474, 476, 486 et seq., 493 Rain, Rains, Rainfall 191, 283-4, 300-1, 321, 335-6, 337, 892-4 Rainbow, native myths as to the 816 Randia trees, dye 561, 813, 906 Raphia palms 116, 156, 215, 520, 590, 728, 742, 809, 898-900, 958, 964 Ratel, the 919 Rats 791, 920, 948-9 Rat-traps 121, 790-2 Rattles 395, 701, 71 1 Razors 580 Reade, Win wood (his opinion of Saker) 43 ; 547 Reed-ornamentation on houses 519, 749 Reichard, P. (German explorer) 83, 416, 421 Reid, Rev. M. H. 230, 269-70 Reid, Sir Hugh Gilzean 482 Rejaf 437 Religious Beliefs 492, 632 et seq. Reptiles of Congoland 492, 928 et seq. Resin 630 — for smearing basket-work, pottery 807, 813 Rhinoceros, the 320, 349 Rhodes, Cecil, the late Rt. Hon. 453, 455, 456 Rhodesia 493 Riaba (Fernando Po) 947, 961 Ribariba 309 Rice (wild and cultivated) 122, 310, 600-2, 605 Richards, Rev. Michael, B.M.S. 166 Richardson, Rev. C. H. (B.M.S., Came- roons) 52, 889 Rickards, Lake 41 Riding-oxen 208, 216-18 Rings 585 River Congo, The (Author’s book) 897 River, West-Central African root-words for 143, 283, 286, 347 Robertson, Rev. W. Govan 890 Rodents of the Congo 919-21 ; of F. Po 948-9 Roget, Capt. 43 5 » 453 Rogozinski, M. Stefan 52 Rom, Lieut, 427 Roman Catholic Church missions : see Catholic and Church Rome (dealings with Congo) 72 et seq. Rothschild, Baron Maurice de, Prefatory remarks ; 342-3 — Hon. Walter 344, 912 Rousselet, Mr. C. F. 944 “ Royal ” (steamer) 410 Ruanda 873 Rubber, India, Caoutchouc 160, 212, 377, 453> 459. 564, 910-11 Rubunga 283 Rubi R. 123, 291, 337 Ruki R. (Muhindu, Busira-Juapa) 113, 1 14, 1 17, 139 et seq., 290 Russia and the Congo State 272 Ruwenzori Mts. 164, 419, 752, 873, 885, 893. 895 Sacrifices, human or other 111, 652, 672, 776 Sahara sea, the ancient 931-2 Saint-Marcq, M. de 185 Saker, Alfred 2, 16, 18 et seq., 27 et seq., 33, 3&> 38 et seq., 42 (death of), 62, 344, 889 — Miss Emily, Prefatory note ; 42 Saker, Helen (the steam launch) 5 1 Salaries of Congo State or Company employes 448, 463, 478 Salt 116, 125, 167, 675, 793-4 Samba, Ba- 160, 164 Samba Mts. 158 Sandals 599 Sandflies 230 Sandstone formations 104, 15 1, 153, 155-6, 210-11, 212, 306, 498, 802, 894 et seq. Sanford, Mr. H. S. 445, 453 Sanga River 99, 107, 128, 288, 344, 761, 891 Sango people and language 366-8, 370, 512, 570, 573, 651, 672, 780, 818, 829, 832 et seq., 840-1 Sankuru River 146, 153-5, 156 et seq., 162, 320, 350, 488, 493, 516 Sannaga, Sananga River (Cameroons) 43, 51 et seq., 343, 503 San Salvador (Kongo) 63 et seq., 70, 74, 82, 85 et seq., 95, 179 et seq., 393, 548 Sant’ Antonio (Congo mouth) or Sonyo 72, 74, 75, 266 Sargent, Mr., of Bristol 305 ; Sargent Station 305, 329 Sarmento, Senhor, Lieut., and Mme. 208 et seq. “ Saturn ” mark, the 1 5 1, 160, 167 Savage-Landor, Mr. H. 468 Scandinavians 431, 463 Scars, burns, scar-tatuing'564 et seq., 570 Scenery, Notes on 104, 163, 151, 153, 155, 156, 167, 172, 188-92, 205, 211, 241 et seq., 277, 282, 312, 338 Schagestrom, Commt. 436 Schneider (German explorer) 149 Scherlinck, Lieut. 427 Schists 188 School Children, scholars of Baptist Mission 135, 147, 191, 203, 235, 239, 243, 327-31 Schweinfurth, Dr. Georg 84, 127, 134, 346, 403, 533, 759 Scientific publications of Congo State 491 et seq. Scimitars (curved swords) 775 Sciurus 920 Sclater, Dr. P. L. 931 Scorpions 937 Scrotum covering 138 Scott, John 64 INDEX 987 Scottish missionaries 319, 421 Scrivener, Rev. A. E., B.M.S. 224, 246 Secret societies 665 et seq., 717 Sefu 185 Selagnella 957 Semi-Bantu Tj see Bantu, Semi- Semio 348 Semliki R. 350, 352, 861 Senegalese 96 Senga, Chief 4 66, 505 Sesamum oil 361 Sese, Busese : see Babusese Sese Is., Victoria Nyanza 872 Sewing 675, 812 Sexual initiation 666 et seq. — morality 676, 716-17 Seventeenth prefix in Bantu 853, 854-8, 886 Shale 188 Shari River basin, water-parting 348, 436, 500, 893, 922 Sharpe, Sir Alfred 314, 315, 319, 416, 419 Shaving (see also Depilation) 579 Shell beads, ornaments 790, 957-9 Shells, land and fresh- water 935-6, 957 Sheep, domestic 137, 19 1, 617 et seq., 878-9 Shields 1 1 7, 144, 354, 769-72, 949, 955-6 Shindler, Rev. j. H., B.M.S. 226 Shinko R. (or Chinko) 348, 436, 834 Shrew mice 818, 917, 948 Sierra Leone ioo, 351, 427, 490, 547, 827, 903, 906 Siffert, Lieut. 333 Silvey, Miss, B.M.S. 386 Sims, Dr. A., A.B.M.U. 64, 97, 116, 166, 887 Simulium flies 230, 277, 942 Six, seven, roots for, in Bantu 862, 871, 874, 876-7, 884 Sjoblom, Rev. Mr. 439, 469 Skin, colour of negroes’ 145, 350, 953 — decoration : see Colouring, Cicatriza- tion, Tatuing — flaps over pudenda 138, 574-5 Skins, wearing of 590, 593-6 Skirts (bustles, flounces) worn by women 594-5 Skulls of negroes 80, 121, 197, 405, 498- 542, 599 Slade, Rev. A. D., B.M.S. 226 Slate rocks 337, 340 Slaves, slavery 121, 138, 340, 389, 442 et seq., 471, 649, 656 et seq., 685 et seq., 707, 712-13, 790-1, 796, 960 Slave Trade, the 29, 32, 76, 83, 139, 442-3 Sleeping Sickness 380, 540, 545, 547 et seq., 551-2 Sleeveless jackets of leather 117, 597 Smallpox 95, 212, 21 6 et seq., 429, 487, 540, 547, 553 Smell, sense of 508 Smith, Mr. E. W. 635, 876, 888 Snags a danger to Congo navigation 295 et seq. Snakes 228, 269-70, 279, 816, 928, 950 Snares 762 et seq. Snuff-taking 609 Social organization 684 et seq., 697, 704, 707 Socidte Anversoise, the 438, 459, 468, 476 et seq. Soko, Ba- (Basoko people) 124, 1 66, 354, 402, 513, 632, 685, 781-4, 801-2 — language 829, 864, 884 et seq., 887 Soldiers of Congo State 433, 464, 465-6, 494-6, 480 et seq. Soldier-settlers of Congo State 334, 494-6 Solongo, A- people 268-9, 69 7 Songs, singing 712, 724 Soot for colouring skin 561 Sorcerers, witch-doctors 391 et seq., 395, 659, 660 et seq. Sorghum grain 600, 605 Soul, native ideas as to the 639 et seq., 660 et seq. Souza, Roderigo de 70 Spain, Spaniards 20, 22 et seq., 25, 36, 87, 946-7, 956-63 Spanish missionaries 22-5, 947, 963 Spears, iron 144, 370, 496, 769-74, 780 ; wooden 129, 351, 771, 955 Spear-heads as currency 790, 794-7 Spearing, Miss Martha, B.M.S. 226 Speke, Capt. 81, 310, 425 Spells of magicians 660 et seq . Spiders of Congoland 936-7, 939 Spirits, belief in 636 et seq. Sponges 944-5 Spoons, native 586, 630-1, 747 Sporrans, wearing of 592-4, 596-7 Spur- winged geese 153 Squirrels 920, 948 Stainier, M. Xavier 492, 500 Stairs, Capt. 419, 422-3 Stanley, (Sir) H. M. 77, 81, 83, 84, 87, 91, 95, 102, 108, 124, 127, 128, 529-30, 721, 755 ; his general idea of Congo geo- graphy in 1885 130 ; and Ruwenzori 164 ; Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 1 71, 179 ; founds Congo State 409 et seq. ; collects Bantu dialects, N.E. Congoland, 831, 888 Stanley Falls 126, 128, 164, 296, 299, 300, 302, 306, 410, 797 Stanley Pool 76 et seq., 95, 97, 98 et seq., 103, 177, 228, 285 et seq., 300, 897 Stanleyville 185, 292, 296, 321 Stapf, Dr. Otto, Prefatory remarks ; 902 Stapleton, Rev. W. H., B.M.S., Prefatory remarks', 134,223, 231, 322, 328-9, 331, 353. 363. 659, 819, 825, 831 et seq., 838 et seq., 844, 890-1, 918 Steamer adventures on the Congo 257 et seq., 263-4, 295 Steamers on the Lower Congo 272, 493 ; on the Upper Congo 295-6, 493 Steatopygy 504, 51 1 Stegomyia 942 “ Stick- insects ” 938 Stokes, Charles 429, 430, 438 988 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Stone Age on the Congo, stone imple- ments 492, 498, 500, 724, 802 ; F. Po 955 Stools, native 744, 746, 757-8 Storks 153, 321 Storms, Capt. 424, 687 Strauch, Gen. 409 String, native-made 356, 630 ; plaiting of 801, 807, 810 Strophanthus 234, 557, 762 Stroobank, Lieut. 436 Strychnos nuts, poison 663, 689-92 et seq., 762 Sturgeon, Thos., B.M.S. 18 et seq. Sudan, the 436, 598, 767 ; Sudanian in- fluence, culture, climate 798-9, 896 Sudanese negroes 511, 610, 789, 834 Sue R. 132 Sugar 602 Sugar-cane 78, 111, 141, 600, 602, 607 Surgery, native ideas of 5 5 7 Sutton, Messrs, (seed merchants) 247 Sutton Smith, Rev. H., B.M.S. 224, 309, 465 Swahili people, language 124, 427, 605, 827 Swan, Mr. C. A. 319, 888 Sweet potatoes 78, 607 Sweden, Swedes 381, 431, 461, 887 Swords 202, 774-6 Synodontis 783, 934 Syphilis 203, 549, 555-6 Tabu placed on men’s, women’s food or relations 614, 631, 672, 683-4, 691 Tabwa people and language 405, 492, 717, 874, 887 “ Tails ” worn by natives 588-9 Tambourines 719 Tanganyika, Lake 81, 91, 313, 317, 424 et seq., 493, 498, 539, (myth as to origin of) 816-18, 830, 852 et seq., 932 et seq., 9 36, 944-5 Tatu (tattoo), tatuing 151, 160, 167, 355, 366-7, 562 et seq. Tawareq, the (breeds of sheep and dogs) 619 Taxation 380, 459-60 et seq., 481 Tea 227 Teeth, mutilations of 123, 127, 144, 571 et seq. ; use of 763-4 — necklaces of human 122, 129, 402, 585 ; of beasts’ 126, 585, 791 Teetotums 711-12 Tegipudenda, objects serving as 574, 588, 592-3. 956 Teke : see Bateke Teke language : see Bateke Temperatures 894 Temples of the dead, Fetish temples 646 Termites 34 et seq., 613, 929, 937-8 Ten, roots for, in Central African lan- guages 843 et seq., 865, 871-7, 884 Terns and Scissor-bills 153, 927 Tervueren (Congo Government) Museum 451, 491 et seq., 623-3, 712, 810, 812, 922, 925, 931 Tests of innocence, ordeals 692-5 Tetrodon 934 Thomas, Mr. Oldfield, Prefatory remarks ; 922, 948 Thome, Sao 185, 442, 950, 962 Thomson, George 48 — Joseph 408, 421 — Rev. Quentin, B.M.S. 42, 889 Thieves, tests for, punishment of 692-5 Thys, Col. 272, 309, 417, 453, 486 Ticks (Arachnids) 549, 936-7, 965 Times, The 377 Tiputipu (Tippootib) 124, 165, 179, 185, 424 et seq. Toads 823, 930 Tobacco 78, 137, 158, 171, 361, 600, 602, 609, 796, 908 Tobback, Lieut. 427 Tomato 78 Tomtom drums 361, 708, 718-22 Topoke people 302, 354, 513, 573, 577 Torches 785, 813 Torday, Emil, Prefatory remarks ; 160, (on the peoples of the Kasai- Kwango) 194; (on Katanga) 316 ; (Aruwimi, etc.) 335 et seq. ; (Banza people) 360-2 ; on cannibalism 402 et seq., 405 ; on Msidi 419 et seq. ; on the Batetela sol- diers and Scandinavian officers 431-2 ; as an explorer 491 ; on the Bavumbo 520 ; on the hair of Bahuana 527 ; on the Bayanzi 529-30 ; on native dis- eases 548, 551 et seq. ; on body orna- mentation 562 ; circumcision 576 ; hair 576 ; hemp-smoking 608 ; tabu on food 614; earth-eating 615; re- ligious beliefs and rites 638 et seq. ; burial customs 652 et seq. ; the functions of chiefs 658 ; secret societies 670-1 ; marriage customs 683 ; poison ordeals 689 et seq. ; native inheritance 698 ; songs and music 717-24 ; houses 739 et seq. ; the cross- bow 766 ; methods of fishing on the northern Congo 781-2 ; rafts 785 ; native myths, folk-lore 815 et seq. ; Congo languages 826 et seq., 887 et seq. Tornadoes 234, 261, 628, 894, 962 Torrend, Rev. Father 826 Tortoises, Turtles 43, 585, 613, 815, 929, 950 Totems : totemistic tabu on food 614, 672, 684 Towns, villages : in the Kongo country 66 et seq. ; Bavumbo 520 ; Bagenya 522 ; Bashilele 742 ; Banza 761 ; Nyamnyam 758 Trade (native restrictions on) 395 et seq. ; trade in the Congo basin 789 et s?q. Tragelaphs 923 Transmigration of souls 632 Transport, difficulties or facilities of 415, 453 Trap rock 155 Traps 138, 145, 775, 779-85 Tree worship 640, 654 INDEX 989 Trees (ornamental or useful) 66, 111, 136, 153, 191, 905, 906 Treponema 549 Trials, trial by ordeal 688, 689 et seq. Tribal marks 366, 367, 370 Trumpets 67, 145, 722 Trypanosoma, trypanosomiasis 549 et seq., 552 (history of our knowledge of try- panosomiasis) Tsetse flies 229, 549 et seq. — diseases 549 et seq. Tu- prefix 160 Tubulidentata (Aard-varks) 926 Tuckey, r.n., Capt. J. K. 80 Tukongo, the 160, 444 Tukula (see Nkula) 560 Tungila R. 207 Tungwa 65 et seq., 82, 92, 95 Tunis (government of) 492, 598 Turacos 928 Turumbu 302, 354, 513-14, 574, 753 Tusi, Tutsi, Ava-, Uru- people, language 5i5, 623, 859, 873 Twenty, separate root- words for, in Central African languages 845 et seq., 884-5 Twins, customs regarding 644 Uapaca tree 909 Uganda 162, 194, 433, 437, 508, 872-3 Uganda mutiny 433 “ Uganda Protectorate ,” the (book) 363, 430, 5 1 1, 572, 609, 762, 786, 835, 856, 860, 887-8, 938, 944 Umbrellas 200-1 Underhill, Dr. E. B. 41 Underhill Station 98, 106, 226, 270-2, 438 Unexplored portions of the Congo basin 491 United States of America 381, 427, 461 Universities Mission 12 Unyoro 179, 194, 829, 856, 872-3 Usnea lichen 106, 129, 21 1 Van Calster 436 Van de Velde, Commdt. 185 Vandervelde, M. 468 Van der Schmidt, Lieut. 432-3 Vangele (Vice-Governor) Lieut.-Col. 97, 114, 127, 133-4, 346, 367, 410, 418, 435, 453, 58i Van Kerckhoven, Capt. 134, 418, 435 Van Kerckhovenville 727 Van Lint, Lieut. 427 Vedy, Dr. 757 Venice, a vegetable 267, 338 Vermeersch, Rev. Father A. 461, 466, 468 Verner, Mr. S. P. 153, 155 et seq., 346, 507, 517, 521, 835, 888, 912 Victoria, Queen 455 Victoria, Mt. (Cameroons) 48, 50 Victoria settlement (Cameroons) 37, 43, 46, 60 Victoria Nyanza, Lake 234, 313, 317, 942, 944-5 Vines, wild 109, 907 Virunga volcanoes 310, 344, 895 Vivi 95, 97, 226, 271, 273, 283, 410-11 Voandzeia ground-nut 606-7 Volcanoes, volcanic energy 48, 310, 895, 946-7 Vollont, Lieut. 197 Vos, Rev. Father De (Belgian missionary) 55i Vultures, fishing vultures 153, 267, 927, 950 Wadelai 435 Wagigi, the 366 Wahis, Baron 413, 467 Wamanga, the : see Bamanga Wamba River 151, 209, 21 1 Wambutu dwarfs : see Bambutu Wanda people 138, 508 Wangobelio or Waujabilio 324, 521 “ Wangwana ” (see Swahili) 124 War, among natives 775 et seq. Ward, Mr. Herbert 179, 180 “ Washenzi ” 124 Wasps 939, 940 Water, words for 143, 283, 286, 347 — action of 191 — birds 153, 167 — bucks 923 Watet people 366-9, 788 Wathen, Sir Charles 2 Wathen mission station 97, 188, 191, 225, 903, 937 Waujabilio 521, 731, 743 Wauters, Father 73 Wauters Mts. 156, 895 Wauters, Mons. A. J. 4, 5, 128, 280, 317, 468, 486, 491, 932 Weapons in burial ceremonies 654 Weasels, black and white ( Ictonyx , etc.) 919 Weatherley, Capt. Poulett 314 Weaving (loom, spinning) 590, 806 Weeks, Rev. J. H., B.M.S. 16, 223, 362, 378, 440, 466, 492, 931-6 Wele River, Wele-Mubangi 84, 127, 133, 346 et seq., 435, 492, 787-8, 893 Wellman, Dr. F. C. 550 Welshmen 84, 91 Werner, Mr. J. R. 337, 418, 573, 663 - — Miss A. 337 Werre, R 347-8 West Indies, West Indians 18, 36, 555 Weyns, Major 438, 492 Whetstones 802 Whisks, fly, carried by medicine-men and orators 662, 688 Whistles 323, 637, 715, 722 Whitehead, Rev. John, B.M.S. 224, 556, 708, 781, 890 — Mrs. 246 White man, the, in Africa 174, 207 White, Rev. Harry, B.M.S. 505, 739, 779 White Fathers, the 12, 409, 424 White ants : see Termites Whitley, Rev. H. G., B.M.S. 226 Wia, Mt. 278 990 GEORGE GRENFELL AND THE CONGO Widows 650, 655 et seq. Wigs 1 5 1 , 585, 599, 601, 808 Wildemar, Dr. E. De 491, 910-11 Williams, Col. (American) 445 Winton, de, Sir Francis 146, 167, 41 1, 4i3 Winton, de, Mr. W. E. 920 Wise sayings 824 Wissmann, H. von 97, 146-7, 158, 165, 182-4, 453, 517, 888, 901 Wissmann Falls 155 — Pool 1 5 3 Witchcraft, Witches, Wizards (and Witchcraft ordeals) 35 et seq., 197, 203, 262, 385 et seq., 390 et seq., 659 et seq., 665, 954 et seq. Woermann, German house of 59 Wolf, Dr. L. 146-7, 149, 158, 453, 516 et seq., 888 Women : in general 244, 246, 402, 473, 558, 614, 630, 674 et seq. ; Manbettu 592, 675 ; Bangala 595, 678 ; Mongo 678 ; Momvu 674 ; Nsakara 674 ; Nyamnyam 675-6 ; Mongwandi 675-6; Bangata 678 ; Bahuana 683 ; Ababua 587, 592, 676 ; Ngombe 535, 592-4 ; Bapoto 558-9, 565 ; Lunda 572, 585, 595-6, 683 ; Bongo or Sango 367, 369, 573; Bayanzi 111, 244-5, 385 et seq., 585, 678, 714-15 ; of the Mubangi 129, 585, 674 ; of Lulongo 138 ; Bayaka 152, 202 ; Kongo 678 et seq. ; Basoko 355 ; Banza 361, 677 Women missionaries, the work of 224, 246-7 Women’s work 812 Wooden weapons 771-4, 955-6 Worms 944 Wouters, Chevalier d’O. de 426, 427 Wrestling 763-4 Wright-Hay, Mrs. 224 Writing, native love of 247 — beginnings of 807, 8 1 1 Xylophone, the 209, 712, 722 Yak a, Bayaka- (people, language) 71, 152, 1 60-1, 172 : see Bayaka Yakoma 132, 570, 832 Yakusu 222, 255, 329, 466, 472 Yalala, Falls of 275-7 Yalemba 3, 372-4 Yambinga 123 Yambuya 124, 335, 354 Yams, 600, 672, 908-9, 958 Yanjali 466 Yanzi, Ba- : see Bayanzi Yaponga country 127 Yaunde 869, 891 “ Yaws ” disease 362, 549, 556, 937 Yeke pygmies 524 Zambezi R., Zambezia 80, 317, 498, 550, 558, 933. 934 Zande, A- (see Nyamnyam) 359, 561, 570, 655, 815, 818 Zanzibar 82, 84, 146, 318, 596 Zanzibaris 196, 539, 556 “ Zappo-zaps ” (Basonge) 159, 441-2, 461, 516, 545 Zebra 320, 349 Zenkerella 920 Zinga Rapids, Falls 279, 283 Zither, the 723 Zizania rice 600-1 Zombo plateau, people 69, 92, 152, 284, 396, 638 Zongo Falls, country (Mubangi River) 127, 132, 346, 348-9, 362 Zoological Society of London 912, 921 Zulu-Kaffirs, the 558, 683, 728, 854 28 30 32 3 ± ft ft V t*8UM , ' KC.NKOB ^ SAN CO 5 Twa gTgn WaH^ - w ovoGO^{/^ G ku"h^*^' /I'KlfifAKDoN ^a\ika ^noV- bakot, eAKAtAi iof BASE SE j Baka r J^twa > y ,„ i-VLM > 8 ,, *>&? u r MtyW 1 Ofifl'n, ^Sanrf/-; W/ISA/ ^ Bakei •M I K O N |ft V^AKlj 'Eeiotml &mn