A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries: And of the Discovery of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864Livingstone, David
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A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries: And of the Discovery of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864
Livingstone, David
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Africa, Central -- Discovery and exploration
The children have merry times, especially in the cool of the evening. One
of their games consists of a little girl being carried on the shoulders
of two others. She sits with outstretched arms, as they walk about with
her, and all the rest clap their hands, and stopping before each hut sing
pretty airs, some beating time on their little kilts of cowskin, others
making a curious humming sound between the songs. Excepting this and the
skipping-rope, the play of the girls consists in imitation of the serious
work of their mothers, building little huts, making small pots, and
cooking, pounding corn in miniature mortars, or hoeing tiny gardens. The
boys play with spears of reeds pointed with wood, and small shields, or
bows and arrows; or amuse themselves in making little cattle-pens, or in
moulding cattle in clay; they show great ingenuity in the imitation of
various-shaped horns. Some too are said to use slings, but as soon as
they can watch the goats, or calves, they are sent to the field. We saw
many boys riding on the calves they had in charge, but this is an
innovation since the arrival of the English with their horses. Tselane,
one of the ladies, on observing Dr. Livingstone noting observations on
the wet and dry bulb thermometers, thought that he too was engaged in
play; for on receiving no reply to her question, which was rather
difficult to answer, as the native tongue has no scientific terms, she
said with roguish glee, "Poor thing, playing like a little child!"
Like other Africans, the Makololo have great faith in the power of
medicine; they believe that there is an especial medicine for every ill
that flesh is heir to. Mamire is anxious to have children; he has six
wives, and only one boy, and he begs earnestly for "child medicine." The
mother of Sekeletu came from the Barotse Valley to see her son. Thinks
she has lost flesh since Dr. Livingstone was here before, and asks for
"the medicine of fatness." The Makololo consider plumpness an essential
part of beauty in women, but the extreme stoutness, mentioned by Captain
Speke, in the north, would be considered hideous here, for the men have
been overheard speaking of a lady whom we call "inclined to
_embonpoint_," as "fat unto ugliness."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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