Richard Galbraith, Mariner; Or, Life among the KaffirsPhillips, E. W. (Emma Watts)
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Richard Galbraith, Mariner; Or, Life among the Kaffirs
Phillips, E. W. (Emma Watts)
Shipwrecks -- Fiction; South Africa -- Fiction
When I heard that Anzutu would probably die after all, I could not help
thinking that the death of the wretched wizard had not done much good.
Whether Tugela had divined my thoughts I do not know, but when he spoke
again he certainly answered them.
"Had Metilulu applied to the witch-doctor sooner," he said, "this might
not have been; the wizard had got too much power before he was stopped."
We had now entered the kraal, where I found both men and women attired
in their oldest aprons, without ornament, and all betraying the deepest
signs of grief. Metilulu, attended only by his chief warriors, had
hurried to his own hut to await further bulletins, which soon came, for
we had not returned an hour before the news spread through the community
that Anzutu was dead.
Never shall I forget the tremendous noise that then arose. Shriek after
shriek--howl after howl--groan after groan. Had Pandemonium broken
loose it could not have been worse. Work was suspended entirely, and,
stranger still for a Kaffir, eating and drinking also. There they sat
howling. Feeling myself, as a spectator, rather out of place in such a
scene, I retired to my hut, and watched proceedings from the entrance.
Soon the news that Metilulu's favourite wife had ceased to exist
travelled to other kraals, and, to my consternation--for I was almost
deafened by the noise already--fresh parties kept arriving all day, and,
taking their places, added their voices to the rest; for it appeared
Metilulu was a powerful chief among the tribes. The whole day and night
they still kept coming, and the noise continued, while never did I see
one of the people seek refreshment. Fortunately for myself, I had some
dried eland flesh in my hut, with which I stayed my hunger, and so the
most miserable twenty-four hours I had yet spent in Caffraria.
In the morning the cries had not ceased; but I went forth, feeling sure
that some ceremony--perhaps the burial--would take place after such an
uproar, as they could scarcely support it longer. I had seen a
wedding--I had seen a Kaffir baby just after birth, and found it to be
almost as white as an European's, the skin darkening rapidly
afterwards,--and now I desired to witness a funeral.
Proceeding towards Metilulu's huts--that is, his own and those of his
wives--I found him outside, dressed in full warrior costume, as were
those who stood about him. They were engaged in singing a wild native
song; then the chief issued some orders. I had no need to understand
the language to learn what they were, as they were instantly followed by
the execution of several of the tribe, this evidently being a custom.
The poor fellows received their fate without a murmur; for, as before
stated, in Caffraria the chief's word is law, and one which his people
obey even on some occasions with rejoicing. Indeed, as the miserable
beings were now being executed, I perceived by the expression of their
faces that they were uttering praises of the fat despot.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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