The heart of Africa, Vol. 1 (of 2)Schweinfurth, Georg August
Science
The heart of Africa, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Schweinfurth, Georg August
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Schweinfurth, Georg August, 1836-1925 -- Travel -- Africa, Central
To the right may be observed a man, who is collecting iron ore, and
one of the wicker baskets which belong to the reserve of corn. Great
gongs hang upon the posts towards the left, and some of the massive
bows, of which the strings are ready stretched by a billet to serve as
snares. This artifice is employed by several of the people of this
district to facilitate their chase of the wild buffaloes. Very strong
straps of hide are strained across the tall grass of the lowlands,
where the buffaloes congregate. One end is fastened either to a tree
or to a peg driven into the ground, the other end attached to the bow.
This forms a kind of noose which, through the rebound of the billet,
tightens itself about the legs of the buffalo when it strains it. The
startled beast makes a bound, and is immediately fettered. The
hunters, who had been lying in wait, seize this moment and, with their
lances, strike at the prey, which, if not utterly entangled, is sure
by the bow to be obstructed in its running. In a similar way all the
larger antelopes are captured, especially the powerful eland, at which
it is hard to get, even after it has been driven to the marshy levels.
Good large families have the Dyoor; and were it not that the Nubians
come upon the land, and every year carry off at least half the corn
that is grown, there would long ago have been, as with their kindred
on the White Nile, a dense Dyoor population. They partake also of the
skilfulness of the Shillooks in obtaining resources for livelihood in
various ways: they pursue the chase, they practise fishing when they
have the chance; they are industrious in tillage; they thoroughly
appreciate the value of cattle, and would like to possess it, although
in their new settlement they can boast little more than a few kids and
goats. To have a well-stocked poultry-yard, and to possess that friend
of man, a good dog, is essential to the satisfaction of a Dyoor
household. Upon these the attention of the men is centred, and on
these they make their largest outlay. If they escape servitude to the
Nubians, and are not obliged to turn porters to convey their burdens,
or builders to erect their dwellings, they employ themselves with
their fishing and hunting, or in practising the art of Tubal Cain.
Labour in the fields is all done by the women, upon whom also falls
the entire domestic superintendence as well as the actual work of the
house; they make all the wickerwork and do all the manipulation of the
clay; they trample down the level floor and mould the vessels of every
size. It is remarkable how they manage with the mere hand to turn out
immense vessels which, even to a critical eye, have all the appearance
of being made on a wheel. In order to render a clay floor perfectly
level and free from cracks they work in a very original way. They
procure from the woods a piece of tough bark, about three feet long;
they then kneel down upon the clay, and persevere in patting it with
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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