[14] ‘Among the tribes in the neighbourhood of Tanganyika ... a carved image of a human being ... is set up in or near the village, and thus becomes the village idol to which all prayers and sacrifices are directed.’—_Life and Work in British Central Africa_, June-July 1900. [15] See note at end of chapter. [16] MS. communication. [17] Popularly current as the feminine of _mzungu_ (‘white man’); it has spread up the Shiré from the Portuguese settlements. People not acquainted with the word address you as _mai_ (‘mother’), or _mfumu_ (‘chief’—common gender). [18] The Wahima or Wahuma, the nomadic pastoral race believed to be akin to the Abyssinians, whose blood predominates in the royal houses of Uganda and Unyoro. [19] See Chapter IV. [20] I am not sure that these are usual, except where they are likely to be needed for shooting. [21] This is the same as the Nyanja word _adzukulu_. [22] _Baba_ = ‘father.’ [23] This is not usually done except on ceremonial occasions, or in case of great need, when fire can be procured in no other way. A fire is kept up through the night, and there are sure to be at least some embers in the morning, which can be blown into flame; or, if it should have gone out in one hut, they can nearly always fetch fire from another. [24] The ‘undertakers,’ or _adzukulu_. [25] The _mapondera_ is paid for his services after the conclusion of the trial, and those who recover, and so turn out to have been falsely accused, are entitled to liberal compensation. This has to be paid by the heir. [26] Literally ‘playing’—the word is used both for games and dances. [27] _Dictionary_, _s.v._ Masewera. [28] I have never been able to discover any other meaning but this for _chinguli_, which, moreover, I have never heard in any other connection. The usual word for this kind of top is _nguli_, or _nanguli_; _chi_ being the augmentative prefix. Another version says rather vaguely that ‘he cut out a tree,’ and made his sister go into it. Evidently the function of the _chinguli_ is the same as that of the magic carpet in the _Arabian Nights_. In the Fiote story of ‘Ngomba’s Balloon,’ given by Mr. Dennett, a basket of some sort seems to be endowed with magical powers. The song should be read phonetically (giving the vowels their German or Italian value), with the accents as marked: the _e_ in _nde, nde, nde_ (a meaningless refrain) is like that in our word ‘end.’ [29] _Chants et Contes des Baronga_, pp. 70-71. [30] Each of these clans appears to have a _mwiko_ with regard to some animal, but the subject has not yet been sufficiently investigated. [31] According to one authority, the unit is the _mzinda_, which comprises all the villages having the same _unyago_ or _nkole_. Others merely translate _mzinda_, ‘head village,’ or ‘capital’; but it seems to be the capital not of the _Rundo_ but of the sub-chief. [32] Livingstone, _Zambezi_, p. 198.