Adventures in Swaziland Part 32

L'Tunga dressed himself as before, the only difference being that he put on his paint and ornaments with more care. When he was dressed he called out, and several of the young witch-doctors entered. These he loaded with various queer things the nature of which developed at the ceremony. When we were all ready, our party solemnly marched out to the entrance of the kraal.

There we found a large crowd of people, the great majority being warriors and indunas. Standing apart from the rest, facing the gate, was the induna whose fate was to be decided. He was a tall, heavy-set man of middle age, and his face was that of a killer. He looked as if he might be accused of a dozen murders, instead of only one.

"If looks count for anything, that gentleman ought to be shot on sight!" was Sugden's remark.

L'Tunga halted just outside the entrance of the kraal, and an old witch-doctor stepped out of the crowd and addressed him.

"O L'Tunga, greatest of witch-doctors," he began, "you are called upon to decide the guilt or innocence of Makeza, this induna, the owner of many cows and women. Three days ago an induna was found dead with many wounds. Makeza was his enemy, and the people of their village say that Makeza killed him in the night. Oktela was his name, and now Makeza has taken his wives and there is much outcry in the village. Makeza says that he knows nothing about Oktela's death, but you, L'Tunga the Great, can decide!"

While he stated the case against Makeza the induna Stood gazing defiantly at L'Tunga, and I had a feeling that he was not helping his case.

"My spirits will decide whether Makeza is guilty or not!" L'Tunga announced in a loud voice.

The witch-doctor waited while the little skins were placed and then knelt down facing Makeza, who also knelt at a sign from L'Tunga. Next the a.s.sistants placed two roughly carved wooden figures, about a foot high, in front of the witch-doctor. These are known as "ovitakas" and are supposed to represent the spirits that are to be invoked for the divination. It was plain to see that the figures were male and female.

L'Tunga then put on a necklace which was handed him by an a.s.sistant.

This seemed to be made of teeth of various wild animals, those of the lion being most noticeable. He next picked up a gourd and handed it to Makeza, who immediately commenced to shake it. It was full of seeds of some kind and made a loud rattle. L'Tunga produced a similar gourd and also started to shake it.

This rattling was really the beginning of the ceremony. After a short time L'Tunga commenced blowing on a whistle, which gave a loud shrill sound. It was a horn of a small deer set in the end of an ox-tail which was wrapped with broad bands of red, black, and white beads. The whistle was to call the spirits and we noted that the people seemed to get much excited when they heard it. After a few moments L'Tunga began to vary the whistling with a sort of chant in a minor key. The sound of his voice struck terror into the audience, and I could see that they were terribly afraid. Makeza showed his fear by rattling his gourd with what almost amounted to frenzy.

The whistling, rattling, and chanting went on and on, all the time rising in a crescendo. The excitement of the crowd became more and more intense, until it seemed to me that something must happen soon.

L'Tunga appeared to be quite mad, and Makeza shook his gourd as though his life depended on the noise he made.

At the exact moment when the situation became unbearable, and when I felt as though I would go mad also, L'Tunga stopped his noise. A second later there was silence, broken only by the deep breaths of the audience. The sudden silence came with such a shock that it quite unnerved one.

Presently L'Tunga raised his empty hands above his head and slowly brought them down over his "uhamba," which lay on the ground in front of him. He held his position for a moment, Makeza's eyes riveted on him. Then L'Tunga slowly waved his hands back and forth, and I could see Makeza following their every movement.

This must have lasted for a few moments only, but it seemed an age.

Suddenly the hands stopped, remained still for the s.p.a.ce of a breath, and then swooped down on the "uhamba." With one motion L'Tunga picked up the charm-case and shook it above his head. Three shakes, and he held it motionless!

Slowly, very slowly, he brought it down and laid it on the ground.

Makeza watched, his eyes bright and big with dread. L'Tunga looked at him fixedly for a brief s.p.a.ce, and then slowly lifted the top of the "uhamba" and glanced into it.

"Guilty! Guilty!" he shouted in a ringing voice. "The red horn stands!

The spirits have decided! Makeza is guilty!"

The induna seemed stunned for a second, and for about the same s.p.a.ce the crowd remained quiet. Then everything broke loose at once. Excited cries rose from the warriors; Makeza sprang to his feet; L'Tunga jumped up and back to where we stood. The condemned man looked wildly about and then, s.n.a.t.c.hing up his k.n.o.b-kerrie, a.s.segais, and shield, made a wild dash to escape.

It was all over much more quickly than it can be told. The thud of k.n.o.b-kerrie on shield, the flash of steel, and Makeza lay there in the bright sun, a bleeding, mangled thing!

L'Tunga was the least excited of all of us; he seemed to take the killing as a matter of course.

"Makeza had killed," he said later, when we returned to his hut, "and his life was forfeit. He knew that he would have to die, so he attempted to escape. I understand that he would have been joined by a number of warriors if he had been able to get into the hills."

Sugden and I were curious to know about the "red horn," and L'Tunga removed the top of his "uhamba" and showed it to us. The horn was a short piece of one from an antelope, with the top painted red. In the basket, also, was a small figure of about the same size as the horn, on the head of which was a cowry sh.e.l.l.

"If the spirits had decided that Makeza was innocent," L'Tunga explained, "the figure would have been standing when I took the top off the 'uhamba.' But they knew that he was guilty, so the red horn stood at their command."

This seemed a poor way to determine a case of life or death, but Makeza was the only one who had any objections. It was the custom, and thus was quite all right in the eyes of Swaziland. On theory, Makeza had an even chance, which is a good deal more than he would have had before any civilized jury. His appearance alone would have convicted him. I had about convinced myself that the induna had received a fair deal, when Sugden insisted that the bottom of the little image of innocence was round, so that it could not stand.

"Makeza never had a chance!" he exclaimed. "The cards were stacked against him. The poor devil!" Immediately Sugden became sorry for the induna, although he agreed with me that he could not have been anything but a murderer.

Before we returned to camp L'Tunga explained some of the work an accredited witch-doctor is supposed to be able to perform. He said he could do all the things he talked about. According to him, a real witch-doctor can recover stolen goods; he can read the past and future; he can cast out spells and provide charms against them, and can "smell out" the witches that cause other than violent deaths. The genuine witch-doctor can cause the corn to grow; he can make or stop rain and can cause the cows to give milk when they have been bewitched and their milk dries up too soon. This last is accomplished by boiling some of the affected cow's milk and whipping the animal severely with a sjambok while the milk boils.

Among the hocus-pocus and humb.u.g.g.e.ry of the witch-doctor's trade we found several genuine "cures" which they used to alleviate suffering among their people. I do not know the nature of these "cures," but they are all drugs. As an emetic, and a most efficient one, L'Tunga gives his patient "asangu"; for rheumatism he prescribes "amatoli" and sometimes "ovihata," and the distress of a mother in labor is greatly lessened by giving her "oluvanga" to chew. This is a leaf, while the rheumatism "cures" are both powders, as is the emetic.

One stock remedy of which L'Tunga was very proud greatly amused us both, but we concealed our amus.e.m.e.nt lest he think we were making fun of him. This was "ekulo," a love medicine which he said was most potent.

"When a wife wishes to be preferred above all other wives of an induna," he explained, in telling of its use, "she comes to me and I give her 'ekulo.' This she mixes with the food of her husband, and from that time on he cannot resist her and she becomes his favorite wife and is mistress of all the others."

L'Tunga explained other uses of "ekulo," but these are "too intimate,"

as Sugden said, to be set forth here.

After our investigation of witch-doctoring as it is practiced in Swaziland, Sugden and I came to the conclusion that the British knew what they were doing when they placed a ban on it. Even L'Tunga, kindly soul that he was, ought to be suppressed.

CHAPTER XIX

Wearisome delay in coronation--War suggestions from Umzulek--My plan to bluff Labotsibeni--The bluff is called--A ticklish situation-- Labotsibeni refuses to surrender the throne--Our demonstration fails--Night murders provoke war.

During the next two months Tuys and I had almost daily interviews with Tzaneen and Sebuza, but we got no nearer the coronation. The situation was becoming a scandal in Swaziland and was hurting the prestige of the royal family at Lebombo. Indunas kept coming in from the outlying districts and asking how soon the coronation would take place. With them came their warriors, and there was much murmuring because of the delay.

We, too, were growing more and more impatient, and to add to our distress Rossman, my camera-man, became ill. I could do little for him, and he was thoroughly disgusted with the lack of action. Finally, on his urgent request, I sent him out through Portuguese territory to Delagoa Bay, where he caught a steamer for his home in America. Oom Tuys took him to the coast and was gone nearly two weeks. He returned to find us just where we had been when he left, except that the population of Lebombo was increased by several hundred more expectant warriors. These had all come for the coronation and were unable to understand why Tzaneen did not go ahead with it.

Tuys brought word from some one he had talked to at Delagoa Bay that there was a general understanding among the Portuguese that Sebuza intended taking the throne by force. In fact, traders were warned not to go into Swaziland for fear that they might get mixed up in the impending civil war. Rumors of war always lead to "gun-running" in South Africa, just as they did in Cuba in the old days, and I asked Tuys if he had heard whether anything of this nature was taking place.

"The authorities there are not taking any chances," he said. "They are not anxious to become embroiled with the British and have posted extra guards at many places along the border. If anyone tries to get guns to the Swazis, he will have to be very clever or he'll be caught."

It is absolutely forbidden to sell guns to the kaffirs anywhere in the Transvaal, but there are always venturesome traders who find it impossible to overlook the chance of making a big profit, for a gun is worth more than its weight in silver to any native able to pay for it.

I remembered my experience with King Buno years before, when Oom Tuys allowed me to present him with a Mauser rifle.

The monotony of the delay in the coronation was hard to bear. As already stated, we visited Tzaneen and Sebuza nearly every day, but it was weeks before anything happened.

It was about four months after we came to Lebombo that Tzaneen sent for us one day. We found her surrounded by a number of strange indunas who seemed to be friendly with Vilakazi, one of the sons of Buno and therefore an uncle of Sebuza. It seemed that we had been summoned to attend an important conference. I was glad of this, for it might mean that some action was about to be taken. We entered the royal hut with the usual formalities, and the strange indunas saluted respectfully.

"Nkoos, these great chiefs have come from Stegea," the queen said.

"They have been sent with a message from Umzulek. They are the leaders of his impis and he has directed them to counsel with me for the purpose of taking the throne by force. Umzulek has talked much with Vilakazi, who has explained to him all the difficulties that surround us. Umzulek declares he will send all his warriors to our a.s.sistance, if we will drive Labotsibeni from the throne and make my son king."

During this speech Tuys watched me keenly. I could feel that there was war in the air. The people of Swaziland had come to the end of their patience and were determined to set up their king whether Labotsibeni and Lomwazi liked it or not. On my part, I was practically pledged to keep peace in Swaziland and could not be party to a war, even if it meant the success of my enterprise. Keeping this thought in mind, I addressed the queen before Tuys could reply.

"Nkosikaas, Mother of the King," I said as impressively as I could, "this is talk of war! We must not have killing. Your son must not gain his throne through bloodshed.

"This would be a poor business, Nkosikaas. The government would not sanction his taking the throne by force and he would be driven out by the rifles of the English. War must be avoided at all costs, since Sebuza would lose, even if he won!"

I went on at length, pointing out the foolishness of war and trying to get the queen and the indunas to change their minds. I could see that the indunas were set on war, and they had convinced Tzaneen that it was the only way. Down in my heart I had a sort of feeling that they were right.