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Africa:
Religion: Religious system of the Amazulu: Heaven and Doctors
The Spiritual Bookstore Online World Religion Library
THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM
OF THE AMAZULU
p. 375
HEAVEN-DOCTORS, &c.
Heaven-herds.21
Rain-doctors.
WE do not make a great distinction between hail and
lightning; we say, each is an army of the lord who smites us in this
world.
p. 376 We
distinguish them, however, by the effect of the hail, which is different
from that of the lightning; and the hail is heard in the direction from
which it is coming; for after great thunder there is heard a great sound
in the sky, which resembles the singing of maize in a pot when the water
has boiled away. And the doctors, who are herds of the sky, when they
hear that, go out at once, whilst the sound of the hail is still afar
off, and begin to light a fire in the isolo;22
they do this before it has come near, whilst it is still audible at a
distance, that when it comes near it may have lost its power, and
chiding23 be
sufficient. For if when it thunders the doctor does not at once go out,
but stays indoors till the hail cames, even should he go out when it has
come, he has no longer power to overcome the hail; for it is difficult
to make it turn back again when once it has came.
As regards their preparing for the contest, when they hear the sky
rumbling, they too begin to get themselves ready, that they may not be
conquered. For as to
p. 377 the
hail, if a doctor has not fasted, it is said if the hail-stones strike
him much he is near to danger; and it is said that the hail-stones make
it manifest that he has no longer any power to contend with the
lightning.24 And
he will require to be again purified a second time, that he may have
courage. For if whilst herding25
he observes that he cannot subject either the hail or the lightning, he
has no longer any courage, but is afraid; and even if he see the
lightning dazzle his eyes, he is afraid, and wishes to go indoors.
It is this then about which black men speak, when they say that
black men have power; for they say that they know how to quell the wrath
which comes from the whole heaven, that is, the two powers, lightning
and hail. I do not say they know also how to make the sky rain; but they
say they know.
But it is especially this which darkens their eyes, for they do not
p. 378 say
there is any other wrath but that, for which they have already found
medicines, which are capable of subduing it.
The hail then has its doctors in all places; and though there is a
chief in a certain nation, the people do not say, "We have corn to eat
through the power of the chief;" but they say, "We have corn to eat
through the son of So-and-so; for when the sky rolls cloud upon cloud,
and we do not know that it will go back to another place, he can work
diligently and do all that is necessary, and we have no more any fear."
There is thunder; if it26
thunders without hailing, but hurls lightning, they do not appoint an
inyanga of hail to herd, but an inyanga of lightning to go out and
shout; and take courage when there is a heaven-herd herding outside the
house. But if the herd is not at home, they take his blanket, and put it
outside. The blanket is made, as it were, the herd himself.
This then is what those izinyanga do who herd the heaven. For if it
thunders excessively, the inyanga begins to frown, that he
p. 379 too
may be dark as the heaven when it is covered with clouds. If the people
of the house, whether he has gone out or not, speak very loudly, he
silences them, saying, "Be still altogether." For his heart too is
gathering clouds, as the heaven when it is coming quickly; and he no
longer wishes that any one else should speak, but himself only by
shouting. And if you go with him on a journey, and it suddenly thunders
whilst you are at a distance from any village, and you are going first
and he following, he will say to you, "Go on in front;" and he will
follow at some distance from you; for he says if you go behind him you
will meet with an accident, for the heaven will think you are killing
him.27 And he
makes you go on in front till you reach home.
Such then is the action of the heaven and of the inyanga; for black
men believe in that scolding of the heaven, and that silencing of the
hail. They do not imagine that when they say they know
p. 380 that
the heaven-herd28
is able to contend with the lightning and hail; for these people say, if
we ask them, that they do not understand where they get the courage with
which they contend with the heaven.
They say that when the heaven is about to be clouded,29
and before the clouds appear or it is evident that it is about to
thunder excessively, the inyanga's heart already feels, for there is
heat within him, and he is excited by anger; when the sky just begins to
be clouded, he too becomes dark like it. For the doctors say they
scarify with the heaven,30
and eat it. To eat the heaven is this, for the heaven eats cattle, and
the
p. 381 doctor
takes the flesh of such cattle, and plaes it in a sherd, and the doctor
eats it whilst hot,31
mixed with his medicines; for where the lightning strikes the ground,
the doctors say there is something resembling the shank of assagai,32
which remains in the earth, and this thing is called a thunderbolt; they
dig till they find it,33
and use it as a heaven-medicine; and so they say that the courage which
they possess of contending with the heaven is that thunderbolt, which is
found where the lightning has struck. Especially the bird also which is
called the lightning-bird,34
they
p. 382 say
that that is the most powerful among all lightning-medicines. If a
doctor does not possess it, but is a doctor only, he cannot have courage
as that doctor can who possesses the lightning-bird, and who has eaten
it. For doctors make their boast of this bird; for it is fat, and it is
said to be the fat especially with which the doctors treat those who are
struck, when one has been slightly struck and then left; but has been
left full of dread. If it thunders he has no courage, and is much
troubled at all times; he is not troubled mentally only; it is evident
that he is troubled, for he continually moves about in the house, and
seeks a place where he may hide himself. But if the doctor has been
surrounded to come and give him heaven-medicine,35
then after that if it thunders he says, "The doctor has given me
medicine; I am no longer afraid."
p. 383
But as regards that bird, there are many who have seen it with their
eyes. And especially doctors, and those persons who have seen it when it
thunders and the lightning strikes the ground; the bird remains where
the ground was struck. If there is any one near that place, he sees it
in the fog on the ground, and goes and kills it. When he has killed it,
he begins to be in doubt, saying, "Can it be that I shall continue to
live as I have hitherto, seeing that I have killed this bird, which I
never saw before? Is it not really that bird which it is said exists,
the lightning-bird which goes with the lightning?" He is in doubt
because he sees that its characteristics are not like those of birds
which he has known for a long time; he sees that it is quite peculiar,
for its feathers glisten. A man may think that it is red; again he sees
that it is not so, it is green. But if he looks earnestly he may say,
"No, it is something between the two colours, as I am looking at it."
And I myself once saw a feather of this bird whilst I was living on the
Umsunduzi; for I had wished for a long time to see the colour of the
bird; and at length I saw one of its feathers. The man to whom it
belonged
p. 384 took
it out of his bag; and truly I saw it, and said, "Indeed it is the
feather of a dreadful bird." He also showed me one of its bones; it was
like a bone in which are many little blood-vessels and many little grey
lines; I saw many lines in the bone, and said, "Truly." This then is
what I have heard on this matter, and that was confirmed by what I saw
for myself with my own eyes.
When we say herding-doctors, we speak metaphorically, for a man who
herds cattle has weapons and his rain-shield.36
We take the name of a herder of cattle, and give it to one who
counteracts the lightning, for when he keeps it back he shouts as a boy
who is herding cattle; if he goes into the cattle-pen with his weapons
and is silent, the cattle cannot go out; but by whistling the cattle
understand that he tells them to go to the pastures, that is, to go out
of the pen. And the herd that herds the lightning does the same as the
herder of the cattle; he does as he does by whistling; he says,
"Tshui-i-i. Depart, and go yonder; do not come here." He repeats this
again and again.
Such doctors as these say they have a common feeling with the
heaven. They say this because
p. 385
sometimes it is said a certain doctor sends the lightning37
to another doctor to try him whether he is a powerful doctor or not. He
does not try the doctor who appointed him; he tries others whose
appointment he does not understand;38
for it is this by which he sees that another is a doctor indeed, by his
sending back to him the lightning, and he too begins to bustle about and
to enter his house to set himself in order.39
p. 386
It happened in times past when I visited my people, on my arrival I
lay down; on the following day in the afternoon the sky became overcast,
and was very dark indeed; at the time when the maize was blossoming. I
was sitting at the doorway whilst it was thundering excessively; and my
brother who is a doctor entered the house, running, and took down his
shield and his string of medicines, and went out. When it thundered
aloud, he too shouted aloud, and whistled. I asked my mother what the
man was doing. She replied, "Do not speak, for when it is like this no
one any longer speaks. He is a heaven-herd." So I was silent. And the
heaven cast down many hail-stones. And I thought he would die, for I
heard them striking on his shield; it was as though maize had been
thrown on him. But although he was resisted very much, he did not enter
the house. And as regards the lightning, in like manner the heaven
resisted him; but he did not enter the house until it was bright again.
In the morning I heard it said that at my uncle's village, at
Inyama, down the river, one Umathlati said he would go out before the
great doctors went out; he shouted aloud, saying, "Depart,
p. 387 and go
yonder." But the hail smote loudly on his body, and he came into the
house backwards. Another went out, and when he shouted, the heaven
stopped his mouth. On that day the heaven turned its back40
on the village; it was entirely in its power, and it did its will. They
remained in their houses; it entirely destroyed the corn.
When I heard this I said, "Forsooth is such a doctor as that
conquered? What shall we eat this year, since they have been unable to
herd?"
They replied, "They did not fast.41
They are therefore conquered."
p. 388
As regards this fasting which is spoken of a man that herds the sky,
it is said that the doctor who appoints him says, "Let him not
p. 389 drink
if he is given beer in a cup that is not full." And, "Let him not eat
herbs before the feast of firstfruits."42
And, "Let him not take a handful of boiled maize from the fireplace, if
the maize has not been taken from the pot." And, "Let him not eat the
flesh of a bullock until it has been opened." And, "Let him not eat
izindumba if he has not been given them." This is the fasting which the
doctors speak of. And if a man is hungry and come to men who are
drinking43 beer,
if the vessel is not full, he would say, "For my part indeed you know
that I herd the heaven."
When I was young, about the size of Ungangamana, I saw a rain-man;44
his name was Umkqaekana. He was a great doctor even among the Amazulu,45
skilful
p. 390 in
producing rain. But among the Amazulu he did not show himself much to
the chief; for the chiefs of the house of Uzulu used not to allow a mere
inferior46 to be
even said to have power over the heaven; for it was said that the heaven
belonged only to the chief of that place. Umkqaekana therefore remained
hidden. But he did not cease to produce rain in secret. At length he
crossed to this side the Utukela, for he heard that Utshaka had said,
"Let all the heaven-doctors be killed." He escaped, and came among the
English; he came here without any property, by himself alone.47
He came without any thing, because he came to his own relations.
He became a dependent of the chief of the Amadhlala; it is the same
to whom we were subject; his name was Unjeje, the son of Usechele. And
when he had staid a short time, the heaven became very hot and dry.48
His own people began to whisper about him to the chief, saying, "You see
that man; if you ask him, he can cause the rain to drop for you.
p. 391 He is
a great doctor above all other doctors."
And this was first spoken of a little, and at last openly; and we
all heard that Umkqaekana was a rain-doctor. The chief asked him just to
set to work, that he might see if it were true or not. And—for at that
time the heaven was hot and dry—I heard it said, "Umkqaekana says, 'Let
the people look at the heaven at such a time; it will rain.'"
And he went away into the forest to get his things ready; he went
there continually, until the day he had mentioned came. And when it
rained, the people said, "Truly, he is a doctor!" And it was always
thus. He was given cattle, and very quickly became rich.
And after that year the heaven was hard, and it did not rain. The
people persecuted him exceedingly. When he was persecuted I saw him and
pitied him, for I saw men come even by night and smite his doorway with
clubs, and take him out of his house, telling him to come out and give
them back their cattle which they had given him, because the heaven no
longer yielded rain. They did this constantly. And he was greatly
troubled, for sometimes they came in the morning and took him out of his
house; he fled, and they
p. 392 threw
clubs at him; he ran away down into the bush, until the sun set, without
eating, being afraid to go home; for they said they would really kill
him, if it did not rain. But they said that through their subtlety,
thinking that he would do what they wished at once, because he expected
them to kill him. And I saw that it sometimes rained whilst he was
working.
And on another year, when they saw that the heaven wished to destroy
the corn, they hated him exceedingly. I was not there at that time. I
was with my own people, the Amapepete. I heard it said that it rained
excessively, that it might cover the dead body of Umkqaekana with earth.
It is said they poisoned him, and did not stab him. I heard it said that
those people were troubled, for their gardens were carried away by a
flood. This then is what I heard of this rain-doctor.
One day his son, (the one that was most dear to his father, named
Unqeto, who went with his father to the forest when he went there; for
he said he loved him because he could send him where he wished;49
for if a man is causing it to rain, he requires a child, that he may
send him constantly without refusing in the least, that the heaven
p. 393 may be
yielding,)—this son said to me, after I had earnestly besought him,
"Come, and I will show you where my father placed his things with which
he treated the heaven." We went at noon, having herded our cattle near
the place. Under an overjutting rock we found covered vessels, and a
churning stick; he showed us what his father did, and little bundles of
medicine bound with inkonthlwane;50
he showed us also how his father churned. But when we saw that we were
afraid, and did not wish to go in, but ran away, thinking perhaps the
lightning would strike us if we touched the medicines of the doctor. We
left them under the rock, and ran away to the cattle.
This is the end of what I saw.
UMPENGULA MBANDA.
The Sky, Sun, Moon, and Stars.
THE blue heaven which we see we suppose is a rock,51
and that it
p. 394
encircles the earth, the earth being inside the heaven, and the heaven
ending outside the earth; and we suppose there is no other earth on the
other side of the heaven.
And the men52
who, we suppose, are on the other side of the heaven, we do not know
whether they are on the rock, or whether there is some little place
which is earth on the other side; we do not know that. The one thing
which we know is this, that these heavenly men exist. Therefore we say
there is a place for them, as this place is for us.
And the sun we do not say is on the other side of the heaven; for if
it were on the other side we should not be able to see it; it would be
hidden like the men who are on the other side whom we do not see. The
sun is on this side, for we see the whole of it thoroughly; not even one
little spot of it is concealed.
p. 395
And the moon too, like the sun, is on this side; and the stars too
are on this side,—all three. And the clouds are on this side; and rain
we say is on this side, which descends on this world; for if the rain
were on the other side it could not come here to us, for we suppose that
the heaven is a rock.
The sun in its course has only two paths; by day it travels by a
path in the heaven; at night it enters by a path which goes into the
sea, into the water; it passes through the water, until it again comes
out at the place where it rises53
in the morning.
As regards the path of the sun, its winter path is different from
its summer path; for it travels northward till it reaches a certain
place—a mountain or a forest, [where it rises and sets,] and it does not
pass beyond these two places; it comes out of its winter house; when it
comes out it goes southward to its summer place. We say that when it
quits its winter place it is fetching the summer, until it reaches a
certain mountain or tree; and then it turns northward again, fetching
the winter, in constant succession. These are its houses, where we say
it enters; we say so, for it stays in its winter house a few days;
p. 396 and
when it quits that place we know that it has ended the winter and is now
fetching the summer; and indeed it travels southward, until, when the
summer has grown, it enters the summer house a few days, and then quits
it again, in constant succession.
As to the renewal of the moon, we say it is new moon because we see
it in the west. It used to be said the moon dies utterly; but it is not
so; the days devour it,54
and it goes on diminishing until to appearance it is as thin as a man's
nail; and then it is taken by the sun; the sun finds it in the east and
travels with it, until he leaves it in the west, and it can be seen when
the twilight begins, and we say it is new moon; and it goes on growing
until it is full. At last it has it back to the east,55
and we say the moon is rising more and more eastward, and at last it is
full;56 it rises
when the sun sets; and at last the sun rises before the moon sets; and
it again wanes, until it dies.
We do not say the stars travel like the sun and moon; they are fixed
continually. But there are stars which travel, and which die like the
moon.
p. 397
Isikcelankobe57
(the evening star) is sometimes invisible, sometimes seen.
And Isilimela58
(the Pleiades) dies, and is not seen. It is not seen in winter; and at
last, when the winter is coming to an end, it begins to appear—one of
its stars first, and then three, until going on increasing it becomes a
cluster of stars, and is perfectly clear when the sun is about to rise.
And we say Isilimela is renewed, and the year is renewed, and so we
begin to dig.
Ikwezi (the morning star) keeps its place constantly; it precedes
the morning and the sun; and by its rising we see that the morning is
coming; the night has passed, the morning star has arisen, and the
sorcerer turns back rapidly from the place where he is going, because he
says, "If I go slowly, the light will rise on me, and I shall reach home
when it is light." And the spy rapidly turns back; when the morning star
rises he knows that it is now morning. Such then is this star.
Indosa is a star which arises before the morning star, when night
p. 398 is
advanced; and if men have staid drinking beer, or eating the meat at a
wedding feast, if they see Indosa arisen, for it arises red, they say,
"Let us lie down; it is now night." And so they lie down. A man does not
say, "Since Indosa has arisen I shall not now lie down;" he will lie
down for a long time.59
In the morning Indosa is very high in the heaven, and the morning star
risen.
The Sun, Moon, and Stars.
AS regards the position of the sun, in the opinion of
the people he is chief above the moon and stars; for when he has arisen
both moon and stars become dim, and he alone shines, until he sets, and
then they shine.
As regards his motion, it is said he really travels in the heaven,
until it goes into the sea, and returns to the east from whence he
arose. It is said he travels in the water. Where he arises in the
morning there is a great ball; this ball is called the sun's mother; it
accompanies him when he is about to rise, and leaves him on his arising,
and goes back into the sea. It is as red as fire. This then is what I
know about the sun.
p. 399
As regards the moon, it was said at first the moon dies, and another
moon comes into being. But at length it was seen that it is not so; that
the moon does not die, but is one like the sun. But its death is that it
diminishes, being eaten by the days, until it hides itself in the sun,
that is, in its rays, and is then no longer visible. It is taken by the
sun, and he goes with it a few days, and then leaves it again, and the
moon is seen when the sun sets. Observers at length saw by their
observation, and said, "Why is it said that the moon is dead, when it is
merely hiding itself in the sun?" And during the day when the sky can be
looked at, and the sun no longer pierces the eyes much with his rays,
the moon is seen by a man standing in a deep shade, and looking upwards,
and fixing his eyes intently on a spot near the sun and ceasing to look
on the earth, and raising his eyes to the sky, until the light which
pierces the eyes ceases, when the eyes are accustomed to look at a spot
near the sun, and the sky is clear to the eyesight, and the sun no
longer forces him to close his eyes, the moon is seen at the edge of the
sun, whether the sun will leave it when he sets, or set with it. He who
sees it calls another,
p. 400 and
says, "The moon is not dead, as they say it dies; there it is. Look up.
Shade your eyes, and bring the eyelids together, and get accustomed to
the sun, and then you will see it." And indeed he seeks and seeks until
he sees it, and says, "Truly it is hidden by the rays."
Men saw the stars too during the day; and I too have seen them. We
were living on the Umbava. At midday I too disputed and said, "The moon
really dies." But we were herding when the sun was very high; we were in
the shade, lying on our backs without sleeping, and looking upwards. My
brother said to me, "You see the moon. There it is; it is close to the
edge of the sun." I contradicted him. He said, "Look hard; you will soon
see it." And indeed I fixed my eyes, and looked earnestly at the sun and
at the edge of the sun; I saw the moon for a moment; I again fixed my
eyes, and saw it clearly, and said, "It is true." I saw also the
stars—at first one; at last I saw many. So I was satisfied that the moon
does not die. That is what I know about the moon.
The moon is said to be the sun's officer.
p. 401
The Male and Female Heavens.
THE people speak of two heavens; the one which
thunders with a deep roar is the male; it is not dreadful, it does no
harm; for although it thunders, it causes nothing but rain. When the
male heaven thunders we say, "This year the heaven is peaceful, for it
does not thunder injuriously."
It is said of the female heaven that it thunder is attended with
lightning and hail; and the breeze which comes with it is rather bad.
And men run away and go into their houses at once. Its lightning is
usually forked and rapid; as soon as a man starts it has passed; its
colour is bluish, and has little reddish streaks; this kind of heaven
thunders very shrilly; it is as though it would split the head; and so
its thunder is bad.
If it meet with a man in the open country he cannot tell where to
go; and even indoors the house seems small, and he wants a second house
into which the lightning cannot enter; and the world itself seems small
at the time of its shrill thunderings, and men seek for a place where
they can hide themselves. The female heaven causes much pain. The pain
it causes is that it does not give a
p. 402 man
time to take courage; it presses upon him suddenly with constant
repetition; it therefore tears a man with terror, and a man cannot see
that to-morrow will ever come; he says, "No; there is no to-morrow;" and
he can no longer see that the light of another day will shine in the
heaven and pass away; he sees that the heaven will pass away with him.
What we know of the female heaven is the injury that it does; that
it belongs to it only to injure cattle, and men, and trees. After it
there follows intense heat. We are afraid if the female heaven occurs
again and again; in such a year we say, "The sun will burn up our crops;
this heaven is followed by evil."
The Smiting of the Heaven.
IF there are cattle which have been struck by the
lightning, it is difficult for the people to approach them unless they
are heaven-doctors; for they say, "If we approach these cattle, we shall
be calling the heaven to come to us; do not let us go, then it will not
come to us." But the doctor goes to them; perhaps he says, "Let them be
eaten."
The mode of eating them is
p. 403
this:—The people eat them, and take emetics continually; when they leave
off emetics, they go and wash; and the doctor gives them medicines, that
he may prevent the lightning from coming.
But as to all that fear of eating cattle which have been struck by
the lightning, the people are not afraid because they suppose that it
will come to them on account of the cattle; but they are afraid
especially because if they have gone to the cattle, and it thunders
after that, they will no longer think, but will say what is apparently
true, "We shall now really see it come to us." For they say that by
going to the cattle they have sinned against the heaven; and it will
punish them by striking them as it struck the cattle. It is this then
that causes fear in men, because the dreaded thing comes from above and
not from below; if it come from below, a man might say, "I shall see it
coming from yonder mountain, and avoid it." This then is the fear of
men; they are afraid of something that looks down upon all of us; the
fear does not arise because it will really strike; but it arises from
thinking that it is a thing above us; we cannot defend ourselves from it
as from a stone thrown by another.
p. 404
Treating the Heaven.
WHEN it thunders the doctors go out and scold it; they
take a stick and say they are going to beat the lightning of heaven.
They say they can overcome the lightning. They shout and take shields
and sticks; they strike on their shields and shout. And when it clears
away again, they say, "We have conquered it." They say they can overcome
the heaven. When it thunders they take medicines and burn them in the
fire; they say, they are smoking the heaven. If it does not thunder, but
is afraid of the medicines, they are glad because they shout to the
heaven and their heart is glad when they overcome the heaven. They say
they overcome the heaven with their medicines.
If a house is burnt by the lightning, they go to doctors who know
how to treat the heaven and they come with their medicines, and treat
all the inhabitants of the village where the lightning has struck. They
are treated very much; they are scarified and take umsizi; and little
rods are driven into the ground on the upper side of the village, and in
front of the village in all the paths, and near the doorways of the
houses, and on the tops of the houses, and near the entrance of the
cattle pen.
p. 405 They
are treated with a black sheep,60
that the heaven may be dark61
and not wish to strike there again; for if they kill a white sheep it
will again strike in that homestead. They wish to work with a black
sheep, that the lightning may not strike that homestead again.
The doctor who treats the heaven goes with a black sheep; if he has
not a black sheep, they cannot treat the heaven; for they require a
black sheep. The doctor kills it; its flesh is mixed with medicines, and
the people are scarified, and the little rods are smeared with medicine
and fixed and driven into the paths.
Heaven-Medicines.
UMABOPE is a heaven-medicine which is burnt in the
isolo62 when there
is a threatening of a severe thunder storm.63
Ubokqo also is used for smoking the heaven; and umthlonyane is used for
the same purpose; and umkatazo is a medicine kept among the doctor's
medicines, that if the lightning comes into the house he may
p. 406 puff64
at it with this medicine, which he mixes with other medicines, whose
names I do not know. These then are the heaven-medcines which I know.
Another heaven-medicine is isibetelelo; its oil is taken and mixed
with other heaven-medicines, and obstructions are made on every side of
the village; rods to be which these medicines are applied are placed
above the village, and others at the side; so these rods herd the
village; they are placed too at the entrance of the cattle-pen; the
whole village is thus herded; and inside the houses, and on the tops of
the houses these rods are placed. And the heaven is shut out by these
means, that it may be unable to find a place where it can enter. This
then is what I know.
And at the end of the year the rods are renewed by setting new ones
in their place; it being known that the old heaven of the year which has
passed away has passed away with the old year; but the present year has
its own heaven.65
Hence new rods are set up every year.
When a doctor who herds the heaven eats green food of the new
p. 407 year,
and the people are told that he is eating new food, they leave off work
on that day, and stay at home without working. And if it hails they do
not work, but leave off, saying, "O, if we work we summon the
lightning." All the works of men are omitted. Or if a great wind arises
during the digging season, they leave off digging in like manner;
thinking that if they work they summon the ligntning to smite them. It
is proper for them to leave off, and then the violent wind will not come
again.
This is what I know of the heaven. But heaven-medicines which are
used by the doctors are many, many of which I do not know.
The Insingizi and Ingqungqulu.
THE account of the Insingizi. The Insingizi is a
heaven-bird; it is a large bird. If the heaven is scorching, and the sun
burns up the corn, the people go to rain-doctors; others hasten to find
an Insingizi, thinking that if they find one, and kill it, the heaven
will rain, when the bird has been thrown into a pool of the river. And
indeed it is killed and thrown into a pool. And if it rains, it is said
it rains for the sake of the Insingizi which has been killed. It is said
the heaven becomes soft
p. 408 if an
Insingizi is killed; it sympathises with it, and ceases to be hard; it
wails for it by raining, wailing a funeral wail. And so the people are
saved by having corn to eat. This then is what I know about the
Insingizi.
It is this bird which is sought for more than all others; for
although the heaven be dry and scorching, if the people see many
Izinsingizi walking in the open country and crying, it seems to men that
they see a sign of rain because they see the Izinsingizi, and they trust
that it will rain because they cry so much.
Another bird, the Ingqungqulu, is larger than all other birds; the
Insingizi is next in size to it. But the Insingizi is of more
importance, because it gives but one kind of omen, that of rain,—that
the heaven will rain if it is killed. But the Ingqungqulu gives omens of
many things. If it drops its dung on a man, the sun will not set before
that man has run in all directions looking for a doctor to treat him;
and it is a matter of great consequence, and men expect some evil to
happen to him. Another sign which the Ingqungqulu gives is, that if it
cries whilst flying, it is said it will rain. And if as it goes along it
smites its wings together, it is said it reports the arrival of an
enemy.
p. 409
Magical Songs.
IN the Zulu Nursery Tales we meet with an
instance of the use of an incantation or magical song to produce a storm.
Umkxakaza-wako-gingqwayo sung her song, and raised the tempest which
destroyed the Amadhlungundhlebe. (P. 203.) In another case,
Ubongopa-kama-gadhlela raised a storm by spitting on the ground. The spittle
boiled up and saluted him; a great storm arose, from which every one
suffered but himself. (P. 228.) Every tribe has its tribal or
national song, which is called "The chief's song." This song is sung on two
occasions only; on the feast of firstfruits, when, if there has been a
continued drought, it is supposed to be capable of causing rain; it is also
sung by an army if overtaken with continuous rain on the march; on singing
the chief's song the rain ceases, and the army is able to go on its way.
Thus the national song is an incantation supposed to be capable of producing
rain, or causing it to cease. The song of the Amapepete is given in the
following account; its meaning is scarcely understood.
THERE are among black men magical songs, by singing
which it happens on the day of the great festival,66
although the sun has been for a long time scorching, that rain comes,
and it is said, "The heaven rains with reason, for it is filling up the
footprints of the chief, that they may no longer appear where he stood,
but be obliterated by the rain."
The people are scattered to their homes; they set out already
drenched, hastening to reach the rivers before they are flooded.
If it does not rain on the day of the festival, the people say, "It
will not rain for a long time, for it has not filled up the footprints
of the chief."
As it happened when Umyeka, the chief of our people, among
p. 410 the
Amapepete, went up to the old site of his father's village, which was
called Umzimvubu; for it was said his father, who was now an Itongo, did
not wish to go down to the Inanda, but staid at the old site. But in
consequence of the constant illness of the son Umyeka, Umyeka went up to
the old site, saying, "To-day I am going to fetch my father, for him to
come and protect the village. It was not thus when I was living on the
Umbava."67
There went up with him many people, the whole nation, old men, and
young men and youths; they went, sleeping in the way till they came near
the old site, when they slept at the village of Usisila. On the
following morning Umyeka set out to go to the old site; when he reached
the hill overlooking it, they were divided into regiments as though they
were an army; the men went by themselves, and the young men by
themselves, and the youths by themselves.
It so happened that the sun had been very scorching at the time of
eating new food, in the month called Ungcela,68
when they would have been eating new food if there had not been so much
drought.
p. 411 They
went on towards the old site, Umyeka going first, followed by his
soldiers; they sung the song of his father to arouse him by it, that he
might unite with them. The lauders69
who lauded the father, and grandfather, and the son Umyeka, were
innumerable. When they reached the cattle-pen, they halted there, and
formed a circle; there came too the portion of the tribe which still
lived in that neighbourhood, for they knew the day when Umyeka would
come, and were staying near the old site, waiting for the chief; they
came with the women, their wives and their daughters carrying beer. Thus
then they assembled, and danced the shield-dance for a long, long time;
after dancing they sang their father's song:—
"Dig for71 the
chief, and watch our gardens which are at Isiwandiye.72
Those words are naught.73
Dig for the chief, and watch our gardens which are at Isiwandiye.
Those words are naught.
p. 412
"Which are at Isiwandiye, I-i-i-zi74—which
are at Isiwandiye.
Those words are naught."
Whilst in the midst of the song the heaven became clouded, and
thundered; they did not leave off, neither did they say, "O, let us run
home, for we shall get wet." The old women said, "This day there has
come the chief of our land75
where our nation dwells; we shall see rain also."
The women shouted; it was as though they were mad when they saw the
clouds gathering tumultuously and rapidly coming on. They continued
singing, the people now sweating exceedingly through the heat of the
sun. It poured; the rain ran on the ground; they still went on dancing
and rejoicing, and saying, "This day the Itongo of our people has united
with us, for we see a drop of rain."76
Umyeka took his shield and went and stood under a tree. The people
tired of dancing. He told them to go home. They sat under the tree, and
drank all the beer, and then went towards their homes.
This song is sung only on two occasions; it is not sung before
p. 413 the
new year,77 when
it is sung. It is also sung when, if an army has gone out, it has been
overtaken by rain78
in the way, and as it is travelling it rains excessively. It will not
become bright until this song is sung; then the heaven clears, and they
go whither they wish to go.
Such then are the songs of chiefs. A chief has not two each has his
own, the ancient song of the chiefs of the several nations.79
Next
Footnotes
p. 375
21 Heaven-herds; or Sky-herds.
HEAVEN-HERDS are said to herd the heaven, because when it
is overcast, they at once see that the heaven is bad, and has ceased to
be calm, and has gone out to do evil; and the hearts of the herds are
kindled; they are no longer happy, are unable to swallow any food, and
are struck with fear, as though an enemy was coming to kill them. At
last they become brave when the lightning begins to flash. They quit
their huts and drive it away, trying to make it return to whence it
came; they forbid the hailstones to fall, because they know that they
will destroy the food, the grass, and the trees. They are therefore
herds who herd the heaven, that it may not break out and do its will on
the property of people. They do not turn back the rain, for it is good;
they turn back the lightning and the hail; they turn back the lightning
from the village where they live.
p. 376
22 Isolo is a fireplace outside the
kraal, but near it, where medicines capable of influencing the
heaven—heaven-medicines—are burnt.
23 That is, by burning the
heaven-medicines whilst the hail is still distant, they diminish its power,
so that when it comes, if it should be able to come at all, it may be unable
to do any harm; but may be readily made to obey the doctor's command to
depart.
p. 377
24 Ukumelana nezulu,—ukumelana nonyazi,—to
counteract the heaven or the lightning,—is an expression we shall often meet
with. I point out, without being able to say whether there is any similarity
in meaning, a passage—Ps.
lxxiii. 9—"They set their mouth against the heaven," which we shall best
render by, Ba melana ngomlomo wabo nezulu. No doubt the heaven in the
Hebrew Scriptures is often synonymous with God; in other places it is spoken
of as an object of idol-adoration. There were sorcerers, diviners, and those
with familiar spirits known to the Hebrews; there might also have been
rain-doctors and sky-doctors.
25 That is, whilst endeavouring to turn
back the storm.
p. 378
26 It—izulu, throughout spoken of
as though it was a person, possessed of intelligence. The literal
translation of the sentence is: There is thunder; if the heaven thunders,
without bringing hail-stones, but urges on the lightning.
p. 379
27 From this it is clear that we are not
to regard the heaven-herd as an opponent of the heaven; but as a priest to
whom is entrusted the power of prevailing mediation. He is under the
protection of the heaven; and his enemies, real or supposed, are liable to
be destroyed by it, whilst he is safe so long as he is observant of the laws
of his office. Heathen have sometimes asked me to pray for rain because I am
one whose office it is "ukumelana nenkosi," to contend with God. Compare
Gen. xxxii. 24-28.
And see below, where the heaven avenges the death of the rain-doctor.
p. 380
28 Or sky-doctor, heaven meaning the sky,
which is not supposed to be very high above the earth.
29 Lit., about to arm.
30 I have translated literally here, but
it will be scarcely intelligible to the English reader without explanation.
The natives say they scarify with the heaven, that is, make scarifications
and rub in medicines, and eat it. The heaven is here used for those
substances in which it, or its power or virtue, is supposed to be. A bullock
struck with lightning is supposed to have the heaven, or power of the
heaven, in it; so the thunderbolt which comes from heaven; and the fabulous
bird which is supposed to descend in a thunder storm. Therefore when they
say they scarify with the heaven, they mean that the doctors make
scarifications in their own bodies and rub in medicines mixed with the flesh
of a bullock struck with lightning, or with the thunderbolt, or with the
flesh of the inyoni-yezulu, the lightning-bird. And "eating the
heaven" means in like manner eating those things in which the heaven, or its
power or virtue, is supposed to be. By this practice they are brought into
sympathy with the heaven,—feel with it, know when it is going to thunder,
and are able to counteract it. Here again we see the homśopathic principle
coming out in their therapeutics, as we do in so many other instances;
similia similibus,— lightning by lightning.
p. 381
31 Ukuncinda, makes an izembe,
and eats it, see
p.
290, note 52.
32 Umsuka is the shank of an
assagai, or of a native pick, or any thing of that kind.
33 It is said that the doctors are
directed to the place where the thunderbolt is by watching during a storm,
and, going to the place where they suppose they saw the lightning strike,
they find a heap of jelly-like substance over the spot where the bolt
entered, and digging find it.
34 In the legends of the American Indians
we meet with accounts of Thunder-birds, or Cloud-birds. "They frequently
explain the thunder as the sound of the cloud-bird flapping his wings, and
the lightning as the fire that flashes from his tracks, like the sparks
which the buffalo scatters when he scours over the stony plain." A metaphor
which probably arose from personifying the clouds, and supposing that motion
meant life, and where there was a voice there must be a living being to
utter it; like the Maruts or Storm-gods of the Hindoo. The metaphor may have
been a simple metaphor at first, to become at last to the minds or the
masses a truth expressing a fact of nature. (Brinton's Myths of the New
World, p. 102-104.)—A Dahcotah thus explains the theory of
thunder:—"Thunder is a large bird, flying through the air; its bright tracks
are seen in the heavens, before you hear the clapping of its wings. But it
is the young ones that do the mischief. The parent bird would not hurt a
Dahcotah. Long ago a thunder-bird fell from the heavens; and our fathers saw
it as it
p. 382
lay not far from the Little Crow's village." (Dahcotah; or, Life and
Legends of the Sioux. By Mrs. Mary Eastman, p. 191.) See also the legend
of Unktahe and the Thunder-bird. Cloudy-Sky, during one of his earthly
sojournings, had allied himself with the thunder-birds to fight against the
spirits of the waters, and with his own hand killed the son of Unktahe, the
God of rivers. For this he was doomed to death on his fourth appearance on
earth as a great medicine-man. (Id., p. 213, &c.)—Catlin
relates that some Indians led him to "The Thunder's nest," where it is
supposed the thunder-bird, a very small bird indeed, hatches its eggs, and
the thunder is supposed to come out of the egg. (Life among the Indians,
p. 166.)—Jupiter's Eagle probably has some connection with such legends.
35 Lit., the very heaven, meaning thereby,
the fat of the lightning-bird, or its flesh, or portion of a thunder-bolt.
p. 384
36 A small shield which is used as an
umbrella to ward off rain and hail.
p. 385
37 Lit., the heaven, or sky.
38 Here again we have apparently an
intimation that the izinyanga were priests—not self-appointed, but
commissioned by others who preceded them. But there appears also to have
been dissidents—those whose commission was not known. Man is the same every
where.
39 We find similar trials of skill among
sorcerers of other countries. It is said a German sorcerer was called to see
if he could not "extinguish" our far-famed sorcerer Roger Bacon. He raised a
spirit which he ordered to carry off Roger Bacon. But Roger was too strong
for the German, and the raised spirit, instead of taking away Roger as
commanded, carried off his own master.—In like manner "the priest Eiríkur"
having snatched by his sorcery from the hands of "the good folk of Sída" a
murderer who was condemned to lose his head,—a not very priestly act, it may
be,—they "hired a man from the West firths who dabbled in magic to send a
great cat to slay Eiríkur." Eiríkur's magic and prophetic power could not
protect him from this cat. The sender worked,—the "sending" was sent,—and
unlooked-for rushed upon its victim; and Eiríkur was saved, not by magic and
inner sight, but by "quickness" and help of a pupil in sorcery. And "Puss,"
that is, the "sending," soon lay dead upon the ground. Eiríkur had
triumphed. But triumph is nothing without revenge. He must teach the people
that Eiríkur—priest and sorerer, strange but not uncommon combination—must
not be trifled with. So he "despatehed a sending to the man in the West
firths, and put an end to him almost as quickly as to his goblin-cat." (Icelandic
Legends, p. 262.)
p. 387
40 It is well to note this use of
fulatela; to turn the back on an enemy means to have conquered him
utterly.
41 Here we find fasting—abstinence from
food and labour—one of the conditions of successful performance of the
duties of an office. There is this saying among the natives, "Umzimba ow
esutayo njalo-njalo u nge bone kahle oku-imfihlo," The continually
stuffed body cannot see secret things. And they have no faith in a fat
diviner—do not believe that he can divine. Their diviners fast often, and
are worn out by fastings, sometimes of several days' duration, when they
become partially or wholly ecstatic, and see visions, &c. This is very
instructive, and throws light on the results of fasting among those who
suppose themselves to be the objects of a divine revelation.
It is curious how universally a system of fasting prevails amongst
different peoples, being regarded as a merit, or as a means of preparation
for a work, or for the reception of a revelation from a superior power, or
as an expression of self-contrition, or as a means of producing a high order
of spirituality. It would be interesting to trace this custom to its root,
but this is not the place for such a subject. We may, however, refer to some
instances among the Polynesians, where neglect of fasting by others is
supposed to have seriously interfered with the work of some great man:—
"Maui then left his brothers with their canoe, and returned to the
village; but before he went he said to them, 'After I am gone, be
p. 388
courageous and patient; do not eat food until I return, and do not let our
fish be cut up, but rather leave it until I have carried an offering to the
gods from this great haul of fish, and until I have found a priest, that
fitting prayers and sacrifices may be offered to the god, and the necessary
rites be completed in order. We shall thus all be purified. I will then
return, and we can cut up this fish in safety, and it shall be fairly
portioned out to this one, and to that one, and to that other; and on my
arrival you shall each have your due share of it, and return to your homes
joyfully; and what we leave behind us will keep good, and that which we take
away with us, returning, will be good too.'
"Maui had hardly gone, after saying all this to them, than his brothers
trampled under their feet the words they had heard him speak. They began at
once to eat food, and to cut up the fish. When they did this, Maui had not
yet arrived at the sacred place, in the presence of the god; had he
previously reached the sacred place, the heart of the deity would have been
appeased with the offering of a portion of the fish which had been caught by
his disciples, and all the male and female deities would have partaken of
their portions of the sacrifice. Alas! alas! those foolish, thoughtless
brothers of his cut up the fish, and behold the gods turned with wrath upon
them, on account of the fish which they had thus cut up without having made
a fitting sacrifice. Then, indeed, the fish began to toss about his head
from side to side, and to lash his tail, and the fins upon his back, and his
lower jaw. Ah! ah! well done Tangaroa, it springs about on shore as briskly
as if it was in the water.
"That is the reason that this island is now so rough and uneven—that
here stands a mountain—that there lies a plain—that here descends a
vale—that there rises a cliff. If the brothers of Maui had not acted so
deceitfully, the huge fish would have lain flat and smooth, and would have
remained as a model for the rest of the carth, for the present generation of
men. This, which has just been recounted, is the second evil which took
place after the separation of Heaven from Earth." (Polynesian Mythology.
By Sir George Grey. Pp. 43-45.)
So when the powerful magician Ngatoro-i-rangi wished to ascend to the
snow covered top of Mount Tongariro he said to his companions, "Remember
now, do not you, who I am going to leave behind, taste food from the time I
leave you until I return, when we will all feast together." Then he began to
ascend the mountain, but he had not quite got to the summit when those he
had left behind been to eat food, and he therefore found the greatest
difficulty in reaching the summit of the mountain, and the hero nearly
perished in the attempt. (Id., p. 156.)
p. 389
42 At the period of the year when the new
food is ripe, varying with different places, the chief summons all his
people to a festival, (which is called ukudhlala umkosi;) all the
people make beer, which they take with them to the chief's village; at the
chief's village, too, much beer is made. When the people are assembled the
chief has oxen killed by his soldiers, and there is a great feast of one day
with singing and dancing. This is called ukushwama, and the people
return to their homes and begin to eat the new produce. If any one is known
to eat new food before this festival he is regarded as an umtakati,
and is killed, or has all his cattle taken away.
43 The natives speak of beer as food,—and
of eating it, and appeasing hunger by it. They also call snuff food, and
speak of eating it.
44 I translate literally, a rain-man or
man of rain, a rain-doctor, one capable of causing rain or drought.
45 Lit., In the house, country, or nation
of Uzulu; that is, of the traditional founder or unkulunkulu of the Zulu
nation.
p. 390
46 Uzana, dim. of ize,
nothing; izana, a little nothing, that is, something less than
nothing itself. Uzana, a proper name, meaning
The-less-than-nothing-man. All men of low degree are called
aba-ntwana bakazana, Children of Uzana,—this hypothetical man of naught.
47 Lit., Just walking, that is, without
any incumbrances of property or cattle.
48 There was long continued drought and
hot weather.
p. 392
49 Lit., Send-able,—ready to go on
a mission.
p. 393
50 Inkonthlwane, a small tree whose
bark is white, and used to tie up bundles.
51 The notion that the heaven is a solid
body or roof over this world is very common, probably universal, among
primitive peoples. The Hebrews spoke of it as a firmament, that is, a beaten
out solid expanse, which was "strong as a molten looking glass."
Job. xxxvii. 18.
It was supposed to support a celestial reservoir of waters, and to have
doors, open lattices, and windows, through which rain, hail, and dew
descend. It also supported the heavenly bodies; and is spoken
p. 394
of as a floor on which the throne of God rests.
Ezek. i. 26.
The Greeks had similar ideas, and applied the terms brazen and iron to the
sky. The Latin cślum is a hollow place, or cave scooped out of solid space.
(Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. FIRMAMENT.) The
Arabs believed in numerous heavens one above the other, a belief which St.
Paul entertained, and which is common to the Hindus, and to the Polynesians.
Among the Chinese there is a myth, in which Puanku or Eldest-Antiquity is
represented as having spent 18,000 years in moulding chaos, and chiseling
out a space that was to contain him. And it is through openings made by his
mighty hand that the sun, moon, and stars appear; not as the Amazulu think,
shining on this side of the blue rock. (See Nursery Tales of the Zulus.
Vol. I., p. 152. The Heaven-Country.) See some amusing diagrams by
Cosmas-Indicopleustes, made on the supposed revealed cosmogony of the Bible.
(Types of Mankind. Nott and Gliddon, p. 569.)
p. 394
52 See Nursery Tales of the Zulus. Vol.
I., p. 316. Appendix.
p. 395
53 We see here the reason of the rising of
the sun being expressed by ukupuma, to come out, because it is
supposed to come out of the water.
p. 396
54 How easily a mythical personification
may arise from such a metaphor as this.
55 Enzansi here meaning by the sea,
which is, Eastward.
56 Dilingana is also used to
express full moon. Inyanga se i dilingene, The moon is now full.
p. 397
57 Isikcelankobe, also called
Isipekankobe.—Isi-kcela-nkobe: Izinkobe is boiled maize; ukukcela,
to ask. The star which appears when men are asking for boiled maize,—their
evening meal.—Isi-peka-nko-be: ukupeka, to boil. When the maize is
boiling for the evening meal.
58 Isilimela, The
digging-for-[stars.] Because when the Pleiades appear the people begin to
dig. Isilimela se si ba landile abalimi, The Pleiades have now
fetched the diggers.
p. 398
59 Lit., until he forgets, that is, is in
a deep sleep.
p. 405
60 The Ossetes, in the Caucasus, a half
Christian race, sacrifice a black goat to Elias, and hang the skin on a
pole, when any one is struck by lightning. (Thorpe. Op. cit. Vol. I., p.
173.)
61 That is, unable to see clearly, so as
to strike again where the black sheep has been sacrificed.
62 See p. 376,
note 22.
63 Lit., If the heaven is coming badly.
p. 406
64 The medicine is chewed, and whilst the
breath is saturated with it, the doctor puffs at it.
65 That is, each year has a character of
weather peculiar to itself. This is remarkably true of Natal, no two years
being alike.
p. 409
66 That is, the great festival of
firstfruits.
p. 410
67 Umbava, a river, on which Umzimvubu was
built. It is near Table Mountain, and runs into the Umgeni. Umzimvubu, if
interpreted, means the Hippopotamus-village.
68 January.
p. 411
69 Imbongi se inye, the lauders
were one; that is, the lauders were innumerable. Just as in such sentences
as the following:—A ku se si yo nembongi e bongayo, There is not now
even one lauder lauding; that is, the lauders are very many.
71 Limel’—dig for, not known for
whom, but probably, as here translated, the chief.
72 Asesiwandiye.—Isiwandiye for
Isiwandile. The name of a place, as if of a place where there were many
gardens.
73 Those words are naught,—that is,
we object to dig at Isiwandile.
p. 412
74 I-i-i-zi.—Z in zi pronounced as
in azure. This chorus is used for the purpose of emphatically asserting the
subject of the song.
75 Inkosi yomhlaba, The chief to
whom the land belongs,—an inkosi yohlanga, or chief descended from a
race of primitive chiefs.
76 Itonsi lemvula.—Here again a
drop of rain means abundance of rain.
p. 413
77 The feast of firstfruits.
78 Lit., heaven.
79 These are national songs.
The national song of the Amazulu consists of a number of musical sounds
only, without any meaning, and which cannot be committed to writing. Each
tribe has its own chief's song; some of these consist of words more or less
intelligible, and once had doubtless a well understood meaning; others of
mere musical sounds which have no meaning whatever.
**
**
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