Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1858-01-02
From Livngstone's Travels in Central Africa"
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN CENTRAL
AFRICA,

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN CENTRAL
AFRICA.
Sambanza next morning performed the cerc-
mony called " kdsendi,' for cemrntng our
friendship. 1t is accomplished thus The hands
Of the parties are joined-(n this case Pit>ane
and Sambanza were the persons engaged y nall
incsions are made on the clasped hands, on the
pits of the stomach Of each. and on the right
cheeks and foreheads. A small quantity Of
bio VI is taken Off from these points in both par.
ties by means Of stalk Of grass The blood
from one person is put into pot of beer, and
that of the second into another each then drinks
the Others blood. and they are supposed to be-
come perpetual friends or relations During the
drinking of the beer, come of the party continue
beating the ground with short clubs. and utter
sentences hy way Of ratifying the treaty. The
men belonging TO each then finish the beer;
-rb. .,-.-.:-- J. - ~ r-r-..-''Dc Or hdsendi'
are henreforth considered blood relations. and
are bound 10 disclose TO each other any impend-
ing evil They now presented each other with
the most valuable presents they had TO bestow
S,mbanza walked of with Pitssne's suit OF green
baize faced with red. which had been made in
Loanda, and Psane. besides abundan, supplies
of food, Obtained two shells.
All the Batoka tribes follow the curious Gus.
tom of kno king out the upper front teeth at the
age of puberty. This is done hv both sexes ::
and though the under teeth, being reliev d from
the attrltlon of the upper, grow lony and some
what mt out, and thereby cause tie under lin
to proiudc IN most unsighIly way, no Young
woman thinks herself accomplished until she has
got nd Of the upper incisors. This custom gives
all the Batoka an uncouth, old-man-like appear
ancc. Their laugh is hdrous, yet they are 80
attached TO il that even Sebituane was unable to
eradicate the practice. He issued orcrs that
none of the children living upder him should lie
subjected 10 the custom by their parents, and
dsobe'ience tn his mandates was usually pun
shed with severity; but notwithstanding this.
the children would appear in the streets without
their incisors, and no one would confess to the
deed,
When questioned respecting the origin of this
practice, the Batoka reply that their object is to
be like oxen, and those who retain their teeth
they consider to resemble zebras Whether this
is the true reason not, it is difficult TO say !;
but It is noticeable that the veneration for oxen
which prevails in many tribes should here be as
sociated with hatred 10 the zebra, as among the
Bakwains; tina, this operation is performed at
the same age that circumcision is in other tribes
and that here that ceremony is unknown. The
custom is so universal that person who has his
teeth is considered ugly, and occasionally. when
the Ba,oka borrowed my looking glass, the dis
paraging remark would be made respecting boys
or girls who still retained their teeth, " Look at
the great teeth ~ Some Of the Makololo give a
more facetious explanation of the custom they
say that the wife of chief having in a quarrel
bitten her husbands hand, he. in revenge, order
ed her front teeth TO be knocked out, and all
the men in the tribe followed his example but
this does not explain why they afterwards knock
out their own.
The women here in the habit Of piercing the
upper lip, and gradually enlargng the orifice
until they can insert a shell. The lip then ap-
pears drawn out beyond the perpendicular of
The nose, and gives them mos; unganly aspect
Sckwcbu remarked "These women want to
make heir mouths like those of ducks and in
deed, it does appear as if they had the idea that
female beauty of lip had been attained by the
OrndhOrhynchuS parddOruS alone. This Gus
tom prevails throughout the country of the Mar
avi, and no one could see it without confessing
that fashion had never led women to freak more
mad
AS we came away from Monina's village. a
witch-doctor, who had been sent for arrived, and
all Monina's wives went forth into the fields that
morning, fasting There they would be com
PEELED 20 drink an infusion of plant named " GO
no." which is used as an ordeal. This CEREMONY
is called "muavi," and is performed in this way
w hen man suspects that one of his wive, has
bewi.ched him, he sends for the witch doctor |
and all the wives 60 forth into the field aud re-
main fasting till that person has made an infusion
of the plant. They all drink it, each one hold |
ing up her hand to heaven in attestat'on of
her innocency. Those who vomil it are consid-
cred innocent, while those whom il purges are
pronounced guilty, and put to death by burning. |
The innocent return TO their homes and slaugh- |
ter a cock as thank offering to their guardian |
spirits The practice of ordeal is common among
all the negro nations of the Zambes. This sum.
mary procedure excited my surprise, for my in
tercourse with the natives here had led Inc to
believe that the women were held in so much |
that the men would not dare to get
rid of them thus. But the explanation l recciv-
ed was this the slightest imputation makes them
eagerly desire the test; they are conscious of be-
ing innocent, and have the fullest faith in the
muay detecting the guilty alone hence they
go willingly, and even eagerlyi TO drink it. When
IN Angola, halfcasle was pointed out to me
who is one ofthe most successful merchants in
that country and ,be mother of this gentleman,