St. Landry democrat., 1888-08-18
SOME ZULU CUSTOMS,

/ L--c tsEling i,i-,;:issi of the Average
"'Ith African Savage.
The Z'ala IS nere>r silent when milk
ln@; not for one single instant does he
ce1se nttcring tie most peculiar sounds
| eFo+' i1f.CteG upon mortal ears
screams, yells. shouts, whistles and
tender pianissimo murmnrs OF admira-
tle2 succeeding one anotheras the flow
| OF nElk increases or di1nipishes, this
practice having the curious result of
compelling any white farmer who buys
Lutu cattle for his farm TO have ma
tive to milk them, as they will neither
stand stiff nor give their milk freely
without the usual tactical concert, OF
which 20 European has ever been able
TO proelce even cnlorable imitation.
Whlstlng Is also a great item in drip-
ing cattle, or calling them from a dis
tance, and the noise a Zulu can make
with his lips alone is incredible, and
half deafens any enc who stands near
him Thus. when the oxen attached
to Il prairie wagon are outspannpd,
aBd have roaned away in search of
water, or freShcr herbage. a .Itllu
driver will stand upon the wagon seat
and give whistle that VIII call them
anywhere within !; mile, and thring
them trOODing to the camp. where a
white man would have to ride round
and drive them in. Sometimes the
native uses artificial appliances. which
are not put into the mouth as ours are,
but are he'd to the bottom lip as we
hold key when trying To cleariit.
When a chief possesses mary oxen
he is frequently very fastidious about
them and gathers them together in
herds OF nearly all one 'coler, red or
black being the favarite hue. Cattle
are trained to take pant in the tribal
dances and reviews These all have
the skin cut into strips as described
later, and are without horns. These
dances are organized by placing the
participants in sections, three men and
two oxen, which them dance in compa-
nies. eaah with tLlir attendant oxen
in turn approaching the chief, the
oxen turning Off into kraal and then
forming into line extending from the
chief This they do by themselves, |
and it is surprising to see the perfec-
ton of their training, as. notwith-sl
standing the yells- shouts and frenzied
gestures OF the men, they never break !
ranks or run, and, knowing their place,
go right to it.
The Zulus manage their herds with
great skill, and the animals appear to |
perfectly understand the meaning of |
every separate whistle1and call This |
noisy system of driving cattle was a !
source of great difficulty to the English !
soldiers who were detailed to recover |
cattle stolen from white settlers |
farm. Such Of the cattle as had been
Znl" bred would utterly demoralize the
remainder of the herd, and the SOL
diers, not understanding, and utterly
of producing the necessary
cries, would find the cattle quite un-
without them The COW
is the unit of the Zulu currency, eight
COWS making one woman, just as one
cents make one dollar, and
most of the tribal wars that have de-
Vastated Southern Africa have been
caused by the desire Of one chief to
steal the cattle of another
The great ambition of Zulu is to
'wn as many cows as possible, and so
become a savage millionaire; eating
,eef and drinking sour milk every day
md buying wives at eight to fourteen
ows each, according to the fuctua-
ions of the market, using the hides of
he cattle to make all kinds of useful
hings, lubricating himself with fat to
lis hearts desire and decorating his
'erson with their flowing tails. The
aore cattle he has the greater man he
Magazine.