Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1888-06-07
CURIOUS CUSTOMS.
How a South African Bride II
Wooed and Won.
Weddings Among the BarraIong Kafiirs-
Present for "a Mother-in. Law
A Bullock to BE Killed by
the Groom.


the Groom.
The BarralOngs of South Africa are
tribe which probably Il rs not rank
exceedingly high in the scale Of crea-
ton. Nobody has ever heard of q
Barraling Royal Academy. with pres
ident and associates, or a Barralong
Board of Works. with fortnightly
scandals; nor has the race yet pro-
duced Barralong Shaksepearc-or
Bacon. The >hockingly backward COM
dtion of thi, intcrestin" Kafiir people
is further evidenced in the fact that
they are declared 10 be destitute of any
religion whatever. 1t u.s. therefore,
quite useless to look for Il BarralOng
archbishop; indeed. if ali English
bishop were imprudcnt enough to leave
our shores and 90 among this simple
minded folk they would probably be-
gin to look for him-with assegais.
II is a curious circumstance, and
shows the wide range Of subjects which
the legal profession in f lgland has to
deal with, that the manners and GUS
toms of the Blrralong X fIIrs are now
exercising the ingenuity and learn
ing f the Chancery Division.
Mr. Justice Stirling has been
trying TO discover what is consid-
cred TO be ii proper an legitimate
marriage ceremony among these South
Africans. and il iced hardly be said
that in doing so the English court has
not been iltl ced ly amy merely
academical desire TO study a little
known tract of sociology. There are,
indeed, very Substantial T. asons why
the whole qIrs ion Of how these UNI
civilized demizenS of the bush live,
move and have the being should be
thraShed out by lcalne counsel.
Mos people will. remember the
name IF Bcchuanaianl. if nothing
more, for il was there tha Sir Charles
Warren conducted one of the most
brilliantly successful anil entirely
bloOdless eXpc iitions that have ever
started under ihe English flag. Ii
may also no! have passed ont of gen.
cral recollection how one of the incl
dents which aroused the deepest ill-
dignation in L gland in regard to
Boer onsiaughls on that country was
the cruel mur. er of Il young man
named Beth, II, who had been the head
of a police force in that district The
particular tribe of Beclluanas among
whom Mr.. Be,hell settled was this
very race of b trralongs. and, curious.
Nv enough, SO ue time Def re his death
he seems To have welded kllfir girl
10 the accompaniment of certain
rites demanded bv Barralony
public opinion. For example,
il is considered ode rigueur''
by Barralong mothers OF marriages.
BILE daughters that any young man
suing for the hand If one of 1.-THE
girls is bound to kill an OK and make
a present of its head To his future
mothcr-in-law. The ox's head buys
the maiden, in fact The question be-
fore the Chancery Division was partly
rs to whether Mr. Bsthell, before he
took 10 himself this dusky beauty,
went through the various social ago.
MES demanded by Bcchuana etiquette.
Did he kill his OK ia correct style? If
SO, did he make this rather ghaslly
prenuptial Offering to his revercd
mother-in-law. and did she. in trans
port of beefy happiness. exclaim:
BLESS you. MY childrcn!' and con-
sent to their union? These are strange
inquiries 10 be proceeding in a grave
court of British Justice; yet on their
correct solution DEFEND good deal of
property and much beside
1t would be deci lcdly interesting to
know how ma Y English young men
would dare to take The plunge into
matrimomy if they first of all had to
clutch the pole axe and administer the
dcath-blow 20 n vicious bullock inst
landed at Danlforl and fresh from
Transaslan L. rra:1iaS. The proba-
bility is that in tha case we should
have much fewer engagements
than ut present. or else a start
ling increase in hr ach-pf-promise &C
tions. Imagine the vcrger of S..
Georges. Hanover Square. standing
outside tha; sacred Office just before
a fashionable wedding was to take
place. and yaiuly cndeavoring to hold
a iivelt OK on which the frightened
bridegroom WAS expected soon 10
operate! 1t would be impossible, con.
siSten;ly with ecclesiastical tradition.
to lock the animal up i'm the vestry nm
til he WIS wanted aud then let us
feebly attempt Ia picture to ourselves
Tie state of miserable detection into |
which the husband eject would sink on !
the eve of his marriage. knowing that |
he would have To turn butcher before |
winning his bl'idr To cut off the head |
of An OK. even when killed. is no easy I
task for practic:>i hands; but we will |
draw vail over his prcl urinary part
of the ceremony and suppose it 10
have be'n successfully "ccomplished.
Then is tncre any British matron,
glorious in lac, and velvet. who would
consent Ia have CORY head brought
within fl ty yards Of her apparel when
dressed for her dan shters weddincp
All tits sinply goes 10 show that Gus.
toms differ essentially in different
parts of the woflJ. n rnoliah mnther