Morning journal and courier., 1890-05-09
The Matabele Soldiers, Danct

An African correspondent of ths London Times gives the following description of s'big dance" by the Matabele army: "The dance commenced by the warriors rushing into the 'Sigadhlo,' or chiefs inner and pri- vate kraal, in three companies. They then went through some curious manoe uvres, which can be compared only to certain fig ures in a monster ballet. One division rushed from one side upon the remainder, meeting in the center of the ground, and then breaking away again back to their own side, performing wild fantastic motions with extraordinary regularity. They then formed one dense line with front of 100 men and six deep, and ehanted wild praises of their chief, stamping first one foot and then, after facing round, the other, always in perfect time, and waving their arms and hands in unison. After an hour of this incessant chanting and dancing their dance stick Straight slaves about three feet. long) were given them by attendants in the rear, and first to tine right and then to the left, and from time to time thrusting them furiously at the ground in time with their tune, the leg bangles giving loud crash as their feet came down.
 "Hardly man was under six feet in height, many being taller. All were in splendid condition, and showed magnificent
 
 bound wildly into the air, always however maintaining time with the remainder. Meanwhile, four huge closely-woven baskets were placed in front of the regiment into which the royal hebes (slave-girls) poured many 8 calabash of beer until the baskets, holding many gallons, were filled to the brims. After two hours dancing the men, heated with their exertions, were ordered to halt, and the Induna In command, who had armed himself with great sjambok (whip) of hippopotamus hide. gave the signal to commence drinking. In a moment each basket was surrounded by some twenty men drinking as hard as possible; then down came the sjambok, and they backed out to make room for others Twice were the had had their turn, and then they formed up in one large semi-cirole, and by special or der chsnted the 'Upraised Shield,' or war song, very seldom allowed to be sung end very plaintive in it's cadence. After this song was finished three large Jumps of raw meat, the dismembered joints of three royal bullocks, were given to the men; in a minute all the beef was snatohed up, but not without many @ struggle over prime pieces.
 "The following day the mission was again invited to visit Lobengula to witness dance of the Inhlanhlela regiment, which differs 1 from the Imbizu in being an old or married mans regiment, while in the latter all are young men, and correspond to European sovereign's guards. They were about 800 men present. The dance had lasted about
 three hours before the English party arrived, and after another hours dancing of much the same description as that of the Imbizu
 the parade was dismissed and the party, l after talk with the chief, returned to their home at the camp of the British South Afri- | ca company. Both dances were excellent exhibitions of perfect system of savage military organization, the result of these precepts taught the ancestors of the Mata- beles many years ago by Chaka, that power- ] full Zula chief, who by his ferocious deeds in warfare gained for himself the sobriquss of l Bloody"