Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-26
CUSTOMS OF. AFRICA.
Forms of Government and Social
Organization of Some Tribes.
COMMON PRACTICE OF POLYGAMY.
Slavery and the Slave Trade Not Yet
Entirely Abolished.
IDEAS OF RELIGION AND THE FUTURE


| given in a communication to the State De-
partment by the He'll ChatelaIne, United
States commercial agent at Loando, in the
Portuguese province of Angola As de-
fined by the recent treaties with Germany,
England and the Congo State, the Portu-
guese province of Angola is one of the
largest territorial divisions on the new map
Of Africa. Owing to its geographical posi-
tion, variety of climates, natural resources
and to the progress already accomplished in
the civilization of the natives, the intrinsic
value and immediate possibilities Of An
COLA surpass those of any other possession
in tropical Africa
From 40 40 to ITO 90 south latitude it
has over II geographic degrees OF seacoast
and the two best harbors of the whole west
coast-the mouth of the Kongo river and
the Bay of Loanda. Stretching to the in
terror as far as the Kasai and Zambezi riv-
ers 1t forms an irregular quadrangle cover
ing about 1,25O, 900 square kilometers. In
the north and east it borders on the Kongo
| State, in the southeast on British Zambesa,
and in the south on German Southwest At
rica.
Political ORGANIZATION OF the Natives.
The political organization of African
tribes is very much the same all over the
secondary points and the personal charac-
teristics of tribal or national rulers These
remarks apply immediately to the tribes of
Angola proper, that is, of the district of
| Loanda; but with slight notifications they
would also be true Of the other Angolan
| districts and of African tribes generally.
1t will be found that the native African
system of government is both rational and
PRACTICAL in fact, as good as it could be
neither absolutely democratic, nor aristo-
| cratic, nor monarchic, but happy blending
of these three fundamental types. Whether
large or small, every village or town or
nation is governed after the same uniform
pattern. The legislative power is vested in
the council of the elders or prominent men,
which includes all freemen whose opinions
have some weight in the eyes of the people.
These elders are called in Kimbundu ina
kota." They are the repositories OF the
tribes or nations traditional customs,
which constitute the laws or constitution
according to which the body of the elders,
as well as the chief, are to administer pub
lie affairs, and the chief executive is to be
elected. Thus this council pretty well cor
responds to our parliamentA
An Elective King.
The executive power is vested in the chief
or King, whose title is, in Northern An
COLA, ''mfumu" or "ndembu;" in Central
| Angola, "soba," and in Southern Angola,
so soma" AS rule the chief is elected
and inaugurated by the elders, in accord
ance with definite rules, in one royal family,
the heir to the throne being rarely the son,
but most always the oldest or the ablest son
of the defunct or deposed Kings Oldest sis
ter. In the interest of the State the chief
has nominally absolute power over the life
and property of his subjects; but practically
| he can do nothing without consulting, the
| council or the most influential of the elders,
and woe to him if he offends public opinion.
| He may suddenly be accused of witchcraft
and fall victim to the poison test or be de-
posed or killed by the elders, with the con-
sent and cooperation of the public.
The chief is called the father of the peo-
| pie, his subjects are called his children, and
| he is expected to treat them as such.
AS in most Bantu tribes, it is the mother
| and not the father who determines consan-
| guinity; therefore the child of sister is
| held by a man to be his nearest descendant
and legal heir The children belong to
their maternal uncle and not their father.
! The fathers relation to his children is as
| loose as with US that of steptather to his
stepchildren. The uncle has the right to
sell his nephews and nieces, separating
them from father, mother, brothers and
sisters
The Practice of Polygamy.
Polygamy is everywhere honored, though
| its evil concomitants and consequences are
not ignored. Every wife has her own
house, gardens and private property. The
| ,,,,fo fa6
/ thority over the concubines, and the whole
system works much more smoothly than
people in civilization would imagine. Still
its demoralizing effects are everywhere
visible, and there is no hope of regenera-
tion of the race as long as polygamy is not
condemned by public opinion, and finally
eradicated. The family is the foundation
of the State and monogamy the corner
stone of a normal household.
The absence of metal or paper money to
represent capital has much to do with the
popularity of polygamy, as each additional
| wife, with house, children, fields and cattle
is considered a paying investment of capi-
tai The money or presents given by the
wooer tor his bride are not, as usually rep
| resented, her 'prce," as though she were
simply bought, but the symbol and pledge
of the contract entered into. 1t he treats
her numerically she can run away and he
loses his deposit. If, on the contrary, she
should prove unfaithful, the parents will
have to return the equivalent of the wooing
| present. Thus it is q mutual check.
The greatest festivitY of the native
Angolans is not the wedding, but the
funeral, called "tambi." All the relatives
and friends gather and have . regular
''blow-out" as long as there is cent to
spend.
| Slavery and Slave Trade.
There is no corner of Angola where slav-
| ery is not in practice among the natives.
| Nor can slavery exist without slave trade.
| The worst horrors of the traffic, however,
| do not appear in the local trade. They are
| enacted in the extreme east of the province
and in the unsubdued parts Of the Kongo
State, where the Ma-Kioko and other tribes
raid the slaves they bring to the coast. It
is then that villages are attacked, burnt,
sacked and the human hocks driven 70 the
slave markets, many dying on the road,
while others are used as beasts OF burden to
bring to the coast the rubber, the wax and
the ivory so coveted by the whites.
Legally, slavery is abolished in all Por-
| tupuese possessions But forced labor,
under the name of legal contract, is more
fourishing than ever, and it is to supply
the demand of the great coffee plantations
of Cazengo, of the great cane (rum) planta-
| tions of the Kuanza and Dande rivers and
of the coffee and cocoa planters of St.
| Thomas and Principe that the Kasanji (Cas-
sange), Bailundo and Bihe traders canvass
all Central Africa in search OF the human
plunder of the Ma-Kioko raids.
Contract Labor Worse Than Slavery.
Domestic slavery among the natives is ar
| ov;I M douht hut- n ut To he comDared with