The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1892-10-11
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cLANTo gwA,s MAIDEN SPEECH.
a Girl of the Kroo Tribe Tells i'm Eng
Iish About Her People.

~
Iish About Her People.
Immediately following the meeting
for praise and testimony, which was held
in the Rensselaer, Street mission, the
Rev. John Doody, who led the meeting.
introduced Miss Glanto Bwa, a native
African. who had been converted by Il
missionary when quite young and edu-
Gated, and who has finally come to this
country to study medicine. ''She viii
speak to you briefly" he said, land as
this is the first time that she has ever
spoken in public she has, in order to re-
lieve herself from embarrassment. writ
ten out some notes which she will read
to you"
Miss Bwa is very dark and has all the
characteristic features of her race III
marked degree. She spoke in a sort of
monotone, III fairly good English, and
her dialect did not in any way resemble
the negro dialect with which most
Americans are familiar. Her remarks
were somewhat as follows:
| am almost a stranger in your
country. so you will please to excuse
me as l never spoke in public before.
Once 1 was a heather girl away back ~
a far country, but l thank Jesus for
sending a missionary to me to teach me
about him, and l can now read the
Bible and praise God in English. am
| a member of a tribe in Africa, the mem
| bers of which are known as Kroos. The
Kroo people care little for education.
/ They believe that the soul of man
/ after death goes into the body of
| little child, or perhaps into the body of
| some beast or reptile, and for this reaso"
| they do not think it is worth while TO
spend much on education.
The Kroos believe that monkeys are
people who will not work. The prin-
| ciple food of the Kroos is rice and cas-
sava, which is something like sweet
potato. Some of the tribes eat monkeys,
cats, dogs and rats, and some of the
| tribes III the interior prefer human
flesh to anything else. Before the mis-
siouaries came they wore only little
strip of cloth, and in many places that
is all they wear now. The girls until
they are twelve years old do not wear
any clothes but string OF beads.
Miss Sharpless, our missionary, would
not allow us to come to her school
; unless we were clothed, and made us
; each garment to wear. AT first our
people did not like this, ana my grand
mother tore off the first apron that !
ever had, because she said it would pre-
vent me from getting a husband If
dressed differently from other people.
! But now they have learned to like ia
wear clothes, and many of them do SO.
] The favorite dress among the women is
a mans white shirt.
2 In my country, when a mother dies
r. her daughter stands over the body and
tells over all the things she has done
2 during her life time. When man dies
D his wife sits beside the body for three
p. days and mourns for him, and is not al,
f lowed to eat anything or to move hand
or foot in all that time. Boys get wives
very young, and pay for them in install
nents. but do not get the wife until al
e the installments are paid. Then hi
I father takes the young wife home, anc
she is taught by his mother to work JUS
as she does.-Albany Express.