The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-09-30
Woman sWorId
AFRICAN WOMEN
Wealth Estimated by the Number Of
Wives Man Possesses, for
They Are Laborers.
Since the Advent of Christianity
Both Social and Economic Con-
ditions Have Improved.

Miss Isabelle Nassau, who has been
missionary Of the Presbyterian board for
thtrty-four years on the west coast OF
Africa, has told many interesting facts
about the people there. AT the close of
her vacation she will return to the field.
where she will be associated with her
brother, Rev. D. r. H. Nassau.
The women are the a8riculturists Of the
country. 1t is their husbands part to
build the houses, hunt, Ash and make
deals with the traders. The number Of
wives a man owns Is limited only by the
amount of his property. and his wives are
no inconsiderable part of his wealth, rs
they do his work. A wife be bought
with goods worth from $50 to $3.50.
The Bantu men do a great deal Of rest
Ing and would never think Of shouldering
heavy basket for, q woman. The man
who may be the most skilful Of cooks in
the white mans house Will sit hungry for
hours In his own and walt for his tired
wife to prepare the meal. Until they ac-
cept Christianity there Is little family life,
ana the men and women never eat to-
gether. Afterward there is marked DIFF
ference In the kindness shown by hus-
bands and fathers to their families.
Members OF the twelve Presbyterian native
churches on the coast line Of $50 miles
have all abandoned polygamy and are liv-
Ing In more or less wholesome family re-
lations. Missionary work there Is now
in it's second generation. and marked
change Is seen in the young people who
are growing up. The king Of the tribe
Is Christian and a member Of the
church.
August and September, before the rains
come, are the planting season. The
natives have learned the value Of charcoal
In enriching the soil, and 1t is their only
fertilizer When the men have cleared
tract Of land Of the trees their part of
q az or ND hn
women with their cutlasses and knives,
cut down the underground and, as soon
as 1t Is dry enough. burn 1t. Only the
most primitive implements are used, and
they are carried In baskets on the backs
of the women when they start, early in the
morning. for their forest gardens. The
same ground is used only few years. BY
that time the upper soil Is exhausted, and
it Is allowed to grow up again with wild
and rank vegetation, while another plot Is
cleared as before for cultivation. Cas-
sava. sugar cane, yams, plantains and
bananas are the most common garden
products. Bananas, once started, assert
themselves and run out the plantains.
The womsn's baskets never return empty
from the gardens If there are no cas-
sava. yams or other vegetables or fruits
to carry back. they are filled with fire
wood, which It falls to the feminine part
OF the community to provide.
The Bantu women are excellent cooks,
but their utensils are few and Of the most
primitive sort. A big fiat stone Is in
dispensable to a Bantu womans kitchen
as are the meat and molding boards to
that Of a white woman, and It serves the
same purposes. The first Is built on the
clay floor at the end Of the house. and Is
sstlfully arranged between the ends Of
two logs that 1t Is held within bounds
without spreading. Very dry wood Is
used, because there are no chimneys, and
a minimum Of smoke Is necessity. The
plaintain leaf enters into nearly every GU
linary preparation, and is used for great
variety of purposes.
Cassava bread Is one Of the staple foods,
and its preparation Is not the least Of the
Bantu woman's tasks. The process occu-
pies three or four days. The first step Is
to place the cassava In a brook Of run