The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-02-13
THE ADAM OF ZULULAND
Curious Tribal lie.
geads-.Dis1ike fog
Chamelioa and
the Liz ard.

H1sx& f.S Y: Y 81.
Now that SO much attention is dl
rected toward the situation in Nata
many readers will be interested t.
know that the Zulus are a race of an
cestor worshippers, who believe II
the TRANSPORTATION of souls from the
human body to snakes. A Warlike, ro
mantle and picturesque race, theiI
theory of the creation is quaintnes<
itself. Their tribal legends persume
the existence of the first man, known
as Ukulunkulu (the Old-old-one)
and of him they say: 1--WE no longer
know him. We do not know his
wife, and the ancie1ts do not tel
us that he had a wife"
The primeval Zulu is credited with
having broken off the nations of the
universe from a reed which typifies
the source of being. The Uthlanga or
reed really represents father from
whom the children are broken off.
Their explanation of what brought
death into the world and all its VICE.
Is weird and intensely interesting.
Unkulunkulu sent this message by the
chameleon: GO, Chameleon, go and
say: Let not men die" This cham
eleon accordingly set forth, but un-
fortunately it loitered on the way and
ate the fatal purple fruit Of Ubuk-
webezane. Then the Old-old-ones des-
patched lizard after the chameleon.
The lizard ran exceeding fast and
made great haste. for it bore the mes
sage: Let men die" And it accom-
plished it's mission and returned to
the Old-old-one before the chameleon
reached its destination and shouted:
LET not men die." 1t was too late.
for men answered: ooh, we have
heard the word of the lizard, and
through its word men will die"
To this day the Zulus entertain a
profound dislike for the chameleon.
1t Is killed whenever seen and us@i
as medicine. Among other things
the maize gardens are doctored with
1t to keep the birds from spelling
the corn. The chameleon may be an
object Of dislike, but the lizard is
loathed and detested, and when Zu-
lus kill it they shout: This is the
very piece of deformity which ran in
the beginning to say that9men should
die!"
The Zulus pray to the Amatongo,
who are the spirits of the dead enter
ed into the bodies of snakes. The
large green ilon-poisonous serpent, 4
frequenter Of trees. 1t has a habit of
entering huts, and consequently the
EesumTtion is that the 8sitor is an
ancestor in search of something to
|eat. A bullock is generally slaughter
fed and portions placed in the hut Of
the sacrifices SO that the Amatongo
may eat thereof At nightfall soma
of the natives sleep in the hut and
keep watch over the meat; 8Id in
the morning, after the ancestral appe-
tite has been satisfied, the meat Is
boiled and consumed /: by the tribes
men.
Often on the lonely hillsides of Nata
one hears a Kaff1r singing as he
fares on his way, and the reason for
his song Is the dispersion of any evil
spirits that may be lurking in the
grass. The Kaffss frequently attri-
butts disaster to the influence of the
Amatoffgo, and previous to embarking
on any raid or foray the chief of the
tribe usually offers bullock to the
spirit of his immediate ancestor. The
idea of a Supreme Being in the skies
is common to nearly all their trali
tions, and he is referred to as the
Chief Of Chiefs.
If peGShance cattle are destroyed
by lightning in any kraal the report
goes round that the Lord has taken
the cattle from such a village, and
when it thunders their comment is:
1.-The Lord is playing" A very old
Zulu woman, interviewed many years
ago. gave the following picturesque
Information about tie Amazulu.
Their ancient name is Amageba, |
which means the shadow caused by |
the departing sun. They recline on
the mountains. Amageba is the Old |
old-one of the Amazulu. arbhis great
grandson was Chaka. the Hsena Man,
who was known to his subjects as the |
Great Elephant from his immense