Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-04-14
AFRICAN KING Of
JUNCLES, MWATA
YAMVO, IS DEAD
ny ROGER EATCHELDER
DOWNRIGHT. 1929


There is great grief in the Alum
da Kingdom of Central africa, for
Mwata Yamvo pronounce it "Mati-
yamvo"), the fourteenth ruler of his
dynasty, is dead. Already each OF
his fingernails and toenails has been
taken to different province and
there buried as a holy thing, so that
the natives may worship at this,
the latest shrine.
Those unfortunate New Workers
who have never become acquainted
with Allan Quartermain, nor read
Rider Haggards tales Of Central
Africa, may wonder why ON earth
one should waste time writing about
Central Africa. But it is a fact
that the A1unda nation century
ago was probably the greatest OF ali
uncivilized nations, nation tnat
knew not of the white man nor ms
works, a nation that fought WIN
the fierceness Of the wild man, ana
trained it's boys, with Spartan-llke
discipline, to help the reigning MWata
Yamvo to conquer the world-that
world which was bounded by the
fastness of the African jungle.
-Four years ago. when the mission
station was started at Masumba III
the Congo, the white men were re-
earded with suspicion, because Jew
of the natives had ever before seen
a white man, Yet this was ma
ton of thousands and thousands Oh
people Even today only an ap-
proximate estimate can be mace OF
l. its population. :.
Tin interest
the great civilized world, is a matter
of tremendous moment in Central
Africa. Mwata Yamvo was not
great man, but he was a good KING
He was friendly to the Belgian COM
missioners when they came to see
him and he tried the hundreds OF
native cases which were brought be-
fore him with the utmost zeal. He
was tremendously lazy. He never
walked but was always carried about
, in hammock by slaves. Perhaps 1T
was because of his sedentary habits
that he never made war, as his pred
ecessors had done. At any rate, the
A1unda were peaceful and happy
under him,
When. with his appreciation and
that of the Belgian government, the
mission of the Methodist Episcopal
church was started in Masumba. he
was not greatly excited. He merely
lay in his hammock, drank the ma
tive beer or the whisky which the
| white traders brought in and slept.
But one day he appeared at the
services and the missionary, return
! ing his call, went to the hut and
asked him how he liked it.
Rotten" he declared, or words to
that eject in the colloquy of the
Alundas. ''No action at ALL"
The missionary, astonished at this
Disguised attitude, asked the reason.
In answer the king called in sew
ed themselves. rubbed their faces in
the dirt, got up on their knees, pick
ed UP a handful of dust and rubbed
it on their stomachs. Then at his
nod, they withdrew. "
| Chat said Mwata Yamvo, "is
the way my subjects pay obeisance
came to the meeting to see If you
might use. But there was nothing
at all--nothing. 1t was much too
quiet
It was many months before he
lagain visited the mission, though he
did not discourage his people from
a visit from the missionary, the Rev
T. B. Brinton.
The king had two favorite diver
sions, it seemed. One was to drink
whisky, and the other was to ex-
change parallels with DR.. Brinton
And even at the board of foreign
missions of the Methodist Episcopal
church., No. $50 Fifth avenue, where
| the news of the kings death was
announced yesterday, it was regret
fully admitted that Mwata Yamvo
PREFER Il drinking whisky to telling
parallels to the missionary. But the
parallels came a close second. He
recited the child-like folk tales of
his nation, and asked DR.. Brinton
for their parallels in Biblical legend.
He also developed a pronounced
penchant for the dress of the white
| man. A BARRIERS coat, purchased
from trader, was part of his robe
of state. This was embellished by a
green necktie. which would have dis
| graced any resident of the Bowery,
and bracelet, made of an elephants
tail. The bracelet was 50 large that
| he had to keep his hand raised con-
tinual1y so that it would not fall
off. When dressed for ordinary &C.
| caslons, he sometimes wore a pair
of military leggings, a pair of tennis
| shoes, and a loincloth, inscribed.
General Merchandise''--st sign which
some trader had brought from the
| coast.
Whenever he was photographed he
practised several minutes looking
stern. until he attained the proper
facial attitude
Four Are Cremated