154 NATIVES OF AFRICA IN THE i6tIT CENTURY. 



showed him his 200 oxen, his 200 sheep, hi.s seven wives, and his 

 numerous children. '" They are very sensual, and have as many 

 wives as they can afford, being- very jealous about them." That 

 polygamy was founded on lobola (cattle marriage), and that the 

 wife bought was the property of the clan whicli purchased her, is 

 proved by the fact that the missionaries of Gamba noticed with 

 horror that their new converts inherited the widows of their dead 

 relative^ and took them as wives, a custom which is one of the 

 characteristic features of the social law of tlie South African 

 Bantus. 



Lavanha tells that all the clans south of 29^ South Latitude 

 were circumcised, and the Jesuit Fathers assert that the Tonga- 

 Xyembane had the same custom, whikt the Makalanga were un- 

 circumcised. When inquiring from those Tonga about the origin 

 of the rite, they w^ere told it was taught to the Natives by " a Moor 

 of rank who came to these parts." This information is interest- 

 ing, as it throws some light on the (juestion of tlie origin of 

 circumcision amongst the South African trilies. 'J"he Chopi and 

 Tonga-Xyembane still circumcise the lads to-day, but they are 

 convinced that this custom is their own, and deny that it has been 

 introduced by strangers. The fact that Caffrarians, South of 29°, 

 in a region not yet visited by the Arabs, followed the same rite, 

 is altogether against the hypothesis of a Semitic origin. Sup])Ose. 

 liOwever, that the first idea came from the Arabs, the circumcision 

 initiation, as it is now jiractised in South Africa and in many 

 other parts of the Dark Continent, bears the Bantu character so 

 strongi}', that it can be said to have been thoroughly adai)ted to 

 the circumstances and to the genius of these animistic tribes. 



(3) Sialc of C'n'iiisation. 



The K'capoiis used by the Natives of the sixteenth century 

 were already made of iron. In addition to the knobkerries. our 

 chronicles mention " arragaias." Perestrelk) noticed them as far 

 as 32" S. They were seen all through Caffraria, Natal and 

 Zululand by his followers. The ( iamba Natives had " bows, 

 arrows and small assegais." Amongst the 'I'izombe, Lavanha 

 also noticed hatchets of the typical South African form, which 

 he describes as follows: — " Tiiey are like an edge fixed into a 

 stick, and with it they also cut trees and carve dishes." Natives 

 also used ox-hide shields. 



The presence '"f assegais proves that Natives knew iron and 

 even had great tiuantities of that metal at their disposal. Where 

 did they procure it ? They eagerly bought pieces of iron and 

 nails from the crews of the wrecked shijis, and the Portuguese 

 so well knew the value attached to iron by Natives that those of 

 the Sd)! Thome and of the 5a;i Alberto burnt their wrecks in 

 order to extract all what they could of the iron employed in the 

 construction of the ships. Nuno \'elho even ordered his men to 

 destroy what they could not take with them in order not to 



