33<^ TH>: WIT AND WISDOM UF THE ItANTU. 



skrike (its neif^hlu)ur in the thicket). Or: "Am I your door- 

 mat, then, to have the niiul always wii)ed olT on me?" 



But justice is usually done : Uxamu tihainb' udwala, the 

 leg'uaan clings to the bare rock ( The man is plainly guilty ; he 

 hasn't a leg to stand on). Let the harts of the summer heat 

 pant facing- each other (Gnifront the accu-er and the accused: 

 let us hear both sides and then judge). And punishment follows 

 crime with fair certainty: A crime does not rot, they say (" Mur- 

 der will out"). The trap catches even when covered with cob- 

 webs (Vengeance comes at last). The brand returns to its 

 kindler (" fie is hoist with his own petard "). Okzvamuva kudlul' 

 okzvamandulo, the retribution transcends the injury. Of a richly 

 deserved castigation we say, " I'll beat you, and I don't care 

 who sees me," but the Zulu goes one better and says: Ngiya 

 kukiishaya, ngibuyc ngiocela ugwayi kuyihlo, " I shall strike you, 

 and then go and ask a pinch of snuiT from your father." The 

 Bantu opinion in regard to the respective liability of em])loyer 

 and agent is shown in these two sayings : " .\ messenger has no 

 (fault." and, "If you are sent to insult the King {i.e., the big 

 chief), do so" (It is the sender who is responsible). 



On Power and Possession. 



-As the last section has brought us to the chief and his court- 

 yard, let us see what the Bantu have to say about Power and 

 Possession. The sayings indicate an autocratic rather than a 

 democratic rule: Uma inkosi iknlnma avimdoda atidisc indlehc, if 

 the chief speaks, the people make silent their ears. When the 

 chief has promised you a beast, you can build yourself a kraal 

 (the smile of the great). Isitukutuku senja sipelel oboyeni, the 

 sweat of a dog ends iri its hair (The ixK:)r man must swallow his 

 wrath: the frown of the great), l.idume ladla umitnga, it thun- 

 dered, and the lightning struck a mimosa tree ('Jlie chief killed 

 a man in his wrath: the mimosa, being resinous, is peculiarly 

 liable to be struck by lightning). Ibi^elo ladla ikondekasi, the 

 summons killed the she-l)alK)on ( A summons to the Great Place 

 coo often means death). Um:^ungnhi nbopa ivomilc, the monkey- 

 rope ties fast though dry (A man may still be powerful, though 

 old and wizened). Dcda, mhlangela, cndazveni yeuyzvagi, mun- 

 goose, get out of the way of the genet (Make way for your 

 betters). There is not room for two bulls in one kraal, they say ; 

 or: An ox doesn't kick in two kraals (A chief may be great in 

 his own tribe, but have no authority elsewhere). 



About possession they say : We eat with the possessor o'f 

 the knife, we give nothing to the cook. Ohlab' eyakc kalelwa, 

 who slaughters, his own, is not forbidden (A man can do what 

 he likes with his own). Kiibangzva umtulzva nemamba yitii? 

 Does one contend for a medlar with a mamba? (Have you the 

 audacity to claim what 1 hold?). Ongena siqepu sentlabati iiya 

 kuhlafitna cgijiina, he who hasn't a bit of ground must eat his 

 bite as he runs along ( He hasn't a spot where he can eat his 

 dinner in comfort;. The white man is like the ant-bear; he 



