MOURNING. 87 



No one seems able to find out if these natives 

 have any fixed religion or belief; it is a subject 

 they will not speak about, and a Kafir is a 

 most silent or prevaricating being when he 

 wishes to keep a secret ; but they evidently 

 believe in some sort of future state as occasion- 

 ally they visit the graves of their ancestors and 

 perform some ceremonies over them.* 



* I have quite recently been told by a " boy " from Maputa that 

 Kafirs have no belief in a future state "all finish when he die ;" 

 so the ceremonies must be purely fetish if this is the case. The 

 same boy accounted for the superiority of the white race in the 

 following manner. When God, " the Big Governor for top," 

 created man, he first made the black man, of whom he was very 

 proud, and afterwards the white man, giving to each a piece of 

 paper covered with writing, telling them to take care of it, and 

 that he would come again in a fortnight and explain its meaning. 

 By-aud-by a deluging rain came down, and the black man (Kafir 

 fashion) hid his paper under a bush and then sought a shelter 

 for himself. The white man, however, would not part with the 

 precious paper, but placed it under his armpit and fearlessly braved 

 the rain. When the storm had passed the black man found that 

 a rat had torn his paper into little fragments and the rain had 

 obliterated its writing, and he was unable to put them together. 

 When the fortnight had elapsed, and the " Big Governor " paid his 

 promised visit, he went first to the black man, but when he saw 

 the damaged state of the paper entrusted to him he was very 

 angry, and said that he was worse than a dog, and like a dog he 

 should remain. This tradition has been handed down from father 

 to son from time immemorial. 



