306 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



The Zulu weapon is the assegai, a light thrusting-spear, of which several are taken to 

 the field by each warrior. The body is protected by a loiig ox-hide shield, which is coloured 

 according to the regiment of the owner. 



THE MATABILI. 



In the territory of the British South Africa Company the most important tribe is the 

 Matabili, which occupies the southern part of the region, now known as Rhodesia, around 

 Buluwayo. 



In physical features the Matabili are of the Zulu type. The men are powerfully built, 

 muscular, and about 5 feet 10 or 11 inches high. According to Selous, " the Matabili girls 

 are very pleasant to the eye, having most good-tempered-looking faces, and fine, upright, 

 well-developed, dark chocolate-coloured figures." In political organisation, dress and domestic 

 customs, and in their handicrafts the Matabili also resemble the Zulus. Thus, according to 

 Selous, the costume of the women consists " of a small flap of goat- or antelope-skin in front 

 and another behind, or of a little fringe of umbentla (a soft fibre extracted from a kind of 

 grass) in front, and nothing at all behind." He adds that the Matabili huts are built on 

 the Zulu plan, with doors only about 3 feet broad and under 2 feet in height. 



The chief festival of the Matabili (a great dance known as Inxwala, and celebrated at 

 the beginning of harvest) is worth describing. Selous, who was present on an occasion when 

 4,000 warriors took part in the festivities, writes thus: "The men were all clothed in their 

 splendid war-dress of black ostrich-feathers, which consists of a sort of cape of black feathers, 

 sewn closely together, covering their chests and shoulders, and built up over their heads in 



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Photo bij Mr. IF. Ellerton Fnj. 



MATABILI WARRIORS. 



