SPORT IN MOZAMBIQUE 



the Kafir who has killed an eland ought to return to 

 his village before touching it ; if he breaks this rule, 

 he loses it while taking it home. A Kafir, whose wife 

 is enceinte, ought not to eat eland-meat, under pain of 

 seeing his wife delivered of a deformed infant or one 

 with an animal's head. 



Before leaving the village of Ganda I took occasion 

 to make a special study of the beverage which the 

 Kafirs make from palm-trees, and which they call 

 utchema. Each species, whether it be a borassus, a 

 hyphena, or a phenix, gives a sap of particular flavour, 

 as easy to distinguish as a glass of Bordeaux from a 

 glass of Burgundy or from a beaker of champagne. 



To obtain this beverage, they cut the "cabbage" 

 of the palm in an inclined plane, in such a manner 

 as to let the liquid flow into a trough made from a 

 leaf of the tree, which leads to a receptacle. Twice 

 a day the beverage is removed and the section cut 

 afresh, in order to remove the clots which hinder the 

 sap from flowing. A palm yields about 1£ pints daily 

 for a month. During the two days following the first 

 cut the beverage is bitter. At the end of a fortnight 

 it becomes acid. 



Palm- wine is excellent, not only for thirst, but still 

 more for health. It is diuretic and slightly purgative. 

 If permitted to ferment it becomes strongly alcohol- 

 ised ; and it is in this state that it is most appreciated 

 by the negroes. I know of villages where the inhabi- 

 tants from one year's end to another make themselves 



(68) 



