344 AFRICA SPEAKS 



hand in greeting. Now up came the prime minister 

 and other members of the staff, all in a hand-shaking 

 mood. I asked, in all the languages I knew, how the 

 chief was feeling and how he was coming along in his 

 kingship business. To each question he simply grunted ; 

 so I then told the interpreter to ask him and his retinue 

 to have seats under a near-by banana tree, whence they 

 could watch our methods in filming. The king started 

 down the hill in grand style, but about halfway down 

 tripped and spread his huge frame in the dust. The 

 assembled Ifi went into hysterics over this. They rolled 

 on the ground laughing and went running about slap- 

 ping one another and guffawing, while some imitated his 

 grand march and fall. All this time he and his court 

 scowled, and some of the retainers shouted in angry 

 tones at the fun makers. 



Later we had a powwow in the large hut, during 

 which he was referred to as the big chief. All the 

 pygmy chiefs were present, and when they found that 

 he spoke of them as under his rule, up they jumped, 

 and, pointing their fingers at him, shouted that he was 

 not their chief by any means, and had nothing to say 

 about their affairs. In no uncertain tone they told 

 him he might rule on the forest's edge, but that they still 

 ruled in its depths, and if he did not think so, to come 

 along sometime and find out. They are fiery Httle 

 men, and in their element, the forest, a dangerous enemy. 



Should foemen invade their domain, the pygmies 

 wait along the paths and at the proper time let go a 

 shower of poisoned arrows, then melt into the shadows, 

 to reappear later and harass the survivors. No one 

 knows the forest as they do, nor its many secret pass- 

 ages and byways. 



