234 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



When the natives wished to have a " Mlandu " (or case) 

 they first approached the induna, who then carried the 

 story on to the head induna, who likewise informed Mpseni. 

 Naturally a good deal depended on the integrity of the 

 indunas, and I have no doubt that many cases were distorted 

 considerably before they reached the " fountain of justice. " 



A son of Mpseni told me he had often a vile temper, so 

 at such times his wives, children, and indunas gave him as 

 wide a berth as possible until he cooled down a bit. At 

 certain times the practice of witch smelling took place, and 

 many innocent persons were murdered. The young 

 unmarried people live free lives, and Mpseni did not let his 

 warriors marry until they were well on in life, so great 

 licentiousness was common ; but when once married, if a 

 man or woman committed adultery, they were knocked on 

 the head or strangled to death. 



A strange belief is still prevalent among most of the 

 tribes in this country. Should a woman in a weak moment 

 have mistaken another man for her husband, she will 

 betray nervousness in putting salt in his food, and on 

 seeing her fear, he at once accuses her of wrong. 

 Nowadays, people are not killed for crimes such as this, 

 although the injured husband will doubtless thrash the 

 woman unmercifully. Child murder, under exceptional 

 circumstances, still takes place, notwithstanding their love 

 for children, and an Angoni told me that a year or two ago 

 a woman gave birth to three crows and a large stone, the 

 crows appearing first. I expect this was the woman's 

 statement for disposing of a malformed child. The same 

 person told me that another woman had a child with a 

 human body, but its head and hair was just like a 

 warthog's. 



I have not much more to write about the Angoni, except 

 that they are a fine race of savages, and it will be a lasting 

 pity if the tide of civilisation brings harm to them. The 

 white man's civilisation and religion is not suited for savage 

 peoples, and they should be left alone to work out their 

 own ends. 



