24 THE BONDS OF AFRICA 



fantastic in the absolute abandon of its savagery, 

 than that night dance of the Walonga. 



Picture to yourself a number of groups of 

 women, with babies at breast and knee, squatting 

 round the blazing fires. Here the old chief of 

 the village is solemnly puffing at his huge pipe, 

 fashioned out of clay, a long reed and a cucumber- 

 shaped calabash. A stalwart M'Longa steps into 

 the little open space between the fires, and altern- 

 ately brandishes his spear above his head and 

 wriggles his body round like a dying snake, to 

 the accompaniment of a clapping of hands. 

 Two huge " N'goma," or war-drums, consist- 

 ing of skins stretched tight and laced over the 

 hollowed-out trunks of trees, are brought forward, 

 and after being duly warmed by the fires, are 

 thumped by many pairs of hands. The sound 

 emitted is musical and dull, yet it travels for 

 an extraordinary distance. Two more Walonga 

 now join the performer in the arena, and, keeping 

 time with his fantastic movements, they look 

 in the lurid glow of the flames as though they were 

 loosed from Hades. Faster and faster beat the 

 drums, faster and faster do the dancers sway their 

 bodies and slice the air with the broad blades 

 of their assegais. At last the thud of the drums 

 stops abruptly and the dancers retire exhausted 

 to the ring of spectators. 



A few seconds of silence elapse, and then some 

 one commences one of those singularly monotonous 

 yet beautiful native refrains, whereof the chorus 

 is hurled back like the rolling of thunder. 



A clear, well-toned voice shouts out that to- 

 morrow the " Bwana " * is going to kill a buffalo, 

 and there will be " nyama sambele " (much 

 meat) ; the answer comes from a score or two 



* Master. 



