TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 165 



saw some elephants, buffaloes, &c, there are none on the plains of the Upper Shire, 



but the birds, new and strange, are pretty numerous. In the upper part of the 



Lower Shire, in the highlands, and in the valley of the Upper Shire", there is a 



somewhat numerous population. The people generally live in villages and in hamlets 



near them. Each village has its own chief, and the chiefs in a given territory have 



a head chief, to whom they owe some sort of allegiance. The paramount chief of 



one portion of the Upper Shire is a woman, who lives two days' journey from the 



west side of the river, and possesses cattle. The chief has a good deal of authority ; 



he can stop trade till he has sold his own things. One or two insisted on seeing 



what their people got for the provisions sold to us. The women drop on their knees 



when he passes them. Mongazi's wife went down on her knees, when he handed 



her our present to carry into the hut. One evening a Makololo fired his musket 



without leave, received a scolding, and had his powder taken from him. " If he 



were my man," said the chief, "I would fine him a fowl also." The sites of their 



villages are selected, for the most part, with judgment aud good taste. A stream or 



spring is near, and pleasant shade-trees grow in and around the place. Nearly 



every village is surrounded by a thick high hedge of the poisonous Euphorbia. 



During the greater part of the year the inhabitants could see an enemy through the 



hedge, while he would find it a difficult matter to see them. By shooting their 



already poisoned arrows through the tender branches, they get smeared with the 



poisonous milky juice, and inflict most painful if not fatal wounds. The constant 



dripping of the juice from the bruised branches prevents the enemy from attempting 



to force his way through the hedge, as it destroys the eyesight. The huts are larger, 



stronger built, with higher and more graceful roofs than any we have seen on the 



Zambesi. The Boabab (spreading place) is at one side of the village ; the ground is 



made smooth and level, and the banians, the favourite trees, throw a grateful shade 



over it. Here the people meet to smoke tobacco and bang ; to sing, dance, beat 



drums, and drink beer. [In the Boabab of one small village we counted fourteen 



drums of various sizes, all carefully arranged on dry grass.] Some useful work, too, 



is performed in this place, as spinning, weaving, making baskets and fish-nets. On 



entering a village, we proceeded at once to the Boabab, on which the Strangers' hut 



is built, and sat down. Large mats of split bamboo are politely brought to us to 



recline on. Our guides tell some of the people who we are, how we have behaved 



ourselves since they knew us, where we are going, and what our object is. This 



word is carried to the chief. If a sensible man, he comes as soon as he hears of 



our arrival ; if timid or suspicious, he waits till he has thrown his dice, and given 



his warriors, for whom he has sent in hot haste, time to assemble. When the chief 



makes his appearance, his people begin to clap their hands, and continue clapping 



until he sits down ; then his councillors take their places beside him, with whom he 



converses for a minute or so. Our guides sit down opposite them. A most novel 



scene now transpires ; both parties, looking earnestly at each other, pronounce a word, 



as " Amhinatu" (our chief or father), then a clap of the hands from each one — 



another word, two claps — a third word, three claps — and this time all touch the 



ground with their closed hands. Next, all rise clapping — sit down again, and — clap, 



clap, clap — allowing the sound gradually to die away. They keep time in this most 



perfectly, the chief taking the lead. The guides now tell the chief all they please, 



and retire, clapping the hands gently, or with one hand on the breast; and his own 



people do the same, when they pass the chief, in retiring. The customary presents 



are exchanged, after a little conversation with the chief, and in a short time his 



people bring provisions for sale. In some villages the people clapped with all their 



might when they approved what the chief was saying to us. In others, the clapping 



seems omitted in our case, though we could see it was kept with black strangers who 



came into the village. The chief at the Lake, an old man, came to see us of his own 



accord, — said he had heard that we had come, and sat down under a tree, — and he 



came to invite us to take up our quarters with him. Many of the men are very 



intelligent-looking, with high foreheads and well-shnped heads. They show singular 



taste in the astonishingly varied styles in which their hair is arranged. Their 



bead necklaces are really pretty specimens of work. Many have the upper and 



middle as well as the lower part of the ear bored, and have from three to five rings 



in each ear. The hole in the lobe of the ear is large enough to admit one's finger, 



