MATIAMVO'S CONDUCT. 341 



in every village, and we often hear it going from sunset to sun- 

 rise. They seem to look upon the departed as vindictive beings, 

 and, I suspect, are more influenced by fear than by love. In be- 

 ginning to speak on religious subjects with those who have never 

 heard of Christianity, the great fact of the Son of God having 

 come down from heaven to die for us is the prominent theme. 

 No fact more striking can be mentioned. " He actually came 

 to men. He himself told us about his Father, and the dwelling- 

 place whither he has gone. We have his words in this book, 

 and he really endured punishment in our stead from pure love," 

 etc. If this fails to interest them, nothing else will succeed. 



We here met with some people just arrived from the town of 

 Matiamvo (Muata yanvo), who had been sent to announce the 

 death of the late chieftain of that name. Matiamvo is the he- 

 reditary title, muata meaning lord or chief. The late Matiamvo 

 seems, from the report of these men, to have become insane, for 

 he is said to have sometimes indulged the whim of running a 

 muck in the town and beheading whomsoever he met, until he had 

 quite a heap of human heads. Matiamvo explained this conduct 

 by saying that his people were too many, and he wanted to di- 

 minish them. He had absolute power of life and death. On in- 

 quiring whether human sacrifices were still made, as in the time 

 of Pereira, at Cazembe's, we were informed that these had never 

 been so common as was represented to Pereira, but that it occa- 

 sionally happened, when certain charms were needed by the chief, 

 that a man was slaughtered for the sake of some part of his 

 body. He added that he hoped the present chief would not act 

 like his (mad) predecessor, but kill only those who were guilty 

 of witchcraft or theft. These men were very much astonished 

 at the liberty enjoyed by the Makololo ; and when they found 

 that all my people held cattle, we were told that Matiamvo alone 

 had a herd. One very intelligent man among them asked, "If 

 he should make a canoe, and take it down the river to the Mako- 

 lolo, would he get a cow for it ?" This question, which my men 

 answered in the affirmative, was important, as showing the knowl- 

 edge of a water communication from the country of Matiamvo to 

 the Makololo ; and the river runs through a fertile country 

 abounding in large timber. If the tribes have intercourse with 

 each other, it exerts a good influence on their chiefs to hear what 



