1866.] THE CHILOBE PEA. RAIN MAKING. 153 



27 th November. — Zeore's people would not carry without 

 prepayment, so we left our extra loads as usual and 

 Avent on, sending men back for them : these, however, did 

 not come till 27th, and then two of my men got fever. I 

 groan in spirit, and do not know how to make our gear into 

 nine loads only. It is the knowledge that we shall be 

 detained some two or three months during the heavy rains 

 that makes me cleave to it as means of support. 



Advantage has been taken by the people, of spots where 

 the Lokuzhwa goes round three parts of a circle, to erect 

 their stockaded villages. This is the case here, and the 

 water, being stagnant, engenders disease. The country 

 abounds in a fine light blue flowering perennial pea, which 

 the people make use of as a relish. At present the blossoms 

 only are collected and boiled. On inquiring the name, 

 chilobe, the men asked me if we had none in our country. 

 On replying in the negative, they looked with pity on us : 

 " What a wretched country not to have chilobe." It is on 

 the highlands above ; we never saw it elsewhere ! Another 

 species of pea (Chilobe Weza), with reddish flowers, is eaten 

 in the same way ; but it has spread but little in comparison. 

 It is worth remarking that porridge of maize or sorghum is 

 never offered without some pulse, beans, or bean leaves, or 

 flowers, they seem to feel the need of it, or of pulse, which 

 is richer in flesh-formers than the porridge. 



Last night a loud clapping of hands by the men was 

 followed by several half-suppressed screams by a woman. 

 They were quite eldritch, as if she could not get them out. 

 Then succeeded a lot of utterances as if she were in ecstasy, 

 to which a man responded, " Moio, moio." The utterances, 

 so far as I could catch, were in five-syllable snatches — abrupt 

 and laboured. I wonder if this " bubbling or boiling over " 

 has been preserved as the form in which the true prophets 

 of old gave forth their " burdens"? One sentence, frequently 

 repeated towards the close of the effusion, was " linyama uta," 



