Chap. VII. BAMANGWATO HILLS. 101 



missionaries set their faces against the boguera, both on 

 account of its connection with heathenism, and because the 

 youths learned much evil and became disobedient to their 

 parents. From the general success of the pioneers of Christi- 

 anity, it is perhaps better that younger missionaries should 

 tread in their footsteps. So much mischief may result from 

 breaking down the authority on which our whole influence 

 with those who cannot read appears to rest, that innovators 

 ought to be made to propose their new measures as the 

 Locrians did new laws — with ropes around their necks. 



A somewhat analogous ceremony (boyale) takes place for 

 young women. Clad in a dress composed of ropes made of 

 alternate pumpkin-seeds and bits of reed strung together, and 

 wound round the body in a figure-of-eight fashion, they are 

 drilled under the superintendence of an old woman, and are 

 inured to bear fatigue and carry large pots of water. They 

 have often scars from bits of burning charcoal having been 

 applied to the forearm, which must have been done to test 

 their power of bearing pain. 



The Bamangwato hills are part of the range called Bakaa. 

 The Bakaa tribe, however, removed to Kolobeng, and is now 

 joined to that of Sechele. The range stands about 700 or 800 

 feet above the plains, and is composed of great masses of 

 black basalt. At the eastern end the hills have curious 

 fungoid or cup-shaped hollows, of a size which suggests the 

 idea of craters. Within these are masses of rock crystallized 

 in a columnar form : the tops of the pillars are hexagonal, like 

 the bottom of the cells of a honeycomb, but are not sepa- 

 rated from each other as in the Cave of Fingal. In many 

 places the lava-streams may be recognised. The cold in the 

 evening, suddenly contracting portions of the rock, which had 

 been expanded by the heat of the day, wrenched them off, and 

 they fell with a ringing noise which leads people to fancy 

 that they contain abundance of iron. Huge fragments 

 slipping down the sides of the hills and impinging against 

 each other had formed cavities in which the Bakaa hid them- 

 selves from their enemies. The numerous chinks which were 

 left made it quite impossible to smoke out the fugitives, as 

 was done by the Boers to the people of Mankopane. This 

 mass of basalt, which is about six miles long, has, like all the 



