WITCHCRAFT. 257 



advice on whatever subject may fall under considera- 

 tion. Independently of these hereditary Chiefs, every 

 village or kraal has its master, who is called the 

 "Umnumocana" and the Chief also nominates certain 

 members of the tribe as his " Amapakate," or coun- 

 sellors, who constitute the judges or magistrates of 

 the land. One great check on the tyranny of indi- 

 vidual rulers, is the acknowledged right of one 

 Chief to receive and shelter those who may fly to 

 him for protection from another. If a Chief can 

 overtake a man who is running away from him, he 

 is allowed to put him to death, but if the fugitive 

 succeeds in safely reaching the district of another 

 Chief he is never molested. 



The principal engine of C after despotism is the 

 charge of witchcraft. The Amaqira, as the witch- 

 doctor is called among the Amaponda, supplies the 

 place of an inquisitor, and when employed as the 

 tool of a cunning, unprincipled Chief, he enables 

 him to overcome all opposition. When a petty Chief 

 has offended his superior, a hint is sufficient for the 

 witch-doctor to accuse him, particularly if he is rich, 

 as the Amaqira knows that the superior Chiefs will 

 protect him. When an accusation is once made, the 

 supposed culprit has no means of defending himself, 

 but is seized and put to the torture, frequently con- 

 fessing in the hope of escaping further punishment, 

 but death in its most cruel forms usually terminates 

 his sufferings, when his cattle are seized and divided 



vol. i. s 



