Congo life and folklore

Nothing came amiss, no gift was too small and no article too mean to find its place among those free-will expressions of a people’s gratitude to God--for the poor gave to the point of self-sacrifice, and the comparatively rich gave in proportion to their wealth.

All through Saturday and Sunday every band of new arrivals gave in their offerings. Some had carried their heavy gifts--weighing from thirty to forty pounds--over hills, streams and swamps for three and four hours, and came up smilingly to unload themselves; and with shy, apologetic words they expressed themselves as sorry that the loads were not heavier, but that was all they had to bring.

Sunday with its various services passed all too quickly for those who had come such long distances to attend them. The early morning prayer-meeting was well supported. A native deacon conducted it, and very earnest were the prayers for a blessing on the missionary work that was so zealously maintained in all the districts, nor were other stations and missions forgotten before the throne of grace.

It was pathetic to hear their pleadings on behalf of relatives and friends still in the darkness of heathenism; and surely the heart of God has been very deeply moved by such prayers, for not a year passes without scores of conversions and additions to the Church.

The afternoon service was crowded, and although the building seated over seven hundred every place was occupied and the doors and windows were filled with eager listeners as a slim man of medium height, who had laboured among them for nearly fifteen years, preached freely and fluently on their privileges and duties as Christian men and women. In the evening a deacon-preacher took the service, and very eloquently did he enforce the lessons given in the afternoon that as redeemed men and women, ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, heirs of God’s eternal glory, it should be their gladsome duty to pass on the blessings they had received to those who were still ignorant of Christ’s salvation.

I ought not to forget the morning service that was conducted by a white lady--the wife of one of the missionaries, a woman of large experience in the work, of wide sympathies, and, from what I could hear among the natives, a woman much beloved by them all for her unstinted labours.

“Why does a white woman take a service every Sunday?” I once heard asked by a native in whose mental bank there were more sneers than kindly thoughts.

“Well,” replied a teacher who was sitting by, “the white men practise what they preach. They tell us to respect and reverence our wives, so they respect and reverence theirs; they teach us to treat our wives as equals, so they treat theirs as equals, hence they have arranged for a white woman to take one of the two principal services every Sunday. We have therefore always an example of what they inculcate that when God made woman He took a portion, not from the head of man to show that she should be over man, nor from the feet of man to show that she should be under man; but from the middle to teach that she should be equal to man--from near the heart to show that she should have his affection, and from under his arm to show she should have his protection. My white man told me that that was written by one of their famous teachers long ago. They would have that to be the keynote of our treatment of women as it is of theirs.”

Immediately after the service on Monday morning one of the white men mounted a table and began to sell the various gifts by auction to the highest bidders. The natives, both males and females, entered most heartily into the contest. The auctioneer knew the value of the different articles and was careful to let nothing go under price.

The bids were in brass rods, and the rivalry for possession of the different articles was very keen. Jokes were cracked, repartees were exchanged, innocent pleasantries were indulged in, and amid much laughter one lot after another was knocked down to the successful bidders. It was a vivacious scene composed of both sexes of all ages, dressed in variegated colours, topped by smiling, black faces, and white, gleaming teeth.

The white men took it in turns to act as auctioneers, and at the close of the sale it was found that the total sum received for the local missionary work, i. e. for the support of native teachers, amounted to 82,095 brass rods (= £34 3s. 6d.). Everybody was pleased, and that night they sung most heartily, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.” And thus ended the matondo, or harvest thanksgiving festival.

Soon after the final service the natives were bidding each other “good-bye,” and on the road again, with their faces turned homeward. How safe the roads are compared with the bad, old days! Then natives went armed with guns and other weapons of defence, now they travel with nothing but their hymn-books and New Testaments for days without fear of molestation; woe then to the individual who left his party, for he (or she) was pounced upon by thievish rascals, and was never heard of again; then men and women, boys and girls were captured on the slightest pretext, and even for penny and two-penny debts, and were sold to end their days in distant, cruel and unremitting toil as slaves; now boys and girls take long journeys in unmolested safety. The Gospel has taught the people that God cares for them, hence they are caring more for each other; that He loves them, and thus they are coming to love one another.

How selfish they used to be! How they grabbed at everything that came in their way, and held fast to every article they could put their fingers upon! How generously they now gave out of their comparative poverty, that the message of God that had transformed their lives, given them peace now, and hope for the great hereafter, might be proclaimed to others, that they also might share the same peace and possess the same buoyant, eternal hope. Then their neighbours were their own kith and kin only--members of their own families, and they did not hesitate to cheat, oppress, enslave or kill any one outside the family to benefit themselves; now they have discovered that their neighbours are the members of all families, clans and tribes under the sun, and with all the energy of their renewed natures they are trying to put into daily practice the golden rule: Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Then they stole, lied, swindled and broke every law of man and God that they might die wealthy and have a grand funeral that should be the talk of the countryside; now they walk many a weary mile, cross many a difficult stream, wade many a nasty swamp, to preach the news of God’s great salvation, and give generously of their substance to support teachers. How marvellous are the workings of God’s grace in the hearts of whilom savages!

Mikula, my owner, and his party arrived home all the stronger in their Christian faith for the service they had attended; and more determined, by consecrated lives, by kindly actions, and by trying to live the life of Jesus Christ in word and daily deed, to win their heathen neighbours to the better life. At the station they had heard that there were more than fifteen hundred members belonging to their beloved Wathen Church. Fifteen hundred! a large number indeed! They would have sung the Hallelujah Chorus if they had known it. Yet how few fifteen hundred seemed among the thousands upon thousands in these large districts still outside the Church.

There was, however, a growing Christian sentiment, and a better-informed conscience manifesting themselves through the whole district, even among the heathen; and these are resulting in a keener perception of right and wrong. These are assets that should be placed to the credit of the Church, and promise well for its numerical and spiritual prosperity in the near future.

Had there been any laxity in receiving candidates into the Church the numbers could have easily been quadrupled; but the greatest care was exercised, and the strictest investigations made over every application for Church membership. It was quite possible to impose upon the white teachers, who could not possibly live in a hundred villages and towns at once; but the candidate could not deceive his Christian neighbours who are jealous of the honour of the Church, and who recognize that a pure Church of true men and women means a strong and an aggressive Church; whereas a membership of hypocrites would bring upon them the contemptuous scorn of their heathen neighbours, and would result in a weak, emasculated, stagnant Church worthy only of ridicule and extinction.

The natives live open lives in their villages, making their fires in the streets, cooking their food and eating it in the open, talking, working and living such unsecluded lives that in a village everybody knows everything about everybody else and a little more besides--there is no hiding any fact of life from one another, hence when the name of a candidate for Church fellowship is submitted there are sure to be present some who know the life the candidate is living in his or her town.

One evening, when my owner, Mikula, and his wife were sitting at their fire, a stranger from a distant village greeted them, and told the deacon that he had come to converse with him about “God’s palaver.” Continuing, he said: “I have heard the evangelists preach in the different villages I have been visiting, about the Saviour Jesus Christ; and I have listened to the white men more than once, and my heart is standing up with fear, because I have sinned greatly against God and broken all His commandments. When I think of my many sins and that God will surely punish me for them, I cannot sleep at night. Tell me more about Jesus, the Saviour.” And a look of intense longing came into the eyes of the inquirer.

Mikula unfolded to him clearly and fully God’s way of salvation. He read passage after passage from the New Testament to enforce every statement he made; and Mikula’s wife aided him by holding a candle in one hand and shading it with the other that the light might fall on the sacred page, and occasionally she recalled to her husband’s mind such scriptures as would help their visitor.

Long into the night they sat conversing, fire after fire along the street died down, and they had heard the good-night greetings of “sleep well” as their neighbours retired to rest; but they had again and again replenished their own fire, and had continued their earnest talk on the greatest of all themes--the way of salvation to a sin-stricken soul. At last their visitor said: “I see it--Christ died for me, the just for the unjust, the good one for the bad one, the Son of God in place of me--the sinner.” And there around the fire the three bowed their heads while Mikula lifted up his heart in prayer and praise.

The next evening the visitor again took his seat at Mikula’s fire, and after the usual greetings had been exchanged, said: “I want to join with you Christians and become a member of the Church. Can I join at once?”

“No,” replied Mikula, “you cannot. You must go back to your village, and live a Christian life there for many months, and prove by your words and actions that you are truly sorry for your former bad life, and are now a follower of Jesus Christ. You must be a total abstainer, and by this you will avoid the many temptations to drunkenness. If you like you can now enroll yourself as a member of the Blue Cross Temperance Society.”

“Very well, I will do so now,” assented the visitor. “It will be hard to give up palm-wine, gin and other drinks, especially at funerals, marriages and on the markets.”

“Yes, I know it will,” replied Mikula, as he went for the pledge book; “but there are more than two thousand members of this Temperance Society, and God will help you to live a sober life.” The visitor put his mark against his name in the pledge book, and I heard that his name was Tutula.

“The next thing that you must renounce is dancing,” continued my owner. "You know our dances lead to adultery, and from that to rows, fights and murder. Therefore it is a rule of the Church that its members should not take part in any of the country dances.

“Then again, you must not call in witch-doctors, nor may you employ them for any purpose whatever. Witchcraft and Christianity cannot mix together any more than you can mix palm-oil and water. And you must throw away or destroy all your fetishes and charms--a Christian man should trust in God, and not in the paltry, stupid messes prepared by witch-doctors.”

“Yes,” said Tutula, “I can understand that the temptations to a man or woman engaging in our country dances is very great; and to practise witchcraft and use fetishes and charms would dishonour God. When I return home I will destroy my fetishes.” And as he spoke he took from his neck and wrists some charms and handed them over to his new friend and teacher, who dropped them into the fire that was blazing between them.

“How many wives have you?” asked Mikula.

“I have seven,” replied Tutula, “two of them are old, three of them are young women, and two of them mere girls.”

“Perhaps you have heard,” said Mikula, “that the members of the Church have given up the practice of marrying many wives, and those who are married have been wedded to one wife only by holy matrimony. This is the law of God.” And he opened his New Testament and read the various places where this law is clearly stated.

“Yes, I know that is the practice of your Christians,” replied Tutula, "and it will cost me a great amount of money to follow it, for, being a man of importance in my district, I have had the pick of the females, and have given large sums in ‘marriage money’ for the women I have borrowed.^[67] Cannot I retain three or four of them?"

“No,” answered Mikula, “we deacons and Church members have studied this point very carefully, and the words of Christ are very strong and definite on the subject. Is it not better to go to heaven having only one wife, than to be cast into hell with many women?

“There is one other matter,” continued Mikula, “and I have done: As a Christian man who has received pardon for your many sins and a hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ, you should pass these blessings on to others by giving freely according to your means, and regularly, for the support of native teachers to proclaim the love of God in Christ Jesus. I am a teacher, but I do my work as such without any pay, because I am living in my own town; but there are teachers who are working in towns and among peoples not their own, and they must be supported, and what they receive is very little.”

“I thank God in Jesus Christ for all that He has done for me!” fervently exclaimed Tutula. “And listen! if you will find a good teacher I will give him a house to live in, and pay half the cost of his support, for I want the people in my village and neighbourhood to know of God’s love and pardon.”

In due time a teacher was selected and sent to Tutula’s villages, and he taught Tutula, among others, to read God’s word for himself. Some months afterwards I was present with Mikula when Tutula and many of his neighbours were baptized and received into the Church; counting wine, women, witchcraft palavers, and native dances as mere dross that they might win Christ and be found in union with Him.

Months glide quickly by while working hard--Deacon’s meeting--Church-meeting--The kind of candidates who were rejected--Baptismal service--The great meeting of the Church--Election of deacons--The balance sheet--A deficit--Native Christians wipe out the debt--Local missionary meeting--The great communion service.

How quickly the months glided by! Mikula, my owner, was a busy man of affairs. As deacon and teacher he voluntarily gave many days every month to his arduous duties--visiting lukewarm members and absentees from communion, investigating charges brought against such as were accused of breaking the Church’s rules, examining and instructing candidates for Church fellowship, receiving the contributions from Church members, paying the teachers of his district their monthly allowances, performing the rites of burial and of marriage, preaching in his own town and frequently visiting other towns and villages to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Besides all these labours for the Church, he helped his wife by doing the roughest work on the farm, visited many of the markets for purposes of trade, for this was his principal means of subsistence--the means by which he met his various obligations as a man, a husband, and a Church member.

If he had devoted the whole of his time to trading he would have been a rich man. He was ’cute, smart, and energetic enough; but he preferred laying up treasure in heaven where neither white ants, nor rats, nor mildew could depreciate the value of his wealth.

It was thus the months passed all too quickly, and brought us to the great Church Festival held at Christmas-time, and the three principal events of this gathering were the Church-meetings, the baptisms, and the communion service.

Messengers and letters had been sent to all the deacons and teachers spread over the three thousand square miles that comprised the parish of the Wathen missionaries. These letters had informed the officials and Church members of the date upon which they were to assemble, and urging them to come in large numbers.

During all the afternoon and evening of the appointed Saturday, groups of men and women were continually arriving on the station, and the housing accommodation was taxed to its utmost capacity. The programme for the meeting had been arranged about a month before, and every male and female missionary had had their parts apportioned to them; but unhappily just on the very eve of the meetings two of the white men went down with very serious fevers, and the depleted little band of white folk had to work the harder to make up for those unfortunately laid aside.

At four o’clock on the Saturday afternoon the deacons were assembled, and the business to be laid before the coming Church meeting was thoroughly examined, such as cases of discipline, fitness of applicants for Church membership, the work, pay, and appointments of teachers to new spheres, or their removal from one place to another, and the many other points that demanded attention and investigation.

Soon after seven o’clock the bell rang out calling all those concerned to the Church meeting. About five hundred male and female members gathered. A hymn was sung, a prayer offered, a portion of Scripture was read, the minutes of the previous month were read and confirmed, and then the business of the meeting began--of course, everything was conducted in the vernacular, consequently everybody present could enter fully into the matters laid before them. After various items of business had been voted upon, the claims of candidates for Church membership were scrutinized and voted upon by those present.

While they were considering Mr. A.’s desire to join the Church, a member arose and stated that the applicant had a very bad temper, became enraged at the smallest annoyance, and frequently for no reason at all; and the speaker thought that the candidate should by properly and continually controlling his irritable nature get a better temper before he was received into the Church. The other members thought the same, and voted that Mr. A. should wait for a few months and be informed of the reason.

A little later the case of Mr. B. was under consideration, when a native of his village arose and said that the candidate was a very lazy man, lounging about the village all day, living on his wife; and he thought that such a person was undesirable as a Church member. Let him do some work and be honestly industrious for a year and then apply again. The vote was taken, and Mr. B. was counted as unworthy of Church membership until he had changed his lazy habits.

Later still in the evening the name of Mr. D. was mentioned as desirous of joining the Church, when a neighbour of his jumped to his feet saying: “Mr. D. is in debt to many people in his village and to others in the surrounding villages. Now we think that a member of this Church should not be in debt to any one; let him pay all his debts first and then apply for membership.” Hence Mr. D. was informed afterwards that he must go and pay his debts and apply later.

Others were rejected through lack of knowledge of the fundamentals of the Christian religion; others for using fetishes and charms, thus showing they were not altogether free of their heathen superstitions; and others because their lives were not consistent with their Christian profession. But after all this winnowing there were more than twenty who were recognized as worthy of joining the Church.

The following day, Sunday, commenced with an early morning prayer and praise meeting; then at the nine o’clock service the missionary preached a suitable sermon to the accepted candidates on some of the passages in Revelation, where the word “overcome” occurs; and at the close the candidates for baptism arose one by one, and in simple language, and, often with much nervousness, bore his or her testimony to the pardoning love of God in Christ Jesus that had called them out of the great darkness into His marvellous light. And then we adjourned to the place where the baptismal rite was to be administered.

The place was about a mile from the station, and the baptistery was formed by the natural widening of the stream into a pool that answered the purpose as though it had been designed especially. The stream came from an open valley, and, filling the pool, passed beneath the cool shelter of some trees that threw a shade over a part of the shore, that by a steepish slope led down to the water. This incline was covered with people in their varied coloured dresses and cloths, tier above tier, that were desirous of witnessing the baptisms. Many lads and young men had waded across the water, and had seated themselves on the edge of the farther bank, from which point of advantage they gained an uninterrupted view of all that took place. Around the nearer side of the pool, occupying positions right on the very edge of the water, were those who were to undergo the rite of baptism--the observed of all observers, nervously conscious of all eyes being fixed upon them.

A baptismal hymn was very heartily sung, two deacons offered prayer, and then one by one, the women first, and then the men, the candidates entered the pool and were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--buried with Him in the waters, a symbol that the old, heathen life was finished, and raised again--a sign that henceforth they were to lead new lives of faith, purity and love in Jesus Christ.

Soon after ten o’clock on Monday morning the bell sounded forth its clamorous call to the great Church meeting. The large building was soon filled with more than six hundred Church members--male and female, who had gathered to elect their deacons for the ensuing year, to hear of the progress of Christ’s kingdom in their large parish, and to have laid before them a financial statement concerning the income and expenditure of the closing year.

All deacons, no matter in what month they were elected, relinquished office automatically at the end of the year, therefore one member of the Church proposed, and another seconded a resolution of thanks to the deacons for their work during the past year. This was carried unanimously with much clapping of hands--a purely native mode of expressing thanks whether performed by an individual or a crowd. Then two others proposed and seconded a request that the retiring deacons be asked to take office again for the coming year, with two exceptions. One deacon during the year had broken a rule of the Church, and as it was essential for the welfare of the Church that their deacons should be blameless in life and character, he was not re-elected. Another deacon had exhibited much incapacity and such an utter lack of zeal in the discharge of his important duties, that he was asked to stand on one side to make room for a better man. The rest were re-elected with acclamation. Their spokesman replied in a few suitable words, and begged them to remember their deacons always in prayer that they might perform their difficult duties worthily of the Master they all desired to serve.

It was felt in consequence of the work extending so rapidly that the number of deacons should be increased to twenty-five to adequately cope with the work. Men, therefore, of strong character, of long, faithful service, and good Christian lives were chosen and voted to the office to make up the desired number.

Then the missionary who had charge of the Church books wrote on a black-board the number of members in fellowship at the beginning of the year, the number of those who had been expelled for inconsistency, the number who had passed to the eternal home during the twelve months, the large number that had been baptized on profession of their faith in Christ, and it was shown that those who were enjoying all the privileges of Church membership made a grand total of 1674. Here and there over the building could be heard ejaculations of “Tutondele Mfumu Nzambi!” (“We thank Thee, Lord God!”)

The white man then put another black-board in position, and wrote on it all the offerings from the various districts, the amount of the July Harvest Thanksgiving, and sundry other items to the credit of the Church accounts--it reached some hundreds of thousands of brass rods. On another black-board he wrote down the cost of the teachers in the different districts, and when these were added up there was a large deficit. What were they to do--leave the Church in debt, or withdraw some of the teachers? No, they must wipe that debt off!

Another black-board was quickly in position to receive their offerings for clearing away the deficit. A white teacher present said: “I will give two thousand rods towards the debt.” But a native deacon arose to his feet and said: “White man, we thank you for your kind offer to help us; but this is our work for Jesus Christ, and we intend to do it by paying that debt ourselves. Christ has done so much for us, that we must do this little bit of work for Him.”

During the next hour the missionaries were very busy writing down gifts and promises; and gradually the debt shrank until at last it disappeared. They had contributed over £180 to meet the entire expenses of their local missionary work. It was a large sum for poor people; but it was an expression of their gratitude to God for all the benefits they had received through the preaching of the Gospel. If it had been possible to value all the voluntary work done by deacons and Church members, the above amount would have been more than doubled.

That night a missionary meeting was held. The building was full; bright and inspiring hymns were sung; and one teacher after another told of the difficulties and triumphs of the Gospel in his part of the district. Then two of the white men spoke of the grand results that had attended the efforts of other missionaries at the various stations on the Upper and Lower Congo. They summed up by saying: that thirty years ago there was not a single language that had been reduced to writing, now eight had been mastered, and into them more or less of God’s Word had been translated; thirty years ago and there was not a single person on the Congo who knew how to read or write, now there were thousands of men and women, boys and girls who were reading God’s Word in their own languages; thirty years ago there was not a single native teacher on the Congo, now there were nearly five hundred--two-thirds of whom were entirely supported by the free-will offerings of the native Christians, and the other third doing voluntary work in their own towns and villages; thirty years ago not a solitary brass rod was given to God’s work--but hundreds of thousands of them were spent on witch-doctors, fetishes and charms, now over £400 a year are given by native Christians that others might hear the glad news of Christ’s redemption; thirty years ago there was not a single Christian throughout the whole length and breadth of Congoland, now in fellowship with the B. M. S. Churches alone there are nearly 3500 Church members, and God Himself alone knows the great number that has already passed from the Church militant on earth, through faith in Christ, to the Church triumphant in heaven that is gathering around the great white throne of the Lamb. These are 3500 fulfilments of God’s promises; 3500 encouragements to continue the work with zeal and aggressiveness; 3500 proofs of the power of the Gospel to change the hearts, and purify the lives of men and women.

It was about eleven o’clock next morning when that bell called the Christians and their friends to the last great meeting of the festival. The building in which the service was held was long, wide and rather squatty, with no claim to beauty or dignity, and no pretensions to architectural elegance; and although in the eyes of men it might honestly be styled ugly, yet in the eyes of angels it must be very beautiful--for it is the birthplace of many a soul.

It was all too small that day to hold the crowd that pressed into it. The seats soon filled, and the mats that had been spread on every available space quickly received more than their full quota of people, and the doors and windows rapidly filled with folk who listened as eagerly as those who were inside the building. How heartily they all entered into the simple service!

The preacher knew their difficulties, their temptations and their weaknesses; he knew the pit of heathenism from which they had been digged; and he knew that they were going back to their towns, villages and homes to live among superstitious heathen neighbours, so he preached to them with the power born of full and deep conviction from 2 Tim. i. 12; and they by and by returned home strengthened to continue the fight knowing that God was with them, and, therefore, they were on the winning side.

The preaching service over, the non-members left the building, and their places were immediately filled with those Church members who had been standing round the doors and windows. Over seven hundred persons were present to take the communion.

The eyes of the white man who officiated dimmed with tears as he looked over that crowded assembly of communicants. He thought of those who had borne the heat and burden of the day, those who had toiled and died without knowing of any results to their labour; he thought of those who, baffled and defeated by broken health, had been compelled to retire from the dangerous climate; he thought of those native teachers who had lived faithfully and worked arduously to bring about this grand gathering; and he thought also of that vast number of friends in the homeland who by their labours, gifts and prayers had made this glorious assembly possible. Surely all would ultimately rejoice together in the great, glad cry of Harvest Home! Perhaps--who can tell?--the spirits of those who have passed away, missionaries and supporters--white and black workers alike, were, some of them, present at that service and were rejoicing together over so numerous a company of ransomed souls.

It was in a tremulous voice that the white man addressed a few words to those who were to be received in that day, and then he took each by the hand and welcomed him and her into fellowship in the name of the Church. After that a prayer was offered that these new brethren and sisters might ever remain true witnesses for Christ, the Saviour.

A hymn was then sung that the hearts and thoughts of all present might be centred on the purpose of their presence in the gathering--to commemorate the death of their dear Lord until He come.

One of the deacons prayed for a blessing on the “bread,” and it was then dispensed among the communicants, and after they had partaken of it they bowed their heads in reverent worship. The cups were then distributed to every member in that great assembly. Another deacon pleaded with God for a blessing on the cup; and then the missionary arose, and holding his cup in his hand, said: “This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup ye do show the Lord’s death until He come.”

And as soon as his tones had died away seven hundred cups were raised and drained to the memory of their Saviour, and seven hundred hearts bowed in prayer before the Lord. In a little time there arose upon the air a song of faith. It was a translation of that incomparable hymn--

1 Being only eleven inches long (page 1).--Over a very large part of the Congo soft brass wire of 34 gauge is now, and has been for many years, the currency and the standard of value among the natives. This wire was probably, in the first instance, introduced and used for ornamental purposes, as binding round spears and knives, or beaten out into ribbons of brass for decorating the hafts of their best spears and paddles. At first the wire was bought in long lengths of so many fathoms, according to the needs of the buyer and the purchasing power of the article he offered the trader in exchange for it. Later they found it more easy of manipulation to have it in lengths of thirty inches, and these were shortened by those who had large numbers of them cutting off a half-inch from each one and melting the small pieces down for brass anklets, necklets, and bracelets, thus procuring their brass for nothing, i. e. cutting off short pieces from each rod and passing the rods again into currency at their normal value. So much of this was done that the thirty-inch rod was reduced to twenty-seven inches, and sellers of goods consequently demanded more rods of the shorter ones than of the longer lengths.

This process of snipping off little pieces has gone on for thirty years, and the result is that the brass rod has gradually decreased in length until now, on the Lower Congo, it is scarcely five inches, and among the Boloki of the Monsembe district it is only eleven inches, and if the introduction of money does not displace the rod it will become only four or five inches in that part also.

Of course, as the rod lessens in length the seller of an article demands more of them for his goods. Thus an article that once cost three rods of thirty-inch wire now costs thirty of the five-inch rods; for not only has the rod shortened in length, but through the introduction of so much brass wire into the country during the last quarter of a century it has decreased in value. I hope some day to take the Rod among those people who use an eleven-inch brass rod as their money.

2 Kroo boys (p. 3).--These were natives procured from the Kroo Coast to work the cargo on the steamers that ran along the west coast of Africa. Only sufficient white sailors were carried to work the ship from starting port to the Kroo country. On arrival there, the ship fired a gun to intimate its need of a gang of Kroo “boys” to handle the cargo. These “boys” were any age from about eighteen to fifty, and in a gang there were generally about forty to fifty “boys” under a head man.

Most captains had a head man who gathered a gang ready by the time his ship returned from its European port. For example: a ship leaves Liverpool, and on arriving at the coast picks up its head man and gang of “boys,” who work the winches, man the boats and handle the cargo all the way along the coast and back again to their own country, where they are paid off in barter goods, powder, guns, rum and gin at the rate of one shilling a day. They then rest after their arduous work until that ship returns, and they engage themselves for another trip. The Congo boats now pick up their Kroo “boys” at Sierra Leone on the outward voyage, and drop them there on the homeward journey, and pay them in cash at the rate of about one shilling to one and sixpence per day and their rations.

When not in port these Kroo “boys” polished the brasswork, scraped the iron, cleaned the paint, holystoned the deck, etc.; but when in port they went into the holds, tied up the cargo in slings, hoisted it by winches, put it over the side into boats, and rowed it ashore. They were hard-working men who toiled from 4 a.m. until 10 or 12 p.m., only resting for their meals of boiled rice, salt beef or fish, and ship’s biscuits.

3 Peasoup (p. 4).--When the writer went to Congo first in 1881 there came on board at the Kroo coast a head man whose name was Peasoup. For many years he had acted as head man for the captain of that ship, who, as an acknowledgment of his various good qualities, and as a joke, presented him with a brass plate to hang round his neck by means of a chain. The following words were engraved on it--

Peasoup was a tall, thin, grey-headed, bandy-legged man; and I used to see him polish the plate every morning, hang it across his chest, and with knock-knees and bandy legs strut the deck and order his men about as proud as any general with a breast hidden by medals.

Peasoup knew English fairly well, but, of course, could not read it; but he would never accept as true the accurate rendering of his much-prized brass plate. Passengers read it correctly to him; but with a laugh he would retort: "You white men, you no sabbe read them thing properly. Him live for say: ‘Peasoup, Captain Jolly’s Head Man. Him be plenty, proper, good man.’"

Since those days Peasoup has passed away, leaving his brass plate as an heirloom to his family, and if not melted down into a brass ornament, it may turn up some day as a relic of a joke played by a master on a decent servant in “the good old days” on the West African Coast.

4 Riddles and conundrums (p. 9) were called ngwala; ta e ngwala = to pour out or ask a riddle; twasa e ngwala = to fetch a riddle here, i. e. give us a riddle; nua e ngwala = give us the answer, or, lit., to drink the riddle.

Ngwala also means spirits, rum, gin, from a corruption and a shortening of the Portuguese word aguardente = gwaladente = ngwala. The “r” is always turned into “l,” and the “g” takes the nasal “n” before it. It is very probable that they pun on the double meaning of the word ngwala = riddle, and gin. Hence the usual form of asking a conundrum is--

Ngwala yeye = here is gin, i. e. here is a riddle.

Ta e ngwala = pour out the gin, i. e. state the riddle (or twasa e ngwala = bring the gin here).

If those asked cannot give the answer, they say--

Nua e ngwala = drink the gin, i. e. give us the answer yourself, as we cannot guess it.

The natives of the Lower Congo are very fond of this pastime, but one needs to understand the customs, language, and surroundings to properly appreciate the conundrums; consequently only a few almost self-evident ones, or those easily explained, are put in the text.

5 It was a fetish (p. 12).--The early traders on the Congo placed in their large stores a fetish to deter the natives from robbing them. It was generally a large, gaudily-coloured, hideous image put on the top shelf opposite the door, from which position it was supposed to dominate and guard the contents of the whole building. Many traders called their store “the fetish” because of the presence of this ugly figure in it.

This fetish exercised little, if any, deterrent power over the natives for two reasons: (1) No witch-doctor would waste good “medicine,” procured with difficulty, on making a fetish powerful for a mere white man, and the natives knew this; and (2) supposing the witch-doctor put proper “medicine” into the fetish, yet it needed periodic reinvigorating at the hands of the witch-doctor, otherwise it became weak and useless; and it would also require a sacrifice, certainly not less frequently than once a month, of either a large fowl or a goat, or it would become sulky and not act on behalf of its owner. Now I never heard of a white man renewing the energy of his fetish by paying a witch-doctor to palaver over it at stated intervals, nor did I ever hear of a white man offering a sacrifice to the fetish in his store; therefore while the trader was relying on his fetish to guard his goods, his native servants and workpeople were laughing at it as an ineffective carved figure.

6 In the sea there is a hole (p. 17).--Water sprites are supposed to make the trade cloth, and as it is so finely woven the natives think that these particular sprites have only one eye, i. e. that the visual power of two eyes is focussed in one that it may see to do such fine work.

7 Some of his companions laughed (p. 20).--We are apt to think that all natives are equally superstitious, but that is not so. A man may be a devout believer in charms and fetishes, he may decorate his person, his house, his children, his pigs, his goats and his dogs with as many charms as he can afford to buy, or he may quietly leave all the charms and fetishes severely alone, and no one will think the better or worse of him; but he must believe in witchcraft, in witches and their occult power, or his life will be made wretched with accusations of witchcraft. I have known some natives to surround themselves with fetishes and charms, and most scrupulously observe all rites and ceremonies, and I have known others to disregard the whole box of tricks and hold them in contempt.

8 Burial postponed (p. 24).--It is not uncommon to postpone the funeral of an important person for many months, and even years. The writer once buried a man who had been dead for nearly fifteen years. The persons responsible put off the expense as long as possible, and it is probable they would not then have interred the corpse, but the King ordered the family “to finish the palaver.” There was another case of a body being left unburied for over twenty years because the man who was responsible for the cost of the funeral believed that he would “die the day after he buried the corpse.” Many thought that this was only an excuse to avoid the expense. The body was dried, wound in cloth, stored in a house specially built for the purpose, and guarded by relays of young women.

9 Nkandu (p. 25).--See Chapter XVIII on Governing, Marketing, and Trading (p. 223).

10 Cassava flour (p. 26).--Mandioc (or cassava) was introduced into Congo from South America about the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century. Its native name is madioka, an evident attempt at saying mandioc. The roots when matured were soaked for a few days in pools, or streams, by which time they were soft. They were then peeled, cut in halves or quarters, and put on stones and small platforms in the sun until the pieces were quite dry. After this the pieces were laid out on shelves over their fires until friable, and they were then easily pounded in a mortar, sifted through a fine sieve, and the result was a very fine, white flour. Raw mandioc contains prussic acid, but the poison is eliminated by heat.

11 Kwanga (p. 26).--The cassava root was soaked, peeled, and cored, as under note 10. Then, instead of being dried, it was thoroughly kneaded and all lumps removed. The dough-like substance was made into long sausages of various lengths and thicknesses, according to the districts, or into balls like suet puddings. I have seen the sausages in one district twenty feet long and two inches thick, and in another twelve inches long and four inches thick. But whatever the shape, the dough was wrapped in palm-leaves, or in leaves like the aspidistra, and steamed until well cooked. These kwanga would then keep sweet for several days. They were sold on the markets, and an average price would be at the rate of four shillings for two cwt.; and four pounds were quite sufficient for a man per day.

12 Bolt his food (p. 29).--It was not the custom at ordinary meals for the natives to eat greedily, but on occasions such as this, when all sorts of folk were thrown together, each one ate as much as he could get. See paragraph on greediness in the Introduction to the “Folk-Lore Stories.”

13 Luku (p. 38).--The cassava flour is made as under note 10, and the luku is prepared in the following way: A saucepan of water is set on the fire, and when the water boils, the cook takes a basket of the flour and sprinkles it with one hand in the boiling water and stirs it with a stick held in the right hand. This process is continued until the porridge is stiff and can be turned out as one whole pudding from the saucepan. When a person is eating it, he breaks off a piece, rolls it in his fingers, dips it in some gravy and then lets it roll down his throat without masticating, otherwise it will stick to the teeth like toffee.

14 Glass vessel (p. 44).--In the original it is ekumbi dia pelo = ship of glass; pelo is from the Portuguese espelho = mirror, glass, etc. Probably glass was first seen by the natives in the form of looking-glasses, and ekumbi dia pelo might be translated--the mirror or looking-glass ship.

The introduction of glass, guns, etc., into their stories are indicative of native readiness to expand their tales by the free assimilation of new ideas received from contact with foreigners. This has also had a wide influence on their language and fetish religion. This story I first heard in 1882 at San Salvador.

15 Laid beads (p. 45).--In San Salvador and district beads form the currency. They are round blue beads three-eighths of an inch in length and about a quarter of an inch thick. One hundred of these beads threaded on a cotton cost, invoice price, one farthing, and one egg cost one string of beads. It was possible to buy little lots of food for ten and fifteen beads. The phrase “laid beads” is equal to “laid money.” In an Upper River story the fowl “laid brass rods,” i. e. the currency, money.

16 Ndungu (p. 52) is equivalent to our phrase “you are becoming cold,” and the more indifferently it was uttered by the crowd, the more certain was the witch-doctor that he had guessed wide of the mark. See next note.

17 Otuama (p. 52) is our way of saying “you are becoming hot,” and by this the witch-doctor knew he was getting very near in his guesses, and the more excitedly it was shouted, the nearer the guesser knew he was to the facts of the case. In Chapter XXII the whole trick is more fully explained. See also preceding note.

18 Ran for his gun (p. 53).--I was talking in 1908 to a former witch-doctor, who told me that he had been threatened three times with guns by those whom he had accused of witchcraft, and if he had not precipitately fled he would have been shot. Hence those ngangas who engaged in witch-finding always made sure of their fees first, and sent them away by their assistants, hurrying off themselves directly they had accused their man. It was dangerous work.

19 Mboma (pp. 59, 78).--In San Salvador and its neighbourhood this word meant the south bank of the Congo River from Ennoki to Matadi, or such trading-stations as existed on that part of the river. This mboma was from eighty to ninety miles from San Salvador, and took a caravan about five days to traverse it. Special letter carriers would cover the distance in three days. This word we generally translated “coast.”

20 Congo dia Ngungu, or, in its fuller native form, Ekongo dia Ngunga (p. 60).--Scattered over the country are several Congos (or Kongos), as Kongo dia Mpalabala, Kongo dia Lembwa, etc. To distinguish San Salvador from the other towns bearing the name of Kongo it was known by the natives either as Kongo dia Ntotela = Kongo of the King, or Kongo dia N gunga = Kongo of the Bell. The former designation referred to the town as the capital of the country and the residence of the King. The latter name is probably due to the fact that the Portuguese Roman Catholics in the sixteenth century built a cathedral and monastery there, and used a large bell to call the people to the services. Such a bell would be a wonder to the natives, and quite sufficient to cause them to name the town the Kongo of the Bell.

21 Smell of white man (p. 61).--However contemptuously we may talk about the “smell of niggers” or “of Chinese” and others, there is no doubt that we of the white race emit an odour that is very noticeable to other races. Repeated bathing and frequent changes of clothes will not eradicate the odour, for a black man can tell when another black man has been within a yard of any white man for a short time. Account for it how you will, the black, red, yellow and white races each emits an effluvium peculiarly its own and offensive to the others--we must, therefore, bear and forbear. We as a white race are used to our own scent and do not notice it, and when one lives a long time amongst black people he becomes accustomed to their odour.

Occasionally I have been with a white man who, in spite of scrupulous cleanliness, was very malodorous through suffering from empyreuma; and I have met here and there a native whose smell was especially offensive, and it was as objectionable to his black neighbours as to us. The natives have a definite word for such malodorous emanations. Some lads have told me that the perspiration of some white men has made them vomit.

22 You white man (p. 63).--A native has just as much objection to being called “a white man” as a white man has to being called “a nigger.” In both languages it is an insult to be resented.

23 Screaming (p. 64).--In the pioneer years of the mission, when white folk were seldom seen and were always regarded with superstitious fear, I was frequently startled out of my sleep by women screaming out: “The white man has stolen my child!” And I have wondered on more than one occasion whether the half-sleepy folk would in a stupid panic turn me out of their town in the middle of the night or do even worse.

24 Mboma.--See note 19.

25 Fines paid for judging (p. 92).--All fines received by a native judge are periodically divided among the chiefs of the district, who combine to enforce the law. If a pig or a goat is given, then the meat is shared out or the market value put into the fund. The money or goods are divided according to the rank and influence of the chiefs, and he who might be called the chairman, or principal, received twice as much as any of the others.

26 No shelves (p. 95).--Many years ago, after much persuasion, I induced some natives from the Zombo country to come into my house at San Salvador. The first thing they did was to scan with much eagerness the walls of my rooms, and on asking them what they were looking for, they replied, “We have always heard and believed that you white men bought up the dead bodies of the black people, stored them on shelves in your houses, and on the first good opportunity sent them to Mputu (Europe), where by your wonderful magic you returned the life of the corpses, and they then worked for you as slaves; but we cannot see the shelves.”

“But why did you think we bought corpses?” I asked, with much wonder and amazement.

“We can understand why traders come to this country,” they answered, “but we cannot understand why your kind of white men come, for you do not trade, so we think you have some wicked purpose underlying your presence in our land.”

Believing such ghastly things about us, their opposition to us and hatred of us were no longer a surprise to me. The wonder is that they did not murder all of us. We have had to live down their prejudices, remove their foolish beliefs about us, and turn their suspicions into confidence and love.

27 Trade gin (p. 99).--Whatever ordinary gin may be, “trade gin” was the vilest concoction of fusel oil and other ingredients that was ever put on the market for human consumption. It always made the drinkers mad drunk, and was responsible for most of the quarrels and much of the fighting that took place among the natives. I have known a white man take to drinking it and be dead in less than a week, and undoubtedly it was the cause of many deaths among the natives. A dozen reputed pints in bottles, case, packing, etc., cost only half-a-crown the lot.

28 Law against the sale of spirits (p. 102).--Since the time mentioned in the text a law has been passed limiting the sale of these “fire waters” within certain boundaries, and restricting the sale of them, so that neither white nor black can procure them without special “permits.”

29 Make them sell it (p. 102).--Several traders have told me how much they hated selling such vile stuff to the natives; how they had protested against the sale; but that they were compelled to sell them as they yielded such large profits to their employers. Surely the curse of both God and man must ever rest on such gains!

30 His santu (p. 111).--All the men and women in and around San Salvador, and a large proportion of those living in the other districts of the Lower Congo, have each a santu, from the Portuguese word sancto = a christian, or sacred, name.

At birth a native name is given to the boy (or girl), and later in life--at twelve or fourteen--the lad can take another name of his own choice if, for any reason, he is dissatisfied with his birth name, and allow his first one to be forgotten by disuse. While in their teens they also select a santu which is a Congoized form of a Portuguese name, as Manwele = Manuel = Emanuel; Nzwau = Jaõa = John; Petelo = Pedro = Peter, etc.; and the women take Madia = Maria = Mary, etc. To their santus they prefix “Dom” and “Donna” respectively.

In San Salvador and the near towns every man and woman has a santu, but the farther you travel from San Salvador, the less frequently is the santu found among the people. Undoubtedly it is a survival of the sancto given by the Roman Catholics to those who were baptized into their Church.

Although the possession of “Dom” and “Donna” was so common, yet the use of them was somewhat restricted to the better class of natives, much the same as our use of Mr. and Mrs. and Miss. Of some men the natives never spoke without calling them “Dom,” and to others they never prefixed the “Dom” except when they wanted to ingratiate themselves or ask a special favour.

31 To represent dolls (p. 114).--The girls would often procure pieces of firewood or cassava roots to represent dolls, and play with them as such, carrying them tied to their backs, or on their hips, by old rags, just as their mothers carried them when babies. These dolls they washed in old saucepans, and held them out for a few minutes in the sun to dry, as they themselves had been washed and dried. Then they dressed them in strings of beads and a few imitation charms and re-tied them on their backs.

When I first saw this performance--nearly thirty years ago--I felt great pity for the wee girls having such poor dolls, and sent home to buy a few for them. In due time they arrived, and the first girl I met carrying a cassava root (in shape like a parsnip) I offered her one of my dolls. She looked at it in great consternation--it was something uncanny to her. It had legs, arms, body, head and a face just like a human being. It was only with much persuasion that I prevailed on her to exchange her root for my doll. A few days afterwards I heard that my doll was sold on the market at a good price as a white man’s powerful fetish. The other dolls remained in the box, although there were many requests for them. We had not gone there to supply fetishes.

32 Size of the King of San Salvador (p. 138).--On August 3, 1882, I wrote as follows to a friend in England: "I have done a very foolish thing to-day, for I have promised his majesty that I will ask you to make him three shirts. I have not given him a personal present yet, and thought some shirts would be suitable. I want you to buy three different patterns of good, strong, showy stuff, with plenty of colour. The shirts must have cuffs, collars and fronts.

"The measurements are as follows--

"Across the shoulders, 2 feet 11 inches.

"Waist, 5 feet 8 inches in circumference.

"Armholes, 23 inches in circumference.

"Round the neck, 20 inches.

"Arm, 1 foot 3 inches, not including the cuff, which is 5 inches long.

"Cuff, 9 inches round.

"From top to bottom, 3 feet 6 inches.

"I should tell you the King is clever with his needle, and his twenty-two wives are just as clever at farming.

“One boy wants to know what sort of work our Queen does.”

The shirts had to be larger than above measurements to be loose on him.

33 Driver-ants (p. 144), when searching for food, march four or five abreast in a continuous line across country. I have known them to be three days and nights hurrying past a given point, and when disturbed they swarm over the ground. Looking at the crowd of people thrown from the photographic slide on to the sheet impressed the King, and in comparing the numbers of people to driver-ants covering the ground, he used a very good simile.

34 Dressed worse than slaves (p. 147).--Except on very special gala days, the chiefs, head men, and freemen dressed in a very poor, unpretentious style. This was to avoid suspicion, jealousy, and the evil eye. Dressing badly, no one would know that they were rich, and consequently would not cast the evil eye on them, nor try to render them unlucky, etc., by the aid of witchcraft. The slaves were known as such, therefore it did not matter how well they arrayed themselves; no one would be jealous of them nor try to harm them by paying the fees of witch-doctors. Thirty years ago the casual visitor would, five times out of six, mistake the slave for the head man and the chief for a slave, or poor man, on account of the difference in their garments.

35 Sleep well (p. 148).--The morning greeting was: Olele kiambote = Have you slept well? The answer was: Ndele kwame = I have slept well. Good-night was: Wenda leka kwambote = Go and sleep well; and the answer: Sala leka kwambote = Stay and sleep well. To sleep properly and soundly was regarded as an infallible sign of good health.

36 Papyrus string (p. 148).--The papyrus (diwu) was found very plentifully in the many swamps around San Salvador, and was cut in lengths of about nine feet. The outer skin was peeled off, when fresh and green, in strips of half an inch, one end of the strip was held between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, and then the right hand very quickly twisted the strip, and to keep it from untwisting the two ends were tied together and it was thrown into the sun. When dry the strip would retain the twist, and, before using, a dozen of the twisted strips were soaked in water to render them pliable. Such string was commonly used for tying fences, and would last nearly twelve months, i. e. as long as the other materials in the fence. It was very economical and durable.

37 Roasted plantain (p. 149).--As a rule, bananas were eaten ripe and raw, and plantain green and roasted. Peel a nice large plantain, drop it in the hot ashes, turn it from side to side until done, scrape off the ash-dirt, then split it, rub in some butter and salt, and with a very little imagination you have a hot roll.

38 Portugal, Holland, or England (p. 156).--In the long ago, Portugal was the only white man’s country known to the natives, and it is just possible that Mputu (native name for all white countries) is a corruption and a shortening of Portugal. There were more Portuguese traders in Congo than from any other country; next after them were the Dutch or Hollandaise, and lastly, in numbers, the English, who at that time were only known as missionaries. The natives consequently thought that Portugal was a larger and more populous place than the other countries, then Holland the next in size, and lastly England, hence their discussion.

39 Stretched out the legs in front of a chief (p. 163).--To stretch out the legs (and show the soles of one’s feet) before any one was regarded as extremely rude, and a mark of disrespect which was resented by him who had the power. To act so unceremoniously before a king or great chief was punished by fines, floggings, and sometimes death. It was worse than a man keeping on his hat in the presence of royalty.

40 Rob them of their country and make them slaves (p. 172).--These fears were constantly expressed in the early and middle eighties by both King and people. The following is the true history of how one treaty was made with a native king--

In 1884, a copy of Le Mouvement Geographique fell into my hands, and in it was a letter that was said to have been sent by Dom Pedro V, King of Congo, to the King of Portugal. In it the former acknowledged the latter as his liege lord and used every expression of fealty, loyalty, and submission. I remember that the letter was, at the time, put forward as a proof of the righteousness of the Portuguese claim to the Congo; and it certainly helped them in gaining a part of what is now called Portuguese Congo.