Zulu

“ One of the first things that attracts the visitor’s attention on arrival in the country is the black man, from the Hindoo Coolie to the powerful Zulu. The chief native tribe of Natal is the Zulu, whose records form an important part of colonial history. They are physically magnificent, tall, broad-chested, with coal black skin that shines like satin, and a walk that shows strength and power. ”

“ The young Intombies (girls) are all excitement to see their sweethearts so brave. These Zulu maids are most of them good-looking, with teeth as white as snow, well-made in every limb, and graceful in their movements, very scantily dressed, a slight fringe in front being their only covering, but it is the fashion of the country. ”

“ In another second he removed his hand, revealing a powerful-looking Zulu face, with a humorous mouth, a short woolly beard, tinged with grey, and a pair of brown eyes keen as a hawk’s. I knew my man at once, although I had not seen him for twelve years. “How do you do, Umslopogaas?” I said quietly in Zulu.
[1] Among the Zulus a man assumes the ring, which is made of a species of black gum twisted in with the hair, and polished a brilliant black, when he has reached a certain dignity and age, or is the husband of a sufficient number of wives. ”

“ The result of this simple but far-seeing policy was, that in a few years the Zulu tribe, originally small, had, beside its regular regiments on duty, some twelve or fifteen thousand men always ready for any sudden expedition, and at the end of five or six years the Zulu king was paramount over the whole of Southern Africa, the only check upon him being the European colonies. ”

“ Soon after the sun went down, and just before sunrise, they were to be seen all round squatting like natives at the entrance of their holes, into which at the slightest noise or sound of danger they darted with the most extraordinary snorts and grunts. There is, however, a great variety of species—difficult for one who is not a skilled naturalist to distinguish the one from the other—scattered through the whole of Zululand, each district seeming to present its own representative. ”

“ The crossing of the river was made without any opposition, although the movements of our troops were carefully watched by a body of Zulus from a neighbouring hillock on the left, and a more brilliant and picturesque sight could not be imagined. The banks of the river were covered with tamarinds and acacia, growing right down to the water's edge; while creeping plants, such as the convolvulus, the jessamine, and the deadly nightshade, were festooned from tree to tree. ”

“ Having regard to the enormous prestige acquired by the Zulus, a prestige which outshone that of any other tribe in South Africa south of the Equator, not only did tribes adjoining those which had arrived find it in their interest to copy the habits and customs of the dominant race and learn their tongue, but more particularly to adopt the system by which the prestige had been won. ”

“ Of all the true Kaffir tribes, the Zulu is the chief type, and that tribe will be first described. Although spread over a considerable range of country, the Zulu tribe has its headquarters rather to the north of Natal, and there may be found the best specimens of this splendid race of men. Belonging, as do the Zulu tribes, to the dark-skinned portion of mankind, their skin does not possess that dead, jetty black which is characteristic of the Western negro. ”

“ And yet, of all people on this earth, the Zulus are the most respectful, the most amenable to discipline, and the most easily managed—chiefly because of the many excellences inherent in the tribal system. ”

“ We then went east, crossed the Umzinyati river and the Tugela, and entered the Zulu country.
I was surprised at the number of cattle I saw in the Zulu country. Thousands of beautiful cows were everywhere to be seen; and the grass was finer and better suited for grazing than down near the Umzimvubu. Our small army was welcomed with shouts by crowds of Zulus who turned out to meet us, and who looked on me with great surprise. ”

“ CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY OF THE ZULU NATION AND OF NATAL.
Two different races met in Southern Africa about the middle of the seventeenth century. One had migrated from the centre of the continent; the other sent out settlers from one of the most civilized and prosperous countries of Europe. These races were the Kafirs and the Dutch. ”

“ The tables were now completely turned; the whole of the column is safely through the poort; one or two Zulus are seen limping away, assisted into the bush by their comrades, while the rest stand not upon the order of their going, but rush pell-mell to gain the shelter of the neighbouring caves. One large Zulu is seen to [245] be badly hit, yet he manages to crawl away out of sight, and doubtless is assisted to escape by his fellows. ”

“ Perhaps there was one such man for each race, or possibly different races emerged, at different times, from holes in the earth. These are the inconsistencies of Zulu tradition. The Zulus, it seems, had no idea of God, but only la monnaie of the idea in the conception of powerful ancestral spirits, of a first father, and of a "lord," not a god, who plays with thunder. Lions and snakes are also called "lords." In them the dead are incarnate. ”

“ I have now in my service the Zulu engaged at Makobi’s (Dumaka) as forelooper; Jack, the driver; Dirk, second driver; Mack, the cook and general servant; Jacob, a Bechuana, and the two Zulu guards.
29th, Saturday.—Travelled to-day in three short inspans, through a fine open country, thickly populated, large kraals in all directions. People very troublesome, constantly asking for presents, “Tusa,” all day longitude. Weather pleasantly warm, thermometer 90 degrees, a strong east wind blowing. ”

“ In 1877, a Zulu of authority expressed the prevalent native reasoning on this point in language which supplies the key to disappointments that extend much further than Zululand: ‘We will not allow the Zulus to become so-called Christians. It is not the king says so, but every man in Zululand. If a Zulu does anything wrong, he at once goes to a mission-station, and says he wants to become a Christian; if he wants to run away with a girl, he becomes a Christian; if he wishes to be exempt from serving the king, he puts on clothes, and is a Christian ”

“ Our European population in Natal—English, Dutch, German, and all others—is considerably under twenty thousand; the Kaffirs number not less than three hundred and fifty thousand; and, what is more serious still, the Zulu kingdom, which immediately adjoins ours, is governed by a native king, the most powerful that has ever reigned in South Africa. ”

“ The Zulus are, it is truly said, a nation of fine national characteristics. They have qualities which might enable them to become the regenerators and the foremost in civilization of all the nations in South Africa. ”

“ A Zulu woman is never seen alone—always with a child, woman, or girl.
Zulus have their own name for Europeans. A man who wore spectacles would be "four-eyed" in their language; a person with a scar on his face or hands, would be "scar" in the native language ”

“ If it was never possible to determine how long it might be before trouble arose, the Government was aware that a general rising could originate only in Zululand. From the time the first colonists arrived in Natal, up to the end of the Zulu War, August, 1879, the principal arbiter of savage warfare in South Africa was the Zulu sovereign. It was to him that the whole of the tribes of Zululand—the real storm-centre of South Africa—looked, including those of Natal, who were without any hereditary King. ”

“ In like manner the long-haired cannibal of Zulu nursery literature, who is always represented as belonging to a distinct race, has been supposed to be explained by the existence of inferior races conquered and displaced by the Zulus. ”

“ This was a most important ceremony among the Zulus while they were still under their own rulers. The natives of Zululand, as all who know anything of their history will admit, were the bravest and most warlike of the coloured races, and were always ready to fight for their king and country. They never shirked their duty as soldiers, they were all trained to arms from boyhood, and felt it a disgrace not to go out against the foe whenever called upon to do so. ”

“ During the Zulu regime, it was customary for the king to call at any time on young men to serve on public works, such as building royal apartments, erecting cattle enclosures, hoeing and weeding crops. ”

“ The Zulu tribes are remarkable for being the only people in that part of Africa who have practised war in an European sense of the word. The other tribes are very good at bush fighting, and are exceedingly crafty at taking an enemy unawares, and coming on him before he is prepared for them. ”

“ A Zulu will sometimes cross your path with so strong an injury to your nose as almost to make you ill. I have been made absolutely sick by the entrance of a good-natured Zulu into my bedroom of a morning, when he has come near me in his anxiety about my boots or my hot water. ”

“ Not till 117they reach the north end of Nyasa does the devastating flood come to a stop, two or three Zulu kingdoms—for the intruders belong to that brave and warlike race—are founded, and a new era begins. ”

“ With regard to the native neighboring tribes, the Basuto, Amapondo, the Amaswagi, and others, they are either the subjects or the allies or neighbors of the British government, and the Zulu king knows he has nothing to fear from them. They are, besides, peaceful people and not given to war and aggression. ”

“ The Zulu tribe does not "colonize"—or, rather, assemble in villages, as each family live by themselves. Huts are numerous, of course, but one rarely, if ever, finds a settlement—a town. They live in "kraals." A kraal is a group of huts, numbering from two to ten, surrounded by a fence, generally composed of thorn brush. The collection of huts generally indicates the number of wives that that Zulu has. One hut is always larger than the others, this being occupied by the first wife. Where cattle are kept together in a small area inclosed by a fence, it becomes a cattle kraal. ”

“ The fun is becoming fast and furious. Buller's men are in their glory. They have dashed into the kloof, and are driving the Zulus out of it in parties of six or eight at a time. Everybody who an hour ago was as silent and sombre as the grave thinks it now necessary to yell with excitement. The sun is now at the meridian, and the day fearfully hot. The pursuit has been carried through valley and over ridge; by kloof and through bosch, by bron (spring) and drift (ford) , and the whole column is scattered in every direction. ”

“ Having lived now for many weeks within a couple of Zulu marches of the Zulu border, among sensible Englishmen, many of them men of great sagacity, coolness, and determination, and reasonably just and upright in all their dealings, who never went to sleep without having their arms within reach, and being prepared to take refuge with wives and families at a minute's warning within a fortified post ”

“ Then we have the Zulus. I have mentioned already that there were two Zulu kingdoms—that of Cetewayo and that of La-Bengola. That the Zulus are recognised as the best warriors among the Banthu families is true. All the tribes in the Marutse kingdom are afraid of the Matabele. When I came near to the junction of the Chobe with the Zambesi, the king sent messengers to me, and on their return asked them “Has he servants?” When they answered “Yes,” he said, “Which tribe are they—Matabele or Betchuanas?” ”

“ Again, the Zulus know how to inoculate themselves not merely with moral virtue, but even with celestial power. For you must know that the Zulus have heaven-herds or sky-herds, who drive away clouds big with hail and lightning, just as herdsmen drive cattle before them. These heaven-herds are in sympathy with the heaven. For when the heaven is about to be darkened, and before the clouds appear or the thunder mutters, the heart of the heaven-herd feels it coming, for it is hot within him and he is excited by anger. When the sky begins to be overcast, he too grows dark like it ”

“ About this time The Spy got busy and The Zulu, with The Young Pole for interpreter, was summoned to Monsieur le Directeur, who stripped The Zulu and searched every wrinkle and crevice of his tranquil anatomy for money (so The Zulu vividly informed us) —finding not a sou. The Zulu, who vastly enjoyed the discomfiture of Monsieur, cautiously extracted (shortly after this) a twenty franc note from the back of his neck, and presented it to us with extreme care. I may say that most of his money went for cheese, of which The Zulu was almost abnormally fond. ”

“ On the same journey I was struck by a curious idea the Zulus have (somewhat akin to our “watched pot never boils”) as to disturbing the ordinary processes of the vegetable kingdom. I 57 noticed some fine varieties of pumpkins, melons, and marrows, and, being curious to know their names, I pointed my finger at them. “Musa, musa” (don’t, don’t) , shouted my native conductor, “they will never ripen if you point at them. You ought always to bend your fingers and point with your knuckles towards vegetables.” ”

“ With similar weapons, and each equally skilled in their use, and even numbers, one is pretty safe in making the statement that no man can fight better nor for a longer period than the Zulu. Their military uniform used to be cow-tails secured to a ring around the neck. The tails were so thick they presented the appearance of a complete robe or skin. The Zulu can store enough food away at one meal to last him for 24 to 36 hours without becoming fatigued. He can run from 50 to 70 miles without stopping. ”