" Tini b'IlO>'TIIiH, OK AMAKÓSA KAriHS.
he (Ikl not retaliate as many other of tiie chiefs did; and during the last war lie gave up himself and family as
hostages to tlie British Government. 1 saw him, togcthei- witli his wives and tamily, occupying a small hut at Port
Elizabeth, the English settlement at Algoa Bay. It was a poor, mean hut, eucii'cled by Fingo huts of largei' size.
It was an ignominious position, too, to be surrounded by the very i)eoj>le the Amakosic looked u])on a.s dogs—the
same Fiugoes who had slain his chiefs in battle, and are now the white man's serfs. When I took hi.^ pDitrait, lie
appeai'cd dejected and melancholy. Poor old man! in his tattei'ed kaross, it wa.s difficult to recognise the son of
Gaika, who reigaed over the whole land, fi-om the Fish Ri^-er to the Kei. His principal wife, Nox'lena. is the mother
of Kawi, ;\Iacomo's eldest son ; she is of the light-coloured Taml)ooki bioo<l. of noble descent, mild in her manner,
and, like all Kafir women, loves her pipe.
Sandilli, the Amagaika chief, was the principal leader of the Frontier tribes during the iate Katii- war. The histoi'y
of this remarkable man is too well known to all in any way connected with the events that ha^'c taken place on the
Frontier during the war to require its repetition here. SandiUi is a young man, born of the royal Tambooki blood; he
is of a lighter colour than many of the Kafirs, and may be called handsoine from the. regularity of his features and his
commanding figure. His character is remarkable for cunning and adroitness; but ^lien in the presence of Europeans he
wears a stolid expression of countenance, as though he ^^•ould defy scrutiny. His left leg is withe.'ed, which causes him
to walk lame.
The Amakosa females arc many of them women of noble bearing and graceful manners. Their costume differs
greatly from that of the Amazulu and Amaponda, consisting of garments much moi'e ample, foi-nied of carefully-dressed
skins, and curiously decorated with steel chains and brass bell-buttons. The leather cloak, worn bv the Amakosa women
on all festive occasions, has usually a broad belt of leather, about eight inches wide, extending all down the back, and
separated ftom the dress over which it falls; this is thickly studded with brass buttons, and the .shell of a small landtortoise.
containing a preparation of herbs, as a supposed charm against witchcraft, is suspended from it by a piece of
coiled wire. I have only obsen-ed these tortoises amongst the women of this tribe and the Fingoes, who ado])t the
same style of dress and similar customs to their neighbours the Amako'sa Kafirs.
NUi'li/.li'rE, MAOOMO'S DAUQHTEK-IN-IìAW,
THE AMAPOiiDA KAFIKS,
Thk Amaponda tribe of Kafii-s occupies the country lying southward of Natal, from the i-iver Umzimculu to the
boundary of the Amatembu and Amakdsa. They differ in some respects from the Zulus in their customs and modes of
life, and especially in the manner of wearing their hair, which, instead
of being shaved off, as is usual amongst their more uorthem brethren,
is cultivated to gi-ow long, and worn in a well-dressed bushy mass, on
the summit of which is fastened the " issikoko," or ring. Tlie women,
as may be seen by the accompanying portmt, twist thcii- haii- into
ringlets, which arc thickly smeared with red ochre and grease. Tlie
subject of our sketch is a woman of rank amongst the Amaponda
people: in her hair she wears a porcupine's quill, and in the disposal
of her beads and the aixangement of her dress differs considerably from
the Zulu women.
If possible, the Amapondas are even more barbarous than the Zulus.
It is customary on the accession of a I'uling chief to put to death
one of his near relations—generally a brother—and to wash him with
the blood of the victim, using the skull as a receptacle to hold it.
Umyaki, an independent Amaponda chief, defeated a party of Amatembu,
and a son of one of the enemy's chiefs fell into his hands: he
at once slew him with his own assagai, ordered his heait and liver
to be boiled, with the broth of which, poured info the skull of his
prisoner, he caused himself to be washed.
Witchcraft has its stronghold amongst the Amaponda Katirp. To
propitiate the departed spirits for success to Faku's army, just taking
the field, the witch-doctors ordered the fore-leg of a living bull to be
cut off at the shoulder, and the soldiers with theii- teeth to tear off the
undressed flesh from the reeking limb. The mode of killing theii- cattle
is singular amongst the Amapondas. They throw the animal on iU back, seizing the honi.= and legs, and after opening
its breast with an assagai, they thrust in their arm and tear out the heart.