in January. In four towns medicine was prepared for this
dance—Inyati, Imbezu, Ingubo, and Bulawayo. For the
small dance, in which the regiments of a few towns near
Bulawayo were assembled, the people were not allowed
to wear any ornaments. In the afternoon the dance
took place by regiments. No musical instruments were
used, but only songs marked the time. At this dance
the King did not appear; he remained in his kraal,
busied in completing the medicine that had been brought
from the four towns. I have not been able to ascertain
for what object this medicine was prepared. It seems to ^
have been a kind of expiation time, and the assembly was
decidedly serious and solemn. The women did not take
part in the dance. Next morning there was some more
dancing and they dispersed. On the new moon following
(February), the beginning of the Matabele year, the King
was supposed to fast from food and drink. Lo Bengula
compromised this self-denying ordinance by drinking beer
only out of a bottle. During that day he was supposed
to have communication with the spirits of his ancestors,
and he abstained altogether from business.
The big dance took place a few days after the full
moon, and the regiments from all the towns generally
assembled for it. The men came to settle round Bulawayo,
building huts; while the women went to and fro
between the villages and the camp to bring food. On
the day of the dance the proceedings were opened by the
arrival of the doctors of the Feast (Abakudamo), an office
hereditary in one family. After their arrival the dance
began towards ten in the morning. The whole of the
1 5,000 warriors were formed in a semi-circle, singing and
dancing in time; before assuming their formation they
marched past the King, who then retired into his kraal,
accompanied by the witch-doctors, and made medicine.
At last he would come out and sit on his chair at the
door of the kraal, and occasionally he got up and took
a few steps. In front of the warriors stood numbers
1 5 6
of women and girls singing and dancing also. When
the King took part in the dancing everyone had to
join him; and to compel those who did not feel inclined
to do so the witch-doctors rushed about, followed by
servants carrying thorn bushes, with which they struck
the people who did not dance with enough vigour. When
the King had resumed his seat some men came forward
from the ranks one after the other singing their own
praises, proclaiming aloud how many people they had
slain, and pointing with their spears ip the direction
of the places where they had killed an enemy, while
the other warriors of the same village shouted the name
of the place where the deed was done. At one period
of the ceremony the King went out to the gates of the
town, followed by one or two regiments. He then threw
a spear and the young warriors all rushed after it, and
the one who secured it brought it back in triumph to the
King. It was supposed that the direction in which the
spear was thrown indicated the direction in which the next
raid would take place. After the dance a large number
of cattle given by the King to the regiments were
slaughtered. The meat was not eaten that same night;
it was left for the spirits of the ancestors, who were
supposed to come and partake of it. But the following
day the people came to take it and had a great feast.
Large quantities of native beer were consumed at the
same time, and the dancing used to last for several
days. It is interesting to note the way in which the
animals were slaughtered: they had to be stuck with
an assegai in the left side, any other mode of slaughter
being considered as likely to cause the direst evil. The
dance over, the warriors, before returning to their villages,
burnt the huts they had temporarily erected around
Bulawayo.
After the big dance the ceremony of the firstfruit took
place a most important one, as no one was allowed to
eat vegetables of the new season until after it. In the
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