It is apparent that this man loves privacy and
retirement, for he has surrounded his own
dwelling and the huts of his family—the cones
of which are just visible above—with courts
enclosed by tall fences of tough cane. While
we leave the owner contemplating his garden,
let us step within and judge for ourselves of
his mode of life.
Within the outer court we come to a small
square hut, sacred to the genius of the family,
the household Muzimu. This genius, by the
dues paid to him, seems to be no very exacting
or avaricious spirit, for the simplest things, such
as snail shells, moulded balls of clay, certain
compounds of herbs, small bits of juniper wood,
and a hartebeest horn pointed with iron and
stuck into the earth, suffice to propitiate him.
Proceeding from the outer court, we enter the
inner one by a side entrance, and the tall,
conical hut, neatly constructed, with its broad
eaves overshadowing the curving doorway, which
has a torus consisting of faggots of cane running
up and round it, stands revealed.
It is of ample circumference, and cosy. On
first entering we find it is rather dark, but as
the eye becomes accustomed to the darkness,
we begin to distinguish objects. That which
first arrests observation is the multitude of poles
with which the interior is crammed for the
support of the roof, until it resembles a gloomy
den In the middle of a dense forest. These
poles, however, serve to guide the owner to
his cane bunk, but their number would confuse
a noctural marauder or intruding stranger. The
rows of poles form, in fact, avenues by which
the inmates can g u i d e themselves to any particular
spot or object.
The hut, we observe also, is divided into two
apartments, front and rear, by a wall of straight
canes, parted in the centre, through which the
peasant can survey—himself being unseen any
person entering.
In the rear apartment are bunks arranged
round the walls for the use of himself and family.
Over the doorway of the hut within may be
observed a few charms, into whose care and
power the peasant commits the guardianship of
his house and effects.
A scarcity of furniture is observable, and the
utensils are few in number and of poor quality.
Under the former title may be classed a couple
of carved stools and a tray for native backgammon;
under the latter, some half-dozen earthenware
pots and a few wicker and grass basins. Some
bark-cloth, a few spears, a shield, a drum, a
bill-hook or two, a couple of hoes, some knobsticks
and pipe stems, and a trough for the manufacture
of banana wine, complete the inventory
of the household effects.
Behind the peasant’s own dwelling are two