l8 o THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT. r J ovv l6> l8?6 1
LWane-Kirumbu.J
your people until we part, and from that point
back to Nyangwe.”
For two hours I plied him with arguments,
and at last, when I was nearly exhausted, Tippu-
Tib consented to accompany me twenty marches
farther, beginning from the camp we were then
in. It was a fortunate thing indeed for me that
he agreed to this, as his return so close to
Nyangwe in the present dispirited condition of
my people’s minds would have undoubtedly ensured
the destruction of all my hopes.
The natives of Uregga are not liberally disposed.
Wane-Kirumbu’s chief was the first who
consented to exchange gifts with me. He presented
me with a chicken and some bananas,
and I reciprocated the gift with five cowries,
which he accepted without a murmur. On witnessing
this pleasing and most uncommon trait
of moderation, I presented him with ten more,
which appeared to him so bounteous that he
left my presence quite affected, indeed almost
overcome by his emotions of gratitude.
The men of these forest communities of
Uregga, upon the decease of their wives,
put on symbols of mourning, namely, a thick
daub of charcoal paste over the face, which
they retain for five “ years” — two and a
half European years. Widows also mourn for
their husbands a like period, with the same disfigurement
of features, but with the addition of
r Nov. 16, 1876. -1 THE VILLAGE . BLACKSMITH. 181
LWane-Kir umbu. >
bands of sere leaf of the banana round the forehead.
In Uzimba and Manyema, of North Luama
districts, the mourning only lasts two native
years, or one European year.»
At Wane-Kirumbu we found a large native
forge and smithy, where there were about a
dozen smiths busily at work. The iron ore is
very pure. Here were the broad-bladed spears
of Southern Uregga, and the equally broad
knives of all sizes, from the small waist-knife,
an inch and a half in length, to the heavy Roman
sword-like cleaver. The bellows for the
smelting furnace are four in number, doublehandled,
and mapned by four men, who, by a
quick up and down motion, supply a powerful
blast, the noise of which is heard nearly half a
mile from the scene. The furnace consists of
tamped clay, raised into a mound about 4 feet
high. A hollow is then excavated in it, 2 feet
in diameter and 2 feet deep. From the middle
of the slope four apertures are; excavated into
the base of the furnace, into which are fitted
funnel-shaped earthenware pipes to convey the
blasts to the fire. At the base of the mound a
wide aperture for the hearth is excavated, penetrating
below the furnace. The hearth receives
the dross and slag.
Close by stood piled up mat-sacks of charcoal,
with a couple of boys ready to supply the fuel,
and about two yards off was a smaller smithy,