His Village Is Situated
At The Bottom Of Ranges Through Which The Kafue Finds A Passage,
And Close To The Bank Of That River.
The Kafue, sometimes called
Kahowhe or Bashukulompo River, is upward of two hundred yards wide here,
and full of hippopotami, the young of which may be seen
perched on the necks of their dams.
At this point we had reached
about the same level as Linyanti.
Semalembue paid us a visit soon after our arrival, and said that
he had often heard of me, and now that he had the pleasure of seeing me,
he feared that I should sleep the first night at his village hungry.
This was considered the handsome way of introducing a present,
for he then handed five or six baskets of meal and maize,
and an enormous one of ground-nuts. Next morning he gave me
about twenty baskets more of meal. I could make but a poor return
for his kindness, but he accepted my apologies politely,
saying that he knew there were no goods in the country from which I had come,
and, in professing great joy at the words of peace I spoke, he said,
"Now I shall cultivate largely, in the hope of eating and sleeping in peace."
It is noticeable that all whom we have yet met eagerly caught up
the idea of living in peace as the probable effect of the Gospel.
They require no explanation of the existence of the Deity.
Sekwebu makes use of the term "Reza", and they appear to understand at once.
Like negroes in general, they have a strong tendency to worship, and I heard
that Semalembue gets a good deal of ivory from the surrounding tribes
on pretense of having some supernatural power. He transmits this
to some other chiefs on the Zambesi, and receives in return
English cotton goods which come from Mozambique by Babisa traders.
My men here began to sell their beads and other ornaments for cotton cloth.
Semalembue was accompanied by about forty people, all large men.
They have much wool on their heads, which is sometimes drawn all together
up to the crown, and tied there in a large tapering bunch.
The forehead and round by the ears is shaven close to the base of this tuft.
Others draw out the hair on one side, and twist it into little strings.
The rest is taken over, and hangs above the ear, which gives the appearance
of having a cap cocked jauntily on the side of the head.
The mode of salutation is by clapping the hands. Various parties of women
came from the surrounding villages to see the white man,
but all seemed very much afraid. Their fear, which I seldom could allay,
made them, when addressed, clap their hands with increasing vigor.
Sekwebu was the only one of the Makololo who knew this part of the country;
and this was the region which to his mind was best adapted
for the residence of a tribe.
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