The Island
Kaluzi Marks One Of The Numerous Places Where Astronomical
Observations Were Made; Mozia, A Station Where A Volunteer Poet Left
Us; The Island Mochenya, And Mpande Island, At The Mouth Of The
Zungwe Rivulet, Where We Left The Zambesi.
When favoured with the hospitality and company of the "Go-nakeds," we
tried to discover if nudity were the badge of a particular order
among the Bawe, but they could only refer to custom.
Some among them
had always liked it for no reason in particular: shame seemed to lie
dormant, and the sense could not be aroused by our laughing and
joking them on their appearance. They evidently felt no less decent
than we did with our clothes on; but, whatever may be said in favour
of nude statues, it struck us that man, in a state of nature, is a
most ungainly animal. Could we see a number of the degraded of our
own lower classes in like guise, it is probable that, without the
black colour which acts somehow as a dress, they would look worse
still.
In domestic contentions the Bawe are careful not to kill each other;
but, when one village goes to war with another, they are not so
particular. The victorious party are said to quarter one of the
bodies of the enemies they may have killed, and to perform certain
ceremonies over the fragments. The vanquished call upon their
conquerors to give them a portion also; and, when this request is
complied with, they too perform the same ceremonies, and lament over
their dead comrade, after which the late combatants may visit each
other in peace.
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