Solution Manual for Physics 5th Edition Walker

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Chapter 5: Newton’s Laws of Motion

Answers to Even-Numbered Conceptual Questions

2. If the tablecloth is pulled rapidly, it can exert a force on the place settings for only a very short time. In this brief time,
the objects on the table accelerate, but only slightly. Therefore, the objects may have barely moved by the time the
tablecloth is completely removed.
4. As the dog shakes its body, it starts water in its fur moving in one direction. When it then begins to shake its body in the
opposite direction, much of the water continues in the same direction because of the law of inertia (Newton’s First Law).
As a result, water leaves the fur with each reversal in direction.
6. (a) The upper string breaks, because the tension in it is equal to the applied force on the lower string plus the weight of
the block. When the tension in the upper string reaches the breaking point, the tension in the lower string is below this
value. (b) The lower string breaks in this case, because of the inertia of the block. As you move your hand downward
rapidly the lower string stretches and breaks before the block can move a significant distance and stretch the upper string.
8. Each time the astronauts throw or catch the ball they exert a force on it, and it exerts an equal and opposite force on them.
This causes the astronauts to move farther apart from one another with increasing speed as the game progresses.
10. The whole brick also experiences twice the force due to gravity. As a result, these two effects (more inertia, more force)
exactly cancel, and the free fall acceleration is independent of mass.
12. No. If only a single force acts on the object, it will not stay at rest; instead, it will accelerate in the direction of the force.
14. (a) When the parrot jumps, it pushes down on its perch. In this case, the scale reads a larger value. (b) When the parrot
is in the air, the scale reads only the weight of the bird cage. (c) When the parrot lands, the perch exerts an upward force
on it to bring it to rest. As a result, the scale again reads a larger value. The average of the scale readings in parts (a), (b),
and (c) is just the weight of the parrot plus the weight of the bird cage.
16. Since the car is at rest, we can conclude that it has zero net force acting on it. This is not the same as having no forces at
all acting on the car. In fact, gravity exerts a downward force, and the road exerts an equal and opposite net upward force
(summed over the four tires).
18. As you hit the rug with the tennis racket, you cause it to accelerate rapidly. The dust on the rug, if it is not attached too
firmly, will be left behind as the rug accelerates away from it. In this way, you are able to remove much of the dust from
the rug.
20. Yes, in fact it happens all the time. Whenever you throw a ball upward it moves in the opposite direction to the net force
acting on it, until it reaches the top of its trajectory.

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Chapter 5: Newton’s Laws of Motion James S. Walker, Physics, 5th Edition

22. This is an example of bad physics. Though the rocket-powered backpack may well produce enough force to give the
truck a large acceleration, that force must be transmitted to the truck through the boy’s arms. A force large enough to
rapidly accelerate a truck would crush a person’s arms.

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portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Chapter 5: Newton’s Laws of Motion James S. Walker, Physics, 5th Edition

Solutions to Problems and Conceptual Exercises

1. Picture the Problem: A force of magnitude F acts on an object of mass m that is initially at rest and accelerates it to
speed v in a time T.
Strategy: Use the concepts of Newton’s second law and the definition of acceleration to construct a ratio that will help
us predict the effect of changing m and F on the time interval T.

Tnew ( v − v0 ) anew
Solution: 1. Construct a
a F m F m F 2m 1
ratio, recalling that = = old = old old = old new = =
a =  v t and F = m a : Told ( v − v0 ) aold anew Fnew mnew Fnew mold 4F m 2

2. Solve for Tnew in terms of T: Tnew = 12 Told = 1

2
T

Insight: If the mass m were quadrupled instead of doubled, the acceleration would be anew = 4F 4m = aold and hence
the time required to accelerate to speed v would remain unchanged.

2. Picture the Problem: The free body diagram for this problem is shown at right.
Strategy: Use the free body diagram to determine the net force on the rock, and then
apply Newton’s second law to find the acceleration of the rock. Let upward be the
positive direction.
r
Solution: 1. Find the net force:  F = ( − 40.0 N ) yˆ + ( 46.2 N ) yˆ = ( 6.2 N ) yˆ
r
2. Now apply Newton’s second
r r
a=
 F = ( 6.2 N ) yˆ = (1.2 m/s ) yˆ 2
law (Equation 5-1) to find a : m 5.00 kg

Insight: If the astronaut were to exert less than 40.0 N of upward force on the rock, it would accelerate downward.

3. Picture the Problem: A shopping cart accelerates in the forward direction due to a pushing force.
Strategy: Use Newton’s second law to find the acceleration of the cart, then use the acceleration to find the distance
traveled in 2.50 s.
r
r F (13.4 N ) xˆ
= ( 0.870 m/s 2 ) xˆ
r
Solution: 1. Find a using Equation 5-1: a= =
m 15.4 kg

2. Use Equation 2-11 to find the distance traveled:  x = 12 a t 2 = 1

2 ( 0.870 m/s ) ( 2.50 s )
2 2
= 2.72 m

Insight: Doubling the applied force would double the acceleration and double the distance traveled.

4. Picture the Problem: You exert a horizontal force that accelerates both your little sister and her sled.
Strategy: Apply Newton’s second law to the sled + sister combination, and solve for the mass of your sister.
Solution: 1. Use Newton’s second law to find F 120 N
mtotal = = = 48 kg
the total mass of the sled + sister combination: a 2.5 m/s 2

2. Find the mass of your sister by subtracting: msister = mtotal – msled = 48 kg – 7.4 kg = 41 kg

Insight: A more massive sister would decrease the acceleration of the sled if the pulling force remained the same.

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portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Chapter 5: Newton’s Laws of Motion James S. Walker, Physics, 5th Edition

5. Picture the Problem: A billiard ball is accelerated along a straight line.

Strategy: Find the acceleration from the initial and final speeds and from the time interval. Use the known acceleration
to find the average force on the ball by using Newton’s second law.

Solution: Determine the acceleration from the initial F = m a = m  v = 0.53 kg (12 m/s − 0 ) = 1600 N = 1.6 kN
( )
and final speeds, and apply Newton’s second law: t 4.0 10−3 s – 0

Insight: This substantial force (about 360 lb) acts over a very short time, hence the final speed isn’t all that spectacular.

6. Picture the Problem: A water skier is accelerated along a straight line.

Strategy: Use Equation 2-12 to determine the acceleration of the skier, and then use Newton’s second law to find the
force exerted on the skier.

Solution: 1. Find the acceleration of the skier from v 2 − v0 2

a=
his final velocity and the distance covered (Eq 2-12): 2x

 v 2 − v0 2   (12 m/s )2 − 0 
2. Find the net force on the skier using Equation 5-1: F = ma = m  = ( 92 kg )   = 260 N
 2x   2 ( 25 m − 0 ) 

Insight: This moderate force (about 60 lb) accelerates the skier at a rate of 2.9 m/s 2 or 0.29g.

7. Picture the Problem: A 0.5-kg object is acted on by a

force whose x component varies with time as shown in
the graph at right.

Strategy: When the mass is constant, the acceleration is

directly proportional to the force. Thus the shape of the
acceleration-versus-time graph will have the same shape
as the force-versus-time graph, but the numerical values
along the y axis and the units will be different.

Solution: Use Equation 5-1 to calculate

the acceleration a = F m . For instance,
the acceleration at t = 0 is
a = (1 N ) ( 0.5 kg ) = 2 m/s 2 :

Insight: If the mass were something other than 0.5 kg,

say, 11.3 kg, the overall shape of the acceleration graph
would remain the same, but the scale of the y axis would
change. For instance, the maximum acceleration would
be ax = ( 4 N ) (11.3 kg ) = 0.35 m/s 2 .

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Chapter 5: Newton’s Laws of Motion James S. Walker, Physics, 5th Edition

8. Picture the Problem: Metal ball 1 and wood ball 2 have the same diameter and are dropped from the same height.
Strategy: Both balls experience the same upward force of air resistance but different magnitudes of gravitational force.
Consider the net force on each ball and use Newton’s second law to answer the conceptual question.
Solution: 1. (a) In the absence of air friction both balls would accelerate at the same rate. In each case the presence of
air friction reduces the acceleration of the ball, but the air friction force represents a larger fraction of the gravitational
force on ball 2 than that on ball 1, hence ball 2 will experience the smaller acceleration. Therefore the drop time of ball
1 will be less than the drop time of ball 2.
2. (b) The best explanation is III. Air resistance has less effect on the more massive ball. Statement I is true only in
vacuum and statement II is true but there is also a larger gravitational force on the more massive ball.
Insight: There is a larger net force on ball 1 but it is also more massive, so one must examine the fraction of the
gravitational force represented by the air friction in order to determine its effect upon the acceleration of each ball.

9. Picture the Problem: A parachutist is moving straight downward, slowing down and coming to rest over a distance of
0.750 m.
Strategy: Use Equation 2-12 to determine the acceleration of the parachutist, and then use Newton’s second law
r
(Equation 5-1) to find the force N exerted on her by the ground.

Solution: 1. (a) Use Equation 2-12 to find the v y2 = v02y + 2 a  y

acceleration of the parachutist: r v y − v0 y 0 − ( −3.85 m/s )
2 2 2

a= yˆ = yˆ = 9.88 m/s 2 yˆ
2y 2 ( 0 − 0.750 m )
r r r
2. Use Equation 5-1 to find the ground force:  Fr = N − m g yˆ = m a
N = m ( a yˆ + g yˆ ) = ( 42.0 kg ) ( 9.88 + 9.81 m/s 2 ) yˆ = (827 N ) yˆ

3. (b) If the parachutist comes to rest in a shorter distance, her acceleration will be greater and the force exerted on her
by the ground will therefore be greater than that in part (a).
Insight: During her descent there are two forces acting on the parachutist, the upward force of her parachute and the
downward force of gravity. Those two forces must cancel if she is to move downward at constant speed (a = 0).

10. Picture the Problem: A baseball is accelerated horizontally from rest to 98 mi/h over a distance of 1.7 m.
Strategy: Use Equation 2-12 to determine the acceleration of the ball, and then use Newton’s second law
(Equation 5-1) to find the average net force acting on it.

Solution: 1. (a) Use Equation 2-12 vx2 = v02x + 2 a  x

to find the acceleration of the ball: ( 98 mi/h  0.447 m/s mi/h ) − 0 ˆ
2
r v 2 − v02x
a= x xˆ = x = 564 m/s 2 xˆ
2x 2 (1.7 m )
r
 F = ma = ( 0.15 kg ) ( 564 m/s xˆ ) = (85 N ) xˆ
r 2
2. Use Equation 5-1 to find the net force:

3. (b) If the mass of the ball is increased, the force must be increased to produce the same acceleration.
Insight: While the force is not large (85 N is about 19 lb), the acceleration is impressive, about 57 times the
acceleration of gravity! We kept an extra significant digit in step 1 in order to avoid rounding error.

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Another document from Scribd.com that is
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 It is a remarkable fact that in some parts of Asia the natives construct a
pipe on the same principle. This pipe will be described in its proper
place.
When the Kaffirs can assemble for a quiet smoke, they have another
curious custom. The strong, rank tobacco excites a copious flow of
saliva, and this is disposed of in a rather strange manner. The smokers
are furnished with a tube about a yard in length, and generally a reed, or
straight branch, from which the pith has been extracted. A peculiarly
handsome specimen is usually covered with the skin of a bullock’s tail.
Through this tube the smokers in turn discharge the superabundant
moisture, and it is thought to be a delicate compliment to select the same
spot that has been previously used by another. Sometimes, instead of a
hole, a circular trench is employed, but the mode of using it is exactly the
same.
The illustration No. 4, same page, represents a couple of well-bred
gentlemen—a married man and a “boy”—indulging in a pipe in the cool
of the evening. The man has taken his turn at the pipe, and handed it to
his comrade, who inhales the smoke while he himself is engaged with
the tube above-mentioned. Wishing to give some little variety to the
occupation, he has drawn an outlined figure of a kraal, and is just going
to form one of the huts. Presently, the boy will hand the pipe back again,
exchange it for the tube, and take his turn at the manufacture of the kraal,
which will be completed by the time that the pipe is finished.
Major Ross King describes this curious proceeding in a very amusing
manner. “Retaining the last draught of smoke in his mouth, which he fills
with a decoction of bark and water from a calabash, he squirts it on the
ground by his side, through a long ornamented tube, performing thereon,
by the aid of a reserved portion of the liquid, a sort of boatswain’s
whistle, complacently regarding the soap-like bubbles, the joint
production of himself and neighbor.
“On this occasion, finding a blanketed group sitting apart in a circle,
smoking the dagha before described, at their invitation I squatted down
cross-legged in the ring, and receiving the rude cow-horn pipe in my
turn, took a pull at its capacious mouth, coughing violently at the
suffocating fumes, as indeed they all did more or less, and after tasting
the nasty decoction of bark which followed round in a calabash, took the
politely offered spitting-tube of my next neighbor, signally failing,
however, in the orthodox whistle, to the unbounded delight of the
Fingoes, whose hearty, ringing laughter was most contagious.”
 Tobacco is cultivated by several of the tribes inhabiting Southern
Africa, and is prepared in nearly the same method as is employed in
other parts of the world, the leaves being gathered, “sweated,” and
finally dried. Still, they appreciate the tobacco which they obtain from
Europeans, and prefer it to that which is manufactured by themselves.
Some of the Kaffirs are very successful in their cultivation of tobacco,
and find that a good crop is a very valuable property. A Kaffir without
tobacco is a miserable being, and, if it were only for his own sake, the
possession of a supply which will last him throughout the year is a
subject of congratulation. But any tobacco that is not needed for the use
of himself or his household is as good as money to the owner, as there
are few things which a Kaffir loves that tobacco cannot buy. If he sees a
set of beads that particularly pleases him, and the owner should happen
to be poorer than himself, he can purchase the finery by the sacrifice of a
little of his fragrant store. Also, he can gain the respect of the “boys,”
who seldom possess property of any kind except their shield and spears,
and, by judicious gifts of tobacco, can often make them his followers,
this being the first step toward chieftainship. Generally, a Kaffir makes
up the crop of each garden into a single bundle, sometimes weighing
fifty or sixty pounds, and carefully incases it with reeds, much after the
fashion that naval tobacco is sewed up in canvas. He is sure to place
these rolls in a conspicuous part of the house, in order to extort the envy
and admiration of his companions.

(1.) NECKLACE MADE OF HUMAN FINGER BONES.

(See page 198.)
(2.) SNUFF-BOX.
(See page 163.)
(3.) THE POOR MAN’S PIPE.
(See page 166.)
(4.) KAFFIR GENTLEMEN SMOKING.
(See page 166.)
 CHAPTER XVII.
RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION.

IMPERFECT RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE KAFFIR — HIS IDEA OF A CREATOR —

HOW DEATH CAME INTO THE WORLD — LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS —
BELIEF IN THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL — THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD,
AND THEIR SUPPOSED INFLUENCE — TCHAKA’s VISION — A KAFFIR SEER
AND HIS STORY — PURSUITS OF DEPARTED SPIRITS — THE LIMITS OF THEIR
POWER — ANIMALS USED FOR SACRIFICE TO THEM — TEMPORARY
TRANSMIGRATION — VARIOUS OMENS, AND MEANS FOR AVERTING THEM
— WHY SACRIFICES ARE MADE — A NATIVE’S HISTORY OF A SACRIFICE,
AND ITS OBJECTS — THE FEAST OF FIRST-FRUITS — SACRIFICE OF THE
BULL, AND THE STRANGE CEREMONIES WHICH ATTEND IT — KAFFIR
PROPHETS AND THEIR OFFICES — HEREDITARY TRANSMISSION OF
PROPHECY — PROGRESS OF A PROPHET — THE CHANGE — INTERVIEW
WITH AN OLD PROPHET — THE PROBATIONARY STAGES OF PROPHECY — A
PROPHET’S RETURN TO HIS FAMILY — SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS —
SEARCH FOR THE SPIRITS — THE GREAT SACRIFICE, AND RECEPTION INTO
THE COMPANY OF PROPHETS — THE WAND OF OFFICE — DRESS OF A
PROPHET.

It is not very easy to say whether a Kaffir possesses any religion at all,
in our sense of the word. With superstition he is deeply imbued, and
passes his lifetime in considerable dread of witchcraft and of evil spirits.
But religion which conveys any sense of moral responsibility, seems to
be incomprehensible to the ordinary Kaffir, and even his naturally logical
mind inclines him to practical atheism. As far as is known, the Kaffir
tribes have a sort of tradition concerning a Creator, whom they call by a
compound word that may be translated as the Great-Great, and to whom
they attribute the first origin of all things. But it is certain they offer him
no worship, and make no prayers to him, and have no idea that they are
personally responsible to him for their acts. Moreover many of the tribes
do not even possess this imperfect knowledge; and even in those cases
where it does exist, its origin is very uncertain, and it is impossible to
ascertain whether the tradition may not be a corrupted recollection of
instruction received from some European. Such, indeed, has been known
to be the case among the Kaffirs, and it is probable that the knowledge of
a Creator is really derived from European sources. At all events, such
knowledge is by no means universal, and exercises such small influence
on the people that it is scarcely worthy of mention.
There are, indeed, one or two legendary stories concerning the Great-
Great, relating to the creation of man, and to the duration of human life.
The man is supposed to have been created by splitting a reed, from
which the first parents of the human race proceeded. This legend is
probably due to a double meaning of the word signifying “origin” and
“create,” which also signify “reed” and “splitting.” Another form of the
tradition deprives the Great-Great of all creatorship, and makes him to be
one of the two who issued from the split reed, so that he is rather the
great ancestor of the human race than its creator.
The tradition concerning the affliction of death upon the human race is
a very curious one, and was related to the missionaries by a native who
had been converted to Christianity.
When mankind had increased upon the earth, the Great-Great took
counsel with himself, and sent two messengers to them, one the giver of
life, the other the herald of death. The first messenger was the
chameleon, who was ordered to go and utter the proclamation, “Let not
the people die!” The chameleon set off on its mission, but lingered on the
road, stopping occasionally to eat by the way, and walking leisurely
instead of running. The second messenger was the salamander, who was
commanded to proclaim, “Let the people die!” But the latter was the
more obedient, and ran the whole of the journey, until he reached the
habitation of men, when he proclaimed his message of death. Shortly
afterward, the chameleon arrived and delivered his message, when the
salamander beat him and drove him away, as having failed in his duty to
his Master. Then the people lamented because they had received the
message of death before that of life, and from that time men have been
subject to the power of death. The consequence is, that both animals are
detested by the Kaffirs, who kill the chameleon when they find it,
because it lingered on the way, and lost them the gift of immortality. And
they are equally sure to kill the salamander, because, when it was
charged with such a dread message, it hastened on its journey, and
anticipated the chameleon in its message of life. There are many
variations of this story, but in its main points it is current throughout
many parts of Southern Africa.
Although the Kaffir’s ideas of the Creator are so vague and undefined,
he has at all events a very firm belief in the existence of the soul and its
immortality after death. Tchaka once made use of this belief in a very
ingenious manner. The people had become rather tired of war, and
required some inducement to make them welcome the order for battle as
heretofore. Whereupon, Tchaka had a vision of Umbia, a well-known
chief, who had served under his father, and who appeared to Tchaka to
tell him that his father was becoming angry with the Zulu tribe because
they had become lazy, and had not gone to war against the remaining
unconquered tribes. This laziness on the part of the Zulus who still
inhabited the earth was displeasing to the spirits of the dead, who would
be very comfortable below ground with a plenty of wives and cattle, as
soon as they saw their tribe in supreme authority over the whole land,
from the Draakensberg to the sea.
In honor of this messenger from the shades, Tchaka ordered numbers
of cattle to be slaughtered in all his military kraals, gave sumptuous
feasts, and raised the descendants of Umbia to the rank of Indunas. Of
course, the name of Umbia was in all mouths, and, while the excitement
was at its height, an old man suddenly disappeared from his hut, having
been dragged away, according to his wife’s account, by a lion. The affair
was reported to Tchaka in council, but he affected to take no notice of it.
After the lapse of three months, when the immediate excitement had died
away, the old man reappeared before Tchaka with his head-ring torn off,
and clothed in a wild and fantastic manner.
He said that the lion had dragged him away to its den, when the earth
suddenly opened and swallowed them both up. The lion accompanied
him without doing him any harm, and brought him to a place where there
was some red earth. This also gave way, and he fell into another abyss,
where he lay stunned by the fall. On recovering, he found himself in a
pleasant country, and discovered that it was inhabited by the spirits of
Zulus who had died, and whom he had known in life. There was
Senzangakona, the father of Tchaka, with his councillors, his chiefs, his
soldiers, his wives, and his cattle. Umbia was also there, and enjoyed
himself very much. Since his departure into the shades, he had become a
great doctor, and was accustomed to stroll about at night, instead of
staying at home quietly with his family. No one seemed to know where
he had gone, but he told the narrator that he used to revisit earth in order
to see his friends and relatives. For three months the narrator was kept in
the shades below, and was then told to go back to his tribe and narrate
what he had seen.
Tchaka pretended to disbelieve the narrative, and publicly treated with
contempt the man, denouncing him as a liar, and sending for prophets
who should “smell” him, and discover whether he had told the truth. The
seers arrived, performed their conjurations, “smelt” the man, and stated
that he had told the truth, that he had really visited the spirits of the dead,
and that he had been fetched by the lion because the people did not
believe the vision that had appeared to Tchaka. It is needless to observe
that the whole business had been previously arranged by that wily chief,
in order to carry out his ambitious purposes.
Unbounded as is in one respect their reverence for the spirits of their
ancestors, they attribute to those same spirits a very limited range of
power. A Kaffir has the very highest respect for the spirits of his own
ancestors, or those of his chief, but pays not the least regard to those
which belong to other families. The spirit of a departed Kaffir is
supposed to have no sympathy except with relations and immediate
descendants.
It has been already mentioned that, after the death of a Kaffir, his spirit
is supposed to dwell in the shade below, and to have the power of
influencing the survivors of his own family, whether for good or evil. He
likes cattle to be sacrificed to his name, because, in that case, he adds the
spirits of the dead cattle to his herd below, while his friends above eat the
flesh, so that both parties are well pleased. Sometimes, if he thinks that
he has been neglected by them, he visits his displeasure by afflicting
them with various diseases, from which they seldom expect to recover
without the sacrifice of cattle. If the ailment is comparatively trifling, the
sacrifice of a goat is deemed sufficient; but if the malady be serious,
nothing but an ox, or in some cases several oxen, are required before the
offended spirits will relent. Sheep seem never to be used for this purpose.
If the reader will refer to page 78, he will see that the sacrifice of cattle
in case of sickness forms part of a guardian’s duty toward a young girl,
and that, if her temporary guardian should have complied with this
custom, her relatives, should they he discovered, are bound to refund
such cattle.
That the spirits of the dead are allowed to quit their shadowy home
below and to revisit their friends has already been mentioned. In some
instances, as in the case of Umbia, they are supposed to present
themselves in their own form. But the usual plan is, for them to adopt the
shape of some animal which is not in the habit of entering human
dwellings, and so to appear under a borrowed form. The serpent or the
lizard shape is supposed to be the favorite mark under which the spirit
conceals its identity, and the man whose house it enters is left to exercise
his ingenuity in guessing the particular spirit that may be enshrined in the
strange animal. In order to ascertain precisely the character of the visitor,
he lays a stick gently on its back; and if it shows no sign of anger, he is
quite sure that he is favored with the presence of one of his dead
ancestors. There are few Kaffirs that will make such a discovery, and
will not offer a sacrifice at once, for the prevalent idea in their mind is,
that an ancestor would not have taken the trouble to come on earth,
except to give a warning that, unless he were treated with more respect,
some evil consequence would follow. In consequence of this belief, most
of the Kaffirs have a great dislike to killing serpents and lizards, not
knowing whether they may not be acting rudely toward some dead
ancestor who will avenge himself upon them for their want of respect.
Should a cow or a calf enter a hut, the Kaffir would take no notice of
it, as these animals are in the habit of entering human dwellings; but if a
sheep were to do so, he would immediately fancy that it was inspired
with the shade of one of his ancestors. The same would be the case with
a wild animal of any kind, unless it were a beast of prey, in which case it
might possibly have made its way into the hut in search of food. A
similar exception would be made with regard to antelopes and other
animals which had been hunted, and had rushed into the kraal or crept
into the hut as a refuge from their foes.
Sacrifices are often made, not only to remove existing evils, but to
avert impending danger. In battle, for example, a soldier who finds that
the enemy are getting the upper hand, will make a vow to his ancestors
that if he comes safely out of the fight, he will make a sacrifice to them,
and this vow is always kept. Even if the soldier should be a “boy,” who
has no cattle, his father or nearest relation would think himself bound to
fulfil the vow. Now and then, if he should find that the danger was not so
great as was anticipated, he will compromise the matter by offering a
goat. Unless a sacrifice of some kind were made, the vengeance of the
offended spirits would be terrible, and no Kaffir would willingly run
such a risk.
Sacrifices are also offered for the purpose of obtaining certain favors.
For example, as has been already mentioned, when an army starts on an
expedition, sacrifices are made to the spirits, and a similar rite is
performed when a new kraal is built, or a new field laid out. Relatives at
home will offer sacrifices in behalf of their absent friends; and when a
chief is away from home in command of a war expedition, the sacrifices
for his welfare occur almost daily. Sacrifices or thank-offerings ought
also to be made when the spirits have been propitious; and if the army is
victorious, or the chief returned in health, it is thought right to add
another sacrifice to the former, in token of acknowledgment that the
previous offering has not been in vain.
The Kaffir generally reserves the largest and finest ox in his herd for
sacrifice under very important circumstances, and this animal, which is
distinguished by the name of “Ox of the Spirits,” is never sold except on
pressing emergency. Mr. Shooter, who has given great attention to the
moral culture of the Kaffir tribes, remarks with much truth, that the
Kaffir’s idea of a sacrifice is simply a present of food to the spirit. For
the same reason, when an ox is solemnly sacrificed, the prophet in
attendance calls upon the spirits to come and eat, and adds to the
inducement by placing baskets of beer and vessels of snuff by the side of
the slaughtered animal. Indeed, when a man is very poor, and has no
cattle to sacrifice, he contents himself with these latter offerings.
The account of one of these sacrifices has been translated by Mr.
Grout, from the words of a native. After mentioning a great variety of
preliminary rites, he proceeds to say, “Now some one person goes out,
and when he has come abroad, without the kraal, all who are within their
houses keep silence, while he goes round the kraal, the outer enclosure of
the kraal, and says, ‘Honor to thee, lord!’ (inkosi.) Offering prayers to
the shades, he continues, ‘A blessing, let a blessing come then, since you
have really demanded your cow; let sickness depart utterly. Thus we
offer your animal.’
“And on our part we say, ‘Let the sick man come out, come forth, be
no longer sick, and slaughter your animal then, since we have now
consented that he may have it for his own use. Glory to thee, lord; good
news; come then, let us see him going about like other people. Now then,
we have given you what you want; let us therefore see whether or not it
was enjoined in order that he might recover, and that the sickness might
pass by.’
“And then, coming out, spear in hand, he enters the cattle fold, comes
up and stabs it. The cow cries, says yeh! to which he replies, ‘An animal
for the gods ought to show signs of distress’; it is all right then, just what
you required. Then they skin it, eat it, finish it.” Sometimes the gall is
eaten by the sacrificer, and sometimes it is rubbed over the body.
Another kind of sacrifice is that which is made by the principal man of
a kraal, or even by the king himself, about the first of January, the time
when the pods of the maize are green, and are in a fit state for food. No
Kaffir will venture to eat the produce of the new year until after the
festival, which may be called the Feast of First-fruits. The feast lasts for
several days, and in order to celebrate it, the whole army assembles,
together with the young recruits who have not yet been entrusted with
shields. The prophets also assemble in great force, their business being to
invent certain modes of preparing food, which will render the body of
the consumer strong throughout the year. At this festival, also, the
veteran soldiers who have earned their discharge are formally released
from service, while the recruits are drafted into the ranks.
The first business is, the sacrifice of the bull. For this purpose a bull is
given to the warriors, who are obliged to catch it and strangle it with
their naked hands. They are not even allowed a rope with which to bind
the animal, and the natural consequence is, that no small amount of
torture is inflicted upon the poor animal, while the warriors are placed in
considerable jeopardy of their lives. When the bull is dead, the chief
prophet opens it, and removes the gall, which he mixes with other
medicines and gives to the king and his councillors. The dose thus
prepared is always as unsavory a mixture as can well be conceived, but
the Kaffir palate is not very delicate, and suffers little under the
infliction. The body of the bull is next handed over to the “boys,” who
eat as much as they can, and are obliged to burn the remainder. As a
general rule, there is very little to be burned. The men do not eat the
flesh of this animal, but they feast to their heart’s content on other cattle,
which are slaughtered in the usual manner. Dancing, drinking, and taking
snuff now set in, and continue in full force for several days, until not
even Kaffir energy can endure more exertion.
Then comes the part of the king. The subjects form themselves into a
vast ring, into which the king, dressed in all the bravery of his dancing
apparel, enters with a bound, amid shouts of welcome from the people.
He proceeds to indulge in one of the furious dances which the Kaffirs
love, springing high into the air, flourishing his stick of office, and
singing songs in his own praises, until he can dance and sing no longer.
Generally, this dance is not of very long duration, as the king is almost
invariably a fat and unwieldy man, and cannot endure a prolonged
exertion. The crowning incident of the feast now takes place. The king
stands in the midst of his people—Dingan always stood on a small
mound of earth—takes a young and green calabash in his hands, and
dashes it upon the ground, so as to break it in pieces; by this act
declaring the harvest begun, and the people at liberty to eat of the fruits
of the new year. A very similar ceremony takes place among the tribes of
American Indians, the consequence of which is frequently that the
people abuse the newly granted permission, and in a few days consume
all the maize that ought to have served them for the cold months of
winter.
The Kaffir has a strong belief in omens; though perhaps not stronger
than similar credulity in some parts of our own land. He is always on the
look-out for omens, and has as keen an eye for them and their meaning
as an ancient augur. Anything that happens out of the ordinary course of
events is an omen, either for good or evil, and the natural constitution of
a Kaffir’s mind always inclines him to the latter feeling. As in the ancient
days, the modern Kaffir finds most of his omens in the actions of
animals. One of the worst of omens is the bleating of a sheep as it is
being slaughtered. Some years ago this omen occurred in the kraal
belonging to one of Panda’s “indunas,” or councillors. A prophet was
immediately summoned, and a number of sacrifices offered to avert the
evil omen. Panda himself was so uneasy that he added an ox to the
sacrifices, and afterward came to the conclusion that a man whose kraal
could be visited by such an infliction could not be fit to live. He
accordingly sent a party of soldiers to kill the induna, but the man,
knowing the character of his chief, took the alarm in time, and escaped
into British territory in Natal.
If a goat were to leap on a hut, nothing would be thought of it; but if a
dog or a sheep were to do so, it would be an omen. It is rather
remarkable that among the North American tribes the roofs of houses
form the usual resting-place of the dogs which swarm in every village. If
a cow were to eat grain that had been spilled on the ground, it would be
no omen; but if she were to push off the cover of a vessel containing
grain, and eat the contents, the act would be considered ominous.
Mention has been made once or twice of the prophets, sometimes, but
erroneously, called witch doctors. These personages play a most
important part in the religious system of the Kaffir tribes; and although
their office varies slightly in detail, according to the locality to which
they belong, their general characteristics are the same throughout the
country. Their chief offices are, communicating with the spirits of the
departed, and ascertaining their wishes; discovering the perpetrators of
crimes; reversing spells thrown by witchcraft; and lastly, and most
important, rain-making.
(1.) THE PROPHET’S SCHOOL.
(See pages 175, 176.)
 (2.) THE PROPHET’S RETURN.
(See Page 175.)

The office of prophet cannot be assumed by any one who may be

ambitious of such a distinction, but is hedged about with many rites and
ceremonies. In the first place, it is not every one who is entitled even to
become a candidate for the office, which is partly hereditary. A prophet
must be descended from a prophet, though he need not be a prophet’s
son. Indeed, as a general rule, the sons of prophets do not attain the
office which their fathers held, the supernatural afflatus generally
passing over one generation, and sometimes two. In the next place, a
very long and arduous preparation is made for the office, and the
candidate, if he passes successfully through it, is solemnly admitted into
the order by a council of seers, who meet for the purpose.
When first the spirit of prophecy manifests itself to a Kaffir, he begins
by losing all his interest in the events of every-day life. He becomes
depressed in mind; prefers solitude to company; often has fainting fits;
and, what is most extraordinary of all, loses his appetite. He is visited by
dreams of an extraordinary character, mainly relating to serpents, lions,
hyænas, leopards, and other wild beasts. Day by day he becomes more
and more possessed, until the perturbations of the spirit manifest
themselves openly. In this stage of his novitiate, the future prophet utters
terrible yells, leaps here and there with astonishing vigor, and runs about
at full speed, leaping and shrieking all the time. When thus excited he
will dart into the bush, catch snakes (which an ordinary Kaffir will not
touch), tie them round his neck, boldly fling himself into the water, and
perform all kinds of insane feats.
This early stage of a prophet’s life is called by the Kaffirs Twasa, a
word which signifies the change of the old moon to the new, and the
change of winter to spring in the beginning of the year. During its
progress, the head of his house is supposed to feel great pride in the fact
that a prophet is to be numbered among the family, and to offer sacrifices
for the success of the novice. When the preliminary stage is over, the
future prophet goes to some old and respected seer, gives him a goat as a
fee, and remains under his charge until he has completed the necessary
course of instruction. He then assumes the dress and character of a
prophet, and if he succeeds in his office he will rise to unbounded power
among his tribe. But should his first essay be unsuccessful, he is
universally contemned as one whom the spirits of the departed think to
be unworthy of their confidence.
Mr. Shooter gives a very graphic account of the preparation of a
prophet, who was father to one of his own servants. The reader will not
fail to notice that the man in question was entitled by birth to assume the
prophet’s office.
“Some of the particulars may be peculiar to his tribe, and some due to
the caprice of the individual. A married man (whose mother was the
daughter of a prophet) had manifested the symptoms of inspiration when
a youth; but his father, not willing to slaughter his cattle as custom would
have required, employed a seer of reputation to check the growing
‘change.’ The dispossession was not, however, permanent; and when the
youth became a man, the inspiration returned. He professed to have
constantly recurring dreams about lions, leopards, elephants, boa-
constrictors, and all manner of wild beasts; he dreamed about the Zulu
country, and (strangest thing of all) that he had a vehement desire to
return to it.
“After a while he became very sick; his wives, thinking he was dying,
poured cold water over his prostrate person; and the chief, whose induna
he was, sent a messenger to a prophet. The latter declared that the man
was becoming inspired, and directed the chief to supply an ox for
sacrifice. This was disagreeable, but that personage did not dare to
refuse, and the animal was sent; he contrived however to delay the
sacrifice, and prudently ordered that, if the patient died in the mean time,
the ox should be returned. Having begun to recover his strength, our
growing prophet cried and raved like a delirious being, suffering no one
to enter his hut, except two of his younger children—a girl and a boy.
Many of the tribe came to see him, but he did not permit them to
approach his person, and impatiently motioned them away. In a few days
he rushed out of his hut, tore away through the fence, ran like a maniac
across the grass, and disappeared in the bush. The two children went
after him; and the boy (his sister having tired) eventually discovered him
on the sea-shore. Before the child could approach, the real or affected
madman disappeared again, and was seen no more for two or three days.
He then returned home, a strange and frightful spectacle: sickness and
fasting had reduced him almost to a skeleton; his eyes glared and stood
out from his shrunken face; the ring had been torn from his head, which
he had covered with long shaggy grass, while, to complete the hideous
picture, a living serpent was twisted round his neck. Having entered the
kraal, where his wives were in tears, and all the inmates in sorrow, he
saluted them with a wild howl to this effect: ‘People call me mad, I know
they say I am mad; that is nothing; the spirits are influencing me—the
spirits of Majolo, of Unhlovu, and of my father.’ (See the illustrations on
page 173.)
“After this a sort of dance took place, in which he sung or chanted, ‘I
thought I was dreaming while I was asleep, but, to my surprise, I was not
asleep.’ The women (previously instructed) broke forth into a shrill
chorus, referring to his departure from home, his visit to the sea, and his
wandering from river to river; while the men did their part by singing
two or three unmeaning syllables. The dance and the accompanying
chants were several times repeated, the chief actor conducting himself
consistently with his previous behavior.
“His dreams continued, and the people were told that he had seen a
boa-constrictor in a vision, and could point out the spot where it was to
be found. They accompanied him; and, when he had indicated the place,
they dug, and discovered two of the reptiles. He endeavored to seize one,
but the people held him back, and his son struck the animal with
sufficient force to disable but not to kill it. He was then allowed to take
the serpent, which he placed round his neck, and the party returned
home. Subsequently having (as he alleged) dreamed about a leopard, the
people accompanied him, and found it. The beast was slain, and carried
in triumph to the kraal.
 “When our growing prophet returned home after his absence at the
sea, he began to slaughter his cattle, according to custom and continued
doing so at intervals until the whole were consumed. Some of them were
offered in sacrifice. As the general rule, when there is beef at a kraal the
neighbors assemble to eat it; but, when an embryo-seer slays his cattle,
those who wish to eat must previously give him something. If however
the chief were to give him a cow, the people of the tribe would be free to
go. In this case the chief had not done so, and the visitors were obliged to
buy their entertainment, one man giving a knife, another a shilling. An
individual, who was unable or unwilling to pay, having ventured to
present himself with empty hands, our neophyte was exceedingly wroth,
and, seizing a stick, gave the intruder a significant hint, which the latter
was not slow to comprehend. During the consumption of his cattle, the
neophyte disappeared again for two days. When it was finished he went
to a prophet, with whom he resided two moons—his children taking him
food; and afterward, to receive further instruction, visited another seer.
He was then considered qualified to practise.”
The reader may remember that the novitiate prophet occasionally
flings himself into water. He chooses the clearest and deepest pool that
he can find, and the object of doing so is to try whether any of the spirits
will reveal themselves to him at the bottom of the water, though they
would not do so on dry land. In the foregoing story of a prophet’s
preparation, the narrator does not touch upon the space that intervenes
between the novitiate and the admission into the prophetic order. This
omission can be supplied by an account given to Mr. Grout, by a native
who was a firm believer in the supernatural powers of the prophets.
The state of “change” lasts for a long time, and is generally terminated
at the beginning of the new year. He then rubs himself all over with
white clay, bedecks himself with living snakes, and goes to a council of
seers. They take him to the water—the sea, if they should be within
reach of the coast—throw him into the water, and there leave him. He
again goes off into solitude, and, when he returns, he is accompanied by
the people of his kraal, bringing oxen and goats for sacrifice. He does not
sacrifice sheep, because they are silent when killed, whereas an ox lows,
and a goat bleats, and it is needful that any animal which is slaughtered
as a sacrifice must cry out.
As they are successively sacrificed, he takes out the bladders and gall-
bags, inflates them with air, and hangs them about his body, as
companions to the snakes which he is already wearing. “He enters pools
of water, abounding in serpents and alligators. And now, if he catches a
snake, he has power over that; or if he catches a leopard, he has power
over the leopard; or if he catches a deadly-poisonous serpent, he has
power over the most poisonous serpent. And thus he takes his degrees,
the degree of leopard, that he may catch leopards, and of serpent, that he
may catch serpents.” Not until he has completed these preparations does
he begin to practise his profession, and to exact payment from those who
come to ask his advice.
I have in my possession a photograph which represents a Zulu prophet
and his wife. It is particularly valuable, as showing the singular contrast
in stature between the two sexes, the husband and wife—so small is the
latter—scarcely seeming to belong to the same race of mankind. This,
indeed, is generally the case throughout the Kaffir tribes. The Kaffir
prophet always carries a wand of office—generally a cow’s tail, fastened
to a wooden handle—and in his other hand he bears a miniature shield
and an assagai.
 OLD PROPHETS.
(See page 176.)

The engraving opposite represents two prophets, in the full costume of

their profession. These were both celebrated men, and had attained old
age when their portraits were taken. One of them was peculiarly noted
for his skill as a rain-maker, and the other was famous for his knowledge
of medicine and the properties of herbs. Each is arrayed in the garments
suitable to the business in which he is engaged. Although the same man
is generally a rain-maker, a witch-finder, a necromancer, and a physician,
he does not wear the same costume on all occasions, but indues the
official dress which belongs to the department, and in many cases the
change is so great that the man can scarcely be recognized. In one case,
he will be dressed merely in the ordinary Kaffir kilt, with a few inflated
gall-bladders in his hair, and a snake-skin wound over his shoulders. In
another, he will have rubbed his face and body with white earth, covered
his head with such quantities of charms that his face can hardly be seen
under them, and fringed his limbs with the tails of cows, the long hair-
tufts of goats, skins of birds, and other wild and savage adornments;
while a perpetual clanking sound is made at every movement by
numbers of small tortoise-shells strung on leathern thongs. His
movements are equally changed with his clothing; and a man who will,
when invoking rain, invest every gesture with solemn and awe-struck
grace, will, when acting as witch-finder, lash himself into furious
excitement, leap high in the air, flourish his legs and arms about as if
they did not belong to him, fill the air with his shrieks, and foam at the
mouth as if he had been taken with an epileptic fit. It is rather curious
that, while in some Kaffir tribes a man who is liable to fits is avoided and
repelled, among others he is thought to be directly inspired by the souls
of departed chiefs, and is ipso facto entitled to become a prophet, even
though he be not of prophetical descent. He is one who has been
specially chosen by the spirits, and may transmit the prophetical office to
his descendants.
 CHAPTER XVIII.
RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION—Continued.

DUTIES OF THE PROPHET — A PROPHET AND HIS CLIENTS — PROBABLE RESULT

OF THE INQUIRY — A KAFFIR’S RELIEF IN CHARMS — CHARM-STICKS AND
THEIR VARIOUS PROPERTIES — COURAGE AND THUNDER CHARMS — A
SOUTH AFRICAN THUNDERSTORM — LOVE, LION, AND FATIGUE CHARMS
— THE KAFFIR CATTLE DOCTOR — ILLNESS OF A CHIEF — THE WIZARD
SUMMONED — SMELLING THE WIZARD — A TERRIBLE SCENE — KONA’S
ILLNESS AND ITS RESULTS — A FEMALE PROPHET AND HER PROCEEDINGS
— INGENIOUS MODE OF EXTORTION — THE IMPOSTURE DETECTED —
HEREDITARY CHARACTER OF PROPHECY — A PROPHETESS AT HOME —
DEMEANOR OF FEMALE PROPHETS — SURGERY AND MEDICINE — A
PRIMITIVE MODE OF CUPPING — A FALSE PROPHET AND HIS FATE — A
SINGULAR SUPERSTITION — KAFFIR VAMPIRES — THE NIGHT CRY —
PROCURING EVIDENCE.

The object for which the Kaffir prophet is generally consulted is the
discovery of witchcraft. Now, the reader must understand that the belief
in witchcraft is universal throughout Africa, and in no part of that
continent is it so strong as in Kaffirland. There is scarcely an ill that can
befall mankind which is not believed to be caused by witchcraft, and,
consequently, the prophet has to find out the author of the evil. The most
harmless discovery that he can make is, that the charm has not been
wrought by any individual, but has been the work of offended spirits. All
illness, for example, is thought to be caused by the spirits of the
departed, either because they are offended with the sufferer, or because
they have been worked upon by some necromancer.
Mr. Shooter has so well described the course of proceeding in such a
case that his own words must be given:—
“When people consult a prophet, they do not tell him on what subject
they wish to be enlightened. He is supposed to be acquainted with their
thoughts, and they merely intimate that they wish to have the benefit of
his knowledge. Probably he will ‘take time to consider,’ and not give his
responses at once. Two young men visiting him, in consequence of their
brother’s illness, found the prophet squatting by his hut, and saluted him.
He then invited them to sit down, and, retiring outside the kraal, squatted
near the gate, to take snuff and meditate. This done to his satisfaction, he
sends a boy to call the visitors into his presence; when they immediately
join him, and squat.
“The prophet asks for his ‘assagai’—a figurative expression for his fee
—when the applicants reply that they have nothing to give at present;
after a while, they will seek something to pay him with. ‘No,’ answers
the prophet, not disposed to give credit; ‘you want to cheat me—
everybody tries to do so now. Why don’t you give me two shillings?’
They offer him a small assagai; but he is not satisfied with the weapon,
and, pointing to a larger one, says, ‘That is mine.’ The man who had
brought this excuses himself by saying that it does not belong to him; but
the prophet persists, and it is given. Having no hope of extorting a larger
fee, the prophet says, ‘Beat and hear, my people.’ Each of the applicants
snaps his fingers, and replies, ‘I hear.’ The beating is sometimes, and
perhaps more regularly, performed by beating the ground with sticks.
The prophet now pretends to have a vision, indistinct at first, but
becoming eventually clearer, until he sees the actual thing which has
occurred. This vision he professes to describe as it appears to him. We
may imagine him saying, for instance, ‘A cow is sick—no, I see a man; a
man has been hurt.’ While he runs on in this way, the applicants reply to
every assertion by beating, as at first, and saying, ‘I hear.’ They carefully
abstain from saying whether he is right or wrong; but when he
approaches the truth, the simple creatures testify their joy by beating and
replying with increased vigor.
“The prophet’s simulated vision is not a series of guesses, in which he
may possibly hit upon the truth, but a systematic enumeration of
particulars, in which he can scarcely miss it. Thus, he may begin by
saying that the thing which the applicants wish to know relates to some
animal with hair, and, going through each division of that class, suggests
whatever may be likely to occur to a cow, a calf, a dog. If he find no
indication that the matter relates to one of this class, he takes another, as
human beings, and proceeds through it in the same manner. It is obvious
that a tolerably clever practitioner may, in this way, discover from the
applicants whatever may have happened to them, and send them away
with a deep impression of his prophetic abilities, especially if he have
any previous knowledge of their circumstances. The following sketch
will give the reader a general idea of the prophet’s manner of proceeding.
A few particulars only, as being sufficient for illustration, are given:—
“‘Beat and hear, my people.’
“They snap their fingers, and say, ‘I hear.’
 “‘Attend, my people.’
“They beat, and say, ‘I hear.’
“‘I don’t know what you want; you want to know something about an
animal with hair. A cow is sick; what’s the matter with her? I see a
wound on her side—no; I’m wrong. A cow is lost; I see a cow in the
bush. Nay, don’t beat, my people; I’m wrong. It’s a dog; a dog has
ascended a hut.[1] Nay, that’s not it, I see now; beat vigorously; the thing
relates to people. Somebody is ill—a man is ill—he is an old man. No; I
see a woman—she has been married a year: where is she? I’m wrong; I
don’t see yet.’
[1] This, it will be remembered, is one of the evil omens which a Kaffir fears.

“Perhaps he takes snuff, and rests a while.

“‘Beat and hear, my people. I see now; it’s a boy—beat vigorously. He
is sick. Where is he sick? Let me see—there’ (placing his hand on some
part of his own person). ‘No—beat and attend, my people—I see now.
T !’ (indicating the actual place). ‘Where is he? Not at his kraal; he
is working with a white man. How has he been hurt? I see him going to
the bush—he has gone to fetch wood; a piece of wood falls upon him; he
is hurt; he cannot walk. I see water; what’s the water for? They are
pouring it over him; he is fainting—he is very ill. The spirits are angry
with him—his father is angry; he wants beef. The boy received a cow for
his wages; it was a black cow. No; I see white. Where is the white? a
little on the side. The spirit wants that cow; kill it, and the boy will
recover.’”
Fortunate indeed are the spectators of the scene if the necromancer
makes such an announcement, and any one of these would be only too
glad to compound for the sacrifice of a cow, if he could be sure of
escaping accusation as a wizard. In the case of a “boy,” or even of a
married man of no great rank or wealth, such will probably be the result
of the inquiry—the prophet will get his fee, the spectators will get a
feast, and the patient may possibly get better. But when a chief is ill, the
probability is that some one will be accused of witchcraft, and if the king
is ailing such an accusation is a matter of certainty.
In the eye of a Kaffir, any one may be a witch or a wizard—both sexes
being equally liable to the impeachment—and on that subject no man
can trust his neighbor. A husband has no faith in his own wife, and the
father mistrusts his children. As a natural consequence, the faith in
charms is coextensive with the belief in witchcraft, and there is scarcely
a Kaffir who does not carry with him a whole series of charms, each
being destined to avert some particular evil. The charms are furnished to
them by the prophets, and as they never are of the least intrinsic value,
and are highly paid for, the business of a prophet is rather a lucrative
one. Anything will serve as a charm,—bits of bone, scraps of skin,
feathers, claws, teeth, roots, and bits of wood. A Kaffir will often have a
whole string of such charms hung round his neck, and, to a European, a
superstitious Kaffir has often a very ludicrous aspect. One man, who
seems to have been peculiarly impressible to such observances, had
bedecked his head with pigs’ bristles set straight, so as to stand out on all
sides, like the quills of a hedgehog, while round his neck he had strung a
quantity of charms, the principal of which were pieces of bone, the head
of a snake, the tooth of a young hippopotamus, and a brass door-handle.
Sometimes the charms are strung on the same thong with the beads,
needles, knives, snuff boxes, and other decorations of a Kaffir’s toilet,
but generally they are considered worthy of a string to themselves.
But the generality of charms are made of various roots and bits of
wood, which are hung round the neck, and nibbled when the wearer feels
a need of their influence. One powerful set of charms is intended for the
purpose of securing the wearer against the feeling of fear, and the
prophets have very ingeniously managed to invent a separate charm for
every kind of fear. For example, if a Kaffir has to go out at night, and is
afraid of meeting ghosts, he has recourse to his ghost-charm, which he
nibbles slightly, and then sallies out in bold defiance of the shades below.
When he has come to his journey’s end, he finds that he has met no
ghosts, and, consequently, he has unlimited faith in his charm. If he
should go into action as a soldier, he takes care to have his enemy-charm
ready for use, and just before he enters the battle bites off a portion of the
wood, masticates it thoroughly, and then blows the fragments toward the
foe, confident that he is thus taking away from the courage of the enemy,
and adding the subtracted amount to his own. The only misgiving which
disturbs his mind is, that the enemy is doing exactly the same thing, and
he cannot be quite sure that the opposing charm may not be more potent
than his own. The prophet rather fosters than discourages this feeling,
because the soldier—knowing that, if he retreats, he will be executed as a
coward—is so anxious to possess a double share of courage that he will
pay largely in order to secure a powerful charm.
Frequently, when a soldier has been thus disgraced, his friends abuse
the prophet for furnishing so impotent a charm. His reply, however, is
always easy: “He only gave me a goat, and could only expect goat-
charms; if he wanted ox-charms, he ought to have given me a cow, or at
least a calf.” Even if an adequate fee has been paid, the answer is equally
ready—the man was a wizard, and the spirits of his ancestors were angry
with him for troubling them so much with his conjurations.
Very few Kaffirs will venture out during the stormy season without a
thunder-charm as a preservative against lightning. This object looks just
like any other charm, and is, in fact, nothing more than a small piece of
wood or root. The Kaffir’s faith in it is unbounded, and, in consequence
of the awful severity of thunderstorms, the sale of such charms is a very
lucrative part of the prophet’s business. We can scarcely wonder that the
Kaffir has recourse to such preservatives, for he well knows that no art of
man can avail against the terrific storms of that country. Even in our own
country we often witness thunderstorms that fill the boldest with awe,
while the weaker-minded of both sexes cower in abject fear at the
crashing thunder and the vivid lightning streaks. But the worst storm that
has been known in England or the United States is as nothing compared
to the ordinary thunderstorms of Southern Africa—storms in which the
native, who has been accustomed to them all his life, can do nothing but
crouch to the ground, and lay his hand on his mouth in silence. What an
African storm can be may be imagined from the following account by
Mr. Cole:—
“Emerging after a few days from these freezing quarters, I found
myself in the plains of the Graaf-Reinet district. It was pleasant to feel
warm again, but what I gained in caloric I decidedly lost in the
picturesque: never-ending plains of burnt grass, treeless, riverless,
houseless—such were the attractions that greeted my eyes. How
anything in the vegetable or animal kingdom could exist there seemed a
perfect mystery. Yet the mystery is soon explained. I was there when
there had been a long-continued drought—one of those visitations to
which these districts are especially subject. One day the clouds began to
gather, the wind fell, the air became oppressively sultry, and all gave
notice of an approaching storm. My horses became restive and uneasy,
and for myself I felt faint and weary to excess. My after-rider looked
alarmed, for truly the heavens bore a fearful aspect. I can conceive
nothing more dismal than the deep, thick, black, impenetrable masses of
clouds that surrounded us. It might have been the entrance to the infernal
regions themselves that stood before us. Suddenly we saw a stream of
light so vivid, so intensely bright, and of such immense height
(apparently), that for a moment we were half blinded, while our horses
snorted and turned sharp round from the glare. Almost at the same
instant burst forth a peal of thunder, like the artillery of all the universe
discharged at once in our ears.
“There was no time to be lost: we struck spurs to our horses’ flanks,
and galloped to a mountain side, a little way behind us, where the quick
eye of my Hottentot had observed a cave. In a few minutes—moments
rather—we were within it, but not before the storm had burst forth in all
its fury. One moment the country round us was black as ink—the next it
was a sheet of living flame, whiter than the white heat of the furnace.
One long-continued, never-ceasing roar of thunder (not separate claps as
we hear them in this country) deafened our ears, and each moment we
feared destruction; for, more than once, huge masses of rock, detached
by the lightning blast from the mountain above us, rolled down past our
cavern with the roar of an avalanche. The Hottentot lay on his face,
shutting out the sight, though he could not escape the sound. At length
the rain-spouts burst forth, and to describe how the water deluged the
earth would be impossible; suffice it, that though we had entered the
cave from the road without passing any stream, or apparently any bed of
one, when we again ventured forth from our place of shelter, three hours
later, a broad and impassable torrent flowed between ourselves and the
road, and we had to crawl along the mountain sides on foot, with great
difficulty, and in the momentary danger of losing our footing on its
slippery surface, and being dashed into the roaring torrent, for about two
miles ere we could find a fordable spot. Two days later these plains were
covered with a lovely verdure.”
Other charms are intended for softening the heart of a girl whom a
man wants to marry, or of her father, in order to induce him to be
moderate in his demand for cows, or of the chief if he should have to
prefer a request. All these charms are exactly alike to the look, and it is
needless to say that they do not possess the least efficacy in one way or
another.
There are some charms which undoubtedly do possess some power,
and others which owe their force to the imagination of the user. The
many charms which they possess against various kinds of fear belong to
this class. For example, if a man meets a lion or a leopard, and nibbles a
little scrap of wood, it is plain that the efficiency of these charms is
wholly imaginary. In many instances this is undoubtedly the case. If a
man, meeting a lion, nibbles a little piece of lion-charm, and the animal
moves off, leaving him unmolested, his fears are certainly allayed by the
use of the charm, though his escape is due to the natural dread of man
implanted in the nature of the inferior animal, and not to the power of the
charm. In battle, too, a man who thinks that his charms will render the
enemy afraid of him is much more likely to fight with doubled valor, and
so to bring about the result attributed to the charm. In cases of illness,
too, we all know how powerful is the healing effect of the imagination in
restoration of health.
But there are many instances where the material used as a charm
possesses medicinal properties, of which the prophet is perfectly aware.
There is, for example, one charm against weariness, the efficacy of
which clearly depends upon the properties of the material. One of my
friends, who was quite weary after a day’s hard hunting, was persuaded
by one of his Kaffir servants to eat a little of his fatigue-charm. It was
evidently made from the root of some tree, and was very bitter, though
not unpleasantly so. He tried it, simply from curiosity, and was agreeably
surprised to find that in a few minutes he felt his muscular powers
wonderfully restored, so that he was enabled to resume his feet, and
proceed briskly homeward, the extreme exhaustion having passed away.
Imagination in this case had nothing to do with the success of the charm,
and it is evident that the prophet who sold it to the Kaffir was aware of
its medicinal properties.
So deeply rooted in the Kaffir mind is the idea that all sickness is
caused by witchcraft of some kind or other, that even if cattle are ill,
their sickness is supposed to have been caused by some supernatural
power. The first course that is taken is necessarily the propitiation of the
spirits, in order that they may overrule the machinations of the evil-doer,
and preserve the cattle, which constitute the wealth and strength of the
kraal. One of the best oxen is therefore sacrificed to them with the usual
ceremonies, and, when it is dead, the gall and contents of the stomach are
scattered over the cattle pen, and the spirits are solemnly invoked.
Here is one of these curious prayers, which was obtained from a
Kaffir. “Hail! friend! thou of this kraal, grant us a blessing, beholding
what we have done. You see this distress; remove it, since we have given
you an animal. We know not what more you want, whether you still
require anything more or not. Grant us grain that it may be abundant, that
we may eat, and not be in want of anything, since we have given you
what you want. This kraal was built by yourself, father, and now why do
you diminish your own kraal? Build on, as you have begun, let it be
larger, that your offspring, still hereabout, may increase, increasing
knowledge of you, whence cometh great power.”
The flesh of the slaughtered ox is then taken into a hut, the door is
closed, and no one is allowed to enter for a considerable time, during
which period the spirits are supposed to be eating the beef. The door is
then opened, the beef is cooked, and all who are present partake of it. If
the propitiatory sacrifice fails, a prophet of known skill is summoned,
and the herd collected in the isi-baya, or central enclosure, in readiness
against his arrival. His first proceeding is to light a fire in the isi-baya
and burn medicine upon it, taking care that the smoke shall pass over the
cattle. He next proceeds to frighten the evil spirit out of them by a simple
though remarkable proceeding. He takes a firebrand in his hand, puts a
lump of fat in his mouth, and then walks up to one of the afflicted oxen.
The animal is firmly held while he proceeds to masticate the fat, and then
to eject it on the firebrand. The mixed fat and water make a great
sputtering in the face of the ox, which is greatly terrified, and bursts
away from its tormentors.
This process is repeated upon the entire herd until they are all in a
state of furious excitement, and, as soon as they have reached that stage,
the gate of the enclosure is thrown open, and the frightened animals dash
out of it. All the inhabitants of the kraal rush after them, the men beating
their shields with their knob-kerries, the women rattling calabashes with
stones in them, and all yelling and shouting at the top of their voices. The
cattle, which are generally treated with peculiar kindness, are quite
beside themselves at such a proceeding, and it is a considerable time
before they can recover their equanimity. This may seem to be rather a
curious method of treating the cattle disease, but, as the fee of the
prophet is forfeited if the animals are not cured, it is to be presumed that
the remedy is more efficacious than it appears to be.
When a chief of rank happens to be ill, and especially if the king
himself should be ailing, no one has the least doubt that sorcery was the
cause of the evil. And, as the chiefs are given to eating and drinking, and
smoking and sleeping, until they are so fat that they can hardly walk, it is
no wonder that they are very frequently ill. It thus becomes the business
of the prophet to find out the wizard, or “evil-doer,” as he is called, by
whom the charm was wrought.
To doubt that the illness was caused by witchcraft would be a sort of
high treason, and afford good grounds for believing that the doubter is
himself the wizard. For a Kaffir chief always chooses to think himself
above the common lot of humanity—that he is superior to others, and
that he cannot die like inferior men. It is evident, therefore, that any
ailment which may attack him must be caused by witchcraft, and that, if
the evil-doer can be detected, the spell will lose its potency, and the
sufferer be restored to health.
 Charms which cause ill-health are usually roots, tufts of hair, feathers,
bits of bone, or similar objects, which have been in the possession of the
victim, or at least have been touched by him. These are buried in some
secret spot by the wizard, who mutters spells over them, by means of
which the victim droops in health in proportion as the buried charm
decays in the ground. The object of the prophet, therefore, is twofold;
first, to point out the wizard, and, secondly, to discover the buried
charms, dig them up, and reverse the spell.
The “evil-doer” is discovered by a process which is technically named
“smelling.” A large circle is formed of spectators, all of whom squat on
the ground, after the usual manner of Kaffirs. When all is ready, the
prophet clothes himself in his full official costume and proceeds into the
circle, where he is received with a great shout of welcome. Though every
one knows that before an hour has elapsed one at least of their number
will be accused of witchcraft, and though no one knows whether he
himself may not be the victim, no one dares to omit the shout of
welcome, lest he should be suspected as the wizard. The prophet then
begins to pace slowly in the circle, gradually increasing his speed, until
at last he breaks into a dance, accompanying his steps with a measured
chant. Louder and louder peals the chant, quicker and wilder become the
steps of the magic dancer, until at last the man lashes himself into a state
of insane fury, his eyes rolling, tears streaming down his cheeks, and his
chant interrupted by shrieks and sobs, so that the spectators may well
believe, as they most firmly do, that he is possessed by the spirits of
departed chiefs.
Then comes the anxious part of the ceremony. The prophet leaps in
great bounds over the arena, first rushing to one part and then to another,
inhaling his breath violently, like a dog trying to discover a lost scent,
and seeming to be attracted to or repelled from certain individuals by a
power not his own. Each Kaffir sits in trembling awe, his heart sinking
when he sees the terrible prophet coming toward him, and his courage
returning as the seer turns off in another direction. At last the choice is
made. The prophet stops suddenly opposite one portion of the circle, and
begins to sniff violently, as if trying to discover by the sense of smell
who the offender may be. The vast assembly look on in awe-struck
silence, while the prophet draws nearer and nearer, as if he were
supernaturally attracted to the object of which he is in search. Suddenly
he makes a dash forward, snatches his wand of office out of his belt,
touches the doomed man with it and runs off. The hapless victim is