Adventure Magazine Cover — page 50: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

40 red tape; and that Gabriel wore a per- petual frown because the Day of Judgment was continually being postponed and his Trumpeters getting overtrained. However, the writer is not a returned spirit, but happens to be just an African who will relate things and incidents in the native life from infancy to childhood and from childhood on through the alloted life span— which have no duplicates in civilization. The tale will, I hope, prove entertaining to many and instructive to all. WHEN a mother gives birth to a child, none of the precautions and care known to her civilized sister is given her—nor does she expect any. However, during the period preceding birth, when it is apparent that another life is to be brought into the world, certain traditions are observed. One is that the mother-to-be may go to the river with the other women to get the daily supply of water for the kraal, but on no account whatsoever must she fill her own kalabaas, because in scooping up the water to fill the kalabaas, she might by chance look into the water and see a reflection which she might imagine to be her own, but which is in reality Tiko La Se, the Evil Spirit, who is always around and ready to do any kind of mischief, and is, according to the current belief, able to turn himself into anything he may take into his mind to be. The expectant mother lives a rather retired life in the community compared with other times, for she has at her beck and call all the children in her immediate vicinity to do whatsoever she commands. On coming out of any hut, she must never turn to the left but always to the right; for if she does not, the child will be born left-handed, and left-handed people always become wmtoyati (witches), and walk back- wards in a straight line on moonlight nights. .: This being so, all children born left- handed are killed at birth. How to determine whether a child is left- or right-handed is left to the “old wife” of the tribe, who observes the child closely for the first three days to see which of its two big toes it is most interested in, and what side it is most fond of lying and rolling on. Thus the poor innocent mite balances its own life on its back and literally holds its own life in its tiny, puny hands. There comes a day when the stork leaves a pink-brown squirming bundle of chuckles; Adventure for be it known the native baby at birth and a few weeks afterward has a composite coloring of pinky-pink-brown which is very pretty and sweet to see, and it may be said right here that the offspring of the great hippopotamus is also pink in its first six weeks of Jungle existence. How this comes about, I make no attempt to explain, but leave it to the scientist to find out. The child may be born anywhere or in any place. The mother may be out in the fields or in the forests gathering spingo or some other native jungle berries, when the child is born. The mother, unlike her civilized sister, is not burdened down with all kinds of trap- pings such as clothing, corsets, supports or high-heeled shoes, but is dressed in a very simple manner, leaving the limbs free and the movements easy and graceful. Every one who is in the neighborhood at the time of birth is very anxious to know whether it is a boy or a girl. If it is a girl, they murmur— ‘““May she grow up to be sturdy and strong.” For a boy the saying is— “He must join the impi (warriors) and eat a whole leg of beef to prove that he is a man.” The native test of character, stamina, and integrity is for a warrior to prove himself the biggest eater. Consequently the man with the greatest appetite is the one who gets the most important commissions and compensations. All native girls, as soon as they are able to toddle, are made to carry something on their heads. First this is done so that they will have an erect carriage; but the second reason is that when they grow up they are to become the beasts of burden, for they have to bring the water from the river and wood from the forest. Their education or instruction goes right down to the funda- mentals of life. They are taught all the duties pertaining to a large household and the responsibilities of motherhood. The boys are taught the responsibilities of parenthood. gine IN A day or so after the birth of a =are child the witch-doctor is called in. Instead of coming he sends a mes- sage back to the effect that a dish of amagimba (kaffir-corn) is to be cooked and a little salt put on it, after which it is to be placed by the first post inside the hut on the COIN Clooolkks (©