Adventure Magazine Cover — page 57: what you’re looking at

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

In Kaffir Kraals for a while, the whole village took it up. First the abafana took it up, then the ama ntombi; the wives joined in last. An umfaam jumped up with a fighting stick in his hand, yelling— “‘Zowka, zowka!l Izani, izant ni bone!” The whole village shouted— ““Tzanil”’ Everybody scrambled up in excitement. They formed a circle around him as he flung a challenge to his companions to better what he was to do. He shook his body in rhythm with the music. He “trembled”’ his arms, then held up his right arm with the stick in his hand and with a wonderful control of his body he made the muscles of his back from the shoulder blades to his feet “ripple” in time with the music. A second umfaam leaped into the circle with a yell, banged his stick hard on the ground, gave a leap into the air, and landing hard with both feet level and with both feet still, and head too, he “shook” his body till the crowd went into a frenzy. A third challenger was now in the circle trying to better the performance of the other two by standing on his toes for a second and bringing the heels down with resounding thud, shouting in a deep-chested voice his contempt of his companions. The excitement became intense; the women’s voices grew sharper as they sang; the clapping, faster and faster. Dozens and dozens of other abafana joined in the dance, the beat of the drums became more staccato with a tripping note, and an excited ntomdz, delirious with the music and the general atmosphere, commenced to dance with the gesticulating crowd of voung men. She was struck to the ground even before she had half begun to dance, for it 1s against the native law for the women to dance with the men and for a man to be seen dancing in a crowd of women! That is an abomination that must never happen twice to any man, for should it hap- pen his feet are cut off. A glorious African full moon rose over the distant hills; a hyena laughed out there in the night; one of the mongrel curs started howling; the dancers faltered in their steps; the singing and clapping became dispirited and died away as the superstitious minds were gripped by the fear of the unknown. A howl half begun was choked off as some one strangled the cur. The bodies of the dancers were steaming in the cool night air, 47 perspiration streamed down their faces and bodies so that small damp spots formed in any place where any had stood any length of time. Groups formed as every one slowly made his or her way to that particular part of the community he or she lived in—talking in un- dertones as to what the howling of the inja meant. Some gave their opinions about the evil spirit; others, that it was the act of Okulunkula—the greatest of the great— who was warning them through the howls of the now dead dog, whereas a few moments before the air had been full of joyous and merry sounds. Now everything was silent save for the lowing of the cattle in the sibay: and a crashing sound as a truculent goat butted one of its mates against the reenforced thorny fence. The shadows under the light of the climbing moon were long and uncanny, and Upina, racing along side by side with another companion, striving with all the speed he could muster to “‘cross”’ his companion’s “‘shadow’’ in order that no “spell” be easily cast on him, shoulder to shoulder, leaning on each other as they rounded the Simbayi muttered— “Hayi buut; Suka-suka.”’ A grunt anda lunge and he was in front of his companion —had ‘‘crossed” his ‘‘shadow” on him. No spell could touch Upina, but he could ‘spell’ his companion if he wanted to, according to the native legend. Badly frightened, the ‘‘cross-shadowed”’ boy went on his way to his family hut, roar- ing vengeance, and scofting at the idea of his shadow being crossed; but this was done in order to keep his courage up more than any- thing else, for even at that very moment a bat flew over his head and the already demoralized boy nearly collapsed with added fright. Upina, in high spirits, went as fast as he could to his parents’ abode, or, as should be said, to his own mother’s hut, for in the three years and odd months past, the stalwart one, his father, had acquired three more wives, which, with Upina’s mother, made a household of four wives, each wife having her own hut. Upina entered his mother’s hut and turned to the right. The hut was dark. As he slept just in one place he was able to find his mat and as he handled and laid out his hides that he covered himself with, he discovered that he still retained in one of GO OO) S © iin