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M. SHAW & N. J. VAN WARMELO Cape Town Kaapstad The ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM are issued in parts at irregular intervals as material becomes available Obtainable from the South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town 8000 Die ANNALE VAN DIE SUID-AFRIKAANSE MUSEUM word uitgegee in dele op ongereelde tye na gelang van die beskikbaarheid van stof Verkrygbaar van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum, Posbus 61, Kaapstad 8000 OUT OF PRINT/UIT DRUK {, 201-3; 5-8), 30-2, 425. Bt a) 6(1, t-p.i.), 70-4), 8, 9(01-2,-7), 1001-3), 11(1-2, 5, 7, t.-p.i.), 141-2), 15(4-5), 24(2), 27, 3101-3), 32(5)» 33, 362). tm) Copyright enquiries to the South African Museum Kopieregnavrae aan die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum ISBN 0 86813 076 1 Printed in South Africa by In Suid-Afrika gedruk deur The Rustica Press, Pty., Ltd., Die Rustica-pers, Edms., Bpk.., Court Road, Wynberg, Cape Courtweg, Wynberg, Kaap THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI Part 4 Personal and general By E. M. SHAw South African Museum, Cape Town & SMITHSON Ia JUN 2 7 1988 LIBRARIES N. J. VAN WARMELO Department of Development Aid, Pretoria (With 57 plates and 5 text-figures) [MS accepted 21 January 1986 | ABSTRACT This fourth and final part of the study records the use to which Cape Nguni technology, as described in the second part of the volume, is put in making objects of personal use, and in activities not directly connected with subsistence. These are clothing, costume, ornament, toilet and per- sonal accessories, the use of hemp and tobacco, medicine, religion, music, games, currency and transport. An attempt is made to isolate artistic production. The starting point of this section, as of the whole work, was the Xhosa terminology and the recording of all objects for which names exist. To achieve this the literature was searched, museum specimens were recorded in South Africa and elsewhere, and fieldwork was undertaken in Transkei and Ciskei between 1948 and 1971. The study concentrates on the period up to 1948, with some reference to the great changes that have taken place since then, and as a result of which much of what is recorded here no longer exists. CONTENTS PAGE Introduction . ' : : : . » -AAS Sources . : : : : . 449 Terms . : , ; 5 . 449 Abbreviations : : : . 449 RIGiiAe 20) 5 4s) cee eae eae Sources . : : ; : . 450 Terms . : ; : ; 306 Discussion. : : ‘ oo SSO Costume and insienia . §.. &. -* 558 Sources . : ; : : “Soe Wergs * .. l : : ‘ 2 eS Discussion. : E : - S87 Ornament : : é : . © 606 Sources . : : : : =) 06 Terms . ‘ : : : . 646 Discussion. : : : ae GST. 447 Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 58 (4), 1988: 447-949, 57 pls, 5 figs. 448 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM PAGE Toilet and personal accessories. . 684 Sources . : : ; : See (ote! Terms . é : : : 705) Discussion. : ; i ; - 107 Hemp ‘anditobaccoy yee) ae eee re Sources . ; X 3 ; ee terms. 9 : E : : Tee Discussion. : 2 : =» 40 Medicine, magic andreligion . . 756 Sources . : ; : : <7 W56 Terms: - 3 f : : <, 805 Discussion. 5 ; : . 808 Musical instruments . : ‘ = O25 Sources . ‘ : F : oo oes Terms = h : : : 2) 833 Discussion. : ‘ , 3. 2695 Loys and-cames’ . = 42. S46 Sources . : y ; , . 846 fens = ; : P : x ool Discussion. 3 2 :
es, Ve OOS
Sources . , ; : 2 . 869
Derms) ” -<% : : : a S5872
Discussion. ; 5 : -\7878
Art . : : : : : . Af 287s
Sources . ; : d : = 875
Terms . é : : é . 880
Discussion. ; 5 : 2) oon
Summary Sty 38 os Pa a BSS
Conclusion . : ; ; 5 . 891
Acknowledgements =.) <- 4 7 893
Chronological list of sources . . 894
References . : : ‘ , . 899
List of illustrations , : : . 92
Indexes to Volume 58 . : ; oo OMS
INTRODUCTION
This is the fourth and final part of a volume in which the material culture of
the southern Nguni people is described (see Shaw & Van Warmelo 1972, 1974,
1981). This part deals with various personal aspects and some public aspects that
are not directly connected with subsistence.
Recent discoveries and identifications of wreck sites on the Transkei and
Ciskei coasts have changed some of the localities hitherto accepted in historical
sources. Notable is the placing near the Msikaba River, just within the present
northern border of the Transkei, of the wreck of the S. Bento in 1554, previously
thought to have been north of the Bashee River (Auret & Maggs 1982). The people
seen there were evidently Cape Nguni, and their presence in that locality is not
inconsistent with the view expressed in the historical introduction (Shaw & Van
Warmelo 1972).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 449
The numbering of figures and plates is continuous throughout the four parts
of this volume; the reference list at the end of this part covers all four parts of the
volume.
SOURCES
It should be noted that the spelling in the sources is as in the publications
themselves. Von Winkelman’s (1788-9) text is particularly rich in spelling errors.
The dates preceding the names of authors in the sources given for each chapter
are preferably those of the author’s stay in that part of the country. Sometimes the
author dated his narrative as it went along, and in that case the exact date is used.
If the work was published while the author was still in the country, the period
between the date of arrival and the date of publication has been taken. Where no
dates of sojourn are known the date of publication is given in parentheses. The
object of this arrangement is to keep the sources as far as possible in chronological
order.
Since this study was begun it has come to light that the figures of Xhosa people
usually referred to as ‘the Gordon drawings’ were in fact sketched by the artist
J. Schumacher, who accompanied Colonel Gordon on his visit to the eastern Cape.
TERMS
In the sections on terms, the names of authors with single publications are
given without reference to date, for the sake of brevity; the full details may be
found in the list of references. In the case of Soga, however, it should be noted
that unless otherwise stated, J. H. Soga (1932) is referred to. The convention
(X-Soga), for example, means that the word or meaning is taken from a source
other than verbally from an informant in the field. The latter case is indicated by
the abbreviation of the tribal name, for example X (see list of abbreviations). The
starting point of the study was the Kafir-English Dictionary by Kropf (1915—
Godfrey ed.), which is indicated by D. Terms gathered in the field or elsewhere
and not in the Dictionary are marked nD.
The terms are numbered in bold type as one series throughout the four parts
of the volume, to facilitate indexing. Where a term appears in more than one place,
its other numbers are given as well, in parentheses.
Hlonipha is a custom that requires a female to avoid as taboo, words identical
with or similar in sound to the names of her chief’s and husband’s relatives,
especially her father-in-law, and to substitute for them others, which together
constitute a whole hlonipha vocabulary for the use of those needing one or other
item from it.
ABBREVIATIONS
Afr. Afrikaans
Alb. Albany Museum, Grahamstown
AM Africana Museum, Johannesburg
450
Beukes
Mpm
Mrs Goodwin
Mzamane
nD
PEM
pers. comm.
pl.
ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Dr W. T. Beukes, formerly ethnologist, Transvaal Museum, Pretoria: catalogue
entries
Bhaca
British Museum, London
Bomvana
class
collection; collected by
in correspondence
Kropf (1915) (A Kafir-English Dictionary—Godfrey ed.)
East London Museum
Mbo
English
Fingo
F. S. Malan Museum, Fort Hare
figure; figuratively
Hlubi
P. R. Kirby, formerly professor of music at the University of the Witwatersrand
Kaffrarian Museum, King William’s Town
literally
McGregor Museum, Kimberley
Mpondo
Mpondomise
collection of beadwork at the South African Museum, Cape Town, named by Mrs
Goodwin
G. Mzamane, formerly lecturer at University College of Fort Hare (now Fort Hare
University)
not in Kropf (1915)
Port Elizabeth Museum
personal communication
plural
pron. pronunciation; pronounced
SAM South African Museum, Cape Town
sing. singular
1 Thembu
™ Transvaal Museum, Pretoria; collection now in National Cultural History and
Open-Air Museum, Pretoria
(KCI University of Cape Town ethnological collection; now at South African Museum,
Cape Town
Xx Xhosa
Xes Xesibe
Zu Zulu
CLOTHING
SOURCES
1554 Perestrello p. 156 Bashee R.* northwards: no clothing
‘. . . de modo que nenhuma outra informacgao pudemos ter mais que serem
Cafres de cor bem negra, a cabello revolto, que andava6 nus, com mais appa-
rencia de salvagens, que de homens racionaes.’
*Now thought to be Msikaba R. (Auret & Maggs 1982) (see p. 448)
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 451
(p. 223. *. . . so that we could learn nothing but that they were Kaffirs, very
black in colour, with woolly hair, and went naked, having more the appearance
of savages than of rational men.’)
1593 Lavanha (1597) p. 234 South of Umtata R.: cloak, sandals
‘Era 0 vestido destes Cafres hum manta6 de pelles de bezerro, com o cabello
para fora, as quaes untaO com grassa para serem brandas: o calcado de duas e tres
solas de couro cru, pegadas humas nas outras, de forma redonda, nas quaes anda
O pé atado com correyas, e com elle correm com grande ligeireza;... .’
(p. 293. ‘The dress of these Kaffirs is a mantle of ox-hide, with the hair
outwards, which they rub with grease to make it soft. They are shod with two or
three soles of raw leather fastened together in a round shape, and secured to the
feet with straps; in these they run with great lightness; .. . .’)
1622 Almada (1625) p. 28 South of Bashee R. or Kei R.: cloaks, penis-sheath
“Todos estes Cafres usao de capas, que lhe dao por bayxo do quadril de pelles
muy bem adobadas de animaes pequenos de fermoso pelo, & segundo a qualidade
do Cafre se vestem com melhores pelles huns que outros, & nisto tem muyto ponto;
& nao trazem mais vestido, que estas capas, & hua pelle mais galante, com que
cobrem as vergonhas, & eu vi a hum Cafre grave huma capa toda de Martas
Zebelinas, & perguntando-lhe onde havia aquelles animaes, disse, que pela terra
dentro havia tanta quantidade delles, que todos em geral se vestiao de suas pelles.’
(p. 96. ‘All these Kaffirs wear cloaks of very well-dressed skins, which hang
below their hips. The skins are those of small animals with very beautiful fur, and
these furs are better or worse according to the rank of the wearer, and they are
very punctilious about this. They wear nothing but these capes and a more ludi-
crous covering of skin over the privy part. I saw a grave Kaffir with a cloak of sable
skins, and when I asked him where these animals were to be found he said that
there were so many of them in the interior that their skins were generally worn.’)
1647 Feyo (1650) p. 252 12 days north-east of R. Infante: cloaks, caps
‘. . . & traziao huas pelles, com que se cobriao pelas costas, & o mais corpo
nu, assim homens como mulheres, que so se differengavao, em trazerem as
mulheres a cabeca cuberta com barretes do mesmo couro,... .”
(p. 314. ‘They wore skins, with which they covered their backs, and the rest
of the body was naked, both of men and women, the only difference between them
being that the women had their heads covered with caps of the same hide, . . . .’)
1686 ‘Stavenisse’ (Cape Archives) p. 35 ?Xhosa: clothing
‘.. . Sij vallen in haar dragt kleding en ommegang veel geschikter als de
Caabsche Hottentots.’
1686 ‘Stavenisse’ (Godée Molsbergen 1922) p. 58 ?Xhosa: clothing
The same as above.
1687-8 ‘Centaurus’ (Cape Archives) pp. 444, 445 Xhosa: clothing, mourning
p. 444 Xhosa: clothing, aprons
‘Sij gebruijcken de smeerighe mutsen, gelijck de Hottentots van Natal, en
452 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
hunne kleijding komt met de Caepsche over een, uitgesonderd dat de dogters wel
met enighe nettjes vernunft vercierd zijn. Gelijck de natalsche Hottentots het ijser
soo konnen sij het metael tot armringen versmelten, en souden ook wel kennisse
van enige mineraelen hebben.’
p. 445 Xhosa: mourning
‘Komt hunnen Coninck te sterven, dan mogen sij den tijd van een jaar geen
mutzen dragen, met eene de koopere hals en armringen door (hun) tot een Ciraat
gebruijckt, afleggende, .. .’
1687-8 ‘Centaurus’ (Sutherland 1845) p. 306 Xhosa: general description
Nothing more.
1687-8 ‘Centaurus’ (Bird 1888) pp. 42, 43 Xhosa: general description
Nothing more.
1687-8 ‘Centaurus’ (Godée Molsbergen 1922) p. 94 Xhosa: caps
The same as original.
i752 Beutler pp, 298, 307, 3i5 Xhosa, Thembu: clothing
p. 298 Xhosa: cloak
(4
. . syne kleeding bestond gelijk doorgaans by de Caffres gebruykelijk is in
een caros van een beestevel hetgeen swart en ruyg als camoesleer bereyt was;... .’
p. 307 Xhosa: general description
‘De kleeding der mannen bestaat uyt een enkeld caros of vel dat so swart en
wel bereyd is als camoes leer, ’t welk se alleen met haare tandige assagaayen weeten
so klaar te maken, de haarige zeyde daarvan draagen se teegens het lijf en de gladde
zyde buyten, die caros waaraan den hals een soort van een omslag is, draagen sy
dan voor dan agter en ook wel somtijds op zeyde; als se die op de rugge hebben,
dan sijn se van vooren in ’t geheel naakt, het hooft van de roede enkeld en alleen
gedekt sijnde met een dopje van darmen gemaakt, dat met een riemtje aan haare
lighaamen vastgemaakt is; de vrouwen draagen een onderrok met een korte
mantelje en een soort van een muts waarvan vier bysondere slippen op de schou-
ders hangen op het hoofd, van hetselfde leer gemaakt, dog in huys lopen mannen
en vrouwen sonder schaamte moeder nackt.’
p15 Thembu: like Xhosa
‘Deese Tamboegiesen komen in haare kleedinge, levenswyse en inborst met
de Caffers waar voor se ook kunnen passeeren overeen, alleen sijn se wat besadiger
en so onbeschaamt niet in haaren omgang, ook staan se alle onder een algemeen
opperhooft by haarluyden Tzeba genaamt.’
1772-6 Sparrman (1785) 2 pp. 7-9 Xhosa, Gonaqua: clothing
pi, Xhosa, Gonaqua: cloaks
‘The cloaks of the Gonaquas are likewise made of dressed cowhides, like those
of the Caffres. These cloaks are very supple; a quality that proceeds partly from
being rubbed a good deal, which I myself saw performed with stones on the inside
of them; and partly from the great quantity of grease, which, being mixed up with
bucku-powder, is rubbed into them.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 453
p. 8 Gonaqua (and Xhosa): women’s apron
‘The Gonaquas women make use of almost the same kind of apron or veil as
the Hottentot females do.’ (1 p. 197 describes Hottentot women as wearing two
or sometimes three aprons. The outermost is about 15—30 cm wide and reaches to
about middle of thigh. It is decorated with designs in beadwork. The second apron
is about a third or a half less and the third apron ‘scarcely larger than one’s hand’.
The two latter are not beaded.)
pp. 8-9 Gonaqua: penis-sheath
‘The men are much more naked and less covered about this part than the males
among the Hottentots, inasmuch as they cover with a little cap, or case, made of
the skin of an animal the extremities only of what modesty should teach them to
conceal entirely. This socket, resembling the extremity of the thumb of a glove,
is sometimes fastened with a small thong, or the sinew of an animal, to some strings
of beads of leathern belts, which they wear for ornament’s sake round their waists.’
1776 Swellengrebel p. 12 Xhosa: cloak, cap, apron, penis-sheath
‘Zy droegen een caros, dog niet gesmeerd; ook gaven zy geen zodanigen
viesen lugt van zig, gelijk de Hottentots; over de teeldeelen hadden zy een lap vel,
*t geen zeer smal, maar lang en los tusschen de dyen hing, zodat het die deelen by
de minste beweeginge niet zeer bedekte. Er waren ook die zonder zodanigen lap
liepen, daarenboven hadden ze over de kop van die roede nog getrokken een stukje
leeder, evenals een vinger van een handschoen, gemaakt van een vlies in ’t zakje
van de calvers.’
1776 Hallema (1932) pp. 132-133 Xhosa: men’s and women’s dress
‘Op den eenen schouder droegen zij een karos, die bij sommigen over en bij
anderen onder den anderen schouder met een riem over de borst was vastgemaakt
en hen langs den rug tot even boven de kuit hing. De karossen scheenen met haar
er aan zeer wel bereid te zijn en waren van runderbeesten, leeuwen, tijger* of
andere vellen.’ (Note 2: ‘Bedoeld wordt natuurlijk de luipard (Felis pardus) of
panter.’) ‘Hunne Genitalia bedekken ze door een lap vel, het geen wel lang, doch
smal en los tusschen de beenen hangt, zoodat die door de minste beweeging bloot
hangen; er waren ook, die zonder zoodanige lap liepen; maar over de kop der penis
hadden ze nog getrokken een stukje leder als een vinger van een handschoen,
gemaakt van het vliesje, het geen in ’t zakje der kalveren om iedere testis zit; daar
dit stukje leder werd toegetrokken, hadden sommigen tot een versiersel eene
kopere knoop zitten....
De vrouwen waren klein van gestalte en gansch niet fraai: Zij hadden de konen
sterk uitpuilende, de moeders hangende borsten en de meesten dikke lompe
beenen. Op het hoofd eene kap van een vel gemaakt, met vier hangende slippen,
twee van voren en twee van agteren; om het lijf een karos, die zoo ruim is, dat zij
zoowel het onderlijf gelijk eene rok tot op de kuiten als ’t bovenlijf bedekt:
gemeenlijk ééne schouder bloot, en om de beenen een band even als de mans.’
1776-7 Gordon (1776-95) _° Xhosa: men’s and women’s dress
Figures by J. Schumacher.
454 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1777-9 Paterson (1789) p. 93 Xhosa: penis-sheath
Nothing more.
1778 Van Plettenberg pl. 3, p. 48 Xhosa: cloaks, apron
pl..3 Xhosa: men’s and women’s clothing
Figures
p. 48 Xhosa: cloak, apron
‘Hunne kleeding is de vagt van ’t een of ander beest, dewelke met riempjes,
by de mans om de hals, dog by de vrouwen onder de armen over de borsten,
toegebonden gedragen werd. De mannen zo wel als de vrouwen gebruyken een
smalle tabeljé van een stuk vel of eene franje van vellen die om den middel
gebonden is en de schaamte bedekt: . . .’
(1782) Sonnerat 2 pl. 85 ‘Cafre’: clothing
Figure.
1782, Carter pp: 142 372,38. 70 Mpondomise, Mpondo, Thembu: clothing,
hair-style
p. 14 Mpondomise or Mpondo: hair-style
“They soon after were met by a party of the natives consisting of about thirty,
whose hair was made up in the form of sugar-loaves, and their faces painted bed<
[oe oy . Mpondomise or Mpondo: hair-style
‘Let me here describe the form and dress of the first nation they had passed
through. The complexion of the natives was of a dark copper colour, and they had
longish woolly hair, which they wore drawn up in the form of a cone, upon the top
of the head.’
pes Mpondomise or Mpondo: cloak, apron
‘When they go a hunting, or upon the appearance of bad weather, they wear
the skin of some wild beast, a lion, tyger, &c. This covers them by night, and
protects them by day, either from the heat or the rain. If the weather is hot, they
wear the skin side inwards; if it rains, the hairy side. One of their principal
qualifications is, that they are extremely swift of foot.
The women, who are likewise well proportioned, and their countenances not
unpleasing, go nearly naked. They wear no manner of cloathing, except a kind of
net round the middle, which reaches half way down their thighs; but the meshes
of these nets are so wide, that it can be scarcely called a covering.’
p. 70 Thembu: sandals
‘After having travelled two days more, they fell in with a hunting party of the
natives, on the sea shore. These men were distinguished from any they had seen
before, by wearing on the right foot a kind of shoe, which they used in hunting.
When they took a leap, they bounded from that foot, and in doing this they shewed
great dexterity.’
1782 Dalrymple (1785) pp. 19, 23, appendix p. 13 Mpondo: hair-style, sandals
pri Mpondo: hair-style
‘The natives dress their heads high with a hollow in the middle, and stuck
oa
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 455
into their hair the brass nails, picked up from the trunks cast ashoar. They had very
little cloathing.’
p.23 Mpondo: sandals
Nothing more.
appendix p. 13 Tshomane: hair-style
‘These were quite a different people from those where the ship was wrecked,
their hair was curled in strings, with brick dust and grease.’
1782 Le Vaillant (1797-8) pls. 37-39, 41-42, Thembu, Xhosa: dress
pp. 282-283
pl. 37 Thembu: man’s cloak
pls 38-39 Thembu: woman’s cloak, cap
pls 41-42 Xhosa: woman’s apron, cloak
Figures.
pp. 282-283 Xhosa: women’s clothing
‘. . . La peau que les Hottentots portent sur les reins par derriére, les femmes
Caffres la font remonter jusqu’aux aisselles, et l’attachent au-dessus de la gorge
qui en est couverte. Elles ont aussi, comme leurs maris, le kros ou manteau... .
Quel que soit le temps, quelle que soit la saison, jamais les deux sexes ne couvrent
leur téte d’un bonnet a la maniére de Hottentots.’
1788 Von Winkelman (1788-9) pp. 64-69, 71, 76, Xhosa: men’s
85, 89, 91 and women’s dress
pp. 64-65 Xhosa: hairdressing
‘Die Kaffern, mannlichen und weiblichen Geschlechts haben etwas langeres
Haar, als gewohnlich Kreolische V6lker. Sie ordnen es auf eine besondere art, die
mir nicht missfiel und die ihnen auch ein gutes Aussehen gibt. Das zweite Ge-
schlecht scheint diess werk zu ibernehmen. Verschiedene Kaffern legten den Kopf
in den Schoos der Frauen und Madchen, welche alsdan ein Bischelgen Haar von
der Dikke eines dinnen Strohhalmen strekten, ihre Hande mit Fett von Seektthen
oder Rindsfett beschmierten, das fingerlange Biischelgen zwischen beiden Handen
fest zusammen drehten, dann in der Mitte es fahsten und es wie eine scheur
zusammen lauffen liessen, dass zuletzt ein Zoll langes Trottelgen dadurch ent-
stand. Mit ausnehmender Mihe bringen sie so den natirlichen Kopfputz zu
Stande, biss das ganze Haupthaar in lauter solche Trottelgen verwandelt ist, die
sie so dann hernach mit einer Polus Erde, welche zwischen Steinen zu Staub
gerieben wird, bestreuen. Oft vermischen sie aber auch diesen rothen Puder
Zugleich mit Fett, und geben dadurch schon beim Drehen des Haars demselben die
rothe Farbe. Die Trottelgen erhalten durch das Fett und die Erde eine gewisse
Schwere, nach welcher sie alle abgesondert rings um dem Kopf herum hangen.
Diejenigen die ins Gesicht herniederhangen, machen der Nation eine schmale
Stirne, . . . . Diese Zierde haben beide Geschlechter mit einander gemein.’
p. 66 Xhosa: women’s cap
‘Kopfzierde der Frauen. Das weibliche Geschlecht hingegen geht mit bedeck-
tem Haupte. Frauen und Madchen tragen fast immer eine Rinds- oder wildlederne
456 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Miize auf dem Kopf. Sie wissen mit ihren Lanzen und mit scharfen Steinen, die
Haare gut weg zu machen, breiten das Fell aus, schmieren es stark mit Fett und
rother Erde, wodurch es gelinde und weich wird. Aus diesem wird denn die Muze
geschnitten und zusammen geheftet, welches die Frauen selbst thun, sie bedienen
sich hiebei einer Art selbst verfertigter eiserner Pfriemen. Damit stechen sie kleine
Locher darein, und ziehen dunne riemen oder Sehnen durch, und befestigen alles
das auf eine geschickte und dauerhafte Art aneinander. Diese Muze besteht
entweder aus 2 Haupttheilen oder noch 2 Seiten-Stukken, welche ohngefehr einen
Fuss lang sind, und spitzig auslaufen. Vornen hangen zwei lange Riemen, die
etliche Finger breit und bei zwei Fuss lang sind herunter, und hinten wieder zwei
dergleichen. Der ubrige spitzige Theil ligt, soweit er nicht dem Kopf zur Dekke
dient, vorwarts flach auf demselben und ist mit Korallen von verschiedenen Farben
und mit andern Zierrathen besezt, welche bald Blumen, bald Sterne und der-
gleichen vorstellen.’
pp. 67-68 Xhosa: cloaks of chiefs and commoners
‘Die Kleidung beider Geschlechter gibt ihnen bei ihrer Grosse und sch6nen
Bildung, ein freies muntres Aussehen. Hierinnen unterscheiden sie sich auch
besonders von den Hottentotten, deren kurze ekelhafte Schaaffelle auf der Brust
gebunden sind, beide Schultern und den ganzen Riikken bedekken. Die Kaffern
mannlichen Geschlechts hingegen tragen ein auf beschriebene Art zubereitetes
Rindsfell ohne Haare, das denn vom Fett und der rothen Erde gelinde und rothlich
wird. Sie nahen aber auch mehrere Felle nach Maasgabe Grosse und Starke von
erlegten Wildprett als Elensthieren; Springbékken Antilopen oder Kuttus und
dergleichen zusammen, an denen sie meistens die Haare stehen lassen, weil sie an
dem schonen Kolorit dieser Fellevergnigen finden. Dann tragen sie auch zusam-
men genahte Tigerhaute, die vorziigliche Lieblingsgegenstande ihrer Begierde
sind. Sie scheinen vermutlich wegen grosserer Seltenheit, auch grossentheils nur
die Tracht der Ersten und Reichsten des Volks zu seijn. Die haarigte Seite wird
immer nach innen zu getragen. Diese Bedekkungen sind meistens sehr weit und
Oft so lang dass sie die Erde beritthren. Sie werden tber die linke Schulter gehangt
und gehen unter dem rechten Arm durch, der vollig frei ist, um desto ungehin-
derter ihre Waffen gebrauchen zu k6nnen. Vornen gegen die linke Brust zu, ist
diess Kross oder Fell gebunden, und erhallt auch die linke Seite frei, dass also
eigentlich nur der vordre und hintre Theil des Leibes und die ganze rechte Seite
damit bedekt werden.’
p. 68 Xhosa: sandals
‘Im ubrigen gehen sie gewohnlich barfuss, wie wohl fast jeder fur den Fall der
Noth seine Sandalen oder Feldschuhe mit sich fuhrt.’
pao Xhosa: cloak or baby-sling
‘Das weibliche Geschlecht tragt meistens ein gleiches Rindsfell um den Leib,
das unter den Armen durchgeht, ihre Briiste bedeckt um den Leib gewikkKelt und
vornen viel kirzer als hinten ist, wo es oft zur Erde niederhangt. Den einen Zipfel
stopfen sie dann zwischen das andere Ende hinein, oder sie binden ihn auch an den
Tec
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 457
andern Theil ihres Krosses fest. Haben sie kleine saugende Kinder, so stekken sie
solche hinten in das Fell, und verrichten dabei eben so gut ihre arbeiten.’
pei | Xhosa: sandals
‘Diese leztern bestehen aus rauhen Stucken von getrocknetem Leder nach
Maasgabe der Fusssohle. Oben auf diese Sohle ist entweder ein ganzes Oberleder,
wie bei Schuhen ringsum angenaht, oder es werden nur fingerbreite Riemen,
woran—wie am ganzen die Haare noch stehen, nach der Dikke des Fusses tber-
gezogen. Sie bedienen sich deren vorziglich auf klippichten wegen. Diese Gattung
von Schuhen ist under den Bauren sehr gemein, weil sie lange ausdauren, und jeder
sie selbst machen Kan.’
p: 76 Xhosa: cloak
Nothing more.
p. 85 Xhosa: straw hats
‘Es giebt Kafferinnen, die jedes gegebene Muster von Vasen Arnen, selbst
Hite, nach ahmen,—und oft noch feiner als ihre Korbgen flechten. Wo sie
hingehen, da nehmen sie auch diese K6rbgen mit_und verhandeln sie nebst ihren
Matten ohne alle Bedenklichkeiten an Fremde.’
p. 89 Xhosa: penis-sheath
‘Nach diesem Fest der Freude uber Wiedergenesung und Mannbarkeit, legen
sie ihre Schtirzen ab, bekommen andere Krossen, und ziehen blos tiber das mann-
liche Glied ein dunnes ledernes Futteral. Diess endigt sich oben spizig, indem es
oben zusammen gebunden ist. Statt der ledernen Futterale nehmen sie auch einen
Darm von benothigter Weite. In beiden Fallen entsteht oben durchs zubinden, ein
Buschgen, an das sie gewohnlich ein Stiickchen Messing oder eine grosse Koralle
ais Zierae betestigen. .. .
poi Xhosa: chief’s clothing
Nothing more.
1790 Van Reenen (Kirby 1958) p. 3 ‘Hambona’ (Bomvana): hair-style
‘. . . We saw many kraals of the Hambona people, a race which differs from
the Kaffers, they being quite yellowish and having longer hair, all of which is curled
up like a turban.’
1796 Stout (c. 1810) pp. 12, 18 Thembu: skins used for cloaks
Nothing more.
Mee Barrow (1806) pp. 120, 126, 127, 151, 152, 163, 167 Xhosa: men’s and
women’s dress
p: 120 Xhosa: women’s caps
*. . . and their heads were covered with leather-caps ornamented with beads,
with shells, and with pieces of polished copper and iron, that were disposed in a
variety of forms; but the fashion of the cap was nearly the same in all.’
po 126 Xhosa: cloak
Nothing more.
458 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pelz7 Xhosa: women’s caps
‘Neither had the wives of the chiefs any distinction of dress from the rest of
the women. They all wore caps, made of skins, sitting close to the head, and
hanging behind, and down each side, in long divided flaps.’
(Os ISTl Xhosa: Ngqika’s (Gaika’s) cloak
‘.. . his [Gaika’s] cloak was faced with skins of leopards; but he threw this
dress aside, and, like the rest of his people, appeared entirely naked.’
peels2 Xhosa: women’s dress
‘The queen had nothing to distinguish her from the other women, except that
her cloak seemed to have had more pains bestowed upon it in the dressing, and
had three rows behind of brass-buttons extending from the hood to the bottom of
skirts, and so close that they touched each other. The rest of the women were
contented with a few of these ornaments straggling over different parts of the cloak.
The weighty covering seems never laid aside by the females in the hottest weather;
but they wear nothing whatsoever under it, except the little apron that the
Hottentot women take such pains to decorate.’
pelos Xhosa: cloak
Nothing more.
pale? Xhosa: penis-sheath
‘After the operation the boy adopts a small bag of leather which extends a little
beyond the glans penis, fitted sufficiently tight to remain on without binding,
though some wear a belt to which the covering is attached by a string. The
projecting end of the purse or bag has a small shank about an inch in length, by
which it may more conveniently be drawn off; this very slight and indecent
covering, with the rings, and other ornamental appendages, constitute the whole
of a Kaffer’s summer dress.’
1800 Van der Kemp (1804) pp. 440, 441 Xhosa: men’s and women’s dress
p. 440 Xhosa: cloaks
‘To protect themselves against the cold they wear a long robe or cloak, which
hangs down from behind to the ground. This is commonly made of cow skins, so
prepared as to be soft and flexible as our cloathes; it is then called goubo, but
ouneba if made of the skins of wild animals. The Captains almost uniformly wear
one of tiger skins, the hair being tanned [sic] inside. The colour of these cloaks is
always brown.’
p. 440 Xhosa: women’s dress, cap
‘The women wear none of the forementioned ornaments, except those of the
ears, the beads on their necks and the rings on their wrists. They always cover their
heads with a cap, made of the skin of an animal, which they call babala, and the
Colonists bush-buck. This cap is very long, and gradually growing narrower,
terminates almost in a point; from this point are suspended eight or ten strings of
metal beads about three inches long; the lower part of the cap has four projections
(two on each side) about a yard long, and two fingers broad (four fingers where
they expand into the cap): when this cap is placed on the head, its point with the
strings lays on the forehead, and much resembles the epaulette which military
[OO TT SS aS
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 459
officers wear on their shoulders. The bands hang either loose down, or are tied up,
by which the cap and its point are then secured in their position. The cap is
commonly adorned with several rows of beads. The woman’s cloak is in the middle
fastened to the body by means of a girdle of leather, the upper part is reflected and
hangs down, leaving the upper part of the body naked, but if the woman has a
young child she places it on her back, and secures it there by drawing up this upper
part of her cloak tight round the child and her body by means of another string.
Both women and children wear an apron of the same stuff as their caps. Both sexes
wear rings of metal on their fingers and great toes; ... I never saw a woman
wearing shoes; the genteeler sort sew to the back of their cloaks rows of buttons,
and to each shoulder a bunch of tails of different animals, the most common of
which are tygers and wild cats.’
pp. 440-441 Xhosa: sandals
‘The men commonly carry their shoes in their hands fastened to a stick, in
order to put them on when their feet are in danger of being wounded by the length
or roughness of the road. They are no other than soles of thick leather two or three
inches longer and broader than the foot. They are fastened to the foot by means
of two strings and a piece of leather four inches broad, which covers the foot.
Men always, but women never, walk with a stick five feet long in their hands,
and two or three assegais and a club. I never saw a woman wearing shoes.’
1803 Howen Three paintings Xhosa: women’s cloaks, caps, men’s cloaks
Figures.
1803 Paravicini di Capelli pp. 81, 124, 125, 132 Gqunukhwebe, Xhosa: dress
p: 81 Gqunukhwebe: chief’s cloak
metoNacabance ...1s .-. . Heemraad by de Kapitem Congo, ..: . . Zyne
kleeding bestaat in een tigervelle Kros, op de eene schouder te samen geknoopt,
en agter langs zyn rug onder de anderen arm naar beneden afhangende. Hy had
agt zeer schoone yvoore ringen (uyt een stuk ieder) boven den elboog van de linke
arm. Aan de rechter had hy boven de hand een kopere ring en een anderen boven
de elboog. Om zyne lendenen twee snoeren kleine ronde kopere oogen van kopere
platen in klein regeltjes gesneden en dan in ’t formaat van kralen opgerold.’
p. 124 Xhosa: clothing
‘De kleding zoo van deze vrouw als van den Koning verschilde in niets van
de overige Kaffers, aleenlyk had Gaicka eenige lange snoeren fyne witte Coralen
omhangen, welke by uitsluyting het optooysel en teeken van opperhoofd of koning
b)
zyn.
p. 125 Xhosa: chief’s dress
‘Koning Gaicka ... in zyn koninglyke tygerhuyd met alle zyne koralen
omhangen en een kroon van witte koralen op het hoofd in de tent trad,... .
p. 132 Xhosa: clothing
‘Eene dierenhuyd om den hals boven de schouder met een pees vastgemaakt
en tot op de waden afhangende, is hun gantsche dekking. Des zomers dragen zy
de hairige zyde buyten, en des winters binnenwaerts, keerende deze mantel of
460 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Kross voor, agter of ter zyde, naar mate de wind tegens een deel van hun lichaam
is wayende; overigens zyn zy moedernaakt.’
po le2 Xhosa: women’s clothing
‘De vrouwen zyn in hun tooyzel niet veel van de mans verschillende, dan
alleenlyk dat hun kross of mantel rondsom hun lichaam tot boven den boezem
vastgemaakt en hunne hoofden met een soort van ledere mutsen zyn bedekt; de
yvoire armbanden dragen zy niet.’
1802-6 Alberti (1810a) pp. 49, 55-59, 63-66, 201, 202, 204 Xhosa: dress
p. 49 Xhosa: cloak as blanket
‘Eene lange Mat, van 3 tot 4 Voeten breed en omtrent 6 Voeten lang, uit dun
riet vervaardigd en aan het hoofdeinde rond, verstrekt tot een nachtleger, en de
Mantel, van eene dieren-huid zamengesteld, tot dekking. . . .’
Os OD) Xhosa: cloaks
‘De voornaamste kleeding is in beide Sekse een Mantel, welks verscheiden-
heid van form de eene van de andere onderscheidt. De Buiten- of harige zijde
wordt binnenwaarts gedragen. Die van den Man heeft geene meerdere wijdte, dan
noodig is, om, des gevorderd, te kunnen worden toegevouwen; dezelve hangt
benedenwaarts tot op de kuit en wordt uitwendig om den hals geworpen, en vormt
aldaar eenen kraag, die van achteren in de hoogte rijst en den nek gansch en al
bedekt. Deze mantel wordt bij koud en vogtig weder toegeslagen, bij goed weder
daarentegen zoodanig open gelaten, dat onderlijf en dij geheel zigtbaar zijn. Bi
groote zonne-hitte legt de Kaffer zijnen mantel wel eens af, en draagt dien,
wanneer hij zich naar elders begeeft, op eenen stok op een zijner Schouders.’
pp. 55-56 Xhosa: men’s breast-cloth
‘Minder algemeen is de ontmoeting van Mannen, die eene soort van Monniks-
kap dragen, hangende van de borst tot op de helft der dij, zijnde omtrent
14 Duimen breed, van de huiden der Steenbokken vervaardigd en met een riem
aan den hals vast gemaakt.’
p. 56 Xhosa: sandals
‘Bij groote togten en jagtreisen schoeijen zij hunne voeten met zolen van
Ossenhuid, welke met riemen vast gebonden worden om den enkel en den grooten
teen, of ook door een bovenleder, dat den ganschen voet, uitgezonderd alleen de
teenen, bedekt.’
p. 56 Xhosa: penis-sheath
“Van den tijd der manbaarheid af, bedekken de Kaffers de Schaamdeelen mei
een Schort, van Darmnet vervaardigd, waaraan eenige glaskoralen of kleineko-
peren ringen hangen, die aan een riempje geregen worden.’
(Da D0 Xhosa: woman’s cloak
‘De Mantels, door de Vrouwen gedragen, beschrijven bijna eenen volkome-
nen cirkel, hangen nederwaarts tot aan de kuiten, en zijn dus geschikt, om het
gansche lijf te dekken. Langs den rug hangt over den mantel tot beneden toe een
Kraag, die wel eenigzins gelijkt naar den Kap van enkele Mannen, doch daarin
vooral verschilt, dat hij bovenaan met den mantel self verenigd is. Deze kraag is
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 461
in de lengte in stukken verdeeld van omtrent 2 duimen breed, die vervolgens
wederom zamengenaaid worden. Op diezelve zijn aan beide kanten agter de
schouders geheele vellen van wilde Katten, tot zelfs met het einde van den kop,
vast gemaakt, welke aan lange riemen, met kleine koperen of ijzeren ringen, tot
op den grond nederhangen, en ter afdrooginge van het zweet dienen. Behalwe dit
Kattenvel hangt, ook nog langs den rechter schouder, aan eenen soortgelijken
riem, de schaal van eenen kleinen Landschildpad, waarin fijn gewrevene roode
aarde, met een stuk zagt leder ter inwrijvinge van deze verw, bewaard wordt;
gelijkt dit laatste tevens ter sluitinge der schaal zelve dient. Voor het overige is
gemelde Kraag, met de hairige zijde buitenwaarts gekeerd, van gewone metalen
knoopen van vershillende soort ordelijk op eene rij voorzien.’
pp. 57-58 Xhosa: breast-cloth
‘Zulk een Vrouwen-mantel wordt dubbeld om het lijf geslagen, en het uiterste
einde door insteking dermate gehecht, dat het niet verder met de handen behoeft
vast gehouden te worden. De Boezem is gewoonlijk daaronder geprangd, of, in
geval de mantel onder denzelven wordt toegeworpen, alsdan op eene zonderlinge
wijze gedekt met het darm-net van een rund in eene vierkante gedaante, met
riemen op den rug vast gemaakt, en ook, naar de keuze der bezitster, met kleine
glaskoralen voorzien, die het oog naar dit gedeelte des ligchaams lokken. Deze
laaste wijze van borstdekking is tot behoud der schoonheid ongelijk voordeeliger
dan wanneer de mantel boven denzelven wordt toegeslagen, daar dezelve, in het
laatste geval, door den zwaren mantel zelf gedrukt, naar beneden hangt, en in de
andere manier dadelijk ondersteund en om hoog geheven wordt, zonder dat echter
hierbij dat gene plaats heeft, .. . .
Slechts zelden ontmoet men eene Kafferin met eenen geheel ontblootten
boezem. Jonge Meisjens alleen, of ook wel bejaarde Vrouwen, welke geene
aanvallen hebben te duchten, bekommeren zich weinig over deze bedekking.’
pp. 58-59 Xhosa: apron
‘Ofschoon de Kafferinnen, bijkans alle zonder uitzondering, zich van den
mantel ter dekkinge van het onderlijf zorgvuldiglijk bedienen, hebben zij daar-
enboven nog een ander bekleedsel der Schaamdeelen in een stuk leder, dat in fijne
riempjes verdeeld en met eenen zwaarderen riem boven de heupen is vast gemaakt,
waardoor het op zich self genoegzaam ter bereikinge van het oogmerk zoude
dienen.’
pe a9 Xhosa: women’s cap
‘De Vrouwen gaan niet, zoo als de Mannen, met ontblooten hoofde, maar
dragen Mutsen. Zulk een hoofddeksel wordt of van de Elandshuid, of doorgaans
van het Steenbokken-vel bereid, met de hairige zijde buitenwaarts gekeerd. Het
geheel bestaat uit een aantal kegelvormig gesnedene en daarna zamengenaaide
stukken, waardoor het tevens eene spits toeloopende gedaante ontvangt. Boven
op den top zijn 5 tot 7 Strengen, omtrent 2 Duimen lang, digt aan elkanderen
gevoegd door koperen of ijzeren kleine ringen, die aan riempjes geregen zijn,
waardoor zij veel gelijken naar de nestels, zoo als onze Officieren op de schouders
dragen. Wanneer dit gedeelte der muts naar voren wordt overgeslagen, hangen 1]
462 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
bijkans tot op de wenkbraauwen. Aan de opening der muts zijn vier lange Riemen,
die omtrent even ver van elkanderen afstaan, na genoeg 2 Vingers breed en
3 Voeten lang, welke ter vasthoudinge om het hoofd geslingerd worden. Rijkere
Kafferinnen versieren hare mutsen met kleine strengswijze verdeelde glaskoralen,
waarmede zij de naden bedekken.’
p63 Xhosa: chief’s cloak
‘Noch kleeding, noch sieraden geven eenen onderscheidende rang te kennen.
Zelfs ofschoon alle Tijgerhuiden, bij voorbeeld, aan de Opperhoofden der Horden
moeten worden overgeleverd, ontmoet men de laatsten dikwerf met mantels van
Runderhuiden, waarvan zich gemeene Kaffers even zeer bedienen, zonder dat bij
dezelven uit dien hoofde eene bijzondere onderscheiding wordt in acht genomen.’
p- 63 Xhosa: children’s dress
‘De Kinders blijven geheel naakt, totdat zij beginnen te loopen, als wanneer
Zij eenvoudige mantels van de Elandshuiden ontvangen. Doorgaans, echter, gaan
beide Seksen, bij droog en warm weder, tot op den tijd van huwbaarheid, naakt.
De Meisjens, zelfs van de eerste jeugd af, houden de schaamdeelen bedekt. Tot
op het 9de of 10de jaar, gaan dezelve altijd met ongedekten hoofde; alsdan
ontvangen zij van de Grootmoeders of Moeijen oude mutzen ten geschenke.
Huwbaar zijnde geworden, wonen zij de jagttogten bij, en worden bij deze
gelegenheden door Broeders, Oomen of andere Bloedverwanten, met Elands-
huiden begiftigd, ten einde zich daarvan, naar welgevallen, mutsen te vervaar-
digen.’
pp. 64-66 Xhosa: European dress
Discussion on liking for European clothing—partly against the weather.
p. 201 Xhosa: widow’s apron
‘Na verloop van dezen tijd, werpt zij hare kleederen weg, wascht haar gansche
ligchaam, krabt zich borst, armen en beenen, met scherpe steenen open, gordt hare
heupen met een uit gras gevlochten weefsel, en komt bij zonne-ondergang in hare
woonplaats weder.’
p. 202 Xhosa: mourning
‘Hij alleen vertoeft schlechts eene halve maand in het open veld, betrekt
daarna zijne voormalige hut, reinigt zich even zoo, slacht een rund, eet zulks met
zijne Bloedverwanten, laat zich uit de huid eenen nieuwen mantel maken, dien hij
draagt, totdat dezelve versleten is, en kleedt zich dan eerst met eenen gewonen
grooten mantel. Bovendien neemt de Weduwenaar eenige koperen kleene Ringen,
en draagt dit snoer om den hals, totdat de hairen vergaan..’
p. 204 Xhosa: mourning
‘Daarop heeft de gewone reiniging plaats; er worden zoo vele runderen
geslacht en verteerd, als het getal der Weduwen bedraagt, de mantels uit derzelver
huiden vervaardigd, en de melk-korven met die buidels, potten, lepels en ander
huisraad, hetgeen door de Weduwen met den Afgestorvenen te voren gemeen-
schappelijk gebruikt, en onmiddelijk na zijn overlijden verbrand was, door nieuw
gemaakte goederen vervangen.’
(See also Alberti 18105 (English edition): 30-32, 35, 94-96.)
[OS ae
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 463
1802-3 De Mist (1835) p. 115 Xhosa: caps
Nothing more (quoting Alberti).
1803-6 Lichtenstein (1811) pl. 3, pp. 422, 427, Xhosa: mourning
451-453, 455 and general description
Mostly repetition of Alberti.
pl. 3 Xhosa: dress
Figure.
p. 422 Xhosa: widow’s skirt
Nothing more.
p. 427 Xhosa: penis-sheath
Nothing more.
pp. 451-452 Xhosa: cloak
Nothing more.
pp. 452-453 Xhosa: head-cloth
‘Der Kopfputz der Weiber besteht in einer Art von Turban. Ein langes Stuck
feingegerbten Leders (sie nehmen gewohnlich das Fell des Buschbocks dazu) wird
in vielen Windungen um den Kopf geschlagen; die beiden Enden, die in lange
Zipfel auslaufen, werden zwischen die Falten gesteckt und so befestigt. Dieses
Leder ist wenigstens zwei Ellen lang und in der Mitte eine halbe Elle breit,
bisweilen ist dieser mittlere Theil schon zu einer Mitze zusammengenaht, von
welcher die Zipfel zu beiden Seiten ausgehen. Immer aber befindet sich gerade in
der Mitte ein Quast von Korallenschntren oder Troddeln von Leder mit Kup-
ferstiicken, die recht coquet ein wenig schief tiber die eine Seite der Stirn herab-
hangen. Ueberhaupt kleidet dieser einfache Kopfputz recht artig und sie scheinen
das selbst zu wissen, indem sie alle Augenblicke etwas daran zu bessern und zurecht
zu schieben haben.’
p. 455 Xhosa: apron, breast-cloth
*. . . Die Frauen aber sind von der Geburt an mit ledernen Schtirzen bedeckt,
die sie Inkyo nennen. Gewohnlich werden deren mehrere tiber einander getragen,
von denen die aussere und langste mit Kndpfen und Korallen reich verziert ist. Bei
weitem die mehrsten bedecken auch den Busen mit einem breiten Streifen Leder,
der liber die ganze Brust hergeht und unter den Armen durch, auf dem Ricken
zugebunden wird.’
1804—5 Daniell (1820) frontispiece, fig. 4 Xhosa: sandals, cap
Figures.
1809 Collins (1835) pp. 10, 26 Xhosa: chief's and women’s garments
p- 10 Xhosa: women’s cap
6
. . alwaar by ons kwamen twee vrouwen met hare gouvernante en twee
bedienden; zy waren gekleed met een dun vel, hetwelk even als een doek om het
hoofd was geslagen, waaruit eene koperen spits of punt stak, in de gedaante van
Beme wdiil; 25.”
p. 26 Xhosa: Ngqika’s dress
Nothing more.
464 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1806-15 Carmichael (1831) pp. 287, 288 Xhosa: clothing
p. 287 Xhosa: cloak, girdle, apron, cap
‘The mantle, or kaross, is usually made of calves’ skins stitched together, and
pared round the skirts, into the shape of a blanket. It is worn fixed round the neck,
and descends as far as the calf of the leg. As it turns with ease round the neck, they
can oppose it to the wind, whichever way it blows; and when they have occasion
to throw their Assagays, they double it over their left arm, like the robe of the
Belvidere Apollo. The women gird the mantle round their loins, and usually suffer
the upper part to hang over: but when they are on a journey they tie it round the
breast under the armpits, and in the bag formed between the two ligatures carry
their youngest child, or their portable furniture. In addition to the mantle, they
wear a small apron in front, and on the head a sort of turban made of the skin of
the Bushbock, and shaped like the watering caps of our dragoons.’
p. 288 Xhosa: cloak flap
‘Their supernumerary buttons are disposed upon the back of the mantle, with
some degree of arrangement and taste;... .’
1812 Officer, 21st Lt. Dragoons (1822) pl. 8 Xhosa: chief’s dress
Figure.
Gc. 1613-Campbell, J. (4815) ps 369 ‘Caffre’: clothing
Nothing more.
1819-20 Stocker pp. 51, 52 Xhosa: men’s and women’s clothing
pau Xhosa: undergarment
‘The women independent of the Kaross wear an under skin garment tied under
the arms and compressing the breasts, which though evincing great delicacy of
conduct, deprives nature of the beauties of feminine contour by destroying the
bosom’s form. . . . Of skins . . . bullocks’ and antelopes’ are adapted to all pur-
poses of clothing . . . which they . . . wear with the fur side inwards.’
ps 2 Xhosa: penis-sheaths
Nothing more.
1820 Anon. figs 3, 4 ‘Caffre’: clothing
Nothing more (taken from Van der Kemp 1804).
1821-4 Thompson, G. (1827) 2 pp. 358, 359 Xhosa: general description
Nothing more.
1819-29 Moodie, J. W. D. (1835) p. 247 Xhosa: penis-sheath
Nothing more.
1824 Ross p. 215 Xhosa: cloaks, caps
‘... You wish that I should let you know something about the Caffres. I will
attempt to give some account of them. The men’s karoses are cut into a square
nearly [sic] folded over an inch about the neck and sewed down. Two thongs are
attached to this part to tie on the karos. The women’s karoses are made exactly
like your cloak (?) but very wide at the bottom. Instead of Capes or hoods (?) they
BT ae eT |
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 465
have a narrow strip of skin with the hairy side out hanging from the neck to the
heels. Along this from top to bottom are sewed three rows of buttons, each button
touching another. Both men & women wear as many rings of brass, as they can
get, on their arms from the wrist upwards towards the elbow. Some have iron rings
over the left elbow & a string of beads, as big as a large pea hung at their ears.
The women wear a cap made of the skin of the blue buck, with a turban front, rough
side out. The crown has the inside turned out &, if they can, have it striped with
blue, red, black & white beads, about the size of mustard seed. It looks very
well... . The females must all have something about their head—were it but a
piece of old skin, or clout.’
c. 1824—5 Smith pp. 64, 67, 96, 245, 271-272, 279-280, Xhosa: clothing
307, 398
p. 64 Xhosa: woman’s cap
Nothing more.
Dp. 6) é Xhosa: woman’s cloak
‘To make it hang regular the women particularly cut out angular portions and
sew the opening together. In the women’s karosses there is a great deal of work
of this kind. To the kaross of the women is fixed a long stripe of hide which hangs
from the middle of the shoulders to the skirt of the mantle and even sometimes
below it and it is ornamented with buttons etc. often a tortoise shell hanging behind
or in front of the kaross..’
p. 96 Xhosa: mourning
Nothing more.
p. 245 Xhosa: penis-sheath
‘Gaika on seeing one of his Heemraad (Imguia) going about without the
partial covering for the penis and appearing in that way amongst women ordered
him to replace it. He refused in consequence of which he was stranguled.’
pp. 271-272 Xhosa: penis-sheath
Nothing more.
p: 272 Xhosa: apron
‘For woman
Made by a bullock skin, an old Kaross or some sheeps skin and ornament with
beads—form it into two laps by making an incision up the middle. It is just
sufficient to cover the parts of generation and nothing more. Some have no beads
tie it round the waist.’
pp. 279-280 Xhosa: men’s cloak, penis-sheath
‘*. . . In warm weather they either roll it in folds and bring it in a band round
the back and over the left arm or allow it to fly loose behind but the first mode is
generally that preferred. When a Caffer is about to make a journey which requires
expedition they leave the large kaross at home and take a small one which they
put round the middle, and with which they cover the buttocks and penis when they
arrive at any kraal where they are strangers. . . . He has however his ornaments
which will be found under that head and what may be considered an article of dress
466 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
is the covering for the penis (In’eba). This is a cylindrical bag shut at the extremity
and sewed according to the parts which it is required to contain. It is of about an
inch and a half or two inches in length and is made to cover the top of the penis
as a substitute for the covering which nature furnished but what art destroyed or
removed in the act of circumcision. Besides the bag there is generally a small piece
of rim [sic] fixed to the shut extremity and on it is fixed whatever ornaments they
can afford. The most common is rings of small brass wire closely set together and
forming a body of 4 or 5 inches. This covering is [sowed] by the women and made
of the pericardium of an ox which the men cut themselves into the proper shape
and dimensions. They are extremely averse to removing this small covering and
will on no account consent to do it when a woman is even in sight... .’
p. 307 Xhosa: belt
‘The Kaffirs when hungry particularly during a journey use girdles which
according to circumstances they tighten, they are made in a rude way of the skin
of some animal and surround the lower part of the body.’
p. 398 Mpondo: hair-style
‘. . . hair variously dressed very bushy men with ring or crown on top of bush
smaller than Zulu (Ieme) Women with hair plastered down like a bowl and
arranged in long strings. . . . Some old women have a sort of skin wrapper some
of the womens hair reaching down to eyes and besmeared with red ochre.’
1820-31 Steedman (1835) 1 pp. 46, 71, 243, 259, Xhosa, Mpondo: clothing,
260; 2 pp. 262—263 cap, hair-style
1 p. 46 Xhosa: clothing
Nothing more.
pal Xhosa: women’s cap
Nothing more.
p. 243 Xhosa: women’s cap
‘The caps of the more wealthy, which were made from the skin of the little
blauw-bok, as before described, and covered with a profusion of the choicest
beads, formed by far the most important part of the dress of the more fashionable
Caffer ladies, and were by no means inelegant.’
pi 259 Cape Nguni: cloak
Nothing more.
p. 260 Mpondo: breast-cloth
‘. . . and over the bosom is a soft covering of leather, slightly ornamented in
a similar manner.’
2 pp. 262-263 Mpondo: hair-style
(Quoting conversation with W. H. Shaw:) *. . . but the Amaponda nation, of
which we saw a few kraals near the Umtata, are easily distinguished from other
nations, by the singular manner in which they dress their hair. They suffer it to grow
long, when, from its being curly, like the hair of all Africans, it assumes the
appearance of a huge wig, and is frequently adjusted with great care, and dressed
with grease and charcoal. Many of them cut out a part of the hair in a circular form
og) ee
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 467
on the crown of the head; round the edge of this they stud a few red berries, which,
together with some pretty feathers of various birds, complete this whimsical
invention of human pride.’
1825 Phillips (1827) pp. 31, 32, 173-174, 192 Xhosa, Thembu: dress
pe.-31,'32 Xhosa: cloaks, cap
Nothing more.
pp. 173-174 Xhosa: chief’s cloak
‘At their head was a fine intrepid looking fellow, dressed in a superior manner
to the rest, having his karosse ornamented with a border of tiger skin. We con-
versed for a few minutes, shook hands, and parted.’
Nothing more.
p. 197 Thembu, Xhosa: cap, cloak
‘The Tambookies have a more becoming head-dress, made of the same
materials, but with a broad band which goes round the forehead, and gives it amore
dressy and turban-like appearance. . . . Their mantle was a robe of antelope or
otter skins, rendered perfectly supple, with the hair outermost made fine and
shining like silk, and reaching from the neck to the ancle. It had no particular
ornament in front, but behind there are three rows of buttons,—the centre com-
posed of round buttons, and the two outer rows, of flat; these are placed some
distance from each other. On the right side, but hanging behind, they have a very
small land tortoise shell, in which they keep a perfume.’
1815-37 Shaw, B. (1840) p. 57 Xhosa: garments worn
Nothing more.
1826 Shrewsbury (1869) p. 239 Xhosa: slaughtering of oxen
“They replied that they slaughtered them in this manner to preserve the skins
entire for their karosses.’
1827 Hallbeck & Fritsch (1826) pp. 303, 304, 309 Thembu: dress
p. 303 Thembu: cloak, aprons
‘These Tambookkies, like all men of this nation, as well as the Caffres, had
little covering, except the kaross hanging over their shoulders, and a small apron,
decorated with brass rings and beads, round their waists. . . .
The women dress decently, but the little girls have no clothing, except a small
apron, decorated with beads. The boys go quite naked.’
p: 303 Thembu: hairdressing
“They understand how to curl their hair with a degree of elegance, such as
would be difficult for the most expert friseur to imitate. With a species of pomatum
made of fat and red clay, they contrive to dress their short hair in diminutive curls,
about the size of a bean, so as to cover their whole head.’
pp. 303-304 Thembu: cap, cape
“The female head-dress is a piece of skin, thickly set with beads, but some wear
kerchiefs procured from the colony. The most remarkable part of their dress is a
kind of cape, reaching from the upper part of the kaross to their feet, and orna-
468 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
mented with five rows of yellow buttons, closely joined together, by which they are
rendered very heavy. I counted on one of these capes, 246 buttons.’
p. 309 Thembu: chief’s dress
‘In the appearance of a Tambookkie Chief, both in his person and dress, there
is no distinguishing mark, except that his kaross, and those of his counsellors, are
made of tiger, or tiger-cat skins. Bowana’s kaross was the worst and most ragged
of all in the company.’
1825-9 Kay (1833) pp. 111-115, 194, 200, 373, 374 Xhosa, Mpondo: dress
pp. tiiesti2 Xhosa: cloak, penis-sheath, sandals
Nothing more.
pe IZ Xhosa: men’s apron
‘I have been told by the old men that their ancestors were accustomed to wear
a small apron when occasion required them to throw off the ingubo, or cloak; and
that it is but of late years, comparatively, that this relic of decency has been entirely
laidaside . . . some of the oldest Kaffers still wear the abovementioned covering.’
pp. 113-114 Xhosa: cloak
Nothing more.
p. 114 Xhosa: women’s garments, cap
‘Short leathern petticoats also are worn; and, when engaged in any kind of
labour, such as gardening, &c., constitute their only habiliments; the ingubo is then
laid aside, being too cumbersome. By many, however, amongst the higher classes
especially, nothing more than a small apron, decorated with various coloured
beads, is used under the cloak. This is but three or four inches broad, and might
seem to be used more as an ornament than as a matter of decorum... .
Excepting cases of age, childhood, and mothers giving suck, it is accounted
exceedingly unbecoming for a female to go about with her breasts uncovered. Over
these, therefore she wears the imbeka, which is also ornamented with beads. Great
taste is frequently displayed in their caps, or head-dresses, which are generally the
most expensive part of their costume. They are made from the skin of a peculiar
species of antelope, indigenous to the forest, and called by the native, iputi. This
being cut to the shape required, a large quantity of variegated beads are stitched
on with great regularity; and as white and light blue generally form the principal
shades in this Kaffer turban, their contrast with the sable countenance of the wearer
is far from being disagreeable. When complete, the weight is, of course, con-
siderable; and the shape altogether too masculine to accord with European ideas
of female delicacy. It is rare indeed to see a woman with anything on her feet, even
when travelling: she almost invariably goes bare-foot, under all circumstances, and
in all kinds of weather.’
(Da JIS) Xhosa: skins used for cloaks
‘Their leathern mantles are usually renewed once a year; and choice cattle are
then slaughtered for this purpose expressly. Black cows or oxen are generally
selected, a decided preference being given to that colour... .
The robes of the principal Chieftains are generally made of panthers’ skins,
which give them a warlike and commanding appearance. These, however, are
[OS SS i a ea.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 469
frequently thrown aside, or placed on the shoulders of subordinates, while the
Chief himself goes about in an old tattered garb, which would induce a stranger
to conclude that he was the menial, rather than the monarch.’
pp. 194, 200 Xhosa: cloak, mourning
Nothing more.
pes!3 Mpondo: hair-style
‘Many of the Amaponedae are much more particular in their mode of orna-
menting themselves than the Amaxosae. Their hair is made up into various fan-
tastic and artificial head-dresses; some of which very much resemble a counsellor’s
wig. On our way through a valley near the Umdoombi, we passed one of Fakoo’s
warriors, who, with his companion, had halted to rest and refresh himself at the
brook. His hair, neatly wrought up into a tuft on the crown of the head, was
powdered with sibilo instead of ochre, and ornamented with small feathers of the
richest colour. Across his jet-black forehead were tied two or three strings of ae
white beads, very tastefully arranged.’
p. 374 Mpondo: women naked
‘Many of the females are here much more shameless than those of the lower
tribes,—going perfectly naked. This circumstance may, perhaps, in many
instances at least, be ascribed to their extreme poverty; having no cattle to kill, and
consequently no skins wherewith to make themselves garments.’
(1529) Rose pp. 58, 85, 187 Xhosa: men’s dress, caps
p. 58 Xhosa: men’s dress
‘It would have been difficult to prove to him that his large black mantle, varied
necklace, girdle of brass wire, blue beaded anklet, anc brass bracelet, formed a
far more graceful costume than that which he admired.’
pp. 85, 187 Xhosa: caps
Nothing more.
(1829) Young pp. 202-203 Xhosa: mourning
Nothing more.
1829 Bain p. 103 and note 54, figs 8—10 Mpondo, Xhosa, Xesibe: dress
p. 103 and note 54, figs 8, 10 Mpondo: clothing, hair-style;
Xhosa: woman, cloak
‘The natives about this country began to assume a very different appearance
from the Caffres, not only in their dress but in their general appearance... .
I will not here attempt to describe the dresses of the Amapondas™’.. . .”
(Editor’s footnote 54:) ‘Extract from Bain’s Account, $.A.C. Advertiser
(Sept. 26th, 1829):
The Kaross of the Amapondo which, by the way, he hardly ever wears, though
composed of the same materials as that of the Caffre is much smaller. . . . A Caffre
lady is generally enveloped from the neck downward in the ample folds of a large
ox-hide with a triple row of brass buttons down her back; on her head she wears
a cap like a Grenadier’s, the beads of which cost her husband several head of cattle,
while the less wealthy Amapondo dame waddles about in a scanty unadorned cloak
470 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
of the same stuff and is content with the simple head dress which nature has
bestowed upon her. . . . They differ from the Caffres by being all uncircumcised.’
fig. 9 Xesibe: hair-style
Figure.
1829 Boniface p. 21 Xhosa: hair-style, dress
po 2 Xhosa: hair-style
‘La coiffure des maris différe essentiellement ici de celle de leurs épouses; en
ce que celles-ci ne teignent point leur chevelure noire, et paraissent au contraire
abandonner entierement a la nature le soin de la faire croitre ou de |’embellir;
tandis que les hommes se graissent la téte avec une espéce de pate d’un rouge trés
vif; et bouclent ou tortillent leurs cheveux en forme de boulettes de cire.’
p: 21 Xhosa: apron, cloak
Nothing more.
p21 Xhosa: penis-sheath
‘Les hommes, du reste, sont absolument nus; mais nous avons observé chez
ces derniers une singularité que nous n’avons plus retrouvée parmi les autres
hordes que nous avons eu occasion de visiter depuis. C’est une espece de chapeau
ou capsule de boyau avec quoi ils se couvrent l’extrémité des parties naturelles, et
qui leur pend entre les jambes en se prolongeant comme un tuyau de pres de deux
pieds de long.’
1829 Holman (1834) p. 265 Xhosa: mourning
‘All the clothes, ornaments, and weapons of the deceased, are buried with
him.’
c. 1831-2 Smith pp. 103, 105-108, 120, 123, 124 Mpondo, Thembu: dress
p. 103 Manequa, Mpondo: penis-sheath
‘They used the small nut for the penis that the Amapondas do, and circum-
cised.’
p. 103 Manequa, Mpondo: hair-style
‘Behind they twist their hair into long strings like the Amapondas. Smear their
heads with fat alone.’
pp. 105-106 Mpondo: hair-style
‘The women have their hair in a mop, the outer surface twisted and studded
with round [k|nobs like peas and covered thickly with red clay behind nearly as low
as [the] neck. A string three or four times double of long black cylindrical tresses
which extend round from one ear to the other and hang down upon the neck. The
black is produced by charcoal mixed with fat. Before they are considered young
women they have the hair all over the head alike and black.
The males dress differently. Some have a ring in front like the Zolas but more
on [the] forehead and often smaller; behind that on [the] back and sides of head
the hair grows very bushy and then the rows of tresses as in the women hang down
on the neck behind from ear to ear. Some have the head outside of [the] ring close
shaved as well as the centre of the ring and only the tresses behind; others have
also the centre of [the] ring with bushy hair. Indeed, most of them have the hair
[a Dice a
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 471
growing everywhere on the head. Some have the ring actually hanging down on
tae forehead. . ..
They stick the hair full of feathers, particularly round the ring and they attach
a brush of feathers usually to the hindhead; the feathers are deprived of the shafts.
The wax ring is in many of them coloured with red clay. Some of the full grown
men also have their hair in a sort of mass rounded at the edges and in appearance
like a wig. It is never, however, red as in the women.
The old men wear their hair long and without any ring.
The quantity of grease on the hair causes it to shine very much. Sometimes
they have the whole face without any regularity coloured yellowish white and red.
On different parts of the head they place the seeds of the Erythrina caffra. . . .
Some of the women have the hair also black... .’
p. 106 Mpondo: skirt
‘The old women generally have a more or less large kaross bound round the
hips and hanging down to the knees or even further.’
p. 106 Mpondo: penis-sheath
‘Some have sheaths of hide with the hair outside for the penis, and others wear
small calabashes.’
p: 107 Mpondo: apron
‘The young girls either wear in front of [the] private parts a series of small
strings which conceal those parts or strings of beads made in the same way.’
p07 Mpondo: hair-style
‘Some begin very young to form the ring on the head. They, however, appear
never to use that till they have been circumcised, and then all do not directly; a
good deal as to that seeming to depend upon caprice. . . . To the tresses behind
are often appended the feet of fowls, domestic.’
p. 108 Mpondo: penis-sheath
‘Some make the penis cover with the leaves that surround the head of Indian
corn and have the extremity elongated and rounded, then surrounded with strings
of beads. They have two kinds of nuts they wear. One [is] much larger than the
other and includes the glans; the other is about the size of a hazel nut and admits
only the extremity of the skin which is kept there by the glans pressing it forcibly
against the cover.’
p. 120 Mpondo: mourning
“When a woman becomes a widow she must live in a sort of house a little way
from the kraal for two or three days. . . . When time of mourning [is] over they
kill for her and she gets a new kaross and the old one is used as a petticoat. Can
only eat a portion of the neck of the animal killed to make the kaross. Cannot wear
beads for some time after this. She cannot anoint herself during her mourning.
When she returns to the kraal she cuts the hair off the top of her head.’
pe 123 Thembu: mourning
‘On the death of Vosanie [Vusani] all the people, both men and women,
shaved their heads and they continued to mourn for the space of one year.’
472 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 124 Thembu: mourning
(After the death of Vusani:) “Till three months ago no person painted with red
clay and they kept their hair cut close to the head. All ornaments were taken off
the body and carosses.’
c. 1831-2 Drége pp. 34-35 Thembu, Mpondo: dress
p. 34 Thembu: hair-style
‘These Kaffers have short hair smeared with red like all the Kaffers we have
seen previously.’
p. 34 Thembu: penis-sheath, belt, cloak, woman’s cap
‘The penis covering is made from the skin which surrounds the heart of an ox.
The thin strip of leather which is fastened round the loins is decorated with small
brass rings. One sees more karosses among the Kaffers here, and the women have
many brass buttons on theirs and pretty leather caps on their heads trimmed with
white and blue.’
p. 34 Mpondo: hair-style
‘They wear their hair smeared with red and hanging down the back in long
tassels.’
p. 34 Mpondo: penis-sheaths
‘The penis coverings consist of small hard nuts.’
p35 Ntinde: penis-sheaths
‘The little leather strips which are attached to their penis coverings are often
decorated with brass rings to a length of 12 inches.’
(1832a) Anon. pp. 142, 161-162, 221-222 Xhosa: cloak, cap, apron,
sandals, chief’s dress
Nothing more.
1832 Genth (1831) p. 428 ‘Caffres’: cloak, sandals
‘24th Four Caffres came hither, to visit. . . . They wore karosses of sheepskin,
and shoes of the same. . . . They had no hats,. .. .
(1833) Morgan, N. pp. 37, 38 Xhosa: general description
Nothing more.
(1833) Anon. figs 3, 4 Xhosa: clothing
Nothing more (description based on Van der Kemp 1804).
1834 Bonatz (1834b) pp. 349-350 Thembu: clothing
‘The clothing of the men consists merely of a kaross, formed of the skins of
sheep or oxen;. . . . The chiefs are ordinarily distinguished by a kaross of panther
skin. 223
Coverings for the head, they have none, except occasionally a handkerchief
in winter. They go for the most part bare-foot, but when engaged in a long journey,
or in warfare, they make use of a kind of shoe or sandal... .’
p. 350 Thembu: women’s clothing
Nothing more.
[3 Dh ei 2
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 473
1834 Gardiner (1836) opp. p. 101, p. 286, Thembu, Mpondo: dress,
opp p. 286 hair-style
opp. p. 101 Thembu: dress
Figure of man and women.
p. 286 Mpondo, ‘Hoash’ (?Wushe (Mpondo) ): hair-styles
‘Having been so long accustomed to the close-shorn heads of the Zoolas, the
ochred mobs of these women, and the nest-like perruques of the men, formed a
striking contrast, and at first quite attracted my notice.’
opp. p. 286 Mpondo, ‘Hoash’ (?Wushe (Mpondo) ): hair-styles
Figures of men’s and women’s hair-styles.
1834—5 Godlonton (1835-6) p. 133 Xhosa: hair-style
‘By means of an iron pin, the short woolly hair which distinguishes the negro
races, is tortured into minute curls, each about the dimensions of a pea, and is then
deeply tinged with the argillaceous earth or ochre, which is found in abundance
in this particular part of the country, and as far as we have heard, in this only.’
1835 Alexander (1835a) p. 318 Fingo: men’s and women’s dress
‘The Fingoes (or Wanderers) belong to various scattered tribes. . . . Their
dress consists of a dressed ox-hide, worn with the hair inwards, rude sandals on
their feet, and askin sheath like the other tribes; their ornaments are bead earrings,
tufts of jackals’ tails on their heads, bead necklaces, generally blue and white, brass
rings on their arms, and a belt of small brass rings, strung on leather, round their
waist. The women wear a small turban of skin or cloth, not to defend the head from
the sun, but to enable them better to carry burdens, a petticoat of hide, askin breast
cover, ornamented with beads, and some of them the Kafir female kaross or mantle
of hide, from which depends behind a flap covered with brass buttons; beneath the
petticoat is worn a small triangular apron ornamented with beads; they also wear
bead necklaces and brass bracelets... .
#835 Alexander (1837) 1 pp. 383, 386, 387, 390, 391; 2 p. 129 Xhosa: dress
Dp. 383 Xhosa: clothing
Figure.
p. 386 Xhosa: chief’s cloak
‘The chiefs and counsellors wear karosses of leopard skins, neatly vandyked
at the neck and skirt, and worn so as to show a part of the closely-spotted hair.’
p. 386 Xhosa: cloak and blanket
‘From the shoulders hangs the ungoobo, kaross, or mantle of softened hide,
worn with the hair next the body, and fastened with a thong at the neck. The Kaffirs
near the colony are beginning to change their leather covering for one of cloth,
which is not so heavy, and is warmer in wet weather than hide.’
p. 387 Xhosa: sandals
Nothing more.
590 Xhosa: women’s cap
‘In full dress, the females wear a broad and high cap of the valuable blue buck
skin, with the hair inwards, and outwardly ornamented with white and blue beads,
474 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
sewn closely on it. Half a dozen long stripes of skin are twisted round the brows,
which are thus begirt with a handsome turban.’
ps 3911 Xhosa: women’s cloak flap
‘. . . the kaross, fixed closely round the waist, descends below the knee; and
the same garment is occasionally drawn over the shoulders, between which, hangs
a long flap of leather, ornamented with rows of flat and round buttons.
In the bush, and in war-time, the women always display their glittering flaps
to save themselves from being shot at.’
pool Xhosa: apron
‘. . . and wear under their kaross a small swallow-tailed apron, covered with
white and blue beads. The women are as studious to conceal their persons, as the
men are savagely proud and shameless in the exposure of theirs.’
74 Os MAE, Xhosa: cloak, sandals
‘Hintza. . . . His ample mantle was of beautiful leopard-skin; and buskins of
untanned hide covered his feet.’
1835 Cameron (1836) p. 366 Mpondo: clothing
“This morning Faku . . . arrived on the Station....I.. . found this great
Chief sitting on the bare ground in a state of nudity. . . . His ingubo, or kaross,
%)
layebeside ints re
1836 England (1833-7) Xhosa: man’s cloak, sandals, woman’s cap
Figures.
(1836) Martin pp. 153, 154 Thembu: cloaks, sandals
Nothing more.
1820-56 Shaw, W. (1860) pp. 406-408, 413, 415, 417, 431 Xhosa: general
descriptions
pp. 406-7 Xhosa: man’s cloak
Nothing more.
p. 407 Xhosa: women’s garments
“The females wear a skin under-wrapper round their bodies, and also another
which covers their breasts; but the outer garment or cloak is similar to that worn
by the men; only it is generally made of larger dimensions, so as to form a more
complete covering: but they also, like the men, frequently lay aside these outer
garments whenever the weather is warm, and the Kaffir women of the border then
appear with the under-wrapper alone, which being fastened around the abdomen
descends almost to the knees.’
p. 407 Xhosa: women’s cap
‘The men wear no hats or other covering for their heads; but the full costume
of a Kaffir woman requires a species of turban, which is made of the skins of a small
and beautiful antelope caught in the woody districts of the country. The upper part
rises to the height of ten or twelve inches above the crown of the head, and is
ornamented with rows of various coloured beads well arranged and fastened on the
skin, so as to produce a pleasing effect. The lower part of this cap is wrapped round
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 475
with a portion of the skin, in a turban-like manner, the handsome fur being outside,
and greatly adding to the effective appearance of this head-dress.’
p. 408 | Xhosa: cloak flap
‘, . . also have an appendage to their skin cloaks, called the isibaxa, which is
not worn by the men. It consists of a strip of the hide fastened to the neck portion
of the cloak, and about as broad as the back of the wearer, extending to the ankles.
This is worn with the hairy side outwards, and is studded, according to the wealth,
or means, or generosity of the lady’s husband, with as many brass buttons, both
flat and round, as can be placed in rows thereon, from the top to the bottom; and
they are so arranged as to produce a very singular effect.’
pp. 413, 415 Xhosa: cloaks
Nothing more.
p. 417 Xhosa: sandals
*. . . the men devote themselves, . . . to anything they may wish to do, .
repairing their old cloaks, making sandals, or, as the Dutch colonists call them,
veldt schoen, required for use on journeys;... .’
p. 431 Xhosa: widow’s clothing
Nothing more.
1837 Dohne pp. 61, 62, 64 Xhosa: dress
p. ol Xhosa: cloaks
‘Ihre Kleidung besteht in einem Kaross. Die Kapitains und geheimen Rathe
tragen denselben von Tiger- oder L6wenfellen, der ibrige Theil von Ochsen- und
Schaaffellen. Die Manner lassen denselben, wenn’s gerade nicht zu kalt ist, meist
auf einer Schulter, wie ein Husar seinen Pelz, hangen, und schreiten so nackt
einher.’
p62 Xhosa: women’s cloak, skirt
Nothing more.
p. 62 Xhosa: head-cloths
‘Viele Manner und Weiber tragen ein Tuch um den Kopf, oder sonst einen
alten Lappen.’
p. 64 Xhosa: mourning
‘Ihre Karosse muss sie ebenfalls wegwerfen, und sich neue machen. Um
diesem misslichen Umstande auszuweichen, sind sie sehr auf der Hut, dass keiner
im Kraal stirbt.’
1837—8 Bunbury (1848) p. 166 Xhosa: general description
Nothing more.
1839 Backhouse (1844) pp. 182, 183, 263, 268 Xhosa, Mpondo: dress,
hair-style
pp. 182, 183 Xhosa: cloaks
Nothing more.
p. 263 Mpondo: penis-sheaths
‘They do not practice the rite of circumcision: some of their ornaments are
polished nuts, or small, decorated calabashes.’
476 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 263 Mpondo: hair-style
‘Their hair was so managed as to form an oval chaplet, the thickness of a finger,
and about six inches in diameter, into which was stuck a small, ivory snuff-
spoon.’
p. 268 Mpondo: hair-style
‘A portion of his hair was sewed round a rush, so as to form an oval chaplet;
beneath this, it was thick, and so cut as to present the appearance of a forage cap.
Each of the others had three smaller series of ovals forming the chaplet; they had
little other hair upon their heads. All the Caffer tribes are much infested with
vermin, on account of which they occasionally shave off their hair; this practice is
also common among some of them, as a token of mourning, on the decease of a
relative or of a chief.—The people with a triple chaplet belonged to a small tribe
named Tziliangwe, under a petty Chief, subject to Faku.’
1836-44 Dohne (1844) pp. 23, 29, 34, 38-41 Xhosa: dress
Ds 2S) Xhosa: mourning
‘Bei allen Sterbefallen aber mtissen die nachsten Anverwandten der Ver-
storbenen ihre alten Kleider entweder wegwerfen und sich neue anschaffen, oder,
wenn die ersteren noch gut sind, sich wenigstens von Anderen dafur andere
eintauschen; der Verstorbene aber bekommt seine Kleider, Waffen, seine Matten,
Tabackspfeife, sein Messer, Feuerzeug u.s.w. mit in’s Grab.’
[On 28 Xhosa: blanket, head-cloth
‘Statt des Kaross tragen jetzt Viele eine wollene Decke. Auch tragen die
Weiber Schnupftticher um den Kopf.’
p. 34 Xhosa: belt
‘. . . dagegen konnen sie auch wieder 3—4 Tage hungern; dann binden sie sich
einen Riemen um den Bauch und ziehen ihn immer fester an, je leerer der Bauch
wird.’
pp. 38-39 Xhosa: sandals
‘Eine vierte Art Handwerker sind die Schuhmacher. Die Stirnhaut des Ochsen
wird einfach aufgespannt und getrocknet und dient dann zu den Sohlen; die
Haarseite der Ochsenhaut wird nach Aussen getragen. Die Sohlen stehen einen
Finger breit rund um den Fuss hervor. Eine zwei Zoll breite Lasche auf jeder Seite
bildet das Ober- oder Vorderleder und ein anderes breiteres Stiick das Hinterleder;
alle drei Sticke werden durch einen Schuhriemen auf der Frist zusammen-
geschnurt. Dies Handwerk bringt seinen Meistern sehr wenig ein, weil nur Wenige
Schuhe tragen, und auch diese nur auf weiten Reisen; an einem Paar Schuhen hat
Einer sein Leben lang genug. Wer dem Meister zu zwei Paaren Zuthat giebt,
bekommt ein Paar zuriick; der Kaufer giebt fir ein Paar ein Ziegenlammchen..’
pp. 40-41 Xhosa: women’s cloak
‘Je nachdem die Haut gross ist, werden 3 bis 4 Blatter daraus geschnitten, die
an einem Ende schmal, am andern breit sind; die schmalen kommen nach den
Schultern, die breiten nach dem untern Ende. Nun wird sie wieder zusammen-
genaht. Den Zwirn dazu machen sie aus den Sehnen an den Vorder- und Hin-
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 477
terblattern des Viehes. Beim Nahen stechen sie mit der oben beschriebenen Nadel
vor. Ist sie fertig genaht, so wird sie wieder nass gemacht und aufgespannt, damit die
Nahte gerade gezogen werden. Dann wird sie wieder mit den Handen gerieben,
mit Fett bestrichen und mit saurer Milch eingesprengt. Darauf werden Kohlen von
weichem Holz zu Staub gerieben und auf das Kleid gestreut und eingerieben, damit
es eine schwarze Farbe bekomme. Am Rumpf ist eine 9 Zoll breite Klappe
angebracht, die auf dem Ricken bis an die Erde herunterhangt und mit 4 bis
6 Reihen gelber Knopfe besetzt ist. Wer es kann, besetzt die aussere Reihe mit
platten und die innere mit kleinen runden Knoépfen. Wenn es gut geht, wird ein
solch Kleid in 3 bis 4 Wochen fertig. Die Haarseite wird auf dem Leibe getragen.
Die Karosse der Manner werden eben so bearbeitet, nur haben sie keine Klappe
mit Knopfen.’
p. 41 Xhosa: women’s cap
‘Die Mitzen der Weiber bestehen aus 4 Buschbockfellen, auf denen ebenfalls
die Haare bleiben. Drei solcher Felle werden, wenn sie gehorig zubereitet sind,
wie ein Rock, der oben und unten offen steht, zusammengenalhit; dieser Sack wird
in der Mitte eingebogen, und die eine HAlfte wird umgelegt und bildet eine Klappe,
die vorn herunterhangt, wie von einer Zipfelmitze der Zipfel. Aus dem 4ten Felle
wird eine lange, 4 Zoll breite Scharpe geschnitten und an einer Seite der Mutze
befestigt. So wird sie in die Erde eingegraben, dass sie Zahe wird, wieder
herausgenommen und mit stisser Milch besprengt. In die Klappen werden etliche
H6lzchen gesteckt, damit sie die rechte viereckige Form bekommt. Dann wird sie
nochmals in die Erde gesteckt, wieder herausgenommen, ausgereckt und, wenn sie
trocken ist, weich gerieben und beschnitten. Die etwa 14 Zoll lange und breite
Klappe wird dicht mit weissen und blauen Perlen in Streifen besetzt. Wenn sie
aufgesetzt wird, wird sie mit der langen Scharpe umwunden und fest gemacht. Sie
steht wie eine Pelzmiitze der alten Grenadiere, und wird nur beim Hochzeitstanz
getragen.’
1835-55 Ayliff pp. 8, 9 Thembu: skins for clothing
p:.8 Thembu: men’s dress
*. . . but less care was shown in the selection and preparation of the men’s
dresses than of the women’s, from the fact that the former seldom used them by
day and that the wealthier classes and persons of rank were usually habited in
dresses made of the skins of antelopes or leopards, and tho’ a dress of the latter
was regarded as a symbol of rank it was also adopted by the wealthy. This refers
to a bygone period for now all wear European blankets.’
p.9 Thembu: women’s cloaks
*. . . It is decided that such and such wives must have new dresses, and that
such and such oxen are to furnish the necessary hides, here alone female influence
is allowed any weight and female vanity must be gratified, the fashionable colours,
and fashions here do not often or greatly change, are a deep red, a black and tan,
or jet black . . . the longer the hair of the animal the more highly it was prized;
>
478 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1842-53 Baines 1 pp. 29, 40, 56, 62, 67, 71, 141-142, Xhosa, Fingo, Fetcani,
fig. 15; pp. 207 ,/-21032 pp234.-290 Thembu, Hlubi, Mpondo: dress
I jo), 28) Xhosa: women’s dress
(1848) ‘Around the waist or over the full breast was tied the garment required
within the authority of the Magistrate, a petticoat of some civilised manufacture,
while the rest of the figure was adorned with large beads of brilliant colours or rings
and chains of brass and copper. Above the muscular portion of the arm was
generally a string of large white beads, a curiously wrought band of smaller ones,
or a ring of polished brass; while many wore a gauntlet formed of rings of the same
material, gradually increasing in size from the wrist to the elbow; others had anklets
of small beads; and some of the men wore a beautifully worked band of the same
in a vandyked pattern of black and white around their heads, the white points
looking almost like a coronet and the black being invisible against their woolly
hair.’
p. 40 Xhosa: dwarf with sandals
(1848) ‘Crossing his [atrophied] legs, therefore, in Musselman or tailor
fashion, he introduced his hands beneath the straps of a pair of shields or sandals,
synonymous I believe in the Kafir tongue, and raising his body from the ground,
swung himself along as fast as most persons are able to walk.’
p. 40 Fingo, Xhosa: girls’ dress
(1848) ‘Groups of Fingo and Kafir girls in picturesque and becoming dresses,
the chief articles of which were a skin wrapped about the body so as to form a kind
of petticoat, fastened round the waist with a leather thong bound so tightly over
the bosom as, in the opinion of some persons, materially to contribute to that
depression of the breast which renders the older females so uncaptivating, a cap
likewise of skin, and, beside the fringe already mentioned, a strip of dark material,
either cloth or leather three or four inches in width and many feet in length studded
with knobbed buttons of glittering brass, hanging carelessly over the left
Shoulder: .. .’
p. 56 ‘Kafir’: bride’s dress
(1848) ‘Supported on either side by a young companion, like herself anointed
with red clay and dressed only in the light yellow skin of an oribi, one of the smallest
and most graceful of our antelopes, she walks bare-headed. .. .’
p. 62 Fingo: woman’s dress
(1848) ‘At the door of one of these huts I observed a woman wearing an apron
with two points like a commodore’s broad pendant richly decorated with coloured
beads which, I believe, is peculiar to married females, but being covered by the
dress is seldom exposed to view, and this is the only occasion on which I remember
to have seen it.’
p. 67 Fetcani, Thembu: hair-style, leg-band
(1848) ‘. . . Ficani, distinguishable from the Abatembu by a small ring of
matted hair, serving as a receptacle for snuff spoons and other articles, upon the
crown of their otherwise shaven heads, as well as by the white tufts from the tails
of oxen gartered below their knees.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 479
pe 71 Xhosa: mourning hair-styles
(1848) *. . . The heads of many were closely shaven with their assagais in token
of mourning and rubbed with grease till their bald polished scalps glittered in the
sun.’
pp. 141-142 Xhosa: women’s apron, breast-cloth
(1849) *. . . two young women came out of a hut to gaze at me, and stood
shading their eyes from the sun by laying the right arm across their foreheads. They
had left their petticoats inside, and, with the exception of a fringe of leather perhaps
nine inches deep and a little broader and the usual ornaments of beads which ought
to have been worn over the breast, displayed their really handsome, and in the case
of one of them almost elegant, figures, in the dress they brought into the world with
them.’
fig. 15 (opp. p. 145) Xhosa: woman’s dress
(1849) Nothing more.
207 Xhosa: women’s dress
(1849) “The dress of the Kafir women is very highly ornamented and almost
as expensive as that of more civilised ladies. The buttons on one woman’s cloak
have been known to cost four oxen, the beads on her cap three, and the rest of
her ornaments one or two more. It is considered a degradation to a female to be
seen with her head uncovered; and if, at any time, a woman is obliged to take off
the handkerchief or other substitute for a cap, she will rather place a piece of chip
or a leaf on her head than appear uncovered. After arriving at years of womanhood
they reckon it a point of modesty to cover the breast. I have seen them often
enough, and of all ages, with the breast bare, and, I think, the head too; but Mr.
Shepstone tells me this is the effect of civilisation. I never saw a female of any age
perfectly naked; a little apron of leather, cut in strips, is suspended by a cord or
brass band round the loins as soon as they are able to leave the back of their mother
and crawl about the floor of the hut.’
p. 210 Xhosa: woman’s hair-style
(1849) ‘A short distance from the house an old Kafir woman stopped to ask
me for tobacco, and, seeing me look curiously at her headdress, took off her
handkerchief to give me a better opportunity of examining it. Her hair had been
drawn out of curl and separated into small parcels, each of which was then plastered
with red clay and grease, till the whole looked like a collection of earth worms
hanging round her head and formed a ridiculous caricature of Medusa. She
appeared very proud of her tresses and highly pleased at the interest they excited
in me, and, having further gratified her by a donation of the fragrant weed, I
continued my journey.’
2p. 234 Xhosa: woman’s head-covering
(1851) ‘One of them, having nothing to carry and having, perhaps, lost her
usual head-dress, had picked up the wrapper of a pack of cartridges, that she might
not appear uncovered before strangers, and another carried an empty powder
canister.’
480 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 290 Hlubi, Mpondo: men’s hair-style
(1852) ‘Their hair, though crisp and woolly, was much longer and, on the top
of the head, was felted up into a ring, very much resembling at first sight the coarse
flat bonnet of the Scotch. The central opening was three or four inches in diameter,
and served as a receptacle for beads, snuff-boxes, or any of the multifarious articles
for which no more convenient place could be found.’
1847-8 Angas (1849) pp. 21-23 and figs, 24 Xhosa, Fingo, Mpondo: dress,
hair-style
p. 21 and fig. Xhosa: men’s and women’s dress
Nothing more.
p. 22 and fig. Xhosa, Fingo: women’s dress
“The Amaxosa females are many of them women of noble bearing and graceful
manners. Their costume differs greatly from that of the Amazulu and Amaponda,
consisting of garments much more ample, formed of carefully dressed skins, and
curiously decorated with steel chains, and brass bell-buttons. The leather cloak,
worn by the Amaxosa women on all festive occasions has usually a broad belt of
leather about 8 inches wide, extending all down the back, and separated from the
dress over which it falls; this is thickly studded with brass buttons, and the shell
of a small land tortoise, containing a preparation of herbs, as a supposed charm
against witchcraft, is suspended from it by a piece of coiled wire. I have only
observed these tortoises amongst the women of this tribe and the Fingoes, who
adopt the same style of dress and similar customs to their neighbours the Amaxosa
Kaffirs.’
p. 23 and fig. Mpondo: hair-style
‘The [Mpondo] women, as may be seen by the accompanying portrait, twist
their hair into ringlets, which are thickly smeared with red ochre and grease. The
subject of our sketch is a woman of rank amongst the Amaponda people—in her
hair she wears a porcupine quill... .’
p. 24 Mpondo: dress
Nothing more.
1848 Freeman (1851) opp. p. 197 | Xhosa: clothing
Figure (painting) by I’Ons.
c. 1850 C. B. (?Charles Bell) sketches Cape Nguni: women’s cap,
breast-cloth, men’s short cloak,
chief’s cloak
Figures.
c. 1837-63 TOns AM 2956, 4421, 4424, 4427, 4430, Xhosa and
6349 (1847); 41/924, 47/275 (1856) Fingo: clothing
Paintings.
c. 1837-63 Ons (Redgrave & Bradlow 1958) Xhosa and
plscopp: pp! 22, 30" [nos 10, 125.13, to> 17] Fingo: clothing
Figures.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 481
1848-52 Baines (1848—52a) 2, 71 Xhosa: cloak, soldier’s cap
Figures.
(1851) J. W(alker) pls 14, 15, 20 Xhosa: dress
Figures of men and a woman.
1851 Bell (1851a) p. 90 ‘Tambookie’: women’s caps
Nothing more.
1851-2 King (1853) pp. 41, 65, 169, 170, 265 Xhosa: clothing, women’s cap
p. 41 Xhosa: clothing
Nothing more.
p65 Xhosa: women’s cap
‘. . . we obtained a number of handsome ornaments taken from the huts of
some of the members of the Gaika Royal Family, such as bracelets, karosses, &c.,
with the singular head-dresses, umnqwazi, made of otter skin and beautiful bead
work, which are the insignia peculiar to female royalty in Kaffirland.’
p. 169 Xhosa: cloak, blanket, breast-cloth, cap
‘The only covering worn by the Kaffir is the well-known kaross, which supplies
the place of our own plaid; it consists of different skins; that of the tiger, is a
distinctive mark of chieftainship, and not allowed to be worn by any other class;
among the lower ranks a coarse blanket is now generally substituted. The married
women sometimes wear a very small forked apron of leather, adorned with beads,
over their beasts, and the wives of royalty have the privilege of a peculiar head-
dress of fur, one of which, in my possession, taken from the Royal Gaika Kraal,
on the Amatolas, is like a large loose fez, with the fur outside, turned up and
ornamented with small beads, and on each side long broad “ribbons” of fur tipped
with tiger skin.’
p. £70 Xhosa, Fingo: belt
‘. . .and both Kaffirs and Fingoes use a strap or belt round their naked waist,
called “‘lambele’’, which they tighten when hungry and unable to procure food.’
p:. 265 Xhosa: cloak
‘The women, like those before taken, had their woolly hair entwined with
the claws and teeth of wild beasts, and wore karosses of hide, finely dressed, and
dyed black with mimosa bark, of which all the larger trees here had been
stripped.’
(1853) Fleming frontispiece, pp. 91, 111 Xhosa: breast-cloth, cloaks
Nothing more.
1855 Lindsey & Lindsey (1886) p. 116 Fingo: child’s apron
Nothing more.
(1856) Fleming pp. 201, 206, 221 Xhosa: dress, penis-sheath
pp. 201, 206 Xhosa: women’s dress
Nothing more.
482 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 221 Xhosa: head-cloth, breast-cloth, skirt, apron
‘They usually wear a handkerchief, of some bright colour, bound round their
heads. =.
Around the neck they wear a string, from which is suspended a fringe of
beadwork, which falls over the breasts, and hangs as low as the loins, called in the
Kaffir tongue “‘amecklate’’. Around their waists they always have a “‘kaross”’ or skin
fastened, and, under this they wear the “‘encyées”. . . .’
1856 Warner (1859) pp. 2, 3 Thembu: women’s dress
ps2 Thembu: cloak and flap
Nothing more.
p. 3 Thembu: skirts, apron
‘Beneath this outer garment they wear a skin petticoat open in front, tied tight
round their loins, and reaching to their knees; and beneath this they wear the small
apron common to the females of all the tribes of South Africa. They also cover their
breasts; but this article of dress is often dispensed with, and the women most
frequently appear at their kraals, in their under petticoat only, and their bodies
bare from their loins upwards,—this is particularly the case with the young
unmarried sinls, - -ye)-
(1858) Maclean p. 126 Xhosa: penis-sheath
‘If a man wilfully exposes himself without the penis cover, he may be fined by
the Chief.
Should a man maliciously, or otherwise, pull off the penis cover of another,
a fine of from one to five head of cattle may be inflicted, payable to the com-
plainant.’
1862 Bauer & Hartmann (1861) p. 560 Mpondomise: hair-style
‘The dress and language of this tribe reminded us of the Zulus. They have a
peculiar way of wearing the hair. The men smooth and stiffen the hair on the top
of the head with grease and mud, and shape it in the form of a small round cap,
while the hair of the lower part stands out from the head stiff and straight. . . . The
women wear their hair hanging down over their shoulders in many small twists,
leaving the forehead bare, and tying a handkerchief, folded in narrow plaits, round
the head.’
(1865) Bowler pl. 7 ?Fingo: skirt
Figure.
1863-6 Fritsch (1872) pp. 58-62, 107 Cape Nguni: general description
pp. 58-59 Cape Nguni: penis-sheath
‘. . . Ihre Kleidung (sit venia verbo) beschrankt sich auf ein kleines Buchschen
verschiedener Gestalt, mit welchem sie die Glans penis tiberziehen. Dieses Buchs-
chen, dessen Oeffnung etwas verengt ist, wird entweder aus kieinen runden
Kirbisfriichten gemacht, deren holzige Schale zierlich eingeschnitten und
gezeichnet ist, oder es wird von Leder gefertigt und ist dann gewohnlich von
langlicher Gestalt, eventuell wird auch irgend ein anderes Material dazu verwandt.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 483
Meist ist das Kleidungsstiick am oberen Ende mit kleinen Schntren von
Glasperlen geschmiickt und am unteren pflegt eine Art Troddel von gleicher
Beschaffenheit herabzuhangen. In seiner Behausung legt der Kaffer auch dieses
Bichschen Ofters ab,... .’
p. 60 Xhosa: blanket
‘Jetzt haben die Kaffern eingesehen, dass besser wie ein noch so sorgfaltig
gegerbtes Thierfell, welches durch Nasse stets wieder viel von der Geschmeidigkeit
verliert, eine gute wollene Decke sich den K6rperformen anpasst und verschaffen
sich, wenn sie es erschwingen k6nnen, solche von englischem Fabrikat, meist braun
von Farbe, die um den Hals durch eine Art Agraffe zusammengezogen wird.’
p. 60 Xhosa: sandals
‘Als ein Kleidungsstiick, welches ebenfalls nur zeitweise angelegt wird, wenn
die Umstande es erfordern, sind aus Thierfellen geschnittene Sandalen, am lieb-
sten aus Eland oder Giraffenleder, welche tiber dem Spann mittelst eines anderen
Lederstreifen oder dunner Riemchen befestigt werden. Auch diese Fuss-
bekleidung, gewohnlich nur auf langeren Reisen getragen, ist mit geringen
Modificationen den verschiedenen Stammen urspriinglich eigen, in neuester Zeit
wird sie aber sehr von den colonialen “‘Velschoen”’ verdrangt, die in gleicher Weise
von weissen Colonisten und den Eingeborenen angefertigt und getragen werden.
Solche Fellschuhe bestehen aus einer dicken rohen Sohle, auf welcher ein bis in
die Gegend der Knochel reichendes, gegerbtes Oberleder befestigt wird, wahrend
den Hacken eine Kappe umgiebt, deren seitliche Auslaufer das Oberleder
ubergreifen und auf dem Spann mit Riemchen zusammengebunden werden.’
p: OF Xhosa: apron
‘Dasjenige der jungen Madchen ist bei den genannten Stammen um Nichts
reicher, es beschrankt sich vielmehr auf einen kleinen die Schamgegend bedek-
kenden Schurz, bei erwachsenen Personen wird in der Regel ein zweiter etwas
grosserer dartber getragen, der mit Korallen und Metallzierrathen geschmickt ist,
doch erst bei der Verheirathung wird eine eigentliche Bekleidung angelegt.’
ps 62 Xhosa: woman’s cloak
Nothing more.
p. 107 Xhosa: baby-sling
‘Das neugeborene Kind ist ganz unter der Obhut und Autoritat der Mutter;
geht dieselbe aus, um in Felde zu arbeiten, Holz oder Wasser zu holen (was schon
am nachsten Tage geschehen kann, da die Frauen kein Wochenbett abzuhalten
pflegen), so befindet sich das Kind auf ihrem Ricken, in dem grossen, sackartigen
Ledertuch, welches die Wiege des Kleinen darstellt.’
c. 1864 Stanford (1858-89) 1 p. 18 ?Thembu: dress
‘Occasionally a special embassy came from distant chiefs not included in Mr
Warner’s ordinary jurisdiction. The tribe generally looked upon Mr Warner as the
guardian of their rights and interests in view of Umtirara’s dying charge to him.
These envoys arrived usually on horseback and accompanied by one or more young
men in attendance. The councillors would carry with them carefully wrapped up
484 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
their best blankets duly ochred to the right shade. Some still wore the head ring
which has passed into disuse nowadays. The ivory arm ring was constantly
worn.’
1845-89 Kropf (1889a) pp. 89, 104-106, 114-116 Xhosa: general description
p. 89 Xhosa: hunger-belt
Nothing more.
p. 104 Xhosa, Fingo: decoration of clothing
‘... Ober- und Unterkleid sind oft, besonders bei den Fingus, sch6n mit
Perlen besetzt, die ordentliche, wenn auch nicht regelmassige Muster darstellen.’
pels Xhosa: shoes
‘Schuhe von gegerbtem Schaf- oder Ziegenleder tragen nur die Manner,
besonders in Zeiten des Krieges, wo ihnen kein Dorn zu spitz, kein Stein zu scharf
sein darf, um behende dariiber zu laufen wie die Gazellen.’
pp. 106,115 Xhosa: cloaks
Nothing more.
p. 114 Xhosa: sandals
Nothing more.
Pp: iG Xhosa: caps
Nothing more.
(1868) Wood pp. 17-18, fig. p. 18 Cape Nguni: baby-sling
‘When the mother carries her infant to the field, she mostly slings it to her back
by means of a wide strip of some soft skin, which she passes round her waist so
as to leave a sort of pocket behind in which the child may lie. In this primitive cradle
the little creature reposes in perfect content, and not even the abrupt movements
to which it is necessarily subjected will disturb its slumbers... .
The wife of a chief or wealthy man will not, however, rest satisfied with the
mere strip of skin by way of a cradle, but has one of an elaborate and ornamental
character. The illustration represents a remarkably fine example of the South
African cradle, and is drawn from a specimen in my collection.
It is nearly two feet in length by one in width, and is made of antelope skin,
with the hair still remaining. The first care of the maker has been‘to construct a
bag, narrow toward the bottom, gradually widening until within a few inches of the
opening, when it again contracts. This form very effectually prevents an active or
restless child from falling out of its cradle. The hairy side of the skin is turned
inward, so that the little one has a soft and pleasant cradle in which to repose. in
order to give it this shape, two ‘“‘gores”’ have been let into the back of the cradle,
and are sewed with that marvellous neatness which characterizes the workmanship
of the Kaffir tribes. Four long strips of the same skin are attached to the opening
of the cradle, and by means of them the mother can bind her little one securely
on her back.
As far as usefulness goes, the cradle is now complete, but the woman is not
satisfied unless ornament be added. Though her rank—the wife of a chief—does
not exonerate her from labor, she can still have the satisfaction of showing her
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 485
position by her dress, and exciting envy among her less fortunate companions in
the field. The entire front of the cradle is covered with beads, arranged in regular
rows. In this specimen, two colors only are used; namely, black and white. The
black beads are polished glass, while the others are of the color which are known
as “‘chalk-white’’, and which is in great favor with the Kaffirs, on account of the
contrast which it affords to their dusky skin. The two central rows are black. The
cradle weighs rather more than two pounds, half of which is certainly due to the
profusion of beads with which it is covered.’
1869 Bauer (1871) p. 289 Mpondomise: hair-style
‘His head-dress was of the fashion peculiar to the Amapondumisi, the hair
being twisted up with grease into the shape of an inverted cup, and having a long
heron’s feather stuck in it.’
(1877) Cripps pp. 330, 333, 334 Xesibe, Mpondo: dress
p. 330 Xesibe: garments worn
‘The men had thin ochre-coloured blankets thrown over their shoulders, and
the women wore a short leather kilt studded with beads and brass buttons with a
fringe of leather strips.’
D332 Mpondo: hair-style
‘Owing to our proximity to Natal, we saw Zulu customs in vogue. The men
wore their hair worked up into cones with a black polished ring of matted and
polished hair at the apex, looking like ebony. Within these cones there are
deposited small articles in daily use, such as a snuff-box, etc. Into the cone itself
is usually thrust a two-pronged fork of bone with a spoon as a handle.’
p. 334 Mpondo: skirt
‘A lady’s dress consists of a leather kilt which is bordered by a fringe of strings,
it is also studded with brass-nail heads—such as one sees on green baize doors,
and innumerable beads. The slightest movement on the part of the wearer of such
a garment gives rise to a strange rustling noise.’
1877—8 Norbury (1880) pp. 8, 10, 15 Xhosa, Fingo: dress
p. 8 Xhosa: blankets, skirt
‘Among the Xosa the dress of the men consists of a simple blanket of a dingy
red colour, hanging from the shoulders. . . .
The women wear a well-fitting skirt of bullock’s hide, with the red blanket
gracefully drooping from the shoulders.’
pe lO Fingo: women’s dress
‘The vast majority of the Fingo females, however, still wear the red blanket,
which is often made of a shaggy cotton material and ornamented profusely with
rows of common shirt-buttons,... .’
pe.l5 Xhosa: woman’s skirt, cap
‘The wife takes with her, as a trousseau, . . . a skirt of bullock’s hide, and a
dancing equipment consisting of a long bag-like, richly-beaded cap,... .”
486 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1877-9 Ex C.M.R. (1881) p. 169 Thembu: women’s dress
‘The women almost invariably wear a kaross and blanket. A kaross is a sort
of square garment made of several skins sewn together. This is folded round the
waist and fastened with a strap or piece of hide over their shoulders. They throw
a blanket over their shoulders, and with a gaily coloured handkerchief round their
heads, are considered to be dressed in the height of fashion.’
(1881) Nauhaus, C. T. p. 344 Xhosa: penis-sheath
Nothing more.
1875-87 MacDonald (1890a) pp. 152, 153, 224 Cape Nguni: general
pp. t52;.153 Cape Nguni: dress
Nothing more.
p. 224 Mpondomise: hair-style
‘The men of the Pondomise tribes have an extraordinary method of dressing
their hair. The framework of the head dress is formed by placing a small ring of
grass on the crown of the head. The hair is then rubbed well into the grass with
fat, and securely sewn with thread made from the sinews of an ox. It is then greased
and dressed every day, and the circlet rises with the growth of the hair until it
attains an elevation of several inches above the head. It is never removed till
colonies are formed under shelter of its dense mass, and when these become
numerous the man whose head-gear was the pride of his life appears with clean
shaven pate.’
1875-87 MacDonald (1890b) p. 266 Cape Nguni: fashions in dress, hair-style
‘In dress there is little difference between one tribe and another, but fashions
in form and colour change frequently, and the same fashion is seldom observed in
many tribes at the same time, e.g., one tribe adorns all garments with shells,
another with beads or prepared bits of wood, all of which may be reversed in a few
years. The hair on the other hand is so worn as to indicate the tribe to which a man
belongs; and a royal messenger sent home with his hair cut is equivalent to a
declaration of war.’
(1882) Nauhaus, C. T. p. 200 Cape Nguni: women’s cloak
‘Als einen besonderen Schmuck tragen die Frauen einen langen Mantel der
bis ber die Knochel herabreicht und vorne offen ist, um den Perlenschmuck, der
uber Hals und Brust herabhangt, sehen zu lassen. Dieser Mantel ist aus Fellen
gemacht, sehr weich gegerbt und auf der Fleischseite braun gefarbt mit dem faulen
Holze eines bestimmten Baumes. Der Mantel hat einen kleinen tberfallenden
Kragen, welcher in einen langen Schwanz auslauft und auf dem Rucken bis zur
Erde hinabreicht. Dieser Schwanz ist dicht besetzt mit gelben Messingknopfen,
ausserdem ist der Mantel, besonders nach vorne zu, mit langen feinen Ketten
behangt, die beim Gehen, besonders beim Tanzen ihren Klingelton horen
lassen.’
(1882) Sampson pp. 109-110 Mpondo: hair-style
‘A Pondo, in some marvellous manner, will train up a circular wall of stiff hair
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 487
on the top of his head three or four inches high, and in this hair bowl surmounted
as it generally is by a ring of bees-wax or other solid substance, will carry tobacco,
snuff and other miscellaneous articles. Another will train his hair into a number
of rows imitating the order of a well-kept potato field; while a third will shave the
whole skull and leave only a narrow ridge above the forehead. The variety of ways
in which the hair is worn is indeed most striking, and, as might be expected under
the circumstances, few persons attain such social distinction in independent
Pondoland as the skilful barber.’
(1883) Cape of Good Hope p. 432 Tshomane: ornaments and other
belongings destroyed
‘Umdepa had no ornament or anything belonging to his mother, as, according
to Kafir custom, all effects belonging to persons dying are destroyed.’
1883 Joest (1885) p. 481 ‘Kaffir’ (context Mpondo): penis-sheath
‘Aus einem reisigen Spazierstocke und einem n’utsche besteht die Sommer-
kleidung der Kaffern. Ohne n’utsche wird er sich unanstandig nackt vorkommen;
mit n’utsche hilt er sich fiir vollkommen bekleidet. Das vorliegende ist aus Darm
verfertigt, an dem oft noch Straussfedern, Messingringe u.s.w. herunterhangen.
Die Kaffern verkaufen diese n’utsche sehr ungern; ich habe deren nur eines
bekommen.’
1884 Schroder Xhosa: woman’s dress
Figure.
1883-8 Bachmann (1901) pp. 134, 180 Mpondo: men’s dress, hair-style
p. 134 Mpondo: cloak
‘Fast alle waren in Pondo-Kostiimen, d.h. ausschliesslich bekleidet mit der
ockerfarbenen Wolldecke, die auf einer Schulter oder auf dem Nacken mit einer
grossen Broschen-Nadel befestigt, im ubrigen lose um den Korper flatterte. Sonst
waren sie vollig nackt.’
p. 180 Mpondo: hair-style
‘Die Pondos tragen lange nicht so viele Zierraten am Leibe, als die Natal-
kaffern. Er trug sein Haar in kurzen Locken, ein einfaches grellrotes Band um die
Stirn, den bekannten blauen Pondostreif tiber die Nasenwurzel, eiserne Ringe um
die Handgelenke und Messingringe um die Oberarme, auch einige unterhalb der
Kniee und um die Fussgelenke, einen schwarzen Riemen um die Hite.’
c. 1888 Bodley (1891) p. 233 Fingo: penis-sheath
Nothing more.
(1894) Ratzel 2 pp. 76, 81, 108, 121, 123 Xhosa, Thembu, Mpondo:
dress, men’s hair-style
Figures.
(1904) Kidd pl. 20 and legend, pl. 42 Mpondo: hair-style
Nothing more.
488 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1919) McLaren, J. pp. 445, 447-448 Xhosa: clothing materials
p. 445 Xhosa: fibre for fringe
‘The fibres of the boterbloem, um-kwinti (Gazania pinnata), extracted by
rubbing the leaves along the leg; . . . were twisted or spun, sonta, into thread,
Lin=SOntOy 2 2%
pp. 447-448 Xhosa: skin clothing
Nothing more.
(1919) Aitchison p. 676 Cape Nguni: children’s dress
Nothing more.
1924 Hartmann p. 7 Xhosa: clothing
Nothing more.
(1926a) Miller, F. pp. 30, 31 Hlubi: dress
p. 30 Hlubi: blankets, general description
‘Erwachsene heidnische Kaffern und auch christliche in ihrem Heim tragen die
rote Wolldecke, die sie tiberall zu den verschiedensten Preisen kaufen. Diese
Decken sind jedoch nicht einf6rmig rot, sondern mit schwarzen, blauen oder
gelben Mustern geschmickt. Eine solche gute Wolldecke kostet heute nach dem
Kriege etwa 2 bis 3 englische Pfund (40-60 Mark). In ihr bringen sie Tag und Nacht
zu. Manner und Frauen tragen sie, manchmal auf dem blossen K6rper, doch haben
die Manner meist eine europaische Hose darunter, die Frauen ein etwas voll-
standigeres Kostum, schmutzig-rot gefarbt, Armbtindchen und Rocksaum oft
schon mit bunten Perlstickereien verziert.’
p. 30 Hlubi: sandals, hats
‘Schuhe haben sie im gewohnlichen nicht. H6chstens machen sich die Manner
Schuhe aus Schaffell, die sandalenartig an dem Fuss befestigt werden. Ebenso
fehlen ihnen Hite. Oder sie machen sich Hite mit breiten Krempen und hohen,
zylinderahnlichen Kopfen aus einer Art Gras, eine Kunst, die sie vielleicht von den
Basutos gelernt haben.’
po! Hlubi: head-cloth
‘Das weibliche Geschlecht setzt sich vom Tage der offiziellen Verlobung an
einen turbanahnlich um den Kopf geschlungenen Zeuglappen, qiya genannt, auf,
bei dem sie nun, in der Jugend wenigstens, ihren Begriffen von Farbenschonheit
auf das liberalste fréhnen konnen. Ist die Frau alter geworden, so ist das Kopftuch
meist schwarz. Christenfrauen sieht man draussen nie ohne dies Kopftuch. Die
Manner tragen die Filzhtite, die sie in den Winkeln kaufen.’
(1927) Poto Ndamase p. 119 Mpondo: garments worn
‘Izinxibo. Amadoda ngexesha loxolo enembata imigqweto esisikumba se-
nkomo esisukiweyo, kodwa ebengahleli eyembete, ebedla ngokubinca ipaca
lodwa. Abafazi bona bebebinca isikaka sesikumba senkomo, sibe side sifike
emagateni. Ngaxa limbi ibiba sisikumba senyamakazi kutiwe lixotsha.
Amakazanyana wona ebebinca izikaka ezibeta emadolweni. Abantwana
bebengabinci nto.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 489
[In peace-time men wore karosses of dressed calf’s hide, but they did not
always wear them, they often wore skin coverings (ipaca). Women wore ox-hide
skirts (isikaka), they were long and reached the ankles. Sometimes the skirt was
made of the dressed hide of an antelope and was called ixotsha. Girls wore skin
skirts which reached down to the knees. Children did not wear anything. |
(1927) Vogel, J. p. 4 Xhosa: clothing
Nothing more.
(1929) Kawa p. 82 Fingo: chief’s leopard skin, clothing
Nothing more.
(1931) Cook pp. 56, 79-80, 84, 86, 91, 162 Bomvana: dress
(os 3o) Bomvana: cloak
Nothing more.
pp. 79-80 Bomvana: head-cloth
Nothing more.
p. 84 Bomvana: breast-cloth, head-cloth
‘They wear a breast covering of beads and their heads are ornamented with
as many different coloured handkerchiefs as the local traders are able to provide.’
p. 86 Bomvana: skirts
‘The married women are dressed as for the Umrululu. The young unmarried
girls are painted with red ochre. Around the loins are white beads forming a skirt
about six inches deep. Their breasts are perfectly bare. From the waist are sus-
pended short skirts of gay coloured cloth which cover the sides and back.’
p. 86 Bomvana: penis-sheath
Nothing more.
pe oi Bomvana: mourning
“Widows do no work and remain at home for a period up to a month. They
are given food by the other inmates of the kraal. They wear white blankets without
ochre.’
p: Lo2 Bomvana: penis-sheath
‘A male fulfils all the requirements of decency in any company if he wears an
inxiba. An inxiba consists of a piece of soft leather about an inch wide and varies
in length up to two or three feet. Extremum alterum circum extremum penem
complicatur, vaginulam ut sit, dum alterum pendet.’
p: Lo2 Bomvana: children’s, men’s and women’s dress
‘Children are usually quite naked until two or three years old, when they don
tiny blankets. Boys and men wear the inxiba and a blanket. They purchase white
blankets, but these are coloured red by folding in the blanket some red ochre and
then beating the blanket vigorously. Caps are nearly always worn by the older
mens 2: *
Women wear skirts down to the ankles. These are covered with red ochre.
They also wear a breast cover and a blanket as well. Black cloth headdresses are
worn. The girls wear a similar attire, but their skirts are shorter.’
490 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1932) Soga, J. H. pp. 218, 236, 237, 240-242, 338, 410-413 Xhosa: dress
p: 218 Xhosa: breast-cloth
Nothing more.
p. 218 Xhosa: skirts
6
. . imi-baco, cotton skirts, ringed round from the bottom upwards with as
many as ten or 12 stripes of black braid, the skirt being of a red ochre colour, or
the more aristocratic izi-kaka, skirts of cow-hide made soft and pliable, and stained
a dark brown colour, encircling the lower part of the body; and over all are worn
in modern times, blankets also coloured red by being impregnated with red oxide
of iron.’
p. 236 Xhosa: head-cloth
‘The head is neatly bound with large handkerchiefs of variegated colours
called u-fokwona (Anglice: “‘four corners’’).’
pe 257 Xhosa: cap
Nothing more.
pp. 240-241 Xhosa: head-cloth
‘As a head-covering the newly wedded wife does not encircle her head with
a handkerchief in the usual turban-like fashion, but puts it on spread out. She then
takes the two front ends or corners, bends them down and ties them under her chin,
leaving the rest to hang down loosely on the back of her head and shoulders. She
ceases to wear the handkerchief in this fashion, as in the above case, after she has
given birth to her first child.’
p. 242 Xhosa: skirt, cloak
‘In any case he must as soon as possible provide his wife with isi-kaka—a skirt
of skin. This still forms her principal dress for festive and public occasions. At such
times the well-dressed woman must have a skin skirt, and as far as possible revert
to the clothing of a past age. The preparation of the isi-kaka is a laborious process.
In addition to this she must be provided with isi-baca—a cape or tippet. The length
of the isi-baca “‘is equal to the length of the kaross’’. In breadth it is about a foot
and “‘is formed of small longitudinal strips, each about two inches broad, which are
neatly sewed together and variously ornamented with buttons”’.’
p. 242 Xhosa: breast-cloth
‘I-Ncebeta—A small apron. This is made from the maniplus [manyplies or
psalterium, the third division in the stomach] of ruminating animals—isi-ndlwane,
and is adorned with a large number of beaded strings which hang down from the
breast to the bottom of the skirt.’
p. 338 Xhosa: baby-sling
‘When a Bantu woman carries an infant on her back she binds it to herself with
a thong or part of her dress. This support is called im-beleko.’
p. 410 Xhosa: penis-sheath
‘The men were content to wear, on ordinary occasions a piece of old kaross
(skin blanket—isi-Dwaba) to cover their nakedness and isi-Dla soku-ggishela—
a small bag for covering the penis. Even with the latter only he was supposed to
be dressed a ravir. Shame never worried him for he was a child of Nature. So
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 491
insensible was he of any indecency in his attire that he might justifiably have taken
as his motto the maxim “‘to the pure all is pure’’.’
pp. 410-411 Xhosa: cloaks
‘At festive gatherings both men and women had a more elaborate toilet. The
men an women wore an um-Nweba—kaross, made from the skins of small wild
animals, which were neatly sewn together after having been scraped and softened
on the inner side. The side with hair was worn outwards. These skins were of the
coney—1i-Mbila; blue buck —i-Put; wild cat—i-Ngada; the mane-haired jackal—
i-Nci (Nchi), and any other small animal which could be secured.’
pp. 411-412 Xhosa: general description
Nothing more.
p. 412 Xhosa: breast-cloth
‘I-Ncebeta— Apron. This apron is bound round the body above the breasts
and hangs down in front so as to meet, in olden times the isi-Kaka, and in modern
times, the um-Baco. It is usually unornamented but occasionally may be seen
adorned with a few ornaments or designs in bead-work.’
p. 413 Xhosa: apron
‘In-Ciyo—Small apron to cover the private parts. This is worn by all females
whether children or adults. It is made of a simple band of leather or of other
material, from which hang a large number of twisted or plaited strings of um-Kwinti
(a plant resembling the dandelion). The leaf of this plant is of a dark green colour
on the upper side, and of a pale grey underneath. They grey part is peeled off
(uku-xwebula) from the leaf until a large heap of it has been formed. From this
is taken sufficient to make two strands which are then twisted into a string of
approved length. This process is repeated until there is enough of these strings to
make an impervious covering or shield. The whole of this article of wearing apparel
is profusely decorated with bead-work. A girl’s apron is distinguished by the name
of isi-dimba.’
oe tamer (1936) pp. 10, 101, 155,. 173, 222, 229, 400 Mpondo: dress
p. 10 Mpondo: skirts
“Trade was brisk at n’Tibane store, and there were always numbers of people
about. The trader’s wife made the cotton skirts which Pondo women wear; cus-
tomers used to arrive in the morning, order a skirt, and wait until it was finished.’
p..101 Mpondo: general description
‘The old Pondo dress was of skins. Men wore a penis sheath (iphaca) and an
ox-hide cloak, which was thrown off at will. Women wore ox-hide skirts reaching
to the ankle, and a skin breast covering; girls skin skirts to the knee; and little girls
small aprons, made of a fibrous root, u6enale... .
European trade goods have now almost entirely replaced skins as clothing,
although in the recent depression some have resumed skin skirts. Fashions vary
from district to district. All through western Pondoland pagan women wear flared
cotton skirts, white or stained with ochre, and trimmed with as many rows of braid
as they can afford, up to 36. They are particular about the cut. Women coming to
492 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
the store would try on a dozen skirts before they were satisfied. Husbands come
to inspect the trying on. Men sometimes walked thirty miles to buy a ‘Paris
model”. They would get some girl to act as mannequin and study the skirts
critically. A breast-cloth and cloak of white sheeting, embroidered in black with
geometric designs, completes a Nyandeni woman’s costume. In eastern Pondoland
women wear blankets embroidered with beads as skirts, and breast-cloths. Every-
where married women wear a ring of beads or a handkerchief on their heads, for
to go bare-headed in their husband’s umzi would be very disrespectful towards his
peoples
A pagan man wears a cotton loin-cloth, a woollen blanket flung over one
shoulder, and a felt hat. The borders of the cloth and blanket are often embroid-
ered by a lady friend.’
Da IDS Mpondo: baby-sling
‘A day or two after the mother comes out of confinement the father kills a goat
to make an imbeleko (ukubeleka, to carry a child on the back) in which to carry
the child.’
p» 1% Mpondo: skirts, head-cloth
‘When they come home the intonjane’s hair is shaved. For a week she wears
a handkerchief tied low over her forehead and a long skirt, like a bride. She rises
at dawn to fetch water and wood, cooks, and avoids the men’s side of huts and the
inkundla exactly as if she were a bride. She does not, however, avoid names. Then
after about a week her handkerchief is raised by some old person of the umzi, and
she resumes her old short skirt, and behaves as a daughter of the umzi again. Only
after the handkerchief is raised may she drink milk again, but there is no ceremony
of giving it to her.’
pa 222 Mpondo: hair-style
‘Women comb out their woolly curls and roll their hair to make it long. At
about 8 years they begin to comb out the tufts in front and plait it. Then they do
the sides, and last of all the crown. When the plaits are a couple of inches long they
are undone, and the hair made into two strands and rolled together. Fat is smeared
on, and formerly all smeared the hair with red ochre. Now only some girls, and
very few married women, continue that custom. By the time a girl is married her
hair looks as if it is “‘bobbed”’. Later, if she does not have to cut it off for mourning,
it may fall below her waist. Hunting head-lice and hair-dressing takes up much
time, and constantly, when women are sitting chatting, one is doing another’s
coiffure. The ringlets have to be unrolled and re-twisted about once a month. A
few men, dandies, grow ringlets but most content themselves with shaving their
heads in odd patterns. Young men shave their faces, but most over 50 have a short
beard.’
pa229 Mpondo: mourning
‘A widow shaves her head, a widower head and beard. Shortly after the death
of her husband a widow is given new blankets by his heir, and the old ones, infected
with the impurity of the deceased, are destroyed. If she has a nickname, it is
dropped, and a new one given her. After changing she goes about her normal
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 493
duties, but she does not wear ornaments, or attend festivals, or drink milk, until
a ritual killing is made “‘to shake off” (ukuvuthulula).’
p. 400 Mpondo: mourning
‘The mourning period is interesting as being an occasion of the dropping of
old customs and the introduction of new ones. In the Nyandeni men shaved after
the death of Ndamase, and the old headdress built up with clay (ingcobo) never
came into fashion again. Since the death of Bokleni in 1912, the use of red clay
has been dropped by many.’
1918—48 Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964) pp. 9-11, 34, Cape Nguni: dress
35, 42, 63
pe? (Thembu) Fingo: breast-cloth
‘Incebeta Long beaded fringed front worn by a herbalist, a witch-doctor, or
as a maternity-front by women. This is very rare. The wife of a Paramount Chief
is the only woman who may wear one of these.’
p. 10 General: apron
‘Inkciyo Fringed belt. . . . They are universally worn throughout the Trans-
kei. A woman in the kraal is considered dressed if she wears one of these.’
p. it Mpondo: belt
‘Ibhanti yomdlezana_ Maternity-belt worn by the wife of a Chief to pull in the
stomach muscles after a confinement. It is the privilege of the first wife to dis-
tinguish her from the other wives in the kraal. They are usually four to five inches
wide, but are also made wider.’
p. 34 Cape Nguni: apron, skirt
‘Married women used to wear skin skirts. These are now worn as under-
skirts. . . . Unmarried as well as married women wear a beaded inkciyo or body-
belt with a fringe. . . . Many Red Native women wear a skirt the pattern of which
was copied in the nineteenth century from the crinoline skirts of the missionaries’
wives. The cut is still the same, but they have never worn the crinoline with it.’
pp. 34-35 Cape Nguni: women’s dress
‘Their clothes are always heavily braided, the more rows of braid the woman
wears on her dress, the wealthier her husband is. Traders’ wives usually braid the
skirts by machine at a penny a yard, but a Christian native woman with a sewing
machine will do it too. When in mourning for a Chief, no braid is worn.
_ The Red Native women wear only the skirt, they do not cover the breasts with
any special garment, except when pregnant, when they wear an incebeta, a straight
front, braided and decorated with a few beads. It may also be entirely of beads.
The latter are also worn by herbalists and are very rare. The top wrap of the Red
Native or igaba costume is worn under the arms or over the shoulders and fastened
with a safety-pin or beaded pin. It is worn only when it is cold or for visiting.’
p. 42 Cape Nguni: skirts
‘All Transkeian women wear a skin underskirt.’
p. 63 Cape Nguni: penis-sheaths
“The gourds worn in fights are larger than those in ordinary use. They measure
494 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
about 2” X 23”. Those in ordinary use are about 2” x 13”. No male, young or old,
will leave the kraal unless the penis is protected.
. . . Boys from the age of ten wear either a small gourd or a cover of sheepskin.
After circumcision covers of soft, fresh, green leaves stripped from the young
mealie-cob are placed on the penis till it heals. When healed, a cover of soft skin
from a sheep is worn. Then they revert to their gourd on returning home from
abakhwetha camp.’
p. 64 Thembu: penis-sheath
‘Ingxiba Gourd decorated with chains and bells, very rare . . . worn when
taking part in a tribal fight or on a ceremonial occasion.’
(1933) Kohler frontispiece, p. 11, pls 3, 4, 11, 12 Bhaca: penis-sheath,
hair-style, head-dress
peal Bhaca: penis-sheath
‘The men also still wear the penis-box (igoyi) which is either carved of wood
or made out of the cocoon of the bagworm (Acanthopsyche junodi) called
umahamba-nendlwane, and often found hanging on thorn trees in great numbers.’
pls 3, 4 Bhaca: older girls’ hair-style
frontispiece, pl. 11 Bhaca: head-cloth of newly married
pliei2 Bhaca: woman’s head-dress
Figures.
(1937) Duggan-Cronin April-May Hlubi: hats, cloaks
Figure.
(1937) Soga, T. B. pp. 46-48 Xhosa: special skins
‘Qonda ke ukuba amaputi nezingwe, nengonyama, newula ezidabaneni yabe
izinyamakazi zamanene nenkosi zaseluhlangeni. Ingwe ibide yadlula nengonyama
ngokutandwa kwayo... .’
[Note, however, that wearing the skins (isidabane) of blue duiker, leopards,
lions and the oribi antelope was the privilege of men of rank and the chiefs of the
nation. The leopard skin was even more sought after than that of the lion. ]
p. 48 Xhosa: penis-sheath
‘. . . Be kungeko bulukwe yimbi kulo maxesha ngapandle kwale imlenze
mnye, ibisenziwa ngentliziyo yegusha— ingotyi ngegama mhlawumbi ingxiba. Yo-
sukwa ke wena itambe ukuze ifanelane nolo ndyilo lwayo luqagelwe kakuhle
ngentsinjana entlana. Esingeni somfo omkulu zinqwemesha. Entanyeni paya
yintsimbi yesidanga. Gqibi ke.’
[There were in those times no trousers other than the one-legged made of the
heart (membrane) of a sheep, called ingotyi or ingxiba. It was dressed to make it
soft, until it looked like its undyilo (=undyulo), which was neatly fitted with a
pretty little iron ornament. On the loin of an important man were izinqwemesha.
Round the neck was a string of beads. That is the lot.]
(1939) Duggan-Cronin p. 28, pls 2, 26, 27, 29 and legends Xhosa: clothing
p: 28 Xhosa: clothing
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 495
pl. 2 and legend Xhosa: chief’s cloak
Nothing more.
pls 26, 27, 29 and legends Thembu: men’s cap, baby-sling, cloak
Nothing more.
1945 Makalima chapters 9, 10 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: clothing
chap. 9 pars 9, 14, 16, 42 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: penis-sheaths,
hats, skirts
Nothing more.
chap. 10 pars 1-18, 25-27. Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: clothing, hair-style
Nothing more.
par. 3 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: children’s garments
‘Ezabo izambato zingaga zamatole. Inkwenkwe ibisukelwa lona, kanti ke
eyesikulu inkwenkwe, ibonwa ngokuti ibe nengubo efana nekayise, kanti nento-
mbi yesikulu ifaniselana nonina ngesikaka senkomo.’
[Children’s garments: Their garments are the skins of calves (isigaga). The
skin of a calf was dressed to make a boy’s garment, but the garment of a great man’s
son was the same as that of his father and the daughter of a great person also had
a skirt of ox-hide similar to that of her mother. |]
par. 12 Thembu: mourning
‘Abantu abasezileni:—Abantu abasezileni bambata kwamjengesigelo aba-
tshintshi kodwa babebonakala ngokugungxa, nokuguya inwele noku xakata. Nge-
lixesha lase mLungwini babonakala ngesi nxibo esimnyama iti uba yimibhaco
ingabi nalenti.’
[People who are in mourning dress in the ordinary way. They do not change
but they are seen by having their head-dress pulled down over the face, and by
shaving their beards and by fastening their shawls in a certain prescribed way. The
detribalized people are seen by wearing black garments and if they are wearing a
skirt made from a cotton blanket then they do not have a braid (ilenti).]
(1949) Duggan-Cronin pls 41-43, 45, 52, 55, Mpondo, Mpondomise: dress
56, 73, 78 and legends to pls 41, 52, 55
pls 41 and legend, 42, 45, 56 Mpondo: hair-style
Nothing more.
pl. 43 Mpondo: head-cloth
Nothing more.
pl. 52 and legend Mpondo: skirt
Nothing more.
pi. 55 and legend Mpondo: loin-cloth
Nothing more.
p73 Mpondomise: skirt
Nothing more.
pl. 78 Mpondomise: head-cloth
Nothing more.
496 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1949) Tyrrell nos 6-8 Mpondo: woman’s modern dress
no. 6 Mpondo: married woman’s dress
‘Here is the spotless “white” of Pondo festive dress, known by the wearers as
white but so steeped in washing blue as to assume a variety of delicate shades, palest
cobalt or cerulean, exquisite tone against shining golden-brown skins. . . . The
illustrated costume is typical of the married woman privileged to wear white,
wearing the giya cloth head-dress and the beaded hip drapery over a full flared skirt
heavily stitched with black braid. . . . Beadwork applied in stripes is a regular
Pondo method on hip drapings and blankets, the latter being alternatively orna-
mented on the corners and having a neat bead border.’
NOs 7 Mpondo: man’s ‘white’ dress
‘The bead-bordered blanket is “‘white”’ of the palest blue induced by over-
steeping in Reckitt’s solution.
White is the prerogative of maturity, formerly a sign of mourning. However,
after a prolonged spell of mourning for a chief, the Pondos found they liked their
white so much, they gradually adopted it for all special occasions.’
no. 8 Mpondo: woman’s head-cloth
“The “‘giya”’ or head-dress of the Pondo matron is without doubt the crowning
glory of her gala attire. Cloths, usually of two types, are folded together in intricate
shapes, the ends protruding in neat tails down the back of the head.
Navy blue with white spots is a popular choice in cloths... .’
no. 8 Mpondo: woman’s cloak
“The shoulder cape is a “white” blanket, ... .’
no. 8 ?Mpondomise: head-cloth
‘The favourite bright blue “‘giya’’ seen in the Qumbu area is in splendid
contrast to brilliant, orange ochered blankets.’
1949 Hammond-Tooke (1953) pp. 80, 82 Bhaca: dress
p. 80 Bhaca: penis-sheath
‘On this the chief removes his blanket, and, clad only in a penis sheath
(incitfho), walks slowly out of the isi6aya. .. .”
p. 82 Bhaca: cloth
‘. . . ingcube is the time of . . . exchange of gifts between lovers. Girls give
their sweethearts cigarettes and tobacco and receive handkerchiefs, sweets and
lengths of salampore cloth in exchange. A youth’s love and regard for his girl friend
is measured by the length of the cloth he gives her, and some have been seen as
long as fifteen feet. When not exhibited, trailing from the shoulders in a train to
its full length, the salampore is wound round and round the body, across the
shoulders and between the legs, until it resembles the carapace of a tortoise.’
1952 Weir pp. 273-275 Xhosa, Fingo: varieties of trade blanket
and head-cloth, skirts
Xhosa, Fingo: blankets
‘The “‘red’’ Native’s principal article of dress is a blanket, mainly of wool in
the case of the male and cotton in the case of the female. The type of blanket most
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 497
commonly used is one of white cotton with a black stripe 1z inches wide woven
roughly a foot from either end. It usually has a “raw” edge, that is, unhemmed.
Because they are used as a body covering, these blankets are almost square in
shape. They are sold in a variety of sizes from 40 by 44 inches up to 80 by
Seunches:... .
In some areas or with some tribes, there is a limited demand for the same type
of blanket but with a red stripe somewhat wider than the black stripe. In other areas
the demand is for a blue stripe of particular shade. These blankets must be
hemmed....
The womenfolk, in addition to the cotton blanket, use large quantities of kaffir
sheeting. This is a coarsely woven cloth, some 50 to 52 inches wide made largely
from waste yarns, . . . . The sheeting is never used in the state in which it is bought,
but has ochre or red oxide of iron rubbed into it... .
The Native adult male seldom wears a cotton blanket, but favours usually a
woollen Mattross blanket or, in some areas, particularly the Peddie and Kentani
districts, a blanket known to the trade as a Cape Witney... .
The Mattross blanket, like the cotton one, is almost square in shape and is
made in two designs: one with a single black stripe known as a Navy Stripe
Mattross, used by the Xhosa, and the other with two narrow black stripes, —known
as an Army Stripe Mattross. The latter is used exclusively by the Fingo and a Xhosa
would never be seen wearing one.
The Witney Stripe blanket is completely different and has a finish similar to
the ordinary European Waverly bed blanket. It has a broad mauve band, which
must be of the correct shade, with narrower stripes of black on either side and—
most important of all—the ends must be whipped with red of a particular shade.
Both types of blanket are normally sold by weight and their weights must be
indicated by rows of lines woven into them. Of great importance is the shade of
green used for these lines. . . .
In addition to the foregoing main types, there is a wide variety of blankets in
various shades of grey and fawn, some with printed key borders or similar patterns,
others with woven stripes of a darker shade, and yet others in pinks and blues with
contrasting stripes. These types appear to be used generally and not by any
particular tribes. A blanket that has come into universal use since the war is known
as a Half-wool Grey... .
_ The Half-wool Grey is manufactured in a wide range of sizes, similar to the
cotton blanket, and in varying shades of grey with two narrow white bands woven
into it. Its edge is bound. Native males usually ochre their woollen blankets, but
this blanket is used in the condition in which it is bought... .
Let us now examine the costume of a typical “‘red” woman. The headgear may
be one of three main types. Perhaps the most common is a 36 inch Melton cut into
yard lengths and often decorated with brightly-coloured wool. It is worn in the form
of a bandeau in the following shades: black, navy, royal, dark brown, green,
maroon and purple. The shades vary from district to district and from season to
season.
498 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Next in importance is a 36 inch black cashmere with a three bar grey worsted
border, most popular with a raised back. This is first wound round the head,
followed by a band of cerise sateen of 27 inch width and another band of the same
material in green, yellow, royal or white. No hard and fast rule applies here and
the headdress is varied according to individual taste. In buying cashmeres, the
women are very particular about the three bar worsted border. Without this, the
article is practically unsaleable.
The third type of headgear, worn mainly by the younger women, is a 27 inch
square of spotted material with red, blue or black spots on a white ground, or white
spots on red. Another type used is a handkerchief 17 inches square with either a
striped or a printed block border. One thing they must have is a plain centre.
Handkerchiefs are used also as a decoration when attending parties and are
often worn by Native youths. In addition to the larger handkerchief a smaller
10 inch size is used. Here, too, it is essential that they have a plain centre. Many
thousands of dozen handkerchiefs are purchased by Natives annually and it is
doubtful whether a single one, except among the more educated town Natives is
ever used in the way we would consider normal! The handkerchief is often given
as a present by a Xhosa girl to her boy friend who uses it to decorate himself at
theydancenraes:
The skirt is usually a white cotton blanket with a black stripe into which red
ochre has been rubbed. Around the bottom of the skirt rows of black braid are
sewn, the number of rows indicating the standing of the woman in the kraal. In
place of braid the young girls use a special black cotton print.
Here the storekeeper has to be very careful, as the dye must be a fast anilin
black and the material must tear into straight half-inch strips with clean edges. A
cloth that fails to measure up to these requirements will not sell.
The skirt is held up by a white cotton cord tied around the waist. It is bought
in a variety of thicknesses.
Anklets of various types are sometimes worn but the feet are always bare.’
1949-55 Hammond-Tooke (19555) pp. 23, 55-56 Bhaca: dress
pes Bhaca: baby-sling
‘Birth is attended by a number of customs chief of which are the passing of
the child through the medicated smoke of a fire and the slaughtering of a goat called
imbeleko as a thanksgiving to the ancestral spirits. The skin is used as a sling for
carrying the child.’
pes Bhaca: bride’s head-dress
‘The newly-married bride (makoti) is distinguished by a headcloth of goatskin
or silk bound low over the eyes as a mark of respect (hlonipha) to her parents-
in-law.’
pp. 55-56 Bhaca: dress
‘Although the majority of Bhaca, particularly the men, have adopted
European-type clothing, the traditional dress is still met with. Small boys go naked
while girls wear a short bead apron. The chief article of clothing of young un-
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 499
married girls is a short apron of coloured beads with a bright square of red or yellow
cloth bound firmly round the buttocks. Bangles, bead necklaces and chaplets are
much favoured and, for more formal occasions, a breast-cloth is tied behind the
neck and allowed to hang down in front. The head is clean shaven until betrothal
when the hair is allowed to grow in preparation for the married woman’s coiffure.
Bhaca women wear skirts of dressed goatskin smeared with fat and supported by
a leather belt. At home the breasts are left bare but on visits to the store or village
a fat-smeared blanket is bound under the armpits and tied in front.
The headdress (unyaba) of Bhaca women is distinctive. On engagement the
hair is allowed to grow until it stands out in a thick mop and it is then rubbed with
a mixture of fat and red ochre and twisted into long strings which hang down in
a fringe. A wool-padded headring, smeared with ochre, forms the base, through
which the ringlets are pushed and allowed to hang down all round the head, those
before of the eyes being drawn back with a headcloth (ighiya). Christian women
wear a black headcloth with a dress of blue german print.’
1949-55 Hammond-Tooke (1958a) p. 17 Bhaca: penis-sheath
‘Mount Frere Bhaca, especially of the older generation, also wear a penis
sheath (incitsho), often under European-type trousers, for without it “‘it is as if
you are naked”’. It is made variously from soft goatskin, the cocoon of a cater-
pillar, carved from the hollow fruit of the umthombothi tree or from woven
grass.’
(1954) Duggan-Cronin pls 159, 160, 162, 165, Bhaca, Hlubi, Xesibe:
170 and legends to pls 159, 160, 165; clothing, hair-styles
piste, 175, 178, 179, 181, 182, 190, 192
and legends to pls 174, 179, 182, 192;
pls 195, 196, 198 and legends
pls 159 and legend, 162, 170 Bhaca: women’s dress, hair-style, skirt
Nothing more.
legend to pl. 159 Bhaca: girls’ apron
‘The main item of dress of an unmarried girl is the isikhakha or bead skirt.’
pl. 160 and legend Bhaca: man’s hair-style
‘Note the ukuchasa [sic], manner of plaiting the hair with grass... .
pl. 165 and legend Bhaca: bride’s head-cloth
Nothing more.
pls 174 and legend, 175 Hlubi: youths’ dress
‘Boys before initiation . . . wear only the skin cloak. The boy depicted is
Wearing a type of straw hat, much worn at dances, made by herd boys on the
veld. The hat (called ikepi) is attached to a piece of cloth covered with white
buttons.’
pls 178, 179 and legend, 181 Hlubi: women’s dress, baby-sling
“The mother wears the skin of a goat, specially slaughtered after the birth of
the child, called imbeleko. This is used to carry the child on the back.’
500 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pls 182 and legend, 190, 192 and legend Hlubi: women’s, girls’ dress
legend to pl. 182 Hlubi: girls’ apron
‘A trio dressed in the typical costume of the unmarried girl, consisting almost
exclusively of a skin apron (ingcubula) decorated with beads.’
legend to pl. 192 Hlubi: girl’s dress
‘This youngster of about five years is dressed in the typical beadwork apron
(inciyo) with a sheepskin idada worn over the shoulders for warmth.’
pl. 195 and legend Xesibe: hair-style
‘Note the distinctive method of dressing the hair very similar to that of the
Baca, but without the black seyidukhwe. The bead-decorated roll encircling the
forehead is peculiar to the Xesibe.’
pl. 196 and legend Xesibe: dress of married women
Nothing more.
pl. 198 and legend Xesibe: dress of young man
“Two friends, dressed in their finery on the way to a wedding.’
1956—8 Hammond-Tooke (1958b) pp. 56, 58, 125 Xhosa, Fingo: dress
p. 56 Xhosa, Fingo: clothing
‘Pagans smear themselves and their blankets with red ochre, bought at the
store today but formerly obtained at the Clay Pits in the Bathurst district. It was
here that the first contact between the British Settlers and the Xhosa took place.
On the 7th January, 1821, a large number of Natives, estimated at 600 men and
2,000 women, arrived at the clay deposits (which were situated on the holdings of
Messrs Mahoney and Brown) for the purpose of getting supplies of ochre (G. Cory,
“The rise of South Africa’’ Vol. II, p. 114). Some indication of the extent of ochre
mining is given by the fact that in July, 1822, the chief Nqeno, with 300 men and
women, took away a quantity of clay estimated at three wagon loads (op cit.
p. 140).
To-day most men wear rather ragged European-type clothes but one occa-
sionally comes across one dressed in penis sheath and blanket or short cloth skirt.
Both Xhosa and Mfengu married women wear a long skirt (umbhaco) made from
kaffir sheeting and decorated either with beads (Mfengu) or black braid (Xhosa).
Skirts are secured with a leather belt or bead-decorated band. Unmarried girls
leave the breasts uncovered and wear short ochred skirts. Heads are covered with
brightly-coloured handkerchiefs. All “‘school-people” effect European-type
clothes, the married women being particularly fond of blue german print. Nurses,
teachers and the wives of clerks often dress very smartly in the latest Western
fashions.’
p. 58 Xhosa, Fingo: modern dress
‘They (the Christians) are distinguished from the “‘Red’’ Native by being
dressed, but nowadays the wearing of European-type clothes is not necessarily an
indication of Christianity. With the generalized phenomenon of working for
Europeans and the adoption of Western standards there has sprung up a class of
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 501
‘“neo-pagans”’ who have forsaken the traditional beliefs of their fathers but have
not joined any church.’
ps5 Xhosa, Fingo: dress differences
‘The difference between Xhosa and Mfengu is readily seen among the pagans.
Mfengu women decorate their blankets with beads and buttons and use a deep red
ochre mixed with fat. This contrasts strongly with the orange-red ochre and braided
skirts of the Xhosa.’
1949-62 Hammond-Tooke (1962) pp. 9-11, 80, 229, 231 Bhaca: dress
pp. oi Bhaca: old-style dress
‘One of the first things that strikes a visitor to the Bhaca is the fact that the
great majority have forsaken the primitive dress of their ancestors and adopted
western styles and materials... .
Bryant [1929: 375] describes the original dress of the Bhaca before they left
Natal:
The dress of the Wushe-Zelemu (Bhaca) men consisted of a separate covering
fore and aft, as with the Zulu-Ngunis; but the sporran and buttock-cover was
with them, not prepared of skins (as with the Zulus), but of square patches
of supple matwork woven of fine grass (after the manner of the small Zulu
eating mats or iziTebe) and strung from the projecting thighbone before and
behind. A tiny headring, fashioned after the manner of the Zulus but scarcely
larger than a duck’s egg—one of which was met with still in use as late as
1889— was worn by men, sewn onto the hair, and allowed to grow upward with
the latter, till it rested on an oval wall of hair four to five inches in height,
resembling somewhat, when seen from a distance, the high-crowned Turkish
fez worn by Soudanese soldiers. This high-ringed coiffure (termed an um-
Patsha) continued common among Natal Natives—though the dimensions
had since increased to those of the Zulu oval saucer—until the near 90’s of
me vast century . ...
The Zelemu women wore a kilt similar to that of the Zulus, but of dressed
sheepskin (in place of cow-hide), or alternatively of the paunch of an ox. Their
hair, smeared with red ochre mixed with grease, was twisted in numberless
strings, falling, like an inverted mop, down as far as the eyes and over the ears
and neck, the whole being termed an umYeko. . . .
As we have seen, the traditional dress of Bhaca men has practically disap-
peared, but a few young pagans wear today a loin-cloth (unontswintswintswi ) made
from a striped trade cloth called salampore, over which is draped a skirt of the same
material reaching almost to the ankles and meeting in the front, so that in walking
Gne leg protrudes. A white singlet covers the upper part of the body and a
handkerchief or other piece of cloth is tied round the head.
Among the “‘school people”’ the dress of young girls consists of a short frock,
often of floral material, while married women wear the typical full-skirted german
print with a black headcloth. On festive occasions a black skirt with a coloured silk
blouse is usual. Women and children seldom wear shoes, even when they own
502 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
them, and one often sees a woman going to church bare-footed until the building
is reached, when she will put them on. Most men wear shoes at least part of the
time and the demand at Mhlotsheni was great enough for a full-time cobbler to earn
a livelihood.
But it is among pagan women and girls that traditional Bhaca dress is still seen.
The chief article of clothing for young girls is a short skirt of coloured beads
(isikaka) in front with a bright square of yellow or red cloth bound firmly round
the buttocks and open in the front to allow the bead skirt to be seen. Apart from
bangles, necklaces and a bead chaplet this is all the clothing a young girl needs.
On more formal occasions a breast cloth, usually a small towel, is tied behind the
neck and ailowed to hang down over the breasts. Heads are close shaven until
betrothal, when the hair is allowed to grow out preparatory to being greased with
fat and ochre and rolled into ringlets to form the married woman’s typical coiffure.
Pagans of both sexes are fond of wearing rubber leg rings made from jam jar sealing
rings or motor tyre inner tubes (itilinge).
As observed by Bryant, Bhaca married women wear skirts made, not from
ox-hide, but from sheep or goatskin. This contrasts with most other Transkeian
tribes who use hides or trade cloth stained red with ochre. Bhaca do not use ochre
for their clothing but smear it in their hair. The goatskin is made supple by burying
it for some time in the manure of the cattle-kraal, to remove the hair, and by
rubbing it with fat—which also helps to keep the body free from lice. Basically the
dress of pagan women consists of a skirt made of two pieces of goatskin tied back
and front and supported by a leather belt. At home the breasts are left bare, but
when going to town or store a fat-smeared blanket is bound under the arms and
tied in front. Sometimes a trade cloth called Pondo sheeting, saturated in fat, is
substituted for goatskin in making the skirt. But it is in their head-dresses that
Bhaca women are most distinctive. It is difficult to describe the coiffure or unyabo
(Bryant’s umyeko). The impression given is of a thick roll of red clay encircling the
head a few inches above the eyes from which hangs a thick fringe of greasy
ochre-smeared strings of hair—‘“‘like an inverted mop’’. The fringe is prevented
from obscuring vision by being caught back by a piece of black cloth (ighiya). On
betrothal a girl allows her hair to grow until it sticks out in a thick bush. Some time
before her marriage she rubs it with a mixture of fat and ochre and twists it into
ringlets until it hangs down in a thick fringe all round her head. From some
photographs of the first fruit ceremony taken in 1912 this appears to have been the
original method and Kohler’s illustrations of Ixopo Bhaca show this fashion only.
Among present-day Bhaca, however, a wool-stuffed headring is used for a base:
it is smeared with fat and ochre and the ringlets are pushed through and allowed
to hang down round the head.’
p. 80 Bhaca: men’s clothing
‘The iindlavini are nominally Christian: pagan young men are also organized
into gangs but are called iintsizwe and dress in the traditional loin-cloth (uno-
ntswintswintswi) and a singlet. The tindlavini always wear trousers.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 503
p. 229 Bhaca: cloth wrapped round ornaments in mourning
‘Immediately all relatives, as those most affected by the death with its pol-
lution, go into mourning. Young men and girls remove any ornaments or bangles
(if this is impossible cloth must be wrapped round them), engaged girls braid their
hair, and men, widows and children shave their heads.’
p: 231 Bhaca: mourning clothes
‘The mourning period for a widow is one year, during which time she shaves
her head and washes the fat out of her skin skirt. Christians have adopted a
mourning uniform of black dress and headcloth and at the end of the period this
is burnt, the widow being given a complete new outfit by the heir. The mourning
period is brought to a close by the slaughtering of a goat (or ox, if the man is rich)
called intlambo.’
1958 Morgan, M.N. p. 11 Xhosa, Mpondo: dress
pe tl Xhosa: skirts
Nothing more.
pelt Xhosa: mourning
Nothing more.
pe tt Mpondo: women’s and men’s dress
‘The colour of a Pondo woman’s blanket is red from childhood and remains
so until after the birth of her first child, after which she may change the red blanket
for a white one, or one which is black and white. Men, however, have blankets
which are white or egg-shell blue. The colour of their blankets was also red at one
time, but after the death of a famous chief, the tribe went into mourning and as
white is the recognised colour for mourning they exchanged their red blankets for
white. The use of Blue in washing these white blankets has led to the fashion of
tinting them a pale blue.’
(1963) Hammond-Tooke p. 318, note 2 Mpondomise: dress,
circumcision costume
‘Thus, although they are of Mpondo stock, the women still affect the braided,
ochred blankets and distinctive turbans typical of the southern Transkeian tribes,
circumcision is practised in the Xhosa manner (but without the spectacular imi-
tshilo dances at which the initiates dress in grass skirts and masks), and many of
the dances are in the Thembu style.’
(1963) Fehr fig. 120 Fingo: woman’s cap
Portrait by Langschmidt of woman wearing beaded cap of Xhosa or Thembu
style.
1968 Holt (1969) pp. 192-195 Tshezi: clothing
pp. 193-194 Tshezi: men’s cloak, penis-sheath
‘In olden times Tshezi men’s wear was simple in the extreme. Skins (karosses)
were used to keep out cold and wet. In fair weather even these might be laid
aside. . . . Aman was dressed so long as he wore a prepuce-cover. To be without
that was a disgrace. These covers were of two kinds. The first (called an isidla) was
504 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
a sheath of sewn sheepskin, sometimes with a long string of the same material
dangling from the tip. It was worn mainly by old men. Then there was the one which
was worn by younger men and was made of a small gourd... .
These things have almost if not entirely passed away, except in the case of
abakhwetha, ....One informant. . . told me that it was as recently as 1961 that
the local males suddenly decided to emulate those returning from working. . . and
the wearing of trousers became the rage... .
Instead of trousers, boys and young men also often wear an isi(t)shuba, which
is a robe of brightly coloured cotton material reaching from waist to ankle... .
Shirts are sometimes worn, and blankets are invariably draped about the upper part
of the body... .
Hats or brightly-coloured woollen caps are bought at stores, but they may have
to be modified. A young man of about 25 to 30 years said he would have to cut
the pom-pom off the top of one . . . because this was worn only by old men.’
pp. 194-195 Tshezi: women’s dress
‘The Tshezi women too have long since abandoned costumes of skins and
hides. Ox-hide skirts were still, until recently, brought out for the umngqungqo
dances at the intonjane ceremonies. However I never saw them. . . in 1968... .
Nor do women and girls as a rule any longer wear the small bead apron (inkciyo)
of former days.
Married women now wear an outer braided skirt (umbhaco) with a short
underskirt (utoliweyo). A breast-cover (incebetha) is being replaced by an ist-
(t)shuba, which is sheeting about a yard in length worn round the torso. Girls and
young women wear a headkerchief (ighiya), usually of plain black. . . . Older
women build up this head-dress to a large turban effect... .
Young girls wear a very short skirt (unomtishi), like the under-skirt of the
older women. It is not braided . . . on their upper bodies, they wear a blouse or
a crew-neck T-shirt... .
The ibhayi or istofu, made of sheeting and braided across the back, with the
braid often further adorned with buttons and strings of beads, is worn by women
as a robe over their other clothes. In winter they often have two or three such robes
one on top of another.’
GOTO) Eliott ppa20N24 295) Si 32435 15 Xhosa: men’s and women’s dress
pp. 20k 24s 29% 2243.73 Xhosa: men’s and women’s dress
Photographs in colour.
poll Xhosa: head-dress
‘The head-dress of both men and women is a turban folded so that it stands
out in a high, loose, arrangement. These turbans they call ‘““doeks’’, and the popular
colours are navy-blue, black, brown and a deep green, but the men occasionally
today wear something revolutionary like a tartan. The longer a woman has been
married the higher and more elaborately she is entitled to wear her doek. Brides
start off by wearing theirs tied almost like skull-caps around their heads.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 505
1972 Bigalke pp. 65-71 Ndlambe (Xhosa): dress according
to sex, age and status
pb Ndlambe (Xhosa): dress
‘A general feature of the life of all the tribal groups in the Ciskei and Transkei
is that women and young girls, but to a much lesser extent youths and young men,
have adhered to non-western dress. All Red women habitually wear at least the
traditional, red-ochred skirts; many of them wear the items to be described below.
Girls of all ages also wear mainly traditional dress. Youths and young men, except
the few who are not migrant labourers, wear traditional dress only at weekends,
when feasts and rituals are held. As regards older men, it seems that the habit of
wearing western dress acquired during their long and frequent sojourns as migrant
labourers in the towns, has effectively displaced traditional forms. Even those older
men who have never worked in towns, or those who no longer go away to work
are seldom seen in non-western dress. An aspect of dress habits in Tshabo is that
those people who habitually wear non-western dress, generally speaking, have
broadly the same kind of outfit for ordinary and special occasions, but for the latter
there is greater attention to detail and much more use of ornament. The dress,
decoration and ornament of each group is characterized by its general uniformity.’
pp. 66-70 Ndlambe (Xhosa): dress
A detailed description of the garments worn by boys and youths, young men,
girls and married women.
p. 71 Ndlambe: head-covering
‘A notable difference between women diviners and ordinary married women
is that the former are not required by custom to keep their heads covered at all
times.’
(1973) Mertens & Broster Cape Nguni: clothing
Photographic survey of dress.
(1976) Broster p. 3, opp. p. 10, pp. 15, 17-19, Thembu: dress
app: p. 35, p...108
p35 Thembu: colour of clothing
‘Ochre is frequently used as a dye. It is mixed in a basin of water and the
clothing or blanket is kneaded in the mixture. The article is then laid on the rocks
or grass to dry. Several dippings are required before the desired shade is obtained.
For full dress occasions red-ochred dress is not popular but if the wearer has no
white ceremonial clothes, red is worn. There are many shades of red ochre and
different tribes show distinct colour preference. Thus it is possible to distinguish
the tribes by the shades used. The Tembu favour a deep red.’
opp. p. 10 figs 1, 3, 4 Thembu: women’s dress
Photographs in colour.
pe 15 Thembu: penis-sheaths
Figures.
pp. 17-19 Thembu: dress of girls
“The teenage girl wears a short wrap-around skirt edged with black braid or
506 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
narrow stripes of black material. The upper half of her torso is naked with the
breasts exposed. Across her shoulders she wears a plain rectangular shawl. Both
skirt and shawl are made from a coarse white cloth that is coloured with red ochre.’
opp. p. 35 fig. 4 Thembu: skin skirts
Photograph in colour.
p. 108 Thembu: head-dresses
Figures.
(1976) Gitywa p. 5 Xhosa: woman’s cloak, breast-cloth
‘Schultertuch—ibhayi, isikhwenkweni. Viereckiges Stoffmaterial. Rot gefarbt
mit imbhola, rotem Lehm und Wasser. Das unterste Drittel des Tuches ist verziert.
Die Form dieser Verzierung wird umthi, Baum genannt. (Religidses Fruchtbar-
keitssymbol) Weisse Perlenschnur um den unteren und den Seitenrand, und dann
queruber eine blaue Perlenschnur. An vier Stellen sind rote Wollknoten. Um die
Schulter getragen oder um die Brust gebunden (bei der Arbeit) von verheirateten
Frauen. Wenn um die Brust, dient das Tuch als incebetha. Das Schultertuch ist
dann der oberste Teil eines Kostums. Alle verheirateten Frauen sind sittlich
gezwungen, die Brust zu verdecken: das hlonipha System der Xhosa erfordert
CSara tt
Schiirze der Wochnerinnen—incebetha. Weisses Stoffmaterial mit queren,
schwarzen Litzen als Verzierung:
a) am obersten Ende auf einer Falte (3 Streifen) und
b) am untersten Ende (22 Streifen) und sechs weissen Knopfen.
Wochnerinnen, abadlezana (P1.), umdlezana (Sg.), tragen solche Schirzen als
Zeichen ihres Zustandes. . . . So lange wie das Kind gestillt wird, tragt die Frau
die Schurze.’
Paw Nggika (Xhosa): penis-sheath
‘. . . isidla. Penis cover aus dem Fell der inyhwagi, Wildkatze, (Genetta
tigrina), Fell in Schwanze geschnitten ausser dem Teile, der fir den Penis bestimmt
ist. Wird von dem igaqa Fell (Ictonyx capensis Kaup.), gemacht werden. Wird von
Mannern selbst hergestellt. Gilt fiir das weibliche Geschlecht als Tabu. MaBe:
81 cm lang.’
CLOTHING: TERMS
ibayi 1. cotton blanket; the upper part of a woman’s dress made of such a blanket;
from (Algoa) Bay, where such blankets were first imported, D. (Not derived
from the Bay, but from Dutch baai woollen cloth.) 2. ‘Kafir sheeting’, Bh,
general. 3. ditto, or cotton blanket, cotton duck (Mp—Mrs F. Clarke
corresp.). 4. girls’ and women’s cloth; loin-cloth, Bh. 5. blanketing, T
Herschel. 6. women’s cloth cloak or shawl, Xes. 7. stuff from shops,
general 622 (655)
igcabhe 1. a hide garment finished and powdered, as described under the verb
-gcabha; a brand-new garment of good quality, D. 2. a new blanket, X.
3. Mp T not known 623 (229)
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 507
impalane (from -phala scrape) 1. the new garment made from a hide, without fat
or red clay, which a widow gets as a present of honour after the death of her
husband, when the old garment has to be cast away, DX T. 2. not Mp Xes
Bh 624 (235)
umqukumbelo hem of garment, D, general (from -qukumbela hem a gar-
ment) 625
ingqukumbelo hem of garment, D (from verb preceding) 626
umxakatho (from -xakatha, see 628) 1. clasp, buckle, thong, to keep garments
together, D. 2. way of tying blanket on one shoulder, T Mp Xes 627
-xakatha of a bride, to fasten her shawl (of fairly large size) in certain prescribed
ways during the period when she is wearing her head-dress drawn down over
her brow . . . (details see D: 466); fasten a garment by needle, button or
brooch; hand round or about, D 628
ixakatho 1.nD. 2. way of tying blanket on shoulder, Xes. 3. sheeting cloak,
T 629 (664)
impahla_ goods, effects, chattels, tools, D 630
itshali (from Eng. shawl) 1. nD. 2. men’s loin-cloth, MP Xes (T-, Fgo-
F.Cornner corresp.). 3. coloured cloth worn as shawl by girls, Xes.
4. coloured cloth worn by women round hips, Bh. 5. cloth used for men’s
cloak, Vundla (also described as a short, skirt-like garment consisting of four
pieces, a front, back and two sides, which overlap and are made of
umgadu) 631 (705)
ingcobo 1.nD. 2. men’s built-up hair-style (Mp—Hunter 1936). 3. not con-
firmed 632
issikoko 1.nD. 2. Pondo man’s head-ring (Mp—Angas). (Cf. Zu isicoco head-
ring) 633
unyaba 1.nD. 2. twisted strands of hair, Bh 634
umqgokoza 1.nD. 2. frame for hair-style, Bh 635
idukwe 1. nD. 2. (from Afr. doek) cloth worn on the head by women, T
Herschel 636
intshinga (pron. intjinga) 1. tassel-like ornament made from the tufted end of
jackal’s or hartebeest’s tail, worn by men on the head or the calf of the leg
_ In dancing and hunting, D. 2. tuft of fur or feathers, worn by circumcised
lads or medicine-men, originally as distinction for bravery, X Bo. 3. wide-
brimmed small-crowned hat, T 637 (762)
isankwane 1.man’sworstedcap,D, general. 2. also sometimes worn by women
under the ighiya, Mp 638
umjikelo (from -jikela turn to, about) 1. anything, as a handkerchief, turned
round the head like a turban, D X T Xes. 2. notMp Bh 639
impokela 1. kind of head-dress, D. 2. not known 640
iphothane 1.nD. 2. handkerchief worn on the head, T (from -photha twist,
twine, plait, D) 641
508 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
-photha twist twine by rolling 2 or 3 strands forward on one’s thigh, and back
again, letting them twist into one, general 642 (228)
iqhiya 1. a covering for the head; a large handkerchief used for this purpose; a
handkerchief in general, D. 2. head-cloth, Hlu. 3. man’s loin-cloth,
Mp 643
ibhaku 1. the long-tailed widow-bird, D. 2. certain way of fastening a hand-
kerchief round the head ofagirl,D. 3. bird whose tail-feathers formerly used
as men’s head-dress, X. 4. hat with flaps, Mp. 5. not known every-
where 644
isisilasenkuku 1. (hen’s tail) way of doing up and wearing the ghiya,D. 2. with
tail hanging behind, Mp Xes. 3. not known, X T 645
ubhedali 1.nD. 2.style of wearing head-cloth, Xes. (Looks doubtful, probably
very local, and derived from European language) 646
ujikelo (from -jikela turn to, about) the style of putting on the ghiya, D X T.
(Note: other styles mentioned in D: 171.5 are ibaku, isisila senkuku, inko-
njane) 647
-gabethela 1.nD. 2. way of tying the ighiya, Bh 648
umgobongo extremely high head-dress, D 649
umphantsho (pron. umphantjo) 1.the woman’s ghiya done up in the desired style
ready for wearing, D. 2. black head-cloth tied in a style over the eyes by
newly married women, T. 3. head-cloth done up tall, Xes. 4. not known,
Mp 650
ummpantsho (pron. ummpantjo) woman’s cap = unkontsho, D X (see 652) 651
unkontsho (pron. unkontjo, cl. 11) 1. woman’s head-dress, D. 2. way of doing
head-cloth, X T Xes (for brides). 3. ngonse (X—Lichtenstein 1811). 4. not
Bh. (From -nkontsha, -kontja, put on the unkontsho, D) 652
umnqwazi 1. covering for the head of women, being a high cap made of skin
trimmed with beads, bonnet, cap, hat, D, general. 2. narrow beadwork
head-band round back of head for girls, Mp. 3. beaded head-ring (Mp-—
Beukes). 4. married woman’s beaded head-ring, also called isinqwazi
(Mp—UCT). 5. baboon-skin hat, Bh. 6. apex or topknot of modern hut,
X 653 (51, 733, 805)
isila 1. appendage of blue-buck skin on a woman’s cap, D X T. 2. lappet, D.
3. sash, D. 4. not known, Mp Xes. (From umsila tail) 654
PLATE 68
Xhosa dress before 1820.
1. ‘Caffer’ (i.e. Xhosa) man; near Fish River, c. 1777, Gordon collection (Rijksmuseum, Ams-
terdam).
2. ‘Captein Coba’s daughter’, Xhosa woman; near Fish River, c. 1777, Gordon collection
(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).
3. ‘A Kaffir Chief’; no locality, 1812 (Officer, 21st Lt. Dragoons 1822, pl. 7).
4. ‘A Kaffre Woman’; no locality, c. 1805 (Daniell 1820).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 509
A TIKAFFRE WOMAN.
510 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
ibayi 1.cotton blanket; the upper part of a woman’s dress made of such a blanket;
from (Algoa) Bay, where such blankets were first imported, D. (Not derived
from the Bay, but from Dutch baai woollen cloth.) 2. ‘Kafir sheeting’, Bh,
general. 3. ditto, or cotton blanket, cotton duck (Mp-—Mrs F. Clarke
corresp.). 4. girls’ and women’s cloth; loin-cloth, Bh. 5. blanketing, T
Herschel. 6. women’s cloth cloak or shawl, Xes. 7. stuff from shops,
general 655 (622)
igusha_ the woolled or merino sheep; cloak made of sheepskins, D, general. (This
is one of the clear cases of contact with the Khoikhoi (Hottentots), cf. gii-s
sheep, but at the same time poses a problem, since Cape Nguni and Zulu imvu,
Sotho-Tswana nku, Tsonga nvimpfu, are all regularly derived from the root
-yai, which is clearly identical with Khoi gi-s.) 656
igxugesha 1. roughly sewn kaross, D. 2. not confirmed 657
ikhutshu kaross or small garment made of leopard skins, D T 658
ingubo garment, cloak, robe, blanket for covering the whole body, pl. clothes,
D, general. (A widely distributed common Bantu root) 659
iphethelo (from -phethela put on, wrap around) 1. kaross wrapped round the left
arm while fighting, D. 2. or blanket used for this purpose, general 660
isiphethelo alternative for iphethelo (660), merely with different prefix 661
isibhaca_ 1. that part of the woman’s kaross which hangs loose behind; its length
is equal to the length ofthe kaross, DT. 2. obsolete, X. 3.small cape worn
by men or women, Mp (T—Makalima). 4. braided skirt, Xes. (From -bhaca
cut and make the isibhaca, D) 662
isigham 1.nD. 2. single skin used as cloak, Bh. (Cf. Zu izighamo skin blanket,
covering) 663
ixakatho 1.nD. 2. way of tying blanket on shoulder, Xes. 3. sheeting cloak,
T 664 (629)
umgqwetho 1. man’s kaross made from a calf’s hide, worn usually with the tail
upwards, D X. 2. cloth skirt closed down front, with hide strip round hem,
worn by Fingo, T. 3. short cloak like umnweba, Xes. (From -gqwetha hold
or turn a thing upside down, D) 665
umgcadu 1.nD. 2. blanket, T Herschel. 3. blanket shawl made by hand, i.e.
cut to shape, Vundla Quthing 666
PLATE 69
Sandals and caps.
1. Sandals tied to warrior’s shield, presumably Xhosa; no locality, c. 1805 (Daniell 1820, part of
frontispiece).
. Sandals worn by man, Xhosa; no locality, c. 1805 (Lichtenstein 1811 1, pl. 3).
. Sandals worn by Xhosa chief Coba; near Fish River, c. 1777, Gordon collection (Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam)
4. Sandals on left and right foot respectively of Xhosa man; drawing by Sir Richard England, no
locality, c. 1835, see Pl. 71: 3 (AM 53/722 (94)).
. Beaded portion of woman’s cap, 468 mm, ‘Kafir’; no locality, probably 1880 (SAM-—6655).
. Beaded portion of woman’s cap, 530 mm; no data (SAM-5918).
WN
OV”
511
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
Sl Pe ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
umnweba_ 1. garment of different colours, made of skins of various kinds of small
animals, D. 2. sheepskin kaross, T. 3. blanket of goat- or other skin,
Mp. 4. uneebe (X-—Lichtenstein 1811) 667
umphoswa 1. = ingubo, D (see 659). 2. white blanket with black stripe,
Xes. 3. otherwise not known 668
umphoso 1.nD. 2. kaross, X 669
umthwekesha person or kaross not daubed with fat, D X T only 670
isibhalala rug or coloured blanket, D, general 671 (751)
udwangudwangu 1. blanket of large size, D, general. 2. big white blanket,
Mp. 3. long thing or person, Xes 672
imbeka (from -beka put) 1. the small square of light skin that covers a woman’s
breast when at work or at home, D T (X—Kay 1833). 2. hlonipha for
incebetha breast-cloth, X. 3. mat for a child, X Bo, rare 673 (518)
incebetha 1. attire of beads used by the women as a breast-covering when they
take a walk; and by men, when they have no isidabane, D X T Vundla
(X-Soga). 2. nowadays, a cloth with beads, X Xes. 3. white bead fringe
worn by doctors. 4. amecklate (misreading of bad handwriting: incebeta)
fringe of beadwork, suspended from string around neck, worn by women
(X—Fleming 1853: 221) 674 (729)
ixhosha 1. dressed hide, esp. the covering made from it, and worn over the
breasts by females, D. 2. hide with the hair off, X. 3. otherwise not
known 675
ibhanti (from Afr. band) belt, band, strap. (Note: ibanti in D is an error) 676
(889)
iggesha_ 1. girdle, band, napkin, bound about the waist, DT. 2. old blanket or
waistband worn under blankets by men and girls, X 677 (887)
umkhwinti 1. the fibrous plant Gazania pinnata Less., used for plaiting and as
threads, D Mp. 2. baby’s waistband, a cord of the leaf skin of Gazania
integrifolia (X—Soga). 3. inkciyo for small children, X. 4. species of plant,
T. 5. plant from which fibre is obtained for making fringe skirt, T Hlu
Herschel 678 (208, 690, 901)
uqhwemesha, umqhwemesha _ girdle of thongs covered with small brass rings worn
round the loins or round the legs below the knees (from -qghwemesha tie up),
DX 1679 (OOD)
PLATE 70
Xhosa women’s dress.
1. Xhosa woman; cut-out, thought to have been painted by Charles Bisset, no locality, c. 1835
(AM 63/1550).
2. Woman’s apron, 308 mm; no locality, c. 1870 (SAM-—4469).
3. Woman’s apron, 162 mm; Cape Colony, 1890 (BM cc 1456).
4. Xhosa woman; painting by F. I’Ons, no locality, c. 1850 (AM 4427).
5. “Kafir Woman’; painting by F. I’Ons, no locality, c. 1850 (AM 4421).
513
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
2BSP EC evaRerccate:
«
isieetenwvennsss
a eRe
phen
514 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
umtya 1.something to bind with, as a small band, thong, cord, D.. 2. thong to
tie cow’s hindlegs for milking; anything used similarly, X, general. 3. bow-
string (X—Lichtenstein 1811 1: 656—ummuhtja ‘Bogensehne’). (A widely
distributed Bantu root, for ‘leather strap’) 680 (244, 245, 407, 858)
ifaba 1.nD. 2. aback piece of cloth skirt, Bh 681
intsiyant 1.nD. 2. loin-cloth of women or a larger cloth worn over the shoulders
by young men, Mp 682
ingcubula 1.nD._ 2. fringed skirt (Sotho thethana) for women and children, T
Hlu Herschel 683
isikhaka_ 1.short skirt made ofskin;apetticoat,D. 2. general for skin skirt, now
long in west and West Pondoland, short in east. 3. long cloth skirt
(X-EL). 4. composed of two aprons, Xes (they pronounce it isikhakha, as
do the Bh and Zu. In Zu ‘married woman’s leather petticoat’) 684
ubendle 1.nD. 2.species of plant, and string made of its fibre, used for making
girl’s apron, Xes; for stringing the beads of inkciyo apron, Hlu. 3. short skirt,
Bh. 4. modesty apron of skin (Fgo—Kawa). 5. another name for umkhwinti
(Gazania pinnata Less. a fibrous plant), T. (Cf. in Zu: ubendle fringed girdle
made of ububendle leaves and worn by young uninitiated girls; ububendle the
shrub Gazania longiscapa, G. longifolia) 685 (203)
ububendle fibre for fringe apron, Bh. (Zu: the shrub Gazania longiscapa,
G. longifolia) 686
umbhaco (from -bhaca cut and make the isibhaca, D) 1. long strip of cotton
blanket made like a dress and worn by Kafir women and girls, D X T Xes.
2. modern cotton-sheeting skirt (X—Soga). 3. 132 cm wide ‘kaffir-sheeting’
(Mp-—Mrs F. Clarke corresp.). 4. skirt worn by men and women doctors, Bh.
5. flannelette, Bo 687
umbeletsho 1.nD. 2. front piece of cloth skirt or petticoat, Xes 688
umbhingo (from -bhinga bind round the hips, D) 1. any thing (garment) bound
round the hips, except a girdle, D Xes Bh T. 2. a petticoat, D. 3. top of
skirt, X 689
umkhwinti 1. the fibrous plant Gazania pinnata Less., used for plaiting and as
threads, D Mp. 2. baby’s waistband, a cord of the leaf skin of Gazania
integrifolia (X—Soga). 3. inkciyo for small children, X. 4. species of plant,
T. 5. plant from which fibre is obtained for making fringe skirt, T & Hlu
Herschel 690 (208, 678, 901)
PRALE a
Xhosa dress before 1850.
. ‘Kafir Woman’; painting by F. I’Ons, no locality, 1847 (AM 6349).
. Xhosa chief; painting by F. I’Ons, no locality, c. 1850 (AM 4434).
. Xhosa man; drawing by Sir Richard England, no locality, c. 1835 (AM 53/722 (94) ).
. ‘Kosani or Kafir Jack taken October 1846’, Xhosa; painting by F. T’Ons, no locality,
(AM 47/275).
BRWN rR
515
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
aes saa
»
516 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
umghaphu 1.wildcotton plant, D. 2. girl’s short white skirt made of umbhaco,
white flannelette, Bo 691
umtidili 1. petticoat, D T Mp Bh. 2.a short skirt, X 692
unomtidili 1.nD. 2. same as umtidili 693
umtshekezelo 1.nD. 2. back piece of cloth skirt, Xes. (No verb from which
derived) 694
ichachawe_ 1. woman’s modesty apron, made of the small ends of umkhwinti, see
isidimba (698), D. 2. same as inkciyo, X Mp 695
inkciyo 1. woman’s modesty apron, made of skin and ornamented with beads,
DX T Fgo. 2. in a more general sense this word includes ichachawe, D.
3. written inkjo by Lichtenstein (1811), encyées by Fleming (1856) 696
inxesha 1.nD. 2. string fringe apron worn by all girls, Bh 697
isidimba 1. girls’ fringed modesty apron, D (X-Soga). 2. not confirmed else-
where 698
isikhibi 1. woman’s apron, D. 2. not confirmed 699
isishuba_ 1. the apron worn by women at the time of their seclusion, D. 2. not
confirmed. 3. boys’ loin-cloth, X. 4. loin-cloth (Fgo-—Kawa) T Bo.
5. women’s and men’s loin-cloth, Mp. 6. women’s loin-cloth, Bh 700 (706)
isitshape 1.nD. 2. bead apron worn by girls, unmarried mothers and divorcees,
also made of ubendle for young children, Xes_ 701
isiyaca 1.nD. 2. woman’s modesty apron now only worn by children, Mp
(Mp-—UCT). (Cf. Zu uyaca loin girdle worn by Zulu girls on ceremonial
occasions, consisting of a long fringe of ubendle encircling the body) 702
umraxa 1. woman’s modesty apron, D X T Mp. 2. not known East
Griqualand 703
iggila 1.nD. 2. loin-cloth, Xes 704
itshali 1. nD. 2. men’s loin-cloth, Mp Xes (T—, Fgo—F.Cornner corresp.).
3. coloured cloth worn as shawl by girls, Xes. 4. coloured cloth worn by
women roundhips, Bh. 5.cloth used for men’s cloak, Vundla (also described
as a short, skirt-like garment consisting of four pieces, a front, back and two
sides, which overlap and are made of umgadu) 705 (631)
isishuba_ 1. the apron worn by women at the time of their seclusion, D. 2. not
confirmed. 3. boys’ loin-cloth, X. 4. loin-cloth (Fgo-—Kawa) T Bo.
5. women’s and men’s loin-cloth, Mp. 6. women’s loin-cloth, Bh 706 (700)
isitshuba 1.nD. 2. loin-cloth (X-Soga). 3. skirt, Xes 707
PLATE 72
Xhosa, Thembu and Fingo dress.
‘Xhosa man throwing the assegai’; painting by Charles Bisset, no locality, c. 1835 (Alb., no no.).
. ‘Xhosa Woman’; painting by F. Ons, no locality, c. 1850 (AM 4424).
. ‘Tambookie’ (Thembu); painting by F. I’Ons, no locality, c. 1850 (AM 41/904).
. ‘Fingo Headman’; painting by F. I’Ons, no locality, c, 1850 (AM 47/188 (4) ).
WN eR
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 517
518 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
incitsho 1.nD. 2. penis-sheath woven of grass, Bh 708
ingotyi 1. nD. 2. penis-sheath (X-T.B.Soga 1937). (Written nutchie (X-
Fleming 1856) and n’utsche (X—Joest).) 709
ingxiba 1. the penis-cap, D X Mp Bo Fgo. 2. in’eba (Smith 1824-5). 3. not
known, Xes Bh. (From -nxiba tie, bind, put on, e.g. to dress, D.) (Note old
X spelling for same pronunciation: inxhiba, or as in D: inxiba) 710
iphaca 1.nD. 2. penis-sheath (Mp—Hunter 1936, Mp—Poto Ndamase) 711
isidla_ penis-sheath, general. (However, D says: ‘isidla small bag; . . . isidla
sokuggqishela the penis covering, usually of cloth, but often consisting of an
empty husk of some fruit. Without this covering the Kafir would be ashamed,
but with it he considers himself clothed’) 712 (972)
ungogo, ungonkgo 1.nD. 2. cocoon out of which penis-sheath is made, Mp
Xes. 3. ugongo, nD, penis-sheath of goatskin or cocoon, Bh (cf. Zu -gonga
intern, confine, be in seclusion. Bh came from Zulu-speaking Natal) 713
undyulo (from -ndyula put on the undyulo, D) 1. the piece of brass that adorns
the penis-cap,D. 2.=indyilo(T—Makalima). 3. = undyilo (X—Mzamane,
—T.B.Soga 1937). 4. amandyilo, nD, tassels of threaded sections of reed
attached to girdle, T; tassels on penis-sheath, Mp 714 (888)
ungcetsha 1.nD. 2. penis-sheath, Xes 715
imbadada 1. sandal, D X T Mp. 2. made of oxhide, Bh. 3. now made of
rubber tyres, Xes 716
isthlangu 1. sandal cut out of the thick part of a skin; shoe or boot, D, general.
2. jetangwo ‘Schuh’ (Lichtenstein 1811). 3. formerly a large shield, now a
shoe, Xes. (Cf. Zu isihlangu war-shield; sandal. Both meanings for this root
also found in other South African languages) 717 (453)
isixathula shoe, D, general (from -xathula make marks or prints in any soft thing,
as footmarks in sand, whipmarks in skin, D) 718
irwintsela 1. a fastening, a knot for the native sandal; double loop or knot in a
handkerchief, etc., D. 2. not confirmed 719
imbeleko (from -beleka place and carry a child on the back, D) 1. skin or blanket
in which a baby is carried on a woman’s back, D (i.e. baby-sling). 2. made
of goatskin, X Xes, now made of ‘kaffir-sheeting’, X T Mp Bh. 3. the skin
PLATE 73
Mpondo and Xesibe dress before 1850.
1. Mpondo man, “Bangazeta, son of Faku, King of the Amaponda’; no locality, c. 1829, drawing
by A. G. Bain, no. 184 (AM 65/3844).
2. Mpondo woman, ‘Namantaza, a woman of the Amaponda tribe’; no locality, c. 1845 (Angas
1849: 24).
3. Mpondo man, ‘Ludwillo, an Amaponda Dandy’; no locality, c. 1829, drawing by A. G. Bain,
no. 186 (AM 65/3846).
4. Xesibe chief, ‘Omgedie, an Amaklasabeen Chieftain’; no locality, c. 1829, drawing by
A. G. Bain, no. 185 (AM 65/3845).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 519
2
AMANTAZA. A WOMAN OF THE AMAPONDA TRIBE.
520 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
of the goat slaughtered for the child is now used for it to sleep on; if sling is
of sheeting it is called by the name of this material, viz. ibayi, Bh 720
CLOTHING: DISCUSSION
The earliest accounts of this area are of the Thembu and Xhosa, whose
clothing, according to a mid-eighteenth century author, was the same. It has in the
main remained so. The people further east were first described much later, and
seem to show, for women’s clothing at least, differences in more than style. Long
proximity and exposure to the same influences brought about considerable uni-
formity west of the Umzimvubu-Tina River line. East of it there are still notable
differences, where so-called traditional dress is still worn. Western-style clothing
is, however, now prevalent throughout.
MEN
Penis-sheaths and -caps
For the men the most important garment throughout the area was a penis-
sheath or -cap, ingxiba, isidla (P|. 77), in which they were considered to be quite
adequately clad, and to be without which was shameful. Youths started to wear
it after circumcision. It took various forms according to tribal fashion and indi-
vidual taste, and was the striking characteristic of Cape Nguni male dress. Until
1948 it was still very generally worn by Xhosa and other western tribes (Pl. 77: 5,
7, 10) but had practically disappeared in the east. Many of the early authors
described the men as going entirely naked. There are, however, sufficient con-
tradictions to suggest that those observers merely did not recognize the sheath as
a garment. That it was so regarded by its wearers is shown by the punishment meted
out to those who were without it in public.
The earliest descriptions are for the Xhosa, who wore a short sheath, 4 to
6 cm long, terminating in a bound shank or in one or more thongs, which were
decorated with beads and/or brass rings, and generally hung down, but were
sometimes tied to the girdle. The sheaths are said to have been cut and sewn by
women from skin of the intestines of animals, or from the pericardium, or from
the outer skin very softly dressed.
The only differing early description comes from the coast just north of the Kei
between Kei and Bashee, where the garment is described as a long tube, about
60 cm long.
PLATE 74
Men’s and women’s dress.
1. Xhosa men, ‘Kosakaffern’; no data (Ratzel 1894 2: 76).
2. Mpondo warrior, ‘Pondokrieger’; no data (Ratzel 1894 2: 123).
3. ‘A Pondo Dandy’; no locality, c. 1900 (Kidd 1904, pl. 20).
4. incebetha, 571 mm, ‘Kafir’; no locality, c. 1870 (SAM-—6656).
S21
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
522 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
In the second half of the last century the alternative use of a cap made of a
small decorated calabash, a fashion possibly introduced by the Fingo, or of ox-tail
skin, or of ‘other material’ is recorded.
Of the eastern tribes the only early description is of the Mpondo, in the 1820s.
They wore a sheath of hide with the hair left on, or a cap of a calabash, or one of
two kinds of nut, or a sheath made of the spathe leaves of a mealie cob decorated
with beads.
In modern times the Xhosa style was exactly the same as the first style
described (Pl. 77: 7), and up to 1948 was still fairly common among the Xhosa, who
wore it under the trousers or the blanket that had taken the place of the cloak, and
was always worn when away from the homestead. Youths were reported to be still
wearing it as late as 1970 (Anon. pers. comm.).
The Thembu used, in addition to a skin sheath like that of the Xhosa, caps
of small calabash or fruit shells, plain or decorated with brass or beads
(Pl. 77: 8, 9). According to Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964) larger shells were used
by boys when fighting.
For the Bomvana, Cook described a strip of skin, about 3 cm wide and 60 to
90 cm long, one end of which was bound round like a bandage, and the other hung
loose.
According to Holt the penis-sheath was customarily worn by Tshezi until
about 1961. The older men wore a sheepskin sheath and the younger men a cap
of calabash.
The Western Mpondo wore a plain skin sheath, and the Eastern Mpondo a
cap of a shell of the fruit of the incuma, umkhongazi or umgube tree or the cocoon
of a lasiocampid moth. Only the older men wore a sheath in 1948, and not all of
them. Each made his own and they were not ornamented in any way.
Xesibe wore a sheath made of the skin of a young buck, or, for young men’s
dandified occasions, of the whole skin of an ox-tail, with the hair left on. More
commonly they wore the cocoon of a lasiocampid moth, cut open at one end, and
not decorated in any way. It was stated in 1948 that 18 was the age at which to start
wearing the sheath, and that whereas formerly it was considered an adequate
garment, it was now not to be seen in public. Much younger boys were seen wearing
it, however, and in public, as late as 1962.
Bhaca wore a sheath of goatskin, or one woven of soft grass, incitsho, or sedge
PEATE 75
Hair-styles and head-dress.
. Hair-style of Mpondo men; no locality, 1860-1875 (photo W. H. I. Bleek, SAM).
Thembu man in festive dress; Thungwana, Mganduli, 1960.
. Hair-style of Mpondo man; no locality, 1860-1875 (photo W. H. I. Bleek, SAM).
. Thembu girl; Thungwana, Mqanduli, 1960.
. Thembu woman wearing amakhubalo necklace, umsubhe (twisted necklace), three izigcina
(flat pieces of beadwork) and head-cloth; Thungwana, Mqanduli, 1960.
On & WN eR
a
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 523
524 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(Pl. 77: 6) or again a cocoon of a lasiocampid moth. In 1949 it was still worn by
the chief on ceremonial occasions.
Other than among the Xhosa, however, the sheath or cap, though still worn
by some, was largely superseded by a loin-cloth among those who did not wear
western-style dress.
Loin-cloths
The loin-cloth, isishuba, itshali, does not appear to have been a typical gar-
ment for men of the Cape Nguni in the early days. The only mention of such a thing
before the twentieth century is by Smith (1824-5), who stated that when Xhosa
men were away from home they wore ‘a small cloak round the middle’, and
photographs taken early in the twentieth century show men in flared loin-cloths
that look like girls’ skirts.
Bryant describes Bhaca men, while still in Natal, as wearing two woven grass
mats as aprons, back and front. There is no confirmation that this style of dress
persisted after they had entered the Transkei.
Latterly, however, a straight loin-cloth reaching from waist to mid-calf or
ankle (Pl. 83: 3-5) became the usual dress for men who did not wear trousers—
usually the younger men. The exceptions were the Xhosa, who did, however, wear
the loin-cloth for dances. The loin-cloth might be made of cotton blanket
(Pl. 85: 7), or of ‘Kaffir-sheeting’, the term by which a certain thick, unbleached
cotton sheeting is known to the trade, and which has become the material used by
Xhosa, Thembu, Bomvana and Mpondo for all the recent ‘traditional’ dress. The
Bhaca loin-cloths were made of striped salempore cloth.
The loin-cloth was worn as well as, or instead of, the penis-sheath. A blanket
was often folded unequally at the waist and made a two-tier skirt like that some-
times worn by the women. Those worn for best were usually heavily embroidered
in conventional patterns with beads or a piping of black cotton print (PI. 83: 5).
Mpondo and Xesibe secured them round the waist with a leather belt.
A variation of this garb, seen on young men at a dance in East Pondoland in
1948, was a sheeting loin-cloth that was put on in the same triangular way as a
baby’s napkin, but hanging loosely to about the middle of the calf (PI. 86: 3).
PILATE 76
Hair-styles and head-dresses.
. Xhosa woman at installation celebrations for Zwelidumile at Willowvale, 1960.
. Old man wearing isankwane, Xhosa; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
. Xhosa woman; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
. Young Xhosa man with ear pendant; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
. Xhosa woman, with inkohlwane (thin bangles), irwantse (thick bangles); Engcobo, 1948.
. Xhosa men; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
NnNbBWN re
5.
prvi
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I
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
525
526 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Aprons
The eighteenth-century travellers near the eastern border of the Colony
reported that some of the men wore, in addition to the penis-sheath, a narrow piece
of skin, or a fringe of skins, as an apron, and Paravicini di Capelli’s sketch shows
‘Capt. Koba’ and his companions wearing quite an elaborate garment, as do all of
Schumacher’s sketches (PI. 68: 1). The apron is drawn hanging from a girdle. With
the exception of one of Schumacher’s figures on which the apron is straight, the
style drawn narrows to a point like that of the Khoikhoi (Hottentots). From the
sketches it would seem to have had a small animal’s skin in the centre, black,
brown, or striped, and to have been edged with a white skin. Whether this habit
was adopted from the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) with whom they had been long in
contact, or whether it was indigenous to themselves, it is not possible to say. Kay
reports that in the late 1820s old men still sometimes wore a small apron and said
that their ancestors had always done so. This does not necessarily disprove the Khoi
borrowing. Hallbeck & Fritsch say that Thembu men had, in 1827, ‘a small apron,
decorated with brass rings and beads, round their waists’. The ‘brass rings’ suggest
that this was a penis-sheath. At all events men’s aprons are not mentioned again,
and it seems probable that they were only worn by the most westerly groups.
Cloaks
A man’s cloak was a straight garment of dressed skin, reaching to his calves
(Pls 68: 1; 72: 4) or sometimes to the ground (Pl. 71: 4) and the style appears to
have been common to all the tribes, excepting that according to Bain those of the
Mpondo were smaller than those in the west. Some authors speak of a voluminous
cloak, particularly for important people, but according to Alberti, they were just
wide enough to close in front, and, if of oxhide, could be made of one skin. When
of other skins, small square pieces were sewn together to the required size (see
Pl. 92: 1). The skin was turned over to form a sort of high collar at the neck
(Pl. 71: 2) where it was tied in front with thongs. (An iron awl in its leather sheath
was generally attached to the collar.) The cloak was also worn over the left and
under the right arm and tied on the chest (Pl. 68: 1). In cold weather it was drawn
round the body for warmth. In warm weather it was slung back over the shoulders
PILATE 77
Skirt, apron and penis-caps and -sheaths.
. umbhaco, no scale, Xhosa; East London, no date (EL 2016).
. ingxiba of calabash with ornamental chains, Xhosa; Cala, 1930 (FH A769).
. inkciyo, no scale, Xhosa; Albany, no date (TM 4267).
. Leather penis-sheath, ‘Penisfutteral der Kaffern’; no data (Ratzel 1894 2: 81).
. Ingxiba of leather, c. 500 mm, Xhosa; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
. incitsho woven of grass, 43 mm, Bhaca; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
. isidla of leather, c. 400 mm, Xhosa; Ncera, Middledrift, 1960 (FH A794).
. isidla of calabash, diameter 40 mm, Thembu; Mqanduli, 1935 (TM 35/340).
. isidla of calabash, diameter 40 mm, Thembu; Mqanduli, 1935 (TM 35/338).
. Young man wearing leather isidla at dance, Xhosa; Willowvale, 1960.
SOON NNBRWN eR
—_
oni
ll Ne
:
:
:
:
:
:
S
:
od ia al a
afreaeaeeeen
was Mf ply
528 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(Pl. 68: 3) or not worn at all. In the latter case, on a journey, it would be carried
on a stick over the shoulder. According to Smith it was left at home and, for the
journey, a smaller one taken, that could be used as a loin-cloth.
When young men fenced with sticks, the cloak was wrapped over the left hand
and round the defence stick, so as to protect that hand. This is still done with a
blanket.
Before the eighteenth century, a cloak, ingubo, was evidently made as fre-
quently of the skins of wild animals, which were very numerous, as of oxhide, but
in the eighteenth and part of the nineteenth centuries, cloaks for both sexes were
made primarily of oxhide. According to Kay there was a special slaughtering of
choice cattle once a year for this purpose. Other authors speak of individual
killings. Cloaks of calf, antelope or the variegated skins of small animals were then
considered specially fine, umgqwetho or umnweba, and were worn at parties.
Sheepskin cloaks are first mentioned in 1832. Cloaks of the chief and royal family,
and sometimes of the chief’s councillors and favourites to whom old ones were
given, were either made entirely of leopard skin or faced with it round the edges,
which were sometimes scalloped (Pls 68: 1, 3; 71: 2). It is possible that those of
major chiefs were entirely of leopard and those of minor chiefs merely faced with
it, but there is no confirmation for this. A chief, however, often wore a cloak of
ordinary oxhide, or calf or wild animal skin.
There seems to have been some difference of opinion among early authors as
to whether the hair of the skins was removed altogether, worn on the inside, or
worn on the outside, or according to the weather, but the majority, and, when one
can see it, the sketches, favour the inside (Pls 71: 2, 4; 72: 4). On the flesh side
the skin was curried to a thick pile, and the whole was well greased, and treated
with ochre, charcoal or some unspecified dye, to achieve the colours red, black or
brown, mentioned by late eighteenth-century authors (Shaw & Van Warmelo
1974: 180).
At night the cloak was a covering to sleep under.
Breast-cloths
The breast-cloth is typically a woman’s garment, but Alberti states that
occasionally a man was to be seen wearing one, which he describes as ‘a sort of
scapular’, from chest to thighs, 350 mm wide, and suspended from a string round
the neck. There is no other mention of this, and one wonders if it is not a confusion
with the isidabane (p. 588).
Belts
Belts are in the main ornamental and are described with other ornaments.
Plain belts or thongs are, however, used to hold up a loin-dress. Smith in 1824,
King in 1851-52 and Kropf in 1845-89 record a ‘hunger belt’ of rough skin tied
round the waist by men, particularly on a long journey, to reduce the pangs of
hunger.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 529
Sandals
It would appear that sandals, izimbadada, izihlangu, have never been worn
by the Cape Nguni as an item of everyday dress, but men and women wore them
on long journeys and men wore them for hunting. When not in use at such times
they were carried (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 45: 4). According to the
survivors of the Grosvenor at the end of the eighteenth century, the people they
saw near the Umtata River, apparently Thembu, used one sandal only, on the right
foot, when hunting, and bounded from that foot when running and leaping.
The earliest description is of sandals worn near the Umtata River in 1593.
These were two or three thicknesses of leather in a round shape, fastened together
to form a sole, and attached to the foot with straps. Presumably it was the straps
that fastened the soles together.
Two hundred years later two sorts of sandal were described as worn by the
Xhosa, and both sorts are depicted in the prints of the time. The leather soles in
each case projected about 3 cm all round the foot. In one style they were held to
the foot by straps. Daniell (Pl. 69: 1) shows two straps, one at the heel and one
at the toes, each of which passed through two small holes in the sole, and the four
ends thus made were tied, presumably at the instep. Sir Richard England
(Pl. 69: 4) shows four straps coming from the edges of the sole, two supported by
the toe-strap, and two by an ankle-band to which the toe-strap is tied in front. In
the other style the sole was held to the foot by an upper—a 70-100 mm wide piece
of skin passed from one side of the sole to the other and covering the whole front
of the foot except the toes (Pl. 69: 2, 3). Van der Kemp adds to this description
‘two strings’— presumably at the heel.
Another style, described a little later, was a sole with a 5 cm broad strip of
skin attached at each side and at the back, the three being held together on the
foot with thongs.
All three styles appear to have lasted till towards the end of the nineteenth
century. The three latter descriptions were all for the Xhosa. According to Fritsch
there were slight tribal differences, which, however, he does not specify, and it is
not possible to find them in the written or pictorial records. By the 1860s European-
style velskoen were ousting them all.
Sandals were made, if not by the wearer himself, by the same craftsman as
made the shields, and the price of a pair was a kid, or the materials for an extra
pair. The forehead skin of an ox, eland or giraffe hide, or, later, sheep- or goatskin,
are mentioned as being used for the soles. As wear was so restricted, Dohne did
not consider it a profitable profession.
Today sandals of the above types are no longer seen. Sometimes young men
and boys make a rough sandal from a piece of rubber tyre for the sole and tie it
to the foot with rope. Otherwise, if foot-covering is needed, shoes are worn.
Hair-style and head-dress
Judging by the descriptions left, hair-styles must have been subject to con-
siderable changes of fashion, as well as individual whim, during the last three
530 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
hundred years. As late as 1890 it was stated that men’s hair-styles varied according
to the tribe and were indeed an indication of it, but the records are not sufficient
to make it possible to describe the whole series.
In 1687 travellers among the Xhosa stated that the men wore ‘greasy skin
caps’. This is a contradiction of a report from 1647 by Feyo, which may, however,
have been for the Thembu. Feyo makes the wearing of a cap the distinguishing
mark between the clothing of men and women, in that women wore caps but men
did not. If the report that Xhosa men wore caps is correct it is unlikely that their
hair was fancily dressed. Xhosa men a hundred years later were described as
wearing no caps, whatever the weather or season. It seems possible, however, that
what was referred to as a ‘greasy cap like the Hottentots of Natal’, which might
not be worn for a year after the death of a chief, was a cap-like style of dressing
the hair similar to the Zulu head-ring, and such as is described for the Mpondo and
Mpondomise later, and that it died out in the same way through being shaved off
in mourning and never resumed.
The eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century authors do not mention a head-
covering for men, nor do drawings of that period show them. Towards the end of
the eighteenth century, the hair of Xhosa and Thembu men appears to have been
dressed with grease and ochre into small tight curls all over the head (Pls 68: 1;
71: 2, 3, 4), or sometimes in longer ringlets hanging to just below the ears and in
a fringe on the forehead. It is stated that the women were the hairdressers and used
an iron awl for the purpose. In drawings of about 1800 and in Fritsch’s series of
portraits taken between 1863 and 1866, the older men of Xhosa and Thembu are
shown with the hair short and plain, and the younger in a rather fuzzy mass of about
7 cm long ringlets. (This may, of course, not be unconnected with the growth of
the hair!) It was probably always the younger men who had the fancy styles
(Pl. 78: 1). Nowadays one seldom sees any but short plain hair among men of
Xhosa, Bomvana or Thembu (PI. 76: 4), but there are exceptions.
Characteristic hair-styles are recorded for the men of the eastern tribes.
Mature men (Smith suggests it was only after circumcision) of the Mpondo and
Mpondomise from the time they were first noted, in 1782, to the end of the
nineteenth century, appear to have followed individual (or possibly subtribal or
regional, but there seems to be no means of knowing) variations on two main
themes: the polished head-ring (Pls 73: 1; 75: 1, 3) and the small conical structure
‘like an inverted cup’. The hair was first sewn round a grass foundation to the
required shape and then consolidated with wax. Some people coloured the ring or
PEATE SS
Hair-style, cloaks and heaa-dress.
. Thembu man: Mganduli, 1955.
. Thembu herd-boy; Ngqunge, Umtata, 1948.
. Thembu woman; Mganduli, 1955.
. Thembu boy with straw hat; Ngqunge, Umtata, 1948.
. ‘Thembu mother and child’; no data (Duggan-Cronin 1939, pl. 27).
nN BWN Re
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI Soul
532 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
cone with red ochre. Varieties of the ring style were to have it slightly forward on
the forehead, to have more than one ring, or to have it straight on the head, in
which case the hair below it was allowed to grow to a height of 70 to 100 mm, and
the remaining hair was either bushed out or shaved, or was close-shaven in front
and hung in tresses to the shoulders at the back. In the hollow formed by the ring
all sorts of oddments could be carried, while the wall of hair was the place for
snuff-spoons and ornaments. Sometimes the ring was coloured red, but not the
hair. Varieties of the conical-cup style were either in the manner of treating the
hair below it, and mostly it was bushy, or in the number of cones, of which three
are mentioned for the Mpondo and figured by Ratzel (Pl. 74: 2). According to
Fynn, old Mpondo men wore the hair long and without a ring. Kay describes some
styles as looking like ‘a counsellor’s wig’. Sampson, later, described hair trained
into parallel rows or shaved almost entirely.
The Western Mpondo never resumed built-up styles after shaving in mourning
for Chief Ndamase in 1882, and among the Eastern Mpondo and Mpondomise they
seem to have disappeared about the same time, doubtless for similar reasons. Since
then older men have worn the hair plain, while young men have dressed it in all
sorts of plaitings, ringlets and shaved patterns (Pl. 74: 3).
About the men of the Immigrant Cape Nguni, except the Fingo tia adopted
Xhosa styles, there is no information other than Baines’ statement that a branch
of the Hlubi, settled with the Mpondo, had the same head-ring as the latter, and
further that, as far as can be seen from Bain’s drawings (PI. 73: 4), Xesibe men,
in 1829, had their hair in thin strings to just above the shoulders at the back, held
high off the forehead by a semi-circular pad. Feathers and other ornaments were
then added according to individual taste.
Latterly it was only among boys and young men that fancy hair-styles were to
be seen.
Le Vaillant and W. Shaw state specifically that men did not wear a cap but
Dohne states that in 1837 ‘many’ men were wearing a cloth on the head, and one
or two men were figured by Baines about 1850 wearing what appears to be a skin
cap of ‘jelly-bag’ style. Obviously these were introductions. The jelly-bag cap is
seen in photographs from about 1870. In the middle of the nineteenth century men
on the western frontier are frequently depicted wearing blue caps of the style worn
by some of the European soldiers, with the addition of an upstanding feather.
Towards the end of the century married men among Xhosa, Thembu and Bomvana
started to wear a crochet woollen cap, isankwane (PI. 76: 2, 6) and felt hats became
PLATE, 79
Women’s and girls’ dress.
1. Thembu woman wearing ighiya (head-cloth), amahobho (ear-rings), imiqoboko (grass neck-
lets), julukuqu (necklet with beadwork pendant); Mqanduli, 1955.
2. Woman at dance, Vundla of chief Vova; Boepeletsa, Moyeni, Lesotho, 1961 (photo A. Lawton,
SAM).
3, 4. Fingo girls during puberty rites; near Haga-Haga, Komga, 1955 (photo E. M. Shaw, SAM).
533
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
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popular throughout. Among Tshezi only older men wore a pompon on the woollen
cap. Young men sometimes wear a head-cloth, iqghiya (Pl. 77: 10), particularly in
the Ciskei and western Transkei, where they may wear it piled up like the women.
An undated and very posed photograph—roughly from the end of the nineteenth
century—shows Xhosa men wearing a cloth as a narrow band (PI. 74: 1).
Mpondo men, when they abandoned their fancy hair-style, took to wearing
either a band (PI. 85: 8) or a turban of cloth, or, more frequently, a felt hat
(Pl. 85: 6), which is sometimes ornamented with beadwork.
Xesibe and Bhaca men also sometimes wear a cloth head-dress.
Hlubi men sometimes wear a felt hat, and sometimes a grass hat copied from
their South Sotho neighbours. In the 1930s Hlubi boys had a fashion for grass hats
worn on the side of the head and with a mere token crown.
WOMEN
Aprons
For women the first essential appears to have been a small apron round the
loins (Pls 70: 2, 3; 77: 3; 84: 3). Feyo says of the Thembu or Xhosa in 1647 that
the women wore nothing under the cloak, and Kay says of the Mpondo women,
two hundred years later, that they went about entirely naked, a fact that he puts
down to their poverty. But, as with the men, it may be that these authors ignored
the apron. Smith, who visited the Mpondo about the same time as Kay, stated that
the women wore a fringe apron. At all events it was several times stated in the late
seventeenth and in the eighteenth centuries that this apron was all that the women
of the west wore besides the cloak without which they were not seen away from
the homestead. Beutler, however, mentions ‘een onderrok’ and no apron, unless
by ‘onderrok’ he meant an apron.
There seem to have been two sorts of apron worn by all women and girls
throughout the area, and for as long as there are records. Both were small and
fastened round the loins. Probably the older type was a thick fringe of cords,
ichachawe, about 30 cm wide, so as to cover the front of the body only, and from
12 to 25 cm in depth. The cords were twisted of bark fibre, the leaf skin of Gazania
pinnata (umkhwinti) or even thin thongs. This may be what the survivors of the
Stavenisse and the Grosvenor referred to as nets. Whenever possible, beads or
other ornaments were attached to the cords, until, with the increasing availability
PLATE 80
Bomvana and Fingo clothing.
. Bomvana woman making basket; Guse, Elliotdale, 1948.
. Bomvana woman; Guse, Elliotdale, 1948.
. Bomvana man; Guse, Elliotdale, 1948.
. Bomvana girl sewing short skirt; Guse, Elliotdale, 1948.
. umtidili, skirt, Fingo; East London, no date (EL 1144).
. Beaded breast-cloth, 760 mm, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1935 (TM 35/394).
AnNBWNP
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 535
536 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
of beads, the whole fringe came to be composed of strings of beads, and that form,
inkciyo, was eventually seen more commonly than the other (Pls 77: 3; 84: 3). Some
informants in 1948 said that the cords were twisted from strands drawn from cloth,
which also formed the girdle ends, but any sewing was done with sinew, usinga.
Thembu informants said that the cords should be of sinew, and that the band should
be of leather.
A specially fine bead fringe, slightly longer than that for everyday use, and
sometimes attached to a girdle of thongs threaded closely with brass rings, is worn
at dances by unmarried girls, often as their only garment, uqghwemesha, or with the
addition of a short skirt of gay cloth, open at the front to show the beads.
The second sort of apron is recorded from the Xhosa and Fingo only, and only
during the first half of the nineteenth century. Most probably, as is suggested above
for the men, it was a borrowing from the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) by the Xhosa and
from the Xhosa by the Fingo, but in the British Museum there are similar examples
said to be from Natal. It was a piece of skin about 15 cm wide, up to 30 cm long,
and generally shaped like a swallow-tail. It was covered entirely with small beads,
put on in close rows, making a background of white, with a design of black, dark
blue or light blue. It was tied on with a thong attached to each upper corner. This
type of apron is no longer known (PI. 70: 2, 3).
Women started to wear the apron as tiny girls, and were never without it.
According to Lichtenstein, older women wore several, the upper one being
decorated with buttons and beads. In the late 1820s there were still some women,
particularly among the upper classes, who wore only an apron under their cloaks,
but the majority of married women by then were wearing skirts, with the apron
as an undergarment. According to Fritsch in the 1860s older girls merely wore a
second rather longer apron over the first, and only adopted a skirt at marriage.
Until recently, in most parts of the western Transkei, little girls wore aprons
as their main if not only garment, while older girls, except in the case of a dance
as mentioned above, and married women, wore them as an undergarment; but it
is unlikely that many do so today. According to Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964),
however, a woman in the homestead was still (1950) considered dressed if wearing
only an apron. In eastern Pondoland and East Griqualand, however, although up
to 1955 aprons were still worn by girls of all ages (PI. 86: 5) —even under European-
style dresses (Pl. 86: 4)—unmarried mothers and divorcees (Xesibe), they had
ceased to be worn by married women.
PLATE 81
Mpondo garments.
1. itshali (top-wrap), hand-braided, black braid on white cotton, edged with blue and white beads
all round, 1 335 x 1 250 mm, Mpondo; Bizana, 1935 (FH, Hamilton-Welsh Collection 567).
2. umbhaco (cloth skirt), machine-braided, 1 755 x 1 265 mm, Mpondo; Mlengana, Libode,
1935 (FH, Hamilton-Welsh collection 566).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 537
538 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Cloaks
The Xhosa, Thembu and Fingo women’s cloak was more elaborately made
than the men’s (Pls 70: 1; 71: 4). In the best examples the skin was cut into three
or four wedge-shaped pieces, so that when joined together they made a full and
almost circular cloak, narrow at the shoulders and flaring widely at the bottom,
which might be at the calves or the ankles (Fig. 18). It was fastened at the neck,
Fig.18. Diagram of cut of Xhosa woman’s cloak, taken from BM 4591 ‘Kaffir woman’s kaross
or cloak, 1867’. Length at centre 1 450 mm.
and had no collar. Attached to the back of the neck and hanging the full length
of the cloak or sometimes below, was a loose flap of skin, isibhaca (P1. 70: 1), from
8 to 30 cm wide, sometimes straight, and sometimes narrowing from the top, and
composed of narrow longitudinal strips sewn together. It was worn with the hair
outward and ornamented, after they had become available, with as many brass
buttons in longitudinal rows as the owner could afford. It was considered smart to
have the centre row of rounded, and the other rows of flat buttons. According to
Barrow in 1797, it was only the royal women who wore this flap, but this is not
confirmed. It must, however, have been confined to the well-to-do. Attached to
each shoulder by thongs on which copper or iron beads were strung was a whole
wild-cat skin, which was a handkerchief as well as an ornament. Attached to the
back of the neck, by a thong threaded with brass rings, was a tortoise shell
(Pls 70: 1; 109: 2) containing cosmetics and a piece of skin with which to apply them.
Later in the century Xhosa and Fingo attached a large number of fine steel chains
as an ornament to the cloak, and according to Angas it was this, in addition to
greater fullness, that distinguished them from those of the Mpondo. Bain described
the Mpondo article as a ‘scanty unadorned cloak’.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 539
It would seem, however, though this is not apparent from the vocabulary but
is confirmed by Le Vaillant, that the word cloak or Kaross was used by early writers
to indicate two different garments—the cloak proper (Fig. 19), a stiff, well-shaped
Fig. 19. Xhosa woman’s cloak. From Angas 1849.
and often very handsome outer garment (PI. 71: 4) as described above, and a plain,
straight wrap, such as is still worn by some individuals in the east, which covered
the body very adequately from armpits to shins. It might be tied under the chin,
but more commonly went under the armpits where it was tucked in, overlapping
at the top. It sometimes hung loose and was, according to Von Winkelman, shorter
in the front than at the back, and sometimes was secured round the waist by a thong
(Pls 68: 2; 70: 5; 72: 2,3). In the latter case the upper half might be allowed to drop
down over the lower, leaving the top of the body bare, and forming a sort of double
skirt. This description by Van der Kemp is the only written description that fits the
rather rough figures drawn or published before 1800. A nursing mother used this
garment to cover and support the baby on her back. W. Shaw called it a ‘skin
underwrapper and Dohne stated that the heavy cloak might be worn over it.
There is unfortunately no further description of the skin cloaks of the women
of Pondoland or the eastern immigrant peoples, whose clothing, according to
Angas, ‘differed greatly’ from that of the Xhosa, but it seems likely that they may
540 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
have been similar to the second, less elaborate, type of cloak worn by Xhosa
women. According to Smith, when a Mpondo woman got a new cloak she used the
old one as a ‘petticoat’.
Skirts
With the exception of Beutler (1752), who mentions ‘een onderrok’, the early
authors do not record skirts among the women’s wear. A skirt proper, worn over
the apron, is only mentioned regularly after 1820. From about 1820 onwards,
however, Xhosa, Thembu and Fingo women wore a skin skirt fastened at the waist
and hanging to just below the knees. It seems from that time on to have taken the
place of the second cloak, which was tied at the waist and doubled over. By the
second quarter of the century a skirt seems to have been generally worn throughout
the area. This garment may have been adopted as a result of contact with Fingo
and Europeans.
Judging from one print, the Fingo skirts were a good deal fuller than the others
(Shaw & Van Warmelo 1972, pl. 10: 2), possibly after the Natal style, but that is
the only noticeable difference. There seem to have been two sorts: a slightly flaring
single skirt, which may have been joined down the front or may have wrapped right
over, and a double skirt open down the front, the doubling being achieved by tying
the single thickness at the waist and allowing the upper half to fall over the lower
one (Pls 70: 5; 72: 2, 3). This was an extension of the light cloak so used. It could
also, according to Fritsch, be worn single, fastened round the waist or under the
arms. The skirts for better wear were ornamented round the edge and over the
surface with bits of shell, beads or brass buttons (Pl. 72: 2).
For the eastern tribes in the early years there is little record. According to the
survivors of the Grosvenor, the Mpondo women wore only a wide-meshed net
round the middle and reaching half-way down their thighs. It seems unlikely that
this really was a net, and it was probably a fringe of cords—it may even have been
a fringe apron. Fynn, in 1824, saw old women wearing a skin round the hips and
to the knees or further, and Smith, in 1830, confirms this. The next record is that
of Angas, 20 years later (Pl. 73: 2). He painted a Mpondo woman wearing the short
skin skirt composed of two large aprons, back and front, such as was worn,
sometimes with the addition of a second in front, by the Bhaca in ceremonial dress
until recently (Pl. 88: 3) and was until comparatively recently worn by Bhaca and
Xesibe women in ordinary dress (PI. 87: 3, 4). It is a question whether Angas, who
seems to have been an accurate observer, had for once made a mistake in the
identity and this really was a Bhaca woman. According to Poto Ndamase and
Hunter, the Mpondo women wore long skin skirts. Cripps, however, writing in
1877 of a journey taken at that time, describes the skirts of both Mpondo and
Xesibe in practically identical terms, that is, ‘a short leather kilt’ bordered with a
fringe of leather strips or of strings, and ornamented with beads and brass nail-
heads. Bhaca women’s skirts were made of sheep- or goatskin (see Pl. 95: 1).
The Fingo were the first to adopt cotton blanketing as a skirt material,
probably about 1860, and by the end of the century all the western tribes were using
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 541
it. The style was the same as before with a wide wrap-over, or an opening down
the front, or closed down the front, and the skirts were ornamented with a strip
of hide round the hem, conventional designs in black piping, beads, or white
shirt-buttons (PI. 83: 1, 2). In 1880 many Xhosa and Thembu were still wearing
skin skirts, and a few Thembu at Qamata still did so as late as 1948, but these were
modelled on the pattern of the full cloth skirts. In many areas Xhosa, Thembu and
Tshezi women who owned skin skirts wore them on festive occasions (PI. 105: 4),
and the Thembu of Herschel wore them in mourning as late as 1961. The eastern
tribes were the last to discard skin for ordinary wear (PI. 82: 1) and some individuals
among the Xesibe, and the Mpondo of Bizana were still wearing it in 1955. The
Hlubi of Herschel in 1961 were wearing goatskin skirts decorated with brass
buttons, shirt buttons and beads.
Skirts of European style were worn with blouse and head-cloth by Mission
converts from about the middle of the nineteenth century.
Latterly the skirt, umbhaco, most commonly worn by married women who
have not adopted western dress, among Fingo, Xhosa, Thembu, Bomvana, Tshez1i,
Mpondomise and Western Mpondo, has been made of the fabric known to the
trade as unbleached cotton- or ‘Kaffir’-sheeting, is ankle length, cut so as to fit the
waist, flaring widely at the hem and particularly at the back, in the style that was
worn in Europe at the end of the Victorian era. Round the hem are as many rows
of 3 cm wide black llama braid as the owner can afford (Pls 77: 1; 84: 1, 2). The
skirts are made by people with sewing machines. Old skirts worn as working dress
are often worn much shorter (PI. 76: 5).
In eastern Pondoland the skirts were less full, and reached only to the calves.
They were wrapped round almost like a loin-cloth (Pl. 86: 1). Girls had a knee-
length skirt (Pl. 87: 2) or tight loin-cloth, and for festive wear one that was heavily
ornamented with small beads.
Xesibe skirts seen in 1948 consisted of three pieces, one front and two back,
of a thinner material than blanket or sheeting. The two back pieces hung open to
show the front piece (PI. 87: 3, 4). In 1955, Xesibe women at Gugweni store said
that there were four pieces, two in front, umtshayelo and isikhwehle, one at the
back, isikhwehle, and one all round, isitshuba. They were coloured brown with
grease, and were edged with light-blue and white beads. They were customarily
worn just below the knees (PI. 87: 4), but might reach the ankle (PI. 87: 3).
Bhaca women in 1948 wore a similar skirt, but with only one back piece made
of cotton blanket or salempore cloth. It reached almost to the ankles (PI. 88: 2).
For certain dances women of the west liked to have a long skin skirt, isikhaka,
made on the same pattern as the cotton skirts (PI. 105: 4). Even in the 1970s it was
not every woman that had one. According to Cook the Bomvana left the hair on
and wore it inside. According to informants at Langa and African Explosives,
Eastern Mpondo women wore this skin skirt too, but this is not confirmed and in
fact in 1955 Eastern Mpondo informants said skin skirts were not worn.
The equivalent amongst the Bhaca was the short three-piece goatskin skirt
previously mentioned (PI. 95: 1). Amongst the Xesibe, it was a short two-piece skirt
named isikhakha.
542 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Latterly some women of the west, and nearly all women of the east whose
skirts were shorter, wore an underskirt or a petticoat. According to Hamilton-
Welsh (Louw 1964) this was always of skin, but other informants stated that it was
of cloth.
It will be noted that there are several terms in the vocabulary, collected in
1948, that do not occur in the Dictionary. It is obvious that there must have been
different names for different styles of garment, and that the Dictionary list was not
complete, and the list may not be entirely complete now.
Breast-cloths
There is no mention of this garment until the beginning of the nineteenth
century, but it appears in one of Schumacher’s drawings before then.
The early descriptions state, in so many words, that Xhosa and Mpondo
women wore nothing but a small apron under their cloaks, but from the nineteenth
century, with the exception of unmarried girls and old women, a covering, ince-
betha, has always been worn over the breasts by all in the west (Pls 70: 1, 4;
74: 4). Baines, writing in 1842, indicated that this was at the insistence of the
magistrates, but there is no confirmation of this. The covering consisted of a piece
of skin, generally one of the internal membranes of cattle, or of fabric, tied at the
back by a string that passed under the arms. Alberti gives the impression that it
was tied from all four corners, because he speaks of it supporting and even raising
the bust whereas the cloak covering depressed it. In the early days it appears to
have taken the form either of a straight piece of skin wrapped round the body and
tied at the back, or of a short straight or forked flap of skin tied by thongs or cords
round the back. For better wear it was ornamented with brass buttons, or beads,
or strings of beads or cords of twisted bark (Pls 70: 5; 74: 4).
Latterly women of the west, including the Vundla in Lesotho, wore for better
occasions a straight piece of cloth tied with cords and hanging almost to their knees.
According to Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964), confirmed by Langa informants and
Gitywa (1978), it was only worn when pregnant, but other informants denied this.
It was usually ornamented with geometrical patterns in narrow braid and beads and
was usually white (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 43: 7; present paper,
Pl. 83: 4), in contrast to the red clothing. For dancing attire the older type of skin
flap with strings of beads, lengthened until they almost reached the knees, was worn
(Pls 80: 6; 96: 2). The beads were usually white with some beads of a contrasting
colour to make a stripe or a V. The Thembu of Herschel, however, used only blue.
PLATE 82
Mpondo and Thembu skirts; Mpondomise dolls.
. isikhaka (skin skirt), beaded, Mpondo; Bizana, 1911 (FH, Hamilton-Welsh collection 481).
2. isikhaka, leather sheepskin skirt of isangoma (diviner), unusual since more often of goatskin,
Thembu; Nqamakwe, 1940 (FH, Hamilton-Welsh collection 629).
3. Dolls made of maize cobs, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1945 (Alb. CIII).
me
543
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
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544 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
The Vundla used blue and black or white. For ordinary attire women wrapped a
cloth right round the upper part of the body and might leave it off at home
(Pls’80: 2:84: 15 88:2).
In the east the only record is Angas’ sketch of a Mpondo woman, wearing no
breast-cloth at all, thereby in part confirming Kay’s statement that women went
naked. Latterly the usual form for both ordinary and festive wear was a wide piece
of cloth that was wrapped round the body under the arms and tucked in, or tied
in front, falling almost to the knees, like an upper garment (PI. 86: 1). For greater
security the Mpondo wore a leather belt over it above the breasts and often another
belt round the waist. For festive wear the belt was sometimes beaded as was the
bottom of the cloth. For Bhaca festive wear a girdle of strings of beads was passed
round the body over the cloth (PI. 88: 3). According to Hammond-Tooke, Bhaca
women, on formal occasions, tied the breast-cloth behind the neck and let it hang
down in front. At home they left the breasts bare.
A towel or towelling was often used as a breast-cloth, particularly in the east.
Belts
Most of the belts worn were purely ornamental, and will be described later
(see Girdles, p. 676).
Women used a thong to bind the light cloak round the waist, so that the upper
part could support a child or, if not holding a child, could be flung back and hang
down.
As previously mentioned, modern Mpondo secured the breast-cloth above the
breasts with a store-bought leather belt (Pl. 86: 1), and also often had a girdle to
secure the skirt.
A special type of belt said to have been worn by women of all the tribes to
support the stomach before or after a confinement was ibhanti womdlezana. It was
made of sedge or grass (imizi, ingqgombo, or incuma) and was 10-12 cm wide.
Baby-slings
The Cape Nguni type of baby-sling, imbeleko, in which the child is strapped
to its mother’s back, might really be described as a shawl. The sling is fastened
round the mother’s waist, and again round her body under the arms and over the
ALANIOE, (38)
Fingo, Mpondomise and Xhosa garments.
1. umbhaco (cloth skirt), heavily buttoned, ochred, Fingo; Qamata, Cofimvaba, 1941 (FH,
Hamilton-Welsh collection 542).
2. umbhaco (cloth skirt), similar to foregoing, upper part raised to show nether part, which only
has some braiding and beads along edge, Fingo; Cofimvaba, 1941 (FH, Hamilton-Welsh
collection 541).
. Loin-cloth for bridegroom, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1937 (SAM-—5860).
. Braid as ornament on incebetha, Xhosa; East London, 1965 (EL 4391).
. Braid as ornament on ibayi, Xhosa; East London, 1965 (EL 4390).
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THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 545
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546 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
breasts, to form a sling for the child. Originally it was made from the skin of a goat
that was slaughtered for the baby a few days after the mother had emerged from
the seclusion following her confinement. It is still the custom among the Cape
Nguni to slaughter a goat, though it is said that the custom no longer has any
significance, and many people still use the goatskin as a sling. Some Bhaca inform-
ants, however, stated that the skin was used latterly only as a mat for the baby to
sleep on in the hut, and that the baby was carried in a cloth sling. Probably this
latter arrangement was widespread. The baby has a second support on its mother’s
back from her cloak—the light skin garment of the old days (Pl. 71: 1), or the
modern cloth wrap—which is also secured at waist and chest.
Wood and Ratzel alleged that another type of sling was used as well— Ratzel
possibly on the information of Wood. This was a narrow and heavily beaded skin
bag, which Wood stated was used by wives of chiefs and wealthy men, in preference
to the sling described above. What he describes and depicts is in fact one of the
beaded caps worn by women, as described below (p. 550) (PI. 69: 5, 6). Possibly
he was given the information; possibly on seeing the object, and many must have
been taken home by British soldiers after the frontier wars, he noticed its likeness
to the well-known cradle in which a North-American Indian papoose was carried,
and imagined the purpose to be the same.
At all events no other reference to such objects has been found, and since they
would have been very striking, it seems unlikely that men like Von Winkelman,
Alberti, Kay or Dohne would have failed to mention them, or Ons and Baines
to paint them. Moreover, except for the new-born, the bag would have been too
small.
Sandals
Women might wear sandals but had less occasion than men to do so.
Hair-style and head-dresses
According to Le Vaillant, Xhosa women, like men, never covered the head.
Von Winkelman, although he stated that women nearly always wore a cap,
described the Xhosa women’s hair-style as being like the men’s, small tight curls
all over the head, and this style, as well as that of plaits or twists hanging just below
the ears, is shown in pictures up to about 1850 (Pl. 70: 4, 5). The earliest mention
of Xhosa or Thembu dress, however, states that women were distinguished from
men by wearing caps (PI. 68: 2) and several later authors state that married Xhosa
PLATE 84
Mpondomise women’s clothing.
1. Mpondomise woman; Tsolo, 1955.
2. Woman’s skirt, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1938 (SAM-—5911).
3. Woman’s apron, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1938 (SAM-5510).
4. Woman’s cloak, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1938 (SAM-—S5910).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 547
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548 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
and Thembu women kept their hair short and plain and never went uncovered, a
rule that remained until modern times.
In the west women wore on their heads either a skin wrap (PI. 68: 4) or a very
handsome high cap (Pls 70: 1; 71: 4). In the east no caps appear to have been worn,
and the hair was accordingly fancily dressed (Pl. 73: 2).
Mpondo women’s hair-style when first described appears to have been similar
to what the Bhaca style was up to about 1958, that is, a mop of thin twists, hanging
down almost to the shoulders at the back, and in front arranged over a padded
frame to form a thick fringe almost to the eyes (PI. 73: 2). Smith described it as
‘plastered down like a bowl’. It was ochred red in the front and the back was
blackened with a mixture of charcoal and fat. This style appears to have lasted till
the beginning of the twentieth century, but latterly Mpondo women did not use
the frame, but took the hair back off the forehead. Only girls and a very few
married women used red ochre. The hair was held off the face by a cloth put on
like a turban (Pl. 85: 4), or by a beaded head-ring (Pls 85: 3; 86: 1), one of which
all married women wore. Girls started plaiting the hair when quite young, and
when the plaits were a certain length they undid them and twisted the hair into
two-strand twists with grass. They had to be redone once a month. Eventually in
some cases women ended up with tresses to their waists (PI. 85: 5), a style recorded
as early as the 1830s, but more often the hair reached just above the shoulders
(el, 858 3).
The earliest description of Mpondomise women’s hair-style is in 1862, when
it was like the modern Mpondo style just described.
There is no early description of the styles adopted by Xesibe and Bhaca
women. Latterly they had the same short mop of tresses as the early Mpondo but
whereas both either took the hair to the side of the face, or had a thick fringe on
the forehead, Xesibe let it hang flat (Pl. 87: 1, 5) and Bhaca draped it over a thick
frame that was made of cloth stuffed with horse manure or wool (Pl. 88: 4, 5).
The women’s head-coverings were numerous and sometimes elaborate. Only
in the west were they an essential part of dress; in the east and among the eastern
immigrant tribes, where hair-styles were more elaborate, only a small turban, if
anything, was worn.
The general term for a head-cloth is ighiya, though idukwe (from Afrikaans
doek) is also used, and most of the terms in the vocabulary now indicate, and
PLATE 835
Mpondo dress and hair-style.
. Mpondo man; Nkunzimbini, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Mpondo boy; Port St. Johns, 1948.
Mpondo woman; Lughoghweni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Mpondo woman; Lughoghweni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
Mpondo woman; Lughoghweni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Mpondo men; Lughoghweni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Mpondo man with whip and dog; Mgwenyana, Libode, 1958.
. Mpondo man; Mbotyi, Lusikisiki, 1948.
COIDAKARWNE
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 549
550 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
probably always did so, ways of tying it. Unfortunately there is no description of
the caps mentioned in 1647, but Lichtenstein and Collins describe and Daniell
depicts a leather head-wrap of bushbuck skin, about 180 cm long and 45 cm wide,
which was wound round the head to cover it entirely. The ends were tucked in,
and sometimes the centre part was sewn into shape. A tassel of beads, or leather
cords with copper on them, was fastened to the top, and hung down towards and
sometimes over the forehead. This must surely have been the original ighiya
(Pl. 68: 4). In the Gordon (or Schumacher) drawings this head-wrap has four long
pieces hanging down, two in front and two at the back (Pl. 68: 2). According to
Hammond-Tooke, Bhaca women, as late as 1962, still wore a goatskin head-wrap,
as illustrated by Kohler (1933, frontispiece and pl. 11).
The most important cap of Xhosa and Thembu women and one that caught
the eye of all travellers, was the umnqwazi, a carefully made cap, usually of
antelope skin, and preferably of that of the blue duiker (Cephalophalus monticola).
It may have been a fashion change from the head-covering described above.
Several wedge-shaped pieces of skin were sewn together into a bag, to fit the head
at the base, and narrowing to the top where it was cut off straight and sewn
together. Accounts vary as to whether the hair was removed from the dressed skin,
or left on and worn on the inside or the outside. Of the two specimens at the South
African Museum (PI. 69: 5, 6) one has the hair removed, and the other has it on
the inside, which, considering the beading, seems the most likely place for it. The
cap was about 45 cm long and when worn was folded so that the back came forward
to become the upper part and lie flat on the head. At first it must have been worn
plain, or decorated with shells, polished copper, or a few beads. Later on, when
more beads were available, those people who could afford it covered the whole of
the back—that is, the part that showed when the cap was folded forward—with
beads, put.on in rows (Pls 70: 1; 71: 4). The now stiffened upper part lay flat no
longer but made a ridged fold. The background was usually of white beads, and
stripes of another colour, which varied according to fashion, ran lengthwise. In the
early nineteenth century the fashionable colours were light blue and white; later
on, black and white. To the open base of the cap were attached four flaps of the
same skin, 60 cm or more long, about 8—10 cm wide at the top, and narrowing
down. In the early accounts these are often said to have hung loose to the
shoulders.
PLATE 86
Mpondo dress, flute.
=
. Mpondo women at a dance; Tshonya, Lusikisiki, 1948.
2. impempe (herd-boy’s double flute), 87 and 101 mm, tied with plastic-sheathed copper wire,
Mpondo; Ntonjane, Mqanduli, 1966 (EL 4905).
. Young Mpondo men dancing; Tshonya, Lusikisiki, 1948.
4. Mpondo girls with beadwork aprons worn under dresses; Lusikisiki, 1951 (photo
Mrs E. Raath).
5. Mpondo girls; Mt. Frere, 1948.
Oo
551
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
Spy ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
According to Phillips the Thembu had a much better style to their caps than
the Xhosa in that they had the bands bound round the head like a turban, and this
appears to have been the universal fashion later on. In that case the flap of the cap
itself was secured under the binding. A later description mentions only one piece
bound round the head. The pieces that formed the turban sometimes had the hair
left on and worn on the outside for decorative effect.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century this cap is described as if it were
generally worn, but by 1837 it is described as ‘full dress’ only, by 1853 as a royal
ornament with the flaps tipped with leopard skin, by 1880 as dancing equipment,
and thereafter not at all. It was evidently gradually going out of use during the
century, and it was not possible in 1948 to find anyone who had ever seen it or heard
of it.
The place of these two head-coverings was taken first by brightly coloured
handkerchiefs, first recorded in 1827, or squares of spotted material (Pl. 72: 3),
mentioned in the west as early as 1844. These are still worn at dances or parties
by the younger women in the west, western and eastern Pondoland (PI. 85: 4) and
among the Hlubi. Later, other materials became popular. Older women in the west
wear a plain or brocaded black silk, poplin or alpaca head-cloth (Pls 76: 1, 3;
78: 3). The Thembu of Herschel and the Vundla of Quthing built their head-cloths
up into enormous shapes (PI. 79: 2) and the Thembu and Mpondomise sometimes
had very bright colours. If not, they tended to favour brown. For ordinary
occasions all the women of the west wear plain black cashmere, tied in a variety
of styles (Pls 75: 5; 76: 1: 78: 5; 79: 1; 80: 1, 2), that for a newly manicdjywoman
almost covering her face. Increasingly, squares of melton cloth have been used, of
various shades, preference for which varied in different districts. They were
decorated round the edges with a darning stitch in wool. Hlubi women sometimes
wore grass hats.
In eastern Pondoland, however, festive or everyday wear for married women
had to be a ring, either of beadwork or of plain cloth, light or dark (Pl. 86: 1).
Xesibe and Bhaca used the black head-cloth, usually as a narrow turban over their
locks for everyday wear (Pls 87: 1, 5; 88: 2, 5), and the Bhaca removed it and wore
ornaments for ceremonial occasions (PI. 88: 4).
None of the early writers reported seeing hats worn, but Von Winkelman saw
women copy hats in basketwork, so the shape must have been known at least at
the end of the eighteenth century.
PLATE 87
Xesibe women’s dress.
. Xesibe woman; Elubaleko, Mt. Ayliff, 1948.
. Xesibe girl; Elubaleko, Mt. Ayliff, 1948.
. Xesibe woman; Elubaleko, Mt. Ayliff, 1948.
. Belt and skirt, no scale, Xesibe; Mt. Ayliff, 1944 (EL 1009a, 1024, 1010).
. Xesibe woman; Elubaleko, Mt. Ayliff, 1948.
A BWN PR
553
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
os
554 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
CHILDREN AND YOUNGSTERS
Children, after leaving their mother’s shawl, normally went naked, except for
a small cloak worn against inclement weather.
For boys, as soon as they started to herd, this cloak was made of buck-, calf-
or, later, sheepskin (Pl. 78: 2). Small Thembu and Hlubi boys in Herschel district
were seen wearing a kilt of beads threaded on sinew. Only after circumcision did
boys adopt grown-up dress.
Small girls, however, very soon began to wear a small apron, to which, in later
times, a short skirt was added when they got older. Their short straight cloak was
made of skin.
There is no specific mention in the early literature of the skirts worn by older
unmarried girls, except that Mpondo girls wore none, but it is probable that they
were shorter versions of those of their mothers.
All these garments were ornamented as profusely as availability and the means
and fantasy of the owner allowed, with bits of metal, shells, brass buttons or beads.
Latterly, among the Fingo and Hlubi, skirts have been made of cotton blan-
keting, joined up the front, tied with a draw-thread at the waist, and decorated with
beads and shirt-buttons (Pl. 80: 5). Xhosa, Thembu and Bomvana girls wore very
short skirts of the same material and pattern as those of their mothers, generally
without the braid or with black ‘piping’ embroidery for best. Mpondomise and
Western Mpondo girls wore a loin-cloth (Pl. 105: 3) or a slightly longer skirt with
braid. Little Thembu and Hlubi girls in the Herschel district where Sotho influence
is strong wore ingubula, a fringed skirt (Sotho thethana) of cords of Gazania fibre
dyed with ochre and beaded. One Hlubi girl was seen wearing the Sotho skin skirt,
long at the back and short at the front.
In the eastern part of the area, unmarried girls often wore a short loin-cloth
of sheeting, particularly for dances.
Bhaca girls wore a very short tight square skirt of salempore cloth, open in
front, over their aprons (Pl. 88: 1).
Children did not normally cover their heads, except for ornament. Children
of all tribes may wear the hair as it grows, or may shave all but a small tuft on the
crown. Bhaca girls used to have the head shaved until betrothed.
At some period, which it has not been possible to date, herd-boys adopted
the habit of wearing a boater-shaped straw hat (Pl. 78: 4) that they made
themselves out of umsingizane grass. Boys of all the tribes except the Xhosa
did this, and sometimes their elder brothers borrowed the hats for decoration.
MOURNING
Early accounts of mourning practices of the Xhosa, Thembu and Mpondo
show them to have been substantially the same. Not only did they destroy or bury
the clothing of the deceased, but also, widowed persons of either sex destroyed (or
according to Dohne, if it was new, exchanged) their clothing after a period of
mourning seclusion, from which women returned clad only in a covering of woven
grass, and were provided with new clothing from cattle slaughtered for the
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 555
occasion. Alberti implies that for men there were special garments and that these
had to wear out before ordinary clothing was resumed.
An early account (1687) states that when the Xhosa chief died the men
discarded their caps for a year. Probably this meant that they shaved off their
hair-style (see p. 529), because men and women throughout the area appear to have
shaved their heads in mourning and still do so.
Modern Bomvana, Thembu, Xesibe and Mpondo practice for widows and
others in mourning was to wear new, unochred clothing and no braid or other
ornaments. If ornaments were impossible to remove, Bhaca covered them with a
cloth. Nor did they use ochre on their skins. Makalima mentions that in addition
they fastened the cloak in a certain way and pulled the head-cloth over the face.
Among the Xhosa of the Ciskei it was said that nowadays men would just shave
their heads. In the case of the death of a chief the whole tribe went into mourning
Gee pp: 530; 708).
MODERN TIMES
No part of Cape Nguni material culture has shown as great change as clothing
has. Even the local ‘traditional’ styles that developed used exclusively store-bought
materials.
As early as 1802 it was reported that actual European garments were being
worn, no doubt by men in the first place. The majority of individuals in Transkei
and Ciskei wear European-style dress today. According to informants in 1955 all
Hlubi men and women with the exception of one small group in the Herschel
district wore European-style clothing. Bhaca women changed from the style
described above to long dresses of blue ‘German print’ in 1961. Among the
traditionalists, however, the garments described above are still worn, even if only
on festive occasions, but since the middle of the last century, imported woven
fabrics, notably woollen blankets (Pl. 80: 3), cotton blanketing and sheeting,
melton cloth, cashmere and towelling, and in East Griqualand salempore cloth
(Pl. 88: 2) have gradually taken the place of skin as the clothing material. The style
has accordingly altered somewhat. There were also changes of fashion in clothing
made of the new materials. The different cloths and qualities that were favoured
by the different groups and in different areas would be an interesting topic for
study.
Skin garments survived in some localities for special occasions as late as 1985
(J. Hodgson pers. comm.) and more rarely for daily wear—for example the
Thembu women of the Qamata area, about 1940-1950, habitually wore long skin
skirts while the Xhosa and Thembu of Herschel wore them for funerals as late as
1961.
Neither sex normally wears shoes unless in European dress.
The cloak was probably the first of the garments of either sex to be altered
by contact with Europeans, and the nearer the Colony the earlier. By 1835 men,
and one author suggests that it was the lower ranks first, began to use woollen
blankets as cloaks (Pls 72: 1; 92: 3) and women followed suit a little later for all
556 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
but festive occasions. By the 1850s most of the men even of the eastern tribes were
wearing blankets exclusively, but the women’s cloak was still described in 1882.
According to Soga the flap down the back was still an essential for festive occasions
as late as 1931, but this is unconfirmed. The South African Museum has, however,
a short beadwork flap (SAM-—6640), described as a cloak ornament, of the period
about 1870-1890.
Latterly, when in traditional dress, men have used both cotton and woollen
blankets, but more often woollen (Pl. 80: 3). There are different names for
different sorts of blanket. In the west the blankets are large; in east Pondoland men
seem to favour a narrow blanket with a stripe at each end and wear it lengthwise.
It is often beaded round the edge.
In most localities women’s entire dress was of the unbleached cotton sheeting
or twill, ibayi (Pls 77: 1; 80: 1; 81: 1, 2), or cotton blanketing. The cloth was bought
white, and was coloured or not by the wearers. Fingo, Mpondo, Mpondomise and
Xesibe women’s best cloaks (Pls 81: 1; 84: 4) were usually ornamented with beads,
buttons, black braid, black cloth appliqué or all four. There are certain prescribed
ways of tying the knot. The Hlubi near the border wore the same gaily coloured
blankets as the South Sotho.
Thembu in the Herschel area in 1961 were wearing a red-ochred blanket with
a black stripe, and they and the Vundla of Lesotho wore a wrap, umgcadu, of
sheeting or blanket.
Most garments tend to have some form of ornamentation in addition to the
colour. The most elaborate is in the west where, particularly among the Fingo, girls’
and women’s skirts are ornamented with braid, black piping, strips of goatskin,
white buttons and beads. In the east, ornamentation is nearly always with beads,
very often just a single row round the edge of the garment.
Though there is nowadays little difference in the types of garment worn by
members of the different tribes, there are, as there always have been, considerable
differences in form and style, not only between groups, but within them for
different regions and for different classes and conditions of person. Ornamenta-
tion, for example, differed not only from group to group, but according to the age
and personal state of the individual. (For a detailed discussion of changes in style
of dress according to age and status, see Bigalke 1972.) To take one small example,
Fingo marriageable girls in 1955 had strips of goatskin under each strip of braid.
The colour of clothing throughout the Cape Nguni was black, brown or red
for the skin clothing, and red for the cotton clothing, except in East Griqualand,
PLATE 88
Bhaca women’s dress.
. Bhaca girl; near Mt. Frere, 1948.
. Bhaca woman with hoe; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
. Bhaca woman in dancing dress; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
. Bhaca woman in dancing dress; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
. Bhaca woman; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
nNBWN rR
55d
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
558 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
where it was brown, and among the Vundla, where it was black. It would seem
possible that red became predominant when red ochre, which is beaten into the
fabric to give the colour, began to be imported by European traders. Hitherto such
ochre as was available locally had been reserved for the body. (The term ‘Reds’
was used until recently for those people who wore traditional clothing.) According
to Bomvana informants, and it seems possible that this is the same for all in the
west, it is only women and young men who redden their clothing. Both sections
of the Mpondo, however, abandoned red at the beginning of this century, in
mourning for their respective chiefs, and the mourning order was never rescinded.
So the Mpondo continued to wear white until quite recently when it became
fashionable in eastern and in some parts of western Pondoland to dye the fabric
pale blue with washing blue, though still calling it ‘white’. Informants stated that
a man would start to wear the blue sometime after he was married, and his wife
would then do so too. Red is sometimes seen now in east Pondoland, worn by
unmarried or recently married people. Towards the Natal border no blue was seen,
but white, red and a good deal of black.
The Immigrant Tribes did not originally use red. The Fingo to a large extent
adopted the practice with the style of clothing of the Xhosa, but those in the east
did not adopt it.
In 1968-70, in both east and west Pondoland, very little blued or red-ochred
cloth was seen. Instead, store-bought modern clothing and store-bought materials,
such as brightly striped towelling for wraps or head-dresses, were being worn. An
enterprising trader had introduced blankets of the sort worn in Lesotho, but in
shades of blue.
COSTUME AND INSIGNIA
SOURCES
1593 Lavanha (1597) p. 256 North of Umzimvubu R. (?Xhosa):
khwetha dress
‘. .. Vinhao entre estes barbaros alguns mancebos vestidos de esteiras de
Tabua, que he traje dos mocos nobres, em quanto nao trazem armas, nem se
ajuntaO com as mulheres, dos quaes exercicios nao usaO senao de vinte e dous
annos por diante.’
(p. 317. ‘.. . Among these barbarians were some youths dressed in reeds
fashioned like mats, which is the attire of a young noble before he bears arms or
has female associates, which is generally at the age of twenty-two and upwards.’)
1622 Almada (1625) p. 24 South of Umzimvubu R. (?Xhosa):
khwetha costume
‘E tem por costume, que os filhos sendo de dez annos os botao para 0 mato,
& se vestem de humas folhas de arvore como palmeyra, da cintura para bayxo, &
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 559
se untao com cinza ficando cayados, os quaes se ajuntad todos, & nao chega6 a
povoado, porque 1a aos matos lhes levaO as mays de comer.’
(pp. 92—93. ‘It is their custom when their sons are ten years old to turn them
into the woods; they clothe themselves from the waist downwards with the leaves
of a tree like the palm, and rub themselves with ashes till they look as if they were
painted. They all assemble in a body, but do not come to the kraal, their mothers
taking them food.’)
1776-7 Gordon (1776-95) Xhosa: leopard skin on stick
Figure by J. Schumacher.
1788 Von Winkelman (1788-9) pp. 80, 89 Xhosa: insignia, initiation
p. 80 Xhosa: declaration of war
‘Die Art wie ein Kraal dem andern den Krieg ankundigt, soll nach wieder-
holter Versicherung folgende seijn: Ein Kaffer wird mit einem Pfahl und einem
kleinen Fell in den Kraal gesendet, den man bekriegen will. Er befestigt solchen
in die Erde und hangt das Fell darauf. Am folgenden Morgen begibt sich dieser
Herold wieder dahin und sieht, ob der Pfahl umgeschlagen ist oder noch steht. Im
ersten Fall ists ein Zeichen, dass der Kraal oder der Hauptmann mit dieser
Krieg-Erklarung zufrieden ist, im andern hingegen hat der Kriegsbeschliessende
Kraal von seinem Feinde Friedensunterhandlungen zu erwarten.’
p. 89 Xhosa: white clay, khwetha dress
‘Nun wird weisse Tonerde herbeigebracht— Kalibassen und Kafferk6orbe mit
Wasser angefillt, die Erde etwas zahe darinnen angemacht, und jeder Jiingling
vom Scheitel bis zur Fusszahe tber damit bestrichen. .. .
Nun erscheint der Capitain wieder bei ihnen, der indessen eine Art von Halb
Schirzen verfertigen lasst. Sie bestehen aus sehr harten, langen und schmalen
spitzig Blattern eines palmartigen—sehr wenig bekannten Gewachses, welches
von Kaffern und Hottentotten Sintu genennt wird, und einen wilden sehr brauch-
baren Koffee ervor bringen soll. Diese Blatter werden in 4 Reihen schuppenweisse
uber einander gelegt und befestigt. Diese Vorderschitirzen legt ihnen der Capitain
um die Hifte, um das was dem Blick entzogen werden soll damit zu bedecken. Nun
vereinigen sie sich, reihen sich theils an einander, theils gehen sie allein, fiihren
lange Kiris in den Handen und erscheinen tanzend und mit Gesang in ihrem Kraal.
Die harten Blatter der Schiirze geben ein Gerausch durch jede Bewegung, und
besonders durchs hin und herfahren mit ihren St6cken. Nach diesem Fest der
Freude tiber Wiedergenesung und Mannbarkeit, legen sie ihre Schirzen ab,
bekommen andere Krossen, und ziehen blos tiber das mannliche Glied ein diinnes
ledernes Futteral.’
1797 Barrow (1806) p. 127 Xhosa: crane feathers, cows’ tails
‘Some few had a pair of the wings of the Numidian crane fastened one on each
side of the head by a leather thong; and others had cows’ tails bound to the leg a
little below the knee.’
560 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1800 Van der Kemp (1804) p. 439 Xhosa: white clay for khwetha
‘Their circumcision is performed on boys of about twelve or fourteen years
old,... . After he is painted white all over the body, he is driven into a river, and
there washed clean; his old garments etc. are thrown away, and new ones given
him.’
1802-6 Alberti (1810a) pp. 76, 158, 174, 189, 190 Xhosa: initiation, insignia
jon WO) Xhosa: white clay
‘De nieuw-besnedenen zijn verpligt, hun geheele ligchaam met witte klei te
smeeren en zulks dagelijks te herhalen tot op de volkomene genezing.’
p- 158 Xhosa: elephant tail
‘Behalve de Tanden, moeten ook de Ooren en de Staart van het gevelde dier
aan het Opperhoofd der Horde worden afgeleverd, en worden aan den ingang der
Veedrift aan eenen hoogen paal als zegeteekenen opgehangen.’
p. 174 Xhosa: crane feathers
Nothing more.
JO Iksy) Xhosa: leopard tails
‘Men zendt alzoo Gezanten, voorzien van eenen Leeuwen- of Tijgerstaart, als
kenteeken, dat zij inderdaad tot het overbrengen eener oorlogsverklaring gelastigd
Zipuieg
p. 190 Xhosa: crane feathers
‘Onder anderen deelt het Opperste Hoofd onder de mindere Hoofden,
Beambten en andere Personen meer, wier dapperheid hem bekend is, Kraan-
vederen uit, welke zij aan het hoofd vast hechten, om te gelijk tot een onder-
scheidend kenteeken der Aanvoerders van kleinere Afdeelingen te dienen. Dit
kenmerk is allezins vereerende. Hij echter, die het draagt, moet zich ook hetzelve
waardig gedragen, zich in den strijd altijd aan de spits eener Afdeeling vertoonen,
en verbeurt dadelijk zijn leven, wanneer hij lafhartig te rug deinst.’
(See also Alberti 1810b (English edition): pp. 40, 76, 83, 90.)
1803-6 Lichtenstein (1811) pp. 419, 477-478 Xhosa: khwetha, insignia
p. 419 Xhosa: white clay for khwetha
Nothing more.
p. 477 Xhosa: leopard skins, crane feathers
‘Ferner gehért dem Konig ein Antheil der Erndte, das Bruststiick von jedem
geschlachteten Ochsen und von jeder auf der Jagd erlegten Elenn-Antilope,
endlich alle Elephantenzahne, alle Pantherhaute und alle Kranichfedern.’
pp. 477-478 Xhosa: lion or leopard tails
‘Die Wohnung des KOonigs zeichnet sich durch nichts anders aus, als durch
einige LOwen- oder Pantherschwanze, die von dem Gipfel des Dachs herabhangen.
Seine Kriegesboten oder die welche einen Angeklagten vorladen, bekommen
einen dieser Schwanze in die Hande, um zu beweisen, dass sie im Namen des
Konigs reden.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 561
1809 Collins (1835) p. 26 Xhosa: chief’s dress
‘Hy [Gaika] is welgemaakt en heeft een mannelyk en schrander voorkomen;
en ofschoon hy niet onderscheiden was door eenig byzonder artikel van kleeding,
dan alleen door een tygervel en een ketting om den hals, vertoonde hy zich met
dettieheid; . >. .’
1810 Read (1813) p. 304 ‘Caffre’: crane feathers
Nothing more.
1812 Officer, 21st Lt. Dragoons (1822) pl. 8 Xhosa: chief’s dress
Figure.
1813 Campbell, J. (1815) p. 365 ‘Caffre’: initiation dress
Nothing more.
1819-20 Stocker pp. 51, 53 Xhosa: chiefs’ dress
‘Of skins, the lion’s and panther’s are mostly prized, and worn exclusively by
fie eMmiets: .. ...”
1821-4 Thompson, G. (1827) 2 pp. 354, 373 ‘Caffer’: initiation, insignia
p. 354 ‘Caffer’: full initiation dress
‘They are obliged to wear a sort of kilt, or petticoat of palm leaves, which is
made by fastening the leaves to a cord long enough to go five times round the body,
so that their loose ends reach about half-way down the thigh. This has a fantastic
but not unpleasing appearance, and makes an odd rustling noise while they are
dancing. They wear also a cap of the same materials, which is so contrived that the
leaves partly cover the face.’
pe o/3 Xhosa: elephant tail
‘We observed that Hinza’s hut was distinguished (according to the Caffer
fashion) by having the tail of an elephant fixed to a pole erected beside it.’
1819-29 Moodie, J. W. D. (1835) p. 277 Xhosa: khwetha dress and white clay
Nothing more.
c. 1824-5 Smith pp. 38, 81, 257, 272, 290, 397-398 Xhosa: insignia,
special dress
p. 38 Xhosa: chief’s dress, elephant and leopard tails
‘The Chiefs of the Ama Kosa are generally known from their subjects by being
dressed in Tiger-skin karosses, and their kraals are usually to be recognised by
some of the paraphernalia. Thus the cattlekraal is often ornamented with the tail
or ear of an elephant, which, when the animal is killed, is always carried to the king,
they have also sometimes the tail of a tiger drawn on a stick and placed by the door
or the thatch of their hut.’
pool Xhosa: elephant tail
“The Kaffirs hunt the elephant. . . . The tail is carried to the chief and is hung
up as a trophy at the gate of the cattle kraal or upon a tree in the kraal. The ears
and apex of the trunk are taken off the former sometimes put in the cattle kraal
or else buried the latter invariably buried.’
562 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pao Xhosa: bride’s dress
‘About mid-day they begin to dress and that consists in first smearing them-
selves all over with red clay from head to foot, which being dried, they then, by
the assistance of the old women, fix a small buckskin behind and another in front,
which just covers the hips. Both are very narrow and merely expose the outer parts
of the thighs and legs to the view of the spectators and from nothing being higher
than the loins, the whole is consequently exposed. Round the loins they place rows
of circular wire or other articles which they look upon as ornaments, and to the
hind head they fix the extremity of a hartebeest tail by a piece of rlem round the
head, and which hangs down on the nape of the neck as far as the shoulders.’
Oe ZZ Xhosa: bridegroom’s dress
‘. . . he puts nice beads on his neck and rings round his wrists a brass chain
round his waist and a brass circular chain ring to extremity of penis. He takes an
(orabai) skin and puts it over his shoulder then he takes a haartebeest tail and ties
it behind his neck like a pigtail with a string round his head.’
p. 290 Xhosa: wedding guests’ dress
‘The men are entirely naked during these performances with the exception of
the chiefs who generally though not invariably have the skin of a buck thrown over
their shoulders and hanging a short way down their back besides the tail of a
haartebeest fixed to the back of their head like the old English pig-tail. The women
are clothed as usual in their karosses and dress caps.’
pp. 397-398 Mpondo: doctor’s head-dress
‘Witches have large coils of entrails stuffed with fat round neck tangled hair
stuck over in all directions with gall bladders of animals. . . .’
1820-31 Steedman (1835) 1 frontispiece, pp. 24, 58, Cape Nguni:
242-243 special dress, insignia
frontispiece Cape Nguni: warriors’ costume
Figure.
p. 24 Xhosa: elephant tail
Nothing more.
p. 58 Xhosa: elephant tail
‘. . . Botuman’s cattle kraal, where his men were busily engaged in milking;
the place being distinguished by a lofty pole at the entrance, from which an
elephant’s tail was suspended,—the prevailing ensign of royalty throughout all the
border tribes.’
p. 58 Xhosa: crane feathers
‘Their heads were encircled with a band fancifully decorated with small beads
and quills of the porcupine, and assuming the appearance of a coronet, to each side
of which was attached the wing feathers of the blue crane.’
pp. 242-243 Mpondo: wedding guests
‘The men. . . assembled at the marriage . . . were for the most part smeared
over with red ochre, . . . . Their short woolly hair was rolled up into small round
knobs; a number of brass rings reached half-way up their arms; several strings of
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 563
little blue and white beads hung loosely round the neck, whilst a soft and flexible
ox-hide was thrown negligently over the shoulders, each person being more or less
decorated with ornaments according to his means.’
1826 Shrewsbury (1869) p. 238 Xhosa: wedding dance
Nothing more.
1827 Hallbeck & Fritsch (1826) p. 313 Thembu: war
‘The Tambookkies are less warlike than the Caffres,... .’
1825-9 Kay (1833) frontispiece, pp. 66, 76, 138 Mpondo: special dress,
insignia
frontispiece Mpondo: dancing dress
Figure.
pp. 66, 76 Xhosa: crane feathers, khwetha dress
Nothing more.
p. 138 Xhosa: elephant tail
‘The tuft of hair on the extremity of the tail is then cut off, and taken to the
Chief, who generally places it on a pole at the isangue, or entrance of his cattle-fold.
It there hangs as one of the ensigns of royalty; and as a trophy of victory, achieved
by his subjects over the inhabitants of the forest. The extremities of the ear and
proboscis are likewise cut off, and with much ceremony deposited in some secret
place, where they are left to decay... .’
(1829) Rose p. 146 Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
1829 Bain pp. 97, 104-105 Bomvana, Mpondo: special dress
peo Bomvana: war dress
‘This news set the whole country in motion and the Caffres were seen in all
directions in their war dresses, which is exactly as they came into the world with
the addition of a few assegais, a large oval shield and a war club.’
pp. 104-105 Mpondo: costume, first fruits
*...at King Faco’s residence. We saw crowds of people collecting from all
sides, many of them with their small shields and assegais . . . all assembled at the
King’s door to commence, not a war expedition, but a rural dance, on the joyful
occasion of having housed the corn, and what we would call in England a “‘harvest
home’’. . . . The men stood all on one side armed with clubs, perfectly naked and
painted, with their heads feathered in a most frightful and fantastic manner. The
women were opposite to them with loose carosses tied over the lower parts of their
bodies, but their breasts and bellies all bare... .
The perspiration ran in streams down their distorted bodies, . . . & ere the
dance was concluded the paint which had at first ornamented their faces found its
way in copious daubs to their lower extremities.’
1825 Fynn (1950) p. 115 Ntusi: initiation dress
‘After each boy has undergone the operation, the parts are washed with an
564 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
infusion of roots of a cooling nature. Each now puts on a dress specially prepared
for the occasion and occupies a hut in which he and the others live apart from all
relations and friends. . . . The dress is made of a kind of flaggy grass,’ tied in
bunches and is intended to cover nearly the whole body, the face being painted with
clay.’
(Editor’s note 1:) ‘A grass with sword-shaped leaves usually found in moist
situations.’
1829 Holman (1834) 2 p. 268 ‘Caffres’: warriors’ dancing cape
Nothing more.
1831 Halter p. 14 Thembu: warriors’ dress
‘He and his people, about eighty in number, were equipped for war, and six
of them, after the manner of the Caffres, wore ostrich feathers on their heads.’
c. 1831-2 Smith pp. 100, 125 Mpondo, Thembu: crane feathers
p. 100 Mpondo: crane feathers, axe
Fak Spiralsese 1 sce rela wc ea ee aeons
eer ef fe, ef je ver fe) ei je) ie fe jer cel ’e) ie; ‘e) je) ce) sie) a, ve
So as a rock remains a rock
An axe shall continue an axe.’
(, ZS Thembu: army
‘The chiefs go behind with the men with feathers, they being considered the
light companies. Before they throw they come within 20 yards and always approach
till they stick.’
(1832a) Anon. p. 150 ‘Caffre’: crane feathers
Nothing more.
(1833) Morgan, N. pp. 6, 37-38, 46 Xhosa: crane feathers, special dress
(OO Xhosa: crane feathers
Nothing more.
[Ds Od Xhosa: crane feathers
‘. . . $0 also is the shield and the war feathers; these latter articles are kept
in the possession of the chief, and are a symbol of his authority over them. They
are trusted to the warrior only during the time of service, and are restored by him
when the war is over.’
1, Sd Xhosa: cape, crane feathers
‘When they dress themselves for war they lay aside the large mantle which is
called the kaross, and fasten a small buckskin around their loins: their head is
encircled with a fillet of leather, having the long shoulder feathers of the blue crane
erect, one on each side over the ears.’
p. 38 Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 565
p. 46 Xhosa: cape for dancing
‘They are quite naked, excepting that a small buckskin tied by the hind feet
round their necks, and hanging down, scarcely covers their shoulders, and reaches
to the bottom of their loins.’
1834 Bonatz (18345) p. 350 Thembu: crane feathers
‘In war, they adorn their head with a pair of crane’s wings, or else with tails
of animals of various kinds.’
1834 Gardiner (1836) p. 13 Mpondo: war dress
‘. . . we passed within a few paces of the principal warriors, who stood out
before the main body, leaning upon their shields, decorated with their plumes and
war dresses.’
1834 Godlonton (1835-36) p. 229 Xhosa: elephant tail
Nothing more.
1835 Alexander (1837) 1 pp. 386, 395; 2 p. 111 Xhosa: insignia, doctor’s dress
1 p. 386 Xhosa: crane feathers
Nothing more.
ps 395 Xhosa: jackal and elephant tails
‘A chief sends a message accompanied with a jackal’s brush; and his hut, or
kraal, is distinguished by an elephant’s tail on a pole.’
2p. 111 Fingo: doctor’s dress
‘The doctors wore gall-bladders among their long, matted hair; and the great
doctor, who strengthened the people for war by gall, incantation, etc., wore on his
head a large fur cap, and had his loins girt with various handsome skins disposed
in stripes.’
(1836) Martin p. 154 Thembu: crane feathers
Nothing more.
1820-56 Shaw, W. (1860) pp. 333, 342-343, 456 Xhosa: leopard-skin cloak,
elephant tail, initiation dress
P:.333 Xhosa: leopard-skin cloak
Nothing more.
pp. 342-343 Xhosa: elephant tail
“The only external sign of royalty or, nobility, or whatever the hereditary rank
of native Chiefs may be called, which I could ever discover on a Chief’s kraal, was
a singular sort of ensign, consisting of an elephant’s tail, which is hung up on a high
pole planted near the entrance of the cattle-fold. I imagine this distinctive article
cannot now be always obtained, in which case I presume there are Chief’s kraals
which are not thus distinguished; but during my residence in the country I could
always determine whether the owner of the kraal was a Chieftain or not, by the
presence or absence of this symbol. No plebeian would ever dare to hoist the tail
of the noble elephant, unless he were prepared to pay very dearly in property or
in person, or both, for the perilous assumption of honours that are not due to him
566 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
by the custom of the country. Pato being the ‘““‘Umkumkani’’,, or principal Chief
of the Amagonakwaybi tribe, had two or three tails suspended on the pole, and
we were therefore satisfied as to his hereditary rank;... .’
p. 456 Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
1839 Backhouse (1844) pp. 245, 253 Xhosa: insignia
p. 245 Xhosa: crane feathers, doctor’s dress
6
... the soldiers were naked, but each man had a pair of crane’s wings
mounted upon his head. The Doctor, who performed the incantations, had a
leopard’s skin wrapped around his loins, and another around his shoulders, the fur
side being out, and the tails on; he had also quagga skins and tails twisted around
his arms, so as to throw the hair erect, and cow, quagga, and other tails so disposed
as to give ample breadth to his whole body; his head was surmounted by a hyena
skin; his face was blackened and his forehead spotted with red and white, and
bound about with a string of leopard’s teeth, such as is commonly worn as a
necklace by the Caffers.’
Oy 25S: ‘Caffer’: gall-bladders
‘At this place and many others in Caffraria, we noticed men wearing the
emptied gall-bladders of cattle fastened in their hair. This we learned was intended
to show that the parties were of sufficient consequence, to have had cattle killed
for them, by superiors whom they had visited!’
1836-44 Dohne (1844) pp. 24, 39 Xhosa: insignia
p. 24 Xhosa: insignia of messengers
‘Nur Manner k6nnen ferner als [sigidschimi (Gesandte) gebraucht werden,
wenn eine Klage wider Jemand vor einen anderen /nkosi gebracht werden soll, und
bei solchen Gelegenheiten werden immer mehrere zugleich gesandt; der eigent-
liche Wortfuhrer tragt dabei als unterscheidendes Abzeichen ein Stuck von
einem Kuhschwanze am Bein, und die ubrigen sind ihm als Gehtlfen beigegeben,
p39 Xhosa: crane feathers
‘Die Schuhmacher sind zugleich auch die Incibi yendwe, d.i. die Verfertiger
der Kranichfligel. Zwei solcher Kranichfliigel an einen ledernen Bundriemen
befestigt, bilden den Helm, einen Schmuck der Soldaten, wenn es in den Krieg
geht. Der Riemen wird um den Kopf so befestigt, dass auf jeder Seite ein Flugel
stracks in die Hohe steht. 80 bis 100 und 200 Paar dieser Fligel hat ein jeder [nkosi
fur seine Soldaten.’
1841 Bonatz p. 382 Thembu: warrior’s dress
‘A few minutes are sufficient to complete a Caffre’s equipment. He throws his
kaross over his shoulder, grasps his bundle of assagays and his ox-hide shield, hangs
his scrip with a little tobacco and a morsel of food round his neck, and he is ready
for the longest march. . . . Many deck their heads with the wing of a crane, or a
heron plume, or the tail of some wild beast.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 567
1842-7 Ward (1848) 1 pp. 250-251 Xhosa, Fingo: war dress
p. 250 Xhosa: war dress
‘The Kaffir goes forth to battle besmeared with red clay, simply arrayed with
his kaross, armed with his musket and assegai, and accoutred with his pouch and
sack, for ammunition, plunder, and provisions.’
pp. 250-251 Fingo: war dress
‘The appearance of a body of Fingoes, if less terrific, is more imposing. Their
heads are ornamented with jackals’ tails, ostrich plumes, beads, wolves’ teeth, etc.
Across their shoulders is flung a skin, and around their waist is girt a kilt of
monkeys’ tails. The chief, like the Kaffirs, wears a tiger-skin kaross, and their
rain-makers, who are alike wizards, doctors, and councillors, are most fearfully
grotesque in their costume.’
1842-7 Ward (1851) pp. 99, 100, 215 Xhosa, Fingo: war dress, insignia
p99 Xhosa: war dress
Same as above.
p. 100 Fingo: war dress
Same as above.
p15 Xhosa, Fingo: insignia
‘. . . the ex-chiefs being invested with a sort of magisterial influence over their
people, checked by British rule, a baton of office was sent to him [Sandile], to be
placed in the ground before his hut, side by side with the wand always planted there
as a symbol of authority. His wand is surmounted by a cow’s tail, and marks the
chief’s residence from the other huts of Kraal. The baton given by Sir Harry is a
stick, with a brass knob at the top of it.’
1848 Great Britain. Imperial Blue Book p. 40 Cape Nguni: sticks of office
‘Instructions from High Commissioner to Chief Commissioner of British
Kaffraria. 23/12/1847. “The sticks of office are to be used by all messengers going
from the Commissioner... .” ’
(1848) Anon. p. 195 ‘Kaffir’: bride’s dress
Nothing more.
1848 Baines (1842-53) 1 pp. 66-67, 78 Xhosa: khwetha and warriors’ dress
p. 66 Xhosa: khwetha dress
‘In a retired situation at some distance from our path, we observed a number
of youths besmeared with white clay issuing from a hut apparently of similar colour,
and, when we outspanned for the night in a mimosa thicket, I proposed to return
and visit them. My friend was of opinion that this would be considered an intrusion
but accompanied me toward the spot, and nearly opposite their hut we were met
by the whole company, who, six or eight in number and from twelve to sixteen
years, dressed in karosses of whitened sheepskin, their eyebrows marked with
charcoal, their eyes apparently unnaturally large and their lips almost red by
contrast with the ghastly greyish ash colour imparted to their dark skins by the thick
coating of white clay which made them look, as Liddle said, like devils, and, as I
568 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
thought, very like the inferior kind of wooden dolls from which the whiting had
begun to scale off, came out attended by an old man, in his usual costume of red
clay and ditto-coloured kaross, to beg tobacco; they appeared already to have
undergone the operation which entitled them to take place among the men of their
tribe, and one, who seemed to be the temporary captain, informed us that they
waited only the next rain to wash the discolouring matter from their bodies.’
ps oF Xhosa: khwetha costume
‘. . . in all cases a dance performed by the boys themselves, dressed in short
full kilts of palmiet leaves which rustle with every movement, and rendered still
more spectral by the bright moonlight, generally chosen for the performance, upon
their chalky covering, constitutes an essential part of the ceremonial.’
De dis Xhosa: crane-feather head-dress
Nothing more.
c. 1850 C. B. (?Charles Bell) sketches ‘Kafir’: crane head-dress
Figure.
c. 1850 TOns AM 4436, AM 50/1861 Fingo, Xhosa: war dress
AM 4436 Fingo: warriors’ dress
Painting.
AM 50/1861 dated 1839 Xhosa: warrior’s dress
Painting.
c. 1850 Ons (Redgrave & Bradlow 1958) pl. 18 (3) Xhosa: doctor’s dress
Figure.
1851-2 Baines (1842-53) 2 pp. 225-226, 290 Fingo, Hlubi, Mpondo: war dress
pp. 225-226 Fingo: dancing in war dress
‘Their muskets were piled beside them, and they were dancing, or rather
performing a kind of pantomimic exercise, with their native weapons, the assagai
and keerie. Forming an irregular circle, they brandished their weapons, springing
forward or retreating with the chorus. One fine athletic fellow, with a large nodding
plume of white feathers overhanging his forehead, displayed singular activity.’
p. 290 Hlubi, Mpondo: war dress
‘Their dress consisted of a number of strips of cat-skin, barred with black and
white, so twisted that the majority of travellers imagine them the tails of monkeys;
and a miscellaneous assortment of small skins hung round their neck and loins. The
white tufts of bullocks’ tails were gartered below the knee or upon the ankle, and
large bunches of feathers, of every kind they could procure, were stuck upright in
their hair, tied to their ears, or attached in any mode to whatever part of their
person or attire dictated by the whim of the moment.’
(1851) J. W(alker) p. 358 Xhosa: doctor’s dress
Nothing more.
1851-3 King (1853) p. 61 Xhosa: crane feathers
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 569
(1856) Fleming pp. 266-267, 275 ‘Kaffir’: special dress
p. 266 ‘Kaffir’: Ahwetha, use of white clay
‘There large quantities of white clay, blood, and water are mixed together,
and, with this, they are painted from head to feet. They are then set to dance, in
a state of nudity, until it becomes perfectly dry. Another coat is then applied, and
the same process is repeated.’
p. 267 ‘Kaffir’: Khwetha dancing dress
‘These dresses are composed of reeds, strung side by side through one end,
on a piece of sinew or leather, and similar thongs are passed through them at
intervals, so as to make them to resemble flat stiff mats. By drawing the strings at
the extremities tight, they form these into bell-shaped garments, and fasten them
on their bodies; one round the middle reaching to the knees; one round the neck
reaching to the elbows; and one round each arm and leg, fastened on, respectively,
at the elbows and knees, and reaching to the extremities of the figure. A large cap,
formed of rushes, is placed on the head, tied into a point at the top, (which is about
two feet above the head) and this also is painted white. Long sticks are then given
to them to carry in their hands, and dressed in these costumes, they go about until
the next moon; . ;
p. 275 Cape Nguni: doctor’s dress
‘*. . . the “doctor” appears in the ring, quite naked, except a few tigers tails
as a fringe round his loins.’
c. 1856 Warner (1859) p. 21 ‘Kaffir’: warriors’ dress
‘The ordinary dress of a Kaffir warrior consists of the skin of the oribi buck
round his loins, an ox tail suspended to his leg just below his knee, and the tail of
a Hartbeast or Jackall tied in a bunch on the top of his forehead. In addition to
this, the body guard of the Chief wears the wings of the blue crane, fastened to
their heads like two perpendicular horns growing out of their temples. And when
the army is assembled in the field, you may always ascertain where the Head
quarters of the Chief are, by these crane’s wings, which are seen in a compact body,
and rising considerably above the heads of the ordinary soldiers.’
(1858) Maclean pp. 22, 50, 159-160 Xhosa, Thembu: special
dress, crane feathers
Nothing more.
1859 Anon. p. 18 Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
(1862) Anon. p. 83 Xhosa: elephant tail
Nothing more.
c. 1864 Stanford (1858-89) 2 opp. p. 23 Mpondo: chief’s head-dress
Figure of Chief Nqwiliso with head-dress decorated with pearl buttons and
gall-bladders.
570 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1845-89 Kropf (1889a) pp. 35-36, 115, 117-118, 125 Xhosa: special dress
pp. 35-36 Xhosa: tail insignia
‘Ein grosser Kampf fand statt an dem Tage als Kanzi mit den Nqgosini um einen
Elephanten-zahn stritt. Damals war Rarabe noch ein Knabe. Seine alteren Briider
kamen zu ihm und sagten: “Die Nqosini mit ihrem Furst Gaba wollen den Schwanz
erheben.”’ d.h. wollen herrschen.’
(os JES Xhosa: crane feathers
Nothing more.
p: Lie Xhosa: crane feathers
‘Thr Kriegsheer ist in zwei Divisionen geteilt, namlich die der Veteranen oder
Helden, die sich bereits in friheren Kriegen ausgezeichnet haben und deshalb als
Auszeichnung die oben genannten Kranichflugel am Kopfe tragen, von denen
jeder Hauptling 80 bis 200 Paar in dem Hause seiner grossen Frau (ibotwe, Palais)
aufbewahrt. Sie halten es unter ihrer Wirde, sich mit solchen einzulassen, die nicht
in gleichem Range mit ihnen stehen und gleichen Schmuck wie sie tragen. Die
zweite Division besteht aus jungen Kriegern, die den Namen Rundk6opfe (ingqu-
kuva, unbehornt) fiihren und jenen Schmuck noch nicht tragen diirfen.’
pods Xhosa: war dress
‘Die Krieger sehen beim Beginn eines Krieges noch viel phantastischer aus als
in Friedenszeiten. Sie tragen eine Menge Schwanze von Rindern, Katzen und
anderem Getier um den Leib und an den Beinen, auf dem Kopfe und an den
Oberarmen, auch sonst noch allerhand Ketten und Perlenschnire.’
p. 125 Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
1873 dohl (1875)ips 21 Xhosa: dancing dress
‘Es sollte intonjane (ein grosses heidnisches Fest) sein. Die Frauen waren noch
sehr beschaftigt, sich sch6n zu machen, d.h. die rothen und schwarzen Kopftucher
sch6n umzubinden, das Gesicht und den ganzen Leib mit rother Erde und mit Fett
zu schminken und die Arme, Hals und die Knoéchel mit den kostlichsten Perlen
vom feinsten Glas zu schmucken. So nur darf eine Kafferdame zum Tanze
Enscheinen: yea.
1877 Auld (1924) p. 89 Xhosa: war paint
‘On reaching Nhlambe, where the Resident with Kreli resided, we found at
every kraal great gatherings of Gcalekas, armed with assegais or guns; and all or
most of them with a black mark on the forehead, put there by their war-doctor.’
1877-8 Norbury (1880) p. 15 ‘Kaffir’: dancing dress
‘The wife takes with her, as a trousseau a pot for cooking, a large stock of
beads, a spare red blanket and skirt of bullock’s hide, and a dancing equipment
consisting of a long bag-like, richly-beaded cap, a leather belt thickly studded with
brass buttons, and an ornament composed of numerous strings of beads to be worn
round the chest.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI SW!
(1879) Moister p. 248 Xhosa: elephant tail
‘In addition to this mark of royalty he (the chief) carries or has carried before
him by a person appointed for the purpose, an elephant’s tail, which is equivalent
to the royal sceptre in more civilised countries.’
1875—87 MacDonald (1890a) pp. 157, 161-162, 224 Cape Nguni: special dress
pe 157 Cape Nguni: khwetha use of white clay
Nothing more.
pp. 161-162 Cape Nguni: bride’s dress
‘On the morning preceding the marriage, the bride, accompanied by a number
of girls with painted faces and clad in goat skins, makes her way towards the
bridegroom’s kraal,....
The following morning, the bride prepares herself to receive her husband...
she is conducted to the house she is to occupy. There she adorns herself with circlets
of beadwork and flowers, and distributes smaller ones among her maids of honour.’
p. 224 Cape Nguni: chief’s bride
‘Skins of goats, sheep, antelopes, and domestic cattle go to the manufacture
of everyday attire. Robes of office, and bridal robes for the great wife of a
paramount chief on the occasion of her marriage are of more costly material,
generally of wild cat or spotted leopard skin, the latter being regarded as the most
valuable.’
1883 Cape of Good Hope Appendix I Mpondomise: special dress
pp. 407-409
p. 407 Mpondomise: initiation
“The boys remain at their kraal painted with white clay all over their bodies
for a period of three or four months.’
p. 408 Mpondomise: intonjane
Nothing more.
p. 408 Mpondomise: marriage
Nothing more.
p. 409 Mpondomise: war dance
Nothing more.
c. 1888 Bodley (1891) p. 235 Mpondo: leopard tail
_ ‘The previous night the messenger from Umtata had announced the coming
of the stranger, and the “‘leopard’s tail” had forthwith been sent round to all the
headmen. This is the fiery cross of the Pondo. The tail of a leopard mounted on
arod, when found within a kraal, is known to be a silent summons for the headman
to repair to the chief’s ‘““Great Place’’ or wherever the chief is.’
1879-1902 Schiel (1902) pl. opp. p. 272 Cape Nguni: khwetha dress
A fine picture, erroneously labelled Zulu (who do not have this custom).
(1896) Brownlee, C. pp. 250-251 Xhosa: bride’s dress
‘Over the face and head a veil was thrown, . . . only that the material was
rather an unsuitable one according to our notions—to wit black silk.’
572, ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1902) Young opp. p. 18 Thembu: khwetha costume
Figure.
(1914) Schweiger pp. 58-59, 62 Xhosa: khwetha dress
oh os Xhosa: full description of khwetha costume
‘Wahrend der Zeit zwischen der Versammlung der Manner und dem Beginne
der Zeremonien (gewohnlich einige Monate) bereitet sich jeder Bursche, der
beschnitten werden soll, sein festliches Kleid zu, das umhlambi und das isigcobo.
Das umhlambi stellt eine Art von Bekleidungs-stiick vor, das aus den Blattern der
wilden Dattel oder der Palme zusammengefigt wird. Diese Blatter werden zu einer
langen Rolle verarbeitet, die beim Gebrauche um die Lenden gewunden wird. Das
isigcobo ist eine Kopfbedeckung, ebenfalls aus Blattern hergestellt. Sie hat eine
Lange von zwei Fuss und bedeckt vorne vollstandig das ganze Gesicht. Von dem
oberen Teile des isigcobo munden mehrere Palmpflanzchen in einer Lange von vier
bis funf Fuss aus.’
(O. 38 Xhosa: khwetha dress
‘Ausserdem werden noch an den Armen und Beinen die iskwinsi oder isitsaba
befestigt, d.h. verschiedene schone, buntfarbige Bander, die von zierlich zube-
reiteten Tierfellen um die Arme und Fiisse auslaufen und, auf den Boden
herunterfallend wie lange Schleppen nachgezogen werden oder lustig in der Luft
herumflattern. Diese Bander wurden urspriinglich aus Tierhauten zubereitet, jetzt
kaufen sich die Kaffern dieselben bei den Kaufleuten. Das ware also das festliche
Kleid der abakweta, welches nur beim umtshilo getragen wird. Das umtshilo ist der
den abakweta eigentiimliche Tanz, den sie, nachdem sie vollstandig ausgeheilt
sind, Offentlich vor zahlreich versammelten Kaffern jeden Tag, solange die
Festlichkeiten dauern, fast ununterbrochen aufftihren. Bevor sie sich mit ihrem
festlichen Kleide schmtcken, wird der ganze KOorper mit weissem Lehm reichlich
bestrichen.
Ihre gewohnliche Kleidung, die sie wahrend der ganzen Zeit ihrer Heilung und
auch nachher, zur Zeit des umtshilo, jedoch nicht wahrend des Tanzes selbst,
tragen, besteht aus einem Schafs- oder Zeigenfell; es hat keinen speziellen Namen
(ingubo yegusha = Schafsdecke).’
(o, O Xhosa: khwetha use of white clay
Nothing more.
1924 Brownlee, W. T. (1924-5) pp. 111, 308-310 Xhosa: insignia,
doctors’ dress
> J Xhosa: insignia
‘The chief’s symbol of authority, which with us is a writ issued from the court,
was the skin of the tail of either a lion or leopard drawn off intact and stretched
over the shaft of a spear; this planted in the gateway of any cattle-fold indicated
that the chief had placed everything there under attachment.’
p. 308 Xhosa: doctor’s cap
‘. . . the invalid emerges a fully-fledged doctor, wearing a high-crowned cap
made from the skin of a baboon.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI S73
pp. 309-310 Xhosa: doctor’s dress
‘The doctor, of course, is dressed in all his gauds and presents usually a most
imposing, and sometimes terrible, appearance. Upon his head he usually has a
baboon-skin busby and has skins of various animals hung from his shoulders and
loins; round his neck he often wears the dried and inflated entrails of some animals
which, having pebbles inside, rattle with every movement of his body. Besides
these, he will probably wear hanging from cords round his neck strings of roots,
bunches of small horns—filled with various powders, drugs and ointments— and
many other curious and sometimes disgusting objects. His arms will be adorned
with numerous rings, some of metal and some of dried flesh, some of skins of
reptiles, and in his hand he will at times bear a long staff or an assegai.’
1924 Hartmann p. 14 Thembu: khwetha costume
Nothing more.
(1927) Poto Ndamase p. 119 Mpondo: warrior’s dress
‘Ngempi amadoda ebebinca amapaca afake nemitika yawo.’
[In war men wore amapaca and also put on (-faka) their imithika. (Meaning
of statement not clear.)]
(1927) Vogel p. 74 Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
19207 Anon. p. 137 Fingo: khwetha costume, novice diviner’s dress
‘In connection with the initiation into manhood, the goat-skin is dressed and
cut into narrow thongs which are bound round the initiate under his kilt, round his
ankles and his arms and round his head; and in this protective livery he takes his
place in the initiation dances.
When a novice is undergoing initiation into the state of a witch-doctor, he must
wear on his neck thongs made by a fullfledged witch-doctor from the skin of a
certain goat. In addition to wearing goats’ hair necklets, witch-doctors wear on
their heads big goatskin busbies.’
(1928) Brownlee, F. p. 180 Fingo: khwetha dress
‘After entering the kraal they discarded the sheep skins and danced before the
company quite naked, except for streamers made of long strips of sheep skin tied
at their knees and elbows.’
(1931) Cook pp. 17, 56, 58-61, 67, 86, 147 Xhosa, Bomvana: insignia,
special dress
pel? Xhosa: leopard tails
‘Gcaleka had a hut called iBotwe between the Great Hut and the Right-hand
Hut for the imisila, the chief’s officials or messengers, who carried or wore leopard
tails and so were called imisila (tails).’
p. 56 Bomvana: khwetha white clay
‘The boys are from now on always covered with white clay. The only dec-
orations they are allowed are bands of umzi or rush on the legs and arms.’
574 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 58 Bomvana: khwetha dress
“Whenever the boys go abroad as when they go for supplies of inceke or white
clay they wear their sheepskin carosses with their heads covered over, resembling
nothing so much as a band of cowled monks.’
pp. 59-61 Bomvana: khwetha dress
‘The boys are in their usual attire—white clay smeared all over their bodies
and faces and with sheepskin carosses worn over their heads. . . .
All wear imixaka yomti—imitation ivory bangles made of wood and painted
white. They also wear ubulunga necklaces and round the waist bands of umzi
(rush).
When the boys have been painted the headdresses and skirts are put on. The
headdresses: These are made of the leaves of a palm known as lisundu. The
headdress consists of a fine fringe over the face through which the dancer can see.
Above the head extending up is a helmet of palm fibres from which two horns of
palm point upwards. These are made by men skilled in the art who are rewarded
by the fathers of the boys.
Around the waist is girded on the skirt called umhlambi. This is made of palm
leaves (Jisundu). It is made in a long strip about twenty feet long. At one end the
depth of the skirt is about five inches and this gradually increases until at the far
end the skirt reaches a width of about two feet. These skirts are made by certain
men who are skilled therein.’
jor OT) Bomvana: intonjane dress
‘She may not leave her hut and when she has to do so, goes heavily swathed
in a blanket. . . . She wears her headdress pulled over her face in the same way
as a bride does.’
p. 86 Bomvana: festive dress
‘Men. They wore isidabane, the skin of a buck or wild animal. This is worn
slung over the back suspended from the shoulders thus covering the back from the
loins to the shoulders. This together with the inxiba and a few beads around the
neck is all the men wear. . . . The married women are dressed as for the Umrululu.
The young unmarried girls are painted with red ochre. Around the loins are white
beads forming a skirt about six inches deep. Their breasts are perfectly bare. From
the waist are suspended short skirts of gay coloured cloth which cover the sides and
back.’
p. 147 Bomvana: leopard tails
‘The Jmisila— These were the messengers of the chief. They wore leopardskin
tails (imisila) as a distinctive badge of office. They were sent to summon men to
the chief’s kraal to answer charges or bear witness. These tails were kept at the
chief’s Great Place.’
(i932) Soga, MBO pp. 65,268. 21107 D190 225=2517/- Xhosa: insignia,
AN Me [OV OO (0, Zs Pay LP4c3q, L3ID, HS, VS) special dress
[De (5 Xhosa: ox tails
‘When war is imminent the supreme chief sends out his official messengers—
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI SiS)
imi-sila (tails), so called because they bear in their hands ox-tails, their insignia of
office. These officers are dispatched to the sub-chiefs,... .’
p. 68 Xhosa: crane feathers
‘ ... Behind these two screens is the main army (um-kosi) composed of the
veterans who have had experience of war. In earlier days these veterans were called
ama-twala ndwe—wearers of the blue crane’s feathers, a headdress of this crane’s
feathers being the distinctive mark of the veteran.’
pp. 2105 255—257, pls opp. pp. 256, 259 Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
plopp. p. 212 Xhosa: bridegroom
Nothing more.
pp. 219, 411 Xhosa: dancing cape
Nothing more.
pl opp. p. 225 Xhosa: men’s festive dress
Nothing more.
pls opp. pp. 228, 236 Xhosa: bride and maids
Figure.
157 taumter (1936) pp. 173, 195—196, 323, 379, 417 Mpondo: special dress
p. 173 Mpondo: intonjane dress
‘At dusk the girls return. The intonjane and her attendant gather firewood on
the way home. When they come home the intonjane’s hair is shaved. For a week
she wears a handkerchief tied low over her forehead and a long skirt, like a bride.
.. . Then after about a week her handkerchief is raised by some old person of the
umzi, and she resumes her old short skirt, and behaves as a daughter of the umzi
again.’
pp. 195-196 Mpondo: bride’s dress
‘He is closely followed by an idikazi in gala dress (heavily braided skirt, white
embroidered shoulder blanket, all her beadwork, and a towel or handkerchief on
her head) and then by all the girls of the party, including the bride, rolled up in
blankets, with blankets and handkerchiefs completely covering their heads and
faces. The rear is brought up by the other amadikazi and the men of the party. .. .
On arriving at the centre of the inkundla the girls are made to stand in a row, facing
the men of the umzi. Blankets are held up by the men of the uduli while the
amadikazi strip the girls (including the bride) of their blankets and handkerchiefs.
They are dressed in long skirts and a full complement of bead and brass ornaments,
but are naked to the waist. (Ordinarily Pondo girls and women are particular not
to expose their breasts.) They stand a few moments facing the men, then blankets
are again held up round them by the uduli men, and they are rolled up by the
amadikazi. . . . The bride is not distinguished in any way from her maids.’
p. 323 Mpondo: novice diviner’s dress
‘A female novice wears short unbraided skirts, no ochre, and a handkerchief
tied low over her forehead, as a person in mourning. She wears no ornaments
except white beads round wrist, neck, ankle or forehead. She remains shaved
576 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
during the whole period of her initiation. She must never bare her torso in the
presence of people, and even when working in the fields wears her cloak pinned
over her shoulders.’
p. 379 Mpondo: leopard tails
‘Ndamase, shortly after he crossed over, killed a leopard, and according to the
custom sent the skin to Faku, his paramount. Faku returned it, saying, ““Let the
tail be given to Ndamase, that he may apprehend with it. Let the tails of all leopards
which are slain in Nyandeni (western Pondoland) be given to Ndamase, and not
sent across to Qawukeni (eastern Pondoland)”.* ‘“‘Thus”’, says Poto . . . “was
Ndamase established as a great chief, that he might be the paramount of his
country.”
(Note *:) ‘The messengers of a paramount chief carried leopard tails as their
badge of office. Poto implies that they were not carried by the messengers of a
district chief.’
p. 417 Mpondo: leopard tails
‘. . . the penalty in civil cases was always a fine in cattle, or small stock, which
were seized by the chief's messenger who carried a staff with the tail (umsila) of
a leopard attached, as the sign of his office, and it was a serious offence to resist
the umsila (word also applied to the messenger) of the chief in the execution of
his office. If he were resisted he flung down his staff and galloped away. The staff
had then to be returned to the great place with a goat, as fine.’
1918-48 Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964) pp. 44, 50, 53 Cape Nguni:
special dress
p. 44 Cape Nguni: diviners’ dress
‘Witch doctors wear no colours, only blue and white.’
p. 50 Xhosa, Thembu: diviners’ dress
‘The ornaments or apparel of a witch-doctress (or of a witch-doctor for that
matter) are not necessarily confined to their particular tribe. . . . No witch-doctress
ever shows any part of herself. . . . A witch-doctress uses no ochre.’
pos ?Thembu: khwetha costume
‘In 1910... six boys, whose costumes were finished, had already begun
dancing. A space had been cleared in front of the huts. Four women were beating
a taut ox-hide for them. Their faces were veiled, so their presence did not matter,
since boys may not look on a woman’s face during this period.’
p. 54 Thembu: khwetha dress, costume
‘For everyday wear in the camp the boys have sheepskin cloaks. . . . Their
bodies are smeared with white clay. . . . The costume for dancing is made of palm
leaves. The boy’s father makes the costume.’
(1933) Anon. p. 116 Xhosa: dancing skirts
At an intonjane women were dancing in black skin skirts, and red breast-
cloths.
(1937) Duggan-Cronin June Bomvana: skin-painting of khwetha
Figure.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 577
(1939) Duggan-Cronin p. 26, pls 21, 32, 34, 36, Xhosa: insignia, special dress
37 and legends
p. 26 Xhosa: crane feathers, leopard tail
Nothing more.
pl. 21 and legend Xhosa: diviners’ dress
Nothing more.
pl. 32 and legend Xhosa: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
pl. 34 Thembu: men’s dancing dress
Figure.
pl. 36 and legend Xhosa: women’s dancing dress
Nothing more.
pl. 37 and legend Xhosa: men’s dancing dress
‘The constume consists of beadwork (the beads being strung on threads of ox
sinew or thin strips of goatskin), brass rings and leggings of Angora goatskin.’
1945 Makalima chapters 6, 10, 14 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: special dress
chap. 6 par. 3 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: skins used by diviners
for caps, cloaks
‘Isikumba sengwe sitwalwa ngamagqira, kwenziwe izidlokolo nengubo.’
[The skin of the leopard is worn by diviners, and caps and karosses are made. |
chap. 10 pars 9-11, 13-14 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: special dress
Nothing more.
chap. 10 par. 17 Fingo, Thembu, Mpondomise: dancer’s dress
‘[sinxibo senxentsi zizidabane, nentsimbi kwelixesha lesi Lungu ke.’
[The dress of a dancer is the hood (isidabane), and the beads, now in this
modern age of things European. |
chap. 14 par. 22 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: khwetha dress
‘Izambato zabo: Abakweta baganxa izambalo ezifakwa apa emqaleni zona,
nentsimbi emhlope ezihlahleni, nasemqaleni, nasentloko, kwa nenyongo entloko.
Kuncwelwa kule bokwe imhlope kwenziwe imitya, ebotshelelwe ezingalweni,
bungasuswanga uboya. Ebusweni bagaba isiqungu.’
[Their costume: Lads who are undergoing the rite of circumcision wear neck-
lets, and white beads on the wrists, neck and head, and a gall-bladder on the head.
Narrow strips are cut from a white goatskin to make thongs that are tied round the
arms without removing the hair. On the face they smear ‘isiqungu’.] (No inform-
ants found who knew this. May be khwetha or doctor’s jargon.)
cnap. 14 par. 27 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: khwetha dress
Nothing more.
(1949) Duggan-Cronin p. 17, pl. 76 and legend Mpondo and Mpondomise:
special dress
pel] Mpondo and Mpondomise: initiation
‘This custom was abandoned by the Mpondo during the reign of Faku (possibly
578 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
because it incapacitated fighting men, needed for protection against Shaka’s raids),
but it is still practised by the Mpondomise.’
pl. 76 and legend Mpondomise: diviner’s dress
‘He is in full regalia with the monkey-skin cap, white beads, and the medicine
horns of his profession.’
1949 Hammond-Tooke (1953) pp. 78-79, 82 Bhaca: first-fruits costume
p. 78 Bhaca: chief’s costume
‘The next morning (Wednesday) the chief goes to the newly built isi6aya
sengcube wearing a special blanket called isibalala.... During Wednesday
morning more men arrive from the out-lying areas. They come on horseback and
on foot in groups of about thirty to forty under their headmen, dressed in full
regalia and singing the traditional ingcube songs. Most discard European trousers
and wear the traditional unontswintswintswi, or salampore loincloth, with circlets
of skin or cloth on their shins and caps of animal skin. All carry sticks or spears,
those on horseback carrying them in a skin scabbard behind the saddle, while many
of the footmen carry large ox-hide shields and run round the horsemen of their
group, brandishing their sticks in mock combat.’
p79 Bhaca: women’s costume at ceremony
‘During the morning groups of women have also arrived at the Great Place
clad in their ingcube attire of beadwork, freshly worked skin skirts and dyed ostrich
plumes, with large leather rattles filled with pebbles tied to their ankles. . . they —
perform aslow...dance...accompanied by... ululation. . . and the slapping
of small, round, hide shields against their thighs to accentuate the rhythm.’
p. 82 Bhaca: chief’s dress for ceremony
‘The cattle, gasping . . . are met by the chief. . . clad in a loin covering made
from long-haired angora skin, and wearing brass bangles on arms and legs.’
1952 Walton (Wilson et al.) pp. 204, 206, 212, 215 Xhosa, Fingo:
khwetha dress
p. 204 Xhosa, Fingo: khwetha dress after coming out
‘. . . after the festivities of the coming out ceremony; the youths. . . don new
and distinctive clothing, paint their faces with red ochre, carry long black sticks and
spend their days herding... .’
p. 206 Xhosa, Fingo: khwetha dress before seclusion
‘The boys who are to be initiated will advertise their intentions. . . . They are
usually distinctively clad in brief shorts and vests, and wear big goatskin anklets
with bells (amanqa/fela).’
pe 212 Xhosa, Fingo: khwetha dress during seclusion
‘The initiates keep themselves painted all over their bodies with white clay,
devoting meticulous care to the working of designs on their faces, and completing
the adornment with washing blue. At no time do they wear any covering other
than their blankets and their izidla attached to the leather thong around their
waists.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 579
pe2i5 Xhosa, Fingo: khwetha dress after coming out
‘After the rubbing on of fat, the initiates are lined up outside their lodge and
their new blankets, black kerchiefs (amaghiya) and new, knobless, long, black
sticks (umnqayi) are placed in front of them.’
1949-55 Hammond-Tooke (1955a) pp. 17-18 Bhaca: novice diviners’ dress
po l7 Bhaca: novices’ dress
‘Both male and female novices wear a short white skirt and, in the woman’s
case, the breasts are covered with a breast cloth of the same material. The head
is shaven and for ritual occasions a square of untanned cowhide is fixed to it to
which three or four goat gallbladders are attached. For everyday wear the female
novice binds a white cloth or handkerchief low over her forehead in the hlonipha
custom of the young bride. The only ornament worn is a necklace of medicinal
herbs threaded on a cord.’
pals Bhaca: gall-bladder
‘Two days later a goat was slaughtered and the blood smeared on the ikhu6alo
. . and the intestinal fat (umhlehlo) was twisted into coils and hung round Rosina’s
neck while the gallbladder (inyongo) was attached to a small square of hide and
fastened to the head as the distinctive insignia of a novice.’
p. 18 Bhaca: diviner’s costume
‘A week previously Rosina visited the trading store and bought yards of white
calico for her diviner’s costume.’
1949-55 Hammond-Tooke (19555) pp. 53-54 Bhaca: special dress
D4 OS) Bhaca: diviner’s dress
‘The dress of the Bhaca diviner is characteristic. Dressed entirely in white,
with a headdress made of a fringe of white beads, all zzangoma have the dried
gallbladder of a goat (the dwelling place of the spirit) fixed to the head. Divination
by means of bone-throwing is not a Bhaca custom, although it appears to be
practised to-day by a few diviners, and communion with the amathongo 1s estab-
lished by means of trances accompanied by dancing.’
p. 54 Bhaca: feast of first fruits
Nothing more.
1949-55 Hammond-Tooke (1958a) p. 20 Bhaca: skin skirt, gall-bladder
for intonjane
‘It is stated, however, that formerly the initiate emerged from the seclusion
hut at the end of the period dressed in the long goatskin skirt of a married woman,
holding a spear, and wearing the twisted fat of the umhlonyane in a coil round her
neck. The gall bladder (inyongo) of the goat was fastened to her arm and inform-
ants state that she and her female companions, also holding spears, performed a
special dance in the inkundla (space between the cattle kraal and huts). The
wearing of the married woman’s skirt would seem to be symbolic of the newly
acquired marriageable quality of the girl and to emphasize to the society generally
her attainment of physical maturity. . . . Formerly also, on the final day of the
ceremony, the initiate shaved her head, except for a tuft in front, smeared her face
580 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
with ochre and fastened the gall bladders of the cattle killed for the feast to her
arms with strips of plaited umkhanzi rush. Her two assistants wore plaited ropes
across the breasts but not the gall bladders. One rarely finds this done to-day.’
(1954) Duggan-Cronin pp. 31-32, pls 164, | Bhaca, Hlubi, Xesibe: ceremonial
1/0, WISP 176; VISe s9 and festive dress
pp. 31-32 Bhaca, Hlubi, Xesibe: initiation
‘Among the Hlubi, and possibly the Xesibe, boys at the age of puberty go
through an elaborate initiation ceremony. The Baca are said to have had initiation
ceremonies formerly, but these have completely died out to-day.’
legend to pl. 164 Bhaca: gall-bladders
‘Witch doctor (isangoma)
A distinction should be drawn between the herbalist (inyanga) and the witch-
doctor proper (isangoma), sometimes called a diviner, who communes with the
ancestral spirits (amathfongo). The white bead headdress and costume are dis-
tinctive, and on her head are the inflated gall bladders of goats, killed during her
novitiate, in which the spirits are thought to reside. Practically all Baca witch
doctors are women.’
legend to pl. 170 Bhaca: women’s ingube dress
‘Married women also have their special dances, and dress in beads and ostrich
feathers dyed various colours.’
legend to pl. 175 Hlubi: boys’ festive dress
‘Hlubi inkwenkwe dressed for a wedding. Belonging to a group of uncircum-
cised boys, this Hlubi dandy is dressed in a tanned ox-hide skirt, studded leather
belt and decorated headdress called upetshe.’
pl. 176 Hlubi: bride’s-party dress for man
Figure.
legend to pl. 178 Hlubi: bride’s dress
‘Note the head-dress of ujobela feathers and the beadwork veil, called
imvabaza, worn as a sign of respect to the parents-in-law. The hide skirt, work of
a married woman, is elaborately decorated with white buttons bought at the store.’
legend to pl. 189 Hlubi: diviner’s dress
‘A typical Hlubi witch doctor in her distinctive dress of white cloth. She is
carrying the spear shown to her in a dream... .’
1949-62 Hammond-Tooke (1962) pp. 86, 106, 111, Bhaca: ceremonial dress
244, 248 and note
p. 86 Bhaca: girls’ initiation
Nothing more.
p. 106 Bhaca: bride’s dress
‘She . . . arrays herself in all the finery of her beadwork, in addition putting
on special brass bangles (amathfusi), four on each upper arm. She now wears the
long, fat-smeared, goatskin skirt of a married woman, the formal donning of which
is called ukurugisa. When all is ready she covers herself with a blanket and
leaves . . . for the groom’s home.’
[| OS ST Sie ii nna,
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 581
p.- til Bhaca: sacrifices for bride, bride’s head-dress
‘When they arrive at the girl’s home yet another animal, called umngcamisa
(farewell), is killed for them. This can be either a goat or a sheep and is killed
“because the girl is leaving her home’’. The gall-bladder is emptied, filled with air
and tied to her head “‘to show that it is a good farewell’. ““The gall-bladder shows
that she has had the goat killed, and people who see it will know that she has been
farewelled”’.”
(Note 1:) ‘Compare this custom with the wearing of gall-bladders by diviners
where the ancestral spirit is said to reside with the bladder (Chapter 10).’
p. 244 Bhaca: diviners’ dress
‘Diviners are easily recognised as they invariably dress in white and wear a
fringed head-dress of white beads as a mark of their calling.’
p. 248 Bhaca: novice diviner’s dress
Nothing more.
p. 248 note 1 Bhaca: gall-bladders
‘The gall-bladders of goats are worn by all diviners. The bladder is emptied
of its contents, the blade of a certain type of grass inserted, and it is inflated being
tied tightly to prevent the air escaping. It is then allowed to dry out thoroughly.’
1955 Hammond-Tooke (1957b) pp. 52-53 Gcaleka: initiation
peo2 Gcaleka: boys’ initiation
Nothing more.
p53 Gcaleka: girls’ initiation
Nothing more.
1956 Hammond-Tooke (19585) p. 52 Xhosa: boys’ initiation
‘Formerly periodic dances were held at which the typical khwetha costume of
conical grass mask (ixonxo) and grass skirt (umhlambi) were worn. This custom
died out in the late twenties. At the end of the seclusion period the initiates
(abakhwetha) wash off the white clay with which their bodies have been smeared
at the nearest stream and don new blankets to symbolize their new status. The
lodge and the sheepskin karosses worn during the seclusion period are burnt and
the initiates, now termed amakrwala, are fully-initiated young adults. The full rites
are forbidden to Christians and many are resorting to European doctors for the
surgical operation.’
1960 Campbell, A. C. (1965) p. 55 Xhosa: khwetha costume
x . they had on ... a curious cardboard hat adorned with chicken
feathers. . . . “It is a uniform’’, said one of the other boys, “‘in this usuthu we all
wear this hat to band us together. If you go over the hill you will find several more
groups of boys like us, but each group has its own uniform’’.’
1960 Gitywa (1970) pp. 11, 12-13 Xhosa: khwetha costume
pail Xhosa: white clay
Nothing more.
582 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pri Xhosa: white clay, ubulungu necklace
Nothing more.
pp. 12-13 Xhosa: head-dress
‘The initiates each had a form of head-dress, a roll of sheepskin and a roll of
hareskin encircling the head. These are called umqhele. The hareskin head-dress
indicated that the wearer was successful in a hunt, a feat which always boosts the
ego of the individual. Bird feathers are also used to make this headgear.
Attached to the sticks, iintonga, of the initiates is a set of black and white check
bags. There are normally three such bags to a set. The bags are used for carrying
the few personal effects of the initiate . . . . The bags are called iibhonsaka and
are made by the initiates’ girl friends for them.’
1962 Anon. p. 15 Xhosa: staffs of office
‘Sandile . . . distributed 14 ‘‘kieries”’ of authority to all his subordinate chiefs
in order of precedence. ““These ‘kieries’ symbolise power” he said ‘and mean that
all the chiefs must partake in the great task of Government.” ’
1968 Holt (1969) pp. 110, 114, 123, 130, Tshezi, Bomvana: dress of
Bt 277.284 initiates and diviners
p:. 110 Tshezi, Bomvana: khwetha dancing skirt
‘They each wore a grass-skirt (umhlambi) and a high, pointed head-dress
(ingcambane), as seen in tourist photographs. These dances in full regalia are said
still to be seen in Bomvanaland. In Tsheziland, however, they had to be stopped,
because they were the occasion of faction-fighting. . . . Now the novices are
reduced to this dancing without costumes beside the lodge... .’
p. 114 Tshezi: initiates
‘Here they drop their blankets and paint their bodies with bright red clay. . . .
The guardians are insistent that every inch of the body shall be daubed with this
clay... . Now they are no longer novices (abakhwetha), but initiates (ama-
krwala).’
paizs Tshezi: girls’ initiation
‘(There is] close affinity between the rite and marriage . . . for the one is a
preparation for the other. This is further underlined by the fact that, behind her
screen, the novice sits with her handkerchief flat on the crown of her head and down
over her whole face in the approved manner of a bride... .’
past Tshezi: girls’ initiation
‘The gall-bladder of the sacrificed beast is flung into the fire just before the
girls jump over it, the bladder having been preserved in the novice’s hut for this
purpose.’
p. 131 Tshezi: intonjane
‘Third day . . . the initiate returns to her mother’s hut . . . the strictness of
her bridal manner of wearing her headkerchief is relaxed, and in another few days
she may discard it altogether.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 583
pe 277 Tshezi: diviners’ dress
‘The diviners, some male, some female, were beautifully ornamented with
white beads. I did not see the things that characterised the old-time pictures of
“witch-doctors”’ that is skirts of monkey-tails, inflated ox-bladders in the hair,
necklaces of horns, claws and so on. White is the diviners’ colour. They wear white
blankets and great quantities of white beads, with a chaplet of such beads around
the head and long strings of them dangling from it as a marked feature.’
p. 281 Tshezi: diviner’s dress
‘ “White beads of consent” alludes to the fact that the person who is under-
going ukuthwasa sits on a mat. . . and every member of his (or her) family comes
and places two white beads from a common pile into the palm of his hand. He puts
all the beads aside to be made into a special necklace or necklaces for him to wear
as a diviner.’
(1970) Elliott pp. 82, 114, 116, 117 Xhosa: khwetha, diviners’ caps
p. 82 Xhosa: khwetha caps
Photograph of khwetha wearing caps of sheepskin.
pp: 114, 116, 117 Xhosa: diviners’ caps
Photographs of diviners wearing monkey-skin caps.
1972 Bigalke pp. 70-71, 79, 84, 89 Ndlambe: dress of diviners, khwetha
pp. 70-71 Ndlambe: diviner’s dress
‘Except when attending gatherings of diviners, they dress in the fashion of
their respective sexes. Nevertheless a diviner is always identifiable by the wearing
of some article made of white beads. The special dress worn by diviners at diviners’
dances . . . is distinctive. Male diviners wear a mid-calf-length “‘skirt” (uno /fali)
of white ibhayi, decorated with rows and geometric motifs of thin black braid. . . .
The uno/fali is not sewn up, so the wearer merely winds the rectangle of cloth
about the waist and tucks one end in. Over the uno/fali, a kilt of long strips of
animal skins (imithika) with the hair on is worn specifically when a diviner is
presiding at a ritual. The strips of skin . . . may be of goatskin or cowhide, but
usually include strips of the skins of wild animals . . . but not of the wild animal
. . . to which the diviner stands on a special relationship. A vest may be worn on
the torso. Many diviners wear a hat made of animal skin (isidlokolo) somewhat like
a mitre in shape. The kinds of skin most commonly used are those of the baboon,
the vervet monkey and the black-backed jackal, but here also, the prohibition
against the diviner’s special animal applies.
Female diviners wear a white skirt (umbhaco) similar in shape and decoration
to the red-ochred ones of ordinary married women. They also wear the breast cover
(incebeta) in white or, less frequently, a blouse (ihempe) of ibhayi. . . . A white
bhayi cloak with or without black braid decorations is worn for going out... .
Women diviners . . . are not required to keep their heads covered at all times. .
they wear no head covering while dealing with people who consult them profes-
sionally or when they join the dances of other diviners. Skin hats (izidlokolo) or
headcloths (amaghiya) may be worn.’
584 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 79 Xhosa: khwetha head-band
‘umgqhele, a wreath-like headdress, made of pieces of skin of animals or
feathers of birds killed when the abakhwetha hunt to pass the time’.
p. 84 Ndlambe: men’s festive dress
‘Senior men wear traditional dress only when they officiate or are guests at
feasts and weddings. At sacrifices it is usually only the officiator who wears
traditional dress.’
p. 89 Ndlambe: diviners’ dress
‘.. . diviners . . . say that white is the colour chosen by their ancestors for
them because it is associated with light and that diviners need light to clarify the
problems brought to them by their clients. For this reason also, their clothing and
ornament must be predominantly white.’
(1976) Broster pp. 41-50, 57, 60-61, 67, 96-98 Thembu: ceremonies
pp. 41-50 Thembu: intonjane
pp. 57, 60-61 Thembu: bridal dress
p. 67 Thembu: man’s dress at wedding
10) OPEL eeaere) Thembu: diviner’s dress,
Full descriptions of dress for these ceremonies.
(1977) Sobahle p. 281 Xhosa: diviners’ beads
“The only people who do not wear beads for ornamentation are the diviners
(amaggira), who wear only white beads as status symbols. The diviners, commonly
known as ‘“‘white people” (abantu abamhlophe) or river spirits (abantu bomlambo),
wear white beads which they believe to possess illumination (inkanyiso) from the
ancestors.
The most essential bead ornaments for the diviners are as follows:
(a) Head Ornaments
Umthika. A band of white beads with a fringe right round the head worn in such
a way that the fringes partly obscure the face. The fringe is sometimes sewn onto
the animal skin head-dress isidlokolo. Novitiates, however, do not possess this
bead ornament. Instead they wear a tuft of mane-hair from the jackal, iNchi [sic],
decorated with a band of white beads at the base.
(b) Neck Ornaments
Umngqi. All diviners, including novices, wear prayer beads, intsimbi yecamagu,
round the neck. For the full diviners this is a string of white beads with fringes
hanging loosely over the breast. The novice wears a band of white beads.
(c) Ankle Ornaments
Amangashela. A string of white beads. For the novice these consist of single wood
plaits (from a climbing tree imithwazi). They are known as inkaca.
The above ensemble is worn by diviners when they are practising divination.
There are, however, additional bead ornaments worn in the intlombe dances.
Round the waist is a wide ornately beaded, many-tailed skirt of monkey skin, for
male diviners. For female diviners the skirt is made up of cloth and is known as
umbhaco. From his right shoulder hangs his beaded medicine horn from a goat.
|... Sti tpi oa
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 585
From his left shoulder hangs a beaded medicine gourd iselwa. He carries a long
medicine horn uphondo IweNqu, and a beaded thick animal tail switch attached
to a short handle, itshoba.’
1982 Broster pp. 38-39, 46-47 Thembu: diviners’ dress
pp. 38-39 Thembu: ornaments of novices
‘All the students wear white beads . . . . Advancement in training is marked
by increased ornamentation in beadwork—from the single strand of beads worn
by the young student to the magnificent display exhibited by the qualified iggirha.’
pp. 46-47 Thembu: diviner’s dress
‘During the month while her family made arrangements for her graduation,
Nombuso prepared her trousseau. Two long white skirts, braided at the hem and
with matching shawls, were made with her tutor’s assistance. . . . Her high fur hat
was made from a baboon skin and her tasselled skirt from the skins of wild cat and
jackal. Her fellow students assisted in making her head-dress which, in accordance
with tradition, was of white beads... .’
COSTUME AND INSIGNIA: TERMS
isiduluka 1. nD. 2. ostrich-feather head-dress worn by chief, Vundla Qu-
thing 721
impikwane_ 1. short horns that diverge backwards like wings, D. 2. spreading
war head-dress, D. 3. long crane-feathers,D. 4. not X or Xes, others not
asked. (Diminutive of iphiko wing, D) 722
indwe 1.bluecrane,D. 2. head-dress formed of the feathers of this bird, D X
Xes (X—Dohne 1844) 723
isindwe_ collection of cranes’ feathers, used by warriors as a head-dress when
drilling or fighting; the right to wear this was conferred as a reward for great
bravery, D X T not Xes; others not asked 724
isidabane 1. ‘skin of the Ula, Punzi or Liza. Properly it should be that of the Ula,
used as dress in fighting parties, or in dances at marriage feasts; usually
fastened round the neck so as to hang loosely down the back, as a kind of hood;
it is bound round the loins of fighters’, DX Bo T. 2. broad beadwork band
round neck, Xes, not Mp nor Bh. (Note: by Ula D means iula, oribi antelope;
by Punzi, impunzi, duiker; by Liza, iliza, vaal rhebok) 725
isthlomo 1. war dress, D. 2. men’s head-dress of fowl’s feather, Xes. (From
-hloma put on war-dress) 726
umthika 1. tail, skirt, long garment; any part of a garment flying loose, D.
2. skin tails worn by doctors, X T, or by warriors (Mp—Poto Ndamase).
3. skin and feather head-dress for warriors, Xes 727 (734)
ichontsi 1.nD. 2. fringed bead head-band worn below cap, Bh 728
incebetha 1. attire of beads used by the women as a breast covering when they
take a walk; and by men, when they have no isidabane, D X T Vundla
(X-Soga). 2. nowadays, a cloth with beads, X Xes. 3. white bead fringe
586 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
worn by doctors (Bigalke 1972). 4. amecklate (misreading of bad hand-
writing: incebetha) fringe of beadwork, suspended from string around neck,
worn by women (X—Fleming 1853: 221) 729 (674)
isala_ 1.nD. 2. cap of feathers, Xes''.730
isidlokolo 1. cap of baboon’s skin, D X. 2. ditto or of other skin, T and
others 731
isidlukulu. 1. (= isidlokolo) cap of baboon’s skin, D X. 2. (= isala) cap of
feathers, Xes 732
umnqwazi 1. covering for the head of women, being a high cap made of skin
trimmed with beads, bonnet, cap, hat, D, general. 2. narrow beadwork
head-band round back of head for girls, Mp. 3. beaded head-ring (Mp-—
Beukes). 4. married woman’s beaded head-ring, also called isinqwazi
(Mp-UCT). 5. baboon-skin hat, Bh. 6. apex or topknot of modern hut,
X. 733,51, 653; 805)
umthika 1. tail, skirt, long garment, any part of a garment flying loose, D.
2. skin tails worn by doctors, X T, or by warriors (Mp—Poto Ndamase).
3. skin and feather head-dress for warriors, Xes 734 (727)
iwatshi 1.nD. 2. white beadwork worn on wrists by isanuse, Mp (cf. iwatsha
arm-ring) 735
amafutha (rarely in sing. ifutha) 1. fat, oil, grease, D, general, and the common
Bantu word for ‘fat’. 2. white clay, with which circumcised boys smear their -
bodies, D 736
igxaba 1.nD. 2. sheepskin cloak covered with white clay, of abakhwetha, T
Herschel 737
ingceke 1.nD. 2. white clay used by abakhwetha to smear on body, general.
(Note: inceke (Em) white paint, D, is erroneous.) 3. small ingobozi basket,
X Xes Mp_ 738 (535, 941)
ingcambane (cf. isicamba) 1. veil of rushes or palm leaves worn by an umkhwetha
while dancing, D X 739 (503)
iphinga 1.nD. 2. horse’s tail and skin of small animals worn round arm by
abakhwetha, X (from -phinga intertwine, as wattling) 740
iphunga the grass put by circumcised boys before their faces, D X not Xes_ 741
isidanga 1. ornament of many strings of beads worn on the neck or across the
upper part of the body; garland, D X Mp. 2. isidanga samadoda long neck-
lace with squares (T—Mrs Goodwin). 3. long beaded blue necklace worn at
intonjane by girls and ‘witch-doctresses’ (T—Louw) 742 (835)
isigoxo 1.nD. 2. necklace worn by girl dancers at intonjane (X—Louw) 743
isitsaba_ 1. garland or bandage of an ornamented kind (beads) round the head or
foot, D. 2. arm- and ankle-pieces of dancing costume (X—Schweiger).
3. ring, the size of a bangle and of various bead sizes, worn on the head,
general. 4. long beadwork anklet, X Ciskei 744 (799, 911)
inkwintshi (pron. inkwintji) 1. head-gear or badge worn by chief councillors, war-
riors or amagora (heroes) only, D. 2. not confirmed 745
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 587
isundu 1. the wild palm, Phoenix reclinata Jacq., whose leaves are used by the
abakhwetha for making their kilts, D (X—Soga, -Sim). 2. sintu (X-Von
Winkelman) 746
ixonxo 1.nD. 2. head-dress of abakhwetha (X—Soga). (But verb -xonxa form
in clay) 747
izindwe (pl. of isindwe) 1. the two palm leaves stuck on either side of the
head-dress worn by an umkhwetha when dancing, D X not Xes_ 748 (724)
umhlambi 1. the dress, made of palm leaves, worn round the waist by boys
undergoing the rite of circumcision, D X (Bo—Cook 1931) (X—Schweiger).
2. girl’s dancing skirt (Mp—UCT). 3. not Xes 749
umwahlwa 1. nD. 2. head-ring worn by Thembu bride (T—W. Blohm cor-
resp.) 750
isibhalala rug or coloured blanket, D, general 751
unontswintswintswi 1.nD. 2. loin-cloth of salempore, worn by men at first-
fruits ceremony (Bh—Hammond-Tooke 1962) - 752
umsila_ tail of an animal; fig. messenger of a chief or of the court, D 753
COSTUME AND INSIGNIA: DISCUSSION
‘Costume’, as distinct from ‘clothing’, is taken here to mean special garments
worn by individuals or groups either because of their rank, or to distinguish them
on special occasions. It does not include ornaments so used, unless these form part
of the costume, as with the abakhwetha, though admittedly the distinction between
costume and ornament is a little arbitrary (e.g. the crane-feather head-dress).
Distinguishing ornaments are found under the appropriate section. Certain insig-
nia, however, are included here because they too are indications of office.
CHIEFS
Chiefs were the only persons whose rank was indicated by their attire, yet they
can scarcely be said to have had a special costume. They wore the same garments
as other men, already described under clothing, but made of better materials, the
cloaks notably being of leopard skin (PI. 68: 3), the wearing of which was the royal
prerogative. They wore in addition several distinguishing ornaments (p. 657 ff.).
Today, although chiefs wear western-style dress, some retain a special skin cloak
for certain occasions. For example, the Vundla chief in Quthing in 1961 wore a
rabbit- and jackal-skin cloak over his ordinary western-style clothes, and an
ostrich-feather head-dress, isiduluka, at a gathering where the people danced.
RECITER OF PRAISES
When a chief takes part in a ceremony he is accompanied by an official who
recites his praises. For his duties this official will wear a skin cap and a cloak of
many different skins (Pl. 92: 1, 2).
588 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
WARRIORS
The actual fighting dress of a Xhosa, Thembu or Bomvana man was his
ordinary dress without his cloak. The sketches of Xhosa warriors of the Frontier
Wars to about the middle of the nineteenth century show them as naked (PI. 90:
1, 2) except, presumably, for the penis-sheath, but most of the authors state that
they wore tied round the loins and hanging down at the back, the isidabane, a
dressed skin of the oribi, or, according to a Thembu informant, the blesbok. All
are agreed that the isidabane was worn by warriors for dancing, tied round the neck
and hanging down behind, but in Bell’s sketch of a war-dance, only a few dancers
wear the isidabane, and those shown are of leopard skin (PI. 89).
Ward, speaking of the 1840s, states that the Xhosa warriors wore their
‘karosses’, which may mean cloak or isidabane, and Bonatz says the same of the
Thembu. Kropf, writing in the 1860s, states that they wore all manner of tails round
waist and limbs, but there is no confirmation of this except Warner’s note of an
ox-tail worn just below the knee. Auld mentions a black mark on the forehead,
put there by the doctor when doctoring the army for war.
The Fingo on the other hand wore a definite kilt of strips of monkey or wild-cat
skin, made into tails, round the waist, and, sometimes for fighting and nearly
always for dancing, round the neck as well (Pl. 90: 3). This relates back to their
origin among the northern Nguni in Natal where such war dress is worn. They, too,
sometimes wore the cape round the neck.
Mpondo and Hlubi warriors also wore a kilt, umthika, of strips of skin round ©
waist and neck (PI. 90: 4), and tufts of white ox-tail below the knee as well.
The most striking part of the Xhosa warriors’ costume was the head-dress,
indwe, of a pair of wings of the blue crane attached to a leather band (Fig. 20),
which was sometimes decorated with beads or porcupine quills, and worn round
the head so that the feathers stood up one above each ear and inclined slightly
backward (PI. 90: 1). These head-dresses were made by the same man who made
the shields and sandals, and were the property of the chief, to whom all crane wings
were given. When not in use, they were kept in a special hut at his homestead, with
the shields, and given out before a battle, or on other specific occasions, only to
those who had by their valour earned the distinction. Alberti stated that if such a
man showed himself a coward in battle, he lost his life. According to Kropf and
J. H. Soga the Xhosa army was divided in this way into two divisions, the distin-
guished veterans who formed the main body, wearing the wings, and others, ‘the
unhorned’, who acted as scouts. According to Warner, the feather-wearers were
the chief's bodyguard. Alberti, however, indicates that each man who wore the
head-dress was a sort of company commander. The ‘unhorned’ wore ostrich and
PLATE 89
Warriors’ dress at dance.
‘War Dance’, probably Xhosa; no locality, c. 1830, painting by Charles Bell (Elliott photograph,
Cape Archives 4274).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 589
War Dance.
GT me
a eect F
4.
590 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Fig. 20. Crane-wing head-dress, indwe, Xhosa, 1827 (Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, PR77.L.14).
other feathers, or tails, especially of hartebeest or jackal, in a bunch on their heads.
Bell’s sketch shows all the men wearing crane feathers.
Distinguished Thembu warriors wore the crane feathers as well, and according
to Smith they formed the vanguard, and the chief followed immediately behind.
Other warriors wore ostrich feathers or animal tails on their heads.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 591
The Fingo wore tails and feathers on their heads, and according to Baines’
sketches (PI. 90: 4) they too wore the crane feathers, but this is not confirmed, and
could only have been adopted after they had settled among the Xhosa.
There is no specific mention of the Mpondo using this form of distinction, yet
in Faku’s praises, recorded by Fynn, there is the phrase “You have crane feathers
on your head’. This may have meant individual feathers, not the whole wing.
Gardiner, who visited the Mpondo in 1834, refers to the principal warriors ‘wearing
plumes’. Modern Mpondo informants knew nothing of it.
It is of interest to note that a rock-painting copied by G. W. Stow from ‘the
banks of the Gxulube R.’ depicts a man wearing the crane-wing head-dress. (There
is a Xolobe River, a tributary of the Great Kei, which it joins just above Kei Drift,
and which is probably the same.)
There is no information on the head-dress of warriors of the other tribes. Some
modern Xesibe informants, however, knew the crane-wing head-dress, and stated
that only one wing was worn; others said none at all.
Nowadays, of course, this aspect of life has disappeared, but at least until quite
recently, men of the Xhosa still wore the isidabane for dances, and probably still
do so in some places.
DOCTORS
The term ‘diviner’ is used here for iggira (Bhaca isangoma) instead of the
misleading popular term ‘witchdoctor’. Diviners are persons who have been
initiated into a vocation to which they felt themselves called and who communicate
with the ancestors. They are distinct from the medicine-man or herbalist, the
ixhwele (Bhaca inyanga), who dispenses both protective and curative medicine but
does not communicate with the ancestors nor undergo initiation, but rather an
apprenticeship. One person may combine both professions. It is the diviner who
wears a special costume—medicine-men may or may not do so as they feel
inclined.
The dress of diviners described by early authors and until this century seems
to have been the same throughout the Cape Nguni area, and consisted of a
loin-dress or kilt, umthika, of monkey or cat tails or strips of skin, reaching to about
the knees, and an indefinite number and variety, according to taste, of objects,
including strips of skin, coils of entrails and horn or calabash medicine flasks, hung
round the neck, wrapped round the arms and legs and tied to the hair, which was
dressed in a wild style. The most characteristic item was an inflated gall-bladder
or several of them attached usually to the hair (Pl. 92: 5). Backhouse and Kidd
mention laymen of importance wearing gall-bladders, but this is unusual. Eastern
Mpondo and Xesibe informants said that laymen of sufficient importance, when
guests, might wear the gall-bladder of the goat that was slaughtered for their
entertainment. Important diviners wore a high fur cap, isidlokolo (Pl. 91: 1-4), of
baboon skin or, according to Backhouse, hyaena skin. Backhouse saw a diviner
wearing a short skirt and short cloak of leopard skin in addition to the rest, but
592 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
this could have been a member of the royal family. (It is, however, confirmed by
Makalima.) They carried a switch of tail-hair, itshoba.
Nowadays in the west the outfit is essentially the same, worn over a white
loin-cloth or skirt and perhaps a blouse or T-shirt, with a white cloak if needed.
White is the special colour of diviners and has a supernatural significance. Even
when they are wearing ordinary dress they will usually wear something white as
a mark of their calling. Many of the former ornamental items have been replaced
by beadwork, nearly always white, but sometimes a little blue or red is added. Tails,
gall-bladder and fur cap are worn by all practitioners, and below the cap there is
usually a long fringe of white beads, hanging to the eyes or below, and other white
beadwork (PI. 91: 1-4). The cap is supposed to be of baboon skin, but according
to one author may be made of goatskin. In addition, diviners in the west wear,
hanging from the ears or round the neck, a bead fringe, incebetha, the same
ornament as is worn by some women as a festive breast-cloth (Pl. 92: 2).
Among the Mpondomise, Mpondo, Bhaca and other eastern tribes, diviners
are similarly dressed in white and wear the gall-bladders, baboon-skin cap and
white beadwork. The Bhaca do not wear the loin-dress of tails, and their beadwork
is entirely white. They have the gall-bladders attached to the white bead head-
dress. Others may add a little blue, and some Mpondo women diviners seen in 1967
had their white skirts so covered with black and blue beads that the cloth was hardly
visible.
Initiates into the profession wear white clothing during training sessions. A ~
feather head-dress, isala, may be worn (Pl. 91: 5). Western Mpondo women
initiates wear short unbraided skirts and white beads, and their head-cloths tied
low over the forehead. Fingo initiates wear specially prepared goatskin thongs
round the neck. According to Broster, Thembu initiates have a set series of
head-dresses to mark each year of training.
INITIATION (see p. 820 ff.)
The rite of circumcision, and the period of seclusion for the boys, called
abakhwetha, of which it forms part, were formerly general practice in this area. The
earliest apparent record is that of Lavanha in 1593.
Initiation ceremonies are still performed regularly in some parts of the west
of the territory. In others, however, they have been abandoned altogether or much
PLATE 90
Warriors’ dress.
1. ‘A Caffer man in his War Costume’; drawing attributed to Charles Bell, now in the Cape
Archives, no data (print by Africana Museum, from negative presented by Prof. P. R. Kirby).
2. ‘Amakosa Warrior’; no locality, c. 1850, drawing by J. W(alker) (AM 4443).
3. ‘A Fingo War Dance’; painting by F. I’Ons, no locality, c. 1850 (AM 4436).
4. Part of painting entitled ‘Col. Eyre’s Division passing through the Camp of General Somerset
with captured cattle driven by Butterworth Fingoes and Amapondo Kafirs, near Butterworth’
by T. Baines; c. 1851 (AM 283) (see also Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 46).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
iar
ee i ets
a.
a /
Toe
we “ < Se,
594 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
reduced. The Mpondo abandoned them during the reign of Faku. This must have
been after 1829 when Fynn visited the Ntusi clan. Some Xesibe still held the
ceremonies up to 1948, but the practice has died out there. There is no record of
the Bhaca ever having had initiation, but latterly some have adopted it from the
neighbouring Hlubi. Boys from the age of 12 to 18 years were gathered together
at a secluded place where a lodge was formed. They stayed there for about 3 to
6 months, and amongst other things they learnt there was a special dance that was
performed in costume towards the end of the period, when the homesteads from
which the initiates were drawn were visited. Von Winkelman states that the dance
took place only at the end of the period as a final display, but according to later
observers the dancing went on throughout the period, and this was confirmed by
some modern informants, while some agreed with Von Winkelman. Others, and
this seems to be the truth of the matter, stated that the dances had first to be learnt
and were then performed daily for about the last month of the lodge.
During the period of their seclusion the boys are smeared all over with clay,
ingceke, with the exception of their hair, which looks very black by contrast
(Pl. 93: 1, 2). According to Alberti, Xhosa initiates wore white clay until healed,
while according to Kropf they were smeared with ordinary mud until their wounds
were healed, and thereafter with white clay. All other sources speak of white clay
exclusively, and not only among the Xhosa, except that according to Fleming it was
mixed with blood as well as water. For the dancing, spots and patterns in other
colours are added to the white groundwork—latterly washing blue and even a cut’
beetroot were used (PI. 94: 6). The styles vary from group to group and evidently
the better the dancer, the fancier the patterns. According to Von Winkelman a
plain coating of red ochre was used for the dance, but there is no other mention
of this.
The orthodox outer garment for the period of seclusion, from the time of the
earliest reports until now, has been a cloak of sheepskin, igxaba (Pl. 93: 1), but
Thembu initiates seen in 1948 were wearing blankets (PI. 93: 2), and blankets have
replaced the sheepskin in most places. In some places the cloak was whitened as
well as the body. Bomvana initiates were allowed no ornaments other than plaited
sedge stems, and an ubulunga necklet, which latter was also worn by Thembu, but
Fingo, Xhosa, and Thembu initiates wore all sorts of fantastic head-dresses and
other ornaments at this time (PI. 93: 3). Hlubi and Thembu initiates in the Herschel
district were allowed to wear white beads round wrists and ankles. Among the
PLATE 91
Diviners’ dress.
. Fingo woman diviner; Peddie, c. 1950 (photo Mrs B. Jurgens).
. Xhosa diviner; Peddie, c. 1950 (photo Mrs B. Jurgens).
. umnqwazi (cap) and ichantsi (bead fringe), worn by doctor, Bhaca; Mt. Frere, 1948.
. Cap and head-band, no scale, Mpondomise; Ntshigo, Tsolo, 1945 (Alb. E503).
. Feather head-dress worn by diviner initiates, Xesibe; Mt. Ayliff, 1944 (EL 2006). Height
c. 250 mm.
Mm BWN Re
S25)
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596 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Xhosa it seems to have been the fashion latterly to carry several black and white
striped cloth bags (Pl. 93: 3) and have black and white cloth bands round wrists
and ankles. Before entering the lodge, Hlubi boys in the Herschel district wore a
head-ornament of dyed ostrich feathers, usually three if they could afford it.
The dancing costume, umhlambi, which has also not changed from that of the
earliest records, is made of the leaf folioles of the wild date palm, isundu (Phoenix
reclinata). The folioles are attached in bunches to a bark cord to make a thick fringe
about 4,5 metres long. In 1593 this was described loosely as ‘reeds fashioned like
mats’. The folioles increase in length from about 12 cm at one end to about 45 cm
at the other (PI. 94: 1, 4). This fringe is wound round the waist, starting at the short
end so as to make a short stiff kilt of four of five layers, which makes a clapping
noise with the movements of the dance. The skirt is the same wherever initiation
is practised. Some groups put together thinner strips of leaf to make a fringe,
isitsaba, for the neck, and fringes for arms and legs. Others wear strips of the skin
of sheep or goat (Fingo), white goat (Thembu) or other animals (Xhosa), or
nowadays of gaily coloured cloths. All groups have a cylindrical head-dress, isi-
gcobo, and a veil, iphunga or ingcambane, for the face. As part of the head-dress
Xhosa, Fingo and Bomvana place two young unopened palm leaves, on the average
about a metre long, one above each ear like the warriors’ crane feathers (Fig. 20),
which no doubt they represent, since they are called by the same name, izindwe. |
A stick is carried in the hand. The Fingo complete the costume with a necklace of
large white clay beads (Pl. 94: 3) and the Bomvana with a whitened wooden
imitation of the ivory arm-band. Bomvana costumes were made by specialists and
paid for by the fathers of the boys. In other groups the boys or their fathers made
their own.
This is the costume worn by Xhosa, Thembu, Bomvana, some Fingo, and
Mpondomise. F. Brownlee in 1928 saw the Fingo initiates arrive for the dance
wrapped in their sheepskins, which they then discarded, and dance naked but for
some streamers of sheepskin at knees and elbows. Fynn, who visited the Mpondo
in 1829, during the reign of Faku, described the dancing dress of initiates of the
PLATE 92
Special dress.
1. umnweba, ingubo yenyamakazi (diviner’s kaross), made up of pelts of 13 different animals,
1 290 x 1 360 mm, Thembu; Cofimvaba, 1937 (FH, Hamilton-Welsh collection 617).
2. imbongi (reciter of praises) at installation of Xhosa Paramount Chief Zwelidumile Sigcau at
Willowvale, 21 October 1960, with fur cap and cloak of pelts.
3. The Xhosa chief Kreli’s brother Dema, and son Xotami, 1860-1875; photograph shows male
dress, early use of blankets, and ivory bangle (umxhaka) worn by men of rank (photo
W. H. I. Bieek, SAM).
4. umthika weggqira (diviner’s rush skirt and maize-husk head-dress), for river rite, Xhosa;
Neera, Middledrift, 1960 (FH, Hamilton-Welsh collection 807).
5. Inflated bladders worn on the head by diviners, painting by F. I’Ons, ‘Damo, acelebrated Fingo
witch-doctor and rain-maker’; no locality, c. 1850 (AM 41/907).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
598 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Ntusi clan as being made of ‘a kind of flaggy grass’. It is difficult to suggest what
it was, other than a misidentification of palm-leaf fronds.
At the end of the period the initiates discard their dancing dress and sheepskin
clothing, which, together with everything else connected with the lodge, are burnt
in the huts in which they have lived. They wash off all traces of white clay, then
grease and ochre their bodies, put on the penis-sheath, in areas where it is still
worn, and return home to a feast at which they are given new clothing. In former
times they were given a present of spears to show that they were now men of the
tribe. According to arecent account, Xhosa and Fingo are now given a special black
stick.
Girls’ initiation is practised throughout these tribes, and is generally an
individual affair. The principal herself is secluded for the whole period and does
not wear any festive dress except her best clothing. The ritual dances that take place
are performed by the women and the men of the neighbourhood, wearing their
customary dancing dress.
Mpondo girls, for about a week after their period of seclusion, wore the long
skirts of married women, their heads shaved and their head-cloths arranged over
the face like a bride, before resuming the normal dress of unmarried girls.
Bhaca girls, similarly, emerged from seclusion wearing a married woman's
skirt, but also a necklet of a twist of fat of the sacrificial goat, and its gall-bladder .
attached by a plaited rush cord. At the final ceremony they wore, attached to the
arms in the same way, the gall-bladders of the cattle killed for the feast.
MARRIAGE
The dress of a Xhosa bride and her attendants in former days was a narrow
apron of oribi skin in front, and a similar piece behind; they had ornaments round
the waist, and a leather band round the head, with a hartebeest tail suspended from
it at the back, hanging to the shoulders. They anointed the body with red ochre
before dressing. For the greater part of the ceremony they were wrapped com-
pletely in their cloaks, and their heads and faces were covered with a softly dressed
skin. By 1896 the latter had been replaced by a piece of black silk. According to
MacDonald the chief’s bride wore a leopard skin, but this is not confirmed.
It is probable that the same costume was worn by brides of all the Cape Nguni
people, but there are no specific records of those other than the Xhosa.
Latterly, except where western dress is worn, bride and attendants in all the
tribes, except some Xhosa, have worn a skirt of the ordinary pattern prevailing in
PICS
Dress of abakhwetha.
1. abakhwetha, Thembu; no locality, 1848, painting by T. Baines entitled ‘Tambookies after
having been circumcised, white-washed’ (AM 6330).
2. umkhwetha, Thembu; Engcobo, 1948.
3. umkhwetha, Transkei; c. 1954, no further data.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 599
4§
ai
WW
“5G
600 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
the tribe, and ornaments round waist and neck and head, but no upper garment—
even among the Mpondo. Xhosa brides should wear a short skirt of bushbuck skin,
and their bridesmaids black handkerchiefs. Mpondo brides wear the long skirt and
plenty of ornaments. Their bridesmaids wear the same. Hlubi brides wear a
head-dress of feathers and a beadwork veil, and their long skin skirt is ornamented
with white buttons. Bhaca brides wear skin clothing, and Xesibe brides wear a train
of salempore cloth. They are covered from neck to feet with a blanket, and their
heads and faces are veiled with a black silk head-cloth. When a Bhaca bride leaves
for her husband’s home she has the gall-bladder of a goat or sheep, killed for the
ceremony, attached to her hair.
The Xhosa bridegroom wore the usual dancing dress, that is, a penis-sheath,
ornamented with beads, and an oribi-skin dancing cape (isidabane), ornaments
round neck, waist and wrists and in addition the leather head-band with hartebeest
tail suspended from the back of the head. The bridegrooms of other tribes may have
worn the same but there is no record.
Nowadays, bridegrooms wear their best, probably new, clothing, and a large
number of ornaments, sometimes including a head-band of cowrie shells on
leather. The old dress was seen as late as 1940 at a Xhosa wedding.
FESTIVE OCCASIONS
The principal festive occasions of the people of this area are the initiation of
boys and girls, initiation as diviners, marriage, and, for the Bhaca only, the feast
of the first fruits. Other tribes used to hold this latter feast, the Mpondo with
dancing, the rest with ritual rather than festivity. The Bhaca now celebrate it in
a modified form only. On such occasions there is a difference in the attire of the
principal people concerned, the dancers and the ordinary guests. The latter simply
wear their best clothes and ornaments (PI. 96: 1), and it is worth noting that old
styles of dress, such as the high beaded cap worn by women (Pls 69: 6; 70: 1),
survived as festive wear long after they had gone out of ordinary use. According
to Smith, Xhosa chiefs, attending wedding feasts in the early nineteenth century,
wore the same dress as the bridegroom.
PLATE 94
Costume of abakhwetha; charm.
1. Short fronds at inside end of abakhwetha dancing skirt of palm leaf, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1935
(TM 35/838).
. amakhubalo (necklace of root sections worn by mother of baby), Thembu; Umtata, 1960.
. Necklace of white clay beads worn by abakhwetha, Fingo; Trappes Valley, Bathurst, no date
(Alb., no no.).
4. Long fronds at outside end of abakhwetha dancing skirt of palm leaf, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1935
(TM 35/838).
. abakhwetha, probably Hlubi; Mt. Frere, 1960 (photo C. L. L. Biden).
6. abakhwetha being painted for the dance, Bomvana; no locality, c. 1930 (photo A. M. Duggan-
Cronin, MM).
QW NM
Nn
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
601
602 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
The dress of the principals has already been described, except that of the
Bhaca chief at the first-fruits ceremonies. His costume throughout the ceremonies
was, in addition to the penis-sheath, a blanket called isibhalala, which was
discarded for certain parts of the ceremony. When he met the cattle after the
cattle-race he wore an angora-goatskin loin-cloth with the long hair worn out-
side.
Those who took part in the dances that formed a part of these occasions, were
the young men or formerly the warriors, girls and some of the married women. The
men discarded their cloaks, and in the west they put on the isidabane cape. One
early description of the Mpondo gave the same dress, another said the men were
‘perfectly naked and painted’, but generally men in the east wore the loin-dress and
neck-piece of tails (Pl. 96: 4). The isidabane cape was seen up to the 1960s and may
still be seen in some parts of the west, but, with local exceptions in the west, and
universally in the east, men’s dress for dancing is a loin-cloth. This is generally
made of unbleached cotton sheeting, but the Bhaca used salempore cloth. Vundla
men wore an itshali, a four-piece skirt, made of a type of sheeting called umgadu.
Latterly leggings of angora goatskin, with the hair on, became fashionable in the
west. A style seen in East Pondoland in 1948 was to have one corner of the
loin-cloth taken loosely through the legs and pinned up in front (PI. 86: 3). Bhaca
men, when parading at the feast of the first fruits, wore a skin cap and bands of
cloth or skin below the knees, in addition to the loin-cloth of salempore cloth,
unontswintswintswi, and ornaments.
There is no early description of women’s dancing dress but it was presumably
their best garments minus the cloak. Norbury recorded, in 1877, that a bride’s
trousseau included a richly beaded cap, a leather belt studded with brass buttons
and what was evidently a bead-fringe breast-cloth, and that these were for dancing.
For the Mpondo feast of the first fruits, Bain described the women as wearing only
a skirt, and this is how the Xhosa women are depicted in Bell’s sketch of a
war-dance (PI. 89), though some have a breast-cloth as well.
Latterly, married women in the west wore a long skin skirt, cut fully (Shaw
& Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 43: 7; present paper, Pl. 105: 4) on the same pattern as
their cloth skirts. Those, mostly older women, who owned one, wore a breast-cloth
of long bead fringe, or of white unbleached cotton sheeting embroidered in black.
A fancily tied black head-cloth was worn. Those who beat the oxhide for the
khwetha dancing are said to have been veiled with a black cloth, so that the boys
might not see their faces. There is no confirmation of this. Mpondo women do not
wear special costume for dancing. The dancing dress worn by Bhaca women at the
PLATE 95
Festive dress.
1. Women dressed for feast of first fruits, Bhaca; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
2. Rear view of the same.
3. Dance, Mpondo; Tshonya, Lusikisiki, 1948.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
1
ve \ :
Sh a oe
603
604 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
feast of the first fruits was the old-style skin costume, made new for each bride,
of an apron and two skirts, with an enormous amount of ornament, including
ostrich feathers stuck in their hair and ankle rattles of skin, and they carried whisks
(PIe-95 led):
Young girls in the west wear for dancing the heavy bead-fringe apron, with
a short skirt, sometimes of white cloth, sometimes of a series of gay, coloured
cloths, open in front to show the apron. Bhaca girls are similarly clad, but Eastern
Mpondo wear a beaded loin-cloth. In the east a coloured handkerchief is worn
round the breasts.
For a vivid account of a festive occasion see Wilmot 1856: 56-61.
INSIGNIA
Two items are mentioned in the literature as insignia of office—the elephant
tail of the chief, and the leopard, lion or ox tail of the chief and his messengers.
According to most of the early authors a chief’s kraal, hut, or homestead was
to be distinguished by having beside it a high pole on which one or more elephant
tails were suspended. This was recorded only for the Xhosa, others say it was by
a lion or leopard tail on the roof. When an elephant was killed, the ears, the end
of the trunk and the tail were taken to the chief, whose prerogative it was to receive
them. Authors differ as to whether both ears and tail were suspended from the pole
or whether it was only the tail, while the ears were buried with the trunk. The
inference is that it was the tail only that was part of the royal insignia. The record
is for the Xhosa, and according to one author ‘the border tribes’. Moister’s
statement that the tail was carried before a Xhosa chief is not confirmed, and may
well be a misunderstanding. At all events, by the middle of the nineteenth century
the tails were seen less and less and eventually disappeared altogether, with the
elephants.
The leopard or lion tail, umsila, was carried as a warrant by Xhosa and
Mpondo chiefs’ messengers. According to Alexander a jackal tail was used.
Dohne, Ward and J. H. Soga, presumably speaking of later times or localities
where supplies of lion and leopard had run out, state that ox tails were used and
the Dictionary (1915) gives a white ox tail as an alternative, but leopard seems to
have been the orthodox form. The uses specifically mentioned are: to distinguish
the chief’s hut, by hanging several tails on the roof, or placing a stick with a tail
PLATE 96
Dress for special occasions.
poo
. Khonjwayo woman at dance; near Nggeleni, 1958.
2. Fingo (?) woman wearing beadwork (photo G. N. Tudhope of Hermon, 7 km east of
Wepener, in c. 1876, SAM).
3. ‘Caffer’ (i.e. Xhosa) man with stick with leopard skin at top; near Fish River, c. 1777, Gordon
collection (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).
4. Dancing dress, Mpondo; 1825-1829 (Kay 1833, frontispiece).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
605
606 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
drawn over it beside the door of the hut, and according to Smith and W. Shaw this
was in addition to the elephant tail; to be carried by the messenger sent to another
chief to declare war; to be drawn over a spear shaft and planted in the gateway of
a cattle kraal to show that the chief had annexed all the cattle; or, in Pondoland,
that the owner of the homestead or an accused person was summoned to the chief;
or to be carried by the bearer of ordinary messages from the chief. According to
Von Winkelman, the method of declaring war was to plant a stick in the enemy
kraal and hang a skin on it—if the following morning the stick was knocked down
the declaration was accepted. This may or may not be a reference to the leopard
tail. In one of the Gordon drawings it is held by a man wearing a leopard-skin cloak;
he may nevertheless have been a royal messenger (PI. 96: 3).
The messengers were called imisila (tails) or izigidimi, and lived at the chief’s
homestead where the tails were kept. The Bomvana men might wear the tails
instead of carrying them, and Dohne states that in a group of Xhosa messengers
the one who actually carried the message wore the ox tail on his leg. In Pondoland
it was said to be the messengers of the Paramount Chief only who carried the tails
and it was a serious offence to resist them.
The importance of the insignia was recognized by the Cape Governor in the
1840s, when Sir Harry Smith presented Sandile with a brass-knobbed staff of office,
an old practice of Government commenced by the Dutch East India Company for
the Hottentots (Khoikhoi) and followed by the British. According to Ward, this |
staff was to be placed outside the chief’s hut next to the cow’s tail on a stick.
Furthermore it was laid down that the Government would provide sticks to be
carried by messengers from the British Commissioner in Kaffraria.
ORNAMENT
SOURCES
1554. Perestrello sp. 157 North of Bashee R.*: red beads
‘. . . d’entre todos hum so, de que os outros faziaO mais conta, e era 0 que
respondia a nossas perguntas, que elles ta mal entendiaO como nos as suas; 0 qual
posto que na pequena pompa, e pobre atavio de sua pessoa na0 tivesse differenca
de seos companheiros, por vir assim nu como elles; trazia de ventagem humas
poucas de contas de sua laya, que sao de barro vermelho, tamanhas como graos
de coentro, e assim redondas; as quaes folgamos de ver, parecendonos que havia
destas por ser perto de algu rio onde viesse Navio de resgate; porque aquellas
coritas se fazem no Reyno de Cambaya; donde s6mente pelas maos dos nossos sao
trazidas aos lugares daquella Costa.’
(p. 255. ‘Among them was one of whom the rest seemed to make the most
account, and he it was who answered our questions, which he understood as little
as we did his, and though there was no pomp or dignity about his person, being
“Now thought to be Msikaba R. (Auret & Maggs 1982) (see p. 448).
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 607
naked like the rest, yet he was distinguished from them by wearing a few beads
red in colour, round, and about the same size as coriander seeds [c. 3-5 mm], which
we rejoiced to see, it seeming to us that these beads being in his possession proved
that we were near some river frequented by trading vessels, for they are only made
in the kingdom of Cambaya, and are brought by the hands of our people to this
coast.’)
1593 Lavanha (1597) p. 234 South of Umtata R.: chief's copper ornament
‘Usao deste traje quasi todos os negros desta Cafraria, e os seos Reys e
principaes trazem pendurada na orelha esquerda huma compainha de cobre sem
badalo que elles fazem a seo modo.’
(p. 293. “This dress is used by almost all the negroes of Kaffraria, and their
kings and chiefs wear, hanging to the left ear, a copper ornament made after their
own fashion.’)
1687-8 ‘Centaurus’ (Cape Archives) pp. 444, 447 Xhosa: ornaments
p. 444 Xhosa: arm-bands
‘Gelijck de natalsche Hottentots het ijser soo konnen sij het metael tot
armringen versmelten, en souden ook wel kennisse van enige mineraelen hebben.’
p. 447 Xhosa: copper and iron ornaments
‘Komen dese Magosse de vreede met eenige van hunnen vijanden te breecken,
en den oorlog anseggen, den buijt van ossen, die sij van den vijand rooven, werden
onder de conincx, en andere grooten verdeeld, maar het cooper en ijser dragen
sij, die het maar bekomt tot teecken van dapperheid.’
ioe Beutler pp. 298, 307, 309 Xhosa: ornaments
p. 298 Xhosa: chief’s ornaments
‘...0m sijn hoofd waaren een meenigte strenge corallen op malkander
gewonden en in de oore hingen hem eenige snoeren van verscheyde coleuren dog
meest roode, die by haar meerder getrokken sijn als die van andere coleuren; om
den hals droeg hy eenige coopere en ysere ringetjes op een riem aan malkander
gereygt waaraan 2 yvoore plaatjes hingen, die tot suyveringe der oogen worden
gebruykt en om de armen was hy rykelijk voorsien met copere en ysere ringen; hy
hadde nog by hem verscheyde sakjes waarin de verdere rijkdom van corallen
bewaard wierden.’
p. 307 Xhosa: cicatrization
‘. . . Sy smeeren hetselve sterk met vet, dog haare lighaam seer weynig, langs
hetselve hebben se op een eevengelykiger afstand twee ryen vleesch knoopjes, op
deselfde wyse gemaakt als die dewelke de Rio de Lagoa en Guineesche swarten
meede op haare lighaamen hebben dog so hoog niet uytsteekende, deselve loopen
van vooren over de schouderen op de rugge.. . .’
p. 307 Xhosa: men’s ornaments
‘. . . de mannen alleen dragen om den hals aan de armen en ook wel aan de
voeten coopere en ysere ringen en aan de ooren coralen en ook wel in steede van
dien een soort van gras die seer breed is, dog die veel corallen besitten vercieren
ook wel de hals daar meede; haaren verderen rijkdom van corallen dragen se in
608 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
sakjes van leer geborgen aan de armen vast; om het lijf draagen se een band
waaraan twee a drie riemtjes uyt beestevel gesneeden, tot onder de caros uythan-
gen, de schutters onder haar dragen so wel als de Hottentotten meede aan de armen
het vel dat om de oogen legt der grote dieren die se dood steeken, dog van de
andere dieren van mindere soorten die se schieten dragen se allen een klaauw met
het vel daar aan boven op den arm, ook hegten se wel in haare hairen de pluymen
of de pooten dan wel het geheel vel van die vogelen die se needer vellen, en hoe
meerder iemand van die teykenen om het lijf draagt, ook hooger soo een onder
hun word geagt.’
pe 307 Xhosa: arm-bands
Nothing more.
pug Xhosa: men’s ornaments
‘. . . terwijl se haare vrouwen niet veel beeter als voor slavinnen houden, alle
haare cieraden so van corallen als van andere snuysteryen voor sig alleen hou-
dende, sonder iets daar van in het minste aan haare wyven te geeven, daar de
Hottentotten inteegendeel die sullen spaaren om haare vrouwen daarmede te
VETClerene
1772-6 Sparrman (1785) 2 p.8 Gonaqua, Xhosa: beads;
Xhosa: ivory arm-rings
‘With respect to beads, which, speaking of in a general way, they call sintela,
the small red ones are much more coveted than the rest; these are called Jenkz- °
tenka, .... The genuine Caffres had, in this point, exactly the same taste; but
many of them had got ivory rings, of the thickness and breadth of about half an
inch, and of such a size as to be strung upon the arms above the elbows. These,
however, are worn only by the men; for which reason a Caffre, who had sold me
his bracelets, seemed extremely distressed, saying, that he was now naked about
the arms like a woman.’
1776 Swellengrebel p. 12 Xhosa: head and other ornaments
‘Sommige hadden een ris couris om het hoofd, andere pluymen en quasten van
beestestaarten, veele doppen van tonteldoozen en kopere plaatjes in ’t oor, op ‘t
hoofd, om den hals of in de nek hangen. Eenige hadden agter op de caros het schild
van kleyne schildpadden. Sommige hadden een kopere knoop zitten op ’t velletje,
’t geen zij over hun schagt hadden getrokken.’
1776 Hallema (1932) pp. 133, 134 Xhosa: ornaments
p» 133 Xhosa: girdle, head-band, leg-bands, arm-bands, necklets, ear-rings
‘Onder den buik droegen zij eene bandolier van verscheidene snoeren koralen
. .om het hoofd een ris couris, vele pluimen en kwasten, gemaakt van ’t haar der
springbokken; in de ooren de doppen van tondeldozen; om den hals eenige snoeren
koralen; voorts eene menigte kopere plaatjes zoo in ’t haar, in de ooren, om de
hals, als in de nek hangen; om de beenen even boven de voet een band gemaakt
van eene pees van eenig beest, van onderen fijn gesneden en gepluisd als franje.
De vrouwen . . . om de beenen een band even als de mans.
Mans en vrouwen om de armen kopere of olifants tanden ringen.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 609
Zij schijnen sich met alles wat zij krijgen kunnen en op allerlei manieren op
te schikken, doch het meeste houden zij van geel koper en roode kleine koralen.’
p. 134 Xhosa: beads, copper chest ornament
‘Ieder dezer Capiteins werdt gelyk aan Jeramba was geschied, beschonken
met eene strengen koralen en Oorbelletjes, alsmede eene kopere halve maan,
waaraan eene ster hing.’
1776-7 Gordon (1776-95) Xhosa: ornaments, chest ornament
Figures by J. Schumacher.
1777-9 Paterson (1789) p. 93 Xhosa: ornaments
‘The colour of the Caffres is a jet black, their teeth white as ivory, and their
eyes large. The cloathing of both sexes is nearly the same, consisting entirely of
the hides of oxen, which are as pliant as cloth. The men wear tails of different
animals tied round their thighs, pieces of brass in their hair, and large ivory rings
on their arms; they are also adorned with the hair of Lions, and feathers fastened
on their heads, with many other fantastical ornaments.’
1778 Van Plettenberg p. 48 Xhosa: ivory arm-bands, copper
breast-plate, red beads
‘*. . . hunne vercierselen zijn, by de mannen ringen van elephants tanden ter
dikte van een vinger, die zommige tot ses toe om den linker arm boven de elleboog
dragen, copere ringen onder de onder arm, copere plaatjes voor de borst en in ’t
hoofd hair gebonden, en coralen, voornamentlijk roode om de hals en copere en
andere gecoleurde om ’t middellijf. .. .’
1782 Dalrymple (1785) appendix p. 13 Tshomane: chief’s ornaments
‘. . . chiefs (as he afterwards knew them to be, by beads about their necks,
brass rings about their wrists, pieces of copper in their hair, large white and blue
glass beads about their waists, and ivory rings about their arms).’
1782 Hubberly pp. 72, 82 Mpondo: head ornament;
Tshomane: chief's ornaments
Nothing more.
1788 Von Winkelman (1788-9) pp. 65-69, 86 Xhosa: ornaments
py 65 Xhosa: head ornaments, leg-band
‘Diese Zierde haben beide Geschlechter mit einander gemein. Die Manner
schmukken so dann ihre Haare theils mit weissen oder rothen Korallen, theils mit
Stuckgen Messing oder Kupfer, oder auch mit Metallenen Knopfen und derglei-
chen, die sie an die Trottelgen hinten, an den seiten und vornen am Kopf befes-
tigen. Sie binden auch runde Plattgen von Messing, so viel sie deren besitzen, an
eine lederne Schnur oder Sehne, die entweder tber die, vornen in die Stirne
hangende Haare wie ein Band—oder auch uber die blosse Stirne nach hinten
zugeht, und dort befestigt ist. Auch stuckchen Elfenbein und alles was ihrer
Eitelkeit schmeichelt dient ihnen zur Zierde ihrer Haare. Einst sah ich eine Frau,
die ihre Haare auf eine sonderbare Art geschmikt hatte. An ettlichen Trottelgen
610 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
grade uber der Stirne hatte sie eine alte verrostete stahlerne Uhrkette, an welcher
noch ein halber Messingerner Uhrschlussel hieng, uber die Nase abw4rts hangen,
die denn bei jeder Bewegung des Kopfs ihre Nase und den Mund nicht sanft
berthrte. Neben dieser Kette hiengen noch andere Zierrathen abwarts ins Gesicht.
Ich fragte sie durch meinen Dollmetscher, ob ihr das so wohl gefalle und ob das
ein zeichen ihrer Sch6nhet sei? worauf ich mit der Mine—der festesten tiberzeu-
gung zur antwort erhielt: Aeoae (Ja!) Eine vorziigliche Liebelings Zierde der
Manner ist die, dass sie vornen uber die Haaren—grade uber der Stirne, das
schwarzbraune Ende eines LOwenschwanzes mittelst einer Schnur binden. Der
grdste Busch steht in der Mitte, und die kleinern darueber. Diese gehort unter die
vorzuglichsten Triumpfszeichen der Nation, so wie der ubrige Theil des falben
Lowenschwanzes, den sie vornen unter das linke Knie binden, dass er das Schien-
bein bedecht. Beides sind Beweise ihrer Tapferkeit, und scheint ihnen unter den
ubrigen einen gewissen Vorzug zu geben. Mann findet viele Kaffern, welche
dergleiche Ehrenzeichen 4—6 um den Kopf und so auch mehrere ubereinander
unter dem Knie hangen haben. Da es nun aber nicht jedem gliickt, Lowen zu
erlegen, und sich denn doch damit Ruhm und Eitelkeit verbinden, so machen sie
auch 6fters um den Kopf die Spitzen von Goldfiichs—oder Jakhals und anderen
Schwanzen und hangen denn vor das linke Knie die haarigten Riemen eines
weissen Ochsen- oder Kuhschwanzes.’
p. 66 Xhosa, Thembu: ornaments .
‘Andrer Zierrath. Die Ohren beiderlei Geschlechter sind wie der Hals mit
Korallen geschmikt, sie haben daher fast allgemein L6chergen in den Ohren. Sie
nehmen daher auch alles an was man ihnen zu dieser absicht in die Ohren und an
den Hals hangen will. Ausser Korallen—als der gewohnlichsten Zierde tragen
auch viele vom manlichen Geschlechts eine Art von 2—3 Zoll langen, dikken, roth,
oder gelb kupfernen Nadeln, mit einen Nadelnknopf welche Gewohnheit sich
vorzuglich von der nordlicher wohnenden Nation der Tambucki herschreiben soll,
welche diese Nadeln sehr geschikt mit Steinen aus ihrem Kupfer schmieden. Die
Spize ist dann gegen den Knopf aufwarts gekrimt, und zwar so, dass bei dieser
Krumming in der Mitte eine Art eines wirklichen Ringes entsteht, an welchem sie
so denn in den Ohren hangen. Den Hals zieren sie mit Korallen, Knopfen, Ringen,
Slusselgen, alten Stukgen Eisen, und einem rothem riechenden Holz, das wegen
vermeinter Wunderkraft gegen die Zauberei von ihnen vor heilig und kostbar
gehalten wird. Meist tragen sie ihre Zierathen so tief, dass sie ihnen biss auf die
Herzgrube herniederhangen ... .’
p: 67 Xhosa: red necklace, white beads
‘Sie haben noch eine Art kleiner rother Glaskorallen, die van innen gefarbt
sind, und die nicht haufig unter ihnen gefunden werden. Sie versicherten mich dass
diese Gattung besonders geschazt ware, und den grésten werth unter allen besize,
so dass eine einzelne Schnur schon eine gut bemittelte Persohn bezeichne. Die
meinigen von gleicher Art verachteteten sie aus vorgefassten Meinungen, so sehr
ich ihnen auch ihre Gleichheit begreiflich zu machen suchte. Als ich 9 lange
Schnuren solcher Korallen, am Hals der Mutter des K6nigs bemerkte, sprach ich
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 611
sie darum an, indem ich ihr eine Entschadigung dagegen zusicherte; sie war so
gleich bereit, sie mir zu geben, wenn ich ihr nur eben zo viele weisse Korallen
dagegen mittheilen wollte; hieraus konnte ich also schliessen, dass der werth
derselben gleichwohl nicht so allgemein seijn mtisse. Ubrigens hangen sie auch
noch an die Korallenschnire, mehrere L6wen und Tigerzahne, auch die Nagel
ihrer Tazzen, wenn sie dergleichen Thiere erlegen oder die Felle von Bauern
erhandeln.’
p. 68 Xhosa: arm ornaments
‘Ausser einigen Schniiren Korallen oder etlichen Ringen von dikken Mes-
singdrath iiber den Knécheln der rechten Hand fand ich bei keinem eine weitere
Zierde, um den rechten Arm durch nichts zu beschweren.’
p. 68 Xhosa: leg-band
‘Unmittelbar unter dem rechten Knie tragen viele, beinahe die meisten einige
Schntre von Korallen auch andere Zierrathen.’
p. 68 Xhosa: ivory arm-bands
‘Uber dem linken Ellenbogen findet man bei vielen vorziiglich bei Reichen und
Vornehmen 2-5 grosse, gut gearbeitete elphenbeinerne Ringe, deren Peripherie
gewOohnlich 1 zoll dick und 3 zoll breit ist. Die dicke des Arms bestimt die weite
dieser Ringe die dann uber dem Ellenbogen auf einander liegen. Bei ihren Tanzen
entsteht durch die Bewegung ihrer Arme ein klappern dieser Ringe, welches
Harmonie fur ihre Ohren ist. Die Kaffern verfertigen diese Ringe mit vieler Muhe,
und k6nnen dazu nur die diksten Elephantenzahne gebrauchen. Eben diese daran
verwendete Miuhe, und die Beschwertigkeit immer die grésten Zahne zu bekom-
men erhdhen eben darum ihren Werth, daher forderten sie auch von mir fur
2 solcher Ringe so viele Guter, als sie gewOhnlich fur ein Stuck Vieh erhalten.’
p. 68 Xhosa: arm ornaments
‘Sonsten tragen sie auch zu Zeiten am linken Arm kleine Riemchen, getrock-
nete Neze von wilden Thieren, wie die Hottentottischen Jager, welche glauben
dass sie als denn viel Gitick auf der Jagd haben wurden. Ferner tragen sie auch noch
(jedoch richtet sich dieses immer auch nach ihren VermOégens umstanden) mes-
singene und roth kupferne Ringe; auch Korallen oder Knopfe um die Knoéchel ihrer
Fusse. Die Finger zieren sie nicht, ausser man stekte ihnen allerhand schlechte
Ringe daran; womit ich selbst verschiedene ihrer Fursten oder Kapitains
beschenkte. Auch schmiikken sie die Knochel ihrer linken Hand mit dergleichen
Zierathen.’
pe.09 Xhosa: arm and leg ornaments
‘An ihren Armen, die auf diese Art ganz frei sind, tragen sie grdssentheils
vornen an den Knocheln Ringe oder Korallen. Die Knoéchel der Fiisse sind
gewohnlich auch mit dergleichen Dingen geschmickt. Den rechten Fuss sah ich bei
verschiedenen Madchen 4—6 zoll hoch vom Knochel aufwarts so dicht mit weissen
Korallen umwikkelt, dass sie wie eine Stieflette daran anlagen.’
p. 86 Xhosa: ivory arm-bands
‘Thren elphenbeinernen Ringen, bei denen ihnen die Natur schon vorgear-
beitet hat, geben sie die gehorige Weite, Dicke und Politur mittelst ihrer als Sagen
612 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
geformter Assogais und mit Steinen. Sie reiben und schleifen sie so lange, bis sie
ihre Absicht ganz entsprechen.’
1796 Stout (c. 1810) p. 18 Thembu: ornament
‘In a short time they perceived the caffers advancing. Most of them had
assegays in their hands; others furnished with clubs; some were decorated with
ostrich feathers, and their chief wearing a leopard skin.’
1797 Barrow (1806) pp. 126-128, 151, 161, 169 Xhosa: chiefs’ and other
ornaments
p. 126 _ Xhosa: chiefs’ head-band
‘In their dress they had nothing particular to distinguish them from those they
commanded, except a slender brass chain which hung suspended on the left side,
from a wreath of small polished copper beads that encircled the upper part of the
head.’
p. 126 Xhosa: chiefs’ ornaments
‘Broad rings of ivory, cut out of the solid tusk of the elephant, were worn
upon the left arm, above the elbow. Bracelets of copper and of iron surrounded
their wrists, and rings of those metals were also worn on the legs above the
ankles.’
p: 127 Xhosa: ornaments
‘ . . . Glass beads surrounded their necks; and many of the men had porcupine .
quills stuck through the ear. . . . Each [woman] seemed to have decorated their
dress, without any fixed order, as caprice had suggested, or as their circumstances
would allow. Small beads of copper, rings of iron, brass buttons, old knee-buckles,
or whatsoever metallic material had fallen into their hands, found a place on some
part of their dress. Some had a brass button stuck in one ear, and in the other a
string of glass beads or shell. They had no change of habit, but each carried her
whole wardrobe about her person. Some had not fewer than fifty different strings
of necklaces about the neck; a number of rings round their legs and arms of copper
and iron; and on their calf-skin cloaks were stitched several rows, from top to
bottom, of old buttons, as various in shape, size and fashion, as a button-maker’s
card. Some had festoons of small cypraea shells round their caps; others had them
made into bracelets and necklaces.’
p: 128 Xhosa: ornaments
“The young boys were perfectly naked; and the only ornament about them was
a small tuft of the long white hair from the rump of the springbok, which was stuck
upon the crown of the head.’
p. tot Xhosa: chief's ornament
‘. . . Like the chiefs in the colony, he wore a brass chain suspended, on the
left side, from a wreath of copper beads that encircled his head. . . . ’
plot Xhosa: metal beads
‘Every man is his own artist . . . he will finish a spear, or a chain, or a metallic
bead that would not disgrace the town of Birmingham.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 613
p. 169 Xhosa: cicatrization
‘In Kafferland it has passed into a general fashion. Every woman has a tatooed
skin; and their ingenuity in this way is chiefly exercised between the breasts and
on the arms.’
1797 Anon. pp. 283-284 ‘Caffre’: ornaments
p. 283 ‘Caffre’: brass collar of office
(During July some ‘Caffres’ came to visit Genadendal on their way to Cape
Town.) “One of them being a captain, was distinguished by his dress, and wore a
brass collar round his neck, upon which the name and arms of the company were
engraved.’
p. 284 ‘Caffre’: ornaments, cicatrization
‘They dress very gaudily, decorating themselves with beads, and their arms
and fingers with brass rings. Their bodies are marked with all manner of figures
by scarification.’
1796-1801 Renshaw (1804) pp. 18, 19 Xhosa: beads, arm-ring
p. 18 Xhosa: beads
Nothing more.
p19 Xhosa: ivory arm-ring
‘The prince was distinguished by an ivory ring round the upper part of his arm.
This dignity is not hereditary among them, but must be acquired by feats of courage
and activity; a prince must have killed a lion, a bear and a Bosjesman, ... .
1800 Van der Kemp (1804) pp. 439-441 Xhosa: ornaments
p. 439 Xhosa: head-band, ear ornaments
‘Their heads are always uncovered, but ornamented either with a chain of
hemispherical brass, or copper grains, of about one quarter of an inch diameter,
in the form of a diadem, or with a ribbon of an inch broad, composed of small beads
of two or three different colours, put close together. Sometimes they wear both
these diadems, the one above the other; from their ears they suspend a little chain
of beads, sometimes three or four inches long, or two or three buttons, or a metal
wire, contorted in diverse manners, etc.’
p. 439 Xhosa: ivory arm-ring
‘Round their left arm they put several rings of ivory (from two to ten) above
the elbow. On some, who have worn these rings from their youth, they are so tight
that they cannot get them off, and I have several times been obliged to file them
through to deliver them from the horrid swelling and inflammation which was
produced by the pressure; commonly these rings are three-fourths of an inch broad,
and five of them are sold for a cow. They are an ornament peculiar to the subjects
of Gika.’
pp. 439-440 Xhosa: ornaments
‘On the right arm just above the elbow they tie five or six teeth of a tiger
standing upright, and pointing backwards.
On the crown of the head stands a bunch of jackall’s hair, fastened into a
614 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
handle of brass. Round the wrist of both the arms rings of various metal are bent;
they are thin, and being flexible can be taken off and put on at pleasure.
Their loins are encircled by a single string of iron or copper beads, which are
cylindrical, about one third of an inch thick, and one-eighth high. They are very
fond of many strings of beads, or metal chains, hanging round their necks, the
lowest of which hang down to the stomach.’
p. 440 Xhosa: leg-band
‘Round the left leg, just below the knee, they tie a fillet, from which a piece
of an ox-tail of about a foot long is suspended in front. Their right leg is sometimes
adorned with a kind of garter, composed of very small yellow glass beads, which
give it the appearance of gold lace.’
p. 440 Xhosa: rings
‘Both sexes wear rings of metal on their fingers and great toes,....’
p. 441 Xhosa: cicatrization
‘Men and women, especially the latter, adorn their arms, backs, and breasts
with cicatrices of the size of grains of wheat, placed in regular rows, which are
commonly double, triple, and sometimes quadruple. These cicatrices are formed
by thrusting a pointed iron through the skin and pulling it forcibly up so as to remain
prominent above the surface of the body and to form a kind of basso relievo work.’
1803 Howen Three paintings Xhosa: head-bands |
Figures.
1803 Janssens pp. 138, 142-143, 169 Xhosa: copper and other ornaments.
p: 138 Xhosa: copper badge of office
‘Heeden arriveerde een zendeling van de Caffercapitein Jalouze met een
kopere plaat, waarop het Engelsche wapen, gelijk aan die welke de Hottentotsche
capitein Claas Stuurman om had, maar iets kleynder... .’
p. 142 Xhosa: arm-rings
Nothing more.
pp. 142-143 Xhosa: girdle
‘Om zyne lendenen twee snoeren kleyne ronde koopere oogen van kopere
plaaten, in kleine ruitjes gesneeden en dat in ’t formaat van kraalen opgerold;
p. 143 Xhosa: head-band
‘. . . om zijn hoofd had hy een krans van byna een duim breed, gemaakt van
proper in punten uytgecampaande blaauwe en witte kleine coraalen, op verscheide
draaden gereegen en tegens elkaar vastgehegt; boven op zijn hoofd een over-
eindstaande vlok paarde of bokke haar met een leerdere riemtje, waaraan
verscheide kopere knoopen vastgemaakt, en aan zijn regterbeen onder die knie
een krans kopere opgerolde coraalen.’
p. 143 Xhosa: copper badge of office
‘Voor de borst had hy een aan coraalen hangende ronde kopere gedreeven
plaat daar het bovenste gedeelte van het wapen van den Engelschen generaal
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 615
Dundas op staat, hetwelk hy van den landdrost Maynier, beneevens de naam van
Andrec Zwartboy bekomen had.’
poo Xhosa: chief’s necklace
‘De kleedingen, zo van deeze vrouw als van den koning verschilde in niets van
de overige Caffers, alleenlijk had Gaicka eenige lange snoeren fyne witte coraalen
om hangen, welke by uitsluiting het optooysel en teken van opperchef of koning
zijn.’
1803 Paravicini di Capelli pp. 71, 81, 82, 102, 132 Xhosa: ornaments,
badge of office
ip. 71 Xhosa: copper badge of office
Nothing more.
Dp: ol Gqunukhwebe: ornaments
‘Hy [Nacabanée] had agt zeer schoone yvoore ringen (uyt een stuk ieder)
boven den elboog van de linke arm. Aan de rechter had hy boven de hand een
kopere ring en een anderen boven de elboog. Om zyne lendenen twee snoeren
kleine kopere oogen van kopere platen in klein regeltjes gesneden en dan in ’t
formaat van kralen opgerold.’
p. 62 Xhosa: ornaments, badge of office
Nothing more.
p. 102 Xhosa: copper and beads
‘Wy ruilde eenige van hunne hassagayen, tegens kopere platen en coralen,
waar zy zeer verzot Op zyn... .”
e132 Xhosa: ornaments
‘Roodkoper is by hun een schat; zy snyden dit in smalle reepjes die in het
formaat van koralen worden opgerold, en aan pezen geregen om het lyf, armen
en beenen worden gedragen; op het hoofd hebben zy gemeenlyk een kransje
koralen uyt de schel van struyseyeren zeer kunstig gesneden, en midden op de
kruyn plaatzen zy de staart van een jakhals of ander wild gedierte hetwelk zy
machtig kunnen worden. De linke arm is gewoonlyk versierd met ses of agt yvoire
ringen ter dikte van ongeveer een duim, uyt de tand van een olyphant gesneden..’
1802-6 Alberti (1810a) pp. 32, 60-62, 145-146, Xhosa: ornaments
isoeetoy.. 174,202
pe 32 Xhosa: red beads, copper
-“Roode Glaskoralen behagen hun bovenal, en koper, minder echter het geele,
heeft hen de waarde van goud.’
p. 60 Xhosa: ivory arm-band
‘Een der voornaamsten bestaat bij de Mannen in Ringen van Olifantstanden,
waarvan zij er dikwerf 9 of 10 aan den linker Bovenarm dragen. Terwijl nu alle
die Tanden, welken men slechts kan bekomen, aan het Opperhoofd der Horde in
eigendom behooren, dan is ook het bezit van dergelijke ringen een louter gunst-
bewijs; mogende dezelve in den eigenlijken zin, buiten toestemming des gevers,
nimmer vervreemd worden. Nu en dan wordt ook de Bovenarm met eenen Riem
omgeven, waaraan de tanden van eenen Tijger of een wild Zwijn geregen hangen.’
616 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 61 Xhosa: leg-band, girdle
‘Nog algemeener is de dragt, aan het eene of andere Scheenbeen, van den
Staart eens Os of Elands,’ (His note: ‘Corrig. Antilopenaarts’) ‘(dien men aan de
Kaap Hertenbeest noemt,) en die onder de knie wordt vast gebonden. Even zoo
dragen sommige Mannen eene reeks van koperen of ijzeren kleine Ringen, waar-
van reeds meermalen gewaagd is, om het onderlijf, waarvan zeker bepaald getal
de waarde van een Rund of iets anders bedraagt, en waardoor alzoo het gemis van
geld vergoed wordt.’
Oe OH Xhosa: cicatrization
‘Alle Kafferinnen vertoonen op den rug, aan de armen en tusschen de borsten,
een aantal rechtststandige evenwijdige Naden, die zij als eene bijzondere ver-
fraaijing des ligchaams aanmerken, en daardoor ontstaan, dat een Priem, van 2 tot
3 Lijnen lang, onder de Bovenhuid doorgestoken, en dat gedeelte der huid alzoo
op den priem zelf doorsneden wordt.’
[Ds OZ Xhosa: ear-rings
‘.. . en die tamelijk wijd doorgestoken ooren met snoeren van Glaskoralen
van de kleinsten soort versierd, waaraan dikwerf nog al grootere hangen. Bij de
geringere klasse wordt al dit sieraad dikwerf alleen door eenen’ geruiten en
zamengeknoopten Riem vervangen.’
p. 145, 146 Xhosa: buttons
Nothing more.
Palo» Xhosa: arm-band
‘Hij, die eenig Wild doodt, neemt eenen Klaauw, met een gedeelte der huid
van het Been afgehakt, en maakt dien om zijnen linker Arm van onderen vast, om
dus te toonen, hoe vele dieren hij geveld hebbe.’
Os ISi/ Xhosa: ivory arm-band
‘De Olifanten-jagt is de moeijelijkste van alle. Slechts zelden wordt een
Olifant door den Kaffer geveld, en van daar blijft de waarde der Ringen, van
deszelfs tanden vervaardigd, onveranderlijk dezelfde.’
p. 174 Xhosa: arm-ring
‘. . . de Kraanveders tot teekenen van onderscheiding in den krijg, waarvan
nog nader zal worden gesproken, en de Olifantstanden, zoo als reeds gemeld is,
tot Armringen, die al mede aan Gunstelingen vereerd worden.’
(His note:) ‘Bij het dragen dezer Ringen schijnt nu en dan, en dus niet altijd,
zeker bijgeloof plaats te hebben, welks oorzaak ik nimmer heb kunnen ontdekken.
Sommige Kaffers verruilen die gaarne; andere weigeren zulks stellig. Op zekeren
tijd ontmoette ik eenen Kaffer, wiens ringen, bij eene toenemende vetheid, te
naauw waren geworden, met eene zeer gevaarlijke zwelling en ontsteking aan den
arm, waardoor hij onuitsprekelijke pijn leed. Zijn toestand was zoodanig, dat ik
voor het koud vuur en voor zijn leven vreesde. Hij, echter, durfde het niet wagen,
het eenige middel van redding, de doorvijling der ringen, te bezigen, te meer,
omdat het Opperhoofd zelf, zoo als men verzekerde, de vrijheid daartoe niet
konde geven, zonder de oorzaak zelve naauwkeuriglijk te kennen. Al wie zoo-
danige ringen, als geschenk ontvangen, in welk geval ook, opzettelijk durft ver-
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 617
breken, heeft het verlies van alle zijne goederen, tot den dood zelfs, te vreezen.
Vindt men die na het gevecht bij eenen Gesneuvelden, worden zij zorgvuldiglijk
bewaard en bij den vrede aan deszelfs Opperhoofd te rug gezonden.’
p: 202 Xhosa: mourning ornament
‘Bovendien neemt de Weduwenaar eenige hairen uit den staart van eenen Os,
reigt aan dezelve eenige koperen kleene Ringen, en draagt dit snoer om den hals,
totdat de hairen vergaan.’
(See also Alberti 1810b (English edition): 33, 35, 75, 76, 83-84, 95.)
1802—3 De Mist (1835) p. 115 Xhosa: ornaments
‘De mannen .. . dragen wel eens om den linkerarm een lederen riem, waar
aan tanden van den tijger of het wild zwijn zijn aangeregen. Eenige hebben de
staart eener antilope van eenen lederen band voor het hoofd, of zij versieren het
voorste deel van het been, met de pluim die aan het einde van de staart der koe
1s.”
1803-6 Lichtenstein (1811) pp. 407, 451-455, 477 - Xhosa: ‘tattoo’, ornaments
p. 407 Xhosa: ‘tattoo’
‘Nur wenige Koossa findet man tattowirt, aber bei den fernern Kafferstammen
kommt diese Sitte ziemlich haufig vor.’
p. 451 Xhosa: buttons
‘Die Mantel der Frauen sind gewohnlich mit mehrern Parallel-Reihen kup-
ferner Knopfe besetzt, deren gréssere oder geringere Zahl auf den Rang oder
Reichthum der Besitzerin schliessen lasst. Sie lieben solche Knopfe ungemein, und
wer dergleichen an seinen Kleidern tragt, wenn er die Kaffern besucht, ist kaum
im Stande sich ihrer zudringlichen Bitten zu erwehren. Doch mussen sie voll-
kommen glatt sein, denn solche, auf denen erhabene Figuren befindlich sind
nennen sie raudig.’
p. 452 Xhosa: head-band
Nothing more.
p. 453 Xhosa: head-dress
Nothing more.
pp. 453-454 Xhosa: necklaces
‘Um den Hals tragen sie Schniire von mancherlei Art und kleine metallene
Ketten. Kleine rothe Steinchen, Seemuscheln oder Glaskorallen, auch Stiickchen
von wohlriechendem Holz werden auf Schnure gezogen und um den Hals gehangt,
so dass sie bis an die Brust herabhangen. Glaskorallen lieben sie besonders; doch
herrscht darin bei ihnen auch die Mode und nicht zu allen Zeiten sind dieselben
Farben und Sorten bei ihnen beliebt— Besonders hoch schatzten sie zu dieser Zeit
eine kleine Art von Korallen, die sie von dem Stamme der Jmbo bekommen und
die einen solchen Werth haben, dass sie fir zwei kleine Strange eine Kuh und ein
Kalb bezahlten. Sie wollen wissen, dass diese Korallen, gleich Wiirmern aus der
Erde kriechen und von den Jmbos mit Hassagayen abgemaht werden. Nach van
der Kemps Beschreibung sind es aber wirkliche Glaskorallen oder Paternoster-
618 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
kiigelchen, die von den Portugiesen in jene nérdlichere Gegend eingefihrt sein
m6dgen und von dort hierhergekommen sind.’
p. 454 Xhosa: ear-rings, ivory arm-bands
Nothing more.
p. 454 Xhosa: arm-bands
‘Am rechten Arm, gleich uber dem Ellenbogen, wird oft ein Riemen befestigt,
auf welchem fiinf bis sechs Tigerzahne sitzen, alle mit den Spitzen aufrecht und
nach aussen gekehrt; an dem Unterarm, nach dem Handgelenke hin, mehrere
kupferne und eiserne dtinne Armbander oder Ringe, die an einer Stelle durch-
brochen sind und durch Beugen geoffnet und geschlossen werden k6nnen.’
pp. 454-455 Xhosa: girdle
‘Um die Hiften tragen die Manner schmale lederne Giurtel, so dicht mit
Kn6pfen oder eisernen und kupfernen Plattchen besetzt, dass man von dem Leder
nichts sieht.’
p. 455 Xhosa: rings, leg-bands
‘Die Finger, besonders die Daumen, ja selbst die grossen Zehen sind mit
Ringen von Kupfer- und Eisendrath geziert, und die Manner fuhren meistens an
einem Knie einen Sch6nen federbuschartigen Schweif von Quaggahaaren oder
Lowenmahnen, auch wohl den Buschel eines LOwenschwanzes, der fast bis auf das
Fussgelenk herabhanet.”’
p. 477 and note Xhosa: ear-rings, ivory arm-band.
Nothing more.
1804—5 Daniell (1820) no. 14 Xhosa: head-dress
Figure.
1809 Collins (1835) pp. 10, 31 Xhosa: neck and ear ornaments
Do LY Xhosa: neck and ear ornaments
4
. . een van diegenen die by hem waren, had een koperdraad om den hals,
en eenige kralen hingen aan een zyner ooren; anderen waren versierd met een
enkel of klaauw van een dier.’
®, Sl Xhosa: Nggika’s necklace
(Ngqika stated) ‘. . . dat hy als de zoodanige aangewezen zynde geworden,
een ketting van veel waarde om zynen hals was gedaan, waarby hy bekleed werd
met het oppergezag over zyns vaders gebied;... .’
1806-15 Carmichael (1831) pp. 287-288 Xhosa: ornaments
p. 287 Xhosa: head ornament
‘The most fashionable female ornament is a series of short, twisted strings of
copper, which hangs over the forehead like the bullion of an epaulette. This
singular piece of finery, which adorned the brows of only a few distinguished
females, though it seemed to us misplaced, to say the least of it, appeared to add
greatly to their appearance in the eyes of their own people.’
p. 288 Xhosa: ornaments, tvory arm-bands
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 619
p. 288 Xhosa: head ornaments.
‘The head-ornaments of the men are as various as they are fanciful. A tuft of
white hair from the rump of the Springbock, a string of nerite shells, a fillet of
monkey’s skin, a plume of ostrich feathers, or the tail of a Caffre Finch.’
p. 288 Xhosa: girdle
Nothing more.
1812 Officer, 21st Lt. Dragoons (1822) pl. 8 Xhosa: chief’s ornaments
Figure.
geiols Campbell, J. (1815). p. 369 Xhosa: jackal-tail ornament, finger-rings
Nothing more.
1819—20 Stocker pp. 51-52, 65 Xhosa: ornaments
pp. 51-52 Nggqika: ornaments
‘Of ornamental appendages, (which the Kaffers consider indispensable to
their dress) buttons of the bell shape and solid are pre-eminent in value. A copper
or brass zone of wire encircling the waist is also considered highly decorative, and
is by no means unbecoming the figure. Ivory rings made from the teeth of
elephants, rhinoceros, and hippopotam1, are in great request also, worn round the
wrists and ankles, and a distinguishing mark of royal favor, being presented by the
King as a reward of valor in war or expertness in the chase. Teeth extracted from
the fangs of serpents or jaws of animals and fish are likewise observable, depending
from the neck and ears. .
pe Gd Gcaleka: ornaments
‘Hinza’s Kaffers are clothed similarly to Gaika’s, but less profusely decorated
with ornaments, to make up for which they smear their bodies abundantly with a
Kea Ochre and grease. : . .’
1821—4 Thompson, G. (1827) 2 p. 359 Xhosa: girdle, ornaments, ‘tattoo’
Nothing more.
1819-29 Moodie, J. W. D. (1835) p. 248 Xhosa: head-band
Nothing more.
€. 1824—5 Smith pp. 63, 89, 281-282, 393 ‘Kaffir’: ornaments
p. 63 ‘Kaffir’: various ornaments
‘ _. . They have also metal chains and strings of pieces of wood, shells, etc.
round the neck. These are not always held in the same estimation sometimes one
sort of colour is more regarded than another, and thus they have the regular
fashions which prevail amongst civilised people. The men have ivory bracelets on
the left arm and on the other or even on the left they have sometimes a strap of
leather to which are attached the teeth of a tiger or the canines of a jackal. These
are also sometimes worn round the neck. Between the wrists and elbows are often
worn bracelets of copper or iron in numbers, and round the waist a leather band
studded with pieces of [iron] copper [or] beads also cylindrical lines of small beads
small and placed closely together on their fingers particularly the thumb and even
620 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
sometimes the great toes with iron or brass wire rings. The men have often the
portion of the mane of a zebra or quagga or the tail of an ox or cow fastened round
below the knee and hanging down almost to the ankel. A jackal’s tail the bush often
fixed on the centre of head above the forehead.
On the arms above the elbow often a [string] with some tiger or cats’ teeth.
The right arm most common. Below the knee the tail of an ox pressed out.
Sometimes below one knee a garter of fine beads.’
p. 89 ‘Kaffir’: cicatrization
‘The women principally indulge in this practice and the favourite spots for it
are the breasts and arms, also sometimes the face—the shoulders in both are often
tatooed.’
pp. 281-282 ‘Kaffir’: ornaments
‘Ornaments are eagerly sought after by all classes of people in cafferland and
are worn either attached to the articles of dress or fixed to their hair or encircling
their necks, arms, legs, waists, etc. . . . The ornaments which the kaffirs employ
are nearly the same in both sexes. The men however seldom indeed never make
the streaks crosses and circular spots of red clay and grease on their cheeks brows
and chins that the women do nor do they almost ever fix small strings of beads
amongst their hair. Shells are a common form of necklace and are worn by both
sexes suspended round their necks by thin pieces of cord which last they form from
the inner bark of trees. In ‘young children particularly but sometimes also in grown .
up women they suspend short strings of beads of about two or three inches in length
from the hair on the sides of the head sometimes all round and on other occasions
only about the temples. They also often surround the wrists and ankles as well as
the upper part of the leg just under the knee joint with one of more strings of beads.
They also often surround the same places with the skin of the legs of bucks to which
the hoofs adhere, and also occasionally with the tail or only the hair of a cows tail.
The last is most frequently made to surround the last-named situation and the
bushy part hangs down the leg. They also surround the wrists and lower part of
the arm when they can get sufficient with rings of thick brass wire and the swell
of the arm above the elbow in some of them is surrounded by more or fewer rings
of ivory formed from a transverse section of an elephants tooth.’
Ds eSB ‘Kaffir’: cicatrization
‘Different appearances in tatoo some lies level or raised others nobs varying
in size to marbles. On different parts shoulders and breasts the principal parts cuts
made with sharp stones or glass—obsidion. Besides lines and nobs frequently had
devices on the breast and the arms and many of those were coloured blue, yellow
CIC:
1820-31 Steedman (1835) 1 pp. 254, 260; 2 p. 262 Mpondo: ornaments
1 p. 254 Mpondo: head ornament
‘The Amapondas have a small breed of poultry about the size of the English
partridge, reared exclusively for the sake of the feathers, which they use to
Ormament their heads: 25.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 621
p. 260 Mpondo: ornaments
‘The ornaments of the men are armlets of brass or ivory, and many wear girdles
of slight metal chains round their loins, together with strings of blue and white
beads suspended from their necks.’
p. 260 Mpondo: necklaces
‘According to their rank and respectability they possess strings of various-
coloured beads, which are worn round their necks.’
2p: 262 ‘Mambookie’: ears pierced
(Quoting W. Shaw:) ‘The Amaxosa, commonly called Caffers; the Ama-
tembo, called Tambookies; the Amabambo, called Mambookies; and the Ama-
ponda. The three first-named nations are very much like each other in dress and
appearance, excepting only that the Mambookies have very large holes cut in their
9
Cans; . : -
1815-37 Shaw, B. (1840) pp. 57-58 Xhosa: ornaments
Nothing more.
1827 Hallbeck & Fritsch (1826) Xhosa, Thembu: ornaments,
pp. 303-304, 311 girdles, cicatrization
p. 303 Thembu: ear ornaments, arm-bands, cicatrization
‘Both sexes wear beads in their ears and round their necks, with brass rings
on their arms. The men likewise wear a girdle with small brass rings. The men are
not tatooed, but all the women are tatooed between the breasts and shoulders. The
feet and head of the males are not generally covered, but we saw some who wore
skin shoes, and kerchiefs on their heads.’
p. 304 Xhosa, Thembu: buttons, beads
‘Among the Tambookkies and Caffres, these buttons pass for money; the
colour of the beads is regulated by the prevailing fashion, which is as much attended
to here as at Paris; so that many traders at Grahamstown have suffered consider-
able loss by not having them of the fashionable colour. As the women are exceed-
ingly fond of both beads and buttons, they put their husbands to great expense.
The dress of a woman in many instances costs twelve or twenty oxen.’
p. 304 Thembu: brass bangles
Nothing more.
p. 311 Thembu: brass gorget
‘As a proof of peculiar respect, I presented him with a gilt brass gorget, which,
(with other old clothes received from England sometime ago), belonged to the
uniform of an officer; and to his son, Malpas, I gave another brass plate, with the
arms of England engraved upon it. This pleased them much; and Bowana inquired
whether he might wear it when he visited the colony.’
1825-9 Kay (1833) pp. 42-43, 115-117, 120, Xhosa: ornaments
294, 373-374
p. 42 Xhosa: Ngqika’s head-band
‘Around his head was a narrow band, studded with white and black beads,
disposed in such a manner as to form the shape of diamonds or triangles.’
G22 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 43 | Xhosa: bangles, finger-rings
‘His right fore-arm was in a great measure covered with metal rings, as were
also the two thumbs and third fingers of each hand with brass rings, that had been
presented to him by different visitors.’
p. 115 Xhosa: ornaments
‘The only visible difference between the most exalted and poorest females of
the land consists in the quantity of ornaments they possess. Of these, bracelets,
necklaces, and ear-drops form the principal. Some have as many as fifty, and others
more than three times that number of bead-strings around the neck.’
oan lao) Xhosa: ivory arm-bands, ornaments
Nothing more.
p. 116-117 Xhosa: head-band, leg-band
Nothing more.
away Cape Nguni: ear ornament
‘The ears of all, with comparatively few exceptions, are bored; and amongst
some of the tribes, this practice is carried to an extravagant extent, distending the
lobes to the very uttermost, and leaving holes of enormous size.’ |
jo, 120 Xhosa: ivory arm-bands
‘For the elephant’s tusk they had formerly no other use than that of cutting
it up into rings for bracelets; but, now that they have a regular market, that class
of ornaments has in a great measure disappeared.’
p. 294 Thembu: head-dress
‘. . .in return for which, Mr H. gave him a half-penny, informing him that the
figure thereon was the likeness of our King. This would, doubtless, be polished
immediately, and attached to some part of his wig or mantle.’
1s J73) Mpondo: head- and shoulder-bands
‘Many of the Amaponedae are much more particular in their mode of orna-
menting themselves than the Amaxosae. . . . Across his jet-black forehead were
tied two or three strings of fine white beads, very tastefully arranged. From the
shoulder was suspended, like a soldier’s belt, a band of larger beads; two of which
are not unfrequently worn transversely.’
p. 374 Mpondo: ornaments
‘Necklaces, ivory and copper rings (of enormous size and thickness) constitute
their principal and almost only ornaments. The latter, of which I have several
specimens in my possession, are obtained from the tribes to the eastward, in
exchange for corn and maize.’
(1829) Rose pp. 87, 187 Xhosa: ornaments
peo7 Xhosa: chief’s head-band
‘The Chief is generally distinguished from his followers by a carosse of tiger’s
skin, and by a narrow tasteful beaded band worn round the head;... .’
p. 187 Xhosa: ornaments
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 623
1829 Bain pp. 104-105 Mpondo: ornaments
p. 104 note 54 Mpondo: beads, arm-bands, neck-rings
‘. . . the less wealthy Amapondo dame waddles about in a scanty unadorned
cloak of the same stuff [ox-hide] and is content with the simple head dress which
nature bestowed upon her. Their other ornaments consist of common beads, ivory
rings and large copper neck rings, some of which weigh several pounds.’
p: 105 Mpondo: chief’s head ornaments
‘Faco was now pointed out to us. . . a tall good looking man, . . . in no way
distinguishable from the rest of his people except by a bunch of red Lawries’
feathers which hung behind his head.’
1829 Boniface p. 21 Xhosa: arm- and leg-bands
‘Au surplus, il y a tout a croire que la quantité plus ou moins grande d’anneaux
divoire ou de métal quils portent aux bras et aux jambes, est le signe distinctif
de la supériorité du rang parmi eux, car nous nous sommes appercus que les chefs
en avaient beaucoup plus que les autres.’
c. 1831-2 Drége p. 35 . Ntinde: ornament
‘The Matindes [AmaNtinde] like all the Kaffers we have hitherto seen wear
more karosses, beads, yellow buttons and copper rings.’
c. 1831-2 Smith pp. 106-108, 121, 124 Mpondo, Thembu: ornaments
p. 106 Mpondo: ornaments, ivory arm-bands
‘Their faces they [the men] paint in different ways and with different colours,
such as red, yellow greenish and white. They often have a string or two of beads
encircling the head just above the eyes and from it short strings hanging from
various parts of the circle. They are partial of brass and copper neck rings, and some
they have [are] as thick as the finger. They have also rings of brass and iron round
the wrists and ivory rings round the thick of the arms above the elbows... .
Sometimes they have the whole face without any regularity coloured yellowish
white and red.’
p. 106 Mpondo: arm- and leg-bands
“They tie pieces of leather and skins round the arms and wrists and attach cow’s
tails to the legs below the knees and at the ankles.’
p. 107 Mpondo: ear ornaments
“Some that do not make snuff boxes for the ears merely fill the holes full of
small pieces of wood; sometimes one large piece, at other times more. In forming
the hole they generally enlarge it in the last way. Some wear a small bunch of
feathers... .’
p. 108 Mpondo: ‘tattoo’
‘They tattoo in longitudinal stripes, principally above the shoulders and the
lines of those often extend down from the top of the shoulder to the loins, at other
times not below the inferior extremity of the shoulder blade.’
p: 121 Mpondo: ivory
‘When [they] kill an elephant must give the one tusk to Facu.’
624 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 124 Thembu: mourning
(After death of Vosanie:) ‘All ornaments were taken off the body and
carosses.’
1832 Bonatz (1831) p. 340 Thembu: amputation of finger joint
‘As a proof how the Tambookies cleave to their heathenish customs, I may
mention, that many of them have but nine fingers, the tenth being cut off as far
as the middle joint: they profess to believe that a child will thus get more strength,
and grow wiser; and in many families the parents act thus towards all their children,
though they love them much.’
(1833) Morgan, N. pp. 36, 37, 46 Xhosa: ornaments
Oe 36 Xhosa: ornaments
Nothing more.
pe SH Xhosa: ivory arm-bands, necklets
‘. . . Ivory rings in various numbers are worn on the arm above the elbow by
both sexes, as are also brass rings on their right wrist. The covering of rings extends
some height up the forearm, and appears to be useful as well as ornamental, as it
affords a support to the tendons of the hand and wrist in the violent strain which
the action of throwing the assegai produces. A number of strings of beads of various
colors worn loosely about the neck complete the dress and ornaments of the Caffer
man.’
p. 46 Xhosa: head ornament
‘After some time the ranks of the upper party opens in the centre, and a party
of young men appear all ornamented alike; having their heads neatly dressed with
red clay, and bound with fillets of beads, from which at the back is suspended a
bunch of black horse hair about half an inch in diameter and seven or eight in
length.’
1834 Bonatz (18345) pp. 350, 404 Thembu: ornaments
[Bs SW) Thembu: ornaments
Nothing more.
p. 404 Thembu: amputation of finger joint
‘Many, if not most, adults and children, have one finger mutilated. It is usually
the third finger on the right or left hand, from which the first joint is removed, so
as to make it of the same length as the little finger. This abominable mutilation is
accounted among them as an ornament, or a mark of honour.’
1834 Godlonton (1835-6) p. 229 ‘Kaffir’: royal red beads for killed elephant
‘. . . and finally an offering of beads of a blood-red color, formerly an ensignia
of royalty, is then made; and when all this is done the parties consider that they
have discharged a sacred obligation.’
1835 Alexander p. 318 Fingo: ornaments
‘The Fingoes . . . ornaments are bead earrings, tufts of jackals’ tails on their
heads, bead necklaces, generally blue and white, brass rings on their arms, and a
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 625
belt of small brass rings, strung on leather, round their waist. . . The women...
also wear bead necklaces and brass bracelets.’
1835 Alexander (1837) 1 p. 387 Xhosa, Thembu: ornaments
p. 387 Xhosa, Thembu: necklets
‘Round the neck are a row of garnet and white spotted beads, with occasionally
pieces of sweet-scented wood; leopards’ teeth, either real or imitated in brass; and
a long needle in a leather sheath.’
p. 387 Xhosa: arm-bands
‘On these occasions, indeed, the Kaffir often adopts a more useful ornament:
pieces of hide with some flesh attached are worn as bracelets on the left wrist, to
be applied to occasionally for sustenance.’
p: 387 Xhosa: girdle
‘Round his loins is a double thong, also thickly set with brass rings. This is
regarded as a great ornament in South Africa; and it also serves as a girdle of famine
to confine the stomach, if on a journey food runs short.’
(1836) Martin pp. 148, 153 Thembu: amputation of finger joint, ornaments
p. 148 Thembu: amputation of finger joint
Quotation from Bonatz (18345).
p: 153 Thembu: leg-band, belt, arm-bands
Nothing more.
1820—56 Shaw, W. (1860) pp. 333, 334 Xhosa: ornaments
p. 333 Xhosa: Nggika’s head-band
‘He wore round his head a band studded, not with diamonds, but with white
and black beads, so disposed as to form the shape of half-diamonds, or triangles.’
p. 333 Xhosa: bangles
Nothing more.
p. 334 Xhosa: finger-rings
Nothing more.
1837 Dohne p. 61 Xhosa: ornament
Nothing more.
1839 Backhouse (1844) pp. 249-250, 263, 269 Xhosa, Mpondo: ornaments
p. 249 Xhosa: bangles
‘The Head man of the kraal at which we halted to-day, was a person of striking
appearance, and of remarkable character; his figure was unusually fine, his head
well-developed; he wore a large number of brass rings around his right arm,
encasing it from the wrist to the elbow, which is an uncommon kind of ornament
feels Midi: 2...”
pp. 249-250 Xhosa: girdle
Nothing more.
p- 263 Mpondo: ornaments
‘A ring of flattened copper, half an inch wide, encircled one wrist. They do
626 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
not practice the rite of circumcision: some of their ornaments are polished nuts,
or small, decorated calabashes.’
p:263 ?Natal: necklace
‘Further northward, massive rings are worn about the necks of people of rank;
these are said to become so much heated by the sun, that a servant is often kept
in attendance, with a calabash of water to cool them!’
p. 269 Mpondo: neck-rings
‘Some of them have copper rings about their necks, and wear numerous strings
of small beads, of British manufacture.’
p. 269 Mpondo: grass ornaments
‘Like other Amapondas, they wear bands of platted grass about their loins,
wrists, and arms, and take snuff, but do not smoke.’
1836—44 Dohne (1844) pp. 38, 42 Xhosa: brass and grass ornaments
p. 38 Xhosa: girdle
‘Sie arbeiten ohne Feuer und verfertigen aus Metall, das aus der Colonie von
den Englandern kommt, die Arm- und Fingerringe und den Gurt, welchen sie iber
den Huften um den Leib tragen. Dieser besteht aus lauter glattgehammerten,
schon abgerundeten Ringen, von 3 Zoll im Durchmesser, die, an einen Riemen
gereiht, als Zierrath getragen werden. 3—400 gehéren zu einem Girtel, und fur
2 Gurtel bekommt der Meister eine Kuh.’
p. 42 Xhosa: grass arm-bands:
‘Als Gesammtarbeit aller Frauen und Kinder ist endlich das mannichfaltige,
sehr kinstliche Flechten anzufiihren. Aus Grashalmen und Binsen flechten sie
Armmnnge von 10 bis 50)Smickens =. ©
1846 Napier (1850) p. 315 Fingo: slit in ear
‘Another distinguishing mark of this people is a slit in the upper part of the
ear, and which the Fingo immediately shows as a sign of identity, if accused of being
of the hated Amakosa race.’
1842-53 Baines 1 pp. 42, 81, 206-207 Xhosa, Fingo: grass
and other ornaments
p. 42 Xhosa: grass ornaments
(1848) ‘The girl wore, instead of brass rings, amulets of straw neatly plaited,
and one of the men had a coronet or head-band of cowrie shells procured from the
mouth of the Buffalo and other rivers, and, as a gentleman who halted as he passed
informed us, so highly esteemed that ten shillings would not tempt a Kafir to
part with a single row of them. On this point, not being given to contradiction, I
shall say no more than that I abstained from making the offer lest it should be
accepted. 2.’
p. 81 Xhosa: ornament
(1848) “While I was engaged in sketching a petty captain who stood profusely
decorated with brass but otherwise unclad before me supporting at the level of his
shoulder a basket of milk on the palm of one hand and shading his eyes with the
other, the proprietor of the basket, having learned from Baviaan at the Winkel the
ee
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 627
value of money, returned shortly after the wagons had started demanding a “‘great
white money,” a shilling, in exchange.’
pp. 206-207 Fingo: holes in ear
(1849) ‘During the day I made two or three contributions to Mrs. Shepstone’s
album and sketched a Fingo with large holes bored through his ear, a common
practice with them. Mr. S. told me one man had so enlarged these holes that the
lobes of his ears hung down upon his cheek, connected with the other part only
by two slender pieces of skin; of this he was very proud, till, coming into civilised
society, he found it subjected him to so much ridicule that he cut off the dependent
pieces.’
c. 1850 C. B. (?Charles Bell) Sketches Xhosa: chief's staff
Figures.
1848 Baines (1848—52a) no. 1 ‘Kafir’: cowrie necklace
Nothing more.
1837-63 VOns (Redgrave and Bradlow 1958) pls opp. Xhosa: ornaments
pp. 22, 30, figs [nos 19, 35]
Opp. p. 22 Xhosa: men’s necklaces
Figure showing wood or claw and white beads.
opp. p. 30 Xhosa: men’s head-bands, necklaces
Figure showing single strand of blue or white beads.
fig. [19] Xhosa: women’s necklace, arm-rings
Single strand of beads, brass bangles.
hig. [35] Xhosa: ear-rings, head-band
Sandile’s ear-rings, head-band.
1851-52 King (1853) pp. 41, 169-70 Cape Nguni: ornaments
p. 41 Xhosa, Fingo: ear-rings, necklaces
4
. . . to which may be added the similarity of national dress—viz., a kaross
of the skins of wild beasts, a bull’s hide, or a loose blanket, with earrings and
meeklaces Of tiger's teeth, shells, or seeds; . .. .’
p. 41 Xhosa, Fingo: bangles
*. . . while anklets and armlets of black and white beads, tastefully worked,
are worn by the women, with smooth, brightly polished brass rings reaching from
the wrist to the elbow, gradually increasing in size.’
pp. 169-70 Cape Nguni: necklaces, arm-bands
‘In necklaces, armlets, etc., they show great taste and ingenuity, and some of
them are very interesting; here again the tiger’s teeth are appropriated to aristo-
cratic use; one, which was cut from the neck of a dying chief, and presented to me
at the time, consists of alternate bunches of teeth and large white beads, on a cluster
of strings of small black ones. Another is composed entirely of the lower joints of
human finger bones strung through the knuckles, to the number of twenty-seven.’
p. 170 ‘Caffer’: ‘tattoo’
Nothing more.
628 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p70 Cape Nguni: ear ornament
‘The men stick through their ears a straw, a porcupine’s quill, or ostrich
feathers. 23,8
(1853) Fleming pp. 110-111 Cape Nguni: ornaments, cicatrization
p. 110 Cape Nguni: ornaments
‘The principal of these are the frontlet (generally a string of cowry-shells,) the
armlet, anklet, earring, and necklace. The four last they form of beads—black,
white, and dark crimson, being their three favourite colours. With the chiefs,
however, the armlet and anklet of ivory, the necklace of wolves’ or tigers’ teeth,
and the ear-ring and frontlet of cowries, are nearly universal. The commonest
class of Kaffirs are fond of wearing a feather, or a porcupine’s quill, through the
ear, and often make their armlets and anklets of large brass rings, which are
now imported plentifully from Europe. They often wear ten or twelve of these upon
the arm reaching from the wrist to the elbow, and three or four round the
ankle.
Pradetel Cape Nguni: cicatrization
‘Instead of practising this mode of adornment [ochre], the men tattoo them-
selves in rows, on the arm, side, and chest, and seldom use ochre, except in dyeing
their blankets or Karosses.’
(1853) Kretzschmar p. 236 Xhosa: no tattooing
‘Sie tattowiren nicht, aber beschmieren in der Kriegszeit ihre Gesichtern mit
weissen und rothen Streifen und reiben den ganzen Korper mit einem fetten,
rothen Thon.’
1855 Lindsey & Lindsey (1886) p. 117 ‘Kaffir’: ornaments
Nothing more.
(1856) Fleming pp. 202, 206, 220 Cape Nguni: ornaments
p. 202 Cape Nguni: arm-bands, girdle
Nothing more.
p. 206 Cape Nguni: ear-rings
‘In addition to their armlets, anklets, and girdle, they wear ear-rings and
necklaces. The former of these are usually made (except when rings only) of quills,
either from birds or porcupines, with the tail-tuft of the Lepus-Capensis, or
Cape-hare, or that of the Jerboa, fastened as a pendant from the points.’
p. 206 Cape Nguni: necklace
‘Their necklaces are varied: those usually worn amongst chiefs are made from
the teeth of the wolf or tiger; those amongst the commoner people, from shells and
berries. They wear beads in great abundance, strung round their necks, and
hanging in long bunches on their broad open chests; ... .’
p. 206 Cape Nguni: head-band
Nothing more.
p. 220 Cape Nguni: ornaments
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 629
(1858) Drayson pp. 39-40 Fingo, Xhosa: ear ornament
‘The Fingo for instance, always bores holes in his ears, and frequently carries
things in them, which is not the case with the Kaffir.’
(1858) Maclean pp. 92-93 Xhosa, Thembu: amputation of finger joint
‘The “‘isiko lenggqiti”’ consists in cutting off the first joint of one of the fingers,
generally the little finger; a cake of new cow dung is held under the child’s hand,
to catch the blood; the part of the finger which is cut off, is also placed in the dung,
and then the whole is plastered up in the top of the hut inside.’
1863-6 Fritsch, G. (1872) pp. 59, 60-62, pl. 9 Xhosa: ornaments
p: 59 Xhosa: girdle
‘Tragt der Xosa, wie es allerdings haufig der Fall ist, einen schmalen Leder-
gurtel um die Hiiften, so dient derselbe wesentlich zur Zierrath, wird als Regel (im
Unterschiede von den Zulu) nicht zur Befestigung irgend eines Schurzes benutzt
und ist nur reich mit Glasperlen, blanken Knopfen, Kupferplattchen und
dergleichen Gegenstanden geschmiickt.’
p59 . Xhosa: head-band
Nothing more.
pp. 60-61 Xhosa: ivory arm-band
‘Alles Andere, was der Kaffer sonst zur Ausstaffirung seiner Person verwen-
det, gehort in das Gebiet der Zierrathen und nicht der Bekleidung. Davon fallen
besonders die machtigen Elfenbeinringe in die Augen, welche die Hauptlinge und
angesehene Manner aus ihrer Umgebung um den Oberarm zu tragen pflegen.
Diese Ringe werden aus dem mittleren Theil starker Elephantenzahne geschnitten
und die naturliche Hohlung des Zahnes wird so weit vergrossert, dass man den Arm
gerade hindurch stecken kann; die Dicke des Ringes betragt dann etwa 3 CM., die
Hohe gewohnlich gegen 4 und doch schleppt ein Mann zuweilen eine ganze Reihe
solcher unbequemen Zierrathen am Arme, in der Regel sieht man aber nur einen
Ring.’
p. 61 Xhosa: ornaments
‘Der originellste Schmuck sind die Halsbander aus dunklen Glasperlen und
den Zahnen reissender Thiere (Schakal, Hyane, Leopard), von welchen die Letz-
teren quer an der Wurzel durchbohrt sind und sich meist zu mehreren anein-
anderfugen.’
p62 Xhosa: finger- and toe-rings
Nothing more.
ple9 Xhosa: necklace
Figure.
c. 1864 Stanford (1858-89) 1 pp. 18, 47 Cape Nguni: ornaments
p. 18 ?Mpondo: arm-ring
‘Occasionally a special embassy came from distant chiefs not included in
Mr. Warner’s ordinary jurisdiction. . . . Some still wore the head ring which has
passed into disuse nowadays. The ivory arm ring was constantly worn.’
630 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 47 Cape Nguni: cowrie shells
‘Before their contact with our civilisation barter was the only form of trade
known to them, except that near the coast there seems to have been a fixed value
for cowrie shells,’ (Note: “The Xhosa names are InGgogo and InGcaca’) ‘in the
number of small stock paid for them. These shells were highly prized for decorative
purposes; they were worn as necklets and were also much admired on the full dress
mantles worn by the women on festive occasions.’
1866-7 Wangemann (1868) pp. 200, 268 Xhosa, Fingo: ornaments
p. 200 Xhosa, Fingo: ornaments
Nothing more.
p. 268 Xhosa: teeth, shell necklaces
‘Um ihn her alle seine Grossen und Geheimenrathe, vielfach noch mit
Tigerfellen, dem Zeichen der Hauptlingswurde bekleidet, und mit Halsbandern
von Tigerzahnen (dergleichen auch Sandile trug) geschmiickt. Etliche trugen auch
Halsbander von einer gewissen Muschel, die auch nur Hauptlinge tragen durfen.’
1845-89 Kropf (1889a) pp. 105-106, 113-114 Xhosa: ornaments
pal@s Xhosa: girdle
Nothing more.
p. 106 Xhosa: ornaments
‘Ein anderer Schmuck, besonders der Frauen, besteht in Messingdraht, der
bis zu einer Lange von acht bis zw6lf Zoll dicht um den Unterarm oberhalb des —
Gelenkes oder um den Unterschenkel gewunden wird, wodurch Schmerzen und
Behinderung beim Laufen und Arbeiten verursacht werden. Messingringe um
Finger und Zehen, Perlenbander um die Stirn, um Hand- und Fussgelenke, Haar-
buschel und Schwanze um die Waden, Schnure von Perlen und Muscheln, von
kleinen perlartigen Friichten um den Nacken und kreuzweis uber die Brust
gehangt, Brustlatze von Perlen in allen Farben, oft in geschmackvollen Mustern,
werden sehr geliebt. Die kurzen Haare der Frauen werden durch Perlenschnutre
als lang dargestellt. Bei dem mannlichen Geschlecht zieren Federn von allerhand
Vo6geln und deren Balge, ebenso das Blaschen eines Lammes oder das Schwanzlein
eines wilden Tieres das Haupthaar, Holzstiickchen, Federn oder grosse Messing-
ringe die Ohrlappchen.
p. 106 Xhosa: breast-plate, ivory arm-band
‘Zur Auszeichnung vornehmer Personen, wie die Orden in zivilisierten
Staaten, diente friher ein Brustschild, eine Messingplatte, mit Schnuren auf der
Brust befestigt, spater elfenbeinerne einzdllige Ringe, die am Oberarm getragen
werden.’
pp. 113-114 Xhosa: girdle
Nothing more.
(1874) Korner p. 174 Xhosa: ivory arm-ring
‘An Arme und Fisse streift er sich Elfenbeinringe, die er muhsam mit der
Lanzenspitze, seinem einzigen Schneiderwerkzeug, aus einem Zahne des
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 631
Elephanten ausschnitt, ausarbeitete, glattete und darauf Zickzacklinien, Dreiecke
und Vierecke einzeichnete.’
1872-9 Durnford (1875) p. 2 Xhosa: metal ornaments
‘They [the women] wear brass rings from wrist to elbow, and steel chains
hanging all round them’ ;
1876 Witcher, Dyer & Dyer p. 1 Cape Nguni: ivory arm-rings
Advertisement of ivory arm-bands for sale.
(1877) Cripps p. 334 Mpondo: ornaments
‘They are very fond of ornamenting themselves with brass wire, and it is not
unusual to see a woman wearing such massive brass arm and anclets as to render
her power of progression extremely feeble. They also wear beads, which are
generally very tastefully arranged, black and white being more appreciated than
coloured ones.’
1877-8 Norbury (1880) pp. 8-9 _Xhosa: necklets, arm-rings
‘One of the fore-arms is generally covered by a series of plain brass rings or
coils of highly burnished brass wire; these are put on very tightly at first, and are
often the cause of intense suffering, occasioning great inflammation of the hand,
but all this is patiently borne for the sake of the ornamentation. On the opposite
arm copper or steel bracelets are usually worn;. . . while around the neck is a collar
of teeth—those of a dog, or sheep, or jackal—but this collar is sometimes formed
of scented wood.’
1877-9 Ex C.M.R. (1881) pp 97-98 Xhosa: ‘tattoo’, ornaments
‘, . . some Fingoes brought in the head of ’Nita, the famous “witch doctor”’
of Kreli. Her body some hours afterwards was also brought in. . . . Her body was
tattooed nearly all over, and her legs and arms were covered with small chains,
brass rings, and leather straps.’
1878 Streatfeild (1879) pp. 42-43 Xhosa: ivory, metal ornaments
pp. 42-43 Xhosa: ivory arm-band
‘I saw a Kafir on this day get wounded, and directly he fell, he set to work to
smash his ivory armlet against the stones. I have seen this done twice. They are
very jealous of these armlets, and if there is any life left in them, will always smash
them sooner than let them be taken. To those who may not have seen one of them,
I ought to give a description. They are made of a slice cut from an elephant’s tusk,
where it is about five inches in diameter, the slice being rather more than an inch
thick. It is then hollowed out so that it can be worn above the elbow. There is an
idea that only chiefs wear these rings, but this is a mistake; any one wears them
who can afford to buy one, and J have seen both men and women of no particular
position among Kafirs wearing them.’
p. 43 Xhosa: bangles, finger-rings
‘Almost all of them wear brass rings both on their fingers and arms, very often
as many as ten on one hand; and I have frequently seen a man’s arm, and oftener
632 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
still, a woman’s, entirely hidden from wrist to elbow by brass rings fitting tightly
to the arm. There are people among them who make it a special study to fit these
rings to the arm. They are cut to the proper length, and then joined over the arm,
and there remain always. They also wear iron and steel rings, with devices filed on
them of a very simple nature, such as squares and crosses.’
(1881) Nauhaus, C. T. p. 344 Xhosa: metal ornaments
p. 344 Xhosa: girdle
‘Grosses Interesse erregte ein Gegenstand, welcher als Kleidungsstick eines
Mannes bezeichnet wurde, aber in weiter nichts bestand, als in verschiedenen
diinnen weich gegerbten Riemen, die in Dicke eines kleinen Fingers zusammen-
gelegt, von Messingringen, die in Abstanden von 2 Zoll wiederkehren, zusammen
gehalten werden, an dem einen Ende mit einem Knopf, am andern mit einer Oese
versehen sind, um oberhalb der Hufte um den Leib gelegt zu werden. Von diesem
starkeren Bande herab hangen dann an der linken Lende 5—6 diinne, 2 Fuss lange
Riemchen, die beim Gehen hin und her spielen.
p. 344 Xhosa: copper arm-ring
‘Endlich wurden auch Armringe gezeigt, aus Kupfer, Messing und Eisen
gefertigt. Die kupfernen sind etwa 4 Zoll dick und werden meistens dicht am
Handgelenk getragen, oft in weit schOneren, bisweilen reich ornamentirten For-
men, als die vorliegenden. Die eisernen Ringe werden von Bassutos getragen, die
messingenen von den Kaffern (wenigstens hat Referent bei Kaffern noch keine ©
eisernen gesehen).’
1875-87 MacDonald (1890a) p. 224 Mpondomise: head ornaments
‘The hair is often adorned with feathers, tufts of rat or monkey skin, and the
fantasies of magicians. The most extraordinary head-dress I ever saw was com-
posed of blown bladders in the form of a coronet. The wearer, a royal messenger,
had been on a long journey, and, according to custom, was presented with the
bladders of all animals killed in his honour.’
1875-87 MacDonald (1890b) p. 269 Cape Nguni: cicatrization, ear-piercing
p. 269 Cape Nguni: cicatrization
‘There is no tattooing, knocking out of teeth, or any malformation whatever
connected with the initiatory rites, nor are these ever practised except as a matter
of personal choice or adornment. Various parts of the body are tattooed, but from
the throat to the abdomen is most frequently selected, and the marks are generally
in groups of parallel rows, thus: —
© TerVely egy e) eye /iel aul ‘py <0; | Je:) ey, Xe,
of feb Mis) y0\! er S's} er ay Noes! eee eee
ery cal ep ite tery tere) pete)! ie ey ‘ek Re
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 633
with considerable variety of detail in the case of individuals. The face is very rarely
tattooed, and in no case do such marks serve as distinguishing badges for either
men or women.’
p. 269 Mpondo: ear ornaments
‘Among both Zulus and Pondos the ears of boys and girls are pierced, and
distended so as to admit a very thick quill; but this practice is not connected with
any period of life, and is merely intended as a personal adornment or, more
correctly, a receptacle for ornaments in the form of earrings or small tapering
horn-shaped reeds, which hang dependent over both shoulders, the points looking
forwards and upwards, the reed being fixed in the lobe of the ear as if in a socket.’
1883—8 Bachmann (1901) pp. 134, 180 Mpondo: ornaments
p. 134 Mpondo: brooch
‘... der ockerfarbenen Wolldecke, die auf eine Schulter oder auf dem
Nacken, mit einer grossen Broschen-Nadel befestigt, ... .’
p. 134 Mpondo: arm- and leg-rings, head ornament
‘Um Beine und Arme trugen sie grosse Mengen von Ringen aus Kupfer-,
Messing- oder Eisendraht, oder auch Riemen. Die nackten Fusse hielten mit den
grossen Zehen die Steigbugel; als Sattel dienten ihnen Schaffelle. Das kurzwollige
Kopfhaar war meist mit einer Feder an dem Scheitel geschmuckt, die Schnupf-
tabakdose stak bei vielen in einem schlitzformigen Loche des Ohrlappchens, der
knocherne Schnupfloffel iber dem rechten Ohre im Haar.’
p. 134 Mpondo: ear-plug, tattoo
‘Mehrere trugen in einem oder auch in beiden Ohrléchern grosse Manchet-
tenknopfe, um die Stirn rote Bander. Der sogen. Pondostreif, eine blaue tatto-
wierte Linie, liess sich bei allen senkrecht tber der Nasenwurzel erkennen.’
p. 134 Mpondo: ornaments
Nothing more.
p. 180 Mpondo: ornaments
‘Die Pondos tragen lange nicht so viele Zierraten am Leibe, als die Natal-
kaffern.’
(1893) Bartels p. 320 Fingo, Xhosa: arm-ring, necklace
‘(1) von den Fingu, in der Cap-Colonie, einen zierlichen Armring aus
Kupferdraht; von den Xosa-Kaffern aus Emsebeni, in der Cap-Colonie, ein als
Tabakspfeife benutztes Metallstiick europaischer Herkunft, eine Halskette aus
Fruchten, kleinen Perlen und vielen oberen und unteren Eckzahnen von
Wildkatzen, sowie einen Armring aus der Haut von dem linken Vorderfusse einer
grossen Landschildkréte (Testudo pardulis).’
(1900) Lowndes pp. 115-116 Xhosa: bangles, cicatrization
pp. 115-116 Xhosa: bangles
‘One kind of bracelet is put on in childhood; it consists of fine rings, reaching
from the wrist nearly to the elbow, each increasing slightly in size. When the child
has grown up these rings cannot be taken off, and if the arm of the wearer should
become rather larger than the average, the smaller rings at the wrist become too
634 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
tight, causing the arm to swell and pain badly; sometimes rendering it almost
useless. Occasionally they will have the tightest rings filed and opened slightly so
as to loosen them; but nothing will prevail on them to have the rings removed. I
could not discover why. The farmers say it is only pride, but I think there must be
some superstition connected with them. Only a few women have these tight
bracelets, most wearing thick loose ones.’
p. 16 Xhosa: cicatrization
‘A species of tattooing is resorted to as a means of increasing their beauty—
not on the face, but on the arms, neck, and body. I must confess that I rather
admired it. Jam tcld that it is done by pricking the skin with a hot needle; the colour
is not changed by the process, but a sort of pattern of little elevations and inden-
tations is made, as if there were a string of beads under the skin.’
1900 J. de N. R. p. 446 ‘Kaffir’?: ‘tattoo’
Nothing more.
(1904) Kidd pls 2—4 and legends; pp. 20, 160 Cape Nguni: ornaments
pl. 2 and legend Bomvana: head-band
‘Note the shell ornament, which is a favourite with this man’s tribe.’
pl. 3 and legend Thembu: head-dress
‘This Tembu is dressed for an afternoon call. The top-knot on his head is made
from feathers, and is worn on special occasions only.’
pl. 4 and legend Mpondo: bangles
‘Her bangles, made of iron, are very massive.’
o, A Cape Nguni: ornaments
‘Bracelets, armlets, necklaces, anklets, and similar “‘lets’” around the upper
part of the calf, the thigh, and the waist, are always more or less in fashion,
finger-rings being strangely rare.’
p. 160 ‘Kaffir’: gall-bladders
‘It is true that other people sometimes wear gall-bladders when they are
considered personages and have had oxen killed in their honour; but usually the
gall-bladder is a sign of a diviner.’
1925 Thompson, H. Q. F. pp. 493-495 Cape Nguni: amputation of
finger joint
‘. . . Never more than the terminal joint is amputated and only one finger is
operated on. . . of either right or left hand; the thumb is never mutilated. The
operation may be performed at any time from birth up to old age, and is usually
done by an old woman.
The following tribes practise this rite or have clans among them who do so:—
AmaZulu, AmaBaca, AmamPondo, AmaHlubi, AmamPondomise, Ama-
mBomvana, AmaTembu, AmaXosa.... Among the AmaTembu, all clans
amputate the last joint of one finger. The left little or ring fingers are the fingers
preferred, but sometimes [others]. ... The amputation is performed at any
times... 2
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 635
A thread made from the fascia covering the shoulder muscles of an ox is tied
tightly over the terminal joint of the finger to be operated on, and when the finger
has swollen the joint is amputated. Any sharp object is used nowadays, but
formerly it was a stone. In any case, the instrument used is buried and never used
again. Freshly ground rat’s dung is powdered on the bleeding stump until clotting
takes place. The piece of finger taken off is covered with fresh cow’s dung and is
smeared on the wall inside the hut near the thatch... .’
(There follows a summary of methods used by each of the individual tribes
mentioned, the operation being the same as described above.)
(1927) Vogel, J. p. 4 Xhosa: ornaments
Nothing more.
(1931) Cook p. 101 Bomvana: cicatrization
‘Umvambo (Tatooing or Scarification).— If the elder twin girl is afraid to have
her body decorated with scars the younger may not have her body so decorated.’
11957) Sega. J. A: pp. 31, 219, 241, 242, Xhosa: ornaments
291-292, 411-413
p. 31 Xhosa: royal necklace
‘Ubu-Hlalu— Royal Necklace.
Ubu-hlalu is the generic term in Si-Xosa for beads. Royal beads were red in
colour. When a chief was to be installed into the chieftainship a heavy necklace
of red beads was prepared, and on the day appointed, chiefs of standing in the tribe
were commissioned by the councillors to invest the new chief with this badge of
royalty. It takes the place of the crown usually placed upon the head of a king in
civilized countries.’
p 219 Xhosa: beads
Nothing more.
p. 241 Xhosa: head-band of new wife
‘Sometimes the handkerchief is held in place by a band of cowrie-shells—
in-gcaca.”
p. 242 Xhosa: brass buttons on cloak
Nothing more.
pp. 291-292 Xhosa: girdle
“Umkwinti (Gezania integrifolia)
A string of cord may often be noticed encircling the waist of a Xosa child; this
is the umkwinti. Its purpose is more prosaic than that of any of the plants already
mentioned. Its use is to measure the child’s growth.
The outer covering of the leaf of the gezania integrifolia is peeled off, and the
threads which formed the veins are plaited or woven into a cord of a soft and pliable
texture, and are thus less liable to produce irritation of the skin than would the
ordinary cords made of the bark of trees. This umkwinti cord is tied round the
infant’s waist at about the second week of its life. It is made to fit exactly, but is
of sufficient length to permit of extension. The purpose of the cord is a primitive
way of testing the growth of the child.’
636 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 411 Xhosa: necklace
‘Isi-Danga. A long necklace of beads of many strings, each string not less than
four feet in circumference. The prevailing colours are either pale blue or white.
The necklace hangs down in front as far as the lower ribs. It forms a great feature
in dancing, especially in the um-tyulubo, when from the quivering imparted to the
muscles of the breast in this dance, the beads dance about also in what is considered
an appealing manner.’
p. 412 Xhosa: bangles
‘Is-Acolo and I-Watsha. Both these terms apply to bracelets and arm rings.
The more arm rings a woman has the happier she is, as it is a mark of social
distinction. These rings begin at the wrist and mount up towards the elbow. They
are made of thick brass wire, and may number as many as thirty or even more. They
are measured, cut and fitted on by an expert. As the term i-Ncibi (expert) is a
relative one, so the experts vary in their qualifications, consequently many women,
through undue compression of the muscles of the arm, lose the use of this member
as in course of time it becomes atrophied.’
p. 413 Xhosa: girdle of brass rings
Nothing more.
1932 Hunter (1936) pp. 102, 149, 222, 223 Mpondo: ornaments
p02 Mpondo: ornaments
‘For festivals both men and women wear quantities of bead necklaces, and
coils of twisted brass wire round leg, arm, and waist. One young man’s ornaments :
which he left in the store before going to the mines weighed 14 lb.’
p. 149 Mpondo: necklace
‘When a bride gets her isthlambezo, she puts on a double string of white beads
to advertise her happy state. At the same time she takes off her other ornaments.
‘Tf she does not do so the child will be born with the umbilical cord twisted round
its neck’’, as the mother’s brass ornaments are twisted round her legs, arms, throat
and waist. The isihlambezo is drunk for all children, but only for her first child is
a woman made to confess in public and wear the white beads.’
pellZ Mpondo: tattoo
‘In some districts most women, and some men, have a line tattooed down the
forehead, nose, and chin. Some have rows of dots or stripes on the cheeks. The
skin is pricked with a needle and igesi, oil from engines brought back from the
Rand, rubbed in. The face is then smeared with clay to stop the bleeding. The
tattooing is usually done between 9 and 16 years. There is no ceremonial connected
with it.’
pa223 Mpondo: wooden beads
‘Wooden beads of umthombothi (Spirostachys africanus) are also worn for
their scent.’
1918-48 Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964) pp. 27, 38, 40, 105 Cape Nguni:
ornaments
pec7 Thembu: finger-rings
“There are no marriage or engagement rings among primitive natives. Instead
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 637
they gradually acquire rings after marriage. The men make them for their women-
folk of brass. Some are elaborately carved, others are plain with hooks and points.
The women use them to scratch each other’s faces in fighting over men. They are
very dangerous weapons. . . . Their fingers were dreadfully swollen from wearing
them.’ (All Mrs Hamilton-Welsh’s rings came from the Cofimvaba district, and she
had great difficulty in persuading the women to part with them.)
p. 38 Thembu: belt, head ornament
‘Ibhanti Modern brass body-belts. . . . They used to wear five or six separate
wire rolls round the waist. Later they put the strands into steel buckles every few
inches to make them more solid.’
p. 38 Thembu: head ornament
(1935) ‘Inyamakazi Fur hair-ornament ... worn by young boys at the
weekly dances. . . . They are worn like a cockade. . . . They are made of tails of
wild animals and are worn attached to a cord, which encircles the head.’
p. 40 Cape Nguni: seeds
‘Seeds in many cases took the place of beads during the war.’
p51 Thembu: ceremonial necklace
(Under witch-doctresses’ costume:) (1933) ‘Isidanga_ string of blue beads,
four strands. Also worn by girls at the intonjane or female initiation ceremony.
Rare.’
pp. 105-106 Xhosa, Thembu, Fingo: bracelets
‘Bracelets are known as imiliza, ubhijo, umsingizane. Iwatsha is worn by
married women. /zacholo is a single bracelet. These brass armlets and anklets are
made by the men for their wives after marriage. A few at a time are added to the
left arm, as materials are expensive. In many cases they eventually reach above the
elbow. Men wear them also round the calves of the legs and the upper arms... .
Usually only older women wear brass bracelets.’
p. 106 General: leg-rings
(1900-10) ‘Ubusenge Worn above and below calf, made from twisted wire
and decorated with brass links. These take a very long time to make . . . worn by
men.’
(1934) Anon. p. 318 fig. Xhosa: tattoo
Nothing more.
1936 Cornner, F. (corresp.) Mpondomise: girdle
‘A young dandy has just been into my office and I noticed he was wearing a
number of brass wire native twisted belts. Out of curiosity I counted the number
encircling his waist, and there were 29. They are worn by young men, generally
unmarried. /sicemfu is the Kafir name.’
(1937) Soga, T. B. pp. 45, 47-48 Cape Nguni: physical decoration, ornaments
p. 45 Cape Nguni: amputation of finger joint
‘Inggiti le lisiko elalingawutate wonke umzi o-Ntsundu. Kufumaneka ukuba
abanye baya lenza, ekanti abanye abanqumli nggiti. Inkolelo yalo lisiko elingati
638 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
linyanga ukudangala nokumata emntwini. . . . Be kunqunyulwa ilungu lokugala
kucikicane nakumnwe wesibini mhlawumbi ngengadla yincibi.’
[Finger amputation is a custom that is not practised by all black people. One
finds some doing it, while others do not amputate the finger joint. According to
their belief it is a custom that seems to cure sluggishness and inertiaina person... .
The first joint of the little finger or perhaps of the second finger (the one next to
it) was amputated by an expert with a lancet. |
pp. 47-48 Xhosa: ornaments
Nothing more.
pp. 47-48 Cape Nguni: cicatrization, ear-piercing, scarification
‘Umvambo—lelinye lamasiko angasenakulandeka ngenxeni yobudala bawo,
be lilisiko elinamandla kulutsha, umtinjana nomlisela. Isisihombo ebesisenzelwa
ukuze sifaniselane nentlombe kwa nomdudo kwa kunye nomtshilo wabakweta.
Umvambo be kugotywa isilanda kumana kuhlatywa kusenziwa amangakwana apa
emzimbeni (esifubeni) kumana kusikwa ngale ngadla ke, kulungeleliswa ngento
entle ete re-e-e-e kakuhle. Xa kwenziwa nje kwenzelwa ukuze umzimba uka-
ngeleke noko ungasuke ube ngumguxa. Be ziko ke kwa nezinye izinxibo nezi-
hombo zomzimba, kuba nendlebe ezi be zigqojozwa iminxunyana yokufaka noku-
nxiba amajikazi. Kwaye entla paya kwelakowetu e-Mbo, lo mngxuma wendlebe
ubugqojozwa, undindwe ubenokungena amaqosha apa ekutiwa ngamatshaza
ngegama. Kuba ebesisihombo esikulu kwa-Baca nakwa-Zulu. Ekubeni ulutsha
abafana nentombi (intsizwa namaguda ngabula bona) ubuso be bucazwa buqa-
lulwe, kusitiwa wopiswa ukuba acace intlahla umntu, ngokupungulwa kwegazi
lobuntwana kulungiselelwa imihla yomsindo (izisusa ngabula bona). Oku kucazwa
ke umntu lo umana ukupindwa-pindwa le minyaka ukwenzela ukuba intlanga
zicace zide se zihlala ziyilo midondosholo xa uzikangeleyo. Abe ama-Hlubi wona
se kufumane kuqatshulwe lo matupasi—intlangana ezimbini ngamacalana oma-
bini ezandundwini zamantombazana ngokukodwa. Ezingalweni be zikwanxitywa
izacolo nezekopolo kwa nemiliza—into ebike yayinto kumaxesha ayo.’
[Cicatrization, one of the customs too old to be traced, was (a custom) greatly
in vogue among young folk, both youths and maidens. This ornamentation was so
executed that it would be uniform (on those participating) in the night party,
wedding dance, or dance of the abakhwetha. A needle was bent and by means of
a series of incisions small marks were made on the body (the chest) and a neat
pattern was designed. This was done in order that the body should, even in the
event of being uncovered, still be presentable. There were also other ornaments
and trinkets for the body; for instance, the ears were pierced with small holes for
inserting and putting on ear-rings. In the eMbo country north of our own, this hole
in the ear was made round so as to accommodate the buttons called amatshaza.
This was the great Bhaca and Zulu ornamentation. In the case of young folk, boys
and girls (according to them, adolescent boys and girls) the face was scarified at
intervals; it is said the patient is bled to ensure his prosperity: by letting off the
blood of childhood, preparations are made for the conviviality to follow (according
to them, feasts). This scarification of a person repeatedly for years is done to render
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 639
scars prominent so that eventually they remain as clearly discernible nodules.
Among the Hlubi blood is let from these mathuphasi (two small scars on either
cheekbone of girls only). Bangles, brass rings and anklets were worn—of some
significance on occasion. |
(1939) Duggan-Cronin pp. 22, 28, pls 2, 3, 5, 10, Xhosa, Thembu:
25, 26, 40 and legends ornaments
py 22 Xhosa: royal necklace
Figure.
Dp: 28 Xhosa: ornaments
‘With these, they wear brass and copper rings on their arms and legs, and
strings of beads on their necks, for decoration. But to their decorations, as to their
huts, the Xhosa do not devote as much attention as do some other South African
tribes.’
legend to pl. 2 Xhosa: royal necklace
‘In former days he [the Xhosa Paramount] would have worn also the royal
necklace of large red beads (iintsimbi zobhuhlalu) but the wearing of this has been
discontinued since the chieftainship was shorn of its power.’
pl. 3 and legend Xhosa: ivory arm-band
Nothing more.
pl. 5 and legend Xhosa: bangle
Nothing more.
pl. 10 and legend Xhosa: necklace
‘Her ornaments consist of beadwork, shells’ (Note: ‘Nerita textilis, Gmel.’)
‘brass armrings and two short lengths of polished chain.’
pls 25, 26 and legend Thembu: ivory arm-band
‘This is the chief of a minor clan of the Thembu, but he wears the ivory armring
of chieftainship.’
pl. 40 and legend Thembu: head ornament
‘This dress is for ceremonial occasions, dances, etc. The beadwork is of
imported coloured beads, strung on threads taken from the neck-sinew of an ox,
or, in the case of the larger beads, on thin strips of softened buckskin. The tassel
is from the brush of a jackal or other wild animal.’
1945 Makalima chapters 9, 10 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: cicatrization,
ornaments
chap. 9 par. 42 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: making metal ornaments
Nothing more.
chap. 10 par. 21 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: makers of ornaments
‘Amaso enziwa nanguwupina umfazi. Zonke zenziwa ngabafazi, ngapandle
kwe watsha, nesinda, nomsesane, enziwa ngamadoda.’
[Any woman may make the round white beads. All ornaments are made by
women with the exception of arm-rings, the amasinda and finger-rings which are
made by men. |
640 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
chap. 10 par. 23 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: wearers of ornaments
‘Amaso anxitywa ngabantwana nabantu abakulu. . . . Amagaba ngawabantu
abatsha. Amapoco ngawabafana, amatantyisi ibe ngawabantwana nentombi... .
Imixaka yeyabalumzana, izinxibamxaka kwa nentsimbi ekutiwa ngamazinyo
enja. .. . Amasinda anxitywa ngabafazi.’
[The large round white beads are worn by children and adults. Ear-rings are
for young people. Squares of beadwork are worn by young men and the necklaces
of hard seed shells are for children and girls. . . . Ivory arm-rings are for people
of high rank in society, councillors, who also wear beads called dog’s teeth... .
Amasinda are worn by women. |
chap. 10 par. 28 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: physical ornament
‘Into eyenziwa emzimbeni ngumvambo esifubeni nasesiswini, nasezingalweni.
Umvambo ke wona wenziwa ngameva omgaqoba. Ebusweni kwenziwa
umxhoxho, ekutiwa yigesi.’
[What is done on the body is cicatrization (umvambo) on the chest, stomach
and arms. Cicatrization is done with thorns of umqaqoba (Gymnosporia sp.). On
the face something is done by pricking, called igesi. ]
chap. 10 par. 29 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: physical decoration
‘Imigca kutiwa yigesi, eyembola kutiwa kukuzoba. Umvambo uba ngamaco-
koza.’
[Lines are called igesi, those of the red ochre are said to be painting. Umvambo
are spots. |
ChapelOspaicess Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: physical decoration
‘Umvambo uyahluka kubantu ababhingileyo nabasebuhlanti. Umzobo negesi
ngo wabafazi bodwa. Umvambo uyafana nokuba umntu mncinane nokuba mdala.’
[The cicatrizing of women differs from that of men. The painting and igesi are
for women only. Cicatrization is the same for old and young. |
chapalOvpars5 Xhosa, Fingo: amputation of finger joint
‘Ukunqumla umnwe:—Inggiti, okokukuti ukunqumula omnye umnwe,
asililo siko lamaMfengu likumaXosa.’
[The finger with the terminal joint cut off (ingqiti). The cutting off of one finger
is not the custom of the Fingoes, it is found among the Xhosas. |
chap. 10 par. 36 Fingo: hole in ear
‘Ukugqojozwa kwendlebe: Lisiko lethu maMfengu ukugqoboza indlebe.’
[It is the custom of us Fingoes to make a hole in the lobe of the ear.]
(1948) Anon. p. 336 Mpondo: mitten
‘Native handicrafts shown include a unique Pondo hand mitten, used only for
shaking hands at a party.’
1948 American Museum of Natural History (corresp.) Mpondo: mitten
‘The bead mitten. . . was... purchased. . . from Dr. M. Stein-Lessing.. . .
The tribal attribution, Pondo, and the use of the mitten are based on information
furnished . . . by Dr. Stein-Lessing. . . . It consists entirely of beaded strands as
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 641
you will see by the enclosed sketch. Several others of the same type are made of
blue and white beads.’
(1949) Duggan-Cronin pls 48, 52 and legend Mpondo: ornament
pl. 48 Mpondo: tattoo
Figure.
pl. 52 and legend Mpondo: head-bands
‘Both are wearing the bead head-bands regularly worn by nubile girls and
9
young women,....
(1949) Tyrrell nos 6-7 Mpondo: ornaments
no. 6 Mpondo: waist ornament
‘... The invaluable and ubiquitous mirror-cum-snuffbox dangles from her
waist at the end of a long rope of blue and white bead work.
Necklaces are twisted strands of blue and white beads, her several belts
typically Pondo, of trading store brown leather variety, lavishly covered in blue and
white beading.’
no. 7 Mpondo: mitten
‘Necklaces are pale blue and white and on his hands are bead “‘mittens”’ in the
same colours, composed of loops of beadwork over fingers and thumb, extending
down the back of the hand and attached to a wrist band. These mittens are an
attractive Pondo affectation for the express purpose of shaking hands at parties.’
(i952) Weir p. 275 Xhosa: bangles
‘A woman of marriageable age usually wears rows of brass wire in the form
of bangles stretching from the wrist to about three inches below the elbow. The
wire must be of good quality and of seven gauge thickness. Round the wrists may
also be found bangles made of 22 gauge or 17 by 21 triangular brass wire. Before
the last war brass curtain rings were also widely used, but as a result of lack of
supplies, this demand has largely fallen away.’
1949-55 Hammond-Tooke (19555) p. 55 Bhaca: scarification
‘Practically all Bhaca practise face-incision (chaza) which is performed on
children, “‘to let out the blood of childhood’’, with a piece of sharpened iron called
igcaguba. Cuts are made lengthwise and no special number is necessary, although
there should be one between the eyebrows on the bridge of the nose. The face is
then smeared with red clay and lard to promote healing. It is thought that if this
custom is not performed the ancestral spirits will complain, causing sickness and
perhaps death.’
(1954) Duggan-Cronin pls 158-160, 163, 165, Bhaca, Hlubi, Xesibe:
168-170, 172-175, 179-182, 193, 195, 196, ornaments
198 and legends to pls 158, 174, 180, 193, 195
pl. 158 and legend Bhaca: ear-ring, scarification
‘The slitting of the cheek and forehead (ukuchasa) is performed on all children
to prevent sickness and is universal among Baca, resulting in a distinctive tribal
642 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
marking. The cuts are made with a sharpened piece of iron, called igcaguba, when
the child is a few months old.’
pls 159, 160, 163, 165 Bhaca: ornaments
Figures showing full complement of ornaments.
pls 168, 169 Bhaca: girl’s ornaments
Figures showing full outfit of unmarried girl.
oll, 1a) Bhaca: women’s ornaments
Figure showing festive ornaments of married women.
ple 173 Hlubi: young man’s necklets
Figure.
pl. 174 and legend Hlubi: youth’s ornaments
‘The hat is attached to a piece of cloth covered with white buttons. The ostrich
feather was probably obtained from labourers returning from the farming
anedSie
pl. 175 Hlubi: boy’s ornaments
Figure showing studded leather belt (?brass buttons) and decorated head-
dress (?beadwork or buttons) called upet/e.
pea Hlubi: women’s and children’s ornaments
Figures.
pl. 180 and legend Hlubi: girl’s necklets and arm-bands
‘The large necklace is made from grass fibres covered with fine beadwork.’ '
pls 181, 182 Hlubi: head-bands, necklets, unmarried girl’s ornaments
Figures.
pl. 193 and legend Xesibe: facial marks
‘Like the neighbouring Baca of Mount Frere, the Xesibe also slit the cheeks
(ukuchaza).’
pl. 195 and legend Xesibe: women’s ornaments
‘The bead-decorated roll encircling the forehead is peculiar to the Xesibe.’
pl. 196, 198 Xesibe: women’s and young men’s ornaments
Figures.
1949-62 Hammond-Tooke (1962) p. 95 Bhaca: bead love-tokens made by girls
‘The accredited lover is a frequent visitor at the girl’s kraal, where he is given
food and hospitality, and her father buys her beads so that she can make the
multicoloured beadwork love-tokens.’
1956-8 Hammond-Tooke (19585) p. 55 Xhosa, Fingo: tribal marks
“To-day the Xhosa tribes of the district do not have any special tribal markings
and this seems to have been the case even in the past although Lichtenstein (op.
cit. p. 377) mentions that ‘““Here and there women as well as men are to be seen
tattoed, but not in the face, only upon the breast, the back, and the arms”. Many
individuals still practise the custom of inggithi (amputation of one or more joints
of the little finger), which is probably of Bushman origin. Cicatrization of the face
(-chaza) is practised by a few of the Mfengu of the district.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 643
1962 Anon. p. 9 Xhosa: chief’s necklace
‘Paramount Chief Zwelidumile Sigcau placed a necklace of red beads over the
head of Chief Archibald Velile Sandile, thereby elevating him to the rank of
Paramount Chief of the AmaRarabe and related tribes of the Ciskei,... .’
1963 De Lange p. 90 Xhosa: cicatrization
‘The scarification practised by the Xhosa is called umvambo. It is popular
among the women, and is confined to the torso. The Xhosa women do not tattoo
their faces as do the Mpondo and Mpondomise. The method of scarification was
described by an old woman of Bulugha who had herself undergone the process
when she was fourteen years old. A man who is skilled in the operation, called
incibi yomvambo, runs a needle through a portion of the skin, thus raising it, and
cuts the skin on both sides of the needle to meet at one point. The wounds are
rubbed with a mixture of pork fat and ichitywa, which staunches the flow of blood.
Umvambo is usually practised on the pubescent girls, as a form of decoration; men
are not scarified in this way. ... A double row of markings runs downwards
between the breasts from the collarbone to the navel, and under the breasts one
or more double rows of markings run at right angles to the perpendicular rows to
left and right,. . . . This design may be elaborated upon. . . . Elongated horizon-
tal markings lying parallel one beneath the other, placed between the collarbone
and the breasts, are also encountered, although this latter design seems to be
practised more by the Mfengu.’
1968 Holt (1969) pl. 2, pp. 91, 195 Tshomane, Tshezi: ornaments
pl. 2 Tshomane: girl’s ornaments
Photograph of girl wearing quantities of head, neck, arm and leg ornaments.
p. 91 Tshezi: amputation of finger joint
‘The last joint of the little finger (usually of the left hand) is the one removed,
and it may be done at any age, but is most commonly done in childhood. A tight
ligature is first tied around the finger... and an expert operator (often an old
woman) seizes the joint and severs it with one swift back-and-forth slice of a
razor-sharp knife; . . . . The operation is said to help a child if it is sickly or given
to bed-wetting.’
p./195 Tshezi: women’s ornaments
‘Women and girls alike wear beads (especially at festivities) and arm-bangles
(imiliza) of wire or of plastic tubing, which has almost entirely replaced wire.’
(1970) Elliott pp. 17, 20, 24-25, 28-29, 31, 33-34, 35, Xhosa: ornaments
38-39, 43-44, 46, 56-57, 59-60, 65, 68-69, 75, 77,
79-80, 99-103, 108, 113, 124-125, 129, 130
Photographs of beadwork ornaments, worn by both sexes and all ages mainly
in the Ciskei.
pp. 33-34 Xhosa: beadwork
‘On ceremonial occasions, like feasts, beer-drinks, or even Sunday visits to
their neighbours, both men and women wear beads in profusion, though a well-
dressed man carries a greater number and more varied pieces than his wife
644 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
does. . . . [A married woman] often wears a series of narrow brass bands from her
wrists to her elbows. . . . As a woman gets older and puts on weight so the bands
get tighter and start to hurt. . . . The type of bead used by the Xhosa is the very
smallest available in the trading stores, and the colours most used are white, blue,
red and pink. . . . Among the Xhosa, the pieces worn by each age group of both
sexes differ quite clearly and, strangely enough, the girls do not as a rule wear
anything like the quantity, or quality of pieces of beads that their boy friends do.
Brides wear very little because they are relatively unimportant before they have
borne children. . . . All beadwork is done by the women and girls of a kraal.
Married women make the pieces which they and their husbands wear and girls work
for their brothers, for themselves and for their sweethearts.’
(Ds D7 Xhosa: amputation of finger joint
‘There is also a custom which is practised to stop the child getting thin and
wasting away. It requires that the parents cut off the first joint of one of its little
fingers . . . itis today only in isolated families that it is continued, although I have
often met older tribesmen with the end of one of their little fingers missing. Tribal
law does not specifically lay down which of the two fingers has to be amputated
but custom within a particular clan or family does.’
p. 130 and figure Xhosa: cicatrization
‘These tattoo (marks) are typical of those with which many Xhosa girls
decorate their bodies. This girl’s skin was cut with a razor blade by one of the men
of her kraal and their pipe-oil was rubbed into the wounds to bring up the welts.’
1972 Bigalke pp. 71-89 Ndlambe: ornaments
(O. WIL Ndlambe: ornaments
‘Few bead ornaments are worn in everyday life about the homestead. How-
ever, all age groups take great pains with personal toilet, dress and ornamentation
for rituals and festive occasions. . . . Elaborate ornamentation, especially in a
youth (inkhwenkhwe) or a young man (umfana), is almost certainly a means of
displaying the results of his success in attracting girls. . . . Youths do not, as arule,
begin to wear beadwork ornaments until they strike up a relationship with one or
more girls who then present them with bead ornaments.’
peyZ Ndlambe: social significance
‘Decoration and ornament are also a means of conveying socially significant
facts about the wearer’s social status and about particular states, during which
appropriate forms of behaviour must be adopted towards people in these states.
. With certain exceptions each kind of ornament is appropriate to only one
particular age-grade. . . . Old women have been known to remove iwotshi [sic],
a set of graduated brass bangles, from the arm of a woman considered too young
to wear it.’
0. WS Ndlambe: colour
‘, . . certain colour conventions in bead-work were or are characteristically
worn by people of certain age-groups. Black and white, or black, white and
saxe-blue or turquoise are the bead colours worn by senior men and women at the
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 645
present time. . . for this century at least black and white, or black, white and saxe
blue are the “traditional” colours of the beadwork of older people. . . . Fashion
appears to operate also in the types of article worn.’
pp. 73-89 Ndlambe: ornaments
A detailed description of the ornaments worn on various occasions by people
of different age-groups and status.
(1976) Broster pp. 17-19, 21, 32-33, 60-61, 74-76, Qwathi: ornaments
88-89, 91, 110-114; pls between pp. 10-11,
opp. pp. 21, 34, between pp. 34-35, opp. p. 65,
between pp. 66—67, opp. pp. 67, 82, between pp. 82-83
pp. 17-19 Qwathi: beadwork
‘For each age group bead colours have symbolic significance. Among the
Tembu tribe dark turquoise is the colour of youth. . . . Dancing, courtship and
beadwork are intimately woven into the social structure. At the teenage dance the
young girl studies the boys and if one appeals to her she buys beads and makes him
three head bands... . . As the affair progresses the girl makes him more and more
beadwork. . . . Should their friendship break up the boy is required to return all
gifts of beadwork... .
Senior teenagers delight in face masks made from beads. Boys look with
special favour on ornately beaded spectacle frames and both sexes wear beaded
ear-rings.’
p: 21 Qwathi: cicatrization
‘Apart from beads and facial make-up teenagers employ tattoo marks to
enhance their beauty. All undergo decoration by scarification. Girls of the Tembu
tribe are scarified from the navel in three lines between the breasts and then in three
diagonal lines above and below the breasts. . . . Youths of the same age have
similar markings but the diagonal lines are omitted. . . . The actual process of
scarification is undertaken by a competent woman. . . . Using a needle she raises
a portion of the skin and, with a sharp razor blade, cuts on both sides of the needle
to meet at one point. Her pattern completed she applies a soothing paste of
pulverised green grass. The next day the scabs are removed. The incisions
heal within the week but during this period repeated applications of paste are
made.’
pe 52 Qwathi: beadwork, symbolism
‘The grace and skill of their movements is enhanced by their beadwork,
particularly by beaded leg-bands, armbands and wrist bands. These are decorated
with bead streamers . . . often every finger is adorned. The rings are made of
strands of wire threaded with beads or of flattened copper or brass. . . . Through-
out life beads are always in fashion. ... From birth to old age the symbolic
beadwork blends subtly into the social structure. No phase of life is omitted.’
Dao Qwathi: beadwork of young men and girls
Nothing more.
646 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pp. 60-61 Qwathi: brides’ ornaments
‘. . . elaborate beadwork is worn by the bride and her attendants’ (description
follows).
pp. 74-76 Qwathi: men’s dance ornaments
Full description.
pp. 88-89 Qwathi: amputation of finger joint
‘This custom [of removing the first joint of the little finger] is not practised by
the tribe as a whole but follows family tradition. . . . Insome families the operation
is performed during the first week of the baby’s life. . . . Sometimes a small child
falls ill, is fractious. . . . This is taken as a sign that the ancestral spirits wish the
custom observed. . . the father places its left hand over the bowl. . . . Then using
a razor blade or sharp knife he strikes strongly at the first joint of the little finger
and it falls into the bowl.’
pot Qwathi: mourning
‘She was buried according to Qaba ritual and for one month her family wore
the symbols of mourning. Their heads were shaved and they removed all beadwork
and ornamentation from their person.’
pp. 110-114 Qwathi: beadwork
Lists with short descriptions of 154 beadwork ornaments, which are depicted
in the plates.
(1977) Sobahle pp. 274-281, 289 Xhosa: beadwork .
p. 274 Xhosa: beadwork indicates status
Nothing more.
pp. 274-275 Xhosa: royal beads
Nothing more.
pp. 275-281 Xhosa: beadwork of age groups
Nothing more.
p. 289 Xhosa: decline of beadwork
‘Today, it is evident to anyone that beadwork is fast disappearing. This decline
is not only evident in the social sphere but also in the religious sphere, where it
could be said bead-wearing was backed by the ancestors.’
ORNAMENT: TERMS
ubengo 1. strip or cutting of something. In olden times it was a glittering piece
of copper (gold?) worn by nobles on the breast or forehead like an imbasa,
as a decoration or mark (order) of distinction, D. 2. shield for the breast
(X-—McLaren 1915). 3. lubeengo animal bone as neck ornament and amulet
(X-Lichtenstein 1811). (From -benga cut meat into large collops. Also in
other Bantu languages: cut into strips. Cf. Sotho lebék6é, Venda luvhengo, long
narrow sweat-scraper of iron or brass, often hung from neck) 754
ubuhlalu generic term for beads, especially red ones, which are considered the
finest beads; hence necklace composed of large reddish beads worn by prin-
cipal chiefs as a sign of royalty, D Xes Bh (Hlu). (From general Bantu root
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 647
-kalu bead, Zu idem, Tsonga vuhlalu, but not found in the Sotho-Tswana and
Venda languages of the interior) 755 (286)
inkwintshi (pron. inkwintji) 1. headgear or badge worn by chief councillors,
warriors or amagora (heroes) only, D. 2. not confirmed 756 (745)
isidwangube 1. ornament of beads, granted as an order to chief councillors; now
a chief councillor, D. 2. only 2nd part confirmed by those who know the
word 757
umxhaka_ 1. ring of ivory worn on the upper arm as a sign of distinction, D X
T. 2. khaga (Lichtenstein 1811) 758
inzeku_ piece of skin of a buck, with hoofs, fastened to the arm of the one who
killed it, and worn as sign of honour, D X 759
isigxoloxwana 1.anornament, D. 2. not confirmed 760
incaluba and incaluka 1. plant of order Iridaceae, possibly Hypoxis species, with
yellow flowers and good for thatching, D. 2. yellow-flowered land rush, used
for thatching (X—McLaren 1915). 3. incaluka plant used for making orna-
ments (Fgo—Kawa) 761 (186) ;
intshinga (pron. intjinga) 1. tassel-like ornament made from the tufted end of
jackal’s or hartebeest’s tail, worn by men on the head or the calf of the leg
in dancing and hunting, D. 2. tuft of fur or feathers, worn by circumcised
lads or medicine-men, originally as distinction for bravery, X Bo. 3. wide-
brimmed small-crowned hat, T 762 (637)
ighosha_ button of any kind, D 763
umgqhosha (Em) button of any kind, D 764
ighula small round button, bead, D Mp 765
ighulaghosha_ small button with flat base and round or conical top, D T and
others 766
umqhulo button, D 767
unompondwana 1. brass button of conical shape, D. 2. not confirmed 768
iphondwana (diminutive of uphondo horn) 1. round pyramid-shaped button, D
(a contradiction, he means ‘conical’). 2. apparently missed, and not
asked 769
isthombo 1. fine ornaments on garment, or onthe person, D. 2. any ornament,
finery, general. (From -homba deck oneself out, dressin fine apparel,D) 770
isolotya 1. any ornament that hangs on a dress like a fringe, tail or appendage
of a head-dress, D. 2. tassels hanging from the arms, T. 3. noose, Mp.
4. knot, Xes 771
ujiko 1. anything twisted, anklet of beads, twisted ornament worn round the
neck, D. 2. pliable wire, general. 3. twisted wire bangle round the calf, X.
(From -jika turn round) 772
umbhovu 1. fruit like great red pearls from idywadi, African boxthorn (Lycium
horridum L.);abead;anornament,D. 2.species of small bush used to make
pipe mouthpiece, X T. 3. red edible berry, X. 4. large red bead (X-
McLaren 1923: 21) 773
ane
648 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
unondyola_ 1. white-flanked flycatcher (also undyola); ornament of beads, D.
2. ornament for the ears, X. 3. Mpondo men of Corana have neither the
word nor the article, but know it is worn and so named in Tembuland 774
indyulu. blue hexagonal bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 775
ingcawu pink bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 776
ifathuse turquoise bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 777
igolomi 1. Cape lourie, D. 2. anklet of bronze or copper, D (not con-
firmed). 3. cornelian bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 778 (883)
inkankani_ chalk-white bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 779
inyembe_ 1. small arrow of the Korannas; whistle; barbed hook, D. 2. barbed
spear, Xes Bh. 3. navy-blue bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21). 4. unknown to
most people 780 (389, 404, 1055)
igqgabi green bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 781
inggaza_ 1. boys’ head ornament of red, black and white beads, with a string of
same hanging down behind, D X (all colours). 2. particoloured bead
(X—McLaren 1923: 21) 782
umrwane_ large purple bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 783
umthubi \emon-coloured bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 784
amanzi purple bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 785
ichele 1.nD. 2. beadwork head-band, Mp Bh 786
idiliza 1.nD. 2. ornaments made for boys by their girls, and worn round waist .
and legs, T. 3. on legs only, Mp. 4. bead head-band, like a frill, X—-
Ciskei 787 (822)
idumnyasi_ 1. head ornament, necklet (from the Hottentot (Khoi) damywas),
D. 2. not confirmed 788
idunyasi 1. head ornament, necklet (from the Hottentot (Khoi) damywas),
D. 2. not confirmed 789
imbasa_ 1. white spot or mark at the forehead of an animal; head ornament, sign,
cockade, diadem, soldier’s cap-plate, D. 2. something worn as mark of
distinction, e.g. for bravery. Now used for any badge. (Few people still know
what it used to be in olden times. Some say it was an ivory armlet. The first
meaning given above is no doubt the original one) 790
impobole (from -phobola beat about the ears with a switch) 1. head-dress made
from the bushy part of a jackal’s tail, D X T. 2. made of tail of aardwolf
(ingci), T. 3. not confirmed eastern Transkei 791
icandantloko (lit. ‘divide-head’), less commonly incandantloko 1.nD. 2. bead-
work pinned to tufts left on shaven heads of boys and girls (Mp—UCT).
3. strip of beads over top of head, Mp (this latter is more likely from the
meaning of the word) 792
ingcaca 1. cowrie, cowrie shells as an ornamental band on foreheads of men or
headstalls of horses, D. 2. worn by newly married women, X (X—Soga).
3. worn by bridegroom on wedding day, X Ciskei 793
inggaza_ 1. boys’ head ornament of red, black and white beads, with a string of
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 649
same hanging down behind, D X (all colours). 2. particoloured bead
(X—McLaren 1923: 21) 794
inquma_ 1. head ornament, of skin of bird or mole tied to the hair in front, D.
2. band of monkey skin or monkey hair in woven strip, X. 3. tuft of hair or
wool for ornamental purposes (Mzamane) 795
isicanda 1.nD. 2. head ornament, flap of beadwork, Mp 796
isiphothe (from -photha twist, twine, spin, plait) 1. (Em) curl or lock of hair
bound round with fine brass wire, D. 2. Mp word according to X, but Mp
informants deny it 797
isiqweqwe 1. ornamental bead worn on forehead, a frontlet between the eyes,
D. 2. beadwork triangles in various colours worn round neck and on head,
T 798 (839)
isittsaba 1. garland or bandage of an ornamented kind (beads) round the head or
foot, D. 2. arm- and ankle-pieces of dancing costume (X-—Schweiger).
3. ring, the size of a bangle and of various bead sizes, worn on the head,
general. 4. long beadwork anklet, X Ciskei 799 (744, 911)
umdunuso 1.nD. 2. chin strap for ceremonial dress of women, Bh 800
umjewulane, ujewulani 1.nD. 2. flat beadwork head-band worn under head-
cloth by some Thembu women, T (possibly from jewellery?) 801
umgxashe 1. beads worn on the head and hanging down, D X._ 2. bead head-
band with bead streamers, X Ciskei 802
umjila 1. anything long in comparison with other things of same kind, e.g. long
feather in cock’s tail, D. 2. tail-feather, T. 3. feather ornament for boys,
X 803
umghoboka 1.nD. 2. beaded head-ring for married women, Mp 804
umnqwazi 1. covering for the head of women, being a high cap made of skin
trimmed with beads, bonnet, cap, hat, D, general. 2. narrow beadwork
head-band round back of head for girls, Mp. 3. beaded head-ring (Mp—
Beukes). 4. married woman’s beaded head-ring, also called isinqwazi
(Mp-—UCT). 5. baboon-skin hat, Bh. 6. apex or topknot of modern hut,
Xe 605 (51, 653;.733)
amahobo (but amahobho, T) 1.nD. 2. ear-rings, Fgo 806
icici. ear-ring, circle, D X Mp_ 807
igabha (Em) large ear-ring, DX T 808
yikazi 1.ear-ring,D. 2. ear-ring worn through hole in ear-lobe (X-T.B. Soga
1937; Mp—Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964)). 3. beadwork ear pendant, fairly
long, several colours, T. (From being turned round, verb -jika) 809
ingwagwa_ 1. ornamental ear-button of ivory, D. 2. not confirmed 810
inkelo 1.nD. 2. ear-ring, Xes. 3. ear-ring of wire, Mp 811
irawu 1. kind of ear-bead, D. 2. not confirmed 812
isicubha 1.nD. 2. stick or reed worn through the ear, Mp 813
isiviliba (Em) ear ornament of wood or bone, D, apparently Fgo only 814
650 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
itshaza 1. nD. 2. Bh and Zu buttons for the ear (X-T.B. Soga 1937).
3. usually of wood, white, Mp 815
umpuku (not-ph-) 1. ear ornament made of grass, D (X—McLaren 1919). 2. not
confirmed anywhere 816
ungeshe 1. ear-pendant; black and white beads worn round the neck, D.
2. unconfirmed except by one very old and good Mp informant: strings of
beadwork round head and vertically over from ear to ear, green and white,
worn by young men and girls on special occasions, Mp _ 817 (844)
utsinatsina 1. obsolete kind of ear-ring, D. 2. not confirmed 818
iliso, pl. amaso (as distinct from iliso, amehlo eye) 1. large round white bead, so
named from resembling the eyeball, D. 2. Job’s tears (seed of Coix
lachryma-jobi L.), Mp. 3. all large round beads, not only white ones, T Mp
X Bo, probably general 819 (276)
itantyisi, pl. amatantyisi (also amatantjisi, amatatjisi) 1. small hard-cased red fruit
strung into necklaces, D T Mp Xes. 2. necklace of Job’s tears, Bh X
Ciskei 820
iyila 1. kind of sea-shell, D. 2. ancient bead, Fgo Nqamakwe. 3. necklace of
Nerita (probably albicilia) shells strung on string (formerly goatskin riem)
worn by brides, the newly initiated, and old men, X. 4. two shells are strung
together and worn by men (T—Makalima). 5. singular not used, have only
heard of amayila, but unknown what it is, various informants 821 (273)
idiliza 1.nD. 2. ornaments made for boys by their girls, and worn round waist
and legs, T. 3. on legs only, Mp. 4. bead head-band, like a frill, X
Ciskei 822 (787)
ighobozela, igobozela 1.nD. 2. four-cornered plait made with four strands, as
of leather for whip, of grass or rushes for necklet or waistband, whence used
for the articles so produced, generxal (but Bh call this four-strand four-cornered
plaiting ighobolozolo) 823
ikhamanga 1. Strelitzia reginae Ait.,D. 2. single-strand necklace of beads and
wooden beads, Bo. 3.speciesofsmallaloe,Mp. 4.a plant like canna, with
spherical hard seeds, diameter c. 4 mm, which are boiled and holes drilled
through, strung to make beadwork strings worn round neck in many strands,
by boys and girls, T. 5. ordinary agave, various informants 824
imisuphu (singular not used) 1.nD. 2. necklace, Mp. 3. four to five rubber
cable covers, each a different colour, worn round waist and ankles by men,
women and girls, mostly made on the Reef, general 825
umsubhe 1.nD. 2. necklace of twisted strands of strung beads, T 826
umqoboka, umgoboko 1.nD. 2. bead necklace, necklet of twisted grass, T
Fgo 827
impepho 1. generic term for the everlasting flowers, which are used for making
a bed for expectant mothers, D. 2. species of Helichrysum, green leaves of
which are pounded and mixed with white clay (ingceke) and set to a hard mass,
which is made into beads that are strung, with others of glass, etc., to make
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 651
necklace, Bo. 3. shrub that is powdered and mixed with white clay to make
beads worn by nursing mothers, X. 4. the same, mixed with red clay, Bh.
5. Helichrysum stenopterum DC. (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk) 828
inggosha (from -ghosha pin or button together) — string of beads fastened to iphoco
in front and worn round the neck, formerly called ithumbu, D 829
iphoco 1. small ornamental square of beadwork worn in front of the neck and
attached to the inggosha, D X Fgo T. 2. worn by young men, Mpm_ 830
umphica 1.nD(norverb). 2. -phica to make complicated plait, as distinct from
-luka to make simple plait with 3 strands only; no noun known, according to
panel of teachers. 3. species of grass (Digitaria littoralis Stent), used for
ornaments, T. 4. armlet and necklet of umphica grass, T (T—Beukes).
5. not generally known, but some recognize it as what they call imbica, also
necklet, waistband, anklet, T 831 (205, 878)
iphotho 1.nD. 2. necklace worn by women and girls for dancing, X Ciskei.
3. hair of women coloured with ochre and twisted into strands, Mp 832
intseka 1. necklace of ostrich egg-shell beads, D. -2. girdle of imizi, X 833
(893)
isambalo (from non-existent verb -ambala put on something to wear, cf. -ambatha,
idem; no longer generally known, used by some in pl. izambalo only)
1. necklet; necklace; assorted ornaments, D X Mp general. 2. kilt with tails,
leather armlets and skin cap (worn by doctor), X. 3. formerly: skin,
especially of duiker, worn at imidudo (formal wedding dances); nowadays,
though seldom used: any adornment such as blanket, bracelet, beadwork,
xX 834
isidanga 1. ornament of many strings of beads worn on the neck or across the
upper part of the body; garland, D X Mp. 2. isidanga samadoda long neck-
lace with squares (T—Mrs Goodwin). 3. long beaded blue necklace worn at
intonjane by girls and ‘witchdoctresses’ (T—Hamilton-Welsh (Louw
1964)) 835 (742)
isifaco 1.nD. 2. necklace of Job’s tears, Xes. 3. necklace of small beads,
X 836
isifikane 1. scented grass (Andropogon sp. and Lasiospermum radiatum Trev.)
used for making necklaces, D. 2. plant with broad leaves, scented juice of
which mixed with ochre (X—Norbury). 3. kept in huts for pleasant odour
(X-Smith 1824-5) 837 (937)
isikhonxo 1.nD. 2. necklace, Bh. 3. thong used to tie (from -khonxa fasten
with a chain or buckle; bind, fetter, D), T 838
isigweqwe_ 1. ornamental bead worn on forehead, a frontlet between the eyes,
D. 2. beadwork triangles in various colours worn round neck and on head,
T 839 (798)
isiyeye 1. the isidanga (necklace, see 835) of one of the tribes, D. 2. chaplet of
beads, Mp. 3. flat squares of beadwork hanging from beaded string, with
danglers, worn from the neck by women in town only, Mp. 4. beadwork
collar with danglers, worn by women, T 840
652 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
ithumbu 1. (fig.) bead necklace, D T. 2. bead collar, 65 mm broad, worn by
men, X Ciskei. 3. necklace with narrower flaps than inggosha, X 841
unomlilwana 1.nD. 2. necklace (Mp-UCT). 3. not confirmed 842
udlawu_ 1. (Em) smith’s tongs, D Mp. 2. tongs made of wire, Bh. 3. iron for
digging, Xes Mp, but denied by other good Mp informants, and the word in
any sense was unknown to good X and Bo informants. 4. necklace with flaps
(T—W. Blohm corresp.) Mp X_ 843 (137)
ungeshe 1. ear-pendant; black and white beads worn round the neck, D.
2. unconfirmed except by one very old and good Mp informant: strings of
beadwork round head and vertically over from ear to ear, green and white,
worn by young men and girls on special occasions, Mp 844 (817)
umhlehlo 1.theinsidefat,DT. 2. wide collar of beadwork worn by women and
girls, so called because it looks like intestinal fat, Fgo T 845
ikhala 1.nD. 2. beadwork collar or necklace with danglers, worn by boys,
T. 3. collar necklace with danglers, X Ciskei. 4. unknown to many 846
umkhala 1. nose-strap for cattle; bridle, D. 2. necklace, Bh. 3. beadwork
strap round head and under chin, T 847 (347, 1094)
umngqi single string of beads; a thread, D X, but not generally known 848
umnxilo 1. one of the two locks under a goat’s neck; ornament for the neck,
D. 2. not confirmed by X; T and Mp maintain tassels of goat are imingxili
and imingxilo, and do not denote ornament 849
umthombothi sandalwood (Excoecaria africana Mull. (now Spirostachys africana
Sond.)), a hard scented wood, used as a perfume, pieces of which are worn
on a string round the neck, D X_ 850 (178, 1008)
isipili 1. (from Afr. spieél) looking-glass, D. 2. flat square piece of beadwork
with band at top on either side worn by women, T 851
isivalo (from -vala close) 1.nD. 2. bar for fastening door, Bh. 3. broad collar
and strip of beadwork worn from neck, T 852 (56)
amaphondo (from uphondo horn) 1.nD. 2. bangles of horn, plastic or cellu-
loid, X Mp T 853
ikhopolo 1. brass ring or armlet worn by Kafir women, D. 2. correct, worn on
the wrist, X. 3. but Mzamane and Mp Education Officers say ikopolo, which
is more likely. (Clearly derived from English copper or Afrikaans koper, the
latter more likely) 854
ubhijo (pl. timbijo) (from -bhija twist a single stalk of grass, thereby squeezing out
the moisture and spiralling the fibre, as in rope, to achieve strength. Hence
also several strandsinthesame way) 1.nD. 2. ring of twisted grass whether
on leg, arm, waist orneck, general. 3. armlet or necklet of grass, five strands
twisted round a sixth, Bh 855 (204)
imbothoza 1.nD (but -bothoza dent, bruise). 2.armlet,T. 3. girdle or necklet
of thick twisted grass almost the thickness of a pencil and resembling urasz,
Mpm 856
umliza 1. (Em) ornament worn round ankles, consisting of horsehair overcast
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 653
with brass wire, D. 2. also girdle, X. 3. leg- and arm-band, of brass clips
on cowtail-hair core, Mp. 4. hand-engraved brass bracelet worn by men
(general—Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964)). 5. rubber-ring anklet, from can-
ning bottle, T 857
umtya 1. something to bind with, as a small band, thong, cord, D. 2. thong to
tie cow’s hindlegs for milking; anything used similarly, X, general. 3. bow-
string (Lichtenstein 1811) 858 (244, 345, 407, 680)
inggogo armlet of black shells, D X 859
imbica 1.nD. 2. species of grass, used to plait armlet called injica, T 860
injica 1. stalk of grass; armlet plaited from it, D X. 2. armlet plaited from four
stalks of imbica grass, worn by girls and boys, T. 3. species of grass,
c. 60 cm tall, found in lands, bangles plaited from it, general 861
inshikica 1.nD. 2. armlet plaited of grass, some say eight stalks, no more, no
less, Bo 862 .
inkele 1. nD. 2. brass finger-ring, of round section, T. 3. large ear-ring,
Mp _ 863
intsontelelo (from -sontelela weave, plait, twist rope) 1. that which is twisted or
plaited, hence, a bracelet for the wrist, twisted of different coloured grasses,
or woven of beads, D. 2. twisted skin, X. 3. not confirmed 864 (226)
igoga 1. kind of assegai, the neck of which is filed in an ornamented manner;
carved stick used by girls in dancing, D. 2. bangle of metal, worn by girls,
Bo. 3. decorated stick with which women beat ox-hide at khwetha dances
(X—Plant, —Kirby 1934) 865
irwantse 1. nD 2. thick brass bangle, T Bo, but unknown to many people
asked 866
isacholo 1. arm-ring, bracelet, worn as an ornament, D X. 2. armlet, bracelet,
bangle (X—McLaren 1915). 3. evidently an old word, since mentioned by
Lichtenstein (1811) as uhsk6lo metal bangles. 4. plain, thick, round brass
wire bent to form bracelet, X Mp 867
isiwocholo bracelet, etc., see isacholo, D. 2. not confirmed 868
ikapu (colloquial) 1. meaning quite different in D. 2. collectively, a whole lot
of izacholo bangles together on the wrist, T 869
isinda (cl. 5) 1.nD. 2. wrist ornament, worn by women (T—Makalima); flat
brass strip on arm or stick, Mp. 3. brass bracelet, T 870
iwatsha 1. arm-ring, D X (T—-Makalima). 2. bracelet, Mp X, but especially if a
whole set on fore-arm. 3. bracelet of thick brass wire bent round fore-arm,
mostly a number of them together; worn by women and girls, doctors,
Mp 871
izinzabela (from -nzabela tie piece of skin round wrist for luck in hunting, or as
mark of distinction) 1.teeth, horns, etc., tied round wrists, ornamentations,
D. 2. not confirmed 872
unoxhalisa (from -xhalisa cause trouble or anxiety) 1. nD. 2. bracelet with
thong streamers for youth to beat girl friends (Mpm-—F.Cornner cor-
Fesp.) 873
654 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
ixhalisa (see previous) two to four beaded strips worn from wrist by young men,
to beat their girl friends, Mp 874
umasigojana (diminutive of isigodi?) 1.nD. 2. grass ornament (bangle or neck-
let) of five strands in a square plait, Bh only. 3. not confirmed 875
umbese 1. hoop; grass bracelet made and worn by children, D. 2. child’s grass
bracelet (X—McLaren 1915). 3. knife, Mp Bh T and miscellaneous others,
most of whom also use isitshetshe. 4. hlonipha for ‘knife’ used by women and
abakhwetha, X. (From Afr. mes) 876
umgolombane 1. tinkling brass ornament, worn on ankles and arms, D.
2. beads sewn on to goatskin, worn as ornament by men only, seen Idutywa,
Fgo, by a Gcaleka living under Ndamase in West Pondoland. 3. otherwise
not confirmed 877
umphica 1.nD(norverb). 2. -phica to make complicated plait, as distinct from
-luka to make simple plait with 3 strands only; no noun known, according to
panel of teachers. 3. species of grass (Digitaria littoralis Stent), used for
ornaments, T. 4. armlet and necklet of umphica grass, T (I—Beukes).
5. not generally known, but some recognize it as what they call imbica, also
necklet, waistband, anklet, T 878 (205, 831)
umseki 1.nD. 2. thin brass-wire bangle, Bh 879
umtseke 1.nD. 2. bangle of narrow strip of brass wound round several strands
of wire, T 880
umsesane 1. finger-ring, D, general. Often of brass. 2. pseesana finger- or
toe-ring (Lichtenstein 1811) 881
ugolomi 1.nD. 2. anklet of beads, worn by girls and women, Mp 882
igolomi 1. Cape lourie, D. 2. anklet of bronze or copper, D (not con-
firmed). 3. cornelian bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21) 883 (778)
imixhwayo bead shoulder-bands, Fgo X, cf. umxhwayo regalia worn by Good
Templars, D. (From -xhwaya, same as -xhaya, tie or hang strings of beads over
shoulder and chest, D: 468) 884
umswibhu 1.nD. 2. shoulder-band, Bh 885
isipiliti (from Afr. speld) 1.nD. 2. large beaded safety pin, an ornament of men,
T 886
iggesha 1. girdle, band, napkin, bound about the waist, DT. 2. old blanket or
waistband worn under blankets by men and girls, X 887 (677)
undyulo (D), indyilo (T), undyilo (X—T. B. Soga 1937) (from -ndyula put on the
undyulo, D) 1. the piece of brass that adorns the penis-cap, D (pl. ama-
ndyilo). 2. tassels on penis-cover, if leather strip is cut lengthwise into strips,
Mp. _ 3. tassels of sections of reeds strung on threads, on a girdle, T 888
(714)
ibhanti (from Afr. band) belt, band, strap, D, general. (Note: ibanti in D is
erroneous) 889 (676)
imiyajo 1.nD. 2.brass girdle, Bh. 3. girdle of twisted brass wire, worn by boys
and girls. There are no beads on it, Western Mp 890
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE’CAPE NGUNI 655
indabula 1. nD. 2. brass-wire girdle (general-Hamilton-Welsh (Louw
1964)). 3. beadwork girdle of men and boys, girls, Mp 891
ingcengce 1. girdle or waistband, =ungcenge, D. 2. flat beadwork waistband or
necklace, X. 3. otherwise not known 892
intseka 1. necklace of ostrich egg-shell beads, D. 2. girdle of imizi, X 893
(833)
inyilingo 1. tight girdle of beads worn by girls above the hips; kind of thong worn
round the loins, D X. 2. worn by anyone, X. 3. (cl. 5, pl. amanyilingo)
narrow girdle of cloth, c. 20 mm broad, with beadwork on it and long danglers,
T 894
unyilingo 1. same as inyilingo, D. 2. not confirmed 895
isicemfu 1. nD. 2. girdle of coiled brass wire (Mpm—F.Cornner corresp.).
3. beadwork, not girdle, worn on breast by young men, men and women, on
special occasions, Mp 896
ukhotso 1. waistband of beads worn by Reds, D (ukotso is a misprint) X
(X-T. B. Soga 1937, Mzamane). 2. girdle, of cloth or soft leather with beads
on it, worn by men, all the time, T 897
ulutya 1.longthong,D XBhBo. 2. girdle, Mp; bead belt (Mp—UCT) probably
thesame thing. 3. grass band round back and over breast, or girdle, Bh 898
(243)
umgexo 1.nD. 2. bead band round back and over breast, or girdle, Bh only,
not X 899
ungcenge 1. waistband worn by red Kafirs; = ukhotso, D X. 2. flat waistband
or necklace, X. 3. long string of beads worn round waist, X Ciskei.
4. otherwise unknown 900
umkhwinti 1. the fibrous plant Gazania pinnata Less. used for plaiting and as
threads, D Mp. 2. baby’s waistband, a cord of the leaf skin of Gazania
integrifolia (X—Soga). 3. inkciyo for small children, X. 4. species of plant,
T. 5. plant from which fibre is obtained for making fringe skirt, T Hlu
Herschel 901 (208, 678, 690)
uqhwemesha, umgqhwemesha girdle of thongs covered with small brass rings worn
round the loins or round the legs below the knees (from -qghwemesha tie up),
DX T_ 902 (679)
unonkciyana wesinge 1.nD. 2. beadwork belt (Mpm-—F. Cornner corresp.) X.
(Cf. iciyane red clay) 903
unoginggi 1.nD. 2. waistband worn by young man at dances, X Ciskei. 3. not
confirmed 904
unoginggi-omkhulu 1.nD. 2. large waistband worn over skirt by girl, at dances,
X Ciskei. 3. not confirmed 905
ubusengi (Mp word for umliza) worn below knee and above elbow by young men,
women and girls, Mp 906
imboza (pl. amamboza) 1.nD. 2. grass anklet, Mp. 3. monkey rope around
656 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
ankles, for dancing, by girls, children, and diviners who have thwasa-d
(become full-fledged), Mp 907
inkasdyiya (pron. inkasdiya) 1. heavy bulky weight (from Eng. cast iron), D.
2. anklets of tecoma stem (Tecomaria capensis Spach), Mp. 3. heavy piece
of metal, T 908
ingashela (cl. 5, pl. amanqashela; Mp ingatshela) 1. piece of skin used as a
legging; an ornament round the ankle, of beads (amaso) on string or wire,
D X. 2. Xhosa dancing rattle of goatskin worn round ankle (X—Kirby
1934). 3. anklet for dancing, Bo. 4. twisted brass-wire anklet, Mp 909
(1062)
intsekelezana (from -sekeleza, fig. speak so as to conceal real thoughts)
1. undergarments, leggings, greaves, D: 383. 2. not confirmed anywhere.
(Probably coined for mission use and not aterm) 910
isitsaba_ 1. garland or bandage of an ornamented kind (beads) round the head or
foot, D. 2. arm- and ankle-pieces of dancing costume (X—Schweiger).
3. ring, the size of a bangle and of various bead sizes, worn on the head,
general. 4. long beadwork anklet, X Ciskei 911 (744, 799)
umliza 1. (Em) ornament worn round ankles, consisting of horsehair overcast
with brass wire, D. 2. also girdle, X. 3. leg- and arm-band, of brass clips
on cowtail-hair core, Mp. 4. hand-engraved brass bracelet worn by men
(general—-Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964)). 5. rubber-ring anklet, from can-
ning bottle, T 912
uxhaxhazo ornament for ankles, D 913
igoga_ 1. kind of assegai, the neck of which is filed in an ornamented manner;
carved stick used by girls in dancing, D. 2. bangle of metal, worn by girls,
Bo. 3. decorated stick with which women beat oxhide at khwetha dances
(X—Plant, —Kirby 1934) 914 (865, 1046)
amathuphasi 1.nD. 2. scarification on cheeks (Hlu-T.B.Soga 1937: 48) 915
igesi 1. nD, but the usual word for electricity and power station (from Eng.
gas). 2. tattooing or lines on face produced by carbon in engine oil or soot
rubbed in, T Mp 916
incakuba, isicaguba, icaguba 1. incakuba (Em) small sharp instrument for letting
blood, D; lancet for making incisions for medicine, X Mp. 2. isicaguba, nD;
hlonipha for knife or something sharp, Bo. 3. icaguba, nD; lancet for incising
face (Bh-Hammond-Tooke 1955b) 917 (996)
inkralula, intlalula (inklalula) 1.nD. 2. unhealed cicatrizations on face of girls,
women and men, Mp but other Mp say uncommon, because actually a Bh
custom. 3. not confirmed otherwise 918
uhlanga 1. incisions made for letting blood, cupping or tattooing, D. 2. long
weals on face, Mp Bh 919
umvambo (from -vamba cicatrize) mark in the flesh caused by the healing of cuts
made in tattooing a person, or of cuttings for cupping, D, general 920
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 657
inggithi finger with the terminal joint, or two terminal joints, cut off; supposed
to safeguard the child from evil ways, D, general 921
ORNAMENT: DISCUSSION
The subject of ornaments in general is an extremely complicated one, and it
is not intended here to do more than draw the broad outline of ornamental wear
as it was in former times, and to some extent is now. Some important or charac-
teristic ornaments will be noted, and the vocabulary and some illustrations given.
As is the case with clothing, the ornaments worn reflect the age and status of the
wearer. (For a detailed description of which ornaments are worn at what state of
life see Elliott (1970), Bigalke (1972), Broster (1976), Sobahle (1977).)
ORNAMENTS OF DISTINCTION
Apart from those already described under costume, there seem to have been
few particular ornaments to distinguish classes of people.
It is difficult to determine from early accounts what ornaments distinguished
a chief and which were worn merely because, like other rich men, he could afford
them. The only ornament that appears really to have belonged to a reigning Xhosa
chief was a necklace, ubuhlalu, which was put on him at his accession. According
to Collins, the chief Nggika (Gaika) stated definitely that this was the sign of his
authority over his father’s people. The majority of authors, including Soga (1932),
and some informants maintain that this necklace was of red beads, and Godlonton
describes red beads as ‘formerly an insignia of royalty’.
However, in the sketches attributed to Gordon (PI. 97: 6) but evidently made
by Schumacher about 1776, men, all but one of whom are wearing leopard skin
but only one of whom is named a chief, are wearing red, and some white, beads
round neck and hips, and women are wearing them round the neck. Other authors
describe the chief ’s necklace as white and according to Janssens (1803) no one else
wore the white beads. Von Winkelman (1788) merely states that the possession of
red beads indicated a well-to-do person, but that in his time white beads were the
more sought after and less common.
Several authors describe the necklace worn by Nggika, who died in 1829, as
being of white beads. On the other hand, in I’Ons’ painting of Nggika’s son Sandile
interviewing two tribesmen, about 1850, the latter are depicted wearing white
necklaces identical with that worn by Sandile (see also Pl. 68: 1, 3).
Another item attributed to chiefs, and not only Xhosa, is one or more ‘copper
plates’ (?ubengo), which were worn on the chest hung from the neck, or tied in
the hair generally so as to hang down over the left ear or suspended from it. There
would seem to have been some significance in the left side of the head as that
position for the ornament was recorded as early as 1593, by Lavanha. Variants of
the word ubengo occur in an unbroken sequence northwards through the whole
Sotho—Tswana area (South Sotho, Tswana, North Sotho: lebék6) to the Limpopo
(Venda: luvhengo) denoting a spatula or sweat-scraper, of iron or copper, and
§58 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
worn suspended from the neck. A trade connection with the copper- and iron-
mining industries of the north-eastern and northern Transvaal (Phalaborwa, Mes-
sina) cannot, therefore, be ruled out. Copper plates were traded from the Dutch
by the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) from the earliest times and may well have reached
the Xhosa that way too. Apart from the Dictionary reference, these ornaments are
only mentioned up to the beginning of the nineteenth century. They may well have
been worn by other rich men or other members of the reigning family.
Barrow, writing in the early part of the nineteenth century, describes the
chief’s ornament as a brass chain, hung on the left side from a head-band of small
copper beads. This, he said, was worn by chiefs, including Ngqika, on both sides
of the frontier.
An Official flavour was given at the end of the eighteenth century when the
Dutch and later the British gave to important chiefs brass plates that bore the arms
of Dutch or British authorities respectively (for a similar practice in Australia see
McCarthy 1952).
It is possible that there were similar but unofficial gifts from European visitors
as Hallbeck and Fritsch record, and one of the Gordon drawings shows an orna-
ment (presumably metal) of two crescents and a star (Pl. 97: 6).
According to Bain the only way the Mpondo chief Faku was distinguished
from his people was by a bunch of ‘Lawrie’s’ (i.e. lourie’s) feathers hanging behind
his head, but this may have been a personal fad.
A better-known ornament that was worn by chiefs, and given by them as a
mark of favour to distinguished warriors, councillors or favourites, was the ivory
arm-band, umxhaka (PI. 97: 5), one or more of which were worn by men only, on
the left arm above the elbow.
The arm-band was a ring of ivory, sliced from the upper part of an elephant
tusk, and further hollowed to fit the arm. The band was about 2—3 cm wide and
1—2 cm thick. These bands were generally quite plain. KOrner’s statement that they
might be decorated with incised geometrical patterns is likely to refer to an ordinary
arm-band. A spearhead or a sharp stone was used to shape them, and according
to Von Winkelman they were very troublesome to make. Although these arm-
bands are generally said always to have been the gift of the chief to individuals,
there seems to have been some difference of practice regarding parting with them.
Some men would on no account take them off, let alone part with them, for fear
PLATE 97
Ornaments of distinction.
. Inquma (fur chaplet), worn by Xhosa headman; Willowvale, 1948.
. Bomvana wearing cowrie head-band; no locality, c. 1900 (Kidd 1904, pl. 2).
. Part of inquma (fur chaplet), Xhosa; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
. Ingcaca (cowrie head-band), no scale, Xhosa; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
. umxhaka (ivory arm-ring), inside diameter 155 mm; no further data (Alb. E486).
. ‘Mahota, Caffer Captein’, wearing brass or copper chest ornament; near Fish River, c. 1777,
Gordon collection (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).
NmBRWN PR
659
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
660 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
of confiscation of property or even death. One writer reports that a dying warrior
would take his arm-band off and smash it up rather than let it fall into enemy hands;
another that a warrior finding one on a dead enemy would take it off and keep it,
and return it to the enemy chief after the fighting was over. Otherwise there is no
information as to what happened to the arm-band when the owner died. It might
have been destroyed with the rest of his personal belongings, but the fact that
several were seen and two even bought during this study suggests that they
remained in the family. Some people, however, were always prepared to sell them.
Von Winkelman reports that two cost him as much as a cow. Van der Kemp quotes
them at five to a cow, but it is not clear who bought them.
On the other hand Messrs Witcher, Dyer & Dyer Ltd. of King William’s Town
advertised ivory arm-rings for sale in the Kaffrarian Watchman of 11 December
1876, and according to Streatfeild (1878) anyone who could afford to buy one might
wear it.
According to Van der Kemp the ivory arm-bands were peculiar to the subjects
of Ngqika (Gaika), and certainly most of the notices in the literature seem to be
for the Xhosa, but they were evidently worn by Thembu (Duggan-Cronin) and,
according to informants, by Fingo. Smith and Bain state that the Mpondo wore
ivory rings on the upper arm, but do not mention any special significance. Bain’s
sketch of a Xesibe chief and of the Mpondo chief Faku’s son show what appear
to be ivory arm-rings.
There is only the word umxhaxa in the vocabulary for an arm-band of ivory,
but it appears likely from the literature and from museum specimens that there
were two sorts of ivory arm-band—the thick heavy ring worn only by chiefs and
distinguished men of the Xhosa, Thembu and Bomvana, and a thinner ring that
had no special significance and might be worn by any man or, according to three
sources, woman, who was able to afford it. The former type is likely to have gained
in importance after the beginning of the nineteenth century when guns became
available and the ivory trade with the Colony boomed, and elephants were quite
rapidly exterminated. As early as 1829, Kay found that ivory ornaments were
becoming rare.
The Dictionary mentions two other ornaments, inkwintshi (not described) and
isidwangube, an ornament of beads, which were worn by chief councillors or
distinguished warriors, but these are not mentioned in the rest of the literature,
nor were they confirmed by informants.
Finally, as a mark of distinction, it was the custom for successful hunters to
tie round the left arm izeku, a piece of the skin from round the eyes, or a piece
with the hoofs attached, from the animal killed. According to Beutler, this, or part
or the whole of the skin of a bird, might also be attached to the hair. The more
a hunter was entitled to wear, the greater his standing. A reflection of this custom
persists today in that abakhwetha put trophies from birds and small mammals
caught on hunting expeditions into a head-dress worn during their seclusion.
Nowadays chiefs and their councillors wear western dress, there are no war-
riors, and hunting is illegal. With the possible exception of the red necklace, which
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 661
was used at an investiture in 1962, these ornaments of distinction have therefore
fallen into disuse, and nothing has been instituted in their place. Some chiefs,
however, still possess their arm-bands, or those of their fathers.
GENERAL
In early days men wore ornaments in the hair, round the head, in the ears,
round the neck, round the upper arm and wrist, round the waist, below the knees,
round the ankles, and on fingers and toes—in fact wherever they could, according
to their means and rank, and the importance of the occasion.
Women did the same with the general exception of the head, which was more
often than not covered, and the knees. One early author states that the men kept
all the ornaments for themselves and gave none to the women, but this is not
confirmed—in fact mention is made of the expense to a man of his wife’s fashion
sense.
The scope of the ornaments has remained the same from the earliest accounts
to the present time, but the ornaments themselves have changed as different
objects have become available or fashionable.
In the early times there was greater reliance on natural resources, which were
amplified or replaced first among the upper classes, and gradually among all
classes, by other objects that became available through trade with other peoples,
and contact with Europeans.
Tufts of fur, tail hair, and ostrich and other feathers in the hair were amplified
with bits of metal, especially copper, buttons, beads, and beadwork head-bands.
Paravicini di Capelli mentions head-bands of ostrich-eggshell beads, but this is not
confirmed. To sticks and porcupine quills in the ears were added bead or metal
ear-rings. To shells, seeds, animal teeth, and bits of reed or wood, for necklaces,
and waistbands, were added copper and iron beads, metal chains and glass beads,
obtained first from Delagoa Bay, and later from the Cape. These relatively simple
ornaments were practically ousted by the tremendous flowering of beadwork in the
late nineteeth and early twentieth centuries. No sooner had beads become plen-
tiful, however, than fashion began to hold sway and traders occasionally found
themselves with unwanted stock on their hands. The vocabulary shows that dif-
ferent colours and styles of beads acquired individual names based on some
comparable article. Buttons, which in the early days were brass and latterly white
porcelain or pearl, have been predominantly used for decorating clothing, but
some have been used for personal ornament. In the early days brass buttons, round
or conical in section, were popular as hair and ear ornaments, and were often used
with a loop as a fastening for necklaces and other ornaments. Buttons too acquired
different names according to their style or shape, and were equally subject to
changes in fashion.
The earliest records speak of brass, copper and iron bangles round wrists and
ankles, and these have persisted throughout, though beadwork anklets also
became very popular. Iron was evidently the least common, which was probably
662 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
due to the shortage of iron in the area, and its importance for more serious uses,
so that it was commonly too precious to be used as ornament.
The thong girdles worn by both sexes were decorated with rings of brass, then
with beads, and later on were often replaced by a beadwork belt.
Stoker makes the interesting observation that the Nggika wore more orna-
ments than the Gcaleka. In the early days the Mpondo appear to have worn fewer
ornaments than the people of the west— possibly because they were further from
the centre of trade. Characteristic of them were heavy brass rings round neck and
arms, traded from Natal, and necklaces of blue and white beads, for which colours
they have retained their preference till today.
Common among all the Cape Nguni both in early times and until the present
have been the ornaments that are plaited of certain grasses and sedges that ripen
in the autumn. These are worn, sometimes in great numbers by both sexes, for
some months, until they wear out, and they are replaced the next autumn
(Pls 98: 6; 101: 2, 4, 6, 7). There are necklaces, bangles and leg-bands, girdles and
bandoliers. They are twisted and plaited by women and children, and there is quite
a vocabulary for the grasses used and the different styles of plaiting, but not for
the different objects.
Beadwork declined with the shortage of beads during and after the last war
(1939-45) and seeds increased in importance again when beads were scarce
(Pls 99: 3; 101: 1, 3). After the war, however, beadwork came back at full strength,
and although in recent years the glass-bead trade has been affected somewhat by
import control (J. Broster, pers. comm. 1983) and more particularly price, which
has caused a rise in popularity of plastic beads (The Bead Shop, Cape Town, pers.
comm. 1984), beadwork is still the most important form of ornament.
Women make all the ornaments except the metal bangles and rings. Girls give
boys and men presents of beadwork —ust because they like them or because they
are betrothed to them, but according to one informant, if a girl gives a gallon
paraffin tin full of beadwork, the recipient has to kill a goat and give a party for
her and her friends! There is no record of a language of colour, such as is reported
from Natal, but Plate 103: 3 does show a ‘love charm’; and a Bhaca girl will make
a love token of beads for a lover approved by her parents.
PLATE 98
Head ornaments and grass ornaments.
1. Married woman wearing umqhoboko, Mpondo; Lughoghweni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
2. impobole, diameter c. 254 mm, Thembu; Herschel, 1908 (SAM—998).
3. Section of bangle, beaded and with brass strip clipped on core, worn by young men at intlombe
dances, Thembu; Baziya, Umtata, 1941 (TM 8404).
4. Young man wearing izingqaza (head-bands), Xhosa; Bojeni, Willowvale, 1948.
5. Girl wearing isicanda (head ornament), reed ear ornaments, necklace of Job’s tears and facial
scars, Mpondo; Mbotyi, Lusikisiki, 1948.
6. Boy wearing plaited grass or sedge necklets, Bomvana; Guse, Elliotdale, 1948.
7. ichele, worn by Mpondo girl; Lughoghweni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
8. Mpondo woman wearing ujewulane (head-band); near Umtata Mouth, 1958.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
664 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
The only special ornament recorded for mourning was by Alberti, according
to whom a widower would wear round his neck a few copper beads strung on oxtail
hair, until the hair wore out. The general practice is said to be for all ornaments
to be removed for the duration of mourning. It is not specifically stated that this
included the fixed bangles on the arms.
HEAD ORNAMENTS
Apart from all sorts of small items or strings of beads tied in the hair, the
following head ornaments were described in the early literature specifically for the
Xhosa:
Ingcaca: a leather band, about 2 cm wide, with cowrie shells attached, worn
round the forehead or further back on the head (PI. 97: 2, 4). Nerita shells might
be used instead of cowries, but whether the name of the ornament remained the
same is not clear. This might be worn by either sex, but could be afforded only by
chiefs and the rich. It might be borrowed for a special occasion, for example by
a bridegroom.
Impobole or intshinga: the dark tuft of a lion’s tail or, failing that and more
commonly, that of a jackal’s or other tail, attached to a cord or thong and worn
with the tuft at the back or on the side of the head or centre front (Pl. 98: 2).
According to J. Campbell the tuft was fastened into “a handle of brass’. This was
worn by men, originally as a distinction for bravery.
Bands of beads with a bunch of black horsehair (Morgan 1833), 1,5 cm thick
by 18 or 20 cm long, hanging down behind from the band (?ingqgaza). According
to a later description strings of beads hung behind, and those seen in 1948 had bead
tassels at the side (PI. 98: 4). This was worn by boys and men.
A flat band of beadwork about 2,5 cm wide, according to some authors backed
with leather and worn round the forehead (?isiqweqwe). The colours were
arranged in alternate triangles, and in the earliest descriptions were pale blue and
white, later dark blue or black and white or two or three colours. This head-band
was worn by distinguished men and is seen in early sketches of before mid-
nineteenth century.
Round discs of brass on a thong, worn round the forehead or going from front
to back.
A string of small polished copper beads worn round the upper part of the head,
with a brass chain hanging from it on the left side. This was said to be worn by chiefs
only.
PLATE 99
Neck and ear ornaments.
1. impepho (secklace) or red clay beads interspersed with glass beads, Xhosa; no further data
(Stellenbosch Xh 10).
2. Ear-ring of shell on string of iron beads, Xhosa; Transkei, c. 1870 (SAM-—6639).
. Necklace of Job’s tears seeds, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1935 (TM 35/838F).
4. White clay beads, Fingo; Peddie, 1939 (SAM, Jeffreys collection J11).
ioe)
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 665
666 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
According to Carmichael the more distinguished women, in 1807, wore on the
forehead a fringe of ‘short twisted strings of copper’. This sounds remarkably like
the ornament at the front end of the cap (PI. 68: 4).
The first three of these ornaments might still be seen today among Xhosa,
Thembu and others in the west. In addition, the name inquma, according to the
Dictionary a bird- or mole-skin attached to the hair, was applied to a head-band
of twined fibre and monkey hair belonging to a Xhosa headman (PI. 97: 1, 3). This
may be what Carmichael described as ‘a fillet of monkey skin’.
Some Thembu women wore a narrow beadwork band, umjuwelane, under the
head-cloth, and bands of beadwork might be worn by many people on various
occasions.
The hair-style of the Mpondo in former times, and others in the east, wouid
have made it impossible for them to wear the foregoing head ornaments. Besides
feathers (Pl. 73: 3) and bits and pieces stuck in the hair, the only ornament
recorded for the men was two or three strings of beads worn low round the
forehead, with short strings hanging from them. The women’s head ornaments are
not mentioned. ;
Nowadays a variety of beadwork head ornaments is worn by Mpondo of both
sexes (Pl. 98: 5, 7, 8), the only stereotyped ones being the umqhoboka, the
3 cm-thick head-ring worn by married women (Pls 98: 1; 108: 6), and ichele or
umnqwazi, the flat beadwork bands worn by unmarried girls. The place of the »
former is sometimes taken by a turban-like cloth ring. Xesibe women also wore
the head-ring or a beaded or plain pad in front (Pl. 102: 1, 2).
EAR ORNAMENTS
Individuals of both sexes of all the southern Nguni formerly had the lobes of
their ears pierced to accommodate ear ornaments of some sort. Until recently it
was still the general practice. The Mpondo, Bhaca and Fingo made quite large
holes. Ear ornaments might also be hung over the ears.
The ornaments specifically mentioned are:
A length of reed (Pls 98: 5; 102: 4), wood (PI. 85: 1), bone, porcupine quill
(PI. 70: 4) or ostrich-feather quill with, according to one author, the tail tufts of
small animals suspended from the points; teeth, shells or copper discs. Any of these
might be inserted in the hole.
PLATE 100
Necklets, anklet and head-band.
. udlawu (necklet), Thembu; Baziya, Umtata (TM 8412).
. Necklace, Xhosa, claws and dark-blue beads; no data (SAM-—5360).
. Necklace, Xhosa, brass imitation claws and black beads; no data (SAM-—5360).
. Black and white beads and bone imitation claws, ?Xhosa; no data (SAM-—5361).
. umhlehlo (necklet), Thembu; Baziya, Umtata (TM 8407).
. Anklet, fabric of dark-blue and white beads, ?Xhosa; Transkei, c. 1870 (SAM-—6643).
. umwahlwa (head-ring) worn by bride, 235 mm, Thembu; Baziya, Umtata, 1941 (TM 8399).
NYDN BWNER
667
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
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668 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Small beads strung on a cord, and put through to form a loop, or hanging as
a single string sometimes having the small beads at the top and the large ones at
the bottom. Examples in the South African Museum have a shell at the bottom
(Piss 99222 1085-9)
A copper needle-like pin (?awl), 5-8 cm long, bent round point to head, and
put through the ear; other rings of thick copper wire; buttons and cuff-links.
Cowrie shells, for the chiefs only, but there is no description of how these were
attached. They might have been strung, with or without beads, like the Nerita
mentioned above.
Failing anything else, according to Alberti, the poor used a short length of
thong, passed through the hole in the lobe and knotted.
Variations of all these types, except the copper needle, were seen up to the
present day, and in addition curtain rings, bangles (PI. 102: 3), beadwork and other
ornaments (PI. 101: 5) as well as specially made rings that may be bought at the
stores (PI. 102: 6). According to Makalima ear-rings were for young people, but
this was not borne out by observation.
NECKLETS
With the exception of the teeth of lions and leopards (Pls 70: 1; 100: 2), which
are no longer available, the natural objects that were used for making necklets
before the advent of beads may still be used today. At one time during the last .
century the teeth were imitated in brass (Pl. 100: 3) or bone (PI. 100: 4), but this
is no longer seen. The tooth necklet, and those of certain shells (?cowrie and
Nerita) are said to have been worn always by chiefs and, according to some authors,
only by them.
Xhosa informants stated that the necklet of Nerita shells (amayila)
(PI. 103: 4) is valuable, because when the shells are found it is customary to pick
up only one for fear of never finding any again. Baines noted in 1848 that a cowrie
necklet from Buffalo River cost ten shillings.
Beads were known in small quantities as early as the sixteenth century, and
continued to be scarce until the beginning of the nineteenth century. They were
PiGAEE Oi
Neck and ear ornaments, leg-ring.
. Necklace of Job’s tears spaced with beads, Xesibe; Mt. Ayliff, 1944 (EL 1033).
. Close-up of 4: plaited sedge.
. Necklace of seringa (Melia azedarach) seeds, spaced with beads, Xesibe; Mt. Ayliff, 1944
(EL 1039).
. ghobozela (necklace of plaited sedge), diameter c. 138 mm, Bomvana; Guse, Elliotdale, 1935
(TM 35/417).
. Icict of beadwork and tickeys, Mpondo; Qawukeni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Imiphica, diameter c. 167 mm, Thembu; Mqanduli, 1935 (TM 35/331).
. amamboza (leg-ring), diameter 109 mm, Mpondo; Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Ear-ring of copper beads and shell, Xhosa; no locality, c. 1870 (SAM-—6639).
. Ear-ring of copper beads and shell, Xhosa; no locality, c. 1870 (SAM-—6639).
- WN eR
© COND NN
669
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
~ ae
670 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
therefore worn strung in single strings, and sometimes interspersed with other
things, though the well-to-do wore many such strings. As beads became more
plentiful it became the fashion to make necklaces of a number of strings of small
beads, separated at intervals of 4 or 5 cm by a larger one, usually white.
Other necklets mentioned in the early records but seldom seen today were:
fine metal chains imported from European traders; what are described as ‘small
red stones’, a possible reference to the cornelian beads brought to the east African
coast by Arab and Portuguese traders from Cambaye in India, numbers of which
have been picked up along the beaches of the Transkei and Ciskei, and which are
usually attributed to wrecks; solid copper or bronze rings, the thickness of a finger,
among the Mpondo, Mpondomise (Pls 73: 1, 3, 4; 96: 4; 104: 1) and Xesibe only.
‘Massive rings’ are mentioned as being worn by the people ‘further north’ of
Buntingville, but this probably refers to the people of Natal from whom the
Mpondo traded their less massive examples. One author records having seen a
necklace composed of twenty-seven of the lower joints of human fingers, but this
can hardly have been general.
The fashion of making necklets of a beadwork fabric, the technique of which
was used early on head-bands and later on anklets, appears to have come in only
towards the end of the nineteenth century, and has flourished since except when
war cut down the supply of beads and single- or double-stranded necklaces pre-
dominated again. Beads are now comparatively plentiful again for beadwork, .
nevertheless they are expensive and after about 1954 single strings of 6 mm beads
also became fashionable. The beadwork necklets took two main forms, that of a
frill of varying width (Pls 100: 5; 104: 4) and that of a series of flaps, iphoco
(Pls 100: 1; 106: 5), sometimes squares, sometimes rectangles, of beadwork
attached to a single string, ingqosha, or a beaded cord, which latter might be given
a backing of fibre, cloth or strings, for strength.
A very popular necklet has always been one made of short pieces of
umthombothi wood, Spirostachys africana, strung side by side to make a frill of the
scented wood (PI. 104: 3).
Nursing mothers of all the tribes wear home-made clay beads (Pl. 99: 1, 4),
white (amaso) or red, made by the women themselves. The clay is mixed with the
powdered leaves of impepho, Helichrysum stenopterum, an aromatic shrub of
PLATE 102
Head ornaments and finger-ring.
. Woman of Nyuswa tribe with Xesibe-style head-dress; Harding, Natal, 1932.
. Woman’s hair ornaments, head-ring and forehead band, no scale, Xesibe; Mt. Ayliff (EL 1090,
LOM VOID.
. Xhosa youth wearing igabha (ear-ring); Idutywa, 1948.
. Mpondo wearing isicubha; Tshonya, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. umsesane (finger-ring), 33 mm, Thembu; Xalanga, 1935 (TM 35/464).
. Mpondo man wearing coiled-wire necklets and brass store-bought ear-rings; Luqhoqhweni,
Lusikisiki, 1948.
NO eR
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671
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
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672 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
medicinal value. They also wear necklaces of pieces of root (Pl. 103: 1). According
to T. B. Soga they were received as presents after the birth of the child. According
to Makalima any woman might make them.
During her first pregnancy a Mpondo wife was said to remove all her other
ornaments and wear a double string of small white beads only.
A special necklace worn for dances, particularly at ceremonies, such as the
coming out of intonjane, by Xhosa and Thembu men at least, is the isidanga
(PI. 105: 4, 5), a thick plain necklace, generally of one colour, of a single very long
strand of beads twisted round the neck many times, and hanging to below the waist.
It may also be worn by doctors, and by girls at intonjane.
A necklace that is characteristic of Bhaca women is udosuthando, a triangle
of beadwork worn apex down, suspended from a single strand (Pls 88: 4, 5; 104: 2).
ARM-BANDS
The old arm ornaments, shells (PI. 105: 1), beads, beadwork (PI. 98: 3), plaited
grass, rounds of hide or brass, copper or iron rings, worn on the wrists or just above
the elbow or both, are still seen today, though shells rarely.
The brass or copper bangle, ?isacholo, described in early records as being of
‘thick brass wire’, is aring of about 4 to 10 mm thick, open at one place. Some hang
loose, others are cut to fit the position in which they are to be worn, and are put
on the arm by an expert. They are worn by both sexes, and the number worn.
depends on the means of the wearer and the availability of the brass, which of
course became increasingly available with growing European contact. Generally
one was worn above the elbow, and several on the wrist. According to Hamilton-
Welsh (Louw 1964), men made these for their wives. Before the 1939-45 war brass
curtain rings were used, but they went out of fashion through lack of supplies. The
characteristic iwatsha (Pl. 91: 2) is a series of brass or copper bangles, according
to Weir made of 7-gauge brass wire, of increasing size, each fitting exactly so as
to make a stiff gauntlet from wrist to elbow and generally only on the left arm. For
the fighting men of the early days it would have made the right arm too heavy.
Several authors mention that the wearer would not have the iwatsha removed even
if the arm became diseased.
Iron bangles with incised designs were reported in the literature especially
among Mpondo, and the South African Museum has an example (SAM-—3352)
taken from the body of a medicine-man.
PLATE 103
Necklets and finger-rings.
1. Necklet of beads and pieces of root, for nursing mothers, Fingo; Peddie, 1939 (SAM, Jeffreys
collection J6).
2. Finger-rings, Qwathi; Qebe, Engcobo, 1966.
3. Necklet, young man’s love charm, diameter ring 70 mm, Fingo; Peddie, 1939 (SAM, Jeffreys
collection J9).
4. Necklet of amayila (Nerita plexa shells), no scale, Xhosa; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
674 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Several early authors mention a band for the upper arm of five or six leopard
or wild-pig teeth, strung on a thong, all with the points upward and outward. This
may have had the same significance as the hunter’s ring of skin mentioned above.
A relatively modern fashion throughout the area is for bangles of one or sometimes
two layers of brass or copper or white metal wire coiled on a foundation of tail hair
of cow or horse, such as are worn throughout South Africa. A variety of this is for
the core to be held only at intervals with clips of brass or copper wire. These were
worn in large numbers by girls and young women (Pls 79: 1; 105: 3).
FINGER-RINGS
Brass, copper or, rarely, iron rings (umsesane) were worn on the fingers by
both sexes, according to Lichtenstein (1811) particularly on the thumb. Brass rings
are today worn mostly by women (Pls 102: 5; 103: 2). Some are plain, others have
hooks and points and according to Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964), confirmed by
Ciskei Xhosa, are useful for scratching the face of an opponent in a fight, but this
has been denied. A modern fashion among the Western Mpondo was a beadwork
mitten worn on the right hand by young dandies for shaking hands at a party.
CHEST ORNAMENTS
One type of chest ornament is a shoulder-band that goes over one shoulder
and under the other arm, like a bandolier. Very commonly two bands or groups
of bands are worn, one on each shoulder, so as to cross back and front (Pls 95: 2;
106: 1). The same materials are used as for necklaces, that is, plaited grass, seeds,
beads, and beadwork. These shoulder-bands may be worn by both sexes, generally
for dances or parties, though dandies may wear them on less festive occasions.
In the early literature the shoulder-bands are recorded by Kropf for the Xhosa
and by Kay (1833) and Bain (PI. 73: 3, 4) for Mpondo. They were seen frequently,
however, on Mpondo and Bhaca men and women, and seem to have been favoured
more in the east than in the west, though not unknown there.
In recent years a more elaborate ornament became fashionable for youths and
young men among Xhosa and Thembu. In this case the bands do not cross but hang
straight from shoulder to waist or lower and are joined back and front by rectangles
of beadwork (Elliott 1970: 75).
PLATE 104
Necklets and diviner’s ornaments.
. Brass neck-ring, maximum diameter of rod 10 mm, ?7Mpondomise (KM, no no., no date).
. Bhaca woman wearing udosuthando; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
. umthombothi necklet, sticks 50 mm, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1935 (TM 253).
. Necklet, maximum diameter 214 mm, Fingo; Peddie, 1939 (SAM, Jeffreys collection J10).
. Female isangoma wearing fur cap (umnqwazi), chaplet (umyeko) and other beadwork.
Gcaleka; Meadowlands, Johannesburg, 1968.
. umyeko (chaplet) of isangoma, Ngqika; Meadowlands, Johannesburg, 1968.
. Female isangoma in full costume, Nggika; Meadowlands, Johannesburg, 1968.
Nn BWN rR
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THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
676 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
An even more elaborate extension of this is fashionable among Xhosa (Bi-
galke 1972: 72, etc.) and Thembu (Broster 1976: 34-35, pl. [9], fig. 12) where
beadwork bands and strings are combined to make almost an upper garment of
beads.
BROOCHES
The brooch, or blanket-pin, isipiliti, is a thick safety pin, ornamented with
beadwork, sometimes in long fringes. It is used for pinning the blanket on one
shoulder. It is, of course, a modern development, though seen by Bachmann on
the Mpondo in the 1880s, and is evidently not very common. Specimens in the
South African Museum are from the Mpondomise and the Fingo, and it would
appear that there is some South Sotho influence. According to Thembu informants
it is a man’s ornament.
GIRDLES
Under this heading there are girdles worn round the waist or the hips; belts,
a modern item bought in the stores and worn round the waist or above the breast;
a band worn round the back and over the breasts, the modern wide beadwork
waistbands, and a thin cord put round a baby’s waist to measure growth in the first
six months.
The earliest type of girdle recorded was a plain thong, double or single, worn
round the waist by men, and fastened at one side so as to leave long ends hanging:
down almost to the knees (PI. 74: 1). It is presumably this that is often referred
to in the literature as a ‘hunger belt’ of the Xhosa and Fingo on the grounds that
its wearer, when hungry, tightened it up. As an ornament it appears to have been
worn by men only, but when women wore skirts, or when they tied cloaks round
the waist, a similar thong was used.
The girdles shown in the Gordon drawings of Xhosa men wearing an apron
suspended from the girdle appear to consist of large beads, like or larger than those
worn round the neck by the same figures, and not, as one might have expected,
of brass rings as described below. As Hallema notes, these girdles consisted of
several strings, and Dalrymple confirmed that they were of the large beads.
When brass became easily available from the Colony, the thong girdle was
embellished with brass, copper or, some say, iron rings, which were made by the
PLATE 105
Various ornaments.
. Bracelet of Nerita shells, c. 20 mm each, ?7Thembu; Bashee River mouth, no date (Alb. G499).
2. Mpondo women wearing beadwork head ornaments, belts and bangles; Tshonya, Lusikisik1,
1948.
. Mpondomise girl with variety of arm and leg bangles; Tsolo, 1955.
. Thembu woman wearing leather skirt (isikhaka senkomo), long leather breast-cover (incebe-
tha), isidanga (necklace), and holding umsimelelo staff; Mqanduli, 1935 (photo Dr W. T. H.
Beukes, TM 35/216).
5. Xhosa wearing isidanga (necklace) of bright blue beads; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
—
BW
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
678 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
smiths. The appearance is as if sections about 1,5—2 mm thick had been cut from
hollow brass rods about 10 mm in diameter, but the authors say that thin strips were
cut from plates and bent into rings. The rings were threaded on, about three to four
hundred per girdle (PI. 106: 3). In Dohne’s time two such girdles would buy an ox.
Men and women wore this handsome ornament (ughwemesha), among Xhosa and
Thembu. At the same period Mpondo men were wearing what Steedman calls
‘slight metal chains’ as a girdle.
The ughwemesha proper was known, though seldom seen, at least till the
middle of the twentieth century. The South African Museum has an example of
a woman’s bead-fringe apron (inkciyo) attached to one (PI. 106: 2). Its place was
taken by a somewhat inferior substitute, a girdle composed of two strands of coiled
brass wire, with thong ends hanging down, or a single ring of fine coiled brass wire
with no opening. Any number of these might be worn at a time. Sometimes several
rings were joined by a clamp at intervals. Latterly beadwork girdles have become
more important, either in the form of a rope of beads or of a flat belt with no
backing (PI. 105: 2) or with a cloth backing, or of a leather belt with one side
covered with beadwork, buttons or brass studs. A plain leather belt may be worn
instead. All these are worn round the waist, often several at a time. In addition
there is a type of girdle worn by women, round the hips, which is a backed or
unbacked flat band of beadwork with a short fringe of beads (PI. 106: 4). These
modern belts and girdles are fastened either by the buckle of a leather belt, or with
buttons, or by ties of thin cord. The belt type is particularly common in Pondoland
~ where a loincloth is worn by both sexes. Mpondo women wear a plain or decorated
store-bought leather belt to keep their breast-cloths in position, and the Bhaca
women, in party dress, wore a girdle of strings of beads or grass for the same
purpose.
J. H. Soga (1930) describes a girdle for babies. It is a thin cord made from the
leaf skin of Gazania, fastened to fit exactly round a baby’s waist, and is adjusted
as the size of the waist increases. By this means it is possible to tell how the baby
is growing. This was confirmed by Thembu informants.
PLATE 106
Various ornaments.
1. Bhaca woman in festive dress, wearing necklets, shoulder-bands, belt and bangles; Mt. Frere,
1948.
2. inkciyo (apron and girdle) worn by girls at the intonjane dance umngqungqu, Xhosa; Ncera,
Middledrift, 1960.
3. umghwemesha (girdle of small brass rings threaded on thongs), diameter 10 mm, ?Cape Nguni;
no locality, no date (SAM-—5184).
4. Girdle worn by isangoma diviner, depth 40 mm, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1936 (SAM-—5806).
5. Stylized female figure on part of isigcina’sifuba (beadwork collar), 56 mm, Thembu; Baziya,
Umtata, 1941 (TM 8414).
6. Stylized female figure on part of beadwork collar, 44 mm, Thembu; Baziya, Umtata, 1941
(TM 8385).
7. Stylized female figure on part of ingoqwam (beadwork collar), 41 mm, Thembu; Baziya,
Umtata, 1941 (TM 8397).
679
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
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LEG ORNAMENTS
Leg ornaments were worn immediately below the knee, mostly by men, and
by both sexes round the ankle and on the toes.
It was customary for men to wear, below one knee only, the tail-brush of an
antelope, ox or cow (PI. 68: 3). Hunters used the tails of animals killed, as many
as possible. Round the other leg was a string of beads, a beadwork band or other
ornament.
The favourite anklet, and one characteristic of the Xhosa but also seen among
Mpondo in the middle of the last century, was a square or rectangle of beadwork
(Pls 100: 6; 107: 3, 4) having a geometrical pattern, usually in black or dark blue
on white, edged with leather cut into strips by which it was tied round the ankle.
If possible two were worn.
Commoner anklets were strips of sinew, copper or brass bangles, or strings
of beads or brass buttons.
According to Boniface and Fleming the chiefs had an anklet of ivory, but this
is not confirmed by others.
Brass rings were worn on the toes.
Nowadays beadwork anklets of various styles may still be used on festive
occasions (Pl. 107: 2, 5), but for ordinary wear brass, or coiled brass-wire bangles
round ankles or legs, or anklets of twisted or plaited grass or creeper stem or
flexible twigs (Pl. 107: 1) or rubber washers from Ball jars may be used. On the '
leg they fit tightly, on the ankles they hang loose. In the east particularly, the more
of these rings that could be worn the better, and young people there had them
half-way up the leg. For dances young men in the west wear an anklet, ingashele,
of a wide piece of goatskin with the hair left on (Pl. 107: 6). Brass rings are still
worn on the toes.
ORNAMENTAL STICKS
An ornamental stick, igoga (Pl. 108: 1-5), covered with beadwork or flat
basket-weave, is carried at dances by girls of Xhosa, Fingo, Thembu, and
Bomvana. This is not mentioned in the literature earlier than the Dictionary and
is a modern trend. Formerly ordinary sticks, tintonga, were used—as they still are
by Mpondo and Bhaca. Since 1954 the Fingo youths and girls of the Ciskei have
adopted a style of flat wooden wand decorated with beads (PI. 108: 5).
PEALE 107
Leg-bands.
. Inkasayiya (anklets) of tecoma stems, worn by Mpondo; Nkunzimbini, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Anklet, 210 mm, Fingo; Peddie, no date (PEM 232).
. Anklet, 180 mm, Xhosa; no locality, 1880 (BM cc 1458).
. Anklet, 236 mm, Mpondo; no locality, 1868 (BM cc 4584).
. Anklet, 165 mm, Fingo; Peddie, no date (PEM 232).
. Ingashele, Xhosa; Bojeni, Willowvale, 1948.
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THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 681
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682 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
PHYSICAL ORNAMENT
The practice of either cicatrization (-vamba), scarification (-chaza) or tat-
tooing seems to have been common among all the people of this area for at least
the last two hundred years, and may still be practised. There is no record of
cicatrization or tattoo having had any significance other than ornamentation, nor
of it being accompanied by any ceremony. Scarification, on the other hand, was
thought to promote health. It is possible that there were traditional patterns for
the different groups, but this is a matter that needs further study. So far it is only
possible to distinguish general practice between the west and the east. Although
one or other form was the usual practice throughout the area, all records agree that
it was a matter of individual choice, and followed more by women than by men.
Amongst Xhosa, Bomvana, Fingo and Thembu, the ornamentation takes the
form of cicatrization, the making of small scars, sometimes flat, sometimes raised
keloids, in parallel rows (Pl. 108: 9). They run vertically and sometimes horizon-
tally. They usually run down the centre of the body from the throat, but sometimes
on shoulders, arms, and back as well. The Fingo tend to have them on the chest
only.
The method was to lift the skin at each spot by inserting an iron awl, or
formerly a thorn of umqgogoba (Gymnosporia buxifolia), and then cut the part
lifted. According to Broster the scabs were pulled off the following day and a
soothing paste of crushed herbs applied. T. B. Soga said that the treatment was
repeated for several years until the desired prominence was achieved. According
to Smith the Mpondo had the same fashion as the western peoples in the early days,
and Duggan-Cronin photographed a Mpondo girl with keloids on the stomach.
There is no other confirmation of this. Smith also stated that the scars were often
coloured blue, yellow, or another colour, but this is not confirmed for the western
tribes.
Mpondo seem to have had two types of marking, both of them on the face.
In 1883 Bachmann wrote of ‘the so-called Pondo Stripe, a blue tattooed line,.. .
vertical above the root of the nose, on all’. Fifty years later, Hunter found it by
no means universal, more in some districts than in others and favoured more by
women than men. It might take the form of a line or rows of dots down forehead,
PLATE 108
Ornamental sticks and physical ornament.
. Beaded dancing-staff, 930 mm, Thembu; Xalanga, 1898 (SAM-—46).
. Dancing-stick, 981 mm, Xhosa; no locality, no date (TM 1239).
. Dancing-stick, 1 000 mm, Fingo; no locality, no date (TM 7191).
. Dancing-stick, 981 mm, Fingo; no locality, 1921 (TM 7190).
. Three dancing-sticks, Fingo; East London, 1954 (EL 2247, 2246, 2248).
. 2?umvambe and igesi (tattoo marks) on Mpondo woman’s face; Tshonya, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. Woman with yellow ochre on face as cosmetic, and isivalo (broad beadwork collar), Thembu;
Thungwana, Mqanduli, 1960.
. Ingqithi, two phalanges of little finger amputated, Mpondomise; Mqanduli, 1955.
. umvambo (keloid patterns) on girl’s abdomen, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1948.
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THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
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684 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
nose, chin, or cheeks, or all together (PI. 108: 6). In this form the method is to prick
the skin and rub in soot, or latterly, old engine oil, igesi; the face is then smeared
with clay to stop the bleeding. It is done between the ages of 9 and 16.
Makalima records the igest marks on Thembu women after puberty, and
Thembu informants knew it, and said that girls of between 12 and 14 made the
marks themselves on their cheeks, and added that the instrument had to be
smeared with soot and driven in repeatedly as far as the bone, or the marks would
not be permanent. Informants added that this was done for looks, but was often
regretted later.
The other type of facial marking, which the Mpondo share with Hlubi, Xesibe
and Bhaca, is a series of vertical cuts on the cheeks (PI. 85: 1) and in Bhaca practice,
one on the bridge of the nose. According to T. B. Soga this scarification was done
on young people at intervals to let the blood run, to ensure health and prosperity.
According to Hammond-Tooke it was thought to satisfy the ancestral spirits and
thereby prevent sickness, and was done on all children. The tool was a sharpened
piece of iron called igcaguba. The face is smeared with clay afterwards to promote
healing. It leaves a depressed, not a raised, scar. Some Thembu and Fingo also used
scarification (-chaza), but Makalima thought this was only for women.
Thompson (1925) gives a full discussion of the practice of amputating the
terminal joint of one finger (Pls 103: 2; 108: 8), which was common though not
universal among all the tribes of the Cape, except the Fingo. It is possible that the:
practice was adopted from the Bushmen. It was first recorded by Bonatz among
the Thembu in 1832. Thembu and Mpondomise informants in 1955 said that it was
dying out.
The operation is done in infancy to promote health and wisdom, and at any
time from infancy to old age as a cure for naughtiness, sickness, or bad luck.
The fingers treated differ according to tribe as follows: Xhosa, usually index
finger; Thembu, Mpondomise, Xesibe, third or little finger, preferably of the left
hand; Bomvana and Mpondo, little finger, Mpondo preferring right; Hlubi men,
little or middle right, Hlubi women, third left.
The tool used was formerly a stone, but latterly a lancet or ‘any sharp object’
has been used.
According to Napier, the Fingo were distinguished by a slit in the upper part
of the ear, but this is not confirmed.
TOILET AND PERSONAL ACCESSORIES
SOURCES
1593 Lavanha (1597) p. 234 South-west of Umtata R.: whisk
‘. . . 5 ttazem na mao em hum delgado pao embrulhado hum cabo de Bugio,
ou de Rapoza, com que se alimpao, e fazem sombra aos olhos para ver.’
(p. 293. *. . . , in their hands they carry the tail of an ape or a fox fastened
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 685
to a thin piece of wood, with which they clean themselves and shade their eyes when
observing.’)
1622 Almada (1625) p. 28 South of ?Bashee or Umzimvubu R.: whisk
‘Tamben achey no chao duas azagayas, & hum paosinho de grossura de hum
dedo, & de dous palmos & meyo de comprido, forrado do meyo por diante com
hum rabo de buzio, o qual pao costumao trazer quasi em toda a Cafraria até 0 rio
de Lourengo Marques, & nao costuma6 fallar sem 0 trazerem, porque todas as suas
praticas sao apontando com este pao na mao, a que chamao sua boca, & fazendo
esgares, & meneos.’
(p. 96. ‘I also found upon the ground two assegais and a little piece of wood
of the thickness of a finger and about two spans and a half in length covered from
the middle upward with a monkey’s tail. It is customary to carry a stick of this kind
throughout almost the whole of Kaffraria as far as the river of Lourenco Marques,
and they never converse without it for they emphasise their speech by holding it
in their hands, and they call it their mouth gesticulating and making grimaces.’)
i752 Beutler pp. 298, 307 Xhosa: sweat-scrapers, grease, bags
p. 298 Xhosa: sweat-scrapers
*.. . 3 om den hals droeg hy eenige coopere en ysere ringetjies op een riem
aan malkander gereygt waaraan 2 yvoore plaatjies hingen, die tot suyveringe der
oogen worden gebruykt... .”
p. 307 Xhosa: grease
‘... sy smeeren hetselve [hair] sterk met vet, dog haare lighaam seer
Weymle. ...
p. 307 Xhosa: bags
*.. . haaren verderen rijkdom van corallen dragen se in sakjes van leer
geborgen aan de armen vast;... .”
1776 Swellengrebel p. 13 Xhosa: red colour
‘Onder de 4 capitains, die mede quamen, was een, zijnde een jongeling, met
die van zijn gevolg in het aangezicht sterk met rood geverwt, en vernieuwden dat
telkens. De verw was fyne roode steen.’
1776 Hallema (1932) p. 134 Xhosa: red colour
‘De Capiteinen waren 4 in getal. Een hunner, zijnde nog een jongeling, was
met die van zijn gevolg op de kin, wangen en ’t voorhoofd, sterk met rood geverwd
en vernieuwde dat telkens. De verw was fijne, roode steen. Zedert heb ik ver-
nomen, dat dit verwen van het aangezicht een krijgsteken is, en dat deze Capitein
. . met intentie was gekomen om mjj en mijn gevolg den hals te breken.’
1776 Schumacher (in private coll.) Xhosa: ochre
Figure of Een Caffers Captein with face painted in red and white.
1776-7 Gordon (1776-95) Xhosa: tortoise-shell
Figures by J. Schumacher.
686 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1778 Van Plettenberg p. 48 Xhosa: grease, red ochre
‘.. . Zo mans als vrouwen besmeeren hun kort gekroesd hoofdhair zeer dik
en mengen ’t smeersel zomtijds met rode aarde.’
1782 Le Vaillant (1797-8) p. 282 ‘Caffre’: switch
‘Ainsi que le Hottentot, il se sert aussi d’une queue de jakal, ou de hiéne, ou
de chien sauvage, qui lui sert a s’essuyer le visage et le corps quand ilsue;... . ’
1782 Carter p. 60 ‘Mambookie’: butter
‘. . . this they continued to do, till the butter was arrived at a proper state of
consistence. When it is properly prepared, they mix soot with it, to anoint their
bodies. This operation not only serves them as a security against the intense heats
of the climate, but renders them active, and gives them that agility which the
inhabitants of Africa are well known to exhibit both in the chace and in battle.’
1782 Dalrymple (1785) p. 22 Mpondo: red colour
‘. . . he thinks they were not the same kind of people as those where the ship
was lost because they were taller and not so black, and had their cheeks painted
red, with feathers in their heads, he thinks Ostrich feathers.’
1788 Von Winkelman (1788-9) p. 69 Xhosa: red ochre
‘Kafferinnen, die auf der Reise sind, d:h: die unter die Christen gehen, um
bei ihnen zu dienen, tragen zu zeiten oben auf ihrer Muze in die Spize—oder sonst:
in etwas eingewikkelt 2.—oder 3. Stiikke rother Polus Erde, um sich in moglicher
Ermanglung derselben damit zu pudern und zu bestreichen.’
1797 Barrow (1806) pp. 120, 127, 163, 171 Xhosa: red ochre, accessories
pal20 Xhosa: red ochre
‘Their skin, which was nearly black, and their short curling hair, were rubbed
over with a solution of red ochre, and the tint it produced on the dark ground was
very far from having any disagreeable effect.’
pal2za Xhosa: toilet-box
‘Suspended from the neck most of them carried the shell of a small land
tortoise, (the testudo pusilla,) which held a quantity of red ochre, and a thin piece
of leather to rub it upon their faces.’
p. 163 Xhosa: ‘handkerchief
and the skin of the tyger-cat is used by the women as
pocket-handkerchiefs. ’
peli Xhosa: tally
‘Their only chronology is kept by the moon, and is registered by notches in
pieces of wood. It seldom extends beyond one generation till the old series is
cancelled, and some great event, as the death of a favorite chief, or the gaining of
a victory, serves for a new aera.’
1800 Van der Kemp (1804) p. 441 Xhosa: red colour
‘The Kafirs rarely paint their faces with different colours as the Hottentots do,
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 687
but often paint their faces and bodies uniformly red with the dust of a kind of red
chalk.’
1803 Paravicini di Capelli p. 133 Xhosa: white clay
‘Na deze kuur bereyden zy een dun deeg van witte kleye aarde en vet, met
het welk zy den patient het geheele lichaam besmeeren... .’
1802-6 Alberti (1810a) pp. 31-32, 57 Xhosa: grease, ochre, accessories
pp. 31-32 Xhosa: grease, ochre
‘Hiermede, echter, zijn de Kaffers intusschen niet te vrede, maar bestrijken
niet slechts hun aangezigt, doch tevens het gansche ligchaam, met een mengsel van
fijn gewreven Bloedsteen”’ (Note 1: ‘Eene weeke Steensoort van donker-roode
kleur.’) ‘en water, waaronder doorgaans, vooral ten behoeve der Vrouwen, wel-
riekende kruide gevoegd worden. Nadat de eerste bestrijking ten volle droog is,
volgt eene tweede met vet, doorgaans met Niervet of Merg, door welker inwnijving
de gegevene kleur zich duurzaam met de huid verbindt en haar te gelijk buigzaam
maakt. Vruchteloos spoorde ik de allereerste oorzaak dezer gewoonte van huid-
kleuring na. Welligt zoude men vermoeden, dat deze verwing een beschutsel tegen
de Insekten ware... .
. . . De roode verw is voor het overige de geliefde kleur der Kaffers. Alles,
wat sij ter dekkinge gebruiken, wordt rood geverwd.’
p.5/ Xhosa: ‘handkerchief
‘Langs den rug hangt over den mantel. . . een Kraag,. . . . Op dezelve zijn
aan beide kanten agter de schouders geheele vellen van wilde Katten, tot zelfs met
het einde van den kop, vast gemaakt, welke aan lange riemen, met kleine koperen
of ijzeren ringen, tot op den grond nederhangen, en ter afdrooginge van het zweet
dienen.’
p. 37 Xhosa: toilet-box
‘Behalve dit Katten-vel hangt, ook nog langs den rechter schouder, aan eenen
soortgelijken riem, de schaal van eenen kleinen Landschildpad, waarin fijn gewre-
vene roode aarde, met een stuk sagt leder ter inwrijvinge van deze verw, bewaard
wordt; gelijk dit laatste tevens ter sluitinge der schaal zelve dient.’
(See also Alberti 18106 (English edition): pp. 20, 21, 31-32.)
1803—6 Lichtenstein (1811) pp. 407, 424, 444, 452 Xhosa: grease, ochre
p. 407 Xhosa: fat, red ochre
‘Manner und Frauen haben die allgemeine Gewohnheit, den Leib mit rothen
Erdarten, (gewohnlich mit Eisenrahm) zu farben. Sie tragen diese Farbe mit
Wasser auf und bestreichen sich nachher, wenn sie trocken geworden sind,
reichlich mit Fett, eine Sitte, zu der sie ihr warmes trocknes Clima wohl ziemlich
naturlich veranlasst. Diese Einreibung wird nicht taglich, sondern etwa alle drei
bis vier Tage erneuert.’
p. 424 Xhosa: white clay
‘Die physische Erziehung der Kinder geschieht bei den Koosa auf die
einfachste Weise. Die Neugebornen werden mit weissen Erdarten eingerieben, bis
der Nabel véllig geheilt ist und bis zu diesem Augenblick ist die W6chnerin unrein.’
688 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 444 _ Xhosa: butter
‘Sie bereiten sich auch Butter durch haufiges Schiitteln der Milch in ledernen
Schlauchen, nach der Art, die schon Kolbe von den Hottentotten beschreibt. Sie
gebrauchen diese Butter aber nur zum Einschmieren der Haut, und essen sie nicht.’
p. 452 Xhosa: grease, ochre
‘Das Einschmieren mit Fett, das mit mineralischen Theilen, Eisenoker,
Eisenrahm, Glimmerthon u.s.w. vermischt wird, giebt ihrem K6rper eine nicht
ungefallige Farbung, aber man darf sie nicht berihren, ohne die deutlichen
Spuren ihrer Nahe an Handen und Kleidern zuruckzubehalten.’
1806-15 Carmichael (1831) p. 287 Xhosa: ochre
‘But the constant use of a pigment made of grease and red-ochre, gives their
skin a colour nearly approaching that of copper; and their mantles, arms, and every
other article they are in the habit of handling, soon acquire a similar hue.’
c. 1813 Campbell, J. (1815) p. 370 ‘Cafter {butter
“They are unacquainted with the making of butter or cheese from milk.’
1820 Stocker (1819-20) p. 65 Gcaleka: ochre, grease
‘Hinza’s Kaffers . . . smear their bodies abundantly with red ochre and grease,
a custom not uncommon even with the Kaffers immediately adjoining the Colony.’
1821-4 Thompson, G. (1827) pp. 358-359, 373 Xhosa: toilet-box, ochre
pp. 358-359 Xhosa: toilet-box
‘From the neck is suspended a small tortoise-shell, filled with seed of a species
of celery, which they bruise, and use in perfuming their bodies.’
PeoDy Xhosa: red colour
‘Most of the young men have their bodies painted red, and their hair curled
into small knots like pease.’
p.o73 Xhosa: quarrying ochre
‘About ten miles from Hinza’s kraal, there is an extensive quarry of iron ore,
which the Caffers dig for painting their bodies. The substance is found in nodular
masses of yellow ironstone, or indurated clay. It is found only near the surface, and
in pieces seldom larger than a hen’s egg. A space of about half an acre had been
dug up in the course of the season.’
c. 1824—5 Smith pp. 281, 307 ‘Caffer’: toilet-box, ochres
p: 281 ‘Caffer’: tortoise-shells
‘Some or indeed the greater part of the caffres particularly women have
suspended from their necks or karosses one or more young tortoise shells which
have been cleared from the animal, and in those they have generally some aromatic
vegetable variously prepared which they carry about with them for smelling. They
often use the leaves of the shrub denominated Buchu, a species of Diosma. Though
this is used and selected for the purpose of a smelling bottle yet they are very
particular in cleaning and polishing them and also pay considerable attention to the
selection of the animals. Upon finding one which they think is a good one they cut
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 689
off the head of the tortoise and then cut and separate all the parts which adhere
to the inside of the shell they then wash and scrape it well and afterwards dry it.’
p- 307 Xhosa: red, white clay
‘When the caffer wishes to paint himself with red clay, his wife or some other
person perhaps himself rubs it into a thick solution in water on a flat broad stone
by means of another small stone and then smears it over the body. The caffers
smear the face but particularly the forehead of infants with a white clay prepared
in the same way as the red clay to prevent sickness and give strength and beauty
to the body.’
1820-31 Steedman (1835) 1 pp. 18, 259 Xhosa: red ochre, grease
p18 Xhosa: red ochre
‘We overtook in the afternoon two of the natives returning home from the fair
at Fort Wiltshire with a quantity of the red clay with which they are accustomed
to besmear their bodies, a practice already noticed, and which has doubtless
obtained for them among earlier travellers the distinction of Red Caffers. This
peculiar clay is found in the vicinity of the Fish River, and it is surprising how distant
a journey these people will undertake to procure it, so essential is it considered in
completing the adornment of their persons.’
p: 259 Xhosa: grease
‘The Amakosa smear their bodies, as I have had occasion to notice, with a
composition of red clay and grease, which produces a soft and glossy effect on the
Scie
1825-9 Kay (1833) pp. 111, 115, 373 Xhosa, Mpondo:
grease, toilet-box, sibilo
pe iit Xhosa: grease
‘Hence arises the filthy practice of rubbing their bodies from head to foot with
the fat of animals, or some other unctuous matter, to prevent the skin from being
parched by the sun’s rays.’
potis Xhosa: toilet-box
Nothing more.
D373 Mpondo: sibilo
‘On our way . . . we passed one of Fakoo’s warriors, . . . . His hair, neatly
wrought up into a tuft on the crown of the head, was powdered with sibilo instead
of ochre, and ornamented with small feathers of the richest colour.’
(1829) Rose pp. 179, 180 Xhosa: grease, ochre
Nothing more.
c. 1831-2 Smith pp. 148-149, 165-166 Xhosa, Mpondo: ochre
pp. 148-149 Xhosa: ochre
‘A boy before circumcision cannot be smeared by another. But he may take
what remains after a man has been using it and paint himself, but he cannot get
a woman to make it expressly for him nor smear him. The women prepare the red
690 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
clay for painting and apply it. If a man is unmarried, his mother must make it ready
and apply it.’
pp. 165-166 Mpondo: ochres
‘Their faces they paint in different ways and with different colours, such as red,
yellow greenish and white. . . . Sometimes they have the whole face without any
regularity coloured yellowish white and red.’
(1832a) Anon. p. 162 Xhosa: ochre
‘His cheeks and lips were painted red; . . . one of his captains announced it
was the king.’
1834 Bonatz (1834b) pp. 350, 404 Thembu, Xhosa: cosmetics
DP. 390 Thembu: tortoise-shell
‘Their kaross is well shaped, and neatly sewed, but, like that of the men,
without sleeves. Upon the back there hangs a strip of ox-skin, with the hair outside,
about ten inches wide, of the same length as the kaross, and plentifully studded
with rows of buttons. To this appendage is attached the shell of a small tortoise,
which serves to hold their ornaments and implements for sewing, etc.’
p. 404 Thembu, Xhosa: grease, ochre
‘It is the universal practice of the Tambookies and Caffres, to besmear their
whole body with fat, in order to make their limbs supple, and to prevent the skin
from chapping. In the spring, they paint their face and body red, using for this
purpose, a kind of red stone found in Caffraria.’
1834-5 Godlonton (1835-6) p. 133 Xhosa: red clay
‘. . . trade with the Kafirs, on a spot generally called ““The Kafir clay pits”. . . .
To those unacquainted with the peculiarities of the Kafir people, it may be
necessary to explain that an article in great request among them is red clay, and
with which as much pains is taken to adorn their heads, as is ever bestowed by the
most finished coxcomb, or the most exquisite belle, in the refined and polished
circles of fashion in civilised countries.’
1835, Alexander (1837) A"p: 387> 2 pe 129 Xhosa: toilet-box, whip
1 p. 387 Xhosa: toilet-box
‘From the neck of the kaross hangs by a thong covered with brass rings, a small
tortoise-shell filled with bruised wild celery-seed, with which to perfume the
person. When a Kafir has his head dressed, and his scent-box hangs down his back,
he looks as if he wore a red wig with a glittering cue.’
2p. 129 Xhosa: whip
‘He grasped a bundle of well-made javelins in his left hand, and a sambok,
or whip of buffalo-hide, dependend from his right wrist.’
(1836) Martin p. 147 Thembu: grease, ochre
Nothing more (from Bonatz 1834b).
1837 Dohne pp. 61-62 Xhosa: bags
‘Am Halse tragen sie stets einen Sack, auf dem Rutcken hangend, von einem
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 691
Hunde- oder Affen- oder sonstigem kleinen Fell, in welchem sie ihre Pfeife,
Taback, Feuerzeug, Messer und dergleichen Kleinigkeiten haben.’
1839 Backhouse (1844) p. 183 Xhosa: grease, ochre
Nothing more.
1836—44 Dohne (1844) p. 31 Xhosa: red ochre
‘Wenn ihr Leib einmal recht voll Unreinlichkeit ist, beschmieren sie ihn mit
Farbe von ROothelstein und waschen ihn etlichen Tage nachher.’
1842-7 Ward (1848) 1 p. 250 Xhosa: war ochre
‘The Kaffir goes forth to battle besmeared with red clay... .’
1847-8 Angas p. 22 Xhosa, Fingo: toilet-box
‘The leather cloak, worn by the Amaxosa women on all festive occasions has
. . . the shell of a small land tortoise, containing a preparation of herbs as a charm
against witchcraft, suspended from it by a piece of coiled wire. I have only observed
these tortoises amongst the women of this tribe and the Fingos, who adopt the same
SiyleOng@dress .. . to .. . the Amaxosa Kaffirs.’
1842-53 Baines 1 p. 71; 2 p. 280 Xhosa: shaving, bag
ior 71 Xhosa: shaving
(1848) “The heads of many were closely shaven with their assegais in token of
mourning and rubbed with grease. .
2 p. 280 Xhosa: bag
(1851) ‘His head was shaved in token of mourning, and his wordly chattels
appeared to consist of a long stick, a skin bag, and an ink-bottle with a porcupine’s
quill in the cork.’
1851-2 King (1853) p. 170 Xhosa: grease, ochre, mica
‘Both races, as is also usual with the Arabs, tattoo their chests and arms in a
kind of serrated pattern; and the women, in addition, use a kind of red clay mixed
with fat to smear their bodies and paint their faces, also daubing and moulding their
crisp hair with it into clay ringlets. . . . Sometimes they sprinkle their hair, after
smearing it with fat, with glittering particles of mica, great quantities of which are
left after heavy rains in the ruts and gullies of the roads.’
(1853) Fleming p. 111 Cape Nguni: ochre, grease
‘Paint, also is very fashionable with the women, only, instead of rouge, they
use red ochre, mixed with the fat of animals; and, as they smear all the face, except
a Straight line across the level of the eyes, it is not a very becoming custom. Instead
of practising this mode of adornment, the men tattoo themselves, in rows, on the
arm, side and chest, and seldom use ochre, except in dyeing their blankets or
karosses. They constantly, however, in common with the women, anoint the body
all over with grease, probably to break the power of the sun’s rays upon their naked
skin.’
692 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1853) Kretzschmar p. 236 Cape Nguni: ochre
‘Sie tattowiren nicht, aber beschmieren in der Kriegszeit ihre Gesichter mit
weissen und rothen Streifen und reiben den ganzen KOrper mit einem fetten,
rothen Thon.’
1863-6 Fritsch, G. (1872) p. 75 Xhosa: head-pad
‘Solche Gefasse sind dazu bestimmt, auf dem Kopfe getragen zu werden, und
ruhen dabei auf einem dicken, von Bast geflochtenen Ringe, in den sich der tiefste
Theil einfugt.’
1845-89 Kropf (1889a) pp. 104, 105-106 Xhosa: bag, sweat-scraper, ochre
p. 104 Xhosa: bag
‘Bei warmem Wetter geht der Kaffer ganz nackt, die wollene oder lederne
Decke tuber den Stock auf dem Rucken tragend oder bei nassem Wetter in seinem
Knapsack, der von einem gegerbten kleinen Ziegenfell gemacht is.’
p- 105 Xhosa: bag
‘Am Gurtel, der aus einem mit Messingdraht beflochtenen Riemen besteht,
tragen die Frauen einen Beutel von Fell oder von Zeug, der mit Perlen bestickt
ist, in dem sich Tabak, Pfeife, Stahl, Stein und Zunderdose oder neuerdings eine
Dose Schwefelholzer befinden, wahrend sie frither harte und weiche Holzer aufein-
ander rieben, um Feuer zu machen.’
p- 105 Xhosa: sweat-scraper
‘Der Mann tragt alle diese Rauch- und Schnupfutensilien in dem oben-
genannten Knapsack und ausserdem den zum Abstreichen des Schweisses
gebrauchten eisernen Loffel, wenn dieser nicht an seinem Gurtel durch ein
ledernes mit Messingdraht besetztes Riemchen hangt.’
pp. 105-106 Xhosa: red, white, and black colour
‘Wichtiger als Kleider ist dem Kaffer der Schmuck seines Leibes, den er zu
diesem Zwecke mit rotem Ocker in Fett geknetet bemalt, was die Haut vor dem
Aufspringen bei der grossen Hitze bewahrt. Besonders aber bei feierlichen
Gelegenheiten, Hochzeiten, Tanzen u.s.w. legt er grosse Sorgfalt auf dies
Bemalen, wobei die Frauen dann noch durch schwarze und weisse Streifen ihren
Gesichtern ganz besondere Schonheit verleihen wollen.’
1877—8 Norbury (1880) pp. 9, 10, 109 Xhosa, Fingo: cosmetics, bags
Dee Xhosa: ochre, perfume
‘The belles often cover their faces, necks and hands with red clay, leaving
margins around the eyes and mouth, which they consider adds materially to their
attractions, but which really gives them a weird, frightful appearance; they
sometimes mix with this clay the juice of a strongly-scented plant, which has a
broad, circular leaf, and grows in little knolls, and which they call safigani. When
women pay a visit to a distant kraal, before reaching their destination they often
sit down by a stream, and wetting this clay, decorate themselves, the water serving
asa mirror: =.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 693
p. 10 Xhosa, Fingo: bags
‘*.. . they [Fingo women] put on numerous bead ornaments, with a large
beaded bag to serve as a pocket; whereas the bag of a Kafir woman is usually
formed from the skin of a wild cat.’
p. 109
‘The Fingoes searched the bags of all the women and took away everything
of value they possessed. I saw one man’s finger covered with rings, which he had
just removed from a handsome leopard-skin bag.’
1877-9 Ex C.M.R. (1881) p. 169 Thembu: cosmetics
‘Both men and women daub and smear themselves all over with red clay and
grease, and in hot weather the odour is simply horrible.’
(1881) Nauhaus, C. T. p. 345 Xhosa: sweat-scraper
‘Aehnlich gestaltet, aber viel langer als der Schnupfloffel, erscheint der
Schweissloffel, wovon mehere Exemplare vorlagen. Der dunne Stiel ist 3 Zoll lang,
der Loffel daran 3 Zoll lang, halb gebogen, aus Eisen _gefertigt; der Kaffer schabt
mit dem Loffel, in Ermangelung des Taschentuches, den Schweiss von Gesicht und
Hals.’
1900 J. de N. R. p. 442 ‘Kaffir’: ochre
Nothing more.
(1904) Kidd pp. 30-31, pl. 26, pl. 50 and legend Mpondo: cosmetics,
head-pad
pp. 30-31 Mpondo: red ochre, oil
‘No description of first impressions would be true to life that excluded the
all-important question of red clay. A native’s dress 1s never complete without this
cosmetic. Red ochre and oil are rubbed into the skin, and frequently into the
blanket. When this latter is done by a tribe the people are called Red Kafirs, or
merely “‘Reds’’. The effect of the anointing with oil and clay is to form a splendid
protection against the sun and the rain; and | think that, objectionable as the
practice is from many points of view, it undoubtedly improves the colour of the
native, whose skin is more of an ashy or slate-grey than a rich brown. The effect
of the red clay is to make the skin the colour of chocolate.’
pl. 26 Mpondo: head-pad
Figure.
pl. 55 and legend Mpondo: red ochre
“These children are carrying basketsful of red ochre, or red earth, in order to
make paint with which to anoint their blankets and bodies.’
(1910) Schneider pp. 23-24 Xhosa: availability of ochre
‘Alle erglanzten, in der mit Fett gebundenen, rotbraunen Ockerfarbe, welche
die Eingeborenen damals nur mithsam an einzelnen Stellen dem Gestein abge-
wonnen, wahrend sie heutzutage eine ansehnliche Menge davon fir ein Billiges
beim weissen Handler erstehn k6nnen.’
694 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1914) Schweiger p. 64 Xhosa, Fingo: grease
‘...Dort angekommen werden die Burschen von einem eigens dazu
bestimmten Manne mit Butterfett eingerieben und damit zu Kriegern gesalbt. Sie
werden hernach mit ihren neuen weissen Decken bekleidet und erhalten einen
Stab (umnggay) als Zeichen ihrer Mannbarkeit.
Das Bestreichen und Salben mit Butterfett hat ibrigens auch noch den Zweck,
dass jedes Merkmal des weissen Lehmes, mit dem sie vorher wahrend der ganzen
Zeit des umtshilo fortwahrend bestrichten waren und der wie eine harte Kruste der
K6rperhaut anhaftet, vollstandig verschwinde; denn von dem alten Menschen darf
bei dem jung gemachten Manne absolut aber auch gar nichts mehr zurtick
bleiben.) -’
(1926b) Miiller, F. p. 33 Hlubi: toothbrush, grease
‘Ihren Zahnen lassen die Kaffern im allgemeinen eine gute Pflege zuteil
werden. Nach jeder Mahlzeit werden die Zahne entweder sorgfaltig mit einer
ihnen bekannten Wurzel gereinigt und abgerieben oder aber wenigstens der Mund
mit Wasser ausgespult. Wir haben fruher gehdrt, dass die Kaffern es lieben,
Gesicht und Hande mit Fett einzusalben. Dass sie daftr das ranzige bevorzugen,
ist inr persOhnlicher Geschmack. Aber das Einsalben selbst dient doch auch wieder
zu nichts anderem als der Korperpflege.’
(1927) Poto Ndamase p. 123 Mpondo: butter
‘Bekusetyenziswa amafuta epehla kudala. Xa esenziwa bekutatwa intusi
ihlukuhlwe edliweni, ize izigaqa ezi zayo zihlanjwe emanzini kakuhle, ize zipekwe
zibile, iti lonto yakupola yongulwe. Lonto-ke ibifakwa ehlaleni, kutanjiswe
ngayo.’
[Butter fat was used in the olden times. In making it, sweet milk was shaken
in a calabash. The resulting lumps were washed thoroughly; then they were boiled
and when the product had cooled off, the top was skimmed off and put in a small
vessel, and used for anointing the body. |
(1931) Cook p. 84 Bomvana: coloured clays
‘The women paint their faces with various clays. One woman will have white
ear lobes, white spots on the cheek bones and the rest of her face a beautiful red.
All manner of geometrical patterns in as many colours are painted on their faces.’
(1932) Soga, J. H. pp. 410, 413-414 Xhosa: bag, cosmetics
p. 410 Xhosa: bag
‘He never went anywhere without his i-Ngxowa— goat-skin bag, for in it he
carried those articles which were an ever present necessity; the i-Nxili, a small bag
made from the scrotum of a billy-goat, and in which reposed his tobacco, that, at
least which was reserved for his personal use and not available for pipe fills for his
friends. This latter was kept loose at the bottom of the nxowa. Besides the nxili
his goat-skin bag held his pipe, tinder box and other small treasures. In modern
times this bag comes in handy for stowing away his blanket when he is out in a rain
storm.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 695
pp. 413-414 Xhosa: grease, ochre
‘Im-Bola—Red Clay. Im-Bola is a generic term for the various kinds of red
clay. The smearing of the body with red clay or ochre is apparently a very ancient
custom in Africa. Herodotus in his Polymnia, chapter 69, says of the Ethiopians
that ‘“‘when they were going to battle, they smeared one half of their body with
chalk, and the other half with red ochre”’.
All Bantu tribes are not addicted to the habit of smearing the body with ochre.
Among the South-Eastern Bantu certain tribes, such as the Pondos, Bacas, Ntla-
ngwini and others, use red ochre sparingly, on their faces and hair, but not on their
bodies. The Ama-Xosa (Xosas), on the other hand, smear their whole bodies and
their garments as well with red ochre.
There are two varieties of Jm-Bola, namely, i-Citywa and u-Cumse.
I-Citywa. This is a soft stone, of reddish colour, to be found in certain parts
of the country. It is used only for smearing the body and face, but not the clothing.
A little water is poured into a depression in a stone, and the i-citywa is rubbed in
this until it forms a paint. After the body has been washed, the paint is smeared
all over it and allowed to dry. Then the whole body is rubbed with the hands to
produce a smooth surface, and the dust blown off, thus giving the body a reddish
colour. A little melted fat is next applied to the whole surface, and the body
assumes a bronze appearance. These measures are taken as a precaution against
the sun, in the first instance, for the body without such a protection, would, by the
action of the sun on the unprotected surface crack the skin—uku-xweba.
The red clay is also used as a cosmetic and by way of adornment, and lastly,
as a protection against the bites of insects.’
1932 Hunter (1936) pp. 170, 223, 285 Mpondo: toilet articles
p. £70 Mpondo: bleaching agent
‘Every day during the seclusion, and as many times as she likes a day (usually
at least twice), the intonjane chews the roots of umgqungu (Tambookie grass) and
smears her face and body with her saliva and the juice of the chewed root. The
roots, used green, are a strong bleaching agent. This is said by some informants
to be the most essential part of the ceremonies. The effect of the juice of the
umgqungu roots, the seclusion in the darkness of the hut, and the lack of exercise,
is such that, when an intonjane comes out, she is lighter in complexion and fatter
than normal. A light complexion and plumpness are considered features of
beauty.’
posz23 Mpondo: cosmetics, toothbrush
‘A shiny skin is essential to beauty and it is secured by smearing on butter
(iphehle) made by shaking a calabash of sour milk. The butter thus made is pressed,
washed in water, and sometimes boiled ‘‘to take away the rancid smell’’. The body
is rubbed with this butter, but now vaseline has largely taken its place. Teeth are
polished with a stick of fibrous wood (umthenene); others chew a pleasant-tasting
root (isixu6o).
As scent, strings of leaves, isilonyana or intyene6a (wild mint), are worn round
696 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
the neck. Leaves of imphepha [sic] are ground up and made, with a sticky sub-
stance, into sweet-smelling beads. Wooden beads of umthombothi (Spirostachys
africanus) are also worn for their scent.
The root of ingqgawana and leaves of intyene6a are ground up with ochre and
put on blankets, particularly by women with babies. In some districts red clay is
generally used on the hair and clothes, in others it is not used at all, having been
dropped during mourning for a chief and never resumed, in others it is used only
by unmarried girls.’
p. 285 Mpondo: toilet-box
(With reference to evil magic:) ‘In the old days when women wore skins, they
carried it (the snake) in a little tortoise-shell box they wore hanging down their
backs. When it got hot the snake put its head out.’
1918—48 Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964) pp. 3, 4, Cape Nguni: bags, ochre
6, 125) 34- 36,37 0a
pp= 3, 4,6; 12 Xhosa, Thembu, Mpondo, Fingo, Bhaca: bags
Nothing more.
p. 34 Cape Nguni: ochre
Nothing more.
pe 36 Thembu: woman’s bag
‘Inxowa yebhokwe_ Ochred skin bag, female, made of goatskin. Carried with
igaba costume when the woman goes to the store. The hairy part is inside. It is -
capacious and holds the woman’s long pipe, tobacco and any small things she may
purchase.’
p. 36 Mpondo: man’s bag
‘Inxowa_ Braided cloth bag, white kaffir-sheeting with black braid and
narrow edging of black beads, to be carried on festive occasions.’
pp: 3%, a0 ail Thembu: bag
Nothing more.
(1937) Soa, TFS. pp: 145, 236 Xhosa: origins of cosmetic use of ochre
and butter
p. 145 Xhosa: butter
‘Abesenzelwa ukutanjiswa ngamanenekazi mhla ahombileyo. . . . Nanamhla
kusenjalo kwelase-Mbo nakuma-Xosa a-Bomvu, kuma-Baca, ama-Mpondo,
nama-Mpondomise, nezitembu kubantu abasesemboleni ukunyibelana namafuta
kwa nasezingutyeni. La mafuta ebengatyiwa nokutyiwa nje nganamhla kwam-
Lungu. Umtinto lo ubupuma apa ke. Nguwo lo namhla kutiwa “yixibiya”’.
Ubutyiwa kodwa ngamakwenkwe nezinja ingento ya bantu. Namakwenkwe ebe-
wungqunyushelelwa. Ukungqumshela kukuwugalela ubisi olutsha . . . suka afika
ama-Mfengu xa kunje eyincitakalo wona. Ate akuyibona le nto yala masi ema
nenja, angenwa ngumona nje ngabantu, axelelwa ukuba asinto ityiwa bantu. Suka
wona awutaiida ngokwawo avulelwa ke. Ite ke le nto yasisondlo kwaba bantu,
bapila.’
[This fat (butter) was made for the womenfolk to anoint themselves when
dressed up. . . . Itis still the custom in the eMbo country and among the red Xhosa,
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 697
the Bhaca, Mpondo, Mpondomise and the married women among the people who
still use the red clay, to smear with fat, their clothing included. This fat was not
eaten at all as is done today among the Europeans. Cream, for consumption, then,
had its origin here, and is the substance today called ixibiya (buttermilk). Though
eaten by boys and dogs, it was not a food for adults. The boys also had it
ngqumshela’d for them. Ngqumshela means to add new milk to it. . . while this was
still the position, the Fingoes arrived as fugitives. When they saw the phenomenon
of this sour milk beside a dog, they were, humanly enough, seized with envy, but
were told that it was not eaten by man. But they chose to treat it as food of their
own accord and were allowed their way. It then became an article of nourishment
among these people, and they survived. |
p..236 Xhosa: ochre
‘Nditi ama-Xosa ayenyanzelekile ukulibonela kuba-Twa eli siko lokugaba,
kuba bangena bahlasela eli lizwe limiwe ngaba-Twa abo kulo maxesha, besukuzana
nama-Lawu.
. . . Kucace mhlope kona ukuba nokuba ayibonela kuba-Twa na, kobani na,
ate wona akuyambulelwa ngowambuleleyo kuba engayicolanga macoli noko, ayi-
cumisa ngamandla ngokuhambisa kwamaxesha ezizukulwana zawo. Kwada
namhla kwasisitete ukungati imbola le yatapuluka nokuvela kuka-Xhosa. Kuba
bate abaninzi bevela, bavela se kugatywa nomzimba lo wonke kwa-Xosa, ngo-
kukodwa ngabasetyini nododana.’
{I think there is no doubt that the Xhosa saw this custom of using red clay
practised among the Bushmen, for they invaded this country during the times when
it was still inhabited by those Bushmen, who were in conflict with the Hottentots
overit. . . . Itis quite clear that though they (the Xhosa) learnt the use of red clay
from the Bushmen or others and got it from strangers, they nevertheless did not
adopt it without discrimination, but greatly developed it in the course of gener-
ations; so that today it is as firmly-rooted a custom as if it had originated together
with the Xhosa. For since the establishment of the nation in considerable numbers,
the whole body was already smeared among the Xhosa, especially by the women-
folk and the young men. |
1945 Makalima chapters 9, 10 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: bags,
head-pads, ochre, cleaning teeth
chap. 9, pars 9, 14, 42, 63 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: bags, head-pads
Nothing more.
chap. 10, par. 26 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: razor
‘Ziyacetywa na? Inwele ziyacetywa ngemela, intloko ibentle, ifane nobuso.’
[The hair is cut with a razor and the head becomes as smooth as the face. ]
pars 28, 31-33 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: ochre
Nothing more.
par. 39 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: cleaning teeth
‘Ukukutshwa kwamazinyo:—Amazinyo akakutshwa kuti, yinto yokuhomba
amazinyo amahle, akenziwa nto, ngapandle kokugcinwa ecocekile ngotutu,
nelahle.’
698 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
{Teeth are not extracted according to our custom, good teeth are an ornament,
nothing is done to them except keeping them clean with ashes and charcoal.|
par. 40 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: ochre, fat
Nothing more.
(1949) Duggan-Cronin pl. 71 and legend Mpondomise: ochre
‘The girl is rubbing the woman with red clay to colour her skin.’
(1952) Weir p. 273 Xhosa: ochre
“There are several reasons for the use of ochre: the Native loves bright colours
and the use of ochre makes frequent washing unnecessary, besides acting as a
vermin repellant. The wide use of DDT is now obviating this latter reason for using
ochre and it may have a marked effect on custom.
Ochre is used in three shades: the “‘kaffir ochre’’, which is the bright red most
commonly seen; the “‘Fingo ochre’’, which is a much darker red, used by the Fingo
tribes; and a yellow ochre which has become fashionable in certain areas during
the past ten or fifteen years.
The Bantu are discriminating buyers always, but when it comes to ochre they
are, if anything, more particular than European women selecting lipstick or
powder. The ochre must be of an exact shade and texture and its quality of
adherence to the blanket or sheeting must conform to precise requirements or the
Native will have nothing to do with it. Let a trader buy a wrong quality and his
custom will disappear in no time. A strange thing is that South Africa has up to ©
the present not been able to produce a red ochre that is acceptable to the Native
and all supplies of the correct quality have to be imported. In yellow ochre,
however, the South African product has proved satisfactory.’
(1954) Duggan-Cronin pl. 117 and legend Hlubi: bags
‘These goat-skin bags are much used for carrying grain, tobacco, pipes etc.
although never for water.’
1949-62 Hammond-Tooke (1962) pp. 10-11 Bhaca: grease, ochre
‘Heads are close shaven until betrothal, when the hair is allowed to grow out
preparatory to being greased with fat and ochre and rolled into ringlets to form the
married woman’s typical coiffure. . . . Bhaca do not use ochre for their clothing,
but smear it in their hair.’
1962 De Lange (1963) pp. 85-95 Xhosa: cosmetics
Pos Xhosa: cosmetic practices
‘. . . the dressed Xhosa do not use these cosmetics . . . . ““Red’’ Xhosa some-
times employ European cosmetics, but use them in traditional Xhosa fashions. .. .
The traditional cosmetic arts practised by the Xhosa include the use of colour
on bodies and clothes and an appreciation of pattern achieved by means of paint
and scarification. The attraction of a pleasant scent is also employed to a certain
extent. . . . Cosmetics are typically employed by girls and young matrons, the
young men usually enhancing their appearance by means of the beadwork made
for them by their sweethearts. . . .
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 699
The sources of the cosmetics are coloured mineral substances and various
vegetable products. To a small extent animal fats are also employed. Some of these
cosmetics are native to certain localities, and enjoy only a local appeal, while others
are general and can be procured at any trading station. Considerable distances are
travelled in order to procure the necessary commodity. The colours used by the
Xhosa are tones of red, yellow, white and occasionally blue and black. The use of
these cosmetics is not indiscriminate. Custom dictates to some extent when cos-
metics must be used, what colours to apply, and what design to adopt. However,
when custom is not involved individual preference may be indulged.’
p. 86 Xhosa: ritual use of cosmetics
‘Where cosmetics are worn for ritual purposes, their significance may be as an
emblem denoting a particular ritual state, and the colour may have a symbolic
meaning.’
p. 86 Xhosa: ochres
‘The majority of cosmetics consist of various types of ochre. . . . There is no
standard colour which is favoured universally, and fashions change so rapidly that
suppliers to the traders find it impossible to keep them supplied with the exact
shade in demand. . . . Informants attest that these ochres are properly dyes, and
unpleasant to wear on the face, being harsh and drying. They are nevertheless
frequently used for facial decoration, ....’
(There follows a description of the individual mineral substances used.)
p. 88 Xhosa: plant cosmetics
‘Such colouring matter as is produced from vegetable sources is used on the
face, and there are no vegetable dyes produced for the dyeing of clothing. Those
which are used are considered to possess medicinal or even magical properties.’
p. 89 Xhosa: plant cosmetics
‘Isibindi: This is the name of a bracket fungus which is found growing on such
trees as the Combretum erythrophyllum. The fresh fungus is chopped from the tree
and is rubbed on a grinding-stone while water is added to form a mustard-yellow
lotion. This is smeared on the face and dries to form a slight film on the skin. [sibindi
is considered of therapeutic value.
Imbendulu: This is a plant, probably of the Polygala sp. The roots are collected
and dried and broken up into pieces. When the cosmetic is required the dried roots
are pulverized while water is added to produce a bright yellow dye. It is supposed
to be beneficial to the complexion, but more important, to have the magical ability
to attract to the wearer the affection of the opposite sex... .
Umthombothi: . . . (Spirostachys africanus) whose wood has a pleasant
smell . . . slivers about three inches long . . . are strung together to form a neck-
lace which is worn by nursing mothers. To form a cosmetic, pieces of the necklace
are broken off and ground to powder. This is used like talcum power, or . . . mixed
with water and applied to the mother’s face and added to the baby’s washing water.
itis used for its scent, .. 2
700 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 89 Xhosa: animal fat
‘Animal fat was previously much used by the Xhosa on their bodies and on
their clothing. . . . Ithardly finds a place among their cosmetics to-day. . . diviners
sometimes use it on their hair. . . young girls. . . sometimes treat their hair in this
fashion. Butter is used only by the abakhwetha at the end of their seclusion, rubbed
over their entire persons after they have finally washed off the white paint. It is
made by skimming the cream off the milk, and shaking it in a calabash.’
p. 90 Xhosa: prescribed cosmetics
‘, . . there are occasions when the use of cosmetics is compulsory, sanctioned
by tradition. . . . The cosmetic which must be used 1s stipulated, and usually also
the manner in which it must be applied. The situations involve ritual con-
ditions. . . . Generally this involves a change in status. . . . Besides the transition
states this is also enjoined on occasions when the subject is considered ritually
unclean. . . . The girl undergoing initiation into womanhood (intonjane), the bride
(umtshakazi), the nursing mother (umdlazana) and her baby, abakhwetha, diviners
(amaggira) and novices and those in mourning (uzilo) are subject to certain
restrictions where cosmetics are concerned.’
pp. 90-91 Xhosa: intonjane
‘The girl secluded is called intonjane, and she is not allowed to use any body
paint during this time. As often as she likes, she washes herself with a decoction
of ungqungu (Tambookie grass) roots in water. The decoction is supposed to be
medicinal. The roots used are sweet-smelling and a strong bleaching agent... .
There is always a dance of the young girl friends. . . . Their entire bodies are
covered with ichitywa, with the exception of their faces. The face is patterned with
white paint, although the addition of other colours is permitted. . . .
At the end of her seclusion the girl paints herself with ichitywa and visits her
mother, to indicate that all prohibitions are now removed.’
pe It Xhosa: bride
‘The bride covers her body with ichitywa, excluding her face from this treat-
ment. This is still done in a traditional wedding. . . . When. . . she starts her career
as a wife she wears no special cosmetic to indicate her status. . . . When she has
had a second child she may adopt a turban and paint her face as elaborately as she
chooses.’
pp. 91-92 Xhosa: white clay at birth
‘Her seclusion ended, she [the mother] makes ingxwala into paint. It is usually
applied in the form of a mask around her eyes, though this pattern is not essential.
Some of the white paint is also smeared on the child’s face.’
pp. 92-93 Xhosa: abakhwetha
‘After the surgical operation, the boys’ faces are smeared with a watery clay
or mud found at places along the river banks (udaka). The use of this mud is
retained until the wounds heal. . . and then ifuta is prepared. The whole body is
smeared, and this covering should be kept intact until their seclusion is terminated
three to six months later. . . . At the conclusion of the seclusion period, the boys
run down to the river and wash off the inceke. They return to the lodge and a pound
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 701
of butter is rubbed over each one. . . . Meanwhile the boys’ mothers are busy
preparing ichitywa. . . . Each boy. . . covers his body with ichitywa. This must be
used for a period of three months. It is supposed to restore the skin to a healthy
condition after the prolonged use of ingxwala. . . . Having abandoned the com-
pulsory use of ichitywa, they then must make the yellow isibindi cosmetic. They
must apply it to their faces every day . . . generally only for a few days.’
p. 93 Xhosa: diviners
‘A person whose sickness has been diagnosed . . . as an indication that he or
she should become an iggira wears undyed, white clothes. Red ochred clothes and
ordinary facial paint are prohibited. The novice ... is only allowed to use
ingxwala....’
p. 94 Xhosa: mourning
‘The widow or widower is given new clothing. These blankets must not be
dyed, as asign of mourning, . . . . During this period imbola must not be worn on
the body either.’
p. 94 _ Xhosa: choice of cosmetics
‘When no .. . custom is involved there is no restriction. . . . The age of the
person does not determine which cosmetic shall be worn, and although the men
do not as a rule make as much use of cosmetics as the women, sex is not a
determinant either. The patterns achieved with cosmetics are not exclusive to any
one age group . . . from the youngest to the oldest, male and female, any of the
cosmetics mentioned may be used in any pattern that takes their fancy. .. .’
pas Xhosa: choice of cosmetics
‘Although the cosmetics of the Xhosa cannot be strictly divided into ritual and
non-ritual categories, . . . . White is considered the colour for use when religion
is involved, while the reds, including the yellows, are regarded as the colours for
festivities and normal social life. . . . Red is the colour beloved of the Xhosa. .
Red is used on the faces and clothes of those who are normal and ritually
sound; .. . . When its use is suspended, something abnormal and supernatural is
involved.’
1968 Holt (1969) p. 11 and legend, pp. 78, Tshezi: cosmetics
110-111, 114, 192-193
pid Tshezi: white clay
(On face of mother and baby:) ‘ . . . White clay and braid on skirt ornamen-
tal—not necessary to ritual.’
p. 78 Tshezi: red ochre
‘After weaning of the child, there follows the ceremony of painting with red
ochre (ukugab’imbola), when both mother and babe are painted, at least on their
faces. . . . The mother is now free of all restrictions, taboos and ritual uncleanness
(umlaza) connected with childbirth. .. .”
pp. 110-111 Tshezi: white clay, grease
‘. , . the [newly initiated] youths rise and go down to the river to wash... .
This washing is very important. Not only must all the white clay be removed, but
702 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
all the pollution of boyhood. . . . Their guardians bring “fat” (amafuta) to anoint
them. The proper thing is hog fat, which should be placed in a lump on each head
and rubbed with the hands to flow down over the face, neck and shoulders. Now,
however, they have jars of vaseline or of pomade. . . . No part of the body may
be left untouched.’
p. 114 Tshezi: red ochre
‘Here they paint their bodies with bright red clay, which is dug up locally, is
ground when dry between stones normally used for grinding maize, and is mixed
with water in a can. The guardians are as insistent that every inch of the body shall
be daubed with this clay as they were about the fat. Now they are no longer novices,
(abakhwetha), but initiates (amakrwala). . .. The change from the white clay,
washed away at the river, to the red clay apparently . . . changes the status of the
young men.’
pp. 192-193 Tshezi: white clay
Photographs of
1. two young women with ‘eyes ornamented with white clay’.
2. girl in school clothes with whole face painted ?white.
(1970) Elliott pp. 17, 20, 24, 29, 34-35, 37, 39, Xhosa: cosmetics, bags
42-43, 46, 48, 49, 56, 93, 94, 119, 120, 128
perry. Xhosa: yellow ochre |
Figure.
p. 20 Xhosa: woman’s bag
Figure.
p. 24 Xhosa: man’s bag
Figure.
p. 29 Xhosa: white clay
Figure.
pp. 34-35 and figure Xhosa: bags
‘Both Xhosa men and women smoke pipes and their “‘tobacco bags”’ are
decorative additions to their outfits. The woman’s is made of white cotton
baize. . . . It is decorated with . . . beadwork, rows of black braid and [other]
things. . . . In the bag the woman carries her supply of ... tobacco...a...
hand-mirror. . . her pipe. . . a tin of snuff and a small lady’s handkerchief in the
corner of which, tied in a knot, is her shopping money.
The man’s bag is quite different and more masculine. It is made from a wild
or domestic animal’s skin. The particular skin used, to some extent, owes its
popularity to the fashion in a clan in the same way as does the pattern by which
it is made up. . . . Inside the bag the man is likely to have the same things as the
woman does plus, always, a pocket-knife and a sharp spike for taking thorns out
of his feet.’
p.-37 Xhosa: man’s bag of goatskin
Figure.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 703
pp. 39, 44, 46, 119, 120, 128 Xhosa: bags
Nothing more.
pp. 42-43 Xhosa: ochre
Figure.
p. 48 Xhosa: red ochre for bride
‘The women smear her [the bride] from head to toe with a red paste made from
powdered ochre and dress her in the style of a bride.’
p. 49 Xhosa: red ochre
‘After her first child is born she becomes more important. Then she no longer
pats Werself red... .’
p. 56 Xhosa: ochre
Figure.
p95 Xhosa: red ochre
. the initiates were told to rise and go with their faces hidden to a small
hut so that the young girls of the kraal could smear them with red ochre.’
p. 94 figure and legend Xhosa: ochre
‘Standing naked, the Abakwetha are smeared all over with a paste of red
ochre. Girls play a leading part in this procedure, whereafter the Abakwetha
emerge as “new” or “raw” men.’
1972 Bigalke pp. 74, 81, 85 Ndlambe: bags
p. 74 Ndlambe: youth’s bags
‘(a) ingxowa. . .arectangular (51 x 30,5 cm) bag of bhayi [unbleached cotton
cloth], with drawstring at mouth, and a handle of the same fabric. [Here follows
detailed description.] . . . This kind of bag is common, though smaller examples
are more usual.
(b) ingxowa yenyhwagi . . . approximately 38 cm long, one side being a whole
genet (inyhwagi) skin, the other a blue duiker (iphuti) skin, both with the hair on
and sewn together with leather thongs. . . . The style of the bag is usual, though
the example described is uncommonly large.’
pr ol Ndlambe: young men’s bag
‘Ingxowa, similar ... to the cloth ingxowa of youths except for certain
distinguishing items. .. . A common item. . . . It is used when traditional dress
is worn.’
p. 85 Ndlambe: mature men’s bags
‘Ingxowa .. . a whole goatskin. . . . The opening at the head is sewn up and
the skin of the front legs is tied to the back legs to form loops . . . the loops so
formed are slipped over a shoulder. ... This bag is used when traditional
clothes are worn. . . . Only older men, from about 50 upwards, have this type of
bag.
itast . . . a pouch-type container, often approximately 30 x 20 cm, of goat,
. or the skin of any wild animal available. . . . This article may be rectangular
orsemi-circular. . . . Itisused, especially when the owner is wearing western dress,
to contain a pipe, tobacco, and a pipe-cleaner. .. .”
704 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1976), Broster pp. 3,, 19, 47,,49, 50, 61, 76, 111; Thembu: ochre, bags
pls between pp. 34-35, opp. pp. 67, 82
Pao Thembu: red ochre
‘Colour has a deep religious significance. The people who worship their
ancestors are called in Xhosa amaQaba. To gaba means to paint with red ochre
or red clay. Such persons are recognized by the red colour of their apparel.
Blankets, dress and body are rubbed with red ochre, either an oxide of iron or local
red clay—the blood of the earth. This is the colour beloved by the ancestral spirits
and the colour of their faith. For the people it is the emblem of happiness and the
colour from which they take their name of “‘red people” or amaQaba. . . . To keep
the colour glowing fresh applications of red ochre are regularly made.’
Os IY Thembu: white and other clay
‘On the day of the umtshotsho [teenage dance] all go to the river and bathe.
Then the girls take white clay and brush it on their arms and legs. . . but they omit
to paint their feet. Boys paint only the calves of their legs with white clay. Both
sexes employ facial make up.
Among the Tembu, cosmetics consist of various types of ochre in colours of
red, yellow, white and occasionally black. The colours, application and design are
laid down by tribal custom and indicate age-grouping or status. A girl may cover
her face entirely with yellow or red ochre that has been emulsified in poultry or
pig fat. Teenage girls frequently use white clay and decorate their faces with
intricate patterns. The clay is applied with a stick or quill. Lips are blackened with
pipe oil mixed with spittle or with soot scraped from the cooking pot. Some favour
three black beauty spots on each cheek. Teenage boys merely outline their eyes
with yellow or white clay and blacken their lips.’
pls between pp. 34-35, p. 111 Thembu: bags
Ricunes le 2223»
Legends p. 111: ‘The straight lips indicate men’s bags.
1. a young man’s bag decorated with goat thongs
2. an older man’s bag. It may also be decorated with goat thongs
23. ayoung woman’s bag—note the V-shaped lips of the bag. A woman wears
the bag over her wrist or attached to her girdle by a blanket pin.’
p. 47 Thembu: yellow ochre and white
(During the umngqunggo dance, at the end of intonjane period:) “Arms and
torso are painted with yellow ochre, while white clay is used on the face to paint
the ears, outline the jaw, cheek bones and eyes.’
pp. 49-50 Thembu: red ochre of intonjane
‘For the first week, every day, she [the newly initiated] smears her face with
red ochre for she wishes it to be known that she has been ritually cleansed and is
once more acceptable in Qaba society.’
peo Thembu: colours worn by bride
‘Her eyes and ears are outlined with white clay and her brass arm-bands are
smeared with the same material. The upper half of her body is exposed and painted
with a pale yellow ochre but her feet are painted with red ochre.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 705
pl. opp. p. 67 Thembu: bags
Figure of man wearing beaded bag with thong streamers.
p76 Thembu: yellow, white
(For the ibasi, the married men’s monthly dance:) ‘[The women] paint their
faces with yellow and white clay... .’
pleopp: p. 82 Thembu: bags
Photograph of woman wearing skin bag with the skin outwards.
TOILET AND PERSONAL ACCESSORIES: TERMS
imela (an old word, cl. 9, probably derived, though in an unusual manner, from
Afr. mes) knife, D, general, still used by old people, but isitshetshe now
commonly used instead 922 (392)
imbeza_ 1. (Em) kind of spoon or flat knife of bone or iron for removing per-
spiration from face, D. 2. not confirmed, perhaps forgotten, but possibly
also never an accepted term, cf. ubengo (754). More likely to have denoted
a carving instrument 923 i
isighugho (from -ghugha wipe off superfluous red clay) 1. moleskin used for
wiping off sweat or red clay, D. 2. not confirmed 924
inkondlwane 1.nD. 2. species of grass, Mp T 925
inkondlo 1.nD. 2. species of grass, used for cleaning teeth, Xes 926
isixubo 1. nD. 2. pleasant-tasting root for cleaning teeth, Mp—Hunter
195G)2 "3. net confirmed 927
isitshetshe knife, D, general, by extension also ‘razor’ 928 (395)
inkcaza comb, D, general (from -chaza comb) 929
iqina generic term for various mesembrianthemums, ashes of which are used in
making soap, D, general 930 (257)
isepa, isepu (from Afr. seep) modern soap, D, general 931
intelezi Bulbine asphodeloides Sch., used as a styptic and as war medicine,
Ds 932
isigholo 1. spices, perfume, D X Mp. 2. also protective medicine (intelezi),
Mp. 3. (or ubuvumba) a scented herb of which the juice is extracted and
rubbed on body, Xes_ 933
ubuqgholo 1. fragrant powder, D. 2. medicine, Mp. 3. = isiqholo or ubu-
vumba, a scented herb, Xes 934
ubulawu fragrant powder made of the dry leaves of . . . (various aromatic plants
named), used as perfume for the body, D X, not Mp Xes_ 935
ubuvumba 1. Withaniasomnifera,D. 2. (orisigholo) ascented herb, Xes 936
isifikane 1. scented grass (Andropogon sp. and Lasiospermum radiatum Trev.)
used for making necklaces, D. 2. plant with broad leaves, scented juice of
which mixed with ochre (X—Norbury). 3. kept in huts for pleasant odour
(X-Smith 1824-5) 937 (837)
iphehla_ 1. butter, D (from -phehla churn by moving a calabash or milkbag to and
fro). 2. iphehle butter, used for anointing (Mp—Hunter 1936: 223) 938
706 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
imbola_ clay of red colour, which was burnt and then pounded and made into a
paste and painted on the body, D, general, now also imported ochre bought
in stores 939 (299)
ichitywa_ 1. red clay, used for anointing the body, D. 2. soft stone, from red to
almost white in colour, ground and used by abakhwetha and by others, mostly
on the face (Mp—Poto Ndamase). 3. takes more trouble to prepare than
imbola, and is lighter in colour, besides having more shades. Not used to stain
blankets, Mp X, general 940
ingceke 1.nD. 2. white clay used by abakhwetha to smear on body, general.
(Note: inceke (Em) white paint, D, is erroneous.) 3. small ingobozi basket,
X Xes Mp 941 (536, 738)
ingxwala soft white stone which women and circumcised boys pound and smear
their faces with, D, general 942
ucumse_ 1. crushed ground red clay; red ochre, D, general. (This is the imported
ochre bought in the shops, slightly darker than imbola. Derivation and origin
unknown. It comes in barrels, and as these were then used as vats for beer-
brewing, the second meaning nowis: 2. large vat or barrel for beer-brewing;
by extension even large pottery vessel and modern steel drum 943 (301)
umdiki 1.nD. 2. yellow clay paste for the face, T Mp 944
thlala_ 1. pot or small vessel for keeping any fatty substance for anointing the head
orperson,D. 2.small calabash for fat, with small aperture. Fat for anointing .
oneself is extracted with twig, X Mp 945
ingqowa 1.nD. 2. bag, beadwork purse, despatch bag, T 946
ingxiwa 1.nD. 2.bag, general except X; tobacco bag, of polecatskin, Mp 947
(968)
ingxowa bag, usually made of the skin of a kid flayed whole; sack; pocket, D,
general 948 (338, 969)
ingxuwa (= ingxiwa) bag, D Mp, but unknown other Mp 949
uxazisuka 1.nD. 2. palm-leaf pouch or container, as for carrying around meat
for sale, Mp 950
inxili 1. bag for pipe and tobacco worn on the side by women; bag full of all kinds
of goods, D. 2. usually of oxhide, and worn mostly by women, though also
sometimes by men, general 951 (971)
ighaga 1. any small box or case carried on the person, hence snuff-box, D.
2. any small container, as box, tin, calabash, snuff-box; nowadays also padlock
and calabash penis-cover, general. 3. iqghaga lamanyama if made of
hide scrapings (T—Makalima, Mp—UCT, Mp-—Poto Ndamase) 952 (524,
Ey)
isipaji (from pouch of soldiers) pouch, wallet, skin purse 953
isitofile 1.nD. 2. small tin for medicine, general 954
itasi (from Afr. tas) 1. bag or satchel carried by strap over the shoulders, D,
general. 2. jackal-skin bag, X Mp Xes. 3. store-bought leather purse,
X-'955
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 707
ingatshi 1.whip,D. 2.not generally known, but Mp say ‘tip’ of whip only, ‘from
the sound it makes’, and inqashi same meaning, X 956
itshoba 1. bushy end of an animal’s tail, tassel, D. 2. fly-whisk (whereas
umtshoba on animal), whisk for sprinkling medicine, general. 3. ox-tail hair,
Fgo X. 4. cow-tail hair used as ornament on basketwork, Mpm_ 957 (220,
1011)
izwiniya, iziniya, inzwiniya, inziniya whip, D (X—McLaren 1915), general, but
some use it only for the lash or tip 958
uswazi switch, D, general 959 (326)
inkatha 1. coil of anything twisted together, especially grass head-pad for
carrying, D, general. 2. peak cone of hut, made of stone and shell, X, or
made of grass rope, T. (From widely distributed Bantu root) 960 (46)
TOILET AND PERSONAL ACCESSORIES: DISCUSSION
TOILET IMPLEMENTS
Toilet implements have not received much attention from early authors. Only
four are known from the literature: the skin ‘handkerchief’, the sweat-scraper, a
powder-puff and a toothbrush. Of these, only the latter appears to be known now.
The ‘handkerchief’ was the whole, softened skin of a wild cat or mole, which
was attached to the cloak near the neck and used for wiping the face. The only two
references are to its use by Xhosa women. It was evidently known quite late in the
nineteenth century as it is in Kropf’s Dictionary, but neither the object nor the
word, isighuqho, appears to be known now. It was presumably early replaced by
the cotton handkerchief.
Lavanha and Le Vaillant described a whisk (see below) as used for the same
purpose.
The powder-puff was a small piece of soft skin, which was tucked into the
mouth of the tortoise-shell toilet-box (see below) and used for applying powdered
ochre to the face. The only record of its use was for the Xhosa but all who used
the toilet-box would have used it as it was also the stopper.
Beutler first mentioned an ivory tablet ‘for cleaning the eyes’. This must have
been a misunderstanding of the use of the sweat-scraper, which thereafter was only
mentioned about the middle of the nineteenth century, but must have been known
in the interval. It is described as a spoon-like implement with a blade about 10 cm
and a handle about 8 cm long, made of ivory or iron. It is recorded as being used
by Xhosa men, who carried one attached to their girdles, or in their bags, or, in
Beutler’s account, round the neck.
The use as a toothbrush of a fibrous stick or root, presumably pounded at one
end to release the fibres, is mentioned only by recent authors from the Hlubi of
East Griqualand and the Mpondo. No name is given for the object itself, though
the wood is named, umthenene, and neither the object nor the wood appears in
the Dictionary. According to Makalima, the teeth were kept clean with ashes and
708 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
charcoal. Mpondo informants mentioned a grass that is bent into shape for such
use. Xesibe also mentioned grass, but for the rest the fingers seem to have been
the tool.
A cosmetic tool lacking among the Cape Nguni was a razor. They did not in
any case shave the face. If a shaving tool was needed, for example to shave the head
in mourning, a spear blade was used.
There is a word for comb, inkcaza, but both Xhosa and Mpondo informants
agreed that the object was a new thing, bought from the stores, and not an
indigenous item.
COSMETICS
There is no mention in the descriptive literature of the use of soap nor does
a word for ‘soap’ exist, but the Dictionary does give the word igina for mesem-
brianthemums, which were burnt, and the ashes used for making soap. A modern
Xhosa informant knew the word and the making of soap, and said that whilst not
common now, because of the accessibility of manufactured soap, the practice had
been revived during the 1939—45 world war when soap was difficult to obtain. While
the Dictionary lists several herbs, the juice or powdered leaves of which were used
to scent the body, Bhaca and Xesibe informants stated that certain herbs were used
as soap. Other modern informants, however, stated that soap was not known
before the European variety was introduced, and that fresh cow-dung, fat and clay —
were for cleaning the hands.
The use of cosmetics by the Xhosa was first mentioned in 1752 by Beutler, in
a negative way, since he said that although fat was much used as a cosmetic very
little was used on the body. But Carter reported in 1782 that the people at the site
of the wreck of the Grosvenor (?Mbo) mixed soot with butter and put it on their
bodies. Thereafter, however, there is considerable reference to the use by people
of all the tribes of grease and clays or ochres of various colours, on the hair and
skin. The purpose is stated to be mainly cosmetic, but it is frequently pointed out
that, in addition, such applications protect the skin from the effects of exposure
to sun and cold, and, J. H. Soga adds, from the bites of insects. Dohne alone states
that ochre was a cleansing agent, and was washed off after a few days. This, and
the statement that it was the custom, is as far as most early enquirers got when
seeking the origin of this use of ochres.
T. B. Soga suggests that the custom was adopted by the Xhosa from the
Bushmen, with whom they were in contact in the early days, and that the people
of the other tribes copied the Xhosa. The cosmetic use of ochre is, however, a very
old custom, widespread in southern Africa and elsewhere, and must have derived
from the need to stabilize the fats that were used to keep the skin in order in a harsh
climate. Later writers have shown the extent to which it is entrenched in Cape
Nguni customary practices, a fact only glimpsed from the early accounts.
The fats used were marrow and other fats from slaughtered stock or game, and
butter, which was made by shaking sour milk in a sack or calabash, specially for
this purpose. The Mpondo are said to have boiled the butter to purify it further.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 709
The colour used was predominantly red, but yellow, black and white were
much used too. According to Smith the Mpondo used yellow and white more
commonly than the Xhosa and Thembu did. Colour was obtained from various
ochres, usually described as clay, and from some plants. Soot was used for black.
The people themselves distinguished two sorts of ochre, that which was reduced
to a powder after mining (imbola or ucumse) and a soft chalky stone (ichitywa).
The ochre was obtained from well-known pits and river banks, which, though of
fairly frequent occurrence throughout the country, were often some distance away
and necessitated long journeys. When European traders realized the extent of the
demand, however, they began to sell imported ochre, first at Fort Willshire and
later in the stores. This trade was extended when a government ban on digging
ochre locally was imposed. This, however, did not stop that practice, as locally dug
ochre has always been preferred for cosmetic purposes, while the imported variety
is preferred for dying clothing and painting walls.
To prepare colour from either the powdered variety or the soft stone the ochre
was rubbed into a thick solution with water, on a-flat stone. According to the
Dictionary the clay (imbola) was burnt first. This may refer to the yellow or brown
variety, which would turn red with baking.
According to Alberti and J. H. Soga, two of the most reliable authors for
Xhosa, the method of application was first to cover the whole skin with the paint
and allow it to dry, then dust off the surface and apply fat all over. Another method
was to mix the fat with the ochre solution. This gave the skin a reddish shine,
considered very becoming, and was repeated every two or three days. It is evident,
however, that to get the flat coloured designs seen nowadays on the face, and
presumably formerly as well, the colour must be used with little or no grease.
According to De Lange grease was put on first. There is frequent mention of mixing
with the ochre or grease the juice or powdered leaves of fragrant plants, so as to
perfume the body.
People helped each other in applying the colour, but an uncircumcised boy or
unmarried man might not get anyone but his mother to help him.
Grease was used throughout by all, but colour was often and still is invested
with a certain significance depending on the circumstances, and was therefore
subject to convention. White clay was used for ritual purposes or unusual states,
for.example on a new-born baby and on abakhwetha, or on children and youngsters
to promote health. In the west, red too was mandatory for certain states of life,
for example abakhwetha on their return from the initiation lodge, or a bride until
the birth of her first child. In Swellengrebel’s account (Hallema 1932), illustrated
by Schumacher’s drawing of ‘Een Caffers Captein’, Xhosa warriors had a specific
pattern in red on the face when they were intent on fighting.
For other occasions colours were used mainly by young people and by women.
Several shades might be used for ornament, and patterns made. So important was
it to women that they took a supply when on a journey, so as to be able to renew
the decoration. Children used colours too, and occasionally the older men, but not
710 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
often. The fashion evidently differed from group to group, even with the same
tribe, and no doubt formerly different basic styles belonged to different tribes, but
evidence of this is lacking.
De Lange records the use by the Xhosa of two plants that are dried and mixed
with water to a yellow paste and applied to the face. These are isibindi, a fungus,
and impondulu. Both have therapeutic value.
Three authors mention the use of another substance, besides ochre, with
grease for the hair or body. Lichtenstein and King called it ‘mica’, which King says
was found washed out in gullies after rain. Kay, speaking of the Mpondo, called
it ‘sibilo’, and he may well have been right. ‘Sibilo’, as described by early travellers
among the Tswana, was specularite, an iron ore with a spendent metallic lustre,
much used in the hair by Tswana. The substance seems to have been traded by the
Tswana far and wide, and it is not unlikely that this is another instance of trade
between the Cape Nguni and the north. On the other hand large deposits of mica
are found in Pondoland and Kay may have known the Tswana custom, and called
the mica ‘sibilo’ by analogy.
The use of grease and ochre is much the same today, among those who are
not wearing western dress (for a specialist account of the use of cosmetics by the
Xhosa see De Lange 1963). For purely decorative use it is, like beads, much subject
to fashion.
The Xhosa and the Mpondomise and others in the west still use ochre. Women
and young men use it all over the body for well-dressed occasions, and women and
girls use it just on the face for everyday wear (PI. 109: 1). According to Makalima
it was only women who painted the face. According to Broster, the colours used
among the Thembu were dictated by the age group of the wearer. This is not
recorded elsewhere.
In Pondoland the use of red ochre varies according to the district; it was
generally abandoned by adults at the beginning of the twentieth century, in
mourning for the respective chiefs. In many districts it has not been resumed, and
in some is only used by unmarried girls (see p. 558).
In East Griqualand ochre is used only on hair and face, and only by women.
Grease is still generally used on the skin, and, as elsewhere, in addition to the
fats mentioned, vaseline is popular nowadays.
PLATE 109
Ochre, toilet-box, whisks, tally and bag.
. Bomvana woman applying ochre to her face; Elhotdale, 1948.
. Tortoise-shell toilet-box, 230 mm, ?Xhosa; no locality, no date (identical with pictures and
descriptions of Xhosa toilet-boxes of nineteenth century) (SAM-—5104).
. Whisk, handle 753 mm, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1937 (SAM-—5854).
. ltshoba, whisk, no scale, Bhaca; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
. itshoba, 950 mm, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1935 (TM 35/406).
. Tally, 73 mm; Cathcart, no date (Alb. H85).
. inxili, 248 mm, Fingo; Butterworth, 1926 (SAM-4451).
NR
SOD nN BH YW
4a
glee
ans Sites) BPP “e ,
Juvere WS Xhosa, Thembu: burial
‘But by the Amakosae and Amatembu, &c., a distinct enclosure is not un-
frequently made for the purpose; and after the place of sepulture has been covered
up, two or three persons who have been employed as sextons are then appointed
to keep and see that it is not disturbed either by man or beast. A certain number
of cattle are now placed upon it; to the benefit of which these men are exclusively
entitled.’
pp. 211-212 Cape Nguni: cairns
‘In various parts of Caffraria, and, according to the accounts given by the
Amafengu, in the still more distant regions likewise, are found large stone heaps;
to which the natives attach a kind of sacred character, and which by the Kaffers
are called the issivivani. They consist simply of round piles of small stones, thrown
loosely together, and are generally met with on the sides or upon the summits of
mountains. Their size, of course, varies according to circumstances; but their form
is always the same, obviously unstudied and devoid of all art. They are invariably
erected within a few paces of the path. Every passenger regards it as a duty
incumbent upon him to add another stone to the number, or otherwise a green
branch. . . . While engaged in this act, he prays that his journey may be pros-
perous;... . This constitutes the great object of his petition; in concluding which
he spits upon the article held in his hand, casts it upon the heap, and then proceeds.’
p. 345 Mpondo: burial
‘On looking around, my curiosity was excited by a hut in ruins; and I was
induced to inquire why thorns and branches, &c., were laid in such order about
its fallen roof; upon which, they told us that it was the dwelling of their Captain’s
late wife, and now her grave. Being a woman of rank, she had been allowed to die
in her habitation: a hole was then dug in the centre of the floor to receive her corpse,
and after carefully burying her, they had cut away the pillars and foundation of the
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 763
house, and thrown down the whole to decay upon the spot on which her hands had
placed them. No one dared to take a stick or a twig from this pile for any purpose
whatever.’
1826-32 Shrewsbury (1869) pp. 234, 325-326, 384 Xhosa: beliefs, burial
p. 234 Xhosa: beliefs
(1826) ‘It is a remarkable fact that amongst this people there is not a single
vestige of idolatry nor any recollections of idolatry having ever been known
amongst them... .’
pp. 325-326 Xhosa: burial
(1829) Nothing more.
p. 384 Xhosa: burial
(1832) ‘Interment of the deceased is becoming much more frequent through-
out the land.’
(1829) Rose p. 147 Xhosa: cairns
“We remarked on the banks of the Kei River, some of those heaps of stones
which are to be met with on the hills near the Fish River, and which are generally
said to be thus marked by the Kaffers, as the spots where European soldiers were
killed. I inquired particularly regarding them, and was informed by our guides, that
when a Kaffer felt weary, he had but to add a stone to the heap to regain fresh
vigour. I asked how the first stone came there; and only heard that their fathers
and their grandfathers had done it, and they did it. These heaps are by the Kaffers
called Vivani.’
1829 Bain p. 99 Bomvana or Thembu: burial
‘Busac amused me on our way to Se’kies with an account of the Caffre manner
of burying the dead, which is simply by divesting the corpse of everything in the
shape of clothing or ornaments and dragging it into the fields, where it is instantly
devoured by the vultures and beasts of prey. Their Chiefs are, however, honored
with a grave in or near the cattle craal where they are buried with all their favourite
ornaments about them. Should the grave be opened and the latter abstracted by
any sacrilegious thief, their soothsayers are consulted... .”
1830 Anon. (1829) p. 440 Xhosa: burial
Nothing more.
fm is51—2 Smith pp. 109, 120, 121, 123 Cape Nguni: burial, cairns
p. 109 Mpondo: accession of great wife
‘When the Amaponda king makes his principal wife (the mother of the
successor) great he must fit up a kraal for her and supply her with cattle, etc. On
that occasion it is customary to kill some person of importance, perhaps a chief (the
principal object is to get his cattle though other reasons are assigned to give to the
wife). The head of the person killed must be placed at the chief’s kraal. After this
the wife goes to the house built for her by the people. When the man is decapitated
the cattle are carried off and given to her.’
764 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 120 Xhosa: burial
Nothing more.
p. 121 Mpondo: cairns
‘Heaps of stones. Travellers take one up and throw it on heap and say: ““You
must make me strong that I may walk well and quick.”’ They spit on the stone before
throwing it on the heap. The old people say they have seen this since children but
know nothing more of them.’
p. 123 Thembu: burial
“Three Tambokies were killed by thunder; in the afternoon of one day and next
day they buried them. . . . They bury everything that has been killed by thunder.’
(1832a) Anon. p. 147 ‘Caffre’: cupping, burial
p. 147 ‘Caffre’: cupping
‘In some inflammatory cases, however, they had a more rational method of
cure, by cupping the patient, and in others by the use of simples; but even then
the effects were attributed to the power of the magician.’
p. 147 ‘Caffre’: burial
Nothing more.
(1832b) Anon. p. 146 Cape Nguni: cairns
Nothing more.
1832 Ayliff pp. 753-754 Xhosa: divining calabash
‘As the chief man of the two had a calabash in his hand, we inquired, ““What
is that in your hand?”’. . . . “What use do you make of it?” “O, it is a thing which
speaks truth.”. . . . ““When I am called to find out who has bewitched the sick
person, I pour water into it through this hole:” pointing to a hole in the bottom
of the calabash. ‘Then I hang it up in the house while I dance; after dancing I take
it in my hand, turn it over and hold it up, and call over names, and when I call the
name of the person who has bewitched the sick, the water runs out of these holes:”’
pointing to four or five holes in the top of the calabash; ‘‘and thus we find out the
MSMMONEs ms a
1832 Boyce p. 663 Tembu, Mpondo: skull vessel
‘A male child has been born to Faku lately, which... is. . . the heir to its
father. According to custom which has prevailed from time immemorial among the
Amapondas and Amatembu, it was deemed necessary for a great Chief of a
particular family, in which the honour is hereditary, to be put to death, so that his
head might be used as a vessel to hold a decoction of roots, with which the new-born
child was to be washed: this charm will, they imagine, prevent Faku’s family from
becoming extinct.’
1833 Fritsch, Hoffmann & Bonatz (1834) p. 58 Thembu: child’s, other,
burials
‘We were surprised to find him digging his own child’s grave, for their custom
is to place a dead infant in an ant’s nest, near which the mother must sit three days.
An old Tambookie woman died, and we were pleased to observe. . . that a
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 765
grave was prepared for her; but it was left to hired Bushmen to carry her out of
the house to be interred.’
(1833) Morgan, N. pp. 35, 38, 42, 43 Xhosa: medical, religious practices
De 35) Xhosa: cupping
‘In their treatment of disease no regard appears to be paid to the character
of the complaint; the treatment is generally loss of blood by a rough sort of
operation, consisting of scarifying and drawing blood after the manner of cupping
amongst us.’
p. 38 Xhosa: circumcision tool
‘When they have fixed upon a time to perform this operation which does not
appear to be done at any particular age, all the children are assembled together,
and it is done by the principal person of the kraal. The operation is performed
invariably with a sharp stone, and forcibly brings to mind Exodus iv. 25: nor is it,
as generally supposed, always performed about the time of puberty, for, as there
are various privileges to which the children are entitled after the operation, which
they cannot have until then, their parents, to qualify-them, frequently perform it
at a very early age. I have seen many that had not arrived at six years of age, who
had been long circumcised.’
p. 42 Xhosa: cairns
Nothing more.
p. 42 Xhosa: euphorbia trees
‘When a woman has twins two euphorbium trees are planted before the hut,
and by the growth of them they pretend to know whether the children will both
live or die; for if one or both the trees should perish so they say will happen to the
twins.’
p. 43 Xhosa: burial
‘On the death of a Chief or any of his family, the like custom is observed by
all who were under his rule. The burying place of the Chief or his family is in the
cattle kraal;* that of the common people is in the holes formed by the ant bear or
other wild animals, which they fill up with stones or dirt.’
(Note *:) ‘When the chief is buried the cattle kraal is filled up with bushes, and
the huts are all deserted. An extent of country is marked out, over which no person
must pass or cattle graze. A breach of this rule is punished with confiscation of
property, and if committed by a stranger the punishment is slavery. A certain
number of cattle—bulls, cows, and calves—is turned out on this land, and they
are ever after held sacred; they cannot be killed or even milked, but live on this
spot, herded by people set apart for the purpose. When the grass has grown over
the grave the land is relieved from this taboo, but the cattle are still held devoted,
and they die and rot on the spot, no part of them being taken or applied to any
use whatever.’
1834 Bonatz (1834b) p. 404 Thembu, Xhosa: no burial
‘The custom of leaving the dead unburied is, to the last degree, revolting to
the Christian mind. As soon as the sorcerers declare the patient to be past recovery,
766 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
he is laid upon a skin, carried out into the field, and left there to die; nor do the
relatives visit the place, till they have reason to believe, that the corpse has become
the prey of wolves and vultures. It often happens, that the patient thus doomed
to death recovers, returns home, and lives many years. We have found it a work
of great difficulty, to induce these superstitious people to bury their dead. For a
considerable time, our Hottentots performed this service for them; but, at length,
we found it necessary to insist upon their undertaking it themselves. Sometimes
I assisted them myself, in the labour of digging a grave.’
1835 Alexander (1837) 1 pp. 401, 402; 2 p. 105 Xhosa: lancet, cupping horn,
cairns, grave
1 pp. 401, 402 Xhosa: lancet, cupping horn, cairns
Nothing more.
74 ix. MUS Xhosa: grave
‘The Officers walked about the country within two or three miles of the camp;
and a small party of us one day visited the lately deserted kraal of Hintza, lower
down the river. We found there the grave of one of his daughters, roofed over with
boughs, and plastered with clay.’
(1836) Martin pp. 149, 168-169 Thembu, Xhosa: burial
Quoting Bonatz (18345).
1820-56 Shaw, W. (1860) pp. 429-430 Xhosa: chief’s grave
‘The great Chief Dhlambi died in February, 1828. . . according to the custom
in such cases, “‘the hut in which Dhlambi died was closed, never to be inhabited
again.’’ A grave was dug, in which he was buried, and a circular enclosure, or
cattle-fold, was formed over and around the spot where the grave was situate. In
this fold were placed ten oxen, besides a number of milch cows, which stood at
nights therein, and thus obliterated all trace of the grave itself. .. . A watchman
of the grave according to usual custom had been appointed. He had sole charge
of the cattle, and milked the cows for his support, other food being sent to him for
use from time to time. He remained in charge for about a year; and then the cattle
were removed to the ordinary cattlefold, while the watchman was at liberty to
return to his own dwelling; but from that time these cattle were considered as
‘““devoted;”’ and they were not allowed to be killed and eaten, unless, in some time
of sickness or calamity, the wise man or Priest consulted directed one of them to
be slaughtered as an offering to the umshologu of the departed Chief.’
1839 Backhouse (1844) p. 231 Xhosa: cairns
Nothing more.
1839 Hallbeck p. 260 Fingo: burial
‘The Fingoos depart from Caffre usage in another particular, — that they bury
their dead, instead of leaving them to be devoured by wild beasts. Such, at least,
has been their practice since their settling within the bounds of the colony;... .’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 767
1836-44 Dohne (1844) pp. 22—23 Xhosa: euphorbia trees, burial
pr22 Xhosa: euphorbia trees
‘Bei der Geburt von Zwillingen muss der Mann ausserdem noch ein Stuck von
dem Blatte eines Milchbaumes (der wilden Aloe) holen, (welches, wenn es in die
Erde gesteckt wird, bald ausschlagt und in Zeit von 9 Monaten gegen 4 Fuss hoch
wachst,) und es an die Siidseite des Hauses, in welchem die Zwillinge geboren
worden sind, pflanzen. Hat die Pflanze die angegebende Hohe erreicht, so wird sie
ausgegraben, und mit ihrer Milch werden die Zwillinge gewaschen und alsdann in
Wasser gebadet. Den Grund aber, warum dies geschehen soll, wissen die
Eingebornen selbst nicht mehr anzugeben.’
p23 Xhosa: burial
Nothing more.
1842-7 Ward (1848) p. 138 ‘Kaffir’: burial
Nothing more.
1848 Anon. p. 40 Xhosa: lightning
‘Es hatte in dieser Woche auf einem benachbarten Kraale eingeschlagen, ein
Haus war durch den Blitz in Brand gerathen und ein Ochse getddtet worden. Die
Bewohner des Kraals riefen nun eine alten Zauberin herbei, ein Ochse wurde nach
Kaffergesetz geschlachtet und als Opfer verbrannt, um den Himmel zu versohnen
und den Platz vor fernerer Gefahr zu sichern. Der Kraal selbst aber is ein wenig
weiter weggezogen, da die Leute dem alten Platz nun doch nicht mehr trauen.’
1851 Baines (1842-53) 2 p. 207 Xhosa: charm
‘One of Umlangenie’s charmed sticks, about the thickness of a quill and two
feet long, was tied to his assagais, but he stoutly denied having had dealings with
the impostor.*”’ (Note 39:) ‘Umlanjeni. . . was a wizard. . . . He was said to give
“charm sticks” to warriors which would make them immune to musket balls.’
1851-2 King (1853) p. 186 ‘Kaffir’: cairn
Nothing more.
(1853) Fleming pp. 112-113 Xhosa: cairn
Nothing more.
(1856) Fleming pp. 228-229, 276 Xhosa: cupping, divining
pp. 228-229 Xhosa: cupping
‘For instance, their mode of cupping is simple but very efficacious, and they
very judiciously use it as a remedy. It may be described as follows:—
They first raise the skin with the point of a bodkin, or “‘kaross needle,” at the
spot where they wish to operate. They then, with a very sharp knife, make an
incision in the flesh at each side of the needle, about half an inch long: . . . between
these they apply the end of a cow’s horn, and by pressing it firmly against the part,
and sucking through a little hole made in the point of the horn, they thus succeed
in drawing in the flesh, and forcing out the blood more effectually and profusely
than a European surgeon does by his regular cupping glass and lancets.’
768 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 276 Xhosa: divining rods
‘A solemn silence then ensues, during which the “doctor”’ rests himself, and
then proceeds with a bundle of divining rods in his hand, to walk round throughout
the assembly. As he approaches the chief, he watches the rods in his hand, and
dexterously makes one of them move, or leap out, from amongst the rest. He then
singles out this rod, and throws the others into the fire, and being rubbed with a
kind of inflamable matter, they there crackle and blaze brightly, thus demonstra-
ting to the Kaffirs that they are charged with supernatural powers; with the
remaining one he then proceeds through the assembly again, and this time, he
makes it vibrate, not only when opposite the Chief, but also when in front of the
victim whom he is about to single out.’
1856 Kropf p. 33 Xhosa: bier
‘Dann und wann sahen wir 4 bis 6 der altesten Manner kommen, die jungen
Leute blieben weg. Nach vielem Hin- und Herfragen hérten wir denn, weshalb sie
nicht zur Kirche kamen. Sie sagten, sie furchteten sich, in die Kirche zu kommen,
weil dort tiber ihren K6pfen die Todtenbahre liege.’ (Note: “Die Kaffern lassen
nach dem Begraben ihrer Todten die als Bahre gebrauchten Stangen auf dem
Grabe liegen und dort verfaulen. Niemand wiirde je dieselben wieder anrihren.’ )
‘Wir suchten sie zu uberzeugen, dass Ihnen dies Stuck Holz nicht schaden
Kkonne 3,
(1858) Maclean pp. 50, 92—93 Xhosa, Thembu: ubulunga
p. 50 Xhosa, Thembu: ubulunga
‘The presents of the father of the bride to his son-in-law are produced. These
are, one head of cattle for a kaross, another, the hair of the tail of which is to be
worn round his neck as a charm,... .’
pp. 92-93 Xhosa, Thembu: ubulunga
(Contribution by J. C. Warner:) “These are the two great domestic super-
stitions, which are universally practised by the Kafirs as preventives, antidotes, and
charms against all kinds of evils. The “‘isiko lobulunga’”’ consists in tying the long
hair drawn from the tail of a cow or ox round the neck of the individual, for whose
benefit the rite is performed. Each family has certain cattle set apart for this
purpose, and which are, to a certain extent, considered sacred; they cannot for
instance be sold or given away; nor even lent to a person not related by blood to
the family to which they belong.
The age at which this rite is performed appears to be immaterial; it is, however,
generally performed on infants when they are about six months old. The father
invites all his friends and neighbours, and for whom a feast is provided. He then
proceeds to the cattle fold, selects a beast from among those set apart for this
purpose, pulls a quantity of long hair from its tail, and presents it to the mother,
who, after twisting it into certain fanciful shapes, ties it round the child’s neck.’
1861 Kuhn p. 159 Fingo: tooth extraction
‘Sie verwundern sich dann meistens, dass der Zahn so schnell heraus ist; so,
Sagen sie, sei es bei ihnen sonst nicht gewesen. Ich liess mir daher erzahlen in
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 769
welcher Weise sie es damit sonst zu halten pflegten. Sie haben ein eigenthumliches
Instrument, Isilanda genannt, welches jeder Kaffer stets bei sich fuhrt, einer sehr
dicken Stricknadel ahnlich, etwas kiirzer, an einem Ende scharf zugespitzt, am
andern Ende gerippt, um etwas festfassen zu k6nnen. Gewohnlich werden damit
eingetretene Dornen aus den Fusssohlen geholt, was an einem Tage mehr als
einmal geschehen kann und worin sie eine grosse Uebung und Geschicklichkeit
haben. . . . Mit dieser Nadel wird denn auch der Zahn herausgeholt, erst alles
Zahnfleisch abgetrennt und dann durch Bohren in der Zahnhohle der Zahn locker
gemacht, bis er los genug ist, um entfernt zu werden. Diese Operation dauert
gemeiniglich wenigstens einen halben Tag und sie sagen selbst davon, es sei “eine
Morderei’”’ Kukubulawa. Kein Wunder also, dass sie bei unsrer Manier des
Zahnausnehmens den Kopf hinhalten und keine Miene verziehen.’
1860-6 Wilson, E. (1866) p. 169 Sotho (‘Macatees’): divining bones
“The medicines and charms are carried in a bag made of the skin of the dekker
(a wild buck). The former is composed of herbs of their own selection and a wooden
jar of sheeps’ fat; the latter are made of a lot of portions of bones or horns, tied
together in the form of a circle, and to which is attached by a piece of string a flat
bone, marked on both sides after the manner of dice. On first entering a hut where
the patient lives, they toss these charms in the air, the dice-marked bone, indicating
the state of the patient’s health.’
1863-6 Fritsch, G. (1872) pp. 104-105, 108 Xhosa: divination, ubulunga
pp. 104-105 Xhosa: divining bones
*. . .Prophezeiungen. . . und man bedient sich dabei einer Art Zauberwurfel,
wie sie auch andre Volker in ahnlicher Weise benutzen. Dieselben bestehen als
Regel aus den kleineren Carpal- oder Tarsal-Knochen vierfissiger Thiere, unter-
mischt mit Hornplattchen, denen einige Zickzacklinien eingegraben sind; so finden
sich dieselben in den Handen der gewohnlichen Leute, wahrend bei dem Doctor
zur Erhohung der Andacht noch einige Thierschadel mit fletschenden Gebissen,
Schlangenhaute und ahnliche Gegenstande figuriren miissen.
Der gemeine Man tragt seine -Tollus- in einem ledernen Beutelchen bei sich
und befragt dieselben mit grosser Zuversicht, wenn er irgend eine Auskunft
wunscht: Wo seine Gefahrten bleiben? wohin sich das Vieh verlaufen hat? welche
Richtung die giinstigste ist, um Wasser zu finden? u.s.w., indem er nach der
Stellung der einzelnen, unter bestimmten Ceremonien an die Erde geworfenen
Stucke seine Entscheidung trifft.’
p. 108 Xhosa: ubulunga
Nothing more.
1858—89 Stanford 1 p. 5 Gaika: charms
‘It was Makana who promised victory to the Gaika tribes in 1819; it was
Umlanjeni in 1850 who furnished the warriors with little sticks® which were to be
pointed at the white men with a shout of ‘“‘Bolowana”’ and the effect would be that
the bullets from the rifles of the white men would be turned to water.’
770 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(Editor’s note 6:) ‘Sticks of Plumbago capensis (A. Kropf & R. Godfrey, Kafir
English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Lovedale, 1915).’
1845-89 Kropf (1889a) pp. 122-123, 194-195 Xhosa: euphorbia trees,
charms, divining bones
pp. 122-123 Xhosa: euphorbia trees
(Taken from Dohne 1844: 22:) ‘Von Zwillingen, die nicht immer als etwas
Unnatirliches angesehen werden, wurde manchmal einer zum Wohle desandern,
manchmal beide zum Wohle der Familie getotet. Geschieht es nicht, so hat der
Vater ein Blatt des Milchbaums (Euphorbia candelabrum) zu nehmen (das in die
Erde gepflanzt in neun Monaten etwa vier Fuss hoch wachst) und es an die Siidseite
des Hauses, in dem die Zwillinge geboren wurden, zu pflanzen. Hat es die
an gegebene Hohe erreicht, so wird die Pflanze ausgegraben und mit ihrer
scharfen Milch die Zwillinge gewaschen und dann in Wasser gebadet. Zwei solcher
Euphorbien nebeneinander stehend, zeigen an, wo Zwillinge geboren und getotet
worden sind. Gewohnlich werden Zwillinge nicht getotet,... .’
pp. 194-195 Xhosa: charms
‘Er bereitet Mittel, um den Hexen keinen Einfluss zu gestatten, weiss sich
durch seine Mittel die Gunst des Hauptlings und seiner Rate zu verschaffen, Blitz,
Hagel, Rost im Korn, Krankheit abzuhalten, und jegliches Vorhaben glucklich
auszufuhren. Diese Mittel, die mit Ausnahme der von Dieben gebrauchten
meistens harmlos sind, werden 6ffentlich angewendet und gesetzlich gebilligt. Zu
diesen gehort indawule, die Zahne des Leoparden, aufgereiht mit Perlen und
Stiickchen aromatischer Wurzel einer Binsenart. Dieses Halsband wird teuer
bezahlt, um den Hals getragen, verheisst es den Schwangeren eine gliickliche
Geburt und bewahrt die Madchen vor Ungliick. Die Kaffern glauben, dass der itola
durch dies indawule, wenn er es besprochen, aus seinen Bewegungen weissagen
konne. [kubalo, ein Stick Wurzel, besprochen von ihm, und dann in das Kleid
eingenaht, bewahrt vor Ungliick, und Amulette, von ihm geweiht, koOnnen den
Dieb frei machen.’
1845-89 Kropf (18895) p. 63 ‘Kaffir’: divining bones
‘Die Medizinmanner erfreuen sich trotz ihres meist zweideutigen Benehmens
allerorts der héchsten Achtung; ihr Hokuspokus, ihr Hantiren mit den beruch-
tigten Zauberwirfeln aus den Knochen von zehn verschiedenen Thieren wird stets
als gottliches Thun betrachtet... .’
1868 Anon. (1869) pp. 317-318 ?Xhosa: khwetha ceremony
‘In der alten Behausung waren alle alten Gegenstande als: Felle, Schusseln,
Becher, St6cke, Pfeifen, Tanzputz etc. etc. aufgeschichtet, aides heucts
harrend... . Dann empfing jeder einen neuen, mit Fett stark eimgeriebenen
Stock, welcher Wunderkraft besitzt, und oft erst mit dem Greise ins Grab wandert.
. . . Jetzt wurde das alte Haus mit sammtlichen Inhalt in Flammen gesetzt, und
jeder Anwesende schrie aus voller Kehle: Das alte Haus brennt!’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI PTA
1869 Anon. (1868) p. 506 Fingo: doctor’s paraphernalia
‘The missionary subsequently saw a part of the Fingoo’s stock of wonder-
working remedies, which he exhibited with no little self-importance. Besides a few
pieces of roots and barks, and some styptics, the skin bag, which he opened,
contained several strange objects, mostly wrapped in dirty rags. Among these were
a baboon’s skull, a piece of serpent’s skin, a fragment of crocodile’s hide, the claws
of an earth-hog, some powders, burned to coal, and preserved in small goat’s-
horns, small skins of the animal which is called the mouse-dog, fragments of
pottery, glass beads, etc. etc.’
1871 Meyer p. 514 Hlubi: war medicines
Nothing more.
1874-8 Cunynghame (1880) pp. 134-135 ‘Kafir’: fertility doll
‘At Kafir marriages a very curious doll is used. It is made of a wooden cylinder
about a foot long and four inches in diameter and covered over with beads.
Representations in coloured beads are made of the eyes, nose, mouth, & hair, &
little arms and legs are attached. Some of these dolls are reputed to bring good luck
to the marriages where they are used, and some bad. If a doll is fortunate it is worth
many head of cattle;... .’
1877-8 Norbury (1880) pp. 42, 140 Cape Nguni: cairns, charms
p. 42 Cape Nguni: cairns
‘In journeying about the Transkei, one occasionally encounters a pile of small
stones near the footpaths, which have their origin in the following custom:—
Should a Kafir be going in search of a wife who has decamped, . . . or should he
be engaged in any similar pursuit, he throws a stone on the heap, saying, as he does
so, “May I have luck.”’ The auspicious spots where these piles have accumulated
have been primarily discovered and marked by the witch doctors.’
p. 140 Xhosa: charms
“The warriors had all been “doctored” before the fight; they had the usual war
charms round the neck, and the paint on the forehead. I took off one of these
charms, consisting of two short pieces of wood fastened round the neck with a
string: the wearer had evidently felt his courage flagging, for he had made two deep
bites into the wood. Gneto, Kreli’s witch doctor, a man of immense influence
among the Galekas, was said to have sold 3000 of these charms during the week
preceding this engagement, the price being about a shilling each.’
1877-9 Ex C.M.R. (1881) p. 98 Xhosa: charms
‘She [the witch doctor] also doctored the army, giving each man a piece of hair
string, with some bits of wood attached, to hang round their necks, as a charm
against the bullet of the white man.’
1875—87 MacDonald (1890a) pp. 132, 189, Cape Nguni: practices
208, 216-217
p32 Cape Nguni: euphorbia trees
Nothing more.
T72 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 189 Mpondo: first fruits, charms
‘Among the Pondos nothing of the new crop may be eaten till after the chief
has held the feast of first fruits. When sowing seed it is mixed with bits of snake
skin, and also small pieces of the skin of the ant bear are added. Along the coast
there is a practice of scattering fine black sea sand, and the powdered root of a
certain plant, over the outskirts of the fields. This is to avoid blight and hail.’
p. 208 Cape Nguni: cairns
Nothing more.
p. 208 Cape Nguni: horns on hut
‘There are no human sacrifices offered by South African natives, nor have I
found very distinct traces of fetish. The nearest approach to it I have observed is
a custom in regard to the skull and horns of the animal sacrificed in case of death
by lightning. These are placed in the roof of the hut, and must not be touched by
any human hand, except by the magician. There they remain for years as an object
of veneration and quasi-worship’
pp. 216-217 Cape Nguni: sacred fire-sticks
‘When the native Africans use special fire, either in connection with sacrifice
or the festival of first-fruits, it is produced by a doctor, and in.the following
manner:— Two sticks, made of the Uzwati tree, and called the “husband and
wife’, are given to him by the chief. These sticks are prepared by the magicians,
and are the exclusive property of the chief, the “‘wife’’ being the shorter of the two.
The doctor . . . proceeds to kindle fire in the usual manner, . . . . The sticks are’
handed back to the chief by the doctor—no other hand must touch them—and
put away till they are required next season. They are regarded as in a measure
sacred, and no one, except the chief’s personal servant, may go to the side of the
hut where they are kept. After being repeatedly used for fire-making, the doctor
disposes of what remains, and new ones are made and consecrated by the
magician.’
1875-87 MacDonald (18905) pp. 274, 275, 285, 293 Cape Nguni: medical,
religious practices
p. 274 Cape Nguni: cupping
‘After the patient has been examined, the following may be taken as a
characteristic method of treatment. A small portion of the skin, generally behind
the left shoulder, is rubbed by a stone or other rough substance, till slightly
abraded, but not bleeding. Then a prepared horn is applied, the magician sucking
the smaller end, and forming a partial vacuum under it. The abraded surface bleeds
slightly, and on removing the horn, he searches, or pretends to search the accumu-
lated blood, and presently starts to his feet with an ant, beetle, or other insect in
his hand, exclaiming, ‘There is the disease for you; it is now extracted; the patient
shall do well.’’’
pais Cape Nguni: burial
‘Formerly it was customary to bury chiefs only, now sepulture is universal,
except in cases of death by lightning and certain other accidents.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI HIS
p28) Cape Nguni: skull as vessel
‘The war doctor may order any noted enemy slain to be decapitated. After this
the head is boiled and the roof of the cleaned skull made into a bowl for holding
the charming medicine with which he sprinkles the soldiers. War medicine from
such a vessel is supposed to have special virtue, and to convey to others something
of the spirit and prowess of the original owner of the novel cup.’
Pp 293 Cape Nguni: sticks in divination
‘By-and-bye the doctor appears, sits down at a little distance, and takes a pinch
of snuff. If the visitors ask for tobacco, he knows it is but a casual call and he enters
into ordinary conversation. If they do not ask, he, scenting a case, goes into the
house and brings out a dry hide and some sticks. These he throws down before his
visitors and says, ‘““You have come about a child.”’ And they, beating softly on the
hide with the sticks, reply in a low voice, ‘““We agree.”’ The doctor proceeds, “You
have come about a woman.” The gentle beating is continued, and the same reply
is made as before. The next remark is, ‘“The man you have come about is very ill.”
They beating loudly, reply as before, twice repeated. On such lines our friend
proceeds. ...’
(1883) Cape of Good Hope Appendix I pp. 407-409 §Mpondomise: practices
p. 407 Mpondomise: boys’ initiation
‘When a number of boys are to be circumcised. . . . A hut anda kraal are built
for them ata distance. . . . The boys remain at their kraal. . . for a period of three
or four months, and when they are perfectly healed. . . their hut and kraal are put
in flames, and the boys rush with all their speed to the nearest and appointed drift
of a River . . . and wash themselves in it.’
p. 408 Mpondomise: girls’ initiation
‘The “‘Intonjane”’ (rite of undergoing the age of Puberty) is a custom that has
also been in existence from time immemorial. When any woman reaches this age
a hut is selected and a partition of mats made, behind which this girl lies or sits
concealed. . . . Aftera month or two perhaps the parents of this girl. . . give notice
that . . . the “Intonjane” must go out as it is called.’
p. 409 Mpondomise: ubulunga
(At the marriage of a chief’s daughter:) ‘. . . the party sets off for the kraal
of the young man, driving four or five head of cattle, and when they arrive at the
kraal one of the cattle is killed and the remainder are left as the “Ubulunga”’ cattle,
from which cattle she generally plucks hair from the brush, and she wears that as
a charm against all misfortunes that may happen to her person.’
(1887) Matthiae p. 19 Xhosa: burial
Nothing more.
(1894) Ratzel 2 p. 43 figure ‘Kaffir’: divining bones
Nothing more.
1895 Smith p. 81 Xhosa: herb for wounds
‘Helichrysum pedunculare, D.C.—Kaffir, isi-Cwe
The Kaffir abakweta, youths undergoing circumcision, use the leaves of
774 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
isi-cwe. This plant is believed to have the power to keep down dangerous
inflammations. The woolly underside of the leaf is put next a wound.’
(1902) Fletcher p. 1041 ‘Kaffir’: burial
‘Whenever a chief of standing dies, his death is immediately reported to the
councillors . . . four or five men of good family are selected by them to bear the
corpse from the hut, the body being wrapped up or rolled in a mat lengthwise,
together with the blankets used by the deceased previous to his death. It is then
cartiedainto:the cattle knaal. 2.4...
(1903) Bartels p. 339 Xhosa: divining bones
‘Mit dieser Angabe, dass den Kaffervélkern dieser Wirfelzauber urspringlich
unbekannt und erst von den Basutho importiert worden sei, stimmen zwei Tat-
sachen sehr gut zusammen. Die eine ist, dass in dem grossen Werke von Peter Kolb
‘““Naaukeurige en uitvoerige Beschryving van de Kaap de goode Hoop (Am-
sterdam 1727)”, welches die Sitten und Gebrauche der Eingeborenen auf das
Ausfuhrlichste behandelt, an keiner einzigen Stelle der Wurfelzauber erwahnt
worden ist. Wahrscheinlich ist er in damaliger Zeit im Kaplande noch nicht
bekannt gewesen. Weniger zu vereinbaren ist es mit der oben wiedergegebenen
Angabe von Fritsch, dass der Missionar Kropf, welcher 40 Jahre unter den Xosa-
Kaffern gelebt hat, und der ein Buch tber dieselben herausgab, trotz einer aus-
fihrlichen Besprechung ihrer Zaubergebrauche doch nirgends etwas uber den |
Wiirfelzauber berichtet.’
(1906) Hewatt pp. 48, 91 Cape Nguni: cupping horn, lancet
p. 48 Cape Nguni: cupping horn, lancet
‘A cupping instrument called “‘Luneka”’ and needles “‘Izinthlum” are used by
the Kaffir Surgeon for acupuncture and bleeding as in snake bite, pleurisy etc.’
pat Cape Nguni: cupping horn
‘A native cupping glass ‘““Luneka”’ (a cow’s horn open at either end, suction
by the mouth being applied at the smaller) is then thoroughly used.’
(1906) Miiller, A. p. 769 Mpondo: divining bones
‘In Pondoland werden die Knochen vor dem Wirfeln in einem kleinen Kurbis
geschiittelt und, wie vorhin beschrieben, auf den Boden geworfen. Die Lage der
Knochen gibt alsdann die Richtung an, wo irgend ein zu entdeckender Zauberer
wohnt, wo Sachen verloren gingen, oder, wenn die Knochen tber den K6rper des
Patienten springen, wo die kranke Stelle sich befindet. Eine besondere Wirkung
auf die Einbildungskraft seiner urteilsunfahigen Zuschauer erzielt der Wahrsager,
wenn er erklart, dass die Lage der Knochen ihn noch nicht befriedige, und wenn
er nun noch ein zweites und drittes Mal wirfelt. Trotzdem kommt es zuweilen vor,
dass seine Aussagen sich spater als mit den wirklichen Tatsachen in Widerspruch
stehend erweisen. Das macht aber dem Wahrsager wenig Kummer, er erklart, er
sei diesmal von den Knochen tiberwaltigt worden und wirde daher nun eine andere
Methode versuchen.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI TIS
(1914) Schweiger pp. 58-59 Xhosa, Fingo: khwetha hut
‘Es wird fiir sie eine isikweta errichtet, d.h. ein Platz mit ein oder zwei Hitten,
welcher von den Wohnungen der tibrigen Menschen etwas getrennt ist und nur den
abakweta reserviert bleibt. . . . Aufgabe der Frauen ist es, alles notige Material
herbeizuschaffen, welches zum Bauen der isikweta fiir die abakweta erforderlich
ist. Sie haben fur die Weiden, Pfosten, Balken, fiir das Deckgras, die Bindemittel
usw. zu sorgen, wahrend die Manner den Bau der Hiitten auffihren. Gewohnlich
werden zwei Hitten gebaut, die isutu und die unqu pantse. In der isutu halten sich
die abakweta auf; das Wort isutu selbst bedeutet Gesellschaft, Klub oder Kraal der
abakweta. Die kleinere, die unqu pantse, dient fiir die Aufbewahrung der Lebens-
mittel. Beide Hutten werden wie die gewOhnlichen Kaffernhiitten gebaut, mit
Ausnahme, dass der Boden nicht gestampft wird.’
(1915) Kropf p. 454 Xhosa: cairn
‘A heap of stones thrown together by travellers at certain steep and dangerous
passes on a difficult, tiring journey, a small stone being added by every passer by,
who says, Tixo ndincede, God help me; or siphe amandla, give us strength, whereby
the traveller asks for help to accomplish his enterprise or errand. Whether his
object is good or evil, whether he is going to steal his neighbour’s cattle, or to pay
a visit to his friends, or to pay his addresses to a young woman, he will use the same
form.’
(1916) Kingon p. 186 Cape Nguni: field medicine
‘They still go down and burn certain medicines, a collection of grotesque and
fanciful odds and ends, in the middle of their fields, in order to prevent their fields
being bewitched, or the worm from injuring their mealies, or the birds from eating
their Kafir corn. Each man seems to have his own special “‘medicines’’, and he relies
on these to ensure a good harvest. One may even say that in their view a good
harvest is due to the discovery of some effective ““medicine”’ rather than to proper
cultivation. But experience speaks in loud tones. Already witchcraft is practised
secretly rather than openly, and their belief in its power, while still a force to be
reckoned with, may be described as passing.’
1924 Brownlee, W. T. (1924-S) p. 115 Xhosa: ubulunga
‘A married woman is entitled to expect from her father the gift of a cow, called
“the cow of well-being’’, and from the brush of this she pulls hair and weaves herself
a necklet as a charm against illness: this cow remains her property, and is the only
property she may own unless she be a skilled herbalist and able to earn cattle for
herself.’
1924-6 Brownlee, W. T. [Part 1] p. 307; Cape Nguni: stirrer, charm
[Part 2] p. 34
[Part 1] p. 307 Xhosa: stirrer for medicine
‘This ceremony is called among the Gaikas and Gcalekas ukupehletela; other
tribes give it the name of ukupunga. In performing this ceremony the doctor
obtains certain herbs which he puts on a flat stone and pounds into a pulp with a
776 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
smaller stone. A small earthenware vessel is then half filled with cold water and
the pulp is deposited in it. A forked stick about a foot in length is taken, the forked
end is inserted in the bowl, the other end is held between the palms of the hands,
which, being rubbed together, cause the stick to revolve rapidly. The water is thus
stirred until at length white froth rises to the surface. (It must be white froth). The
future doctor is then washed with the water and the froth is poured over his head.
This ceremony of washing and dancing continues over a period of two or three
years. 4...
[Part 2] p. 34 Cape Nguni: charm
‘.. . and the bone of a porpoise boiled in the fresh milk of a cow with a
new-born calf, and placed in the gateway of the cattle-fold, will cause an abnormal
fecundity in the flocks and herds... .’
(1925) Goodwin p. 19 Mpondo: magic practices
p19 Mpondo: ubulunga
‘The father of the girl presents his bride-daughter with two or three cattle, one
of which is the ubulunga beast, a very sacred animal. Among other things this
beast’s tail hairs are hung around the mother’s neck “‘to purify the blood of her
child.” It keeps off all evil influences, and guards the child from many malevolent
things that may harm it.’
[os Mpondo: euphorbia trees
‘If twins are born much more ceremony must be gone through .. . after’
all this is over two euphorbia candelabra trees are planted behind the hut. Roots
of these trees are taken and boiled. The poor twins are then washed in this
too.’
p. 19 Mpondo: euphorbia trees, caps for twins
‘The milk of the trees is mixed with cow’s milk, and two head-dresses of grass
are made for the twins, these being painted white with the mixture. In future if
either twin gets ill, both twins are taken and washed in the shades of their respective
trees, with a decoction of the roots of the trees, lest both should die.’
(1926) Schapera pp. 123-124, 126 Xhosa, Mpondo: customs regarding twins
pp. 123-124 Xhosa: euphorbia trees
‘When twins are born, two euphorbia trees are planted behind the hut to notify
the passer-by that twins exist in that kraal. Each twin is considered the owner of
his own euphorbia. In the case of triplets three euphorbias are planted.
The growth of these euphorbias is supposed to coincide with the growth of the
twins. If the children are of the same size the trees grow to an equal height; if one
of the twins is short in stature his tree will likewise be stunted in growth. In the
Same way these trees indicate the state of health of the twins. If one of the
euphorbias withers or is in danger of dying, people infer that its owner too is ill;
and even if the owner is away from home his relatives will know that he is probably
already ill. In some instances the trees are fenced in to prevent their being bitten
by the cattle and oozing milk, in which case it is believed the twins themselves
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI Gis
would fall ill. The milk of these trees is often used as a lotion for the children,
especially in cases of illness.’
p. 126 Mpondo: euphorbia trees, head-dresses
Nothing more (from Goodwin 1925)
1926 (?Godfrey) p. 12 Xhosa: charm
‘-Cakata the Cape Honeysuckle. Pieces of the stem of this plant are woven
into a string and worn as a necklace by a woman who has a new-born child.’
(1927) Cook pp. 516-517 Bomvana: euphorbia trees
‘As soon as the second twin is born, the midwife informs the husband, who
may make no comment. He must go at once to the forest and select two small
Euphorbias of about equal size. These he brings back and plants himself on the
woman’s side of the hut (among the Bomvanas the right-hand side as you enter the
hut). The Euphorbias are planted about twelve inches from the hut wall, midway
between the door and the back. Some of the Bomvana siduko plant two aloes as
well as the Euphorbias... .
The Euphorbias, with or without the aloes, are carefully fenced and the twins
are washed inside the enclosure, in a tincture of Euphorbia root in water. For the
purpose of grinding up Euphorbia roots, a flat stone is often used, which is kept
in the enclosure and may not be used for any other purpose. The stones are never
thrown away or replaced as long as the twins and the trees survive. Some of the
siduko, however, do not use these stones.
The Euphorbias must not be injured for fear of endangering the life of the twin
to whom the tree belongs. Each twin has its own tree and in the case of triplets
three Euphorbias are planted. The identification of the particular tree of either twin
is often a matter of doubt and uncertainty. Generally the first tree planted or the
largest tree is held to belong to the elder twin. But it is often when the death of
one twin is followed (as it is universally believed will happen) by the death of one
of the trees that the association in incontrovertibly demonstrated. If a leaf of one
of these trees is injured, two white beads must be placed at the base of the tree
to ward off evil consequences. (Ama Tingata). Even when a kraal site has been
deserted the Euphorbias and their enclosing fence will be left untouched and can
frequently be seen standing intact in the midst of mealie lands.
Twins of either sex when they have grown up and left their homes will, when
sick, return long distances to wash beside their Euphorbia trees.’
1927 Anon. pp. 137-138 Cape Nguni: goat in ritual
‘The goat is par excellence the creature used in sacrifice; this explains why
goats are so universally reared and why they are kept in country that seems far
better adapted for sheep. Goats must be at hand for the native, as a goat may be
wanted suddenly for ceremonial purposes. Sacrifices play an important part in
native life, and the sacrifice of a goat is considered a necessary accompaniment of
such outstanding events as the birth of a child, the initiation into manhood and the
initiation into witch-doctorate, as well as in cases of sickness or when a kraal has
been struck by lightning.
778 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
No doubt the details differ in the different tribes, but the general procedure
is the same. The goat destined for a sacrifice must be black. The sacrificial goat,
presented at childbirth, is stabbed with an assegai behind the left shoulder; and,
when it bleats, the kraal-owner begins to “‘bonga’’, that is, he breaks forth with
exulting voice in the praises of his kraal. The creature is skinned and its jaws are
hung up on the principal rafter of the hut. Next day the relations are invited to offer
up propitiation. The meat is dished up and put on mats, but, before it is eaten,
beads are given to every person by the kraal-owner with the word ‘“‘Camagu’’. The
meat is eaten and finished that day. Next day the child is scarified on the face or
other part of the body according to the custom of the family. The skin is made into
a covering for the child, and in this covering the child lies when being carried on
its mother’s back.
When a child is sick, the goat chosen for the sacrifice is shewn to the child.
Before the goat is actually killed it is prodded with an assegai to make it bleat; the
bleating is necessary to provide a propitious omen for the recovery of the child.
The goat’s skin is worn by the sick child. A goat may also be sacrificed to ward off
death from a sick man.’
1927 Vogel, J. p. 74 Xhosa: initiation hut
Nothing more.
1928 Brownlee, F. p. 181 Fingo: screen for corpse, circumcision
p. isi Fingo: screen for corpse
‘It may here be mentioned that, in the case of a death in a hut the body is placed
on the right side of the hut next to the wall and is curtained off with a suspended
mat or blanket, so that persons entering the hut may not be rendered unclean by
their proximity to the corpse.’
Dats Fingo: spear for circumcision
‘The Surgeon, after cautious and diplomatic suggestion, showed me the lancet
with which the operation was to be performed. It was the blade of an assegai, the
shaft of which had been replaced by a wooden handle. The blade was razor sharp
and was carefully wrapped in a bandage and carried in a leathern sheath. I was told
that this instrument had been preserved from ancient times and used from year to
year as occasion required. Its well worn shape and the reverent manner in which
it was handled went to confirm the statement that it, along with the office of
Surgeon, had been handed down from father to son for many generations.’
1928 Godfrey p. 6 Thembu or Xhosa: lightning
‘Three days later I found the remains of the lightning-struck hut knocked down
and arranged in the form of a cone.’
(1929) Nauhaus, C. pp. 3-4 Xhosa: circumcision knife, initiation hut
Nothing more.
(USB) Comics joe 1 38 Xhosa: divining bones
pale Xhosa: divining bones
‘Die Xosa’s noem hulle dolosse indawule. Ons vind nérens ’n plek waar die
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 779
dolosse van die Xosa’s beskrywe is nie. By Ratzel vind ons egter ’n plaatjie van
Oc: aa
Dit is presies dieselfde voorwerpies wat ons in ’n Suid-Sotho-stel sou verwag
het. By hierdie voorwerpies kry ons ook nog astragali, ongelukkig is daar geen
nader omskrywing nie.’
p. 33 Xhosa: divining bones
‘Die feit dat die volk dieselfde dolosse het as die Basotho (Basotholand) en
dat hulle dit indawula noem, wys dat hulle dit van die Basotho oorgeneem het.
Kropf sé niks oor dolosgooiery in sy boek oor die Xosa nie, alhoewel hy hulle
waarsé-metodes breedvoerig behandel.
Merensky sé dat die dolosgooiery eintlik by die Basotho en Bechuana tuis-
hoort en dat om hierdie rede “‘Leute von diesen Stammen auch Ofter unter den
Zulu und anderen Kistenvolkern als vagabundierende Wahrsager umherziehen.”’
Dit alles wys dat die Amaxosa dit van die Basotho oorgeneem het.’
est) Cook pp. 48, 50, 52, 53, 55, 57, 63, 90, Bomvana: charms, initiation
96—98, 105, 119, 133-136
p. 48 Bomvana: ubulunga
‘After delivery the infant is washed. . . . First they let him drink from his
mother, . . . . After ten days he may drink amasi. On the day the child drinks amasi
a bulunga necklace is put round his neck.’
p. 50 Bomvana: charms
‘The Amakubalo Necklace.—In order to enable the mother to provide suf-
ficient milk she makes herself, after the birth of the child, a necklace of wooden
beads strung on bark string. These beads may number two or eight. In the old days
eight was considered the right number. These wooden beads are shaped much like
a rifle bullet and are reddish in colour from contact with the woman’s ochred body.
When eight are worn, two face front and back and two each side. When two only
are worn they face the front.
This necklace is worn until the child is weaned.’
p- 2 Bomvana: initiation hut
‘On an agreed day all the men and women of the district gather to build the
hut for the boys. The hut (itonto) is made of a wicker framework put up by the men.
The women have meanwhile gathered thatching grass and when the men have
completed their task the women thatch the hut in the same way as is done in the
construction of the Nqupantse hut.’
Bp: 53 Bomvana: khwetha kraal
‘Immediately in front of the hut door and with its gateway facing the door is
built a small cattle-kraal of Mimosa thorn bush.’
p. 55 Bomvana: circumcision knife
“The blade of the assegai is not wiped after every boy. Those who follow the
chief are thus said ukusula igazi lenkosi—to wipe the blood of the chief. . . . As
the operator works down the line a couple of men follow. They dress the wounds
780 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
with izicwe leaves (Helichrysum pedunculare) with other leaves bound over them.
Sagoni leaves are also used.’
Pp. 57 Bomvana: initiation-lodge beds
‘Life in the Itonto.— When the boys are healed they are allowed to make
themselves gonga which are rough bedsteads made of sticks. On these they sleep.
They are made ‘“‘when the fleas are bad.’’’
p. 63 Bomvana: initiation hut
‘Concluding Ceremonies.—. . . . The hutis fired. Init is burnt the old blankets,
skirts and headdresses. The boys may on no account look round at the burning hut.’
p. 90 Bomvana: burial
‘Not much time is lost in interring the body and if possible this is accomplished
before rigor mortis sets in. . . . In the case of the head of the kraal his grave is
always dug just outside the cattle-kraal gate on the left-hand side looking from
inside the kraal. . . . The grave is shaped like a round well but on one side at the
bottom a small excavation is made. This is called igumbi (corner).’
p. 96 Xhosa: cairns
‘[sivivane.—These are stone heaps made by people each throwing a stone on
a heap when they cross certain rivers. There are none in Bomvanaland. Amongst
the Gcaleka these are found at the Vulindlu forest, and Mhlaplani Gap. Men and
women as they place the stone on the heap say “Sivivane ndipe amandla’—
Sivivane give me strength.’
pp. 97-98 Bomvana: euphorbia trees |
Nothing more.
pais Bomvana: ubulunga
‘One man of the Nyauza siduko informed me that the necklaces for twin calves
must be made of hair plucked from the owner’s own ubulunga beast. If he has not
such a beast, then hair from the mother of the calves or even from another beast
is taken. He would never take hair for such a purpose from an ox nor from his wife’s
ubulunga beast.’
p. 119 Bomvana: ubulunga
‘This beast is known as the ubulunga. A girl may even receive an ubulunga
beast before marriage, but this is not common. From the tail of this beast hairs are
plucked and plaited into a necklace which keeps her healthy. If any of her children
become ill or even to foreguard against this, necklaces from this same cow are given
to them. Twins especially wear them. A woman must get a man to pluck these hairs
out of the cow’s tail as she may not do this herself. The cow is the property of the
woman’s house and is heritable only by the heirs of her house, although it is, of
course, under the control of the husband. Little boys may take a necklace from
their mother’s beast. When they grow older they may take a necklace from a calf
of that cow. A little boy or girl who takes a necklace from his mother’s beast will
be helped by his mother’s ancestors. If he takes a necklace from a descendant of
this cow the ancestors of his father’s kraal will succour him. It must be noted that
an ubulunga beast is not renamed when taken from the father-in-law’s kraal to the
son-in-law’s kraal.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 781
In the case of divorce the ubulunga beast returns with the woman or another
is sent in its place. The children, if remaining at the father’s kraal, take necklaces
from the father’s beast.
Men.—Men, too, wear ubulunga necklaces to make them fat. The hairs are
taken from the oldest cow the man has, age being a great consideration. The hair
from an ox or bull is of far less efficacy. It is immaterial how or from whom the
cow was acquired. (Another means of getting fat is by shaving the head.)
An ubulunga necklace is not buried, but kept in a hut except in the case of
twins.’
pp. 133-134 Bomvana: sticks in divination
‘The name iggira lentonga (doctor of sticks) arises in this way. When people
wish to vumisa or consult a doctor in the manner described above they set out to
visit one of these iggira lentonga bearing in their hands imingayi or sticks with the
bark on. These have become black with soot through being Kept in the roof of the
hut. Men and women carry these, a woman taking one of her husband’s who may
possess several. People who see the party thus armed greet them but refrain from
asking the inevitable questions as to where they are going as the sticks testify their
intent. On arrival at the doctor’s kraal they sit down and place their sticks and
headgear behind them. The doctor then starts his questions.’
pp. 135-136 Bomvana: charms
‘To Prevent Lightning.— The following measures may be taken by any man
who knows how to set about them. Usually a doctor is called in.
A horn is placed just above the door on the roof ponting towards the oncoming
lightning storm. This contains a medicine known as umhlabelo. Sticks of mabope
(acrid ocarfus Natalitins) or Matshinitshini wood are stuck in all round the roof.
They stand upright with sharpened points smeared with medicine and menacing
the storm.’
1931 Hall pp. 662—663 photos by Duggan-Cronin Bomvana: initiation
Nothing more.
(1932) Dornan p. 699 Xhosa, Bomvana: euphorbia trees
Nothing more.
(1932) Soga, J. H. pp. 178, 205-207, Xhosa: medical and magical practice
e229 255, 291, 292, 296, 320, 395
p. 178 Xhosa: herbalist’s paraphernalia
‘The xwele (herbalist) is not strictly speaking in the same category as the
priest-diviners. His is not a religious profession, but simply that which corresponds
to a medical practitioner or doctor. His type is more that of the alopathic than the
homeopathic variety, for his doses are on a generous scale. His dispensary is round
his neck and in his goat-skin bag, in which he carries various specifics for different
diseases. Strung round his neck are a number of antelopes’ horns, sometimes
adorned with stoppers, on which have been worked elegant designs in beadwork.
In these he carries various powders. The contents of this ‘““chemist’s shop” are the
782 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
powdered roots of herbs, powdered parts of animals, reptiles and insects, and some
of a supposed mystical nature.’
p: 178 Xhosa: lancet, cupping
‘There are several methods of blood-letting, (a) by perforating a vein with a
sharp knife, and (b) making incisions in the skin—Zintlanga. In cupping, a gourd
of from two to three inches in diameter is taken, the bottom being cut out, and part
of the neck cut across, to which the mouth is applied for the purpose of suction.
A small cow’s horn is also used in the same way.’
pp. 205-206 Xhosa: ubulunga
‘The term ubu-lunga is the noun of the verb uku-lunga—to be right, correct.
In this present connection it refers to a necklace made of hairs taken from the
tail-brush of a cow or ox. Its purpose is two-fold: (a) worn round the neck of an
unmarried girl it is to over-rule or correct any circumstances inducing heart sore-
ness and hysteria; (b) worn by a married woman it is to prevent any illness or
evil from coming upon her or her children, and also to dispel such illnesses as they
are already subjectto. . . . Inearly times the ubu-lunga animal, that is the one from
which the hairs to make the necklace of the bride were taken, usually accompanied
u-duli—the bridal party. In those days it was a serious matter to leave this animal
behind.) =
The construction of this necklace is simple. A number of hairs are pulled out
of the tail-brush of the cow. These are woven into a circlet of ulu-zi (the inner bast
of Ficus Capensis) and placed round the woman’s neck.’ !
p. 206 Xhosa: charms
‘Water-lily —In-Tekwane.
The blue flowering water-lily, a member of the natural order of Nymphaceae,
is a charm of considerable importance both from its connection with the water-
sprite (i-canti or u-Mamlambo), and its healing virtues.’
p- 207 Xhosa: charms
‘U-Qoto—A climbing plant.
This is the young mother’s charm. There are several roots used by mothers
as protective charms for their children. Like the others u-Qoto is attached as a
pendant to a necklace, and is supposed to afford protection to infants from a
sorcerer’s evil designs.
Before entering the hut of another family, lest it should possess some occult
powers of mischief, the mother bites off a piece of the root which hangs from her
necklace, chews it and spits a little on the infants’ forehead and throat so that no
evil influence may affect it.
Um-Tomboti— Widringtonia juniperoides.
Um-Tomboti is a strongly-scented forest shrub, and for that reason is much
favoured by women especially, who wear small lengths of the root strung on a
necklace. The roots of this plant effect the same result as the one previously
mentioned. They are ground to powder, mixed with water, then smeared over the
young mother’s body. The infant is treated in the same way, but in addition to being
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 783
smeared is given a small portion internally. This wards off evil from both mother
and infant.
U-Mabope— Plumbago.
. . . Itis a charm to prevent lightning striking a homestead. A stick cut from
the plumbago plant is forced into the ground so that it stands upright, but at a
considerable slant and pointing to the heavens, and the coming storm. Both it and
the pelargonium (u-nomolwana) are used as charms for an army before going on
the war-path. By means of its influence the enemies’ weapons are rendered useless
and bullets are turned to water.’
p. 249 Xhosa: ubulunga
‘Ubu-Lunga— The necklet charm.
Each boy before leaving home for the tonto or as it is also called i-sutu has
ubu-lunga (a necklet of hairs from the tailbrush of a cow) put round his neck as
a charm to ward off evil, and secure for the wearer good health. Occasionally one
or more of the boys may be twins. If, then, only one of two male twins is to undergo
circumcision his necklet is first placed round the neck of his twin brother who is
not to undergo the rite. It is then taken off and placed round his own.’
p. 253 Xhosa: initiation hut
Nothing more.
p: 291 Xhosa: charms
‘Shortly after the child is born the roots of a certain plant are brought home
and hung up in the hut above the child’s sleeping place, as a charm to ward off any
evil influence from it. Each mother believes in the efficacy of a particular root, so
that there are many to choose from. The mother also wears a necklace of the root
round her neck, in order that when she goes about with the infant, she may chew
parts of the root and blow them over the child for good luck.’
p- 292 Xhosa: euphorbia trees
‘On the birth of twins the father immediately sets out for the forest, and digs
up by the roots two young Euphorbia trees. He takes them home and plants them
alongside the hut in which the twins were born. The mother, on every occasion of
performing her ablutions, does this standing over the plants. This serves the double
purpose of charming away any evil influence from the little ones, and waters the
young trees, which symbolize the two young lives.’
p 296 Xhosa: euphorbia trees
Nothing more.
p. 320 Xhosa: burial
‘Before the body is put in, the clothes worn by the dead person, . . . pipe and
every personal article are taken to the grave and are placed in it first.’
p-395 Xhosa: charms
‘At the bottom side of some cultivated lands, a small shrub called i-Todlwane
may often be noticed. It has been planted there purposely, for it is supposed to
possess the power of conveying growth and abundance to crops.
The generic term for all plants used as field charms is isi-Sukulo. This is the
nominal form of the verb uku-Sukula—to sharpen, to urge, etc.’
784 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1932) Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk pp. 25-26, 190 Xhosa, Fingo: dressing for
circumcision
pp. 25-26 Xhosa: dressing for wound
‘The Xosas use the dried scales of the bulb [Boophone disticha Herb, iswadi
or incwadi] as an outer dressing for circumcision. . . . It should be noted that Tutin
found that the outer layers of the bulb contained no alkaloids.’
p. 190 Xhosa, Fingo: dressing for wound
‘The leaf of Helichrysum pedunculare DC., Xosa isiQutsi, isiCwe, is applied
by the Xosas and Fingos as a dressing after circumcision, the idea being that it
prevents the development of serious inflammation.’
1932 Godfrey (1932b) p. 132 Cape Nguni: charms
‘There are a few names for shells, the outstanding one being probably ingqgogo,
in use for the univalve shells of the genus Nerita, which are black with white spots;
these shells are held in high esteem by the native people. No doubt they are
employed for various purposes, but they are mainly used as charms to prevent wind
in children. One shell, or perhaps two, may be strung on a piece of string and tied
round the child’s body with the shell itself overhanging the buttocks. On cloudy
days children are believed to be specially affected by wind, and are in consequence
liable to throwing their food, but the wearing of the shell is believed to counteract
any such tendency. If the inggogo is not procurable, another shell ingcaca is used
as a substitute.’
1932 Hunter (1936) pp. 84, 165, 237-238, Mpondo: religious, medical
270-271, 304, 343, 404 practice
p. 84 Mpondo: first fruits
‘Formerly the new season’s sorghum and pumpkin might not be eaten until
the first-fruit ceremony was performed by the chief.’
pelos Mpondo: initiation
‘During adolescence came initiation. Formerly the Pondo had circumcision
schools through which every boy between 17 and 20 passed. Chief Faku (who died
in 1867) during his reign prohibited these schools. . . . Whatever the reason for
dropping circumcision the schools have practically disappeared from Pondoland.
Only a small Pondo clan, the amaNganda, which at the time of the stopping of
circumcision lived in Thembuland, and only returned to Pondoland after the
annexation, and a few Pondomise and Fingo groups living in Pondoland, retain it.’
pp. 237-238 Mpondo: ubulunga
‘Before a baby can drink milk a necklace made of the hairs of its father’s I.Y.
[inkomo yo6ulunga] is fastened round its neck. If it has been born at its mother’s
home it must still be given a necklace of the hairs from the father’s cow before it
can drink. Later, if it is going away to visit relatives and drink the milk of a strange
umzi, it is again given a necklace of the hairs. A pregnant woman wears the
necklace, and formerly, when there was circumcision, a boy undergoing circum-
cision wore it. It is a usual remedy for sickness. . . . Hairs for an intambo yo6u-
luunga (thong of the brush) may be plucked by any one, provided the plucking has
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 785
been ordered by the owner of the umzi. . . . The patient may wear the thong till
it falls to bits, or he may discard it when he recovers. In either case the remains
must always be stuck into the thatch at the back of the great hut of the umzi to
which the beast from which the hair was taken belongs. A married woman goes
to her father’s or brother’s umzi to throw away her thong if it was made from brush
of the I.Y. of her home.’
pp. 270-271 Mpondo: cairns
‘All through Pondoland there are cairns of stones called isivivane. Passers-by
used to pick up a stone, spit on it, and say as they placed it on the pile, “/sivivane
give me strength and health’. . . . No one ever went specially to a cairn to place
stones, but they never passed without putting one on. It gave them strength for a
journey, and strength to walk. They would place a stone even if they came across
a cairn in a foreign country.
There is no tradition as to how the piles of stone originated. The cairns are
found all through Xhosa and Pondo country, and Callaway speaks of them in
Zululand. The custom seems to have no connexion with any other custom of the
Pondo, and has now completely died out.’
p. 304 Mpondo: cupping
‘Treatments by doctors (amagqira or amaxhwele)
Headache. Cut temples. Two small cuts are made and the blood sucked
through a horn.’
p. 343 Mpondo: medicine flasks
Nothing more.
p. 404 Mpondo: first fruits
‘The similarity between the first-fruits ceremony and the other army treat-
ments, and the fact that the public first-fruits ceremony was dropped when wars
ceased, although other magic flourishes, supports the view that they were per-
formed first and foremost to strengthen the army.’
1918—48 Hamilton-Welsh (Louw 1964) pp. 44, 45, 48, Cape Nguni: charms
52, 69-94, 144
pp. 44-45 Thembu: charm
‘Solomon carries ... a charm famous in the district. He calls it nto-
mbazana. . . . Actually itisa. . .coco-de-mere. . . . These drop into the sea and
are occasionally washed up on the Pondoland coast. Their arrival is a thing of
mystery. . . . Hence magic powers are attributed to them. . . . Solomon Daba
shakes ntombazana and portions of the dried pith come out. These he sells for large
sums. . . and they are carried in small horns or leather bags specially made for the
purpose.’
p. 48 Thembu: divining mat
‘Ingubo yenyamakazi Kaross. The more skins are in it, the greater the
divining-power. It is said to bring pleasant dreams. I obtained this from Solomon
Daba and it is made of the skins of thirteen animals.’
786 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pez Fingo: spear in divining
‘Isigula Spear for calling down the spirits of ancestors. . . . The handle is
heavily beaded. When everything has been arranged for the ceremony and there
is tense expectation, he dramatically thrusts his spear heavenwards, then brings it
down with great force thrusting it into the ground in front of him. This brings down
the spirits of his ancestors from heaven, who will assist him in the divination,
smelling-out or any similar undertaking.’
pp. 69-94 Cape Nguni: charms
List of specific charms for various requirements.
p. 144 Cape Nguni: divining bones
‘A native doctor or inyanga always carried in his outfit, besides herbs and
charms, a bag of divining-bones or oodolosi. These consist of small bones, stones
and shells, and are used to foretell the future or determine the whereabouts of lost
or stolen property. From my personal experience a fair degree of accuracy is shown
by them. The bones are obtained from all kinds of animals. They comprise chiefly
vertebrae and knucklebones of lions, cattle, jackals and even human beings. Some
of these are specially marked with wire or thread, ox-hair or beads, or else they
are engraved with symbols known only to the inyanga.’
(1937) Soga, 12 pp: 45,129 Xhosa: divining, burial
p. 45 Xhosa: sticks in divination
‘Kuba ubuko umnqayi iyintongana yamatamsanga nenzuzo apata yona umntu
ekuhamba-hambeni pakati kohlanga.... Nokubana baya kuvumisa ibikwa °
ngumnqayi intonga epatwayo.’
[There was the umnqayi, the long pointed stick, which was a little stick of good
luck and gain, which a man carried when he went to and fro amongst the peo-
ple. . . . When the men went to consult a diviner, it was the umngayi also which
they carried. |
pat Xhosa: burial
‘Ukuncwatywa komntu ema-Xoseni ngokukodwa ubesenziwa imfumbata esa-
qawuka, ambelwe umnxuma ubesiselera, ube nekumbi ukuba asiwahodi. Wofa-
kwa alunyukelwe ukuze ubuso bake bukangele ngasekaya... .’
[The burial of a person was as follows, among the Xhosa in particular:
immediately after death he was doubled up and a grave with a recess was dug for
him; it had the recess, for it was not the hole of an antbear. Care would be taken
to place him in such a way that his face would be turned towards his home. |
(1939) Duggan-Cronin pp. 30-32, 34, Xhosa: ubulunga, euphorbia trees,
pl. 28 and legend initiation, burial
Nothing more.
1944 Brownlee, F. pp. 23, 24 Xhosa: grave, cairn
‘For the last resting place of the great Xhosa Chief Rarabe, a place was
selected on a commanding height overlooking the Kei River. His grave is in the
soft red soil at the foot of great grey boulders. There the mourners planted twigs
from the tombo tree—the wild fig. Those twigs are now grown into stately shade-
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 787
giving trees. They are so old that moss hangs from them. Those not knowing, rest
under their shade, those knowing, approach the spot silently and respectfully place
a small stone on the cairn that is there. ‘““Nkosi’’, they may say, “place your blessing
upon me as I place this small stone of remembrance on your resting place. Amandla
sivivane (Give me strength, oh cairn).””’
p. 24 Xhosa: mat at burial
Nothing more.
1945 Makalima chapters 11, 14, 15, 30 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu:
religious, medical practice
chap. 11 pars 60-61 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: euphorbia trees
Nothing more.
chap. 14 pars 25, 27, 32 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: initiation
Nothing more.
ehap. ls pats 2,6, 7, 10, 13 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: burial
Nothing more.
par. 14 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: burial
‘Ingcwaba lake lembiwa ngabafana ngezingxa. Lembiwa lane gumbi. Lati
lakuba lembiwe, lenziwa indlu ezantsi, indawo azakulala kuyo umlumzana.’
[His grave was dug by young men with sharp-pointed sticks or iron rods, and
in digging it a recess was made, an underground cavity for the deceased, as a man
of standing, to lie in.]
pars 17, 18 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: burial
Nothing more.
ar, 22 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: burial
‘Laditywa ngomhlaba kwagandwa, kwabekwa amatye ngapezulu, namahlala
okutintela impahla. Akuzange kulinywe nto ke pezu kwengcwaba.’
[The grave was filled up with earth and stamped in. Stones are placed on the
top and bushes to keep away stock. Nothing is ever planted on top of the
grave. |
par. 27 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: burial
“‘Wangcwatywa emangcwabenina? Hayi wangcwatywa ebuhlantini bake nje-
ngokuba engumninimzi yena. Abangabanye bona bangcwatywa endaweni eyodwa
yamangcwaba.’
[He was buried inside his cattle kraal as owner of the homestead. Other people
are buried in the graveyard. |
par. 29 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: burial
‘Esingcwabo sahlukana kwezinye?:—Apa kuti amangcwaba afana onke,
ngapandle kokuba elomtu omkulu nokuba yiNkosi ayabiywa ukuze ohluke kwa-
wabanye abantu nje. . . . Engcwabeni lomntu oliwele ungafika ubone kulinywe
umhlontlo.’
[Here at our place the graves are all the same except that of an important
person or a chief. They are fenced so that they may differ from those of the other
ordinary people. . . . At the grave of a twin you will find a tree euphorbia planted. |
788 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
chap. 30, par. 23 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: divining bones
Nothing more.
par. 43 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: divining bones
‘Ewe, amatambo, ayasetyenziswa.’
[Yes, the bones are used (by a diviner). |
par. 44 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: divining bones
‘Kuyaxilongwa nangendawule (amatambo).’
[Examination is also carried out by divining bones. ]
par. 53 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: splints
‘Indlela zokubopha into eyophukileyo:— Xa umtu ophukile, kulungiswa ama-
ceba, abotshwe ngotwatwa macalomabini. Umaneke ekululwa, ebotshwa, kanti
ubehlatyelwe kulondawo kugala. Uyasezwa omnye umhlabelo ngapakati ngo-
mhluzi. Ezinye incutshe zisuke ziti umtu makanyatele pantsi, lisuke icule lifake
umhlabelo kulondawo ebenyatele kuyo asuke alobeke umtu aphile, engapha-
twanga.’
[When a person has a broken bone, splints are prepared and they are bound
with leather on both sides. They will keep on binding and untying him, having first
had medicine rubbed into the incisions to remedy the fracture. Other experts make
a person tread on the ground and the expert then puts medicine to remedy the
fracture on the spot where he trod and the pain is then reduced and he is healed
without being touched. |
par. 57 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: cupping
Nothing more.
pars 63-69, 80-83 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: medicines
Describes the gathering, processing, and administration of medicines.
(1946) Burton, A. W. (corresp.) Xhosa: ubulunga
Nothing more.
1945-50 Walton (Wilson et al. 1952) pp. 191, Xhosa, Fingo: diviners,
195, 200—220 sacrifices, initiation
p. 191 Xhosa, Fingo: diviners
‘The doctor diviners, being gifted with the power to smell out witches and
sorcerers, as well as to interpret the symbolism of dreams and the wishes of other
people’s ancestors, are called in to diagnose the causes of illness or other misfor-
tune. They also prescribe remedies, ordering sacrifices if illness be attributed to the
displeasure of ancestors.’
pros Xhosa, Fingo: sacrifices
‘Cattle are believed to be the link with the ancestral spirits, and sacrifices of
cattle and goats necessary to provide food for them.’
p. 200 Xhosa, Fingo: initiation
‘It is realised that the present form of the initiation ceremony is of much
shorter duration than the traditional one, and even the shorter ceremony of the
present day may be greatly modified to suit the convenience of a boy attending
school.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 789
pp. 201-202 Xhosa, Fingo: treatment of circumcision wounds
‘The boys’ wounds are roughly dressed with izigqutsu leaves from the izichwe
plant, probably having certain styptic qualities and which are said to help relieve
the pain, and are bandaged with mealie husks.’
p: 203 Xhosa, Fingo: no more dancing
‘The dancing, which formed such an important part of the traditional
ceremonies, has disappeared in Keiskammahoek District.’
pp. 204-220 Xhosa, Fingo: initiation
Nothing more.
(1949) Duggan-Cronin pp. 16, 17, pls 59, Mpondomise, Mpondo: practices
75 and legend
p- t6 Mpondomise, Mpondo: ubulunga
‘Cattle are believed to be very closely associated with the ancestors, and the
commonest form of appeal to them is to wear a necklace made of the tail hairs of
a cow (inkomo yobulunga) belonging to the old stock of the family. Young married
women, like the one in Plate LXXV, are most commonly seen wearing these
necklaces, but men use them also.’
ped Mpondomise, Mpondo: initiation
‘Men’s initiation included seclusion for several months in a hut built at a
distance from any homestead, very strenuous dancing, hunting, and instruction in
manly behaviour, as well as the physical operation. This custom was abandoned
by the Mpondo during the reign of Faku (possibly because it incapacitated fighting
men, needed for protection against Shaka’s raids), but it is still practised by the
Mpondomise.’
pl 59 Mpondomise, Mpondo: euphorbia trees
Nothing more.
pl. 75 and legend Mpondomise, Mpondo: ubulunga
Nothing more.
1949 Hammond-Tooke (1953) pp. 76-80, 85 Bhaca: first fruits
p. 76 Bhaca: ceremony of first fruits
‘It appears that the ceremonial was last performed in its entirety by Chief
Mngcisana in 1926; the last few decades have seen a marked modification in the
attitude of many people to ingcube and an increasing slackness in the detailed
observance of the custom.’
pp. 77-78 Bhaca: preparation for first-fruits ceremony
‘Ingcube always takes place at the end of summer. . . . Some time before
ingcube the tribal herbalist goes into the forests that clothe the mountain kloofs
with his assistant to collect the medicinal herbs and vegetable substances necessary
for the ceremony. These medicines belong to the species itihlambeto and are
extremely potent. They are brought back and stored at the back of a special hut
in the royal kraal set aside for them, called nondlu ayivalwa (the open hut) because
of the fact that it is never shut during the reign of a chief, only during a regency.
In this hut, too, are kept the horns of medicine and ritual paraphenalia handed
790 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
down from former chiefs endowed with peculiar sacredness.’ (Note: ‘. . . At the
Makaula capital, the huge smoke-blackened antelope horns, spears and ingcube
headdress of Mngcisana can still be seen, but to-day no one knows their correct
function or significance.’) ‘. . . Cattle and goats are slaughtered to provide the skin
skirts of the women, and men and boys practise racing the cattle in readiness for
the great cattle race that forms a prominent part of the ceremonies. A short time
before the start of the ritual men are sent by the chief into the forests and river
valleys to cut bush for a special cattle kraal to be erected near the Great Place. It
is circular in shape, constructed entirely of brushwood, and is called isi6aya
sengcu6e (the cattle kraal of ingcube). It is round this kraal that the pageant of
the first fruit ceremony is centred.’
p. 78 Bhaca: chief’s skull
‘The first ingcube after the installation of a chief was always of especial
significance, and the ritual dictated that the skull of a slain enemy be used as a
receptacle by the new chief when washing with the tribal medicines. A fresh skull
had to be secured at each chief’s installation, and would then serve for all the
lingcube of his reign.’
p. 79 Bhaca: fire-sticks
‘. . . the inyanga yempi kindles the sacred fire. This must not be lit with
matches but in the traditional manner by using fire-sticks called uvatsi.’
p. 80 Bhaca: stirrer
‘The herbalist now takes a clay pot containing certain intseleti medicines and
twirls (ukuphehla) a stick in the mixture until it is churned into a foam that spills
over the lip of the receptacle.’
Oy (695) Bhaca: medicine-whisk
‘... the herbalist walks swiftly round the semi-circle of warriors .. . and
sprinkles each man and his weapons with a bunch of dry grass dipped in the pot.’
1949 Hammond-Tooke (1955a) p. 17 Bhaca: novice diviner’s charms
‘Always the novice dreams of a beast, which may or may not be in the herd
of a relative, a white stone, ikhu6alo, the possession of which is necessary to
complete recovery, and a spear. The ikhu6alo stone’s whereabouts is revealed in
a vivid dream, .. . . Early in her sickness she dreamt of a particular goat in N’s
kraal which was slaughtered for her without question . . . and bracelets were made
of the skin (iingqwambi) and placed on the wrists and ankles to alleviate the
pains.’
1949 Hammond-Tooke (1955b) pp. 24, 52, 53, 65 Bhaca: practices
p. 24 Bhaca: burial
‘An area is set aside as a graveyard in each location. Formerly all members
of a homestead were buried near the cattle kraal. . . . People killed by lightning
or drowned are buried at the spot where the tragedy occurred. Today the great
majority of burials are conducted by the local evangelist and wooden coffins,
stocked by the traders, are used.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 791
p52 Bhaca: circumcision
‘An interesting phenomenon is the adoption of circumcision ceremonies under
the influence of the nearby Hlubi, especially in locations bordering on Kinira and
Ncome and the Matatiele boundary, e.g. Mandileni, Ntlabeni, where there are
large Hlubi populations and considerable intermarriage. Although there is some
evidence that circumcision was practised formerly it is today no longer part of true
Bhaca custom.’
p53 Bhaca: divination
‘Divination by means of bone-throwing is not a Bhaca custom, although it
appears to be practised today by a few diviners, and communion with the ama-
thongo is established by means of trances accompanied by dancing.’
po'65 Bhaca: circumcision
Nothing more.
1949 Hammond-Tooke (1958) Bhaca, Hlubi, Mpondo: circumcision,
pp. 16-19 girls’ initiation
p. 16 Bhaca: circumcision
“Today the Bhaca do not practise circumcision, although there is evidence that
they did so formerly, informants stating that it fell into disuse during the troubled
period when the great chief Madzikane led his people out of Natal. This earlier
observance of circumcision is endorsed by Kohler who, writing of the Bhaca of
southern Natal (Bulwer), states that, although not practised today, circumcision
was a feature of early Bhaca culture.’
p: 17 Hlubi: circumcision
‘In the two locations under Hlubi headmen, Kinira and Ncome, elaborate
initiation ceremonies are held annually at which large numbers of boys are cir-
cumcised at one time, with a lengthy seclusion period “‘up the mountain’’, the
killing of many cattle, the observance of rigid food taboos and the imparting of sex
instruction. The operation is performed by experts (dingcibi) and the whole cer-
emony is still an important and vigorous element of social life.’
p17 Bhaca, Mpondo: circumcision
‘There is evidence that this spreading of the custom to tribes who do not at
present practise it, e.g. Bhaca and Mpondo, is a fairly general phenomenon in the
Transkei. In Pondoland an increasing number is submitting to the operation at
mission hospitals, and Mpondo students at Fort Hare and Lovedale (in a Xhosa
area) frequently return home circumcised.’
pp. 17-18 Bhaca: girls’ initiation, celebration
‘All Bhaca girls, however, at the time of their first menstruation should go
through a special ceremony which marks the transition from girlhood to woman-
hood. Two terms are today used to describe this rite, viz, umngquzo and
umgubho. ... The word umgubho refers more especially to the feasting and
dancing at the end of the seclusion period and is used by Christians who wish to
make a distinction between the traditional pagan rites and the modified form of
the ceremony practised by them.’
792 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p: 18 Bhaca: screen for intonjane
‘From the time that the girl enters the hut she is known as umulakhube or
umtfombi and, while the goats are being fetched, she sits with her back to the
doorway and does not speak. Formerly she was placed behind a mat screen
(isikhuselo) made from incembe grass, so placed that a small space was partitioned
off at the back of the hut. This room is called an umgongo and is seldom seen today.
Word is also sent to the girls of the location, who will come each day to help stamp
and grind maize for the feast to be held on the final day, and who cut the special
rush, umkhanzi, with which to strew the hut floor.’
pelo Bhaca: ritual spear
‘The goat is thereupon returned to the stock kraal and stabbed by the father
with the special spear kept in all kraals for ritual killings.’
1951 Kain Zulu: cairn
Occurrence in KwaZulu.
(1954) Duggan-Cronin p. 31, pls 164, Hlubi, Xesibe, Bhaca: ceremonial
168-171, 173, 181 and legends
p. 31 Hlubi, Xesibe: initiation
‘Among the Hlubi, and possibly the Xesibe, boys at the age of puberty go
through an elaborate initiation ceremony during which they are further instructed
in tribal lore.’
pl. 164 and legend Bhaca: diviner (isangoma)
‘. . . Practically all Baca witch-doctors are women.’
legend to pl. 168 Bhaca: first fruits
‘The ingcube (festival of the first fruits) is the most important ceremony of the
tribal year. No-one may partake of the new green fruits . . . until they have been
ritually eaten by the chief and the army and been sprinkled with protective
medicines. It is a time of feasting and dancing when the women are dressed in all
their beadwork finery.’
pl. 169 and legend Bhaca: first fruits
Nothing more.
legend to pl. 171 Bhaca: protection for twins
‘As a further protection a chicken is killed and a necklace is made from the
leg bones for the mother, and from the minute foot bones for the twins.’
legend to pl. 173 Hlubti: initiation huts
‘Circumcision ceremonies. . . last from three to six weeks and during this time
the boys . . . live in specially built grass huts, beehive in shape, called tiphempa.’
pl. 181 and legend Hlubi: fertility dolls
“These two young married women are holding ‘“‘dolls’’ given to them by their
parents to ensure fertility. They are made of wood and covered with beadwork and
are returned after the first baby is born. The name umntwana wesigonga (child of
wood) emphasizes their function.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 793
1949-62 Hammond-Tooke (1962) pp. 18, 74, Bhaca: magic, ceremonial and
81-82, 84, 176-177, 179-197, 222, medical practice, burial
229-230, 244-245, 256-259, 266-267
p. 18 Bhaca: charms
‘Various charms (amakhubalo) are used to ensure a good crop.’
p. 74 Bhaca: umbilical cord
‘The umbilical cord (inkaba) is never severed with a knife but with a stem of
inchongolo, a hollow grass found near rivers, or isigungwa (Tambookie grass).
Other informants say that the sharp-edged ubengu grass is used: in any event it is
believed that the use of a knife will cause the baby to bleed profusely.’
pp. 81-82 Bhaca, Hlubi: initiation
Nothing more.
p. 84 Bhaca: girl’s initiation screen
Nothing more.
pp. 176-177 Bhaca: crop magic
‘The main feature in Bhaca magic is the use of medicines (imithsi). The term
is derived from the word umthsi, meaning ‘“‘a tree”, and reflects the fact that
most medicines are made from herbs, roots, leaves and other vegetable sub-
stances. .
Formerly, no one could begin to plant until the chief had ceremonially used
his medicines to secure a good crop. At the end of winter (about August) the chief
sent word to the various headmen that, on a certain day, representatives of all the
families in their areas should forgather at the Great Place. Each had to bring with
him a small basket called ingcekance, containing the choice seeds of kaffir corn and
maize grains set aside for planting after the preceding harvest. On their arrival all
the grain was put into large baskets with grain from the Great Place, and the whole
doctored with medicines by the chief to ensure fertility. Informants stated that the
grain of the people would “‘get blessing from that of the Great Place’’, and that the
magical “essence” would spread through the whole like leaven. After the seed had
been thoroughly mixed, the small baskets were again filled and carried home to
the various kraals where the same rite was repeated, and the rest of the seed of
each umti mixed with the “‘blessed seed of the Great Place’’.” (Note:) ‘Members
of the Mpoza ibandla state that the ceremony was last performed by Rolobile
te. 1925).’
pp. 179-197 Bhaca: feast of first fruits
A full description of the feast of the first fruits, including the doctoring of the
army.
p- 222 Bhaca: tribal medicine
‘The success of the army in battle depended largely on its doctoring with
medicines (iintseleti) by the tribal magician (inyanga yempi). As we have seen, the
doctoring was an annual rite performed at ingcubhe, but in times of war a special
treatment was deemed necessary before the start of a campaign or an expected
attack.’
794 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pp. 229-230 _ Bhaca: graves
‘Formerly all blankets, sticks, pipes and spears of the dead man were buried
with him and grains of maize and kaffir corn were placed in his hands, but no
foodie a.
To-day, among the Christians, a man is buried in his oldest clothes, and, if a
church member, his membership card is buried with him in the coffin—a passport
to paradise. An increasing number of men and women are being buried in a shroud
which fits round the body and is gathered at neck and wrists.’
pp. 244-245 Bhaca: doctors
‘Initially it is necessary to distinguish two types of “‘doctor’’, viz. the herbalist
(inyanga, Xh. ixhwele), and the diviner (isangoma, Xh. igqira). Both are prac-
titioners in the art of healing and both manipulate medicines to that end. . . . The
herbalist is a specialist in medicines. . . . Unlike the diviner, the herbalist does not
commune with the shades nor can he divine—although in other respects their
functions overlap. Diviners are easily recognized as they invariably dress in white
and wear a fringed head-dress of white beads as a mark of their calling. . . . Not
everyone can become a diviner. . . . It is interesting that the majority of diviners
among the Bhaca are women.’
pp. 256-259 Bhaca: diviners
A description of the initiation and practice of a diviner.
pp. 266-267 Bhaca: herbalists
A description of the practice of a herbalist.
1956-8 Hammond-Tooke (19585) pp. 47-48, Xhosa: magic, ceremonial
50-53, 59-60, 88
pp. 47-48 Xhosa: birth practices, euphorbia trees
‘The birth of a child still involves the observance of traditional customs such
as the use by the mother of certain protective medicines and the killing of the ritual
imbeleko goat in thanksgiving to the ancestors. The umbilical cord is cut with a
sharp piece of grass and the placenta is immediately taken and buried by the
midwives (abafukamisi). For the first ten days of its life the Xhosa baby must be
passed through the smoke of a fire in which special herbs are burnt to ensure health.
Special customs must be observed on the birth of twins as they are believed to be
particularly vulnerable. The father plants two euphorbia trees (umhlontlo) on the
side of the hut in which they were born. A special relationship is believed to exist
between the plants and the twins and in the event of one or both of the former dying
it is thought that the twin it represents will also sicken and perhaps die. The
euphorbias are watered with the water used for bathing the twins and, when either
of the twins is sick, the roots are pounded, mixed with water and used for washing
it.
p. 49 Xhosa: ubulunga
‘Apart irom the passing of the ikhazi or marriage cattle from the family of the
groom to that of the bride certain other gifts of cattle are made by the bride’s father
. . . the inkomo yobulunga is a sacred beast which stands in a special relationship
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI T95
to the health and well-being of the wife. It is always a cow or a heifer and remains
the woman’s inalienable property. Its tail hairs are used to make a necklace which
is worn to ward off evil.’
pe ov Xhosa: burial
‘Although nowadays a specific area of a location is set aside as a burial ground,
the burial of commoners is a comparatively recent development... .’
ees k Xhosa: burial
‘Subsequently it became usual for the owner of a kraal to be buried at the gate
of his cattle kraal, in a sitting position in a niche dug to one side of the grave... .
More and more people, however, are being buried in coffins supplied by the local
traders, and in special burial grounds set aside in each location.’
pp. 31=52 Xhosa: initiation
‘The Cape Nguni generally are unusual among South African Bantu in that
they do not have a system of age regiments into which all adult males, and often
females, are organized on the attainment of adulthood. Among the Xhosa tribes,
however, initiation into full tribal membership is marked by the circumcision of
boys and the performance of a special ceremony. for girls... . A wealthy or
influential kraalhead will take the initiative and build a beehive-shaped lodge
(ithonto, iphempe, isuthu) for his son, and other youths of the neighbourhood will
make use of it.... Wounds are bound with medicinal leaves (Helichrysum
pedunculare and H. appendiculatum). . . . At the end of the seclusion period...
the lodge and the sheepskin karosses worn during the seclusion period are
Lo. 07 0 ee
pp. 52-53 Xhosa: girls’ initiation
‘Girls also must go through a ceremony to mark the change from girlhood to
womanhood... . Initiation for girls is called intonjane ... and involves the
seclusion of the girl in a hut at her father’s homestead for two periods of about ten
days each, separated from each other by a couple of days. A mat screen
(umkhusane) partitions off the back of the hut and the floor is strewn with rushes
and grass. . . .Onthe tenth day a beast called umtshato is sacrificed to the ancestral
spirits. On the final day the grass and rushes are publicly burnt and the end of the
seclusion period is marked by the killing of the . . . beast of the burning of the mat,
and a special dance of the men (umdulo). In recent years there has been a strong
tendency for this ceremony to be dropped and it is now practically obsolete.’
jy Sk) Xhosa: first fruits
_ ‘The main national religious festival in all these tribes was the annual feast of
the first fruits (ulibo) at which the first fruits were ritually tasted and reaping
controlled by the chief. This custom has died out in all the tribes of the district.’
p. 59 Xhosa: magic
‘Most tribesmen use magical techniques to protect kraals, stock and lands and
to safeguard them from lightening and the machinations of enemies.’
pp. 59-60 Xhosa: doctors
‘Diagnosis of the origin of illness is in the hands of diviners (amaggqira) of
whom three types are found among the Xhosa viz. ixakazana (the usual type),
796 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
isanusi (specialist consulted when the ixakazana fails) and the itola or war doctor
who strengthens the army with his medicines. . . . The class of amaxhwele (herb-
alists) are experts in medicines who have a large and varied pharmacopoeia but do
not divine illness. They supply the charms and medicines for the doctoring of fields,
stock and minor ailments.’
p. 60 Xhosa: charms, ubulunga
Nothing more.
p. 88 Xhosa: first fruits
‘As a Christian, the chief no longer performs the great tribal ceremonies of
the first fruits (ulibo) and rainmaking, formerly so important in the politico-
economic life of the Xhosa peoples.’
1960 Gitywa (1970) pp. 11, 12, 14-16, 19 Xhosa: initiation
pe ti Xhosa: bandages
‘On the eve of the appointed day of circumcision, the boys fetch . . . the leaf
bandages of the Helichrysum pedunculare, izichwe. These are hidden. . . . On no
account are these items taken home for fear of their being bewitched. . . . During
the course of the day, men prepare two strips of skin (sheep) with the hair removed.
These strips are the iggeshu, a girdle bound round the waist. One end of this is used
to hold the penis in a horizontal position; the second is the ityeba for binding the
leaf bandages around the circumcision wound.’
po 12 Xhosa: anti-fainting medicine
‘After the bandaging each boy is given a piece of antheap, isiduli or isiqgalane, :
to suck and swallow. . . . The swallowing of the antheap is to prevent the initiate
from fainting.’
pale Xhosa: lodge
‘After the fortification with antheap, the initiates are led to the lodge, ibhoma,
where each is shown his place. These sleeping places are kept throughout the
period of seclusion.’
Oe IZ Xhosa: ubulunga
‘. . . the initiates had ubulunga necklaces with blue beads on. . . the necklace
was used as a preventive against illness or the evil designs of sorcerers during the
initiates’ period of seclusion.’
p. 14 Xhosa: lodge
‘A definite ritual boundary is marked by a low thorn fence around the lodge.
This is called intendelezo, beyond which no women or girls may trespass.’
pals Xhosa: burning of lodge
‘The initiates . . . are strictly warned that everything they use has to be left
in the lodge to be burnt. The only exception to this are items such as household
utensils (pots, water containers etc.) which are taken back home and blankets
which the initiates used . . . the boys . . . according to custom, have to wash the
blankets at the river before taking them to their homes. Should the washing of the
blankets be impossible then it is also acceptable that the blankets be placed on the
kraal manure in the cattle pen for the whole day before being taken into the hut.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 797
p. 16 Xhosa: burning of lodge
Nothing more.
p19 Xhosa: instruments
‘The institution of circumcision is undergoing gradual but perceptible changes
among the Xhosa... . The scalpel substitutes the assegai, umdlanga; bandages
replace the leaves of the Helichrysum pedunculare; the various ointments displace
the use of the maize-stalk borer as an unguent; there is no lodge to burn, no
dramatisation of the ‘“‘destruction”’ of the past, hence the epithet when hospital
circumcised men are stigmatised: “‘we do not know where the site of your lodge
99 3
ee
Was ..
(1961) De Lange pp. 86, 87, 89, 90, 100 Xhosa: dolls
p. 86 Xhosa: dolls
‘I found on enquiry that the old Bantu women still adhere to and religiously
believe in the old customs. One reported to me thus “‘All these dolls are for the
same thing and are called onomgogwane. When a little girl plays with ordinary dolls
(onopopu) all the time, her mother knows it means she will have a large family.
But as she grows up she cannot play with these dolls any longer, and the old woman
makes her a special little doll (nomgogwane) which she wears round her neck so
that she will get married and have lots of children and good luck. This she wears
until she is about to be married. A big doll is then made for her to carry in her arms
and nurse, so that she will have lots of children.’’ An old Galecka woman told me
of the dolls, and her story was confirmed by an old Xhosa woman.
Love Dolls
The young girl’s dolls are not often made nowadays . . . this practice has all
but died out. These are the little dolls which young girls wear around their necks,
which could be called “‘love-dolls’’, as their first function is to attract a husband,
though with the object of having children. . . . One of our specimens was collected
in Basutoland, the other two are Xhosa, one being made by a Xhosa woman who
was one of Kreli’s people. It seems to be a Xhosa custom... .
If a young woman of 18 or 20 or even older, through misfortune has not
succeeded in marriage, an old woman will give her a doll which the girl is then
supposed to hang around her neck when she sleeps at night, or wear beneath her
clothing. A string of beads is often specially made attached to the doll so that it
can be used as a necklace. . . . If her main reason for wearing the charm is to find
a husband, some degree of secrecy is in operation. It would be a matter for shame
were it discovered that she was looking for a husband.’
pp. 87, 89 Xhosa, Thembu: dolls
Figures 3.. 6:
p. 90 Xhosa: dolls
‘This (intonjane) is the ancient Nguni fertility rite and established custom; the
practice of having a doll may be a recent accretion for it has no effect on tribal life
and was not noted by early writers.
798 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Only certain Xhosa tribes have adopted the custom of Bride-Dolls, which is
in reality a Basuto custom... .’
p. 90 Xhosa: love-dolls
‘These love-dolls take various forms. Sometimes there are two dolls together,
representing a man and a woman, instead of a single doll. The dolls may be merely
symbols of human beings, so abstract as to be almost unrecognisable... . It isa
fact that sometimes a single doll is worn, while other necklaces have two dolls,
evidently not supposed to represent two babies, but rather a man and a girl... .
The dolls worn openly were the single ones. The double ones seem quite clearly
meant to bring a man and a woman together. Specimen 1750. . . is another double
one, and so abstract that were it seen, it would hardly be suspected of representing
aman and a woman. This endorses the story that these dolls were kept secret. The
custom of the love-doll seems to have a double purpose, and the stress laid on one
or the other, determines the form the charm takes... .
The lack of information on this custom is probably due to the secretive nature
thereof, and the fact that it is not a regularly repeated rite practised by the whole
tribe. The fact that it is practised at individual whim, induces one to believe that
it is a recent custom, without the full sanction of the tribe.’
p. 100 Xhosa, Xesibe: fertility dolls
‘Calling-the-Baby-Dolls
These dolls are charms which are very rarely seen today, and are utilised by
women who have proven barren. A model of a baby carved out of wood is placed
on the roof of her hut by a witch-doctor. They refer to this as “calling-the-baby” —
. The custom is fast dying out. The specimen in the East London Museum was
collected by Dr. Mima Trollip, who attended a woman near Idutywa who for years
had been barren. The doll was carved by a friend of the woman’s husband, and
placed on her hut by a witch-doctor, and was later given to Dr. Troilip for attending
her, about 1939. This is a custom which was common among the Xesibe. . . as late
as 1944, when three wooden dolls, . . . were seen by Miss M. Courtenay-Latimer
on the apices of the owners’ huts. These dolls have a very tenuous life, being placed
on the hut until the baby arrives, and then burned and buried with the afterbirth
and any soiled clothes.... It [the doll] is not carried by a bride,
and not made before the wedding. It is only made after the woman has proven
barren.’
1962 Birch p. 4 Transkei: herbalist’s shop
‘Mrs White . . . handles more than 100 different varieties of roots alone, and
she knows the name and efficacy of each one. Roots are often powdered and
combined with four or five other roots for various purposes. . . . Sneezewood roots
are powdered and mixed with water and rubbed on the faces of young babies to
prevent them getting sunburnt and to improve their complexion.’
(1963) Thelejane pp. 34, 35 Mpondo: rain-making
p. 34 Mende medicines, chief’s clothing, insignia
‘The relevant chief. . . on knowing when khonga will be held, had to prepare
himself by washing with his medicines of chieftainship (izihlambezo), ‘“‘and prepare
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 799
his sticks”’ (ilungise itintonga zayo) for the occasion. On the day of khonga the chief
had to wear his traditional blanket of authority, which was made of skins of
leopards or other skins decorated by strips of leopard skin, and carry his special
stick.’
p. 34 Mpondo: dress at rain-making
‘The people are supposed to wear old, dirty clothes and carry the special sticks
of peace (iintonga zoxolo). These sticks are the ones usually kept with the assegais,
and when men go to a feast they carry them and smear them with fat after eating
the meat.’
po) Mpondo: dress at rain-making
‘The people show their displeasure at what the ancestors have allowed to
continue by clothing themselves in old, dirty clothes, as they do when they go to
war, and also to show the ancestors that if drought continues there will be poverty
and because of that they will look shabby.’
1963 De Jager p. 294 Xhosa: charms
‘They distinguish: (a) [khubalo (pl. amakhubalo) a magical material which is
worn or chewed but never mixed with water and drunk. (b) Jntsizi or Iyeza—
magical material charred and/or ground before use. Both may or may not be
therapeutic in action.’
1966 Stagg p. 9 Transkei: medicine store, circumcision
jo. 2 Transkei: medicine store
(Popular account of medicines on sale:) ‘The scene was a Transkei ““medicine”’
store . . . there were long shelves packed with an enormous assortment of bottle,
boxes and containers.’
pp. 9 Xhosa: circumcision
‘Instead of a collision between two worlds, one often sees two ways of life
blending quite happily, to the benefit of all . . . a medical doctor in Umtata.. .
told me of the new trend in the age-old Xhosa initiation ritual for youths. These
boys, on reaching manhood, . . . undergo circumcision at the hands of anelder. . .
the result is often infection leading to grave illness, and sometimes death. . . . In
increasing numbers, the boys are now brought to hospital for the actual surgery
which is done under modern and aseptic conditions. They are then restored to their
people for completion of the initiation ceremonies.’
1968 Holt (1969) pp. 92-96, 100, 104, 112, 117, 120, 121, Tshezi: initiation
IGRI >, 256; 276
fe 92 Tshezi: initiation
‘Male initiation rites take place between the ages of about 17 and 24...
circumcision has tended to be neglected or deliberately avoided in recent years.’
pp. 93-96 Tshezi: initiation lodge
‘The lodge (ithonto) is built near his [the head of the lodge’s] homestead,
where he can keep his eye on them. . . . One suddenly heard voices. . . and traced
the sounds to a row of women. . . with long bundles of grass on their heads. They
800 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
were effusively joyous, dancing, pirouetting and shouting ... their men-folk
[were] busy building the framework of a lodge for them to thatch.’
(There follows a full description of the making of the hut.)
p. 100 Tshezi: bandage
‘. . . the leaves of a plant called indlebevu.’ (Note: ‘. . . a species of Helich-
rysum....)*. .. These were wrapped . . . around the wound and tied on with
black braid (ichele) bought in a trading store. In the olden days sinews of oxen were
used, or strips of goat- or sheep-skin.’ (Note: ‘[or] with an ityeba, or long strip from
inside the bark of an umthombe tree (. . . Ficus natalensis).’)
jolle UU Tshezi: initiation hut, penis-sheath
Photographs.
p. 104 Tshezi: sticks for eating
‘Until their wounds are healed. . . they must not eat with their hands, but be
given the meat by their attendants at the end of little pointed sticks. The tinkobe
maize they can pick up themselves, but with calabash spoons and not with their
fingers... .’
PeliZ Tshezi: burning of lodge
‘As soon as they have gone a short way, some men set fire to the lodge. All
their old possessions—blankets, sticks and the like—are consumed in a huge
bonfire of fierce flames. The novices may be told to sit down with their backs to
it, .. . . [never on any occasion saw one of the novices look back. It is said that
if one did he would become feeble-minded.’ :
pp. 117-131 Tshezi: girl’s initiation
Description of girl’s initiation.
p20 Tshezi: seclusion
‘The novice shou!d remain secluded in her hut for more than two months. . .
one may. . . see novices with babies sitting behind the screen.’
pit Tshezi: bleaching of skin
‘This long-continued existence in darkness, coupled with daily ablutions in
water infused with the roots of ‘“Tambookie grass” induces such a bleaching of the
skin as I should never have believed possible. . . .’
pe 12 pk wi Tshezi: girls’ initiation
‘The novice’s food is prepared for her in her hut. She may not eat it in her
hands, but must pick it up with a pointed stick or spoon.’
p. 126 Tshezi: gall bladder
‘While the intsonyama [sacrificial ox] is being roasted, the gall bladder is
brought behind the screen and part of its contents are poured on her head as she
kneels]. {on her palms. =. .chest. -- om nerucet.
pels5 Tshezi: ubulunga
‘Next day Noyise’s [the bride’s] people plucked hairs from the tail brush of the
cow ... and put them round her neck.’
[2S Tshezi: burial
‘In digging a grave to-day the old custom of making a recess in one side to
receive the body is not often followed. Instead, when the grave is deep enough,
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 801
a further narrower excavation of just the right size to receive a coffin is made in
the bottom of the grave, leaving a shoulder of ground on each side. Into this
excavation the body is lowered. Across the top of it, resting on the shoulders of
ground, are placed short lengths of poles, and these are covered with sods of
earth. . . . The deceased’s mat is placed in the grave for his body to lie on. [If a
coffin is used] his mat is spread on top of the sods resting on the cross-poles.’
pp. 276-309 Tshezi: diviners
Description of roles of diviners, their training and initiation.
1970 Elliott pp. 50, 57, 83-85, 90-92, 106-107, 115, 118, 124 Xhosa: practices
p-.00 Xhosa: ubulunga
‘Every married woman has such a cow and its purpose is to provide hairs from
its tail for magic necklaces for its owner. The hairs are plucked from the cow’s tail
(they may not be cut) in the early light of day and they are bound into necklaces,
which fan out around the wearer’s neck and give her strong magic protection
against sickness and keep away evil spirits.
The cow of the home is never sold and must stay with its owner all its life. . . .
When the original cow gets old, one of its heifer calves is set aside to take her place.
Then the old animal is killed and eaten by the family and their guests on the same
day.’
Pe D/ Xhosa: charms
“The young mother at this stage wears a necklace of small round lengths of root
as thick as her small finger and nearly as long. Each piece is similarly painted white
with clay or chalk. . . . At the same time she wears another necklace made from
the tail brush of her “cow of the home’’... . Her baby . . . also wears a tiny
necklace or arm band of hair but, in its case, the hair comes from the brush of the
father’s cow.
In some Xhosa circles these “‘healing” necklaces are said to be worn only on
instructions from a witch-doctor, but the people that I have questioned in the Ciskei
say that their women wear them of their own accord whenever necessary for the
sake of their health.’
pp. 83-95 Xhosa: initiation
A description of the ceremony.
pp. 83-84 Xhosa: ubulunga
*.. .each candidate. . .is given anecklace made of the tailbrush of his father’s
“cow of the home’’.’
p. 84 Xhosa: spear for circumcision
Nothing more.
p. 85 Xhosa: bandages
Nothing more.
p. 85 Xhosa: antheap against dizziness
Nothing more.
pp. 90-91 Xhosa: sticks, blankets, burning of hut
Photographs.
802 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
po 92 _ Xhosa: sticks
‘. . . from the straw on the inside of the hut, four knobkerries blackened by
months of smoke were taken and put with the blankets. These sticks are of special
significance and form part of their introduction to their new status in life.’
pp. 106-107 Xhosa: practitioners
Nothing more.
p- 107 Xhosa: euphorbia trees
Figure.
p- 115 Xhosa: practitioners
Nothing more.
pr als Xhosa: divination
‘The second type of diviner is the one who has a collection of bones, skulls,
skins and other media with which he works. He has a special hut in which he keeps
them and which he uses for his divining . . . a diviner in the Komgha area. . . who
works in this fashion . . . arranged a collection of monkey, baboon and wild cat
skulls and bones, small pieces of animal fur and many other strange items all round
him on the floor of his hut. Then he jabbed an assegai into the ground in their midst,
and while it stood there quivering, the diviner talked to the things and asked them
all that he wanted to know. Apparently the direction in which the assegai shook
indicated which of the bones or other items would answer him. As soon as the
assegal stopped moving, the witch-doctor became silent and went into a trance
while the bones ‘“‘answered him’ and gave him the message of the ancestral
spirits.’
pat2Ze Xhosa: burial
‘The only member of a family who has a specific place of burial is the head.
He is buried under the brush at the back of the cattle byre from where he can watch
over the cattle in the byre and also over the homestead. An alternative position
is on the right hand side of the byre, but towards the back, as it is faced from the
gateway. The brushes of the fence are removed for the grave to be dug and
are put back in place on top of the grave on the day after the burial... .
Other members of a family are buried anywhere in the veld, “it does not matter
where”.
The tribal way of burial is for the corpse to be wrapped in a blanket and placed
in a recessed shelf at the side in the bottom of a grave about four feet deep. Then
sticks and stones are placed across the opening of the recess to stop the earth from
filling it in. As the grave is filled, thorns are thrown in to prevent wild animals from
digging and witches from tampering with the body for nefarious purposes. . . .
It is perhaps of interest to note here that in the old days the Xhosa did not
bury their dead. It was only in about the year 1818 that a prophet by the name of
Makana, who built up a considerable reputation for his magical powers, decreed
that from that time forth the dead should be buried. Those who disobeyed this law,
he said, would incur the wrath of the spirits. The custom caught on quickly and
soon became general practice.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 803
(1970) Gitywa p. 11 Xhosa: bandages
Nothing more.
(1974) Kruger pp. 37, 40 Xhosa: divination, burial
p37 Xhosa: diviners
Nothing more.
p. 40 Xhosa: burial
Nothing more.
(1975) Hammond-Tooke pp. 17, 18, 43 Cape Nguni: initiation
p. 17 General: girls’ initiation
Nothing more.
p. 18 Bhaca, Xesibe, Mpondo: circumcision
‘Male initiation, involving circumcision, seems to have been universal for-
merly but is no longer performed by Bhaca, Xesibe and Mpondo.’
p. 43 Mpondomise: initiation
‘The Mpondomise. . . . Although they are ultimately of Mpondo stock, . . .
circumcision is performed according to the Xhosa rite (but without the spectacular
dances at which the initiates dress in grass skirts and masks) and many of the dances
are in the Thembu style.’
(1976) Davison pp. 81-83, 85, 143 Cape Nguni: medical use of horns, ivory
pp. 81-82, fig 1. Cape Nguni: cupping horns
Nothing more.
p. 82 Cape Nguni: enema
Nothing more.
pp. 82-83 Cape Nguni: medicine flasks
Nothing more.
p25 Cape Nguni: charms
Nothing more.
p. 143, fig. 55 Cape Nguni: medicine flask
Figure.
(1976) Broster pp. 4-5, pl. between pp. 10-11, Thembu: religious,
pp. 36—50, 56, 92-108 medical practice
p. 4 Thembu: girl’s initiation
Nothing more.
pp. 4-5 Thembu: child’s necklace
‘From a few months old and upwards children are received into the Qaba
faith. . . . The child’s face, body and limbs are painted with red ochre. . . . After
all have feasted, the father of the child addresses the guests. He says, “I now offer
the beads. May the child be healthy and prosper!”’. . . .
The host approaches the men first and then the women. He gives each guest
two small white beads. Each one receives, and returns the beads with the word
“Camagu”’. When all the beads have been given and returned the man takes the
804 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
beads to his wife. She immediately threads a simple necklace of knotted beads and
fastens it on the child. Then only, may mother and child meet the guests.’
pl. between pp. 10-11 fig. 40 Thembu: fertility dolls
Photograph of ‘doll necklaces’.
p. 36 Thembu: doctoring of seed
‘In association with the girls of the umtshotsho [teenagers], the girls of the
intlombe [young people] participate in two further ceremonies related to the crops.
The first is known as ngologho. . . . Prior to sowing . . . a committee is elected,
a choice made of the ixhwele’ (Note: ‘A herbalist.’) ‘whose medicine is to ‘‘doctor”’
the fields and the girls are notified.
The committee delegates three men to collect one seed of every type sown and
to take these to the ixhwele. . . . The ixhwele grinds these and mixes them with a
magic powder which has the power to protect the crops from insect pests, par-
ticularly the maize stalk borer. The men are instructed to sprinkle the powder at
a certain time and place.’
pp. 36-37 Thembu: herbalist
Nothing more.
(Os 37) Thembu: protecting the crops
‘When the mealies are 45 cm high the girls of the ngologho [sic] are summoned
to assemble. They are required to sing and dance around each mealie field.’
p. 38 Thembu: first fruits
‘In March, as the first mealies ripen in the fields, the committee again summons "
the girls... . Within a short period the first crop of mealies and pumpkins is
collected and the girls of umtshotsho and intlombe celebrate ulibo (the first
fruits). . . . From every field around which they dance the girls are given gifts. Each
afternoon. . . pumpkins, melons and mealies. . . are prepared in a special manner
. It is taboo for the men of the tribe to partake of the first fruits.’
[Ds BY) Thembu: girl’s initiation
‘In this ritual the girl is placed in seclusion behind a grass mat. The ceremony
lasts a month. During this period the girl undergoing initiation is never addressed
by her own name but as /-ntonjane, or Chrysalis.’
pp. 39-50 Thembu: girl’s initiation
Description of the ceremonies.
p. 45 Thembu: fertility necklace
‘During the feast Nozoleka is adorned with a fertility doll necklace. It is made
of a tiny bottle covered in green or yellow beads and is worn to ensure fertility.’
p. 56 Thembu: ubulunga
‘These two animals must accompany the bride when she sets out, the cow is
called the wbulunga or “‘beast of correctness”. . . . From the tail of this animal
Nomvuyo will pluck hairs to make herself a protective or charm necklace. Her
children will also wear these ubulunga necklaces.’
pp. 92-108 Thembu: diviners
Discussion of profession of ‘witch-doctor’.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 805
pp. 93-94 Thembu: medicine bag, medicines, implements
‘. . . in cases of serious illness a witchdoctress or witchdoctor is summoned.
Accompanied by a retinue of students he or she arrives carrying a medicine bag
made of the entire pelt of a monkey. . . . The medicines—seeds, dried leaves,
herbs, bits of roots and bark and animal tissue are unpacked and laid on the floor
next to a large flat stone which has been placed in readiness by the hostess... .
After a discussion the illness is diagnosed and the witchdoctress . . . selects her
medicine and grinds it on the stone. A handful of this powder is placed in a can
of water. Then the doctor takes a forked stick and. . . rotates it rapidly in the can,
frothing the liquid. Meanwhile the acolytes have kindled a fire in the hut and the
medicine is infused. When it has cooled a bottle is filled and thereafter the patient
receives two doses daily.’
ps6 Thembu: charm necklace
‘A great variety of charm necklaces made of animal teeth, porcupine quills,
sea shells, bones and animal hair are worn [by doctors].’
pp. 105-106 Thembu: planting, harvest
“The three dances which the witchdoctors arrange over New Year, harvest and
spring are joint affairs.’
(1977) Sobahle pp. 272, 273, 289 Xhosa: ritual significance of white beads
(5 ea es Xhosa: diviners’ beads
‘With the introduction of beads and beadwork into Xhosa culture, the div-
iners . . . chose white beads matching the white ochre. They believed that white
beads had cleansing and purifying powers called inkanyiso. The beads are supposed
to appease the ancestors when offered tothem,. . . . The beads are also used when
the diviners make offerings to the river spirits, abantu bomlambo.’
pe2i2 Xhosa: white beads in ritual for baby
“The beads replaced the medicine as /camagu, instead the officiator would say
‘camagu as he gave out the beads to the people present. These were then collected,
threaded, and worn by the baby round his neck.’
pu 273 Xhosa: beads at sacrifice
‘Again, the white beads replaced the traditional medicine. They are threaded
on to a sinew, usinga, and worn round the neck of the family head. . . . In all of
the above rituals only pure white beads (intsimbi emhlophe) are used, as only white
beads feature in all religious activities . . . as they believe that, together with the
white ochre, these beads signify inkanyiso, from the ancestors.’
p. 289 Xhosa: decline of beadwork
‘Today, it is evident to anyone that beadwork is fast disappearing. This decline
is not only evident in the social sphere but also in the religious sphere, where it
could be said bead-wearing was backed by the ancestors.’
MEDICINE, MAGIC AND RELIGION: TERMS
incakuba, isicaguba, icaguba_ 1. incakuba (Em) small sharp instrument for letting
blood, D; lancet for making incisions for medicine, X Mp. 2. isicaguba, nD;
806 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
hlonipha for knife or something sharp, Bo. 3. icaguba, nD; lancet for incising
face (Bh-Hammond-Tooke 1955b) 996 (917)
ingadla 1.lancet,D. 2. long thin rod of iron, flattened at end, which is whetted
to a transverse edge, used as lancet or to incise ornamental marks on skin,
Mp 997
isilumeko (from -lumekatocup) 1.cupping horn, Bh. Not generally used because
they say uphondo lokulumeka if horn, D Xes T, iselwa lokulumeka if a
calabash, T 998
uphondo 1. horn, tusk of elephant, D, general. 2. horn as trumpet (Mp—
Lichtenstein 1811 phéndo). 3. uphondo lokucima (from -cima give an
enema) enema horn, Mp. 4. uphondo Iweyeza medicine horn, Bh, gen-
eral 999 (264, 1016, 1058)
iceba_ 1. chip, split, D; splinter (X—McLaren 1915). 2. piece of split wood, also
if used as splint for broken limb, T Mp _ 1000
ubengu 1. (a) white rind of the stalk of ‘Kafircorn’ or sweet cane, (b) piece of
sharpened cane used by midwives for dividing the umbilicalcord,D. 2.cane
knife (X—McLaren 1915) (i.e. ‘knife of cane’). 3. sliver of sugar-cane bark,
as pulled off with teeth when chewing cane, or similar strip of bamboo or cane
or reed, broken or cut off, general. (Note: 1 (b) is thus merely a special
meaning. Cf. also Venda /umengu sliver of sugar-cane rind, clearly of same
origin and all derived from -benga, see 754 ubengo) 1001
ikhubalo, commonly also in pl. amakhubalo (from a verb not found in X, but cf.
Sotho -gobala, Venda -huvhala get injured, which are equivalent forms, and
indicate a concept of physical detriment and hence of protection against
danger) 1. generic term for various roots used as ornaments and charms,
which were tied up in a blanket or strung up as a necklace, to ward off evil
or secure good, D. 2. wooden beads used as charm (Bo—Cook 1931).
3. wooden beads (Mzamane). 4. actually the modern meaning, which is
probably the old one also, is that of charms worn by nursing mothers to protect
their infants. Made of slices of root strung on necklace, or doctored bits of
white wood or other substitutes for the real thing 1002
isinyango (from -nyanga heal by means of medicines, charms; charm) 1. charm
worn on the body to ward off evil or to secure some good, D. 2. not
confirmed 1003
isisukulo 1. charm to procure increase of cattle or an abundant crop, D. 2. the
generic term for this class of charm (X-Soga) 1004
iyeza medicine in the widest sense of the term, D 1005
ubulunga small portion of hair plucked from tail brush of cattle, signifying a state
of right, property or ownership in such animal, fastened round the neck or arm
of young person, to cheer up, D X Mp, general 1006
umthi tree, shrub, herb, plant, hence medicine, D, general 1007
umthombothi sandalwood (Excoecaria africana Mull. (now Spirostachys africana
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 807
Sond.)), a hard scented wood, used as a perfume, pieces of which are worn
on a string round the neck, D X__ 1008 (178, 850)
ithambo 1. bone, D. 2. a small white bead generally worn by Kafirs, and so
named because it resembles bone in its substance, D. 3. tamboo, the most
valuable bead (X-Steedman). 4. pl. amathambo divining bones
(modern) 1009 (145, 263, 285)
indawule (the phonological equivalent of Sotho taola divining die, and perhaps
derivedfromit) 1. (Em) bones of different animals thrown, similarly to dice,
by witch-doctors to aid them in foretelling the fortune or misfortune of a
man or war party, or in discovering lost property, D (T—Makalima).
2. used in East Griqualand according to X. 3. not known, X Mp.
4. in his monograph, Kropf (1889a) gives this name to necklace talisman of
leopard’s teeth, beads, and pieces of root 1010
itshoba_ 1. bushy end of an animal’s tail, tassel, D. 2. fly-whisk (whereas umts-
hoba on animal), whisk for sprinkling medicine, general. 3. ox-tail hair, Fgo
X. 4.cow-tail hair used as ornament on basketwork, Mpm_ 1011 (220, 957)
isigubu. 1. bowl out of which beer is drunk, D. 2. wide-mouthed calabash,
medium-sized, diameter 15—20 cm, for salt and other dry substances, as seed,
Mp. 3. large calabash for beer, Mp. 4. calabash for beer, obsolete.
5. calabash wash-basin, X. 6. calabash not used for milk, Xes Bh. 7. beaded
gourd for holding medicinal water (T—Louw 1964) 1012 (563)
ixhayi 1. short jutting branch (on hut pillar) left for use as peg to hang things on,
D X Mp Xes. 2. rack made of wood for suspending a gun, D.
3. upright poles of skin-dressing frame, Bo Bh. 4. stirrer for medicines,
twirled between palms of hands, to stir medicines or for boys to stir up
beestings, Bo X Mp 1013 (88, 254)
umcephe half a calabash, used as a ladle, for drawing water, milk, beer, D,
general except Bh_ 1014 (153, 567)
umhlanti 1. witch-doctor’s medicine bag, D. 2. any old bag, X Mp.
3. bag of skin, known to T as an Mp word 1015
uphondo 1. horn, tusk of elephant, D, general. 2. horn as trumpet (Mp-
Lichtenstein 1811 phdndo). 3. uphondo lokucima (from -cima_ give
an enema) enema horn, Mp. 4. uphondo lweyeza medicine horn, Bh,
general 1016 (264, 999, 1058)
isivivane heap of stones thrown together by travellers at certain steep and
dangerous passes on difficult and tiring journey. Traveller adds a stone and
prays for strength, D X Mp, general 1017
ibhoma 1.nD. 2. hut for abakhwetha, Mp T 1018 (182)
iphempe 1.small temporary hut in garden to afford protection to those who work
there, D, mostly crop-watcher’s shelter, general. 2. also shelter for herd-
boys in bad weather, Bo. 3. circumcision hut, Bo Xes Hlu_ 1019 (30)
S08 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
isuthu. the company, club, or kraal of the circumcised youth, D, i.e. hut for
abakhwetha, general 1020
ithonto 1. small enclosure containing two euphorbia trees, indicating that twins
have been born at the adjoining kraal,D. 2. circumcision hut of abakhwetha,
X (Bo—Cook 1931, X—Soga), miscellaneous informants 1021
isikhwetha 1. place with one or two huts, removed from the community and
reserved for abakhwetha (X—, Fgo—Schweiger), T. 2. huts and cattle kraal
of the circumcised (X—Nauhaus 1929). 3. language used by abakhwetha
during period of seclusion, D T 1022
izichwe (pl.) Helichrysum pedunculare DC., a medicinal herb used for inflam-
mation in a wound, especially to heal circumcised boys, D (Bo—Cook
1931) 1023
isiqutsi 1.nD. 2. Helichrysum pedunculare, leaves used for dressing circum-
cision wounds (X-—, Fgo—Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk) 1024
igonga 1. elevated place for storing fruit, corn, etc.; store, shelf, D, general, for
various purposes, as rack for sticks, firewood, platform on poles built in fields
for crop-watchers. 2. rough bedstead of sticks made and used by healed
abakhwetha (Bo—Cook 1931) 1025 (86, 109, 323, 505)
umdlanga 1.nD. 2. spear used for circumcision, X Mp 1026
igumbi (from -gumba carve, scoop out wood) 1. corner or room, recess, ante-
chamber immediately at the entrance of ahouse, D. 2. part of hut on each
side of the entrance inside; part nearest wall all round inside of hut, gen- »
eral. 3. recess in wall, recessed sides of grain pit, recess in grave to take the
body, general 1028 (70)
ingcwaba (from -ngcwaba bury; X pron. inchwaba, -nchwaba) _ grave, D, general
(but it seems likely that this word was either coined or given vogue by
missionary objection to idlaka, which had heathen connotations of rites,
medicines, etc.) 1029
ithinta 1.nD. 2. grave,Mp 1030
idlaka_ the grave with the corpse and all the relics (clothes, saddle, pipe, bag, etc.)
of a man who has died, D. (This is none too clear. It is the original word and
has come back into use nowadays but it is disliked by many Christians) 1031
MEDICINE, MAGIC AND RELIGION: DISCUSSION
While the existence of a Supreme Being is recognized, the centre of Cape
Nguni spiritual life is the belief in the continued existence of the spirits of the
ancestors and in their ability to influence affairs on earth. This belief frequently
required the sacrificial slaughter and eating of cattle or goats. It did not, however,
involve the making of images or of any material objects where the ancestral spirits
might reside.
The interpretation of the wishes of the ancestors or the identification of the
activities of other spirits, the diagnosis of illness, and the decisions about the
measures to be taken is the work of specialists.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 809
The practitioners in these fields are of two sorts, the herbalist, ixhwele (Bhaca
inyanga), who administers herbs that are known generally or only to him- or herself
to be useful in specific complaints, and the diviner, the ‘witchdoctor’ of the
literature, iggira (Bhaca isangoma), who is as much concerned with prevention as
with cure, and attempts both by magical means. Diviners are able to smell out
evil-doers. It is they who communicate with the ancestral spirits and they perform
religious functions. Herbalists may be said to belong to a profession that any
ordinary person may practise after an apprenticeship, and diviners to follow a
vocation to which people feel a supernatural call and into which they are first
apprenticed and finally ceremonially initiated. Both will treat crops and stock as
well as people. Sometimes both are combined in one person, but in each there are
specialists in various branches, for example, in former times the Xhosa itola, a
diviner who treated the army for war. Both men and women practise both
professions.
Master diviners may provide special huts for their apprentices to live in. Some
of these seen in 1971 resembled the khwetha huts—the old ungquphantsi.
DIVINATION
The Cape Nguni method of divination, and this is true of the immigrant
peoples as well, was by ‘smelling-out’ and there was a good deal of individuality
in the method used. It might, as in the more spectacular public cases of old, be by
the inspired utterances of the diviner himself, without material aids or in trance,
or he might use a stick, which in his hands suddenly manifested special powers, to
identify the wrongdoer. Another method, first recorded by Smith or Ayliff, and
still until recently practised, was to listen to the voices of the spirits in a calabash,
or to fill the calabash with water and watch the behaviour of the water when the
names of suspected persons were recited. Among the Thembu the smelling-out was
sometimes commenced by stabbing a spear into the ground to bring down the spirits
of the ancestors to help in the divination. A recent variation of this, practised by
Xhosa, was to spread divining bones, then bring the spear down into their midst.
The diviner then watched the behaviour of the spear when he spoke to the bones,
and in trance received their answers.
Divination by throwing the bones was not a true feature of Cape Nguni
culture. The first mention in the literature is after 1850, when the bones were seen
amongst an immigrant Sotho group, and it is likely to have been by immigrants or
itinerant diviners from outside that the practice was introduced. Kropf, in his work
on the Xhosa, gives the name indawule to leopard’s teeth, which were made into
necklace charms by doctors and supplied to individuals, and also used for divining
by the doctors themselves. But he records the use of the bones in another article
and in his Dictionary confines the term indawule to them. He and Fritsch give the
impression that sets were carried by ordinary individuals and consulted by them.
The set described was the same as the Southern Sotho set, as is a set in the British
Museum (BM +847) acquired in 1878 and described as ‘Kaffir Daula’. Hence some
authors have concluded that the practice was introduced directly from Lesotho,
810 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
and the term indawule is obviously derived from the Southern Sotho taola.
The basis of divination through bones, as practised amongst Sotho and others,
is that the set represents the society and the totemic groups within it. Since
totemism is not part of the Nguni social order this type of divination could have
no valid function among them. The method is likely to have come in as a new-
fangled thing that caught the imagination and brought profit to its practitioners.
The set consisted of a few vertebrae of small animals, plus the main bones,
which were two flat pieces of horn, about 5 to 6 cm long and having marks incised
on one face, and two buck hoofs. Practitioners added other bones and objects to
suit themselves. The bones were kept in a leather bag or a calabash.
The fact that from the middle of the nineteenth century, when it was first
noted, references are few and scanty compared with the full accounts of other
methods of divination, suggests that this method took some time to spread. Hlubi
informants a century later described it as a new thing. Latterly divining bones have
become well known though not universal among Cape Nguni, and the bones,
amathambo, are still thrown there by some practitioners—secretly, since it is
illegal.
One of the methods of procedure in private consultations with a doctor, is for
the consulting party to beat with sticks on the dry oxhide that serves as a drum,
while they reply to the doctor’s questions. When he is on the right track they beat
more loudly. A variation of this is to clap with the hands. Bomvana and Xhosa
consulting parties carry sticks (iminqayi) from their home, which sticks are kept .
for this purpose, but in actual consultation they use the hand-clapping method.
MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS
There were several instruments used by herbalists and diviners.
A thin iron awl (isilanda) was used for many purposes, amongst others for the
extraction of teeth.
An iron instrument used as a lancet (ingadla, incakuba) is described as small
and chisel-shaped with a sharp cutting edge. It was used to make cuts in the flesh
to let blood, either alone or with the aid of a cupping horn, or for the purpose of
rubbing in powders, or for amputation, if any. Mpondo informants denied that
amputations were attempted.
According to the Dictionary the knife used by midwives for severing the
umbilical cord was a sharpened piece of cane, ubengu. This was recorded as used
by Xhosa and Bhaca, though the earlier Xhosa and Fingo tradition was said to have
been a sharp stone flake (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 59: 4). According to
Hammond-Tooke, the Bhaca considered that the use of a metal knife for this
purpose would cause excessive bleeding.
A different instrument was used for circumcision, which was performed with
the sharp blade of a spear, or it is said, in earlier times, a sharp stone.
The cupping instrument was most commonly a short piece of cowhorn,
uphondo lokulumeka, Bhaca isilumeko (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 59: 2),
about 15 cm long, with the tip cut off so that it could be open at both ends, but
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 811
with a blob of wax at the tip so that it could be closed if necessary. Alternatively
a small calabash, iselwa lokulumeka, might be used, with base and top cut off for
openings, and with wax at the top. The method of cupping was first to cut the skin
in the desired spot with a lancet, or to abrade it with a rough stone. The horn or
calabash was then placed in position with the wide opening pressed firmly down
on the flesh to keep out the air. Xesibe suggested damping the skin so that the horn
would stick. Finally the practitioner sucked through the small end until it was
considered that sufficient blood had flowed. Alternatively, after the bleeding had
commenced and a vacuum been obtained by sucking, the hole might be stopped
with the wax held ready in the mouth and applied with the tongue, and the horn
left to continue the bleeding for a while. Informants stated that a later method was
to have an instrument without a hole at the top, and to create a vacuum by lighting
a small piece of paper in the horn or calabash, and allowing it to burn out after
the instrument had been placed on the skin. A diviner might search the blood for
foreign bodies.
The use of a large ox-horn, uphondo lokucima, with the tip cut off so as to
be open at each end, to administer an enema, appears to be general.
Makalima alone describes the use for fractured limbs of wooden splints, bound
on with leather. In 1955 Xhosa and Hlubi informants said that they used splints,
and Thembu and Mpondo informants knew the term iceba for a splint. Dr Tom
Walker of Mganduli (pers. comm.) confirmed the use of wooden splints, tied on
with bark.
MEDICINES (amayeza)
The word ‘medicine’ is used here to include all the material objects by means
of which an attempt is made to influence the health and well-being of people,
animals and things, for good or bad. Some are of purely magical value—talismans
to promote good fortune or charms to guard against evil, especially witchcraft.
Others are medicines, often of real therapeutic value to cure bodily or spiritual ills,
including purification after certain conditions. Some may be used in each capacity
by different practitioners, others are a bit of each in one. It would be difficult to
say how much differentiation there is in the mind of the patient.
Because they are so often made of wood or herbs, the word for plant, umthi,
is also used for medicine, but the generic term is iyeza.
It is not appropriate to try to give here the whole therapeutic and magical
pharmacopoeia of the Cape Nguni, which is in itself a specialist study, but there
are certain well-known objects, or classes of object, that are universal in the area,
and may be mentioned.
Many of the talismans for good fortune in specific activities are worn round
the neck, often incorporated with other objects into a necklace, or they may be
hidden in the clothing. The majority are of wood or root and at critical moments
a bit may be chewed and spat all round—for example, the war talismans and
charms, which were prepared by the chief’s diviner and either sold or issued to each
warrior. It is recorded that Makana, in 1850, used little sticks of Plumbago capen-
sis. Medicines, izisukulo, for ensuring the success of the crop or the health and
812 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
increase of the herd are, respectively, mixed with the seed or buried round or
scattered over or burnt on the field, or in the cattle kraal. Sometimes the field
charms are plants, which are planted among the crops or at the edge of the land.
Formerly a practitioner was called in at the building of a new homestead, to plant
medicated pegs, but this is rarely done now. According to De Jager, all these are
the true amakhubalo, in Xhosa usage.
If the people of this area ever owned or used fertility dolls for the promotion
of child-bearing as is common in other parts of southern Africa, it has been a very
well-kept secret. There is no term in the vernacular and the earliest mention of such
a doll in the literature is Cunynghame’s report of the period 1874—8. The doll he
describes resembles those of the Southern Sotho. The South African Museum has
a single authenticated specimen (SAM-—986) from the Fingo of the Herschel
district, where Southern Sotho influence is strong. Again, Duggan-Cronin’s
photograph of young Hlubi women with beaded wooden fertility dolls comes from
near the Lesotho border.
The only other references in the literature are later. Two ‘dolls’ in the East
London Museum were described by De Lange’s informants in 1961 as a ‘love doll’
and a ‘bride (or fertility) doll’ respectively. The love doll (EL 1365) is Xhosa,
consists of a pair, male and female, entirely of beadwork over a wooden base. It
could be attached to a necklet and was worn or carried before marriage and
secretly, to ensure getting a husband and ‘lots of children’. The bride doll (EL 3206) .
is thought to be Thembu and shows obvious Southern Sotho influence. The base
is cloth, which is entirely covered with beadwork and the doll is attached to a
necklace. It was worn or carried after marriage to ensure the birth of children. Both
dolls are small— 13 and 16 cm respectively. Ornaments of this type and of similar
purpose are, according to Broster, also worn by the Qwathi.
A third type of doll was noted by De Lange, and said to have been used by
Xesibe as well as Xhosa. It was carved out of wood in the shape of a baby, and
placed on the roof of the hut of a woman who had not yet conceived. When a baby
was born the doll was burnt and buried.
It seems likely that all these instances would have been the result of fairly
recent contact with Southern Sotho.
Other amakhubalo are the protective charms, which are also most frequently
worn round the neck, as part of a necklace. This is particularly so for charms worn
PEATE t7
Medicine flasks, stirrer and charm.
. Gourd medicine flask, diameter 90 mm, Fingo; Peddie, 1939 (SAM, Jeffreys collection J2).
. ixhayi, stirrer for medicines, 368 mm; no data (KM).
3. ikhubalo, necklace of pieces of root, worn as charm, no scale, Gcaleka; Qwaninga, Willowvale,
1948.
4. Horn medicine flask, c. 180 mm, Bhaca; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
Ne
813
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
wy
aye
Wie
814 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
by nursing mothers for the good of their babies (Pls 94: 2; 117: 3; 118: 2). These
latter charms are frequently bits of root or wood, and may be chewed from time
to time. Sometimes the wood is made into beads. A wood much favoured is
sandalwood, umthombothi. It is safe to say that all necklaces containing wood are
charms. Shells, especially Nerita sp., ingcogo, and other objects may be so used.
Sticks, generally of a special wood, particularly plumbago, umabophe, and in the
form of pegs, are often rubbed with medicine, and issued as charms, particularly
for huts and homesteads, to ward off lightning and other evils. In the west of the
area, a plant, Gasteria sp., is frequently grown in the thatch of the hut roof to ward
off lightning.
Protective charms may also be attached to clothing or to other ornaments, or
hung in the hut. According to the Dictionary and the Bomvana, the generic term
is ikhubalo, but it is not certain that that term is used specifically everywhere.
Lightning was considered to be a supernatural visitation from the lightning
bird, and measures were taken to ward it off by medicines. When it struck,
however, the place and all persons connected with it had to be purified. Persons
or animals killed were buried, even before burial was universal, and a hut was
broken down completely, and sometimes carefully fenced round to enclose the evil.
According to an unconfirmed report of a Xhosa woman who visited Genadendal
in 1811, it was Xhosa custom to put up, at the spot where the lightning struck, a
high pole on which people hung their beads and ornaments. Xhosa and Bomvana
killed a beast or a goat for a burnt offering but the Mpondo, in modern times at »
least, said this was not necessary. According to MacDonald, in about 1880, the
skull of an animal so sacrificed would be put on the roof of ‘the hut’. Except among
Christians, the same preventive and purificatory measures are taken today.
One specific charm that is both protective and curative, is the whulunga, which
is known to all Cape Nguni proper (PI. 118: 1, 3, 4). This is a necklace made of
hairs plucked from the tail of one of a number of cattle that are specially set aside.
There are one or more such cows in each family, and on her marriage a woman
takes one with her as a gift from her father. This cow, however, though under the
control of her husband, remains the property of herself and her family and supplies
the necklaces for herself and her children. It may not be sold. There are certain
fixed occasions, apparently the same among all Cape Nguni proper, for wearing
the ubulunga necklace, such as by newly married women, by a baby shortly after
birth, or by boys going off to their initiation school. The Bomvana also put them
on twin calves. In these cases it is to ensure good fortune and health, but it is worn
PLATE 118
Charms.
. ubulunga necklace, 310 mm, Mpondomise; no further data (Alb. G353).
. Gcaleka woman wearing amakhubalo necklace; Idutywa, 1960.
. Woman wearing ubulunga necklace, Xhosa; Willowvale, 1948.
. ubulunga necklace, 110 mm, Fingo; Peddie, 1939 (SAM, Jeffreys collection J10).
BWM rR
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 815
eu ho
ALT.
ait ’ \
77
| Ng ON
ely
816 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
at any time and not only by women, as a cure for specific troubles, especially illness.
Men also own ubulunga cattle, and hairs from the man’s or the woman’s beast may
be worn according to requirements. The active principle seems to be the spirits of
the ancestors, which reside in the cattle, and the wearing of the necklace is a means
of invoking their aid. The necklace should not be thrown away when worn out but
stuck in the thatch of the roof.
Amongst Xhosa, Fingo, Bomvana and Mpondo, but not among Hlubi, Xesibe
and Bhaca, it was the custom when twins were born for the father to go to the forest,
dig up two euphorbia trees (umhlontlo, Euphorbia candelabra), or for triplets
three, and plant them outside the mother’s hut (PI. 119: 1). Some Bomvana plant
two aloes as well. The trees were fenced off and looked after with care, since it
was thought that their life and that of the twins was intimately connected. Their
growth should therefore be similar. If a tree be hurt or die, the twin with which
it was connected would be hurt or die, and vice versa. The trees were therefore
protected throughout the life of the twins. Medicine was made from an infusion
of the milk or of bits of the roots, and the twins were washed with it in infancy,
and later in illness, in which case they might return from a distance for this purpose.
Even if the homestead is deserted the euphorbias and their enclosing fence are left
intact. According to Déhne the Xhosa planted only one tree, and at about nine
months dug it up and washed the twins in its milky sap. Kropf quotes this practically
verbatim, and adds somewhat inconsistently that if two trees were seen standing
it meant that the twins had been killed at birth. According to Makalima when a »
twin dies, a euphorbia is planted on its grave.
At the homestead of each tribal chief there was a hut, which the Bhaca call
elusizini— ‘place of sorrow’, set aside for the tribal medicines and objects of ritual
significance to the tribe; for example the collection of medicines, flasks, bags and
weapons said to have been brought to their present home by Madzikane, chief of
the Bhaca, when they moved out of Natal (Pl. 119: 2). Among the Mpondo, the
chief’s diviner more or less lived at this hut.
Medicines, magical or therapeutic, and other than talismans or charms, may
be dried and ground to a powder, or infused, and taken by mouth, or used to wash
in, especially to wash babies. Medicines are collected in the veld and forest by the
doctor. One visited in 1971 had aloes growing next to his cattle kraal, for use as
medicine.
PLATE 119
Euphorbia trees; tribal medicines.
1. Two euphorbia trees (umhlontlo) planted to indicate the birth of twins nearby, Bomvana;
Elliotdale, 1948.
2. Bhaca, tribal inkatha (medicine coil to bind the people together in harmony) and other relics
(imithi yokweshwama), brought from Natal by Madzikane, founder of the tribe, and kept
together with assorted material on the floor in a special hut called Elusizini, ‘Place of sorrow’;
Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 817
818 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
A recent development is the sale of medicines either at trading stores in the
country districts or at shops in the towns.
In addition to the traditional remedies, there has arisen an enormous vogue
for patent medicines, which may be bought at the stores or obtained by post from
the cities.
DOCTOR’S PARAPHERNALIA
Some medicines are used in their natural state, others have to be prepared.
Small grinding-stones are used, either by the doctor or by lay persons at home, to
grind them to a powder. According to Cook, the stones used by the Bomvana for
grinding roots of euphorbias planted for twins are kept solely for that purpose while
the twins and the trees live. The medicines are mixed in bowls, usually of pottery
or half a calabash, but in earlier days a human skull might be used for this purpose
on special occasions. For example, it was evidently general practice to mix the war
medicines in the skull of a notable enemy killed in battle; the medicine, with which
the warriors were sprinkled, was then supposed to transmit the valour of the dead
man. The medicines for the Bhaca feast of the first fruits were mixed in the skull
of an enemy, and a new one had to be obtained at each chief’s accession. When
an heir was born to the Thembu chieftainship, or when the great wife of the
Mpondo paramount was installed, a prominent chief, of a family in which the
honour was hereditary, was killed, so that his skull might be used as a receptacle
for mixing the medicines in which the heir was washed. The intention in all cases
was the transmission of qualities of the former owner of the skull.
For the practitioner’s medicines and equipment a special hut, or a screened-off
portion of a hut, may be used.
Medicines are stirred with a forked stick, which is twirled between the hands
(Pl. 117: 2). They are kept in a horn, uphondo lweyeza, or a calabash, isigubu, some
stoppered, some not. Sometimes these are decorated or covered with beadwork
(Pl. 117: 1, 4). Some of the horns are strung on a cord and worn as anecklace. Other
horns and calabashes are carried in the skin bag. A Mpondomise doctor was seen
wearing a bandolier of beaded calabashes for his medicines.
Horns of various sizes, filled with medicine, may also be supplied to the patient
as charms. For example the Bomvana place a horn filled with umhlabelo medicine
on the roof, above the door and pointing toward an oncoming storm, to ward off
the lightning.
Alberti records that the first step in rain-making was to sacrifice a beast, and
by means of a small stick ‘soaked’ in it, to sprinkle the bystanders with the blood.
This must have been some form of switch, either a stick with the end hammered
to free the fibres, or possibly with the leaves left on. There is no further mention
of this in the literature, but the Bhaca diviner used a handful of grass for sprinkling
medicines. However, a cow-tail switch, itshoba, is a regular part of the modern
diviner’s paraphernalia, and is used for sprinkling various liquids.
Practitioners have a skin mat, on which to sit and spread their things. This may
be a simple goatskin, often white, but according to Mrs Hamilton-Welsh (Louw
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 819
1964), it had greater virtue if it was made of different skins sewn together, the more
the better.
All the paraphernalia are carried in a skin bag, umhlanti.
OTHER PRACTICES
Cairns
Isivivane is the name of the cairn that is still to be seen in places in the Transkei
and Ciskei and that has been the subject of much discussion in the literature. From
the earliest enquirer, Van der Kemp in 1800, to this survey no one has been able
to find out its origin, nor does it appear to have been known to the Cape Nguni
themselves. According to Kay these cairns were generally on the summits or sides
of mountains, and always near to a path. One suggestion was that the practice was
copied from the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) who were in the western part of the area
at least, before the Nguni, and who had the custom of throwing stones on to graves.
But cairns are well known in other parts of South Africa—one in Natal has been
declared a national monument. It was also suggested.and equally firmly denied that
they marked the graves of important people. F. Brownlee states definitely, how-
ever, that there is a cairn at Rarabe’s grave.
The cairns had no particular form or shape. The practice was that a person
passing a cairn picked up a stone or bunch of grass or a twig, said a short prayer
for a safe journey and success in the object of it, whether the objective was good
or bad, spat on the object in his hand, threw it on to the heap, and went on his
way renewed in strength and confidence.
Xhosa and Mpondo informants did not seem to think the cairns of any
importance, though Xhosa said that some people would still throw a stone on to
the cairn if passing. According to Hunter the Mpondo no longer even do that.
There were no cairns in Bomvanaland, but they knew the custom and would
presumably conform if in other parts.
There is no mention of cairns in the literature after 1932, and though their
existence in certain places was reported by informants, the only one seen was by
Hammond-Tooke in 1958, halfway up a hillside near Clarkebury (Van Warmelo
1965).
Feast of the first fruits
The feast of the first fruits (Xhosa ulibo; Bhaca ingcubhe) must originally have
been celebrated by all the Cape Nguni, but has died out gradually or been reduced
to a ceremonial eating of the new season’s crops among all except the Bhaca.
Among the Thembu, Broster reported a small ceremonial eating of new crops still
observed in 1972. Among the Mpondo, according to Hunter, the ceremony was
abandoned after the local wars had ceased and she concludes that it had been
concerned with the strengthening of the army. Among the Bhaca, since the 1926
occasion, it has been celebrated with decreasing ceremonial and strictness. Special
medicines were gathered and kept in the reserved hut. Sacred fire was kindled with
820 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
the special fire-sticks. A special brushwood cattle kraal was erected at the Great
Place, and round it the ceremonial, including cattle-racing, took place.
Initiation
The ceremony of initiation of boys, the most important part of which was the
circumcision, was at one time performed throughout this area with the possible but
not very probable exception of the Bhaca. It is still retained by all except the
Mpondo, for whom it was abolished by their chief Faku (who died in 1867), the
Xesibe and the Bhaca. When the latter abandoned it is not clear, but latterly,
according to informants, some are adopting it again through contact with the
Hlubi.
The operation is performed nowadays about the age of fifteen or later, but
there is no fixed age. According to N. Morgan, boys used to be circumcised quite
young, so as to be eligible for certain privileges, but this does not appear to have
been the case latterly.
If the full rite is to be performed, the boys, abakhwetha, are gathered together
at a place, isikhwetha, some distance from any homestead, where one or sometimes
two huts (ibhoma, iphempe, ithonto, isuthu) of the old beehive style (ungquphantsi)
are built for them, one to serve as a kitchen. A new development seen in 1955, and
not seen in 1948, was flags of white cloth, on the roof of the huts or on poles
arranged in a circle round the lodge. The lodges thus seen were quite visible and
in some cases not far from dwellings, but there was a screen in front of the huts
for privacy. Xhosa and Fingo women gather all the materials, and men build the —
hut. Bomvana and Mpondomise men and women share the work with the same
division of labour as in ordinary hut-building. A small kraal may be built as well,
facing the hut door. The whole lodge may be encircled by a fence, intendelezo.
According to Cook, Bomvana boys are allowed to make themselves a rough
bedstead of sticks (igonga), ‘when the fleas are bad’, but only after their wounds
are healed.
According to N. Morgan the instrument used for circumcision by the Xhosa
at the beginning of the last century was invariably a sharp stone. There is no other
record of this in the literature, and all other authorities, before and after Morgan
and for all tribes, speak equally invariably of a spear blade (umdlanga, Xhosa,
Mpondo) with a short wooden handle for convenience. Fynn states that the Ntusi
(Mpondo) used to sharpen the blade to a saw edge to make the wound heal better.
F. Brownlee was shown a Fingo instrument that was kept for that purpose only,
and had been handed down for generations. Other tribes used to burn the
instrument at the end of the ceremonies. Modern Xhosa, however, said that
it was kept for future occasions. One Xhosa informant said that the blade was
cleaned after the operations, and then used for cutting the meat for the group.
More and more people are now going to hospitals to be circumcised, but the
tribal operation was still reported in 1970. Even where the full ceremonies have
disappeared there are still occasional small lodges formed, where initiates gather,
in the case of working men perhaps only for a week-end, go through a form of the
rites and wear distinctive clothing.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 821
Gitywa records the giving of pieces of anthill to Xhosa initiates to suck after
the operation, as an anti-emetic.
After the operation Xhosa, Fingo and Bomvana used the leaves of izichwe,
isiqutsi (Helichrysum pedunculare), to dress the wounds, and Xhosa also used the
dried scale leaves incwadi (Boophane disticha). (The bulb of Boophane disticha is
a well-known source of poison, but the dry scale leaves do not contain the toxin.)
Among Xhosa the leaves were bound on with a long strip of softly dressed
sheepskin, and a similar strip went round the waist and was attached to the binding
strip. The Tshezi used black braid for this purpose in the 1960s. Among Tshezi,
initiates must not eat with the fingers, but with little sticks for meat and calabash
spoons for maize.
At the end of the initiation period the hut, kraal, clothing, costume, and
everything connected with the lodge is burnt.
In addition to new clothing and other gifts the initiated are given knobbed
sticks that indicate their attainment of a new status.
Girls too have a ceremony of initiation (intonjane) into womanhood. It con-
sists of a period of seclusion, behind a mat screen in the hut, where the girl sits on
special rushes. Like the khwetha the intonjane may eat only with sticks. During this
period the girl would bleach her skin with an infusion of herbs, according to Tshezi
the roots of tambookie grass. The coming-out ceremony included the sacrificial
slaughter of a beast or a goat. The ceremony used to be universally practised but
is now falling into disuse.
Burial
The impression to be gained from a study of the literature on this subject, is
that prior to about the middle of the eighteenth century the Xhosa, at least, buried
all their dead, that for about a century after that the general practice in this area
was to bury only chiefs and their families, infants and those who had been struck
by lightning, and that by the latter part of the nineteenth century, burial of all dead
had become general again, under pressure first from missionaries and later from
the government.
The first period of universal burial is admittedly recorded only twice, by the
survivors of the Stavenisse and by Beutler, and although confirmed by G. Thomp-
son in 1821, the reports may not be correct, since there seems no reason for such
a change. On the other hand, these observers may have been in an area where Khoi
(Hottentot) influence was still strong, for the Khoikhoi buried their dead.
During the period when the common people were not buried, the practice was
to take the person out into the veld, if possible before death, and to leave him to
die there, perhaps with a few branches as a screen, in the certain knowledge that
hyaenas and vultures would dispose of the body. Sometimes the sick person would
get better and come home. According to Van der Kemp, if the sick person kept
returning, but not recovering, he was eventually locked in his hut and the home-
stead abandoned. The idea was for other members of the community to avoid
822 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
the defilement of touching the dead, and of having to abandon the homestead
because of a death in it.
Infants were buried in ant-bear holes, generally found in anthills. The hole was
there, and it was necessary merely to put the body in and cover it up. Bhaca buried
those killed by lightning on the spot where they were killed.
As early as 1832, however, Shrewsbury remarked that burial of all was
becoming more widespread, and in 1833 N. Morgan stated that Xhosa adults of
the common people were, like infants, buried in ant-bear holes. The steady decline
in the numbers of scavenger animals must have played its part, in addition to the
official pressures, in the move towards burial.
The Fingo who settled in the Cape Colony buried their dead. This may have
been a Fingo custom, or insisted upon by the authorities.
The grave (Xhosa idlaka, ingcwaba; Mpondo ithinta) dug for chiefs and their
families was a fairly deep round hole, with a recess, igumbi, in the wall at the
bottom, big enough to take the body in a squatting position with the knees drawn
up to the chin. Kay gives the standing position as an alternative. Ross states that
even chiefs and their families were put in the grave before death, and later covered
up, but this is not confirmed. According to Fletcher the Xhosa, about 1900,
wrapped the body of a chief in a mat, together with his blankets. Chiefs were buried
in their own cattle kraal, or just under its hedge, or outside it, in which case a new
kraal would be built over the grave. F. Brownlee, however, describes a special site
at the top of a hill for the grave of Chief Rarabe. At all events the area was fenced -
off, and thereafter avoided by humans, and a herd of cattle was put in so that all
trace of the grave was soon obliterated. The cattle were in the charge of one or
more watchmen, and were set aside not to be killed. Some say they stayed there
for a year, others for the rest of their lives.
Members of the Xhosa and Mpondo chiefs’ families were often buried in the
floor of the hut in which they died, and the hut was then made to collapse over the
grave.
Heads of homesteads were buried just outside the gate of the cattle kraal, and
among Mpondo, Mpondomise and some Xesibe are still so buried.
According to Hammond-Tooke all members of a Bhaca homestead were
formerly buried near the cattle kraal.
Nowadays everyone is allowed to die in the hut, and taken out for burial.
Thembu in the Herschel district in 1961 said that the body was wrapped in the
deceased’s blankets. Seeds of pumpkin, maize and wheat were buried with it. The
same type of grave as that described above is used very generally throughout,
except that most people now use coffins, which are stocked by the traders.
At first any suitable spot was chosen and in the west of the area it seems that
each homestead has its own place for burial, away from the huts. Xesibe and Bhaca
have regular graveyards. A Mpondomise homestead visited in 1955, however, had
a group of mounds within the homestead area, and this arrangement was said to
be common practice. No one seemed to hesitate to walk over them, which is a very
different state of affairs from that described in the early accounts.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 823
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
SOURCES
1752 Beutler p. 310 Xhosa: no musical instruments
‘Musicaale instrumenten hebben of gebruyken se niet, als er bruyloft word
gehouden of dat se onder malkanderen vrolijk sijn, dan singen of eerder brommen
se en daarby in ’t rond dansende stampen se hart met de voeten welk een en ander
sulk een yselijk geluyt veroorsaakt alsof er een parthy Engelsche doggen met
malkander doende waaren.’
1772-5 Thunberg (1793) p. 37 Xhosa: whistle
“When a Caffre has discovered a spot where several buffaloes has assembled,
he blows a pipe, made of the thigh-bone of a sheep which is heard at a great
distance.’
1776 Hallema (1932) p. 134 Xhosa: no musical instruments
‘Musicale Instrumenten hebben wij bij hen niet gezien.’
1777-9 Paterson (1789) p. 94 Xhosa: whistle
‘The men have great pride in their cattle; they cut their horns in such a way
as to be able to turn them into any shape they please, and teach them to answer
a whistle. Some of them use an instrument for this purpose, similar to a Boshman’s
pipe. When they wish their cattle to return home, they go a little way from the
house and blow this small instrument, which is made of ivory or bone, and so
constructed as to be heard at a great distance, and in this manner bring all their
cattle home without any difficulty.’
1788 Von Winkelman (1788-9) p. 84 Xhosa: gora
‘Ausser der so genannten Hungerflote, fand ich unter den Kaffern dieses
Distrikts keine musicalische Instrumente. Dieses Instrument ist unter den Hot-
tentotten sehr im Gebrauch. Es besteht in einem Bogen mit einer Sehne oder Saite,
die Ziemlich starck gespannt ist. An einem Ende ist ein Stuck von einem
Federnkiel mittelst eines Einschnitts, der dann eine Klappe vorstellt, angebracht.
Diess nehmen sie in den Mund und erzwingen durch heftiges Einziehen der Luft,
verschiedene nicht sehr misklingende doch klagende Tone, die beiden Nationen
viel vergnigen machen.’
1797 Barrow (1806) p. 169 Xhosa: whistle
‘Their skill in music is not above the level of that of the Hottentots. They have
in fact no other instruments except the two in use among the latter, and a small
whistle made of the bone of some animal, and used sometimes for giving the
necessary instructions to their cattle when at a distance.’
1802—6 Alberti (1810a) pp. 165-166 Xhosa: gora
‘Speeltuigen van eigene vinding ontmoet men bij de Kaffers niet. Het eenige,
dat ik vond, is een dunne Stok, met eene Darmsnaar omtogen, gelijkende veel naar
den eenvoudigen strijkstok eener viool. Aan het eene einde dezer darmsnaar is
824 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
eene half gespletene Penneschacht vast gemaakt, welke door twee gemaakte
openingen gestoken wordt. Men houdt deze schacht voor de geslotene tanden, en
brengt alzoo, door eene meer of min geweldige uit- en inademing der lucht, enkele,
ofschoon doffere en minder hoorbare, toonen van eenen zoo genoemden
Waldhoorn voort. Zeldzaam, echter, ontmoette ik dit speeltuig bij de Kaffers, en
dan zelfs werd het nog door eenen Gonaquees bespeeld. Daar nu dezen, bij de
uitbreiding der Volkplanting, sedert geruimen tijd, hebben opgehouden, eene
bijzondere Natie uit te maken, en zij grootstendeels onder de Kaffers, hunne
Naburen, verstrooid zijn, is het waarschijnlijk, dat dit speeltuig aan de laatsten
langs dezen weg is bekend geworden.’
(See also Alberti 1810b (English edition): 79-80.)
1803-6 Lichtenstein (1811) p. 464 Xhosa: music
Nothing more.
1813 Campbell, J. (1815) p. 368 Xhosa: gora, musical bow, whistle
‘They likewise use instruments of music. One is a bow with a piece of quill fixed
near one end of the string, on which they blow, which makes an agreeable sound.
The women have a calabash hung to a bow string, on which they beat, and sing
in harmony with the beating. The words they use are the names of friends, rivers,
and places they can recollect; having no songs. They also make a kind of flute from
the thigh bone of some animal, with which they give notice to each other of various
affairs, such as when a meeting of the Kraal is desired.’
1819-29 Moodie, J. W. D. (1835) p. 251 Xhosa: drum
‘The women were drawn up at a hundred yards distance; they sang, clapped
their hands, beat a kind of rude drum made of a calabash, and showed every token
of the most extravagant Joy.’
1827 Hallbeck & Fritsch (1826) p. 303 Thembu: gora
. ; another proposed to entertain us with music, and began to play upon
his gurrha, an instrument with one string, upon which he blew, and produced four
notes, without any changes;....
(1829) Rose pp. 141, 146 Xhosa: drums
p. 141 Xhosa: drums
Nothing more.
p. 146 Xhosa: drums
‘. . . while the woman sang a monotonous air, and kept beating an extended
ox-hide, which they stood round. We afterwards, in travelling on, met several of
the whitewashed urchins, .... ;
1820-56 Shaw, W. (1860) p. 457 Xhosa: drum
“The women at the kraals visited by the abakweta sing a monotonous song,
in which various libidinous allusions, accompanied by indecent gestures, are
occasionally intermingled. As an accompaniment to their wild kind of throat
music, they beat time on shields or dry ox-hides with sticks.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 825
(1850b) Anon. [Salzmann] p. 163 Ndlambe: drum
‘Das Orchester dieses Kafferntheaters bestand aus Frauen, die in dem
Kalberkraal standen. Ihr Kapellmeister war ein nackter Kaffer, der mit einem
Knittel auf einer Kuhhaut, die diese Frauen straff hielten, den Takt schlug. Nach
diesem Takte sangen die Frauen (jede was sie will,) und bewegten sich sanft
hupfend.’
(1850c) Anon. [Schultheiss] p. 242 Ndlambe: drum
Nothing more.
1851-2 King (1853) p. 63 Fingo: drum
‘In a wide clear space a ring of some three score of these athletic forms,
blankets and karosses thrown aside, began a war-dance to the strange chorus of
their deep voices, accompanied by regular tapping on a shield of ox-hide.’
(1856) Fleming pp. 225, 275 ‘Kaffir’: gora, drum
Nothing more.
(1858) Maclean pp. 89, 160 Thembu, Xhosa: drum
p. 89 Thembu: drum
‘The ceremony of “ukwombela” is now commenced, the hide drums are
violently beaten, the bundles of assegais are struck together, accompanied by the
well known humming and clapping of hands by the women. Bye and bye, the priest
rushes out of his hut, springs into the midst of the circle of human beings assembled,
and commences jumping about in the most frantic manner, and performing all sorts
of extraordinary gesticulations. This is called “‘ukuxentsa.””’
p. 160 Xhosa, Thembu: drum
‘During the [khwetha] dance, the females of the place, collected in a company,
stand together at a short distance, beating time with sticks upon a shield, and
accompanying it with a sort of chant abounding with licentious allusions.’
1863-6 Fritsch (1872) p. 70 Xhosa: whistles
‘Ausser den Tabakspfeifen verfertigt der Kaffer auch andere Pfeifen um damit
sein Vieh oder seine Hunde zu rufen, welche aus ROhrenknochen oder Elfenbein
gemacht und in der Weise geblasen werden, wie man auf einem hohlen Schlussel
zu blasen pflegt; doch pfeift der Kaffer auch ohne Instrument unter alleiniger
Benutzung der Finger mit auffallender Kraft, wozu die dicken, aufgeworfenen
Lippen das Ihrige beitragen m6gen.’
1845-89 Kropf (1889) p. 110 Xhosa: drum
‘Der Tanz am Tage im Freien beim Viehkraal oder nahe beim Wohnhause
wird in der Weise aufgefiihrt, dass auf der einen Seite die Frauen in Evas Kostiim
zu ihrem Summen und Brummen mit St6cken auf einem getrockneten Ochsenfell
den Takt schlagen, auf der anderen die Jinglinge und Madchen, jeder mit einem
Spiesse in der Hand, Luftspriinge machen, ihre Glieder verzerren und Juchzer
ausstossen.’
826 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1872 Weitz (1873) p. 182 Hlubi: flute
(Saw youth in straw hat, riding an ox:) ‘and playing his flute all the while to
keep the animal in good humour.’
1883—8 Bachmann (1901) p. 166 Mpondo: musical bow
‘Das Lugubu ist ungefahr das einzige Musikinstrument der Kaffern. Es sieht
etwa aus wie ein Bogen zum Schiessen. Der Kaffer fasst es unten mit der linken
Hand und setzt den aus einem Kalabas bestehenden Resonanzboden an seine
nackte Brust. Mit einem Grashalmstuck schlagt er die einzige Saite, die von Bast
gefertigt ist. Der eine Ton wird nur dadurch variirt, dass die Saite mit dem linken
Zeigefinger hin und wieder gegen den Bogen gedrtckt wird, und dass die Oeffnung
des Kalabas zuweilen mit der Brustwand geschlossen, zuweilen ge6ffnet wird. Der
Rhytmus ist auch fast immer derselbe, indem in einem fort kurze schnelle Schlage
gethan werden. Die Hauptsache dabei ist der Gesang. Derselbe ist zwar nicht
Gesang nach europaischer Art, hat aber doch einen eigenen, unheimlichen, fur den
Kaffer vielleicht heimlichen Laut.’
(1896) Brownlee, C. p. 223 Xhosa: drum
‘. . . Men on arriving at the witch-doctor’s place sat, as usual, at a distance
from him, and were joined by two or three of his people, who, as is customary,
had a dry ox-hide on which to drum.’
(1904) Kidd pl. 83 and legend Mpondo: gora |
legend to pl. 83
‘A Pondo playing an ugwali or gorah.
This instrument is made by stretching a piece of string of grass along a stick.
A small piece of quill is fastened to the string at one end, and the breath is drawn
in over the quill, causing it to vibrate and emit a weird sound.’
(1914) Schweiger pp. 62—63 Xhosa: drum
‘Die Musik dazu wird von den Frauen besorgt, welche, von den Burschen
etwas entfernt, fortwahrend mit Stecken auf eine trockene Ochsenhaut schlagen
und dadurch Tone hervorbringen, die dem Wirbeln einer grossen Trommel nicht
unahnlich sind und auf eine ziemlich weite Entfernung hin vernommen werden
konnen. Es sind sechs bis acht Weiber, welche unausgesetzt auf diese von anderen
ausgespannt gehaltene Ochsenhaut schlagen. Dieses monotone Schlagen wird
auch wahrend der Nacht mit kurzen Unterbrechungen fortgesetzt. Die ganze
Zeremonie hat den Namen ukuyeyezela oder ukwenza ungqongqo, d.h. Klopfen
Machen. &
(i926) Vesely 2 on 74 Xhosa: drum
Nothing more.
(1929) Nauhaus, C. p. 4 Xhosa: drum
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 827
(1931) Cook p. 62 Bomvana: drum
‘The music is provided by the married women. Each itonto has the skin of the
beast killed in the Umncamo ceremony and this is pegged out and used as a drum.’
(1931) Plant pp. 97 ff. Cape Nguni: drum, flute, whistle, musical bows
‘The Drum. Ingqongqo: The skin that is to be used as a drum is obtained from
a bull killed for the abakweta dance. This bull is usually given by a leading man
who has a son of his own amongst those who are passing through the initiation rites.
The flesh of the bull slaughtered for this purpose is not eaten. Poles about six feet
long are fixed in the ground in a circle; to these is attached the skin which is left
exposed to the sun till it gets dry. While the skin is thus being prepared the boys
of the circumcision school are busy decorating the special (qoqa) sticks to be used
by the women while beating the drum. The skin is kept in the itonto, the grass-hut
occupied by the “‘abakweta’’. When a circumcision dance is about to take place the
women beat time on the skin with the sticks that have been prepared for the
purpose. In beating the drum the women catch the skin with their left hands and
beat it simultaneously with the sticks held in their right hands.
Ixilongo: The Ixilongo is usually made of a reed cut from the river. It may,
however, be made of a branch of the umhleli tree or of a young shoot of the
umsenge, the wood being extracted very carefully so that the bark may not crack.
The player produces the music by blowing into one end and opening and closing
the hole at the other end with one finger. According to tradition the ixilongo was
first introduced by a shepherd whose cattle followed him to the field as soon as he
blew it. Later it became part of the hunter’s equipment. To-day it is used by boys
only. The Pondo equivalent for ixilongo is umtshingi.
Isikunjane: The Isikunjane consists of a small tin containing a number of
pebbles or pieces of a broken pot. Small holes are made on the under side of the
tin and the mouth of the tin is closed to prevent the contents from jumping out.
The owner then ties the tin with a strong string just below his knee, and by raising
and lowering the knee in many fancy and peculiar styles he attempts to produce
a kind of music. The music is accompanied by a kind of shouting, and, as the player
dances about, the other boys follow the combined sound made by the shouting and
the rattling of the stones in the tin.
The Isikunjane sometimes serves as the gathering-call for the sheep; at its
sound the sheep collect, and make it easy for the herd to bring them home.
Impempe: Impempe now-a-days is applied nearly always to a kind of whistle
which is sold by the traders, but it is also applied to a musical instrument made by
the boys. A reed or stem of bamboo is cleared of all its pith then cut to about four
inches in length. One end of the reed is sealed and the other left open; near the
centre the reed is cut as deep as its radius. A piece of a calabash or the dry crust
of a pumpkin is shaped like a half moon and fixed in the reed. Another reed is made
similarly but shorter than the first to produce a different tone. Both are then
attached by a string and the instruments are ready for use.
828 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Uhadi: Uhadi is made of a pliable stick bent into a bow and retained in position
either by hairs from a horse’s tail or by a wire taken from the umliza sold in shops.
A calabash is fastened at the middle of the stick and a small cloth is attached to
the stick to prevent friction of the stick with the calabash. In playing the instrument
the musician holds the calabash, whose open end is facing away from the stick,
under his left arm; in his right hand he holds a stalk of umqungu grass with which
he strikes the hair or stretched piece of wire. Different sounds are produced by
raising or tightly pressing the calabash on the player’s chest. The uhadi is mostly
used by young people. It is played at night by one person when the others are in
bed and the hearers immediately sing in accompaniment as quietly as they can. The
natives believe that when the uhadi is played it soothes people to sleep. It is never
accompanied by any dancing.
Inkingi: Inkingi is made of a long stick bent into the shape of a bow by means
of strings or wire (umliza) fastened tightly from one end to the other. In place of
string the hair from a horse’s tail may be used. The player presses with a stem of
the umqungu grass about a foot in length or with a small piece of horn on the
horse-hair and sings. It resembles uhadi without a calabash. The name in use
among the Pondomse for this instrument is umqange.’
Oca. ae Hip: | osa: drum
(1932) Sogasie rls p2 220 Xh d
Nothing more.
1932 Hunter pp. 169, 325; 370 and note Mpondo: instruments |
p. 169 Mpondo: drum
Nothing more.
pa 325 Mpondo: drum
‘The dance may be performed at any time, and during her initiation a novice
does dance frequently, but since she depends on friends to clap for her (or beat
a folded ox-hide) the times par excellence for dancing are when people are collected
at her umzi for meat or beer.’
p. 370 Mpondo: musical instruments
‘The dried ox-hide beaten as a drum for the ritual dance of initiate diviners
and girls being initiated, ankle rattles, and European-made concertinas and
whistles used at pleasure dances, are the only musical instruments actually used as
accompaniments to dances, but performers on any of the other instruments* made
almost invariably sway the body in time to the music they produce. An old woman
repeating on an ugqumpu songs which I was attempting to write down, never
played a line without swaying her body appropriately.’
(Note *:) ‘. . . Instruments commonly played in Pondoland are the ugqumpu
or uhadi, played mostly by women in the evenings when people are going to sleep,
the umgqange, played usually by children on the veld at home, and whistles,
umtfhinge, impempe, and a horn ubokomela. The ugwali was formerly played in
Pondoland, but has now disappeared. Informants, in reply to my query why no one
made it, said: ““Concertinas and European-made whistles came and took its place”’,
rir deer)
and “‘it made girls hysterical, starting them crying, so it was left’’.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 829
(1934) Kirby passim Cape Nguni: musical instruments
This is the standard work, which includes musicological aspects. Page numbers
indicating the relevant passages follow the subheadings in the discussion (see
pp. 836, 839, 840, 842, 844, 845).
(1939) Duggan-Cronin p. 30 Xhosa: drum
‘A great feature was umdudo, a dance of the men to the accompaniment of
the women’s drumming on a dried bullock-hide; and after days or weeks, the cattle
of ikhazi having been selected and handed over, the bride’s escort departed.
This form of marriage still exists among the so-called Red Kafirs, who resist
the new ways.’
1945 Makalima chapter 32 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: musical instruments
par. 11 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: origin of musical instruments
‘Zabolekwa kwabanye abantu? Zonke ezintambula zavela nabantu, azi zange
zibolekwe napina. Zidalwe nohlanga.’
[All these instruments came with the people. They were not borrowed any-
where. . . . They originated with the nation. |
par. 12 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: bows, gora, horn, rattle
‘Uhlobo lokwenziwa kwezizinto:—
Umrube ukwenziwa kwawo, kutatwa uswazi lozingati nokuba luhlolo lugo-
tywe kwenziwe isapeta esidityaniswe ngojiko. Umcinga wesiqungu ke wona, uti
utatwe, kubetwe ngawo kolo jiko.
Uhadi lwenziwa ngombanga-ndlela nangesiduli, nangeselwa elivulwe umlomo
wamkulu. Ligqojozwa apa ngapantsi, indawo yokufakwa entongeni, kwenziwe
inkata yokuba lingati nca entongeni zelibe nokukala. Libetwe kwangomcinga
womqungu nalo.
Ugwali lwenziwa ngengcongolo, kufakwe itshoba lehashe. Itshoba lehashe
lifakwa engcongolweni kwelinye icala eyenziwe uhlangana oluncinci. Kwelinye
icala elitshoba lifakwa elusibeni lweranisi olugqojoziweyo.
Inkinge yenziwa kwangengcongolo nayo, netshoba lehashe, kodwa ke yona
akufakwa lusiba, tyaqhinwa macala onke.
Isigodlo senziwa ngopondo lwenkomo, isigodlo esidala senkunzi nokuba li-
kwange, okanye yinkabi yenkomo. Isigodlo esi, siyavalwa kwelicala likulu, nge-
ceba leselwa. Kugqojozwa apa pakati indawo ekuvutelwa kuyo xa sikaliswayo.
Amagubu ukwenziwa kwawo, kutungwa ufele macala onke lube ngqukuva.
Luti ke olufele Iwenkomo lakoma lube godololo, nggongqololo lulungelwe
ukubeta lungonjwe lenze ingxolo.
Inkaca ngumti uyaxotyulwa intswazana ezi zawo zidityaniswe, zifakwe apa
emanqineni. Ziti zakoma zikwahlaze zenze ingxolo xa umtu axhentsayo.
Isiwahlane kutatwa itoti kufakwe uhlalu namatye igqojozwe umtu ayibo-
phelele emanqineni. Yenza ingxolo ke kwangolo hlobo xa umtu axentsayo.’
[The umrube. A switch of the zingati or the uhlolo is bent into a bow with ends
connected by a thin twisted wire. A stalk of tambookie grass is used for playing
with on the thin wire.
ree
-
830 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
The uhadi is made of umbangandlela (a small tree with yellowish flower) and
of isiduli (also a kind of tree) and a calabash with a large mouth opened on it. A
hole is made underneath it through which a stick is put in. It is padded so that it
does not touch the stick, and so that it may make a sound. It is played with a stalk
of tambookie grass also.
The ugwali is made of a reed, horse-tail hair is inserted in the reed on the side
where a hole has been made. On the other side the string is threaded through a
hole made in a goose quill.
The inkinge is also made of a reed and horse-tail hair, but no quill is attached
to it; it is fastened on both sides.
The isigodlo is made from a bovine horn, an old horn of a bull, castrated bull
or ox. The horn is closed on the larger side by a piece of calabash. A hole is made
in the middle of it where it is blown to produce a sound.
To make a drum, an oxhide is sewn on all sides, it is made to be round. When
this hide is dry it becomes hard and ready to be beaten and it then produces a
booming sound.
The inkaca is a tree from which shoots are stripped and put together and worn
on the feet. When they are dry they rustle and make a noise when one dances.
For isiwahlane a small tin is filled with pebbles and gravel. It is pierced, and
tied on a foot. It rattles when one dances. |
pars 13-15 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: bows, gora, horn, drum, rattle
(13) ‘Zenziwa ngamadoda? Abafazi? nokuba ngabantwana? Umrube wenziwa |
ngabantwana (amakwenkwe namantombazana). Uhadi lwenziwa ngamadoda
kwana bafazi. Ugwali lwenziwa ngamadoda. Inkinge yenziwa ngamadoda. Isigodlo
senziwa kwangamadoda. Amagubu enziwa ngamadoda nabafazi abangamagqira.
Inkaca yenziwa ngamaggira (abantu abatwasayo) nokuba lulupina uhlobo, ama-
bhinga okanye amadoda. Isiwahlane senziwa ngabafana xa kugujwayo.’
[Umrube is made by children (boys and girls). The uhadi is made by men and
women. The ugwali is made by men. The inkinge is made by men. The isigodlo
is made by men. Drums (amagubu) are made by men and women who are diviners.
The inkaca is made by diviners (both sexes) when being initiated. The istwahlane
is made by young men when they are dancing. |
(14) ‘Indlela yokubeta:— Umrube ubekwa emlonyeni ubanjwe ngesandla
umtu ahlikihle ngomcinga ngesinye isandla. Uhadi lubekwa esifubeni, lubetwa
ngeminwe. Ugwalilona luvutelwa ngomlomo, lutsalwe umoya ngomlomo. Inkinge
ibanjwa ngesandla, ibekwe emlonyeni. Jsigodlo sibanjwa ngesandla sivutelwe.
Igubu lona ligangxwa apa esifubeni ngentambo yalo. Inkaca ayibanjwa, inxitywa
emanqineni. /siwahlane naso sibotshelelwa emanqineni.’
[The umrube is placed on the mouth and held with the hand. The other hand
holds the stalk of grass which is drawn over the thin wire. The uhadi is placed on
the breast and played with the fingers. The ugwali is blown upon through the mouth
and breath is also inhaled over the quill through the mouth. The inkinge is held
in the hand and held to the mouth. The isigodlo is held in the hand and is then
blown. The igubu is hung from the neck by a string and hangs on the chest. The
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 831
inkaca is not held, it is worn round the ankles. The isiwahlane is also tied round
the ankles. |
(15) Indlela zokuzibeta:— Umrube ubetwa ngomcinga apo kolocingwana
lawo. Uhadi xa lubetwayo lubetwa ngomcinga nalo. Alufakwa mlonyeni, kusuke
kubekwe iselwa ebeleni. Umtu amane ekingeza apa kolocingo lalo.
Ugwali xa lubetwayo lufakwa emlonyeni, aluvutelwa. Umtu uyalubizela xa
alubetayo.
Inkinge ifakwa emlonyeni ibetwe ngosiba apa kulentambo yenziweyo nge-
tshoba.’
[The umrube is played with the stalk on the thin wire. The uhadi is also struck
with the stalk of coarse grass. It is not put in the mouth, the calabash is placed on
the breast and the player keeps on striking the wire.
The ugwali is held between the lips when being played. It is not blown upon.
One inhales when playing it.
The inkinge is held to the mouth and is struck with a quill on the string which
is made of tail hair.]
par. 16 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: drum, rattle
‘Zibetwa ngobani? Igubu liyabetwa ngumfana, intombi, indoda nenkwenkwe
xa ngaba utwasele ubuggira. /nkaca nayo ayiketi nawupina xa etwasele ubuggira.’
[The igubu is played by a young man, a girl, a man or a boy when being
initiated as diviners. Inkaca is also played by anyone being thus initiated. ]
par. 20 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: bows, gora
‘Ziyapelekwa ngomculo? Ewe, kwezinye kuyavunywa ngumtu ngomlomo,
kodwa inkinge, nomrube, nogwali azinakuvunyelwa zona, kuba zibetwa
ngomlomo.’
[Some instruments are accompanied by singing but the inkinge, umrube and
ugwali cannot be accompanied by singing because they are played by the mouth. |
par. 21 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: times for playing
‘Zidlalwa ngamaxesha atile? Zidlalwa nje naninina kanti amagubu abetwa
ngamaggira xa enentlombe. Isiwahlane sinxitywa xa kuko umjadu (umgubo).’
[They are played at any time but the amagubu (drums) are played by diviners
when they are holding night parties (iintlombe). The rattles are worn when there
is an umjadu (umgubo).|
par. 29 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: competitive playing
‘Kuyakutshiswana? Ewe, kwantonjane kuyakutshiswana ngohadi, nange-
nkinge nangogwali.’
[At the intonjane dance there is great competition in the playing of uhadi,
inkinge and ugwali. |
(1946) Burton, A. W. (corresp.) Xhosa: musical bow, horn, drum
‘Tam sending two photographs. . . of a Gaika girl. . . playing the uhadi. .. .
To-day Natives favour a steel wire string called ‘““Ujika’’, made by unravelling
portion of a twisted wire bracelet. This string gives out a twangy note like that of
a banjo or Hawaian guitar, and is more favoured than a gut string, being easier
832 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
to obtain. . . . The bow is held point upwards in front of the body, with string
directed forwards. The hole in the gourd is placed gently against the bare skin of
the breast, the pressure exerted on the gourd being eased at intervals. The third,
fourth and fifth fingers of the left hand are passed round the lowest part of the
wooden bow, away from the string. The thumb and forefinger of the left hand
control the string, the forefinger being moved rapidly to and fro against the string
as the latter is tapped higher up by the grass stick (beating stick, or Ncinga). The
beating stick held in the right hand is tapped rapidly against the string as the latter
is pressed upon by the left forefinger. . . . Xhosas and Fingoes do not use drums.
They still use horns as “‘Isigodlo”’. At Kweta dances and raw Natives’ weddings the
oye)
women beat dried ox-hides known as ““Mgqongqo’”’.
1949-55 Hammond-Tooke (1955a) p. 19 Bhaca: drum
‘The diviners then began. an intlombe (seance) which continued long into the
night. There were about eighty people in the hut, including young men and girls
and a few children. Five young people of both sexes sat in front of a rolled up
cow-hide (khawu) and emphasized the rhythm of the dance by beating it with short
sticks; the noise was deafening and the dust rose chokingly from the feet of the
dancing diviners..’
1949-60 Hammond-Tooke (1962) p. 252 ‘Bhaca: drum
Nothing more.
1958 Hammond-Tooke, W. D. (pers. comm.) Mpondo: friction drum
‘T am writing to tell you about a musical instrument seen by the Chief Magis- °
trate in the Flagstaff district a few days ago which I think is distinctly unusual for
the Cape tribes. It was at a dance during an installation ceremony and was used,
with a drum, to accompany the singers and clappers. He describes it as a four gallon
petrol drum painted green with an ox hide stretched over the top and pegged down
on the sides in the approved fashion. A long reed was fastened to this membrane
on the inside, passing through the interior of the drum. It is played by applying
euphorbia juice to the hands and rubbing them up and down the reed in a “‘milking”’
movement. Apparently this gives rise to a deep booming sound “‘like the lowest
note on a double base’”’.’
(1967) Broster pp. 21, 99, 100-101, opp. p. 83. Thembu: musical instruments
Nothing more.
1968 Holt (1969) pl. 2 and legend Tshezi: musical bow
‘Playing the inkinge by placing one end of the bow in the mouth to steady it
and tapping or drawing on the taut string with the stick.’
(1970) Elliott p. 71 Xhosa: rattles
‘The most they [the boys] are likely to wear on an outing like this is a legging
or two of Angora goat skin or of dry cocoons filled with pebbles to make them
rattle.’
(1976) Davison pp. 83-84, 124 Xhosa: signal horn
Nothing more.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 833
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: TERMS
(Kirby) refers to Kirby 1934.
igubu 1. dried calabash, prepared for use as a musical instrument, connected by
a bow to a single string, which is beaten and resounds in the calabash with a
sound like gubu gubu, D X Xes (Kirby). String is of horsehair, X. 2. also
calabash for drinking beer, Mp. 3. calabash for salt, Bh. 4. drum (i.e.
European drum, as of Zionists), D X 1032 (556)
injikwe 1. bow of the uhadi (musical bow), D (Kirby). 2.notconfirmed 1033
inkinge 1. bow-like stringed instrument, held by the wooden portion in the mouth
and played upon with the fingers. The string is made of thread (usinga), D Mp
(X-—, Mp—Kirby) (T—Makalima) (X—Plant). 2. string made of horse-tail hair,
Bh 1034
ingomfiya 1. (Em) = uhadi (musical bow), D. 2. not confirmed 1035
isankuni same as isikankuru 1.nD. 2. imitation violin with tin as resonator,
friction with small bow (Kirby: 242), widely known but not generally 1036
ugumpu 1.nD (not Kirby). 2. musical bow with calabash resonator and wire
string, Mp Bh. One old Mp said the string was cow tail 1037
uhadi_ 1. bow-like stringed musical instrument; the string of horsehair is stretched
on a wooden bow attached by its middle to a calabash which serves as a
sound-box; the string is struck with a stalk of coarse grass (umcinga), D Bo
Bh (Kirby) (Mp—Hunter 1936, -UCT) (T—Makalima) (Mpm—AM). 2. thadi
musical instrument in form of a bow (X-—Van der Kemp). 3. ihadi = gora
(Lichtenstein 1811) 1038
umqange 1.nD. 2. musical bow of long stick and wire on horsehair string, same
as inkinge, Mp Mpm_ 1039
umrubhe_ 1. musical instrument made by bending a piece of stick like a bow, and
fastening together the ends with a plaited piece of thong or rush-string. The
player then plays on it as on a violin by means of a small stick or rush which
he holds at right angles to the bow-string, DX Tandothers. 2. made ofreed,
Bh 1040
usinga thread made from umsundulo, the tendons found on the underside of an
ox’s shoulder-blade. It is used for sewing Karosses; thread, in general, D,
general 1041 (222, 246)
umcinga 1.straworhalmofgrass,D. 2. stalk of coarse grass as beater of uhadi,
D: 146 (Kirby) 1042
isikankuru 1.nD. 2. musical bow, wooden stave, wire string, strung through
one-gallon oil tin as resonator; played with a bow of horsehair, fixed to stave
at one end and to player’s fingers at the other, Hlu 1043
ikhawu 1. small shield, = ingweletshetshe small shield, used to cover the face in
hunting, D. 2. shield, any size, Mp Xes Bh. 3. shield of any size, oblong;
known to X who, however, say it is a Zu word, and known to T who, however,
834 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
say their real word is ikhaka. 4. shield also used to beat upon like a drum,
Bh (Kirby) 1044 (447) |
ingqgonggo dried bullock skin used as a drum by the women to accompany
dancing, D, general 1045
igoga 1. kind of assegai, the neck of which is filed in an ornamented manner;
carved stick used by girls in dancing, D. 2. bangle of metal, worn by girls,
Bo. 3. decorated stick with which women beat oxhide at khwetha dances
(X-—Plant, —Kirby) 1046 (865, 914)
ubokomela 1. reed pipe (Mp-TM). 2. horn (Mp—Hunter 1936). 3. not con-
firmed 1047 (1059)
ivenge 1. nD. 2. (= umtshingi) long conical flute of the Mpondo (Kirby).
3. another name for umtshinge, Mp 1048
ixilongo (from -xilonga blow a bugle or trumpet, play on wind instrument)
1. hollow reed or the hollow pedicle of a pumpkin leaf; any wind instrument,
atrumpet,D. 2.reed or wooden flute, c. 60 cm long, of boys; held vertically,
T. 3. reed flute of Xhosa, also called impempe (Kirby). 4. reed flute,
X. 5. flute made of reed, umhlele or umsenge wood and called umtshinge by
Mp (X-Plant). 6. horn trumpet, Bh X 1049
ingcongolo cane or reed, D (the whole plant, or just a piece or stem), general,
and where specifically used, e.g. as tube of hemp pipe, whistle, flute, and in
inkinge musical bow 1050 (980)
umtshinge 1.nD. 2. flute of boys, a long tube, thickness of finger, with only a
hole at either end, blown through and note modulated by voice, Mp at Corana,
who have seen it there. X informant says this is what they call ixilongo in
Cofimvaba. 3. whistle (Mp—Hunter 1936) 1051
imbande 1. shin bone (which the Bushmen use as a whistle), DX Mp. 2. pipe,
flute, fife, D. 3. Xhosa whistle (Kirby). 4. umbaandi reed pipe (Lichten-
stein 1811). 5. umbaendi whistle which the Bushmen wear on their necks
(X-Van der Kemp) 1052
impempe_ 1. toy whistle used by the boys in dancing, or in calling up companions
to help at a fight; it produces a sound like that made by blowing into the barrel
ofakey,D. 2.metal (sergeant’s) whistle, X (X—Plant). 3. reed whistle with
two barrels, Mp (X-—Plant). 4. Xhosa whistle or flute (Kirby). 5. whistle
(Mp—Hunter 1936) 1053
ugempe 1.nD. 2. flute of bamboo, one hole at one end, four others in a row
at other end, Mp 1054
inyembe 1. small arrow of the Korannas; whistle; barbed hook, D. 2. barbed
spear, Xes Bh. 3. navy-blue bead (X—McLaren 1923: 21). 4. unknown to
most people 1055 (389, 404, 780)
ugwali instrument made of fibres of sinew on a bow of wood witha quill, flattened
on one side, to give greater elasticity; the sounds are made by the mouth
vibrating on the catgut, D X Bh (Kirby) T and some Mp, other Mp = ugwalo.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 835
(This is the Xhosa pronunciation of the Hottentot gora, by which term this
instrument is usually referred to in the literature) 1056
isigodlo 1. the horn of an animal when severed from the head (used as a powder
flask or trumpet), D Mp T, general. 2. also used as part of hemp pipe, X
Mp. 3. bowl of hemp pipe (Bo—Beukes). 4. whole hemp pipe (Mp—UCT).
5. also medicine flask, X 1057 (262, 438, 981)
uphondo 1. horn, tusk of elephant, D, general. 2. horn as trumpet (Mp-
Lichtenstein 1811 phéndo). 3. uphondo lokucima (from -cima give an
enema) enema horn, Mp. 4. uphondo Iweyeza medicine horn, Bh, gen-
eral 1058 (264, 999, 1016)
ubokomela 1. reed pipe (Mp-TM). 2. horn (Mp—Hunter 1936). 3. not
confirmed 1059 (1047)
imbelempe 1.nD. 2. war horn, Bo 1060
amahlahlazo 1.nD. 2. Mpondo dancing rattles woven of ilala palm (Kirby)
X. 3. but Mp say they call them amakhahlazo, and not known to some very
good Mp informants 1061
ingashela (cl. 5, pl. amangashela; Mp ingatshela) 1. piece of skin used as a
legging; an ornament round the ankle, of beads (amaso) on string or wire, D
X. 2. Xhosa dancing rattle of goatskin worn round ankle (Kirby). 3. anklet
for dancing, Bo. 4. twisted brass-wire anklet, Mp 1062 (909)
inkaca, inkahla 1. nD. 2. twigs of tree worn as rattles round ankles (T-
Makalima). 3. inkahla only, Mp 1063
ingqwamba 1.nD. 2. strips of goatskin with long hair, tied below knee and on
ankles, for dancing, T 1064
isikhunjane 1.nD. 2. leg rattle of tin with pebbles inside, general 1065
istwahlane 1.nD. 2. ankle rattle of small tin with stones in it (T—Makalima),
perhaps coined by him from -wahlaza rattle, as the chains worn as ornaments
by women, or beads on a girl walking; jingle money in the pocket, D 1066
uvuvu 1.nD. 2. another name for uvungu, spinning disc and bullroarer, Bh
Mp 1067
uvuluvulu 1.nD. 2. another name for uvungu, uvuvu, Mp 1068
uvungu 1.nD. 2. spinning disc, a toy of boys and girls, Bh Mp. 3. bullroarer,
a slat c. 4 x 30 cm at end of string, a toy of boys only, Mp 1069
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: DISCUSSION
Some early travellers were so unimpressed by the musical instruments of the
Cape Nguni that they reported that there were none. Others recorded the gora,
the bow and the whistle only. There is no reason to suppose that all the other
instruments mentioned below have been acquired recently, but rather that there
is a difference in interpretation of the term ‘musical instrument’.
For a specialist description see Kirby 1934 (to which work all references to
Kirby in this section apply).
836 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
BELLS
There is no reference to bells in the literature, nor are any known in collec-
tions. The only sort seen in 1948 were the small store-bought brass bells known to
Xesibe as amatongomane and worn by Bhaca women, who call such a bell ulo-
ngolongo (Pl. 121: 7). Possibly, as suggested by informants, the other words that
exist referred originally to the sound.
BOWS
(Kirby: 196-198, 201-204, 214-215, 217-225, 239-245)
Five types of musical bow have been recorded as in use among the Cape Nguni.
Only one of them is mentioned in the early literature, and it and one other were
seen during fieldwork in the period 1948-58.
The type that features in the early accounts, and 1s still known throughout the
area, is the bow with a calabash resonator, uhadi (Xhosa, Thembu, Bomvana,
Mpondomise, Mpondo, Bhaca), igubu (Xhosa, Xesibe) or ugumpu (Mpondo,
Bhaca) (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1974, pl. 26: 5; present paper, Pl. 120: 2, 4). It has
a curved wooden stave (injikwe) cut off straight or slightly rounded at the end,
except by the Mpondo, who point it. The stave is said to be made from a stem of
umbangandlala (Heteromorpha arborescens) or nowadays from wattle. The string,
usinga, which may be of sinew, horsehair, cow hair or brass or steel wire, some-
times obtained by unravelling a twisted wire bracelet, is bound round a circular
groove at the lower end, and either similarly bound or passed through a V-notch
at the upper end. According to Kirby the latter is the Xhosa form. The calabash
(uselwa), with about a third cut off so as to leave a fairly wide opening, is attached
by accord or wire or a piece of cloth through its base to the lower end of the stave,
and has a pad of grass, bark or cloth between it and the stave. The attachment may
be passed through one hole in the calabash or through two and be held by a knot.
Mpondo informants said a tin might be used instead of a calabash, but this was not
seen, nor known elsewhere. The bow is held so that the mouth of the calabash rests
lightly on the chest, and is lifted slightly from time to time to alter the resonance.
The stave is held with the left hand, and the string stopped with two fingers. A grass
or wheat stalk (umcinga) with which the string is tapped is held in the right hand.
PLATE 120
Musical bows.
. Thembu girl playing umrubhe; Cofimvaba, 1948.
. Mpondo playing ugumpu; Luqhoghweni, Lusikisiki, 1948.
. ugumpu, modern version with flattened-tin resonator, 709 mm, Mpondo; no further data
(Alb. F71).
4. uhadi, musical bow, with calabash resonator, 1 027 mm, Mpondomise; no further data
(Alb. F73).
5. Khonjwayo girl playing umqange or inkinge; Ntsimbini, Ngqeleni, 1958.
6. Khonjwayo man stringing his daughter’s inkinge; Ntsimbini, Ngqeleni, 1958.
WN Re
837
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
838 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
This instrument is used to accompany the voice, and is played mostly by women
and girls, though men and boys do play it too, particularly in Pondoland. It is said
to be played at night and to soothe people to sleep.
The same names, uhadi in the west and ugumpu in the east, are given to
another type of bow, which bears a strong likeness to a Sotho and Tswana
instrument, and may have reached the Cape Nguni via Lesotho. It consists of a
straight, rather thick stave with a tuning peg at one end. From the end of the peg
a wire string is stretched to the lower end of the stave. The resonator is a one-gallon
paraffin tin, which may be cut down a little, and into which the lower end of the
stave is placed. The string is bowed with a small bow of wood and cow-tail hair.
According to Kirby it was not very popular in the Cape. He saw one amongst the
Xhosa of Dordrecht and there is an example from Pondoland in the Albany
Museum (PI. 120: 3). Informants in 1948 and 1955 did not appear to know it, and
none was seen. The instrument would seem scarcely to be established in the
Transkei and Ciskei.
A third type of bow, the inkinge, which is known by that name to Xhosa,
Thembu, Eastern Mpondo and Bhaca, but of which no specimen was seen, was said
to consist of a very slightly curved stave of hollow reed or more rarely wood, with
a string of sinew, tail hair or copper wire bound round it at each end. The stave
is held in the mouth for resonance, and the string is plucked with a finger, or
according to Kirby with a thin horn plectrum. Xhosa said it was played by girls.
East Mpondo informants, while they admitted the word inkinge, gave the name .
ugwalu to a bow of the same description played with a friction bow.
A fourth type of bow is the umrubhe (Xhosa, Thembu, Mpondomise, Bhaca),
umqunga (Mpondo according to Kirby), umqange (Mpondo), inkinga (Xhosa
according to Plant and to A. W. Burton (corresp.) ), inkinge (Xesibe) or umqangala
(Hlubi according to G. Mzamane (pers comm.)). According to Makalima the
umrubhe is made of wood and the inkinge of reed. Kirby describes two varieties:
one has the stave in two parts—a long thick straight piece of wood with a pliable
rod inserted in one end—and the other has a stave of a single curved piece of wood.
Both may be strung with thong, rush, two-ply brass wire or fibre. The stave is held
lightly in the mouth with the left hand, between the thumb and first finger of which
it is stopped, and is bowed with a straight stick or piece of tambookie grass, which
is held between stave and string. Mpondo cut the stick roughly flat on one side to
provide the necessary friction. According to Kirby the two-piece stave is the Xhosa
variety, umrubhe, and the one-piece stave is found only among the Mpondo, and
called umqunge (other sources umqange). But the only sort seen in 1948, 1955, and
1958 in use by Xhosa, Thembu and Mpondo was the one-piece stave (Pl. 120: 1,
5, 6), aS are museum specimens from Mpondomise and Thembu. It is a solo
instrument and was played mainly by children and young people.
Finally Kirby described as in use among the Mpondo the isankuni, a short plain
bow, the lower half of the stave of which is placed in a paraffin tin; the bow is then
strung, so that the string at its lower end passes through a hole in the tin before
being attached to the stave. This was seen only among Hlubi but Xesibe described
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 839
something like it as ugwale—the string, only, passing through the tin. Hlubi are
said to call it istkankuru. The Hlubi example seen in 1961 was played with a string
of horsehair, one end of which was attached to a short stick held in the right hand
and the other end wound round the performer’s fingers.
DRUMS
(Kirby: 19-25)
There appears until latterly to have been no conventional drum among the
Cape Nguni and instead a shield, :khawu, or a dry, stretched or folded oxhide,
inggongqo, was used for drumming.
The shield must have been used primarily for the war dances. King describes
a Fingo war dance, with the warriors beating on their shields, presumably with their
Spears, to accompany the rhythm of the dance, and it is probable that warriors of
other tribes did the same. Some authors describe women beating on shields with
sticks to accompany the khwetha dancing, and according to Kirby the shield was
still so used in 1932, also for the dancing at evening parties. Of informants in 1948
only the Bhaca knew this use of the shield. Thembu and Mpondo said it was no
longer so used, and both described the igubu, noted below.
The inggonggo is a whole oxhide that has been stretched to dry hard between
long poles planted in a circle in the ground. When in use in the west, performers
held it with their left hands by loops of hide at intervals round the skin, or, less
commonly, it might be fastened on poles. The skin was beaten by women with sticks
held in the performers’ right hands (PI. 121: 3). Only one author stated that the
women held the skin while one man beat it. According to Plant and Kirby, special
thin decorated sticks, amaqoqa, were used for beating, and the women sang at the
same time. In the east, the dry skin was folded for beating. The inggonggo was
beaten for ordinary social dancing and on most occasions when there was dancing
for a special purpose, particularly for the boys’ dancing at the khwetha coming-out
ceremonies (according to Plant and Cook, Xhosa and Bomvana used the skin of
the beast killed on this occasion), and for the men’s dance at a girl’s initiation
(intonjane) or at a wedding. It was also beaten as an accompaniment to the solo
dancing of Mpondo and Bhaca apprentice diviners, as an accompaniment to the
questions in the question-and-answer of some Xhosa medical consultations, and
at smellings-out. According to Kirby the inggongqo, in 1932, was used only at boys’
initiation ceremonies, and its use was dying out, but in 1955 it was said still to be
used at khwetha dances and it was still mentioned in the literature of the following
twenty years.
To neither of these two drums is the word igubu applied, though Kropf
translates it as, amongst other things, a drum.
It is not clear to what J. W. D. Moodie’s reference to a ‘kind of rude drum
made of a calabash and called igubw’ applied. Kirby (p. 19) suggests that what he
saw was acopy of a Khoi drum. Makalima describes amagubu as instruments made
by diviners, and played by them hung over the chest by a string round the neck,
840 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
when ‘they are holding night parties’, and this may refer to the modern drum. In
1955 Mpondo informants stated that members of the Apostolic Faith separatist
sect, who previously used a shield for drumming at their services, now used a drum,
igubu, made of the base of an aloe stem, with a skin ‘wrapped round it’. This they
beat with a knobbed stick.
Latterly a metal drum, cut down to an appropriate size, with a skin drawn over
each open end and the skins laced to each other at their edges, has come into
general use. A strap for hanging round the neck may be added. This is the modern
igubu, and is used by diviners and separatist churches.
The isolated case of a friction-drum seen near Flagstaff in 1958 is another new
feature. It is likely that the owner had returned from working on the mines where
that type of drum was known (C. J. Shaw pers. comm. ).
FLUTES, PIPES AND WHISTLES
(Kirby: 82, 88-90, 94, 108, 112-117, 130-131)
One flute and three types of whistles were known in this area.
The flute, ixilongo (Xhosa) or umtshinge (Mpondo), or ugempe (Mpondo,
Xesibe) (Pl. 121: 4), may be made of a river reed, ingcongolo, or of the bark of
the umhlele (Ehretia hottentotica), or umsenge (Cussonia spicata), from which
latter the wood is carefully removed so as not to break the bark. One end is cut
diagonally for the mouthpiece, the other is cut off at right angles and in playing .
is stopped with one finger. According to Plant it was once a hunter’s instrument
but latterly played only by boys. Only Xhosa, Thembu, Mpondo and Xesibe
informants knew it as described. The Transvaal Museum, however, had a specimen
(now at the National Cultural History and Open-Air Museum) of a Mpondo reed
pipe, ubokomela, a thick reed cut off straight at both ends but narrowed at one
(ell, WAS 2).
The earliest mention of a whistle, and indeed for a long time the only one, was
the Xhosa imbande, a bone whistle a few inches long, taken from the shin bone,
the name of which it retains. Ivory, reed or the thigh bone of a sheep are given
as alternative materials. According to the literature it was used for calling cattle,
PLATE 121
Bells, bows, drums, flutes and trumpets.
1. Mpondo playing ugwali, c. 700 mm; no locality, c. 1900 (Kidd 1904, pl. 83).
2. ubokomela (according to Museum register), reed flute, 259 mm, Mpondo; Lusikisiki, 1935
(TM 35/403).
3. Bomvana women beating dry cowhide as drum, inggongqo, in male initiation rites; Elhiotdale,
1958 (photo R. E. Carter, Umtata).
. ugempe, flute, 325 mm, Mpondo; Lusikisiki, 1958 (SAM-—8323).
. lesiba (South Sotho word for the gora), 885 mm, Hlubi-Sotho; no further data (FH 112).
. imbelempe, cow-horn war trumpet, 402 mm, Bomvana; Elliotdale, 1958 (EL 52).
. ulongolongo, bells, on skirt of woman at dance, Bhaca; Lugangeni, Mt. Frere, 1948.
. lsigodlo, horn trumpet, 666 mm, Xhosa; no further data (FH 337).
CONNNS
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 841
RSAC ARE
| ON RN
842 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
calling friends to help at a crisis in hunting, or signalling notice of various affairs,
for example a gathering at a certain homestead. The record is only for the Xhosa,
and the only description of the whistle is that it was ‘similar to a Bushman pipe’
(i.e. a simple length of bone).
The whistle used in 1948 by herds to call the cattle was a double-barrelled reed
instrument, apparently based on the European police-type whistle. In the Xhosa
variety two short pieces of reed of unequal length, each with a piece cut out of the
side about 1,5 cm from one end and fitted with a fipple of calabash or melon rind,
are first stuck together with wax so that the fipples are side by side, and then for
greater security bound together with brass wire in two places (PI. 122: 2, 4). The
Xhosa call this umkhombe (according to Plant they call it impempe too). Various
Mpondo informants knew this as umtshingo or impempe (Pl. 86: 2). Some knew
only this type, but it is not clear whether they knew the double- or single-barrelled
sort. According to Kirby, the Mpondo made a variant by inserting a single tube
of grass into ‘a hollow sphere’ of clay, and called it udongwe (clay). Mpondo
informants in 1955 knew this sort, and called it impempe. Bhaca informants knew
only the former and called it impempe. A double-barrelled wooden whistle of the
Bomvana, obtained in Mganduli in 1967, is in East London Museum (EL Eth
5308).
The term impempe seems latterly to have been used by the Xhosa exclusively
for the metal, sergeant’s-type or ‘penny’ whistle that is obtained at the stores. Some
informants knew it, however, as a single reed whistle, made like the separate
barrels of umkhombe. According to Kirby, it was originally a single short piece of
reed, stopped at one end by the node, and cut at right angles at the other, which
was laid on the hollowed tongue.
GORAS
(Kirby: 183-184)
The gora, ugwali (Pl. 121: 1), consists of a straight wooden or reed stave, about
60 cm long. The twisted sinew string is wound round it at one end, and at the other
fastened neatly to one end of an oval piece of quill. The other end of the quill is
placed between a split peg, which is inserted into a hole in the top of the stave.
The string lies taut along the stave and is vibrated by the player placing the quill
between his lips and breathing sharply in and out or, according to Makalima, in
PLATE 122
Rattles and whistles.
. Ankle-rattles of female isanuse, Gcaleka; Meadowlands, Johannesburg, 1968.
. umkhombe, whistle, 100 mm, Xhosa; Qwaninga, Willowvale, 1948.
. Palm-leaf rattles, 440 mm, ?7Mpondo; no data (SAM-2873).
. Xhosa youth blowing umkhombe; Bojeni, Willowvale, 1948.
hWN Fe
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 843
844 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
only. This is a solo instrument played for the enjoyment of the player. All the
records indicate that it was played only by men. |
The gora is an instrument of the Khoikhoi (Hottentots), but has been adopted
by other groups. According to Alberti it was played only by the Gonaqua
Hottentots who had been absorbed by the Xhosa, but 25 years later it was noted
among the Thembu, and the Mpondo certainly knew it too (PI. 121: 1). Modern
Xhosa knew it, but some said that it was no longer used, and the Thembu said the
same. Modern Mpondo did not seem to know it, though according to Hunter
it had been known but had gone out of use. The Hlubi use the gora, but probably
from their contacts with the South Sotho, among whom it is common
(Pin 24295).
HORNS
(Kirby: 79)
In former times an antelope horn, isigodlo (Pl. 121: 8), was used by the Xhosa
for signalling in war, or according to Kirby to summon people to the chief’s place.
Nowadays it is an ox-horn and is said to be used only by boys at play, or according
to some informants by abakhwetha when they want food. The Bomvana also used
a horn, imbelempe (Fenwick corresp.), butya (Kirby), for signalling in war, and it
is still so used by uncircumcised youths in mock fights or faction fights. According
to Kirby they also use it in the initiation ceremonies. Amongst them too the
antelope horn has been replaced by an ox-horn (PI. 121: 6). According to Hunter
the Mpondo used a horn, ubokomela, but no details are given. (Compare flutes,
etc., p. 840.)
Informants of the other groups did not know the horn, but Xesibe stated that
it was now used at the beginning of the services of the Zionist sects. Bhaca said
ixilongo was a horn trumpet.
Makalima states that the large end of the horn is closed with a round of
calabash, and a mouthpiece is made in the side. The two museum specimens seen
(Xhosa and Bomvana), however, were open at both ends, that at the tip being the
mouthpiece. According to Kirby, the former is correct, and the latter is un-African
and indicates a borrowing from European sources.
RATTLES
(Kirby: 6-8)
Despite the number of terms in the vocabulary, it is doubtful whether the use
of rattles is very old. With the exception of amangashela of the Xhosa, which as
far as was seen were ornaments, not rattles, of the imiguza of the Xhosa, and of
the amakhahlazo of the Mpondo, the words refer to modern things, and the two
latter are not in the Dictionary. They are not mentioned in the early literature, and
it may be that they are comparatively recent developments, possibly from ideas
introduced by some of the immigrant groups.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 845
Rattles are used as an accompaniment to the rhythm of a dance, and are worn
on the dancer’s person, either round waist, wrists or legs, below the knees, or round
the ankles. Two sorts of rattle were used by the Xhosa: imiguza, a number of small
dry gourds strung on wluthi and worn across the chest like a bandolier, or over the
hips—the latter, and possibly both, by girls; and isikunjane, a small tin containing
pebbles or potsherds, the top closed and with holes in the bottom; it is tied with
string below the knee. According to Plant sheep may also respond to the sound
of isikunjane.
Amanqashela were described to Kirby as leather dancing rattles, but inform-
ants now only know them as leather or skin or even brass-wire or grass anklets worn
by dancers as ornaments.
The Thembu were said to have used two sorts of rattle: the above-mentioned
small tin with stones in it, called istwahlane; and an anklet, inkaca, made of twisted
twigs of a tree, which rattle when the wearer dances. Similar anklets of twisted
stems of Tecomaria capensis were worn by the Mpondo as ornaments, but they do
rattle in the dance. According to Kirby, and there is a specimen in the South
African Museum (SAM-2873), the Mpondo wore_rattles, amakhahlazo (ama-
hlahlazo, Kirby), made of a group of small containers of woven palm leaf, with
pebbles inside (PI. 122: 3). Kirby’s specimens were tied round the ankles, but the
museum specimen is in a bunch, and might have been worn below the knee or
carried in the hand. Informants in 1955 knew the type of rattle, but said that it was
not palm leaf (i/ala) that was used, but ‘strips of a tree’, and that the name
amakhahlazo was now given to the rattles made of crown-corks. The crown-cork
rattles seen in East Pondoland were bunches of thongs with crown-corks strung on
them, and in some cases fastened through holes in the bottom of a small tin. These
were carried in the hand and shaken to the rhythm of the dance. Ankle rattles of
crown-corks are said to be used too. Another ankle rattle seen in East Pondoland
consisted of a number of small pieces of tin, each bent to form a container for a
pebble, and strung in a row between two thongs, like the cocoon rattles of the
Bushmen, and bound round the ankles. A Xhosa woman isanuse, living in
Johannesburg, was wearing anklets of moth cocoons (PI. 122: 1) but this does not
seem to be characteristic of the Cape Nguni, although Elliott reports that he saw
boys wearing them at dances and stick fights.
The impression gained is that there were two sorts of ratthe—ankle orna-
ments, which made a pleasing sound in the dance and may have been chosen for
that purpose but remained ornaments, and true rattles made from introduced
materials, a recent idea possibly introduced by immigrant groups.
SPINNING DISCS
(Kirby: 72)
Kirby records the use of a spinning disc, uvuvu, by the Xhosa but gives no
further information or description. Most informants did not know it and none was
seen, but the Bhaca knew it as uvungu and some Mpondo knew uvuluvulu, which
846 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
they described as just a toy. Xesibe described it as a piece of wood on a string, which
would seem to be a spinning disc.
RECENT TRENDS
Today gramophones, concertinas, guitars, jew’s harps bought or home-made,
radios and tape-recorders have filled the place of the old instruments.
TOYS AND GAMES
SOURCES
Tks, Oxsctere joo. M72 Xhosa: spear-throwing
‘During their march through this nation [the Caffrees], they one day saw a
great number of the natives, (Hymes believes near three hundred) exercising
themselves on a fine gradual slope, in throwing the assaygay or lance. Being
arranged in two lines on opposite sides of the lawn, one of the men rolled, with
all his strength from the top of the descent, a wooden ball; and so expert were they,
that in the passage, they would lodge their lances in it.’
1782 Hubberly p. 117 Gqunukhwebe: fencing game
‘We often had dancing and cudgelling, which parties I sometimes joined. . .
but not being accustomed to their mode of the game in holding the stick by each
end, he hit me some hard blows over the head, ... .’
1877-8 Norbury (1880) pp. 49-50 Xhosa: stick game
‘The Kaffirs are warlike from their earliest years; even the young children
practice throwing the assegai, by rolling a large bulb along the ground, and hurling
sharply-pointed sticks at it when in motion; this is a favourite pastime with the boys
when tending the cattle.’
(1919) Aitchison p. 678 Cape Nguni: games and toys
‘Sports and Pastimes— The following are some of the pastimes indulged in by
Native children.
Bird and rat hunting, the quarry being taken home, roasted over the coals,
and eaten with great relish.
Tobogganing (the toboggan being constructed from the forked branch of a
tree, to serve as runners).
Games of skill, e.g. ukuhlaba intsema. The root of a bulbiferous plant is used.
The boys stand in a row about three or four yards apart, on an inclined plane. One
of their number is told off to start the bulb, and as it passes down the line, sharpened
sticks are thrown at it. The boy who succeeds in transfixing the bulb is given the
highest place.
Tops are made from various bulbs through which a sharpened stick is thrust.
These are spun by twirling the stick between the hands, and are allowed to revolve
on a sheepskin prepared for the purpose. The little girls make dolls from clay and
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 847
dress them up in any rags that may be found lying about, and the boys make little
models of oxen, etc., from clay.’
(1919) McLaren, J. pp. 441-442 Xhosa: clay figures
‘The Xosas also moulded figures, or dolls, of clay, izi-tomo, resembling those
of the earliest races of mankind, in which the most notable thing was the want of
proportion in the size of the different parts of the body. The clay oxen that Xosa
boys burn today show the same feature in the immense size of the horns.’
1925 Goodwin p. 19 Mpondo: toys, stick-fighting
‘The girls have their dolls, little mealie cobs dressed in rags, . . . . The boys
play more manly games. They mould clay oxen, and inspan them to sardine tins.
They play at single sticks, with another stick held in the one hand as a ward. Now
and then they practice spear throwing or throw their sticks.’
(1926b) Miller, F. p. 43 Hlubi: clay figures
‘Das kleine Schulkind betatigt sich schon eifrig im Formen von Ochsen und
Pferden in dem dunkelfarbigen, tonartigen Lehm, wie er tberall bei uns
vorkommt. Sind die Figuren auch sehr roh und in keiner Weise kiinstlerisch
ausgedacht zu nennen, so zeigen sie doch alle die betreffende charakteristische
Form des darzustellenden Tieres und beweisen somit, dass auch der kleine Kaffer
und das kleine Kafferfraulein aufmerksame Beobachter der Natur sind.’
1932 Hunter (1936) pp. 160-161 Mpondo: games, dolls, clay figures,
string figures
‘As in all societies games play a great part in education . . . boys hunt birds
and rodents,....Aboyof9...can make several kinds of traps, and has learnt
much about tracking. Fighting with sticks is as constant an occupation of the Pondo
as is playing with a ball of the English. . . . Boys race, swim, wrestle, and practise
throwing sticks. One stick is thrown in the air, and others try to hit it before it falls;
a stick is driven upright into the ground, players stand fifty yards away and throw
other sticks, trying to knock down the upright. . . . Other games are tobogganing
down a steep grass slope, tying your head up in a blanket and rolling down a hill,
swinging on monkey ropes, hand stands, somersaults, tig. . . .
Girls’ duties are more arduous than those of boys, so their games are not so
well developed, but even those who have live babies to care for play at building
houses, make dolls out of clay or mealie cobs, and carry them about on their backs.
A small girl will spend hours twisting a rag round a maize cob. When quite tiny,
girls take stones and pretend to grind. . . . Both sexes model clay oxen, build
kraals, and make wagons and sledges. Now clay motor-lorries are supplanting
wagons. Both boys and girls make string figures (mambece) and play a form of
chuckies.
European games are spreading fast.’
t1937) Soga, T: B. p. 158 Xhosa: girls’ games
‘Kudala ngokwetu ukwazi ebeqala ekupuceni, kumana kudlaliswa ngokwe-
nziwa izindlwana, ingayana, nabantwana bomdongwe. . . .
848 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
[In the olden times, as far as we know, little girls’ first game was ukuphuca
(‘agame. . . played with little stones’— Kropf), and play also consisted in making
miniature houses, earthen vessels, and clay dolls. . . .]
(1939) Duggan-Cronin legend to pl. 30 Thembu: clay oxen
‘Herd-boys have a hard time in bad weather, but when the weather is fine they
enjoy many amusements, while their charges are grazing or resting at midday. Of
these, modelling clay oxen beside the rivers is one of the chief. The oxen are more
sturdy than elegant.’
1945 Makalima chapter 33 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: games
pare Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: games for little children
‘7. Ukuxonxa:—Ngumdlalo wamakwenkwe lo, kodwa abantwana abancinci
ungafika nabo besenza amaqhophololwana enkomo, nabantu nonopopi abancinci
abangachulezwanga pofu ukwenziwa.
8. Umatshawe kutatwa incence igotywe ngapambili apa. Iti ke ibekwe enda-
weni eyehlayo, enengca. Ke uti akwele ityilizwe kwanguye ngenyawo, ebambelele
pantsi, ide isuke ibaleke kakulu iye kuma ezantsi. Benza uggatso ngazo. Kubako
nenkulu ekwelisa abantwana abaninzi. Kutiwa ukubizwa kwaleyo yibhasi.’
[7. Ukuxonxa (moulding clay): This is a pastime of boys, but you may find little
children also making figurines of cattle, people, and little dolls, though somewhat
crudely.
8. Umatshawe: A piece of corrugated iron is bent up at one end and placed.
on a sloping place where there is grass. A boy gets on it and pushes it with his feet
while he supports himself on the ground. It eventually moves off with great speed
until it rests at the bottom of the slope. They run races with it. They sometimes
have a large one on which a number of children climb. That one is called the bus. |
par. 2 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: games for little girls
‘Izindlu zodaka ziyasindwa, kwenziwe imizi. Kulemizike kuhlala onopopi,
abenziwe ngemipa nokuba kungokuni neziziba. Kulendawo ibubuso kuba lilapu
elimhlope, ngasemva kulendawo yenwele ibalelimnyama.’
[Mud huts: Their floors are smeared with cow-dung, homesteads are made.
In these homesteads dolls are kept, made of maize cobs or wood and pieces of cloth.
Where the face is, a white cloth is placed and at the back in the place where the
hair is, a black cloth is placed. |
par. 3 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: games for little boys
‘1. Umdongwe kuxonxwa inkomo, amahashe nenqwelo kwenziwe nengqatso
ngalomahashe. Inkabi zitsala inqwelo, kubeko nabaqhubi. Kwenziwa nebroro
emlanjeni.
2. Utinti wenziwa ngentonga. Kumiliselwa induku kwelinye icala. Kumanake
kugityiselwa landuku, kusukwa ndaweni nye, ngabanye. Omnye akude ayichane,
ziposwa ngapaya zonke induku, iti ke ngoku ibe yinto ebucekwa eti ke ngoku umtu
ancindwe entloko. .. .
6. Ukutiya kutiywa ngezigu ebusika, kutiywe intaka ngeminyiki. Ezintaka ke
zityiwa ngokuhlwa zonke emakaya. Imini le zembelwa apa ecaleni kwesigu.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 849
7. Amagegu xa koluswayo umtu ughelisa itole libe liqgegu lake. Elogegu ke xa
kugodukwa womane kwela kulo. Kuko amaxesha okuwabalekisa ugqatso lama-
qegu.
8. Owenduku kuyagulwa, kumana kubizwana, badibane ke ngababini babe-
tane. Uti ogondayo ukuba uyoyiswa ati, ‘““Undikhupile” okanye “‘Masiyeke’’.
Kude kuvele inkwenkwe ekutiwa yinkunzi ke eti iwatyutye iwabete onke nje
ngokuba esiza kuyo.’
{1. Clay: Oxen, horses and wagons are moulded and a race is staged with these
horses. The oxen draw the wagon and there are drivers as well. Bridges are made
across the rivers also.
2. Utinti is made of a stick. A stick is planted in the ground on the one side.
The stick is thrown at with sticks by the players from one spot, one by one until
one of them hits it. That then is a tig game and one is then touched onthe head... .
6. Trapping: This is done during winter, by means of stone fall-traps, using
caterpillars as bait to catch birds. These are all eaten at home in the evenings.
During the day they are buried next to the trap.
7. Pack- and riding oxen (amagegu): When boys-are herding cattle, they train
calves whose horns have appeared to become their riding oxen. When they go
home they ride them. There are times for racing them.
8. A game of sticks: Two challenge each other. They meet and hit each other
with sticks. The one who feels that he is being worsted, says ‘You have put me out’
or ‘Let us drop it’. Eventually the boy emerges who is called the bull, and goes
through them hitting them all as they come towards him. |
par. 4 Fingo, Mpondomise, Thembu: games for young people
‘6. Imiteto yemidlalo:— Abantwana abancinci badlala bodwa, intombi zidlala
zodwa, amakwenkwe adlala odwa kanti nabafana badlala bodwa....
9. Imidlalo ayenziwa ngamaxesha atile? Ewe, ako amaxesha atile angalu-
ngileyo ekudlaleni. Xa kuziliwe akudlalwa naxa kungcwatywa. . .
12. [kona etatwa ngokuba inenggegesho? Ewe, imidlalo etile itatwa ngokuba
inenggegesho ebantwaneni. Imidlalo enje ngamalege amagegu, ukudlala induku
njalo-njalo. Wonke umtu, kufuneka ayidlale le midlalo ilunge ngengqeqesho
enayo.’
[6. Rules of the games: Little children play on their own, girls play on their own,
boys play on their own, yet young men also play on their own... .
9. Are there times when games are not played? Yes, certain times are not
appropriate for games. During mourning periods and at the time of funerals there
isaio play... .
12... . Certain games are regarded as educative for children. Games such as
cattle racing, fighting with sticks, etc., everybody should take part in these games
for the sake of the training that is in them. ]
(1953) Raum pp. 104ff., 163ff. Xhosa, Hlubi: rolling-target game
p. 106 Xhosa, Hlubi: target
‘The Nguni target is not the woven disc or hoop but the bulbous root of
850 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
euphorbias and sansevieras. It is described as wheel-shaped or spherical and
weighing up to eight pounds. They are dug out, cut into half, sometimes two or
three for an afternoon’s game.’
p. 108 Xhosa: spearing target
‘Xhosa, Zulu and Natal tribes aim at spearing the target and show no refine-
ment in counting hits.’
jon WUE, Xhosa: contests
‘The reports of the great number of players and onlookers in the Chaga and
Xhosa games of the past show that the r.t.g. was a sports event. Its primary
attraction, if viewed in this light, seems to be the testing of individual skill, the
competition of teams and—1in those instances where bolas are used—the handling
of a missile which is not of immediate practical use.’
p. 165 Xhosa: human target
‘(The employment of human beings as moving targets— whether for practice
or magical purposes—is known elsewhere. Shepstone reported an incident in the
forties of the last century, where a Xhosa girl was attacked by “wolves” and so badly
lacerated that hope was given up to cure her. She was given the choice of two deaths:
to go into the wilds or allow herself to be used as target by the boys of the neigh-
bouring kraals plying their sharp sticks of about 5 feet length at her! .. .)’
p. 168 Hlubi: rolling target in weather magic
‘The R.T.G. in Weather Magic. . . . This general principle is confirmed in the
particular case of the South African Hlubi r.t.g. Here boys got the order from the -
chief to play the game in a drought or in, or before, the ploughing season. There
is thus evidence enough for examining the connexion between r.t.g. and agricul-
tural fertility magic.’
1949-62 Hammond-Tooke (1962) pp. 221-222 Bhaca: stick-fighting
‘From a very early age the young herdboys of a district will fight those of other
districts, and I have seen a yelling crowd gathered on the slopes above the
Umzimvubu River, brandishing sticks and shouting battlecries to a similar group
of another location on the other slope. Fighting with sticks is a favourite sport
among young boys.’
1968 Holt (1969) pp. 85-87 Tshezi: toys, games
Dp. $5 Tshezi: clay models
‘Much time is spent modelling in clay. Boys make models of oxen with wide
up-sweeping horns and have sham fights with these; or they yoke them two by two
in teams to draw model carts or sleighs. They make models of buses, like the
railway buses they see on the road to Umtata, complete with passengers, and they
make little roads on the veld for them to go along. Sometimes they go to the ponds
and rivers and catch frogs, which they harness to their little models to pull them.
They also dig replicas of dipping-tanks, in which they dip their clay oxen.’
p. 86 Tshezi: stick fights
‘Stick-fights are common among them for amusement. A long stick is held in
the left hand (which is tightly wrapped around with a blanket for protection), and
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 851
this is used to ward off blows. In the right hand is a shorter stick used as a weapon
of attack. Sometimes bouts of friendly rivalry take place . . . but sometimes, too,
these draw in older brothers and fathers ... and end up as serious faction
MGWES. 2. 5’
p. 87 Tshezi: stick fights
‘However, happily, most stick-fights are in the nature of harmless amuse-
ments.’
p. 87 Tshezi: dolls
‘Little girls too enjoy themselves making dolls (onopopi, from Afrikaans
poppie, a little doll) of maize cobs, which they dress up with old rags, unless an
obliging mother makes appropriate dresses for them. These dolls they often carry
on their backs as if they were real babies. They make little houses for them and
then play at house-keeping by grinding earth between two stones, pretending they
are grinding maize to make beer for their dolls;... .’
(1970) Elliott pp. 64, 70-71 Xhosa: toys, games
p. 64 Xhosa: clay oxen
‘Alternatively they will just as easily spend the whole day beside the river
making clay oxen.’
pp. 70-71 Xhosa: stick-fighting
Nothing more.
TOYS AND GAMES: TERMS
isithomo 1. image carved in wood, or moulded in clay, doll, puppet, D.
2. figurine, any image, general 1070
-xonxa form in clay, D (Makalima) 1071
unopopi (from Afr. poppie) 1.nD. 2. doll, X (Bo—Holt), not general 1072
amambece 1.nD. 2. string figures, T Mp 1074
unyawo lwenkuku ‘The Hen’s Foot’, a child’s game played with string on fingers,
D, not asked Transkei 1075
iguni_ small flat stone used by girls in the game unocweba (kicking it from square
to square marked on the ground), DX Mp_ 1076
imbongisa cone-shaped fruit of umbhongisa (monkey apple, Royena lycioides
DC.) used by children as a spinning top, D Mp_ 1077
inggalutye 1. ball or pebble used by children for throwing in the game ukuphuca,
D. 2. made of clay, X. 3. small round pebble, Mp 1078
inkwitshi 1. sling, made of stripped maize cob fastened on switch and hurled
away, D. 2. stick with cob or clay on end for hurling at birds (X—McLaren
1915). 3. unknown, X Bo Mp_ 1079 (322)
isigcuntsa pin, thorn, piece of wire or small pointed stick, used in the play
uku-gcuntsa, D 1080
ltshwili 1.nD. 2. rope for swinging, Mp. 3. not confirmed 1081
852 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
ugquphu playing by jumping over a thong, skipping, D X T 1082
ukhanju 1.nD. 2. javelin (pointed stick) for throwing at rolling target carved
from a bulbous growth, Mp. 3. short wooden javelin, of boys, used to throw
at melon or some other rolling target, T 1083
-gcuntsa throw the isigcuntsa at the tuberous root of isikholokotho (Sansevieria
thyrsiflora Thun.). By this method two boys determine which of them is to turn
the cattle. The one who misses is defeated, D X 1084
-phuca_ ‘throwing up’ game of children played with pebbles, general 1085
umjingo 1. rope slung between poles for hanging clothes on; swing, D X Bo T
Bh. 2. swing, of children, Xes Bh. (From -jinga hang, depend; swing back-
wards and forwards; dangle, D) 1086 (89)
amapheli, amaphelisi 1.nD. 2. plank used as toboggan to slide down steep slope
(game of children), T 1087
umtyibiliza (from -tyibiliza cause to slide) 1.nD. 2. incline made slippery by
boys, to slide down in play, X Mp 1088
ungiwu-ngqiwu 1.nD. 2. see-saw (pole), Xes 1089
uthinti 1.nD. 2. stick put up as target to throw at; game of boys doing so, T
Mp 1090
TOYS AND GAMES: DISCUSSION
Most of the information on material objects for play comes, as will be seen,
from the terms listed above and from fieldwork. It is not a subject that has attracted ©
much attention in the literature, particularly of the early days.
According to Makalima, groups stick together for play—small children, boys,
girls, older girls, and young men. At certain times, for example periods of mourn-
ing, games should not be played.
FIGURE MODELLING— Ukuxonxa
(Pie 23))
The making of models and figurines, izithomo, of clay or other material is a
favourite pastime with children of the Cape Nguni, as with those elsewhere in
southern Africa. The clay used is found easily at the edge of streams and pools.
Rarely the figures are fired, but generally simply dried in the sun. Children of both
PEATE 123
Clay-modelling.
=
. Clay figures of oxen and herdsman, c. 60 mm, Mpondo; Ntontela, Lusikisiki, 1942
(Alb. C1304).
. Mpondomise boy modelling clay oxen to play with; Tsolo, 1958.
. Clay figure of ox, Mpondo; Ntontela, Lusikisiki, 1942 (Alb. C1304).
. Clay figure of baboon, Mpondo; Ntontela, Lusikisiki, 1942 (Alb. C1304).
. Clay oxen, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1958.
. Mpondomise boy modelling clay oxen to play with; Tsolo, 1958.
. Clay figures of women, 130-140 mm, Mpondomise; Tsolo, 1945 (Alb. G112).
NUYANBWNYN
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 853
Be trae:
Pe eS
CSRS
=
eam mera
854 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
sexes do modelling and use the objects made in play. Boys and little children make
oxen (PI. 123: 2, 6), little kraals for them, and sometimes horses, wagons, motor-
vehicles and human figures as well. The oxen are the most important. Those of the
older boys are often very well done and tend to have a conventional style with a
hump and wide horns (PI. 123: 3). Girls make huts, human figures (Pl. 123: 7) and
dolls.
DOLLS—unopopli
Little girls of all the tribes make dolls to play with, not only out of clay but
also by dressing maize cobs in rags (PI. 82: 3). Sometimes they give them faces of
white rag, and hair of black. Clay dolls are also dressed. The dolls are carried on
the back like babies. Some girls make huts, utensils and homesteads out of clay
for their dolls to use. The use of a term taken from the Afrikaans poppie puts a
date to the dolls that we know. If there was anything of the sort before, it has not
left evidence in the vocabulary.
STRING FIGURES—amambece
(Pl. 124)
String figures are not mentioned in the literature, except for two of the terms
given and Hunter’s statement that they are made by both boys and girls. Informants
at Langa did not know them, nor did Bomvana or Bhaca. All other informants
knew them, however, and some small boys in Pondoland gave a demonstration.
Some informants said they had been learnt at school.
GAMES
A game called ukugcuntsa that used to be played by Xhosa boys was for a
group to stand in two rows and each boy to aim a sharp-pointed stick, ukhanju,
at a large bulbous growth that was rolled down-hill between their ranks. The winner
was the boy who succeeded in piercing the target (ukuhlaba intsema). The targets
used were either the globose main stem of Euphorbia bupleurifolia (intsema), or
the globose tuber of Raphionacme purpurea, or the tuberous root of Sansevieria
thyrsiflora (isikholokotha). The game was still played until recently by older boys,
using sharply pointed sticks. Raum, who calls it the ‘rolling-target game’, suggests
that formerly it had social and ritual significance, and used to be played as a major
sporting event, but modern informants did not know of this. The game is played
in many parts of Africa. (For a full discussion see Raum (1953): 104—121, 163-180.)
PLATE 124
String figures (amambece), Mpondo; Libode, 1958.
855
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
“ure
/t arn
856 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Xhosa and Thembu informants gave the same name to the game of throwing
an aloe thorn at the leaf of an aloe (Thembu) or cotyledon (Xhosa). The loser had
to fetch back straying cattle.
Tops were made, according to Aitchison, by putting a sharp stick through a
bulb, twirling it and allowing it to spin on a sheepskin. According to the Dictionary
and to Mpondo informants, the cone-shaped fruit (imbongisa) of the monkey apple
(Royena lycioides, now R. pallens) was used as a top. This fruit is hard-shelled and
ovoid, but only 15 to 40 mm in diameter, and there is no mention of a stick. Xhosa
and Thembu informants said that tops were a new thing learnt at school or bought
from shops, but other Thembu said they used to be made of clay. Xesibe said they
were made out of the igeli root.
The sticks that boys always carry, are used as weapons in the fencing game,
owenduku (see Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981: 322), and also to throw at another stick
(uthinti) stuck upright in the ground, or thrown into the air, as a target. Xhosa girls
may have light stick fights too.
Boys and young children toboggan, umatshawe, down a grassy slope, umtyibt-
liza. According to Aitchison a forked log was formerly used. Wet rocks also make
good slides, with or without a stone to sit on. (So far no ritual significance in
connection with this latter practice has been discovered.) Nowadays planks (ama-
pheli) or sheets of corrugated iron are the favourite vehicles, and the latter may
take more than one person.
Several games are played with stones or pellets of dried clay. One (-phuca) ~
is like five-stones, another (unocweba) like hopscotch.
Ropes of fibre or thong are used for skipping (ugquphu) or swinging (umji-
ngo). Xesibe informants were the only ones to describe a see-saw made from a log,
but Langa informants said they knew it.
The game of hurling a lump of clay, or a stripped mealie cob, from the end
of a pliant stick (isisaulo) and aiming it at persons or things, is put to good use in
some places for scaring birds from the ripening crops.
Boys go bird- and rat-hunting with bows and arrows, and trap with the flat
stone fall-trap and other traps (see Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981: 355-360). When
out herding, they ride calves and teach them to race.
Girls, particularly, play at grown-up occupations. In addition to carrying their
dolls on their backs, they may be seen grinding with a small pair of stones, or
smearing a small floor.
There seems to be a definite feeling that games are educative, and boys are
expected at least to train calves as riding-oxen and to race cattle and fight with
sticks, as a training for later life.
There are no adult games with fixed equipment, unless one includes the game
played by hemp-smokers of spitting saliva and water through a tube to make
patterns on the ground (see p. 748). For example, the men’s board game, variously
called mancala, fuba, moruba (Sotho), is not known to any of the Nguni, although
generally known throughout the rest of Africa, including Namaqualand.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 857
TRADE AND CURRENCY
SOURCES
1686 ‘Stavenisse’ (Godée Molsbergen 1922) pp. 61, 64 Xhosa: trade,
bride price
p. 61 Xhosa: trade
‘Midderwy] dat sij dus gerustelijk leevden wierd haar bekend gemaakt dat alle
jaaren op gewisse tijd en plaats een dag reisens van haar gelegen, somtijds 50 ook
wel 100 Hottentots met wijf en kind kwaamen tegen koralen en kopere ringetjes
dasha... .verhandelen... .’
p. 64 Xhosa: bride price, iron, beads
‘. . ., en koopt de Bruidigom sijn Bruijd van haar ouders, ten sulken prijs als
hij best kan, te weeten voor seeker getal ossen, koeijen, iser, kooper, of
koralen. . . . Het minnespel staat den jonge dogteren vrij, dien het geen schande
is ook bij getrouwde mans te slaapen, mits datse daarvoor betaald werden, zijnde
het ordinares loon van dien 3 isere vinger-ringetjes, of 10 a 12 gemeene coralen
of iets anders daarse sin toe hebben.’ :
1686 ‘Stavenisse’ (Bird 1888) p. 43 Xhosa: bride price
Same as above.
1687—8 ‘Centaurus’ (Cape Archives) pp. 446, 447 Xhosa: bride price, trade
p. 446 Xhosa: bride price
‘De veelheid van vrouwen, indien sij se maar konnen onderhouden, is bij haar
in gebreuijck, en moeten de selven van d’ouders, voor beesten, assagaijen, ijser,
en coper koopen.’
p. 447 Xhosa: trading
‘Niemand sal ook soo vermeeten sijn, van jeets aan een vreemdeling sonder
toestemming van den Conincx te verruijlen.’
1777-9 Paterson (1789) p. 93 Xhosa: trade
‘. . . beads and brass rings which they purchased from the Hottentots for
tobacco and Dacka.’
1803 Janssens (Godée Molsbergen 1932) p. 157 Xhosa: barter
‘De generaal ruylde voor de rariteit eenige van hunne assagaayen, een soort
van werpspies tegens kopere plaaten en coraalen, waarop zy zeer verzot zijn,... .
1802-6 Alberti (1810a) pp. 145-147 Xhosa: currency
p. 145 Xhosa: trade, cattle
‘Algemeen heerscht bij de Kaffers eene hartstogtelike neiging tot den handel,
waarvan de grond minder gelegen schijnt in het verlangen om sekere behoeften
te vervullen, dan wel hoofdzakelijk in winzucht en verrijking. . . . Het vee is de
voornaamste tak van handel, dien de Kaffers thans nog onder elkanderen drijven.
In vorige tijden pleegden ook de Kapenaars veel vee tegen onbeduidende
kleinigheden van hun interuilen;... .’
858 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
pp. 146-147 Xhosa: currency
‘Eer de Kaffers met de Europeérs bekend werden schijnen de Werpspiesen
bij uitzondering het gebrek aan geld vervuld en tevens tot dit oogmerk in den
handel te hebben. Ook nog hieft dit zelfde geval plaats. Naderhand echter hebben
rood en geel koper en de glaskoralen eene gelijke waarde ontfangen. . . intuschen
is derzelve waarde door den steeds toenemende overvloed merklijk gedaald... .
Alleenlijk behouden nog de Werpspiesen hare echte waardij, omdat derzelver
vervaardiging, uit hoofde van het gebrek der daartoe noodige werktuigen, uiter-
mate bezwaarlijk valt, en derzelver verlies bij de jagt en andere gelegenheden
telkens wederom moet hersteld worden. Knoopen, ter gewone versieringe der
Vrouwen-mantels, worden zeer hoog geschat, mits geheel van metaal en duurzaam
in het gebruik; die, welke van binnen hout zijn en oogen hebben van darmsnaren,
worden weinig geteld. In het algemeen hechten de Kaffers in hun oordeel zich aan
het gene sterk, en maken weinig werks van alles, wat slechts kort van duur is. Ook
daarom hebben de gladde Knoopen den voorrang boven alle anderen, wier
oppervlakte gedreven of gestoken is; wordende zelfs de laatste soorten met den
naam van melaatsch bestempeld.’
(See also Alberti 1810b (English edition): 71, 72.)
1809 Collins (Moodie, D. C. F. 1838) part V, p. 39 Xhosa: trade
‘We were surprised on the following morning by the appearance of six Kaffers.
They told us that they were proceeding from Gyka ... to Opato. . . the Tam-
bookie Chief. . . a few miles east of the Zomo. . . . The messengers informed us
that the object of their journey was to exchange copper chains for cattle. This barter
is conducted in a very gallant manner. The messengers deliver the compliments of
their Chiefs, and throw the chains round the necks of the favorite ladies. They ask
nothing in return, but when they choose to terminate their visit, which was this time
to last a week or ten days, they are presented with the supposed value of their gifts.
The amount seems, however, to be perfectly understood by both parties; for they
said they should receive a cow for each chain. Three of these Kaffers were at
Opato’s, for the same purpose, at the time of Mr Stockenstrom’s visit to that Chief
above 18 months before.’
1819-20 Stocker p. 69 Xhosa: items of trade
‘It was also agreed ‘“‘that the Kaffers should (under Gaika’s authority) come
to Graham’s Town, at two fixed periods in every year, with ivory, skins, baskets,
and such other articles they had for barter, and receive in exchange iron, copper,
copper and brass wire, tobacco, tinder boxes, with other articles most desired by
ine maces
c. 1824-5 Smith pp. 200-201, 379 Xhosa: trade
pp. 200-201 . Xhosa: beads and buttons
‘. . . The possession of several universal standards by which they calculate the
value of commodities is also another mark that civilisation has made some progress.
[Those] though they may be said to be universal are increased or diminished
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 859
considerably in consequence or estimation according to the caprice of the nation
or individuals of the nation and are thereby a very fluctuating medium. They are
beads and buttons. Those then are to be considered at present the instruments of
commerce and almost anything else though received as present will not be received
in exchange. Value of strings of beads and the colour form and descriptions of each
of those articles is variously estimated or valued according to the particular notions
prevailing at the moment and which are caused by caprice and not any real or
supposed actual difference of value.’
pe 3/9 Xhosa: Fort Willshire Fair
“They generally speaking did not like the plan of payment by cloths and articles
of that nature and one caffer when he was offered a blanket along with some beads
gave the buyer to understand that by putting a handful more of the former he might
take back the latter [sic]. Their object is to purchase cattle and with the adjoining
tribes clothing is of no value and consequently what is an article of currency with
them becomes the main object of the caffer. Under those circumstances it would
be better either to allow cows to be paid for ivory or else till such a time as they
had acquired sufficient beads and buttons let those only be the articles of barter.
Another great reason for making them so anxious for beads is that they can
purchase a wife with them but no father will think of giving away his daughter for
a suit of clothes or even receiving them in part payment.’
1820-31 Steedman (1835) 1 pp. 4-10, 17; 2 p. 280 Xhosa, Mpondo: trade
1 pp. 4-10 Xhosa: Fort Willshire Fair
A full account.
pai Xhosa: beads
Nothing more.
pe 9 Xhosa: beads at fair
‘Gaika . . . soon appeared for his accustomed tribute, ... . Every look.+.+..
of this arbitrary chieftain was narrowly scrutinized ... , and as each string of
tamboos [ithambo—small white bead, D] (the beads most valuable in their
estimation) disappeared . . . their features bespoke their rage.’
poly Xhosa: importance of beads
‘Such is the avidity with which the natives of Cafferland importune those who
visit their umzis or villages, for presents of beads, and so great is the value attached
by them to these articles, which answer, in fact, all the purposes of a metallic
currency in civilized nations, that a traveller must never fail to provide himself with
a considerable quantity if he is desirous of prosecuting his researches into their
country without obstacle or inconvenience, or if he expects to obtain among their
dwellings the necessary comforts of food and shelter.’
2 p. 280 Mpondo: trade
‘.. .a party of Bushmen, living. . . close to the Zimvoobo. They. . . [shoot]
elephants, the flesh of which they eat, and exchange the ivory with Faku’s people
for corn and tobacco.’
860 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1825 Phillips (1827) pp. 28, 204-208 Xhosa: trade with colonists
p. 28 Xhosa: commodities
“They bring in ivory, hides, gum, elephants’ tusks, mats and baskets, to a very
considerable amount.’
pp. 204-208 Xhosa: Fort Willshire Fair
Nothing more.
1827 Shrewsbury (1869) pp. 259, 269 Xhosa: church collection, currency
p59 Xhosa: church collection, currency
‘At the close [of the meeting] each contributed in beads or buttons, the
circulating medium of this land, what he could afford.’
ps 269 Xhosa: church collection, currency
‘We had. . . this morning our first public collection, which amounted to one
hundred strings of beads, thirteen ear-beads and two buttons, or about six shillings
and four PENCE. + ).)-
The two buttons were given by two Kafirs who, having nothing else to give,
each one cut a button off from his kaross.’
1827 Hallbeck & Fritsch (1826) pp. 304 Thembu, Xhosa: buttons, beads
Nothing more. .
1825-9 Kay (1833) pp. 31, 66-67, 120, 374 Xhosa, Mpondo: trade, currency
[Ds Sul Xhosa: trade fair
‘On the opposite bank were assembled about two hundred natives; who, upon ~
the signal being given, instantly plunged into the river in crowds, without betraying
any symptom of fear whatever. Few if any of them came empty handed: some
brought baskets filled with milk, others large sacks of corn; scores of women came
with pumpkins upon their heads, or otherwise laden with bundles of Indian corn,
just as it had been plucked from the stalk. The articles given by the soldiers, in
exchange for these things, were various coloured beads, buttons, brass wire, and
old pieces of iron. This market was held every Monday morning, for the exclusive
benefit of the garrison; and no barter whatever for ivory or cattle was allowed. The
whole was conducted with as much order as circumstances would admit; and the
moment all the various commodities were disposed of, the bugle was again blown,
and the noisy throng jovially retired to the opposite side of the stream; where they
immediately sat down in groups, to re-count and examine the amount of their
gains.’
pp. 66-67 Xhosa: Fort Willshire Fair
‘Soon after our return to the colony, a proclamation was issued by his Excel-
lency the Governor, authorizing all persons of approved character, and duly
licensed, to trade with the natives, who were therein declared to be at liberty to
visit Fort Wiltshire [sic] weekly, with ivory, hides, and any other articles they might
have for sale. It however enjoined certain restrictions and prohibitions, designed
to guard the rights of the Kaffer, and likewise to preserve peace amongst the
colonists. Various precautions also were taken to prevent quarrels, and misun-
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 861
derstandings, which were naturally expected to arise between buyer and seller, on
so novel an occasion.
To this market the trader was allowed to take beads and buttons, hatchets and
agricultural implements, together with various descriptions of coarse wearing
apparel, blankets, etc. But he was positively forbidden to vend either wine or
spirits, arms or ammunition; things that have proved so destructive amongst the
American Indians, as well as other barbarous nations. Numbers eagerly engaged
in this new traffic, and the mart soon became a place of great resort. The different
clans, far and near, flocked to it in multitudes, and frequently presented scenes
both ludicrous and interesting. The quantity of ivory brought down in the course
of a few months furnished demonstrative evidence that the country beyond was by
no means so poor as many had been disposed to think. It was at first apprehended
that the door being thrown open for a free trade in cattle would be the means of
rendering the Kaffer still more predatory and mischievous; that disposing of his
oxen and kine at the market, he would inevitably reduce himself to the necessity
of stealing more. This supposition, however, was founded in utter ignorance of that
ardent attachment which he ever evinces towards his herds; and which at all times
renders him loath to part even with a single head. He rarely disposes of a good cow
at any price; but almost always selects for the market such as are no longer likely
to be useful to him, in consequence of age, or some other defect.’
pa l20 Xhosa: cattle, beads, metal
‘Large herds of cattle are accounted the greatest and most valuable riches that
man can possess; and the increase of his stock, together with the various means
by which that increase may be most fully ensured, is the subject of daily study with
every native from the time that he is at all capable of engaging in the affairs of life,
to the very last moment of his earthly career. This, in short, is the end of all his
exertions, and the grand object of all his arts. His very heart and soul are in his
herd; every head is as familiar to his eye as the very countenances of his children.
He is scarcely ever seen shedding tears, excepting when the Chief lays violent hands
upon some part of his horned family; this pierces him to the heart, and produces
more real grief than would be evinced over the loss either of wife or child.
Beads, brass-wire, and gilt buttons, rank next in point of value. These, in fact,
answer the two grand purposes to which gold and silver are applied in Europe, viz.,
trade and aggrandisement. They constitute the bullion of the country: and the sole
medium of exchange, with the exception of a spear which is occasionally given in
part of payment. In former days the returns consisted of cattle only; but since the
door has been thrown open for export to the colony, ivory and hides also have
become staple commodities. For the elephant’s tusk they had formerly no other
use than that of cutting it up into rings for bracelets; but, now that they have a
regular market, that class of ornaments has in a great measure disappeared. As we
have already remarked respecting their ruling propensity, the grand end in every
thing seems to be the augmentation of their stock: hence they will seldom receive
any article, however valuable in our estimation, for their staple commodities, that
will not in some way or other enable them to make an accession to their herd.’
862 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
p. 374 Mpondo: copper rings
‘Necklaces, ivory, and copper rings (of enormous size and thickness) consti-
tute their principal and almost only ornaments. The latter, of which I have several
specimens in my possession, are obtained from the tribes to the eastward, in
exchange for corn and maize.’
1829 ‘An Economist’ (1830) pp. 257-259 Xhosa: trade
‘... early in 1822. . . . Regulations were formed for a trade between “‘the
Caffer people and the Officers of the Colonial Government’, for Red Clay,
an article in some demand by the former, for the purpose of personal decoration,
and which was abundant within the old boundary. The fair was ordered to be
held every full moon, at the Clay Pits, on the western side of the Great Fish-
TIVE.
p. 258 Xhosa: trade
‘The “Government” Fair soon ceased to be visited by Caffers. . . .’
D. oe Xhosa: Fort Willshire Fair
. the ... measure of a Caffer Fair was ordered to be established by
Procidmation bearing date the 23rd July, 1824, .
Ivory and hides, for which were acenanpedl bende buttons, and brass wire,
were the principle articles of barter, and within the short period of 22 months,
112943 lbs. of the first mentioned articles, and 46575 hides ... passed
thiouehies . =
1829 Bain pp. 95, 96, 104, 119-120 Xhosa, Bomvana, Mpondo, Xesibe: barter
p95 Bomvana: barter cattle for beads
‘In the afternoon I took a ride to a kraal & procured one cow for beads.’
p. 96 Bomvana: barter cattle for beads
Nothing more.
p. 104 note 54 Mpondo, Xhosa: trade
‘Faco’s country may be considered the Granary of the eastern parts of
Caffreland as they, the Amapondo, annually supply the inhabitants with great
quantities of Maize and Caffre corn for which they receive in return hides, beads
and cattle.’
pp. 119-120 Xesibe: ivory for beads
‘I received a message from Mr. B. requesting me to come to the waggons
without delay, as he could not supply the natives with beads fast enough in
exchange for ivory. .. . I soon reached the waggons & found them surrounded
with ivory & all our cows already disposed of . . . we both set to work to make up
beads into saleable bunches & for some time could not supply them quick enough.
We even purchased a number of small teeth for loose beads. . . . The teeth came
on nearly as fast as the preceding day & our stock of cows being exhausted we sold
an old bull & several very poor oxen &, had we had a few more head of cattle to
spare, we could have filled our waggons without going any further, but they are
loath to sell a large tooth without a cow, the balance they take in beads... .”
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 863
1829 Holman (1834) pp. 273-274 Xhosa: trade fair
pu273 Xhosa: trade fair
‘I was invited to remain at the Fort the following day, to be present at the
Caffre fair, which is held on every Wednesday, when the average attendance of
Caffres amounts to about 1000; the articles they bring are horns, hides, skins of
various animals, and samboks (riding whips cut out of the hides of the hippopotami
and rhinoceros), mats and baskets of rushes, earthen pots, wild honey in comb,
and (when plentiful) maize and millet; these they exchange chiefly for beads and
buttons, but they are rapidly acquiring a taste for more useful articles, namely,
implements of husbandry, tin pots, clothing, handkerchiefs, &c.’
pp. 273-274 Xhosa: trade fair
‘At 11 o’clock on Wednesday morning a flag is hoisted from the Fort, and
almost immediately after, straggling groups of Caffres may be seen advancing from
the mountain tops, the women bearing on their head the merchandise for the fair,
consisting of hides, horns, mats, milk, and green forage, and accompanied by their
husbands. On arriving at the market the hides are ranged in front, the horns
immediately behind them, then the mats, milk, and green forage. The average
number of hides appears to be about eight hundred, and from one to two thousand
horns. . . . In exchange for these articles, the Caffre trader offers beads, buttons,
brass wire, and common handkerchiefs: ... .’
c. 1831-2 Smith pp. 11-12 Xhosa: articles of trade
c
. . . bartering for corn and milk. Yellow ball buttons and thick brass wire
were the articles which procured us most readily the supplies we required. Some
desired beads, but they were so particular as to their tints and shapes, that it was
scarcely possible to please them; and hence we found all but those which were in
exact accordance with the fashion of the moment, of but little value. . . the buttons
and wire . . . are the staple articles for barter throughout all Cafferland.’
(1832a) Anon. p. 150 Xhosa: chief’s revenue
‘Every kraal has a captain. .. . His revenue consists in contributions or
exactions of cattle, with a quantity of corn, all elephant’s teeth, panthers’ skins,
and cranes’ feathers.’
1834 Godlonton (1835-6) pp. 140-141 Xhosa: fashions in trade goods
‘The Kafir people are in their taste for ornaments extremely capricious.
Fashion with them is a matter of high moment, but then it is more than ordinarily
variable; their humour is so fickle, that an article of dress sought after with the
greatest avidity to-day, and prized at the highest value, is to-morrow spurned at,
or thrown aside with perfect indifference as utterly worthless. Thus it happened
among the traders; he who chanced to hit the prevailing taste, commanded the
market for the time being; valuable produce poured in upon him from every
quarter; and almost any price was given by him for a supply of the precious article
then in demand. Under such circumstances eighty Rixdollars, (£6) per lb., have
been given, and given eagerly, for beads, the prime cost of which might be about
nine-pence or one shilling. The cupidity of the traders, however, soon brought
864 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
down its own punishment. It was very clear that this fictitious value could not be
maintained, unless by a monopoly of the article in request; and hence, by endeav-
ouring to effect this object, without calculating sufficiently on the caprice of the
natives, a great proportion of the traders were in a moment plunged into diffi-
culties, and the successful exertions of many previous months lost, by some sudden
whim respecting the colour or shape of a paltry ornament.’
(1835) Anon. p. 28 Xhosa: fairs on frontier
Nothing more.
1820—56 Shaw, W. (1860) pp. 361-362 Xhosa: beads, buttons, brass wire
‘The intrinsic worth of the articles necessarily given by us in exchange (like
bank notes) was indeed small; but their relative value at the time and for many
years afterwards was very great. We paid the daily wages of a Kaffir in beads,
buttons, or brass wire, giving him the choice of these articles on an adjusted scale
as to quantity and value. But he felt himself to be liberally rewarded for his labour,
because, after providing himself with food, his wages would leave him a surplus
by which he could in one month purchase from his countrymen an ox;... .
Indeed, although at this time the cost to us for the labour of a Kaffir—such as it
was—certainly did not exceed threepence a day, yet we could have had any
number of Kaffir labourers, as soon as they discovered that it was a ready road to
wealth. ... The beads, buttons, and brass wire maintained their value in the
country for years, because they were required and considered essential as an ©
ornamental part of the dress of the people, more especially that of the females; and
no marriage could be celebrated in the country without the interchange of large
quantities of these commodities.’
1839 Backhouse (1844) p. 250 Xhosa: wages
‘.. . Our extra guides signified that they wished to return, and we paid the
head-man, according to agreement, with a knife and a piece of tobacco. We gave
the other a dozen buttons, which in Caffraria are equal in value to three pence,
he having come of his own accord.’
1830-61 Boyce (1861) p. 213 Mpondo: currency
‘Our currency was a mixed one of flat and round gilt buttons, and strings of
beads, of various sizes and colours, copper wire, tinderboxes, knives, hatchets, and
bar-iron. Native labour was obtained at the rate of about threepence a day, payable
in the aforesaid currency.’
1846 Napier (1850) p. 130 Cape Nguni: cattle
Nothing more.
c. 1875 Stanford 1 p. 47 Xhosa, Thembu: cowrie shells
‘Before their contact with our civilisation barter was the only form of trade
known to them, except that near the coast there seems to have been a fixed value
for cowrie shells’ (Note: ‘. . . The Xhosa names are InGqogqo and inGcaca’) ‘in the
number of small stock paid for them. These shells were highly prized for decorative
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THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 865
purposes; they were worn as necklets and were also much admired on the full dress
mantles worn by the women on festive occasions.’
(1902) Young p. 26 Cape Nguni: currency
‘English money was introduced into Kafirland in 1829. Previous to that year
all wages were paid in beads, buttons and brass wire, British money being at that
time of no use to the natives... .’
(1912) Ayliff & Whiteside p. 19 Fingo: barter
‘In order to acquire cattle, the Fingoes grew tobacco, and prepared it with
great care. They packed it in small rush baskets which they hid in their huts until
a favourable opportunity to sell it was found. Under the pretence of visiting a
relative . . . they would form a party and start like so many pedlars carrying small
baskets of tobacco on their heads. When they arrived at their journey’s end, they
bartered the tobacco for cattle... .’
(1919) Kingon pp. 151-154 Cape Nguni: trade
Summary of the development of barter and trade between the colonists and
the frontier tribes.
1932 Hunter (1936) pp. 133-134 Mpondo: trade
‘Formerly each umzi produced most of the goods necessary for its own con-
sumption. Even specialists had their cattle and fields and produced their own food,
and there was very little production of surplus grain for exchange. There was a little
exchange in pottery, ironwork, bone and woodwork, and basketwork, but the
quantity of goods exchanged was never great. There were no markets—a person
requiring spears or pottery went direct to the home of the smith or potteress and
there bought, or ordered to be made, what he or she required—and no stan-
dardized medium of exchange. Grain, spears, goats, and cattle were all used in
exchange for each other, and for other goods, and for payment of diviners and
herbalists. Whether there was a stabilized relative value before contact it is
difficult to determine, but such evidence as there is suggests that there was. Pots
were sold for their fill in grain. Ten spears were given for a young beast. Ten goats
for a beast.
Kay mentions that the Pondo got copper rings from the tribes to the east of
them in exchange for grain and corn, and Boyce that they exchanged maize and
tobacco for elephant ivory with Bushmen. Pondo on the coast now (and probably
formerly) trade a rare shell (iyila) with Xhosa, who prize it as an ornament, also
shark skin which Xhosa use as medicine for fields. Rushes and palm leaves for
basketwork are sold in districts where they are scarce. Fines for offences against
neighbours and against the chief were levied in cattle or goats, death dues paid to
the chief also in stock, and gifts of first-fruits given to him. This occasioned some
circulation of goods, but the main cause of circulation was the custom of ukulo6ola
(the giving of cattle by the groom’s group to the bride’s group upon the occasion
of marriage) and the giving of clothing and household utensils by the bride’s group
to the groom’s group.’
866 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1937 Cornner, F. (corresp.) Mpondomise: spears, bangles
‘I enquired what was their method of barter, and I am told assegais and
bracelets. In the old days these articles were made by a so called professional
native blacksmith who had an antiquated kind of forge. The bracelets were made
of iron.’
(1948) Long p. 78 Fort Willshire Fair
General discussion of the Fair.
(1949) Duggan-Cronin p. 14 Mpondo, Mpondomise: trade
‘Traditionally there was a little trade in hoes and spears, copper ornaments,
and possibly also in salt, but its bulk was small. With the arrival of the Europeans,
however, the economy changed very fast, and by the middle of the nineteenth
century traders were doing a lively business in Mpondo and Mpondomise country,
selling blankets, hoes, axes and guns, in exchange for ivory, horn, hides, and skins,
and cattle. To-day no kraal is self-supporting. Most of them produce the bulk of
their own food (though the area is not wholly self-supporting even in grain), but
are dependent upon the earnings of one or more members working in towns for
their clothes, household utensils, tools, and the money to pay taxes, school fees,
and medical expenses.’
(1978) Beinart pp. 3-6 Mpondo: barter, exports, hut tax -
joss Mpondo: barter
‘. . . barter between Mpondo and itinerant European traders in which ivory,
horns, hides, and cattle were exchanged for blankets, beads, hoes, picks and guns
took place with increasing regularity from the 1830s onwards.’
p. 4 Mpondo: exports
‘The British resident in Pondoland commented in 1880 that “mealies and
Kafir-corn” were “‘usually exported in large quantities”. . . . Thus during the 1870s
and 1880s the nature of exports from Pondoland changed. Formerly, ivory and
skins had been major items of export. . . . There was also a large export of cattle
from Pondoland. . . ‘‘the old established trade in Pondo cattle” was “‘the chief line
of business between this district and the colony’’.’
(O55) Mpondo: cattle
‘Cattle were, if anything, the currency of the area before the arrival of cash;
they were used in a variety of exchanges and performed the function of the general
equivalent. The evidence of the nineteenth century shows clearly that many
animals were traded when it was profitable to do so. . . . The Mpondo did not
export themselves, but sold all surplus produce to European traders settled in the
area.”
p. 6 Mpondo: hut tax
‘From 1895 onwards, every homestead head was responsible for the payment
of a hut tax of “‘ten shillings per hut per annum”’.’
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 867
TRADE AND CURRENCY: TERMS
There is no vocabulary for currency, because there were no items of pure
currency.
TRADE AND CURRENCY: DISCUSSION
The Cape Nguni did not have a true currency, though there was a short period
when beads and buttons did come to have almost that status.
When they entered their present home, the Cape Nguni were at the subsist-
ence level of economy; that is, for the most part each family supplied its own
needs, but there was a good deal of exchange of goods by simple barter. It seems
likely that there was a fixed value in these exchanges, for example, Dohne gives
as the price of two brass ring girdles among the Xhosa, one cow, and Hunter gives
as the price of a pot in Pondoland, its fill of grain. The latter is an old and
widespread rate for barter.
From the meagre records it is evident that in addition to domestic exchange
and barter, trading by barter with neighbouring peoples, Bantu-speakers and
Khoisan, was well established before written records began. The Xhosa particu-
larly are said to have been keen traders, and the Mpondo to have exported grain
to all the surrounding areas, and even through that medium to have bought ivory
from the Bushmen.
The universal unit of wealth that circulated internally amongst the Cape
Nguni, from early to modern times, was cattle. Cattle were the major item in /obola
(the cattle due by the bridegroom’s family to the bride’s family to seal the marriage
contract), anything else being part of an exchange of gifts. Major fines to the chief
or fees to doctors or important specialists were paid in cattle. Cattle cannot,
however, be rated as currency, because while sometimes used for purchases it was
only of the more important and valuable articles—above all metal goods. And it
was accepted in payment not with a view to being able to buy something else with
it, which is the basis of true currency, but for its own value as an enlargement of
the herd. In poor families, and increasingly in later years, goats have taken the
place of cattle in many instances.
For ordinary trading the most important items for several centuries were beads
and metals, the latter particularly when made up into spearheads or other objects
of use or ornament, such as brass wire, arm-rings or buttons. According to Alberti,
spearheads were the oldest of these mediums, and maintained their value because
they were difficult to make, and because, later on, the market tended to become
flooded with the other items. Beads and metals were not home products, but
themselves obtained by barter, first in small quantities from peoples to the north-
east, who must have had the beads from traders on the East Coast. Later these
commodities were obtained in larger quantities from Europeans in the west, at first
through Khoi (Hottentot) middlemen. Beads were sought primarily for use and
ornament, but for a period of time that it has not been possible to determine, they
reached the stature of a currency in that a man would take more than he needed
868 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
for his own use, because he could always dispose of them to someone else at a stable
value, either for goods or for services rendered, the ultimate aim, however, being
to have enough over to buy cattle. These commodities are first mentioned by
survivors of the Stavenisse as forming part of lobola, but they were not true /obola
items but additional gifts, albeit obligatory. They were also mentioned later for
payment of small fines or fees, and even for church collection. In the seventeenth
century beads and metals were scarce. A century later, when Von Winkelman was
travelling in the area, beads had become more common, from trade with the
frontier Europeans, and he remarks sadly that an ox cost two or three pounds of
beads, and they must be white beads, compared with the good old days when an
ox was to be had for one pound of beads!
It has been suggested by informants that shells, some of which were prized as
ornaments, became at one time a true currency, but there is no evidence to suggest
that they were ever more than an item of trade.
From the beginning of the nineteenth century, trade between black and white
on the frontier, which had been carried on in a small way since the seventeenth
century, gained increasing tempo. The Europeans were primarily interested in
ivory, with hides, horn and gum as second strings, and, for the garrisons, a certain
amount of garden produce. In exchange were taken, practically exclusively, beads,
buttons and brass wire, though later tobacco, cloth and clothing were accepted. So
much were the beads in demand and so firm was their value, that early missionaries
in the territory used them for payment of wages. The fact that sudden changes of
fashion in beads made the trade a rather hazardous one for the European trader,
did not alter their importance in internal trade.
Between 1822 and 1830, for the protection of both sides, trading was restricted
to organized fairs, notably that at Fort Willshire, which started operating in 1824.
The sources have been quoted here rather fully because they give a vivid picture
of a colourful institution. After 1830 there was a change in policy and traders were
permitted to go where they liked, and soon ranged over the whole territory. Later
they established trading posts—the trading stores found all over the territories
today. By that time, the Mpondo, although sharing the general Cape Nguni
attitude towards cattle, were trading substantially in cattle, through the traders.
Baskets and pots could until very lately still be exchanged for their fill in grain
and in 1961 in the Herschel district grain was still accepted for goats. But for cattle
money has to be paid. A diviner’s fee is still generally paid in stock, but otherwise
money is universally used.
The change-over to the present money economy took place gradually, during
the nineteenth century. Money is said to have been introduced for payment of
wages as early as 1829, but did not gain much ground among the Xhosa until the
Cattle-Killing of 1857, when, having destroyed their stock and grain, people had
to go to work to earn money to buy food. The process was accelerated by the
imposition of money taxes by the Government from 1884 onwards. (The Fingo
imposed a tax on themselves in 1874 to finance a specific project.) To pay them,
men had to go off to work away from home to earn money, and have done so to
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 869
an increasing extent since then. The establishment of trading stores created a
demand for store-bought goods, which though originally luxuries have become
necessities. Though the traders have always accepted certain goods and produce
as payment, this is no longer enough, and money is needed.
For a fuller account of Xhosa trading practice see Peires 1981: 95-108, and
for that of the Mpondo, Beinart 1982.
TRANSPORT
SOURCES
1797 Barrow (1806) p. 164 Xhosa: no boats
‘The whole extent of their coast, which is washed by the sea and intersected
by the mouths of several large rivers, does not possess a single boat, nor canoe,
nor any thing that resembles a floating vessel. The short space of time, perhaps,
which they have occupied that part of Africa they now inhabit, has not yet
sufficiently familiarized them to the nature of deep waters, to entrust themselves
upon a frail bark.’
1803 Howen Xhosa: pack- and riding-oxen
Painting of family on move.
1802—6 Alberti (1810a) p. 109 Xhosa: pack- and riding-oxen
‘In het algemeen bedient men zich van enkele Stieren, om het huisraad en
andere noodwendigheden bij eenen togt mede te voeren. . . . Zoodanige Stieren
worden ook dikwijls bereden, en dragen hunne ruiters, zelfs in den galop, met alle
mogelijke zekerheid.’
(See also Alberti 18106 (English edition): 55.)
1804-5 Daniell (1820) pl. 5 ‘Kaffir’: pack-ox
Figure.
isis Campbell, J. (1815). pp. 367, 370 Xhosa: rafts, oxen
p. 367 Xhosa: rafts
“They have no canoes or boats, even to cross a river by; this they perform by
tying reeds together, on which they are floated over.’
p- 3/0 Xhosa: pack-oxen
‘The riches of a Caffre chiefly consist in his cattle, of which he is extravagantly
fond. He keeps them as carefully as the miser does his gold. He never uses them
as beasts of burden, except when he is removing from one place to another along
with his Kraal, and then they carry the milk bags, or skin bags which contain
milk.’
1819-29 Moodie, J. W. D. (1835) p. 241 Xhosa: no boats
Nothing more.
870 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
c. 1824-5 Smith pp. 59, 356 Xhosa: pack-ox, no rafts
poe Xhosa: pack-ox
‘The kaffirs in the present day use pack oxen both to ride upon and to carry
articles of burden. Gaika came riding on a pack-ox to see Mr. Barrow in 1797.’
p. 356 Xhosa: no rafts
‘The caffirs are not in the habit of using any reeds or other articles for
transporting themselves across rivers.’
1825 Phillips (1827) p. 198 Xhosa: horses
‘. . . their horses were not very gaily caparisoned, having only a loose piece
of cow’s hide for their saddles.’
1815-37 Shaw, B. (1840) p. 59 Xhosa: raft
Nothing more (taken from Campbell, J. 1815: 367).
1829 Holman (1834) p. 268 Xhosa: no boats
Nothing more.
1839 Backhouse (1844) p. 238 Xhosa: crossing a river
‘These Alligators, which are 14 feet long and 43 feet round, are much dreaded
by the natives, who, when they wish to ford the rivers, where these animals abound,
are said to throw Calabashes into them. The Calabashes being hard, light and
round, the Alligators follow them down the river, trying in vain to seize them; and
the people avail themselves of the opportunity of crossing while the Alligators are
thus occupied.’ ?
(1850a) Anon. p. 116 Xhosa: litter
‘Als ich die Kay passirte, da kamen sechs junge Kaffern vorsichtig durch den
Fluss geschritten. Die kamen fern von jenseit der Kay und zogen diesseit der Kay
ins Britische Kafferland. Auf ihren Schultern trugen sie eine Trage von
Baumzweigen zusammengebunden. Darauf sass ein altes Mutterchen, der sie von
Biischen auch eine Art Schirm gemacht hatten, so dass sie hubsch im Schatten sass,
denn der Tag war driickend heiss. Mit dieser Last zogen sie frohlich ihre Strasse.’
c. 1850 C. B. (?Charles Bell) Xhosa: riding-ox, horse
Figure.
(1851) J. W(alker) pl. 14 ‘Kaffir’: riding-ox
Figure.
(1853) Fleming p. 102 ‘Kaffir’: riding-oxen
‘In addition to the uses, to which oxen are put in England, the Kaffirs add one
more, as they ride them like horses. The rapidity, at which they gallop them, is
astonishing, as well as the distances which they will thus travel.’
(1858) Anon. p. 40 Xhosa: fear of sea
‘Diebstahl und Raub, die altbekannten Vorlaufer der Kriege mit den //Osa,
begannen bereits, als der wackere Gouverneur vom Cap, Sir Grey, im Lande
erschien. Er machte bekannt, dass jeder Dieb, dessen Schuld erwiesen sei, uber
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 871
das Meer nach der Capstadt transportirt werden solle; . . . . Die Strafe war hart,
denn nichts fiirchtet der //Osa mehr, als eine Fahrt auf dem Meere;... .’
(1867) Taylor p. 106 Xhosa: riding-ox
Nothing more.
1872 Weitz (1873) pp. 182-183 Hlubi: riding-oxen
p. 182 Hlubi: riding-ox
(Saw youth in straw hat, riding an ox:) ‘and playing his flute all the while to
keep the animal in good humour.’
pe 183 Hlubi: riding-oxen
Chose young oxen.
1932 Hunter (1936) pp. 96, 101, 373 and note Mpondo: transport
p. 96 Mpondo: no boats
‘The people living on the coast gather shell-fish, and spear other fish in
rock-pools and lagoons. They have no canoes of any kind, nor any tradition of
having had them.’
pe 101 Mpondo: sledges
‘, . . Sledges for drawing grain. The base of the sledge is a forked tree-trunk.
Wickerwork sides are built on to it in the same technique as the old doors and
meat-trays.’
p: 373 Mpondo: ferrymen
‘, . . there was comparatively little travel: . . . .’ (Note:) ‘Nevertheless there
were professional ferrymen. Strong swimmers living near large rivers took
travellers across, the traveller holding on to the middle of a piece of wood
and a ferryman holding each end. The old ferryman on the umZimvubu near
Ntontela has been replaced by a rowing-boat owned by a European.’
1945 Makalima chapter 5 Thembu: pack-ox
par. 38: ‘Ukugegeshwa kwenkomo: Inkomo xa kuko imijadu ziyaleqwa nga-
madoda azi bete. Ziya qeqeshwa kulonto zise ncinci inkabi. Ziyenziwa amagegu
zikwelwe kanti nombona ututwa ngazo emasimini. Nempahla yonke iyatutwa
ngala maqegu. Ziyaqeqeshwa ukuba zize edyokweni, umtu ebambe idyokwe.’
[Training of cattle: when there are imijadu (some kind of festivities, not clear
what is meant) cattle are raced by men, who beat them (to urge them on). Oxen
are trained for this when still young. They are used as pack-animals and ridden,
but maize is also carried by them from the lands. All kinds of luggage or burdens
are transported by these pack-oxen. They are trained to come in under the yoke
whilst it is being held up for them. |
(1949) Duggan-Cronin pl. 49 and legend Mpondo: sledge
legend to pl. 49
‘In Pondoland roads are few, and ploughs are taken to and from the fields in
home-made sledges.’
872 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1954) Duggan-Cronin pl. 186 and legend Hlubi, Bhaca, Xesibe: sledge
legend to pl. 186
‘The sledge (isileyi) is the main method of transport among Hlubi, Baca and
Xesibe. It is made from a forked tree trunk or two heavy logs bolted together. It
is dragged over the ground by oxen and is partly responsible for the execrable state
of most Transkei roads.’
1949-62 Hammond-Tooke (1962) pp. 24, 143, 184, Bhaca: horses, sledges
a7 pl tg
p. 24 Bhaca: riding- and racing-horses
‘Horses are bred for riding andracing. . . . Race-horses are seldom ridden and
are kept for the horse races... .’
p. 184 Bhaca: riding-horses
‘During the morning more men arrive from the outlying areas. They come on
horseback and on foot... .’
ple Bhaca: army on horseback
". . . the army greets the chici”
p. 342 Bhaca: horsemen at first-fruits ceremony
Nothing more.
p. 143 Bhaca: sledges
‘The sledges used for transporting the mealies and pumpkins from the fields
require heavy labour to make and not every umti possesses one, or the number of
oxen necessary to drag the heavy structure. Neighbours will thus combine in
bringing home the harvest.’
TRANSPORT: TERMS
igegu pack-ox or ox used for riding, D 1091 (348)
ingaluka 1. pack saddle, D. 2. thong round belly of beast for rider to hold on
to, Bo Mp. 3. mostly unknown 1092 (349)
inggalo 1. thong by which rider is secured from falling off a bullock when training
it, DX Bh Mp. 2. nose-strap (synonym umkhala) passed through nose of
beast; bridle; beadwork strap round head and under chin, T, general 1093
(350)
umkhala_ 1. nose-strap for cattle, D. 2. bridle, D, general 1094 (347, 387)
ithala_ shelf or loft for storing provisions, D, general. (Such a shelf may be a
groove in wall plaster, or wickerwork attached to it, or a wicker door on poles,
also in lands. Anything of this kind may be used as a stretcher or bier and
would then be called by this term, but ithala does not mean stretcher,
bier) 1095 (87, 533)
isileyi sleigh (from Dutch slee), D, general 1096 (333)
umthantatho (from verb step from stone to stone) any contrivance for crossing
a river, hence a bridge; the plural is used for stepping-stones in a river, D, not
general 1097
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 873
iphenyane 1.small boat, canoe, D. 2. raft, X. 3.not known, Mp 1098
isibhexo piece of wood to stir round food; oar, D Mp 1099
isihlenga 1. float made of reeds, a raft, D. 2. not confirmed. 3. beer-
skimmer, Mp, known to T who regard it as Mp and Bh. (From -hlenga
assort, leave out, separate good from bad) 1100 (602)
umkhombe, umkhumbi_ 1. wooden trough, hollowed out longitudinally in the
upper side of a log of wood, used for various purposes; manger, canoe, boat,
ship, D X Mp and others. 2. obsolete since beginning of nineteenth century
in sense of ‘boat, ship’, X, and not confirmed now 1101 (355, 531)
TRANSPORT: DISCUSSION
There are traces of very few material aids to travel or transport in the early
days. The considerable distances travelled by the Cape Nguni, both before and
after their arrival in the eastern Cape, were accomplished on foot.
PACK-OXEN, ETC.
In early times the ox was the major means of transport throughout the area,
both for riding and for carrying burdens (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 36:
1, 2). For riding, a thong (ingaluka) was passed round the belly as a girth, for the
rider to hold on to if necessary. A thong bridle (umkhala, inggalo) or one of plaited
grass or tail hair was attached to a peg put through the cartilage of the beast’s nose,
or was itself passed through. Informants said that the bridle might also be tied
round the horns. No saddle was used. (See Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981: 262.)
When serving as a pack-ox (igegu), an ox was also fitted with a girth and bridle.
It was led by the bridle, and the milk-sacks, mats, baskets, and other burdens were
attached by thongs to the girth. Nowadays oxen are no longer used as pack animals,
but do draw the sledges with produce from the fields.
Early in the nineteenth century horses were being ridden near the frontier and
about the middle of the century had begun to supersede the ox for riding. Though
oxen are still very occasionally ridden at the present day, the horse is the usual
riding animal throughout the area except where there is horse-sickness and people
do not trouble to have the horses treated. A bit and bridle of European style are
used, with a sheep- or oxhide as a saddle, and stirrups, though these were not used
at first. Oxhides as saddles were mentioned as early as 1825. Fingo riders were seen
using a highly ornamented saddle-cloth. In 1955 Xesibe boys were said still to use
the girth (ingaluka). In many places donkeys are ridden too.
BIERS, LITTERS AND SLEDGES
The use of litters and biers must have been known in emergency, but does not
appear to have been common practice. There is only one reference to a litter, when
an old woman had to be carried. There are no references in the literature to the
use of a bier, which was perhaps rendered unnecessary by the way of disposing of
the dead. Modern Xhosa informants described the use of a rough bier to carry the
dead, and other informants agreed. This consisted of two poles with slats across.
874 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
The word ithala refers more to this type of construction than to the use to which
it was put.
A modern development is the use of a sledge (isileyi) (Shaw & Van Warmelo
1974, pl. 25: 3) for the transport of agricultural produce from the fields. These
sledges are made with a forked tree branch as the base, on to which wicker sides
are built, and a wicker or slat floor added. They are drawn by oxen by means of
a chain attached to a wooden yoke with wooden skeys (see Shaw & Van Warmelo
1981: 238). Sledges may also be used to carry the sick.
BRIDGES
Though the country abounds in rivers and streams, there is no record of
bridges ever having been made. Sireams were crossed by stepping-stones (imitha-
ntatho), and rivers by fording or swimming at customary fords (izibuko).
CANOES, BOATS, RAFTS
Despite the above vocabulary, early recorders are agreed in stating definitely
that the Xhosa had no boats or canoes. It may be that words for similarly shaped
objects have been used for the canoes and rafts of other people (note particularly
isibexo and umkhombe). According to a Berlin missionary, the fear of the Xhosa
of going on the sea was such that a threat by the Government of deportation to
Cape Town by sea was a strong deterrent to crime.
For crossing rivers, some said the Xhosa made a rough raft of reeds tied
together (isithlenga or iphenyane), though Smith denies this. One Xhosa informant
maintained that rafts were still used at the mouth of the Qora River in 1948, but
it was not possible to obtain confirmation of this.
Thembu described how people were pulled by strong swimmers across the
Bashee River, holding on to a rope.
Of the Mpondo, Hunter reports that they have no tradition of ever having had
canoes, but there were professional ferrymen, strong swimmers who took travellers
across large rivers. The traveller held the centre of a log, and a ferryman each end.
Some of the Mpondo informants said that people mostly swim across rivers, but
sometimes two swimmers use a log as a float.
Backhouse reports that in order to distract the attention of crocodiles that
might be lurking at the ford of a river, the Xhosa were said to throw a calabash
into the water, with the object of sending the crocodile down stream after it, while
the individual or party swam across. This sounds an exceedingly foolhardy
procedure and is not confirmed! In any case according to zoological records,
crocodiles, though known, were very rare west of Natal.
MODERN TRANSPORT
Recent increasing sophistication has not entirely replaced the riding of horses
and the use of sledges, although the latter are frowned on and in some areas even
forbidden because of their promotion of soil erosion. Today modern transport,
both private and public, is very nearly universal, and there is a modern road system
with bridged rivers.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 875
ART
SOURCES
1802-6 Alberti (1810a) pp. 87-88 Xhosa: lack of pictorial art
‘Van den lust voor Teeken- of Schilderkunst, hetzij tot louter tijdverdrijf,
of met oogmerk om vorige gebeurtenissen of personen door afbeelding, ter
bewaringe van derzelver aandenken, voor te stellen, is geen het minste spoor te
vinden, Even min ontmoet men eenig begrip, in zijn geheel door afgesprokene of
bepaalde beelden uitgedrukt. Alle voortplanting van aandenken geschiedt door
vertellingen, en alzoo door mondelinge overlevering, welke zich nimmer tot ver
afgelegene tijden uitstrekt.’
(See also Alberti 18105 (English edition): 45.)
1863-6 Fritsch, G. (1872) p: 73 Xhosa: decoration
‘Es ist bewunderungswurdig, zu sehen, was die Eingeborenen auch in Fabri-
kation geschnitzter Gegenstande durch Ausdauer leisten; denn die Aufgabe, ein
solides Stuck Elfenbein mit der weichen Assegai-Klinge allmalig auszuhohlen,
um daraus eine Schnupftabacksdose oder dergleichen darzustellen, wurde wohl
die Geduld der meisten europaischen Arbeiter auf eine allzu schwere Probe
stellen. Gerade solche geschnitzte Sachen mannigfacher Art werden sehr viel
von den Kaffern gefertigt und gehoren wesentlich zu den Zierrathen des Haus-
gerathes.
Ausser den bereits erwahnten geschnitzten Schnupftabacksloffeln werden
verschiedene Holzloffel von sehr wechselnder Grosse und Gestalt zu hauslichen
Zwecken benutzt, welche durchschnittlich zwar keine grosse Eleganz der Form
und Arbeit zeigen, aber doch unstreitig eine gewisse kunstlerische Auffassung
erkennen lassen.
Die Phantasie des Kaffern gefallt sich im Grotesken und wahlt als Motive fur
die Ornamentik gern Thierformen, entweder solche des Viehes oder des Wildes,
wodurch das Ansehen der Gerathe ein sehr wunderliches wird.’
1919 McLaren, J. p. 448 Xhosa: decoration
‘Among the fine arts the Xosas have nothing in the way of painting to be
compared with that of the Bushmen, yet they are not without some artistic sense.
They decorate, tshizatshiza, the outside and sometimes the inside of their huts with
patterns of lines, circles, and chevrons. Such drawings are called iza-zobe, and to
draw a pattern is zoba. They decorate their persons not with proper tatooing, but
with patterns made by raising lines of incisions (keloids) on the skin, uku-vamba;
these are sometimes elaborate. Their most artistic work is shown in their carvings
on wood, uku-rola or uku-gingqa, and their notchings and cross-hatchings, uku-
qoqa. These are mostly done on walking and dancing sticks. Some of them are
adepts at inlaying, wku-tyida, with lead, iron, brass, or ivory. This is done both on
sticks and on pipe-bowls.’
876 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(19266) Miller, F. pp. 43-44 Hlubi: decoration of hut walls
‘In halber Hohe der Innenwand seiner Hutte lauft gewohnlich ein Streifen der
die dunkel, einfOrmig verputzte untere Halfte von der mit wunderlichen Figuren
in bunten Farben geschmuckten oberen Halfte trennt. Auf dieser oberen Flache
nun tummelt sich der kaffrische Kunstsinn. Wunderliche Figuren sieht das Auge
des Besuchers. Die leuchtendste Farbe, die angewendet wird, ist das im Winkel
gekaufte Waschblau. Dazu kommen braune und rote Erden, auch weisser Ton,
und damit stellen sie nun schlangenahnlich gewundene Blumenranken, Eidechsen,
wunderlich geformte Pflanzen, auch teuflische Fratzen dar, die ebenfalls eine
gewisse Beobachtung der Natur verraten. Die Kunstler sind die Téchter des
Hauses. ... Da so mancher Sohn unserer Hlubis, Heide oder Christ, unser
Mvenyane-Seminar besucht, so finden sich in manchen Hausern auch andere
Bilder an den Wanden, denen man sofort die héhere zeichnerische Bildung an-
sieht, die den Zoglingen in Mvenyane zuteil wird. Es sind aber keine Gemalde in
unserem Sinne, keine zusammengesetzten Landschaften, sondern wieder nur
Pferd, Rind, Schaf, Schwein, das die Kunstler ohne inneren Zusammenhang
nebeneinander an die Wand stellen. Hier vermisst man auch oft die Heraus-
arbeitung der charakteristischen Eigentumlichkeiten des jeweiligen Tieres, die auf
Beobachtung der Natur schliessen liesse. Die Gestalten sehen meist aus, als ob sie
nur nach steifen Schulvorlagen angefertigt waren. Trotz der zeichnerischen Fer-
tigkeit, die aus ihnen spricht, sind mir persOnlich die originellen Phantastereien
ihrer Schwestern lieber. Denn da spricht die Natur, die offenbar auch dem
Kafferkind ihre Ratsel aufgibt.’
(1931) Cook pp. 59-60, 161 Bomvana, Xhosa: paint
pp. 59-60 Bomvana, Xhosa: painting of initiates
‘The elaborate decoration of the kwetas is known as uku cokoza. This custom
is held to be a very old one by the Bomvana but the Ngqika of Kentani told me
that the old men remember when first the Gcaleka of Willowvale adopted this
custom and later the Nggika themselves adopted it. White residents in these
districts inclined to the view that it has been brought back from the Johannesburg
Mines. . . . The attendants then proceed to paint the boys with blue (washing blue
is used), red ochre and a black paint made usually of charred Mimosa wood. This
is called Umsizi.
Each boy is painted slightly differently. . . . The best dancer in each itonto is
known as ingwe yesixolo—the red tiger. He is painted with very large black spots
all over the body. At the elbows is a thin red band. From half way to the elbow
to the wrist is painted red dotted with blue spots. Round the stomach is a broad
red band which is joined to the shoulders by broad red bands both from front and
back. All this red area is dotted with blue. Knee caps are red dotted with blue. From
the calf to the ankle is red speckled with blue.
This is a description which is by no means always followed. The red tiger is
always the best dancer—selected by the kankata—and there is always red in his
make up although minor details vary.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 877
The next dancer in order of merit is the “female red tiger’’. He has big black
spots all over his body except for a red band from half way between the elbow and
wrist to the wrist spotted with blue. . . . Usually the rest of the dancers are plain
leopards. They have smaller black spots than the red tigers and these are painted
all over their bodies.’
patel Bomvana: hut wails
‘The outside walls of the huts are very seldom decorated in any way, and where
this does occur is attributable to European influence.’
(1935) Shaw, E. M. pl. 27 Xhosa, Thembu: snuff-boxes
Figures of carved, modelled and branded snuff-boxes.
(19385) Shaw, E. M. pls 87, 88, 91-98 Cape Nguni: pipes
Figures of carved stone pipe-bowls and carved and inlaid wooden pipes.
1961 De Lange pp. 86, 88, 90, figs 2, 3 Cape Nguni: dolls, love charm
p. 86 Cape Nguni: dolls
‘The keeping and making of symbolic dolls is a tradition conceived, organised
and perpetuated by the women-folk alone,....’
p. 88 Cape Nguni: girls’ dolls
‘The young girl’s dolls are not often made nowadays. . . . These are the little
dolls which young girls wear round their necks, which could be called ‘“‘love-dolls’’,
as their first function is to attract a husband, . . . though with the object of having
children.’
p. 90 Cape Nguni: love dolls
“The Love-Dolls in the East London Museum are all covered with beads, the
oldest one dating back to 1907. . . . These love-dolls take various forms. Some-
times there are two dolls together, representing a man and a woman, instead of
a single doll. The dolls may be symbols of human beings, so abstract as to be almost
unrecognisable. Others are so carefully made that they are marvels of nimble
fingerwork and detail and are true masterpieces in beadwork.’
fig. 2 Xhosa: abstract love charm
fig. 3 Xhosa: pair of naturalistic figures
Figures.
1962 De Lange pp. 85-86, 90, 94 Xhosa: cosmetics, cicatrization
pp. 85-86
‘Cosmetics are typically employed by girls and young matrons. ... The
sources of the cosmetics are coloured mineral substances and various vegetable
products. To a small extent animal fats are also employed. Some of these cosmetics
are native to certain localities, and enjoy only a local appeal, while others are
general and can be procured at any trading station. Considerable distances are
travelled in order to procure the necessary commodity. The colours used by the
Xhosa are tones of red, yellow, white and occasionally blue and black. The use of
these cosmetics is not indiscriminate. Custom dictates to some extent when
cosmetics must be used, what colours to apply, and what design to adopt. However,
878 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
when custom is not involved individual preference may be indulged. The Xhosa
are a conservative people and tradition determines the form of cosmetic
ornamentation to an extent; on the other hand the young people are keen to try
new products and often introduce new fashions in cosmetics. The new fashions
sometimes modify the old practices, even where ritual is involved.
Where cosmetics are worn for ritual purposes, their significance may be as an
emblem denoting a particular ritual state, and the colour may have a symbolic
meaning.
The various cosmetics are not strictly allotted to different age groups, although
cosmetics favoured by the young people would not generally find favour with the
older folk, who adhere to the traditional forms.’
p: 20 Xhosa: cicatrization
‘The pattern favoured by the Xhosa... is in general after this fashion. A
double row of markings runs downwards between the breasts from the collarbone
to the navel, and under the breasts one or more double rows of markings run at
right angles to the perpendicular rows to left and right, or sometimes only to one
side. Short diagonal rows running from the perpendicular to the horizontal rows
are usual. This design may be elaborated upon, and it sometimes happens that the
scarification is continued over the shoulder blades. . .. Elongated horizontal
markings lying parallel one beneath the other, placed between the collarbone and
the breasts, are also encountered, although this latter design seems to be practised |
more by the Mfengu.’
p. 94 Xhosa: facial designs
‘But from the youngest to the oldest, male and female, any of the cosmetics
mentioned may be used in any pattern that takes their fancy. Some of these will
be described, to show the type of appearance considered beautiful.
A. Small white patterns on each cheek; a spot surrounded by one or more
concentric circles of tiny dots; four spots on each cheek in a diamond-shaped
formation, or a circle with a cross in the centre; a motif like the five in a set
of dominoes.
B. The whole face is covered with red ichitywa or brown or yellow isibindi. In
addition, there may be a spot of white on each cheek and a blue spot on the
forehead and chin.
C. A white spot on each cheek, with an alternative addition of a white spot on
the forehead.
D. White covering of the face up to the eyebrows, including the eye regions or
excluding them.
FE. Red or yellow ochre round the eye regions.
F. A covering of white all over the face, or daubs of white paint on any part of
the face.
White paint over the ears, sometimes also around the neck and over the chin.
A facial covering of yellow ochre powder.’
a
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 879
p. 94 Xhosa: symbolism of facial paint
‘It will be seen that these fanciful designs in many cases correspond to the
designs used in ritual make-up. It is difficult to draw a line between normal and
ritual uses of paint. For example, while the intonjane dancers habitually paint white
designs on their cheeks, is this ritual make-up or is it merely used to look decor-
ative? The Xhosa women incline to the latter view, but one feels that a tradition
in this case has been established, for the other types of decorating the face are not
met with for this dance. These elaborate designs are met with at feasts, usually worn
by the married women, the colours tastefully chosen to match their robes and
brightly-coloured scarves (ifokwane) which they combine in fanciful and elaborate
ways with their dark-coloured turbans. . . . Although the cosmetics of the Xhosa
cannot be strictly divided into ritual and non-ritual categories, there is nevertheless
broadly speaking these two classes where colouring matter is concerned. White is
considered the colour for use when religion is involved, while the reds, including
the yellows, are regarded as the colours for festivities and normal social life.
Red is the colour beloved of the Xhosa. It expresses their vanity and show of
good spirits . . . the significance of red lies in its normality.’
1970 Elliott Xhosa: beadwork
Many illustrations of beadwork.
(1971) Gitywa pp. 117, 124-125 Xhosa: beadwork
path] Xhosa: no message in beads
‘Ornamental beadwork normally passes from the woman to the man as a love
token, but unlike among the Zulu and the Swazi, the beadwork exchanged in the
love life of the Xhosa has no coded messages, the interpretation of which is based
on colour combinations which have to be decoded by the recipient. The entire bead
ornament is the love token, with traditionally blended colours for the specific age
groups.’
pp. 124-125 Xhosa: design
‘No preliminary designs are made for the beadwork; the patterns are worked
out directly on to the bead ornament. This gives the craftswoman more feeling for
harmony between the material and the design she has in mind. Within the limits
of traditional acceptance, the woman expresses herself in the pattern, form and
colour of the beadwork which must be pleasing to her to make it a worthy present
to pass on to a loved one.
The designs worked on to the bead ornaments are based on the principle of
rhythm which involves:
(i) the repetition of a single motif, especially the chevron with its many
variations and the triangle; the straight line; and superimposed colour bands.
The line and/or band design occur in both the horizontal and vertical context.
(ii) The alternation of two or more motifs, and
(iii) the alternation of two or more sizes of the same pattern or colours.
Colours that contrast well give the designs a bold relief’
880 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
1972 Bigalke p. 73 Ndlambe: colour combinations
‘During the course of collecting specimens for East London Museum, it
became clear that certain colour conventions in beadwork were or are character-
istically worn by people of certain age-groups. Black and white, or black, white and
saxe blue or turquoise are the bead colours worn by senior men and women at the
present time. It was possible to obtain a little information about the relative age
of some of the specimens. From this, the type of bead used and the evidence of
wear, a tentative conclusion appears possible, namely that for this country, at least,
black and white or black, white and saxe blue are the “‘traditional’’ colours of the
beadwork of older people.’
(1976) Broster p. 32 and plates Qwathi: beadwork
1. OZ Qwathi: significance of colour
‘Throughout life beads are always in fashion, planned with tremendous
attention to detail, with imaginative styling and flattery and their glamour is
undeniable. From birth to old age the symbolic beadwork blends subtly into the
social structure. No phase of life is omitted. Whereas blue, being the colour of
youth is emphasised in teenage beadwork, young adults make use of navy and white
contrasted with red and blue. Edgings of large black pearl-like beads replace the
cerise wool pompoms of the teenagers. In addition young men proudly flaunt
yellow and green beads of fertility and new life. In matching the yellow of the maize
seed and the green of its first leaf these colours imitate nature.’
plates Qwathi: beadwork :
Plates have good illustrations of beadwork.
ART: TERMS
ukutyida to inlay lead or other metal or ivory in wood or stone, especially
pipe-bowls, D (X—McLaren 1915) X (African Explosives) 1102 (988)
umxholo 1. the end of an induku (club) notched in a fine lozenge pattern to give
a better grip to the hand when it is used for striking, D (X—M. Courtenay-
Latimer corresp.) X Mp. 2. not known, Bo Mp 1103
uqogo 1. pierced or filigree work, notched edge (ukuqoga to carve, notch or file,
to beautify so that it looks chequered), D. 2. hooked or notched, Mp.
3. not X. 4. notching and cross-hatching (X—McLaren 1915). 5. (Fgo-
M. Courtenay-Latimer corresp.). 6. also isigogo,D 1104
isicina 1. the different coloured patterns in beadwork, D (X—M. Courtenay-
Latimer corresp.). 2. tattooing, X. 3. not known, Mp 1105
ukutshiza to make stripes of red ochre on the body, D 1106
izazobe 1. paintings made with ochre on the face or on a wall, D X (X—McLaren
1915). 2.not Mp. 3. (Fgo—M.Courtenay-Latimer corresp.) 1107
ukutshizatshiza 1. to paint small regular stripes of various colours on an object,
D. 2. to make patterns on walls (X—McLaren 1915) 1108
ukucokoza 1.nD. 2. body decoration of the khwetha (Bo—Cook 1931) 1109
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 881
umchokose_ white spots on the skin, D 1110
urolo a carving, graving, D X (X—McLaren 1915) (Fgo—M. Courtenay-Latimer
corresp.) 2.notMp 1111
ukugingga to carve roughly a figure in stone or wood, D (X—McLaren
#919) 1112
ART: DISCUSSION
It is characteristic of the Cape Nguni that they did not make figures of
supernatural forces, ancestors or totems, nor masks, nor significant markings on
divining instruments or ritual objects. This reflects social and spiritual practices
different from those of other peoples in southern Africa and elsewhere. It also
reflects the fact that the Cape Nguni had not been settled in the area where the
earliest historical records place them, long enough to develop a continuity of art
forms. Most of the artistic production recorded here was stimulated by new
materials that came into the area in considerable quantity from the early eighteenth
century onwards.
With the exception of toys made by children, the art of the Cape Nguni is
purely decorative, and objects of art made are primarily objects of use. Examples
may thus be found in practically every chapter of this study. It is in decoration that
the Cape Nguni give rein to the universal human urge to create something beauti-
ful. Since, in general, nearly everyone in former times made something for the use
of members of the group, so everyone had a chance of satisfying this urge and
developing any latent artistic talent. Obviously some would have more talent than
others and tend to specialize and receive custom.
If, as might be, certain designs became characteristic of certain families, there
is no record of it, nor has the present study produced evidence of such a thing. It
is recorded of the Ndlambe, however, that certain colour combinations were used
in the beadwork of certain groups, thus indicating, like their general dress, their
age and status.
The possibility of symbolism in designs is not ruled out, but has not so far been
sufficiently studied. There is no ‘language of colours’, and the vocabulary does not
include names for particular motifs or patterns.
TOOLS AND MEDIA
The tools used were a spear blade for carving, a red-hot iron for branding, an
awl for stitching and for fine incised work, any suitable object for incising or
impressing clay, and the hands for weaving basketwork and for painting the face
or the hut wall. Nowadays a knife is used for carving, and, in addition to the hand,
a paint-brush or a piece of cloth or sheepskin, sometimes tied on a handle, is used
for colouring walls.
Media were wood for utensils, weapons, pipes; grasses, sedges, reeds and fibre
for basketwork; beads for beadwork ornaments and decoration of clothing; buttons
and braids for decoration of clothing; ochres for the face and for hut walls, now
882 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
augmented for the latter purpose by store-bought colour-washes; clay for pottery
and toy-figure modelling, and mixed with skin scrapings for snuff-box modelling;
lead for inlaying pipes; horn, bone and ivory for small and generally precious
implements and utensils; and stone for the bowls of water pipes.
DECORATION
Carved
Carving was used to decorate objects of wood, stone, bone, horn and ivory.
It took two forms—conventional patterns in low relief, or figures in high relief.
A conventional pattern, uqogo, was composed of lines, geometrically
arranged, either thinly incised, especially when cross-hatched, or carved in the
form of deep V-shaped grooves and ridges. Such patterns were used for decorating
the shafts of clubs, especially at the grip to prevent slipping (Pl. 112: 2), and to a
lesser extent spears, spoon-handles, snuff-spoons (Pl. 116: 5, 7) and snuff-boxes,
pipes (PI. 113: 2,9), wooden utensils (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 38), of which
latter, however, there are few surviving specimens.
Mpondo, Xesibe and Bhaca decorated their pottery with incised, grooved or
stamped conventional linear patters (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1974, pls 21, 22).
Figures, mostly animal but some human (PI. 114: 3), were used especially for
pipes, for the heads of sticks and for horn snuff-boxes. A favourite decoration on
sticks was a snake (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 43: 9) or sometimes a crossing '
spiral of two snakes, which sometimes became conventionalized without the heads
of the snakes.
Designs were inlaid, uwkutyida, on pipe bowls (PI. 114: 1, 4, 6), and according
to McLaren on sticks as well, but this latter is not confirmed. Only the lead inlay
has been seen but the Dictionary mentions ivory and brass as well.
Woven
Patterns woven into the fabric are seen in basketwork and beadwork.
In basketwork, lines, squares, triangles, diamonds and rectangles are pro-
duced in the fabric, whether by a change of stroke or stitch or by the introduction
of strands of a different colour, or of a different material, for example bark or
horsehair (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pls 54, 57, 58).
In beadwork, bands of the same geometrical figures and particularly diamonds
and chevrons are produced by changes in the colour of the beads (PI. 100: 1, 5).
Overall designs are made by a repetition of the motifs (Pl. 107: 2, 5). Stylized
human figures are also produced occasionally (Pl. 106). This is perhaps the most
spectacular manifestation of artistic talent among the Cape Nguni. In the early days
on the frontier, and today in the east, the preference seems to have been for a
two-colour scheme, in the latter case light blue and white. But the Xhosa and others
in the west soon developed a liking for several colours together in one article, and
that taste they have maintained to the present day.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 883
Branded
Branding was used on the surface of wood and calabashes. Either the whole
surface of the wooden article was covered, or patterns were branded on it, as on
calabashes. The branding was done to a smooth black in the case of wood, and a
rich brown in the case of calabashes (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1981, pl. 63: 4; present
paper, Pl. 115: 1). On wood, branding was often used in conjunction with carved
groove-and-ridge patterns. On calabash surfaces the same series of conventional
patterns, and latterly a few naturalistic ones, were branded.
Modelled
Bomvana decorated their pottery with notches round the rim or with small
bosses (Shaw & Van Warmelo 1974, pl. 20). Bhaca decorated theirs with
conventional patterns of raised lumps, in the Natal fashion.
Painted
Painted decoration occurs on the human body or on the walls of huts.
The paints used for both are red and yellow ochre, white clay, black soot or
paint made of charred mimosa wood (Bomvana), and nowadays for hut walls
washing blue, whitewash or colour-wash from the stores. They are applied with the
hand on the face, and with hand or a brush on walls.
The habit of painting designs on the face for ordinary wear or party wear is
only found among the Xhosa, Thembu and Bomvana and may well be a Khoi
(Hottentot) borrowing. It is mostly practised by girls and young married women,
but there is no rule about this, and men may use face paint though they seldom
do. It may be no more than a lighter circle round mouth and eyes or daubs of white
on the face, but the whole face may be covered with red, brown, yellow or white.
Sometimes patterns made up of white spots are painted on the cheeks.
More elaborate body-painting, ukucokoza, is found on abakhwetha, where
the full initiation ceremonies are still practised (Pl. 94: 6). For their dances, the
boys are painted from head to foot before putting on their palm-leaf dress. They
are done all over in white first, and then may have spots and circles and bands of
different colours on top of the white. The Xhosa and Fingo stick to black spots on
the white, but the Bomvana have quite elaborate polychrome styles. It is not known
how old this tradition is.
The painting of hut walls would appear to have come in only since the adoption
of rondavel-type huts. There is one reference to decoration by the Fingo of the
plastered inner wall of the beehive hut, but this is not very conclusive. Nowadays
some of the Xhosa, Fingo, Mpondo, Xesibe, Bhaca and most of the Thembu
decorate the outside of their huts by painting a dado just under the eaves, down
the sides of the door, and round the windows if any, with white lime, whitewash,
white clay, or sometimes simply with a lighter clay wash (Shaw & Van Warmelo
1972, pls 3: 1; 7: 3; 8: 2). The Bomvana according to Cook do not paint their huts,
but during this survey many Bomvana huts were seen with a line of lighter clay and
orange ochre round the wall just below the roof.
884 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
No decoration was seen on the inside walls of the huts but, according to
F. Miller, the Hlubi decorate the top half of the inner wall with all sorts of
conventional and naturalistic designs and figures. This may be a borrowing from
the South Sotho, whose influence is noticeable in the north.
Patterning
A style of wall decoration favoured by some is to cover the whole outer wall
with shell-like whorls made by swivelling the out-spread hand in an added top
surface of very wet plaster.
Applied
The oldest types of applied or added decoration must be the threading of strips
of a different-coloured hide through slits in the hide shield (Shaw & Van Warmelo
1981, pl. 45), and the adding of leopard-skin lappets to a cloak worn by chiefs
Cele TAs 2).
Later, in addition to actual ornaments, much use has been made of beads,
buttons and braid, and latterly, with the introduction of sewing machines, of
stitching, to ornament items of clothing (Pls 81, 83). Beads are very often used for
ornamenting pipes (PI. 114: 5), snuff-boxes and sticks (Pl. 108: 1-5).
Cicatrization
Many Xhosa and Thembu men and women have linear patterns cicatrized on -
the face and torso. The keloids run in vertical and horizontal lines (PI. 108: 9).
CARVING AND PLASTIC ART
Wood
No well-authenticated instance of the carving of wooden figures is known
other than as decoration to some article to which they are attached. Notwithstin-
ding, the terms exist.
Clay
The only instances of figure-modelling in clay were the toys (PI. 123) made by
children—cattle and human figures, and latterly, wagons and motor-cars— and the
snuff-boxes (Pl. 115: 4, 5) of clay and skin-scrapings, some of which were made
in the shape of animal or human figures. This latter technique is no longer known.
Horn
Horn used for snuff-boxes, spoons, snuff-spoons and parts of a pipe was carved
into an agreeable shape, and sometimes into a human or animal form (PI. 116: 6).
Beadwork
De Lange describes small representations of human figures, modelled either
entirely of beadwork or on a wooden or cloth base. They were worn attached to
a necklet.
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 885
Stone
Stone was used for the bowls of water-pipes. Certain of these have simple
engraved patterns. Others are highly ornamental and sophisticated—such of these
as have been seen in museum collections did not, however, have indisputable
authentication.
PAINTING
Apart from the decoration already described, there was no painting.
The examples outlined above show that the art is spontaneous, in that no fixed
pattern is worked out beforehand, but the pattern is developed as the work
proceeds. An innate sense of form is evident in many things, from the plan of a
homestead to the curve of a spoon. An appreciation of colour and composition is
reflected in the beadwork, where repetition of motifs into a certain pattern indi-
cates the feeling for rhythm. The manner in which these aspects are exploited
determines the quality of the work of each individual.
Opportunities for artistic expression are available to both sexes, perhaps more
to women, in beadwork, basketwork, pottery, the painting of walls and the dec-
orating of clothing. But carving and branding are men’s talents, and the modelling
of clay figures is done more by boys than by girls.
Today, the opportunities for artistic self-expression are much reduced in that
so many articles in daily use are bought from stores.
SUMMARY
The dress and personal belongings of the Cape Nguni and the material side
of certain of their general activities reflect very strongly the changing circumstances
of the last 200 years. So much is this the case that the word ‘traditional’ refers now
to artefacts quite different from those of the earlier times.
PERSONAL
Up to at least the latter part of the eighteenth century, the clothing of both
sexes was made of the skin or skin products of cattle or game. With the exception
of a heavy cloak, that of the Xhosa, Thembu, Bomvana, Mpondo and Mpondomise
was scanty—a penis-sheath for men, nothing for boys, and a fringed apron for
women and girls. Men went bare-headed, with built-up or otherwise fancy hair-
styles, and married women wore a leather head-cloth. Sandals might be worn on
a journey.
The immigrant groups who moved into the area from the east in the early part
of the nineteenth century were wearing garments typical of Natal—a loin-dress
over the penis-sheath for men and a one- or three-piece skirt over the fringe apron
for women. The Fingo soon adopted styles similar to the contemporary styles of
886 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
their Xhosa and Thembu hosts and neighbours, but Xesibe and Bhaca kept their
own styles.
From early in the eighteenth century traders appeared on the western frontier,
with woollen and cotton blankets and later other materials to sell. These soon
found favour for wraps and other garments. The basic garments, penis-sheath and
apron, for men and women respectively, and the additional breast-cloth for women
were retained until the beginning of this survey, but, no doubt partly as a result
of missionary and official pressure and partly through the lure of fashion, other
garments of imported materials were put over them, a loin-cloth for men and a skirt
for women. New ‘traditional’ styles were evolved that remain in vogue in some
areas, or for some occasions, to the present day.
Xesibe and Bhaca also changed to imported materials, but of a different sort
from those of the western groups. The Xesibe favoured plain cotton material,
which they dyed dark brown or black, and Bhaca favoured striped salempore cloth.
Probably their source of supply was from Natal.
A significant feature that still gives some indications of relationships, but
would have done more so had there been more exact recording in earlier years,
is hair-style. It would seem that men of all the Cape Nguni had some form of the
ring or cap style of hair built up with clay and wax, with a variety of treatment of
the remaining hair, a fashion that probably died out of each group through being
shaved off in mourning and never resumed. After that it seems to have been a
matter of individual taste, with the younger men tending to fancy styles and -
ornamentation and the older men wearing the hair plain.
Young Xhosa women went bareheaded with the hair in tight curls all over the
head. Married Xhosa and Thembu women, however, kept their hair short and wore
a skin head-cloth or an elaborate high cap of beaded skin. In later years, when cloth
had replaced skin, elaborate and named ways of tying the head-cloth have become
an art form. Mpondo, Mpondomise, Xesibe and Bhaca women, however, wore the
hair in ringlets, shoulder length or, in the case of the Mpondo, longer, either with
a thick fringe in front or held away from the face with a roll of plain or beaded cloth.
Mourning practices throughout the Cape Nguni were similar as far as dress is
concerned, that is shaving of heads, destruction of widow’s clothing, and new
un-ochred clothing for the mourners.
Recent studies have given details of the way in which dress reflected the status
of the individual. Very little of such information is available in the early studies,
but the relationship between dress and status must surely have existed.
In addition to such fairly subtle indications of the status of ordinary people,
certain persons wore specific costume on certain occasions. In the case of chiefs
and members of the royal family it was the wearing of leopard-skin garments that
distinguished them.
Xhosa, Bomvana and Thembu warriors wore no special garment for fighting
but certain individuals wore the head-dress of crane wings. Mpondo warriors and
those of the various Fingo groups wore kilts of strips of monkey or wild-cat skin
made into ‘tails’. In addition they had similar fringes round the neck, and feathers
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 887
and other ornaments in the hair, but do not appear to have worn the crane wings.
Diviners too wore the kilt of ‘tails’ and many other things round neck and
arms. Especially characteristic was the tall cap of baboon skin and one or more
inflated gall-bladders attached to the hair. This costume was much the same
throughout the area.
Two types of dress were worn by abakhwetha where the full circumcision
ceremonies were still practised. During the period of seclusion they wore a cloak
of sheepskin, or latterly a blanket, completely whitened with clay, as were their
bodies. For the dancing that terminated the initiation period, they wore a short stiff
kilt of palm-leaf folioles, with head-piece, veil and neck-piece of the same but finer
material. The initiation ceremonies have mostly been abandoned but many young
men go to hospitals to be circumcised.
Girls’ initiation has always been an individual affair, and for the closing
celebration best clothes would be worn.
Special dress for bride and bridegroom is recorded only for the Xhosa, but
must have been used by others too. Guests at this and other ceremonies wore their
best clothes and in particular the long skin skirts for women and the skin dancing
cape for men.
In addition to costume, chiefs had two distinguishing marks that were not
worn—the elephant tail suspended from a tall pole at the chief’s homestead, and
the leopard or lion tail, drawn over a stick and carried as a warrant by messengers
of the chief or placed on the roof of his hut to distinguish it.
Ornaments were and still are worn wherever they could be attached or hung.
At first they were made from natural resources, for example shells, seeds, feathers
and plaited grass. But gradually, as trade connections grew, other objects became
available, and in particular metal and beads. Some of the early types of ornament
from natural materials have remained in vogue, particularly those that have
magical or medical properties. Of the new materials, beads in particular became
the dominant form of ornament.
As with clothing, ornament indicates status, either in the ordinary course of
life, or of distinguished people. Notable among the latter were the necklace of red
beads of the reigning Xhosa chief, and the ivory arm-band worn on the upper arm
by Xhosa, Thembu and Bomvana chiefs and those to whom they gave it as a mark
of favour.
In addition to these ornaments, physical decoration was practised. In the west
it took the form of cicatrization on the torso, among Mpondo tattooed lines on the
face, and among Bhaca scarification on the face, said to promote health.
Apart from clothing and ornament, personal possessions of individuals were
few. Toilet articles included a soft skin attached to a woman’s cloak and used to
wipe sweat. Men, on the other hand, had a metal spatula for the same purpose,
worn hung from the neck. These have both been superseded by the modern
handkerchief. Xhosa women wore, also attached to the cloak, a tortoise-shell that
contained ochre or powdered aromatic herbs. Its stopper was a piece of soft skin,
with which the powder was applied to face and body.
888 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Cosmetics in the form of powdered ochre of different colours, certain dried
and powdered plants, and butter or other fats, were used by all at some stage of
life, to protect the skin, ornament the person, or indicate special personal con-
ditions. Again the pattern of who wears what on which occasion shows up. White
in particular indicates everywhere a state separate from normal. Red on the other
hand is said among Xhosa and Thembu to be the colour of normality. It was,
nevertheless, abandoned by Mpondo in mourning and not resumed, except by
young people.
Whereas all toilet and personal items used to be either attached to the person
or clothing or carried in a bag made of the skin of a small animal, latterly cloth bags,
much ornamented, have been made and used in addition, and are themselves part
of dress.
Also carried in bags of several kinds are the pipes, snuff-boxes and smoking
equipment. Hemp (Cannabis sativa) and tobacco, in that chronological order, were
well established as part of Cape Nguni culture, at the time of the earliest written
records. Hemp came through Arab and Indian sources and tobacco much later
from Portuguese sources, by what routes can only be guessed. Hemp needed little
cultivation once established and was prepared simply by drying. Tobacco, on the
other hand, introduced a completely foreign method of cultivation and prep-
aration.
Hemp was smoked through water and hemp-smoking was a group activity, of
men only, with the pipe passed round. According to the early authors tobacco was
similarly smoked at first. The water-pipe was in three parts, bowl, stem and
container for water. Later, tobacco-smoking, through pipes copied quite early
from the European clay pipes, became more of an individual activity, but the pipe
would be shared in company with any who were without.
Tobacco is both smoked and snuffed by women and men. Smoking seems to
have been the more common in the west, with wooden pipes becoming an art form,
and snuff-taking the more common in the east, where snuff-boxes and snuff-spoons
were decorative. Tobacco has become strongly integrated into social custom, and
here again, as with clothing and ornament, social usage dictates the style and size
of an individual’s pipe. Less information is available about snuff-taking in this
regard, but it was reported that among the Mpondo it too is governed by social
usage.
GENERAL
The practitioners of medicine, divination and magic are in many cases the
Same persons and their paraphernalia are likewise often the same.
One of the most important activities is divination, which is used for diagnosis
of the causes of illness or misfortune. The Cape Nguni method is by ‘smelling-out’,
or by listening to the voices of the ancestors, who will understand the situation and
indicate the remedy. Sometimes material aids will be used, sometimes not, and
sometimes trance. A recent addition to material aids is a set of divining bones. This
is in fact unworkable among the Nguni because totemic groups, on which divination
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 889
by throwing the bones is based, do not exist among them. Nevertheless, the
practice, which was borrowed from the South Sotho, has become increasingly used.
There were few actual instruments for medical practice—an awl, a lancet, and
a spear blade for incisions, a horn cup for drawing blood, and a forked stick for
stirring medicines.
Medicines, on the other hand, were numerous and included talismans to
promote good fortune and charms to guard against evils both for individuals and
property, as well as herbs of observed therapeutic value. They were kept, and often
supplied to the patient, in small horns or calabashes.
Certain practices promoted good, from the simple throwing of a stone on to
a cairn while passing, to bring good luck to the individual, to the elaborate
ceremonies of the first fruits, and the ceremonies of initiation into manhood and
womanhood, which were of social significance.
Universal burial, as practised today, dates from early in the nineteenth cen-
tury. Before that, all except chiefs and perhaps heads of families were taken out,
often before death, to the veld where scavenger animals would dispose of the
corpse and the family would avoid the defilement of death.
Singing and dancing often accompanied ceremonial occasions and were group
activities, but instrumental music was performed solo. The most important
instruments were the five types of musical bow and the gora. Less important and
used mainly by boys, often for signalling, were a flute and three sorts of whistle.
A horn was used for signalling matters of general importance. An oxhide, either
held out tautly or folded to a thick square, was used as a drum to beat the rhythm
of a dance on some occasions.
Few material objects were used in children’s games, and there were virtually
none for adults.
Boys played a game that is known in other parts of Africa—that of throwing
sharpened sticks at a target set rolling down a slope. Smaller boys threw aloe thorns
at an aloe leaf. In each case the winner was the one who pierced the target most
successfully.
Another formal game for boys was fighting with the sticks that all boys carry.
They were also expected to train calves for riding and to race cattle. Tobogganing,
especially latterly on sheets of corrugated iron, and throwing lumps of clay at each
other from pliant sticks, are other occupations. There is no word for tops, which
may be a recent introduction.
A favourite occupation of boys is modelling in clay. The best-known figures
are cattle, the classic style of which depicts the wide-horned, hump-backed oxen
not seen in this part of the country.
Little girls play at housekeeping, copying their mothers’ occupations. They
make and play with dolls, but the name given to them, which comes from the
Dutch, suggests that this is a newly learnt thing.
The Cape Nguni did not have a fixed unit of currency and trade was carried
on by exchange and barter. A great deal of trade is said to have been carried on
in this way, both internally and externally. Contact with other peoples, however,
890 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
introduced other items, and beads and buttons particularly, obtained mainly from
the west, almost reached the status of currency. A change-over to a money
economy took place gradually during the nineteenth century, and while there may
still be some exchange of goods, money is now universally used.
The main means of travel, before modern vehicles became available, was on
foot, with oxen used as pack animals to transport goods. They were also used for
riding and racing. About the middle of the nineteenth century horses began to take
the place of the oxen as riding animals, and oxen were trained to draw sledges to
bring goods from the fields. No boats or rafts were used but there are records of
strong swimmers taking travellers across rivers, holding on to a log or rope.
In many of the articles described in the foregoing, aspects of artistic expression
may be found, particularly in wood-carving and beadwork. Works of art as such,
however, do not have any part in the culture of the Cape Nguni.
It is in the descriptions of clothing that the early records do give an indication
of difference in style between different major groups, in that the Xhosa and
Thembu in the west differed from those of the east. The difference was that Xhosa
and Thembu wore scanty basic clothing and rather full cloaks while people of the
eastern tribes wore skirts, differing from tribe to tribe, and less full cloaks. The
most westerly of the Xhosa men also wore an apron. The difference is maintained
in the modern ‘traditional’ clothing, where different ways of using the new
materials have been used to create different styles. In ornament, both physical and
other, there were, recently at all events, very distinct differences, again between
west and east. The same may be said of costume—warriors, from the Mpondo
eastward, wore a kilt of ‘tails’, whereas the western tribes did not. Diviners’
costume seems, however, to have been much the same throughout, that is, a kilt
of ‘tails’, with individual additions, and recently the universal use of white clothing
and ornament.
As far as internal borrowings are concerned, the Fingo who settled among
Xhosa and Thembu adopted to a large extent their style of the new cloth dress,
with their own modifications. Tobacco seems to have spread from west to east. But
the picture is blurred by the fact that up to the time of European settlement the
groups were somewhat more isolated than they became later, so that borrowings
of the new things took place more rapidly than did those of the old. A borrowing
that was recent in 1955 is that some Bhaca were sending their sons to Hlubi
circumcision lodges.
The most visible influences on Cape Nguni culture since their arrival in the
present Transkei and Ciskei are those from outside, at first through trade, which
must have been carried on for a long time either direct or through middlemen over
some distance. From the Khoi (Hottentot) neighbours in the west, Xhosa may have
adopted certain items of dress and toilet, and it is possible that their habit and that
of the Thembu of elaborate facial painting may have been learnt from Khoikhoi
too. It has been suggested that the cutting off of a finger joint was copied from the
Bushmen. It is certain that they obtained copper from the annual trade meeting
with Khoikhoi, who got it from the Cape. From Khoikhoi too came the musical
re
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 891
instrument, the gora. There are records too of meetings for trade with Sotho
traders from the north, who brought iron and copper. An important fairly recent
borrowing from the South Sotho was divination with sets of divining bones.
It was, however, from European sources that the greatest influences from
outside have come, first through shipwrecks along the coast, and some trade from
Delagoa Bay, but most of all from the settlement at the Cape after the middle of
the seventeenth century. This has influenced practically every facet of life. The
most spectacular and immediately visible changes have been in dress and orna-
ment, from rather plain to very much ornamented skin clothing, to plain cloth
clothing, to the colourful and stylish dress and ornament that passes for traditional
today. And of course the final change to western dress.
Beads even became absorbed into the social and ritual system.
Of the narcotics, neither hemp nor tobacco is indigenous in southern Africa,
but came from eastern and western sources at a time before the written records.
Tobacco at least, like beads, has become part of social and ritual life. And when
an increase in supplies of tobacco became available from the Cape, the Xhosa and
Thembu developed almost a cult of the pipe.
In the sphere of transport there was the introduction of horses, sledges, roads
and all modern transport, while the whole economy has changed from barter and
exchange of goods to the monetary system introduced by Europeans.
Even the field of artistic expression has been influenced and stimulated by the
introduction of new materials—carving of wooden pipes, painting of clay walls,
ornamentation of clothing, and so on.
Evidence of the strength of pastoralism lies in the importance of cattle in
religious and ritual practice as well as in the economy, in the use of skin, whether
of cattle or game, for clothing and many other objects, in the use of oxen for riding
or as pack animals, and to a certain extent in the predominance of cattle in
children’s modelling. On the other hand, the importance of agriculture is stressed
through the formerly general celebrations of the first fruits of the agricultural year.
CONCLUSION
As has been stated in the summaries to each part of this volume, it is difficult
to make pronouncements on the total aspect of Cape Nguni material culture
because of the sparsity of early records. There are many ways in which Cape Nguni
culture appears to diverge from the general Nguni pattern to which it belongs, but
these may be the result not only of changes in their own material culture, but also
of changes in that of other Nguni with which we now compare it. It is difficult to
judge by the recent, or comparatively recent, information now at our disposal.
Even as late as the earliest written records the various groups that are dis-
tinguished culturally as the Cape Nguni were still very much separated. Survivors
of shipwrecks speak of ‘deserts’ between them. It is reasonable to suppose, there-
fore, that there were differences at least in the detail of their material culture. The
records give little indication of this.
892 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Among the characteristics that mark the Nguniness of the Cape Nguni are the
language, spoken from south to north and now standardized as Xhosa and Zulu
and containing Khoi rather than Bushman clicks; the individual, isolated and
unfortified circular homesteads, which reflect the system of right- and left-hand
houses and where the central feature is the cattle kraal, as befits its ritual status;
beehive-style huts unlike the cone and cylinder style prevalent in most of southern
Africa and in recent historic times the norm among the Nguni; the very great social,
economic and ritual importance of cattle; spears, very large shields and clubs as
the only weapons, and the absence of bows and arrows, battle-axes and knives;
divination through trance and not through divining bones based on a totemic system
that does not exist here; the lack of that very African instrument, the drum, and
of the elsewhere widespread mancala game; and the lack of a monumental ritual
art.
Among the items that seem to mark the Cape Nguni as a cultural entity within
the Nguni are certain terms in the language that are unrelated even to those in other
Nguni dialects; a simpler—maybe the original— form of the Nguni homestead and
hut; a sparseness and lack of elaboration of clothing until the new materials became
available when, contrarily, clothing became more voluminous and elaborate than
that of any other Nguni, except, as far as elaboration goes, the Southern Transvaal
Ndebele women; the thinly tapered spear butt, which facilitated a spiral vibrating
throw; a lack of the art of smelting even such surface iron-ore as was available; and
certain items of religious practice.
The early sources used in this account have not been as full as one would wish
and show only the items that first struck observers most obviously. The extent to
which the descriptions were of the Xhosa is noticeable. Fortunately, by about the
middle of the nineteenth century, not only were the authors going further afield,
but there was a gradual increase in investigation. From the picture of material
culture that emerges from the records and from our own investigations it would
seem that one can postulate a cultural entity for the Cape Nguni within the main
Nguni culture, and, within that, closer relationships between the Xhosa, Thembu
and Bomvana on the one hand, and between Mpondo, Mpondomise and Xesibe
on the other. While the main groups of refugees from the Shakan wars became,
as far as material culture is concerned, more or less assimilated where they settled,
the Bhaca remain Natal, rather than Cape, Nguni.
Whatever the influences that moulded the Cape Nguni prior to their entry into
Transkei and Ciskei, some notable influences have affected them since their arrival
there. These are the cooler, less wooded environment, without major iron
deposits; the previous inhabitants whom, on present evidence, we can only believe
to have been Khoikhoi and Bushmen; Sotho traders, especially in metals, from the
north; and most of all Europeans, through shipwrecks on the coast, through trade
from Delagoa Bay and through settlers advancing from the Cape. Throughout, the
Cape Nguni have shown a remarkable ability to incorporate new materials and
commodities into their own culture, even into social and religious practices.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Acknowledgement is hereby made of the financial assistance of the Human
Sciences Research Council towards the publication of this work. Opinions
expressed or conclusions reached are those of the authors and should not be
regarded as representative of those of the Human Sciences Research Council.
Thanks are due to the Directors of the Africana Museum (Johannesburg), the
Albany Museum (Grahamstown), the McGregor Museum (Kimberley), the Cape
Archives, the East London Museum, Fort Hare Ethnological Museum, the
Kaffrarian Museum (King William’s Town), the National Museum (Bloem-
fontein), the Port Elizabeth Museum, the Queenstown and Frontier Museum, the
Transvaal Museum (Pretoria), the National Cultural History and Open-Air
Museum (Pretoria), the British Museum (London), the Royal Scottish Museum
(Edinburgh), the Pitt Rivers Museum (Oxford), the State Ethnographic Museum
(Stockholm), and the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), and to the University of Cape
Town and the University of Stellenbosch for permission to use material in their
charge; to the late Sir Ernest Oppenheimer and the late Mr Hugh Solomon for
permission to consult unpublished material in their libraries; to the then Bantu
Commissioner, Cape Town, the Manager and assistants of the Cape Town
Municipal Administration at Langa, the Manager and staff of African Explosives
and Chemical Industries, Ltd., Somerset West, the Manager and Compound
Managers of Randfontein Estates, and the Magistrates of Willowvale, Mt. Frere,
Mt. Ayliff, Bizana, Flagstaff, Libode, Ngqeleni, Mqanduli, Kentani, Idutywa,
Engcobo, Elliotdale and Umtata for assistance in obtaining information; to the
National Botanic Gardens, Kirstenbosch, for identification of plant material; to the
late Dr A. W. Burton of King William’s Town, Prof. H. W. Pahl, Prof. W. D.
Hammond-Tooke and Mr Mda of Umtata, for information; to Mr C. C. Biden,
Mim Carter, Mr C. C. Clarke, the late Mrs F. Clarke, Mrs B. Jurgens, the
late Mr G. Velcich, the State Information Office, the Director of the British
Museum, London, and the Director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, for
permission to use photographs; and to all others who have assisted in one way or
another.
893
1552
1554
1593
1622
1635
1647
1679
1686-7
1687-8
1688
ij a2
1770=3
1772-6
1776
1776-7
1777-9
1778
(1782)
1782
1776-95
1788
1790-1
1792
=F
1796
LOT
1796-1801
1800
1800-1
1802-3
1803
1802-6
1803-6
1804-5
1809
1810
1806-15
1811
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF SOURCES
Anonymous [‘S. Jodo’ |
Perestrello, M. de M.
Lavanha, J. B. (1597)
Almada, F. V. d’ (1625)
Cabreyra, J. de
Feyo, B. T. (1650)
Schneyer, J:
‘Stavenisse’
‘Centaurus’
‘Noord’
(1686-8 see also
Moodie, D. C. F. (1838);
Sutherland, J. (1845);
Bird, J. (1888))
Beutler, A. F.
Thunberg, C, P2793)
Sparrman, A. (1785)
Swellengrebel, H.
Hallema, A. (1932)
Schumacher, J. (paintings in
private collection)
Schumacher, J. S. (1951)
Paterson, W. (1789)
Van Plettenberg, J.
Sonnerat, P.
Carter. Ge
Dalrymple, A. (1785)
Hubberly, W.
Le Vaillant, F. (1797-98)
Gordon, R. J. [?sketches by
J. Schumacher]
Von Winkelman, F. (1788-9)
Van Reenen, J. in Riou, E.
(1792); Kirby, P. R. (1958)
Best. C. CG.
De Jong, C. (1802)
Stout, W. (c. 1810)
Anonymous [Baviaanskloof
(Genadendal) |
Barrow, J. (1806)
Renshaw, R. (1804)
Van der Kemp, J. T. (1804)
Yonge, G. (1968)
De Mist, A. V. (1835)
Howen, O. de
Janssens, J. W.
Paravicini di Capelli, W. B. E.
Van Reenen, D. G.
Alberti, L. (1810a, 1810b)
Lichtenstein, H. (1808)
Lichtenstein, H. (1811)
Daniell, S. (1820)
Collins, R. (1835)
Read, J. (1813)
Carmichael, D. (1831)
Anonymous [Baviaanskloof
(Genadendal) |
1812
1813
1815-6
1819-20
1820
1821-4
1819-29
1824
c. 1824-5
(1825)
1825
1820-31
(S37
1826
1825-9
1827
(1828)
(1829)
1829
1822-37
1830
1831
c. 1831-2
(1832)
1832
(1833)
1833
1833-4
1834
1834-5
(1835)
1833=7
1835
894
Officer, 21st Lt. Dragoons
(1822)
Campbell, J. (1815)
Latrobe, C. I. (1818)
Stocker, I.
Anonymous
Thompson, G. (1827)
Moodie, J. W. D. (1835)
Ross (Mrs)
Shaw, W.
Smith, A.
Whitworth,—.
Phillips, T. (1827)
Steedman, A. (1835)
Shaw, B. (1840)
Shrewsbury, J. V. (1869)
Kay, S. (1829)
Kay, S. (1833)
Dundas (Maj.)
Hallbeck, H. P. &
Fritsch, J. G. (1826)
Van Kampen, N. G.
Rose, G. .
‘An Economist’ (1830)
Bain, A. G.
Bontlace, Ga Ey
Holman, J. (1834)
Shaw, W.
Young,—.
Fyon, H. F. (1950)
Anonymous (1829) [Enon]
Halter, A.
Smith, A.
Drege, @ar:
Anonymous (1832a)
Anonymous (18325)
[Shrewsbury]
Ayliff, J.
Boyce, W. B.
Bonatz, A. (1831)
Genth, W. C. (1831)
Morgan, N.
Fritsch, J., Hoffman, J. F.
& Bonatz, A. (1834)
Anonymous
Bonatz, A. (1834a)
Bonatz, A. (18345)
Gardiner, A. F. (1836)
Palmer, S. (1835)
Godlonton, R. (1835-6)
Anonymous
Ayliff, J.
England, R.
Alexander, J. E. (1835)
Alexander, J. E. (1837)
Bisset, C.
1835 (cont.)
(1836)
1836
1837
1837-8
(1838)
1820-56
1838
(1839)
1838-40
1839
1836-44
1840
(1841)
1841
c. 1840-6
1843
1842-7
(1845)
1835-55
1830-61
(1846)
1838-54
1846
1845-8
1842-53
1847-8
(1848)
1848
1848-52
1837-63
Ee. 1850
1850
(1851)
1851
1851-2
1851-4
(1853)
1851-5
1854
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 895
Cameron, J. (1836)
Martin, R. M.
Butler, H. (1841)
Dohne, J. L.
Bunbury, C. J. F. (1848)
Moodie, D. C. F.
Shaw, W. (1860)
Anonymous (1839)
Dugmore, H. D. (1839)
Adams, W.
Backhouse, J. &
Tylor, C. (1862)
Backhouse, J. (1844)
Hallbeck, H. P. (1862)
Dohne, J. L. (1844)
Schultheiss, J.
Read, J.
Bonatz, A.
Duff, G.
Schultheiss, J.
Ward, H. (1848)
Ward, H. (1851)
Sutherland, J.
Ayliff, J.
Boyce, W. B. (1861)
Anonymous
Schultheiss, J. (1854)
Napier, E. E. (1850)
Smyth,—.
Munro, W. (1887)
Baines, T.
Angas, G. F. (1849)
Anonymous
Freeman, J. (1851)
Great Britain. Imperial Blue
Book
Baines, T. (1848-—52a)
Baines, T. (1848-52b)
VOns, F.
TPOns, F. in Redgrave, J.J. &
Bradlow, E. (1958)
C. B. (?Charles Bell) (?1850)
Anonymous (1850a)
Anonymous (18505)
[Salzmann,—. |
Anonymous (1850c)
[Schultheiss, J.]
W(alker), J.
Bell, C. H. (1851a)
Bell, C. H. (18515)
Darell, H. F. C..(1852)
King, W. R. (1853)
Graham, L. &
Robinson, H. (1854)
Fleming, F.
Kretzschmar, E.
Merriman, N. J.
Brown, G. (1855)
Kolbing, C. R.
1848-62
1855
(1856)
1856
(1857)
(1858)
1859
1861
1862
1860-6
1863-6
(1865)
1866-7
(1867)
1845-89
(1868)
1869
(1871)
1860-82
1871
1872
(1873)
1873
1858-89
(1874)
1875
1872-9
1874-8
1876
(1877)
1877
1877-8
1877-9
1878
(1879)
1880
(1881)
1875-87
(1882)
Lucas, T. J. (1861)
Lindsey, R. &
Lindsey, S. (1886)
Fleming, F.
Kropf, A.
Warner, J. C. (1859)
Wilmot, R.
Livingstone, D.
Anonymous
Drayson, A. W.
Maclean, J.
Anonymous
Anonymous (1861a) [Goshen]
Anonymous (18615)
Kihn (Brother)
Anonymous
Bauer, R. &
Hartman, H. (1861)
Wilson, E. (1866)
Fritsch, G. (1872)
Bowler, T. W.
- Wangemann, T. (1868)
Taylor, W.
Kropf, A. (1889a)
Kropf, A. (1889b)
Wood, J. G.
Anonymous (1868) [Goshen]
Anonymous (1869a)
Anonymous (18695)
Bauer, R. (1868)
Griesbach, C.L.
Stow, G. (1905)
Bauer, R.
Meyer, H.
Chalmers, J. A.
Weitz, T. (1873)
Brownlee, C.
Johl,—. (1875)
Stanford, W.
Korner, F.
Anonymous
Durnford, A. W. (1882)
Cunynghame, A. T. (1880)
Weitz, T.
Witcher, Dyer & Dyer
Cripps, G. St. V.
Auld, G. M. (1924)
Padel, O. (1876)
Norbury, H. F. (1880)
Ex C.M.R. [Granville, A. K.]
(1881)
Streatfeild, F. N. (1879)
Moister, W.
Hastings, H. (1879)
Nauhaus, C. T.
Theal, G. M.
MacDonald, J. (1890a)
MacDonald, J. (18905)
Nauhaus, C. T.
896
ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
(1882) (cont.) Sampson, V.
(1883)
c. 1888
1879-1902
(1891)
(1893)
1893
(1894)
(1895)
(1896)
(1897)
(1898)
(1900)
Cape of Good Hope
Joest, W. (1885)
Schréder, W. H.
Bachmann, F. (1901)
Roskell, A. H.
Matthiae, E.
[Bird, J.]
Moodie, D. C. F.
Bodley, J. E. C. (1891)
Schiel, A. (1902)
Schunke, H. C.
Bartels, M.
Buchner, C.
Ratzel, F.
Smith, Andrew of St. Cyrus
Brownlee, C.
Theal, G. M.
Blink, H.
Anonymous
Lowndes, E. E. K.
[(1898-1902) Theal, G. M.]
1900
1901
(1902)
(1903)
(1904)
(1906)
(1907)
(1910)
1910
(1911)
(1912)
(1914)
(1915)
(1916)
(1917)
(1919)
(1920)
1921
[(1922)
(1923)
1924
IS
R., J. de N:
Scully, W. C.
Eve, E.
Fletcher, J.
[Theal, G. M.]
Young, R.
Bartels, M.
Kidd, D.
Hewatt, M. L.
Muller, A.
Whiteside, J.
Sim, f R:
Schneider, H. G.
Theal, G. M.
Friedlander, V. (1911)
Schachtzabel, A.
Ayliff, J. & Whiteside, J.
Ellenberger, D. F. &
MacGregor, J. C.
Schweiger, P. A.
Kropf, A. (Godfrey, R. ed.)
McLaren, J.
Kingon, J. R. L.
Aitchison, S. G. G.
Aitchison, S. G. G.
Kingon, J. R. L.
McLaren, J.
Kingon, J. R. L.
Tooke, W. H.
Godée Molsbergen, E. C.]
McLaren, J.
Brownlee, W. T. (1924-5)
Hartmann, A.
Brownlee, W. T. (1924-6)
Cingo, W. D.
Goodwin, A. J. H.
Thompson, H. QO. F.
(1926)
1926
(1927)
1927
(1928)
1928
(1929)
1929
(1930)
(1931)
1931
(1932)
1932
(1933)
1918-48
1933
(1934)
(1935)
1936-7
(1937)
1937
(1938)
Du Toit, A. L.
Miller, F. (1926a)
Miller, F. (1926b)
Schapera, I.
Vogel; P.
(?Godfrey, R.)
Cook, P. A. W.
Poto Ndamase, V.
Soga, J. H.
Vogel, J.
Anonymous
Davies, C. S.
Brownlee, F.
Wagner, P. A.
Anonymous
Godfrey, R.
Bryant, A. T.
Kawa, R. T.
Nauhaus, C.
(Magistrate, Ngamakwe)
(corresp. in private
collection)
Schapera, I.
Soga, J. H.
Coerizev er
Cook, P. A. W.
Plant, R. W.
Hall) We E:
Brunotti,—.
Dornan, S. S.
[Godée Molsbergen, E. C.]
Laidler, P. W.
Maingard, L. F.
Soga, J. H.
Thompson, F. R. B.
Watt, J. M. &
Breyer-Brandwijk, M. G.
Godfrey, R. (1932a)
Godfrey, R. (19325)
Hunter, M. (1932)
Hunter, M. (1936)
Anonymous
Hamilton-Welsh, E. in
Louw, J. (1964)
Kohler, M.
Pim, H. (1934)
Anonymous
Balfour, H.
Kirby, P. R.
Laidler, P. W.
Shaw, E. M.
Cornner, F. (corresp.)
Duggan-Cronin, A. M.
Soga, T. B.
Van Warmelo, N. J.
Dyer, Rayae
Laidler, P. W. (1938a)
Laidler, P. W. (1938b)
Shaw, E. M. (19382)
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
(1938) (cont.) Shaw, E. M. (1938)
(1939)
1939
1941
(1943)
(1944)
1944
(1945)
1945
1946
[(1947)
(1948)
1948
1945-52
(1949)
1949
1949-51
(1951)
1951
(1952)
1949-55
1952
(1953)
1953
(1954)
[(1955)
1955
1949-62
(1956)
1955-7
Duggan-Cronin, A. M.
Goodwin, A. J. H.
Clarke, (Mrs) F. (corresp.)
Fox, F. W.
Blohm, W. (corresp.)
Schofield, J. F.
Fazan, S. H.
Brownlee, F.
Tylden, G.
Makalima, J.
Burton, A. W. (corresp.)
Long, U. comp.|
Anonymous [Natural History]
Long, U.
Schofield, J. F.
American Museum of Natural
History (corresp.)
Walton, J. in Wilson, M. (ed.)
et al. (1952)
Duggan-Cronin, A. M.
Tyrrell, B.
Walton, J.
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(1953)
Latimer, M. Courtenay-
(corresp. )
Walton, J. (corresp.)
Bourquin, W.
Barker, J. (corresp.)
Kain, D. N. E.
McCarthy, F. D.
Transvaal Museum
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(1955a)
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(19555)
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(1958a)
Weir, E. A.
Wilson, M. et al.
[Kirby, P. R. ed.]
Raum, O. F.
Anonymous
Duggan-Cronin, A. M.
Elewitt, J. J-
Karby; P. R.
Walton, J.
Kirby, P. R. ed.]
Sinclair, U.
Walker, T. (pers. comm.)
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(1962)
Van der Sleen, W. G. N.
Walton, J. (1956a)
Walton, J. (19565)
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(1957a)
1955-7 (cont.) Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
1956
(1957)
1956-8
(1958)
1958
(1959)
1959
(1960)
1960
(1961)
1961
1962
(1963)
1963
(1964)
1965
1966
(1967)
1968
(1969)
1969
(1970)
(1971)
1971
(1972)
1972
(1973)
1973
(1974)
1974
(1976)
(1957b)
Skead, J. (corresp.)
Gowie, M.
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(1958b)
Doke, C. M. et al.
MacLaren, P. I. R.
[Redgrave, J. J. & Bradlow, E.]
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
(pers. comm.)
Morgan, M.N.
Murdock. G. P.
Wilson, M.
Fenwick ,—. (corresp.)
Axelson, E.
Nienaber, G. S.
Campbell, A. C. (1965)
De Lange, M.
Prinsloo, J. H. (pers. comm.)
Shaw, C. J. (corresp.)
~ Anonymous
Birch, D.
De Lange, M. (1963)
Velcich, G.
Fehr, W.
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
Thelejane, T. S.
De Jager, E. G.
De Jager,’E. G: &
Gitywa, V. Z.
De, Jager, E. G.
Louw, J.
Van Warmelo, N. J.
Stagg, M.
Jansen. G. J-
Broster, J. A.
Lawton, A. C.
Tyrrell, B.
Holt, B.
Reed. ¥. E:
Wilson, M. &
Thompson, L. eds.
Hammond-Tooke, W. D.
Elliott, A.
Gitywa, V. Z.
Gitywa, V. Z.
Quickelberge, C. D.
Shaw, E. M. &
Van Warmelo, N. J.
Bigalke, E.
Mertens, A. & Broster, J.
Bigalke, E.
Shaw, E. M. &
Van Warmelo, N. J.
Kruger, D.
Bohme, H. E.
Broster, J. A.
897
os =
(1976) (cont.) Davison, P. J. 0 (1981) (cont.) Shaw, E. M. &
. (C977) - _eSobahle, WoNiek. “3 (1982) “~Aturet,, Cakes
(1978) Beinart, W. : ; -._ Beimart, Wp
~ (1981) \ Hooper, L.; Broster, J. A. —
Peires, J.B. 3 1985 Anonymous (
REFERENCES
PARTS 1—4
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Anonymous. 18506. [Salzmann,—.] StationItemba. Berliner Missionsberichte 1850: 163.
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berichte 1850: 242.
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900 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
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THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 903
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FREEMAN, J. 1851. Ole:
GAD 22. 532,215 34" 54 9525 9542
556-558, 586, 594, 596, 600, 684, 707,
713, 744, 810, 811, 812, 816, 820, 838,
839, 844, 884, 890
Hoes 19: 126.234. 235-236, 2377432. 436
European style 432
heads 123
Holcus sorghum 234
Homestead 36—40, 78, 84, 85, 97, 99, 100, 236,
594, 606, 814, 816, 821, 822, 885, 892;
Pls 1-2-3
chief's 604
layout 37, 38, 39
medicines 812
site of 36
size of 37
Hook 282
‘Hopscotch’ 856
Horn 19, 186, 187, 355, 426, 428, 437, 844,
868, 881, 884
antelope 746, 844
carving 185, 212
922 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
cattle 76
cupping 810, 811, 889
eland 746
medicine 889
ox 746, 844
pipe 746, 750
plectrum 838
signalling 844, 889
snuff-box 752
snuff-spoon 756
spoons 426, 428
tool 283
trumpet 844
Horses 261), 2625 268 31195 355, 437 so So oro,
890, 891
Horse-hair 664, 836, 839
Hospitals 820
Hottentot (Khoi) 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 67, 100,
13540635. 198 212 = Fis ole sO 37k
363,380, 416, 420; 435, 437, 526, 536,
606, 658, 742, 819, 821, 844, 867, 883,
890, 892
House of chief 37, 77
of great wife 37
Household furniture 437, 438
goods 374
utensils 438
Hunger belt 676
Hunters 660
Hunting 319, 321, 338, 355-358, 359, 360, 430,
434, 435, 437, 438, 842
dog 270, 434
Fut 36, 39, 40, 65-71, 72. 73, 74=78, 98.299,
100, 380, 588, 814, 816, 822, 883; Pls 5, 6,
7, 8, 11
abandonment 39, 77-78
beehive style 65, 71, 892; Pls 5, 6
chief’s 77, 604, 887
construction 66, 67-69, 70, 71; Pls 12, 13
frames 36, 67, 68, 69, 72, 77, 163
foundations 190
headman’s 77
indoor arrangements 76, 77
initiates’ 598, 820
isithembiso 72
medicines 816, 818, 819
old style 65; Pls 5, 6
poles 66
rectangular 66; Pl. 8
for shields 328
store 236
straight-walled 65, 72, 73, 74
strangers’ 37, 75
temporary 236; Pls 6, 9
walls 72, 190, 209, 378, 881, 883
Hyaena 821
skin 179
Hyphaene 211
Hyphaene crinita 160, 414
I
Ibanti womdlezana 544
Ibayi 556
Ibhadi 178
Ibhoma 820
Ibhoxo 84
Ibhunguza 321, 323, 324
Ibola 282
Iceba 811
Ichachawe 534
Ichele 666
Ichitywa 709
Icuba 742, 744
Idlaka 822
Idutywa 140
Igaba 235, 236
Igcaguba 684
Igeli 856
Igesi 684
Iggira 591
Igubu 836, 839, 840
Igudu 746
Igula 752
Igumbi 77, 882
Iguza 754
Igwada 745
Igwegwe 282
Igxaba 594
Thlala 713
Thlosi 179
Tinkozo 199
Tjelo 748
Tjono 746, 748
Ikhaka 328
TIkhawu 329, 839
Ikhubalo 812, 814
Ikhamandela 339
Ikhuba 235, 236
Ikhwame 745
Tklam 751
Ikohlombe 326
Tkoyi 99
Tkrele 236
Ikrwana 336
Tlala 123, 160, 845
Tlintla 77
Tlitye 745
Ilitye lesinyangane 123
Imbabala 178
Imbadada 529
Imbande 840
Imbenga 409
Imbeleko 544
Imbelempe 844
Imbiza 135, 422
‘Imbo’ 330
Imbola 709
Imbombe 426
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 923
Imbongisa 856
Imela 146, 282
Imfene 179
Imiguza 844, 845
Imingayi 321, 810
Imisila 606
Imithantho 874
Imivalo 84
Imizi 380, 544, 745
Immigrant Cape Nguni 65, 234, 235, 238, 532
Immigrants 432, 558, 885
Impehla 282
Impehlana 282
Impempe 842
Impeko 746
Impepho 198, 670
Implements (agricultural) 235
Impobole 664
Impondulu 709
Impunzi 178
Imvaba 264
Incakuba 810
Incebetha 542, 592
Incebetsha 756
Incised patterns 149
Incitsho 522
Incuma 544
Incwadi 821
Indawula 809, 810
Indembu 358
India 198, 670
Indian 888
Indians 742
Indlwana 358
Induku 321, 324, 325
Indwe 588
Infante River 16
Ingada 179
Ingadla 810
Ingcaca 664
Ingcambane 596
Ingcaphe 750
Ingceke 409, 594
Ingcogo 814
Ingcola 336
Ingcongola 840
Ingcuka 179
Ingcwaba 822
Ingobo 98
Ingobozi 95, 162, 238, 409, 410
Ingonyama 178
Inggqalo 873
Ingganda 336, 339
Ingqandulo 280
Ingqaza 664
Ingqgombo 544
Ingqongqo 839
Ingqosha 670
Ingqambu 357
Ingubo 528
Ingubulu 584
Ingwe 178
Ingxhowa 745
Ingxiba 520
Ingxiwa 745
Initiation—boys 266, 319, 321, 592, 594, 596,
709, 820, 821, 883, 887, 889
diviners 592
girls 598, 889
Injikwe 836
Inkaca 845
Inkatha 714
Inkawu 179
Inkcaza 708
Inkciyo 536, 678
Inkcukumiso 358
Inkinge 838
Inkonjane 338
Inkujana 282
Inkundla 38, 85, 96, 236; Pl. 4
Inkwintsi 620
Inkxola 280
Inlay 126, 882
Ingaluka 873
Inqashela 680
Ingcubhe 819
Inquma 666
Insignia 604, 606
Insizwa Mountains 122, 140, 209
Instruments— medical 810, 812, 889
musical 835-846, 889
Intambo 363
Intendelezo 820
Intlabo 280
Intluzo 414
Intomfu 358
Intonga 262, 321, 322, 326, 680
Intonjane 424, 672, 712, 821
Intsawulo 236
Intsema 854
Intshaza 756
Intshengeca 146, 186, 282
Intshengula 756
Intshinga 164, 664
Intshuntshe 336
Intsika 68, 69, 73
dnscilt (a2 FAS
Inxhowa 238, 712
Inyanga 591, 809
Inyango 98, 99, 100
Inyatyhoba 159, 280
Iphempe 236, 820
Iphenyane 874
Iphoco 670
Iphunga 596
Iphuti 178
Igakatha 324
Igegu 873
924 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Ighaga 752
Ighaga lamanyana 754
Ighiya 534, 548, 550
Igina 708
Igindiva 374
Ighweru 363
Igonga 95, 236, 820
Igoqga 680
Trintyelo 357
Tron) 12351245 1265 319 334 o358 S58, 050
661, 662, 676, 707, 891, 892
branding 881
okie S22
ore 122, 209, 892
pot 437
rings 672
scrap 124
smelting 122, 123
tools 684, 810
Ironstone 122, 123, 209
Trontawuli 65, 66, 74
Ironwood 322
Isabazelo 279
Isacholo 672
Isachopho 72
Isagweba 324
Isala 592
Isanda 236
Isando 282
Isango 84
Isangoma 591, 809
Isankuni 838
Isankwane 532
Isanusi 845
Iselwa lokulumeka 811
Isibatha 357
Isibaya 84
Isibazelo 146
Isibazo 146, 186, 282
Isibexo 874
Isibhaca 538
Isibhalala 602
Isibhulo 236, 237
Isibindi 710
Isicamba 378
Isichopho 77, 378
Isidabane 178, 182, 588, 591, 600, 602
Isidanga 672
Isidla 520
Isidlokolo 591
Isiduli 418
Isiduluka 587
Isidwangube 660
Isigangatho 283
Isigcobo 374, 380, 596, 744
Isigidimi 606
Isigodlo 746, 844
Tsigu 358
Isigubu 818
Isihlangu 328, 529
Isihlenga 874
Isikankuru 839
Isikhandelo 279
Isikhaka 541
Isikholokotha 854
Isikhonkwane 179
Isikhuba 235
Isikhwehle 542
Isikhwetha 820
Tsikunjane 845
Isilanda 280, 281, 363, 810
Tsileyi 238, 874
Tsilili 77
Isiludu 162, 409, 410
Isilumeko 810
Tsilulu 97
Tsingqusho 420
Isinkempe 338
Tsinyithi 123
Isipiliti 676
Isigalaba 124
Isighugho 707
TIsiqutsi 821
Isiqwane 124
Isiqweqwe 664
Isirudu 162, 238
Isirwege 334
Isisaulo 856
Isisele 95
Isishuba 524
Isisinga 357
Tsisukulo 811
Isitsaba 596
Isithebe 410, 412
Isithembiso 65, 72, 74, 77
Isithiyo 357
Isithomo 852
Tsitshayelo 376
Isitshetshe 282
Isitshoka 746
Isitshuba 541
TIsitya 410
Isivivane 819
Istwahlane 845
Tsixazi 412
Isixengxe 279
Isixholo 146
Isiximba 97
Isundu 160, 596
Tsungulo 280
Isuthu 820
Itasi 712, 745
Ithala 77, 98, 374, 376, 874
Ithembu 160, 164
Ithinta 822
Ithonto 820
Ithunga 264, 409
Itshali 524, 602
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
Ttshoba 592, 713, 818
Itula 809
inomelo 186, 187, 198; 199, 355, 437, 707;
756, 807, 882
arm-bands 186, 189, 660, 887
carving 185, 212
trade 198, 199, 868
whistle 840
Iwatsha 672
Iwula 178
Ixamba 374, 745
Ixhanti 84, 98
Ixhwele 591
Ixilongo 840, 844
Tyeza 811
Izagweba 360
Izaka 336
Izeku 660
Izembe 146, 186, 279, 320
Izibuko 874
Izichwe 821
Izigidimi 606
Iziko 76
Izindwe 596
Izixenxe 320
J
Jackals 360
skin 179
tail 604
Joinery (none) 145
K
Kaffir ironwood 235
Kaffir-sheeting 524, 541
Kaffraria 606
Kaffrarian Museum 124, 198
Kaffrarian Watchman 660
Kaross 539, 588
Karroo 17
Karroo System 122
NeimRavyer 15.47. 135,520, 591
Keloids 682
Kennel 270, 271
Kentani 159, 208
Khoi (Hottentot) 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 67, 100,
iselos 198. 212. 213, 2612 319, 321,
Se55, 500), 416,, 420,, 435, 437, 526, 536,
606, 658, 742, 819, 821, 842, 867, 883,
890, 892
Khoisan 189, 867
Khomane 139
Khwetha 65, 160, 339, 592, 598, 602, 820-821
costume 163, 178, 594, 596
Kid-skin 178
Kilt 588, 591
Kitchen hut 65
925
Knife 126, 146, 159, 282, 283, 326, 338,:434,
fo, SiG
stone 186, 189, 810
Knots 359
Koba 526
Komga 124
Kraal 38, 84, 85, 99, 100, 180, 181, 262, 606,
744, 812, 820, 822; Pls 14, 15
brushwood 84
chief’s 604
calf 84, 85
fence 84
gateway 84, 85
small stock 38, 84, 268, 382
stone walled 84, 190
sod walled 84
square 84
Ladle 149, 416
Lagenaria 148, 414
Lancet 684, 810, 811, 889
Land 233, 812
Lands 38, 233
Language of colour 662, 881
Lateritic ironstone 122, 209
Lead 126, 882
Lead inlay 146, 751
Leather 536
Leatherwork 178-183
Lebeko 657
Leg-band 680
Leggings 602
Leonotis leonurus 744
Leopard 328, 334, 355, 357
cloak 181, 587
hunt 328
skin 178, 528, 884, 886
tail 609, 887
teeth 809
Lepetu 122
Lesotho 18, 67, 542, 754, 812, 838
Lightning 39, 76, 78, 814, 818, 821, 822
Lightning bird 814
Limpopo 657
Lintel of door 73
ion 354.2355. 350
hunt 328, 356
skin 178
tail 604, 887
Litter 873
Llama braid 541
Lobola 261, 268, 867
Lodge— initiates’ 594, 598, 820, 821
Loin-dress 182, 524, 528, 554, 591, 602, 604,
678, 885, 886
Lourengo Marques 198
926
Love charm 662
Lovedale 122, 123
Luvhengo 657
Macquina 122
Madzikane 816
Magic 809, 811, 816, 888
Maize 95, 98, 234, 235, 236, 238, 420
Makana 811
Makrigga 17
Mambookie 15
Mancala 892
Manure 180
Marriage ceremony 235, 598, 814
Marrow 148
Mat 136, 213, 374, 378-380, 381, 383, 435,
873; Pl. 30
burial 822
food 163, 415, 417, 419
furnishing 163
skin 818, 819
sleeping 160
tobacco 744
Matatiele 140
Matches 416
Materials 159, 160, 886
basketwork 159-160; Pl. 27
Mbo 16, 71, 135, 199, 213
Meat 2615) 2625355
tray 412, 425
Medical practice 809-811, 889
Medicated pegs 812
Medication (of homestead) 39
Medicines 37, 811, 812, 814; 816, 818, 819,
888, 889
cattle 811-812
flask 149, 591, 818
instruments 810-812, 889
lightning 818
kraal 812
Medicine man (see Diviners, Doctors, Herbal-
ists) 591, 713
Melons 234
Mends 161, 209, 212
Men’s dress 520-534
work 77, 84
Mesembrianthemums 708
Messengers 37, 604, 887
Messina 658
Metal 124, 209, 867, 887, 892
from Europeans 18
ornaments 662
pipe-bowl 748
snuff-spoons 756
whistle 842
working 210
Metallurgy 122-127
ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Mica 710
Middledrift 136, 139
Milk 149, 261, 262, 264, 266, 409, 426, 434
containers 264, 267, 410, 708
goats’ 268
pails 207, 262, 264, 267, 410, 434
sacks 182, 183, 264, 266, 269, 416, 434,
708, 873
vessel 149, 161
Milker 264
Milking 84, 262, 263, 264, 265
Millet 235
Milletia spp. 322, 750
Mimosa 212
bark 180, 208, 212
Mining 122
Missionaries 65, 199, 432, 436
Modelling 883
Money 19, 868, 890, 891
Mongoose skin 179
Monkey 360
skin 179, 666
tails 591
‘Monkey apple’ 856
‘Monkey rope’ 66, 69
Mortars 420-422, 425, 429, 437, 438
pestle 418, 420, 422, 437
stone 189
Moth-cocoon anklet 845
Motifs 882
Mount Ayliff 122, 123, 140
Mount Frere 139, 162, 163
Mourning 209, 530; 532, 54153949555 o er
664, 708, 886, 888
Mouthpiece of pipe 750
Mpako River 122
Mpondo 15; 16, 37, 395 603/67 Cosa > dew or
96, 98, 100, 123, 126, 135. 1SeeslSyesis Ss
160, 162, 164, 1795. 1805 1e2 isi 1s:
208,209, 210, 211 2125 Dis see ar
236, 261, 264, 266; 268) 279 230k ese
284, 321, 328, 330; 334, 338s9sa9-
356, 358, 363, 364, 380, 410, 412,
420, 422, 424, 432, 435, 436, 438,
524, 526, 530, 532, 534, 539-542,
548; 554, 555, 556, 558, S88h soiee soe.
596, 598, 600, 602, 604, 658, 660, 661,
662, 666, 670, 672, 674, 676, 678, 680,
682, 707, 708, 710, 712, 744, 748, 752,
754, 756, 810, 811, 815, 816, 818,
, 840, 842, 844, 845,
868, 874, 882, 883, 885, 886, 888, 890, 892
Mpondomise 15, 16, 85, 39> let20s) Ze
213,. 264,-280, 355,382, 4225 432.9436;
438, 530, 532, 541,=3548) 5523 5549050;
592, 596, 670, 676, 684, 710, 752, 756,
818, 820, 822, 836, 838, 885, 886, 892
‘Mpondo stripe’ 682
Mganduli 140, 842
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
Musical instrument 149, 835-840, 846, 889
bow 836, 838, 839, 889; Pl. 26
Muzzle 262
N
Narcotics 740, 742
Natal 15, 18, 37, 67, 186, 198, 210, 235, 380,
432, 662, 670, 712, 816, 885, 886
border 162, 558
Natal Coastal pottery (NC,) 135, 139
Natal Nguni 100, 892
National Cultural History and Open-Air
Museum 161, 840
Ndamase 532
Ndlambe 881
Ndzundza 213
Necklace 198, 199, 200, 598, 602, 657, 660,
661, 662, 668, 670, 809, 811, 812, 814,
816, 818
chief’s 199, 657, 887
Needle 159, 283
thatching 74, 281
Negapatam 198
Nerita shells 664, 668, 818
Nests 268, 269, 271
Nggika (Gaika) [chief] 657, 658, 660
[tribe] 17, 161, 662
Nguni 100, 126, 330, 437, 891
Nigeria 754
Noord 17
Northern Nguni 432
North Sotho 657
Nossa Senhora da Atalaya 135, 363
Nossa Senhora de Belem 235
Ngeleni 139
Ntusi 594, 820
Nutshell 752
O
Ochna arborea 324
Ochre 180, 189, 208, 209, 544, 555, 598,
707-710, 881, 883, 887, 888
imported 709
orange 883
pits 709
red 548, 558, 594, 709, 710
yellow 709
Ocotea bullata 324
Olea spp. 322
Omasum 122, 179, 209
Ore 122.123, 209
Oribi skin 178
Ornaments 126, 127, 160, 164, 198, 532, 538,
541, 555, 556, 587, 594, 596, 598, 600,
602, 657-684, 881, 887, 890, 891
badge 658
bone 186, 666
chest 674
O27
chief’s 658, 887
distinction 657
ear 666
grass 164, 662
hair 756
head 664
metal 127, 538, 657
physical 887
reed 666
teeth 666
waist 676, 678
wood 666
Ostrich 588
egg-shell beads 661
feathers 587, 604, 661
feather quill 666
Oven 430
Owenduku 856
Oxen 234, 236, 432, 436, 713, 814, 839, 874,
891
hide 123, 180, 181. 183, 328, 380, 434,
526, 528, 529, 602, 810
drum 839, 889
horn 124, 844
pack-ox 238, 261, 263, 438, 873, 890
riding 261, 262, 263, 265, 355, 873
tail hair 161, 588, 604
P
Pack-ox 238, 261, 263, 438, 873, 890
Pack-saddle 873
Paint 74, 209, 883, 885
facial 890
Palm 596
Palm-leaf 160, 162, 163, 211, 213, 414, 845
pouch 712
Pastoralism 100, 213, 261, 438, 891
Patch 209
Patterns 594, 881, 882, 883, 884
Peddie 65
Peps 73,, 179:,812, 814; 873
Penis-caps 520-524, 526
Penis-sheaths 149, 179, 181, 182, 183, 211,
520-524, 526, 588, 598, 600, 602, 885, 886
Pennisetum sp. 234
Perfume 709
Pericardium 179, 181, 520
Pestle 418, 420, 422, 437
Phalaborwa 658
Phoenix reclinata 160, 596
-phuca 856
Pigs 261, 268, 434, 437
pigsty 271
Pipes 126, 146, 187, 284, 745, 752, 840, 881,
882, 884, 888, 891, 892
bowl 138, 139, 746, 748, 750, 751, 882,
885
928 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
clay 748, 750, 888 Q
European 746, 750 @amiata 555
makers 145, 284 :
Qawukeni 139
manufacture 750 :
2 Qora River 874
mouthpiece 750
: Queenstown 122
social usage 752, 888 Quill 842
stem 146, 746, 750-752, 888 ee
Quivers 180, 182, 319, 326
water 186, 746-748 ne ,
wooden 750, 888, 891
Pitfall 356, 358
Plaster 69, 72, 207 Racing—cattle 820, 889
Plastic art 884 horse 268
Platform (crop-watchers) 236 Rack 77, 95
Plectrum 838 Raft 874, 890
Plough 19, 234, 235, 236, 432, 436 Rafter 67, 69, 73
Ploughing 262 Rain-making 818
Plumbago 811, 814 Raphionacme purpurea 854
Poison 319, 321 Rarabe 819, 822
Pole 65, 70, 604 Rat-hunt 856
for fence or hut 66 Rattles 604, 844, 845
for LOOn Oe 12505 Razor 708
‘Pondo baskets’ 165 Red colour 208, 888
Pondoland 17, 37, 38, 74, 84, 85, 123, 125, 160, els 324
162,” 1635 1645 233,238) 26853245 334. ochre 18
S364) 37/6) 382) 412496. 524586" 539.) Reed MoUni4o. goa
uly Spy, ‘Sar, CUZ, CUO, OS, TAO, 745s bow 838
756, 836, 838, 854, 867 pipe 748
Porcupine quills 588, 661, 666 snuff-box 752
Port St. Johns 198 whistle 840, 842
Portuguese 198, 199, 670, 740, 888 Rehabilitation 40
Post (pillar) 71 Repairs 164, 209
Potters 136, 137, 139, 140 Resettlement 40
wheel (non-existent) 136 Residence 35
Pottery 135-139, 210, 212, 283, 422, 424, 436, Resonator 149, 211, 836, 838, 839
882, 885; Pls 18, 19 Rhinoceros horn (club) 324
techniques 212 Riding-ox 261
Pots 135-140, 209, 238, 264, 267, 424, 868; calves 856
Pls 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Rings 662, 668, 674
beer 422 Ritual 268, 282, 891
cooking 422 life 261
three-legged 424 Rock-painting 591
water 424 Rock-rabbit 713, 745
Pouches (palm-leaf) 162, 712 Rolling-target game 854, 889
skin 745, 754 Rondavel 19, 65, 74, 76, 100, 883
tobacco 183 Roof 74, 76
Poultry 261, 437 crown 74
Powder—flask 326 frames 73
horns 186, 187 peak 74
puff 707, 713 pitched 73
scent 887 Rooi-els 324
Praises, Reciter of 587 Rooi-hout 324
Propolis 207 Rope 66, 69, 73, 77, 160, 164, 209, 874
Protea 36 grass 262
Ptaeroxylon utile 418 making 161
Pterocelastrus 207, 335 Royalty 538, 552, 587, 657, 821, 886
Pumpkins 95, 99, 148, 234 Royena pallens 856
leaves 137 Rubber-rings 680
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
S
Sacramento (wreck) 135
Sacred cattle 261
Sacrifice 261, 808, 814, 818, 821
Saddles 262, 268, 873
Salempore cloth 524, 541, 554, 555, 600, 602,
886
Sanctuary 37, 85
Sandals 180, 182, 334, 529, 546, 588, 885
Sandalwood 814
Sandile 606, 657
Sansevieria 161, 854
Santo Alberto 65, 135, 198, 235, 380, 420, 713
Sado Jodo Baptista 363, 713
Scarification 682, 684, 887
Scent 713, 887
Schotia latifolia 180
Scoop 149, 416
Scrap-iron 124
Screen 70, 71, 75, 160, 378, 820, 821; Pls 10, 11
Scrotum of goat 179, 712, 745, 752
Sea-food 430
Sealers 207
Seat 77; 378
Sedge 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 380, 409,
iA Ass. 322, 594.745, 881; Pl. 27
Seed 99, 162, 234, 812, 822
storage 149
Seed ornaments 887
Seedlings 234
See-saw 856
Separatist Church 840
Seroto 162
Settlement 99, 100
Settlers 892
Sewing machine 541, 884
Shaka 15
Sheep 261, 268, 434, 435, 437
Sheepskin 178, 529, 540, 887
cloaks 183
Sheeting—cotton 555, 602
unbleached 556
Shelf 77
Shell-fish 363, 364, 365, 435
Shells 540, 550, 554, 661, 666, 668, 672, 814,
868, 887
Shelter 66
Shields 37, 180, 181, 182, 319, 322, 326, 328,
329° 330, 331=—333, 334, 355, 356, 434,
436, 529, 588, 884, 892
as drum 839
ornamental 183
Shiloh 17
Ships 124
Shipwrecks 16, 18, 124, 135, 198, 213, 434,
891, 892
Shoes 555
Shoulder-band 674
Shrimping 364
929
basket 712
Shroud 378
Shutter 74
‘Sibilo’ 710
Sida rhombifolia 137
Signalling horns 186, 844, 889
Silver 122
Simono 712
Sinew 161, 181, 182, 200;.355, 380, 536,
836, 838, 842
Sisal thread 380
Site 36, 66, 233
for house 66
for homestead 36, 233
Skewer 424
Skimmer 424, 426, 431, 437
Skin 124, 178-183, 199, 238, 262, 355,
3222) S26. 528) 5442, 405.5
660, 707, 885
angora goat 602
antelope 550, 712
baboon 179, 591, 592
blesbok 588
bluebuck 178, 745
bushbuck 178, 550, 600
cat 538, 588, 591
duiker 178
goat 178, 529, 540, 541,
680, 712, 713, 745
genet 745
hyaena 179, 591
hyrax 713, 745
jackal 178, 587, 712
leopard 178, 552, 587, 588, 657, 712
lion 178
marten 745
monkey 179, 588, 591, 745, 886
oribi 178, 588, 598, 600
rabbit 587, 712
sheep 178, 528, 529, 540, 594, 596, 856
springbok 178
wild-cat 179, 588, 707, 712, 713, 886
Skin-dressing 178-183, 189, 211, 212, 279,
280,330,334, 434>PI. 33
frame 181
Skinning 84
Skin-pouch 754
Skin-worker 182-183, 588
Skipping 856
Skirt 181, 182, 183, 536, 539, 540, 542, 554,
556, 592, 598, 600, 602, 885, 886, 887, 890
Skull, human, for medicine 818
Skulls of cattle 76
Slag 123
Slaughter (stock) 84, 338
Sledges 163, 234, 238, 262, 873, 874, 890, 891;
Pls 25, 33
Sleeping-mat 378-380, 381, 383
Small stock 84, 268, 382
680,
Nn
On
ON
Nn
\O
NM
U
\O
ON
930
‘Smelling-out’ 809, 888
Smelter 123
Smelting 122 71231265 127
furnace 122
lack of 18, 123, 892
ovens 123
Smaths 422) 123-124 Io 27. 210 Mons
Smithing 126, 282, 434
Smoking 744, 748, 888
equipment 712, 745, 888
Smoother 283
Snake pattern 882
Snares 357, 358, 360
Sneezewood 235, 418, 435
Snuff 189, 744, 745, 746, 752, 754, 756, 888
boxes 146, 149, 1815 182; 186; 1875 752%
754, 882, 884, 888
decoration 752
of paste 181, 182, 754, 884
wooden 146
skin 756
spoons 186, 187, 532, 754, 756, 882, 884,
888
Soap 708
Soapstone 746, 751
Social usage 752, 756
Sods 72
Soot 684, 708, 709
Sorghum 66, 95, 234, 235, 236
porridge 137
Sotho 320, 376, 554, 809, 838, 891, 892
South African Museum 126, 198, 235, 550,
556, 672, 676, 678
Southern Africa 708, 742
Southern Nguni 15, 135
Southern Sotho 97, 100, 122, 135, 139, 140,
Oe, OA, AO), PALS PAI S345 S505 a7
810, 812, 844, 884
Southern Transvaal Ndebele 892
Spades 123, 146, 235, 236, 237
European 235
Spatula 657
Spearsi235 125, 236n519" 322. 394-339-300;
8634345) 43504 SOMOS O56n US 2.
809, 810, 820, 882, 892; Pl. 48
blade W546 5I5On 179 280% 374 Sa.
338.0484) 708y 752.) S10 S20 Rn SSik
882, 889
INGEGS IHD; 27, Wo, AV, As; SIS, S36,
339, 658, 867
in divination 809
quiver 437
shaft 335, 606
wooden 123, 125, 334
Specialist 146, 164, 182, 187, 210, 283, 284, 334
Spinning disc 845-846
Spitting game 748
Spirostachys africana 198, 670
Splints 811
ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Spoon 149, 186, 187, 416, 426-428, 431, 433,
821, 882, 884, 885 ;
Springbok skin 178
Square house 65, 66, 99
Staff of office 606
State Ethnographic Museum, Stockholm 161
Status 886, 887, 888
Stavenisse 16, 17, 18, 95, 124, 135, 534, 744,
821
Stepping-stones 874
Stick 146, 262; 319, 320) 321b 932233259 32G)
330, 334, 434, 528, 596, 680, 748, 811,
821, 854, 856, 882, 884
divining 809
drum 810, 839, 840
meat 821
ornamental 680
Stick-fight 322, 528, 856, 889
Stinkwood 324
Stirrer 428, 818, 889
Stirrups 873
Stock 809
Stone 65, 72, 189, 420, 422, 434, 746, 882, 885
bored 189
knife 282, 417, 820
pipe-bowl 748
plates 412
tool 146, 283, 658, 684
walls 84
working 189, 190, 212
Stools 376, 379, 435
Stopper 416
Store 37
hut 37, 65, 95; 98> 99SRieaa,
Stores—trading 208, 868, 869
Storage 95, 100
bin 99
utensils 374
Strainers 162, 164, 412
String-figures 854
Strychnos spinosa 713
Subsistence 435
Summary 99-101, 209-212, 430-438, 885-891
Supreme Being 808
Swazi 15, 212
Sweat-scraper 657, 707, 887
Swing 856
Switch 592, 818
Symbolism 881
1
Tail hair 161, 818, 873
Tails 588, 590, 591, 598, 600, 602, 604, 606,
661, 664, 680, 713
antelope 528, 680
elephant 604
horse 686
jackal 606, 664, 713
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 931
leopard 604, 606
lion 604, 606, 664
ox 528, 604, 606, 680
Talismans 811, 816, 889
Tally 714
Tambookie grass 712, 821, 838
Tan colour 208
Tandu technique 754
Tang (of spear) 335
Tattoo 682, 684, 887
Taxes 868
Technology 209
Tecomaria capensis 160, 845
Teeth—animal 661, 668, 674, 809
Temporary hut (in lands) 61
Tethana 554
Tether 262
Thatch 65, 66, 69, 70, 73, 74, 100, 283
Thatching 74, 77, 158
comb 74
rope 283
Waemoa ts, 16, 17, 18, 36, 37, 65, 66, 70, 78,
Bae, 9s, 100, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126,
fee, 157, 138, 139, 160, 161, 162,
163, 164, 179, 182, 189, 190, 208, 209,
mire tt 213. 233, 234, 235, 236, 238,
264, 280, 321, 339, 380, 414, 418, 422,
424, 426, 432, 436, 438, 520, 522, 526,
Meow, 552, 534, 538, 540, 541, 542,
546, 548, 550, 552, 554-556, 588, 590,
592, 596, 660, 666, 672, 676, 678, 680,
684, 709, 710, 712, 746, 754, 756, 809,
Giievaiz. $18, 819, 822, 836, 838, 839,
840, 844, 845, 856, 874, 883, 884, 885,
886, 887. 888, 890, 892
Thembuland 38, 84, 162, 742
Thongs 84, 181, 182, 183, 209, 262, 529, 534,
536, 538, 539, 542, 544, 592, 668, 676,
713. 838.873
Thorn 682
Thread 161, 164, 181
Threshing 234, 236
floor 236
Threshold 74
Tina River 520
Tinder 418
Tins 410, 752, 754
Tin trunk 374
Tobacco 19, 38, 99, 146, 234, 374, 380, 712,
740, 742, 744-745, 746, 888, 890, 891
bag 712, 745; Pl. 29
cultivation 744
pouch 745
preparation 744
trade 868
Toboggan 856
Toddalia lanceolata 198
Toe-rings 680
Toilet articles 887
Toilet-box 186, 187, 207, 538, 707, 713, 887
Toilet implements 707
Tongs 125, 283
Tools 125, 127, 136; 146, 159, 186;/211,. 279;
280, 281, 282-284, 335-336, 434, 750,
752, 881; Pls 18, 28
kits 283, 284, 752
modern 127
skin-dressing 179
Tooth-brush 707
Tops 856, 889
Torch 363, 380, 382, 435
Tortoise shell 186, 187, 207, 538, 707, 713
Totemism 810
Toys 852-856, 884
Trade 9, 1237-16, 198, 213-355-437. 710:
744, 867, 868, 887, 889-890, 891
stores 208, 868, 869
Traders 208, 886
‘Traditional’ 809, 886, 890, 892
Trance 809, 888, 892
Transkei 15, 38, 208, 233, 334, 524, 534, 670,
819, 838, 890, 892
Transkeian Territories 17
Transport 261, 873-874, 891
Transvaal 124, 658
Transvaal Museum 127, 161, 840
Transvaal Ndebele 15
Trap 149, 162, 189, 357, 358359; 360,364,
856
Trapping 355
Travel 890
Travellers 198, 199
Trays 435
Trench 70
Trichocladus ellipticus 321
Trough 268, 377, 382, 748
‘TEshezi 522-534. 541.821
Tshomane 97
Tsolo 159
Tsomo 139
Tsomo River 122
Tswana 657, 710, 838
Tuyere 124
Twining 380
Twins 816, 818
U
Ubhedu 122
Ubeko 357
Ubengo 657
Ubengu 283, 810
Ubokomela 840, 846
Ubuhlala 657
Ubuhlanti 84
Ubulunga 594, 814, 816
Ucango 412
Ucumse 208, 709
Udladla 98, 100
Udondolo 322
ee
982
Udongwe 842
Udosuthando 672
Udyakalashe 179
Ugempe 840
Ugqgonci 321
Ugquphu 856
Ugumpu 836, 838
Ugwale 839
Ugwali 842
Ugwalu 838
Uhadi 836, 838
Uhlango 84, 412
Ukhanja 854
Ukhombe 842
Ukhuko 378
Ukucokoza 883
Ukugcuntsa 854
Ukuhlaba intsema 854
Ukutyida 882
Ukuxonxa 852
Ulibo 819
Ulobo 363
Ulongolongo 836
Ulugxa 235, 364
Uluthi 845
Uluzi 160, 418
Umabope 814
Umatshawe 856
Umbangandlala 836
Umbhaco 541
Umcinga 836
Umdiliko 358
Umdlanga 820
Umfincafincane 740
Umgadu 556, 602
Umgodla 238
Umgogo 358
Umgqungu 712
Umgqwetho 528
Umgweba 324
Umhlabelo 818
Umhlakulo 235
Umhlambi 596
Umhlangwe 264
Umhlanti 819
Umhlebe 235
Umhlele 840
Umhilonto 816
Umhlunza 426
Umyingo 77, 856
Umyjuwelane 666
Umkhala 873
Umkhandi 123
Umkhombe 268, 842, 874
Umkhonto 334
Umkhwinti 160, 163, 534
Umkrolo 322
Umlobothi 363
Umlokithi 124
ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Umngqungu 744, 745
Umngayi 322, 360
Umnqwazi 550, 666
Umngqiwu 77
Umnweba 178, 182, 528
Umnyamanzi 750
Umnyami 376
Umnyibilikisi 123
Umphanda 422
Umphanyiso 77
Umgangala 838
Umaange 838
Umghoboka 666
Umgobo 72
Umg@olo 73
Umgqogoba 682
Umqunga 838
Umaqwashube 324
Umrubhe 838
Umsele 72
Umsenge 264, 282, 840
Umsesane 674
Umsila 604
Umsimbithi 322
Umsimelelo 322
Umsingizane 163, 554
Umtamvuna River 15, 16, 135
Umtata 97
Umtata River 135, 235, 529
Umtata Mouth 363
Umthangala 358
Umthathi 235, 418
Umthenene 707
Umthentsema 324
Umthi 811
Umthika 588, 591
Umthombothi 198, 670, 814
Umtshayelo 376, 541
Umtshinge 840
Umtshingo 842
Umtyibiliza 856
Umxhaka 658, 660
Umxholo 324
Umya 742
Umzane 198
Umzimvubu River 16, 198, 520
Undergarment 536
Ungquphantsi 66-72, 809, 820
Unocweba 856
Unontswintswintswi 602
Unopopi 854
Unyati 162, 238
Uphondo 810, 811, 818
Ughwemesha 536, 678
Uqogo 882
Urera tenax 160
Uselwa 838
Usinga 536, 836
Utensils 435, 437, 882
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 933
Uthango 84 Wild olive 322
Uthinti 856 Willowvale 96, 139, 159
Uthiywa 358 Windows 74
Uthwisha 430 Winnowing 238, 239, 409
Utulo 283 Wire 125, 126, 672, 836
Uvimba 99 anklets 680
Uvuluvulu 845 bangles 127
Uvungu 845 girdles 678
Uvuvu 845 Witchcraft 811
Uzingati 321 Witchdoctor 591
Uzungu 321 Women’s dress 534—553
Wood 143-146, 160, 210, 322, 335, 418, 420,
Y 422, 428, 670, 746, 881, 883
-vamba 682 carver 126, 146
Van Riebeeck 235 carving 143, 146, 210, 890; Pl. 25
Vegetables 38 medicines 811
Vehicles 262 objects 144-145, 210, 428
Veil 596, 598, 600 pipes 748, 750, 751
Velskoen 529 trade 751
Venda 657 snuff-spoon 756
Venice 199 spade 234
Ventilation 74 spears 319
Vepris lanceolata 198 uses 144-145
Village 36 utensils 146
Visitors 37, 85 vessels 428, 430
Vultures 821 Wraps 558
Vundla 67, 70, 542, 544, 552, 556, 558, 587, Wrecks 16, 18, 135, 198, 213, 235, 363, 434,
602 670
Ww xX
Waistband 661 Kesibe 15,96, 123.124, 136.437. 138. 139)
Walls 74, 75, 207 162, 186, 189, 209, 210, 213, 264, 279,
War 319, 338, 434, 588, 670, 819 282, 321. 363, 378, 412, 414, 420: 42
dance 588, 590, 839 436; 522, 524. 532. 534. 536, 540:.5410
War feathers (crane wings) 319 548, 552, 555, 556, 591, 594, 600, 660,
Warrant 604, 887 6706 684. 708; 712, 744. 756, 81t, SL:
Warriors 588, 590, 886, 890 816, 820, 822, 836, 838, 840, 844, 856,
head-dress 886 882, 883, 886, 892
Washing blue 208, 558 Xhosa 15; 16. 17,18. 19. 36,572)39., 65, 66, 'G7-
Water-pipe 742, 746, 882, 888 10: 84298) S100) 193" 193, 194s AS Ge
Wattle 836 (35.136, 138, 139, 145. 148., 4605 tot
Wattle work 163 162, 179, 182, 183, 189, 198, 199, 208,
Wax 530, 811 209. 2100210. 212 213." 23354 255, ecole
Weapons 319-339, 355, 430, 434, 436, 438, 881 264. 266, 270: 280, 282, 319 321... 326.
storage 77 328. 330) 334. 335), 338. 339 355, Boo:
Weeding 234 364, 412, 414, 420, 424, 426, 428, 430,
Weddings 261 A357, 434.435: 4356, 438. 5209224 524-
Whetstone 189, 283 529, 530, 532, 534, 536-540, 542, 546,
Whey 266 550, 552, 554, 555, 588, 591, 594, 596,
Whip 359, 713 598, 600, 602, 604, 657, 660, 664, 666,
Whisk 409, 426, 604, 707, 713 668, 672, 674, 676, 678, 680, 682,
Whistles 186, 262, 835, 840, 842, 887 JOT-T1A. 744. 746; TS 754= 756.
White 592, 709, 883, 888 809-814, 816, 819-822, 836, 838, 839,
significance 888 840, 842, 844, 845, 854, 856, 867, 868,
White flag 820 873, 874, 882-884, 885-888, 890, 891.
White ironwood 198 892
Widower 78 Y
Widows 554
Wild-cat skin 179, 538 Yellow colouring 710
934 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Z i Zine 751
Zionists 844
Zea mays 234 Zulu 15, 122) 13594137
‘Zimbabwe baskets’ 165
INDEX TO XHOSA TERMS
Terms are arranged by stem, disregarding prefix and grouping related sounds of the first
syllable together as shown in the headings.
Numbers are those assigned serially to ‘Terms’ in the text (see p. 449).
= imbokotho 144 578
isambalo 834 imbokothwa 144 578
isanda 329 imbokothwe 144 578
isando 136 384 imbola 299 939
utyani 216 ibhoma 182 1018
imbombe 605
b bh mb isibonda 37
isi ubondo 609
eee imbongisa 1077
imbadada 716 ibhoso 390
ibhaku 644 imbothoza 856
ibala 17 ibhotwe 8
isibhalala 671 751 ae oe oe
ibamba 261 ; tae “—
imbande 1052 eee ae)
ibhanti 676 889 ieee. 301
imbasa 790
isibatha 478
isabatha 480
isimbatyulo 332
isibaya 95 330
ibayi 622 655
isibazelo 154 373
isibazo 140 394
amambece 1074
ubhedali 646
isibhuku 513
isibhulo 331
ibumba 142
imbumba yamanyama 238
ibhunguza 410
c ch ge ngc nec nke
ingca 189
-gcabha 258
ubhedu 128 ungcaba 436
imbeka 518 673 igcabhe 229 623
ubeko 474 ingcaca 793
imbeleko 720
imbelempe 1060
umbelesi 50
umbeleso 49
umbeletsho 688
ibemba 217
ubendle 203 685
ububendle 686
imbenga 356
ubengo 754
ubengu 1001
umbese 397 876
isicangca 521
ichachawe 695
umgcadu 666
incagu 588
icaguba 917 996
isicaguba 917 996
incakuba 917 996
umcakulo 566
incaluba 186 761
incaluka 186 761
isicamba 520
ingcambane 503 739
umbeso 396 ichancasi 183
isibhexo 1099 isicanda 796
imbeza 923 icandantloko 792
ibiba 256 ucango 61
imbica 860 ingcaphe 985
ubhijo 204 855
ingcawu 776
umbhingo 689 incaza 967
imbiza 146 586 ingcaza 589
imbokodo 144 578 inkcaza 929
imbokodwa 144 578 iceba 1000
imbokodwe 144 578 ingcebe 535
ubokomela 1047 1059 incebetsha 993
935
936 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
incebetha 674 729
ugcedevu 593
ingceke 536 738 941
ichele 786
umngcele 55
incema 187
incembu 471
isicheme 343
isicemfu 896
ingcengce 892
ungcenge 900
icephe 603
umcephe 153 567 1014
ungcetsha 715
icici 807
isiciko 102 148 616
isicina 1105
umcinga 1042
ucingo 129
incitsho 708
inchitywa 940
iciyane 298
unonkciyana wesinge 903
inkciyo 696
ingcobo 632
isigcobo 504 522 966
issikoko 633
-cokoza_ 1109
umchokose 1110
ingcola 461
isicholo 47
isacholo 867
isiwocholo 868
umncongo 450
ingcongolo 980 1050
ichontsi 728
incopho 44
isichopho 514
umngcoyazana 354
icuba 962
isicubha 813
ingcubula 683
inkcukumiso 475
umchula 598
incula 599
ucumse 301 943
-gcuntsa 1084
isigcuntsa 1080
ingcwaba 1029
izichwe 1023
unocweba 1076
ucwecwe 610
icwilika 574
igcwilika 402
d nd
isidabane 725
indabula 891
udaka 63
udalo 425
isidanga 742 835
indawule 1010
indebe 537 558
indembu 470
umdiki 944
idiliza 787 822
isidimba 698
udini 111
idobo 43
udobo 496
indondo 125
udondolo 426
udongwe 141
umdongwe 143
iduku 576
induku 415
udukudo 611
idukwe 636
isiduli 166
isiduluka 721
idumnyasi 788
umdunuso 800
idunyasi 789
isidwangube 757
udwangudwangu 672
indwe 723
isindwe 724
izindwe 748
dl ndl
isidla 712 972
udladla 112
idladla 113
idlaka 1031
umdlanga 1026
isidlangalala 130
udlawu 137 843
idlelo 989
idiiwa 149 555
isidlokolo 731
indu 7 22
indlu yempuku Dd)
indlu yenkuku 366
isidlukulu 732
indlwana yenkuku 363
dy ndy
indyilo 714 888
undyilo 714 888
unondyola 774
undyulo 714 888
indyulu 775
f
ifaba 681
isifaco 836
ifathuse 777
isite)
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
isifikane 837 937
isifingo 57
amafutha 736
imfutho 132
isifutho 133
§ ng
igaba 313
igabha 808
-gabethela 648
ingadla 997
ugaga 234 525
igalaka 274
igalawe 275
umgangatho 64
isigangatho 399
umgazi 287
ugempe 1054
igesi 916
ungeshe 817 844
unongeshana 289
umgexo 899
umgibe 486
unoginggi 904
unoginggi-omkhulu 905
ingobe 114
ingobiso 403
ingobo 107
umgobongo 649
ingobozi 337 538
umgodla 334
isigodlo 262 438 981 1057
umgodlo 335
umasigojana 875
umgolombane 877
ugolomi 882
igolomi 778 883
igolonxa 84
ungogo 713
ungonkgo 713
ugonggo 713
umgongo 364
umgoqo 487
igoso 495
isigoxo 743
isigu 481
umgubasi 65
ingubo 659
igubu 556 1032
isigubu 563 1012
igudu 976
igula 557 990
igumbi 70 1028
ugumpu 1037
iguni 1076
igusha 656
iguza 991
igwada 963
ingwagwa 810
ugwali 1056
igwane 85 385
isigwe 481
isigweba 419
isagweba 419
umgweba 429
igwegwe 386
isigwegwe 387
ugwegwe 388
ingweletshetshe 449
ingwetshe 150 559
umgwigwi 207
h
uhadi 1038
umahambehlala 528
amahobo 806
isihombo 770
hi tl ntl
ilintla 71-
umhlaba 255
intlabo 382
amahlahlazo 1061
umhlakulo 317
ihlala 945
isihlalo 523
ubuhlalu 286 755
intlalula 918
uhlalutye 267
umhlambi 749
uhlanga 919
uhlango 62
isihlangu 453 717
umhlangwe 176
umhlanti 1015
ubuhlanti 94
umhlapho 241
umhlebe 165
umhlehlo 845
umhleli 164
isihlenga 602 1100
isihlengo 550
isihlomo 726
isihlungulo 551
umhlunguthi 175
umhlunza 606
isihluzo 552
intluzo 549
intlwayelelo 336
j nj
imijajo 890
ijako 33
elon OTF
umjewulane 801
ujewulani 801
O37
938 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
injica 861
ijikazi 809
ujikelo 647
umjikelo 639
injikijane 416
ujiko 772 inkondlo 926
injikwe 1033 inkondlwane 925
umjila 803 inkongo (1:inkéngd) 11 80
ujilo 18 451
ujingijingi 90
umjingo 89 1086
ujojo 428
ujojosi 40
isijoka 982
isijokla 982
isitshoka (pron. tj) 982
ijoma 539 583
ijomo 540 584
ono 978
k kh nk
inkaca 1063
inkahla 1063
amakhahlazo 1061
inkohlomba 440
inkohlombe 440
ikhohlombe 439
umkhombe 355 531 1101
inkomfe 190
inkongo (2) 590
inkonjane 467
isikhonkwane 250
unkontsho 652
umkhonto 454
isikhonxo 838
ikhopolo 854
ukhotso 897
ikoyi 15 105
ikhuba . 314
isikhuba 315
umkhuba 430
ikhubalo 1002
ukhuko 527
inkuluko 280
isikhumba 233
ikhaka 446 umkhumbi 355 531 1101
isikhaka 684 inkundla 16
ikhala 19 isankuni 1036
ikhala 846 isikhunjane 1065
umkhala 347 847 1094
ikhamandela 468
ikhamanga 824
ukhamba 594
-khanda 120
isikhandelo 135 372
umkhandi 121
isikhando 122
umkhando 123
ukhanju 1083
inkankani 779
isikankuru 1043
umkhusane 77
inkusane 79
ikhuselo 75
isikhuselo 76
umkhuselo 83
ikhusi 74
ikhutshu 658
ikhutha 237
ikhwane 184
isankwane 638
isikwelo 318
isikhwetha 1022
ikhanzi 585 isikhwili 319
umkhanzi 526 ukhwili 319
ikapu 869 umkhwinti 208 678 690 901
inkasayiya 908 inkwintshi 745 756
inkatha 46 960 inkwitshi 322 1079
isikhatha 445
ikhawu 447 1044 -
ikhaya 1 amalahle 134 308
ikhebenga 302 ulala 542
inkele 863 lala 118
inkelo 811 ilala 223 534
isinkempe 466 umlala 227 554
inkethe 278 isilanda 181 251 376 494
isikhetho 600 ulatawula 29
ukhezo 612 ubulawu 935
isikhibi 699 ilengalenga 78
inkinge 1034 isilevu 196
inkithi-nkithi 279 isileyi 333 1096
umkhoba 507 isilili 72
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 939
unomlilwana 842
umliza 857 912
ulobo 497
umlobothi 498
umlomo 115
ilontawuli 29
ulontawuli 29
isiludu 340 543
isilulu 103 339
isilumeko 998
ubulunga 1006
umlungumabele 167
m
umasigojana 875
imela 392 922
isimiso 38
n
umnatha 499
isando 136 384
undyola 774
ineri 983
umnga 309
umnimbithi 163
unonkciyana wesinge 903
unocweba_ 1076
unomlilwana 842
unomtidili 693
unondyola 774
umnonono 158
unoxhalisa 873
ilintla 71
umnungumabele 167
umnweba 667
unwele 215
amanzi 785
ny
unyaba 634
amanyama 236
umnyamanzi 174
inyangane 249 266
isinyangane 249 266
isinyango 1003
umnyango 66
unyango 14
inyango 13 108
umnyani 512
unyati 342
inyatyhoba 180 248 374
unyawo lwenkuku 1075
umnyazi 544
unyazi 342
inyembe 389 404 780 1055
inyengane 249 266
-nyibilikisa 119
inyilingo 894
unyilingo 895
isinyithi 124
unyiwa 290
oO
isongulo 601
p ph mp
iphaca 711
uphahla 42
impahla 630
isipaji 953
impalane 235 624
impalo 239
iphamba 311
umphambo 310 621
umphanda 595
umphanyiso 93
ummpantsho 651
umphantsho 650
impehla 383
iphehla 938
impeko 979
ipheko 979
umpheko 979
amapheli 1087
amaphelisi 1087
impempe 1053
iphempe 30 1019
iphenyane 1098
impepho 277 828
isaphetha 408 479
isiphetha 409 472
iphethelo 660
isiphethelo 661
umphetho 529
umphica 205 831 878
impikwane 722
isipili 851
isipiliti 886
iphinga 740
impingelo 218
isiphingo 197
iphini 581 608
umphini 371
impiso 587
impobole 791
iphoco 293 830
impokela 640
impondla 414
uphondo 264 999 1016 1058
amaphondo 853
iphondwana 769
unompondwana 768
uphongolo 443 508
umphongolo 444 509 532
unopopi 1072
umphoso 669
umphoswa 668
940 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
-photha 228 642 iqindiva 502
iphothane 641 -qingga 1112
isiphothe 797 isigqiqi 420
iphotho 832 ingqithi 921
-phuca 1085 umngiwu 92
umpuku 816 unqiwu-nqiwu 1089
iphunga 741 ighiya 643
umqobo 67
q gh gq ngq ng nkq isiqobo 58 252
amaqabelo 452 umqhoboka 804
igqabi 781 umqoboka 827
iqabo 303 umqoboko 827
umgqabo 304 iqhobozela 823
igqabo 306 iqobozela 823
isigqabo 305 uqogo 437
umggabo 307 isiqoko 561
umgadi 41 igqgoko 448
ighaga 524 952 992 umqokoza 635
ingagu 588 iggola 412
iqakatha 418a isiqholo 933
iqakathi 418a ubugholo 934
iqaku 560 umqolo 34
ingqgalo 350 1093 ingoloba 365
inqaluka 349 1092 ingomfiya 1035
ingqalutye 1078 uggonci 157
isiqham 663 iqonga 86 109 323° S505 mei025
ingqambu 473 umqonga 517
umgqamelo 516 imiqonga 247
iqamesi 351 iggongo 592
iqampu 375 uggongo 592
ighamthwa 10 359 igqgongwe 592
iqanda 283 iqoga 865 914 1046
ingganda 463 inggonggo 1045
umnqando 91 uqogo 1104
isiqandulo 381 ingqogo 859
ingqandulo 271 380 inqgora 607
iqangalaba 573 iqghosha 763
umgange 1039 umghosha 764
umghaphu 691 ingqgosha 829
ingashela 909 1062 inggotho 240
ingatshi 956 ingotyi 709
inqawa 984 ingqowa 946
ingqayi 147 591 igqudu 413
umngqayi 159 431 inqugwala 26
ingqaza 782 794 inqugwale 26
umgheba 620 inqugwane 26
igqebha 411 iquku 4185
isigqeba 9 umqukumbelo 625
igegu 348 1091 ingqukumbelo 626
ugelezane 312 ighula 765
umnggephe 569 iqhulaghosha 766
umggephe 568 umghulo 767
igeru 492 umnguma 168
igqesha 677 887 inquma 795
umngqi 848 iqumra 300
igqila 704 umqungu 209
ingqili 5 23 umngqungu 500 974
iqgina 257 930 ungquphantsi 24
ighina 491 ugguphu 1082
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 941
isiqhugho 924
isiqutsi 1024
isingqusho 579
ingqwamba 1064
umnqwane 177
inqwanqwa 117
ugqwangxe 427
umqwashube 173
isiqwayi 423
umnqwazi 51 653 733 805
uqhwemesha 679 902
umghwemesha 679 902
isiqweqwe 798 839
ighweru 493
umgqwetho 665
r kr gr
inkralula 918
urasi 194
irashu 193
iratshu 193
irawu 812
umraxa 703
ikrele 328
irengqa 327
irengge 327
irintyelo 476
urolo 1111
umkrolo 432
urontabile 29
irontawuli 29
urontawuli 29
umrubhe 1040
ikrwana 464
umrwane 783
irwantse 866
irwantsi 195
umkrwege 442
irwintsela 719
s ts nts
isitsaba 744 799 911
isala 730
isango 97 490
intsawula 324
intsawulo 325
intseka 833 893
umtseke 880
intsekelezana 910
umseki 897
isisele 101
umsele 68 469
iselwa 151 562
intsema 188
ubusengi 906
isepa 931
isepu 931
umsesane 881
intsika 36
umsila 753
isila 654
isisilasenkuku 645
intsilathi .230 455
intsimbane 191
intsimbi 126 282
umsimbithi 156
umsimelelo 433
utsinatsina 818
isinda 870
isisinga 219 346 482
usinga 222 246 1041
umsingizane 211
umsintsi 170
isisitheliso 82
intsiyani 682
iliso 276 819
isolotya 771
intsontelelo 226 864
intsontelo 225
intsuba 362
umsubhe 826
umsuka (+) 458
umsuka (2) 212
isisukulo 1004
isundu 198 746
umsundulo 213 245
umsunto 459
imisuphu 825
isuthu 1020
uswazi 326 959
umswi 288
umswibhu 885
unontswintswintswi 752
sh tsh ntsh (pron. ntj)
itshali 631 705
itshalo 152 564
isitshape 701
umtshayelo 511
isitshayelo 510
isitshayo 964
itshaza 815
intshazi 975
umtshekezelo 694
intshengece 155 268 393
intshengula 995
intshephe 281
isitshetshe 395 928
inshikica 862
intshinga 637 762
umtshinge 1051
-tshiza 1106
-tshizatshiza 1108
itshoba 220 957 1011
isitshoka (pron. tj) 982
isishuba 700 706
isitshuba 707
intshulana 597
942 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
intshuntshe 462
itshwili 1081
t th nt
ithala 87 533 1095
umthala 214
ithambo 145 263 285 1009
intambo 242 477
isithambo 483
uthambo 488
ithanga 3
uthango 20 96
umthantatho 1097
itantyisi 820
itasi 955
umthathi 160 530
isithebe 546
sintela 284
intelezi 932
isithembiso 28
ithembu 48 199
intendelezo 81
umthenenende 161
umthentsema 171
utetuma 291
umthi 1007
uluthi 39 441 457
uthi 39 441 457
izinti 39 441 457
umtidili 692
unomtidili 693
umthika 727 734
umtila 596
isintilo 580
uthiniko 613
ithinta 1030
uthinti 1090
umthinto 259
isithiyo 484
isitofile 954
utolo 405
umtolo 406
isithombothi 172
umthombothi 178 850 1008
isithomo 1070
intonga 417
intonga sesingqusho 582
ithonto 1021
umthubi 784
isitulo 515
utulo 54 398
ithumbu 841
-thunga 53
ithunga 357
intungele 519
ithungelo 27
intungo 35
amathuphasi 915
ithwathwa 232
umthwebeba 297
ithwebu 200
umthwekesha 670
uthwisha 615
ntl see hi
ntsh see sh
ty nty tyh
umtya 244 345 407 680 858
ulutya 243 898
isitya 358 541 548
utyabeka 69
utyani 216
amatyhantyala 272
ilitye 106. 265 577 S6i
ityeba 221
ityenisi 231
umtyibiliza 1088
-tyhida 988 1102
-tywina 294
itywina 295
utywino 296 460
Vv mv
imvaba 361
isivalo 56 852
umvalo 100
umvambo 920
uvatsi 572
uvathi 571
ivenge 1048
umvinkci 434
isivinkci 434
isivingco 617
isivingcwa 618
imviko 352
uviko 353 489
isiviliba 814
uvimba 12 116
isivimbo 619
umvingi 434
isivinkqi 434
umvingikazi 435
isivivane 1017
ivovo 553
uvuluvulu 1068
ubuvumba 936
uvungu 1069
uvuvu 1067
Ww
isiwahlane 1066
umwahlwa 750
iwara 565
iwatsha 871
iwatshi 735
iwisa 424
isiwiso 485
x xh gx ngx nx nkx
ulugxa 320
isigxa 321
ixaba 59
igxaba 737
ingxabela 367
isigxabo 421
ugxabo 422
ixabo 60
umxhaka 758
-xakatha 628
ixakatho 629 664
umxakatho 627
unoxhalisa 873
ixhalisa 874
umgxam 260
ixamba 506 973
uxande 31
ixhanti 98 110
umgxashe 802
isixathula 718
isixhaxha 369
uxhaxhazo 913
inxaxhazo 292
ixhayi 88 254 1013
isixazi 547
uxazisuka 950
umnxeba 52 210
igxebeka 604
isixengxe 253 368 400
inxesha 697
ingxiba 710
rox, 951 971
umnxilo 849
ingximba 45 224
isiximba 104 341
iximeya 987
iximheya 987
ixina 127
umgxina 162
inxindeba 986
inxindebe 986
inxineba 986
ixilongo 1049
inxiwa 6
ingxiwa 947 968
isingxobho 344
ingxobonga 316
ixhobongo 32
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 943
ixokama 456
inkxola 138 269 378
isixholo 139 270 379
umxholo 1103
ixolo 201
isigxoloxwana 760
ixonya 202
ixonye 202
ixhosha 675
inxowa 6
ingxowa 338 948 969
ingxowa yokutshayela 970
-xonxa 1071
ixonxo 747
isixubo 927
igxugesha 657
ingxuwa 949
inxuwa 6
ingxwala 942
imixhwayo 884
4
umya 965
isiyaca 702
isiyeye 840
iyeza 1005
iyila 273 821
Z NZ
isiza 4
izinzabela 872
izaka 465
uzamiso 614
umzane 169
inzeku 759
izembe 370 401
umzi (1: umzi, pl. imizi) 2
umzi (2: umzi, pl. imizi) 185
uluzi 206 575
inzica 192
iziko® 75: 131
izazobe 1107
uzwathi 570
umzwazwa 545
uzwazwa 179 501
iziniya 958
inziniya 958
izwiniya 958
inzwiniya 958
INDEXES TO ILLUSTRATIONS
Numbers refer to plates, unless ‘Fig.’ is specified.
1. PERSONS (AUTHORS, ARTISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, COLLECTORS AND OTHERS)
Angas 73:2; Fig. 19 Kidd - 12:3, 35:1, 74:3; 97-2210 ea
Bain 73216 73:35 7354 Kirby 90:1
Baines 46, 90:4, 93:1 Koba 47:6
Bangazeta 73:1 Kosani 71:4
Bell, Charles 37:4, 89, 90:1; Fig. 21 Kreh= 9223
Beukes _ 36:3536:4, 36:55 105347 110:2 Lichtenstein 69:2
Biden, C.L. .~ 94:5 Ieweas’ 5:1
Bisset, Charles 70:1, 72:1 Ludwillo 73:3
BicckDrw. Hole 7521 7523, 92:3 Lawton, A. 79:2
Botha Sigcau see Sigcau, Botha Madzikane 119:2
Bowler 10:2 Mahota 97:6
Brownlee, F. 66:11 Naested, H.M. 56:4
Camp 113:6 Namantaza 73:2
Canter Eee I2i3 Nauhaus 20:2, 41:7
Clarke; Mrs'F. 31:5, 32:5, 3525;-50:46226 Officer, 21st Light Dragoons 68:3
Coba 47:6, 68:2, 69:3 Officer, 43rd Light Infantry 17:1
Cronin see Duggan-Cronin Omgedie 73:4
Damo 92:5 Raath, MrsE. 86:4
Daniell 36:2, 45:4, 68:4, 69:1 Ratzel 26:4, 66:1, 66:4, 66:9, 74:1, 74:2,
Darel) 121 77:4
Dema 92:3 Schonland, F. 61:4, 67:5
Duggan-Cronin, A.M. 39:6, 78:5, 94:6 Schumacher see Gordon
Dugmore,[A.] 45:2 Shaw, E. M.. 7:1, 27:77 28:5 579-35
Elliott 89 11325; 11S2Os Iss
England, Sir Richard 28:1, 69:4, 71:3 Sigcau, Botha 8:3
Eyre, Col. 46, 90:4 Sigcau, Zwelidumile 76:1, 92:2
Faku 73:1 Smyth 13:3
Gordon, R. 47:6, 68:1, 68:2, 69:3, 96:3, Somerset,General 90:4
9726 Sparrman 27:1, 37:3
Hamilton-Welsh 81:1, 81:2, 82:1, 82:2, Tooke see Hammond-Tooke
Soe 1E 8372, 92-1, 9254 Tudhope,G.N. 96:2
Hammond-Tooke 59:5 Two Officers, 43rd Light Infantry 17:1
Ons; Fe 33:15 70245 7025, Fists 7122, 7124, ——* Velcich, G2 2551-25: 2a
TPR TEB SS EE SESE OWES) Vova 79:2
J. W. see W(alker?), J. W(alker?), J. 34:2, 36:15 37-2539.4347-4-
Jeffreys 99:4, 103:1, 103:3, 104:4, 112:3, O02
eels 4 Welsh see Hamilton-Welsh
Jurgens 91:1, 91:2 Xotami 92:3
Kay 96:4 Zwelidumile Sigcau see Sigcau, Zwelidumile
2. INSTITUTIONS
Africana Museum, Johannesburg: paintings British Museum, London: 39:1, 44:3, 70:3,
and drawings: 28:1, 33:1, 46, 47:4, 107:3, 107: 4; Fig. 18
69:4, 70:1, 70:4, 70:5, 71:1, 71:2, 71:3, Cape Archives, Cape Town: paintings:
DCR MBS PES IPPON Welle 1686 (eee y 37:4, 89, 90:1; Fig. 21
SOME 90-27 9053590249225, 931 Duggan-Cronin Gallery, Kimberley: 39:6
Albany Museum, Grahamstown: 9:3, 26:2, East London Museum: 21:5, 21:6, 22:5,
Ail Ale OS 53571 5924164165 1675 82-3. 23-1, 23:2, 24:5, 31735 33225 Aiea Ie
OiRa es 9453. 91-5, - 105ai 1096, <114=2- 92:2, 53:5, 62:2, 63:4266:519 o7-leega ele
AAS aes 1203120 24a M232 12523" 80:5, 83:4, 83:5, 86:2,,387:4 DR SeOlete
1237412347 > --paimtine: 72-1 101:3, 102:2, 108:5, 118225 MiS2setiSes
113:8, 11329, 113210; 116253 1G Ota ieG
944
, r i.
a iS ee a ee
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
Fort Hare Museum: 16:6, 30:9, 41:4, 42:5,
BPO 43: 6. 53-6,. 59423, doh 55:3, 57:5,
Pee T7812 1, 81:2, 82:1, 82:2, 83:1,
pope no22 192-4. 116: 15, 121:5, 12128
Kaffrarian Museum, King William’s Town:
42:1, 42:2, 43:12, 43:13, 66:10, 104:1,
ies, 117:2: Fig. 16
McGregor Museum, Kimberley:
photograph: 94:6
National Cultural History
Museum see Transvaal Museum
National Museum, Copenhagen: 56:4
Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford: Fig. 20
Port Elizabeth Museum: 44:5, 52:5, 65:4,
NOFE2. 10725
Queenstown Museum: 113:4
Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh: draw-
ings: 37:4
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: drawings: 47:6,
68:1, 68:2, 69:3, 96:3, 97:6
South African Museum, Cape Town: 18:6,
Mee S042 34:5, 35:2, 38:3, 4372, 43:3,
Hone 43:5, 43:6, 43:9, 43:10, 43:11,
43:14, 47:1, 47:3, 47:7, 48:1, 48:2, 48:3,
48:4, 48:5, 48:6, 48:7, 48:8, 48:14, 51:1,
eee. 4. 52-7. 61:6, 62:1, 63:1, 66:3,
G92 5-709:6, 70:2, 74:4, 83:3, 84:2, 84:3;
peeeeoe!. 99:2. 99:4, 100:2; 100:3,
HOGe4 10026, 101-8, 101:9, 103:1, 103:3,
104:4, 106:3, 106:4, 108:1, 109:2, 109:3,
mOowentiOst, 11:2, 112:1, 112:3, 114:1,
39!'6:) 65: 7-
and Open-Air
945
(14S Se Se 3) AIS 4S 252
15265 1G: 2 i623. 624 63S 7- A
PS: 4 e214 122-35 “drawines:” 11325;
113382 photographs: 721," 27275 28:5,
Ade 2 Sa eo ns Oe Oa OD oe
96:2; Figs 15, 22; University of ‘Cape
Town loan? 22 1042-7 4815266: 7,
112:4
Statens Etnografiska Museum, Stockholm:
DIA BI3. le
Stellenbosch University: 99:1
Transvaal Museum, Pretoria (ethnographic
material now transferred to the National
Cultural History and Open-Air
Museum)e19:8; 20:35 20:45 20:55 20:6;
2029) le De Ole AN ieee DOE
-" A 21D) LO 822) 2S Oa load D924
eoist; Sled. S221. S550, oe 44 Sere.
aon de Adel 132 S22 Soa OD aa98
4D JOD. JOlo" D655) i one 4
2) DO 4 9 0024) Olls4 O22 AOS.
, 6421, G06; 6628, 662115 66:12,
67225-67:3, 7723; 728., (129% 80762041
9474, 98:3, 99235, 1002 i, 10025, 100r7:
10154, 10126; 102:5;- 104-3, 106: 5,2106:6;
106: 7, 10822, 108:3; 108:4,, 10925, 110:4:
113: 01, 1146, 114e7, 121:2>> photo=
graphs: 36:3, 36:4, 36:5, 105:4, 110:2
University of Cape Town see South African
Museum
3. LOCALITIES
Abelungu loc., on coast, Elliotdale 63:3
Addo 23:1
Albany 77:3
Alice 42:5, 43:8
Aylesby, 23 km W Grahamstown 67:5
Bashee River Mouth 105:1
Bathurst 94:3
Bwana. 28:7, 38:3, 42:3, 53:9, 57:2,
Poe 200: 4.166:6, 81:1, 82:1
Baziya, 34 km W Umtata 36:3, 98:3, 100:1,
MOOES2 100: 7, 106:5, 106: 6, 106:7
Beacon site, Durban 113:8
Bluebush, not identified 43:11
Boepeletsa, 9 km WSW Moyeni,
tho 79:2
Bojeni, 11 km W Willowvale 4:1, 7:2, 17:4,
Beals. 4274. 43-7, 49:1, 52:8, 63:5,
98:4, 107:6, 122:4
Butterworth 90:4, 109:7
alam 2 35276557722, 115: 6; Fig. 22
Cathcart 109:6
Clarkebury 15:1
Cofimvaba 83:1, 83:2, 92:1, 120:1
Leso-
Debe Nek, 26 km W _ King William’s
Town 2322
Dwessa, 27 km SE Willowvale 17:3, 28:4,
30: 123124, 40: 49-22-5021
East London 80:5, 83:4, 83:5, 108:5, 113:5
Elhotdale 1:2 4:22 6: by 9s 143 1928:
2021, 20: 3—6,, 2027, 20:8; 20392725:
2736, 2832, 29:3. 2924) 301502521 S0n6:
St: 31:2. 3221. 3224-73974 65550-.50--
38:2 38:45 5922. 39:3) 42: 64524-41555
48:14." 48:15. Si:3. S3ol> S552) Ae
56:2, 56:55 5823; 59:3. 60:3) OFS 6322,
63:3, 64:1, 0427. 67:2. 80: 1-78022.,80:5;
80:4, 80:6, 94:1, 94:4, 98:6, 99:3, 101:4,
104:3, 108:9, 109:1, 109:5, 110:2, 110:3,
112:2. 113831 SS hte eee:
121 63Fips 15
Elubaleko, 13 km N Mt. Ayliff 3:1, 22:7,
Dart: 24:3. 244 24 30 6h 46: 10:
AS 15. 5324. S719 Lou Vole 1.
6122; 6223, 16452-56435 S718 6722. 8723,
87:5
Engcobo;* 6:2; 15: 15 62265 16:5, 9322, (03:2
946 ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
Fish River 47: 6,68: 1,68:2, 69:3,96:3, 97:6
Flagstaff 21:10, 43:2, 43:6, 47:1
Fort Beaufort 10:2
Fuller’s Hoek, near Fort Beaufort 10:2
Gqabantshi,5km SE Elhiotdale 6:4
Grahamstown 67:5
Guse, 26 km SE Elliotdale 1:2,.4:2, 9:1,
(423. 20335 2953)259° 3.6025, 63325 80-18
80:2, 80:3, 80:4, 98:6, 101:4
Haga-Haga, 39km SE Komga 79:3, 79:4
Harding 102:1
Healdtown 114:4
Hermon,8kmE Wepener 96:2
Herschel 98:2
Hogsback 59:4
Humansdorp 55:1
Idutywa 65:1, 65:2, 102:3, 118:2
Imizizi loc.,21 km SE Bizana 53:9
King William’s Town 43:12, 43:13
Komga 25:1, 111:4, 113:6
Bibode 7238 1532) 15335 18a 19M. 2623.
DS Boers, Sloe On CU EOn CORSS Silo Sees),
SIRs Seed), SO Ss OS el ea ces a, 11244
Lugangeni, 13 km NW Mt. Frere 2:3, 16:8,
DAD 24236) DAS sede on SOs ae
ISB) a7 yay ASS I) Oe a SUPA. OVS), CB Ros
66225977165 8822, 86855 6O245) 00255 952 be
522% 104225 10954 SIGs tO tii A- 9:2.
We
Lughoghweni, c. 16 km SSW Lusikisiki 21:1,
DYED DDB D27AS 2625) 291 29208, See
dey Goad OSs noo 70, GOnl 98-7. lO2Z26:
116:9, 120:2
Musikisikig 433.724 0e 550225103 lel? 14
De 21D OS, Disa Oi 218. One
DIN Ville Oy IPI Ne Pipe IES POSS) 5 PO
DORs, QUE Ts SAB il, S42 3)5 Sse il, S8ES, AIL
AVI OY AVIAN Alsi) “len Aiea cabsow)s Sule.
36765 54 03205 6454. 164: 6; 66:55 60512;
SOILS DSS5 GOA4E OSD, CHES testo, wreet ls
SORSOOs4 9h S, 96: 129825. 98-7, Ole 5S;
OIE O24 O02 6ss0237. 10522-slO7= Ae
LOSEOS 1116: 7 oltl6295 120: 2 12122 124.
123 a1e123-3 125-4
Malephe,8kmNTsolo 15:5
Mangeni, 24kmNW Umzimkulu 16:6
Mantusiniloc.,27km W Port St.Johns 63:1
Maghingeni,11kmENELibode 26:3
Mbobeleni, 13 kmNNELibode 7:3,53:3
Mbotyi, 19 km SE Lusikisiki 7:4, 12:1, 12:2,
14:2, 39:5, 85:8, 98:5
Meadowlands, Johannesburg 104:5, 104:6,
1O4 7122
Mgwenyana, 18 km E Libode 15:2, 15:3,
40:5, 49:3, 53:8, 53:10, 85:7
Middledrift 77:7,92:4,106:2
Mlengana,14kmELibode 81:2
Monteli (= Mt. Ayliff) 9:3
Mount Ayliff 3:1, 9:3, 22:7, 24:1, 24:3, 24:4,
24:7, 30:8, 31:3, 41:5, 41:6, 48: 10, 48: 15,
52:2, 53:4,-53:5, 5721, 5723; )593 a0
60:2, 60:5, 61:1, 61:2, 62:2)623 hese
64:3, 66:11, 66:13, 87:1, 87:2, 87:3, 87:4,
87:5, 91:5, 101:1, 10%:3) 102-23 ies
116:6
Mount Fletcher 30:9, 42:8, 53:6, 54:3
Mount Frere 2:3,. 16:8, 24:2,3 243657435.
21:2, 27:3, 28:3, 34235 38255542 0me sao,
45:5, 48: 11,,.48:12, 533255592 eaee
65:3, 66:2, 67:4, 77:6) 86255 Soslenae. 2:
88:3, 88:4, 88:5, Gi: 3, 94:5 95g 52 2e
104:2, 106:1,; 109:45) Ite 2 iGo:
1174; 11932" 12
Moyeni, Lesotho 79:2
Moyeni, 7kmN Libode 38:6
Mpimbo, 19 km NE Nggeleni 40:2, 40:4,
40:6, 64:8
Mganduli: 2:2, 6:3, 6:4, 12:44.13 2330-2
43; 1, 52:3, 61:4,. 6234, 75:24
77:8, 77:9, 78: 1, 785391 See LOG:
105: 4, 108:7, 108: 8, 114:9
Mthombe, 24 km NNE Libode 19:1-7
Ncambedlana,3kmN Umtata 8:2
Ncera, 11 km W Middledrft 77:7, 92:4,
106:2
Neqeleni - 3:2, 3:3,-9:45 10:43 ieee
11:3, 33:3, 33:4, 40:2; 40:4540:GmG4s:
66:8, 96:1, 114:7, 120:5, 120:6
Ngqunge, 35 km SW Umtata 78:2, 78:4
Nkanya, 34 km SE Elliotdale 20:1, 20:7, 20:8,
30:5, 30:6, 32245 35:6; 39225534 eoees
61255 6427, 103
Nkunzimbini, 10 km ENE Lusikisiki 66:5,
852102272 107s
Nomadolo, 15kmSNggeleni 33:3, 33:4
Nqamakwe 82:2
(tibane, 21 kmSENgqeleni 3:3
\tlabane, 21 km ESE Willowvale 59:6
Ntonjane, 40kmSE Mganduli 86:2
Ntontela, 31 km W Lusikisiki 64:6, 123:1,
13312574
Ntselamanzi, Alice 43:8
Ntshigo,6km NW Tsolo 91:4
Ntsimbini, 18 km SSE Nggeleni 3:2, 120:5,
120: 6
Nyandeni, 14km NNW Libode 55:3,57:5
Orlando farm, Addo, 50 km NNE Port Eliza-
betheZsel
Peddie 26:1, 42:1, 91:1, 91:2, 99:4, 103:1,
103:3, 104:4, 107:2, 1072355 (tase te
118:4
Port St. Johns 18:6, 21:95 31255 32-5ea2>5
50:4, 52:4, 60:6; 61276,°02-1 Ses sieeaoees
Ost
Qamata, 14km W Cofimvaba 83:1
Qawukeni, 13 km N Lusikisiki 8:3, 22:1,
22:6, 30:7, 44:4, 48:9; 1012S 2lGe7,
Qebe, 14kmNEngcobo 62:6, 103:2
Zh,
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI
Queenstown 45:2
Qwaninga, 6 km SW Willowvale 30:3, 55:4,
Meee Oie3., 16:2, 76:3. 16:4,'7626,, 77:5,
Base 97-4. 10374, 105:5,, 114:8,. 117:3,
2:2
Soto, 24km SSE Komga 25:1,111:4
Stokwe’s Basin loc., 20 km SW Cala 52:6
Thungwana, 19 km ESE Mganduli 13:2,
Woe. 75:4, 75:5, 108:7, 114:9
Trappes Valley, 11 km NE Bathurst 94:3
Tshonya, 13 km N Lusikisiki 4:3, 56:6,
86: 1, 86:3, 95:3, 102: 4, 105:2, 108:6
moans 5. 37:1: 52:1, 52:7, 56:1, 59:5,
65:6, 66:3, 82:3, 83:3, 84:1, 84:2, 84:3,
pa O1-4.. 10523, 106:4,.109:3, 112:1,
meee: 5. 123:2, 123:5, 123:6, 123:7
Tsomo 28:5, 65:5
Umslateni, farm near Debe Nek 23:2
Muanieost, $:2, 32:2, 36:3, 36:4, 52:5,
fee 76:4, 94:2, 98:3, 100:1, 100:5,
£0027; 106: 5, 106:6, 106:7, 114:6, 116:1
947
Umtata Mouth 50:5, 98:8
Umvume Springs, Mantusini loc., 27 km W
Port St. Johns*. 1836;:21-9- 30:4, 3il:5;
322952: 4,,6026) 612626251, 6924. 1104
Victoria East 41:4
Wepener 96:2
Willowvale 123, 4:1, 5:2, 7:23) Sal... 10:1,
10:34 133k, 14a 15:4, 1621, 16:25) .16:3,
16240116: 5607522 17-3. 1754 2523722834.
3031, '30:3, 32:3, 34:4, 40:1, 40:3. 4b 1
41:3, 4128, 42:4. 4327 49:1. 49:2. 50:1,
3022;- 50:3; 52:8, 95:4 58: fe 592636123.
6355; 04252 7651, 1632, 7023. 16:4. 7626,
Ve Se JEN 292-2 97:1, 97:3, 97:4, 98:4,
103: 4, LUS252 10726118 AES ia 3s
bd
#1723, S23, 12222, 122-4
Xalanga 27:4, 28:6, 35:3, 54:2, 56:3, 102:5,
108: 1
Zibungu, 24km NE Libode 18:1,27:8
Zingcuka, 10km WNW Tsolo 59:5
4. XHOSA TERMS
Arranged by stem disregarding prefix, and grouping related sounds of the first syllable
together as shown in the headings.
b bh mb
gmbobhaco 77:1, 81:2, 83:1, 83:2
imbambo zenja_ 10:4
ubambolwenja 9:4
isibaya 14:2
ibayi 83:5
amambece 124
imbelempe 121:6
mbiza 22:1, 22:2, 22:4
ubokomela 121:2
ibhoma 6:2
imbongi 92:2
amamboza 101:7
isibhulo 34:4
ibhunguza 42:5, 42:8
c ch ge ngc nec nke
isicangca 30:5, 30:6
ingcaca 97:4
isicamba 30:7, 30:8, 55:2
isicanda 98:5
ucango 9:3
ichantsi 91:3
mmeeayy 20:5. 20:6, 20:7, 20:8, 20:9, 21:4,
Paeieo t= S, 21:10
ingcaza 22:7, 24:2, 24:3, 24:6, 24:7
incebetha 74:4, 83:4, 105:4
ingceke 61:1, 61:2
ichele 98:7
icephe 66:2, 66:12, 67:4
umcephe 26:2, 64:3, 64:4, 64:6, 64:7
icici 101:5
izigcina 75:5
isigcina’sifuba 106:5
incitsho 77:6
inkciyo 77:3, 106:2
isigcobo 55:3, 55:4, 110:1, 110:4
ingcola 48:1, 48:9, 48:10
isicubha 102:4
d
isidanga 105:4, 105:5
udosuthando 104:2
induku 42:3, 43:1
indwe_ Fig. 20
dl
isidia, “7727; 7728, 77295 tao
udladla 17:2,17:4
udlawu 100: 1
idliwa 26:3, 38:6, 63:6
indlu yempuku 6:1
indlwana yenkuku 39:
f
imfutho
2,393 3539254023
19:8
g
igabha 102:3
igefe 50:5
ugempe 121:4
igesi 108:6
umgibe 49:1, 49:2
insobozi — 2724, 27: 57297363: 42 3922;,56:3
isigodlo 121:8
isangoma 82:2, 104:5, 104:6, 104:7, 106:4
948
gora(Khoiword) 121:5
umgubasi 9:1
ingubo yenyamakazi 92:1
igudu 113:1
ugumpu 26:5, 120:2, 120:3
ugwali 121:1
isagweba 42:4
h
uhadi 120:4
umahambehlala 30:9, 54:3
amahobho 79:1
ihoko 40:6
hl tl ntl
umhlakulo 34:5
uhlango 9:4, 11:1, 15:3
ubuhlanti 14:1
umhlehlo 100:5
intlombe 98:3
umhlontlo 119:1
umhlunza 67:5
intluzo (from -hluza) 30:2, 30:3, 61:3, 61:4,
(Ile SOA Ge(we le CLEW. Gwe. Gea!
intlwayelelo (from -hlwayela) 35:4, 35:6
j
ujewulane 98:8
ijulukugu 79:1
k kh nk
isikhaka 82:1, 82:2
isikrakasenkomo 105:4
umkhala 39:4
ukhamba 24:1
ikhanzie, 2223
inkasayiya 107:1
inkatha 40:1, 119:2
ikhawu 45:1, 45:3, 45:5
isikhetho 66:5, 66:6
inkezo 67:3
inkinge 120:5, 120:6
ikhohlombe 44:4
ikolofishi 50:5
umkhombe 52:8, 122:2, 122:4
inkohlwane 76:5
inkongom lon 21EOe 2122-5
inkonjane 48:3
amakhonkwane 33:2
ikhubalo 117:3
amakhubalo 75:5, 94:2, 118:2
ukhukho 30:7
nikchuko) 54: 15 54:2.7592 1
inkundla 4:1, 4:2, 4:3
isankwane 76:2?
umkhwetha 6:2, 93:2, 93:3
abakhwetha 6:2, 6:3, 6:4, 93:1, 94:1, 94:3,
94:4, 94:5, 94:6
ANNALS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM
isilanda 41:3, 41:4, 41:9
ulongolongo 121:7
isiludu 27:3, 28:5
isilulu 16:8
isilumeko 59:2
ubulunga 118:1, 118:3, 118:4
n
isanuse (from -nuka) 122:1
umnweba 92:1
ny
inyango 17:4
umnyango 9:1
inyatshoba 41:1
umnyazi 16:6, 16:7
inyembe 48:5
p ph mp
umphanda 19:1-7, 20:1, 20:3, 20:4, 22:6,
24:4, 24:8
iphempe 9:2, 86:2
impepho 99:1
imiphica 101:6
impobole 98:2
q qh gq ngq nq nkq
iqakathi 42:7
umiqamelo) 533155322
ingqanda 48:2, 48:11
umgqange 120:5
inqashele 107:6
inqgawa 114:1, 114:4, 114:5, 114:6, 114:7
ineqayi 2ieIy2ie 2 ies
izingqaza 98:4
umgqiki 53:6
ighina 49:4
iqhina-lemfene 49:4
ingqithi 108:8
ighiya 79:1
isiqobo 53:8
imigoboko 79:1
umghoboko 98:1
iqhobozela 101:4
iqgonga 34:1
umgonga 53:4, 53:5,53:7, 533959410
inggonggo 121:3
ingoqwam_ 106:7
igqgudu 42:9
inguma 97:1, 97:3
umqungo 29:4
umnqungu 51:3
ungquphantsi 5:2
umngqungqu 106:2, 110:3
ingqusho 63:2
isingqusho 65:3
umnqwazi 13:1, 91:3, 104:5
umghwemesha_ 106:3
THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE CAPE NGUNI 949
r kr gr intonjane 106:2
irinkcel 49:4 utulo 41:5, 41:6
ae ulutulo 41:8
irontawul al
irontawule 8 ithunga 38:1, 38:2, 38:3, 38:4, 38:5
irontawuli 8:2
umrubhe 120:1 ntl see hi
isirudu 35:3
ikrwana 48:6 ntsh see sh
irwantse 76:5 ty nty tyh
ee) 28:7 isifya 28:7, 29:2, 56:6) 57:1, 57:2,-57:3:
s ts nts S724) S23
isango 14:3, 49:4 Vv mv
isangoma see goma imvaba 39:1, 39:6
isanuse see nuse nivale’ 15°4
SE ee isivalo 108:7
isisele 16: 1-5 umvambo 108:6, 108:9
iselwa 63:3, 63:5
umsesane 102:5
lesiba (Sotho) 121:5
uvimba 7:2
ivovo 62:5
umsimelelo 43:7, 43:8, 105:4 Ww
Silat as umwahlwa 100:7
isuthu 6:4 :
’ x xh gx ngx nx nkx
sh tsh ntsh (pron. ntj) rash ores
itshali 81:1 ixamba 29:1, 51:2 ‘
itshalo 64:2 ixhanti 14:3
umshavelo 52:1, 52:2, 52:3, 52:4, 52:5, ixhayi 117:2
32:6, 52:7 inexKiba 4 77:2, 77:5
ae Te inxili 109:7, 111:1, 112:3, 112:4
itshengece 59:4 ingxowa 111:2,111:3
itshoba 109:4, 109:5
intshuntshe 48:4, 48:12 y
Pint umyeko 104:5, 104:6
a amayila 103:4
Raweecwote tot: 2. 31:3. 58:2, 58:3, 59:3,
59:5, 59:6, 60:3, 60:4, 60:5, 60:6 Zz
EE a ee izaka 48:8, 48:13, 48:14, 48:15
isithebe sokusila 58:1, 59:1 eee Se Sie
imithi yokweshwama_ 119:2 oe 41:7
ee ee imizi 27:7, 31:5
umthika weggira 92:4 Man uke
uthiniko 66:7, 67:2 “eee ie)
umthombothi 104:3 iziko 10:1
intonga 43:9, 43:10, 43:11, 44:1
Tei ce OL TT oe
ISSN 0303-2515 —
) HECKMAN
u BINDERY INC.
OCT 98
rm N. MANCHESTER,
- [Bound -To-Plas? INDIANA 46962
3 9088 01206 6171
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES
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