The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1931, Page 58

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58

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

the girdle hangs a row of wild-cat tails, and there
is a leather apron behind; but there is no clothing
on breast or shoulders unless, feeling chilly, they
have their blankets wrapped around them. The
old men are distinguished by a ring worn round
the crown of the head. Of yore it was the sign of
manhood and honor —of those who had ‘wetted
their spears’ in battle; but since the days of war-
fare have passed, the ring is becoming scarce. ‘We
have no men now,’ say the Zulus. The ring is
usually made of sinews or grass, woven into the
hair of the head and then rubbed with beeswax.
Every man has his stick beside him; one seldom

woman is remarkable and looks like a reddish sugar-
loaf cap: red clay and fat are worked into the hair
and the tight woolly curls are straightened out with
a stout wooden comb; the entire forehead is shaven,
and the top-knot is often decorated with flat bone
hairpins or snuff spoons. Every woman loves orna-
ments and has as many as she can afford — neck-
laces, bracelets, anklets, bands around legs or arms,
earrings, toe-rings, and sundry other decorations.
They are made of copper wire, or iron, or bead-work.
Some of these articles of adornment are remarkably
neat, the bead-work especially being in good taste.
The colors of the beads never clash, and the use of

Zulu Kraal.

sees a Zulu without one. Usually it is either a sort
of long walking-stick or else a knobkerrie, that is,
a stick about two feet long having a big round
head.”

Zulu Women.

“The women stand around watching our every
movement; they are erect, evidently well fed and
healthy, and move about with ease and grace. They
are accustomed to carry on their heads baskets of
grain or big calabashes of water or Kafir beer, and
there is no surer recipe for grace of figure. The
chief garment of the married women is a skirt of
' leather, so prepared as to be quite soft and flexible;

above this a blanket covers the upper part of the
body, usually worn under the armpits and leaving
the shoulders bare. ‘The head-dress of a married

blacks and whites is particularly effective. The
fashions, however, change continually, and of late
years there has unfortunately been a marked
tendency to adopt tawdry trinkets bought: from
traders.”

The Headman.

“While we are observing the attire of these
people, the headman makes his appearance, an
elderly man wrapped in a blanket and carrying the
inevitable stick, in this case an ebony one. He has
a stubbly gray beard and deep-set eyes —a typical
Zulu of the old sort. Seating himself on the ground
outside his hut and helping himself to liberal
pinches of snuff, he pretends not to notice us. It
would be very bad manners for us to speak first.
But after a while he turns in our direction and