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VSOUTH WEST AFRICA

MAP SHOWING ROUTE OF EXPEDITION
Scale; 1 inGlis229 miles; >— • — indicates route
Field Museum op Natural History
Pounded by Marshall Field, 1893
Publication 329
Anthropological Series Vol. XXI, No. 2
THE OVIMBUNDU OF ANGOLA

BY
Wilfrid D. Hambly
ASSISTANT CURATOR OP AFRICAN ETHNOLOGY
Frederick H. Rawson-Fibld Museum Ethnological Expedition

To West Africa, 1929-30
84 Plates in Photogravure and 1 Map
Bbrthold Laufhb
curator, dbpartmbnt op anthropology
EDITOR
CHICAGO, U. S. A.
1934
PRINTED IN THE VNITBD STATES OF AMERICA
BY riBLD MUSEUM TRESS
CONTENTS
PAGE
List of Illustrations 93
Preface 103
I. ‘Introduction 105
II. Geographical Factors 108
III. Historical Sources 112
IV. Physical Appearance 128
V. Economic Life 133
Nature Lore 134
Pood Supply 140
Collecting and Hunting 140
Fishing 145
Agriculture and Cooking 146
Domestic Animals 162
Trade and Transport 156
Industries 168
Iron-work 158
Wood-carving 161
Domestic Implements 165
Pottery 167
Mats and Baskets 169
Weapons 172
Leather W
ork 176
Spinning and Weaving 177
VI. Social Life 179
Sexual Relations 179
Courtship 179
Marriage 180
Divorce 181
Pregnancy and Childbirth 183
Naming 188
Terms of Relationship 189
Law and Government 199
Warfare and Slavery 204
Village Organization 206
VII. Education 212
Industrial Training and Division Labor
of 212
Standards of Conduct, Manners, and Salutations 213
89
90 Contents
PAOB]
Educational Value of Play, Music, and Dancing 216

Initiation 226
VIII. Language 234

Affinities of Umbundu 234
Vocabulary 236
Phonetics < 237
Vowels . 237
Consonants 238
^
Tone and Stress 239
The Syllable 24'9
Grammar 240
The Class System 240
Pronouns 244
Principal Tenses 245
Transcription of Folklore Stories 248
Sign Language 252
Riddles and Proverbs 253
Folklore Stories 255
IX. Religion 262
Supreme Being 262
Survival after Death 262
Religious Beliefs and Conduct 264
Funeral Rites 265
Commoners 265
Medicine-men 270
Kings and Chiefs 271
Hunters 272
Training of Medicine-men 273
Functions of Medicine-men 273
Divination 274
Equipment and Miscellaneous Duties 276
Curing the Sick 278
Rain-making 282
Poison Ordeal 283
Ceremonial Fire 283
Prohibitions and Omens 285
X. Culture Contacts 286
Congo Basin 286
Rhodesia 296
South West Africa 303
Contents 91
PAGE
XL Wider Culture Contacts 312
Antiquity of Cultural Traits 312
The Blacksmith’s Craft in Africa 313
Bantu Religion and Social System 314
African Puberty Rites 316
Hunting Appliances of Africa 317
African Pottery, Baskets, and Musical Instruments . . 319
Kulturkreis Theory 320
XIL Cultural Processes 327
Analysis of African Cultures 327
Assembling of Traits 331
Cultural Losses 334
Integration of Traits 337
Bibliography 349
Index 356
LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS
Map (facing title-page). Angola.
IX. Basket-work Patterns, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. Nos.

208944-50, actual size. Pig. 1. Big star {olomhun-
gululu vinene). Fig. 2. Trunk of epangue tree
{qeisila eepangu). Fig. 3. Wave pattern (apuku
atito). Pig. 4. Kerchief pattern (alesu). Pig. 5.
Arrow (usongo). Fig. 6. A reclining object (onjandu).
Fig. 7. Following one another (imbagu). Pig. 8. Hoe
handle (ovipi viatimo). Fig. 9, Spots (atumba).
X. Basket-work Patterns, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. Nos.
208087, 208879-82, actual size. Pig. 1. Wave
pattern (apuku atito). Fig. 2. Pattern of kings
(olosoma). Pig. 3. Ribbed pattern (olomati). Fig. 4.
Double arrow (usonge wayombo). Pig. 5. Star
(olombungululu).
XL Incised and Burned Designs on a Gourd, Vachokue,
Kuchi. Cat. No. 208032, dimensions 23 x 23 cm,
patterns half actual size.
XII. Incised and Burned Decorations on Gourds. Fig. 1.
From the chief village of the Vangangella, Ngalangi.
Cat. No. 208007, dimensions 26 x 4 cm. Pig. 2.
Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 208012, dimensions
21 X 8.5 cm. Fig. 3. Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No.
208010, dimensions 15 x 10 cm. Fig. 4. Ovimbundu,
Blende. Cat. No. 208004, dimensions 31 x 20 cm.
Fig. Ovimbundu, Blende.
5. Cat. No. 208013,
dimensions 22 x 9.5 cm. Pig. 6. Gourd used to
contain beer for a bride and groom, Ovimbundu,
Bailundu. Cat. No. 208001, dimensions 39 x 26 cm.
XIII. Wooden Combs, Tools, Domestic Implements, and
Weapons. Fig. 1. Knife used for cutting branches,
Vasele. Cat. No. 208427, dimensions 50 x 5 cm.
Fig. 2. adze, Ovimbundu, Blende.
Combined ax and
Cat. No. 208432, length 73 cm. Pig. 3. Wooden
pounder for maize, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No.
208404, length 31 cm. Fig. 4. Small ax used by
medicine-man when dancing to drive away evil
spirits, Ovimbundu, Bailundu. Cat. No. 208415,
93
94 List op Illusteations
length 32.5 cm. Fig. 6. Ceremonial ax, formerly

used for beheading slaves at the death of a king,
Vasele, near Vila Nova de Selles. Cat. No. 208263,
length 42 cm. Fig. 6 Hunter’s pouch for ammuni-
.
tion, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 209069, dimen-

sions 15 X 12 cm. Fig. 7. Three wooden hair-combs,
Ovimbundu, Blende, and Vachokue, C^ngamba.
Cat. Nos. 208462, 208459, 208453, one-fourth actual
size. Fig. 8. Iron spear, Ovimbundu, BailunSu,
Cat. No. 208244, length 87 cm. Pig. 9. Hoe, Ovinr-
bundu. Blende. Cat. No. 208429, length 51 cm.
Fig. 10. Hoe used by Vangangella, Ngalangi.
Cat. No. 208439, length 85 cm.
XIV. Pottery and Wooden Utensils. Fig. 1. Earthenware

water-jar, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 208208,
dimensions 42 x 14 cm. Fig. 2. Small cooking pot,
Vasele, near Vila Nova de Selles. Cat. No. 208201,
dimensions 12 x 10 cm. Fig. 3. Earthenware water-
bottle, Vasele, Vila Nova de Selles. Cat. No. 209007,
dimensions 24x23 cm. Pig. 4. Earthenware food
bowl, Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. No. 208223, dimen-
sions 20 X 9.5 cm. Pig. 5. Cooking pot, Ovimbundu,
Elende. Cat. No. 208202, dimensions 16.5 x 13 cm.
Pig. 6. Milk vessel, Vakuanyama, Mongua. Cat.
No. 208152, dimensions 28 x 21 cm. Pig. 7. Wooden
spoon, Vachokue, Kuchi. Cat. No. 208143, dimen-
sions 34 X 9 cm. Fig. 8. Wooden milk jug,
Vakuanyama, Mongua. Cat. No. 208243, dimensions
21 X 13 cm. Pig. 9. Wooden spoon and stirrer,
Vachokue, Cangamba. Cat. No. 208164, dimensions
60.5 X 9.5 cm.
XV. Tobacco-pipes, Snuff Box, Rat Trap, and Basket.

Fig. Tobacco-pipe, Vachokue, Ngalangi.
1. Cat.
No. 208715, length 74 cm. Pig. 2, Tobacco-pipe,
Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat, No. 208709, length 35 cm.
Fig. 3. Water-pipe for smoking tobacco and hemp,
Vachokue, Cangamba. Cat. No. 208688, length
29 cm. Pig. 4. Carved wooden snuff box, Ovimbundu,
Elende. Cat. No. 208708, length 23 cm. Fig. 5.
Wicker rat trap, Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. No.
208039, length 33 cm. Fig. 6. Coiled basket with
inwoven patterns of amber and black, Ovimbundu,

Bailundu. Cat. No. 208926, dimensions 37 x 18 era.
XVI. Tools and Weapons. Fig. 1. Spearhead, Vachokue,
Munyangi. Cat. No. 208372, dimensions 30.5 x 3.3
cm. Fig. 2. Knife, Vachokue, Saurimo in Lunda.
Cat. No. 208375, dimensions 21.5 cm. Fig. 3. Black-
smith’s hammer, Vangangella, Ngalangi. Cat. No.
208826, length 18 cm. Fig. 4. Saw of native make,
Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. No. 208362, length 71 cm.
Fig. 5. Iron-bladed tool for boring wood, Ovimbundu,
Elende. Cat. No. 208368, length 57 cm. Pig. 6.
Blacksmith’s tongs, Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. No.
208813, length 52 cm. Fig. 7. Blacksmith’s hammer,
Fig. 8. Axhead, Vachokue, Cangamba. Cat. No.
208817, length 26 cm. Fig. 9. Blacksmith's punch,
Fig. 10. Knife in wooden scabbard, Vakuanyama,
Mongua. Cat. No. 208357, length 64 cm. Pig. 11.
Brass bracelet made by blacksmith, Elende. Cat.
No. 208603, width 6 cm. Fig. 12. Bellows of black-
smith, Ngalangi. Cat. No. 208831, dimensions
55 X 34 cm.
XVII. Bows and Arrowheads. Pig. 1. The bow and arrow,
with details of stringing and feathering, are typical
of implements of Ovimbundu and Vachokue tribes.
Cat. No. 208663, length 143 cm. The arrowheads
were collected from Vachokue hunters from
Cangamba to Saurimo in Lunda. Cat. Nos. 208643-
652, 654, 656, length average 80 cm. Fig. 2. Arrow-
heads, Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. Nos. 208623,
615, 618, 616, length of each about 80 cm. Fig. 3.
Wooden arrow for shooting birds, Ovimbundu,
Elende. Cat. No. 208633, length 88 cm. Figs. 4-6.
Socketed iron arrowheads, Vakuanyama, Mongua.
Cat, Nos. 208698, 692, 601, lengths 67, 58, 66 cm.
Fig, 7. Barbed wooden arrow, Vakipungo, southwest
Angola. Cat. No. 208607, length 83 cm. Fig. 8.
Plat bow and arrow, Vakuanyama, Mongua. Cat.
No. 208659, length 122 cm. Pig. 9. Arrow for shoot-
ing lizards, Vasele. Cat. No. 208657, length 87 cm.
96 List of Illustrations
XVIII. Hut Furniture and Mask. Fig. 1. Wooden seat with

hide top, Ovimbundu, Ngalangi. Cat. No. 208180,
dimensions 53 x 28 x 30 cm. Fig. 2. Wooden stool,
Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. No. 208864, dimensions
29x21 cm. Fig. 3. Wooden chair with hide seat,
Vachokue, Bailundu. Cat. No. 209006, height 80 cm.
Fig. 4. Wooden mask, type used by Vangangclla and
Ovimbundu, Ngongo, Ngalangi. Cat. No. 208100,
'' ^
dimensions 20 x 18 cm.
XIX. Wood-carving, Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. A hawk, Bailundu."-
Cat. No. 208386, dimensions 37 x 16 cm. Fig. 2,
Crane, Bailundu. Cat. No. 208381, dimensions
27 X 10 cm. Fig. 3. Guinea fowl, burned black and
speckled with white paint, Elende. Cat. No. 208382,
dimensions 20 x 8 cm. Fig. 4. Lizard, Elende.
Cat. No. 208394, dimensions 41 x 6 cm. Fig, 5.
Snake, Elende. Cat. No. 208391, length 24 cm.
XX. Staffs of Village Chiefs. Pig. 1. Ovimbundu, Elende.
Cat. No. 208778, length 68 cm. Fig. 2. Vachokue,
Cangamba. Cat. No. 208775, length 82 cm. Fig. 8.
Fig, 4, Vachokue, Kuchi. Cat, No. 208754, length
98 cm. Fig. 5. Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. No.
208772, length 90 cm. Fig, 6. Staff of dead king
from hut in which relics of kings are kept, from
capital village of Ngalangi. Cat. No. 208748, length
123 cm. Fig. 7. Club of heavy black wood, Ovim-
bundu, Elende, workmanship of Vachokue and
Lunda type. Cat. No, 208777, length 71 cm. Pig. 8.
Staff of office in form of paddle, carried by headman
of Lioko, a village of Ngalangi. Cat. No. 208745,
dimensions 127 x 16 cm. Fig. 9. Heavy throwing-
club for killing small game, Ovimbundu, Elende.
Cat. No. 208767, dimensions 40 x 12 cm. Fig. 10.
Ornamental club, Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat, No.
208764, length 56 cm.
XXL Carved HumanFigures. Fig. 1. Wooden figure nursed
dead twin, Ovimbundu and Vangangella,
in place of
Ngalangi. Cat. No. 208345, length 20 cm. Fig. 2.
Wooden figure from divination basket of medicine-
man, Ovimbundu, Elende. Cat. No. 208307, length
7 cm. Fig. 3. Wooden figure placed by anvil of

blacksmith. Spirit in figure assists blacksmith,
Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 208339, length 36 cm.
Fig. 4. Female wooden figure used by Vachokue
medicine-man, Cangamba. Body hollow to contain
medicine, head detachable. Cat. No. 208355, length
61 cm. Pig. Female wooden figure used by
5.
medicine-man for divining correct path on caravan
journey, Ovimbundu, Bailundu. Cat. No. 208346,
length 27 cm. Pig. 6. Wooden figure used like No. 1,
Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 208326, length 18 cm.
XXII. Musical Instruments. Fig. 1. Dumb-bell basket rattle,
Vachokue, Cangamba. Cat. No. 208732, length
26 cm. Pig. 2. Wooden flute, Ovimbundu, Blende.
Cat. No. 208723, length 29 cm. Pig. 3. Instrument
played by rubbing grooves with stick, Ovimbundu,
Blende. Cat. No. 208805, dimensions 43 x 21 cm.
Fig. 4. Rattles for anldea, made from seed pods,
Ovimbundu, Bailundu. Cat. No. 208730, length
21 cm. Pig. 5. Instrument, metal keys on wooden
board, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 208734,
dimensions 18 x 11 cm. Pig. 6. Musical bow, Ovim-
bundu, Blende. Cat. No. 208722, length 109 cm.
Fig. 7. Strip of rattan. May be bent to form musical
bow, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 208810, length
62 cm. Fig. 8. Frictional instrument, played like
No. 3, Ovimbundu, Bailundu.
XXIII. Drawings Representing Life of Ovimbundu, Blende.
Made by untrained Ocimbundu youth, Blende, who
had lived with Europeans. Fig. 1. Ovimbundu
hunters. Fig. 2. Medicine-man of Ovimbundu
divining. Fig. 3. Ocimbundu woman making beer.
Fig. 4. Relative of deceased interrogating corpse as
to cause of death. Chief mourners in group on left.
XXIV. Examples of Scarification. Ocimbundu woman,

Pig. 1.
Ngalangi. Pig. 2. Vacholcue woman, Cubango. Fig. 3.
Esele woman. Cuts, made to cure pain, were rubbed

with charred gourd. Fig. 4. Ocimbundu woman.
Blende. Scar made at age of ten years by male
operator, charred rubber placed in cuts. Fig. 5. Ocim-
bundu woman, Cuma. Scars ornamental and tribal.
XXV. Positions of Hands in Drumming, Ovimbundu, Blende.

Front View.
XXVI. Positions of Hands in Drumming, Ovimbundu, Blende.
Side View.
XXVII. Ovimbundu Drummers, Blende. Fig. 1. Long^drums.

Fig. 2. Plat drum.
XXVIII. Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Man canying gourd.
Fig. 2. Woman with field produce.
XXIX. Agriculture near Ganda. Fig. 1. Tobacco plants on

ant hill. Fig. 2. Clearing the bush.
XXX. Transportation at Blende. Fig. 1. Portuguese riding

an ox. Fig. 2. Ocimbundu carrier.
XXXI. Transportation, Ovimbundu, Blende. Pig. 1. Boy

carrying pig. Fig. 2. Men bearing sick man in
hammock.
XXXII. Ritual for Hunters. Fig. 1. Tomb near Luimbale.
Fig. 2. Trophies near Blende.
XXXIII. Ovimbundu Making Pottery, Blende. Pig. 1. Building
pottery vessel. Fig. 2. Molding pot with hands and
gourd.
XXXIV. Ovimbundu Making Pottery, Blende. Pig. 1. Moisten-
ing and smoothing wet pot. Fig. 2. Finished wet

pots with incised designs.
XXXV. Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. Man using drill, Bailundu. Pig. 2.

Girl, Blende.
XXXVI. Occupations of Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Male

cotton spinner. Pig. 2. Woman pounding maize.
XXXVII. Blacksmiths at Work, Ovimbundu, Blende. Pig. 1.

Working bellows. Fig. 2. Forging axhead.
XXXVIII. Blacksmiths at Work, Ovimbundu, Blende. Pig. 1.
Pounding on anvil. Fig. 2. Using cutting tool.
XXXIX. Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Hunter. Pig. 2. Woman
making coiled basket.
XL. Ovimbundu. Fig, 1. Flute players, Bailundu. Pig. 2.
Bark removed for making utensils. Fig. 3. Girl, hair
studded with brass nails.
XLL Ovirabundu Wood-carvers, Blende. Fig. 1- Making

human and animal figures. Pig. 2. Carving drum.
XLII. Ocimbundu Making Mats, Blende. Fig. 1. Tool for
mat-making. Pig. 2. Threading reeds on tool.
XLIII. Transportation, Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Bridge

across swamp and stream. Fig, 2. Carrying chickens.
XLlV. Building Construction, Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1.
Maize bin. Pig. 2. Framework of house.
XLV. Funeral Rites, Ovimbimdu, Blende. Fig. 1. Old
Ocimbundu questioning corpse and offering food.
Fig. 2. Burial place of chief.
XLVI. Funeral Rites, Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. Hut where posses-

sions of dead chiefs are kept. Blende. Fig. 2. Horns
of ox over grave, near Caconda.
XLVII. Funeral Rites, Ovimbundu, Caconda. Fig. 1. Baskets

and coffin pole on grave. Fig. 2. Hut over grave.
XLVIII. Social Life of Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. Men’s club house,

Bailundu. Pig, 2, Guest house. Blende.
XLIX. Physical Types, Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Boys,
showing tooth mutilation on left. Fig. 2. Girl
with field basket,
L. Ovimbundu Women and Infants, Blende.
LI. Ovimbundu Women and Children, Blende.
LIL Ovimbundu Youths, Blende.
LIII. Ovimbundu Men, Blende.
LIV. Types of Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Negro t 3T)e,
teeth mutilated in tribal manner. Fig. 2. Modified
Negro type.
LV. Pigs Owned by Ovimbundu, Blende, Keltic Breed.
LVI. Domestic Animals, Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. Sheep and
lamb, Blende. Fig. 2. Dog, Blende. Bars clipped
“to make him hear well.” Fig. 3. Goat, Bailundu.
LVII. Domestic Animals, Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Cattle.

Fig. 2. Goats.
LVIII. Physical Types, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Girls of

Luvando tribe. Fig. 2. Woman of Gambos wearing
omba ornaments.
100 List op Illustrations
LIX. Female Types, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Luvando

girls near Kipungo. Fig. 2. Back view, same types.
LX. Female Types, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Girls of

Vaheneca tribe near Huila. Fig. 2. Woman of Huila.
LXI. Female Types, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Women of
Gambos. Fig. 2. Women of Humbe tribe.^"
LXII. Vaheneca Girl at Huila. Fig. 1. Front view. Fig. 2.
'
Back view.
LXIII. Vakuanyama Types, Mongua, South Angola. Fig. 1.
Man, Fig. 2. Man wearing omha shells.
LXIV. Natives of Huila, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Man
wearing forehead band and omha shell. Fig. 2. Man
wearing beaded collar and omha shell.
LXV. Vakuanyama Women, Mongua, South Angola. Fig. 1.
Women wearing pleated leather skirts. Figs. 2, 3.
Woman wearing head-dress which denotes position
as principal wife in polygynous family.
LXVI. Storage of Maize, Vakuanyama, South Angola. Fig, 1.
Grain basket. Fig. 2. Shelter for basket.
LXVII. Fig. 1.Ukuanyama Man Treading Hide for Making
Woman’s Skirt. Fig. 2. House, Vakuanyama
Style, Dom Manuel.
LXVIII. Tribes of South Angola. Fig. 1. Vaheneca, right and
Gambos woman and children, center. Fig. 2.
left;
Vakuanyama men, with assagais, clubs, and bows,

Mongua.
LXIX. Bushman, Cassanga. Fig. 1. Front view. Fig. 2. Side
view.
LXX. Mussurongo Types, Malange, Northwest Angola.
Fig. 1. Girl. Fig. 2. Man.
LXXI. Mussurongo Woman, near Malange, Northwest
Angola.
LXXII. Dugout Canoes, River Kwanza, near Malange, North-
west Angola. Fig. 1. Exteriors. Fig. 2. View of
stern.
LXXIII. Fishing and Hunting. Fig. 1. Fishing spear, Ambrizette,

northwest Angola. Fig. 2. Stakes for impaling
antelope, Vasele, west-central Angola.
List or Illustrations 101
LXXIV. Fig. 1. Hunter’s Tomb, Vasele. Fig. 2. Village of

Vasele near Vila Nova de Selles.
LXXV. Female Types of Vasele, West-central Angola. Pig. 1.
Woman wearing nose-pin and cowrie-shell hair-band.

Fig. 2. Woman wearing beaded head-band. Note
scarification of forehead and cheeks.
LXXVI. Men of Vasele, West-central Angola. Fig. 1. Man
showing typical mutilation of teeth. Fig. 2. Man
with scarification on chest, said to cure pain.
LXXVII. Women in Charge of Initiation of Girls into Secret

Society, Vanyemba Tribe, Ngongo. Fig. 1. Front
view. Fig. 2. Back view.
LXXVIII. Costumes Worn in Tribal Initiation Ceremonies for

Boys. Costumes of Vangangella and Ovim-
Pig. 1.
bundu, Ngongo. Fig. 2. Ceremonial dress of mixed
tribes at Katoko.
LXXIX. Tribal Initiationof Boys, Vachokue, Cangamba.
Fig. 1. Novices in enclosure. Fig. 2. Public appear-
ance after initiation.
LXXX. Tribal Initiation of Boys, Vachokue, Cangamba. Fig. 1.
Fiber skirts worn by circumcised novices. Pig. 2.

Cages in which boys lie after circumcision.
LXXXL Concluding Ceremonies, Tribal Initiation, Cangamba.

Fig. 1. Stilt-walkers, Vachokue. Pig. 2. Medicine-
man, Valuchazi.
LXXXII. Vachokue, East Angola. Pig. 1. Medicine-man, Can-
gamba, performing ceremony to make thief return to
village. Fig. 2. Man at Mona Kuimbundu.
LXXXIII. Treating SickWoman, Vachokue, Cangamba. Fig. 1.
Medicine-man stroking patient’s spine. Pig. 2. Pre-
paring for ablution of face.
LXXXIV. Vachokue, Mona Kuimbundu, Northeast Angola.

Fig. 1. Women pounding maize. Fig. 2. Dwelling.
LXXXV. Vachokue Fishing at Cangamba. Fig. 1. Women

dragging basket. Fig. 2. Man in bark canoe, holding
net.
LXXXVI. Vachokue, East Angola. Fig. 1. Cupping operation,

Ngongo, Ngalangi. Fig. 2. Group at Mona Kuim-
bundu.
LXXXVIL Vachokue Women, East Angola. Fig. 1. Albino,
Cangamba. Pig. 2. Group at Ngongo, Ngalangi.
LXXXVIIL Vachokue Women, Ngongo, Ngalangi. Fig. 1.' Show-

ing mutilated teeth. Pig. 2. Showing scarification.
LXXXIX. Fig. 1. House Where King Communes -with
Ancestral Spirits, Ngalangi. Fig. 2. House with
Painted Walls near Bailundu. Fig. 3. Grouf
Showing Mixture of Tribes, Ngalangi.
XC. East-central Angola. Pig. 1. Woman of Vangangella,
Cassanga. Fig. 2. Beehive, Inandongo.
XCI. Types of Babunda, Cangamba, Showing Mutilated

Teeth. Fig. 1. Woman. Fig. 2. Man.
XCII. Pig. 1. Mound of Earth Where Childless Women Are
Covered with Mud to Give Fertility, Vangangella,
Ngalangi. Fig. 2. Trap for Leopards, Cangamba.
PREFACE
As leader of the Frederick H. Rawson-Field Museum Ethnological
Expedition to West Africa I undertook research in Angola and
Nigeria^from February, 1929, to February, 1930. The present publi-
cation is concerned with the ethnology of Angola (Portuguese West
Africa), where a study of the Ovimbundu and their culture contacts
wa» made.
At the outset I must express thanks to the Portuguese govern-
ment for permission to carry on this investigation. Owing to the
courtesy of the American Vice-Consul, Mr. Arthur F. Tower of
Loanda, I received from the Governor General of Angola a letter of
introduction which was of inestimable service during my journey in
the interior.
Prom Portuguese officials much help was obtained, and sound
advice accompanied by practical assistance was always courteously
given.
In London I was assisted in the most cordial way by Mr. David
Boyle, of the Cunard Steamship Lines, and Colonel B. Pollett,D.S.O.,
of the Tanganyika Concessions Company.
My base camp in Angola was pitched near the Elende Mission
Station, where Dr. Merlin W. Ennis kindly provided safe storage
for collections and a room for photography. Dr. Ennis was ever
ready to discuss and aid my investigation among the Ovimbundu
with whom he has spent thirty years. Mrs. Ennis and Miss Rounds
aided my studies of handicraft among \yomen. Dr. Hollenbeck gave
valuable notes on the ailments of the Ovimbundu; these have been
incorporated with my study of medicine-men.
Ngonga, my interpreter and chief informant, was secured by
Dr. Ennis to assist the investigation, and this he did with the greatest
tact and ability. Ngonga speaks English, Portuguese, and Umbundu
fluently. These accomplishments were so combined with a deep
regard for the customs of his own people, the Ovimbundu, that he
made an ideal interpreter.
From the base at Elende three journeys were made into the
interior. The first of these led to the far south of Angola, among the
Vakuanyama; a second journey took me into the Vasele country of
northwest Angola; while the third and longest itinerary led as far
east as Cangamba, a center of Vachokue culture, thence northward
to Saurimo in Lunda.
103
104 Preface
At the end each of these journeys, which totaled 6,000 miles, I

of
returned to the base camp, developed photographs, shipped collec-
tions, and continued my studies among the Ovimbundu.
In the interior I received help from Mr. and Mrs. H. C. McDowell

ofNgalangijbothofwhomgave considerable aid in investigating initia-
tion ceremonies for boys and girls, and in securing three medidne-men
and a rain-maker to explain their vocations. At Bailundu Mr. G. M.
Childs obtained many valuable objects relating to the medicine-gian’s
work, and the worth of these was greatly enhanced by full descrip-
tions, and translations of the Umbundu language in which thp
explanations were given.
Owing to the interest of Professor Edward Sapir, formerly of the
University of Chicago, now at Yale, assistance in transcribing phono-
graphic records of theUmbundulanguage was obtained. Thephonetic
transcriptions were made by Dr. M. H. Watkins and Mr. R. T.
Clarke, whose expert aid was greatly appreciated. Records of drum
music were transcribed by Dr. G. Herzog of the University of
Chicago. Drawings of objects collected have been prepared by Mr.
Carl F. Gronemann, Staff Illustrator of Field Museum.
This recognition of cooperation would be incomplete without
gratefully remembering my servants, who shared the fatigue and
hazards of the journey. Abilio Esteves proved to be a thoroughly
competent guide and adviser. The servants aided in locating cere-
monies, acquiring objects, and dealing with the tribes among whom
the expedition passed.
Wilfrid Dyson Hambly
THE OVIMBUNDU OF ANGOLA
I. INTRODUCTION
Research work among the Ovimbundu of Angola indicates the
presence of numerous cultural traits revealing what are probably
distinct stratifications of culture. These diverse elements have been
welded together into a pattern, the examination of which constitutes
the present problem.
The object of this study is an analysis of these traits with a view
to showing the sequence in which they have been received, from
whence they came, and the processes which have been responsible
for coordinating them so as to form the present social system.
My presentation passes from geographical and historical consid-

erations to an ethnological approach, locally applied in the first place
for complete analysis of the culture of the Ovimbundu and suiTound-

ing peoples. The traits have to be considered singly and in combina-
tion. Then follows an examination of some of these traits which
are widely distributed outside Angola. We
next seek to ascertain the
geographical origin of traits, their history, and the psychology of their
combinations and assimilation into an aggregate. What elements
have been acquired through adoption? And what has been the
historical process? Which traits have arisen through independent
invention? What factors have been discarded, and why? To what
extent have the Ovimbundu utilized opportunities for enriching their
culture, and what possibilities have been neglected?
What are the classes of evidence which might be expected to assist

an inquiry into the growth of Umbundu culture?
Field work was of primary importance for obtaining a first hand
knowledge of the tribal life of the Ovimbundu as it exists today, and
in order to estimate the effects of cultural contacts extensive journeys
were made to the north, east, and south of the central territory occu-
pied by the Ovimbundu. The results of personal investigation are
given in chapters IV-IX, dealing with the economic, social, and
religious life of the Ovimbundu. These facts have been kept free
from the observations of other investigators whose reports are
summarized in chapter III, "Historical Sources.”
Unfortunately there are no archaeological data which can assist

a study of historical processes, for archaeology has not yet been
approached in Angola.
106
106 The OvmBUNDu
Geographical study is valuable in showing that physical factors

such as position, topography, soil, and climate have had not only
a permissive but a stimulating effect on the development of certain
cultural traits.
documents dating from the year A.D. 1500 present
Historical
valuable evidence for tribal movements, the effect of early Eiflopean
contacts, and the existence of certain beliefs and ceremonies. The
facts adduced in chapter III are used in chapter,s X-XII in discu$sipg
culture contacts and cultural processes.
Inquiry respecting relationships of the Ovimbundu to other Afri-
can tribes is aided by a study of the Umbundu language, which is
shown to be of pure Bantu structure and vocabulary (chapter VIII).
The characteristic features of the Umbundu language are those which
form the basic elements of Bantu speech in general. These character-
istics are alliterative concord (that is, repetition of the prefix before
every word in agreement with the noun); absence of grammatical
gender; and a position of the genitive in which the name of the thing
possessed comes before the possessor. Umbundu, though structurally
assignable to the Bantu group, has its own vocabulary, whose degree
of relationship to that of surrounding peoples may to some extent be
judged by the vocabularies of F. and W. Jaspert (Die Vcilkerstammc
Mittel Angolas, Frankfort, 1930, pp. 144-160). The fact that the
language of the Ovimbundu has become the lingua franca of Angola,
still further testifies to the thoroughness of the contacts, which from
historical sources are known to have been made in the period

1500-1900.
The names leaves a wide margin for individual
spelling of proper
preference.The Umbundu language requires “M” before “B,” yet
custom has sanctioned the form Bailundu. Nevertheless I have
retained “N” in Ngalangi despite the form Galangi on several
maps. Maps show great diversity of spelling, but I have adhered
throughout to Kipungo (Quipungo) and Kwanza (Quanza). Among
tribalnames I prefer Vakuanyama to OvaKwanyama and Vachokue
to BaKioko or BaDjokue; in making the choice I have tried to imitate
the sounds I heard from the natives themselves. In referring to the
papers of E. Torday, who knew the southwest Congo well and
spoke several Congo languages fluently, I note that he sometimes
prefers to recognize the prefix as in BaMbala and BaYaka, but he
also writes Badjokue and Bayaka. J. H. Weeks writes Bangala
(BaNgala). C. H. L. Hahn uses the form Ovambo (OvaMbo).
Ovimbundu I have preferred throughout; the accent is on the
Introduction 107
penultimate syllable as is usual with Bantu words. The alternative

form would be OviMbundu. Some writers hyphenate after a prefix.
Lu is the plural prefix in the tribal names Luchazi, Luvando, Luena
and Luimba. Ocivokue, Oeimbundu and TJluchazi are singulars.
The word Umbundu is used adjectivally as well as for the name of
the lariguage.
Observations relating to the physical appearance of the Ovim-
bundu (chapter IV) deal with physique, dress, tooth mutilation, hair-
dressing, scarification, and personal ornaments. The object of this
chapter is to estimate the results of contacts so far as these affect the
traits just mentioned.
Of great importance in an inquiry into the growth of Umbundu
culture is the inferential testimony to be derived from ethnological
study of surrounding tribes. This subject is considered in chapter X,

“Culture Contacts,” with special reference to the Congo basin,
Rhodesia, and South West Africa, concerning which there exists an
adequate and reliable literature.
In chapter XII, “Cultural Processes,” ethnological facts derived
from field work and historical sources have been combined with
data relating to geography, physique, and language. This has
been done in such a way as to present a hypothesis of cultural growth
which is consonant with direct evidence and inferential testimony.
Finally, personal acquaintance with the daily life of the Ovim-
bundu is made
the corner stone for behavioristic study. This is
intended to explain the operation of social forces and controls in
welding the tribal traits whose origin and assembly have been
previously discussed.
Should my colleagues of the functional school contend that my
approach is too static in its historical and anatomical method, I
would reply that my research does at least lay a sure ethnological
foundation for those psychological and sociological studies which
are today rightly regarded as essential for the adjustment of relation-
ships between Africans and their European administrators. The
correlation of all aspects of tribal life, including culture contacts,
cannot be too strongly stressed. The headings chosen for chapters
are adopted merely for convenience of presentation. But an endeavor
has been made throughout the book, and particularly in the final
chapter, to emphasize the coordination of economics, social organiza-
tion, education, language, and religion.
II. GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
This chapter intended to give an outline of the geographical
is
conditions of Angola and to point out the way in which these have
influenced the growth of Umbundu culture in all its aspects.^
A presentation of geographical data is of primary importance here,

and the actual relationship between the facts of geography and
culture a matter for gradual evaluation in the following chaflters.
is
The extent to which geographic determinism has entered into th/}

cultural growth of the Ovimbundu is particularly well seen in chapter
V, “Economic Life,” which deals with industries, agriculture, domes-
tic animals, fishing, and transport.
The area of Angola is a factor of importance, for the greater the

extent of any country the more diversified will be the products and
the cultural differences. This is particularly true if there are consider-
able differences in the elevation, because altitude modifies temperature
and affects the distribution of rainfall.
Angola has an area of almost 500,000 square miles. The greatest

length is a distance of about 900 miles from the river Congo in the
north to the region of South West Africa, The greatest breadth is
about 700 miles from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to the borders
of the Rhodesian plateau in the east. This range over twelve degrees
of latitude, from 6° S. to 17° S., in association with differences in
altitude, have produced ecological regions which are described in
the following paragraphs.
The northern part of Angola is ecologically a part of the Congo
basin, with conditions of heat and moisture giving rise to a dense
tropical flora. Owing to the presence of tsetsethe great heat,
fly,
and the lack of open grasslands, such country unsuited for the
is
rearing of cattle, while agriculture, including cultivation of maize, is

restricted to forest clearings. Manioc, palm trees, peanuts, and
sweet potatoes are the chief products serviceable to man. This region
was, according to the historical evidence of chapter III, the area in
which the Ovimbundu moved before they entered the Benguela High-
lands of central Angola. Parts of chapters III and X
(“Historical
Sources” and “Culture Contacts,” respectively) are devoted to an
analysis of the cultural factors of the Congo area from the year
A.D. 1500 to the present day.
The central portion of Angola is the area most important in this

research because it is the home of the Ovimbundu, whose cultural
108
Geographical Factors 109
growth is Tinder examination. This central plateau, the Benguela

Highlands, rises in places to a height of 6,000 feet, an altitude which
reduces the heat of the tropics and so modifies the flora, discouraging
some types of vegetation and encouraging others. Hostility of the
highlands to palm trees and the banana is appropriately discussed
when dealing with cultural losses; while the fostering effect of reduced
temperature and the presence of wide expanses of open country on
the growth of maize and the keeping of cattle is a cultural gain.
’'rtie prevailing rains of Angola are from the northeast to the
southwest; consequently the high plateau intercepts rain clouds which
give an annual fall of sixty inches. This adequate rainfall is another
factor which has affected economic life, density of population, com-
munal welfare, and powers of expansion.
The villages of the Ovimbimdu are built on
having a
hillsides
commanding view of the surrounding There is in the
country.
nature of the land a natural protection from enemies. In addition
to this the Benguela Highlands are an admirable base from which
expeditions both predatory and commercial might, and actually did
set out eastward to the interior of Africa, and southwest to the
cattle-keeping country.
It is important to note that this central plateau is the watershed
for four large river systems; the Kwanza to the northwest; the Cunene
to the southwest; the tributaries of the Kasai to the northeast; and
the Zambezi and its affluents to the southeast. Fishing, with attend-
ant beliefs of a ritualistic kind, is of local importance; so also is the
making of canoes. Moreover, the river valleys have marked out a
natural means of communication in several directions.
In connection with the river system the biological factor of the
tsetse fly is important, because the presence of the fly locally dis-
courages human habitation and prevents the keeping of cattle. The
exact distribution of the fly is imperfectly known, but Glossinia
palpalis, the cause of sleeping sickness in human beings, also Glos-
sinia morsitans, which carries disease to cattle, are both present along
the Kwanza and parts of the other rivers (J. C. B. Statham, Through
Angola, p. 294).
The western coastal strip is a region of great aridity which has in
some years no rainfall whatever, because the northeasterly rains have
expended themselves on the high plateau. This region displays
vegetation of the semi-desert type; namely, baobab trees, pricldy
acacias, euphorbias, and aloes. Population in this area is sparse,
always nomadic, and in some places non-existent. The coastal strip
110 The Ovimbundu
was at times traversed by the Ovimbundu who know of the sea and
call it kalunga. Bih4an caravans crossed to the coast with slaves,
as history shows, but the nature of the coastal strip marks it as a
western barrier limiting the expansion of the Ovimbundu in that
direction. The coast line itself is of the greatest moment in the
consideration of historical factors. From Loanda, Benguela, and
Mossamedes on the coast, the Portuguese penetrated the interior, so
making contacts with the Ovimbundu to the encouragement of
caravan trade. The importance of this European contact wllhbe
seen in subsequent chapters.
The south and southwest parts of Angola are of particular impor-
tance in studying the contacts of the Ovimbundu, but to give here the
details of the wealthy cattle-keeping culture of these regions, which
were accessible through peaceful proximity, trade, and occasional
raiding, would be an anticipation of chapter X, “Culture Contacts."
One topographical point is of primary importance; namely, the ease
with which the Ovimbundu could descend from their strongholds to
the low-lying land of the west and south, whereas the reverse journey
is much more difficult for a people unaccustomed to manoeuvring
and finding their way among hills.

Having described the northern, central, western, and southern
areas, there remains only the eastern section to consider; this presents
several features of peculiar geographical and ethnological interest.
The eastern section of Angola is either slightly undulating or fiat,
the general characteristic is dryrfess, and vegetation is somewhat
sparse though sufficient to shelter many kinds of antelope.
The major population is the Vachokue, a warlike, hunting people,
who follow agricultural pursuits but slightly, and do not keep cattle.
Examination of the literature describing early exploration indicates
the truculent nature of these eastern people with whom caravans of
Ovimbundu were in frequent conflict. Umbundu caravans crossed
this country when making their way to Rhodesia, culture contacts
with which are discussed in chapter X,
The results of contact of Ovimbundu and Vachokue tribes, so far
is concerned, are mentioned in chapter IV,
as physical miscegenation
“Physical Appearance”; while the social effects of slavery resulting
from hostilities are described in chapter VI, “Social Life."
Rhodesia is a cattle-raising country, but the hostility of the
Vachokue, the great distance from central Angola to Rhodesia, and
the general dryness of the country to be crossed, discourage the idea
that the Ovimbundu obtained their cattle from Rhodesia. If it is
Geographical Factors 111
argued that the cattle might have been brought along the course of
the Zambezi and Kwando there is the objection that there are here
several tsetse fly belts. On the contrary, cattle-producing country
in the southwest and south of Angola is far more accessible than the
Rhodesian plateau.
In the south there is the cultural habit of digging wells, especially
among the Vakuanyama; but the Vachokue have not developed this
trait. The substrata underlying the sand of southern Angola hold
whter which serves through the dry season, a fact which is advanta-
geously employed by the cattle-keepers. The Vachokue lack this
well-digging habit, and, even if subsui'face water were present, the
transient Ovimbundu would have lacked opportunity to dig for it
when passing through hostile country.
The by the Ovimbundu is of great impor-
acquisition of cattle
tance, because concerned with the grafting of a series of pastoral
it is
traits on a culture in no way originally associated with pastoral

pursuits. The truth of this will later be made clear by examination
of historical and ethnological evidence.
Geographical considerations give a picture of the Ovimbundu
situated in naturally fortified country from which they had access to
four surrounding areas, whose cultural characters agree well with the
determinism of topography and climate. The natural advantages of
the central highlands, and the results of contact with each of the
adjacent areas, are points which will be developed in appropriate
sections throughout the ensuing chapters.
III. HISTORICAL SOURCES
The object of this chapter is the presentation of a summary of
literature relating to Angola from A.D. 1500 down to the present
day. In this literature there may be accounts of the movemênts of
tribes which will throw some light on the origin of the Ovimbundu,
and the date of their migration into the Benguela Highlands. Present-
day tradition of the Ovimbundu is unanimous in declaring that the
tribe came from the northeast of its present locality, but some
historical justification of this belief is desirable. The word Ovim-
bundu ("people of the fog”) may refer to the heavy morning mists
of highland regions, and there is the possibility that the Ovimbundu
adopted this name when they settled on the high plateau.
If there is historical evidence in favor of the traditional home of
the Ovimbundu being the region of the north and northeast of Angola,
what was the ethnological background of these areas at the time when
the Ovimbundu became detached from a matrix of northern Angolan
tribes? In other words, what cultural factors are the Ovimbundu
likely to have brought with them into the Benguela Highlands? The
ultimate origin of these factors is a point which has not been neg-
lected (chapter XI, "Wider Culture Contacts”), but for the moment
the primary concern is the historical background of the Ovimbundu,
with special reference to tribal movements and cultural traits.
As part of this historical inquiry, contacts of the Portuguese and

the Ovimbundu are of importance. When and where did the Portu-
guese come into contact with the Ovimbundu and with what results
to the indigenous culture?
Chapters IV-IX deal exclusively with my field work among the
Ovimbundu in 1929. Therefore it is pertinent to ask to what extent
the ethnological observations of travelers and early explorers will
corroborate the information recorded in my own notes. Will there
be contradiction or confirmation of personal observations? Possibly
the ethnological notes obtained from historical sources will serve, not
merely to corroborate my field work, but actually to extend the area
of occurrence of important cultural traits which I noted in 1929.
The literature describing Angolan history and customs is here
presented in the form of a chronological bibliography, which is
annotated so as to emphasize points bearing on the purpose of this
historical analysis. That there should be a fragmentary presentation
of data is an inevitable consequence of the nature of the literature
112
Historical Sources 113
itself.Observations have been made, not in a well-ordered time

sequence, but at irregular intervals. Moreover, the writings of the
majority of observers have not been undertaken with any specific
ethnological purpose in view. Early explorers in particular were
prone to intersperse historical and ethnological notes among a mass
of descriptive material relating to incidents of travel, animal life,
and meteorological observations.
the conclusion of this chapter an effort is made to remedy the
disjointed nature of the historical evidence. This object is achieved
by summarizing the points which provide an answer to the queries
brought forward in the opening paragraphs of this chapter respecting
the origin and cultural background of the Ovimbundu.
The Portuguese entered the Congo in 1482 under the leadership
of Diego Cao (E. G. Ravenstein, The Voyages of Diego Cao, Geog.
Journ., 1900, pp. 625-649) and from that time onward Portuguese
influence of a political and religious kind was exerted along the
course of the Congo. Gradually the Portuguese established them-
selves on the coast of Angola. Paolo Diaz founded Loanda in 1576,
and about eleven years later built the fort of Benguela.
The year 1690 saw the Portuguese making war in the interior of
Angola against the Jaggas, a northern tribe among whom Andrew
Battell was held in honorable captivity as a leader against the Portu-
guese and all natives of northern Angola, who were exploited by the
Jaggas. In 1645 another Portuguese punitive expedition penetrated
the interior as far as Bailundu, the center from which the strongest
caravans of Umbundu traders and slavers set out for central Africa.
Caconda in the southwest of Angola was founded in 1682, and a
century later the coastal town of Mossamedes became a starting point
from which early exploration penetrated the interior in search of the
sources of the Cunene River. (For the details of Portuguese pene-
tration of Angola see Bibliography: T. E. Bowditch; R. F. Burton;
E. G. Ravenstein; T. Lewis.)
When the Portuguese landed at the mouth of the Congo at the
the fifteenth century they came into contact with the kingdom
close of
of Congo, ruled with great pomp and ceremony at Ambassa, about
150 miles inland, and identical with the San Salvador of the Portu-
guese. The old kingdom of Congo was made up of six strong clans
of whose rivalry the Portuguese took advantage to strengthen their
own commercial and political position. The slave trade was con-
sidered to be as respectable as it was lucrative, and there is no doubt
114 The Ovimbundu
that the Church participated actively (T. Lewis, Tlie Old

Kingdom ofKongo, Geog. Journ., 1908, pp. 598-600).
Political influence of the Portuguese, working often through the
agency of Jesuit priests, led to factions within the Congo Empire,
and the resulting disturbances caused movements of peoples that
affected the whole of northern Angola and the populatiorl of the
Benguela Highlands.
Portuguese penetration of the hinterland of Angola, especially
from Loanda to Bihd, was concerned with attempts to subjugate
native tribes, the establishment of trading posts, and the encourage-
ment of the slave trade (S. Marquardsen, Angola, 1928, pp. 6-10).
The value of the Portuguese as allies of Umbundu caravans from
Bihd lay in their ability to supply guns and powder to their native
henchmen, who gave something more than military service in return.
In response to Portuguese demand for slaves and ivory, Umbundu
caravans made long Journeys into the Congo basin, Rhodesia, south
and southwest Angola, and possibly across Africa to lakes Tanganyika
and Nyasa. The arms supplied in exchange for ivory and slaves must
have helped the Ovimbundu in all their predatory excursions.
Thus the Ovimbundu were, in the early centuries of contact with
the Portuguese, invaders encouraged in the building up of their
and resources. Never were the Portuguese strong enough
tribal life
completely to subjugate northern Angola. Relationships with
natives, especially the Bihdan section of the Ovimbundu, were
directed toward alliances on a commercial basis. The political result
of this was a combination the Portuguese and the stronger tribes
of
for the exploitation of the weaker.
The historical ethnology of the southwest Congo is so complex
that the elements are difficult to disentangle. The number of tribes
concerned is great, and their movements are not easy to follow; but
a gradual extension of people from the Congo in a southwesterly
direction through Ltmda to the Benguela Highlands (1600-1800)
seems to be the summation of all the conflict. I regard the Ovim-
bundu as the most southerly branch of these mass movements, during
which they received a discipline that enabled them to make their
home in central Angola, despite opposition from the Portuguese
and earlier arrivals.
For these conclusions reliance has been placed on the extensive
field work and historical analyses of E.,Torday and T. A. Joyce, whose
“Notes on the Ethnography of the Bambala” (J.R.A.I., XXXV, pp.
398-426) have proved of particular value in this connection.
The kernel of the migratory problem of the Ovimbundu is reached

when Torday traces out the history of the Kimbundu, for the Kim-
bundu are present-day neighbors of the Ovimbundu, to whom they
are closely allied in language and culture (ovi is a Bantu plural prefix,
which was perhaps used to express the inclusion of Kimbundu and
Babunda under the general name Ovimbundu).
Torday’s sifting of the historical evidence results in the conclusion
that Kimbundu came from the northeast, fighting their way to
the Luando. These Kimbundu divided, with civil war as a conse-
quence. One Kwanza, south of which they
section crossed the river
specialized in agriculture after becoming sedentary. Their sub-chief
they called the Kalunga, which is the present-day word used by the
Ovimbundu in greeting their chiefs. Traditions of the Ovimbundu
point to the northeast as a center from which they spread at least
ten generations ago. The rise of the powerful kingdom of Lunda
dates from the seventeenth century, and although the details of this
concentration of power in northeast Angola are unknown the general
effects are understood. There was a great displacement of tribes in a
southerly and southwesterly direction. In connection with the
suggestion that the Ovimbundu came from the northeast of Angola,
there is the necessity for recording the absence of even a fragment
of historical evidence or tribal tradition indicating that the Ovim-
bundu came from the south or the east of Angola.
Cultural affinities of the Ovimbundu with tribes of the southwest
Congo and with western Bantu culture in general,
in particular,
strongly support the foregoing deductions from historical sources
(chapter X).
There is a probability that tribal disturbances resulting from the
rise of Lunda Empire led to a spread of the Vachokue over eastern
the
Angola. Some of the effects of this contact have already been
mentioned in chapter II, where contacts of the Ovimbundu and the
Vachokue were discussed. The journey brought me into contact with
the Vachokue at Cangamba, Katoko, and Ngalangi, of which
Cangamba is the most easterly.
Witnessing of initiation ceremonies combined with observation of
physique, language, and artifacts, leads me to agree with Torday that
Cangamba is probably the ancient center of Vachokue culture. As
one proceeds from Cangamba westward this type of culture becomes
thinner as the borders of the country occupied by the Ovimbundu
are approached. On the border line between the cultures of the
Vachokue and the Ovimbundu, notably at Ngongo near Ngalangi,
116 The Ovimbundu
there is tribal and cultural miscegenation. Both Umbundu and

Vachokue languages are spoken; boys of Ngalangi were seen to wear
initiation costumes similar to those worn at Cangamba by the
Vachokue, but on proceeding farther westward into territory
exclusively occupied by the Ovimbundu, such initiation ceremonies
are either absent or attenuated in ritual.
Elende, one center of research among the Ovimbundu, repre-
sents the purest Umbundu speech and culture observable at .the
present day. But in chapter IV some physical resemblance of the
Ovimbundu to the Vachokue is noted. Warfare commonly resulted
in the taking of slaves, a fact which might account for an apparent
infusion of Vachokue blood in some of the Ovimbundu.
The data suggest a northern or northeastern starting
historical
point of Umbundu migrations. Therefore an inquiry into the
ethnology of these areas will be useful in showing the kind of culture
with which the Ovimbundu were in contact before their settlement
in the Benguela Highlands. If historical sources disclose the nature
of northern Angolan culture from the year A.D. 1500 onward, such
evidence can then be considered in relation to cultural traits of the
Ovimbundu at the present day.
The establishment of strong cultural resemblances between extant

Umbundu culture and older cultural patterns of northern Angola,
would tend to strengthen the evidence of history respecting the
northern origin of the Ovimbundu.
The regions dealt with in the following summary of ethnological
facts are the Cabinda Enclave to the north of the Congo estuary,
the region of San Salvador, the hinterlands of Loanda and Benguela,
and the area of northern Angola between Lat. 7° and 9° S. and
Long. 13° to 22° E. This covers the whole area with which the
Ovimbundu are likely to have been in contact before entering their
present home.
Mysurvey begins with the observations of Andrew Battell in
1596. His account deals mainly with the northwestern part of
Angola, a country bordering on and actually including territory now
occupied by the Ovimbundu, who in all probability came in contact
with the Jaggas, whose habits of life are described by Battell.
Tordayand Joyceidentify theJaggas with the present-dayBayaka,
whose cultural resemblances to the Ovimbundu are examined later.
In my opinion, the Jaggas correspond well with the Bihân section
of the Ovimbundu, an itinerant and exceedingly warlike people.
As early as 1600 there were cattle as far north as Benguela, and

the Jaggas regarded these as a most valuable part of their plunder.
Palms are a characteristic part of the vegetation of Angola north of
the Benguela Highlands. Evidently the Jaggas moved extensively
in northern Angola because they cut down palms for making wine
(Battel!, p. 30). The usual method is to tap the top of a standing
tree, but the Jaggas were an itinerant people who did not culti-
vate, palms.
Sprinkling the blood of sacrificed animals on a newly kindled fire
I have mentioned in connection with Umbundu rites celebrating the
founding of a new village. The Jaggas carried out this ceremony
before a raiding expedition, when cows and other animals were
sacrificed (Battell, p. 33). Battell mentions the use of red tukula
wood for personal decoration. This wood {Pterocarpus tinctorius)
is used in many parts of Angola at the present time.
Reference to Battell confirms the information given to me in

an old iron gong obtained at Ngalangi. He says (p. 20),
relation to
“The general did strike his gong, which is an instrument of war that
soundeth like a bell, and presently made an oration with a loud
voice.”
Battell reported that the Jaggas wore beads of ostrich eggshell.

Ravenstein, the editor of this volume in the Hakluyt Series, seems
to doubt this statement, saying, “There are no ostriches in Angola,
and as to beads made of ostrich eggs I can give no explanation.”
I noted the presence of captive ostriches in southern Angola as far
north as Gambos. The Vakuanyama women greatly value their long

necklaces of ostrich-eggshell beads.Necklaces made in the north of
Angola are traded to the south and conversely, each kind of necklace
having a high value due to remoteness of origin. This instance, like
many other points, confirms the reliability of Battell’s observations
in Angola.
Father Jerome Merolla (1682) describes the poison ordeal which

was used from the Congo estuary to San Salvador (Churchills’
Voyages, II, p. 675). “The aforesaid oath is administered to the
supposed traitor by a sort of wizard, who, making a certain composi-
tion out of the juices of herbs, serpent’s flesh, pulp of fruits, and
divers other things, gives it to the supposed delinquent to drink. If
guilty (as they tell you) he will immediately fall down in a swoon
or trembling to the ground.” The marimba was used, and a double
iron gong was carried before a chief and struck by an attendant.
118 The Ovimbundu
0. Dapper (Description de I’Afrique, 1732, p. 369) shows a scene

in which an ax, such as I obtained from the Vasele country, is being
used for beheading a slave.
Cavazzi (Istoriea descrizione, etc., Bologna, 1687) describes the
three kingdoms of Congo, Matamba, and northern Angola. The
poison ordeal, the scapegoat, the blacksmith’s bellows (pp. 101, 170)
are all traits known to the Ovimbundu. The musical instrument
made from a large gourd, which has a ridged board attached /or
rubbing with a stick, is the type I collected. Cavazzi pictures the
double iron gong and the long drum held between the knees. He
also shows a rain-maker (p. 214) and the sacrifice of two hundred
victims at the accession of a king (p. 210).
'x
Consideration of the history of maize in Africa is of importance

in connection with these early writings, as this grain is the staple
agricultural product of the Ovimbundu. I am indebted to Dr.
Berthold Laufer for access to his unpublished research on this subject.
From the following facts one may assume that, in all probability,
the maize culture of the Ovimbundu was derived from the Congo
region before their migration into the Benguela Highlands.
Father Jerome Merolla remarks that maize was growing in the
neighborhood of San Salvador (1683-92). The native names were
mampunni and massambuta; from this corn an alcoholic bovei'ago was
prepared. According to Cavazzi (Ehrmann, Geschichbe der merk-
wurdigsten Reisen, XIII, 1794) maize was not intensively cultivated
by the Negroes of lower Guinea, though it thrives well and may be
harvested twice or thrice a year. The natives said that the grain
was brought by the Portuguese, but they did not esteem it highly,
and were accustomed to use it as food for pigs.
Bosman (p. 312) records that prior to the arrival of the Portu-
guese, Negroes were entirely ignorant of milho (“maize”). The
account of Duarte Lopez preserved by Filippo Pigafetta states that
the Negroes consider maize the vilest of all grains, so that it is
given to swine. This contempt and lack of knowledge of the food
value, combined with ignorance of methods of preparation, suggest
a recent introduction (Pigafetta, translation by M. Hutchinson,
1881, p. 40). Dapper (Description de I’Afrique, 1732, p. 345) also
mentions the cultivation of maize. Battell lived as prisoner in
northern Angola about the year 1600, consequently his records of
the use of the great Guinea wheat (maize), which the natives call
mas~importo, give early evidence for the use of this grain (Hakluyt
Soc., 1901, pp. 9, 11, 67).
The foregoing facts, when compared with field work among the
Ovimbundu, indicate that the old culture of the Congo and northern
Angola bears a strong resemblance to Umbundu culture at the
present day. A more detailed analysis of this resemblance is made
in chapter X.
The> following notes dealing with exploration in Angola (1800-
1930) are adduced for critical comparison with my own observations
among the Ovimbundu.
The work of Sir R. F. Burton describing the exploration of Lacerda
and other Portuguese pioneers, is more useful for geographical than
for ethnological information. Lacerda’s journey to Czambe, south
of Lake Moero, was performed in 1798. A mention of veneration
for the dead and consultation of the deceased on all occasions of
war or of good fortune, is made (p. 127). These are important points
in the present tribal life of the Ovimbundu.
Bowditch (1824) writes from information given to him by Almeida

and Saldanha. There are valuable references to the Vacilenge, a
people adjacent to the Ovimbundu, who refused to kill their cattle,
"rather than do which they will endure famine to extremity.” This
note was made about Long. 15° E. and Lat. 16° S. (p. 34). The
cattle were milked, and cattle-raiding by the Ovimbundu was
common at this time. Many present-day Ovimbundu do not milk
their cattle, but the Vacilenge still follow their milking custom
observed before 1824.
Livingstone’s journey through northeast and northern Angola in
1853 contains references to the Vachokue who seemed bent on plun-
der (I, p. 370) Livingstone noted cotton spinning, which I recorded
.
as an occupation of males of the Ovimbundu at Elende. Livingstone,

-like other early travelers, encountered caravans of Bihâns (Ovim-
bundu) bearing elephants’ tusks and beeswax, commodities, which,
along with slaves, formed the chief merchandise of these caravans
from the Benguela Highlands (p. 466). Livingstone notes and
sketches (Plate XIII, Fig. 10) the double-handled hoe (p. 442) which
is still used.
Monteiro (I, p. 61) saw the poison ordeal administered. The
J. J.
poison itself was prepared from the thick hard bark of a large tree
(Erythrophlaeum guineense). The place of observation was Mongue
Grande, just south of the Congo estuary, and again Monteiro was
present when the poison cup was given to two women at Ambrizette.
Of this ordeal there is more to be said when discussing the culture
contacts of the Ovimbundu, because the ordeal is a basic factor of
120 The Ovimbundu
wide distribution in Africa (C. Wiedemann, 1909) and the ceremony

still survives among the Ovimbundu in modified form.
Though an informative Monteiro is sometimes vague; he

writer,
says (I, a universal custom among the
p. 278) that circumcision is
blacks of Angola. In view of the extent of Angola, the diversity of
tribes, and the fact that Monteiro traveled over only a small part of
the country, this information is misleading.
Monteiro the only writer in whose works I have found a

is
reference to the Vasele tribe; probably no part of Angola has been

so neglected as the Esele country in the hinterland of Novo Redondo.
At the present day the Vasele have a reputation for cannibalism.
Monteiro saw human flesh eaten at Cuacra, while the skulls of the
victims were placed on adjacent trees. Monteiro states (II, p. 167)
that on the death of a king the Mucelis (Vasele) put out all the fires
in the kingdom; these were relighted by the succeeding king who
used produced by rubbing two sticks together. The flat beads
fire
of shell called dongos, made from Achaiim monetaria (11, p. 168),

are made today and traded to the far south of Angola, where their
novelty assures them a value far beyond their intrinsic worth. I was
fortunate in obtaining an example of the old beheading ax mentioned
by Monteiro (II, p. 157) and sketched by Cavazzi (p. 210). Par-
boiled and roasted rats were offered to me as food Monteiro mentions
;
the offering of a roasted rat on a skewer (I, p. 99).
The account of Commander V. who left Zanzibar

L. Cameron,
for his journey across Africa in 1873, mentions several points of
anthropological importance in relation to the Angolan section of his
journey. Cameron saw a net-covered medicine-man of the Kibokue
(Vachokue) wearing a mask and a kilt of grass (p. 384) The function
.
of this man was to frighten devils from the woods. The contest in
which boys discharge their arrows at a rolling root was seen by
Cameron near Kagnombe (Cangamba?). Skulls of victims killed in
war were spiked on poles (p. 399). The diviner was followed by
attendants who struck iron gongs, while the diviner himself shook a
rattle made of basket-work in the form of a dumb-bell (p. 404).
Cameron gives an accurate description of the divination basket and
its use without going into details. These I have been able to supply
(chapter IX). The explorer met caravans of Bih(5ans, renowned
carriers then as they are today. They were usually drunk and
abusive; in some instances they attempted to rob the stragglers.
The use of caterpillars as food is noted (p. 416); “A man cut open
a large cocoon, extracted the contents, and smacked his lips with
great gusto.” My field notes mention the use of caterpillars as food.
Capello and Ivens (1877-80) remark on the burial places of
hunters which are distinguishable by the skulls of antelopes, buffalo,
and hippopotamuses, stuck on upright poles, mixed with skulls of
oxen killed in honor of the defunct. The writers noted that a heap of
stones protected the body. I photographed two types of cairn in the
regions of Ganda and Luimbale respectively. Capello and Ivens are
not precise in their locality, but I judge it to have been Long. 17“ E.
and Lat. 13° S., a considerable distance from my own observations
(Plates XXXII, Fig. 1; LXXIV, Fig. 1).
photographed the stilt-walkers at the final stages of the initiation
I
ceremonies at Cangamba. These men had no costumes; on the

contrary they were almost naked but were covered with white clay.
Capello and Ivens (p. 295), saw a stilt-walker with a feathered mask
and a netting costume. Such attire I saw on an Uluchazi medicine-
man, but not on the stilt-walkers (Plate LXXXI, Figs. 1, 2).
I was unable to obtain information about the stilt-walkers, but
Capello states that they castigated misdemeanants, punished shame-
less women, and accused criminals. Capello and Ivens were 187
miles to the northwest of my area of observation. The Uluchazi
medicine-man, who appeared with the stilt-walkers during my visits,
was said to make bad magic for women. The men ignored him but
women gathered round in a derisive way; they quickly scattered
when he pursued them.
Serpa Pinto, who made his journey across Angola in 1878, has
so many references to customs and objects still extant, that I propose
to tabulate his observations because of their value in showing the
preservation of indigenous traits in spite of Portuguese contacts.
The body with a covering of oxhide.
of a chief is buried Many
oxen are the death of a king. The heir to the deceased
sacrificed at
is bound to sacrifice his whole herd in order to regale his people and
give peace to the departed (S. Pinto, I, p. 63). The Ovimbundu

conform at the present time to similar methods of burial and sacrifice.
Near Huambo, Serpa Pinto saw in every village a kind of “temple
for conversation.” This is the onjango, that I have described and
photographed (Plate XLVIII, Fig. 1). It is the house in which all
males foregather for the evening meal, which is brought by their
women (I, p. 96).
The gathering and eating of caterpillars is described. This con-
tinues today (I, p. 120).
122 The Ovimbundu
Serpa Pinto saw shafts for the working of iron ore in the neighbor-
hood of Cubango. The ore was mixed with charcoal and smelted in
shallow pits. It is stated tliat the iron was sometimes tempered
with ox-grease and salt. The bellows are of the type made at Elende
(I, p. 128). Of the tempering process I have no confirmation.
Somewhere near Bih4 Serpa Pinto saw the ceremony of question-
ing a corpse which was made to sway to and fro, the people believing
all the while that it does so without human intervention. ^The
diviner declared that the soul of a dead person will tell who caused
the death (I, p. 130). I observed and photographed this ceremony
(Plate XLV, Fig. 1).
The ordeal of the poison cup is described; blood-letting, and
divination by shaking articles in a basket are also mentioned. Pinto
says that in the articles that appear uppermost the diviner reads what
his hearers are desirous of learning of the past, present, or future.
Sorcery and rain-making are likewise briefly mentioned (I, p. 132).
The divination basket, the poison ordeal, and rain-making, are
Umbundu cultural traits today.
Here Pinto the existing practice of mounting the
illustrates
skulls of animals killed by a hunter on a polo in the village. There
is a further reference to this custom among the Ambuellas (T, p. 3!53).
These instances, combined with those personally noted, give a wide

distribution for the practice (I, p. 177).
Pinto saw the operation of tooth mutilation among the Luimba.
The operation was performed with a knife which was struck by
repeated light blows (I, p. 209).
Pinto illustrates arrowheads in use in 1879 (I, pp. 277, 346).
These are exactly the same as those made and used in 1929 (Plate
XVII, Figs. 1-9).
Axes used by the Luchazi are sketched with a detail that shows
the old forms to persist without alteration (II, p. 36).
Water-pipes made from horns and gourds by the Luina of eastern
Angola are of the forms now used in that region, also by the Ovim-
bundu of the present day (II, pp. 33, 37).
For use in checking and supplementing my observations Serpa
Pinto’s book was found to be of the greatest service, though the
precise locality was sometimes difficult to identify. This explorer, in
common with others, scattered his ethnological observations among
descriptions of the route and botanical, zoological, and other notes.
Lux traveled from Loanda due east, following the Kwanza on the
northern bank between 9° and 10° S. Lat., and so into Lunda.
Histoeical Soueces 123
He draws the crescentic arrowhead (p. 123) still common among

the Ovimbundu and Vachokue; the double iron gong (p. 122); and
the musical bow, which he calls a Auola (p. 121).
Sogaur states that iron-working had an advanced technique at

Dindo, more than half a century ago. According to Sogaur, the
blacksmith was using scrap iron from European sources (II, p. 14).
Perhaps the most valuable of Chatelain’s books is “Fifty Folk
Tales of Angola.” The stories are accompanied by translations and
ethnological notes, the most important of which are references to the
carrying of a corpse on a pole; the building of a cairn of stones over
the corpse of a hunter; matrilineal descent and the power of the
maternal uncle over the persons of his nieces and nephews (sisters’
children). My observations included some details respecting the
pawning of a sister’s children to redeem the debts of
their mother’s
brother. Chatelain adds that sisters’ children are successors to
private property and chieftainship (pp. 8-10). My
notes agree that
property is inherited by children of a deceased man’s sister, but my
informants said that a new chieftain is normally the eldest son of the
principal wife of the dead chief. Chatelain’s folklore stories, fifty in
number, relate chiefly to animals; this was the only kind of story
told to me, but W. C. Bell has recorded a few tales of another type.
Marquardsen (1928) devotes only one-fourth of his book to the
ethnology of Angola, which he treats in a very general way; there is
no section dealing specifically with any particular tribe. The author
calls attention to Chapman’s observation of rock paintings of South
African Bushman type, between Cuma and Luimbale in northwest
Angola. I have elsewhere remarked on the occasional occurrence of
physical types which show a strain of Bushman blood. Today
Bushmen penetrate southern Angola from the Kalahari (Plate LXIX,
Figs. 1, 2), but their presence in times past or present does not affect
the course of history or the data of ethnology to an appreciable extent.
Marquardsen gives some notes of a general kind on Vaheneca,
Mahuila and other tribes of southwest Angola. The suggestion is
feasible that the Umbundu name Suku, for a supreme being, is the
same as the Nzambi of Lunda and the Congo. Marquardsen refers
to the importance of the maternal uncle in Umbundu society, to the
poison ordeal, and to the burial of an Umbundu chief in oxliide, all
of which points were recorded in my observations at Elende.
book is unobtainable, but, judging from the sum-
Ferreira Diniz’s
mary given in Anthropos (XX, 1925, pp. 321-331), the information
was collected by a questionnaire widely distributed among adminis-
;
124 The Ovimbundu
trative posts. I agree that people between Caconda and Huila

represent a racial mixture of the Ovimbundu and the Ovambo. The
record speaks of painting-houses for girls at Cabinda, an item which
agrees with reports from other sources. The jottings concerning
tribesfrom Cabinda to the far south of Angola are too vague to be
used in ethnological work with confidence.
There are many points on which the work of A. Schachtzabel
should be consulted for the purpose of making comparisons with my
own observations. The chief of these are a note and photograph on
village construction (p. 130); the musical bow (p. 32); the loom
(plate VI) transmigration of the soul of a chief into an animal (p. 51)
;
and the game of mancala (p. 52). My observations of initiation at

Katoko, Ngalangi, and Cangamba agree well with that of Schacht-
zabel at Katoko, but I was able to obtain more detail and more
numerous photographs of the ritual of initiation. The spinning of
cotton (p. 143) is exactly the process so frequently witnessed now at
Elende. Iron-working (p. Ill) appears to be comparable with the
technique at Elende, but Schachtzabel seems to have missed the
ritual. I was not so fortunate as this author in finding the old type
of iron-smelting furnace in use.
The work of Statham is devoted primarily to hunting and descrip-
and animal life. The chapter given to a casual descrip-
tions of plant
tion of people among whom he passed is not useful as ethnology;
but the book is of service in providing a background of natural history.
Information on the tsetse fly in Angola (p. 294) assists ethnological
work by showing the determining effect of this biological factor.
Presence of the fly is prohibitive to cattle-keeping, therefore cattle
are not kept along the river courses which are infested with this pest.
Alexander Bams made no pretence of writing more than a travel
book; nevertheless he publishes photographs of ethnological value,
gives useful historical summaries, and deals with economic problems
of production and transportation.
Tucker’s book “Drums in the Darkness,” though written to
interest the American public in mission work, contains many ethno-
logical statements. The chief of these relate to the structure of the
compound (p. 37) the dress of women (p. 39) naming of twins and
; ;
triplets; and other items which agree well with data from the district
in which I worked. There are notes on drum signals (p. 74) and
cannibalism (p. 77). Apparently drum signals were in use at Bih4
half a century ago. Forty years ago a slave was killed and eaten
at the installation ceremonies for a new king, a point that was noted
in the works of Battell, Cavazzi, and other early writers. A descrip-

tion of the whipping of boys at initiation (p. 99) agrees with my own
records, but details of the period and place are not given by Tucker.
Questioning a corpse (p. 102) is a ceremony I have witnessed and
described, but the instance referred to by Tucker relates to the
interrogation of the corpse of a chief with regard to his choice of a
successor; there are laws of succession, but these may be waived.
The,eeremony described in my monograph was conducted to discover
the cause of death and not to determine succession. If Tucker
has any detailed information with regard to puberty ceremonies for

girls his reticence is regrettable (p. 142). Tucker says that suicide
among women is common (p. 143). A mention of ocisunji, a feast
for spirits at which meat is offered to idols, is interesting (p. 168)
but details are lacking, and the use of the word idols is ambiguous.
The information respecting use of charms is corroborative of my
own observations in two other centers, Elende and Ngalangi.
The most recent publication on the ethnology of Angola is that of
P. and W. Jaspert of the StSdtisches Vdlkermuseum, Frankfort, 1930.
Their journey was undertaken primarily to make collections for a
museum, but linguistic and ethnological information was recorded
among several tribes, notably the Kimbundu, Vachokue, Luchazi,
Luimba, and Kusongo. The farthest point attained in a
southerly direction was just north of Kipungo, and the general line
of march was from Benguela to the northeast, into Lunda. There is
very little overlapping in the work of the Jasperts and myself. My
itinerary took me to the extreme south into the Vakuanyama country,
and to the far east of Moxico among the Vachokue.
My work is presented monograph on the Ovimbundu only,
as a
and with some reference to the
of their culture I treat exclusively,
culture contacts observed on all sides of them. The Jasperts do not
give an entire section to any one tribe; but combine their information
respecting the tribes in a concurrent way, under such subjects as
technology, language, and art.
the sections relating to history and languages are excluded there
If
remain a hundred pages, only one-sixth of which refer to the Ovim-
bundu; but there a difficulty in reading through the book without
is
being confused as to the tribe and exact locality under discussion.
The pages devoted to a comparative vocabulary form an important

part of the work, and one which I barely touched, though I prepared
an outline of Umbundu grammar and made dictaphone records of the
126 The Ovimbundu
Umbundu language. The illustrations in photogravure are excellent,

but the small-scale map is difficult to follow.
As might be expected in a work covering an enormous tract of
country, the information is have nowhere
of a veiy general kind; I
been able to check in any detail on my own observations. P. and W.
Jaspert recognize that Umbundu culture is primarily based on
agriculture, maize being the most important crop, but they do not
admit the importance of hunting (p. 16). -
I saw many successful parties of Umbundu hunters, tested their

precision with the bow and arrow, and was able to record the ritual
connected with the initiation of a professional hunter. There is also
a ceremony before the hunter sets out. It would be more accurate
to say that, although Umbundu culture is based primarily on agri-
culture, hunting still retains some of its earlier importance.
The diagrams of houses in different parts of Angola are a useful
feature of the work. I made many photographs but did not record
details of planning.
The masks I obtained are exactly like those pictured, but my
observations were carried out a long way to the southeast of the
point where the Jasperts touched the Vachokue culture. I do not
understand from their description whether the writers sawan initiation
ceremony. They state that boys are circumcised and girls arc excised
when very young, even at the age of five or six years. I observed
initiation camps and dances at three centers, Ngalangi, Katoko, and
Cangamba; the last named is the main center of Vachokue culture.
The male novices varied in age from twelve to sixteen years hence
they were older than the novices mentioned by the Jasperts. I was
informed that there were no excision operations for girls, though at
Ngalangi, Vanyemba girls were secluded in the bush during initiation
rites lasting for a month.
Bibliographical references to the research of H. Baumann will be
found useful for comparative study. His detailed record of initiation
among the Vachokue is valuable as a check on my observation, as we
worked independently in areas separated by several hundred miles.
Consultation of historical sources gives the following answers to
questions which were asked as an introduction to this chapter.
On
the grounds of tribal tradition, historical evidence, and cul-
home of the Ovimbundu was likely to have
tural affinities, the original
been in the southwest Congo. The Ovimbundu undoubtedly possess
important cultural traits that have been characteristic of the southern
Congo region from the earliest time for which a record exists.
Histoeical Sources 127
In northern Angola the Ovimbundu could not have had other than
a warlike existence, which trained them in military tactics and the
building up of an aggressive confederacy. In this they were aided
by contact with the Portuguese, who supplied guns and powder in
exchange for slaves and ivory from the interior. This accumulated
wealth further stimulated the building up of Umbundu tribal life.
Introduction of maize by the Portuguese gave the Ovimbundu a
knpwledge of this grain, which later became their staple wealth and
food supply.
The cultural pattern of the northern Congo was the same in the
year 1600 as it is today, and consideration of the ethnology of the
Congo region reveals numerous similarities with Umbundu culture
of the present time.
Writings of explorers in Angola from A.D. 1800 to the present day

bring out many points which are in agreement with my field observa-
tions. There are no discrepancies which would make me question
the validity of information given by my informants.
In early records, Battell's observation of cattle in the hinterland
of Benguela (1600), is important in showing that at such an early date
the Ovimbundu had access to cattle when raiding from their home
in the Benguela Highlands.
From these fundamentals of geography and history the inquiry
turns to a detailed account of my observations among the Ovimbundu
and surrounding tribes.
IV. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Among the Ovimbundu two main physical types. One
there are
of these is of brown skin and slender build. In this type the
color
calves and thighs are poorly developed, and the chest girth is slender
in keeping with the general development. In general the physical
characteristics are distinctly different from those of a typical West
African Negro as represented by the Kru and the Ibo tribes: -
The Ovimbundu are Bantu Negi-oes who possibly result from a

crossing of Hamites and true Negroes, a hypothesis which would
account for both the light-colored slim type and the shorter, darker,
more sturdy type. But E. Torday (Herbert Spencer, Descriptive
Sociology of African Races, London, 1930, Preface, p. iii) thinks that
differences of physique among Sudanic and Bantu Negroes are
sufficiently accounted for by isolations and environmental differences.
Torday denies the need for postulating an infusion of Hamitic blood,
but his opinion is opposed to that which has found general acceptance.
The darker Ovimbundu with more facial hair may represent an
infusion of Vachokue blood because there was warfare between the
Ovimbundu and the Vachokue of eastern Angola with the result
that some of the latter were taken as slaves. Types of the Ovim-
bundu are shown (Plates LII-LIV).
The Vasele, an Umbundu-speaking people of west-central Angola,
form a linguistic and cultural pocket because of their isolation in
rugged country. Their physique shows no pronounced differences
from that of the Ovimbundu, but the methods of scarification, tooth
mutilation, and personal ornament are in distinct contrast with those
of the Ovimbundu. The Ovimbundu have only a V-shaped notch in
the two upper central incisors, whereas the Vasele chip all their teeth
to points (Plate LXXVI, Figs. 1, 2),
The Luvando of southwest Angola resemble the Ovimbundu in
general physique, though the great difference in hairdressing and
personal ornament is likely to give a contrary impression (Plate LIX,
Pigs. 1, 2).
The Vaheneca are particularly well developed (Plate LXII, Figs.
1, 2); Not until Mongua is reached does one find a people who are
distinctly different from the Ovimbundu in all respects.The
Vakuanyama of Mongua are noticeably tall and slim, much taller
and slimmer than the Ovimbundu, while their physiognomy is more
refined (Plates LXIII; LXVIII, Fig. 2). The Vakuanyama are
a pastoral tribe whereas the Ovimbundu are principally agricultural,
128
Physical Appeaeancb 129
The picture of types gathered at Ngalangi (Plate LXXXIX,

Fig. 3) shows, reading from left to right along the back row, then
along the front row in the same direction; an Ocimbundu; an Oci-
vokue; a man of the Vangangella; an Uluchazi woman; a Lunda man;
and two types of the Vangangella.
The M’Bunda man and woman photographed at Cangamba
display characteristic deformation of the upper central incisors
(Pl&te XCI, Figs. 1, 2). Photographs of a Mussurongo man and
two women, taken about a hundred miles east of Malange, show no
great difference from the Ovimbundu except in their shorter stature
(Plates LXX, Figs. 1, 2; LXXI, Figs. 1, 2). The Bushman (Plate
LXIX, Figs. 1, shows a type found wandering in small bands in
2)
the south of Angola. These photographs were taken at Cassanga.
The dress and personal ornaments of the tribes dwelling to the
south of the Ovimbundu (Plates LIX-LXVIII) are entirely different
from the clothing and decorative styles observed in the areas occupied
by the Ovimbundu. This statement is true with regard to bodily
covering, ornaments, tooth mutilation, use of pigment, scarification,
and hairdressing.
In respect of all these factors, males and females of the Ovimbundu
have distinctive patterns which do not appear to have influenced,
or to have been influenced by the styles around them.
In working southward from Elende I passed through typical
Umbundu cultures until the vicinity of Kipungo was reached. At
this place the change in physical appearance, ornaments, and hair-
dressing was remarkable both for its abraptness and distinctiveness.
But the change from agricultural to pastoral pursuits is gradual.
A comparison of photographs indicates at once the truth of this
statement, which can be further illustrated by a detailed description
of the ornaments observed from Kipungo to Mongua.
By far themost important of these is the circular omba shell
made from the basal part of a gastropod shell of the genus Conus
Linn; and allied forms. These are highly prized, not because of any
intrinsic worth, but on account of strong sentiment arising from their
bequest, which is usually in the female line. I have, however, seen
a few males of the Vakuanyama wearing these shells. For the old
omba shells monetary offers equal to the earnings of a woman for a
period of six months were made, but without success. One woman
wavered somewhat, but finally decided that she dared not return to
her home without her omba shells. From a Portuguese trader I
bought, for a small sum, omba shells showing stages in manufacture.
130 The Ovimbundu
The new ornaments had acquired no sentimental value, therefore

their price was moderate.
Omha shells are to be seen in use from Kipungo southward through
Huila, among the Luvando, and among the Vakuanyama of southern
Angola. In the places mentioned one may judge the social status
of a woman by the number of omba shells she wears. A principal
wife is usually well supplied with these ornaments.
In this southern journey it was noticeable that there was-an
increasing use of red pigment which is lavishly employed for smearing
every kind of ornament, the body, and the hair. Leather belts and
skirts of Vakuanyama women are thickly coated with red pigment
which is The red powder is prepared
invariably mixed with grease.
by desiccating a red wood by the Vakuanyama, a name
called tukula
which is used through Angola and the southern Congo area.
From Kipungo southward through the Vakuanyama country
there is a notable absence of decorative wooden hair combs. On the
contrary, delicately carved combs are used by both men and women
of the Ovimbundu. The Vasele make such combs, but by far the best
examples are made and used by the Vachokue tribe of eastern Angola.
Here the decorative design usually includes a well-carved human
comb.
figure at the top of the
Among the Vakuanyama, necklaces of disks made from ostrich

eggshell are worn by the women only. A woman of importance has
a dozen loops of such necklaces, each loop being about 126 cm long.
These necklaces are so greatly esteemed that only after much persua-
sion can a woman be induced to part with a single link. Perhaps, as
isthe case with omba shell, there is more than the intrinsic value to
be considered. One point is constantly noticed in considering social
status and ornament. All the wives of a wealthy man, especially
among the Vakuanyama, are made to advertise their husband's posi-
tion by the profusion of their ornaments and the quality of their
leather skirts and belts.
There is, in addition to the necklaces of ostrich-eggshell beads, a

highly prized necklace made from small perforated disks of shell
having a diameter of about a centimeter. The Vakuanyama women
smear a necklace of this kind with grease and tukula powder; the
value of a necklace 126 cm long is equivalent to that of an ox. In
describing these necklaces there is interest in noting that they are
traded to the south of Angola from places six hundred miles to the
north; therefore their value is to some extent dependent on rarity
and distant origin.
Physical Appearance 131
Young unmarried girls of the Luvando tribe wear a large number

of leg-bands which extend from the ankles to the knees as a sign that
puberty has not been reached. These leg-bands are somewhat roughly
twisted from fibrous roots and twigs from which the cortex has been
removed. Collars of tough, elastic, cane-like substance are worn by
Luvando women, and so numerous are these that the neck is entirely
covered. These cane neck-bands are ornamented with burned,
incised, geometrical patterns, and, in keeping with other ornaments,
are thickly smeared with grease and red powder from tulcula wood
(Plate LIX, Figs. 1, 2).
Women Vakipungo and Vakuanyama wear heavy coils of

of the
brass or copper wire on their forearms. In southern Angola women
wear bracelets of twisted wire which are identical with those worn
by Zulu women. Bracelets of beaten trade brass, ornamented with
incised geometrical designs, are worn by women of the Ovimbundu,
Vakuanyama, Luvando, and Vakipungo tribes. Ovimbundu women
now depend largely on trade goods for personal ornament.
Ovimbundu men and women are dressed in trade cloth. Unmar-
ried girls wear one piece which hangs from the armpits to the
of cloth
knees. A married woman drapes herself with two pieces of cloth,
a skirt hanging from her girdle, and an upper piece so folded as to
hold her baby tightly to her back. Men wear a single piece of cloth
as a skirt; the upper part of the body is bare (Plates XLIX-LI).
From the region of Kipungo to the southern border, clothing is of
leather. The Vachokue wear trade cloth or bark cloth.
Hairdressing is of many styles. Ovimbundu women braid their hair
neatly in strands across their foreheads, and small blue and white
trade beads are used to decorate the braids. The hairdressing of the
Ovimbundu women is different from that in any other part of Angola.
At an early age the hair is trained into two long loops at the back
of the head. Then these are covered with black cloth which is bound
tightly. The two loops are afterwards studded with brass-headed
tacks obtained from a store (Plate XL, Pig. 3).
Luvando women in the region of Kipungo dress the hair to form
a large triangular projection from the back of the head. Girls of the
Vaheneca tribe near Huila mass the hair with clay to form large
“cock’s combs.” Women of Gambos pass each small plait of hair
through hollow reeds. Humbe women do not redden or grease their
hair which is massed into three high ridges on the top, while at the
sides there are hornlike projections. Vakuanyama women dress their
hair with grease and tukula powder. A principal wife builds up her
;
132 The Ovimbhndu
hair into five high cones. Vacholcue women mass their hair into
separate balls shaped and held by clay and red coloring matter.
I know of no hairdressing for Vachokue men, but ornamental wooden
combs are sometimes used.
In only one place have I seen a nose pin worn, namely, the Esele
country of Vila Nova de Selles. The fashion is out of date, but women
of only twenty-five years of age have the septum of the nose bored
evidently the custom has not been obsolete for a long period (Plate
LXXV, Fig. 1).
The most popular European importations are blue cloth with
white spots, metal hair combs, beads, and bright metal crosses
bearing a figure of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus. This
ornament has penetrated to districts far away from Christian
missions, and its wide dispersal shows that a newly introduced and
attractive ornament from a foreign source may readily be accepted
by ti’ibes of different cultures.
There are interesting points of psychology in the attitude of the
Ovimbundu toward European importations. Only a few patterns of
cloth are favored, and there is no sale for any other design. Some
designs are thought to be appropriate for young girls while others are
favored by older women. The same may be said of colored beads, for
whereas both blue and white beads are the usual decoration for young
women and immature girls, red beads are worn chiefly by the
elderly women.
A consideration of personal ornament establishes the general truth
that in scarification, hairdressing, tooth mutilation, the use of red
powder and grease, the anointing of the hair with palm oil, and the
wearing of trade cloth, leather, or bark cloth, there is little exchange
of styles. There are diffusions in language and other cultural traits,
but decorative elements which have for a long period been regarded
as distinctive of tribal life are rigidly preserved.
V. ECONOMIC LIFE
The words “economic life” are here used with a wide connotation
including nature lore, food supply, trade, transport, and industries;
all these are combined to form a foundation for every aspect of the
social life of the tribe.
The truth of this is realized if one pays attention to the rites
connected with occupations. For the hunter there is special training,
ritual, and a peculiar mode of burial. Final ceremonies in the initia-
tion of a young blacksmith are associated with sacred acts such as
sacrifice of animals and the sprinkling of the tools with their blood.
Even the simple occupation of pounding corn requires that the rock
shall be dedicated to this purpose by sprinkling the blood of a
chicken on the surface. Similarly, a clay pit has to be consecrated
before the raw material may be taken for making pottery. A caravan
journey is not merely a commercial undertaking; the accompanying
medicine-man caiTies a wooden figure which he consults with regard
to the route (Plate XXI, Fig. 5).
Division of labor according to sex one of the most important
is
principles involved in the economicmore particularly in occupa-

life,
tional groupings, which are strictly observed. Moreover, within any

one activity, such as house-building, there are tasks for men only,
while other parts of the work are performed exclusively by women
or children.
The study importance when a comparison
of industries is of great
of Umbundu and adjacent cultures is being made. This is particu-
larly true in the instance of wood-carving, an occupation yielding
highly specialized products some of which are connected with religious
belief and ritual. All artifacts are valuable as criteria of cultural
contacts, though their reliability as evidence of trait diffusion natu-
rally varies with their degree of complexity. Study of native indus-
tries in relation to European contacts illustrates a cultural process
which may result in acceptance, rejection, or ingenious adaptation
of new ideas.
That a study of the economic life of a tribe is not merely a record-
ing of material processes and artifacts, is illustrated by observation
of the treatment of cattle. This pastoral pursuit naturally falls under
a heading “Domestic Animals,” but the ideas associated with cattle,
including funeral feasts, use of horns on graves, and the wrapping of
the royal corpse in oxhide, lead directly into important matters of
belief and ritual.
133
. .
134 The Ovimbundu
Nature lore of the Ovimbundu rightly forms an introduction to

other aspects of economic life, because there is no better introduction
to ethnological research in the field than that of associating with the
people in daily occupations connected with the food supply and
industries. In this way a field worker realizes that observation on
the part of hunters and food gatherers is fundamental, not merely to
economic and social life, but to the growth of language and folklore.
Observation and experiment have led to the selection of niany
kinds of timber, each having one or more specific uses. Collection
of plants is connected with the making of dyes for baskets, a varnish
for pots, and a pharmacopoeia for the medicine-man. Minute
observation of the habits of animals, primarily carried out to ensure
successful hunting, is clearly reflected in the growth of vocabulary,
and likewise in the realism and humor of folk tales and proverbs
(chapter VIII).
This chapter is concerned chiefly with a presentation of factual
material whose psychological and cultural bearing is more fully dealt
with in chapters X-XII.
Nature Lore
The Ovimbundu are keen observers whose knowledge of the
natural history of plants and animals comprehensive. Almost
is
any boy of twelve years of age is able to give the information detailed
here. Some of the birds have been identified by Mr. Rudyerd
Boulton, Department of Zoology, Field Museum.
Ombo. Ostrich. The knowledge of this bird must come from tho south o£
Angola. In traveling south 1 firstsaw ostriches at Humbe. These were
domesticated birds.
Epanda. Wattled Crane {Btigeranus carunculalus). The informant said,
“Epanda is a big bird which has long legs and a long neck,”
Epumumu. This is the Ground Hornbill {Bucorvua cafer) whose black wings
are tipped with white. I have observed them from Ganda to Vakuanyama
country. They take to flight slowly after hopping heavily for a few paces.
Ocarmkongo. From the Umbundu word ukongo, a hunter. This bird lives
on small buck and rabbits.
Eiokailo. This is the smaller bustard called by the Boers knorhaan.
Ohanga. The Guinea Fowl (Nvmida meleagris)
Onjam. Spur-winged Goose (Plectroplerus gambensis).
Ongonga. An eagle. The word is used generally for a large bird of prey.
Ohokohoko. The Bateleur Eagle (Teralhopius ecaudatus). The bird is almost
without a tail. This bird is not predatory. It kills snakes but does not
take chickens or other small animals.
Ociaelele. A kite, well known because it preys on chickens.
Eialahanga. A hawk which waits in the trees then volplanes on its prey.
Okapamba. A small hawk which preys on chickens.
Enyamahuti. A hawk.
Oeikuamanga. The White-breasted Crow (Cor»ws albus)
Onguali {ua-wa). This is the Red-necked Partridge (Pternislia afer).
'
Economic Life 135
Ekalanga. A on the legs.

species of francolin without red coloring
Esuvi. Thisa bird which comes out at night. It can catch spirits and
is
make them die a second death.
Onjinbi. This nocturnal owl (Bubo maculosus) is thought to be very dan-
gerous. People who hear the cry of this bird are frightened because the
noise is the sound of death.
Kacukucuku. The Barn Owl (Tyto alba affinis).
Ongongayulombo. An eagle which eats small buck, pigs, and rabbits.
Ekuii. Is a Red-eyed Dove (Slreptopelia semitorquata) which says “oo-oo—
oo” very sharply all day.
Onende. A dove (SirRptopelia capicola) which makes the same noise as ekuii
but on a higher note.
Onduva. This bird is of great importance to the Ovimbundu, because the
feathers are used for decorating the head of a dead king. A medicine-man
sometimes uses them for decoration when he is performing.
Ondonga. Is a little bird, which, like onduva, belongs to the royal family
of birds.
Ukuku. A water bird.
Oeiaandombunji. This is a bird which feeds on white ants.
Epandacokocoko. This is a bird (Geoeichla litaipsirupa) whose cry tells the
people of a village to make the guest house ready as strangers are coming.
Oeilonga. Is a beautiful yellow bird, an oriole (Oriolus monarchus angolensis).
Etna, singular; ovatua, plural. A species of bustard.
Etioko. A small bird of the plains (Anthus leucophrys).
Okakelekele. This is the Spur-wing Plover (Hoploplerus armaius), a large
bird which lives on flat land near rivers.
Ocikandi. An unidentified bird. My informant said, "Ocikandi can cry in
the same way as any other bird.”
Okakongonyala. This is a bird somewhat like a pigeon but larger. It has
long legs and is able to run well.
Undolo. A small spotted
bird which always looks in the direction of the sun.
Omiapia. This
a swallow. is
Ocikungumiapia, My informant said, “This bird is like omiapia but larger.”

Omuipui. “He has a crest on his head and when he sings rain is coming.”
Emnguaguluve. This bird has a long beak. It lays eggs on the ground. The
bird is as big as a man’s fist.
Omanula. A woodpecker (family Picidae).

Okangongo. Has a white breast spotted with black; the head is blue.
Ocinjonjo. This is a little bird having a long beak which is used to probe into
flowers.
Koseselekete. A little black bird which makes a small fine nest.
Ociiuku. A river bird. These birds go about in flocks.
Ongombo. A small yellow bird.
Epilili. A yellow bird rather larger than ongombo. This bird is kept in cages
very cleverly made of reeds by small boys. The birds are caught by smear-
ing a sticky substance on the branches of trees.
Ocikenge. Agapornis roseicollis. A small green parrot.
Okalusondonjovo. Is to be seen at the time of ongovo (spring). These birds
fly in flocks.
A description of bird-calls illustrates a method of reasoning by

analogy. This results in a transference of thoughts and human
emotions to animals, a process which gives animal fables their strong
136 The Ovimbundu
appeal. For example, the pigeon says, Tu kolela ohi iva ("We believe
and the following are further instances of the same kind.
in stealing”),
Ocinganja is a 'bird which has several calls. Barl^ in the year the lomale says
as she looks at the newly hatched brood, “This year I have borne white
children.” Later the little birds grow black feathers. Then the motlier
cries, “Each year disappointment.” Sometimes the female says to the
cock bird, “A stick has stuck in my eye. I wonder whether it will make
a growth there.” The bird is probably the Black Flycatcher (Melacnornis
pammelaim).
Epowdacofcocoio says, “Where will the guests stay? Where? Where? Where?”
This is an unfailing intimation that strangers will visit the village.
Omanula. This is another bird which announces the approach of strangers
by saying, “Akombe! Akombe! AkombeV’ ("Guests! Guests! Guests!”)
Two birds are supposed to carry on a dialogue.
Sankanjuele says, “He who has eaten should leave the rest for the important
ones,” meaning himself.
Ondonga answers, "Do you mean me? The way you scold hurts me to my
heart."
Vngolombia. The male and female birds ungolombia are about to cross a
stream. The female says, “I am wearing four yards of cloth,” meaning
that she will get wet. The husband says, three times, “If you are wearing
four yards of cloth, why do you not cross at the source oi the river?”
Ombovo says, “When I lay my eggs on the ground, the white ants destroy
them.” The call continues, “When I lay them up high, kaliipamba steals
them .” Ombovo cries, “Such hardship, goodness gracious me!” The exclama-
tion is, “A mai we," literally, “0 my mother!”
Kacukwku the Barn Owl (Typo alba) and his mate speak together. The female
says, “Cimuku, do you eat rats?” He answers, “I do not oat them, they
have tails.”
Vnoungusays, “No big animal lays eggs, so the crocodile must bo a bird, too.”
Oeimbamba (night hawk) may be heard on moonlight nights saying,
“0 lion, here are the people.”
Bkidi says, “My
child is gone to Kopulu." Koputu, in XJmbundu, moan.s a
far off place.Possibly Koputu is a corruption of Oporto. This bird makes
a monotonous and continuous cry from sunrise to sunset.
Epumumu (hornbills) are large black birds. The female says, “I’m going.
I’m going. I’m going to our village.” The male replies, “Don’t go, don't
go, the rain has come; let us plant.”
Katendipanga. This bird is quiet until September, the month in which
rain begins to fall. Then the bird says, “Save! Save! Save!’| lie means
this as a warning to people who eat their corn instead of saving some for
seed. The seed should be sown in October when the rains have begun.
The derivation of the name of this bird is important. Okutenda, to count;
ovipauga, the rows of corn in a field.
Kalusundanjovo. The female bird says, “Let’s throw away the big drum.”
The male answers, “When we have thrown it away, what shall we do for
dances?”
Observations of the weather are of importance in fixing dates for

sowing and reaping; such dates are the base of time reckoning.
Rainfall is important where cattle are kept, and a knowledge of the
stars is of service to hunters and caravan leaders when following
unfamiliar routes.
The weather is thought to be controlled to some extent by the
ocimhanda ("medicine-man”) and his performances. The rain-
. . ,
Economic Life 137
maker's dance seen at Ngongo, a village of Ngalangi in east-central

Angola, will be described in dealing with the ocimbanda (chapter IX),
No man thinks that the course of the sun can be altered, but there
seems to be a hope that the setting of the sun may be delayed. A
man who is likely to be overtaken by darkness breaks a piece from
an ant hill. This fragment is placed in the forked branch of a tree
while the supplicant says, “Sun, wait a little while for me.”
Months are reckoned by observation of the moon. The new moon
is (“moon”) yokaliye (“new”). There is no word for half moon.
osai
The phrase for full moon is osai ya tunga ohumha. Ohumba means
“basket”; therefore the idea appears to be that the full moon is
round like the big basket used for field work.
A star is called olumbungulidu. To describe a shooting star, the
word luenda (“it goes”) is added. The large bright morning star is
tanda. Another bright star is tielele. Three bright stars in a line
are the hunter, the dog, and the quarry. The three stars are ukongo
(“hunter”), lombua (“the dog”), locinyama (“the animal”).
An eclipse of the sun is uteke mtanya. The former word means
“night,” the latter word means “daylight.” Hence the meaning is
“night in daylight.”
Small mammals are captured in cane traps or stunned with blunt
wooden arrows. The pursuit of such animals is a pastime for boys
who thereby receive their early training in hunting. Rats are used
as food after being boiled and roasted. This fact accounts for interest
in the following small mammals.
TJmhili. This is a big black river rat, the largest of the water rats.
Ocifelefele, A big gray water rat {Crieeiomys?) not so large as umbili.
KaleJie. A river rat something like the preceding one in appearance. Kalefle
can stay in the water for a longer period than that endured by ocifelefele.
Epeke. This is a bush rat which is light gray in color.
Elcolongonjo. This rat stays in the bush. It builds a nest in an ant hill from
which it comes out only at night. The color is gray.
EUma (Epomophorus) This is the name given to the fruit bat. The word
elima means “not one thing and not another.” Thus elima is the word
applied to a mulatto; he is not a Negro, not a white man.
Osili (Rhabdomys) This is a large light brown mouse having white stripes
on his back.
Ongenge. A mouse.
Epengue. A black rat.
Ocipili. A mouse with a long thin nose,
probably a shrew.
Osinge. This is a very fat mouse.
Nakalongaka. This very small mouse makes a hole around which he piles
grass to conceal the entrance.
Onjomboloka (Lemniscomys). A mouse with a stripe on his back.
Kandoli (Dendromus). A very little mouse something like nakalongaka.
138 The Ovimbundu
Observation of reptiles is a necessary self-protection as there are

many poisonous snakes. The flesh of the python is eaten. Snake-
skin and lizard-skin are occasionally used; for example, in covering a
round, hard fruit in order to make a ball for playing a game.
When collecting lizards and snakes I found that each kind had a
well-known name, though there was occasional disagreement among
the men consulted.
Odmngoko is a lizard (Agama planiceps) about ten inches long
whose tail is covered with sharp spines. This reptile has colors of
bright blue, red, and orange. Ovangu is a large spinous gray lizard
{Agama atricoll ) Ekangala (Gerrhosaurus nigrolineatus)
. is a brilliantly
colored lizard which burrows deeply into the ground.
Olutanjila is a long slender green snake which hides in trees to
capture birds. Omlandanjila is a long gray-backed snake with a
light green belly. The generic name for snake is onyoha. The python
is omoma. The chameleon (elonailo) seems to be feared, as the men
and boys refuse to touch a dead one but always move it with sticks.
There is a proverb to the effect that the chameleon though slow
always gets there. The refusal to touch even dead reptiles is due
to an exaggerated fear of being bitten. I could find no other reason.
Trees are of importance in connection with building houses and
wood-carving. The qualities of different timbers are well known to
the Ovimbundu. For the main part, the collection of medicinal
plants and their uses will be described in connection with the
medicine-man. The following are the most common trees which are
of economic importance.
Uaia (pronounced oosha). This tree has an edible fruit the size of a walnut.
The kernel is valued as a food.
Ombula. This tree provides wood which burns readily. The small skin-
covered stools to be found in every hut are often made from this wood.
Ukengo. The fruit has a hard rind.
Owindo. This tree has a small acid fruit from which a medicine is made for
the cure of painful menstruation.
Usilosilo. The leaf is compound and palmate. The fruit is black.
Vsiambiambia. Bears a little red, oval fruit.
Usole. Has a large red fruit.
Vsombo. Grows near streams. It has a fruit like that of okulakula, but
smaller.
UhuUungu. Has a fruit like the berry of a coffee plant. The fruit is used
for making mucilage which is used for capturing small birds.
Omanda. When this tree is small, the wood is springy, and is therefore useful
for making bows. The wood of the older trees is burned for preparing charcoal
which is used in the blacksmith’s fire.
Onundu. This is an erect tree having no branches on the lower part. The
wood is extensively used in building native huts.
Economic Life 139
Omue. A large tree having clusters of small white flowers which are visited
by bees on account of their content of honey. The tree yields a hard wood
from which charcoal is prepared. The bark and leaves yield a pigment
which is used for dyeing cloth a yellowish brown.
Osui is valuable because it gives a hard wood used for the corner posts of
houses. White ants do not attack this wood, which is therefore useful for
making the uprights on which granaries are erected.
Okapelangalo. A tree from which planks of hard red wood are obtained.
These are used for making doors in village fences.
Oso.sa or ekenge or wamba. These trees have small compound leaves which
are very similar. The bark of the latter two is used as rope for binding
the uprights and the crosspieces in the framework of native houses. Ekenge
and u&amba also yield a bark which is beaten into bark cloth in the Ngalangi
district.
Ociyeko. The bark is used for binding posts, also for the fabrication of bark
cloth.
Ungolo. The roots of this tree yield a dye for cloth. The leaves are said to
have a value for curing sore eyes. The mother of a child afflicted with
sore eyes chews the leaves, then spits into the child’s eyes.
Ongaye. Yields a wood used for making pestles and pounding sticks.
Omako (“iron wood’’). This tree has a hard wood which is used for the same
purpose.
Onjunge, Gives a wood used in the making of houses, doors, and beehives.
Omone. A large tree which gives planks for building purposes.
Uvanje. Yields a useful red timber.
Vlondangandu. A tree with very rough bark. The word ongandn means a
crocodile. This is the tree which even a crocodile can climb.
Onganja. A tree which yields a fruit having a value as a purgative. The
antelope is said to be fond of the fruits of this tree.
Ocikumbeolemba. Gives a resinous fluid which is used in the preparation of
lime for snaring birds.
Vlemba. This word is derived from the word ulembo, meaning shade. The
ombala (native capital) of Ngalangi is surrounded by such trees.
Omia. A tree which produces yellow flowers in September. The fruit is not
edible but oil is made from it.
Ohuku. A tree having fragrant flowers like those of honeysuckle. The thick
bark is used in making mats.
Osese. A soft wood which is easily whittled with a knife. The figures from
Bailundu (Plate XXI, Fig. 6) are often carved from this wood.
Vmbolombolo. A soft wood which is not very strong.
Umbangalunda. A small tree which produces bright red fruits. These are
used by women for the manufacture of bead necklaces.
Ocilavi. The wood is used for the heads of arrows for shooting birds. This
timber is used in the building of pigpens. The branches have projections
which are said to guard (pkulava, to guard) the occupants of the pen.
Itata. Prom the roots of this tree a medicine for pulmonary complaints is
made.
Vkua. This is the baobab, whose hahitat is the dry regions. Some of the
trees have enormous girth. They are leafless for a great part of the year.
'The long fruits make gourds. The seeds in the fruits are bitter.
Vtuoiuo (pronounced ootwdlwd). Prom the wood the Ovimbundu make
wooden platters and spoons used for serving mush from the large cooking
pot.
This tree yields a hard red wood which takes a lustrous polish. For
Onjiliii.
this reason thewood is employed for making ornamental sticks and clubs.
Upondanjamba. This small tree has roots which girls use for making ankle-
bands.
140 The Ovimbundu
Okalaluluka. This tree has leaves which arc used in troatiiif: a akin disease.
UvendanguUive. This small tree, only three feet in heiRhfc, gives straight
twigs which are used in making arrow shafts.
Food Supply
COLLECTING AND HUNTING
Collecting of natural products which serve as food substances is
chiefly in the hands of women and children, though an exception has
to be made in the instance of honey, which is gathered by men
and boys.
Boys diligently search for nests, noting their location so as to be
able to visit them again when the fledglings are large enough to
serve as food. Large numbers of women and children may be seen
gathering caterpillars in gourds. The insides of the caterpillars are
squeezed into boiling water to make soup.
Whena cloud of locusts appears, as in 1925, the creatures are
gathered. They are sometimes fried, or they may be boiled in water,
dried, and preserved with salt in earthenware pots.
A number of miscellaneous items of the food supply were men-
tioned in connection with names of trees whose fruits are gathered.
Boys engaged in food-gathering usually carry small bows and
blunt wooden arrows (ocilan). One type of bird arrow is fixed to
the bowstring. The forward end of the arrow is split so that it
may contain small stones that are ejected when the siring is released.
From the wild fig tree mucilage is obtained and this is boiled until
itforms a thick paste which is smeared on the boughs of trees.
Some of the small birds captured in this way are eaten, others are
kept in wicker cages made by children.
Inall parts of Angola large cylindrical beehives may be seen
fixed high in the trees (Plate XC, Fig. 2). Two types of hive have
been noted in particular. In the Elende district a hive is made by
opposing two half cylinders of wood each about three feet long, so
forming a hive which has a diameter of one foot. The ends are
covered, with the exception of a small round hole. The whole struc-
ture is bound round with grass which is kept in position by lashings
of bark. In the neighborhood of Cassanga a difference in the structure
of the hives was noticed. This type of hive is made from a cylinder
of strong reddish bark, the edges of which are fastened together
with stout wooden pegs. The dimensions are the same as for the
hive used in Elende, but the hive of bark is uncovered.
In the Elende district honey of wild bees is removed from the
hives in the months of August and December. One man ascends
Economic Life 141
the tree in order to lower the hive with a long rope of bark or plaited
fiber, while beneath the tree men are prepared to take the hive,
which is opened over a smoky fire. The men wear no protection,
consequently they are badly stung. Boys are encouraged to help,
and those who run away receive no honey. Honey may be eaten
alone or with manioc. No drink is made from honey only, but
ochasa is the name given to beer with honey in it. Ovingundu is
a drink made from pounded corn which has been soaked in water
to which a little honey has been added. The drink is allowed
to remain untouched over night; thus it becomes sweet and is mildly
intoxicating.
Wax is a very important item of trade. In the remote places
natives bring to small trading posts balls of wax which are about
two pounds in weight. These in former days were a standard of
exchange in terms of which other values could be measured. These
balls ofwax are made into large cakes for foreign export. In the
Esele country a fiber strainer is used for cleaning the wax. Honey
is sometimes dried in very large baskets which are three feet in
diameter and two inches deep. These baskets were not observed
among the Ovimbundu, but they are used in the region of Cassanga
in southern Angola. The honey of wild bees when eaten in the comb
is palatable; it would be more so if one could disregard the presence
of numerous dead bees.
The bow is the chief weapon of the hunter. The release of the
arrow is made with the index and middle fingers (Plate XXXIX,
Fig. 1). I have observed this method among the Ovimbundu of

the Benguela Highlands, in the region of Kipungo, in the far south
among the Valcuanyama, and among the Vasele of the Novo Redondo
hinterland. Arrows differ considerably in pattern as the illustrations
show (Plate XVII, Pigs. 1-9); the Ovimbundu have arrow-points
of excellent workmanship. The manufacture of these arrow-points is
one of the most skilled occupations of the blacksmith. Each
man makes his own shafts and feathers them. The arrows of the
Vasele have leaf-shaped iron points; so also have those used by
the Vakuanyama.
Among the Ovimbundu are specialists who make bows from
elastic woods called usia and osambm. The bow itself is ohonji
and the arrow is usongo. At the third shot I saw a young Ocimbundu
boy split a cane which was placed upright at a distance of thirty-
three feet. The throwing club {ohunya,) is used for killing small
game such as hares.

142 The Ovimbundu
The only spear (unga) that I have seen is made entirely of iron.
The shaft is covered with the tail of an ox to which the tuft of hair
remains attached. This is the spear formerly used in warfare. The
distribution is wide. Such spears were purchased from the Ovim-
bundu of Elende and Bailundu and also from the Vakuanyama
living in the far south of Angola, but I do not think that the Ovim-
bundu make these spears, which are probably traded from the south.
A hunter is if he possesses an
considered exceptionally fortunate
old muzzle-loading gun have seen only two hunters who
(uta). I
owned such a weapon. In one instance the barrel was bound

to the stock with hide thongs, while the woodwork was decorated
with brass tacks. Powder and fragments of metal are carried in
a leather pouch which is attached to a broad, leather waist belt
(Plate XIII, Fig. 6). There is certainly a feeling among hunters
that the sale of a well-tried weapon will be followed by bad luck.
The gun is sometimes fixed to form a trap in such a way that an
antelope may tread on the string and so discharge the gun. Some-
times a piece of meat is attached to a string which is fastened to the
trigger. A heavy beam of wood into which an iron spike is fastened
was used in districts where the hippopotamus and elephant were
hunted. Such a trap was fixed over a path known to be frequented
by these animals. Big game of this type is now rare.
In the Esele country the following traps are in use: (1) A
deep, narrow, grass-covered pit from the bottom of which sharp
stakes project upward; this trap is known as okueve. (2) simple A
trap consisting of four long sharp stakes which are fixed in the ground
so that they incline toward a gap through which a buck is likely
to jump (Plate LXXIII, Fig. 2). (3) The trap (ocisonga) for lions
and leopards. This
a heavily built structure provided with a
is
panel-like door which slides down when the entering animal releases
a cord fastened to the bait (Plate XCII, Pig. 2). (4) A heavy
trap triangular in form. This trap is not an enclosure, but a covering
under which the animal has to go in order to reach the bait. In
addition to the foregoing examples there is a trap (onjanjo) which
is used for snaring antelope. The essential of the device is a loop
which is bound to the end of a supple branch lightly fastened to the
ground. This, however, did not come under my observation.
Long, cone-shaped, cane structures are placed in the grass, which
is then fired. Animals disturbed and frightened by the fire rush
into the wide end of the trap, then make their way to the narrow end
(Plate XV, Fig. 5). One such trap is modified to form a snare with
;
Economic Life 143
a noose which hangs over the entrance. From Ngalangi I obtained

a trap formed by suspending a heavy block of wood inside a box.
The animal enters a small circular hole, passes under the heavy
block and begins to nibble the grain which is strewn on the bottom
of the box. Presently he releases a fine string which brings down
the block in such a way that he is pinned underneath. I am informed
that this trap is used at Elende, but I have not seen it there.
Some hunters note the feeding and drinking places of their quarry,
which is shot from a hiding place in a tree. Young animals may be
run down by a hunter in open chase. Screens are not carried in front
of a hunter, but he does sometimes dress in the skins of animals.
His disguise is completed by wearing a tuft of the animal’s hair on
his head.
Dogs are used out young animals in the chase, and

for tiring
also for catching hares. There is a tendency at the present time
to improve the breed of native dog by crossing with a large hunting
dog from South Africa. In the Esele country I have seen, high on
a granite rock, a small cairn of stones which covered the skull of a
famous hunting dog. Dogs are used most commonly when the hunt
is communal (Plate XXIII, Fig. 1), but the best hunters work alone
without the aid of dogs. In the general hunt women and children
may take part in driving the game; often a fire is started in the grass,
which is very dry in the months of June and July. A hunter who
works alone may excite the curiosity of an animal by blowing through
a horn of an antelope. Spider’s web covers the wide end of the horn.
I have observed a general hunt in which thirty men and boys
participated, each carrying a bow and arrows. The party was
accompanied by many dogs. The antelope which had been killed
was carried on a pole slung on the shoulders of two men. There
was intense excitement as the troop advanced toward their village,
shouting and jumping. In another hunt of this kind muzzle-loading
guns were carried. The Ovimbundu do not use nets in hunting,
neither do they poison animals. Decoy animals are not used, but in
the large wooden trap (ocisonga) a living goat or pig is placed.
It is necessary to distinguish between hunting as a general pas-
time, in which all males, and even women and children join to a
certain extent, and the hunting of animals by a professional hunter.
The professional hunter is usually called ukongo (less frequently
enyanga) no name for the non-professional hunter. A
but there is
boy who wishes to become a professional hunter has to serve for a

time with an ukongo before he himself receives this title. There is
144 The Ovimbundu
an initiation feast when the training is ended. At the feast all people
of the villagemay be present but they do not dance; only the profes-
sional hunters may do so. The boy who is to be initiated must not
speak or move until he “feels the spirit on his head”; then he gives
meat to the people. After hunters have captured game for the
feast,the blood from these animals is used to smear over the bow,
arrows, and spear which have been made for the novice by his tutor.
This is analogous to the initiation of the young blacksmith who
receives blood-sprinkled tools made by the master blacksmith.
There is in connection with the life and death of the professional
hunter a certain amount of ritual and precaution. The night before
setting out to hunt is a time of dancing and renewal of the imple-
ments of the chase, which are kept in a house specially prepared for
them. A hunter who is on the eve of departure calls in other profes-
sional hunters to share the ceremony, which includes the rubbing
of the bows and other implements with palm oil. A libation of beer
is poured on the bows, spears, and arrows, but no medicine-man
is present. Some of the bows are never used, because they are merely
the symbols of the personality and prowess of dead hunters whose

names they have taken. The food and cooking pots of a hunter
must never be associated with those of ordinary household use. If
a hunter is following the tracks of an animal he musk not point with
his finger as this action will drive the animal away. The correct
way to point is by use of the feathered end of an arrow. The hunker
must not sleep with his wife the night before setting out in quest
of game.
Ihave frequently seen in front of the hut of a hunter a numher

of skulls of antelope and other animals mounted on poles arranged
in circular formation (Plate XXXII, Fig. 2). These skulls seem to
be trophies, which are invariably taken away by the hunter if he
finds a new home. There is no reason to doubt the statement that
these skulls are an offering to the spirits who give good luck in
hunting, because such a belief would be in harmony with the general
respect for ancestral ghosts, which are thought to influence the
affairs of the living.
On several occasions, notably near Ganda and
in the Cassonge
country, I have seen the tombs of hunters. These are large structures
built of slabs of granite laid with some sjnnmetry. The rock tomb
is invariably placed on the top of a commanding eminence of granite.
The skulls of animals which the hunter has killed are piled on the
top of the cairn, but I do not know whether these are the trophies
Economic Life 145
which are fixed on poles in front of the hunter’s home during his
lifetime (Plate XXXII, Figs. 1, 2).
There are at the funeral of a hunter special observances which
will be mentioned under the heading of funeral rites.
FISHING
In the region of Elende there is fishing with both basket and line;
a method of poisoning fish is also practised. Usually a male fishes
with a bark line. Women catch fish by the poisoning method, and
in addition to this they generally follow the procedure in which
baskets are held or weighted in the stream. If the water flows
swiftly men may take charge of the fishing operations. At times
both men and women fish with nets. Husband and wife may not
sleep together the night before fishing, as this is believed to make
the male and female fish stay together at the bottom of the river.
Thefishing line consists of tough green bark which is cut into
strips whose length depends on the height of the river’s bank. A
hole is bored through the body of a grasshopper, a worm, or a grub
taken from under the bark of a tree. Through this hole is passed
a short stiff piece of grass about half an inch long, to which the line
is attached. The fish is caught when the crosspiece of sharp grass
becomes fast in its throat.
When the fisher throws the line he sings; "0 fish, come and take
your good thing. Do not send the little fish to spoil the good thing.
Better you come and take the good thing with all your strength.”
In order to make fish poison the tuberous roots of a plant are
taken and soaked in water until a scum rises to the top. The solid
part of the poison is not given, because it would sink and the fish
which ate it would remain at the bottom of the river. Therefore
only the scum of this poisonous infusion is thrown in the water.
The stupefied, gasping fish remain at the surface, whereupon they
are seized by women who transfer them to gourds or baskets worn
around their necks. Usually poison is used only in the dry season
when the rivers are shallow.
Sometimes there is fishing by means of a weir {olunja) which
has an opening in the middle. On the lower side of this gap a basket
trap is placed.
There no fishing by torchlight. At the coast, and along the
is
river Kwanza
I have seen heavy dugout canoes in use; these were
about twenty to thirty feet long and hollowed from single trees
(Plate LXXII, Pigs. 1, 2) At Ambrizette I noted the use of a fishing
.
146 The Ovimbundu
spear eight feet long, the end of which consisted of ten sharp prongs
of palm stem (Plate LXXIII, Fig. 1).
Near Cangamba Kwando River

in eastern Angola, fishing in the
occupied numerous men and women of the mixed tribes in the dis-
trict, namely, Vachokue, Luchazi, and Babunda. Men paddled into
midstream in small bark canoes from which fishing operations were
directed. The fishermen carried small conical string nets, which
were attached to stakes in such a way that the openings of the nets
faced upstream. Vachokue women, working in pairs, dragged baskets
against the current (Plate LXXXV, Figs. 1, 2).
AGRICULTURE AND COOKING

Osilais the Umbundu word for the granary which stands on
wooden supports (Plate XLIV, Fig. 1); this osila is for the restricted
family, and there is one osila for every house. The Ovimbundu
store their corn in bulk, but in the Esele country I noted that the
cobs themselves were carefully packed. Each Ocimbundu girl culti-
vates a small patch of ground, the produce of which she is at liberty

to sell in order to buy brass ornaments, beads, and palm oil.
In addition to maize, barley, oats, and wheat, with here and

there a little rye, are occasionally grown. There are three colors of
beans, red, white, and black. There is no attempt to keep the varieties
separate, so they cross-fertilize freely. The Ovimbundu try to
cultivate a surplus of beans and maize which they use to pay their
taxes to the Portuguese, likewise to sell at the stores of traders.
Corn is pounded on the rock which has been used for generations
after it has been consecrated by sprinkling the blood of a chicken.
Pounding begins as early as five o’clock in the morning, before sun-
rise, and from that time to sunset the pounding-rock is in use. The
rock is evidently regarded as a meeting place for social intercourse;
it is undoubtedly the center of village gossip so far as the women
are concerned (Plate XXXVI, Pig. 2).

As corn alone is considered a poor food, it is sprinkled on boiling
water to which beans are added. Cooking goes on from early morning
to sunset over a slow fire. Children sometimes receive as their
evening meal a thick plastic cake of mushed corn to which green
leaves of a squash are added.
There are five kinds of manioc resembling one another in general
appearance, but the Ovimbundu distinguish the plants, and reserve
for each what they consider to be appropriate preparation. The
method varies for sweet and bitter varieties of manioc.
Economic Life 147
Olungunga is not a sweet manioc, so is not eaten raw. The roots

are placed to soak in a stream for three or four days before they are
roasted on a which they may be eaten with impunity.
fire, after
As an may be dried in the sun; they are then
alternative the roots
pounded into meal which is scattered into boiling water so that a
mush is formed. The Umbundu name for this preparation is iputa
viutombo, meaning “mush of manioc.” The leaves of olungunga
are not soaked in water; on the contrary, they may be cooked as
soon as they are gathered, but they must not be eaten when warm.
There is no danger in eating them after they have been boiled and
have been allowed to become cold. The leaves are served with
salt or fat.
All the manioc, with the exception of olungunga, is sweet.

Kandona has roots which may be eaten uncooked, but both leaves
and roots are sometimes cooked in water. Other varieties of manioc
known as otetu, elemba, and esela are eaten in the same way as
kandona. Manioc is in use all the year, but the greatest quantity
is consumed in November and December, a period when the growing
corn is not ripe and the storage supplies have dwindled.

Sweet potatoes are plentiful all the year with the exception of
the months of November and December. They are placed in the
pot, without removal of the skin, and boiled for a period of twenty
or thirty minutes. They are taken out, peeled, and eaten. Euro-
pean potatoes are sometimes peeled and made into a mush. The
variety of garden produce naturally depends on proximity to a
trading post, a mission, or some other European settlement.
In propagating manioc a stem is cut off from the parent plant
which is about three feet high; but probably two or three years pass
before the tubers are considered large enough for use. Sweet potatoes
are planted in January, but there is very little of this food available
in February and March. Toward the end of March or early in April
a few potatoes may be ready for consumption.
Peanuts {Arachis hypogaea, Leguminosae) are planted in October
by women who prepare patches of ground which are drilled with holes
one inch deep and eight inches apart. One nut is placed in each hole
after the shell has been removed. Above the ground small leaves
appear. After the flower-stalk withers it has the peculiarity of
elongatingand bending down. In this way the young pod is forced
underground, and the seeds mature a little way below the surface.
Some natives employ irrigation by leading small channels of
water from a hillside stream to a garden containing maize and
148 The Ovimbundu
bananas, but one could not say that irrigation is generally practised,
even when circumstances permit.
The papaya and the banana are increasingly cultivated, but
they are by no means generally distributed. Here and there I
have seen a little sugar-cane cultivated by natives for their own
use. Near the main railway natives may be seen selling their
products, which include cabbages and tomatoes. Some natives are
today planting the guava tree which yields sweet palatable fruits.
The from the usia tree. When ripe, the
fruits olosia are collected
fruit is yellow, round, and about two inches in diameter. These
fruits are gathered in September, and the kernels, which are about
the size of walnuts, are eaten uncooked. No fruits are collected for
storage. Olombula fruits ripen in October, when they are eaten raw.
Each wife sends the food which she has cooked in her own kitchen
to the onjango (“council house”). After carrying the food to this
house of assembly, where the men meet each evening, the women
return to their houses to eat alone, or with the young children.
When there is a plurality of wives each has her own house and
kitchen. Ngonga states that separate kitchens built outside the
living houses are becoming morerare. The poor have their kitchens
in the living room because they cannot provide separate structures
for living and cooking.
The first meal is taken between five and six o’clock in the morning,
the most usual food being meal sprinkled on boiling water to form
a paste which is eaten with sweet potatoes, A
mush of beans is
eaten at night; generally there is no meal at midday. Three pounds
of cooked beans are eaten by a person for one meal. Over the cook-
ing pots leaves are placed to keep in the steam, especially when
the pot contains sweet potatoes. I have made a meal from the
sticky, gluey paste which results from sprinkling meal on boiling
water. The chief objection to this food is the unpleasant quantity
owing to the fact that it is pounded on the rocks.
of grit in the meal,
Manioc and sugar-cane are chewed at irregular intervals of the day.
The amount of meat consumed by the Ovimbundu is small in
comparison with the quantity of vegetable food used. This adoption
of diet of a particular kind is largely a matter of habit, and there
is no good reason why meat should not form a larger proportion of
the food supply. The Ovimbundu do not kill their cattle for food
though they will eat the meat of oxen which have died from natural
causes.
Economic Life 149
The flesh of goats, sheep, and pigs might be more frequently

used if these animals were bred and cared for under some system
of animal husbandry. The Ovimbundu are familiar with the preser-
vation of meat by smoking and drying it, because flesh of animals
killed in the chase is sometimes preserved in this way by hunters,
yet the method is not widely and constantly applied in order to
assure a regular supply of meat.
Failure to utilize the milk of cattle and goats
another example
is
of the neglect of useful commodities. The who are near

Vacilenge,
neighbors of the Ovimbundu, milk their cows as do the Ovimbundu
themselves in some districts, though the practice is by no means
general. Even where cows are milked, butter and cheese are not
made, though the Ovimbundu know of the process, which is practised
by the Vakuanyama of southern Angola.
There are three kinds of beer. Ocisangioa is a sweet beer which
even children may drink because it is not intoxicating. Water is
heated slowly in the pot but not boiled; meanwhile meal of Kafir
corn or maize is added. Pounded sweet potato is strained in such a
way that the liquid part goes into the beer pot; the residual mush is
given to pigs. After the beer has cooled out of doors, it is trans-
ferred to a large gourd and allowed to stand over night. Next day
it is considered a fit drink to consume or to offer to visitors (Plate
XXIII, Fig. 3).
The making of an intoxicating beer ekundi proceeds as for

ocisangua, but instead of adding strained liquid from sweet potatoes
a root called omhundi is included in the brew. The large pot con-
taining this beer covered tightly and allowed to stand untouched
is
for twenty-four hours, at the end of which time it is a potent drink.

It is important to note that the corn is allowed to sprout in the ground
before it is made into the infusion to which the root omhundi is added.
Ocimbomho is In order to prepare
a strongly intoxicating drink.
this brew, corn is soaked for a week; then it is left in the ground
for the same length of time until it has germinated. It is then
pounded on the rocks and placed in large pots filled with water to
which sweet meal of corn is added. Simmering over the fire is
continued for two days with constant stirring. This brew differs from
ekundi in the longer germination of the com and the longer period of
simmering. On the fourth day after the simmering is completed the
drink is said to be ready for consumption. If the people have honey,
they add some to the brew on the third day of standing. My inform-
150 The Ovimbundu
ant said, "Sometimes a man who has drunk this beer will sleep on
the ground all day and say nothing.”
Salt is a welcome parts of Angola. Native tribes appre-
gift in all
ciate its culinary value but show no eagerness to barter for the com-
modity. At the present time salt is sold in every trader’s store, but
in earlier times the substance had to be obtained along caravan routes
from the coast and was therefore more highly prized than it is today.
The Ovimbundu realize the value of salt in the diet of cattle; therefore
the animals are occasionally driven to a salt lick in the hills. The
Ovimbundu do not use this salt for their own diet, possibly because
the salt enjoyed by the cattle is some form of potash and not sodium
chloride.
The Vachokue extract salt from the leaves of a river plant by
burning it to ashes which are soaked and strained. This is a common
African method, but I did not hear of it among the Ovimbundu. The
probability is that the Ovimbundu have always obtained salt from
the coast.
In connection with cooking and brewing beer, methods of making
fire are of importance.
Matches are coming into use among the Ovimbundu, but the
necessity forthem is not great as the hearth fire is not extinguished.
In the center of each hut is a fireplace made of three hearth-stones
over which logs of wood are placed with their ends in the fire which
is kept alight by pushing the logs forward from time to time. A
blaze is made by breaking off bark from the logs, placing it on the
center of the fire and blowing. Pire is carried from one place to
another by conveying a smoldering log. In the Esele country boys
may be seen setting off at dawn to scare birds in the corn field,
each carrying fire with him.
Usually the children or some other members of the family sleep
on mats close to the fire, which requires no attention other than a
pushing forward of the logs.
The Vasele make fire by the twirling method, and at Ngalangi
the same procedure was witnessed. In the twirling method two
different kinds of wood are used, soft wood for the base and hard
wood for the twirling stick. The twirler used at Ngalangi was a
piece of cane into the end of which a piece of hard white wood was
secured by binding. Ngonga, my interpreter and informant, thinks
that any man of the Ovimbundu could make fire by the twirling
method if the necessity arose, but the performance witnessed at
Ngalangi led me to doubt the truth of this statement. The operator
,
Economic Life 161
undoubtedly knew the apparatus and the method, but he appeared

to have lost the dexterity which is necessary for a rapid moving of the
hands from the bottom of the twirler to the top. There was conse-
quently a long period of smoldering before the flame appeared.
Among the Vachokue a little wooden box of tinder, a piece of
quartz,and an iron blade are carried for fire-making. From an Esele
man a bag containing tinder and quartz was obtained.
The making of fire ceremonially in connection with ritual and
described among the functions of the medicine-man,
sacrifice is
because the sacred and profane uses of fire are quite distinct.
Tobacco is a very important item of trade. The cultivation is a
domestic industry followed usually by women but to some extent by
men. In former days when the Ovimbundu traded extensively in
Africa every man had a field of tobacco which he himself cultivated.
At the present time each man is likely to have a mound of tobacco
plants in the middle of a corn field (Plate XXIX, Fig. 1). Women
do sometimes cultivate tobacco near their huts, but in this case
the little plantation must be strongly fenced. Goats are numerous,
and they eat the leaves of the tobacco plant with avidity.
Toward the end of September, when the rains begin, tobacco
seed is sown on a patch of ground a yard square to raise seedlings
which are planted out in October. A few flowers only are left to
produce seed. As a further effort to improve the quality of the
tobacco many of the lower leaves are removed. The cutting of
leaves intended for use as tobacco is done by men in the months of
February and March; women and children assist if the field is large.
After the midrib has been removed from each leaf, the leaves are
suspended from the roof in a bundle. At the end of five days, when
the leaves have turned brown, they are twisted into a long straight
roll which is hung in the sun for three days. At intervals the roll is
twisted in another direction. This gradually exposes all parts of the

leaves, so that the' drying is thorough. There are three methods of
making up the rolls; omhola is an oval roll; ongalo is the round coil;
ocine is the name given to tobacco which has been dried and twisted
round a stick. Tobacco-pipes are varied in size and design (Plate XV,
Figs. 1-3) those for men are larger than those used by women. A
;
mixture of tobacco and hemp is smoked in a water-pipe made from

the horn of a cow. Details of structure and ornament are given under
“Wood-carving.”
In order to make snuff a piece of dried tobacco is slowly baked
near the fire on the end of a pointed stick which is turned frequently.
152 The Ovimbundu
The pounded and placed in a small wooden box of cylindrical

snuff is
shape. is ornamented with incised, burned patterns.

Usually the box
The Ovimbundu of Bihd add ashes of wood to their snuff’, so producing
a mixture called ulelemo. The Ovimbundu of Elende usually use the
snuff without adulteration. Two main species of tobacco plants
are grown.
Women smoke in all parts of Angola. The Ovimbundu do not chew
tobacco, neither have I seen it so used elsewhere in Angola. Boys
and girls are not allowed to smoke before the age of thirteen years.
In the onbala of the Vangangella near Ngalangi, I asked a girl
for her pipe which I desired for my collection. The interpreter took
the pipe when she proffered it, explaining that, according to local
custom, I had asked for the girl. If I took the proffered pipe from
her hand I accepted her. Another social custom associated with
tobacco is the passing of the communal pipe from hand to hand in
the men’s council house.
Ngonga, my interpreter, says that he has never seen an Ocimbundu
woman smoke hemp, but he has seen a woman of the Vangangella
(people to the east of the Ovimbundu) smoking hemp. Hemp
(epangue) is cultivated only by the Ovimbundu men who smoko it,
Pure hemp is smoked in the water-pipe which is not passed from
hand to hand. Only tobacco is used in communal smoking. Smoking
of hemp or tobacco consists of a few deep inhalations; there is not
usually a prolonged placid smoking. When hemp is placed in the
bowl of the water-pipe it is covered with large grains of sand or a
piece of tin. This intervening substance prevents the hot coals
from coming into contact with the hemp. The object is to secure
slow ignition.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
The principal domestic animals are cow {onjindi), ox (ongombe,
which is also the generic name for cattle), bull {onui), sheep (onieme),
goat (ohombo), pig {pngulu), dog (ombua), chicken (osanji) (Plates
LV, LVI, LVII).
The transport animals, donkey, horse, and mule, are not used by
the Ovimbundu of Elende and not to any extent by Ovimbundu of
other parts but in the south of Angola the Vakuanyama have sturdy
;
ponies and well-kept mules. The ox when ridden by Portuguese

is provided with a leather saddle which is very comfortable if
covered with a blanket. The brass stirrups are broad and massive.
Through the septum of the bullock’s nostrils there is a short brass
rod to the ends of which the reins are attached (Plate XXX, Fig. 1).
Economic Life 153
I have seen an Ocimbundn male riding an ox without saddle. A

cord was passed through the animal’s nose to serve as reins.
The Portuguese name for horse is eavalo, a word which the Ovim-
bundu use in the form okamlu, though there is an Umbundu word
ocingongovala, which means "going with his neck up.” The Umbundu
words for donkey and mule are ocimhulu and omula, respectively.
Generally speaking, the ears of animals are not clipped, neither
are cattle branded or otherwise marked to indicate ownership, but
sometimes the ears of pigs and goats are cut to aid identification.
When asked why the tips of the ears of dogs are mutilated an Ocim-
bundu will say that a dog with uncut ears does not hear when called
(Plate LVI, Fig. 2).
Not many families own large herds of cattle among the Ovim-
bundu, and I did not see a big kraal until I was in southwest Angola.
Cattle, which are a measure of wealth, are used for paying fines,
making funeral feasts, paying debts, and securing wives. The cattle
throughout Angola are well-developed, handsome animals (Plate
LVII, Fig. 1) The bull remains with the herd the entire year; there
.
is therefore no particular season for the birth of calves. Usually cows

are not milked by the Ovimbundu, consequently these people have
no milk, butter, or cheese. The Vakuanyama of the south milk their
cows and churn butter in calabashes slung on a pole.
The Ovimbundu say that milking the cow makes the calf thin,
but where the ideaof milking the cow is borrowed from the Portu-
guese the Ovimbundu have a procedure which is as follows: The calf
is allowed to suck for a few minutes in order to deceive the cow;
then the milker begins his work. At intervals of a few minutes the
calf is allowed to suck in order to continue the deception.
Cattle are killed at the funeral feasts of the rich,and the horns
of the slaughtered animals are generally mounted on a pole in the
vicinity of the grave (Plate XLVI, Fig. 2).
The horns of the cow may be used for making water-pipes in

which tobacco is smoked, or they may be employed as magical horns
when filled with medicine. The hide is pegged out in the sunlight
for one day after it has been scraped; it is then rolled and kept until
required. When about to be used, the skin is soaked in water for
one day. The hide is used to cover the tops of stools, to make
pouches and to manufacture bags for carrying corn. In bygone
days each king had a wooden box covered with hide, which contained
his powder and metal when he went to war. The cow’s tail is used
154 The Ovimbundu
as a sheath for covering the iron shafts of assagais, and if, iwS sometimes
made into a switch which the rain-maker uses during his performances.
when two years old. The wound is rubbed
Bulls are castrated
with ashes, and palm oil. Bullocks are used for riding, also
salt, soot,
for pull-carts introduced by the Boers. The herd obtains most of

its food by grazing. In the dry season grass withers, with the result
that the animals become thin and stall-feeding is necessary. In
former days cattle-raiding was a practice of the Ovimbundu, who
robbed the Vacilenge. It is certain that the Ovimbundu did not own
cattle when they entered Angola. If the general tradition is correct
the Ovimbundu came into Angola from a northeasterly direction,
from the borders of the Belgian Congo as it is called today; this is
not a cattle-raising region.
The Ovimbundu Elende have a joke against the people of
of
Bailundu, because the latter on first seeing a cow offered the animal
some food on a wooden platter. This story suggests that the Bailundu
people, who are of the Ovimbundu confederacy, did not know the
animal and its habits as early as did the Ovimbundu themselve,s.
Although the Ovimbundu do not usually kill their (uxttle they
may do so in the months of June and July, because at this time
pasture is withered and food is scarce. Animfila which arc diseased,
aged, or injured, are killed and eaten.
The native pig is distinguishable fromEuropean breeds by ii.s
long thin snout and slender development. This breed is said by the
Director of Animal Husbandry, Humpata, to be the Keltic breed
(Plate LV). There is, he says, no evidence to prove that the
Ovimbundu have at any time domesticated pigs from the wild hogs
which are to be found in Angola. There is no family which does
not own a pig, and on the whole the pig fares much better than the
sheep or the goat. The pig receives water and a daily ration of food,
which is usually sweet potatoes and their leaves, together with some
corn. Male pigs are castrated at any time between the ages of six
months and one year by an operator who is a paid specialist. The
fee for castrating a bull is four yards of cloth, but a small gift is
considered sufficient reward for performing the operation on a pig.
If a pig is thin, the leather is said to be of good quality and therefore
suitable for making sheaths for knives. Usually the flesh of the pig
is eaten shortly after the animal has been killed, but the meat of the
bullock, on the contrary, is sometimes dried over a fire and preserved.

But this is not a general practice as the animals are too valuable to
be slaughtered.
Economic Life 155
Goats are more common than any other animal; there are few,
if any, families which do not own one or more goats. These animals
are not fed or watered. Goats are able to exist on almost any kind
of vegetation; consequently these animals are, almost without excep-
tion, well nourished. Goats are not milked. Kids are born at any
time of the year, and the young males are castrated. The hides are
used for making bags. The goat has the misfortune to be the most
desirable sacrificial animal. This is not entirely due to the fact that
it is cheap and easily obtainable. The sheep is said to be unsuitable
as a sacrifice, because it does not make a noise when killed. The

hair of the goat is used for making an ornament named osala, which
is worn by medicine-men.
Sheep are of the long-tailed Syrian breed. Like the goats, the
sheep are not cared for in any way; they find their own pasture and
water, and in doing so may wander for a considerable distance, though
they always return to the village at sunset. The males are not
castrated. Sheep are not so frequently kept as are goats and pigs.
The skin is used for making bags. Twin births of calves, kids, or
lambs are not regarded with awe; on the contrary, such births are
welcome.
Almost every man keeps one or more dogs, and I have rarely seen
a hut in which there were no dogs. Usually young puppies are near
the fire, and on the whole dogs are well treated because they are
valuable in hunting. They also give warning of the approach of
hyenas, lions, and leopards. I have frequently seen a person run
into the road to pick up a dog when an automobile is approaching.
A tendency to improve the breed of dogs by crossing the lean native
animal with a breed of large dogs from South Africa has been men-
tioned. In contrast with the generally considerate treatment of dogs
by the Ovimbundu one has to note the very emaciated and diseased
condition of dogs in the Esele country. Among the Ovimbundu dogs
are regarded as desirable food.
Sacrifice of a dog at the inauguration of a blacksmith will presently
be described. A medicine-man who is about to perform a ceremony
for curing the sick has to make a meal of dog’s flesh, but otherwise
the flesh of the dog is taboo to him. These points of ceremony, taken
in conjunction with the food value of the animal, and its use in
hunting, show that the dog is highly esteemed.
Poultry are of very mixed breeds. The standards of size and
weight are higher than is usual in African chickens, a fact which is
perhaps attributable to contact of the Ovimbundu with the Portu-
156 The Ovimbundu
guese for a long period. The chicken is highly esteemed as a sacrificial

animal, but it could not be said that the flesh is in common use. This
failure to develop and utilize to the full, again raises the point of
social custom and economic habit. Chickens are cared for, as may
be seen in the are cooped at night. Sometimes a hen may
way they
be seen on her clutch of eggs in a dark corner of a hut, unmo-
sitting
lested by people and dogs; yet it is certain that there is no concen-
tration on the rearing of poultry.
Eggs are and chickens are hatched throughout the year,

laid,
except in the months of November and December when corn supplies

are at their lowest ebb. Eggs are boiled, or fried on a fragment of
pottery, but they are not sucked.
The donaestic cat is not raised by the Ovimbundu. Wild cats are
common, but there is no evidence of their domestication. Small
birds and monkeys are sometimes kept as pets.
Trade and Transport

Caravan trade, which was at one time an important factor of
tribal life, is now confined to short journeys for transporting corn,
beans, and beeswax to traders’ stores. But in spite of present-day
decline of transportation the memory of more prosperous times
still exists.
Names of distant places survive in the Umbundu language; thus

Tanganyika is called Nakandundu, while the name for far eastern
Angola is Muacimbundu, the name of a one-time important chief.
The Umbundu language is understood in all parts of Angola, far
away from ts^pical Umbundu centers of culture.
In the old days there were professional leaders of caravans, and a
ceremony was conducted before starting. The medicine-man and the
village chief were the principal performers in a rite which consisted
of bringing from its box the head of a former chief, sewn in oxhide.
An animal was sacrificed so that the blood could be used for sprinkling
on the chiefs head, and on some occasions of this kind the head was
sewn up in a new piece of oxhide. Direct appeal was made to the
preserved head by the reigning chief, who asked for good fortune on
the journey.
The medicine-man who accompanied a caravan carried with him
a female wooden figure decorated with feathers (Plate XXI, Fig. 5).
When a branching of the paths gave rise to doubts concerning the
correct way the wooden figure was consulted by the medicine-man.
Economic Life 157
At the present time a day's march is twenty-five miles, during

which a man carries sixty pounds, while the load for a woman is half
that weight. The gait of the Ovimbundu includes a limp at every
step, so suggesting that the carrier is lame or tired. This appears
to be a method consciously adopted as a protection against fatigue,
because all muscles are momentarily relaxed. Loads are carried on
the head in a long forked stick to which they are lashed. When the
carrier rests, the load is not placed on the ground, but is held upright
on the stick (Plate XXX, Fig. 2). Such a method avoids the strain
of lifting the load from the ground after each rest pause.
Although the Ovimbundu have an exchange of products among

themselves by both barter and the use of Portuguese money, there
are no large markets, with the exception of those at the coastal
towns of Loanda, Lobito, and Benguela. There is absolutely nothing
in Angola which can be compared with the great markets in Nigeria.
Despite the absence of a system of exchange on a large scale,

the Ovimbundu have many terms describing units of measurement.
There are native standards of length, area, and capacity, but no
measures of weight which are undeniably of Umbundu origin.
The unit of length (epaluma) is the distance from the tip of the
thumb to the tip of the middle finger when the hand is outstretched.
The term for two of these units is apaluma amli. These words are
the plui-al of epaluma; avali means two. These units are used to
measure tobacco before it has been coiled.
Cloth is measured by arms to their full extent in
stretching the
line with the shoulders; the distance between the tips of the middle
fingers is epeka. The stride for measuring land is elianga.
Onjimba is an area about twenty-five feet square. Etemo ("hoe")

isan area of land two hundred yards long and thirty feet broad. A
large field covers two or three atemo.
Measures provided by various tjrpes of baskets.

of capacity are
The large conical basket {oJmmia) has an interwoven mark which
indicates a measure for corn, meal, and beans. Odtenge is a coarsely
made basket used as a unit of capacity. Uhamba is a basket two
feet long and one foot deep. The basket on a rectangular base is also
uhamba, but at the present day cans are taking the place of all these
old measures. Palm oil is measmed in a gourd {ocitau or ombangi)
of definite size. This little gourd is also used for measuring a viscous
substance from trees. The word ekokoto is used to describe this
mucilage.
158 The Ovimbundu
wax and tobacco were, and are now, definite standards

Balls of
of trade.To some extent rubber as a medium of exchange has been
used through contact with eastern Angola. The Umbundu word
ocilila expresses a weight of about thirty kilos.
There no measure for minutes or hours. I have seen a man

is
of the Luchazi tribe keep account of the number of days taken on a

journey by cutting notches on a stick. Ngonga says that the Ovim-
bundu reckon by cutting notches, also by knotting a piece of string.
Three days would be expressed by the words akumbi atatu (“three
suns"). The word day or sun is used in fixing a time. There is no
word for week. A month is osai, which is the word for moon. When
the corn is ripe the people say, “We are in a new year." Another
yearly time mark is the arrival of the first rains, probably in the
middle of September.
The words oku lima (“to cultivate”) yield the word ulima, which
designates the period between the beginnings of two rainy seasons.
Corn planted about the time of the first
is heavy rains, which occur
in lateSeptember or early October. Naturally, this important occa-
sion forms a somewhat uncertain time base; nevertheless it is the
one used to express the lapse of years up to five in number. After
such a period the estimation of time is unreliable.
Industries
IRON-WORK
Among occupations of primary importance is that of the black-
smith (ocivinda). Owing to the increasing importation of hoe blades
and other iron goods, together with the facilities for collecting scrap
iron,the winning and smelting of iron is increasingly rare. There are
probably very few places where the old type of conical clay furnace
now exists. Almost any fragments of iron are melted at the forge
where a box is kept to hold nails, hoop iron from packing cases, and
other fragments resulting from proximity to a European culture.
Nothing is mixed with the iron, neither is thereany casting in
molds. The only process is the forging of red-hot iron. The Ovim-
bundu do not draw iron wire, although they know of the process
which is practised by the Vachokue.
The work of the blacksmith was studied at the village of Njongolo
in Elende. The men were for a time reticent respecting the nature
of their training and the ceremony ofinitiation, but the chief of the
village helped considerably by persuading the men to speak freely.
Economic Life 159
Any boy who wishes to become a blacksmith may be trained for

the work. It not necessary that his father should have been a
is
blacksmith. When the youth begins his training he must be eighteen

years of age and physically robust. His first duties are the beating
of hot iron on the anvil; he is also required to collect and soften
fragments of iron. He works very hard but is never allowed to finish
anything; the master has to complete the work.
At the end of two years the youth asks the master blacksmith
to examine him. What is more important still, the master is asked
to make the heavy hammer (onjundo), which is used for beating hot
iron on the largest anvil (Plate XXXVIII, Fig. 1). There is no
doubt as to the sacredness of this hammer, which is a symbol of the
completion of apprenticeship. There is also the idea of the master
handing on his skill to the pupil by personally making and presenting
the tools. I made repeated efforts before being able to purchase one
of these hammers finally it was procurable only at a high price. The
;
value due to ritualistic associations, the large quantity of iron used

is
in the making, and the labor required to weld the head to the shaft.
On the day of his inception the boy has to purchase four chickens,
two male and two female, one pup, and a goat. The master black-
smith makes all the tools for the apprentice, but ritual centers chiefly
in the fabrication of the big hammer {onjundo). While the master is
making this the boy stands on the small anvil which is close to the
ground, between the forge and the large anvil under the tree.
When the hammer (onjundo) is made, and while it is still red-hot,
the handle is pushed into the belly of the dog. The goat and the four
chickens are then killed. All the tools are brought together so that
blood from the slaughtered animals may be sprinkled over them. The
flesh of these animals is eaten with corn and beans. “The blacksmith
calls many people to help him, and they like to eat the food,” con-
cluded my interpreter.
During the entire ceremony, also throughout the feast, the boy
stands on the anvil. There he remains until the master says, “You
may speak and tell us what name you want.” Perhaps the boy says,
“I am Ndumbu.” The people in the crowd clap hands and make a
trilling with their fingers in their open mouths. The boy steps from
the anvil; he is a blacksmith. My interpreter continued, “He must
work hard and people must pay him. He used to work hard, but the
master took the money.”
There was an ancient belief that a blacksmith owed his skill
to the help of the spirit of a person he had killed. Wooden efligies
160 The Ovimbundu
of the murdered man were placed near the large anvil (p. 163), or
they might be kept in the home of the blacksmith. Such figures are
still used (Plate XXI, Fig. 3) but the killing of a victim is not now
possible. Blacksmiths are free to marry without restrictions other

than those imposed by the elassificatory system of relationships.
The blacksmith’s forge is a thatched house about twelve feet
square with low eaves that almost reach the ground. The height
from the floor to the point of the dome is fifteen feet. In the middle
of the floor is a pit ten inches deep in which there is a quantity of
charcoal brought from the charcoal burner’s fire about half a mile
away. At the sides of the pit are three stone seats for the workers.
Two by men, each of whom works a pair
of these seats are occupied
of bellows. The two-chambered bellows is hewn from a block of
wood in such a way as to give two circular air chambers from which
wooden tubes lead to the fire. These wooden tubes are continued
by clay tubes which project into the fire. Over the two round
wooden chambers a piece of hide is stretched and tied over the wood-
work. Two slender upright sticks, which the operator works up and
down, are attached to the hide. In one corner of the hut there is a
heap of charcoal, and in another comer lies the scrap iron. An iron
rake with a wooden handle is used for stirring the charcoal in the fire.
Plates XVI, XXXVII, and XXXVIII illustrate tools and processes.
The principal tools are:
(1) A flat stone anvil resting on rocks under a tree. The anvil is
at such a height that the striker stands upright. At this anvil the
metal is beaten with the heavy hammer onjundo.
(2) Onjundo, the most sacred of the tools, is 12.5 cm long. Its
value is about that of an ox.
(3) There are tongs which can be clamped by a sliding metal ring.
The larger tongs are 63 cm long and the smaller ones are 35 cm.
(4) The cutter is boat-shaped and triangular in cross section.
The back, which is grasped in the hand, is 0.6 cm thick, tapering to
a fine cutting edge.
(5) An iron holder for an axhead during the heating and ham-
mering is 23 cm long. and fits like a sheath
It is octagonal, hollow,
over the shaft of the axhead.
(6) For heating the iron on the small anvil, after it has been
roughly pounded to shape with the hammer {onjundo) on the large
anvil, there is a smaller hammer {monjolo) of which there are three
varieties. These differ only in size.
Economic Life 161
The principal products of the forge are axheads, which can be

reversed in the shaft so as to form adzes. Hoe blades, tools for mat-
making, brass bracelets, knives, and implements for gouging out the
pith of gourds or hollowing out a drum, are also made. Arrowheads
are likewise an important manufacture.
The blacksmith makes a saw blade, 47 cm in length, from hoop
iron. The teeth of the saw are turned alternately to the right and
left and the serrated blade is roughly hafted in wood (Plate XVI,
Fig. 4). Another product of the forge is an iron tool hafted in wood.
The pointed blade, which is round in cross section, tapers to a point
used for boring holes in wood, after the tool has been made red-hot.
Small axes, many of which are used ceremonially in dances, have
remarkably well-fashioned blades decorated with punched designs
in the form of geometrical patterns.
WOOD-CARVING
A glance over the list of trees named and used by the Ovimbundu
indicates a complete knowledge of woodcraft which is in the hands
of specialists. To name only a few, there is the omanda tree, also
the omue, which yield charcoal for the smithy. Ombula wood is used
for stools, while the elastic timber from the omanda tree is suitable
for bows. The ekenge, usamba, and ociyeko trees supply bark for
binding crosspieces to the upright poles when making the frame-
work of a house; the same bark is used by Ovimbundu and Vachokue
of eastern Angola for making bark cloth. In addition to the use of
bark for these purposes it is made into large cylindrical receptacles
for maize, while its use for beehives is general throughout Angola.
Beehives are often made by professional hunters. A traveler notices
the mutilation of trees from which complete cylinders of bark have
been removed (Plate XL, Fig. 2); half of the cylinder makes a
receptacle for carrying on the shoulder.
When a small pig is to be transported, four holes are bored in the
bark container. Through these holes the legs of the animal are
placed and tied together on the under side (Plate XXXI, Fig. 1).
This is a more humane transportation than that of tying the feet
of the animal to a pole which is supported on the shoulders of the
two men who are carriers.
In the neighborhood of Cangamba fishermen make and use canoes

of bark about fifteen feet in length (Plate LXXXV, Fig. 2). This
illustration shows a man taking his nets into midstream where they
will be pegged to the river bed.
162 The Ovimbundu
The tools used by the wood-carver are the saw, ax, adze, and knife.
The products of this craft may be conveniently divided into the
following groups:
(1) Figurines of human form (Plate XXI, Figs. 1-6).
(2) Animal forms, chiefly snakes, tortoises, birds, and lizards.

The dog is sometimes represented (Plates XIX, Pigs. 1-5; XLI,
Fig. 1).
(3) Parts of musical instruments, such as drums and the base-

boards of sansas. The latter often have the metal keys mounted on
boards decorated with elaborately incised patterns (Plates XLI,
Fig. 2; XXII, Pig. 5).
Domestic implements and utensils, chief of which are heavy

(4)
wooden beaters for flattening niud floors of houses, grain pounders,
stools, cups, platters, bowls, and a heavy pestle and mortar (Plates
XIII, Pig. 3; XVIII, Pigs. 1, 2).
(5) Carved sticks and clubs; these often show elaborate incised
decorations of geometrical patterns. Frequently the head of the
stick is carved to represent a human head or a full-length figure.
The ornamented stick or club is carried as part of the personal dress
and equipment. The throwing club is usually a straight stick
artistic
with an undecorated knob at the end (Plate XX, Figs. 1-10).
(6) Carved wooden posts representing the human form. These
are set up at the wayside. One has been obtained from a grave near
Bailundu.
(7) Tobacco-pipes and snuff boxes (Plate XV, Figs. 2, 4).
Figurines of human form

require special consideration, because
they have claims other than that of aesthetic expression. The figures
representing Europeans, or natives using some article of foreign
introduction, illustrate the grafting of foreign ideas on older
methods of work.
The Negro has of late years been accorded a
art of the African
Europe and America (P. Guillaume
place of honor in critical circles of
and T. Munro, Primitive Negro Sculpture, New York, 1926).
Usually, however, the formal technique of lines, curves, and the
general aesthetic effect have been discussed to the exclusion of
the ethnological background which determines style and function.
By far the best example of carved human figures collected in
Angola was the one from Cangamba (Plate XXI, Fig. 4) This female .
figure, 60 cm high, is carved from hard, dark, red wood in such a

way as to achieve a graceful result by the employment of a few
Economic Life 163
straight lines. Thelegs show the usual flexion of the knees and a
shortening which is out of proportion to the body length. The lower
limbs of most Angolan figures have these characteristics. The body
of this figure is hollow and the head detachable. The incised head-
dress is imitative of the coiffure of Vachokue women.
Cangamba, a village in eastern Angola, is a confluence of tribal
elements, namely, Vambuella, Luchazi, Babunda, and Vachokue,
whose physical appearance, hairdressing, tooth mutilation, and
tribal marks differ considerably. The man who sold the figurine
brought it furtively. He was an Ocimbundu, but the work is of
Chokue origin. The figure, I am informed, was filled with medicine,
then placed near a patient who was undergoing curative treatment.
The figurine {ngeve) of a woman having a number of dark feathers
attached to her back has only one use. A caravan setting out for a
long journey is accompanied by a medicine-man whose outfit includes
such a figurine. Should the caravan leader be in doubt when choosing

between two paths, the medicine-man sets up the image at the parting
of the ways. He kneels before it and asks questions, then plugs his
nostrils in order to make replies in a falsetto voice supposed to come
from the figurine. Thus advised respecting the route to follow, the
caravan continues its journey (Plate XXI, Fig. 5; p. 156).
The wooden figure (Plate XXI, Pig. 3) is of exceptional interest
because of its connection with the blacksmith's craft, which is asso-
ciated with introductory rites for apprentices. In former days a
newly initiated blacksmith was expected to disappear for a period
during which he killed a man. On returning to the work of his forge
the blacksmith made a wooden figure of which this example, one of
five obtained, is tjrpical. The spirit of the murdered man took up
its abode in the effigy and in this way helped with the work. The
figure, which is of the usual dimensions, namely, 36 cm high, has the
greater part of its surface covered with reddened earth (pp. 159-160).
Two figurines (Plate XXI, Figs. 1, 6) were obtained from

women of the Vachokue tribe in the village of Ngongo, Ngalangi.
Here the Vachokue and the Ovimbundu mingle to such an extent
that customs are no doubt transferred from one culture to the other.
These wooden images are used by childless women, or by women
whose infants have died. The woman who sold these figures pressed
them to her breasts to show the manner of use. People standing
around smiled and nodded their approval. A wooden figure of this
kind is substituted for a dead twin.
164 The OviMBUNDU
A common type of small figurine, some of which are female, others

asexual, is by an illustration (Plate XXI, Fig. 2). Such
represented
normal part of the miscellaneous contents of a
little carvings are a
divination basket described in chapter IX. These figures have been

obtained from Blende, Bailundu, and Caconda, all of which are
centers of Umbundu culture.
In addition to the figurines described, the collection contains

many more whose use may be conjectured. The interrogation of
Ovimbundu people indicates clearly that there are specific uses of
wooden figures which are consulted by the medicine-man. The fore-
going explanations illustrate the nature of the beliefs associated with
carved wooden figures, but it is not always possible to elicit a clear
account of the specific use of each one.
Consideration of this aspect of the wood-carver's art has an
important bearing on the culture contacts of the Ovimbundu. In
studying this question I have instituted comparisons between these
figures from the Ovimbundu of Angola and similar figures from the
Kasai area of the Congo region (chapter X). The publications of
the Mus4e Congo Beige provide illustrations for comparison with
the figures in Field Museum’s collection.
The carving of animal forms (Plate XIX, Figs. 1-6) is no more

than a means of aesthetic expression resulting from accurate observa-
tions of animal life as recorded under “Natoe Lore.” Inquiry failed
to show that figures of animals are, or were at any time, used in rites
and ceremonies.
The carrying of a carved stick is essential when a chief is visiting,
attending a council in his own village, or receiving visitors. The
ornamental paddle (Plate XX, Fig. 8) was owned by the chief of
the capital village (ombala) of the Vangangella, near Ngalangi.
At the death of a chief his staff of office, with his tobacco-pipe
and sleeping mat, are placed in a small house where such relics of
deceased chiefs are kept permanently (Plate XLVI, Fig. 1). Plate
XX, Fig. 6, shows a staff of this kind which was preserved in a
sacred house in the capital village of Ngalangi, and on the same plate
are drawn short ornamental clubs which French ethnologists call
batons de promenade, an appropriate name because of their use as
part of the full dress equipment.
The Ovimbundu have specialized in the carving of small objects,
for, inaddition to clubs and staffs, tobacco-pipes and snuff boxes
are often elaborately carved (Plate XV, Figs. 2, 4).
Economic Life 165
The water-pipe of the Ovimbundu consists of the horn of a cow

into the side of which a short hollow pipe stem is introduced; at the
top of the stem is a clay bowl for the reception of tobacco, or a
mixture of tobacco and hemp. The wide end of the horn is plugged
with clay, while a hole is made at the tip in order to provide a mouth-
piece. A gourd water-pipe, similar to that used by the Vachokue, is
also found among the Ovimbundu.
Cylindrical snuff boxes are ornamented with incised, burned,
geometrical patterns. The lid is usually attached to the box by a
leather thong. One large snuff box is ornamented with three well-
carved female figures. The smoker’s equipment is sometimes carried
in a leather pouch fastened on a waist belt, or the container may be
a hollow cylinder of ivory with a leather cap at each end.
To this information respecting the smoking and snuff -taking outfit
of theOvimbundu, some observations on the pipes and snuff boxes
of other tribes should be added. When making a journey from
Cangamba to Saurimo I seldom met an Ocivokue man who was not
carrying a gourd water-pipe for the smoking of tobacco and hemp.
Such pipes are usually ornamented with brass nails and are finely
bound with thin brass wire (Plate XV, Pig. 3). One long pipe from
Ngalangi has a pair of metal tongs attached for taking charcoal from
the fire in order to ignite the tobacco (Plate XV, Fig. 1). A pipe
with two bowls, closely resembling some Zulu patterns, was smoked
by an Ocimbundu woman at Ngalangi. The Vachokue make snuff
boxes from a yellow wood, which they ornament by burning portions
of the surface in such a way that the yellow color is here and there
visible.
Both men and women of the Vakipungo and Vakuanyama tribes

carry snuff boxes of conical shape on their leather waist belts. At
the top and bottom such snuff boxes are neatly bound with brass
or copper wire.
DOMESTIC IMPLEMENTS
At an early age girls become accustomed to the use of the V-shaped
pounder which is made from hard heavy wood (Plate XXXVI,
Fig. 2). The small end of the shaft is a convenient thickness for
grasping in such a the knuckles are on the under side of
way that
the shaft. This is the very reverse of what appears to be the natural
grip. Women use the pounder with an easy, circular swing so that
the flat round surface comes into contact with the grain on the rock.
Endurance in this work is remarkable, and there is no doubt that
166 The Ovimbundu
fatigue avoided by the method of holding and swinging so that

is
the work of crushing is done by the weight of the implement.

Two methods of pulverizing grain are by use of a long
less usual
pestle, which worked up and down in a heavy wooden mortar as
is
shown by Plate LXXXIV, Pig. 1, in which Vachokue women are so

employed, and the crushing of grain with a cylindrical stone which
is rolled on a flat slab. This latter method I judge to be very old,
for on a pre-Umbundu site encircled by stone walls I have seen flat
slabs of stone and cylindrical rollers. Some of the flat slabs were
worn extremely thin in the middle and a few were perforated by
the friction.
noteworthy that there are rocks especially reserved for the
It is
pounding of grain with the wooden mallet. Such rocks are to be
found close to every village, and the dedication of a new rock for this
purpose requires the killing of a chicken whose blood is sprinkled
on the rock.
Work kind begun before daybreak. From that time to
of this is
sunset the pounding wooden mallets, accompanied by the

of the
singsong of the women, marks the progress of the day’s work. At
intervals the pounded grain is sifted through the hands and spread
out on a basket-work tray, which is shaken to separate the fine meal.
The unbroken and partly broken grain is replaced on the rock for
further pounding. A small brush of grass is used for bringing together
the grain which is dispersed by the blows.
The
sole implement used in agriculture, which is entirely in the
hands of women, is the hoe. Of this implement there are several
variations according to locality. The Ovimbundu and others of
Ngalangi employ the form illustrated in Plate XIII, Fig. 10. The
long handles measuring 85 cm no doubt reduce fatigue by minimizing
bending. Both hands are used, and, furthermore, the increased length
of the handles must give a greater leverage. The smaller hoe used
by Ovimbundu women of Elende has short handles only 51 cm
(Plate XIII, Pig. 9), while that from the Esele country is distin-
guished by a broader blade and still shorter handles only 36 cm
in length.
Included in the outfit of every Umbundn home is the heavy

wooden floor beater. This implement, which
fashioned from ais
single piece of wood, consists of a narrow handle, round in cross
section, and a flat portion for beating the moist, newly made, mud
floor of the hut. The total length is about 83 cm.
Economic Life 167
Not only the carpenter, but almost every Ocimbundu man

possesses an implement which may be readily adapted as ax or adze
(Plate XIII, Fig. 2). The wooden shaft, from 50 to 70 cm in length,
terminates in a narrow grip at one end, while the other end expands
into a large oval knob into which a circular hole is bored. The
strong iron blade, one of the main products of the local forge, can
be removed. If the round tang of the blade is inserted so that the
cutting edge is in the same plane as the shaft, the implement is an ax.
On the contrary, insertion so that the cutting edge is at right angles
to the shaft converts the implement into an adze. When placed
over the shoulder this implement is used for carrying utensils in a
fiber bag (Plate XXVIII, Fig. 1).
Gourds are of three main kinds, which may be found growing on

the ground or resting on the roofs of houses at the ends of the climbing
stems that bear them. Ombenge is a gourd which is narrow in the
middle. It is often converted into a dipper for ladling liquids. The
narrow neck is the handle, while a round hole is cut in the larger part
so that the dipper can be filled with liquid. Onganja is round, or
perhaps oval in form. There is a size used as a measure of capacity.
Onganja can be used as a ladle by fixing it at the end of a stick.
Olukuembo has a round body and a narrow hook-shaped neck; like
the gourd ombenge, it is used as a ladle.
Gourds are elaborately decorated with incised and burned designs
(Plate XII, Figs. 1-6). Usually these patterns are geometrical, but
human figures and animals are sometimes included. Decorated
gourds from Bailundu, used for containing beer at a wedding, are
among the best examples of their kind (Plate XII, Fig. 6). The
owner of a decorated gourd takes great pains to repair a crack with
rattan, which is threaded through holes bored in the edges of the
fracture. A large gourd is sometimes carried in a native-made net
of vegetable fiber.
POTTERY
A large and varied collection of pottery has been acquired from
the Ovimbundu, the Vachokue, and the Vasele. The shapes and
styles are best indicated by the illustrations in Plate XIV, Figs. 1-5.
Among the Ovimbundu, only women make pots, which are inferior
in workmanship to those of the Vachokue and the Vasele. At Elende,
among the Ovimbundu, I was surprised to find a man making pottery.
Further inquiry showed that he had learned his craft when young
in the Vachokue country of eastern Angola. This man, whose work
was not copied at all by Ovimbundu women, was regarded as a
.
168 The Ovimbundu
specialistwhose products were in great demand. Instead of making

crude patterns with a piece of gourd, as do the Ovimbundu women,
he presses a brass bracelet round the rims of the pots. The bracelet
is deeply indented with geometrical patterns which appear on the
clay (Plate XIV, Fig. 5). This man selects a very fine clay for his
work, his products are S3nnmetrical, and a polish is given with a
smooth pebble after baking. Like all other potters of Angola, this
artisan has no knowledge of the potter’s wheel.
The vessels made by Vasele women, among whom the trade is
confined to female specialists, are unlike the products from any other
part of Angola. The chevron design is characteristic, so also is the
ornamenting of the pot by laying on strips of clay below the rim.
This is appliqu4 work which may consist of only a few bands of clay,
or the strips may pass repeatedly round the pot until one-half or
two-thirds of the surface has been covered (Plate XIV, Fig. 2)
At Elende two Ovimbundu women were observed during the pot-

making processes (Plates XXXIII, XXXIV). Woman A built up the
pot in a basket lined with wet leaves. Woman B pounded the clay
on a stone with the heavy wooden pounder used for pounding corn
on the rocks. Between the two women was a gourd of water in which
A moistened her fingers. Operators poured water on the clay which
she was pounding. A made a cup of clay five inches in diameter and
four inches deep which served as a base on which the pot was built
up by the coiling process. This cup was placed in the basket contain-
ing moist leaves.
The rim of the cup was built in height and breadth by the addition
by woman B. As the rolls of clay were laid on
of rolls of clay supplied
the edges of the pot, the inside was smoothed with a piece of gourd.
Meanwhile the outside of the pot was supported with one hand.
Shaping of the pot proceeded by applying smaller and smaller rolls
of clay as the neck of the pot was approached. Gentle smoothing
pressure forced out the greatest breadth of the pot just below the
base of the neck. A
pause was made to allow a partial drying before
the neck was built up. Ornamentation consisted of making deep
gourd while the pot was still wet. During
incisions with a piece of
these processes there was constant wetting of the hands.
The pots were sun dried, then fired several at a time by placing
them in a Min of dry grass. Polish was given to a pot while it was
still hot by covering the surface with liquid made from a tuberous
root, during which process the pot was quickly turned on a stick.
.
Economic Life 169
Whenthe clay was being mixed an old pot was broken and pul-
verized so thatsome of the powder might be added to the new pot.
There may be the underlying idea of continuity in the potter’s art.
The potters said, Sanga yi pita (“Lest it leak”). There may be
no purpose other than the imparting of stability to the new clay.
I was unable to find any trace of ritual except with reference to
the opening of a new clay pit. When a pit is first opened both men
and women attend. The head of a chicken is twisted off by a medi-
cine-man, then the bird is held over the pit by either a man or a
woman. There is no law or ceremony to determine who shall take
the first clay from the pit. The art of making pots is in the hands
of female specialists so far as the Ovimbundu are concerned. Obser-
vation makes clear that women will go for a long distance to obtain
clay from the pit which has been opened in a ceremonial manner.
On their way to such a pit they pass clay which would serve their
purpose well, but they do not use it. Children sometimes amuse
themselves by making animals of clay.
The pottery of the Ovimbundu includes cooking vessels of many
sizes, water containers, and very large pots for brewing beer {olombia
vi okukela).
MATS AND BASKETS
This occupation illustrates division of labor on a sex basis.
Baskets are made by women, while mat-making is an occupation for
males. As with other trades there is specialization. The majority
of women are able to make baskets though the skill of individuals
varies. All women who have a knowledge of basketry understand the
manufacture of dyes. Only a few men make mats; my informant
thought that perhaps one man in ten would have the necessary skill.
Such specialization is continued into other occupations; for example,
only a few men spin cotton thread, while the majority of people buy
pottery from expert female potters.
The mat-maker, generally an elderly male, uses two tools, a borer
and a both products of the native forge. The borer (utomo)
needle,
for piercing the reeds, consists of a long thin blade in a wooden grip.
The needle (osinja) is threaded with bark fiber and passed through
the holes made by the utomo. The bark thread is ombanja (plural
olombanja )
The sleeping mat (esisa) is made of reeds which are gathered in
the early morning by a man who wets and binds his material into
bundles, each of which contains reeds of the same length. The length
of the reeds varies, of course, with the size of mat he intends to make.
lYO The Ovimbundu
The name esisa is given to the raw material as well as to the mat.
The worker begins by laying out the reeds on the ground, side by side;
then the slender tool utomo is passed through the reeds near their
ends. This position is made permanent by sewing, and the process
is repeated at intervals along the length of the reeds (Plate XLII,
Figs. 1, 2).
is a large mat, about 120 cm long and 20 cm wide, while

Evinda
each strip of coarse elephant grass is about 3 cm wide. Ability to
make the rush mat (esisa) is fairly common, but skill in making
evinda is less usual. The mat evinda has several uses; it may be
stretched on the floor or bed as a sleeping mat, or possibly it is rolled
so that the ends can be fastened together; so treated it forms a
cylinder which may be filled with grain when stood upright on the
ground. A number of these mats is sometimes used to form a
temporary storage place or shelter. The technique is of the twilled
variety in which each weft passes over and under two warps.
Ocala is a coarse mat made from long stalks which are called
‘"elephant grass” by the Boers; the agricultural term is "Napier’s
fodder.” The long rods are white and glazed, so forming an artistic
contrast to the crossbinding, which is of black bark. The technique
is known as check, a term used to describe a structure in which warp
and weft pass over and under each other singly.

The large mat (ocikanga) which is of soft texture shows neatly
woven, diamond-shaped patterns of dark brown grass. The technique
of this mat is of the twilled variety in which each weft passes over
and then under two warps.
String bags, which are used for suspending gourds or hanging them
over the shoulder, are made by men only. The root ombundi, men-
tioned in connection with brewing beer, is used for making string
bags. Two fibersthat have been teased out from the root are rolled
tightly together by rubbing them between the palm and the thigh.
Strong rope is sometimes made by plaiting coarse grass; this occupa-
tion is in the hands of males.
In basket-making the preparation of dyes is of peat importance
because colored strands of grass are inwoven to make named geomet-
rical patterns (Plates IX; X). The Umbundu expression for dyeing
is oku lisa olosovo.
Red coloring is produced by taking leaves of a plant named evava

and cooking them in water along with the bark of the tree ukondo.
Ukondo is the “tooth brush” tree because small pieces of its wood
are chewed and used for cleaning the teeth. After the grass has
Economic Life 171
simmered in this infusion of evam leaves and ukmdo bark, it is buried

in a heap of ashes and earth. These processes produce the red
coloring.
Yellow dye is made from the roots of a wild rhubarb (ocilunguluila)

which has sagittate leaves. The roots are pounded and mixed with
cold water, after which the grass is placed in the mixture. A pot
containing the mixture is put on the fire and the contents are boiled
for half an hour; at the end of this time the grass is an amber-yellow
in color.
In order to dye grass black the leaves of evava, the plant used for
making red dye, are mixed with an iron solution obtained from the
mud of stagnant pools. If the grass which has been cooked in this
mixture is not sufficiently dark it is reboiled in the evam-ivon mixture
to which the pounded leaves of ungalo are added. Brown coloring
is made by mixing the red dye with the yellow.
Baskets made by the coiling process are the most common type
manufactured by Ovimbundu women (Plate XV, Fig. 6). The large
basket ohmiha is a woman’s field basket in which she carries corn,
sweet potatoes, and manioc, along with her hoe and pounder (Plate
XXVIII, Fig. 2). Each coil consists of a large number of strands of
fine grass which are tightly bound. The coils of the better baskets
are wrapped with the grass called osoka; this wrapping fastens each
coil to the preceding coil. Coarser baskets have the coils wrapped
with strips from the leaf of the screw pine {emanalalo). There is a
sewing process in which the coils are bound to one another with the
bark olondovi, which is kept damp during the process. I have seen a
needle, threaded with bast, used for sewing coils together; the needle
was rethreaded every time it passed through a coil. Success in
basket-making depends largely on the ability of the worker to keep
the coils of uniform thickness. There is constant inspection and
plucking out of a strand of grass here and there (Plate XXXIX,
Pig. 2).
In making basket trays (ongalo), the same coiling process is

work is kept flat. These trays are used for winnow-
followed, but the
ing corn. Wicker-work is used for making conical traps for small
game such as hares and rats. Conical fish traps are made of wicker-
work. Names of patterns, which are of a simple geometrical kind,
are well known to basket-makers. Sometimes a pattern is woven
round the basket at a certain height to indicate a generally accepted
standard for measurement of capacity.
172 The Ovimbundu
Among the Ovimbundu are to be found baskets which they them-

selves seldom copy. These examples are from the Vachokue country
of eastern Angola. specialize in making winnowing
The Vachokue
trays and rectangular baskets which are twilled by passing each weft
over two or more warps.
By this technique, combined with the use of brown and black
weft and warp, a great variety of geometrical patterns is produced.
Trays of this kind vary in diameter from 50 to 200 cm. The Vachokue
also make large strong trays in which honey is exposed to dry.
In the neighborhood of Cassanga wicker-work baskets are made.

The warps or stakes are rigid while the more flexible wefts bend in
and out. At this place there are both Ovimbundu and Vachokue
inhabitants.
Women of the V akuany ama in southern Angola make exceptionally
neat little conical baskets by lashing coils very tightly. The lashing
is done in such a way as to leave the outer surface covered with small
chevron-shaped designs.
is an intrusion of European influence which tends to mar
There
the work of the Ovimbundu and other native craftswomen. Soft
dyes produced by methods described are sometimes replaced by
brightly colored, imported dyes; old ribbons from typewriters are
soaked in order to extract coloring. The Ovimbundu are imitating
European forms of basketry in a few centers, though the native
method of coiling is still used.
WEAPONS
The bow of the Ovimbundu is made of hard red wood which
takes a high polish after use. It is round in cross section and tapers
considerably toward the ends. The length is usually 150 cm, not
an inconvenient view of the fairly open bush through which
size in
the hunter has to his way. The bowstring is made of a thin
make
strip of twisted hide, which is looped over each end of the bow by a
slip knot made of two half-hitches. A shoulder at each end of the
bow shaft prevents the slip knot from passing down the shaft. In
some examples only one end of the bow stave is notched. Usually,
after completing the slip knot, the hunter leaves a surplus of bow-
string which is wound round the shaft. One bow which is not
notched has rattan wound round the stave to prevent the loops
from slipping.
The bow for shooting bird arrows is small and is used only by
boys; the string is of twisted vegetable fiber.
Economic Life 173
The foregoing description applies to all bows collected in Blende,

an Umbundu center; neither is there any appreciable difference
between these bows and those of the Vachokue of the area from
Cangamba to Saurimo in Lunda. The bows collected in the Vachokue
region are on the average 10 cm longer than those collected at
Elende, a structural difference probably connected with the heavier
aiTowheads used by the Vachokue (Plate XVII, Figs. 1-9).
The Vakuanyama of southern Angola make and use a bow which
bears very resemblance to those already described. The arrows,
little
too, are entirely different from those used by the Ovimbundu and
Vachokue.
The lengths of three bows collected at Mongua, a typical Kuan-
yama center, are 111, 123, and 123 cm. The bow stave, which is
made from a monocotyledonous wood, is 5 cm broad in the widest
part, while the cross section is a flattened ellipse. The bowstring
is of twisted leather, looped at each end for slipping over the ends
of the bow shaft (Plate XVII, Fig. 8).
According to L. S. B. Leakey (A New Classification of the Bow
and Arrow in Africa, J.R.A.L, LVI, 1926, pp. 259-294), the bows and
arrows of Angola have not been studied. I am inclined to place the
bows of the Ovimbundu and Vachokue with Leakey’s “knotted
string bows” (pp. 266-269).
Leakey states that the technique employed in stabilizing flight
forms the best basis of classification of arrows, but so far as Angola
is concerned, the shapes of arrowheads form a basis of classification
according to locality. Ovimbundu, Vachokue, Vakuanyama, and

Vasele, have distinctive patterns. Naturally there is borrowing of
patterns where Ovimbundu and Vachokue intermingle, but, even so,
there are distinguishing signs of Vachokue workmanship. The
information respecting bows and arrows of Angola is best presented
in paragraph form, and comparison of tjqjes is facilitated by refer-
ence to Plate XVII, Figs. 1-9.
The following arrows are used for killing birds:
(1) Elende. Ovimbundu boys use a wooden arrow with a heavy

blunt head which is carved into five nodules (Plate XVII, Pig. 3).
The head is tanged into a reed shaft and bound there with fine fiber
covered with wax. The feathers are whole, bent over, and tied.
The number of feathers varies considerably in different examples.
(2) Kipungo. The Vakipungo have a wooden-headed arrow with
nine well-carved barbs (Plate XVII, Fig. 7). The head is socketed
174 The Ovimbundu
fairly tightly into a reed shaft bound at the junction to prevent

further splitting of the shaft. There are four whole, untrimmed
feathers at the butt; these feathers are bent over and bound.
(3) Vakuanyama. Wooden arrows having eleven sets of barbs

are in use. The head is bound into a reed shaft with strong gut.
Another type of wooden arrow has three sets of barbs with three
barbs in each set. There are four whole feathers at the butt.
(4) Vasele. The Vasele use an arrow, pointed with fine pieces
of sharp bamboo, for shooting lizards (Plate XVII, Fig. 9).
The foregoing information (1-4) relates only to wooden arrows

which are used by boys when hunting birds. The following para-
graphs summarize the structural details of arrows used by men,
and the data are arranged to call attention to differences in the
patterns of arrows used by several principal tribes of Angola.
The Vasele make the arrow shafts of hollow reeds, and into these
the narrow, ovate, iron heads are tanged and bound in position with
fine bark which is not waxed. Three unsplit feathers are bent and
tied to the shaft with fine bark fiber. The nock at the butt of the
arrow is rectangular in shape and 0.3 cm deep. No quiver was
observed.
The Ovimbundu form arrow shafts from hollow reeds, the average
length of which is 76 cm. All arrowheads of iron are tanged and
the tangs are inserted in the hollow reeds. A binding of fine bark
fiber is given, and this is covered with wax. From five to ten feathers
are used for each arrow. The feathers may be split or they may
be left in the natural state. The trimming of the feathers is roughly
executed. The depth ofthe rectangular nocks is 0.5 cm, and
splitting of the shaft is prevented by binding the nock with fine
bark. No quiver was observed.
The Vachokue of Cangamba, and thence northward to Saurimo,
make arrow shafts of hollow reeds whose average length (79 cm)
is a little in excess of those made by the Ovimbundu. The shapes
of the iron heads are shown in comparison with those of the Ovim-
bundu (Plate XVII, Pig. 1). All arrowheads are tanged and hound
into the hollow shaft with bark fiber which is then waxed. The
feathers are split and bent with a neatness much greater than that
shown in examples of Umbundu arrows. The rectangular nocks
are 1 cm deep. No quiver was observed.
The Vakuanyama make solid wooden arrow shafts having an

average length of 65 cm. The arrowheads of iron are socketed.
Economic Life 175
Three prevailing shapes of arrowhead are conical, narrow ovate,

and V-shaped. The quills are split, bent over, and tied. The usual
number of feathers used for each arrow is eight. The workmanship
is neat and symmetrical. The rectangular nock is 0.5 cm deep.
A quiver of hide is used.
In addition to the assagai (Plates XIII, Pig. 8; LXVIII, Fig. 2)
commonly used by the Vakuanyama and adopted to a very limited
extent by the Ovimbundu, there are spearheads which originate in
eastern Angola among the Vachokue, whose blacksmiths are expert.
Typical spearheads were collected at Munyangi where Ovim-
bundu and Vachokue cultures meet. The leaf -shaped blade and
tang have a length of 30 cm and an average breadth of 4 cm across
the blade (Plate XVI, Fig. 1). The upper part of the tang, made
for insertion into a wooden shaft, is round in cross section while
the lower part is square. The blade, which has a keen edge, is well
graded from a central, raised midrib to the margin.
I did not observe many spears among the Ovimbundu and
Vachokue. The former value highly a type of assagai which is owned
by every man of the Vakuanyama. At Elende and Bailundu I
obtained from Ovimbundu men assagais identical with those collected
in the Vakuanyama country. The assagai is made entirely of iron;
it has a narrow, leaf-shaped iron blade which is socketed to the
iron shaft. The butt is sharply pointed. The shaft passes through
a cow’s tail on which the tuft of hair remains. Consequently the iron
shaft is encased in hide for part of its length.
At Elende I obtained from Ovimbundu men two spears said to
be a product of the local forge. The flat, narrow, leaf-shaped blades
were tanged into very rough wooden shafts. Wax was thickly
smeared over the junction. The workmanship, which followed the
tanged method of hafting arrowheads, was extremely crude.
By far the most distinctive knives made in Angola are those
manufactured and used by the Vakuanyama of the extreme south
(Plate XVI, Pig. 10). I have never found this knife in use elsewhere
in Angola, and similar types are to be found only among the Ovambo
to the south of the Vakuanyama.
These knives vary in length from 48 cm to 73 cm, with a breadth
of 5 cm to 7 cm The
general outline is a well-
across the scabbard.
balanced ellipse. The wood used
hard in texture and dark red in
is
color. On one side the scabbard is left open in such a way as to
display the blade, which is long, keen, and tapering. A leather
thong attached to the back of the scabbard provides means of attach-
176 The Ovimbundu
ment either to the arm or to the belt of the wearer. The crescent-
shaped expansion at the tip of the scabbard is sometimes held between
the toes while the blade is withdrawn.
A small knife obtained from an Ocivokue man near Saurimo in
the province of Lunda, northeast Angola, has a black wooden haft
neatly bound with fine brass wire (Plate XVI, Fig. 2). The steel
blade of Vachokue workmanship is eminently suitable for the purpose
for which it is employed, namely, that of carving pipe bowls and
snuff boxes, which are sometimes elaborately incised. The knife
has a distribution from Saurimo to Cangamba, an area of intermittent
Vachokue culture, but I have never observed it in the possession of
an Ocimbundu. Men of the Ovimbundu have knives of somewhat
poor quality. The roughly made wooden haft is attached to a
blade which is protected by a sheath of lizard skin. More frequently
than not, an Ocimbundu does not carry a knife; neither does he
appear to have borrowed knives or the art of making them from the
expert Vakuanyama or Vachokue, who are reluctant to part with
their tools and weapons.
A knife used by Vasele men in the region of Vila Nova de Selles,
in the hinterland of Novo Redondo, resembles one used by the
Bangala of the Congo (Plate XIII, Pig. 1). The distribution of the
implement, which is used for cutting branches from trees, is local
in the Esele country. I have never seen such a knife in use among
the Ovimbundu or in any other part of Angola. The preservation
of this peculiar form, in common with other specialized traits of
Esele culture, is due to isolation of the Vasele among hills difficult
of access.
LEATHER WORK
Leather pouches worn on a broad leather belt are part of the
essentialequipment of a hunter. The pouch usually contains scrap
metal and powder for muzzle-loading guns. This type of firearm is,
under present Portuguese regulations, difficult to obtain and still
more difficult to furnish with powder, which is forbidden to the
native. Consequently such a pouch may contain only a pipe and
tobacco.
The pouch itself is either square, rectangular, or semi-cylindrical
in shape (Plate XIII, Fig. 6). The hair may or may not have been
removed from the hide. Some examples show signs of careful work-
manship in stamping cross-shaped patterns. Brass-headed nails
are used for decorative effect on these pouches among the Ovimbundu
of Blende and as far south as Huila.
Economic Life 177
In addition to pouches, hide used by the Ovimbundu for the

is
seats of four-legged wooden Before stretching the hide over

stools.
the wooden frame the edge of the leather is cut into strips which are
interlaced on the under side of the stool (Plate XVIII, Fig. 1). There
are few evidences of the hide having been dressed; usually the hair
isattached. The Ovimbundu understand the dressing of hides in
a crude way. The hide is soaked, after which the inner surface is
rubbed with ashes. The hair is scraped away and the hide is tightly
pegged out. Hide was formerly used for covering wooden boxes
in which a king carried his powder and possessions to war. Scraped
hide is used to form the tympanum in tubular wooden drums.
In only one part of Angola, notably in the south among the

Vakuanyama, is leather used as clothing. Women wear pleated
skirts of hide and several broad leather belts, while the men have
small leather aprons in front and behind. Men only are the leather
workers. The hide soaked and trampled under foot for many
is
hours in order to soften it and make it pliable; the hair is not removed.
Before leather clothing is worn it is thickly greased with a mixture
of fat and red powder from tukula wood (Plates LXV, Figs. 1-3;
LXVII, Pig. 1).
SPINNING AND WEAVING

My interpreter Ngonga remembers the useof a heavy upright
loom about twenty years ago, but this loom is not used at the present
time among the Ovimbundu. The Ovimbundu have been in contact
with Europeans for three centuries. This has not been a close and
permanent contact, but it has been sufficient to account for the
disappearance of a one-time essential art. There are in Elende some
very fine raffia palm trees, but no use is made of the leaf fiber for
manufacturing clothes. Bark cloth is not made by the Ovimbundu
of Elende, but I have seen the Vangangella and Ovimbundu of
Ngalangi engaged in stripping, beating, and preparing bark for use
as clothing, which is formed of one piece wound round the body.
The bark cloth is not dyed or decorated with patterns.
Frequently at Elende men are seen engaged in spinning cotton
which is used for repairs, and not for fabricating garments. The
cotton is obtained from a shrub which has reddish leaves and yellow
flowers. The cotton may be seen protruding from the calyx in the
months of June and July. The man who is winding holds high in his
left hand a slender stick which is wrapped for a length of two feet
with fluffy cotton. All work of pressing and twisting the cotton into
a thread is done by the thumb and index finger of the right hand.
178 The Ovimbundu
In the beginning a thread from the fluffy mass on the stick is fastened
to a corncob or to a potato, the weight of which keeps the thread
taut (Plate XXXVI, Pig. 1).
I have never seen a woman spinning and am informed that in

former days the working of the loom was a task for men only.
In presenting facts bearing on the economic life of the Ovimbundu
attention has been paid to the importance of ritual, specialization
in industry, and division of labor on a sex basis. Clearly, the economic
life is one of the fundamentals of social structure, while at many
points it is a field in which the magician works.
Topography and climate have fixed certain conditions which, so

far as the Benguela Highlands are concerned, favor agriculture on
an extensive scale, also the keeping of cattle. In the Benguela
Highlands a moderate temperature, combined with sufficient rainfall,
has produced a type of vegetation which provides timbers serviceable
to the craftsman, together with bush that affords shelter for game.
The bearing of these economic facts on the probable origins of
traits, and their assembly to form the tribal life of the Ovimbundu,
isreserved for discussion in chapters dealing with culture contacts
and cultural processes. In chapters X-XH the factual material
presented here under “Economic Life” is correlated with what is
known of similar activities in cultures surrounding that of the
Ovimbundu.
VI. SOCIAL LIFE
Sexual Relations
COURTSHIP
There isa certain humor and quaintness of language used by
Ngonga in describing sexual relations of theOvimbundu. So far as
possible the interpreter’s style of expression has been preserved
because of its value in revealing the native attitude.
When a man begins to like a girl, he looks at her for several
days. Perhaps the boy will talk to the girl who will tell him to go
to her fatherand mother. The boy must ask the parents for a friend-
ship, which may last for one or two years. During this time the boy
must not do anything to the girl, and if he tries she ought to tell her
parents. If a baby were born to them in this time it would be a
shameful thing. After the boy has told the parents that he wishes
to marry the girl he must find something to give to them. The girl
must have agreed to marriage before the boy asks the parents. The
first token may be no more than a ball of wax or a present of salt.
This token says, “The girl is mine," and no other boy will ask for
her because it is understood that she is promised to somebody. In
former days there were restrictions against marriage with other tribes,
but in eastern Angola at the present day the Ovimbundu occasionally
marry with the Vachokue.
Soon the boy will start building a house on his father’s plot,
because he intends to bring the girl to his father’s land. The boy
must at this stage make a further present to the parents of the girl.
In the old days he would take about five kilos of salt; but now he
will take a bottle of Portuguese wine, two or three blankets, or a piece
of cloth. The people who carry the present must be the brother,
father, or a male cousin of the suitor. These relatives will say, “This
is the day we have come for our boy’s wife.” Then the parents will
‘
examine the things. Perhaps they will say, ‘Y ou must bring a better
blanket.” The father or the girl’s mother’s brother must call the
relatives of the girl to a council (onjango) where the relatives of the
boy and girl are gathered.
The parents say, "We are taking these things for our daughter;
we hope she will be a good girl and not shame us. She is a good girl
to us and we hope she will be a good girl in your house.” The girl’s
parents turn to her and say, “We should like to hear that you are
hospitable; give food to your husband’s relatives when they visit
179
;
180 The OVIMBUNDU
you.” There is no infant betrothal. There is not and never was any
compulsion of a girl in marriage, but slave girls were disposed of in
marriage by their masters.
A girl is not allowed to do anything to show that she loves a boy,
would be a great shame for her to tell the boy that she loves him.
for it
Often a girl who prefers a boy will pretend that she does not like him.
The Ovimbundu have a story which states that a man said, “I will
bring my cow to the green grass”; he did so, but the cow would not
eat, This expresses the idea that a boy would not like a girl who
confessed a preference for him.
MAREIAGE
The prospective bride chooses one married woman and six unmar-
ried girls toaccompany her to the house prepared by her husband.
Here a feast consisting of a pig and some chickens is provided by the
husband for the relatives of both families. For three nights the girl
returns to the house of her parents while the boy sleeps at his home.
The married woman and six girls sleep at the house prepared by the
bridegroom. During these days beer is provided by the boy’s parents.
The prospective husband is ironically addressed as sandombua.
Ndombua means bridegroom, sa is an abbreviation of isia meaning
father. The term “father bridegroom” refers to the fact that the
youth is a potential husband only; the marriage has not been
consmnmated.
On the fourth day the bride brings her supply of domestic utensils.
These are the cooking pots {olornMa); the wooden spoons {ovito) the
brush of grass for sweeping {olueyo); some meal; also the pounder
(upi). For the first month the wife is not allowed to cook in her own
home; she cooks food in the home of her husband’s parents and sends
it to the council house {onjango) where her husband takes his meals
with other men according to Umbundu custom. At the end of the

first month of married life the mother of the husband invites any
three old women who have been happily married to lay the hearth
stones in the new home. Each of the old women brings a stone for
the hearth. A chicken is lulled and its blood is sprinkled on the
hearth stones. While the young wife is preparing food at the new
hearth, she is helped by the old women. If the girl is stirring with
the big wooden spoon, one of the old women places her own hands
over those of the girl. There is this kind of guidance in every action.
I understand that at the present day virginity in a bride is not so
highly valued as in former days. The old custom was an examination

Social Life 181
of the girl by her husband, and

if she were not a virgin he took a hot
stick from the fireand burned a hole through her loin cloth. “The girl
began to cry, but she had to take the burned cloth to her mother.” In
such an instance there does not seem to be an idea of guilt. The
husband had accepted something that was damaged, and the payment
of a pig by the girl’s parents reunited the two young people. In
former days, also at present, there are boy and girl companions who
sleep together, supposedly without having sexual connections,
although they may be seventeen years of age. The girl calls the boy
ombaisi, and he calls her by the same name. The Ovimbundu
understand something of the physiology of conception; the woman
is,however, regarded as only a receiving vessel. “The man puts
something into her which grows.”
Husband and wife do not sleep in the same bed during the wife’s
menstrual period; the wife sleeps on a mat at the side of her husband’s
bed. A woman who is menstruating never cooks food, but women
give mutual aid in this matter. A man with more than one wife
sleeps either four nights or seven nights with each; the four-night
cycle is more usual than the seven-night cycle among the Ovimbundu.
Each wife has a separate hut and kitchen. There is no wife lending,
but a visitor may be provided with a widow or even with an un-
married girl. Then the man would have to pay the woman.
Ngonga was able to give information with regard to homosexual-
ity. “There are men who want men, and women who want women.”
Ngonga says he has heard people talk about it, and “they think this
very bad.” A woman has been known to make an artificial penis
for use with another woman. The medicine-man will sometimes
dress as a woman. Ngonga, who has seen a man dress as a woman,
stated that the man arranged his cloth like that of a woman, put
palm oil on his hair, and joined the women to pound corn on the rocks.
“The other people laughed and spoke bad words to him. His brother,
father, and uncle beat him,” but without producing reformation.
DIVORCE
There are many grounds on which a man may secure a divorce,
but it does not follow that divorce is frequent. On the contrary the
evidence indicates that the majority of difficulties are overcome by a
compromise between the relations of the husband and those of the
wife. The main causes of dissatisfaction with a wife are want of
ability in cultivating her garden, physical weakness, a habit of
thieving from the gardens of other women, incompetence in cooking,
182 The Ovimbundu
bad temper, too much talking, some physical defect arising from
childbirth, and infidelity. But the husband usually accepts payment
from the adulterer, and in that event divorce is not sought.
If j, mother has no milk, there is a likelihood that her children
will die in infancy this is a cause for divorce. Barrenness gives great
;
dissatisfaction, but is not necessarily a cause for divorce. Usually

the husband marries another girl, while the first wife retains her
position as head-wife. With regard to frigidity my informant said
that sometimes married woman does not want her husband to
do those things which husbands like to do, or she may want him
very seldom.” The husband is so angry that he may go away
hunting for a long time. The husband may tell some old people, who
talk to the girl. If his wife is a good cook, the husband may keep
her and secure another girl as a second wife. Sometimes the husband
ties the hands of the girl if she resists him. If a wife is returned
to her parents on the grounds of her frigidity her husband does not
receive compensatory pasnment, but he hopes that another man will
take the girl and pay him for her.
male is sometimes suspected, in which case the
Sterility of the
husband another girl, possibly with his wife’s consent. The
tries
wife may be allowed to have relations with another man in the hope
of producing children. The evidence shows that there is definite
experiment to test barrenness of the woman and sterility of the male.
In case of impotence (not sterility of the male sperm) the wife
leaves her husband. In event of barrenness the woman visits a
medicine-man, who gives her a charm consisting of two cowrie
shells on a strip of leather which she wears round her neck; a potion
also will he given her. If the barren condition is due to malevolence
of spirits, the face of the woman is painted with streaks of red and
white. Such a woman is said to gain ocituinba. Tumha means "a
swell,” “a rise.”
A woman may divorce her husband if he does not treat her well.
Ifhe beats her or refuses to give her cloth and palm oil, she will leave
him; but she will not leave him if he is merely unfaithful. If a
woman is unhappy with her husband, she will tell her people about
the trouble. Her father and mother may say, “Go and try again,”
After a year the woman may still be unhappy, in which case she
goes to her parents. The husband visits his wife’s parents to ask
why she has left him. The parents give reasons and offer to return
the token he presented for the girl. The return of the husband’s
tokens is usually long delayed because the parents of the girl are
Social Lips 183
hoping that another man will ask for their daughter; this new suitor
will have to make payment to the deserted husband. The chief of the
village is not consulted unless the return of the husband's presents
is long delayed or is in some way unsatisfactory. A woman who
claims even remote relationship with the royal family is treated well,
because her husband is afraid of the influence which may be used
against him. A woman who returns to her parents takes with her
the articles she contributed to the home; these are pottery, corn
baskets, a wooden pounder, and wooden spoons. If a wife returns
to her parents without telling her husband that she intends going,
he will beat her if he finds her packing up her utensils.
The procedure of divorce contains a very human element. When
a man has fully decided that he would like to divorce his wife, he
will first of all inform his parents of his intention. The parents may
advise their son to try the girl for a longer time.
On the contrary, the parents of the man may be mischief-makers.
Sometimes the parents will say to the husband, “Do you Icnow that
your wife is doing these things? It is better you should send her
away.” If the man is fond of his wife, he will take her to another
place where his parents cannot watch her. When a woman divorces
her husband to marry another man, she takes to her new home all
children under three years of age. Older children go to the home
of her parents.
The chief of the village has to witness the final ceremony of

divorcing a woman; but the husband and wife, also the wife’s father,
are the principal people concerned in the divorce ceremony. The
husband receives from his wife's father a roll of tobacco and a pig,
then he places leaves and palm oil on the back of his wife. He slaps
her back sa3dng, “It is finished,” after which the woman goes to her
father or to another man.
When a woman takes the initiative and has declared her intention
of divorcing her husband, she returns to her parents as described; but
the divorce cannot be completed until the husband has been per-
suaded to perform this ceremony of slapping her back and making
a ceremonial renunciation in public.
PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH

When a woman finds that she is pregnant, she makes and drinks
an infusion prepared from bark fiber. This is to insure the removal
of all stringy matter at delivery. Formerly a husband was not
184 The Ovimbundu
supposed to have intercourse with his wife during her pregnancy, but
this custom of continence is declining.
A pregnant woman in particular must not steal. If she does so,
her child will refuse to be born until some one present at the confine-
ment goes out and steals something.
Eating the flesh of a hare during pregnancy will give the baby
a split lip. If the flesh of the owl is eaten, the baby will have large
round eyes.
The expectant mother must not sit on a mortar, a pestle, or a
piece of rock; if she does so, labor will be prolonged.
A pregnant woman takes earth from just outside her door. She
drinks this in water so that the placenta will be delivered whole.
A pregnant woman is not supposed to carry anything in her cloth.
If she does so, the child will have a long head.
Apregnant woman is a potential corpse. A man ought not to
quarrel with his pregnant wife and if she says angry things to him
he should not reply. He would not speak to a corpse in anger; on
the contrary, he would respect a corpse; he must, therefore, respect
a pregnant woman. It is a bad omen to see a pregnant woman up
in a tree. A man who sees such a woman is expected to shoot her.
If a pregnant woman has scolded her husband and is sorry, she

goes out to the fields. There she gets her cloth covered with burrs
then returns home. If her husband begins to pick off the burrs there
is reconciliation.
There are several arrangements whereby a woman who has borne
only girls may secure male births, provided she can find a woman
who has borne only boys and is anxious to have a girl. The simplest
way of reversing the births is for the women to exchange belts. The
belt is a string, or pos,sibly a plaited fiber girdle an inch in width
which is worn next to the body. From this string depends the
woman's lower garment. A second way of reversing the births is
for the women to make an exchange of food through a hole in the
wall of a hut. The food is handed in on a basket tray. The woman
inside the hut receives the food while standing with her back to the
hole; she then places the food under the bed. The tray is handed
back through the hole by the recipient who still keeps her back to
the aperture. There is a third method whereby a woman who has
borne boys may be made to bear girls, and vice versa. The woman
who has borne only boys gives to the woman who has borne only
girls, an arrow, a knife, a bow, and an ax. The articles given in
return are a pounding stick, a broom, a tray and a basket. The value
Social Life 186
of this symbolism relating to occupations of males and females

respectively, is obvious.
Many women bear children when they are away in the fields, but
help at home is often given. The mothers of the wife and of the
husband may not be present at the confinement. N o childless woman
may be near during the confinement or convalescence. The father
may not be present or "the child would be ashamed to be born.”
Before and during her pregnancy a woman feeds her husband with
a prickly plant which is mixed in his food; this makes him faithful
to her.
The abdomen bound
after delivery in order to keep the uterus
is
in position. There a very small amount of bleeding after childbirth

is ;
in fact the flow of blood is quite finished in two or three days. The
nearer the diet comes to that of the white man the greater the bleeding
at delivery. A pregnant woman may not beat a drum, or she will
bear a drum. A woman who sees the blood from circumcision of a
male will not have any children.
When a female child is born, the umbilical cord is cut with a hoe
to ensure that the female will be a good worker in the field. The
cord of a male is cut with an arrow to insure good hunting. A newly
born child receives a drink of beer, and a cord is tied round its waist.
This is not for support; it is the string from which, much later, the
lower garment hangs. Girls do not menstruate until they are fifteen
or even seventeen years of age. During the months after first men-
struation a girl advances rapidly from childhood to womanhood.
The medicines that women take to secure abortions are bitter.
A woman will refuse quinine because she thinks it will cause abortion.
It is certain that twins are welcome among the Ovimbundu, but there
are special observances connected with their birth and death. A twin
birth is not thought to imply dual fatherhood. Twins are called
Njamba (“elephant”) and Hosi (“lion”). Although twins are of
opposite sexes each receives one of the two names. Njamba is the
first born, and Hosi the second to be delivered. The medicine-
is
man holds a ceremony to cure the mother of twins. The afterbirth

of twins is placed in two gourds and carried outside the village for
burial by two midwives. The mother of twins must wear round
her neck the horn of an antelope given by the medicine-man. She
has to blow this when crossing a river, meeting a crowd of people,
or seeing a hawk overhead. People laugh at her and in fun say
that she is a pig or a bitch. “The woman says the same kind of
words to them.” Children may be adopted, but they never really
186 The Ovimbundu
belong to the foster parents. When an adopted girl marries, half

the presents from the husband are given to the natural parents,
and the other half to the foster parents.
In a case of triple birth at Ngalangi two infants died at birth; the
other succumbed after three months. In another instance a woman
bore three children and in the vernacular of my informant “something
which was nothing,” but all died. In a third case of triple birth a
woman had a boy and two girls. The boy died at the age of fifteen
years; the girls grew up and bore children. Albinos do not find it
easy to obtain wives. I was told that an albino man at Ngalangi
could not find a wife until he married a widow who had several
children, because unmarried girls of his own age did not want him.
One of the charms collected has to be worn by a woman who has
triplets. The object is a rattle {olusangu), which the woman shakes
when she meets any one. If she gave an ordinary greeting the
children would die.
The greater part of this information was obtained at Ngalangi
by interrogating women who were questioned in Umbundu by Mrs.
McDowell. At Elende I asked my interpreter Ngonga to interrogate
his wife. According to Ngonga a woman must visit a female prac-
titioner in the first month of her pregnancy. The face and the body
of the pregnant woman are painted with red, black, and white spots.
This means that she will have no difficulty in bearing children,
neither will she have any sickness during the nine months of gestation.
“When her belly hurts” (i.e., the quickening), the woman goes to
the same female ocimbanda, who paints lines of white, red, and black
across her breast.
The ocimbanda gives thewoman a necklace consisting of a strip
of leather to which two cowries are attached. Experience proves
that such a necklace is difficult to buy. If the woman has a necklace
of this kindwhich was worn by her grandmother, it is a very powerful
aid to conception, a relief in painful menstruation, and a means of
securing easy delivery and normal gestation. I could not find any
trace of an idea relating to the entry of a soul, ancestral or otherwise,
into the foetus.
Ongandu is the name for a disease of the genitalia; but Ngonga
used the word to describe abdominal pain suffered by a woman who
has had no children. By this I suppose he means painful menstrua-
tion. The curative root which is given is called kayambua.
Abortion isnever secured by mechanical means. The medicine
(ihemba) is made from the root of a plant that is boiled in water and
Social Life 187
drunk. The concoction is described in Umbundu as ihemha vioku

tundisapo imo (“medicine to take away belly”).
When the monthly period begins too early in life, the medicine-
man recommends that the young girl should wear the cowrie necklace
worn by her mother’s mother.
A deformed child is destroyed, but not if it has been allowed to
survive the first day.
If male triplets are born, two stay permanently with the mother.
At the age of five years one child goes to the king, whose child he
becomes.
When a woman has had relationships with more than one man,
she will die in childbirth unless the medicine-man is called to cure her.
In a Vachokue village of eastern Angola I bought a female wooden
figure. It was explained that this would be nursed by a woman, one
of whose twins was dead, in order to induce another conception.
Moreover, the nursing of the figure prevents the death of the second
twin. The Ovimbundu also use these wooden figurines for replacing
dead twins (p. 168).
Children are suckled for a long time; even those of three years and
older come to the breast. There are instances in which milk is present
but lacking the nutritive qualities; then the baby is likely to die. The
matter is simpler when a mother gives no milk at all because the baby
is given to another woman, but not necessarily to a woman who is
suckling a child. A baby whose mother has no milk may be given

to a woman who has not borne a child for many years, and the sucking
of the child quickly induces a milk supply. This is agreed upon by
informants at Ngalangi and Blende who have seen a child nursed
by a woman with withered breasts. Protection is given to the
fontanelle by covering it with a vegetable gum which hardens.
Near thechief village of the Vangangella at Ngalangi there is a

mound decorated with feathers and painted wooden posts (Plate
XCII, Fig. 1) Childless women are placed on the mound which is
.
near a river. They are covered with mud, after which the medicine-
man sings songs and administers potions. The women go home and
are made to sit on mounds in their kitchens. These mounds, which
are made in rows, like earth heaped up after hoeing a trench, may
be a symbol of successful agriculture and human fertility.
On looking into the subject of blood brotherhood I found that an
exchange of blood between two males who swore mutual fidelity was
at one time common. At the present day an exchange of blood is
;
188 The Ovimbundu
sometimes made between husband and wife, at night and in secret.

People say that those who exchange blood will die at the same time.
NAMING
In addition to the words chosen to describe twins, there are some
points of importance in connection with the naming of children. The
father and mother change their names when the first child, male or
female, is born, but there is no change of name at the birth of subse-
quent children. In a certain family the name of the first child, a girl,
was Vitundo. The name of her father, which was Cingandu, was
abandoned; he became Savitundo, “the father of Vitundo.” The
mother’s name of Visolela was changed to Navitundo, "the mother
of Vitundo.”
If the first child dies, the parents dislike their names; they there-
fore revert to their original names. When another baby is born, the
parents again change their names in the way described. A post-
humous child is called Lusati. A child born after twins is Kasinda,
which means “to push.” Twins are called the Lion and the Elephant,
or the Elephant and the Hippopotamus. There are no secret names.
The names of the dead must not be mentioned; the deceased is referred
to as “the one who has gone.” Children may change their own names
at the age of about sixteen years, and actually do so if their names are
distasteful to them. Ngonga’s friend, named Katito (“little”),
changed his name to Mukayita (meaning not known). Ngonga’s
sister, named Ndumbila (meaning not known), changed her name
to Cilingohenda, which means "It is a pity.” I met a chief near

Bailundu who was called Kandimba, meaning “the Little Hare.”
There may be a change of name during sickness. A man now
named Katahali suffered sickness in addition to other misfortunes.
His sickness recurred, so he changed his name from Kopiongo to
Katahali. The meaning of the former name is not known. The new
name, Ka tala ohali, means “He who has seen trouble”; Katahali is
an abbreviation. Another instance of change of name, also in the
village of Cilembo, was that of a man who changed his name from
Lumingu to Kaihemba, which means “the one who lives by medicine”
because without medicine he would have died. A sick child may
receive a bad name, for instance, the name Pig. If one or more
children have died a subsequent child receives an ugly name with a
bad meaning. There is no totemism, but children may be named
after animals. A girl is sometimes named Kambundu (“a little
frog”). Other names for females are Esenje (“the rock where corn
Social Life 189
is pounded”) and Cisengu ("a small bird with a long tail”). A boy
may be Kangwe (“the little leopard”).
Names sometimes give an indication of descent. Ngonga’s full
name is Ngonga Kalei Liahuka, Ngonga (“eagle”), Kalei (“one who
works for the king”),Liahuka (the father's sinname). Ngonga's
sister is Cinyanala (“the old basket”). This was the name of her
father’s father’s sister. As the father of Cinyanala is Liahuka, the
daughter is surnamed Yaliahuka {ya, “of”). The father chooses the
names of the three first children whether boys or girls. The mother
chooses the name of the fourth child whether male or female. If the
child is a boy, the mother probably chooses the name of her brother
or of her father’s brother. When a first son is born, the father usually
gives the name of his father; for example, Ngonga’s father’s father
was Ngonga. If the first baby is a girl the father chooses the name
of his sister. Ages are not known, but reckoning of age goes back
five years by counting the number of times maize has been sown;
maize is planted each October. The period from sowing to sowing
is uUma.
a man has a child by a woman who is not a wife or a concubine,
If
the woman keeps the child for eight or ten years. The man must give
the mother a cloth in which to carry her illegitimate baby, also oil
for her hair.Sometimes the girl will go to the father of her child to
be his concubine, but her parents will not let her do so if he has a
bad reputation. To bear a child out of wedlock is a disgrace.
Terms of Relationship
In preparing the following tables Ngonga was
the ego, or male
speaker, and each term given in relation to himself, with its
is
reciprocal. The tables give firstly Ngonga’s own generation, then

his ascendants, and finally some of his descendants. Tables E and
F are diagrammatic forms of tables A-D.
TABLE A
(.See Table E III)
Ngonga’s Own Generation
Terms in italics are Umbundu names either for persons or for kindred classes.
Reciprocals are placed in brackets; W.S. means, "woman speaking.”
Ukai wange is my wife; uketu, which means “spouse,” is a modern form of
address fpr husbands and wives when speaking to each other (veyange,
my husband).
Kota or huva is my elder brother (mwme wange or manja, younger brother).
Kota or huvange is my elder sister. An elder brother speaking to his sister
calls her by name, or he uses the term mhuale. When speaking of her he says
mukai wange (mwme wange or manjange, younger brother). The same terms
are used in the same way to apply to my father’s brother’s son, and my
190 The Ovimbundu
father’s brother’s daughter. Similarly the terms manja or kola are applied
to my
mother’s sister’s son. The former is used if this relative is younger
than myself; the latter term is employed if the relative is older than myself.
Muicai is the term for my
mother’s sister’s daughter (reciprocal, manja,
kola, or huva, means mother’s sister’s son). Manjange is a general name
for a mother’s sister’s child, male or female.
Uôlwrie describes myfather’s sister’s son {upalume, mother’s brother’s son).
The word is also applied to my
father’s sister’s^ daughter. Marriage with
a father’s daughter is permissible, but it is not favored since the
sister’s
offspring of such a union may be stupid. Upalume also designates my
mother’s brother’s daughter, who, according to custom, is regarded as the
most suitable spouse for me.
Cepua cange. This term is applied to any child of my mother’s brother
and to any child of my father’s sister (reciprocal, cepua cange).
Nawa. The term is used as follows: for my elder brother’s wife; (W.S.) my
husband’s younger brother; my younger brother’s wife; (W.S.) my husband’s
elder brother; my elder sister’s husband; my wife’s younger brother; my
younger husband; my wife’s elder brother; my father’s brother’s
sister’s
son’s wife; (W.S.) my husband’s father’s brother’s son; my father’s brother’s
daughter’s husband; my wife’s father’s brother’s son; my father’s sister’s
son’s wife; (W.S.) my husband’s mother's brother’s son; my father’s sister’s
daughter’s husband; my wife’s mother’s brother’s son; my mother's brother’s
son’s wife; (W.S.) my husband’s father’s sister’s son; my mother’s brother’s
daughter’s husband; my wife’s father’s sister’s son; my mother’s sister’s
son’s wife; (W.S.) my husband’s mother’s sister’s son; my mother’s sister’s
daughter’s husband, my wife’s mother’s sister’s son.
This completes the terms of relationship for Ngonga’s own generation.
TABLE B
(See Table E II and IV, also Table F II)
First Generation op Ngonga’s Ascendants
Tale. The term is applied to my father; my father’s brother; and my mother’s
sister’s husband (the word omolange, my child, is the Umbundu reciprocal
for the English reciprocal terms, son, brother’s son, wife’s sister’s son).
Mai. The word is applied to my
uterine mother, my
mother’s sister, and
my father’s brother’s wife (again the Umbundu omolange is the reciprocal
for the English reciprocals, son, sister’s son, and [W.S.] husband’s brother’s
son).
Aphai means my
father’s sister, and the term is said to designate a “female
father.” My
mother’s brother’s wife is also aphai (the Umbundu reciprocal
for either male or female is ocimumba cange, which is the equivalent of the
English reciprocals, brother’s son and husband’s sister’s son).
Manu or inanu is my mother’s brother (reciprocal is ocimumba cange, which
means sister’s son).
Cikulume. The term is applied to my father’s sister’s husband (the reciprocal,

ocimumba cange, means wife’s brother’s son).
This completes the first generation of Ngonga’s ascendants.
TABLE C
E I and F I)
(See Table
'
Second Generation op Ngonga’s Ascendants

Sekulu yange. The term is applied to my father’s father, and literally means
my older father (the reciprocal is onekulu yange, meaning son’s son).
Sekulu. The word designates my mother’s mother’s brother, and my mother’s
mother’s sister’s husband (the reciprocal, onekulu, means sister’s daughter’s
son, and wife’s sister’s daughter’s son).
Social Life 191
Kukululu or sekululu. These terms are applicable to my

father’s father’s
brother, my father’s father’s brother’s wife; my
father’s father’s sister’s
husband; and my
mother’s father (the reciprocal onekulu describes the
reciprocals, brother’s son’s son; husband’s brother’s son’s son; wife’s
brother’s son’s son; daughter’s son).
Maikulu. This designation, which is derived from mai, meaning mother,
and kulu, an old person, is applied to my father’s mother (reciprocal,
onekulu yange, son’s son). Maikulu also means my father’s father’s sister;
my mother’s mother; m3r mother’s mother’s brother’s wife; and my mother’s
mother’s sister (the reciprocal is onekulu which equals the English recip-
rocals brother’s son’s son; daughter’s son; husband’s daughter’s child; and
sister’s daughter’s child).
This completes the second generation of ascendants.
Note: Ngonga’s wife uses the names maikulu and kukululu for those relatives
of her husband to whom Ngonga himself applies those terms. These rela-
tives call Ngonga’s wife onekulu.
TABLE D
(See Table E IVand V, also Table F II, IV and V)
Some of Ngonga’s Descendants
Nunulu or uveli is my lirst-born son. Other sons are omola, meaning child.
Onola ulume means a male child. Omola ukai is a female child. Uveli
also means a first daughter (the reciprocal for these terms is late, meaning
father).
Omolange means my child. I apply the word, not only to my own children,
but to my elder brother’s son (reciprocal, tale, father’s younger brother);
to my elder brother’s daughter; and to my younger brother’s son.
Ndatembo. The word is applied to my son’s wife; my daughter’s husband;
my elder brother’s son’s wife; my elder brother’s daughter’s husband; and
my younger brother’s son's wife (the same word ndatembo is used for the
reciprocals of these terms; namely, husband’s father; wife’s father; husband’s
father’s younger brother; wife’s father’s younger brother; and husband’s
father’s elder brother).
The foregoing classiflcatory system of relationship is not peculiar

to theOvimbundu, but is a cultural trait of many Bantu-speaking
and some Sudanic-speaking N egroes. The similarity of the Umbundu
system to those of surrounding peoples in Rhodesia and the Congo
will be pointed out in chapters dealing with culture contacts.
When describing marriage rites reference was made to the fact
that a wife goes to live near her husband’s relatives; the system is
therefore patrilocal. The limited family consists of husband and
wife (or wives) with their children. The greatest number of wives
observed in the family of a commoner was four, and in the family
of a king eleven. A household sometimes contains adopted children,
also domestic slaves (pawns) who are working to pay o£E debts for
their maternal uncles. An extended family may include a grand-
father and his wife, his sons, their wives and children, and his
unmarried daughters, with classes and nomenclatures mentioned in
the foregoing tables.
The phrase epata lia tate (or aluse) means “family of my father”
and includes all relatives on the father's side. The words epata lia
192 The Ovimbundu
mai (or oluina) mean “family of my mother.” These terms seem

to indicate a bilateral rather than a unilateral lineage. Inquiry did
not show that there were totems for the mother's or the father’s
people, or that marriage into any particular local group was com-
manded or enjoined. A
village is a unit under the administration
of a chief (sekulu) and as such is part of a large group of villages

forming a kingdom ruled by a king (osoma), but such village units
are concerned with government and warfare, not with exogamy.
In tracing descent an Ocimbundu gives the names of relatives of
both the father and mother, but commoners are unlikely to know
the names of their relatives beyond the grandparent class. The
children of a king were at one time able to recite many generations
of ancestors along both parental lines. But if the king had married
a commoner, as he was allowed to do after choosing his first wife
from the royal line, the children knew only the genealogy of their
father. This is obvious since the commoner mother would not be
likely to of descent. The son of a village chief (sekulu)
know her line
may marry a commoner, but, according to Ngonga, the sekulu, his
father, “would have a very good look at her.”
Ngonga had not heard of the marriage of brothers and sisters,
not even in the royal family; the idea of such a union was new and
repulsive to him. In Umbundu society there would be no necessity
for such a marriage as that of brother and sister or other close relative,
because members of a royal family of one part of the country could
intermarry with members of a royal family in some area far away.
There might, for example, be marriages between the royal families
of Bailundu and Ngalangi, which are two principal kingships of the
Ovimbundu confederacy.
When asked what would be the fate of a man who committed
incest with his blood daughter or uterine sister, Ngonga said he would
be killed by his brother or by his mother’s brother. If he escaped
he would have to go far away so that his people could never see him
again. If a fine were accepted for incest, the culprit would have to
pay his own kin “because he had shamed them.”
Table A, Ngonga’s Own Generation, calls attention to a plurality
of terms for brother and sister according to the relative ages of the
speaker and the person addressed. Moreover, there is a term for
direct address and another which is used when speaking of a brother
or sister.
Ngonga was questioned with regard to forms of address for his
brothers and sisters other than the children of his uterine mother.
Social Life 193
Ngonga actually has a brother by his father’s first wife, and for this
male he uses the same terms as for his uterine brothers. The same
terms are used for uterine sisters and sisters begotten by his father
through wives other than his uterine mother. Ngonga said, “If
people ask you which sister or which brother you can explain it in
words.”
A wife ofNgonga’s father, other than Ngonga’s uterine mother,
is called mai yesepakai; that is, “the mother who is jealous of my
mother.” Mai means “mother,” and the remainder of the term is a
derivative from the word esepa, meaning “woman’s jealousy.” If two
women A and B desire to marry the same man and only A is suc-
cessful, B calls A sepakai. Under similar circumstances a man
would call his successful rival cikuelume cove.
There is a distinct word for man’s jealousy. In explaining this
Ngonga said, "When I see my wife look at another man, I have
ukuelume [“man’s jealousy”] in my heart.”
If on the death of Ngonga’s father, his mother married again

this male would be called by Ngonga tate yesepakai (“the father who
is jealous”).
A wife calls the children of the family, who are not her own,
omala vesepakai; that is, “the children who are jealous of the other
children.” A mother-in-law taboo operates. Conversation between
mother-in-law and son-in-law must always be carried on while the
speakers stand back to back.
The foregoing note on a mother-in-law taboo has been supple-
mented by a from Dr. Merlin W. Ennis of Elende, Angola
letter
(August, 1931). “Mother-in-law and father-in-law taboos seem to
be directed against seeing each other. The persons involved may
not see each other. If they meet on the path, one steps aside and
turns the back while the other passes on. The one passing by goes
through the motions of seeing no one. If it is necessary to converse
on some subject, they sit looking in different directions, or one sits
out of doors and the other within, around the corner of the door.
This holds equally for a man and his son’s wife, and for a woman
and her daughter’s husband. A man may see and talk with his
daughter’s husband, and a woman may see and speak to her son’s
wife, but no son-in-law may eat with a father-in-law, likewise
daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law may not eat together. Brothers-
in-law may not eat together unless they have gone through a certain
ceremony; this also holds for sisters-in-law.”
194 The Ovimbundu
Table A wide use of the word nawa for "in laws” of

indicates a
the speaker’s generation. Thus Ngonga calls the wives and husbands
of his brothers and sisters nawa without distinguishing them in any-
way. The term nawa has a still wider connotation for it includes
Ngonga’s father’s brother’s son’s wife, and his father’s sister's
daughter’s husband. Ngonga’s wife said that she uses the word
nawa for all the brothers and sisters of her husband, for all the
children of her husband’s father’s brother, her husband’s father’s
her husband’s mother’s brother’s children, and her
sister’s children,
husband’s mother’s sister’s children. Eeciprocally, all these people
call Ngonga’s wife nawa.
Table A introduces the question of cross-cousin marriage, which

is the functional form among the Ovimbundu. My
informant said
that he calls his mother’s sister’s children brothers and sisters, there-
fore he could not marry the girls. Neither are his father’s brother’s
daughters eligible for marriage with him. The table shows the truth
of this, for Ngonga daughter mukai, mean-
calls his father's brother’s
ing "sister”; she addresses him as kota or huva (“brother”). Ngonga
also addresses his father’s brother's son by the term manjange
(“younger brother”) or huvange (“older brother”) according to the
and the person addressed.
relative ages of the speaker
When Ngonga was asked whether he could marry a daughter of

he replied, “I could marry her very well indeed.”
his mother’s brother,
A marriage of Ngonga with his father’s sister’s daughter would be
permissible but Ngonga said the marriage is not regarded as a good
one "because the children will be stupid.” Ngonga could marry his
mother’s brother’s daughter’s daughter, or his mother's brother’s
son’s daughter. It would also be permissible for Ngonga to marry
his father’s sister’s daughter’s daughter, or his father’s sister’s son’s
daughter.
Ngonga "My father’s brother is my father, and my mother’s
said,
sister is my
mother.” When questioned further my informant said
that a marriage with daughters of these relatives would make him
ocinyama, which means "an animal.” Relatives would say, “You
have shamed the family.” It will be noted from Table B, First
Generation of Ngonga’s Ascendants, that Ngonga’s father’s brother
calls him omolange, meaning “my child,” for which the reciprocal is
tate (“father”). Ngonga's father’s brother’s wife is mai (“mother”),
and she calls him omolange ("my child”). Ngonga distinguishes
between his mother’s oldest sister (mai yukulu), and his mother’s
Social Life 195
youngest sister {mai yumalele). Ngonga’s father’s oldest brother

is tate yukulu.
Thus far Ngonga was clear about his eligibility for marriage, and
in addition to this he was sure that he could not marry a sister of
his wife while his wife was alive, but he could marry his wife’s sister,
after the death of his wife.The wives of a deceased elder brother are
divided among younger brothers, or a man may inherit the wife
his
of his mother’s brother. Ngonga always laughed heartily at the idea
of marrying a woman much older than himself. He did not know
whether he could marry certain older people of the ndatemho and
maikulu class but thought the idea amusing because of their age.
In discussing law, inheritance, and slavery, the importance of the
mother’s brother will be indicated, and for this relative there is the
term manu (or inanu). The manu calls Ngonga ocimumba eange,
but he calls Ngonga’s wife ndatembo. Ngonga’s mother's brother’s
wife, also Ngonga’s father’s sister, are aphai, which my informant
interpreted as a “female father.”
The use of the word nawa has been explained in such a way as
to show that Ngonga’s wife uses this term for a large class of relatives
by marriage who are of the same generation as her husband, while
these people reciprocally use the word nawa, Ngonga uses the word
mwa in exactly the same way for corresponding relatives of his wife.
This term nawa isnot to be confused with the term ndatembo
whose connotation is indicated by the following examples. The wife
of Ngonga applies the term ndatembo to certain of her husband’s
relations who are not of his generation. Thus she calls Ngonga’s
mother ndatembo when speaking of her, but she addresses her
mother-in-law as mai ("mother”), while ndatembo describes the rela-
tionship between Ngonga’s wife and his father. Moreover, Ngonga’s
wife uses ndatembo to describe her husband's father’s brother’s wife,
and Ngonga’s wife is called ndatembo by her husband’s father’s sister,
her husband's father’s sister’s husband, and her husband’s mother’s
brother. These are relatives by marriage but they are not of the same
generation as her husband.
Table C, Second Generation of Ngonga’s Ascendants, gives no
particular difficulty. Maikulu includes the paternal grandmother,
the father’s father’s sister (great aunt), the maternal grandmother,
the mother’s mother’s brother’s wife, and the mother’s mother’s
sister. Therefore maikulu is a class name for the second generation
of female ascendants.
196 The Ovimbundu
granôhUctr'en
Relationships
of
E Line
TABLE
Direct
Vandchildr’en
Speaker’s
Male
Social Life 197
gr-3ndchi/c^rian
Wife
Speaker’s
15
of
F
IS
TABLE Relationships
of
Line
Dikect
35
15 grandchild
198 The Ovimbundu
Sekulu includes the father’s father, the mother’s mother’s brother,

and the mother’s mother’s sister’s husband. The terms sekululu and
kukululu were used by Ngonga as being synonymous, and therefore
they have the same connotation. With regard to the term maikulu
Ngonga seemed clear, but in reply to questions concerning the reason
for having the terms kukululu and sekululu, he was evidently
confused. At last he said, “It does not matter, they are the same
people.” Ngonga never hesitated in giving the reciprocal for all
these terms, which is in every instance onekulu. These terms may
have been correlated with different functions which have now become
obsolete.
The two most important collateral relatives in the parent’s

generation are the father’s sister (aphai) and the mother’s brother
(manu). The term for father’s sister means “female father.” As
such her relations to ego are similar to those of a father, consequently
it is not considered right to marry her daughters. The mother’s
brother, on the other hand, is without doubt ego’s most important
relative. The two are linked by a series of reciprocal duties and
obligations. Marrihge of a mother’s brother’s daughter, or a mother’s
brother’s widow, is a correct procedure. The value of the more
important reciprocal duties is indicated in the following sections
on law and government.
There was no possibility of devoting more time to the matter
of relationship terms, but there is here sufficient to indicate the
remarkable persistence of the kinship system in spite of three
centuries of contact with the Portuguese and other Europeans.
Moreover, the information gleaned by interrogation of Ngonga and
his wife gives the main points for comparison with systems of a
similar kind that have been given for Ashanti, Uganda, and Rhodesia,
by Rattray, Roscoe, and Smith and Dale respectively. These kin-
ship systems are the same both in general principles and in con-
siderable detail.
The and tables were studied by Mr. Zachary

foregoing notes
Taylor of the University of Chicago, who prepared Tables E and P.
Mr. P. Eggan offered useful criticisms. The Arabic numerals on
these charts refer to the numbers used to designate terms of
relationship on the list on page 199. The ego or speaker is Ngonga,
my interpreter, whose direct line of relationships is shown in Table
E, while Table P indicates the terms used by Ngonga for his wife’s
relatives. The levels numbered in Roman numerals on Tables E
and P indicate the generation stratification as follows;
Social Life 199
I. Grandparents.
II. Parents.
III. Speaker’s generation.
IV. Children.
V. Grandchildren.
Numbers on the left of the sign (=) refer to males, those
on
the right, to females.
The terms of relationship used in Tables E and F are as follows:
1. Ukai wange. My wife (vocative).
Ngonga’s wife calls him veyange, 11. Odmumba. Children of spouse’s
my family.
husband.
2. Mume, manja, manjange. Younger
12. Manw, inanu. Mother’s brother
brother. (direct ascendant).
3. Kota, huva. Older brother. 13. Kulu. An old person in grand-
parent’s and grandchild’s genera-
4. Mbmle. Sister (vocative).
tion.
10. Mukai wange. Sister (nonvocative).
Sekulu, kukululu. Male grand-
5. Nawa. In-laws of speaker’s genera-
parents.
tion.
14. Maikulu. Female grandparents.
6. Ndalembo. In-laws of ascending or
descending generation. 16. Onekulu. Grandchild of either sex.
7. Tate. Father. 16. Upaliime, Mother’s brother’s or
8. Mai. Mother. father’s sister’s children.
9. Aphai. Father’s sister (female 17. Cikulume. Father’s sister’s hus-

father), band.
Omolange. Child, used for speaker’s Note; Age distinctions are made chiefly
family only, 5
in the speaker’s own generation.
Law and Government

In dealing with marriage rites it was stated that a woman had to
contribute certain articles to the home; these are the utensils that
she
uses in her daily work. The baskets, pottery, pounders, and
brushes
may seem insignificant, but nevertheless there are rules regulating
their disposal at death.Her husband will retain some of the articles;
the remainder will be shared among the deceased woman's sisters.
The disposal of a widow is a matter for discussion among the
relatives. The husband makes no bequest to his widow and
children,
though the children may receive a small gift of a pig or some corn.
The property of a man is bequeathed to his mother’s brother or to
his sister’s sons.The eldest brother of the deceased or the maternal
uncle of the widow takes her to his house along with her children.
If her father is alive he may take her. Ngonga says that each
responsible relative says, “It is better that you should take her’’;
at last some one says, “I will take her.’’
When explaining the system of inheritance Ngonga was clear on
two points. In the first place wives and children of the deceased are
200 The Ovimbundu
not entitled to inheritance of land, cattle, or anything else belong-

ing to the dead man. The greater part of the property would be
bequeathed to the eldest brother of the deceased’s mother.
There appears to be discussion as to the distribution of property,
but the maternal uncle is responsible for settling disputes. He him-
self has the first claim, and in Ngonga’s words, “If there are quarrels
about the cattle, land, and other things, the mother’s eldest brother
will settle them.”
The mother’s brother has rights over his sister’s children even to
the extent of pawning them to pay his own debts. On the other
hand the maternal uncle is responsible for the conduct of his sister’s
children. He would have to pay fines incurred by thefts they
committed, and he provides for his sister’s son a wife who is either
his daughter or his widow.
Ngonga stated that the maternal uncle does not invariably take
all the property of a deceased nephew for himself. He may give
something to the deceased’s mother, the deceased’s maternal grand-
father, or to a brother of the deceased. Such gifts appear to be the
outcome of good will on the part of the dead man’s maternal uncle;
there is no compulsion. Women never inherit cattle or rights to
the use of land.
The king is the head of the legal system, though his activities
as such are not so great as those of the village headman (sekulu).
The olosekulu (there are usually more than one) of a village witness
the final act in a divorce ceremony. They used to have charge of
murder, adultery, likewise the right of settling argu-
trials for theft,
ments concerning the ownership of land. It was the sekulu who
distributed the land to the extended families when a new village site
was opened. The maternal uncles settled the minor divisions among
the limited families.
many kings among the Ovimbundu, but I thought that
There are
there was a tendency to confuse the titles of osoma (“king”) and
sekulu (“headman” or “chief” of a village). The jurisdiction of a
king is so well known that any person is able to say under which
king he lives. Ngonga said definitely that a man of the Ovimbundu
who was under the jurisdiction of a certain Idng would have to obey
the commands of a visiting king, provided they were not in any way
disapproved of by the king to whom first allegiance was due.
A chief may demand labor for the building of his house or the
cultivation of his land. He does not pay for this but usually gives
beer to the workers; sometimes he secures the labor and gives nothing
Social Life 201
in return. Even a slave used to have rights of appeal to the king

ifhe were starved and beaten without cause. The king was the prime
mover in warfare. The whole legal system is at this time
directly under Portuguese administration though the kings and chiefs
have minor powers. Ngonga says that complainants who are dis-
satisfied with the decision of their own chief go to the Fort, meaning
of course the Portuguese military post, or office of the Administrador.
There is no doubt that in former days the responsibility for crime

and debt was transferred to a relative in the absence of the delinquent.
If a thief escaped, responsibility would rest with a brother, a father
or a son. The mother's brother was often held to be responsible for
the misdeeds and debts of his sister’s children. The mother's brother
has rights that extend to the sale of his sister’s children to pay his
debts. For this reason Ngonga says, “If I have done wrong and they
cannot catch me it is right that he (mother’s brother) should pay
for me.’’
I supposed the case of Ngonga having stolen a cow; he has been

caught but escapes. Ngonga said that the man from whom he had
stolen the animal would go to his (Ngonga’s) mother’s brother in
order to name the price required for the cow, or any other possession
which had been stolen. If the mother’s brother thought the price
reasonable he would pay. On the contrary, if the price claimed were
too high the mother’s brother would appeal, first to the village chief,
then if necessary to the king.
Ownership of land does not appear to have been a source of dis-
pute. Apparently land was distributed by the chief as explained in
dealing with village organization. Rights seem to have been well
defined and there was always enough land for a stranger. When a
man was going away on a trading journey he might lend his land to
another who would agree to cultivate it and take the produce for a
year. I was unable to satisfy myself that land is now, or was in
time past held to be the property of dead ancestors. The right to
land depends on its use and allotment by a chief at the time of
founding a village. A man who intended to be absent would make
a payment so that he might leave his goods at the house of another.
The chief would settle any disputes arising from these arrangements.
The complainant in a suit is called ombile, the defendant is ovilue.
The name for a witness is uvangi. In the old days a false witness
had to make recompense to the man about whom he had told a lie;
he would probably have a beating as well. A master was in every
way responsible for the actions of a slave. The degree of responsi-
202 The Ovimbundu
bility of women is mentioned in describing the penalties for adultery

and theft.
The were undoubtedly

penalties for offences against the king
more severe than those imposed for the same offences against a com-
moner. Ngonga says that the punishments for crimes against a chief
or medicine-man were, and are now, the same as the penalties for
offences against any other person. It seems, however, that if the
chief were a very powerful man, he could claim penalties which
would have been appropriate for offences against a king.
A thief
was punished by beating, in addition to which he would
have to pay a fine to the people from whom he had stolen, but he
rarely escaped without the beating. The thief would be beaten just
as much for stealing one animal as he would for stealing many. If a
woman stole from her neighbor’s garden, those who caught her would
tie her and take her to her husband, who would pay compensation
and then beat her. A child caught stealing would be taken to the
maternal uncle or to his own father. If a woman stole from relations
she would probably have no punishment other than a beating. Her
husband would have to compensate the relations. Stealing honey
from hives is an offence that is punished according to the general
laws relating to theft.
If a man was
sentenced to a death penalty, or to a beating, there
was an appointed by the king or by the chief to see the
official
sentence carried out. This representative was called ukuenje welombe

which means “the servant, or minister, of the court.”
Ngonga described the penalty for murder saying, “It was a terrible
thing they did to the murderer. A
tight triangle of wood was fastened
on to his neck by a peg and to this a cord was attached so that he
was suspended to the roof with his feet barely touching the ground.
In some instances his head was placed through a hole in the door
of his house while his body was inside the hut. He had very little
food or water and people threw things at him. He was kept tied up
for a month to see whether he could pay something. Suppose he
could not pay, and nobody would pay for him, he was taken outside
the village where his head was cut off. If he had many possessions,
he said on the first day, Tf you will take this thing off my neck I
will pay two oxen and two slaves.’ The payment would be made,
not to the wife or children of the murdered man, but to the brother
of the mother of the murdered man, or to the mother of the murdered
man, or to the son of a sister of the victim. If the murderer
agreed to make the payment the people kept him tied up until the
Social Life 203
fines were in their hands. If he murdered one of the royal family

he was killed after he had paid the fine.” The punishment of a woman
who has committed a murder is the same as that for a man.
Ombulungu is the name given to trial by poison ordeal. The
medicine-man holds out both his hands, in each of which there is a
potato, only one of which is poisoned. The accused man says, “If I
have done this thing, this potato will be poison for me. If I have
not done this thing, this potato will be food for me,” The complainant
says, “If this is not the man who poisoned my brother, this potato
will be poison for me.” They sit in front of the medicine-man, and
each must take the potato in the hand opposite to him. The poison
makes a man very sick. His mouth swells so that he cannot speak.
When a woman was accused of murder her son or her brother
would take her place in the poison ordeal. A boy of fifteen years of
age would have the same treatment as a man. “I don’t think a girl
would kill anybody. I never heard about it,” said Ngonga. It appears
that resort was made to a medicine-man when the accused was thought
to have committed murder by poison or magic. If the murderer used
weapons, the accuser, who was usually a relative, was entitled to kill
him with the kind of weapon used for the crime.
The penalties for adultery were the same as those for murder.
The woman appears to have escaped punishment, except that "her
husband would not have her any more.” The male adulterer had
to pay the husband; if he could not pay or escape, the husband had
the right to kill him. In the old days the price for adultery was two
oxen, a pig, and a slave. At the present day a man who has com-
mitted adultery and made payment, possibly takes the woman and
all children under three years of age. The husband has the right to
decide whether the adulterer has the privilege of taking the woman
and her children. An adulterer with one of the king’s wives was
castrated but not killed. He might, instead of mutilation, pay a very
high price, while he himself along with his sisters and the sons of
his sisters, would become slaves of the king. If a man could not pay,
he might be sold as a slave in order to provide money for the fine.
Criminal law did not distinguish between responsibility for inten-
tional and unintentional offences.
It isvery difficult to say how much of the old law survives. One
feelsthat underneath the ostensible Portuguese rule there is an active
native life that is resisting subjugation.
Only two years ago Ngonga paid an ox to prevent one of his female
relativesfrom being pawned. Within the past ten years Ngonga has
204 The Ovimbundu
actually paid to redeem his brother and sister who were sold to pay
the debts of his maternal uncle. Officialdom is one thing and actual
practice is another. Ngonga is right when he says that people appeal
to the native law as laid down by the chief or king. If they are not
satisfied they pretend a great respect for Portuguese law and therefore
go to the Administrador.
Warfare and Slavery

The Ovimbundu have been for centuries an organized people
possessed of a well-developed language, a legal system, and complex
social organization. In trade and travel too, the Ovimbundu have
been in the vanguard of African tribes. These reasons, in conjunction
with the fact of numerical superiority and early contact with the
Portuguese, would account for the success of the Ovimbundu in
warfare. The defensive federations existing between the ten or twelve
main political units, whereby they did not habitually war on each
other, helped to assure success. Should the eldest son of a king's
principal wife be thought unsuitable as successor, a competent son
of the deceased king was elected by a council of village chiefs.
There is no evidence that the Ovimbundu poisoned their weapons,
neither do they do so today. The Ovimbundu do not use a shield
at the present time, neither is it certain that they had shields in
former times. A skin-covered powder-box was carried in the king’s
train when on the warpath.
Signaling-drums were about two feet long. They were made
from a cylinder of wood over the ends of which skin was stretched.
Signaling, which was accomplished by drumming with the palms
of the hands, was the task of boys who resided in the king’s com-
pound, except when they accompanied him to war or on a trading
journey. There was no system of smoke signaling. The iron war
gong was named ongonge, but the instrument is nowadays tapped
by the assistant of a medicine-man during his performance. In
former times the gong was struck in the night to give assurance
that the enemy was not in sight.
In war the oldest son of a king or of a chief went ahead of the
war party accompanied by a few men who wore red leaves on their
foreheads.
Intertribal jealousies, raiding for cattle and slaves, also reprisals
with caravan trade, were the chief causes of confiict
for interference
with surrounding peoples. There was undoubtedly some internal
warfare within the confederacy. The Ovimbundu of Elende, Bail-
Social Life 205
undu, and Ngalangi are said to have had conflicts. In time past,
as at the present day, a king reigned over territory which was
extensive but definitely delimited for purposes of administration.
Encroachment of one king on the rights of taxation and administra-
tion of another led to raids and reprisals. Village chiefs collected
taxes in the form of agricultural produce and gave these to the king,
who personally visited a village from which payments had not been
made. A folklore story begins, “The people had not paid taxes
so the king came to the village and told them a parable.”
A king, if young, accompanied his people on the warpath. There
was, however, a permanent leader named kesongo, a derivative from
songola (“to lead”). The declaration of war, likewise the tactics,
were discussed by a council of olosekulu (“village chiefs”) in the
omhala (“capital”) where the king had, and still has, a royal com-
pound. If war had been conducted among sections of the Ovim-
bundu, the defeated people had to pay taxes and tribute; moreover,
their women and cattle were taken. In event of a successful war
against the Vachokue there was plundering of cattle and women,
but it was not found practicable to exact periodical payments
from the enemy.
The subject of warfare is intimately related to that of slavery.
There was until very recent times a domestic slavery which followed
from the inability of a person to pay his debts. In connection with
this reduction of free persons to a condition of slavery there are
several points of exceptional interest. The debtor himself is not
taken as a slave, neither are his wife or children. The correct proce-
dure is a sale of his sister’s children; but more frequently the children
themselves are taken by the creditor. “The debtor’s sister will say
nothing because this is the law of the Ovimbundu.” If payment of
the debt is made later, the children are set free. Usually the word
pawning is used by ethnologists to describe this proceeding.
Further consideration of Ngonga’s payment to his mother’s
brother clarifies the facts of domestic slavery. “I paid for them,
I took their place,” said my interpreter. The payment for the
return of these two children was two oxen. The girl, who was ten
years of agewhen she was taken to pay the debt, was returned to
her peoplewhen she was a woman with three children. Ngonga’s
brother was not actually taken from his home. He was made to
pay his mother’s brother’s debt by working for the creditor. In
general, these domestic slaves were not ill treated, though their
rights were limited. The position of slaves taken from a hostile
206 The Ovimbundu
people, especially if they were from outside the Ovimbundu, was

one of absolute and abject servitude.
The master had rights of punishment including a death sentence;
but Ngonga says that a slave could appeal to the headman of the
village if he were starved and cruelly treated. All children of a slave
became slaves of the master. As the slave had no property he could
not pay a fine; the master would pay the fine then relieve his feelings
by beating the slave. Instead of paying the fine the master might
sell the slave.
Slaves were not branded or marked in any way. Ngonga has seen
runaway slaves hunted with dogs. A
slave was not allowed to buy
his own freedom. A master could dispose of his slave girls in marriage;
for instance, ayoung girl might be sold to an old man. The condition
of the slave well expressed in Ngonga’s own words: “The slave
is
worked hard at everything, then the master said he had done nothing.”
Slaves used to go to war to fight with their masters against an
enemy. A slave might become a blacksmith or a hunter, two very
esteemed occupations, but all his work would be for the master.
Ngonga says there was no slave market belonging to the Ovimbundu,
but every man knew where he could buy a slave. Slaves could act
as witnesses in a trial. Slave women were not lent out for prostitu-
tion. A slave owner did not have promiscuous intercourse with his
slave women, but he chose two or three girls as concubines. A slave
girl who was married to a free man would revert to her master along
with her children when her husband died. If a master had married
his own slave woman she would, at his death, become the property
of his eldest brother and her children would go with her. In some
instances the slave woman and her children would be given to the
son of her master’s brother.
Village Organization
When choosing a site for a new village, a preference is shown for
a hillside, though woods or valleys are at times selected. The foot of
cliffs is a favorite site. In addition to the shade afforded by the cliff
there wasin time past the advantage of being hidden from the view
of enemies. Further shelter was afforded by the planting of wild
fig trees. Sometimes an omhala- ("capital”) was rendered
picturesque
by the planting of trees which grow to a great size; such a plan was
followed at the omhala of Ngalangi.
Caves in the wall of a cliff, likewise rugged hillsides, gave a place
of retreat for women and children during an attack. Usually there
Social Life 207
are small streams of pure water falling down the cliffs and hillsides.
Near Bailundu and Ngalangi, villages still retain their defences which
consist of high poles set in a trench.
Judging from at Elende there was a pre-Ovimbundu

sites visited
stone-building culture. One of the sites has such a commanding
view over extensive plains and valleys that the position would be
almost impregnable. At the present day the line of fortifications is
well marked by stone walls three feet high. These are composed of
boulders to which the builders had ready access on adjacent hillsides.
Large stones were no doubt rolled from the slopes to the small plateau
chosen as a building site. This small plain lies midway between the
hill crest and the valley.
At present this old site, which is enclosed by lichen-covered walls,

isovergrown by tall grass and trees attaining twenty feet in height.
Photography would be uninstructive unless a preliminary clearance
—
were made a formidable task owing to the density of vegetation.
In the center of the enclosure is a group of transported boulders
possibly marking the site of a place of assembly. A search among the
long grass reveals stone slabs and cylindrical crushers which were used
for grinding grain over a very long period, as may be seen by the wear
on the base stone; some thick stones are so worn as to be almost per-
forated. Weather-worn stones that were probably used as scrapers,
are to be found. Surface potsherds are of the material of which
present-day Ovimbundu women make their cooking pots. These
sherds mark the places now used by small nomadic bands, hence the
surface pottery may have no connection with a pre-Umbundu culture.
In the vicinity of this walled stone village are hillside cairns
marking the sites of graves. These have been robbed by medicine-
men in search of material for their charms.
The Ovimbundu have no traditions regarding the site, neither is
there legendary or other evidence to show that the Ovimbundu ever

made their villages of stone. The raising of a cairn of stones over
the body of a hunter is, however, a present-day practice near Ganda
and in the Esele country.
If a site cannot be systematically worked, it is better left alone

until scientific investigation is possible. The preliminary clearance
of grass and timber would be a long process. The archaeological
material recovered from such a site would be of a uniform and simple
kind. There is no evidence of anything beyond an elementary stone
age culture.
208 The Ovimbundu
At the present time one type is surrounded by stout

of village
stakes ten ormore feet high set a roughly circular plan. The
in
arrangement of alleyways within the village is complicated without
following any symmetrical plan. A visitor sees only a labyrinth of
passages between high poles, with here and there a rectangular wooden
gate at intervals along the passages. The door itself is made from
four stout heavy planks which are roughly hewn and as a rule undec-
orated, but occasionally I have seen the panels of a door carved with
designs representing the breasts of a woman; or there may have been
simple geometrical patterns. The top ends of the door panels are
massive spheres of wood bored through with holes. Through the
holes in the tops of these panels a pintle is passed in such a way
that the door is suspended from above. During the daytime the
lower ends of the panels are raised to the level of the lintel. They are
there supported on a Y-shaped upright which is erected in front of the
doorway. At night the planks are removed from this support and
allowed to hang downward in the doorway.There is a sliding cross-
piece to push over the lower ends. The same arrangement is some-
times used to make a door for a hut. This old type of village
doorway, common twenty years ago, is becoming increasingly rare.
The house of a king or a chief is larger than that of a commoner.
The enclosure which contains a king's house and the other buildings
is named elombe, while epandavailo is the word used to describe the
entrance to this compound. The elombe is built by men and women

who receive no payment. There is a ceremony when the compound
is opened. The house of the chief, Kandimba Sanjahulu, near
Bailundu, is rectangular, with mud walls raised on a platform of
earth and stones. Whitewash has been applied to the outside of the
walls and some ornament is given in the form of painted blue crosses.
Complete study of structural types and the planning of internal
divisions has been made by F. and W. Jaspert, of the Stadtisches
Vblkermuseum, Frankfort.
At a village near Cuma the house of the chief differed from the
dwellings of commoners somewhat larger. The house had
in being
been abandoned, not because the chief died there, but because the
chieftainship had been transferred to an adjacent village. The tomb,
which will be described in connection with funeral rites, was a few
yards from the house. This mausolemn was surrounded by a high
wooden palisade, to a stake of which were attached the horns of an
ox killed at the funeral feast, while the jawbone lay in the enclosure
Social Life 209
(Plate XLV, Fig. 2) The house of bows for holding sacred relics
.
will be described in connection with religion (Plate XLVI, Fig. 1).

In former days there used to be a hard mud floor for dancing,
centrally placed in the village.
In the center of the village is the communal house where all men,
and boys over four years of age, gather to eat which is
their food,
sent by the women. This onjango is the place assembly for dis-
of
cussion of village affairs. A house of this kind at Bailundu is circular
in form with a diameter of seventeen feet (Plate XLVIII, Fig. 1).
In the middle of the onjango are stones forming a fireplace. In
another such house there were jawbones of oxen. These were
suspended from the walls as tokens of the payment of fines. There
is no communal house for females. In some villages there is a
common kraal for cattle.
The king’s compound usually contains;
(1) The king’s house, which invariably has a separate sleeping

room.
(2) A house and kitchen for each of his wives.
(3) A tomb for the burial of kings and their wives.
(4) The house of bows for staffs, bows, mats, and tobacco-pipes
of dead chiefs.
(5) A house of meditation for the king (Plate LXXXIX, Fig. 1).
(6) Pens for pigs and chickens.

(Plate XLVIII, Fig. 2) that I have seen were
The guest houses
not in the king’s compound. Granaries, which are conspicuous in
every village, have been mentioned in connection with food supply
(Plate XLIV, Fig. 1). Each house has its own granary. I have
noticed garbage pits containing corn husks and refuse from sweet
potatoes, but there is as a rule no organized scheme for disposing of
refuse dogs and pigs are the scavengers. There is no particular place
;
for defecation; people use the bush.

Every man has a knowledge of house-building. Women do not
actually build, but, along with the children, they pour water into
the clay pit and carry clay to the men who are plastering the walls.
Ngonga says, “People would be surprised to see a woman building
a house. They would call her a he-woman.” Men help one another
in house-building by giving reciprocal service for which there is a
gift of food and beer.
A deep rectangular clay pit is made as close to the house as possi-
ble, and the children thoroughly enjoy puddling the clay with their
210 The Ovimbundu
feet. Atrench about eighteen inches deep is dug for the poles
{akoso),which form the framework. The wattle work is tied to the
uprights with strong strips of red bark before the plastering is begun.
The old type of Umbundu house was round, but most of the houses
now show a transition to square or rectangular forms (Plate XLIV,
Fig. 2).
Exterior wall-painting found only in the northern districts of
is
Angola (Plate LXXXIX, Between Saurimo and Malange

Fig. 2).
in the north, rectangular, painted houses are frequently seen. Wall-
painting is a cultural trait from the Congo region where that form
of decoration is common.
The method of forming a village site and the right of the chief to
allot land have been described. The house of the chief is the first
to be erected. There is drinking of beer to celebrate the completion
of the village, and the pots of beer have to be stirred with the claws
of chickens; these have been killed to provide blood for sprinkling
the walls of the new houses. Village chiefs go through the process
of stirring and drinking. The medicine-man drinks first, then he
offers the cup to the chief.
The communal house is built by the united efforts of all men of
the village. Ngonga says, "The king never helps with any of the
building, but he talks very much.” The guest house is also built
by communal labor. The king of the ombala of Ngalangi told me
that a king always uses the house of his predecessor, which must
not be pulled down. No repairs are permitted and the house is used
until it is absolutely untenable.
The interior of a commoner’s house has three hearth stones in the

middle of the floor, which is of hard mud beaten down with a heavy
wooden implement called ocikavdulo. The ceremonial placing of the
stones has been described in discussing marriage. There is no chim-
ney, consequently the walls and roof are blackened with smoke.
The junction of roof and walls provides pockets for the reception of
small articles. On the floor near the walls may be several large beer
pots. The dark smoky interior is almost intolerable. The sleeping
room is sometimes separated from the living room by matting. The
bed is made from a cross-work of sticks supported on four Y-shaped
posts, one at each corner. On the bed are coarse sleeping mats and
possibly a modern blanket.
The miscellaneous contents of the hut are gourds, dippers, cooking
pots of several sizes, pounders, and baskets. In many of the huts
I found cooking going on in the general room, but frequently a sepa-
Social Life 211
rate hut provided as a kitchen. In some dark corner of the hut

is
there is be a sitting hen or a bitch with pups. Goats and

likely to
pigs intrude from time to time. Lean dogs scavenge round the
doorway. Naked little children whitened with dust play on the
floor. A woman crouches over the cooking pot stirring the glutinous
mass of corn meal. About sunset men are gathering in the council
house to which their meals are sent.
They push forward the logs into the fire, throw their blankets
around them and chatter until the women and children arrive with
the evening meal. In the vicinity of the village, boys are wandering
about with blunt wooden arrows fitted to their bowstrings, to be
ready for the homeward flight of birds. Other boys are driving cattle
to the kraal.
As darkness falls the long tubular drums are brought out. These
are held between the legs and played in compound rhythm (Plate
XXVII, Fig. 1). A shuffling dance begins, slowly at first, then with
increasing vigor, to be continued far into the night.
VII. EDUCATION
Industrial Training and Division of Labor
Usually there is no formality connected with the industrial and
occupational training of Ovimbundu children. The section dealing
with play shows that boys and girls learn by spontaneous imitation
of their elders.
There are, however, exceptions to this general truth. Special
ritesconnected with the training and inauguration of blacksmiths
and hunters have been described. The training of medicine-men
and women will be dealt with in chapter IX, “Religion.”
In describing economic life in chapter V, division of labor on a
sex basis; also specialization in industry because of peculiar tastes
and aptitudes, were noted. There is clearly a twofold division in
industrial life. In the place sex determines occupation, and
first
within this primary grouping there is a secondary grouping depending

on personal preference and individual ability. I have found no
instance of exclusive hereditary right to any occupation or industry.
The net result of the Umbundu system of division of labor is
indicated by the following summary:
When building houses, men dig the rectangular trench, cut the
poles for the framework, lash the crosspieces, cut grass and lay the
thatch, then place clay over the wattle walls. Women carry water
for mixing the clay and convey the moist clay to the plasterers.
Children puddle the clay with their feet. Males are hunters both
professional During a communal hunt women and
and general.
which is frightened by the firing of
children assist in driving game,
grass. Boys organize games in which they imitate these activities.
Men fish with a line and bait, whereas women use baskets and
narcotic poison. Men and boys take care of cattle and have charge
of dogs. Women and girls give what slight attention is afforded to
other domestic animals. Male specialists castrate bulls and goats.
During agricultural operations men clear the ground and burn the
bush. Women carry on hoe cultivation without assistance from
men. Men are the chief carriers in caravans, but women and
children may sometimes be seen carrying loads. They march in
line with the men but have smaller burdens. Males are employed
in blacksmith’s work, wood-carving, making weapons and tools,
weaving mats, dressing hides, spinning cotton, and formerly in
weaving on an upright loom. Men are exclusively the makers of
212
Education 213
musical instruments, and males are the musicians. Men are the
only persons engaged in warfare and administration, and the onjango
or council house is used exclusively by males. Men follow the
occupation of medicine-man, in which there is considerable speciali-
zation. Female practitioners deal with pregnancy and women’s
ailments. In addition to the tasks for women mentioned above, the
following are staple occupations; collecting firewood, drawing water,
caring for infants, making pottery, weaving baskets, dancing, and
singing. Young girls share these activities with older women.
The foregoing categories explain division on the grounds of sex.
Degrees of specialization are not so easy to formulate, but in general
a man follows some one occupation, for example wood-carving. Then
within this occupation there is specialization in the making of
drums, domestic utensils, or figurines.
Almost any woman could make pottery or baskets, but the
difference in skill leads naturally to concentration in the hands of
expert potters and basket-weavers respectively. These sell their
wares to those who either do not make such articles or are inept
at the process.
Standards op Conduct, Manners, and Salutations

The parents assume respon-
of a child, also his maternal uncle,
the precepts and standards given here. The
sibility for training in
maternal uncle, who is the mother’s oldest brother, is particularly
interested because he has to pay fines should his sister’s children
commit thefts. The evidence indicates that the home and restricted
family have formative influences over the conduct of children.
Children are beaten if they tell lies, answer old people rudely,
or steal food. Ngonga says that his “stealing hand’’ was once placed
in the hot leaves of the cooking pot. If a child steals an egg which
is cooking, the hot egg is held between the culprit’s hands.
One cannot fail to notice the quiet and unobtrusive way in which
children the presence of their elders both in the home and in
sit in
the council house. Children do not speak when their elders are in
conversation, unless addressed.
A child, likewisean adult, receives a gift with both hands. The
implied idea that reception with one hand is a depreciation of the
is
gift. If a child holds out one hand, the hand is slapped. When
receiving, an Ocimbundu says “kuku,” literally grandfather or elder.
Colloquially the word is used to mean greeting, “I thank you,” or
“I beg your pardon.”
214 The Ovimbundu
Lying is strongly disapproved and the liar is called ohembi. The

Ovimbundu appreciate hospitality (unu) which also means generosity.
A man who is hospitable is said to be ongavi. Greediness, which is
disliked, is described by the word oku sapa (“to be greedy”). There
are standards of honesty in sales and exchanges. A deceiver in
trade is ohembi.
With regard to the relation of the sexes in early years it may be
said that, in spite of boy and girl friendships, and the communal
sleeping of boys and girls at the home of one of the girls, a man expects
to marry a virgin, a point which has been dealt with in describing
marriage ceremonies.
Naturally there is a difficulty in obtaining precise information
respecting the details of these nocturnal gatherings of boys and girls.
Ngonga said that girls inform their parents concerning the house
where the night is to be spent, and there is a point of etiquette
requiring that girls must not go to a house where boys are staying
together.
Standards of conduct already described under courtship are a
result of direct teachingby parents. Marriage rules and a classifica-
tory system of relationships, with its prohibitive decrees, are taught
in the home, in the men's council house, and at initiation ceremonies
where such exist. In addition to these sources of instruction there
is no doubt an unconscious absorption of ideas and standards. The
power of suggestion is always at work through everyday examples.
Apart from demands made by tribal custom and direct instruction
there are variable personal standards of modesty. Ngonga states
that many lascivious stories are told among men, and when the men
are drunk, they tell these to women. “Sometimes the women laugh,
but the good women do not like to hear these tales.”
A male commoner when meeting the king bows low, extends his
arms, claps his palms and says,“o/iosi [“lion”] akuku [“grandfather”].”
Only the old people follow the ancient custom of falling on their knees
when greeting the king. The Ovimbundu never were in the habit of
doing more profound obeisance, but the Vangangella, when greeting
one of their kings, rub their chins on the ground and place dust on
their chests. Even at the present day a woman or child of the
Ovimbundu expected to kneel when greeting a king, but such an
is
acknowledgment is not now usual in greetings given by a male

commoner. Thereply of the king to the commoner is “fcatoga.” This
word enters into greetings of all kinds. The literal meaning of the
word is “the sea,” “king,” “god," or “death,” but the interpretation
Education 215
of the word depends upon the syllable accented and the context, as
further explained in the chapter on the Umbundu language.
A man or woman of the royal family greets the king with the
words na kuku; na means "lord,” and kuku is a term used for any
old man to whom the speaker intends to show respect. Kuku is also
applied to a man who stands in the relationship of grandfather. The
king is expected to reply to a greeting given by one of the royal
family by placing his right hand on his chest and sa3dng twice,
“kalunga.” There may then follow from the king a question relating
to welfare in general. Possibly the king will inquire the object of
his subject’s journey. A sekulu (“chief of a village”) greets a king
in the same manner as does a commoner, and the king replies as he
would to a commoner.
Commoners greet a sekulu with the words na kalunga (“lord,
greeting”). One sekulu greets another of the same rank with the one
word kalunga, accompanied by clapping of the palms. Male com-
moners clap hands on meeting; this action is accompanied by the
word kalunga, from each of them. Two female commoners use the
word kalunga as a greeting, but as a rule they do not clap hands.
They do, however, clap their palms when greeting a woman of the
royal house.
Boys and girls must greet their fathers, maternal uncles, grand-
fathers,and other old men with either of the terms na kuku or na
kalunga, the latter being more usual. Na kuku would be the appro-
priate term of respect for any elderly man. Children use the same
words (na kuku) when addressing any elderly woman, including a
grandmother. A usual greeting of a child to the mother, likewise to
the mother’s sister, would be kalunga mai (“greetings, mother”).
There no prescribed form of address to the medicine-man.
is
Greetings between a commoner and a medicine-man follow the usage

noted for two commoners. Ngonga says, “They will treat him (the
medicine-man) like a village chief if he is an old man and good.
Perhaps they will say na kalunga as if talking to a chief.”
In the early morning people pass the greeting oku lipasula. This
means “we have been like dead, we are awake.” The appropriate
early morning greeting of a commoner to the king or to a chief is
oku lipasula a kuku. A usual afternoon greeting is oku lanisa. The
evening greeting is oku UsuHinya.
One who desires to pass across a room usually walks in front of
other people, but while passing the attitude must not be erect. The
thumb and middle finger should be snapped together, while the words
216 The Ovimbundu
konyimo oho are spoken. The literal interpretation of these words is

“back there." Ngonga says the words actually mean “excuse my
back.”
Spitting in the vicinity of the house of the king or of the chief
is not allowed. “If you did that in the old days, you would have to
pay something.” Some people spit near the hearth in their own
houses. A man who spits in the road is expected to cover the spittle.
No person would spit in the presence of the chief or of the king. A
hand should be placed in front of the mouth by a person who is
coughing or sneezing.
Shortly after the birth of a boy or girl all who are on good terms
with the parents greet them by saying kalunga. The word is repeated
four times with clapping of the palms. When words have been
imperfectly heard and the listener desires repetition it is customary
to say kuku in an interrogative tone.
No particular etiquette is observed when eating. Two or three
children eat from one platter, helping themselves with their fingers
to the mush or sweet potatoes.
Rules forbidding the preparation of food by menstruating women,
likewise prohibitions relating to stepping over a person, are mentioned
in discussing taboos and omens.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE OP PLAY, MUSIC, AND DANCING

The educational value of play lies in its imitation of the pursuits
of adult life. Though there are specialists in music, dancing, and
singing, these exercises are indulged in by everyone. Music, singing,
and dancing are more than amusements, they are fundamental as
coordinating forces in tribal life at all levels of culture (W. D. Ham-
bly. Tribal Dancing and Social Development, London, 1926).
Among the Ovimbundu Cimhamba Co lAa is a popular game for

girls, who form a circle, join hands, and sing:
Part I
Omola una, ndo site vekango, Cimhamba co lia (“That little child
was left in the desert, the nighthawk ate it”) At the word Cimhamba
.
they begin to dance, facing from side to side in such a manner that
they meet and bow. Some sing, Cimhamba co lia (“The nighthawk
ate him”), and others respond, Kalikisi (“’tis the goblins”), as many
times as they wish. Finally a return is made to the first words which
are sung again. All musical transcriptions have been made by
Dr. G. Herzog from my phonographic records.
Education 217
Part II
The children then form in a line holding each other. The leader
is the mother and all the others are her children, except one
who is the leopard. The last child in the line calls, A mai, ongue
yi ndia (“Mother, the leopard will eat me”). Mother, Ka yi ku U,
('Tt will not eat you”). Child, Yi lia utapi wovava (“It is eating the
water carrier”). Mother, Ka yi ku li. Child, Yi lia utiani wolohui.
Mother, Ka yi ku li. The one who represents the leopard now
attempts to pass the outstretched arms of the mother in order to
catch the child. Every time the leopard is foiled in his attempt
to catch the child they all cry, Ah-ah-ah Ka yi ku li.
l=izo
+ S -.5
Eventually the leopard gets the last child and deposits it on the
ground where it immediately begins to imitate the pounding of meal
and to sing, Fule, fule, fule, Jule, kolohanda ko Luwa (“Pound, pound,
pound, pound on the rocks of Luwa”). This ditty, which is sung
by women during their daily occupation of pounding maize on the
218 The Ovimbundu
all the children have been captured. Lastly,

rocks, is repeated until
the mother is caught and taken by the leopard to the bushes, where
he hides her.
.
Education 219
says, “Here’s your mother.” The children look and sing, “She’s not
there.” They throw sand in that direction.The leopard repeatedly
leads to places where the mother is not hidden, while each time the
same words are repeated and sand is thrown. Finally the leopard
leads the children to the place where the mother is hidden. Then
the mourning song changed to a glad dance. The children clap
is
hands and sing, Mai Cisangu weya. Mai Cisangu weya (“Mother
Cisangu has come”)
After transcribing the music of this song Dr. Herzog reported,
“The melodies are rather simple, moving within a restricted range,
with a plain rhythm, the same short unassuming melodic fragment
being repeated as long as the game may require it, or changed slightly
to suit the words. It should be kept in mind that these are children’s
songs; other songs of the Ovimbundu are probably much more
elaborate. The manner of singing songs by a solo and a responding
choir is highly characteristic of African singing. Thirds as seen in the
transcriptions on page 218 are often used in the music of west Africa.
“In the musical notations, S' stands for Solo, Ch for the Choir.
A as a sign above a note indicates that the tone is sung approximately
a quartertone higher than noted. It indicates a short transitional tone
of slight rh3Ahmic or melodic significance and of uncertain pitch.”
There is but one example of children's dolls in Field Museum’s

collection. This was obtained from a little Ocimbundu girl of Elende.
The doll is made from a corncob which is draped in blue cloth of
Emopean origin such as women wear. My interpreter said that the
dressing of dolls made from corncobs a general custom at the
is
time of cutting the corn. In view of the frequent occurrence of

agricultural rites among Bantu Negroes, the use of dolls led me to
inquire into the possibility of there being some kind of fertility cult
associated with a corn-mother concept, but my inquiries met with
negative results.
There is an Umbundu word for game {omapalo; plural, olomapalo)
which is used for games in general. The verb oku papala means
“to play.” As a rule, male adults do not play games, but they have
the game of mancala which is called ocela. This is difficult because
it involves quick counting. Mancala has a wide distribution as
shown by the fact that it occurs in Africa, Syria, the Malay Archipel-
ago, South America, and the West Indies. At Dom Manuel in the
southeast of Angola I saw an arrangement of holes in the ground
which was used for this game.There were four rows of fourteen
holes in each row. The counters were nuts from an oil palm.
220 The Ovimbundu
In the compound of the king at Ngalangi there was an ocela

board consisting of an oval piece of wood on a short base. This
board had holes arranged in four rows of seven, twenty-eight holes
in all. The king refused to sell the board. He said that it was
highly valued and that the gambling stakes were high.
Up to the age of sixteen years boys play the game of ocitina.
Each side has a number of bulbs from a figwort, which are rolled
along between two lines of boys who shoot at them with arrows.
The winners are those who have shot the greater number of their
opponents’ bulbs. The party A rolls bulbs while the opponents B
do the shooting. Then the positions are reversed. A game with
whipping tops is ongilili which is said to be of Umbundu origin,
not a derivative from a Portuguese game. There is no evidence
that games are seasonal; any game may be played at any time.
Games of mimicry naturally form a diversion, and boys imitate
the occupations of their elders. The chief activities of adult males
are warfare, hunting, and carrying, all of which used to play a very
important part in the communal life up to a few years ago. When
boys play at making war they have two sides, the attack and the
defense. The attacking party runs about the village taking prisoners,
who are tied with bark rope. Girls sometimes play this and other
games with the boys, but usually boys and girls play separately.
Sometimes strong boys are selected for hunters whose dogs are
the little boys. Boys who pretend to be the antelopes or other game
go to the tall grass to hide. Toy bows and arrows are made, but
sometimes the hunters go through only the movements of shooting.
The boys who are pretending to be the game roll over and gasp when
shot. The “dead game” has to cling to the pole on which it is borne
to the village on the shoulders of the hunters. The little boys go
along on all fours barking like dogs.
The Ovimbundu were, and still are, renowned carriers whose
prowess is imitated in boys' games. Boys make up loads in the correct
way; that is, lashed in the fork of two long sticks which can be rested
on the ground. These they carry along, singing as they go. There
is some wrestling, also stone throwing to test distance and accuracy.
Rubber is made into a ball which is bounced rapidly and repeatedly

with the open palm. Men and boys sometimes form a ring around
which the ball is thrown from one person to another.
The Ovimbundu have no game played with string wound around
the fingers, and have been unable to find any evidence for the past
I
or present formation of string figures. I have seen boys making bird

Education 221
cages and wooden animals to use as playthings. Girls mold small

animals from clay. The bull-roarer is in use as a plaything at Elende.
There is a game of hide and seek for boys. A knife is hidden;
then a boy who has been absent for a time enters the ring marked
off for the game. His proximity to the knife is indicated by playing
on a musical bow. There are taps on the instrument which mean
that the knife is far away. On the contrary, when the searcher
approaches the hidden knife, the boy with the bow plays a distinc-
tive note, yelula, yelula, meaning “pick it up, pick it up.”
Boys readily make a simple apparatus for playing a game of
lassoing a hoop. A pliable branch is bent so as to form a circle, then
the ends are lashed together with bark strips. The lasso is a piece
of rattan or bark having at each end a corncob or a small stick
three inches long. One boy bowls the hoop so that it passes in front
of, and a few feet away from his opponent, who stands twenty-five
feet distant. As the hoop passes in front of him, the boy throws
his lasso in such a way that it twines round the hoop and brings it
to the ground.
There are dances of many kinds, but Ngonga says that he would
not know from the steps only what particular purpose the dance
served. Several dances have been described, each in its appropriate
section. There are no dances specially arranged to celebrate weddings
or births. The funeral dance is described along with other ceremonies
relating to interment. The medicine-man dances in connection
with making rain or curing the sick. In order to say why the dance
was being performed, it would be necessary to listen to the words
of the songs; these are usually chanted in accompaniment to shuffling
movements and the rhythm of drums.
Some of the older men and women perform dances and sing songs
that are unknown to the younger generation. Dancing is in favor
during the months of May and June because there are supplies of
maize for making beer. As the dry season advances the maize formerly
available for making beer is consumed as food, hence dancing is not
so usual. Ngonga says that the old people know a dance which
should be performed at new moon "so that there will be no sickness
during this moon.” Older men dance in commemoration of events
during past wars, while women are spectators, and on these occasions
there are beer-drinking and the slaughter of an ox. A group of men
keeps up a shuffling dance while an old man relates a war story in
a singsong voice. The oldest man is the first to cut the meat,
after which each man helps himself.
222 The Ovimbundu
Almost every evening onemay hear the tapping of drums and

the songs of dancers, because in addition to dances for a funeral or
other special occasion there are ordinary dances of amusement in
which lines of men and women advance and retreat, or men and
women circle round the drums making arm movements accom-
panied by a swaying rhythm.
The dance onyaco, performed in June when the corn is ripe, may
have an ancient history and special significance as part ofan agri-
cultural rite. When corn is being stored the people sing, “There is
grain in the house, may it never be out.” There is no dance in
connection with fishing.
There mimicry of animals in the hunting game played by boys.
is
The frog, the leopard, and other animals are imitated in certain
games, but I have no evidence of the performance of mimetic dances
in relation to any cult for increasing the supply of animal life.
The use of the small ball ombunje illustrates the way in which
an apparent toy can be used in rites of a religious kind. Ombunje
consists of a hard spherical fruit about six centimeters in diameter,
in which several hard seeds rattle. The sphere is covered with a
layer of cloth over which lizard skin is stretched and sewn.
When the people wish to commemorate the death of a king, or
when the king is sick, the medicine-man {ocimhanda) says that there
must be osofca dancing. A strong mandances for many hours while
holding this little ball Other men who are
in his outstretched hand.
dancing use their fists to hit the muscles of the outstretched arm in
an attempt to make the holder drop the ball {ombunje). If he does
so another man will promptly take hold of it. The precise nature of
the endurance test is unexplained, but there is possibly the idea of
giving strength to a sick king by this tension and endurance. My
interpreter thought this was so, but could not explain why the dance
should be performed to commemorate the death of a king. It would
seem natural, however, to transfer the ombunje rite to a commemora-
tive festival, if in the first place it was part of the last rites of a
dying king.
There are among the Ovimbundu specialists in dancing, singing,
and the playing of musical instruments. Onjimbi is the word for
a singer of merit who starts the choruses. Ocili is a dancer of more
than ordinary skill. When a man is required to play a drum or other
instrument I have noticed that it is thought necessary to bring a
specialist. There is no doubt that drumming requires special aptitude
and practice. The man who plays the long drum is usiki, the drum
Education 223
onoma. The flat wooden drum without membrane is oeingufu,

itself is
the player of this drum is usiM wodngufu (Plate XXVII, Pig. 2).
The long tubular drums vary in length from 50 to 103 cm. At a
funeral, four of these tubular drums, which are usually held between
the legs or placed upright, are played in compound rhythm. A
performer always warms the skin of the drum at a fire, and sometimes
the pitch is altered by sticking a lump of wax on the membrane
of a long drum, or on the sides of a wooden drum.
Dr. Herzog reports as follows, after transcribing several cylinders

of phonographic records of rhythms played on the long drum, and
after examining motion pictures which were synchronized with the
drumming (Plates XXV, XXVI).
"These motion pictures indicate the position of the performer’s
hands, and suggest that the sharply accented tones are produced
by impacts from the phalanges. The higher notes so produced have
been marked by notes above the line. A mark placed between notes
indicates a very short rest.
“No. 1 (dictaphone record 3) represents the drumming of a young
player, who is apparently still an apprentice, since his rhythm is
very simple. The three forms of his playing given below were used
interchangeably, and he shifted from one to the other without
stopping. In the second form, the order of the sharp and of the
plain beat is reversed. Otherwise, the sharp beat occurs, in the
playing of all drummers, on the off beat. The rhythm of No. 2
(dictaphone record 15) is a little more varied because the player
was changed. The drummer of No. 3 (dictaphone record 30) was
the best performer in the neighborhood, according to Mr. Hambly;
and most interesting. The drum records consist
his playing is the
of a small number of rhythms which are freely interchanged; the
two predominating rhythms are given below. The moving pictures
were made from this player’s performance.
“The notations found here do not convey to the reader the
bewildering complexity of African rhythm, for this appears only
when a performance includes the use of several drums and musical
instruments in conjunction with dancing.”
Prom Ngalangi a large friction drum 120 cm long and 47 cm in
diameter was obtained. This instrument, which was the property
of the village, was played only on public occasions. Apparently
the drum had been hollowed from a log of wood, one end of which
was left open while the other was covered with hide. To the inner
side of this hide a long cane was attached. On the side of the drum
and in the middle was an oval aperture. The performer laid the
drum on the ground and took his seat astride it. He dipped his
right hand in a gourd of water, then rubbed his wet palm up and
down the cane rod, which he could reach through the oval aperture.
The sound of the rubbing on the rod was communicated to the
membrane.
A short friction drum made at Blende measures 21 by 42 cm.
One end of the drum is covered with hide kept taut by pegs of
wood while the other end is open for the insertion of the player’s
hand. A cane rod is attached to the inside of the membrane. The
assistant of a medicine-man holds this instrument under his arm
and plays during divination. The medicine-man sits on a stool
shaking his divination basket (Plate XXIII, Fig. 2).
Rattles are of three kinds, and of these themore common are a
small, long-necked gourd containing hard seeds, and a compound
Education 225
rattle made by fixing seed pods on a stick. Rattles of the latter

type are sometimes tied to the ankles during dancing and they
usually form a part of the medicine-man’s outfit (Plate XXII,
Fig. 4). From Cangamba a basket rattle of dumb-bell form was
obtained; the basket-work receptacles at each end of the connecting
rod contain hard seeds (Plate XXII, Fig. 1).
At Bailundu three Ovimbundu flute players met a party of
visitors whom they accompanied around the native village under
the leadership of a chief. The men played the flutes continuously
except when the chief was speaking. The wooden flutes varied in
length from 20 to 50 cm. The instruments were end-played, and
the smallest of them had seven stop-holes. The visitors were con-
ducted from the village by this small orchestra which is a permanent
guard of honor for the chief (Plate XL, Fig. 1).
At Cangamba the Vachokue have an instrument consisting of
wood which vary in length and thickness. These
eight slats of
sounding boards are attached to two parallel cords which are kept
tight by two assistants. The performer taps the wooden slats with
two sticks terminating in balls of wax. This is the well-known
marimba, but the gourds which are usually fastened under the
slats of wood were absent in this instance.
The instrument ocisanji is played well by only a few men. It

consists ofa wooden board, often well carved, on which there are
from eight to nineteen thin keys of metal. These can be pushed
backward and forward in their bridge so as to alter the vibrating
length and pitch of the note. The pitch may also be varied by
placing small balls of wax on the under side of the keys. When
the instrument is held between the palms the player’s thumbs are
in position for stroking the keys. Sometimes ocisanji is played
inside a wide gourd (Plate XXII, Fig. 5).
The musical bow is called ombumbumba. The bridge, which is

a small stone, or a piece of wood placed at one end of the bow, keeps
the string taut. The gourd is tightly fastened to the bowstring with
a loop of string. One end of the bow is sometimes placed in the
player’s mouth. The left hand holds the bow and presses the gourd
to the body, then releases it a little from time to time in order to
assist tone and resonance. The player holds in his right hand a
reed which is tapped lightly on the bowstring, while the thumb
and forefinger of the left hand are used occasionally in pressing on
the string to alter its vibrating length (Plate XXII, Fig. 6).
226 The Ovimbundu
Another musical bow named ekolowa is of simple construction,

from 54 to 70 cm long and 2 cm wide.
consisting of a strip of cane
At each end of the cane is a projection. A string, when tightly
stretched between these projections, pulls the cane into the form
of a bow. The performer, placing one end of the bow in his mouth,
plucks the string with his thumb and forefinger (Plate XXII, Fig. 7).
Two rubbing instruments are used by the Ovimbundu. Ogolanda
is a large gourd with a slit in the top along which there is a board
cut into sixteen notches. The rubbing of a short stick along these
notches produces a sound which is greatly amplified by the gourd
resonator. The second instrument of this type is in the form of a
wooden bow having its thickest part notched for rubbing with a
stick (Plate XXII, Figs. 3, 8).
Only specialists are skilled in composing songs, and both men
and women are composers. The younger people sometimes go to
the old people to learn songs which were popular a generation ago.
There are no professional itinerant story-tellers.
There is a chant for funerals which has been quoted in the
appropriate section, but no special wedding songs are used. The
Ovimbundu have satirical songs humorously describing individual
foibles and and as usual in Negro communities a
peculiarities,
satirical song by thieves, adulterers, or other offenders.
is feared
In former days when men were on the warpath they sang,
Okaimbo ketu katito eteke tu lisanumbula tu tandako. (“Our village
is little today, we attack, we extend.”) Another war song is Ocisonde
ci likoka ove o kasi vonjila tumdamo. (“Red ant that creeps along,
you who are in the way, get out.”)
When men on the march came to a camping ground occupied
by another caravan, they sang as a challenge, Cinene nye? Cinene
onjamba kakuli okachama kavela ukuavo. (“What is the largest?
There is no animal largest. Thedargest is the elephant.”)
During hauling and carrying, men sing, Yende, yende chale,
ocimhoto lomala vaco. (“Let it go, let it go, the crab, the frog, with
its children.”)
Lifting loads always accompanied by noises which suggest

is
that someone isPart of the men make deep grunts to which

injured.
their companions answer with prolonged groans.
Initiation
Evidence bearing on initiatory rites in Angola shows that the
ceremonies are arranged as a process of incorporation into the
Education 227
tribes, for everywhere these rites aim at securing ideas of unity, coop-
eration, conformity to tribal law, and admission to adult tribal life.
The methods used to achieve these aims are seclusion, circum-
cision, physical suffering, direct tuition, dancing,
hunting, a change
ofname, and finally a ceremonial return to the tribe with adult status
and the right to marry.
The following notes give details of ceremonies witnessed at
three centers; namely, Katoko, Ngalangi, and Cangamba. For
comparison of these rites with others performed in eastern Angola
reference should be made to the books of A. Schachtzabel, and to
the papers of H. Baumann (III), and F. and W. Jaspert, whose
observations were made independently of each other and of my
own investigation.
The dances of the novices at Katoko, where there is a mixed
population of Ovimbundu, Vangangella, and Vachokue tribes, are
part of the final ceremonies following circumcision and seclusion.
The social group formed by this collective circumcision, seclusion,
and dancing, is called onnganji, which is the name of the initiatory
rites themselves. A boy who has been initiated is not allowed to
become friendly with one who has not suffered the ceremony, and
all boys who were circumcised at the same time preserve a sense
of unity by dancing in a company and moving about together for

twelve weeks after their return to the village from which they came.
Circumcision, which is by the Portuguese govern-
prohibited
ment, is still some regions. When circumcision
practised secretly in
is carried out by primitive methods serious infection may result
from the lack of clean instruments, for the knife is, of course,
unsterilized.
After the operation the patients are subjected to harsh treatment
during the period of cure that follows. The circumcised are secluded
in a wooded area. Food provided by the parents is placed on the
bank ofa river near which the initiation camp is built, and after
the parents have gone away the boys bring their rations from the
river to the camp. Before eating, the boys are obliged to give profuse
thanks to the men who are acting as tutors. In some regions there
is no food ration for the boys, and the rule is that each boy must
subsist on what he is able to catch and collect with his hands.

Each boy has a male guardian who takes care of him after the
operation. Those who have been operated upon are not permitted
to wear clothes, nor are they allowed to warm themselves until
quite healed. Any infraction of the rules results in a severe whipping.
228 The Ovimbundu
During the period of isolation costumes for the dance are made.
These consist of clothing of tightly fitting, coarse netting, masks,
and girdles which are for the use of only those boys who have been
circumcised. The feasts and dances celebrating the conclusion of
initiatory rites are of great importance. Women are not supposed
to that the operation of circumcision is taking place, and
know
they are taught that ovinganji are supernatural beings who have
sprung up from the earth; therefore every effort is made to conceal
masks and costumes from the sight of women and the uninitiated.
No female is allowed to go near the enclosure where novices are
confined.
Afew days after observing the costumes and dances of the
newly initiated boys at Katoko I was in the Ngalangi region at
the village of Ngongo, about a hundred miles to the north of Katoko.
At Ngalangi two boys of the Ovimbundu were questioned with
regard to their experiences in the initiation camp.
It is certain that initiation ceremonies are held at irregular
intervals and not more frequently than once in four years. The
name given to the ceremonies for boys in the Ngalangi area is
ocinganji (oci, “big”; nganji, “judge,” or a masked person). When
there is a number of boys who have not been circumcised, these
approach the oldestmen to ask for a circumcision ceremony. The
old men the sekulu (“headman”) of the village to request that
visit
arrangements shall be made. An ocimhanda (“medicine-man”),
assisted by camp in a wooded area. Usually
other men, prepares a
the father of each boy has to arrange that a tutor shall accompany
his son to the camp, but sometimes as many as three boys have the
same guardian. The guardian receives a small fee, possibly nothing
more valuable than a chicken.
The camp is made on the side of a stream remote from the
village. Each boy takes a chicken to the camp for the purpose of
making a special meal, which is given at the name-changing ceremony
which follows initiation. The chicken is eaten soon after the boy
has been circumcised. The boy changes his own name for a new
one which announced in the village from which he came. While
is
circumcision is in progress the enclosure is surrounded by male

drummers and men who shout, so that any noise made by the boys
during circumcision will not be heard.
The period spent in camp is uncertain, probably from three
to six months. The rule is that camp is not disbanded until every
boy is healed; which means that the confinement may be greatly
Education 229
prolonged if even one boy fails to recover. One of the two youths
interrogated said that in his camp there were seventy-eight boys,
three of whom died. My
other informant said that in his camp
there were sixty-eight boys, only one of whom died. The informants
agreed that the deaths were due to an epidemic of influenza and
not to privations or septic conditions arising from the operation.
During the period of seclusion the boys are taught songs and
dances used at the ceremony that celebrates the conclusion of their
initiation. By privation the boys are taught the value of food and
fire. Novices are beaten if they show any disrespect for their
guardians, and trifling offences are severely punished. Every boy
has to take from the fire a burning stick, which he holds in his hand
while running between two lines of men who beat him, and if he
drops the stick he has to start his run once more. The boys swear
allegiance to one another. A novice thinks that he will die if he
gives information to a woman or to a man who has not been initiated.
From his mother, each boy receives fooda gourd which he

in
deposits on the bank camp. If a boy
of a river near the novices’
dies, a hole is bored in the gourd so that when the mother receives
this she will not send more food. Each guardian has a stick which
is sent to the mother of his pupil when the ceremony of initiation
and seclusion is ended. If the boy has died, bark is cut from both
ends of the stick before this symbol of death is sent to his parents.
When the boys come out from their camp at the conclusion of
the rites one man and one woman stand on the bank of the river,
and the boys pass under the legs of both the man and the woman.
When the boys arrive at the village the whole population comes
out to welcome them. There is a feast and beer-drinking bout on
the day of return.
During seclusion no water is allowed for washing, and the inform-

ants laughed as they spoke of the order “wash hands,’’ whereupon
the boys merely rubbed their hands together. When the order,
“wash dishes,’’ was given the boys rubbed their platters with their
hands. On the day of leaving camp the novices bathe in the river.
Ablution consists of three dips, after each of which the boy stands
on the bank until he is dry.
For two months the boys wear strips bark cloth. During this
of
period all the novices must move but there is no objection
together,
to their leaving the village provided they do so all in one company.
While wearing bark cloth the boys have each day to attend a cere-
230 The Ovimbundu
mony at which the older initiates dance while the novices clap
their hands.
I witnessed the dance of initiated boys at Ngongo, where the

costumes resembled those I had seen at Katoko, At night a youth
brought for me a set of initiation costumes (Plate LXXVIII, Fig. 1),
which resembled those worn during the dance; this he did with great
secrecy.
WhileatNgalangi, the initiation of girls was investigated. After sev-
eral days of negotiation with a village headman three female guardians
of the girls came from the bush. The illustrations (Plate LXXVII,
Pigs. 1, 2) show the attitudes of these women and their decoration.
There were three male drummers in the orchestra and several women,
who sang and clapped their hands. On emerging from the bush the
females moved toward the orchestra with their backs toward the
players. As there were about two hundred yards to cover, this
slow backward movement occupied a long time, since the three
women did not take more than a few inches at each step. The dance
itself was a slow, shuffling, swaying movement, made while the
bodies of the performers remained inclined forward and their heads

were bent so that it was almost impossible to see their faces. The
women wore no clothing except loin cloths. Each female was
plastered from head to foot with alternate bands of red and white
clay smeared thickly. These three females are the women who act
as instructors for the girls during isolation in the bush where they
receive sexual and domestic instruction.
The seclusion of girls covers a period of one month. During
this time the novices suffer no harsh treatment though an operation
is performed, possibly excision of the clitoris, but I am not certain
on this point. It was also stated that a corncob is introduced into
the vagina. The tribe practising this ceremony for girls was the
Vanyemba, living close to the Ovimbundu at Ngongo near Ngalangi
in central Angola.
In order to corroborate further the two accounts of initiation

ceremonies for boys I journeyed to Cangamba in Moxico, eastern
Angola. The position of the two first centers visited (Katoko and
Ngongo) is on the border line where Ovimbundu and Vacbokue
mingle, and although there is a mixture of these and other tribes
at Cangamba, the culture, language, and physique of the Vacbokue
predominate. A description of the circumcision ceremonies witnessed
at Cangamba is given below for comparison with the accounts
resulting from visits to Katoko and Ngongo.
Education 231
The compound in which the initiates had been confined for

three months was a circular enclosure made of light branches and
leafy boughs, at the narrow embrasure of which stood a guardian
of the boys, who permitted entrance. In the middle of the large
enclosure were seven small cages, each of which was just large enough
to allow one boy to lie on his back, and I was informed that the boys
lie thus for two weeks after circumcision (Plate LXXX, Fig. 2).
The ages boys appeared to be from ten to seventeen years
of the
(Plate LXXX, an observation which agrees well with that
Fig. 1),
made at Katoko and Ngongo. The disparity of age among the
novices at each center where initiation was observed bears out the
statement that initiation ceremonies are held at irregular intervals,
but not more frequently than once in four years.
During confinement in the large enclosure the novices had made
masks and costumes (Plate LXXIX, Fig. 1), and when they were
pulling on the coarse netting suits, which fit tightly, I observed
that circumcision had been performed thoroughly, evidently some
weeks ago, for the wounds were healed. Masks were obtained, and
these the instructors of the boys were careful to wrap in bark cloth,
at the same time requesting me not to show the objects to women.
A few days later these boys returned to their village to dance
while wearing the costumes which had been made in the enclosure.
At Cangamba the ceremony lasted twelve hours amid great
final
excitement, including ceaseless drumming and dancing. One boy,
who wore a skirt on his fiber costume, lifted this to display an
artificial penis of great size (Plate LXXIX, Fig. 2). This organ
he grasped in his hand while chasing the women and girls, who
ran away screaming and laughing.
At this ceremony there appeared stilt-walkers (Plate LXXXI,
Pig. 1) and a medicine-man, a member of the Luchazi tribe (Plate
LXXXI, Fig. 2).
Circumcision among the Bdjok (Vachokue) has been witnessed
by C. P. Holdredge and described by Kimball Young {Amer. Anihr.,
XXIX, pp. 661-669). This ceremony took place in the far north-
east of Angola. The man described as the magish of whom women
are afraid, but who is known to the initiates, corresponds to the
TJluchazi medicine-man seen in the final ceremony at Cangamba.
Of this grotesquely dressed person the men and boys took no notice,
neither did he pay attention to them. On the contrary he chased
women, who ran away screaming. Kimball Young’s description
of the enclosure where boys are confined, and his account of the
232 The Ovimbundu
worn within this enclosure by the novices, are in

short fiber skirts
agreement with the observations made at Cangamba. There is
also a close resemblance between the independent accounts of
H. Baumann and P. and W. Jaspert for the Vaehokue, also P. A.
Delille and E. de Jonghe for the southwest Congo.
The question of initiation rites, past and present, among people

of pure XJmbundu culture is important. The matter is more fully
dealt with later in discussing cultural contacts and cultural losses,
but there are a few points which should not be omitted here.
At Caconda, an Umbundu center of western Angola, P^re R. P.
Laagel stated that only two years ago he had visited an initiation
camp of Ovimbundu boys in the hope of persuading them to return
to his mission school at Caconda. My
informant stated that the
boys were circumcised, beaten, and confined to an enclosure for
several weeks. Those who cried out when flogged received a double
portion of blows. Poisoning is the fate of a boy who reveals the
secrets of the initiation camp to women or uninitiated boys. This
is the most direct testimony I have received concerning initiation
rites among unmixed Ovimbundu.
From Bailundu and Elende I have obtained slight evidence of
initiation rites.At the former place, which, like Elende, is a center
of the Ovimbundu tribe, fiber costumes were obtained. The mask
from Elende is unlike those used at Cangamba, Katoko, and Ngongo.
The fiber suits are, however, no different from costumes used at
these places. Initiation ceremonies are not held at Elende today,
and beyond Dr. Ennis’s statement that circumcision rites have been
revived in the past fifteen years of his long residence in the neighbor-
hood of Elende, I have no evidence of ritual.
The data relating to initiation of Angola suggest loss
boys in
of the initiatory rites from Umbundu culture, until only a
few old
masks and costumes, along with attenuated ritual, remain sporadi-
cally. On the contrary, in eastern Angola and particularly among
the Vaehokue, who are farther than the Ovimbundu from coastal
influence, initiation ceremonies flourish. At present there is occurring
a penetration of initiation rites from the Vaehokue area into east-
central Angola, which is a region of cultural admixture.
The foregoing pages have described certain institutions and social
forces which collectively bring individuals into conformity with tribal
standards of conduct. The influences at work in this direction may
be direct or indirect.
Education 233
Among direct educational forces are the home training given

by parents and the mutual responsibility of children and their
mother’s brother, whose reciprocal obligations have been explained.
Family life is undeniably an important institution whose power is
by no means suppressed by the strength of the village community
and tribal organization.
Initiation, which may or may not coincide with puberty, is
perhaps the most potent direct influence in formation of character
and the inculcation of principles tending to tribal solidarity.
Formerly warfare and hunting were more important than they are
today, consequently initiation rites imposing hardship and emphasiz-
ing the importance of concerted action, had a greater social value
than they have at present.
Formal instruction in industries such as iron-working, or pro-
fessional hunting, indicates one aspect of occupational training.
In these instances there are apprenticeship and an initiatory rite.
All children are, however, subject to an indirect industrial education
through the agency of play, while a few, according to desire and
aptitude, become experts in some particular occupation.
At times the force of suggestion is at work in the home, in
all
the men’s council house, and through everyday observation of the

conduct of elders. Probably folklore stories also have an indirect
educational value, because some of the fables show the desirability
of courage, honesty, and foresight, at the same time deprecating
cowardice, stupidity, and low cunning.
In chapter IX religious beliefs are discussed, and, in connection
with these, standards of conduct are outlined. Although the Ovim-
bundu have a belief in a supreme being and creator (Suku), and
although they believe in survival after death, there is no evidence
to show that conduct and education are influenced by theological
beliefs. Suku, who is vaguely conceived, is far away and unin-
terested. He issues no commands. Neither is there a belief in
punishments and rewards after death. The standards of conduct
are based on utilitarian principles which secure harmony and unity.
The efficiency the direct and indirect educational forces of
of
the Ovimbundu is by the history of the tribe. The indige-
attested
nous system of education, supported by favorable environment,
consolidated these people so that they became the dominating power
in Angola. Moreover, their cohesion has been such that three
centuries of European contacts have failed to eliminate all the
basic elements of their tribal life.
VIII. LANGUAGE
Affinities op Umbundu
The Umbundu language is widely understood in Angola owing
Ovimbundu as raiders and traders in large
to the journeys of the
caravans. Umbundu is as important for communication in Angola
as Hausa is for Nigeria, or Swahili for the east coast of Africa.
Notwithstanding this use of Umbundu as a lingua franca it is

necessary to note that tribes surrounding the Ovimbundu have
their own distinctive Bantu languages; moreover, the Umbundu
language itself has several dialects.
For example, the Vasele tribe living in rugged country in the
hinterland of Novo Redondo have a dialect of Umbundu (Usele) so
distinctive that a competent Ocimbundu interpreter has difficulty
in making himself understood, or interpreting what is said. Isola-
tion of the Vasele from the Ovimbundu has led to the formation of
a cultural pocket in which linguistic developments have shared in
a specialization of culture. The differences between the Umbundu
of Elende and that of the Ambundu tribes may be noted by comparing
this brief outline of Umbundu, recorded at Elende, with the records
of Amandus Johnson, whose research relates to the language spoken
in the hinterland of Loanda. The present chapter will deal only
with notes on vocabulary, phonetics, an outline of grammar, sign
language, folklore and proverbs, all of which are briefly treated.
In the field phonographic records of the Umbundu language were
taken, and and other aspects of
for the analysis of tonal values
phonetics I am indebted to Dr. M. H. Watkins,
a student of Professor
E. Sapir, formerly of the University of Chicago, now at Yale.
The section on Umbundu grammar conclusively shows Umbundu
to be a representative language of the Bantu family of languages.
Umbundu possesses all the fundamental characteristics of Bantu
speech. The truth of this may be seen by comparing this outline
of Umbundu with the analysis of Bantu languages given by A.
Werner (Language Families of Africa, London, 1925). Moreover,
Carl Meinhof (Grundziige einer vergleichenden Grammatik der
Bantu Sprachen, Berlin, 1906, pp. 112-115, and translation by
A. Werner and N. J. von Warmelo, London, 1932) indicates the
degree of relationship of Umbundu to other Bantu tongues by giv-
ing comparisons of the stems of personal and possessive pronouns,
along with other comparative data.
Z3i
Language 235
H. H. Johnston (A Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-

Bantu Languages, Oxford, 1919, vol. I, p. 350) places Umbundu in
his Group X; that is, the southwestern group of Bantu languages.
Johnston’s map indicates that throughout Angola there is a gradual
transition from the southwestern Bantu group to that of the south-
west Congo, which is exactly what might be expected from a con-
sideration of the geographical position of Angola. Johnston’s
grouping is based on root forms and vocabulary.
This dilRculty of making a comparison of the affinities of
Umbundu does not preclude the possibility of recording some
preliminary observations, especially with regard to vocabulary.
F. and W. Jaspert have prepared a comparative vocabulary of
250 words in the languages of the Ovimbundu, the Luena, the
Basongo, the Luchazi, the Luimbi, and the Vachokue tribes.
Inspection of the columns indicates a close connection of Songo,
Luchazi, and Luimbi; in fact, the vocabularies of the two latter
are almost identical. The vocabularies of the Vachokue and the
Luena have much in common with those mentioned, but the
Umbundu vocabulary has only a minor agreement with the vocab-
ularies of these eastern and northeastern tribes. There are, how-
ever, some words which are identical in all these languages mentioned
by P. and W. Jaspert. Examples of identity, or very close similarity,
are found in the words for "bow,” “elephant,” “to eat,” “firestick,”
“finger,” and a few other forms, but the principal deduction
from inspection of the columns is the distinctiveness of the Umbundu
vocabulary.
On the contrary, examination of the vocabularies of the Ovira-
bundu and the Vakuanyama, of the south of Angola, appears to
justify Johnston’s inclusion of Umbundu with southwestern Bantu
in so far as similarity of vocabulary is a criterion. The correspond-
ence is further borne out by P. H. Brincker’s “Lehrbuch des Oshi-
kuanyama.” In the light of these comparisons the relationship of
Umbundu vocabularies is readily seen, for instead of searching for
similarities the numerous identities are at once evident. At a glance
one sees that the Umbundu and Kuanyama words for “arm,”
“arrow,” “ax,” “banana,” “beard,” “bird,” “blood,” “bone,”
“breast,” "charcoal,” “guinea fowl,” "hand,” and “hoe,” are
either identical or closely related. I noted the easy communication
of my Ocimbundu interpreter with the Vakuanyama of Mongua.
Some of the following chapters show that the Ovimbundu have

an undeniable southwest Congo culture; they have, however, taken
236 The Ovimbundu
cattle and a few other traits from the Valcuanyama of southern

Angola, and there seems to be no doubt that the vocabularies of
the Ovimbundu and the Vakuanyama have been influenced by
these southern contacts. Yet structure will prove the final arbiter
in deciding linguistic relationships, for the Ovimbundu as exten-
sive travelers have widely distributed their vocabulary.
Caution is necessary in making comparisons of Umbundu with
surrounding languages; for, although Kuanyama has received careful
attention, and the researches of Meinhof have given a reliable
background for Ovambo and Herero speech, the language of the
Vachokue of eastern Angola and the speech of the Mussurongo of
northern Angola, call for a comprehensive work. Moreover, there
yet remains the task of providing a standard Umbundu dictionary
and grammar, and pending the collation of this linguistic material
there are no means of determining the exact syntactical, phonetic,
and other relationships of Umbundu.
Vocabulary
Apart from a broad question of the linguistic evidence of culture
contacts, there are points of interest connected with the recording of
vocabularies in a restricted area.Under the heading “Nature Lore”
attention was an extensive Umbundu vocabulary connected
called to
with those activities which underlie the economic structure. The
vocabulary showed that the Ovimbundu are keen observers whose
activities have resulted in the formation of a large vocabulary
arising from trades and occupations. In nature study many fine
distinctions are made; thus, there are words to distinguish not only
trees and plants of economic importance, but varieties of snakes
and lizards which are of no great economic interest.
In order to test further mental activity and the acquisition of
vocabulary, an Ocimbvmdu girl of about twelve years of age was
asked to name some of the objects in my collection. Without
hesitation she made the following list. The object was indicated,
then the child gave the name. This information was checked by
an adult interpreter who found that the child was correct in every
instance, although the objects do not specially appeal to the in-
terests of a young girl.
The objects named by this girl are as follows:
Ocimanda. Wooden dish. Ukinda. Switch made from the tail of
Omutopa. Tobacco-pipe made from a an ox.
horn. Opatalonya. Leather pouch for belt.
Elenga. Pipe for smoking hemp. Upi. Pounding stick.
Ocinunga. Brass bracelet. Omlenje. Gourd with a long neck.
Language 237
Onganja.Large round gourd. Embungumbungu. Bull-roarer.

Onguwa. Net in which gourd is carried. Olosangu (singular, olusangu). Rattles
Ohonji. Bow. for tying on the legs when dancing.
Usongo. Arrow. Olumbendo., Wooden flute.
Olundovi (plural olondovi). Bark rope.
Opendu or ocifuamulo. Wooden hair-
Ombulumbumba. Musical bow. comb.
Onoma. Drum. Osinja. Long needle used making
in
OhuTtya. Throwing stick. mats.
Ohanyanga. Drill for boring wood.
Onertde. Wooden pigeon and dove.
Ongombo. Basket used in divination.
Esanga. Water jar.
Osala. Head-dress worn by kings,
warriors, medicine-men and hunters.
Ocipupu. Jar for palm oil.
Small brush used by medicine-man.
Ocimbangu. Skin-covered box carried
to war by a king. Ocinumafluma. Wooden image of hu-
Omusafca (diminutive, okamisaka). man figure.
Flour-sifter. Olupunda. Rat trap of cane,

Opeei. Tobacco-pipe. Ombuiesa. Snuff box.
The names for colors are restricted to a few words; but in all
other respects the Umbundu vocabulary is extensive.
My interpreter said, “When I was learning colors, the women
at the school told me many names, but I could see no difference at
all.” Ngonga contended that there was no difference between the
color of adark blue book and the black box on which it was resting.
The following colors have names. Black is tekUva. White is
yela. Yellow is ondunga. Eed is kusuka. Greens and blues are
not well distinguished linguistically, but green is anifiamboto. The
word tekavisa is used to indicate that a color is not distinctly green
or blue. The word yelisa is used to describe gray, and all dark
reds. Wumbula is the term which describes a greenish-blue shade.
A was made by asking Ngonga
further study of vocabulary
to speak into the dictaphone. In doing so he gave lists of words
including nouns in their singular and plural forms, together with
many examples of other parts of speech and illustrations of syntax.
These records have been transcribed by Dr. M. H. Watkins. (This
section was prepared with use of phonetic symbols that were easily
available. For the most recent system, see “Practical Phonetics for
Students of African Languages,” by D. Westermann and I. C.
Ward, London, 1933.)
Phonetics
VOWELS
The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and perhaps a. They seem to be some-
what lower than the cardinal vowels. There was only one word in
which the vowel a was heard, dpdtdldnd (leather pouch for a belt).
This word, however, appears in the field notes as opatalona {opata-
238 The Ovimbundu
lonya) and the obscure vowel heard might have been a result of
imperfection in the record. These vowels are fairly close to the
European vowels, their nearest equivalents in the European languages
being approximately as represented below:
a, as in German Masse.
e, as in French 6tS.
i, as in English machine.
0 , as French eau.
u, as in German Buck.
3, as e inGerman Klasse, and a in about.
The nasal vowel q appears in a fairly large number of words,

and the nasal /} is occasionally heard. Before another vowel, u takes
the sound of w: dlw&yd (olu-eyo), “broom”; 6ium<^li\tw(iyg^ (tu-ayge),
“my little children.”
The and jo and the falling diphthong
rising diphthongs ia, je, iu,
ajf appear in the material, but every combination of two vowels
does not make a diphthong. In several instances, when a word
terminating in a vowel was followed by another word, the initial
letter of which was also a vowel, the final vowel was elided. Final
vowels on the low tone tend to vanish; that is, they are only slightly
voiced, as in dsaygdk&Mygi {dsAygd dkAMygi), “he found (a) little
hole”; '^d&veUnen^ (j'd&vUd kn^nA), “I am big sick.” (I am very sick.)
CONSONANTS
The table of consonants is as follows:
The symbols "d and ”dj indicate “nasal attack” consonants, i.e.,
the fully pronounced consonants d, dj, and g are preceded by their
homo-organic nasals not completely formed. It is as if one prepared
to make the sound of n but before its completion changed to d or dj;
likewise the change is made from y to g. Letter c is ch as in church.
Language 239
TONE AND STRESS

Apparently there are three tones in this language, but one
cannot be quite sure, since under the somewhat unusual condition
of attempting to record his voice on the dictaphone the informant
might have distorted the pitch of certain syllables. That three
tones can be distinguished when listening to the records, and that
these tones tend to follow a definite pattern, for example, in the
singular and plural forms of the same word, can be asserted with
satisfaction; but there is less assurance in trying to understand all
the nuances of these tones and in assigning them, without reservation,
a definite place in the phonetics of the language. Nothing short of
field work aided by delicate instruments can afford any satisfactory
conclusions on this point.

The data did not present any clear instance in which tone had
semantic value. That is, there were no examples of two or more
words, which, otherwise identical, differed only in tone and meaning.
The field notes state that the difference between cardinal and
ordinal is one of tone only, and this was partially verified
numbers
from the phonographic records, but the words were not clear enough
for transcription.
The following words have tones of semantic value, but the
phonographic record was not clear. Kalunga, according to tone,
can mean “god,” “sea,” “death,” or "greeting.” Omhamhi can mean
a “fever” (low tone) or a “bush buck” (high tone). Onjila means
“bird” or “path.” Omhundi means “gateway” or the root which is
commonly used in brewing beer. Ongongo means “earth” (middle
tone), or "hardship” (high tone).
In this chapter tones are indicated by placing a grave accent (d)
to indicate a low tone, and an acute accent (4) to show the occurrence
of a high tone. The middle tone is left unmarked.
The tones are not fixed, and they be shown to shift in context.
will
For example, a high tone on the penultimate syllable tends to be
carried along to the last syllable also. This shifting of tone is
especially noticeable when a noun is brought into concord with its
qualifying adjective or relative, or when a noun is the subject of
a verb. The following are instances in which tones do not maintain
their original positions as found in isolated words: -dti, “tree,”
Mi “large tree”; dlweyd, “broom,” dlw&yd luwa, “good broom”;
dmunii, “person,” omunu Mito, “small person.”
This kind of tonal behavior was clearly indicated in five records
of single words, and expressions of two words. But in the transcrip-
240 The Ovimbundu
tions of folklore texts tonal behavior will be seen to be less consistent.

Discrepancies in the incidence of tones may be due to different speeds
at which words are spoken. The placing of tones is perhaps most
reliable when transcriptions are made from free, continuous speech,
as in the case of fluent reading, or talking in continuous sentences.
Many words received a definite stress on the last syllable, and
in others the penultimate syllable received a light stress. The
majority, however, received slight, if any, stress, hence no definite
conclusions could be reached on this subject. In several instances
it isobvious that the informant was striving to be clear and distinct
in pronouncing each syllable; therefore he possibly sacrificed certain
characteristics of his intonation.
THE SYLLABLE
Every syllable ends in a vowel, consequently a vowel terminates
each word, and consonants are pronounced with the following vowel,
or with a consonant plus the vowel. The vowel of the penultimate
syllable is long when the word stands alone, and in larger sound-
groups the vowel is long in the penultimate syllable of the last
word, while in the preceding word, or words, the corresponding vowel
seems to be only half the length. Vowel length is not indicated in
these transcriptions.
Grammae
THE CLASS SYSTEM
The data available were sufficient to establish the following
classes of nouns, on the basis of their prefixes in the singular and
plural; the formation of the adjectival or relative concords was
likewise noted. There is no assurance that this list is exhaustive.
Class Prefix Eblative
Singular Plural Singular Plural
1. omu-, omo- oma- U' va-
la. u- a-,ova- U- va-
2. U-, oku- ovo- u- (ku-) a-
3. u- ovi-, i- U' vi-
4. 0- olo- yi- vi-
5. olu- olo-, a- lu- vi-, a-
6. otci- ovi-, i- tci- vi-
7. e- a-,ova- li- a-
7a. i- ova- li- a-
8. oka- otu- ka- tu-
According to the principle of concord, the noun prefix is the

governing element which determines the concordial agreement of
parts of speech when these are brought into relationship with the
noun. The prefixes also indicate number and, together with the
Language 241
concordial agreement as stated above, divide the nouns into several

classes or class genders.We need not enter upon a general discussion
of concord, which in the Bantu languages is a method of expressing
grammatical relations that are of fundamental importance. Concord
need not always appear in the form of perfect alliteration, although
it frequently does so, for the essential fact is that all nouns of the
same class are recognizable as such, and other elements of speech

when brought into syntactic agreement with these nouns must
carry similar distinctions.
Students of Bantu have suggested that the various noun classes
probably represent a proto-Bantu classification which formerly
betokened a grouping based on common characteristics (A. Werner,
Some Bantu Linguistic Problems, Jour. Afr. Soc., XXVIII, 1928-29,
pp. 155-165). The nouns listed here under Class 1 may accordingly
be recognized as belonging to the so-called personal class, and the
prefixes of Class 8 indicate a diminutive class.
CLASS 1
Singular Prefix; omu-, omo- Relative: u-

Plural Prefix: oma- Relative: va-
bm'ihniL, person child
dmdnil, people dmilq;, children
Illustrations of concordial agreement with these nouns:

dmiLnu xLtito, small person dmbl<i tWifo, small child
dm&ri'^ vdtito, small people vdtito, small children
CLASS lA
Singular Prefix: u- Relative: ?t-
Plural Prefix; a-, ora- Relative; va-
ulume, man ufeko, girl

alume, men afeko, girls
dv&lume, men dv&feko, girls
ukqi, woman umalehe, lad
akqi, women amalehe, lads
dvdkqi, women
The following forms show the concordial agreement for Class lA:
ulume ibiito, man

small akqi vdtito, small women
alume vdtito, men
small dv&kqi vdtito, smallwomen
dv&lume vdtito, small men afeko vene (va-ene), your (pi.) girls
ukqi iitito, small woman amalehe v&vd, their lads

242 The Ovimbundu
CLASS 2
Singular Prefix: m-, oku- Relative: u-, ku-
Plural Prefix: ovo- Relativb: a-
ula, bed dkMu, leg

dv6l6,, beds dvdld, legs
uta, gun okw6kw6, arm

dv6ta, guns ov6kw6, arms
Goncordial agreement f( Glass 2:
ul& 'O.nM, large bed ov6t& dtito, small guns
ovdld, dnkn^, large beds dkdM kutito, small leg
uta utito, small gun dv6M dtito, small legs
CLASS 3
Singular Prefix: u- Relative: u-
Plural Prefix: ovi-, i- Relative: vi-
-dti, tree •dtima, heart
odti, trees dvitima, hearts
upi, handle Itima, hearts
ovipi, handles
Goncordial agreement h Glass 3:
M unSn^, large tree dtima 'dtito, small heart
oviti vinM, large trees dvitirnd vltlto, small hearts
CLASS 4
Singular Prefix: o- Relative: 'yi-
Plural Prefix: olo- Relative: vi-
6ndjo, house drjgdmM, ox
oldndjo, houses dldygdmhk, oxen
dm&ngu, chair dygdld, pig
dldm&ngu, chairs dldygdld, pigs
Goncordial agreement for Class 4:

6ndj6 yiwa, good house dlom&ygu vltlto, small chairs
oldndjd viwa, good houses dygdld yln&nd, large pig
dm&ygd yltlto, small chair dloygdld vln6n&, large pigs
CLASS 5
Singular Prefix: olu- Relative: lu-
Plural Prefix: olo-, a- Relative: vi-, a-
dldnl, fly olwl (olu-i), stream

dl6ni, flies oldndwl, streams
dluMygo, wild plum dlw&yd, broom
dloMygo, wild plums dldndwiyd, brooms
dlwdyd, brooms
:
Language 24S
Concordial agreement for Class 5;

dMM Mtito, small fly dlweyd luwa, good broom
dldni vUito, small flies dUndwSyd good brooms
viioa,
olwi large stream dlw&yd dwa, good brooms

oldndwi vinM, large streams
CLASS 6
Singular Prefix: otci- Relative: td-
Plural Prefix: ovi-, i- Relative: m -
dtclm'dnd, thief itdnd, pits
dvirndnu, thieves otcitd, one hundred
imdnu, thieves dvitd, hundreds
dtdtdnd, pit dtdpd, skin
ddldrid, pits dvipd, skins
Concordial agreement for Class 6:

dtdtdnd tdnM, large pit dtdpa tdwa, good skin
dvUdnd vinM, large pits dvipd viwa, good skins
CLASS 7
Singular Prefix: e- Relative: U-
Plural Prefix: a-, ova- Relativb; a-
ekd, hand dvdpdkd, fruits
dvdka, hands dpdkd, fruits
epi&, field ekdndtt, wrong
ov&pid, fields dvdkdndu, wrongs
ew^, stone dkdndu, wrongs
dv&wi, stones dpwmu, corncob
^p&kp, fruit dpdmu, corncobs
Concordial agreement for Class 7
ekd litito, small hand epjd liwa, good field
dvdkd dtito, small hands dvdpid dwa, good fields
CLASS 7A
Singular Prefix: i- Relative: U-
Plural Prefix: ova- Relative a- :
imhd, belly is6, eye

dvdpnbd, bellies dvdsd, eyes
Concordial agreement for Class 7A:

imbd lindnd, large belly dvdsd dtito, small eyes
dvdimbd dnene, large bellies imbd Udngdmbd, belly of ox
isd litito, small eye dvdimbd dldngdmbd, bellies of oxen
244 The Ovimbundu
CLASS 8
As previously stated, the prefixes of this class signify diminutive

forms. In Chewa, one of the languages spoken in Nyasaland
Protectorate, these prefixes and the augmentative prefixes when
used with the personal nouns convey a somewhat derogatory mean-
ing. In Zulu the diminutive and augmentative suffixes, although
not determining classes, are likeAvise of this nature when employed
with nouns of The records upon which this
the personal class.
brief description of Umbundu
based were not clear on this point,
is
but I note that -tUo means “small,” so that the distinction between
dkalume (“little man”) and ulume Mito, translated in the field notes
as “small man,” may be of considerable importance. Likewise,
dtcim4nu (“thief”). Class 6, may be an augmentative-derogatory
form in origin, provided that there is an augmentative class and
that it coincides with Class 6.
Singular Prefix: oka- Relative: ka-

Plural Prefix: otu- Relativb: tu-
dk&ndjo, little house dtwalume, little men
dtindjo, little houses dkatcipd, little skin
dkalume, little man dtuvipd, little skins
Concordial agreement for Class 8:

dkamgli kdwa, good little child
dtumdld tdwa, good little children
dk&ndjd kd-ygdld, little house of (the) pig
dtundjd twoldygdld, little houses of the pigs
PRONOUNS
The personal pronouns are given below.
Those for the third
person are obviously Class 1 pronouns. Pronouns for the other
classes were not obtained. These forms are of the independent or
absolute type.
Singular Plural
First Person (mh ku
Second Person 6 vd knd
Third Person, Class 1 ej/e dvd
The possessive pronominal stems are to a great extent identical

with the absolute forms, but follow the nouns which they qualify,
and are preceded by the concord of the thing possessed and the
qualificative formative (o). In some instances this formative is
Language 245
elided. Again, for the third person we can give only the forms of
Class 1.
Singular Plural
Fiest Person -etu (q)
Second Person -6v^ -ene (g)
Third Person, Class 1 -M -vd
(e)Note that the tone differs from that of the “absolute” forms.
Examples of the use of the possessive:
dtdt'Lin'Li, tcfi'ogh, my pit ukqi wetu, our woman
dtcUM4 tc6v^, your pit akqi vetu, our women
tc&M, his (Class 1) pit M w6v&, your tree
dtcU’An'A tcetu, our pit oviti viene, your (pi.) trees
otdt'An'A tcene, your (pi.) pit i^tl w&M, his (Class 1) tree
dtdt'^ri'A tc&vd, their (Class 1) pit Ml w&vd, their (Class 1) tree
dvU'&nu vi&yg^, my pits oviti vj.&vd, their (Class 1) trees
ovltunu vihvb, their (Class 1) pits 6ndj6 yetu, our house
dm'dnu wdyge, my slave 6ndj6 yene, your (pi.) house
dm'An'A w6vb, your slave 6ndj6 y&vd, their (Class 1) house
dmunil w&kb, his (Class 1) slave oldndjd vietu, our houses
dm&nA v&ygb, my slaves dluMygd Iwdygh, my wild plum
dm&n'd v6vb, your slaves dluMygd Iwdvb, your wild plum
dm&n'd v&hb, his (Class 1) slaves dluhSygd Iw&M, his (Class 1) wild
dm&niH vetu, our slaves plum
dm&n'A vene, your (pi.) slaves dkam^l<i k&ygb, my little child
bmimk vhvb, their (Class 1) slaves bkdndjb kdvb, your little house
ukqi w&ygb, my woman (my wife) btundjo twbvb, your little houses
ukqi wovb, your woman
The following examples of syntax were not recorded on the
dictaphone, therefore they have not been phonetically analyzed.
The verb stem is seen in the imperative singular:
tuyga, build (thou) tila, flee (thou)
tuyga ondjo, build the house
Example of imperative plural ending with i:
tuygi, build ye tili, flee ye

PRINCIPAL TENSES
FUTURE
The following examples suggest that there is no formal distinc-
tion between the present and the future:
”di tuyga onjo or nunga onjo, I shall build the house
0 tuyga onjo, you will build the house
246 The Ovimbundu
0 tuvga onjo, he will build the house

tu tuyga onjo, we shall build the house
m turjga onjo, you will build the house
va tuyga onjo, they will build the house
omunu 0 tuyga,^ a person builds
omanu va tuyga, the people build
omiaîa yi tuyga, a swallow builds
olomiapia vi tuyga, swallows build
eveke U tuyga, the fool will build
ocimunu ci tuyga, the thief will build
ovimunu vi tuyga, the thieves will build
okamola ka tila, the little child will flee
otumala tu tuyga, the little children will build
olusenge lu tila (monitor lizard), the lizard will flee
PAST
’'da tuyga onjo, I built the house
wa tuyga onjo, you built the house
wa tuyga onjo, he built the house
tua tuyga onjo, we built the house
va tuyga onjo, they built the house
ocimunu ca tila, the thief fled
ongombe ya the ox fled
tila,
eveke lia the fool fled

tila,
okamola ka tila, the little child fled

omunu wa tila, the person fled
The pronoun as object comes between the prefix and the verb:
ombua ya ci lumana,^ the dog bit it
ocimunu co lumana, the thief bit him
cu lumana, it will bite him
olusenge emalanaga lu lilumana, the lizard will bite the cheetah
okamola olunyihi lua ka lumana, the little child, the bee stung him
The perfect tense uses the prefix of the past tense with -He or
-ele added to the stem
of the verb. The perfect is used to indicate
an action in some definite past time, or to state a condition which
has ceased:
ulume wa solele ukai wahe, the man used to love his wife
helaombuayalumanele omunu (wittwe), yesterday the dog bit a man
' The 0 is not a pronoun but is used to preserve concord.
’ The letter y is part of the concord. The letter y survives from the personal
pronoun eye meaning “he.” Letter a indicates past tense; ei means “it” or
thing.” Hence the literal meaning is "dog he thing bit.”
:
Language 247
enyamuale va tuygile olonjo, last year they built the houses

The causative is expressed by the suffix -isa:
va tuygisa onjo, they caused the house to be built

0 toygisa ombinja, he will cause a shirt to be sewed
The suffix -ila has the force of a preposition
ombua ya tilila konjo, the dog fled to the house
olusenge lua fila vodtunyu, the lizard died in the pit
Illustrations of indirect object:
wa tuygila ukai onjo, he built the house for the woman

va tu tongela olombinja, they sewed the shirts for us
The prefix oku is the sign of the infinitive:
oku tuyga, to build

oku tila, to flee
oku lia, to eat
The subjunctive is expressed by changing final a to e:
a tuyge onjo, let him build the house

va tile, let them flee
va sia epangu okuti oco ovava a pile, they left a hole so that the
water might pass
The auxiliary ka (“to go”) is used with all tenses:
0ka tuyga kimbo, he will go and build at the village
wa ka tuyga onjo, he has gone to build a house
wa ka tuygile onjo, he has been there and built a house
The negative is expressed in the following words:
si tuygi, I shallnot build
ku thou wilt not build
tuygi,
ka tuygi, he will not build
ka tu tuygi, we will not build
ka va tuygi, they will not build
ongombe ka yi tuygi, the ox will not build
ocimunu ka ci tuygi, the thief will not build
olusenge ka lu tila, the lizard will not flee
okamola ka ka tuygi, the little child will not build
ukai ka tuygi, the woman will not build
The past negative is expressed as follows:
sa tuygile, I did not build
kua tuygile, you did not build
ka tuygile, he did not build
ka tua tuygile, we did not build
248 The Ovimbundu
ka wa tuygili, you did not build

ka va turjgile, they did not build
omanu ka m
yongola oku tila, the people do not wish to flee
ocimunu ka ci yongola upange, the thief does not wish work
ha ngombe ko, it is not an ox
ha njoko, it is not a house
ha munuko, it is not a person
ha manuko, they are not people
ha ci munuko, he is not a thief
ha meko, it is not I
he yeko, it is not he
ha veko, it is not you
he tuko, it is not we
he neko, it is not you
ha voko, it is not they
si ci munuko, I am not a thief
ku ci munuko, you are not a thief

ha ci munuko, he is not a thief
ka tui munuko, we are not thieves
ka wi munuko, you are not thieves
ha i munuko, they are not thieves
Transcription op Folklore Stories

Ombw& lolwisd Iw&yo^
Dog with Greed His
Omhwd khyail, ok&situ vdmUd. Yi li l6kuy6kdyoka
Dog on bridge little meat in mouth. It is there to cross
dlwi. Vov&vd yi letemo ombwd yekw&vd lonumhd
stream. In water it sees dog another with piece
yinen^ ydsitii. Ombwd yd Uld okdsitu kdhe; yd wild
big of meat. Dog dropped little meat his; it threw itself
vovdvd hd yi kwdtd dsltd yinenb yikwdvd. Om6 yd
in water in order to catch meat large other. Thus it
nellsd dldndmbd vhdli, yikwdvd ya kdile Idyd,

lost pieces two, the other it was with him,
yikwdvd yi Ute pdlwL Ydvi nellsd momo okwete
(the) other it saw in stream. It then lost because he had
oldygdygd. Is6 lilmdld mdld ondjdmba, dkit, lidnda ka li kd
greed. Eye sees elephant, in going it is not
(continuously)
veUla ohatil.
increased meat-hunger.
^Presumably an adoption of the well-known European fable of the dog and his
reflection.
Language 249
S6m& TdyMd
King Tciyuka
S6m& Tciydkd dm^lq d djgdd -wdHdd ku Kayg&ndji

King Tciyuka son of John went to Kangandji
dkdlid dvlmbd. Vdti tambula ted s6kd, Kdkwene kuUvo

to eat fines. They “Take that which Among there
(impose) said, is proper. yourselves are also
ovlmhu vidtu. Eyi Tdydkd hdti, kwa k&ile ukdrjgd

fines of ours." He Tciyuka said, “There was once a hunter
tod fed. lile dvimbd, wd tambdla dpdu. Okwiyd

who went (and) fines; he received (a) stick. Coming
imposed
kdndjila wd yevd ondjwBdrjgo yk&tu lomdlfi '>idhL Eyi

along the he heard a rustling of iguana with his. He
path children
wdtild wd Idndd vdti Idta w&M. Opdd yasiala p6si.

fled; he climbed tree with his. (The) stick remained down
gun (on the
ground).
N6ke kdtd dkwiyd wdmdld dpdd hdti, ”d& Idld. Ukdrjgd

After- iguana coming saw stick; said, T have Hunter
ward seen.’
hdti kdtdkd dp^d ydrjgL Etdtd hdti ^ddti. ^Dd yd kdiU

said, ‘Not so stick my.’ Iguana said, ‘No. If it had been
ydvd Md wa Idndd l&yd. Ndke dtdtu wdtdmb'dld, wddtcd

yours then you (would) with it.’ After- iguana took (it), he gave
have climbed wards (it)
kdmdnu. Ukdrjgd wdpumbd, wdtunddpd dvdkd, wddndd

to the Hunter lost, (he) went empty (he) went
people. away handed,
kimbd liavd,
to village his.
Ndkd wdldlekd dndjdvd votcmlku, dted tedsi

“Afterward he invited a hunt of the tall grass, so that all
tedpid. Etdtu hdmd akdld votcisukd. Hdti dvdndjd dkd

was Iguana however was in the He said, ‘One looks where
burned. tall grass.
a tilila kd ku moUhd. Oted dsdrjgd dkdldygi, hdti

one may it does not appear.’ Then he found a little he said.
flee hole,
irjildkd kd swlkd. Etimbd lidirjild, utcild wdsidld

‘(I will) He could not be (The) body entered. the tail was left
enter contained
there.’ (in it).
250 The Ovimbundu
‘pds&mwd. N6kS uk6-yg6 wdyd. H&ti dv&ndjd utcild

outside. Afterwards hunter came. (He) said, ‘One sees (the) tail
wdt&td pds&mwd. Leye h&ti. ''dd luld. Et&tu h&ti

of the outside.’ And he said. ‘I have seen.’ Iguana said.
iguana
kdtdkd dtcd htimbd li&ygd. Ukdrjgd h&ti kdtdkd.

‘Not so that (is) body my.’ Hunter said. ‘Not so.
"Dd Ijdk&jld lidvd Udiyild. ’'Oke iikdygd

If it had been yours it would have Afterward hunter
entered.’
wdnarj&ld dmdkd y&hd. wd tetd. Otcd it&td li&fd.

(he) stretched knife his. he cut. Thus iguana died.”
out
Otcd Tciyukd h&ti. ami ''did tc&rjgi. Noki

So Tciyuka said. “I shall eat mine. After
"dd tcknh, Idmh wiyi, d lisdrig^ld.

if I have yours, with me come, you with it will
find yourselves.”
H6si la "Gdli
Lion and Hyena
Tdsukild wd twmild kusdmd Tdpdrjg^ h&ti, a Snde

Tcisukila sent to king Tciponge, said, "Let him go
a kaidle ukdlu ilndne Idv&kwHdje. Veye m lemde

he you cause (an) elder great with young Let them they may
that to arise men. come warn
ofeka y&vQî ndmbd. S6m& Tdpdyge yu wd tela

country my, which despises me.” King Tciponge he told
dlus&pd h&ti, kw& k&la dygdli, dm&n'd v6si vo lev&ld

a proverb, said, “There was hyena, people all from him
borrowed
tc&M. ’'G&li etci wd indd kirnbo vd h&yga lovdtd

^
(things).
Hyena when (he) went to village they him
drove ofl
with
guns
lolohdndji. "Okd tcov&la kutimd h&ti, ha sembik&

and clubs. Then it him to (the) he said, ‘I go I engage
hurt heart
ku h6si, ey& d Ula oku kw&td dm&nii. Etci a s&ygd

(to) lion he is able to catch people.’ When he found
h6si, hdsi h&ti, twend& ku hdlii o kweth es&ygd, eyS

lion, lion said, ‘Let us go to jackal he has honesty he
dtcimbanda tcinM. Otc6 hdsi languid vd likwdi oku enda

(is) medicine- great.’ So lion and hyena they followed to go
man each other
Language 261
ko bill'iM. BMii h&ti, tu v&wljiliy& imbd IjonsdndL Otc6

to jackal. Jackal said, ‘We shall search village of driver ants. Thus
ami ’‘djimbemd utcild wdygi. End usidld kofikd.

I thrust in tail my. You remain in country
(outside).
Ami Mjiyild vimbo oko nild ovisdndi vimbo

I shall enter in the there I shall driver ants in the
village sprinkle village
Ijdsi. Orndmi kd vatundd, ove u hdsi wendd loku kwdtd.

all. People when they come you O lion go (them) to
out catch.
Otc6 tea sok& oku feta ofuka ya ’'gdli. Ok& sapiild

So that shall be to pay debt of hyena.’ ” This one tells
enough goes
ku Tcisukild, "dd ydidld ukdlu lAkw&ndj^ veldmb^

to Teisukila, “ Should I cause (an) elder with young from the
to arise men court
tea s6kd oku sknddld ofekd ydhk, m6m6 ami

it(would) to scatter country his, for I
be equal
"durndn'd dnini. Ovi a Tdsukild, lemeld ofekd ydvi

am (a) great. You Teisukila, warn country your
person
evdrtdd 6tc6 u kdla tciwd.

slowly so you shall be well.”
H6si Id Blndji
Lion and Wild Dog
Hdsi wa tdygd kdsiygi. Wd kdJea. Kd kwite dygdsu

Lion he built in the woods. He was old. He had not strength
ydkd limwisa dkuljd. Wd sdka oku luygdkd. Yd wdindd

to provide food. He thought to be cunning. He went
himself
kilim, wd y&jld kohondo, wdluvikiya dku vild,

to cave, he crawled to a corner, he made out to be sick.
Ovindmd v^dsi viiyd vfd vdndjd, ’‘dd 6 vild dtcili.

The animals all came they looked, if he is sick indeed,
at him
Etd viiyd hdsi d Idku vi tdkdild. Etci dvifiama vidlwa

As they lion he them ate. When animals many
came
vid kwdtiwa Id hdsi, blndji wiya wd Idygd. Eye d tî

they were by lion, wild became betook He stands
caught dog warning.
252 The Ovimbundu
kitveld welkvd. Wd pula h6si h&ti, wdkdl&pd. H6si h&ti,

at open- of the He asked lion, saying, “Are you Lion said,
ing cave. well?”
v6ld ^nen^. Wd Idleka blndji dku irjild vÛm dkd

“I am sick very.” He invited wild dog to enter into the to
cave
vdpgula l&hL Blndji wd kdmhiMUi h&ti, '^da t&vd, pwdl

talk with Wild dog he replied saying, “I should but
him. have agreed
"da Umhdka dkdsd (5si dimhd dv&sd kdlevd. Kd kdli

I noticed tracks ail go toward the cave. There are
dkdsd dimhd dv&sd pds&mwd. Ted Upgud mhwi ted

no tracks going toward the outside.” That goes down? it
which (sinks)
Idpgisti avd vd ywd.

warns those who swim.
Sign Language
Various language signs are in use. The action of throwing a
mat on the ground and laying the head on the hands indicates sleep.
Inquiry about the health of a father may be made by stroking an
imaginary beard. If the father is strong and well the reply will
be a flection of the forearm to harden the biceps.
There are dumb signs for numbers:
(1) The right hand is used to bend the little finger of the left
hand into the left palm.
(2) The little finger and the one next to it on the left hand are
turned over into the palm.
(3) Three fingers are turned inward.
(4) Four fingers are turned inward.
(5) Four fingers and the thumb are turned inward. The thumb
is then tapped with the index finger of the right hand.
(6) The right hand is extended and the thumb of the left hand
is placed on the little finger of the right hand. This action adds
one to five.
(7) The right hand is extended, then the thumb of the left hand
is placed on the little finger and the one next to it. This adds two
to five.
(8) The thumb of the left hand is placed on the extended little
finger, middle finger, and third finger of the left hand.
Language 253
(9) Four fingers of the right hand are placed on the thumb of the
extended left hand.
(10) The hands are placed together palm to palm.
A
very insulting sign is made in this way. The left arm is held
up with the fist closed. The left wrist is grasped with the right
hand. The left fist is then shaken while the right hand is still grasping
the left wrist. “This is done when a man is very angry, and he
cannot find words.”
A bending forward of the head accompanied by wide opening
of the eyes and protrusion of the tongue means “you’re a fool.”
Shaking the head means “no.” If the right hand is shaken in
front of the face with the index finger extended, a negative is implied.
Nodding the head is an affirmative sign. To indicate absence of
anything, or the completion of something, the index finger of the
right hand is drawn across the mouth. Rubbing the palms together
rapidly has the same significance. In order to call some one the
right arm is extended with the pahn down. If they summon some
one from a distance the arm is lowered, while a scratching movement
is made with the fingers. The sign indicating “go away” is a flipping
of the hand outwardly, while the arm is extended.
Riddles and Proverbs

“There is a red belt round our field. What is it?” The answer
is, “red ants.”
“We have somebody who lies all his life in our field. He always
lies on one side.” The answer is, “a squash.”
“We have a stump in the house that is always burning and
always moving.” This is a metaphor rather than a riddle. The
stump is the log which is pushed forward into the fire. It is always
alive yet is gradually dying. The saying is intended to refer to
human lives. People are alive but their lives are becoming shorter
each day.
“What is it that we eat above and below the ground?” The
answer is, “manioc, because the leaves and roots are eaten.”
“The up on a stump, some one has to put
turtle cannot climb
it This is said in reference to some person who gains a
there.”
high position which he could attain only by influence and not
through merit.
When a person makes threats without being able to fulfil them
the following expressions are appropriate: “Hot water does not
254 The Ovimbundu
burn a house.” “Cold water does not make mush.” “A sleeping

dog does not catch a hare.”
If advice is if an effort fails and has
given and disregarded, or
seemed likely todo so, the people say, “Bark rope comes from a
tree; if it does not come, leave it there.”
“He who sits by a pot of honey does not soon leave it.” This
means that a man does not readily leave that which he enjoys.
“When eating honey a man does not put in his finger only once.”
A good thing is not used in small portions; or, one goes back to a good
thing.
When two people have a secret there is a saying, “They uncovered
the pot, ate a little honey, and covered it up again.”
“If you are not climb on a leopard’s back,” If
full of food, do
you yourself are not hungry, this does not imply that the leopard
has no appetite. In other words, do not be foolish through good
fortune.
“He caught no fish and lost his bracelet.” This is said when an
object of value is lost while performing a task of small importance.
This saying would be applied to an instance of a man who left his
work to take up a task for smaller payment.
“If it is not heavy, it is not worth while.” That which is desirable

is deserving of some effort for attainment.
The fact that something can be accomplished by a number of

united people is expressedby the saying, “Where there is a crowd
there is a bridge.”
“You may throw away what is in the hand, but you cannot throw
away what is in the heart.” It is difficult to dismiss important
matters from mind.
“You cannot tie a buck’s head in a cloth. The horns will stick
out.” This means that a crime cannot be concealed. Murder
will out.
“That which destroyed the buck came from its own head.” The
hunter’s whistle is a buck’s horn. This means that man is the
cause of his own troubles.
“A chicken knows a dangerous thing.” The implication is that

a man should know.
The English expression, "six of one and half a dozen of the other,”
is expressed by the Umbundu, “If it is on cattle or on people it is
still a louse.”
Language 255
Folklore Stories
THE LEOPARD AND THE HARE
A
hare said to a leopard who was about to eat him, “Don’t eat
me, I willgive you something good.” Holding out his hand the
hare said, "I have a little bit of something good in my hand now,
taste it.”
This was honey that the hare gave to the leopard, who licked his
mouth and said, “This is a good thing that you have given me.”
The hare promised to bring some more honey to the leopard.
Next morning the hare went to the woods, collected a swarm of
bees and placed them in a gourd under a covering of honey. The
hare told the leopard to gather his wife and family into a hut,
saying, “You will have a good feast of honey, but you must be
careful to close the door and fill up all the holes in the walls.”
The leopard was told to drop the gourd on the floor of the hut
in order to get the honey. He did exactly as he was told. He
gathered his family in the house, closed the door, and filled up all
the holes in the walls. Then when all was dark he dropped the
gourd on the ground to get the honey. The gourd broke and out
came a swarm of bees. The hare was listening outside. Presently
the cries died down, then the hare went away thinking that the
leopard and all his family were dead. The mother and the young
leopards died, but the father leopard recovered from the stings
of the bees.
The leopard said, “Whenever I find a hare I will kill him.”
One day the leopard caught the hare who had given him the
swarm of bees. Of course the hare was frightened, so he said,
“I made a mistake, I thought that there was nothing but honey in
the gourd.”
The hare pleaded for his life promising to give the leopard some
good oil to make his coat shine. “First of all you must let me drive
a wooden peg into yom* head,” said the hare.
The leopard allowed this, and, of course, died immediately.
THE HARE IS PUNISHED

A
young leopard and a young hare were tired of obeying their
mothers, so they decided to kill them. The hare said, “Let us eat
your mother first of all.”
They did so. The hare pretended that he had killed his mother
and buried her in the woods, but the truth was that the hare had
256 The Ovimbundu
hidden his mother, hoping that the leopard would forget about the
agreement they had made. The leopard was suspicious, so he
searched the woods and at last found the hare and his mother in
hiding. The leopard ate both of them.
THE BIRD AND THE BAT

The bird Choko met a rat with a long snout. The rat, whose
name is Enganga, said, “Run from the drill,” meaning his snout.
The bird was afraid, so flew up into the branches of a tree.
One day the bird saw that the rat was asleep, so summoned
courage to fly down and tap his nose with a stick. The bird saw
that the nose was soft, so flew back to the tree calling out, "Brother
rat said, ‘Run from the drill, run from the drill,’ but I smashed
it and found that it was meat.”
The bird’s cry is expressed in Umbundu by the call “Kota Enganga

wa ndinga hati, tila eseka, tila eseka.”
THE QHAIE AND THE ROOSTER

The quail found a large fat white grub under the bark of a tree.
He said to the rooster, “You live with people who have fire, so go
and cook this for me.”
The rooster carried the grub to the village in his mouth. The
people of the village liked these grubs, so they caught the rooster
and took the grub from his beak.
The quail waited for a long time, then called, “Rooster, rooster,
bring the grub.”
The rooster replied, “The fools have eaten it.”
THE STORY OF THE CRICKET

The cricket was very quiet; he did not talk too much or quarrel
with other people. One day he invited people to dig in his field,
and promised that he would give them some beer. The first helper
to arrive was the rooster, who drank a pot of beer. While drinking
the beer, the rooster looked out and saw the wild cat coming toward
the cricket’s home. The rooster was very much afraid of the wild
cat, so hid under the bed. Presently the wild cat entered the house
and received a pot of beer. But looking out he saw the dog coming
that way, so hid under the bed.
The dog said to the cricket, “Did I see somebody as I came

along the path?”
Language 257
The cricket said that nobody had called. While the dog was
drinking the gourd of beer he saw the hyena coming, and he was
so afraid that he hid under the bed. Soon after the hyena had
settled comfortably in the hut, a man carrying a gun approached
the cricket’s home. The hyena felt sure that the hunter would
Idll him so hid under the bed. All the animals were now crowded
under the bed not daring to fight among themselves, because they
were all afraid of the man.
For a long time the hunter sat drinking beer and talking to the
cricket. The animals under the bed were quite safe because they
kept quiet. Suddenly a cockroach fell from the roof to the floor
of the hut. The rooster was so excited that he forgot that he was
hiding. He dashed out from under the bed and gobbled up the
cockroach. The wild eat then became excited and dashed out after
the rooster. The dog followed the cat, and the hyena attacked the
dog. There was a terrible noise as the animals fought in the middle
of the floor. The cat killed the rooster. The dog killed the cat.
The hyena killed the dog. The hunter shot the hyena, then went
away. Presently a tortoise arrived. He was frightened when he
saw the dead bodies of all these animals, so sent for the little hare.
The hare dug up the cricket from the hole where he was hiding.
The tortoise and the hare killed the cricket, because they said he
had caused the death of all the other animals.
THE WATTLED CRANE (BPANDA) AND THE

SPUR-WING GOOSE (ONJAVA)
These two birds agreed to lay their eggs together in one nest.
Onjava is a clean bird who washes her eggs, but Epanda is a dirty
bird whose eggs are never clean. The little ones of Epanda hatched
out looking dirty and ugly, while the little ones of Onjava were
pretty and clean.
One day the two birds went in different directions to find food
for theiryoung. Epanda watched Onjava out of sight, then returned
to the nest and stole the pretty young ones. When Onjava returned
with worms to feed her chicks she found only the young of Epanda,
sobegan to cry, “Epanda, Epanda, Epanda, with your long neck
and long beak, you have stolen my young ones.”
Onjava set out to follow Epanda. The little ugly chicks of
Epanda kept up with Onjava for a time then died because they
were so tired. When, at last, Epanda was overtaken, she said to
258 The Ovimbundu
Onjava, “You have killed my chicks by making them walk so far,
I shall keep your children.”
Then the great hornbill was called in as judge. He said that

the chicks were to stay with Epanda. For a time the little birds
did as the judge had said, but soon they returned to their mother,
Onjava, because they were clean birds and Epanda was a dirty bird.
THE HARE (NDIMBA) AND THE LEMUR (EVOVO)

Evovo Great Galago) is somewhat like a lemur. It has
(the
gray bushy fur and a long fluffy tail.
One day Evovo addressed the hare, saying, “0 comrade, what
is the noise I am always hearing from the place where you have
your house.”
Ndimba answered, “My friend, have you never seen the people
carry me in a hammock while they sing?”
“No, I never saw anything like that,” responded Evovo.
Ndimba invited Evovo to the plains where they hid themselves,
Ndimba in one place, Evovo in another. Presently the two
hidden animals heard the sound of people singing, “We know where
Ndimba is hidden.”
Then the barking of dogs was heard, and the people called their
dogs, shouting, “Haow! Haow!”
Ndimba said, “I hear them coming with my hammock.”
Evovo replied excitedly, “Yes, yes, I can hear.”
The dogs chased the two animals. Ndimba knew the paths
across the plain and so escaped, but Evovo knew of no hiding place,
so was killed.
THE FRUIT BAT AND THE SUN
The child of the sun was sick. The bat was a good ocimbanda
(medicine-man), so the sun sent for him to cure his child. The bat
arrived without delay, performed the cure, and returned home.
The sun was very but soon forgot the kindness
grateful at the time,
of the bat. By and by the son of the bat fell ill with a sickness for
which the sun was a clever ocimbanda.
The messengers from the bat arrived after the sun had risen
above the horizon. The sun told them that he could not come to
cure any one after he had started across the sky on his journey for
the day.
“Come very early tomorrow,” he said. Next morning the
messengers were sent away again, because they were too late.
Language 259
Sadly these messengers returned to the bat with their disappointing

news, only to find that the young bat was dead.
The bat said, “I hate the sun and I will never look at him again.”
The bat made a vow that he would never again go out into the
sunlight to find food.
This is the reason why the bat never flies by day. He hangs
head downward in a dark place all day, so that he will not see the sun.
THE DOG AND THE LIZARD

The dog and the lizard met on the pounding rocks where a
woman had left a little meal when she finished pounding her corn.
When the dog began to lick up the meal the lizard said, “You ought
to be ashamed to eat this. All the corn on the rocks belongs to
me because you have people in the village who give you food.”
The dog said that this was not true. “Come to the village with
me and I will show you how the people treat me,” continued the dog.
The two animals went to the village together, and the dog
found a hiding place for the lizard in a fence near his home. When
the dog entered the hut a woman picked up a stick and drove him
out. Then the dog cried as he came running from the hut, “Tala!
tala! sa ci popele,” meaning “See! see! Didn’t I say so?”
Ever since that the lizard and the dog have been great friends
who may be seen on the pounding rocks eating together.
THE JERBOA AND THE LEOPARD

This story which is told at Ngalangi is essentially the same as
one related at Elende, but in the latter version the dog and the
hyena are the actors.
The leopard hired the jerboa to act as nurse to her cubs. While
the mother leopard was absent hunting for food, the jerboa decided
to eat one of these fat little leopards.
Presently the mother leopard returned and said, “Bring out the
children, I will feed them.”
The jerboa brought out the cubs one by one, taking care to bring
out the firstone twice over. Next day when the mother leopard
was away the jerboa ate another cub. Again the leopard asked for
her little ones. The jerboa had been placed in charge of four cubs.
As two were eaten, the jerboa had to bring out each of the two
remaining cubs twice over in order to satisfy the mother leopard.
On the third day the jerboa ate another little leopard. When the
260 The Ovimbundu
mother leopard returned, the jerboa brought out the only cub four
times. On the fourth day the jerboa ate the last of the cubs.
When the mother leopard came home the jerboa was terrified,
so said, “The cubs are not very well, you must go in the room to
feed them; I cannot bring them out.” When the leopard had gone
into the sleeping room the jerboa ran quickly into his hole in the
ground.
These tales from my records were all told to me by Ngonga. It

is true that some of the stories appear in the Umbundu reader
"Olosapo Vioku Likisa Oku Tanga” (Kamundongo, 1914) But when .
this book was printed Ngonga was already well acquainted with all
the stories therein, and many more. Most of the tales were, and
are today, an integral part of the Umbundu language.
My own inquiries had the same result as those of Chatelain in
revealing a preponderance of stories of animals. Yet W. C. Bell
was able to collect several tales relating entirely to the adventures
of human beings (Jour, Amer. Folk-Lore, XXXV, pp. 116-150).
At times there is a didactic theme running through a tale, which
emphasizes the value of courage, presence of mind, and perseverance.
A sense of humor is shown in the conversations of animals and the
tricks which the smaller creatures use to the discomfort of the larger
animals.
Comparative study of stories told by the Ovimbundu with those
from other parts of Africa opens up a field of research, especially
in view of the long caravan journeys of the Ovimbundu. Chatelain
narrates the Angolan story of the frog who boasted that he could
ride the elephant, and contrived to do so by a clever ruse (Jour.
Amer. Folk-Lore, VII, p. 62). The Nigerian story of the tortoise
who fulfilled the same boast is told by A. B. Ellis (Yoruba-speaking
Peoples of the Slave Coast, London, 1894, p. 265).
The Ovimbundu have the story of the tortoise who made a wager
with the antelope respecting a race which they agreed to run. The
tortoise won the wager by placing one of his brothers at the winning
post. The Umbundu version is given in “Olosapo” (p. 53), and there
is a Cameroon version.
The tug-of-war story which tells of a trick played against the

hippopotamus and the elephant is known to the Ovimbundu. The
story has a wide distribution with local variations. Sometimes
the elephant and the hippopotamus are unwittingly made to pull
Language 261
against one another by some small clever animal such as the monkey
or the hare. In the version given by H. S. Stannus (Harvard African
Studies, vol. Ill, p. 329) the hare perpetrates this ruse. The version
given by Smith and Dale (The Ila-speaking Peoples of Rhodesia, vol.
II, p. 377) makes the contestants a hippopotamus and a rhinoceros,
but the hare again arranges the tug-of-war. E. Dayrell (Folklore
Stories from Southern Nigeria, London, 1910, p. 104) gives another
variant of the tug-of-war story, which states that one end of the rope
was made fast to a palm tree. The hippopotamus was under water
so he could not see the object against which he was pulling. He
thought he was tugging against the tortoise as arranged.
Umbundu stories are humorous and didactic, while some indicate
a process of rationalizing. An example of the latter kind is found
in the story explaining why the bat flies at night. Dayrell (pp. 36, 51)
gives two different versions of this rationalizing tale.
These folklore stories of the Ovimbundu give information
respecting vocabulary, structure of the language, powers of observa-
tion, customs, and ideas of conduct.
I have found no stories which illustrate the grafting of elements
from two different cultures. In some parts of Africa tales may be
heard which contain blended elements from a Negro and a Semitic
culture, as in Nigeria. But assimilation of features which were
foreign to the story at its cultural origin does not occur in the tales
given here, with the exception of the European story of the greedy
dog, which is an importation.
The Ovimbundu were noted for their long caravan journeys,
which were undertaken in territory occupied by tribes of the same
linguistic family (Bantu), a fact which may account for the similarity
of Umbundu and other Bantu versions of the same tales.
IX. KELIGION
Supreme Being
Suku is the name of the most important dead person mentioned
by the Ovimbundu. Ngonga says that Suku made mountains, rivers,
sky, and people. The name Suku is known all over the great territory
inhabited by the Ovimbundu. I have seen at the omhala of Ngalangi
a small house of meditation where the king retires accompanied by
an old woman. This retirement for communion with spirits of the
dead takes place in time of drought, and a gourd filled with water
is always kept in the house. In another village of the Ngalangi
region I photographed a house of meditation for the king who re-
communion with spirits whenever he is troubled (Plate
tires for
LXXXIX, Pig. 1). The painted marks on the door are said to be
an indication to spirits that this is the king’s house of meditation,
but there is no reason for saying that the king communes with Suku.
The evidence regarding Suku was supplemented at Ngalangi
by two Ovimbundu boys who agreed that Suku was very important.
They associated Suku with rain; but the word suku does not mean
rain, water, or food; these are expressed by ombela, ovava, and
okuUa, respectively. I know of no meaning of the word suku which
might assist in explaining the attributes of this respected spirit.
Names medicine-men are remembered and used but they are not
of
associated with the name Suku. My informants at Ngalangi said
that names of kings are sometimes coupled with the name Suku.
At Ngalangi an informant stated that in the beginning every-
thing was water. A man dropped from above, caused land to appear,
and began hunting. At the side of a stream he saw an animal
that disappeared beneath the water. He was about to shoot when
he saw that the animal was a person something like himself, yet
different. He took the animal home, mated with it, and reared a
family. This story is told also at Cileso, about two hundred miles
from Ngalangi. At Ngalangi I was informed that the first being
was a calf with human attributes, who walked about on the rocks
leaving mixed tracks of an animal and human kind, which may be
seen to this day.
Survival after Death

There are ideas of reincarnation. Two Bailundu boys said that
the lion was considered to be a powerful old man. If a lion is found
dead divination is practised to discover the cause of death. If a
262
Religion 263
lion visits a village an old man talks to it through the palisade.

The conversation is carried on in a series of grunts, after which the
lion goes away. One of my informants said that “lions and leopards
are watchdogs for old men who have died.” When one of these
animals kills a domestic animal or a person, the assumption is that
the predatory animal was sent by a deceased old man who requires
a sacrifice. Ngonga of Elende said that “when a lion killed a man it
was a sign that there was a had spirit from the man's family within
the lion.” There is divination to find who requires a sacrifice, since
some ancestor has been neglected. W. C. Bell relates an Umbundu
tale of a woman who changed herself into a wild animal, but I was
not able to ascertain that belief in transformation is held today
{Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, XXXV, p. 129).
I am unable to prove that the Ovimbundu have definite ideas
of the nature of a future life, but they certainly think of survival
after death, and have clear concepts of good and bad spirits who
influence the fortunes of the living. There is no idea of punishment
or reward, but a bad man has a bad ghost which can do evil things.
Spirits will follow their relations on earth; moreover, they will come
to the house of bows where their property is preserved.
A man returning from a hunt with trophies, or from the collec-
tion of honey, will leave some
of these on a grave. There is no idea
of spirits in rivers and trees, but the first tree felled for building
the house of a man of importance must not be allowed to fall
violently. This may imply a belief in a tree-spirit.
Spirits move at night only and mentioning the dead by name or

There are many instances of sacrifice
whistling at night calls spirits.
connected with the idea of a spirit who has to be appeased. The
medicine-man can induce a spirit to enter an image of wood. Thus
there are wooden images containing spirits useful to the blacksmith.
There is an image which can show travelers the right path when
the medicine-man consults it (Plate XXI, Figs. 3, 5).
Osande is a good spirit who will “bring good luck and do good
things for the people, while Ovdele is a bad spirit who harms the
people,” said Ngonga. When a person is sick, mad, or dizzy he
has Ondele. Only a powerful odmbanda can cast out Ondele.
Ocilulu is the general name for a disembodied spirit, either good
or bad An Ekisi is an Osande; apparently the terms are synonymous.
.
A spirit can die a second time. There is, for instance, an evil
bird of the night whose name is Esuvi. This bird is able to catch
a spirit in order to make it die a second death. A living person
264 The OviMBtJNDU
suffers sickness or misfortuneif an ancestral spirit dies a second
death. A person who

has bad health says, “The spirit of my grand-
father has been caught by Esuvi.” The name of the good spirit
Osande is used by a person who is suffering. Such a one says, “I
have no more Osande.” These instances clearly reveal a belief in
the dependence of human welfare on the interest of benevolent
ancestral spirits.
After a lapse of three months I asked Ngonga again about

Osande and Ondele. He confirmed what he had previously said, but
spoke in the plural of these spirits; good spirits are called Olosande,
bad spirits are called Olondele. The medicine-man will visit a hut
to foretell the future, and while there he puts a concoction in an image
to which he addresses questions. He plugs his nostrils, then in a
falsetto voice feigns answers from the image. The father of a family,
or possibly the mother’s brother, may kill an animal in front of the
hut on this occasion. He then says to Olosande, “We hope when
we kill this there will be no more sickness.” The Ovimbundu are
afraid of death, and they therefore sacrifice to Olosande, asking that
there shall be no death in the family.
I do not know whether the Ovimbundu distinguish multiple

souls as some Negro tribes do. The part of a man which does not
die sometimes called utima, which is the word for heart. Dr.
is
M. W. Ennis says that the utirm and the omuenyo are both names
of the spirit existing in a living body. Ngonga seems certain that
every person irrespective of age, rank, and sex has a spirit, but I
could find no evidence that the Ovimbundu visualize a separation
of ranks or sexes after death. When a man kills himself he is buried
near a river so that his spirit will go to the sea, and for the same
reason a murdered man is buried near a river. At Ngalangi I inquired
from other Ovimbundu people concerning suicide. Women who
commit suicide generally do so by hanging or drowning. Men stab
themselves in the heart or use a flintlock gun, the trigger of which
they pull with their toes. It is feared that the spirit of a suicide will
return to induce another suicide in the family, therefore there is
anxiety to rid the community of these spirits.
Religious Beliefs and Conduct

The Ovimbundu have many high standards of conduct, some of
which have been mentioned in dealing with the education of children.
There is, however, no idea of sin. That is to say, there are no com-
mands laid down by some authority which is more than human.
Religion 266
Nevertheless, the idea of crime is well developed, and there are

many actions which are punishable because they contravene the
laws of the tribe. Adultery is a crime on a par with theft; but
adultery is not a sin. Suku, the supreme being, issues no commands.
Ancestral spirits are concerned only with sacrifice and homage to
themselves. There is no theory of punishment or reward in a future
life according to conduct on earth.
Perhaps ekandu is the only word which could express sin. An
Ocimbundu would say that murder is the chief ekandu. “Ekandu
is to make anything have a bad time.” To send a stranger along the
wrong path is ekandu. It would be ekandu to throw an animal on
the fire. It is ekandu if a man is guilty of fornication with his wife’s
sister. Such an act is said to be ekandu only
the wife’s sister is
if
visiting the house of the culprit. The male

is regarded as
defaulter
blameless, hut the people of the village from which the wife’s sister
came would be expected to pay the wronged wife. Sexual offences
against young children are very serious. In fact the death penalty
or banishment would be inflicted, and such offences are given by
the Ovimbundu as examples of ekandu.
This subject of moral responsibility leads naturally into the
question of laws and penalties. There are among the Ovimbundu
well-defined moral codes and clearly formulated tribal laws which
have been described in chapter VI.
Funeral Rites
COMMONERS
In the village of Cilema in the district of Elende I witnessed
the funeral rites of a boy aged twelve years. When a few hundred
yards from the village, I heard sounds of drumming coming from
a secluded place in the tall grass. On reaching the clearing four
drummers were seen, each of whom held a tubular drum between
his legs; these drums were of different lengths. The man on the
left of drumming squad played with an up and down movement
the
of his lefthand only, to provide the bass tone. Other drummers
played with the palms and fingers of both hands. Thirty feet from
the drummers stood a group of women who always started the
rhythm for the drums by clapping their hands, and the hand-clapping
continued as an accompaniment for the drums.
Near-by, men were seated on the ground, while a large number
of women walked about or sat on the ground chatting and smoking
their pipes. The general impression was not one of solemnity.
266 The Ovimbundu
The interpretation of the chanting is “God has cheated me of a life.”

That is, God gave a life and he has taken it.
My interpreter, who was a relative of the deceased boy, explained
to the people that I was This was necessary,
seriously interested.
as they were afraid of ridiculeand hostile opinion. I sat down by
the father of the dead boy and talked with him through my
interpreter. In the meantime I observed that the corpse was in
a cloth-covered box slung on a pole, which was supported on the
shoulders of two men who stood very close to the drummers. The
bearers remained immovable except for the occasional changing of
the coffin pole from one shoulder to another. At intervals women
came out from the group to dance near the coffin, one, two, or three
at a time. One boy was particularly energetic in leaping in front of
the corpse. When the performers had danced they returned to the
crowd from which other persons immediately advanced. These
detached and spontaneous performances each lasted about two
minutes.
After two hours the bearers of the coffin moved away, followed
on one side by some of the men, on the other side by a few women.
A large number of men and women remained behind with the
drummers. The music and the solo dancing continued. The corpse
was removed to a place about a hundred yards from the spot where
the initial ceremonies had been performed. The bearers still held
the coffin on their shoulders, while men and women seated themselves
on each side of the bier. This part of the proceeding was solemn
and there was little conversation, though tobacco-smoking continued
among both men and women (Plate XLV, Fig. 1).
A woman about forty-five years of age held a plate of corn meal
in her hand while she stood close to the corpse and in line with
the bier. She addressed the corpse very earnestly and paused
intermittently for a reply. While speaking, the woman looked
intently at the foremost of the bearers, who both stood immovable
with their heads inclined forward and eyes directed to the ground.
My interpreter (Ngonga) said that the woman addressing the
corpse was the oldest sister of the father of the dead boy, and that
she was asking the spirit of the dead boy why he died. Here
Ngonga threw a side light on family relationships.
The father of the dead boy was the son of Ngonga's mother’s
brother. The dead boy used to call Ngonga iate (“my father”);
Ngonga called him omolSnge (“my child”). When the woman had
addressed the corpse an old man took her place. He held up the
Religion 267
plate of meal and earnestly asked questions. Lukuma was the

name of of the dead boy.
the father The old man who addressed
the corpse was the brother of Lulmma's mother. Ngonga explained
that the woman addresses the corpse, "to give him sense so that he
will not he ashamed to tell all about it”; that is, about the manner
of his death. The old man said to the corpse, “Etali ["today”]
omolange [“my boy”] tu yongola [“we want”] oku [“you”] tu [“us”]
sanjuisa [“make glad”] o tu [“to us”] sapuila [“tell”] muele [“indeed”]
cosi [“all”] ca [“that”] ku upa [“you take”] kilu lieve [“from earth”].
The pause which followed a question was intended to give the

corpse time to reply. It is supposed that if the answer is in the
negative the spirit causes the pole to swing slightly backward. An
affirmative answer is given if the spirit makes the pole swing forward.
The old man demanded, “Is it witchcraft that hates us and killed
you? come to the front.” I could see no swing
If it is witchcraft,
of the corpse on the pole, but Ngonga said that he could see the
coffin swing backward to indicate a negative answer. I suspected
that the interrogator of the corpse gave a signal to the bearers,
was to be made to swing, but I could see
indicating that the coffin
no signal or movement of the coffin. While the corpse was inter-
rogated, males among the spectators spoke to the old man who was
asking the questions. Ngonga explained that these men were
suggesting questions which might be asked respecting the cause of
death. A witness in the crowd would say, “You have forgotten
this,” or “You have forgotten that.”
The next question was one that calls for a detailed explanation.
Sambulu is a bad spirit which is able to cause death when crying
women and children offend him by their wailing. The mother of the
dead boy was a slave whose husband was absent from the village
for a time. During this period the master of the woman threatened
to sell her; consequently she went to a Christian mission with her
children, one of whom was the boy ffiow deceased. The woman and
children were crsdng, hence the possibility that the evil Sambulu
had at that time entered the person of the boy whose funeral rites
were now in progress. The woman had visited the mission a year
ago, but this lapse of time apparently made no difference to the
possibility that Sambulu had entered one of the children. The spirit
made a negative answer to this ingenious suggestion and eventually
indicated that death was due to a “bad belly.” If no answer is
returned affirmatively, recourse is made to the medicine-man, who
carries out divination. The details of this method are described
268 The Ovimbundu
later in explaining the meaning of the articles which are contained

in the divination basket.
I interrogated my interpreter respecting funeral customs, and

from these inquiries the following information. Burial of
elicited
the corpse takes place a mile or more from the village in a grave
dug by the father’s sister’s children. The depth of the grave is about
six feet. Each village has its own burial ground. The woman who
questioned the corpse carried a sleeping mat which would be used
to spread on the bottom of the grave, though sometimes the mat is
placed outside the grave on the motmd of earth. Midway between
Cuma and Caconda photographed graves of the Ovimbundu
I
(Plate XLVII, Figs. 1, 2). The articles on the graves were the poles
used for carrying the coffin, a basket, broken gourds, and in one
instance the horns of a bullock which was killed at the funeral feast.
The horns were mounted at the top of an upright pole (Plate XLVI,
Fig. 2). Ngonga said that the belongings of a well-to-do person
would usually be broken and placed on the grave; the breaking is
necessary in order to prevent theft. I could find no trace of the
idea that property is broken so that its spirit will accompany the
man to a world of spirits.
The corpse was in a wooden box covered with a thin piece of
blue and white chequered cloth tightly wound about the coffin.
Ngonga explained that the body was prepared in the following
manner before it was placed in the coffin. The corpse was extended
in a supine position with the thumbs tied, the palms together, and
the hands on the pubes. The great toes were tied together and
the upper arms were bound to the torso with bands of bark or
cloth. The use of bark no doubt represents the older method.
At the baby one of the grandmothers carries the

funeral of a
dead grave on her back. The ceremony of questioning
child to the
the corpse is carried out if the child is old enough to walk and talk.
Ngonga said, “If the dead child was old enough to talk they think
he will say something.’’ If the child was unable to talk, the parents,
accompanied by their brothers and sisters, would visit the medicine-
man to inquire the cause of death.
There are a few special observances connected with the burial
of twins. When the children were alive the mother had to shake
a rattle or to blow a small horn instead of giving the usual greetings
to a passer-by, and this she has to do at the funeral of one or both
of her twins.
Religion 269
A mourning widow must leave her hair loose and undressed, and
she has to wear a cloth which conceals her from crown to sole.
For three days she is obliged to sleep close to the corpse of her
husband with only a stick between them. The stick, which is about
the length of the bed, is laid between the widow and the corpse.
During this time she has no food, and her wailing is expected to
be almost continuous day and night. When the corpse is tied and
prepared for burial the widow says farewell to it. Relatives support
the corpse and make it advance toward her, while she herself is
held in the position of a bound corpse, and is supported by relatives
who make her confront the dead body of her husband. The widow
does not go to the funeral.
Mourning continues after the funeral, with fasting and periodical

wailing at three o’clock in the afternoon, and again twelve hours
later. At the end of a month of mourning the widow lies for one
night in the place where the corpse of her husband lay the night
before burial. At the beer-drinking which marks the end of the
period of mourning a medicine-man guides the hand of the widow
as she dips a ladle into the beer pot and distributes the beverage.
The widow may stay with her mother’s brother or she may return
to her parents, but she must not become the wife of another man
until a year has elapsed. The second husband will make a present
to the widow’s parents or others who have taken her, but this gift
will not be as valuable as if the groom were taking a virgin.
Tree burial I have not seen, but heard of it near Ngalangi, and
ithas recently taken place at Cileso. Tree burial is the method for
disposing of the corpse of a person who has died in debt. Any one
who gives interment to a corpse assumes responsibility for the debts;
hence tree burial is the most convenient way of disposal.
An Ocimbundu from Bailundu said that in that district the
child istaken from the womb of a woman who has died pregnant.
Food is placed on the lips of the removed foetus so that it will not
induce the death of other pregnant women. Near Ngalangi a
pregnant woman would be bm-ied with the point of a long stick on
her abdomen, and after the grave had been filled a blow would be
given to the top of the stick.
The foregoing are the principal points of importance in the

funeral rites of commoners. Ceremonies connected with the death
and burial of medicine-men, kings, chiefs, and hunters require
separate consideration.
270 The Ovimbundu
MEDICINE-MEN
When a medicine-man dies the people call in another medicine-
man to take charge of the ceremonies. The corpse is tied in a sitting
posture, which is the attitude for burial. His charms are attached
to his body and in this position they remain in the grave. The
head ornament osala, which may be feathers, quills of the porcupine,
or hair from a goat’s beard, is placed upright on the head and fastened
by a band under the chin (Plate XXIII, Fig. 2). The corpse is kept
in a seated position lashed to a stool for three days. There is no
coffin.
The corpse is carried in the posture described to the grave which

is dug at a cross-path. The corpse of a medicine-man is questioned
in the same manner as that employed in interrogating the corpse of
a commoner. When the corpse is placed in its grave the medicine-
men, some of them from a distance, dance because they have “spirit
in their heads.’’The medicine-men shake their heads while dancing,
and without pausing each eats a living chicken that he carries in
his hand. At the side of the grave, a dog, a chicken, and a goat
are killed. No part of the flesh is buried; it is consumed by those
present at the funeral.
A sleeping mat is placed in the grave, and on the mound of
earth are placed horns filled with medicine, and skins which used
tohang from the waist of the medicine-man when he was performing.

The rain-making charms are not buried in the grave, because their
interment would cause the rainfall to diminish; the charms may,
however, be placed on the outside of the grave. No food is placed
in or on the grave. The mound of earth is painted with a human
male figure. When a new medicine-man is making medicine or
performing ceremonies he uses the name of a deceased medicine-man.
thought that the dead medicine-man has spirits which he
It is
is able to send to earth.No images of the medicine-man are made.
Medicine-men visit the grave at night in order to take parts of the
corpse to include in their medicine. At Caconda in western Angola
I obtained the outfit of a medicine-man who included in his equip-
ment two small hoe blades which he used for disinterring the dead.
There was a portion of human tibia in the basket and a round
stone pounder for pulverizing bone along with other ingredients.
The funeral rites of a medicine-woman are the same as those of
a medicine-man except that medicine-women carry the corpse. An
osoma (“king”) or a sekulu (“chief”) will visit the grave of a medicine-
man to ask for rain or other favors.
Religion 271
KINGS AND CHIEFS

A chief (village headman) is buried in a specially constructed en-
closure in the village over which he ruled (Plate XLV, Fig. 2).
The mausoleum is a small hut with a substantial wooden door which
issurrounded by a strongly built wooden fence ten feet high.
I was taken inside a tomb in the capital of Ngalangi, where the
king showed the interior of his burial place of kings. There were
four mounds of earth, each of which covered the body of a king,
and a little distance away were the graves of the principal wives.
The hut contained pottery and gourds; also a small fire, which
is replenished by an attendant who must not allow it to be
extinguished.
Ngonga says that the burial chamber at Blende contains the
head of the chief in a box. After one year from the time of burial
the box containing the head is opened in order that a libation of
beer may be poured over it. Sometimes the head is anointed with
palm oil and a new band of cloth is added. These attentions are
paid to the head in time of sickness and drought. If the head shows
signs of desiccation an ox is killed in order to provide a new piece
of skin in which the head is sewn. The tomb is visited by men
who come to ask for good fortune when they are departing for a
journey to the interior, and these supplicants are led to the tomb
by the ruling chief. Near the burial place of the sekulu ("village
headman”) at Blende there was the house of bows (Plate XLVI,
Fig. 1), which is typical of several seen in different parts of Angola.
These repositories always contain staffs, bows, arrows, sleeping
mats, and possibly other articles which belonged to the dead.
The corpse of a king is suspended from the top of the burial hut
by a rope which is tightly fastened round his neck. That the king
has died is not admitted and the announcement states that “the
king has a cold in his head.” The head of a specially selected family
twists the rope until the head is severed. The twisting is carried
out gradually, a little each day, so that a week or more is required
for severance. In former times the head was detached by twisting
only, but at present a knife is used to hasten the friction of the
rope. When the body of the king has fallen into the basket placed
underneath to receive it, the people may say that the king is dead
and mourning begins.
Judging by the arrangement seen at the omhala of Ngalangi the
bodies are buried in a hut constructed as a burial place for kings,
but Ngonga states that the older method was cave burial. The body
272 The Ovimbundu
of a dead king would in former times be taken at night by chiefs

and interred in one of the caves which are numerous in the rugged
hills of the Benguela Highlands. The burial posture for a king
is the same as that described for a medicine-man. The severed head
is eventually kept in a box, but primarily both head and body are
buried, though in separate places. At the end of a year the head

is dug up and transferred to its casket.
Mourning for a king lasts for seven days, during which his children
and wives wear strips of oxhide on their left wrists. The village
chiefs gather to choose a king from the “blood of kings,” though
“sometimes a bad man will make himself king without waiting to
be chosen.” The choice should be in favor of the oldest son of the
chief wife, “but if she has stupid sons, a son of another wife of
the king will be chosen.”
Sometimes during drought chiefs and their wives go to the grave

of a chief where they say, “If you are angry tell us what you want.
If you want an ox we will kill one.” If they visit the tomb of a king,
the king’s corpse is asked, “Do you want a new box for your head?
We will make one.” The oldest chief takes from the tomb the box
which contains the head. This is slung on a pole supported on the
shoulders of two boys. The head is then questioned in the way
described for the funeral of a commoner. The oldest chief offers a
sacrifice, if such procedure is demanded by a forward swing of the
pole which supports the casket containing the king’s head.
The houseis not burned after a death has occurred within, but it
is still customary to take down the surrounding fence and to build

a new one. The house in which death took place is then used as
before. I was informed at the capital of Ngalangi, and by the king
himself, that he must continue to use the house of former kings
until the structure collapses. No repair work may be done; con-
sequently the house was in a dilapidated condition. Some months
after receiving this account at Elende I was in Mexico, several
hundred miles away, and learned that at Cangamba the custom of
severing the head of a king by suspension and friction prevails in
the manner described above.
HUNTERS
While traveling in the district of Ganda, likewise in the Vasele
country in the hinterland of Novo Redondo, one cannot fail to
notice the presence of rock tombs {pmhilia or osonje) which are
mausoleums of hunters. These are invariably placed in commanding
Religion 273
positions on domes of rock. The first tomb examined was in Ganda

(Plate LXXIV, This tomb is carefully built up from pieces
Fig. 1).
of granite detached from the rocks which serve as a base. Horns
of animals are placed on the cairn which is further decorated by a
stick bearing the tail of an animal. Plate XXXII, Fig. 1, shows
a tomb of similar structure in the country of the Vasele. From one
such tomb it was possible to detach a slab so that the interior could
be seen. There were two male skeletons; one lay supine while the
bones of the other were in disorder.
In a hunter’s house of bows there are implements of deceased
hunters, whose ceremonies centering in these relies have been
described under the heading of hunting.
Training op Medicine-men
Training for the position of male or female magician {ocimbanda)
is not carried out with formality ending in initiatory rites, neither
is the position hereditary; but the boy or girl who wishes to become
an ocimhanda must have “spirit in the head.” This choice of children

of peculiar neurotic temperament for the positions of medicine-men
and medicine-women is widely distributed, as I have shown in
some detail (Origins of Education, 1926, pp. 256-259).
Among the Ovimbundu there does not appear to be an inten-
sif 3 dng of natural psychoses by seclusion, starvation, or beating.
When a boy the medicine-man says, "You have a spirit
is sick,
who wants you to be ocimhanda” The medicine-man kills a dog,
a goat, and four chickens, then the boy has to accompany his master,
carrying his apparatus and obeying him in every way. The medicine-
man says, “Your father was an ocimhanda and the spirit wants you.”
The female ocimhanda is called cambula by other women, and her
services are preferred to those of the male ocimhanda in cases of
diflieult childbirth.
In Ngalangi I was informed that the Ovimbundu have great

faith in the medicine-men of the Vangangella, a name vaguely
by the Ovimbundu to several
applied tribes of east-central Angola.
An Ocimbundu will make a journey of several days in order to
visit a distant medicine-man of another tribe.
Functions op Medicine-men
Magical practices are of two kinds, social and anti-social. The
man who carries out divination, rain-making, healing the sick, and
many other functions is ocimhanda, while the worker of evil,
secret
the witch or wizard, is onganga. In one village there may be several
274 The Ovimbundu
men and women each of whom receives the name ocimbanda, and
specialization in some particular form of magical practice is the
rule. Some practitioners are more highly esteemed than others.
For example, an ocimbanda who has the reputation for curing dizzi-
ness, madness, and onyalai (p. 281) is one of great repute; so also
is the man who can cure a case of blood in the urine (biliosa).
This is the Portuguese term commonly applied to blackwater fever.
DIVINATION
An
examination of objects collected gives the best indication of
the equipment of the ocimbanda, and among these no item is more
important than the small divination basket containing a hetero-
geneous collection of objects.
A diviner receives the distinguishing title of ocimbanda congomba,
and a description ofhis methods explains his belief in the activities
of spirits. He
shakes the basket while his assistant plays a small
friction drum; then he inspects the objects lying at the top.
A on its neck indicates that trouble is due to

figure with beads
the ghost of a deadbaby whose spirit wishes to come back.
A piece of gourd with a round orifice means that some one has
been talking too much. The orifice represents a human mouth.
Two figures, male and female, whispering together, indicate
that a husband and wife are making a plan to poison somebody.
The figure of a female with a large abdomen indicates that the
spirit of a deceased pregnant woman is causing sickness in the village.
The horn with shells on it indicates that the woman who is con-
sulting the diviner will not bear children.
There is a little figure with a black tuft on its head, whose
among the
arrival at the top of the basket indicates that misfortune
natives caused by Europeans. When talking to this figure the
is
medicine-man tries to speak like a white man by adopting a falsetto

voice and mimicking the intonation of Europeans.
The figure with a little crest on its head is an indication of
sickness or other trouble arising from a spirit which likes to drink
blood. When this figure comes to the top of the basket, the medicine-
man induces the blood-drinking spirit to enter a man, because the evil
must first be localized before it can be exorcised. This possessed
person dances with a small ax or a hair switch in his hand. When
dancing has induced a frenzy, the dancer kills a pig and drinks the
fresh blood. The blood-drinking spirit is in this way exorcised
from the community.
Religion 275
If the figure with united legs comes to the top of the basket
the meaning is that a medicine-man used to be in the family of the
consultant. The spirit of this medicine-man wishes some member
of the family to become a medicine-man.
The wooden snake signifies cords and binding. Dream-
little
ing of a snake indicates that the dreamer will be tied and sold into
slavery. When the wooden snake comes to the top of the basket,
the significance is that a spirit has tied the sick person who is con-
sulting the diviner.
If the wooden figure of a girl appears at the top of the basket,
the inference is that the spirit causing trouble is that of a girl.
The appearance of a thin wooden figure at the top of the basket

means that the troublesome spirit is that of a person who died
when away on a long and fatiguing journey. The afflicted person
who is consulting ocimbanda has to make an offering to one of the
wooden human figures which are to be found along trade routes.
The piece of iron in the basket may come to the top when the
contents are shaken. When this happens it is assumed that a death
will take place. The death is attributed to something, for example,
alcohol, which has come from white people.
The piece of horn from the hoof of an ox indicates that a trouble-
some spirit desires an ox to be sacrificed. If a sick roan is consulting
the diviner, he is told to take a drink containing parings from the
hoof of an ox.
The bone from a chicken’s leg indicates that sickness has come
from the road, that is, from a journey. The Ovimbundu have been
famous for their long journeys across Africa, hence the implication
seems to be that a disease of an infectious kind has been brought
from a distance.
A corncob indicates that trouble has arisen from a spirit which
can affect the growth of corn if not appeased by sacrifice.
A coin indicates that the sick or deceased person was too fond of
money; misfortune has come from the spirit who gives wealth and
good luck, because it has been offended in some way.
There is in the basket a white bone which means that there
will be laughter in the village.
The small cocoon of sticks, which I think belongs to a caddis

fly, means that some one has stolen a bale of cloth.
Small round shells indicate that everything is well.
A small wooden boat indicates that some one will be drowned.

276 The Ovimbundu
The handle of a hoe is the symbol of cultivation. The appearance

of the miniature handle at the top of the basket implies that the
spirit ofa woman who was rich in corn is troubling the community.
Two united, human figures of wood indicate that a twin will
die. The Ovimbundu welcome twins; when one is dead the mother
has a wooden figure (Plate XXI, Pig. 1) made to take its place;
this is nursed to induce another conception and to comfort the
remaining child.
The little gourd means that a deceased person was secretly
poisoned in revenge because of his thefts from a field.
The seed of the oil palm means that a large gourd of palm oil
has been stolen.

The description of funeral rites gave an account of the question-
ing of the spirit of the deceased. Ifno answer is given, divination
is made to learn the cause of death.
There is no divination by examination of entrails. Bones are
thrown in playing a game, but this is not connected with divination.
EQUIPMENT AND MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES

The basket of an Ocimbundu medicine-man at Caconda con-
tained, in addition to the human bone, pounder, and hoe blades
already mentioned, two carved wooden female figures whose specific
use is unknown. It is known, however, that such figures may be
nursed and held to the breast of a woman who wishes to conceive.
There was a cowrie shell on a cord which forms a charm to be worn
round the neck of a woman who desires children. A small tin box
containing a coin and some stones was used for shaking. The kind
of sound produced, also any arrested movement of the objects in
the box, are indications of the guilt of a person whose name was
mentioned just as the objects ceased to move.
A and
large antelope horn, filled with a mixture of goat’s fat
charcoal from the bones of a goat,
was intended for use in ciming the
sick. The contents of the horn become liquid when heated; then
they can be dropped on the heads of the people who come for
treatment. It was explained that a number of sick people sat around
the medicine-man who walked to each person and poured out a
small quantity of medicine on the patient’s head.
The only musical instruments used by a medicine-man are a
drum and a rattle. At Ngalangi I saw a medicine-
small friction
man give a dance during which he slashed about him with a small
ax, which was evidently a ceremonial object, since the construction
Eeligion 277
was too make it effective as a tool or weapon (Plate XIII,

light to
Fig. 4). At Bailundu I was informed that an ax of this kind is used
in a medicine-man’s dance which is intended to cure a man who is
sick because a spirit has entered into him. The sickness may have
occurred because the man has broken a promise.
The medicine-man, or sometimes the patient himself, dances

violently, meanwhile cutting about him with the ax {omutaka),
which is finally used for killing a little pig whose blood is drunk by
the sick man. This is the ritual that was previously mentioned in
describing divination.
The following are important ceremonial objects: The ax ekuva

(Plate XIII, Fig. 5) was the one used for killing slaves who were
eaten at the death of a king. This object was secured in the Vasele
country near Vila Nova de Selles. It is of handsome appearance,
having a copper circle inlaid into the iron blade. A spear from
Bailundu is likewise important because of its use in ritual (Plate
XIII, Fig. 8). Before war and hunting this spear was thrust first
into an ox then into a slave. The human and animal flesh were
cooked together and eaten from the same pot. The female figure
used by the medicine-man for consultation with regard to the correct
path for a caravan has been described. A carved wooden post
obtained from Bailundu was set up at cross-paths so that it might
be visited by a sick person or his representative who would make
sacrifice there.
Without parallel among ceremonial objects used by the Ovim-

bundu a small wooden cloth-covered box from Bailundu. This
is
contains a piece of root of cylindrical form tightly bound with cloth

having at one end a cowrie shell. The box is the shrine of Kandundu,
for whom a small hut is built in order to contain the box. Any one
who sees the contents of the shrine is said to become blind. Kandundu
is believed to be the “spirit of dreaming who makes swellings come
on the body.”
Antelope horns are in general use as containers of magical potions.
One horn from Bailundu is used for holding sweet beer which is drunk
by a person afflicted by bad dreams. A large horn with a piece of
fur attached, also from Bailundu, is named ocindiko. The horn
contains a mixture of fat and charcoal which is heated near camp
after sunset, when men are on the march. The spreading fumes
keep away lions and thieves. It was said that a thief is deterred
because the fumes make him cough.
278 The Ovimbundu
The charm osonge or ombuiyu is in the form of small neckbands

of plaited fiber to which two or three cowrie shells are fastened.
It isworn by women who wish to induce conception. A neckband
kind which was worn by the maternal grandmother is thought
of this
to be specially effective. Sometimes a .small rattle, formed from
seed pods attached to a stick, is tied to the neckband. The rattle
is shaken when the mother of twins meets a friend to whom she
is not allowed to give the ordinary greeting.
A tortoise shell containing fat and charcoal is worn by the mother
of a child who is afflicted by the spirit of Kandundu, which may
cause the baby to have skin eruptions or a very small amount of
hair. In order to cure her child, the mother must eat small quantities
of the contents of the shell from time to time. In some sympathetic
way the medicinal benefits are transferred to the infant.
When dancing, the medicine-man usually wears a goat's beard
attached to a circular piece of basketry. This osala is sometimes
fastened on the top of his head. In place of the ax already mentioned
he may flourish a small ceremonial hoe or whisk, or a wooden baton
with a tuft of hair at the end.
Among the varied duties of the medicine-man is that of washing
the body of a king (osoma) or a chief (sekulu). To water in a pot,
the medicine-man adds some of the blood of a freshly killed chicken.
Then in a hut specially reserved for the purpose he performs the
ceremonial ablution.
At Cangamba an Ocivokue performed a ceremony which was
supposed to make a thief return to the village for trial. The
medicine-man sat on his haunches, holding in one hand a small
rattle and in the other a slender stick on which the decorated carapace
of a tortoisewas poised (Plate LXXXII, Fig. 1). Very earnestly
the man shook his head, and gazed at the tortoise shell
talked,
which began to twist on its pivot. As the medicine-man muttered
and shook his rattle, the movement of the shell grew faster. Pres-
ently the rotation of the tortoise shell was reversed, but so adroitly
that I could not follow the movement or imitate it when allowed
to try. The reversed movement of the carapace on its pivot represents
the culprit turning back to his village,
CUBING THE SICK

At Cangamba a female odmbanda was seen painting marks of
red and white on the face of a sick woman. The ceremony was
called ovihamba and its object was said to be the relief of rheumatism.
Religion 279
of which there are several named varieties. Painting of women has

previously been mentioned in describing ceremonies associated
with pregnancy.
Several distinct performances for curing the sick were observed
at Cangamba, which is a center of the Vachokue tribe, though
a few people of the Ovimbundu and many Luchazi and Bahunda
mingle at this place.
In thefirst instance the sick woman knelt in front of a hut two
feet high which contained a clay leopard marked with white spots.
The medicine-man dipped a bunch of leaves in water and stroked
this along the patient’s spine from the neck to the sacrum.
The second performance was more elaborate, and detailed

preparations were made outside the hut of the medicine-man (Plate
LXXXIII, Fig. 2) A screen of posts and boughs was erected, and
.
on ,one side' of this two male drummers stood, each with a long
tubular drum before him. On the other side of the fence were three
wooden posts, each two feet high, circular in cross section, and painted,
as indicated in the illustration. Near the posts was a basket, so
closely woven that it contained water in which green twigs and
leaves were soaking. The drums began to beat and a group of
women clapped hands in rhythm.
The patient knelt before the small painted wooden posts close
to the basket of water, into which she dipped her face from time to
time. While the drum music and hand-clapping continued, the
medicine-man took wet twigs from the basket. He drew these
very slowly along the spine of the patient from neck to sacrum,
as if painting with a brush. The patient occasionally shivered
from head to foot; then remained still, except for the dipping of
her face in the water, until the next paroxysm shook her. This
routine continued for ten minutes. The medicine-man then knelt
by the woman, dug a small hole in the ground, and pulled up one
of the painted wooden posts which he placed in the patient’s hands.
The medicine-man kept his hands over those of the patient while
she transferred the painted post to the new hole that he had pre-
pared. Finally the basket containing the water and leaves was
buried thirty feet from the scene of operations.
A similar ceremony was witnessed near this site. In this instance,

however, the water was obtained from a boat-shaped receptacle
mounted on two Y-shaped posts, at a height of three feet from the
ground (Plate LXXXIII, Pig. 1). Outside the hut of the medicine-
280 The Ovimbundu
man, and fastened to the wall, was a strip of bark cloth painted with
white circles. These recorded the number of times the patient
came for treatment.
At Ngalangi there was no difficulty in obtaining information
respecting plants used medicinally. Each of three medicine-men
returned with a number of roots and stems which they readily
described. Okaltamba and okapelangalo are roots that cure “big
head.” This disease, which is rare in white people, begins with
blood blisters in the mouth; these may spread to the intestines and
cause death. Okayenje is a root that induces vomiting; it is also
a purgative to free a patient from worms. Olutikitiki is given to
a woman soon after her baby is bom. Kalungdumona is a plant
having a purple flower. If the root is pounded and drunk in water
it acts as an aperient. Okumbiasoko, when pounded and placed on
the fire, restores a person after fainting; the head of the patient is
held in the smoke. To a violent maniac the root ttsonge is given,
pounded in water and mixed with maize beer. At Ngalangi a
man who had been subject to homicidal mania was sitting on the
ground quietly with his hands tied behind his back. I was informed
that usonge was making him better. Ocinyeni is a bark that is chewed
to remedy stomachache. Kosamba is a plant used to cure people
who fall into the fire; it is also a remedy for toothache. The action
of this drug kosamba causes vomiting and evacuation,
Cilendaluka is pounded in water and smeared on the patient’s

body as a treatment following the internal application of kosamba.
Mbundakataka is a root that is pounded and applied externally to
cure sores on the lips.
In addition to the plants just mentioned the following are

important:
Ocimbinga. This plant, whose name means “the big horn,” is probably
Strophanthus. It is used in the treatment of worms and chest colds.
Ocipumbulu. This is a trailing herb whose leaves when pulverized are said
to be a cure for bad sores.
Ocindiambala and oluavava. These are used to give to women who are suffer-
ing in difficult delivery. Ongolo sometimes takes the place of these drugs.
The bark of ongolo is pounded in boiling water which is contained in a basin
over which the woman sits. Use of the bark in this way is a protection
against injuries resulting from childbirth.
Omondolica. This is good for headaches and whooping cough. The roots
are boiled and mixed with sweet beer.
Olealolula-lohala. This is said to be used in cases of dysentery. At Elende
it is used for curing skin diseases.
Ohaile. This is used in cases of snake bite, swellings, and stings.
In connection with the foregoing study of the native pharmacopoeia

it will be of interest to consider some maladies to which the Ovim-
Religion 281
bundu are subject. Information relating to these points was given

by Dr. Hollenbeck of the Mission Station at Elende.
Of intestinal worms there are many kinds. Hookworm is of
somewhat common occurrence. Ascaris, an intestinal worm several
inches long, is extremely common. Infection may arise from the soil,
also from the use of dirty cooking utensils. The disease trichinosis,
which arises from the activities of the parasite trichina, is rare.
Tapeworm is frequent because much of the pork and beef is infected.
Oxyuris, a small round worm about half an inch long, is common.
Bilharzia is fairly prevalent.
Malaria is some period.
so usual that almost every one suffers at
Every baby has malaria within the first two years of its life. Malaria
is not followed by blackwater fever, but possibly by onyalai, which
is knownat Elende. The symptoms are the appearance of blood-

blisterson the tongue. These spread to the throat and intestines,
possibly with fatal results. This disease, which does not attack
white people, is local.
There no sleeping siclcness at Elende, but the disease
is occurs
at Katombela, at some points on the Kwanza, also near the mouth
of the Congo. There are at Elende cases of elephantiasis due to
the activities of a filaria which affects the lymphatic glands. Infan-
tile paralysis occurs.
Leprosy common; the nervous form is more usual than
is fairly
the nodular. There are instances of yaws, a disease somewhat
resembling syphilis inasmuch as the disease is communicated by
a spirochaete, but yaws is not communicated by sexual infection.
Venereal disease is not common at Elende.
The pulmonary form of tuberculosis occurs, but is not usual
at Elende. There are places in the Benguela Highlands where the
disease is increasing. Both whooping cough and measles are well
known, but there is no scarlet fever or diphtheria. Chickenpox and
smallpox are both known to occur, the latter in epidemic form from
time to time. There is occasional dysentery, but no typhoid.
Hernia in its inguinal form is common. Umbilical hernia, due
to lack of skilled attention at birth, is frequent, but with advancing
age this defect is often rectified, or at least greatly modified. There
are cases of injury towomen at childbirth; for example, vesical-
Blindness is fairly common as a result of the neglect
vaginal fistula.
of inflammation of the conjunctiva. Babies suffer from corneal
ulcers, which sometimes result in total blindness. Cataract is
fairly common in both its senile and juvenile forms.
282 The Ovimbundu
Deformities resulting from burns are frequent. Cooking pots

are unstably placed on logs which form the fire, and, in addition
to this, people sleep very near the fire. There is no cerebro-spinal
fever. Pneumonia is very common; the result is often fatal. Weak-
ness of the heart is only occasional. Varicose veins are rare. There
is no appendicitis.
One cannot fail to notice the prevalence of tropical ulcers among
the Ovimbundu. These occur most frequently on the tibia. The
big sloughing ulcer makes a large hole which the native fills with
clay and a pulp of leaves. Sometimes a bark is pounded to a pulp
and used in this way. These ulcers are very obstinate even under
skilled treatment. Often after the wound has been healed it will
break out again when irritated by the slightest injury. Medical
opinion is divided as to the cause of these ulcers. Jiggers are a cause
of deformation of the toes, which sometimes fall oft or have to be
amputated. Cancer is not usual in people under sixty years of age.
Superficial cancer is the most common form.
Water, even when procurable, is sparingly used by the Ovim-
bundu. The hands and face may receive a perfunctory wash each
day, but the entire body seldom receives this attention.
Cupping was observed on two occasions, but I think the opera-
tions were performed by the mothers of the children concerned, and
not by a medicine-man. The method horns or gourds
of using the
is illustrated (Plate LXXXVI, After incisions had been
Pig. 1).
made the cups were applied. The operator sucked the pointed end
of the cup, so creating a vacuum, which was maintained by pushing
forward with the tip of the tongue a small ball of wax. This wax
filled the hole at the pointed end of the cupping horn. The people
shown in the photograph are Vachokue, but the method is the same
among the Ovimbundu.
At Elende there was a sweat bath in the form of a hole in the
ground containing a heap of stones. The stones are heated in a
fire, then cold water is thrown over them so that steam arises to
the patient, who crouches above the hole covered with a blanket.
In the Vasele country, also among the Ovimbundu at Elende,
Iexamined corporeal incisions other than tribal marks. The explana-
tion was to the effect that the making of cuts cured pain (Plates
XXIV, Fig. 3; LXXVI, Pig. 2).
RAIN-MAKING
The rain-maker (upuU) is a medicine-man who has specialized
in this function. The upuli, who was an Ocivokue of Ngongo, and
Religion 283
not an Ocimbundu, was dressed in only a skirt of cloth, and his

equipment consisted of a reed whistle and a hair switch made from a
cow’s tail.
The dance was a slow revolution without any violent leaping.

The man held his arms upward, fully extended, and went through
the motions of drawing tain from above; then he made slow arm
movements suggestive of spreading the rain all around. At times
he stood quite still and gave a shrill whistle. The hair switch was
constantly twirled and flourished.
POISON ORDEAL
Evidence presented in chapters VI and VII will show that the
poison ordeal is a widely spread Negro trait, and that administra-
tion of the ordeal is connected with legal proceedings during which

the poison cup is usually given to the suspects or litigants by a
medicine-man.
This ordeal as practised among the Ovimbundu and other people
of Angola is in conformity with the general Negro procedure.
Ngonga thinks that the poison ordeal of the old type is still practised
secretly. According to the old law the poison cup affected an innocent
man by making him vomit, while the guilty person succumbed.
Ngonga states that a form of poison ordeal which exists today
is as follows; The medicine-man holds out two potatoes, one of which
is poisoned while the other is innocuous. The poisoned man does
not die but he becomes so ill that he confesses his guilt. This use
of potatoes has been fully described in connection with legal procedure
(chapter VI).
The guilt or innocence of suspects is tested by giving poison tb

chickens brought to the medicine-man by the accused men. He
whose chicken dies is the guilty person.
CEREMONIAL FIRE
New fire is made during epidemic sickness, at the accession of
a king, and at the building of a new village. On such occasions
the twirling method is employed. The fire made is called ondalu,
which is the ordinary word for fire.
When an epidemic of sickness occurs the chief of the village
takes a present of eight yards of cloth to the medicine-man and
asks the cause of the visitation. The medicine-man replies, "Your
fire is dirty and worn out, you must have new fire.”
;
284 The Ovimbundu
The village chief takes this news to the people, saying, “Tomorrow
we must find a goat, a chicken, and a pig, so that we may kill them.
Then we must make a new fire.” The chief pays for these animals.
Next day the medicine-man starts a fire by the twirling method,
and as soon as the fire has been kindled he kills a fowl whose blood
is allowed to drop on the fire and the wood near-by. The sacrificial
goat and pig are treated in the same way. Sometimes a boy who is
learning to be a medicine-man kills these animals. Meat from each
of the animals so sacrificed is cooked on this newly made fire, care
being taken that each kind of meat is kept in a separate pot. There
is no special pottery for this cooking. When the meat is cooked
it is tasted by a girl from twelve to fourteen years of age who hands a
portion to the chief, who distributes the meat among the village
elders (olosekulu ) The meat from the chicken, which must be fat,
.
is the first to be distributed. A cock or a hen may be chosen, but

if the latter is selected it must be utenda; that is to say, it must
not have arrived at the egg-la3nng age.

Finally there is a distribution of meat among the villagers who
have been present throughout the ceremony. The chief speaks,
saying, “We wish good fortune to the new fire.” Each person has
to take the responsibility for quenching his own fire before the
new one is ceremonially made. After the feast each father of a
"restricted” family takes away a portion of the newly kindled fire.
There sometimes a ceremonial purification of the village water

is
supply. Water is
carried in a block of wood from the nearest stream,
and to this water a few drops of blood from the sacrificed animals
are added. The idea involved throughout is the renewal of health
by the furnishing of new, unadulterated supplies of fire and water.
At
the inaugural ceremony of a new king a similar proceeding
is followed. A
chicken is killed for the purpose of supplying blood
to sprinkle the new fire and on this occasion there is a ceremonial
hunt. The king may or may not join the males of the hunting party
sometimes he sends a substitute.
A girl follows the king or his substitute carrying a basket (ongalo)
in which roimd from the tree olosangu are contained. Each
fruits
of the fruits is wrapped round with the skin of the large lizard
(etatu). The object of the hunt is to kill a male antelope, the duiker
{ombcmbi), and a hare {oitdimba) which may be male or female.
The hare is not called ondimba on this occasion, but receives the
name for elephant (onjamba).
Religion 285
The hare is not carried over the shoulder, but has a ceremonial
conveyance slung on poles (owanda) which are supported on the
shoulders of two or even four men.
Laying the evil of a village on a goat, which is then driven out

to die, is an Umbundu custom. The scapegoat ceremony has a
cleansing function similar in purpose to the rekindling of fire for
the community. Cavazzi pictured and described the scapegoat
ceremony in the seventeenth century, and Ngonga informed me
that he saw the rite twenty years ago.
Prohibitions and Omens

There is a taboo against killing oka huhu, which is the yellow-
backed duiker. When Ngonga was sick he was forbidden to eat the
flesh of the duiker {omhambi); neither is this flesh to be eaten by
people who suffer from dizziness. In former days women were not
allowed to eat eggs. The flesh of sheep and goats is said to be indi-
gestible for children between the ages of three and six years. The
flesh of the lion, leopard, and hyena is forbidden as food for the
king, but other people may eat it. The king is in fact forbidden
to eat the flesh of any animal which has paws; neither may he
eat flesh of the bush buck, A medicine-man must not eat flesh of
a dog except before a ceremony for curing the sick. The taboo against
dog's flesh applies also to the diet of a king.
A woman must not step over the legs of a male, neither must a
man step over the legs of a woman; for to do so causes weakness
of the knees. A man or woman may step over the legs of a child.
Omens are numerous. It is unfortunate to see a snake holding
a frog, and the person who observes this should go to the medicine-
man at once. When going to a village to be tried by the chief it
is bad to meet some one who is carrying a bark rope, as this indicates
binding and punishment. If a person who is setting out from home

meets a woman carr3dng corn meal or any other white substance,
he or she must take a little of the meal, whiten the face, and all
will be well. A fly in the mouth is a good sign, because the fly
knows where meat is to be obtained and is trying to lead the way.
A stranger visiting a village is pleased when a dog is the first
animal to enter the guest house. Dogs are fed, so the entry of a dog
is a sign that the visitor will receive food. On the contrary, the
appearance of a goat is a bad omen, because goats are not fed; they
pick up a frugal living as best they can. Other prohibitions and
omens have been mentioned in discussing the pregnancy of women.
X. CULTURE CONTACTS
The foregoing chapters have presented the main outlines of the
tribal life of the Ovimbundu, with a brief reference to some factors
in the cultures of Angolan tribes with whom the Ovimbundu are
in close contact. But hitherto no attempt has been made to analyze
the cultural contacts of the Ovimbundu outside Angola.
The data recorded indicate that the tribal life of the Ovimbundu
isnot an independent growth in the Benguela Highlands. We have,
therefore, a problem involving a detailed study of surrounding
cultures. The most important of these are located in the Congo
basin, Rhodesia, and South West Africa, and for this reason the
present chapter is divided into three sections, each of which deals
with one of these areas which are all contiguous to Angola.

In analyzing these surrounding cultures for comparison with the
tribal life of the Ovimbundu, the social patterns as a whole are con-
sidered, and no attempt is made to construct a theory of derivations
based on what might be a few fortuitous resemblances arising
through convergence. Our study is aided by a knowledge of historical
contacts and geographical contiguity of the areas compared. There-
fore the method is not open to the objections that have been made
justly against an assmnption of cultural relationships between two
widely separated regions, in which only a few artifacts or institutions
have an alleged resemblance.
Chapters X
and XI are concerned with discussing the probable
cultural of the Ovimbundu, and a final chapter,
relationships
“Cultural Processes,” indicates the way in which historical events
and geographical factors have contributed to the selection and
welding of traits whose aggregate now constitutes the tribal life of
the Ovimbundu.
Congo Basin
An examination of the cultural traits of the Congo basin is of
particular importance, because of the known historical connection
of the Ovimbundu with Congo tribes, before the former entered the
Benguela Highlands. Such a survey is conveniently made by
examining the culture of the Congo basin from the estuary along
the course of the main river, then southward along the Kasai and
its tributaries into the northeast of Angola.
Despite minor differences the Congo area may be regarded as a

region of considerable uniformity with regard to environment and
286
;
Culture Contacts 287
cultural factors. The transitions from the Congo basin to the

Benguela Highlands are of a gradual kind with respect to climatic
conditions, physical features, and culture. Therefore, there are no
compelling conditions which caused the Ovimhundu suddenly to
abandon traits already acquired before their southern migration.
Nevertheless, several traits of Congo cultmre which must have

been known to the Ovimbundu have disappeared from their tribal
life, while other factors have been emphasized in importance because
of a change in locality. The disappearance of traits and the welding

of others is discussed in chapter XII. The present section is con-
cerned with summarizing the points of resemblance and difference
between the Congo culture and that of the Ovimbundu.
The books of J. J. Monteiro mention several traits which are
a link between cultures of the Congo and the Ovimbundu culture
of the Benguela Highlands. The Mushicongos chip all their teeth
to fine points (vol. I, p. 262), a practice which resembles that of the
Umbundu-speaking Vasele. Monteiro describes the musical bow,
the friction drum, and the rubbing of a grooved piece of wood with
a stick (vol. I, pp. 139-141). All these musical devices are used today
by the Ovimbundu far to the south of the areas described by this
writer. When describing the Esele country which forms a cultural
pocket of the Ovimbundu people, I have previously referred to
Monteiro’s mention of the extinguishing of old fires and the cere-
monial creation of new ones at the death of a king (vol. II, p. 167)
also the functioning of the poison ordeal with use of the bark of
Erythrophlaeum guineense (vol. I, p. 61). The former of these customs
is carefully observed by the Ovimbundu at the present time, while
the latter is practised furtively.
A part of Angola that is frequently omitted is the Cabinda
Enclave to the north of the Congo estuary. Overbergh describes
this territory in “Les Mayombe”; the Mayombe are a forest people
living near Boma. They use red lukula wood for bodily ornament.
There are special names for the first- and second-born of twins
(p. 217). Circumcision is practised (p. 233). The poison ordeal
is used with the drug Kasa. There is a classificatory system of
relationships (p. 259), but without sufficient detail for comparison
with that of the Ovimbundu. The most artistic figurines, which
are carved in wood or ivory, are sometimes filled with a mixture of
clay and blood as “medicine” (p. 219). The Mayombe believe in
the existence of a supreme being named Ngambi but they have
no cult for him; there is, however, a very active belief in a world
;
288 The Ovimbundu
of invisible spirits who work through apparitions, cries, and dis-

placement of objects (p. 807). All these traits are features of Um-
bundu culture (see also “Etudes Bakongo,” by R. P. J. van Wing).
J. H. Weeks (V) describes a number of traits which are typical
of Ovimbundu culture. Mat-making by sewing long reeds together

is pictured (p. 88) in such a way as to identify the method with that
of the Ovimbundu. The Bakongo use a stick for making sounds

by rubbing on notched bamboo (p. 179). The Bakongo have the
dumb-bell basket-work rattle (p. 250), and the bull-roarer as a
plaything (p. 126). The friction drum is used (p. 131). There are
circumcision lodges for boys, also bachelors’ clubs near San Salvador.
The function of the bachelors’ club corresponds with that of the
onjango, the council house of the Ovimbundu. The graves of hunters
are specially cared for (p. 181). The poison ordeal nkasa is carried
out with an infusion made from the bark of a tree; vomiting indicates
innocence. Nzambi, as among the Ovimbundu, is a vaguely con-
ceived, powerful spirit who receives little attention; there are no
prayers and no sacrifices in his honor (p. 276). Descent is reckoned
on the mother's side. There is a kinship system of classified rela-
tionships; thus ntekolo means son’s son, son’s daughter, daughter’s
son, and daughter’s daughter. Nkaka means mother’s kther,
mother’s mother, etc., in such a way as to show a parallel between
nkaka and the kukululu class of the Ovimbundu.
R. E. Dennett has mentioned several ethnological points which
serve further to connect the Congo culture with that of the 0-vim-
bundu. Dennett’s account deals with the Bavili, a branch of the
Fjort of the Loango region to the north of the Congo estuary. The
father and his brothers are tola, the grandchild class is hatekulu
(Umbundu onekulu) descent is matrilineal. A man must not marry
the daughter of his father’s brother or of his mother’s sister, because
such children are his brothers and sisters (p. 36). Girls are secluded
at puberty in the “paint house,” and the red coloring is beaten from
them with switches (p. 38). The women I saw at Ngongo giving a
demonstration of the decoration and dances of a secret society
were elaborately painted from head to foot with alternate bands of
red and white. The mother’s brother may sell his sister’s children
to pay his debts (p. 41). Inheritance of property is in the female
line, to the sons of the deceased man’s sister. The heir to chieftain-
ship is the eldest brother of the deceased, and the next in line of
succession is a sister’s son. The wife and children of the deceased
are not entitled to any property (p. 46). The poison ordeal is given
with powdered bark administered by the medicine-man, and vomiting

is a sign of innocence (p. 25). Nzambi, who is the supreme being
from whom everything originated, corresponds to Suku and Kalunga
of the Ovimbundu, for like these high beings he is remote and otiose.
When inquiring into the ethnology of the Kasai valley, situated

to the northeast of the Benguela Highlands, a large body of literature
is available. Each book or article confirms cultural resemblances
between the social pattern of the Ovimbundu and that of the Congo
basin, but not all points of comparison are to be found together in
the works of one writer.
In an article on the “Ethnology of the South West Congo Free

State” E. Torday and T. A. Joyce describe the use of manioc by
the Bayanzi who scatter the flour on water, making a paste.
so
To eliminate the poisonous principle, bitter manioc is soaked in
water for three days, after which it is peeled, dried, and pounded
in wooden mortars (p. 138). Tukula wood, which is well known
and widely used in Angola, yields a red powder that is employed
for corporeal decoration by the Bapindi and the Bakuba (p. 147).
The Vakuanyama of southern Angola use the powder mixed with
fat as an unguent for their bodies and a dressing for leather clothing.
The evidence of Torday and Joyce shows that children of the

Bakwese owe obedience to their maternal uncle; for example, boys
who wished to accompany Torday had to ask permission from this
relative (p. 150). The practice of cupping, use of friction drums and
the marimba, are found among the Bakwese, who test the guilt
of an accused person by giving a poisonous concoction prepared
from the bark of Erythrophlamm guineense; innocence is proved
by vomiting.
Torday and Joyce (I) call attention to several traits which are
common to the cultures of theBambala and the Ovimbundu. Skin
puncturing and the introducing of decayed rubber into the cuts
are practised (p. 401); this is a common usage among Ovimbundu
women. The poison ordeal is practised. Water-pipes for smoking
tobacco are made from gourds. During agricultural operations hoe
culture by women follows clearance of the ground by men. Women
use a short iron-bladed hoe, and the result of their labor is the pro-
duction of manioc, bananas, sweet potatoes, haricot beans, and
peanuts (p. 405).
Rats are shot with blunt wooden arrows. There are great com-
munal hunts for large game. The grass is fired, and at the conclusion
290 The Ovimbundu
of the hunt horns and skulls are presented to the village fetish,
a practice which is comparable to the mounting of skulls and horns
outside the hut of an Umbundu hunter whose grave is later decorated
with similar trophies.
Among the Bambala a hunter’s bow is huta (Umbundu uta, “a
weapon”). Exchange of blood seals an alliance between chiefs.
Kinship is reckoned chiefly in the female line and children belong
to the eldest maternal uncle. Widows never inherit property;
this passes to the eldest son of the eldest sister. The word for father
is tata. Personal names may be changed at puberty or later at ,
the pleasure of the owner (pp. 410-412). Poison for the ordeal is
made from the bark of a tree imported from the mouth of the Kvdlu
River (p. 416). The name for the soul is mityima (“the heart,”
Umbundu utima). In all these points the Ovimbundu resemble
the Bambala.
Torday and Joyce have reported on the culture of the Bayaka
(II). This tribe has the friction drum, but in a form rather different
from that of Angola. The poison ordeal with the use of Erythro-
fhlaeum guineense is employed. Straw shelters are built over graves
which are covered with broken pots. Ovimbundu graves of this
kind were photographed near Caconda (Plate XLVII, Figs. 1,( 2).
The Basonge live near the Baluba close to the Lualaba River,
and the report of C. van Overbergh has been consulted for informa-
tion which shows cultural resemblances between the Basonge and
the Ovimbundu. The Basonge use short ornamental clubs called
by van Overbergh batons de 'promenade. Such clubs as these are
one of the most artistic features in the wood-carving industry of
the Ovimbundu. The clubs are too ornamental for use as missiles,
and the name given by van Overbergh (plate I, fig. 13) is an appro-
priate description.
Hoe blades and the method of halting are the same for the
Basonge and the Ovimbundu. The wooden stools and gourd tobacco-
pipes of the Basonge have forms well known to Umbundu wood-
carvers. Manioc is the principal food of the Basonge (p. 125).
Fire is made by twirling the point of a stick on a baseboard. Only
rich chiefs have a few cattle, and the word for ox is ngombe (Um-
bundu ongombe).
I have examined the evidence of J. H. Weeks (III, IV) with
regard to the Bangala (Im Bangala) of the southwest Congo region.
The Bangala use the word nganga for “medicine-man,” but for the
Ovimbundu nganga is a witch, while ocimbanda is the legitimate
practitioner of healing and divination. If sickness visits a house

of the Bangala the fire is extinguished and a new one is kindled.
Women who have prepared a corpse for burial are purified by sitting
in a circle of fires (p. 114).
Manioc, of which there are several varieties, is the principal

food, and the methods of agriculture agree well with those followed
by the Ovimbundu, since beans, yams, maize, and peanuts are
cultivated. Caterpillars are used as food. Milk is tabooed by
all Bangala, -who regard it with great abhorrence, though no reason
is given. The best hunters among the Bangala are specialists who
are prepared for the hunt by the medicine-man (p. 123).
Fish are stupefied by poison of a vegetable kind which is scattered

on the surface of the water (p. 127). The Bangala have the poison
ordeal (p. 434). I have reported the use of the word ekandu by the
Ovimbundu, who employ the term to denote any evil action which
causes pain to others. If there is sickness in the family, the Baloki
say, “There is an ekandu in the family” (Weeks, IV, p. 390), and
the witch doctor removes this ekandu ceremonially.
The Baloki use painted wooden posts which are placed near the
houses of the sick so that the spirits of sickness may be driven into
them the spirits are then appeased with offerings of food and drink.
;
From Bailundu I obtained a carved wooden post in the form of a

human figure; this was set on a path near a village so that offerings
might be made to the spirit within the post if an epidemic attacked
the village (cf. Weeks, p. 390).
The Umbundu game of shooting at a tuber has been described;

apparently this amusement is like that of the Baloki game as
described by Weeks (p. 405). Baloki youths cut the root of a plan-
tain into the form of a wheel, and the players are then divided into
two competing parties as among the Ovimbundu; but Baloki boys
throw bamboo splinters at the wheel, they do not shoot arrows as
do the Ovimbundu. Mancala is played (p. 414) as it is among the
Ovimbundu, who call the game ocela; but I am not informed con-
cerning the details of the game among the Baloki and Ovimbundu
respectively.
H. von Weissmann that his route lay up the Congo

(II) indicates
to the junction with the Kasai. He
then turned up the Kasai and
traveled through the country of the Bambala, the Bassongo, and
the Bakuba; thence along the valley of the Sankuru. He gives
his impressions of the Bihân (Ovimbundu) caravans from Bihd in
292 The Ovimbundu
the Benguela Highlands (p. 145). “They carry on the most shameful
trade imaginable and undertake longer journeys than any other
Negroes of the west coast. They exchange their prisoners for ivory
among the Bakuba tribes.” Weissmann journeyed among the
Wawemba of northern Rhodesia where he noted the poison ordeal.
He states that it was customary to settle a dispute between two
persons by drinking a poisonous draft made from a bark, and the
one who vomits is cleared of suspicion. Weissmann’s accounts
emphasize the importance of Umbundu contacts through the
caravan trade.
M. W. Hilton-Simpson, who accompanied Torday for a period,
has noted several points of importance in the establishment of
cultural resemblances between the Ovimbundu and tribes of the
Kasai (pp. 225, 257, 259, 282). The Bambala play end-blown
wooden flutes like those from Bailundu, but there is no evidence
to show that the Ovimbundu play a nose flute as do the Bambala.
The eating of dogs by the Bapende is a widely distributed cultural
trait of the Congo, and the Ovimbundu follow this practice. Initiation
masks pictured by Hilton-Simpson bear a resemblance to those of
eastern Angola. The Batatela smoke hemp in a gourd water-pipe
as do the Vachokue and some of the Ovimbundu. The short friction
drum used by the Batatela is held under the arm. In the form of
the drum and the method of holding there is resemblance to the
Umbundu custom. The Batatela have the flat drum called ocingufu
by the Ovimbundu (p. 52). Painting the exterior surfaces of walls
of houses is a southern Congo custom followed by the Batatela.
This practice has extended into Angola as far south as the Malange-
Saurimo line, and even to the Bailundu-Huambo area, but south
of the halfway line across Angola I do not recollect seeing houses
with painted walls.
In dealing with the evidence of culture contacts indicated by
the text and illustrations of the “Annales Musde du Congo Beige,”
a condensed statement will call attention to the many identities
between artifacts of the Ovimbimdu and those of the southwest
Congo. The following details, which are well illustrated in the
“Annales Mus6e du Congo Beige,” should be compared with Plates
IX-XXII, showing similar objects made by the Ovimbundu.
Series III, II, fasc. 1; Carved wooden staffs for chiefs closely
resemble those used by chiefs among the Ovimbundu (p. 70).
Carved wooden hair-combs are like those used by the Ovimbundu
and the Vachokue (p. 82).
Initiation of boys who are isolated in the bush where there is

ceremonial bathing and circumcision is a practice of eastern Angola
(P. 81).
The oval wooden masks worn by initiates are similar to those
of eastern Angola (p. 84).
The mancala board with twenty-eight holes, arranged four by
seven, is of the form used at Ngalangi, central Angola (p. 86).
The Babende use the friction drum (p. 87).
Bashilele arrowheads are of Umbundu pattern (p. 98).
Use of red tukula wood is common among the Bushongo (p. 165).
The wood-carving of the Bakongo and the Bashilele resembles
that of the Ovimbundu. Paces are oval or triangular, and eyes are
represented by narrow oval slits so as to conform in style and balance
with the general outline of the face (p. 200).
Series III, II, fasc. 2, platesXXII, XXXI show reed mats
made near Leopoldville. Such mats are made by Umbundu males,
who call them esaisa.
The flat drum {ocingufu of the Ovimbundu) is played by the
Batatela. The Bahuana use the long narrow-necked flour sifter
which is in common use among the Vachokue, though not among
the Ovimbundu (plate VIII).
Series III, I, fasc. 2, plate XLVIII, figs. 586-587; plate LIII,
fig. 619; and III, plate XXXIII, fig. 470: The general style and
pose of the figurines on these plates is exactly like the work of the
Ovimbundu. Legs are short, knees are flexed, hands are clasped
on the abdomen, and necks are elongated, while hair and cicatriza-
tion are clearly shown. All these figures are the same in form and
function as those used by the Ovimbundu. Plate XXII, figs. 342,
354, 357, describes horns of antelope, also tortoise shells which are
filled with medicine. The latter are provided with cords for suspen-
sion round the neck. Batatela war clubs are of the form used by
the Ovimbundu (p. 65). These resemblances between work of the
Ovimbundu and tribes of the southwest Congo is further shown
by reference to illustrations by H. Clouzot and A. Level (L’art
negre, Paris, 1919).
Series III, I, fasc. 1: Mural decorations on houses resemble the
designs on houses of northern Angola (p. 6).
The basket-work dumb-bell rattle is of the form used in eastern

Angola (plate II, figs. 36-38).
Plate VI, figs. 123 A
and B, indicates that the flat drum of the
Ovimbundu is of the exact form used in the Kasai and Sankuru
294 The Ovimbundu
region. Plate XVI, fig. 284, shows long wooden flutes like those
of Umbundu pattern at Bailundu. Plate XIX, figs. 124 and 313,
indicates that the musical bow with its gourd resonator is of the
form used by the Ovimbundu.
The ethnographical catalogue of the Rijks Museum of Leiden
shows many objects of the southwest Congo which are identical
with those used by the Ovimbundu. Plate 193 pictures the sansa
and the marimba which are common to both regions. Plates 224,
fig. 1, and 225, fig. 1, show tobacco-pipes and a mancala board of
Ngalangi pattern. The mancala board from the Sankuru region

has twenty-eight holes arranged seven by four. Plates 75, fig. 10,
and 236, fig. 4, indicate that curved knives used by the Bangala
are like those used by the Vasele of northeast Angola. Plate 227,
fig. shows that head-dresses for initiates closely resemble those
2,
worn by Vachokue boys at Cangamba, eastern Angola.
This examination of the traits of Congo culture calls attention
to numerous resemblances between the cultural pattern of the
Congo region and that of the Ovimbundu of the present day. I
think there is reason to accept the following factors of Umbundu
life as a part of the Congo culture before the separation of the
Umbundu-speaking peoples. The historical and geographical facts

when considered in relation to the number of cultural identities
fully support the thesis that the Ovimbundu are of the central
African matrix of cultures.
On
the material side resemblances are close, as the following
summary will show. The Ovimbundu cultivate maize from which
beer is made; they have manioc, peanuts, yams, sweet potatoes,
and beans. Methods of agricxilture and preparation of foods are
similar. The animals common to both regions are the sheep, goat,
chicken, and dog. The difference is the rearing of cattle by the
Ovimbundu, who have also concentrated on the cultivation of
maize to an extent not possible in the more densely wooded areas
of the Congo basin. The use of dogs’ flesh as food is common in
both areas.
The musical instruments of the Ovimbundu are in keeping with
Congo patterns in every way. Indeed, there exist few and only
minor differences. Forms common to both areas are the ocisanji,
a flat board with two rows of metal keys; dumb-bell basket rattles
and gourd rattles; the friction drum; the marimba; wooden flutes;
the flat drum ocingufu; the double iron gong; and the long tubular
drum which is held between the performer’s legs. Resemblances
of a definite kind are found in the game with rolling tubers; the use
of red tukula wood body; the insertion of burned
for decorating the
rubber into scarifications; the goxird water-pipe for smoking tobacco
and hemp; the dugout canoe; conical fishing baskets; and the use
of narcotic poisons for fish. The wood-carving of the Ovimbundu
is related not only in general style but in detail to that of the south-
west Congo.
Close resemblances in points of social organization and religious
belief exist, but some of these identities are common not merely
to tribes of the Congo basin and the Benguela Highlands; they
form traits of a wider cultural basis, as will be shown.
These resemblances have great weight in establishing relation-
ship between a parent culture and the offshoot, because we are
dealing with a large number of allied factors that have been welded
into cultural patterns; the comparison does not depend on a few
isolated resemblances of form. A point of identity in spiritual belief
is the recognition of a supreme being, Suku, Nzambi, or Kalunga,
who is too far away to be concerned with the affairs of men.
a creator
To him no sacrifice or appeal is made, since all attention is reserved
for the ancestral spirits whose cult is connected with the use of
wooden figurines, which are of similar pattern in the Congo basin
and the Benguela Highlands.
The soul is said to reside in the heart,and the words used for
soul are almost the same. There are houses for sacred objects once
the property of men of importance. Distinction is usually made
between the nganga, a practitioner of witchcraft of an antisocial
kind, and the legitimate medicine-man. Both cultures have the
rain-maker. Ekandu is a word describing any action contrary to
the moral standards.
As a social factor there is the men’s house where only males
congregate for the evening meal brought by their women, and here
the communal pipe is passed round. Government is the same, by
kings of great power who delegate local affairs to village chiefs. The
social structure of the Ovimbundu rested formerly on a system of
alliances, and slavery similar to that of the Congo. A
warfare,
system of relationships and descent of property, not
classificatory
to a wife and children but to the maternal uncle or to children of
the deceased man’s sister, is similar for tribes of the Congo and
the Ovimbundu.
The prenuptial relationship of boys and girls, freedom of choice
in marriage, and the giving of marriage tokens are of the same
296 The Ovimcundu
pattern. In principle, the puberty rites for boys and girls of eastern
Angola are the same as those of the Congo region, and masks of
eastern Angola resemble those used by the Bapindi of the south-
west Congo. Cannibalism was a factor common to the Congo basin
and the territory occupied by the Ovimbundu, who have practised
ceremonial cannibalism within the memory of persons still alive.
The summary, supported by preceding details, makes

foregoing
clear that a substantial part of Umbundu culture is definitely like
that of the Congo basin. There can be no objection to the evidence
as a possibly fortuitous series of vague resemblances, since the
entire backgrounds are of the same pattern. The Ovimbundu have
a tribal life which is demonstrably a part of the matrix from which,
on historical grounds, it is thought to have been derived. The loss
of elements, the stressing of others, and the welding of traits from
different sources, are matters for discussion in a final chapter dealing
with the processes of cultural growth,
Rhodesia
A
constant factor in the economic and cultural development of
the Ovimbundu has been the caravan trade from Bih4 and Bailundu
northeastward across Africa to the Great Lakes, and southward
across Mexico into the Zambezi valley and Rhodesia. Every
traveler from Battell (1600) onward mentions these caravans which
returned to the Benguela Highlands with slaves and ivory. The
traditions of journeys still live. Umbundu words are used to describe
the Great Lakes, and I have mentioned a wooden figure used for
consultation by the medicine-man at a division of routes. There
are even today a few large caravans.
The first regular slave traders into northern Rhodesia were the
Mbundus from Angola. The Lambas say they were peaceful traders
who brought calico, guns, and beads to trade for ivory and slaves.
The Mbundu traders were often treated treacherously by both the
Lambas and the Lenjes. In some cases they were robbed by the
Lamba chiefs. It is said that the Lenjes used to bring their own
children to the Mbundu traders in order to buy calico and powder.
In the evening the Lenjes used the newly acquired guns to attack
the Mbundu traders so that they might recover the children who
had been traded (C. M. Doke, p. 79).
The account of F. S. Arnot is a valuable record of a journey
which brought him into touch with these traders’ caravans, whose
route he followed into Garenganze, a country to the southwest of
I
CuLTUEE Contacts 297
Lake Moero, close to the territory occupied by the Earotse. With

his Bih4an carriers Arnot passed along the valley of the Kwando
(Livingstone’s Chobe). He notes the use of bark cloth (p. 101)
and gives an excellent description of the divination basket. "For
divining they have a basket filled with bones, teeth, finger nails,
seeds, stones, and such articles which are rattled by the diviner
till the spirit comes and speaks to him by the movement of these
things” (pp. 106, 116). The onganga or witch doctor is described

on page 115; he is a person not to be confused with the odmbanda
or legitimate medicine-man.
Amot saw a corpse tied to a pole supported on the shoulders of
several men. “The witch-doctors demanded of the dead man the
cause of his death, whether by poison or by witchcraft, and if by
the latter, who was the witch? The jerking of the bier is taken as
the dead man’s answer.” This is the ceremony I described at
Elende about three hundred miles from the place mentioned by
Arnot. “When a chief dies they say he is sick or asleep [p. 117], and
an oxhide from a beast killed at the funeral should be buried with
the chief’s remains.” Arnot was not quite correct; the body of the
chief is sewn in the
hide. “The people of Bih6 say that there is a
Suku over and above all, but they do not know him
great spirit —
cannot say they believe him to be a universal god” (p. 119).
These instances recorded half a century ago are particularly
interesting because of their agreement with present-day procedure.
Arnot’ s description of the Vachokue country and the preparation of
beeswax, also the method of extracting honey from hives lodged
in trees (p. 146), would serve as a present-day record.
Arnot’s information concerns the Garenganze country bordering

on Katanga, a copper-producing region near the Lualaba River.
Here traders from Uganda, Unyamwezi, the Luba country, the basin
of the Zambezi, Bihd, Nyasa, and Zanzibar, gathered to carry on
their trade in copper, salt, ivory, slaves, flintlock guns, powder,
cloth, and beads. Apart from the evidence of any other writer,
that of Arnot alone would suffice to prove the importance of cultural
contacts of the Ovimbundu through caravan trade.
One would be mistakenin supposing that the Bihdans made
occasional contacts only.For three centuries there has been this
to-and-fro movement between the Benguela Highlands and central
Africa. In Garenganze, about eight hundred miles from the centers
of my research, Amot noted several points that have been recorded
in my notes. The word for medicine-man is odmbanda (p. 242).
298 The OviMBUNDU
The vertebrae of serpents strung together as a girdle are a cure for

rheumatism (p. 237). A necklace of pythons’ vertebrae was obtained
from a chief of Ngalangi who wore the bones to cure that affliction.
In Garenganze twins were introduced to the chief at a ceremony
conducted by a female ocimhanda. The Ovimbundu welcome
twins and one of triplets is given to the king.
E. Holub (II) mentions important traits of culture among the

Marutse, a Rhodesian people who keep cattle. The Marutse have
an aptitude for working in iron, horn, wood, bone, and leather. The
masked dance at which performers wore tightly fitting jackets of
netted fiber, with close-fitting sleeves, gloves, and stockings of the
same material, would serve as a description of the costumes worn
in the ceremonies observed at Cangamba in eastern Angola. Holub
notes the use of the double iron gong at these dances (vol. II, pp.
168-170). The bark receptacle (p. 308) is the one commonly used
in eastern Angola, and along the line from Saurimo to Malange.
The Marutse have the poison ordeal in which vomiting is a sign

of innocence, the witness being the god Nyambe (p. 322). Gourd
decorations of the Marutse and Babunda tribes show a technique
comparable with work of this kind done by the Ovimbundu
(pp. 305, 335). The practice of cupping is described by Holub
(p. 325) so also is the custom of wearing wooden hair-combs (p. 349).
;
These are cultural traits of the Vachokue and the Ovimbundu.

In his “Eine Kulturskizze des Marutse-Mambunda Reiches”
Holub gives a few additional points which connect the Marutse
culture with that of eastern and central Angola. The main instances
are the technique in gourds (p. 81); the form and halting of axes
(p. 116) blacksmith’s bellows and tongs (p. 129) the musical bow
; ;
(p. 139); the board with metal keys (p. 138); the small friction drum,
identical in pattern with my specimen from Elende (p. 140, fig. 70);
a musical instrument consisting of a notched board which is rubbed
with a stick (p. 142); tobacco-pipes made from the horns of animals
and from gourds (p. 147); cylindrical snuff boxes and sticks for
pounding snuff (p. 150, fig. 83); wooden hair-combs (p. 155, fig. 87);
and wooden stools (p. 163, fig. 92).
All these articles, which are pictured by Holub as being repre-
sentative of the work of the Marutse of Rhodesia,have their exact
parallels in Field Museum collections from the Ovimbundu.
Perusal of “The New Africa” by Schulz and Hammar was not

ethnologicaUy fruitful except for a series of outline drawings
(p. 110) showing forms of arrowheads used along the course of

the Chobe River, near the southeast border of Angola. One of the
heads is of the form most common among the Ovimbundu, while the
remainder are those in use among the Vachokue. Gourds are of
the same shapes and decorations as those obtained from Bailundu
by Field Museum expedition.
F. H. Melland describes the culture of the Bakonde of northern
Rhodesia. He is particularly concerned with the Kasempa district
bordering on eastern Angola, Katanga, and the Barotse country.
The poison ordeal (p. 222) is in use; vomiting implies innocence.
The small ceremonial ax is used by the Bakonde in divination rites
such as I have described for the Ovimbundu at Bailundu and
Ngalangi (p. 227). The Lunda people wear masks in connection
vnth initiation ceremonies (p. 232). Medicines are mixed in the
horns of the duiker and the bush buck (p. 232). The four-legged,
skin-topped stool is the same as that made by the Ovimbundu
(p. 280).
Melland’s description (p. 235) of a rite performed by a belated
Konde traveler in order to retard the setting of the sun, should be
mentioned. The top of a small ant heap is stuck into the fork of
a tree; this is the custom which prevails among the Ovimbundu of
Blende, and it is also a Lamba practice (C. M. Doke, p. 288). The
idea is unusual and I suggest that the Rhodesian rite may have been
derived from the practice of Umbundu carriers. Yet, on the contrary,
men of the Bih4an caravans may have imitated a Rhodesian custom;
but the act is so peculiar that independent origin seems improbable.
H. S. Stannus mentions points which aid the working out of a
scheme of culture contacts. Stannus describes the Wayao and other
tribes near Lake Nyasa, which was an area familiar to caravans from
the Benguela Highlands. The carving of wooden animals (p. 348)
of no known significance is a favorite pastime in which the Ovim-
bundu are skilled. Gourd vessels ornamented with lines and
triangles (p. 349) have a technique similar to that used by the Ovim-
bundu. The shooting of arrows having blunt wooden heads; pre-
paring staked pits; use of mucilage for catching birds; poisoning
fish; and making noose traps (p. 355), are all everyday usages among
the Ovimbundu, as they are among the Wayao.
Eastern and east-central Angola are the regions where bark cloth
is made and worn. The Angolan industry forms an extension of
the craft as practised in Rhodesia and the southwest Congo basin.
Stages of stripping bark from the tree and soaking and beating it
;
300 The Ovimbundu
with a wooden mallet are the same over a large area, but there are
no painted patterns or other fine points of technique which aid the
study of possible diffusions (Stannus, p. 343).
The following traits mentioned by Stannus have been recorded
among the Ovimbundu. There exists the custom of opening graves
to obtain portions of human remains for use as charms (p. 293);
the poison ordeal is applied to human beings or to fowls (p. 296)
the use of horns stuffed with medicine is common (p. 304) ; and divina-
tion by means of the small objects contained in a gourd resembles
the method of the Umbundu diviner (p. 302). Stannus states that
the gourd contains a number of small articles, each of which is named.
In the divination gourd are small pieces of white earthenware which
denote innocence, also bits of fiber from a sleeping mat to denote
sickness. The Ovimbundu use a divination basket, not a gourd,
for these s 3mibolic objects, but otherwise the methods are the same.
The bark canoe and the dugout are used. Maize, cassava, beans,
and peanuts are the principal crops (p. 346). There is ancestor
worship combined with great fear of ghosts. The head of a family
petitions a deceased relative, and the headman of a village intercedes
with his predecessor’s ghost. I have mentioned that a headman
of the Ovimbundu brings out the head of a dead chief wrapped in
oxhide, makes sacrifice, and asks favors. Stannus notes the seclusion
and circumcision of boys at puberty, also the ceremonial use of
bark clothin these rites (p. 256). These observations from Nyasaland
agree with notes made at Cangamba in eastern Angola. A men-
struating woman sleeps on a mat away from her husband, and she
is not allowed to prepare food (p. 234). These were noted as prohi-
bitions for women of the Ovimbundu.
The classificatory system of relationship outlined by Stannus
for the Nyasa region is the same as that of the Ovimbundu of Angola.
A man may not marry a daughter of his mother's sister, but marriage
with a daughter of his father’s brother is a normal union (p. 236).
The statement of Stannus (p. 239) with regard to the burial of a
pregnant woman recalls the custom which prevailed until recent
times at Ngalangi, where a sharp stake projecting from the surface
soil rested on the abdomen of the dead woman. After the grave
had been filled the stake was driven downward. Stannus says that
before filling in the earth one of the gravediggers descends into the
pit, and, after cutting the abdomen, he inserts the lower end of a
bamboo, while the upper end is made to project above the surface
of the grave. In Nyasaland and eastern Angola the alleged reason
for this procedure is the prevention of death among other pregnant

women. Twins are welcome and well treated (p. 239).
A corpse is tied to a pole with its limbs bound, and in this manner
it iscarried to the grave, accompanied by drummers. A widow
watches by the corpse of her husband. At the conclusion of funeral
rites fires are extinguished, and a new fire is kindled with the fire
drill in the chiefs house, from which distribution of the new fire
is made. The ashes of the old fires, with the stones supporting the
cooking pots, are taken to cross-paths and destroyed.
Cupping is practised (p. 289), and the vapor bath is used (p. 290).
The patient, covered with a blanket, squats over a pot of water into
which herbs have been dropped. Hot stones are added to the water
until it boils and gives off clouds of steam. Wayao boys have the
whipping top (p. 359) so also have the Ovimbundu. The Wayao
;
warm their drums and add wax to alter the tone (p. 365). The
conical rat trap of plaited cane, used for placing in grass which is
fired, is that in use by the Ovimbundu (Stannus, plate XX).
When describing the Wayao culture, C. H. Stigand confirms many
of the pointsmentioned by Stannus. Stigand describes the making
of bark cloth (p. 119); the sewing of reed mats with a long needle
(p. 120) and the importance of the maternal uncle, whose consent
;
to the marriage of his sister’s children is necessary (p. 122).
C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane describe the poison ordeal (p. 61).

The Wawemba make their poison from the bark of Erythrophlaeum
guineense, the tree mentioned so frequently in my summary of the
Congo which this trait of the poison ordeal is common.
culture, in
A chief of the Wawemba goes to the bush accompanied by a medicine-
man who is stripped of all clothing, and an offering of white beads
is made to the tree from which the bark is taken. The bark is then
given into the hands of a young child, who is carried to the village
so that his feet may not touch the ground. As usual in this ordeal,
vomiting is a sign of innocence.
The Wawemba practise cupping (p. 134). A man may not
marry the daughter mother’s sister because she is his sister
of his
(p. 172). The Wawemba carry a corpse on a pole. The king’s

corpse is wrapped in oxhide, and his bows, arrows, and spears are
placed in a hut on the grave. Then an ox is killed to provide hide
for binding the rafters of this tomb. Wives and slaves were formerly
sacrificed at the death of a king. These customs are similar to those
described for the funeral rites of a king of the Ovimbundu.
302 The Ovimbundu
E. W. Smith and A. M. Dale describe tribes which claim that

they are an offshoot from the eastern Bantu. This ancestry no
doubt accounts for the presence of many traits which are charac-
teristic of the culture pattern of the cattle-keeping areas of east
Africa. The writing of Smith and Dale is important because it deals
with a region in contact wdth the Congo, east Africa, and the Ovim-
bundu. The Wawemba and other tribes described by these authors
are in contact with the Baluba and the Bambala, who have been in
touch with the Ovimbundu from the earliest times for which any
record exists.
According to Smith and Dale the tribes grouped as Ila-speaking
peoples extinguish all fires after a funeral, while ashes from mourners’
fires are collected and thrown away (vol. II, p. 142). This regard
for ceremonial fire accompanies factors of the cattle culture wherever
that occurs in east, south, southwest Africa, and the Benguela
Highlands. The Ila-speaking people grow maize and beans (vol.
I, p. 137) they smoke hemp through the calabash water-pipe (vol. I,
;
p. 152); a conical basket fish-trap of Umbundu pattern is used

(vol. I, p. 163); they peg out hides and scrape them; they also make
twine by rolling fiber on the inner side of the thigh (vol. I, p. 186),
Coiled basketry in which the coils are made of many strands of fine
grass, also shallow winnowing trays, are like those used by the Ovim-
bundu (vol. I, p. 187).
is made by the coiling method (vol, I, p, 192).

Pottery The
method of carving stools bears a distinct resemblance to that of
the Ovimbundu. The bases of milk vessels and stools show supports
of peculiar shape which are triangular in cross section (vol. I, pp.
199-202). The Ila-speaking people have a classificatory system of
relationships consisting of groups of grandparents, fathers, and
mothers. Terms of address vary according to the relative ages of
the speaker and the person addressed. Wangu (“older”) is the term
used by the Ovimbundu; so also is tata (“father”). Children of
the father’s brothers, and children of the mother’s sisters, that is,
ortho-cousins, are real brothers and sisters. The mother’s eldest
brother is the most important relative. The word tata is applied
to all the brothers of the speaker’s father. This is the system of the
Ovimbundu in principle and considerable detail.
The Ba-ila play mancala with holes in the ground

(chisolo)
(vol. II, p. 233). 'They have the musical bow (vol. II, p. 263) and
the metal-keyed musical instrument (Umbundu ocisanji) which is
played in a gourd (vol. II, p. 265). The Ba-ila use the friction drum
(vol. 11, p. 265), which is of the Ovimbundu and

an instrument
several tribes of the southwest Congo. The marimba, made from
eight slats of wood with gourds underneath, is well known in the
north and east of Angola.
There is real similarity both in form and function between the
culture of Rhodesia and that of the Ovimbundu. This assertion
does not rest on consideration of a few factors of a general kind.
In addition to the weight of e-riidence afforded by the long list of
similar factors detailed in this section, one must bear in mind the
geographical proximity and the known historical connection of the
areas under discussion. The following points are of primary impor-
tance in accounting for the similarity of culture patterns in Rhodesia
and the highlands of Angola occupied by the Ovimbundu.
(1) Central Angola and Rhodesia have so many traits in common

with each other and with the southwest Congo culture that together
the three form a cultural harmony.
(2) Central Angola and Rhodesia have both derived factors from
the cattle culture of east Africa, though by different routes.
(3) Rhodesia and central Angola have had prolonged direct

contacts through caravan trade carried on by the Ovimbtmdu.
(4)In addition to diffusion there has been a convergence of cul-
trues in Rhodesia and central Angola because of similarity of
geographical conditions. Both are high plateau regions having a
degree of heat and a rainfall suitable for the growth of maize and
the rearing of cattle. Therefore these occupations have developed
in both regions because in each locality there has been a need,
favorable conditions, and a like response to physical conditions.
South West Africa

The principal tribes of this area are the Ovambo, Herero, Berg
Damara, Nama Hottentots, and Bushmen. The most important
tribes to consider from the cultural point of view are the Ovambo
and the Herero. Wandering bands of Bushmen occur in Angola,
and here and there may be seen among the Ovimbundu individuals
who appear to have a trace of Bushman blood; but comparison of
collections and notes relating to the Ovimbundu with literature
on Bushman tribes does not reveal any similarities. There has
undeniably been some contact of Bushmen with the inhabitants of
Angola, but Bushman influence has probably been very slight from a
cultural and physical point of view (D. Bleek; S. Marquardsen, p. 109).
304 The Ovimbundu
The Ovambo include eight kindred tribes, all of whom are

branches of the Bantu linguistic family to which the Ovimbundu
belong. The Vakuanyama, who inhabit large tracts of southern
Angola, are a numerous, warlike, pastoral branch of the Ovambo.
The Valcuanyama are the only section of the cattle-keeping peoples
of the southwest of Africa with whom I have made personal contact;
but their culture is generally representative of that of the Ovambo
and the Herero.
When making a journey southward from the country of the

Ovimbundu in central Angola, thereis a noticeable increase in the
size of the kraals as the journey is continued. The first large kraal
was observed near Kipungo, and when as far south as Mongua the
wealthy cattle-keeping Vakuanyama were by far the most numerous
people. Their total strength is probably about 55,000. I journeyed
through the Kuanyama country in July, halfway through the dry
season, but found that cattle were watered at deep wells from which
men and women were constantly drawing water for the herds. Near
Ondjiva, only a few miles from British South West Africa, the
ruler of the Vakuanyama owned at that time 14,000 head of cattle.
After examining 1,200 objects collected in Angola, I feel sure

that cultural contact between the Ovimbundu and the Vakuanyama
is unimportant, so far as artifacts are concerned; but, if the inquiry
turns to other aspects of culture, there is a more fruitful line of

investigation.
Many beliefs and customs center in the keeping of cattle in east

and south Africa. The typical cattle-keeping area begins with the
Bahima in the vicinity of Lake Victoria Nyanza. The region extends
down the eastern side of the continent, through the south and south-
west into Damaraland. The Vakuanyama of southern Angola
should be included in this area, which has homologies in respect to
certain laws, ceremonies, economic customs, and religious beliefs.
The true pastoral area of the south of Angola extends at least

as far north as Huila, where there is sufficient rainfall to produce
good pasture in open country which is well adapted for raising stock.
All the traditions of the Ovimbundu, along with the writings of
Battell, suggest this southwest part of Angola as the line of entry for
cattle. The Congo basin is not a pastoral country, and transporta-
tion of cattle from Rhodesia would necessitate the crossing of
hundreds of miles of arid country in Moxico, eastern Angola. There
remains, therefore, the cattle-keeping area of south and southwest
Angola as the source of supply for the Ovimbundu, who both traded
and made warfare with the south.
Therefore, reasonable ground exists for believing that the cultural
traits that the Ovimbundu associate with the keeping of cattle
have been taken over with the cattle themselves. The traits agree
in principle and detail with the factors of the African cattle-keeping
areas. The characteristics of this pastoral culture have been out-
lined by M. J. Herskovits (The Cattle Complex in East Africa,
Amer. Antli., XXVIII, 1926, pp. 270-272 424-528; 630-664). I
;
wish, however, to give prominence to the factor of sacred fire which

is fundamental in the cattle-keeping culture. The importance of
sacred fire in the ritual of the Ovimbundu has been demonstrated,
and this trait is a most important link between the typically Negro
culture of the Ovimbundu and the Hamitic pastoral culture of
east Africa.
A brief summary of the salient facts of the cattle-keeping culture,
such as is found in east and south Africa, will be given. This will
be followed by a statement of the cultural traits associated with
the keeping of cattle among the Ovimbundu in order to demonstrate
similarities of custom.
In describing cattle-keeping people of the Lakes region J. Roscoe

(VI) outlines a pre-pastoral condition characterized by agricultural
pursuits which still survive near Ruwenzori and Elgon. Of the
pastoral people the most conservative are the Banyankole of Ankole,
among whom all social customs fall into line with the keeping of
cattle. Milk is the principal food, and strong purgatives are taken
after eating vegetable food, which is regarded as unclean. Agricul-
turists are a serf class who are not allowed to have milk. A woman
of the pastoral class would not accept a husband from the agricultural
people, because they are social inferiors. In such a community one
customs centering in cattle. Bulls are
finds a strict preservation of
killed beside the grave of a while cows are dedicated to the
chief,
dead chief at whose shrine their milk is offered daily (p. 21).
Roscoe’s account of the worship of the dead in Uganda (III)
further explains customs that are characteristic of pastoral com-
munities in which the connection between cattle-keeping and kingship
is important. The death of the king is not announced and the fact
of death kept secret for several days until preparations for the
is
succession have been made. "The fire is extinct” is a euphemism

which refers to the death of the king. The king is buried in a hut
surrounded by a fence. This hut is later visited by the new king
306 The Ovimbundu
who cleans and decorates the jawbone of his predecessor,

then
preserves it in a case of lion skin. Among
the Basoga the skull
of the king is cleaned and stitched in cowhide. It is then placed
in a temple where a medium lives in order to converse with the
ghost of the king (p. 43). The Bunyoro line the grave of a king with
cowhide, and the slaughtered cows are said to serve the dead king
with milk in a spirit world.
Roscoe (I, p. 101) states that the Bahima wrap the body of a
king a
in the skin of freshly killed cow; the deities are not often
invoked, but attention is paid to ancestral ghosts (p. 109). There
is a Bahima custom of making blood brotherhood by drinking blood
mixed with milk (p. 117). The Banyankole (Roscoe, V, p. 32),
institute a blood brotherhood by rubbing each other with blood
drawn from their navels by an arrow. The body of a king is
sewn in cowhide (p. 58). A cow is killed and eaten at the grave of
a chief (p. 146).
A examination of Roscoe’s observations (IV) adds

further
corroborative information. The Bakitara have rain-makers for
each district (p. 28). There is a ritual for establishing blood brother-
hood (p. 46). At the king’s death all fires in the royal enclosure
are extinguished; so also are the fires in each royal cow kraal. Fresh
fires are made by friction in the new royal enclosure from which
fire is distributed to the kraals (p. 47). The Bakitara test two
litigants or accused persons by asking each to provide chickens
which are made to take poison (p. 70). The death of the king is
not announced for some days; he is said to be asleep. A young bull
is killed to provide a shroud for the king’s body (p. 121). The king’s
spear and walking stick are kept in the tomb (p. 126). At the death
of a king of the Baganda the guardian of the king’s sacred fire is
strangled. A war leader rubs himself with ashes from the sacred
fire in order to increase his strength and courage (Roscoe, II, pp.
103, 349).
The concept of the sacred fire has spread, not only down the
east side of Africa and into Angola, but northeastward to the Lotuko-
speaking peoples. Here a new fire has to be kindled at the initiation
of a member of the drum-house. At puberal initiation ceremonies
for boys, the rain-maker creates new fire with twirling sticks, which
are never again used, though they are preserved. All fires in the
village are extinguished before the new fires are made. The freshly
ignited fire is distributed first to drum-houses then to the homes
(C. G. and B. Z. Seligman, Sudan Notes and Records, VIII, pp. 12,
CuLTUEB Contacts 307
15). Fire is kindled on the grave and tended by a relative for

thirty days (p. 38).
When
the Masai desire rain, a fire of cordia wood is lighted.
Into a medicine-man throws charms, after which several
this
medicine-men dance round the fire and sing (A. C. Hollis, The
Masai, p. 348).
Bosch states that the Banyamwezi have a fire-making rite

which is symbolic and religious, “mais avant tout il est magique."
The new fire is made annually at the brewing of the first beer. New
fire is made when epidemics of sickness occur, also at the inaugura-
tion of a new chief. The Ovimbundu make and distribute new
fire on each of these occasions. The Banyamwezi strangle their
decrepit king but do not announce the death. A report stating that
the king is sick is issued (Les Banyamwezi, pp. 229-233).
The usages of the cattle-keeping Ovambo (of whom the Vaku-

anyama of southern Angola are a section) and the Herero, are of
paramount importance in this research because of their proximity
to the Ovimbundu.
H. Vedder (III, p. 166) has come to the conclusion that the

Herero represent the southern extremity of a racial migration from
the region of the Great Lakes, and this is the generally accepted
view. Vedder states that the Herero came through the south of
Angola, crossed the Cunene River, and entered the Kaokoveld
(p. 166). From a study of native traditions, philology, and cultural
elements, there is reason for supposing that the Ovambo, including
the Vakuanyama, extended farther into Angola than they do today;
hence contacts with the Ovimbundu were probably frequent, and
possibly continuous for a period.
C. H. L. Hahn has
recently made an analysis of the traits of
Kuanyama His introductory pages give an account of
culture.
Kalunga, a supreme being whose name is coupled with the name
Nangombe. There is here a philological resemblance to words used
by the Ovimbundu. Kalunga is an Umbundu word meaning “greet-
ings,” “sea,” “lord,” and "death,” the meaning varying with the
context and accent. Ongomhe is the Umbundu word for ox, while
Kangomhe is the name of more than one chief of historical importance.
The Herero respect a supreme being whom they call Ndjambi
Karunga. Nyamhi is a well-known word in the Congo region, and
the Ovimbundu have the word NjamU, or Na-Njanibi, which means
“Lord Njambi.”
308 The OviMBUNDU
The Ovambo not allow the tribal fire of the chief’s kraal to
will
burn out because it the life of the people (Hahn, p. 3). This author
is
writes in the past tense, from which one infers that the customs he
describes have declined. Two old men were the keepers of the
sacred fire; these guardians were chosen from the circumcised men
(p. 17). The was never allowed to flare, but only to smolder.
fire
No one referred to this fire, nor was anyone allowed to sit near it, cook
over it, or warm himself. The whole tribe received the fire from
the chief, who originally gave it to the headman for distribution to
commoners (p. 18). Hahn remarks that, although these customs
are declining, they are still observed by the Vakuanyama, the branch
of the Ovambo which is in closest contact with the Ovimbundu.
In the same publication (III, p. 68) Vedder says of the Berg

Damara that a series of religious ideas centers in the holy fire which
burns perpetually on the eastern side of a sacred tree in the middle
of each village. At cook their meat, and here
this fire the elders
the council meeting In order to obtain a seat at the holy
is held.
fire a young man has to submit to initiation as a hunter on three
occasions, at intervals of a year. Children may not play at the holy

fire. When hunting becomes unprofitable the Berg Damara move
to a new and a glowing piece of wood is taken from the sacred
site,
fire in order to kindle a new one. This is the practice described in

connection with the formation of a new village site by the Ovim-
bundu. A more detailed account of sacred fire is given by Vedder
(II, pp. 23-27).
L. Fourie, another contributor to “Native Tribes of Southwest
Africa,’’shows that the Heikom Bushmen have a sacred fire kindled
and owned by the headman, who is the only person who knows how
to bring from this fire the properties which induce health and well-
being. When making
a new settlement the headman kindles the
new under the sacred tree, and fire from the old camp may not
fire
be used. After the headman has dropped herbs into the fire and
has lighted his pipe therefrom, his wife takes brands for kindling
the fire in her hut. The fire is then distributed from this point among
the whole group (p. 87).
The center for religious worship among the Herero is an ash
heap in which a weak fire glimmers. This is blown into a blaze
only on festive occasions. The fire is always situated between the
chief kraal and the house of the principal wife. Round the fire lie
horns of cattle which have been slaughtered as an offering (Vedder,
III, p. 167). The holy fire is a gift from Mukuru, and extinction of
the fire means disaster for the tribe. If the fire should die out, only
the priest as living representative of Mukuru may rekindle it. The
relighting is done by means of fire-sticks, which are said to be male
and female. A traveler makes sure of the blessing of his ancestors
by taking a firebrand from the holy fire with him. When laying the
foundation of a new house the builder must obtain a firebrand from
the fire of a recognized priest-chief.
To corroborate the information given by Vedder, one may turn
to the work of J. Irle (II, pp. 337, 342, 346). The soul, which is not
corporeal, is identified with the heart as among the Ovimbundu
and in the southwest Congo. The Herero use sandals which they
bury with the dead. Probably the Ovimbundu have borrowed
the idea of sandals from this southern culture, since there are no
sandal-wearing people found on any other side of them. The
Herero apeak of Ndjambi, and Irle asks, “Who is Ndjambi, with
whom they so frequently associated the name Karunga?” They
say that Karunga is Ndjambi who sends rain, thunder, and
lightning. The Herero say, “Karunga dwells in heaven. He does us
only good, therefore we do not fear him and do not sacrifice to
him.” Holy fire, which is never allowed to go out, is made with
fire-sticks in the ancestor house.
A. W.
Hoernl4 has commented on the use of sacred fire by the
Hottentots. Nau is a mystic force; for example, an animal killed
by lightning is nau. As soon as a person becomes nau, the fire in
his hut is nau and must no longer be used for cooldng. A fire kindled
with the fire-sticks is used for the purification ceremony of a girl who
menstruates for the first time. After the ceremony she may resume
her milking duties. The Hottentots use the sweat bath as a means
of purifying mourners. An article entitled “The Sacred Fire of
the Bapedi of the Transvaal,” by W. M. Eiselen, adds important
data to the notes given here.
All this evidence from east and southwest Africa is in close
agreement with personal observations among the Ovimbundu. The
contacts of the Ovimbundu with southern Angola are established
facts, hence history and geography render the hypothesis of a deriva-
tion of culture probable. The Ovimbundu regard cattle as an
estimate of weath and social standing. Usually the animals are not
killed or milked, but they are used to pay fines, and to make
purchases.
In dealing with kingship among the Ovimbundu I note a strong
resemblance to customs prevailing near Victoria Nyanza, the
310 The Ovimbundu
principal focns of the cattle-keeping areas. The king's death is not

announced by the Ovimbundu. There is a special hut for burial,
and part of the head is later removed for decoration and separate
interment. This part of the royal corpse is subsequently brought
out for worship and supplication. The Ovimbundu never admit the
death of a king until a successor has been chosen. The king’s body is
buried in oxhide, but the head is severed by suspending the corpse
with a rope round the neck, then twisting the body. The head is
sewn in oxhide and kept in a box. In time of drought or before
a journey a chief or medicine-man visits the head to make a sacrifice
and ask for help. Oxen are killed at funeral feasts of the wealthy and
the horns are mounted over the grave. Mourners for the king wear
strips of oxhide round their wrists.
There can be no doubt that the Ovimbundu received the above

traits, also their knowledge and use of the sacred fire, from the cattle-
keeping area. The use of sacred fire has been shown to be a primary
trait associated with the keeping of cattle. Reference to field work
among the Ovimbundu indicates that the usages connected with
sacred fire agree in detail with those of the pastoral area. The
Ovimbundu keep the sacred fire burning in the Wial place of kings;
for instance at Ngalangi, as described. The Ovimbundu create
new fire by twirling when a new village site is opened, and the
fire is Lustration after an epidemic
distributed from the chief's home.
of sickness is always ceremonially carried out by creation of new
fire on which the blood of sacrificed animals is sprinkled. There-
fore, in general outline and considerable detail the factors associated
with cattle-keeping among the Ovimbundu are those of the pastoral
areas of east, south, and southwest Africa.
In summarizing we may say that contacts of the Ovimbundu with

southwest Africa have arisen from occupation of contiguous territory,
along with trading and raiding. The acquisitions made by the
Ovimbundu from pastoral tribes include several artifacts such as
sandals, the assagai, and the throwing club. More important than
the diffusion of these objects into Umbundu culture has been the
reception of the cattle themselves, along with the social values,
usages, and religious beliefs which are the usual concomitants of
the African pastoral culture.
A study of the culture contacts of the Ovimbundu conclusively
shows that they are not an isolated people whose artifacts, religious
beliefs, and social life stand out distinctively from the culture
patterns around them. On the contrary the Ovimbundu have.
through trade and warfare, been an absorbent people, reaching out

in all directions and assimilating all cultural traits which were of
service.
Up to this point, only the immediate culture contacts of the

Ovimbundu have been considered. Yet it is evident that some of
the cultural traits which have been discussed are widely diffused
in Africa. Consequently, some further inquiry is needed if the
tribal life of the Ovimbundu is to be considered against a broad
ethnological background of African culture.
XI. WIDER CULTURE CONTACTS
When dealing with the immediate culture contacts of the Ovim-
bundu, the traits found in central Angola were considered in rela-
tion to the cultural elements of each of three areas, the Congo basin,
Rhodesia, and South West Africa. In this chapter attention is given
to some traits that are found, not only among the Ovimbundu and
adjacent peoples, but among some other African tribes remote from
the present-day location of the Ovimbundu. The Graebnerian
school has indeed claimed that some of these widely distributed
African traits are Melanesian and Indonesian in origin, a theory
which is briefly considered in the latter part of this chapter.
The present examination of widely distributed traits is facilitated
by referring to each of a number of papers not previously mentioned.
For example, E. Torday (IV) has dealt in general with religion and
social organization among Bantu tribes. H. Baumann (II) has
discussed hoe-culture and matriarchal conditions in Bantu Africa.
G. Lindblom (I) has brought together a large body of evidence relat-
ing to the distribution of hunting devices. H. Balfour (I, II, III)
has outlined the distribution of the friction drum. Hence there
exist useful summaries of trait distributions with which cultural
factors of the Ovimbundu can be compared.
Antiquity op Cultural Traits
At the outset we must recognize that the extent of distribution
of a trait importance in the cultural pattern may be but
and its
a treacherous guide to its antiquity. The widespread use and cultiva-

tion of tobacco and maize are instances of this kind. The growth
and curing of tobacco led to the adoption of this commodity as a
medium of exchange which could be conveniently carried by caravans.
Exchange of snuff as a form of greeting, also the passing of a com-
munal pipe from hand to hand in the men’s house, are instances of
social usages which caused a rapid spread of a commodity in a short
time (Laufer, Hambly, and Linton, Tobacco and Its Uses in Africa,
Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Anthr. Leaflet 29, 1929).
The use of maize, one of the most important factors in the
building and preservation of Umbundu a wide distribu-
culture, has
tion in Africa, but its introduction is dated only from the sixteenth
century. The Portuguese carried on a regular traffic in slaves
between Angola and Brazil, and in all probability this resulted in
the introduction of manioc, peanuts, and sweet potatoes. Possibly
312
Wider Culture Contacts 313
the yam also was introduced. All these food plants spread with
great rapidity, hence the extent of their distribution is not a guide
to their antiquity.
The Blacksmith’s Craft in Africa

The antiquity of the blacksmith’s occupation is not easy to
determine, though the usefulness of the craft, and the accessibility
of surface-ore in many parts of Africa, might incline one to favor
a theory of rapid diffusion. There is an extensive literature dealing
with the origin of the blacksmith’s craft, which is variously attributed
to the Negro, the ancient Egyptians, or to Hamitic invaders.
and not independent invention in many

Diffusion of the craft,
parts of Africa, suggested by the continuity of like forms of
is
apparatus; taboos of the same kind connected with the blacksmith;

treatment of smiths as a special caste; also their employment of
ritual in making furnaces, training apprentices, and consecrating
their tools.
Iron objects requiring considerable skill in their manufacture
are described by the earliest writers who came in contact with
northern Angola, and early observations relating to iron gongs and
axes have already been given. This evidence therefore suggests
that the Ovimbundu must have had a knowledge of the working of
iron when they entered the Benguela Highlands.
The following data from many parts of Africa are adduced to
show the relation of the blacksmith’s craft among the Ovimbundu
to a wider background, of which Umbundu customs form a part.
The Ovimbundu have developed ritual aspects of the blacksmith’s
craft which have already been described, and along with these the
following instances should be considered.
Natmally, special local developments occur, but the general
attitude of theOvimbundu toward blacksmiths is in accord with a
widely distributed body of African beliefs affecting Bantu, semi-
Bantu, Sudanic, and Hamitic-speaking tribes, from which a few
instances may be noted.
Among the Kpelle of Liberia a blacksmith receives no pay for
work done for a chief, but he is free from military The
service.
blacksmith is a confidential person for the whole village, and he is
conversant with many family secrets (D. Westermann, Die Kpelle,
p. 170). Blacksmiths of the Ibo of Nigeria form a strong union
which resents intrusion into the secrets of thecraft. Blacksmiths
are to be found only in certain towns which form halting places on
314 The Ovimbundu
their itinerary (G. T. Easden, Among the Ibos of Nigeria, p. 176).

At Ife in a sacred grove I saw objects which were described as
the hammer and the anvil of the first blacksmith. Over the anvil
stone were the remains of a recently sacrificed dog. Such an offering
is made twice a year to Ogun, the patron god of blacksmiths. Among
the Masai, blacksmiths are said to be unlucky with cattle, and are
therefore not allowed to own them. Smiths have their own language
which not well understood by other people of the tribe (A. C.
is
Hollis,The Masai, p. 331). The Suk say that no woman may see
a blacksmith at work because his tools would become heavy in his
hand, then he would go mad and die. There is chanting by the black-
smiths during forging and molding (M. W. H. Beech, The Suk, p. 18).
Working in iron is accompanied by many special rites among the
Bakitara; in fact, taboos are observed from the time of preparing
the charcoal. Smiths belong to the serf class. Among the omens,
sneezing is a warning from a ghost indicating that there is danger
near and work is therefore discontinued. Offerings are made to the
spirit of the hill where ore is dug in order to prevent burial of the
diggers (J. Roscoe, IV, p. 218). When a Banyankole smith is making
a new hammer he gives a feast at which six goats are killed. This
sacredness of the large hammer was emphasized among the
Ovimbundu.
Southwest of Lake Bangweolo a small shrine is erected near
the smelting furnace, and here a prayer is offered to spirits of former
smelters (H. B. Barnes, J.R.A.I., LVI, p. 191). The Ila-speaking
people of Rhodesia have a principal blacksmith who is named
munganga wa butale ("the iron doctor”). Secrets of the craft are
preserved by transmission from father to son only. The munganga
takes charge of the preparation of iron and directs the ceremonies
(E. W. Smith and A. M. Dale, I, pp. 203-207). E. Torday records
that the Bambala have a T-shaped hammer with a pointed handle.
“It is practically impossible to obtain a specimen of these hammers
since death is the portion of a smith who parts with his tools.”
(I, p. 406.)
These examples do not reveal the origin of the blacksmith’s
craft and its ritual, but they explain Umbundu customs as part
of a system of ideas which affects the whole continent of Africa
south of the Sahara.
Bantu Religion and Socul System
The spiritual beliefs of the Ovimbundu have already been shown
to agree with those of the Congo basin and southwest Africa.
E. Torday’s paper, "Dualism in Western Bantu Religion and Social

Organization," is an admirable summary of a wide background
of Bantu beliefs with which those of the Ovimbundu agree in detail.
Torday (VI) has also given a summary of Bantu sexual relations.
His summary of prenuptial relationships of boys and girls, the
system of polygyny, and domestic arrangements in general, indicates
that records made among the Ovimbundu are but a sample of an
extensive and homogeneous series of Bantu sex customs.
With regard to the classificatory system of relationships and

cross-cousin marriage, sufficient quotations have been given to
indicate that the system of the Ovimbundu is one which is paralleled
in Rhodesia, the Congo basin, and still more remote regions. To
the instances given should be added corroborative examples from
J. Roscoe (The Baganda, p. 109), R. S. Rattray (Ashanti, p. 29),
and H. A. Stayt (The Bavenda, pp. 172-184). L. H. Biixton and
R. S. Rattray have offered a theory to explain the kinship system
and cross-cousin marriage in Ashanti {Jour. African Soc,, XXIV,
p. 88; Religion and Art in Ashanti, p. 318).
In Africa a classificatory system of relationships is particularly

Bantu area. The system is Semitic and Hamitic.
characteristic of the
It is not reported among the Bushmen, but is in vogue among the
Kama Hottentots. The wide distribution of a classificatory system,
with variations, and its importance in tribal life, suggest antiquity
(see Hoeml6, II, and B. Z. Seligman, III).
H. Baumann (I) has prepared maps showing the distribution of

customs affecting descent of property in Africa Investigation among
.
the Ovimbundu proves that their scheme of inheritance of property

is part of a more widely distributed system. Baumann (pp. 66, 127)
states that in the Kasai valley and the Cabinda Enclave the rights
of the mother’s brother are expressed in his control of his sister’s
children. The power of the maternal uncle in Ovimbundu families
was reported, and it was stated that he has the right to sell his
sister’s children for redemption of his debts. Baumann’s map
further indicates an area in which property descends, not to a wife
or children, but to a mother’s brother, or to the sons of the deceased
man’s oldest sister. The social system of the Ovimbundu is definitely
a part of this cultural matrix, which extends to the north and north-
east of the Ovimbundu but, according to Baumann’s record, not to
the south of Angola. In the south of Angola among pastoral people
a system of succession and inheritance in the male line prevails, and
316 The Ovimbundu
this method is characteristic of many pastoral tribes of south and

east Africa.
The Ovimbundu are situated between two systems of reckoning
descent, succession,and inheritance; namely, the Negro system of
the Congo region, and that of the eastern and southern cattle-
keeping people. In view of the culture contacts described in Chapter
X, the mixed system of the Ovimbundu is intelligible.
On hand the Ovimbundu emphasize the rights of the
the one
mother’s brother while denying inheritance to a wife and her children,
but in royal families the eldest son of the principal wife succeeds
to kingship. Among commoners descent is reckoned through both
the father and the mother. Therefore the inference is that the
Ovimbundu have, by virtue of their position and contacts, made a
blending of two distinct social systems, one of which gives succession
to office in the male line, while the other gives inheritance in the
female line. In their system of burial rites for kings the Ovimbundu
follow the usages of the pastoral area.
Exchange of blood is an Umbundu custom resembling that
which occurs widely in Negro Africa. This exchange of blood is
the typical Negro form of the blood brotherhood. Another rite
is the Hamitic custom of drinking a mixture of blood and milk;
this the Ovimbundu do not practise.
The hoe-cultivation practised by Ovimbundu women is in agree-

ment with Baumann's association of hoe-culture and matriarchal
conditions, the latter being indicated by the importance of the
mother’s brother. These concomitant factors are shown by Baumann
(II, p. 292) to be characteristic of a wide area in the Congo basin.
To this area may be added the whole of central Angola.

The factors of slavery among the Ovimbundu are in agreement
with all that is Icnown of the treatment of slaves in the Congo area
and farther west Africa. Slaves of the Ovimbundu taken in warfare
were treated with less consideration than those who passed into
slavery to redeem a debt. There was also discrimination in favor
of slaves taken in local quarrels among the Ovimbundu themselves.
The killing and eating of slaves in north Angola is a custom whose
early occurrence has already been noted.
African Puberty Rites

boys and girls are at present well
Initiation ceremonies for
preserved among the Vachokue of eastern Angola; for a period such
ceremonies declined among the Ovimbundu, but there is now a
recrudescence. Masks of eastern Angola most closely resemble those

of the Bapindi of the southwest Congo, but the general background
of these puberty rites is comparable in Angola, parts of the Congo,
and in several parts of the forest belt of west Africa from Sierra
Leone to Cameroon.
Usually there is seclusion, hardship, training in dances and tribal
customs, with ceremonial reappearance and change of name.
Evidently the Ovimbundu share the material traits and the psycho-
logical background of initiatory rites with a very large number of
tribes, which occupy the forest zones of west and central Africa.
G. Lindblom’s publication, “The Use of Stilts in Africa and
America,” helps to explain the occurrence of stilt-walking at the
final ceremonies of initiation witnessed at Cangamba. Since stilt-
walking in Angola occurs chiefly in the eastern section, perhaps one
should link the trait with the stilt-walking in Nyasaland, because
there has been continuous communication from Angola to Nyasaland
along the Zambezi valley. The stilt-walking of eastern Angola may,
however, be a cultural offshoot from the southwest Congo, for
according to Lindblom the stilt-walking trait occurs there, and the
contacts of eastern Angola with the southwest Congo have been
important.
In turning from these factors of social life to traits of a more
material kind, there are points of importance to be noted in connec-
tion with food supply and industries. A possibility exists that
such traits as hunting, use of certain types of musical instruments,
basketry, and pottery, will indicate that the Ovimbundu, before
their reparation, drew some of their fundamental traits from a widely
distributed matrix.
Hunting Appliances of Africa
L. S. B. Leakey (A New Classification of the Bow and Arrow
in Africa, J.B.A.I., LVI, pp. 259-294) has dealt with the distribu-
tion of bows and arrows. Leakey states that, owing to lack of
evidence, he was unable to describe the bows and arrows of Angola.
I have therefore illustrated these in detail (Plate XVII, Pigs. 1-9).
Some of the arrowheads used by the Ovimbundu resemble those
of the Bashilele in the southwest Congo, but on the whole arrow-
heads used in Angola are of distinctive patterns, and presumably
they represent a special local development. The round bow of the
Ovimbundu and the Vachokue is like that of the southern Congo,
and it is absolutely distinct from the short flat bow used in southern
Angola among the Vakuanyama.
318 The Ovimbundu
The question of arrow release is important in this connection.

R. B. Dixon (The Building of Cultures, p. 181), while discussing
evidence from Wissler, Kroeber, and Morse, has plotted a map
showing the distribution of types of arrow release in all parts of
the world. The Ovimbundu (Plate XXXIX, Fig. 1) use the Medi-
terranean release, which is shovm by Kroeber (Univ. Calif. Pub.,
XXIII, p. 286) to occur in the southwest Congo region along with
the tertiary release. My
illustration and Kroeber’s description of
the Mediterranean release show that the thumb is kept entirely
out of the way. The string is engaged by the inner surfaces of the
tips of the index and middle fingers. The engaging finger-ends are
at right angles to the string.
Young boys when shooting blunt

often use the primary release
wooden arrows at In this release the butt of the arrow is
birds.
clasped between the end of the thumb and the middle knuckle of
the index finger. Kroeber remarks that the primary release is almost
invariably attempted by children and uninstructed novices, which
accords with my observations made in Angola. Presumably boys
of theOvimbundu change their method of release from the primary
to the Mediterranean when they handle a man's bow and arrows.
The Mediterranean release was observed throughout Angola, with
the exception of the primary release employed by boys.
G. Lindblom (I, Part I) assists in comparing hunting apparatus
of the Ovimbundu with a large number of African forms.
The throwing clubs of the Ovimbundu are definitely like those

of the Hottentots, Barotse, and Bushmen (pp. 120-126).
In Part II of his Lindblom discusses many kinds of traps.

leaflet
The trap built of heavy poles, which is used for catching lions,
leopards, and hyenas, is used all over Negro Africa; there is nothing
distinctive in the form and use of the Umbundu pattern. The cane
rat trap of conical form is described and its distribution is plotted
(pp. 52, 58, 56). Lindblom’s map shows a clustering round the
mouth of the Congo, also again at Long. 30° E. and Lat. 10° S.
The blank for Angola can now be filled. These traps are used in
many parts of Angola, notably among the Vasele of the northwest,
at Elende, Ngalangi,and Cangamba. The use of this trap in Angola
explains its presence among the Vakuanyama. On Lindblom’s
map the occurrence of the trap in south Angola is isolated from
the general African distribution, but use of the trap is really con-
tinuous from the Congo estuary through Angola to the Vakuanyama.
The use of bird-arrows with blunt, wooden knobs was common

at Elende, and I collected sharp, barbed, wooden arrows from the
Vasele, also from the areas of Kipungo and Mongua. This will
assist in extending the information given by Lindblom (pp. 94-98).
Lindblom’s map (p. 99) indicates that bird-arrows are used round
Lake Victoria Nyanza, at the junction of the Kasai and the Congo,
and likewise among the Bushongo and the Bayaka. My observation
of the distribution of wooden arrows in Angola links up these regions
shown by Lindblom with the south of Angola. Perhaps a trans-
continental diffusion in a southwesterly direction from Victoria
Nyanza may be assumed, for it is unlikely that the diffusion would
go counter to the generally accepted line of tribal migration which
has been from northeast to southwest.
African Pottery, Baskets, and Musical Instruments

There is no reason to connect the pottery of the Ovimbundu
with that of any particular region. The coiling method is far too
widespread and generic to afford evidence of contacts. The Ovim-
bundu have evolved their own peculiar designs and forms.
In coiled basketry also the Ovimbundu have made special
developments from a generic trait known in Egypt before 2000 B.c.
Designs and dyes appear to be of local origin. My observation of
African basketry does not suggest any particular parent form;
moreover, resemblances of design may be misleading, for the nature
of the material controls the shapes of the designs to a great extent
in coiled basketry.
Wood-carving, on the contrary, links the culture of the Ovim-
bundu very definitely with that of the southwest Congo. Perhaps
the work of Angola is most closely allied with that of the Bakuba,
who excel in the carving of figurines, cups, and staffs.
H. Balfour's article (III) on the distribution of the friction drum
helps to identify the form used by the Ovimbundu with types
of this instrument from other African areas. The type from Elende
is like that of Barotseland with which the Ovimbundu caravans were
frequently in contact, while the large friction drum from Ngalangi

is of the Bayaka pattern. The friction drum is widely used in the
southwest Congo among the Bakwese, the Bambala, and the Baluba.
Thus far research has been able to show a large number of
cultural traits of the Ovimbundu in relation to immediate culture
contacts of the Congo basin, Rhodesia, and South West Africa
(chapter X). In addition to this, many traits connected with social
322 The Ovimbundu
culture elements of Negro Africa. Among the cultural traits of

the Ovimbundu are a fev? which the Graebnerians would claim as
evidence of the passage of Indonesian cultural waves. Use of the
bow is part of the bow culture. Matriarchal conditions and hoe-
culture by women would be regarded as a somewhat later wave of
culture. Frobenius would ascribe the use of netted clothing during
initiation to an Oceanic origin. There is a small area in southeast
Angola where pile dwellings are built by the Ambuella tribe. Bark
cloth is made in eastern Angola. The marimba and the musical bow
are traits of Umbundu and Oceanic culture.
The point be the acceptance or rejection of
at issue seems to
cultural contacts on the ground of alleged resemblance in forms.
Frobenius would doubtless add that the supposed Malayo-Negritan
factors in Umbundu culture lie only a little to the southwest of the
Zambezi, which is a main line of hypothetical migration of Malayo-
Negritan factors.
Each of these elements Umbundu culture is of a non-specific
of
kind. For example, there nothing about the bark cloth, except
is
that it is a bark cloth, to link it with similar material in any other

part of the world. Stripping the tree, soaking the bark and beating
it, are part of the general technique.
The musical bow has a wide distribution, as H. Balfour (I)

has shown. He studies the distribution in Africa, North and South
America, Asia, India, the Malay Archipelago, Melanesia, and
Polynesia. He postulates the derivation from the archers’ bow and
says (p. 85), “The question whether or no we are to regard the
musical bows in India and in Africa as belonging to one family, is
one which is difficult to answer.” Balfour is impressed with similarity
of forms in India and Africa, but feels that the common origin is
not demonstrable.
When comparing types of masks and costumes within the African
continent the work of Frobenius (I) is found to be useful in
itself
indicating areas over which certain types of regalia are used in initia-
tion ceremonies. There is undoubtedly a localization of types, and
we previously noted that Angolan forms of masks and costumes
are definitely like those of the Bakuba and the Baluba in the south-
west Congo region. Moreover, the netting costumes used by the
Ovimbundu and the Vachokue of Angola closely resemble those used
in some parts of the Congo basin, Cameroon, and from that point
westward to Sierra Leone. Therefore, so long as comparisons are
limited to Africa itself, they are instructive in showing cultural traits

of Angola against a broader background.
But if the inquiry is extended with a view to proving that African
masks and costumes are derivatives from Oceania, there exists
no acceptable evidence of generic relationship. The mere use of
fiber skirts, of netting suits, and of bark cloth for masks, is not
acceptable evidence for supporting a theory of derivation of African
from Oceanic forms.
More important than the study of forms is the psychological
background of masks and costumes in Africa and Melanesia. In
“Origins of Education” I made a comparison of factors included in
the initiation of boys in Africa and Melanesia. The boys are secluded,
circumcised, instructed, harshly treated, and after a change of name
are reintroduced to their villages at a dance in which masks and
costumes are used.
Waiving the question of similarity of masks and costumes, do
the psychological factors provide reasonable grounds for assuming
generic relationship of initiation customs? Possibly the psychological
but the matter is so largely subjective,
setting suggests a single origin,
that a decision cannot be made without further evidence of the
correlation of forms, the details underlying their origin and use,
and the establishment of a more definite and unbroken track of
distribution. To have an intuition and a vague hypothesis is very
different from the demonstration of a theory. Delafosse (Negroes
of Africa, p. 3) pictures the peopling of Africa by Negro impacts
from Asia on the east coast near Madagascar. If true, this suggestion
would support the views of the Graebnerian school, but the theory
is highly speculative.
The extent to which an observer may be misled by fortuitous
resemblances in form has been demonstrated by a number of Ameri-
can anthropologists. Every investigator who attempts comparative
study and classification is prone to unite concepts, customs, and
artifacts which have only a superficial and misleading resemblance
to one another. This failure to discriminate may be illustrated as
follows: R. H. Lowie (Plains Indian Age-Societies, Amer. Mus.
Nat. Hist., Anth. Papers, No. 11, pp. 883-951) has shown the
fallacy of assuming genuine cultural resemblances between Age-
Societies of Plains Indians, the Masai, and the Melanesians, because
the phenomena when analyzed prove to have different psychological
settings, and they are structurally as distinct as are their geograph-
ical areas.
324 The Ovimbundu
W. D. Wallis points out the care that should be exercised in

assessing the evidential values of culture traits. These should be
weighted according to their simplicity or complexity, and their
logical connection with one another (Amer. Anth., XXX, p. 94).
The Malayo-Negritan migration have not
cultural factors of the
been considered in the manner advocated by Wallis.
Lowie examined apparently similar cases of exogamy, but found
that these depended on different conditions; for example, exogamy
might depend on either clan or locality (The Principle of Convergence
in Ethnology, Jour. Amer. Folk-lore, XXV, pp. 24-42),
A, A. Goldenweiser shows that totemism has many social and
psychological interpretations differing greatly according to locality.
In order to include the many forms of totemism a broad definition
has to be accepted. Totemism is indeed nothing more than a
tendency of social units or individuals to become associated with
symbols of emotional value (Totemism an Analytical Study, Jour.
Amer. Folk-lore, XXIII).
Lowie further emphasizes the distinctive types of totemism, in
order to show the fallacy of linking many different concepts under
one term, without recognizing the broad significance of the term
(Amer. Anth., XIII, p. 189). This research shows Frobenius to be
at fault in merely noting the presence of totemism and other traits
without defining their forms and examining the psychological
background.
An
article by A. L. Kroeber and C. Holt (Masks and Moieties
as a Culture Complex, J.R.A.I., L, p. 452) has a special bearing on
Graebnerian views with regard to the spread of cultures. Kroeber
set out to test the validity of the statement that North American
culture had been affected by the east Papuan layer of the Graeb-
nerian culture stream, which was supposed to have brought masks
and moieties to North America. The Graebnerian method assumes
that a culture trait never develops twice; also that instances of
geographical isolation of a trait must be ascribed to migration and
subsequent loss in intervening areas. The conclusion of Kroeber,
based on statistical examination of instances of conjoint occurrence of
the two traits, indicates that the union of masks and moieties comes
out fortuitously.
R. B. Dixon indicates several factors to which attention should
be paid in making comparisons of culture traits (Science, XXXV,
p. 46). In the first place there is the question of relationship on
geographical and historical grounds. It is also important to know
what degree of complexity there is in the artifacts and beliefs which

are under comparison. is, psychology and
Reason and form, that
morphology, are both important aspects of comparison. The work
so far accomplished with regard to the Malayo-Negritan theory
of African cultural traits fails to comply with the foregoing essentials
of comparative study.
There consensus of opinion against the Graebnerian hypothesis

is
in its present form. E. S. Hartland reviews Graebner’s “Methode
der Ethnologie” {Man, 1914, No. 70) with the result that he finds
Graebner too insistent on the value of forms as a criterion of generic
relationship. In fact such a method may degenerate into pure sub-
jectivity. F. Boas {Science, XXXIV, No. 884) takes the same point
of view in remarking on the exclusion of the psychological field of
inquiry; Graebner’s method has a too mechanical character.
In view of this criticism, and as a result of personal observation
of the culture elements of Angola, I am convinced that the somato-
and cultural data for considering the spread of the
logical, linguistic,
Malayo-Negritan culture in Africa are not sufficiently understood
to lead to a demonstration of any kind. For instance, Portuguese
East Africa, the hypothetical starting point of the migration, is
by no means well studied in detail, and the problem demands that
data relating to the supposed area of introduction should be partic-
ularly complete.
The same criticism relates to the farthest point of west Africa
reached by the supposed cultural stream from Melanesia. A theory
which aims at showing generic relationship between secret societies
of west Africa and Oceania cannot successfully rely only on general
resemblances of masks and the use of netting costumes. Something
more specific than a comparison of forms of artifacts and the occur-
rence of such ill-defined institutions as age-grades, totemism, and
secret societies is essential in order to make the kulturkreis theory
acceptable.
The problem of cultural relationships between the Ovimbundu
and other African tribes is simplified in several ways. Geographical
continuity exists between the African areas discussed, and to a great
extent the cultural contacts described are matters of historical fact.
Data relating to the Ovimbundu themselves are fairly complete;
and what is equally important, there is trustworthy literature
bearing on the areas surrounding the Ovimbundu. Therefore, com-
parisons do not rest on the study of a few simple forms, but on the
cultures taken as a whole with regard to cultural traits of all kinds.
326 The Ovimbundu
Evidence adduced up to the present has indicated the relationship

Ovimbundu to those of tribes immediately
of cultural elements of the
surrounding them (chapter X).
In addition to this, the ethnological facts of the present chapter
have made it clear that the tribal life of the Ovimbundu cannot be
explained by confining the inquiry to immediate culture contacts.

The Ovimbundu have without doubt drawn very widely on African
cultural streams during the growth of their present social pattern.
The truth of this statement has just been illustrated by reference
to ritual connected with blacksmiths, Bantu religious beliefs, the
Bantu social system, African puberty rites, hunting appliances,
musical instruments, and other cultural elements.
A consideration of the kulturkreis theory indicated that a search
for the origins of Umbundu culture cannot profitably be extended
to Indonesia and Melanesia. Therefore the final chapter is confined
to a summary of types of African culture, with a view to showing
the relationship of Umbundu culture to each of the main racial,
linguistic, and cultural patterns that are known to have affected the
African continent.
XII. CULTURAL PROCESSES
Analysis op African Cultures
The making a study of the Ovimbundu in their
difficulties of
relation to a general background of African cultures are connected
with unsolved problems of archaeology, physical anthropology,
linguistic study, and the history of cultural traits.
With the exception of data from Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, and

south Africa there is a paucity of archaeological information which
might determine the antiquity of past cultures, the relation of these
by which races and cultures
to past and present races, and the routes
traveled. In the regions mentioned systematic excavations are in
progress, but for the greater part of Africa archaeologists have no
knowledge of the relative antiquity of stone implements found on
the surface.
African ethnologists are not consistent in the connotations of
terms such as Bantu and Hamitic. The word Bantu primarily
refers to a linguistic family of Negroes, but a Bantu Negro culture
exists with many divisions, and later we shall see that a somato-
logical concept is associated with the word Bantu. The word
Hamitic may describe a linguistic family, a series of physical traits
differing from those which characterize the Negro, and a type of
pastoral culture in which all the activities and beliefs of tribal life
center in the keeping of cattle. The adjective Semitic can also
be used to denote a well-defined linguistic family, a type of culture,
or somatic traits. But the Semitic problem does not concern us
since the Ovimbundu have no traits that could be associated with
Semitic culture, either Mohammedan or pre-Koranic; with the
possible exception of blood brotherhood by exchange of blood, and
the use of a scapegoat (Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion
of the Semites, p. 296; Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia,
pp. 57, 61).
The comparative studies of physical anthropologists are retarded
by paucity of skeletal material both ancient and modern, while series
of measurements on living subjects, especially women, are inadequate
and the complexity of the
in relation to the great size of Africa
problems which arise from comparative study of anatomical data.
Darwin’s “Descent of Man”
recognized the possibility of man’s
origin in Africa, and the recent excavations of L. S. B. Leakey in
Kenya may finally prove that the oldest remains of Homo sapiens
327
328 The OviMBUNDU
are within the African continent (Stone Age Cultures of Kenya,

Cambridge, England, 1931). H. H. Johnston concludes that the
place of origin of the African Negro is unknown. A. C. Haddon
(The Wandering of Peoples, p. 64) surmises that “there is reason
to believe that all the main races reached Africa from Asia." G. Sergi
(The Mediterranean Race, pp. 41-42) regards the Hamites as a single
human stock, but disagrees with a theory of Asiatic origin, and
postulates the origin of Hamites in northeast Africa.
C. G. Seligman summarizes the views of Sergi and other writers

respecting the origin of Hamites (Races of Africa, pp. 96-156).
Among the eastern Hamites cranial characteristics, though variable,
are generally convergent and are to be regarded as old variations
of an original stock. Apart from Negro admixture the face of the
Hamite is never prognathous. The nose is straight. The lips are
often thick but never everted as in the Negro. The hair is often
frizzly, but sometimes wavy or almost straight. The color of the
skin varies; it may be yellowish, coppery red-brown, through every
shade of brown to black, according to the amount of miscegenation
that has taken place. Seligman states “that the Hamitic cradleland
is generally agreed to be Asiatic, perhaps southern Arabia, or possibly
an area farther east. Be this as it may, there is no doubt that the

Hamites and Semites must be regarded as modifications of an
original stock” (Some Aspects of the Hamitic Problem in the Anglo-
Egyptian Sudan, J.R.AJ., XLIII, pp. 693-705).
As a Arabian desert Henry Field
result of research in the north
between Transjordania and the Euphrates
states that the stony desert
River was probably well watered and fertile at an unknown period.
The locality may have been a focus, first of concentration, then of
dispersal. Archaeological evidence arising from a comparative
study of stone implements from Arabia and east Africa, together
with data of physical anthropology, and the basic unity of Semitic
and Hamitic languages support a theory of Hamitic intrusion from
Asia (H. Field, The Cradle of Homo Sapiens, Amer. Jour. Arch.,
XXXVI, No. 4, pp. 426-430; The Antiquity of Man in Southwestern
Asia, Amer. Anth., XXXV, pp. 51-62).
Although the origin of Hamites and Negroes is obscure it has

been possible to give a summary of the chief physical traits of the
former, and the same can be done for the latter. Typical Sudanic-
speaking Negroes, who are sometimes referred to as “true Negroes,”
are to be seen in the Ibo and Ijaw tribes of southern Nigeria, and
among the Kru of Liberia. The characteristics of the Negro are a
Cultural Processes 829
heavy torso, disproportionately long arms, a dark skin, prognathous

jaws, broad nostrils, thick everted lips, and woolly But usually
hair.
a modification of these features occurs in Bantu-speaking Negroes.
How did this modification of physique arise?
A. C. Haddon (Wandering of Peoples, p. 54) expresses a generally
accepted view when he states that Bantu-speaking Negroes are
a mixture of true Negroes with Hamites. Seligman (Races of
Africa, p. 181) refers to an infusion of Hamitic blood which has
differentiated the Bantu Negroes from true Negroes, and this is a
generally accepted hypothesis. But Torday (H. Spencer, Descrip-
tive Sociology of African Races, preface, p. iii) questions whether
the physical and linguistic cleavage between Bantu-speaking and
Sudanic-speaking Negroes is due to an admixture of Hamitic blood.
He attributes the physical differences of the two great linguistic
divisions of Negroes to disparity of environmental conditions. But
at present no physical anthropologist could say to what extent
climatic factors, nutrition, and other environmental conditions can
be held responsible for the physical differences of Negroes.
The question of a mingling of Hamite and true Negro to produce
a modified type of Negro is not the only difficulty. How does one
account for aberrant Negroid t3T)es such as the Pygmies of the
Ituri forestand the Bushmen? They have a phylogenetic relation-
ship,but what is the racial affinity? Again, will change of environ-
mental conditions account for the Pygmy and Bushman types?
Or are we to form a hypothesis of origins by assuming establishment
of new species by variation or mutation?
In the absence of certain knowledge science accepts a hypothesis
which best explains the known facts. And in this matter of a modified
Negro type speaking Bantu languages, the idea of a mingling of the
blood of Negroes and Hamites best explains the gradation of physical
types from west African, Sudanic-speaking Negroes, through various
types of Bantu Negroes, to Hamites, as exemplified by the Somali^
Beja, and Hadendoa.
The main characters of linguistic families of Africa are clearly
definedby A. Werner (Language Families of Africa, pp. 20-23)
who refers to the works of D. Westermann and C. Meinhof. The
distinguishing features of Hamitic, Semitic, Bantu, Sudanic, and
Bushman speech are known, yet the task of placing a particular
language in its appropriate family is not always simple. The classi-
fication may depend on the particular facet of the language which
is under examination. Hausa (Hamitic), is difficult to classify
—
330 The Ovimbundu
since the language has Sudanic and Hamitic elements with some
Semitic roots. The earliest of African linguistic
relationships
families, for instance Hamitic and Semitic, also Sudanic, Bantu,
and Bushman, is a field for further research. To take only one
instance of complexity, Bantu is divided into more than two hundred
languages and innumerable dialects, whose origin, structure, and
evolution have been treated by C. Meinhof (Introduction to the
Phonology of the Bantu Languages, London, 1932; a translation, by
A. Werner and N. J. von Warmelo, of Meinhof’s Grundriss eine
Lautlehre der Bantusprachen).
In conclusion of this summary of the background of African
history, there arises the difficulty of ascribing to each of the races
those cultural elements for which the race is responsible, either by
primary invention within Africa, or by introduction from some source
outside Africa. The difficulty may be illustrated by quotations
relating to the iron industry of African Negroes. Rival theories claim
origin of the craft in Asia, in Egypt, and among African Negroes
themselves.
Seligman (Races of Africa, p. 168) states, “We may believe that
the Negro, who is now an excellent iron worker, learnt this art from
the Hamite.” Torday writes (H. Spencer, Descriptive Sociology
of African Races, preface, p. “To state that Bantu civilization
iii),
or any civilization due to the ancestors of such abso-

whatever — îs
lutely primitive tribes as the Hadendoa and Beja (identified by

some with the enigmatic Hamites) presupposes that these people
who were ignorant of agriculture, or the production of iron, and of
all arts and crafts denoting a higher culture, who, as we know, have
not progressed a step within the past five hundred years and con-
sidered all manual labor degrading, had the power to give that which
they never possessed.”
The complexity argument relating to the origin of just one
of
can be judged by consulting the writings
cultural trait, iron-working,
of W. Gowland (The Metals in Antiquity, J.R.A.I., XLII, pp. 235-
287), W. M. F. Petrie (The Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt),
W. Belck (Die Erfinder der Eisentechnik, Zeitsch. Ethn., XXXIX, pp.
335-381; XL, pp. 45-69; XLII, pp. 15-30), and F. Luschan (Eisen-
technik in Afrika, ibid., XLI, pp. 23-59).
Even with these reservations and disputed points in mind, it is
yet possible to speculate with some accuracy respecting the origin
and assembly of traits which, welded together, form the culture
of the Ovimbundu.
Assembling op Traits
The data which have been assembled in relation to the Ovim-
bundu, considered in conjunction with the analysis of African
if
cultures made in the foregoing chapter, lead to the following historical

reconstruction.
When somatic traits of the Ovimbundu are considered it is clear
that the general type removed from that of true Negroes. Among
is
the Ovimbundu are persons of a slender, brown-skinned type, with

some refinement of lips and nasal width; while other persons possess
the opposites of these features, but in no instance as intensely as do
true Negroes. I accept the view of physical admixture of Hamites
with true Negroes and believe that types like the Ovimbundu and
the Vakuanyama have resulted from infusion of Hamitic blood which
has modified Negro somatic traits in the way mentioned.
Linguistically the Ovimbundu have a pure form of Bantu speech.
The Umbundu language is tonal, but there are few semantic words
whose meaning depends on a high, middle, or low tone. Probably
Umbundu should be classified with the southwestern Bantu lan-
guages, but further research may show that on structural grounds
Umbundu has to be accorded an intermediate position between the
southwestern and the central Bantu languages. Study of vocabulary
definitely links Umbundu with the Ukuanyama language of the
southwestern Bantu group, but conclusions based on comparison
of vocabularies are hazardous because of the dissemination of
Umbundu words by extensive caravan trade of the Ovimbundu.
We may therefore be dealing with loan words and not with bifurca-
tion from the same matrix.
When comparing the social pattern of the Ovimbundu with that
of other African tribes the following elements of culture should be
borne in mind.
(1) Traits associated with an archaic hunting culture.
(2) Factors typical of the culture of Negroes, both Bantu and

Sudanic.
(3) Cultural traits from pastoral tribes of south and southwest
Angola. These tribes speak Bantu languages but have somatic
traits which are Hamitic, while their culture exhibits some main
features of the Hamitic pastoral pattern.
Among the earliest elements of Umbundu culture would probably
be the traits of hunting and food-gathering. The antiquity of hunting
has been indicated by considering the wide distribution of appliances
332 The OviMBUNDU
of like kind. Furthermore, the details of ritual connected with the

hunter’s occupation, and the survival of these to the present day,
tend to show that hunting was not a trait of late introduction. A
people who adopted hunting when in an advanced state of their
cultural history would not invent an elaborate ritual which is still
connected with the initiation of young hunters, ancestor worship,
and special modes of burial. Moreover, the Ovimbundu are pri-
marily an agricultural people; therefore it is unlikely that at a late
date in their cultural development they would take over hunting
and its ritual as a means of augmenting their food supply. I con-
clude, therefore, that the elements of a hunting culture are ancient
and fundamental.
To the archaic elements of hunting and food-gathering should
perhaps be added the use of the musical bow, the bull-roarer, and
the making of fire by twirling. The bull-roarer is an object associated
with important ceremonies among many African and other tribes
of the present day, though among the Ovimbundu the instrument
is used only as a toy. This is probably a degradation of function
associated with the known disappearance of initiation ceremonies.
Making of fire by twirling is now of importance only as a ceremonial
method of creating new fire at the time of building a village, during
epidemics, and after the death of a king. But formerly the twirling
method was the only means of ignition.
The most important cultural traits of the Ovimbundu are those
which they possess in common with Negroes who speak Bantu
languages. Most of the traits mentioned here as characteristic of
the Bantu are also to be found among the Sudanic Negroes of
west Africa.
Negro cultural traits which are or were prominent in the tribal
life of the Ovimbundu are as follows:
Tooth mutilation and scarification of the body.
Blood brotherhood by exchange of blood.

Hoe cultivation by women.
Classificatory system of kinship terms and cross-cousin marriage.
A
system of succession, inheritance, and family government in
which the maternal uncle plays an important part.
Tribal government under a well-coordinated political system in
which kings and village chiefs are of paramount importance.
Slavery as an economic institution.
Ritualistic slaughter and eating of slaves at the death of a king.
Tribal initiation for boys with use of masks, netting costumes,

seclusion, circumcision, harsh treatment, change of name, and
re-introduction into society-
The poison ordeal of general Negro type.
Religious ideas of a supreme being, Suku, Nzambi, or Kalunga,
who is thought of as a creator. He is, however, far removed from all
tribal affairs, and there is no sacrifice or appeal to him.

An active ancestor worship with good and bad spirits who require
sacrifice and recognition hy supplication through the agency of a
medicine-man. Use of wooden figures in connection with this appeal
to spirits.Great importance of the spirits of kings as arbiters in
matters of tribal welfare.
Importance conducting trial by ordeal, making
of medicine-men in
and consulting ancestral spirits by divination
rain, healing the sick,
and the use of wooden images in which “medicine” is placed.
Methods of fishing with poisons and conical fish traps.
The technique and ritual of the blacksmith’s craft.
Wood-carving which particularly resembles that of the south-
west Congo region.
Making of bark cloth.
Types of musical instruments, including the friction drum, the
marimba, tubular drums, flat drums, metal-keyed instruments, and
many other forms which are typical of Negro culture, particularly
that of the southwest Congo.
Weaving on a loom of central African type (now obsolete).
Coiled basketry and pottery.
The foregoing elements are associated to form the cultural pattern
of the Ovimbundu. All these traits are characteristic of Bantu and
Sudanic Negro culture in general. Therefore the Ovimbundu are
most closely allied with Negroes, from the cultural point of view.
The elements taken by the Ovimbundu from pastoral tribes,
whose culture has invaded east and south Africa, are:
Cattle and the social values attached to these, together with
ceremonial rites which are characteristic of pastoral cultures. Such
rites include burial of kings in oxhide, and the killing of oxen at the
funeral feast; also the mounting of horns over the grave, and use of
sacred fire.
Ideas of succession in the male line, whereby kingship passes to

the eldest son of the principal wife, are more characteristic of pastoral
than Negro systems.
334 The Ovimbundu
From the pastoral tribes of southern Angola the Ovimbundu

have adopted a peculiar type of assagai, a throwing club, and sandals.
Primarily the cultm’e of the Ovimbundu is that of African Negroes
with persistence of traits that have survived, possibly from a pre-
Negro culture, which depended entirely upon food-gathering and
hunting. Grafted on these traits are important elements from a
pastoral culture which is generally conceded to be Hamitic.
European contacts led to the introduction of maize, manioc,
sweet potatoes, and peanuts, so stimulating the indigenous hoe
culture. This agricultural life was further encouraged by settlement
in the Benguela Highlands, where temperature, rainfall, and open
spaces favored a great expansion of agricultural pursuits, especially
the growth of maize and beans.
Early contact with the Portuguese led to an encouragement
of trade. Guns and powder, together with other European goods,
were received in exchange for ivory and slaves. An increase in the sup-
ply of slaves led to changes in the social life, whereby the Ovimbundu
gained more time and opportunity for extensive raiding and trading,
by which means their wealth was further increased.
As time progressed, the nature of the contact with the Portuguese
changed. Instead of alliances made on a commercial basis, the
Portuguese gradually assumed control, the results of which are now
distinctly felt in the disintegration of Umbundu tribal life.
The data supplied by personal

work, supported by a perusal
field
of ethnological literature, suggest the foregoing summary as the
briefest possible outline of the history of the Ovimbundu, the growth
of their culture, and the nature of traits that have been welded
together.
Cultural losses will now be and in the final pages
considered,
an explanation will be given of the way
which traits derived from
in
various sources are associated to form a workable tribal system.
Cultural Losses
The loom and the conical furnace for smelting iron have disap-
peared in recent times because of the increasing importation of
foreign cloth and the greater facility for obtaining scrap iron. Bark
cloth, except in eastern Angola, is no longer made because traders
are distributing European goods. For the same reason wooden hair-
combs are going out of use. Drum signaling has declined with the
disappearance of warfare, and for the same reason the double iron
gong is rare.
The Ovimbundu have lost any ideas that they may have had
concerning sentimental relationships between men and animals. I
know of no belief in animal helpers, and of no divisions of people
with an animal or a plant as their emblem. The only idea of rein-
carnation was expressed in the instance of a spirit, neglected in
sacrifice, prowling near the village in the form of a lion or a leopard.
There has been a total absence of the shield for so long that
no one was able to describe it. Old men state that the Ovimbundu
used to have a shield; probably this information is correct, as
the shield is commonly used in the Congo region. The Ovimbundu
use the bow, spear, and throwing-club; no doubt a fourth item
of equipment was more than a man could conveniently manage.
Furthermore, individuals who obtained guns and powder would
naturally discard other weapons.
Originally the Ovimbundu were cannibals. The Vasele, a
sequestered Umbundu-speaking people, were definitely known to be
practising cannibalism in 1865 (Monteiro, vol. II, p. 157). The early
writers, Battell, Merolla, and Cavazzi, mention cannibalism in
northern Angola; undoubtedly slaves were killed and eaten at the
accession of a king until late in the nineteenth century. From
Bailundu a spear formerly used for thrusting into the side of a
slave,then into the side of an ox, was obtained. The flesh was cooked
and eaten before a warlike expedition. Among objects from the
Esele country is an ax formerly used for beheading slaves at the ac-
cession of a new king. These objects, collected in 1929, and described
on page 277, are survivals of defunct traits.
Kingship, warfare, slavery, and cannibalism constitute an allied
group of factors which are here mentioned in the order of their
importance. European contacts have discouraged all these traits.
Portuguese authority has gradually usurped the jurisdiction of native
kings, and at the same time has discouraged intertribal warfare.
With the decline of warfare the capture of slaves became obsolete.
In addition to the discouragement of cannibalism by direct legisla-
tion, the decline of slavery has tended to make cannibalism fall
into desuetude, because slaves were always the victims for ceremonial
cannibal feasts.
The present attenuated distribution and form of puberty rites
for Ovimbundu boys may be accounted for as follows: During the
period of desultory warfare in northern Angola (1600-1800), cere-
monies, which in Africa are usually associated with sedentary life,
must have suffered interruption and curtailment. Such ceremonies
336 The Ovimbundu
are typically allied, so far as Africa is concerned, with a forest

culture with its sacred groves and facilities for seclusion during a
period of three months or longer. Such a condition was lacking in
the Benguela Highlands, which are sparsely wooded in comparison
with the more northern tropical areas of Angola.
When the Ovimbundu settled in the highlands, warfare and
distant caravan trade were factors that would tend further to
disintegrate elaborate ceremonies requiring several months for their
completion. As a supplement to these reasons for decline, there is
the effect of European disapproval, and in some localities positive
prohibition.
In addition to traits that have blended and those that have
become obsolete, there arises the question of opportunities which
have been neglected in the course of cultural growth.
The Ovimbundu, with local exceptions, do not use the milk
or flesh of cattle, neither is the milk of goats utilized; vegetable
food forms a large proportion of the diet.
The papaya (papaw) and the banana are not cultivated to any
great extent by the natives. The raffla palm grows well in some
parts of the Benguela Highlands, but the Ovimbundu do not use
the fiber for anything except ropes. They have no raffia weaving
such as is found in the Congo region.
Failure to utilize these vegetable products has to some extent
a rational basis. The the papaya could never be more than
fruit of
an addition to the already generous vegetable diet, as it is unsuitable
for consumption in large quantities owing to laxative properties;
neither has it the food value and the marketable possibility of maize.
The banana will grow at a height of 3,000 feet in the Benguela

Highlands, but attention is required. Nights are cold, hence some
naturally screened site should be selected. During the dry season
the roots should be protected against too rapid evaporation, but
this careful attention is foreign to native methods of agriculture.
Use of raffia is discouraged by the presence of trade cloth and easy
access to locally grown cotton, which is made into thread.
To account for the failure to use the milk and flesh of cattle
is not easy, neither is the neglect of goat’s milk readily explicable.
Neglect of these foods is due to prejudice and conservatism, of
which there are many examples in Africa. For instance, Hamitic
tribes, of whom the Bahima are typical, avoid all vegetable food.
Milk is their staple diet, and vegetable foods are regarded as
positively unclean.
Cattle-keepers of southern Angola make butter in calabash

churns which are gently swung on a pole. The Ovimbundu have
taken cattle from the south and west, but have not adopted dairy
products. The cattle of the Ovimbundu are valued as a standard
of wealth; have great purchasing power; are used to pay taxes and
fines; and, in addition to these social and economic values, are the
most important sacrificial animals. This is an instance of the
arbitrary selection of some traits of a culture complex, while other
factors, even those of economic importance, are ignored.
Cultural losses,and failures to utilize factors which were accessible

are, according to the foregoing examples, due to change of habitat
from northern Angola to the Benguela Highlands; European con-
tacts; long-established agricultural habit; and conservatism, which
to some extent is a characteristic of tribes at all cultural levels.
Integration of Traits
A study which is concerned with growth of culture, demands more
than a historical, geographical, and mechanistic interpretation.
Morphological and historical research assists in tracing origins and
in forming hypotheses respecting the order in which the traits were
brought together. But such inquiries are static rather than dynamic,
and they are a necessary prelude to anthropological work rather
than an ultimate aim.
To the methods of research already followed there should be
added a psychological approach with the object of showing the way
in which various elements of culture are blended and are made
to function.
The following pages illustrate the way in which a field investiga-
tion brought into contact with the welding of cultural elements,
is
and the examples chosen call attention to principles that are respon-
sible for the process of integration. This assimilation of cultural
elements renders the study of an isolated trait impossible, as the
following instances indicate. These illustrations are chosen from
field notes, and are grouped in such a way as to emphasize the
pivotal elements of Umbundu culture around which minor traits
revolve.
Some examples given are intended to illustrate a relation-
of the
ship between language (which includes folklore, proverbs, and
riddles) and nature knowledge. The latter is closely connected
with hunting, food-gathering, and the selection of materials for
handwork.
838 The Ovimbundu
to occupations which indicate that sex

The inquiry then turns
dichotomy a fundamental principle of tribal life. In
of labor is
connection with the details of food supply and occupation, ritual
acts are prominent, and in association with these the functions of
the medicine-man are important.
Cultural liaisons are again illustrated when studying domestic
animals, for this inquiry leads to a consideration of the social and
economic importance of cattle, which are used in ritual connected
with the death and burial of kings.
These are but a few instances indicating the way in which lines
of investigation converge, though they may appear to be distinct.
In fact the very division of a monograph into chapters is misleading
in its suggestion of distinct divisions of tribal life, whose parts are
actually a psychological unity.
When accompanying boys and men during their food-collecting
and hunting expeditions a wealth of nature lore and a richness of
vocabulary were discovered, and a vocabulary of one hundred
and thirty words comprising names of birds, reptiles, mammals,
and plants was prepared. Species are carefully distinguished,
to such a degree that discussions respecting the correct native
names for similar species tend to be prolonged and humorous.
When I realized the closeness with which the native observes
the habits of animals, there was no difficulty in understanding why
folklore stories of animals are so popular and so amusing in their
descriptions of animal behavior. In addition to its associations
with nature study, folklore reveals standards of conduct and pro-
cesses of rationalization.
In collecting names of birds and their cries, and while recording
hunting customs, I was informed of the bird Onjimbi which flies
at night to give the sound of death to those who will not see the
morning. Then there is a nocturnal bird called Esuvi which is able
to catch spirits of the dead who are active at night. A spirit so caught
dies a second death, but what this means I could not immediately
discover. Later a man said he was sick because Esuvi had
caught the spirit of his grandfather. This implies the belief that an
ancestral spirit is a guardian whose function ends when a second
death is experienced.
Study of natural history sometimes leads to a point of importance
in social procedure. There is a bird Onduva whose feathers are
used for decorating the head of a dead king and for embellishing the
person of a medicine-man; the feathers may not be used in any other
way. Such instances as these came to light when my primary inten-

tion was a study of the use of wooden arrows for killing birds.
An inquiry about the names of trees and the use of timbers led
making and using wooden figures for magical purposes.
to the topic of
Woodcraft, wood-carving, and religion are associated.
There is no fallacy so great as that of supposing that data may
be collected and retained' in mutually exclusive divisions. For
example, a study of proverbs leads to native ideas concerning govern-
ment, succession to office, and standards of conduct. The Ovim-
bundu say, “A turtle cannot climb on a tree stump, some one has
to place it there.” What is the meaning of this proverb? There
are some men who occupy positions for which they have no ability;
such men have been chosen through influence. The normal successor
to chieftainship and kingship is the eldest son of the deceased man’s
principal wife, but if this rightful successor is stupid, some other son
will be chosen. Yet the foolish youth may have friends who see
their own advantage in having a weak ruler; they therefore combine
to place him in oflice. The turtle has been placed on the tree stump,
since it could not climb there.
In addition, folklore shows projection of the mentality of human

beings into the lives of animals. Bird with their supposed
cries,
calls and answers, indicate that the birds have their family relation-
ships involving strife, love, jealousy, and generosity. To the Ovim-
bundu, birds are a feathered human community.
Proverbs reveal a philosophy which is expressed by the German
Weltanschauung. “If you are full of food, do not climb on a leopard’s
back; the leopard may be hungry.” This means that one should
not be foolishly exalted through good fortune. “You cannot tie a
buck’s head in a cloth; the horns will stick out,” expresses the idea
that crime cannot be concealed. “Hot water does not burn a house,
and cold water does not make mush,” is a sarcastic reply to one who
boasts of things he cannot do. A riddle may express a philosophical
train of thought. “What is it that lives while it dies and dies while
it lives?” This is the log of wood the end of which is from time to
time pushed farther into the fire. Like a human life, the log is being
slowly consumed while yet living. Such examples as these call
attention to a welding of thought, language, nature lore, and ideas
that regulate conduct.
In considering food supply and occupations, division of labor
on a sex basis is clear. Social sanctions have determined the appro-
340 The Ovimbundu
priateness of certain tasks for males and females respectively, and

individuals reflect these attitudes in their ideas and conduct.
My and others who were questioned laughed at the
interpreter
idea that men and women might interchange their occupations in
the course of house-building. A woman collects wood for fuel, but
not for house-building. Structural work is in the hands of men
who dig the foundations, erect the poles, tie the crosspieces and add
the roof. Women
carry water for mixing the clay which is puddled
by men, women, and children apply wet clay to the wattle
children;
walls. “Suppose a man should carry water?” I asked. “He would
be laughed at and people would say that he was a he-woman,”
came the ready answer.
Women invariably make pottery among the Ovimbundu, but
this isnot always so in Negro tribes. Women of the Ovimbundu are
likewise basket-makers, but they do not make mats, for this occupa-
tion is considei-ed suitable for men only. Only women pound corn;
before daybreak the heavy wooden pestles are at work and until
sunset the rocks reserved for this operation are the centers of female
activity, which includes singing and gossip. Only men herd cattle
and only males are hunters. Women and children are the collectors of
wild fruits and caterpillars, but only men take honey from the hives.
and the preparation of food are entirely in the hands
Agriculture
of the women. Men never eat with women; the latter have to carry
the prepared food to the men’s communal house in the middle of
the village. Both men and women catch fish, but there are methods
appropriate for each sex. There is a sex-division of labor without
any implication of the inferiority of women.
Occupations cannot be studied merely in a formal way, for,
although the tasks are performed every day, a ceremonial element
is involved. A clay pit is consecrated by the killing of a fowl; so also
is the rock which is used as a base for pounding grain. The young
blacksmith is initiated after two years of apprenticeship. On this
occasion a dog is killed with the hammer which the master made
for his pupil and the blood of the sacrificed animal is sprinkled on
the tools. The remainder of the ritual and belief has been described
in connection with occupations of the Ovimbundu. Study of the
blacksmith’s work was begun as research in technology; but failure
to purchase the large hammer, even for a tempting sum, led to the
discovery of considerable ritual.
Abstention from sexual relationships is enjoined on men and
women who are going fishing. That copulation would induce the
fish tostay together at the bottom of the river, is the reason alleged
for this taboo. A young hunter is ceremonially initiated. Through-
out his life he has to make sacrifice to the ancestral spirits of hunters
who are in the house where bows of famous hunters are kept; these
ceremonies must be performed before a hunter leaves for the chase.
A caravan is a commercial undertaking, but, before setting out,
the head of a dead chief is asked for a guarantee of success; mean-
while a sacrifice is made by a medicine-man. A wooden image,
when consulted by the medicine-man, indicates the correct caravan
route. These instances illustrate a blending of the sacred and the
profane in occupations.
Sexual relationships among the Ovimbundu form a basis of social
as they do in all communities, but the sexual aspect is not all-
life,
pervading and completely dominant.

In early years children separate during play. Boys play games
of hunting and warfare, enter into competition with bows and arrows,
or amuse themselves with wood-carving. amusement in
Girls find
imitating their mothers in the occupations of making pottery and
baskets, and in cultivating the fields. The small sums of money
which a girl derives from the sale of produce from her own corn
patch are personal property which she usually spends on trinkets
and palm oil. This measure of economic independence, combined
with considerable freedom of choice in marriage, indicates an
individuality that has not been generally recognized.
I have mentioned among the Ovimbundu a system of friendship
between boys and girls of from twelve to sixteen years, which permits
the children to sleep together in the home of one of the girls in
whose house the early evening has been spent. Cohabitation is
forbidden, and pregnancy would be a disgrace. The practice is
not unlike that of night visits by a lover in certain European countries
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (W. Goodsell,
A History of the Family as a Social and Educational Institution,
p. 365). Clearly sex is a factor that plays its part as a formative
influence from infancy onward, until final emphasis of sex dichotomy
is made by tribal initiations.
The social position of woman may be considered by selecting a
few points from the data relating to courtship, marriage, and divorce.
Marriages are sometimes arranged during infancy, but this does not
invalidate the previous statement that considerable freedom of choice
is allowed; a girl is not compelled to follow arrangements made during
her childhood. A bride has to make contributions toward the
342 The Ovimbundu
domestic equipment. Ritual enters into the introduction of the

bride to her home, as was shown by explaining the functions of three
elderly women, who erect the fireplace, bring new fire from the chief’s
house, and assist the bride in a ceremonial way. If a husband has
reason to doubt the virginity of his bride, he bores a hole in her
cloth with a firebrand, and makes her carry the cloth to her parents.
But the marriage is not necessarily invalidated, since the husband
is reconciled by a return of some portion of his gifts to the parents.
Some light is thrown on the ethics of family life by considering

the meeting which takes place in the men’s council house (onjango)
before the bride goes to her new home. Here in the presence of rela-
tives from both families the father of the bride says, “We are taking
these things for our daughter, we hope she will not shame us.’’ He
turns to his daughter, enjoining her to be hospitable, never forgetting
to feed her husband’s people when they call.
Minor incidents help in a study of the psychology of family life.
When husband and wife have quarreled, the latter goes away
a for
few hours into the bush and arranges that a number of burrs shall
be clinging to her dress when she returns. If her husband silently
and spontaneously picks these from her cloth, amicable feeling
is restored.
Analysis of the grounds for divorce shows that women have
though the male is in the more favorable position. In
their rights,
Rome the legal rights of a matron were slender, but in actual practice
she held an important and honorable position. Similarly the status
of an Ocimbundu woman is higher than the divorce laws imply.
The human side of family differences was well brought out by
studying the interference and indirect influence of relatives on the
relationship of husband and wife. Details have been given indicating
that divorce is not entirely a matter of adjustment between families;
the village chief may be called upon to act as arbiter. The final
ceremony which the husband slaps his wife’s back
of repudiation, at
saying, “It is flnished,” is a public rite. There is here a close con-
nection between family consent and public ratification.
Although a woman may return to her parents under certain con-
ditions which justify the divorce of the husband, parents are not
anxious to encourage this practice. Marriage tokens would have
to be returned to the husband of their daughter; moreover there
might be a difficulty in securing another husband. In this instance
a conflict occurs between parental obligations and cupidity. This
is again shown by the argument which always arises respecting
the custody of a widow. The father, the brother, or the maternal

uncle of the widow may take her. In the words of my interpreter,
each says, “It is better that you should take her,” and at last someone
says, “I will take her.”
A chief*, of Ngalangi revealed the most important aspect of
polygyny \ên he apologized for the fact that only five of his eleven
wives were present. The chief was anxious to emphasize the fact
that he had eleven wives, though six were at work in the fields.
When one considers the prestige of village chiefs, and further
reflects on the desirability of maintaining this power within family
groups, the institution of polygyny becomes more understandable.
In addition there is the necessity of having women to cultivate the
fields. A polygynous system does not necessarily cause domestic
conflict, because each wife has her own hut, fireplace, and utensils.
Custom obliges a chief to spend four nights in each hut in regular
sequence.
A first and principal wife not offended by the introduction of
is
other wives, for these reduce her own labor and announce the fact
that she is the principal wife of a wealthy man. When photographing
the king of Ngalangi with his wives, I observed that he sent the
principal wife from the group in order to adorn herself with a piece
of cloth whose value was greater than that of the clothing worn by
any of the others. Among the Vakuanyama it was noticeable that
the principal wife wore a head-dress of clay with five horns; and in
addition to this she had costly necklaces of ostrich-eggshell beads,
also more of the coveted omba shells than were allowed to other wives.
In this way the prestige of the first or great wife is preserved.
The persistence of custom, the force of education through
suggestion in early years, and the power of social attitudes, are
well illustratedby the survival of kinship terms and the classificatory
system of relationships, with its marriage prohibitions and sanctions
of an arbitrary kind. The strength of the mores and the fundamental
nature of this system of relationship in determining marriage, descent,
succession, and inheritance, are indicated by the fact that the
system is unaltered after three centuries of contact with Europeans.
The rights of a mother’s brother extend so far as a sale of his
sister’s children to redeem his own debts; and reciprocally he is
responsible for the conduct of his sister’s children, even to the extent
of paying fines for the thefts they may commit. This prerogative and
responsibility of the maternal uncle is fundamental, and around the
trait cluster points of law and legal procedure.
344 The Ovimbundu
Ethnologists have often emphasized the supposed subjection of

the individuals to the group. Initiation rites do tend to uniformity
of conduct and group control; yet among the Ovimbundu there are
renowned leaders of caravans, chiefs who are respected because of
their justice and intelligence, also medicine-men, craftsmen, and
musicians who display great individuality. Their self-expression
in tribal life results from special aptitude and natural force of
character, which qualities are made evident by daily actions, or
through loquacity in the council house. In several localities live
chiefs, who, by personality and tact, make possible a social adjustment
between the indigenous culture and foreign intruders.
In former times kings were at the head of the legal and military
systems, and in this capacity they acted when appeals were made
from the jurisdiction of village chiefs. Prosperity of the country is
today thought to center in kings both living and dead, and the extant
ritual associated with the obsequies of a king is an illustration of
this dependence. The importance of the medicine-man as a diviner,
physician, and rain-maker is little diminished even at the present day.
The operation of village communism and the manner in which this
centers about persons of importance is seen during the preparation
of a new a village. A description has been given relating to

site for
the selection of the site, employment of communal labor, the creation
and distribution of new fire, and the function of the medicine-man
on this occasion.
Direct questioning concerning spiritual beliefs and the nature of

a supreme being elicits little information, and that of a contradictory
kind. As usual, actions are more important than statements. At
a funeral, women dance, clap hands, and sing, “God has cheated us
of a life.” The inference seems to be that Suku gives and determines
life. Beliefs respecting the good and bad spirits (Olosande and
Olondele) are deeply ingrained in the lives of the Ovimbundu, who
are confident of the need for placation of spirits by sacrifice, the
use of wooden figurines, and the aid of the medicine-man. A study of
the contents of a diviner’s basket gives a clear idea of the powers
and the activities of spirits; and the function of a spirit, which is
able to hear and answer the living, is understood after observing
the questioning of the corpse at a funeral. Without doubt, a belief
in spirits and a reliance on the power of medicine-men are two of
the fundamental ideas which permeate every thought and activity
of the Ovimbundu, for by these agencies mundane matters are
raised to a spiritual level.
I cannot find in the life of the Ovimbundu anything to support

the opinion of W. C. Willoughby. This writer sees in the soul of
every race an instinct for god that tells upon behavior, an upward
urge that makes for betterment, due to the unwearied play of the
spirit of god on the souls of man. The views of E. Torday and R. J.
van Wing (Dualism in Western Bantu Religion and Social Organiza-
tion, J.R.A.L, XLVIII, p. 225) seem to be more applicable to the
spiritual beliefs of the Ovimbundu.
The Ovimbundu have standards of conduct, codes of laws, crimes,

and punishments. In addition to the ekandu (antisocial acts)
already noted, ohemhi is a liar, okusapa means to be greedy, and
such actions are deprecated; but there is no deistic injunction
toward the virtues of truthfulness, hospitality, and fair dealing.
Standards of conduct and social values are preserved by the

educational forces previously mentioned (chapter VII), and in addi-
tion to these there are such controls as trial by ordeal, and divination
to detect guilt. The satirical song is also a form of correction, though
its application may be antisocial, for instance in taunting the
sexually impotent.
Music and dancing are adjuncts for the preservation of social

customs and the stimulation of collective emotions on which coopera-
tion depends. Music and dancing are also aids to magical practices.
For example, a friction drum is played while a medicine-man carries
out his divination with the basket, and vigorous drumming takes
place during treatment of the sick. Music and dancing were again
seen to be of importance at a funeral ceremony.
These instances, which are chosen from many of like kind reported
in the foregoing chapters, serve to indicate an interrelationship
among the main aspects of tribal life. I have endeavored to choose
from personal experience those facts and incidents which illustrate
the mutual dependence of language, folklore, proverbs, nature lore,
food supply, and occupations.
The sexual division of labor, the connection of ceremonial with

occupation, the relationship of the sexes, and the position of woman,
have all been brought forward as examples of social controls.
The and custom despite foreign influences;
persistence of belief
the nature of government, including the psychology of prestige and
leadership; spiritual beliefs; the training of children; and the value
of music and dancing, have likewise been emphasized as coordinating
346 The Ovimbundu
principles among the religious, social, and economic aspects of

tribal life.
In searching for some monism which integrates tribal thought

and conduct, I would emphasize the relationship between the sacred
and profane. The former is derived from the latter by ritual acts
which are frequently, but not exclusively, connected with the
medicine-man and spirits of the dead. These departed spirits do
not sever their connection with the living. On the contrary, they
are concerned with the affairs of men, which they handle benevolently
or malevolently according to caprice.
Attention has been called to the importance of fire when cere-
monially kindled and distributed; this is but a single instance of
the sacred use of an everyday commodity. A woman's belt is an
ordinary item of clothing, but it may be
something more important.
A woman who is the mother of girls only, exchanges belts with the
mother of boys only, and in future the mother of female children
will give birth to boys, and conversely. This is the simplest instance
of transfer from a secular to a magical use without resort to an
intermediary person such as the medicine-man.
Bows, mats, and staffs are articles of everyday use until their
owners are dead and the articles are deposited in the house of bows.
Such a house is then sacred, because the ancestral spirits can be
induced to enter it to grant favors after sacrifice has been made.
Cowrie shells were normally a medium of exchange, but they may
become a charm in order to induce conception. A snake’s backbone
acquires power when threaded by the medicine-man and placed
round the neck of a patient who suffers from rheumatism. A cooking
pot of clay is entirely secular until it becomes the property of a
hunter, after which no other person may use it. A piece of an ant
hill is merely earth. But if the belated traveler takes such a piece
from the top of the hill and places it in the fork of a branch there
will be an extension of daylight. A ritual element enters in the spell,
“0 sun, wait for me a little while.”
The unifying and binding effect of magical
rites, simple or com-
plex, private and public, is the the fabric by which the
warp of
weft threads of the social pattern are bound together. To vary
the metaphor, tribal life is a sphere of action, a universe having
principal units around which others revolve. Each unit of the
structure has a course and movements peculiar to itself, but there
is no actual isolation from the influences of other bodies.
The part played by Portuguese influence in the formation of the

cultxire of theOvimbundu has previously been recognized, and in
conclusion reference should be made to Portuguese and Ovimbundu
relationships at the present day.
Native trade and military organization were at one time aided
by caravan journeys resulting in the acquisition of slaves and
ivory, which were traded for guns and powder. But this caravan
trade touching remote parts of central and east Africa is now obsolete.
Therefore a breaking down of the economic structure has occurred,
but thishas to some extent been counteracted by the development
of agriculture, which yields large crops of maize and beans.
In the administration of law a new social consciousness has

arisen. Portuguese government is of a somewhat direct kind, yet
village chiefs and kings have some juridical rights. Appeal to a
chief or a king was the old method of securing justice, and at present
such appeal may be made by an aggrieved Ocimbundu; but should
the appellant be dissatisfied he turns to the Portuguese court.
Portuguese policy aims at making the Ovimbundu a social reflec-
tion of the Portuguese themselves. European clothing and manu-
factures are favored, and Portuguese speech is encouraged, to the
detriment of the native Umbundu.
Initiation ceremonies are forbidden, but the bush is wide and
protective. To prevent these ceremonies to take the core from the
is
social system, which has already been weakened by recruiting of

and village organization.
labor, so leading to disturbance of family life
Christian missions have an influence on dress, beliefs, and habits, but
these effects appear to be local.
Although this report has been chiefly geographical, ethnological,
historical, and analytical, no apology for the method chosen is
necessary since this kind of approach is fundamental. I might,
in compliance with a modern trend, have made the monograph
center in persons, especially Ngonga. By making a close psycho-
logical study of his early years, his native environment, and changes
in mental attitude arising from contact with Portuguese rule and
American missions, an illuminating record of the result of conflicting
social forces could be given.
In a sense, Ngonga, who speaks English, Portuguese, and Um-
bundu fluently, has been the focus of study, and care has been
taken to recognize his personality in this report. I realize that in
Angola work of an intensive psychological and sociological kind
remains to be done by means of a penetrating analysis of many
348 The OviMBUNDU
individual careers. Inquirers should closely observe persons who are

yet molded chiefly by their native environment, and these individuals
should be compared with those who have left their own culture,
either permanently or temporarily, to form part of a European
social and economic system.
Ethnologists, educationalists, and administrators are concerned
with the effects of conflicting cultures on individual attitudes and
the stability of native institutions of all kinds. This type of psycho-
logical and sociological study has not been attempted in detail here,
and I am not confident that research so closely concerned with
administrative methods would be encouraged from a foreigner,
though he might be welcomed in Angola as a collector and ethnologist.
During four centuries of foreign contacts the Ovimbundu have
continued their resistance to European influence, and field records
of 1929 are clear evidence of the tenacity of indigenous culture. But,
unfortunately, the decline of indigenous industries, thought processes,
institutions, and language has begun. Yet I venture to hope that
this monograph a dependable and timely foundation for
will lay
on research of that kind depends a
future studies of behavior, for
sympathetic understanding of Negro reaction to European intrusion.
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V. The Principles of Bantu Marriage. Africa, II, 1929, pp. 266-290.
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Drums in the Darkness. New York, 1927.
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Die Gottesurteile bei den Bantuvolkern, Sudannegern und Hamiten. Weida,
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Some Conclusions Concerning the Bantu Conception of the Soul. Africa, I,
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INDEX
Ablution, ceremonial, 278, 282, 293 Baloki, 291
Abortion, 186, 186 Baluba, 322
Acacias, 109 Bambala, 114, 290, 302, 314
^ -r. i. •
Adultery, 182, 203; see Law, Punish- Bananas, 148, 336

ments Bangala, 290
Adze, 162, 167 Bantu, prefixes, 106, 107, 116; Negroes,
Afterbirth, 185 128, 191; language, 234; religion and
Age. 189; and ornament, 132; see social system, 314-316
Seasons Banyankole, 314
Agriculture, 146-162, 212, 289, 291, Baobab tree, 109
SOO, 302 Bapedi, 309
Albinos, 101, 186 .
Bark, cloth, 131, 177, 229, 297, 301, 320;
Alcohol, 141; see Beer, Intoxication, general uses of, 101, 140, 146, 146,
Maize, Wine 160, 161, 170, 174, 183, 210
Aloes, 109 Barotse, 297
Ambassa, 113 Barrenness, 102, 182; see Charms, Di-
Ambrizette, 119 vorce
Ambuella, 122. 322 Bashilele, 293, 317
Ambundu, 234 Baskets, 93, 167, 169-171, 319
_
Ancestor worship, 119; see Death, Basonge, 290

Divination, Exorcism, Funerals, King, Bastards, 189
Religion, Ritual, Sacrifice, Spirits Batatela, 292
Angola, see chapter headings; and 288
Bavili,
Congo, 286; and Rhodesia, 296; and Bayaka, 116
South West Africa, 303 Beads, 117, 120, 130, 132; see Ornament
Animals, carved in wood, 164; see Cat- Beans, 146
tle, Chickens, Domestic Animals, Beds, 210
Goats, Hunting, Nature Lore, Pigs, Beer, 118, 141, 149, 167, 169, 180, 185,
Sacrifice, Sheep 200, 210
Antelope horns, 143 Bees, wax, 119, 140, 166; hives, 161;
Anthill, 137, 299 see Honey, Wax
Anvil, 169 Bellows, 118, 160
Arabia, 328 Belts, 176
Archaeology, 106, 166, 207, 327 Benguela, town, 110, 167; Highlands,
Archery, 120, 141, 291; see Arrows, 108, 109, 118, 127, 141, 313
Bows, Wooden Arrows Berg Damara, 303, 308
Area of Angola, 108 Betrothal, 179; see Courtship, Mar-
Arrows, 96, 122, 123, 137, 140, 161; riage
details of construction, 172-174, 299; Bihfi, 109, 114, 116, 120, 124, 296, 297
release of, 318 Birds, 134-136, 140, 150, 172, 211, 319,
Art, 97, 162; see Burned Patterns, 338; see Arrows, Hunting, Wooden
Colors, Dyes, Painting Arrows
Ashanti, 198 Blacksmith, 98, 118, 166, 168-161, 163,
Assagai, 175, 310; see Spears 313, 314, 830
Ax, 93, 94, 122, 161, 167 Blackwater fever, 281
Blankets, 210
Bleeding of patients, 101; see Cupping
Babende, 293; see Congo
Blood brothers, 187, 306, 316, 327;
Babunda, 129, 163; see Cangamba
sprinkled, 156, 169, 166
Baby, see Childhood, Lactation, Mar-
riage, Naming, Pregnancy
Bones in charms, 300
Baganda, 306 Bows, 95, 141, 172-176, 209, 317, 322
Bags of fiber, 170 Bracelets, 131, 168
Bahima, 336 Brass, tacks in hair, 131; nails, wire,
Bahuana, 293 176
Bailundu, town of, 164, 192, 205, 207, Bride, 180; see Courtship, Marriage,
209 Tokens, Virginity
Bakongo, 288 Bridges, 99
Bakuba, 322 Brothers, see Kinship
356
Index 367
Brushes, 166 Climate, lOS, 178

Bulls, castrated, 164 Clothing, 131, 132, 167, 177; see Bark,
Burial, of commoners, 265-269; of Caravans, Cotton, Fiber, Hides,
hunters, 121, 273; of kings and chiefs, Leather, Ornament, Trade
121, 271; of medicine-man, 270 Clubs as weapons, 96, 141, 162, 164, 310,
Burns, injuries, 282 318
Burned designs, 93, 167; see Gourds, Coast of Angola, 110
Wood-carving Cocoon, 121
Bushmen, 100; paintings of, 123, 129, Collecting food, 140; see Caterpillars,
303, 308 Fruits
Butter, 149, 153, 337 Colors, names of, 237
Combs for hair, 130
Conception, 181, 184, 186, 187
Cabbages, 148
Concubines, 189, 206
Cabinda enclave, 116, 124, 287, 316
Conduct, 213; and religion, 264, 346
Caconda, 113, 124, 164, 232
Confederacy of kings, 127
Calabashes, see Gourds
Congo, region and culture, 113, 116,
Calendar, 137, 168
118, 123, 126, 127, 191, 236, 286-296,
Cameroon, 317
314, 318, 320
Cancer, 282
Continence, 184
Cangamba, 115, 124, 146, 161, 162, 174,
Cooking, 146-162, 169, 180, 181, 210,
176, 230, 278-279, 298, 317, 318;
211 213
see Vachokue Tribe
Corpse questioned, 122, 123, 126, 184,
Cannibalism, 120, 296, 336; see Death
297 301
of King, Sacrifice
Cotton, 119, 124, 177
Canoes, 100, 101, 146, 161, 300, 321;
Council house, see Men’s House
see Bark, Fishing
Counting, 252
Caravans, 119, 163, 212, 292, 296, 297,
Courtship, 179, 214
303; see Trade
Cowrie shells, 187 see Charms, Concep-
;
Cassanga, 141, 172
tion
Cassonge, 144
Crime, see Adultery, Law, Mother’s
Castration, 154, 203, 212
Brother, Murder, Punishments, Theft
Cataract of eyes, 281
Cross-cousin marriage, 194, 316; see
Caterpillars, 120, 121, 140, 291
Kinship
Cats, 156
Culture, antiquity of, 312; losses of,
Cattle, 108, 110, 117, 119, 124, 127,
334-386; contacts, 116, 286-306, 312-
138, 148, 163, 200, 236, 303-310,
322
337; see Domestic Animals, Milk,
Cuma, 123, 208
Sacrifice, Vakuanyama Cunene Biver, 109, 307
Caves, for burial of king, 271; for shel-
Cupping (bleeding), 101, 282, 301
ter, 206
Cereals, 146
Chairs, 96, 320 Dancing, 209, 211, 221, 222
Charcoal, 122, 165; see Blacksmith, Death of chief, 164, 202, 263-267 ;
see
Forge, Timber Corpse, Funerals, Tombs
Charms, 182, 185, 276-278; see Medi- Defences, 207; see Warfare
cine-man Deformities at birth, 187; see Mutila-
Chickenpox, 281 tions, Ornaments
Chickens, 155, 166, 169, 209; in ordeal, Descent, 189, 192, 316; see Inheritance,
283; see Eggs, Poultry Kinship, Law, Names
Chief. 164, 183, 192, 200, 205; see Diego Cao, 113
King, Law, Village Diffusion of cultures, 286-337
Childbirth, 183-186 Diphtheria, 281
Children, 183-188; see Courtship, Di- Diseases, 281, 282
vorce; diseases of, 281; games of, Dishonesty, 214; see Law, Theft
216-222; punished, 213; toys of, 221 Divination, 120, 122, 274-277, 297, 300
Circumcision, 120, 126, 227, 228, 231; Division of labor, 133, 169, 212, 340-342
see Initiation Divorce, 181-183, 342
Clans, not among Ovimbundu, 192 Dogs, 143, 153, 166, 206, 211; as food,
Classificatory system, 188-199 294; see Hunting, Taboos
Clay, 131, 165, 209; see Hair, Houses, Domestic, animals, 99, 162-156; slavery,
Pottery, Tobacco-pipes see Law, Pawns, Slavery, Warfare;
Cleanliness, 282 utensils, 94, 162, 180, 183, 199, 210
368 The Ovimbundu
Donkey, 152 Garbage pits, 209
Doors, 208 Gardens, 181 see Agriculture, Hoes
;
Dreams, 276, 277 Genealogy, see Kinship

. n
Geographical factors, 106, 108-111
-r,
_
Drought, 109; see Climate, Rainfall,

Rain-maker, Seasons Girls, 124, 126; see Courtship, Initia-
Drums, 98, 118, 124, 204, 211, 223-225, tion, Occupations
279, 292; house for, 306, 312, 334; see Goats, 149, 161, 155
Friction Drum, Signals, Warfare God, 262, 296, 307, 344; see Kalunga,
Dyes, 170, 172; see Baskets, Colors, Nzarabi, Religion, Suku
Iron, Painting, Pigments Gongs, 117, 123, 204
Dysentery, 281 Gora, 321 see Music, Musical Bow
;
Gossip, 146, 183

Eating customs, 148 Gourds, 118, 122, 166, 167, 186
Eclipse, 137 Government, 199-204 see Chiefs, Kings,
;
Ecology of Angola, 108 Law, Punishments

Economics, 133-177 Graehnerian theories, 312; see Kul-
Education, 212-233, 343 turkreis
Eggs, 166, 213 Granary, 209
Elende, Ovimbundu 116, 123,
center, Grandparents, 191; see Kinship
129, 164, 167, 176, 177, 204, 318 Grass, 170
Elephant, 186, 188 Grasshopper, 146 .
Elephantiasis, 281 Grease toT clothes, 129, 130; see Hair-

Elevation of land, 109 dressing, Oil, Palms
Epidemics, 281, S22_ Greetings, 214, 216; see Manners,
Erylhrophlaeum guineense, 119, 287, Salutations
301; see Poison Ordeal Groundnuts, 108; see Peanuts
Etiquette, 216; see Conduct, Manners, Groves, sacred, 314
Salutes Guinea, 118
Euphorbias, 109 _. ,
Guns, 127, 142, 176
Europeans, see Caravans, Historical Evi-
dence, Missions, Portuguese, Trade Hairdressing, 129, 131, 181, 189
Exogamy, 192 Hamites, 128, 806, 818, 316, 328; see
Exorcism, 281 Bakitara, Pastoral Culture, South
West Africa
Family, 191, 200; see Kinship Hammer of blacksmith, 169, 314
Feasts, funeral, 208; marriage, 180 Hearth stones, 1 80
Fiber, 172, 322; see Bark, Initiation, Hemp, 161, 162, 166, 292
Masks Herero, 307
Figurines, 96, 156, 162, 164; see Mus6e Hernia, 281
Congo Beige, Religion, Wood-carving Hides, 100, 163, 176, 177, 302
Fines, 209; see Law, Punishments Hippopotamus, 188
Fire, 117, 160, 161; sacred, 211, 283,
Historical evidence, 106, 112-127
284, 287, 290, 291, 302, 307-311 Hoes, 119, 166, 290, 312, 316
FMshing, 100, 146; fish poisoned, 291; Homosexuality, 181
traps, 171, 212
Honey, 140, 149
Floors, 166, 210 Horns, 158; see Funerals, Graves, and
Flutes, 98, 226, 294
Tohacco-pipes
Foetus, 186 see Conception, Pregnancy
;
Horse, 162
Folklore, 123, 248-262, 256-261
Hospitality, 179, 214
Foods, 140-156, 312, 313, 336; see Ag- Hottentots, 303, 309, 315
riculture, Beans, Cooking, Domestic Terms
Household, 191; see Kinship
Animals, Make, Manioc, Meat, Milk, 212; see
Houses. 96, 126, 208, 209,
Squash, Sweet Potatoes _
Domestic Utensils, Village

Forge, 160; see Blacksmith, Iron
HuUa, 124
Foster mother, 187
Human sacrifice, 118; see King’s Death,
Friction drum, 288, 312, 319
Slaves
Frigidity of wife, 182
FruitS; 148
Humpata, 154
Functional school, 107 Hunting, 98, 121, 126, 140-146, 212,
Funeral rites, 99, 145, 163, 265-269 272, 290, 317, 331; see Arrows, Burial,
Ritual, Tombs, Traps
Games, 216-222 Husband, see Courtship, Kinship, Mar-
Ganda, province of, 144, 207 riage
Index 359
Ibo tribe, 128, 313, 328 Luchazi tribe, 126, 129, 158
Ijaw tribe, 328 Luimba tribe, 122, 123
Illustrations, titles of, 89-102 Luina tribe, 122, 126
Impotence in male, 182 Lunda district, 114, 122, 123, 129, 176,
Tfif’pQf' 1 1 Qd- 299; see Saurimo
Industnes7l68-170, 212, 344 Lustration, 278, 284, 291, 310; see Fire,
Infantile paralysis, 281 Medicine-man, Sacred Fire, Village
Infidelity, 187; see Divorce Site
Inheritance, 288, 316; see Law Luvando tribe, 128, 131
Initiation, 101, 124-126, 226-233, 316,
317 Madagascar, 321
Intoxication, 141, 160, 214; see Beer
Magic, 273-286, 346; see Divination,
Iron, 122-124, 168-161, 171, 313-316,
Medicine-man, Poison Ordeal
330 Mayombe tribe, 287
Irrigation, 147
Mahuila, 123
Ivory, 119
Maize, 100, 108, 118, 126, 127, 141, 166,
166, 189, 312; see Agriculture, Beer
Jaggas, 113, 116, 117 Malange, 292
Jealousy, 193, 204 Malaria, 281
Jesuits, 114 Malayo-Negritan traits, 320
Jiggers, 282 Maneala, 124, 291, 293, 302
Manioc, 108, 146, 147, 312
Kalunga, 116, 296, 307 Manners, 213; see Salutation
Kasai River, 109, 164, 286, 291, 292, Marimba, 117, 225, 303, 322
316; see Lunda 1 R7
Katanga, 297 Marriage, 180, 181, 214; see Kinship
Katoko, 116, 124 Marutse, 298
Kimbundu, 116, 126 Masks, 96, 126, 228, 293, 317, 323, 324
King, 120, 192, 200, 202, 205; com- Matches for ignition, 150
pound of, 209; death of, 310; funeral Mats, 99, 169, 210
of, 271, 306; killed, 807; salutes to, 214 Mayombe tribe, 287
Kinship terms, 188-199, 288, 300, 309, Meal times, 148
316 Meat as food, 148
Kipungo tribe, 129, 141 Medicinal plants, 280-288; see Phar-
Kitchen, 181, 187, 209; see Cooking macopoeia
Knives, 162, 176, 176 Medicine-man, 101, 120, 136, 161, 166,
Kpelle tribe, 313 166, 181, 182, 203, 210, 213, 270,
Kraals, 211, 304 273-286
Kru tribe, 128, 328 Men’s house, 121, 209, 295
Kulturkreis theory, 320-326 Menstruation, 186, 186, 300
Kusongo, 125 Meshwork nets, 320
Kwando River, 111 Mice, 137
Kwanza River, 109, 122, 146 Migrations, 115, 312-326
Milk, 119, 149, 163, 291, 302, 336
Lactation, 182, 187 Missions, Christian, 347
Lambas of Rhodesia, 296 Mists, 112
Land, ownership of, 201 Moero Lake, 119
Language, families, 329; TJmbundu, Mongua, 128, 129, 319
116, 234-260 Moon, 137
Law, 199-204 Morals, 296, 346
Leather belts, 130, 176; see Oxhide Mossamedes, 110, 113
Leopard, 189; see Folklore Mother-in-law, 193
Leprosy, 281 Mother’s brother, 196, 198, 200; see
Lewd stories, 214 Kinship
Liberia, 313, 328 Mourning, 269
Lion, 185 Moxico, 125
Lizards, 138 Mucilage, 167; used for catching birds,
Loads, see Caravans, Trade 299
Loanda, 110, 114, 116, 167 Mukuru, a god, 308
Lobito, 167 Mule, 163
Locusts, 140 Mural decoration, 293; see Painting
Loom, 124 Murder, 169, 202
360 The Ovimbundu
Musfie Congo Beige, 293 Peanuts (groundnuts), 147
Mushicongo, 287 Personality, 344
Music, bow, 226, 294, 322; general, Pestle, 184
216-222; instruments, 97, 118, 124, Pets, 140, 166
162, 294 Pharmacopoeia, 281; see Medicine-man,
Mussurongo, 129, 286 Nature Lore
Mutilation, 203; see Castration, Teeth, Philosophy, 339
Scarification Phonetics, 238-262
Phonograph records, 238-263
Names, personal, 188, 189 Physical types, 99, 100, 123, 128-132
Nature lore, 134-140, 236 Pigs, 99, 164, 161, 188
Necklaces, 117; see Beads, Ornaments, Pigments, 129, 130, 170; see Dyes,
Ostrich Eggshell Tukula Wood, Painting
Neck rests, 3^20 Pile dwellings, 320, 322
Needles, 169, 171; see Basketry and Play, 169, 216-222; see Education,
Mat-making Games, Music
Negro culture summarized, 332 Pneumonia, 282
New Guinea, 320 Poison, ordeal, 117, 119, 122, 203, 283,
Ngalangi, 115, 124, 129, 160, 164, -166, 288, 290, 292, 298; for fish, 145; for
177, 186, 187, 205-207, 210, 230 weapons, 204
Ngongo, 115, 163 Polygamy, 148, 198; see Marriage,
Nigeria, 167 Jealousy, Kinship
Nose-pin, 182 Portuguese, 110, 112-127, 198, 201,
Novo Redondo, 176 203, 312, 334, 347
Numbers, 252 Potatoes, 147; in poison ordeal, 203;
Nzambi, a god, 123, 288, 298, 307 see Sweet Potatoes
Potion, magical, 186, 187
Occupations, see Basketry, Blacksmith,
Pottery, 94, 98, 167-169, 183, 319
Hunting, Pottery, Wood-carving
Pouches of leather, 176
Oceania, 320
Poultry, 166, 211; see Chickens, Do-
Ogun, god, 314
mestic Animals
Oil, 157, 181, 189; see Palms Pounding maize, 166
Omba shells, 129 Powder for guns, 176, 204
Omens, 286, 286 Pregnancy, 183-186, 300
Ordeal, 119, 203, 229, 283; see Poison
Pre-nuptial relations, 341; see Court-
Ordeal
ship
Ornaments, personal, 128-132
Presents, 179, 182, 213
Ostriches, 117, 130
Prohibitions, 286, 286
Ovambo, 124, 176, 303, 307 Property, see Death, Divorce, Law
Ovimbundu, meaning of name, 112; see 337-348; and
Psychology, general,
chapter headings
ornament, 132
Ox, see Cattle, Sacrifice, South West
Puberty, 233, 296, 316, 336 see Initiation
Africa, Vakuanyama ;
Punishments, 206; see Adultery, Law,

Oxhide, burial in, 121, 123, 306, 310
Murder, Theft
Python bones as charm, 298
Painting, face, 182, 186; walls of houses,
102, 208, 210, 292
Palisades, 208; see Village Construction, Quinine, 186
Warfare Quiver, 176
Palm, 108, 117, 146, 177, 336; oil, 157,
181;seeRafl5a Racial migration, 328-330
Paolo Diaz, 113 Raffia palm, 177, 336; see Fiber, Palms
Papaya, 148, 336 Rainfall, 108, 109, 161, 168, 178
Parents, see Kinship, Marriage; names Rain-maker, 118, 122, 137, 283, 306
of, 188 Rats, 137; shot and trapped, 289
Parturition, 186; see Childbirth, Preg- Rattles, 120, 225
nancy Reeds in mat-maldng, 169
Pastoral culture, 331; see Cattle, Do- Reincarnation, 262, 263
mestic Animals, South West Africa, Relatives, see Kinship
Vakuanyama Religion, 233, 262-284; see Ancestor
Patrilocal marriage, 191 Worship, God, Magic, Medicine-
Pawns, 191, 200, 203, 205; see Law, man, Sacrifice, Soul, Spirit
Maternal Uncle, Slavery Reptiles, 138
Index 361
Rhodesia, 110, 191, 198, 296-303 Songs, in games, 217; in marching and
Riddles, 263, 264 war, 226
Rijks Museum, catalogue of, 294 Soul, 124, 263, 264, 290, 296; see
Ritual, blacksmith, 155, 168; burial, Religion, Spirits
266-269; caravan, 163; charm, 276- South West Africa, 303-313; see Cattle,
278; divorce, 183; hunter, 144; mur- Herero, Ovambo, Vakuanyama
der, 159; medicine-man, 273-285; Spears, 142, 175; for fishing, 145; see
parturition, 186; religion, 262-286; Assagai, Weapons
trade, 166 Specialization in tasks, 212, 213
Rivera of Angola, 109 Spells in magic, 137, 146
Rope, 170, 336 Spinning cotton, 119, 124, 177; see
Royal family, 183, 192; see Burial, Weaving
Descent, Inheritance, Kings, Kin- Spirits, good and bad, 263, 264
ship, Law, Succession Spoons, 180; see Domestic Utensils
Squash, 146; see Gourds
Staffs, ceremonial, 96, 164
Sacred fire, 120, 306; see Fire
Stars, 136
Sacred and profane uses, 346
Sterility of male, 182
Sacrifice, human,118, 156, 15S, 166; to
Stilts, 101, 121, 231, 317
spirits, 180, 263
Stone, construction with, 207
Salt, 122, 150, 179
Stools, 177, 299; see Wood-carving
Salutes. 213, 216-216
Succession, 316; see Kinship, Law
Sandals, 809, 310
Sudanic Negroes, 191, 313; see Ibo, Kru
Sanitation, 209
Sugar-cane, 148
Sankuru River, 291 Suicide, 125
San Salvador, 113
Suku, god, 123, 233, 262
Saurimo, 174, 176, 292
Sun, 137
Saw, 161
Sweat bath, 282, 309
Scapegoat, 118, 286, 327
Sweet potatoes, 108, 312
Scarification, 97, 101, 282, 296?'321
Symbols, see Divination, 274-277;
Scarlet fever, 281
used in naming persons, 188, 189
Scrap iron, 123, 168; see Blacksmith
Seasons, 168; see Climate, Rainfall,
Time, Weather Tables of relationship, 189-191, 196, 197
Semitic culture, 327 Taboos, general, 285; hunter, 144;
Serpent, significance of, 276, 285; see mother-in-law, 198; pregnancy, 184;
Divination, Nature Lore, Omens, see Omens
Python Tanganyika, 114, 166
Sewing, 171 Taxes, 205
Sex and occupation, 340-342 Teeth, brushed, 170; mutilated, 102,
Sexual relations, 179-189; see Be- 122, 128, 129, 287

trothal, Courtship, Divorce, Mar- Termites, 299
riage, Polygamy Theft, 181, 201, 202
Timbers, uses of, 138-140, 161; see
Sheep, 149, 155
Shells, 120, 129; Cowrie, Omba
see Trees, Wood-carving
Time, 158; see Agriculture, Calendar,
Shell, Ornament, Ostrich Shell
Shields, 204, 320, 335 Seasons
Sierra Leone, 317 Tobacco, 94, 98, 151, 158, 162, 165, 176,
Sickness, 188, 276-282; see Medicine- 289,312; see Agriculture, Hemp,
man Water-pipe, Wood-carving
Signaling, 204; with drums, 334 Tokens of betrothal, 179, 182
Sign language, 252, 263 Tomatoes, 148
Sisters, see Kinship Tombs, 98, 100. 208; see Burial,
Skull trophies, 120-122, 144 Funerals
Slavery, 113, 191, 201, 204-206, 292, Tone and stress, 239
312, 316 Tongs, 160
Smallpox, 281 Tools, 95; as symbols of sex, 184; see
Smelting iron, 314rsee Blacksmith Baskets, Blacksmith, Handicrafts,
Snakes, 138; see Divination, Omens, Occupations, Mats, Weapons, Wood-
Python, Serpent carving
Snuff, 151, 162; see Tobacco Topography, 108, 178
Social values, 346 Totems not used by Ovimbundu, 188,
Solomon Islands, 320 324
362 The Ovimbundu
Trade, 98, 114, 117, 142, 162, 166-168, Virginity, 180
161, 297, 311; see Caravans Vocabulary, 236, 236; see Folklore,
Traits of culture summarized, 331 Language, Nature Lore, Phonetics,
Transformation into animal, 263 Umbundu
Traps, 142, 317, 318; see Fishing,
Hunting Warfare, 109, 116, 177, 192, 204-206,
Trees, 138-140; planted in village, 206 311
Tribal names, spelling of, 106; see under Water-pipe for smoking, 122, 151, l53,
letters V, B, M 166, 289; see Hemp, Tobacco
Triplets, 124, 186, 187 Wayao, 299
Tsetse fly, 108, 109, 124 Wax, 141, 166, 168, 174-176; see Bees,
Tuberculosis, 281 Honey, Trade
Tukula wood, 117, 130, 131, 287, 293, Weapons, 95, 172-177; see Arrows,
295 Bows, Clubs, Knives, Shields, Spears
Twins, 124, 163, 185, 187, 301 Weather, 136: see Climt^te, Geograph-
Typhoid, 281 ical Factors, Rainfall, Seasons
Weaving, 177
Uganda, 198 Wedding, 1 67 see Bride, Marriage
;
UlcerSj 281 Weir in fishing, 146

Umbilical cord, 186 Welding of traits, 337-348
Umbundu, see Folklore, Language, Wells, 111
Phonetics, Proverbs, Trade, Vo- Whipping, of boys, 125; top, 301
cabulary Whooping cough, 281
Uncle, 191; see Kinship, Law, Mother’s Widows, 199, 343; see Death, Funeral,
Brother Inheritance, Mourning
Unity of cultural traits, 107 Wife, lending, 181; principal, 131; see
Utensils, see Cooking, Domestic Uten- Courtship, Kinship, Marriage, Poly-
sils, Kitchen, Wood-cartung gyny
Wine, 117, 168, 176; see Alcohol, In-
Vaohokue, 110, 116, 119, 126, 128, 160, toxication, Jaggas, Palms
151, 163, 166-168, 172, 173, 179, 187, Winnowing, 171
206, 231, 235, 278, 279, 297, 822; see Wire, as ornament, 131; see Bracelet,
Cangamba, Saurimo Brass
Vacilenge, 119, 149 Witchcraft, see Charms, Corpse Ques-
Vaheneca, 123, 128 tioned, Funerals, Magic, Medicine-
Vakipungo, 173 man
Vakuanyama, 111, 125, 128, 141, 162, Wizard, see Magic, Medicine-man
153, 173, 177, 236, 304, 307, 317, 318; Wood-carving, 93-94, 98, 161-166, 293,
see Cattle, Culture Contacts 819; see Domestic Utensils, Figurines,
Vangangella, 129, 177, 214 Nature Lore, Trees
Vanyemba, 101, 230 Wooden arrows, 137, 140, 173, 211
Vapor bath, 301 Women, social position of, 341; see
Vasele, 118, 128, 141, 150, 166, 173, 174, Childbirth, Law, Marriage, Occu-
176, 207, 234 pations, Pregnancy
Vegetable fiber, ornaments of, 131; see Worms, intestinal, 281
Bark, Baskets, Cotton, Mats, Palms,
Raffia Yams, 313
Vegetation, 108-111 Yaws, 281
Victoria Nyanza, 309, 319
Vila Nova de Selles, 132, 176 Zambezi River, 109, 111, 317, 821
Village, construction of, 124; organiza- Zanzibar, 297
tion of, 206-211
Fiplfl Museum of Natural History Anthropology, Vol. XXI, Plate IX
DASKBT-WORIC PATTERNS
Field Museum of Natural History AiithroDology, Vol. XXI, Plate XI
INCISED AND BURNED DESIGNS ON A GOURD

WOODEN COMBS, TOOLS, DOMESTIC IMPLEMENTS, AND WEAPONS
Aiitluoi)oU)gyr Vol XXI, IHuU XIV
Field Museum ol Natuial HisLoiy
POTTERY AND WOODEN UTENSILS

Field Museum of Natural History Anthropology, Vol. XXI, Plato XV
TOBACCO-PIPES, SNUFF BOX, RAT TRAP, AND BASKET

9
BOWS AND ARROWHEADS

WOOD-CARVING
Field Museum ol Natural Hialory Anthropology, Vol» XXI, Plalo XXV
POSITIONS OF HANDS IN DRUMMING, OVIMBUNDU, ELENDE

Front view
POSITIONS OP HANDS IN DRUMMING, OVIMBUNDU, BLENDE
Side view
XX\ÎI
Plate
XXI,
VoL
Anthropologj',
produce
field
vntfa
Won.an
2.
Fig.
gourd.
carrying
Man
Pie.l.
Field Museum of Natural History Anthropology, Vol. XXI, Plate XXIX
AGRICULTURE NEAR GANDA

Fig. 1. Tobacco plants on ant hill Fjg 2, Clearing the bush
History
Natural
of
Museum
Field
Elende
near
HUNTERS
Trophies
Fig
OYIMBTINDU
Lmmbale
FOR
near
KITTJAl.
Tomb
1-
Fig.
History
Natural
of
Museum
Field
Field Musoum of Natural History Anthropology, Vol. XXI, Plate XXXIII
OVIMBUNDU MAKING POTTERY, ELENDE

Fig, 1. Building pottery vessel. Fig 2. Molding pot with hands and gourd
i ,
OYIMBUNDU MAKING POTTERY, BLENDE

Pig 1 Moistening and smoothing wet pot Pig 2 Pinialied wet pots with incisod designs
XXXV
Plate
XXI,
Vol.
Anthropology,
Blende
Girl.
2.
Pig.
OVIMBUNDU
BaUundu.
drill,
Using
1.
Pig.
XXXVI
Plate
XSI,
Vol.
Anthropology,
Womanjpoimdingjmaize
BLENDE
OVIMBUNDU,
2.
Fig.
OF
spinner.
coucon
OCCUPATIONS
Male
1.
Fig.
BLENDE
axhead
Forging
OVIMBUNDU.
2.
Fig-
WORK,
bellows
AT
Working
1.
BLACKSMITHS
Fig
Field Museum of Natural History AnthroDoloffy, Vol. XXIi Plate XXXVlli
BLACKSMITHS AT WORK, OVIMBUNDU, BLENDE

Fig. 1 . Pounding on anvil. Pig. 2. Using cutting tool
2
OVIMBUNDU, ELENDD
Fig 1 Hunter.Tig 2 Woman making coiltd basket
2
OVIMBUNDU 'WOOD-GAIIVERS, BLENDE

Fig, 1 Making human and animal iigurcs Fig. 2 Carving drum
XLII
Plate
XXI,
Yol.
Anthropology,
tool
on
reeds
ELENDE
Threading
MATS,
FJg
MAKING
mat-msking.
OCIMBT7NDU
iox
Tool
•
-rj.t
'rfrtV;.
Field Museum of Natural History AnUiropologyi Vol. XXT, Plate XLIII
XLIV
Plate
XXI,
Vol.
Anthropology,
ELENDE
house
of
OVIMBUKDTJ,
Framework
2.
Fig.
CONSTRUCTION,
bin-
M^ze
1.
Fig.
BUILDING
Anthropology, Vol.
FUNERAL KITES, OVIMBUNDU, BLENDE

Fig. 1. Old Ocimbundu qupsUoning corpse and offering food. Fig. 2. Burial place ol chief, Elende
Museum of NaUiuU Hisiory Aiitlii<‘pol»uy, Vo! !XX1, PhvleÎvVI
Field
FUNERAL RITES, OVIMBUNDtT

Fig. 1. Hul, where possessions of dead chiefs are kept, Flende
Fig. 2. Horns oi ox over grave, near Gaconda
iltii^j!i'‘*v‘feSv;'l
Hpip^î^^™«QliMfei
BLENDE
INFANTS,
AND
WOMEN
OTIMBUNDU
History
Natural
of
Mxiseum
Field
Field Museum of Natural History
Aiithropoloey, Vol. XXI, Plate LI
OVIMBUNDU WOMEN AND CHILDIIBN, BLENDE

Fipld Museum ut Natunil I-Iisloiy Anthropology, Vol. XXI, Plate LIII
OVIMBUNDU MEN, BLENDE

type
Negro
Mod»fied
2
ELENBE
Fig
maimer
OVIMBUNDU,
tribal
OP
mutilated
T’TPES
teeth
type,
Negro
Field Muaoum of Natural liiatoiy Anthropology, Vol XXI, Plate LV
DOMESTIC ANIMALS, OVIMBUNDU
Fig 1. SliBGpand lamb, Elende. Fig. 2- Dog, Elende, eara dipped *'Lo
make him hoar well.” Fig 3. Goat, Bailundu

IjVIII
Plate
XXI,
Vol.
Antliropology»
2
FEMALE TYPES, SOUTHWEST ANGOLA

Fig. I, Luvantln girls near Kipungo. Pig. 2. Back view, same types
r
Mongua
tribe
ANGOLA
Htuabe
of
Women
SOUTHWEST
2
g
F
TYPES,
Gainbos
FEMALE
oi
Women
shell
omba
and
coUar
beaded
ANGOLA
Wearmg
SOLTHWEST
2
Fig
sheU
HUII-A,
amba
OF
and
band
NATIVES
forehead
Weanng
History
^ •*
Natural
of
Museiim
Field
family
polygynous
in
wife
principal
as
ANGOLA
position
denotes
SOUTH
which
MONGUA,
headdress
^ WOMEN,
Showing
3.
2.
VAKUANYAMA
Figs
skirts
leather
pleated
•weanng
History
Natural
of
tvluseuin
Field
ANGOLA
basket
SOUTH
for
Shelter
2
V4KX4NYA.MA,
Fig
basket
MAIZE,
Grata
OF 1
Fig
ST0R4.GE
History
Natural
of
Museum
Field
VAKUANYAMA TRIBE, SOUTH ANGOLA
Fig. 1. Man troftding hide, Tor making woman's sWrt, Fig. 2. Typical dwelling, Dom Manuel
Mufcjcuiu uf Niilural HisLtny Aullm»polo|!!y, Vol. X.N1, ri.iU* LXVUl
TRIBES OF SOUTH ANGOLA

Fig. 1, Vaheneca, right and left; Gambos woman and children, center. Fig. 2 , Vakuanyama
men, with assagais, clubs, and bows, Mongua
ANGOLA
ISIORTHWEST
Man
2.
Pig.
MAIANGE,
Girl.
1-
TYPES,
Fig.
MUSSTJRONGO
angola
northwest
view
Back
2.
malange,
Fig,
view.
near
Front
I.
woman,
Pig.
mussurongo
History
Natural
o£
Museum
Field
2
DUGOUT CANOES, RIVER KWANZA, NEAR MALANGE, NORTHWEST ANGOLA

Fig. 1. Exteriors. Fig. 2. View of slern
Fig.
I'U'ld Muacuin of NiiLurn! IHaLoiy AnlluopoloRj', Vol WI| l*lul( lAXlV
>! 'illf •’.*'•*•>
if-’
2
HUNTER'S TOMB AND VILLAGE OF VASELE
Fig 1 Tomb, near Luimbale Fig 2 Village, near Vila Nova de Selles
cheeks
and
forehead
of
scarification
Note
ANGOLA
head-band
WEST-CENTRAL
beaded
Weanng
VASELE,
2.
Fig.
OP
TYPES
head-band
FEMALE
cowne-shell
and
nose-pm
Wearing
1
Fig.
pam
cure
to
said
chest,
on
ANGOLA
scanfi<»tioft
Diâyiag
T^^ST-CENTR
Pig
V4SELE,
teeth
oi
OP
mutilation
MEN
typical
Sliowing
History
Natural
of
Museum
Fsetd
2
WOMENIN CHARGE OF TRIBAL INITIATION OF GIRLS,

VANYEMBA, NGONGO, CENTRAL ANGOLA
Fig 1. Front view Fig. 2. Back view
Katoko
at
tribes
BOYS
mixed
of
FOR
dress
CEREMONIES Ceremonial
2.
Fig.
INITLATION
Ngongo
TRIBAL
Ovimbundu,
IN
and
WORN
Vangaugella
COSTUMES
of
Costumes
History
1.
Natural
Pig.
of
Museum
Iêld
l*M(Ul M\iRium i)f NaluuU llwlory
n ^-r'..«,.Ji''%..v..v-r b.,..
CANGAMBA
Luchazi
Medicme-man,
INITIATION,
Pig.
TRIBAi
Vachokue.
CEREMONIES,
Stilt-^walkets,
1
CONCLUDING
Fig
History
Natural
of
Museum
Field
2
treating sick 'WOMAN, YACHOKUE, CANGAMBA

Mcdiciiie-man stroking patient's spine Fig 2 Preparing tor ablution of face
Fie 1
2
TYPES OF VACHOKUE, MONA KUIMBUNDU, NORTHEAST ANGOLA

Fig 1 Women pounding maize Pig 2 Dwelling
Field Muaoiim ot Natiiinl Ilialmv AullimpnloRy, V(,l. XXI, PliUo liXXXV
2
VACHOKUE FISHING AT CANGAMBA
Fig 1 Women dragging haskel Pie. 2 Man in bark canoe, holding net
Museum of Natural lIiHtory AnthrnpoloKy, Vol. XXI, Plain LXXXVL
LXXXVII
Plate
"'CXI,
Vol
A-nthropology,
Ngalangi
Ngongo,
ANGOLA
at
Women
EAST
2.
WOMEN,
Fig,
Cacgamba
VACHOKITE
Albino,
1
Pig.
scanBcation
NGÊANGI
Showing
2
NGONGO,
Fig.
teeth
'WOMEN.
mutiluted
VACHOKra
Showing
Fig.
History
Natural
oi
Museum
Field
SCENrS IN CENTRAL ANGOLA
Fig 1 House where long communes with, ancestral sp’nts, Ngalangi
Fig 2 House with painted walis, near Baiiundu
Fig 3 Gioup showing mixture of tribes at Ngalangi
XC
Plate
XXI,
Vol.
Anthropology,
TEETH
MUTILATED
Mao
.
SHOWING
2
Pig.
Woman,
CANGAMBA,
1.
Pis-
BABUNDA,
OF
TYPES
Flold Mufltiuni ui Niilurul lHaLory Aiitluopolu^, V<>1. \Xf, I'liUo X( U
2
MAGIC AND HUNTING, CENTRAL ANGOLA
Fig 1. Mound where chlldleaa women are covered with mud to give lertility, VangangelUv, Ngalangi
Fig 2 Trap for leopards, Cangamba

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I

VSOUTH WEST AFRICA

Anthropological Series Vol. XXI, No. 2

THE OVIMBUNDU OF ANGOLA

Frederick H. Rawson-Fibld Museum Ethnological Expedition

84 Plates in Photogravure and 1 Map

Educational Value of Play, Music, and Dancing 216

VIII. Language 234

IX. Basket-work Patterns, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. Nos.

length 32.5 cm. Fig. 6. Ceremonial ax, formerly

tion, Ovimbundu, Blende. Cat. No. 209069, dimen-

XIV. Pottery and Wooden Utensils. Fig. 1. Earthenware

XV. Tobacco-pipes, Snuff Box, Rat Trap, and Basket.

inwoven patterns of amber and black, Ovimbundu,

XVIII. Hut Furniture and Mask. Fig. 1. Wooden seat with

7 cm. Fig. 3. Wooden figure placed by anvil of

XXIV. Examples of Scarification. Ocimbundu woman,

Esele woman. Cuts, made to cure pain, were rubbed

XXV. Positions of Hands in Drumming, Ovimbundu, Blende.

XXVII. Ovimbundu Drummers, Blende. Fig. 1. Long^drums.

XXIX. Agriculture near Ganda. Fig. 1. Tobacco plants on

XXX. Transportation at Blende. Fig. 1. Portuguese riding

XXXI. Transportation, Ovimbundu, Blende. Pig. 1. Boy

XXXIV. Ovimbundu Making Pottery, Blende. Pig. 1. Moisten-

ing and smoothing wet pot. Fig. 2. Finished wet

XXXV. Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. Man using drill, Bailundu. Pig. 2.

XXXVI. Occupations of Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Male

XXXVII. Blacksmiths at Work, Ovimbundu, Blende. Pig. 1.

XLL Ovirabundu Wood-carvers, Blende. Fig. 1- Making

XLIII. Transportation, Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Bridge

XLVI. Funeral Rites, Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. Hut where posses-

XLVII. Funeral Rites, Ovimbundu, Caconda. Fig. 1. Baskets

XLVIII. Social Life of Ovimbundu. Fig. 1. Men’s club house,

LVII. Domestic Animals, Ovimbundu, Blende. Fig. 1. Cattle.

LVIII. Physical Types, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Girls of

LIX. Female Types, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Luvando

LX. Female Types, Southwest Angola. Fig. 1. Girls of

Vakuanyama men, with assagais, clubs, and bows,

LXXIII. Fishing and Hunting. Fig. 1. Fishing spear, Ambrizette,

LXXIV. Fig. 1. Hunter’s Tomb, Vasele. Fig. 2. Village of

LXXV. Female Types of Vasele, West-central Angola. Pig. 1.

Woman wearing nose-pin and cowrie-shell hair-band.

LXXVII. Women in Charge of Initiation of Girls into Secret

LXXVIII. Costumes Worn in Tribal Initiation Ceremonies for

LXXX. Tribal Initiation of Boys, Vachokue, Cangamba. Fig. 1.

Fiber skirts worn by circumcised novices. Pig. 2.

LXXXL Concluding Ceremonies, Tribal Initiation, Cangamba.

LXXXIV. Vachokue, Mona Kuimbundu, Northeast Angola.

LXXXV. Vachokue Fishing at Cangamba. Fig. 1. Women

LXXXVI. Vachokue, East Angola. Fig. 1. Cupping operation,

LXXXVIIL Vachokue Women, Ngongo, Ngalangi. Fig. 1.' Show-

XCI. Types of Babunda, Cangamba, Showing Mutilated

At the end each of these journeys, which totaled 6,000 miles, I

In the interior I received help from Mr. and Mrs. H. C. McDowell

My presentation passes from geographical and historical consid-

for complete analysis of the culture of the Ovimbundu and suiTound-

What are the classes of evidence which might be expected to assist

Unfortunately there are no archaeological data which can assist

Geographical study is valuable in showing that physical factors