My travels in North West Rhodesia : or, A missionary journey of sixteen thousand miles . erformance wonderfully confirmed my ideaof the musical aptitude of the native races ofAfrica. Here we are among the most wildpeople our Church has touched, and they arefound to be naturally as musical as the moreadvanced tribes in the South. The dance is much more difficult todescribe. The people, young and old, areround in a ring. They clap their hands,keeping time with the music. The dancercomes out in the ring, and begins the dance,also keeping time. At first, it is chiefly aleg and foot performance, wi
My travels in North West Rhodesia : or, A missionary journey of sixteen thousand miles . erformance wonderfully confirmed my ideaof the musical aptitude of the native races ofAfrica. Here we are among the most wildpeople our Church has touched, and they arefound to be naturally as musical as the moreadvanced tribes in the South. The dance is much more difficult todescribe. The people, young and old, areround in a ring. They clap their hands,keeping time with the music. The dancercomes out in the ring, and begins the dance,also keeping time. At first, it is chiefly aleg and foot performance, with certain toeand heel scrapings on the ground, whichsends the dust flying. Then he becomesmore excited, until he throws himself on theground; and sometimes sitting and sometimesprone on hands and feet like a four-footedbeast, he works his body till he is like a manin convulsions, and yet still keeping time tothe music. This goes on till he is exhausted;and then another takes his place; and in theirendurance they seek to out-do each women also join in the dance; but in this. SOME NATIVE HABITS AND VIEWS. 257 case only one entered the ring, perhaps,because Europeans were present, and shekept on her feet. But we saw enough to showus that in their pleasures, even, they are verydegraded. The only touch of higher thingswas the music, and that was coarse and rude. Then comparative quiet was restored, andwe saw a war dance. The organ now retired,and only one drum was used. The youngbraves came out looking very wild, brandish-ing their spears, and striking them intoimaginary enemies, and as they returned, sentthe dust and stones back from their feet as atoken of contempt of their enemies. Someused an axe, some a club, and some both. ButI could not see that the brutality typified wasreally any worse than that of the battle ofAliwal, where Christian was pitted againstChristian, and the din of battle was as helllet loose. The women were not without theirshare in this dance. They
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1910
