I KNEW LEWANIKA
By JEFFREY SOANE CAMBELL
(Edited by G. C. R. Clay)
Soane Cambell (Makwengula), who died about 1940, was a well-known trader and hunter in Barotseland. Gervas Clay, who edits his reminiscences, knew him well, and was himself to become Resident Commissioner, Barotseland in 1959.
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T was in April, 1913, when I was recruiting labour for the Rhodesian Native Labour Bureau at Makoma in what is now the Kalabo District of Barotseland that I received an invitation from Lewanika, the Paramount Chief, to attend a game drive which he was holding in his game preserve on the Liuwa Plain. Some description of this may be of Interest because so far as I know no other European ever attended the Paramount Chief's game drive, and the one I went to was the last to be held. From time to time Barotse chiefs went on hunting trips to the Kabompo in the Balovale District and to Luena in the Mankoya District but these were minor affairs and the quarry was chiefly the red lechwe. At Mayankwas branches of fig trees were dug in round the camp as a stockade and these took root so that even to-day an oval of fig trees can be seen there to mark where Lewanika hunted.
The Liuwa preserve lies between the Luangunga and Lungwibungu Rivers and is intersected by the. Luambimba River. This area of roughly thirty miles by seventy miles is most carefully preserved and no one, white or black, may hunt there without the Paramount Chief's permission.
I met Lewanika at Kakuya on the Luanginga River and had dinner with him that night. I found tortoise stew excellent: and his cook had a method of cooking hippo meat which was most succulent, while his roast duck could not have been surpassed in any London restaurant. We usually finished off the repast with a tankard full of unfermented native beer which I thought quite palatable. I had some Cape claret which Lewanika liked very much, but he said he never drank spirits although he had tasted them during his visit to England. He stated that he liked champagne very much but I had to reply that the state of my finances precluded me from buying that delectable drink. On one occasion I did not finish my tankard of beer, but after drinking part of it placed the tankard upon the table, whereupon the Chief anxiously inquired what was the matter with it. Apparently etiquette forbade sipping a drink.
Next morning I proceeded to the plain with Lewanika in a very large dug-out canoe drawn by fourteen oxen which were harnessed two and two to a rope attached to the bows. I found this quite a comfortable mode of progression over level ground. We spent the day inspecting the " maonga " which were spearheads embedded in short poles about two inches in diameter which were planted at an angle of about forty-five degrees in the ground in grass about four feet high. There were hundreds of these weapons covering several acres. They were quite concealed by the grass and invisible from a distance of five yards. I remember I made as if to walk in among these maonga and was very hastily pulled out, it being explained that, once in, it was almost humanly
[Picture omitted – “Lewanika before setting out on his last raid against the Ba-Ila”]
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impossible to get out again without being staked. Leading up the maonga were two fences composed of sticks about four feet in length planted in the ground at a distance of about ten feet from each other. They were connected by a single strand of bark rope near the tops and on each stick was a sod of earth and grass which at a short distance exactly resembled the head of a man appearing over the grass. These two fences which must have been several miles apart, where they started, extended for many miles gradually converging on the maonga. Large numbers of wildebeeste had been shepherded into the space between these fences and on our journey between the herds I calculated that there must have been at least 3,000 within sight.
At this time of year every link hollow or pool is filled with water, and the number of duck and geese to be seen was amazing.Knob-billed geese, yellow-billed duck, white-faced, pink-billed teal, black duck and spur-winged geese were there in abundance. When returning to our camp Lewanika gave the order for the natives with us to spread out (after passing the wildebeeste herds). Many hares, oribi and steinbok were killed with sticks and spears. However, the noise and excitement caused the oxen drawing our canoe to bolt and they galloped madly towards the camp. We were not capsized, however, and eventually the oxen stopped, but a second canoe in which Induna Kalonga was travelling was not so lucky and poor old Kalonga was thrown out but escaped without injury. Unfortunately for me my plates, cups, glasses, etc., were in his canoe and suffered considerable damage. Our canoe was thereafter surrounded by armed men who were instructed to stab the oxen at the least sign of a disposition to bolt again.
When within about two miles of the camp we could hear the " Town Crier " chanting the praises of the Chief—" Mighty elephant, etc., etc." He had a magnificent voice and we could hear him a long distance away. It was now dusk and as we approached the camp, lit by twinkling fires in every direction, the forms of thousands of natives were outlined against the dying sunset glow, lining both sides of the path in serried masses. As we entered this avenue the royal salute crashed out. YO SHO—YO SHO—YO SHO. Each man throwing both arms up, drawing himself up to his full height and shouting the words. Then came one of the most impressive scenes it has ever been my fortune to witness. All sank to their knees and in a whisper repeated the salute three times—yosho-yosho--yosho. It is impossible for me to express the sound adequately, but I have rarely been so thrilled. Lewanika took no notice whatever of these proceedings but continued chatting to me.
That night the Chief's drums beat at irregular intervals, invariably waking me up, so I asked the Chief during the morning the reason for these irritating performances. He replied, " When I wake up, word is passed to the drums and as soon as they play I sleep again ". He then asked me if I did not wake up in a railway train when it stopped and sleep again when it started, saying that this was his experience and it reminded him of his drums. He also had a choir of Mankoya boys who were said to be eunuchs—they certainly had very shrill voices.
Next day I accompanied Lewanika, his Ngambela and some Kuta Indunas to see the first drive. It is perhaps worthy of note that the wildebeeste herds always collected in April around the area on which the drive was conducted on account of the short grass growing there. Lions harry the herds incessantly, causing them to move from place to place avoiding the long grass. and choosing spots where a clear view of the surrounding country
is to be obtained in every direction, and therefore the approach of any enemy may be observed. I have noticed in other parts of the country that game forsake the plains during the wet season and frequent the bush. This may be because the grass in fairly thick bush is always short whereas the grass on the plains is almost invariably very long and thick, thereby obstructing the view and rendering the approach of any carnivora difficult of discovery. When the grass is burned off—as it is every year when dry (about September—the herds split up and roam about all over this great area. Lewanika told me that he had, on former occasions, ridden after wildebeeste and speared them, but that he had now no horses as all had died.
We made for an ant-heap about a mile from the maonga and from its summit had a good view of the subsequent drive. Between 7,000 and 10,000 natives lined up between the fences I have described and slowly drove the herds of animals towards the maonga. There were numbers of lechwe among the wildebeeste and a few zebra, roan and oribi but all the lechwe broke back before the maonga were reached. Several of Lewanika's sons and relatives were walking behind the lines of beaters and, as the various animals broke back through the beaters, they began to shoot with their rifles at every-thing they saw. Bullets were flying in all directions till Lewanika sent an Induna to stop the shooting, and even so a man was carried up to me shortly afterwards with a Winchester repeater bullet in his foot. Meanwhile the thousands of yelling, howling natives had closed in on the wildebeeste which were now thoroughly alarmed and going all out. As the foremost animals sighted the spears in the grass they attempted to jump over them. The effect of this appeared exactly like a huge wave or rather succession of waves. The groans and cries of agony from these wretched creatures as they were impaled were dreadful to hear It seemed almost incredible that anything could get through the maonga, but some of the old bulls managed to struggle through and stood about the plain, bleeding from dozens of wounds and in every case with their entrails dragging on the ground. Each animal was then attacked by a group of spearmen. One man threw his spear at the animal, followed by the others, and as the unfortunate buck would make a feeble rush at one person the others would dash in and force the spears deeper into its body, the barbs, of course, preventing the spears from falling from the wounds. Lewanika, who was in a great state of excitement, turned to me and made some remark, and then said, " You do not like this ? " I said, " No, Mulena. It is not our custom" Lewanika replied, " I am sorry there are no lechwe caught. I do not eat wildebeeste and I shall be glad if you could shoot some lechwe for me." I think this is a good example of Lewanika's tact and manners, and I was only too pleased to do as he asked and to be able to leave the shambles.
There were drives on the two following days, which I did not witness, and the total bag of wildebeeste was over 500 head together with a few zebra. A few oribi were killed, but they were trapped mostly at night. It appears they would graze along and, not seeing the maonga and suddenly touching one, would make a frightened jump and instantly be struggling amongst the spears.
The Portuguese natives from over the border, of whom there were a large number, began to sneak away after the first drive, taking with them all the meat they could steal. After a drive all the carcasses were cut up and the hind-quarters laid out in rows before
the Chief. The fore-quarters belonged to those who participated in the slaughter and were distributed by the Chief's Police(Mabuto). Lewanika was not at all disturbed by the defection of these natives nor by the theft of meat, but merely laughed and said, " Oh. There are many more people and plenty of meat ".
I did not see any lions during my stay with the Chief, but they made a tremendous row each night and several were seen by the beaters at different times.
While walking with the Chief we had frequently to cross stretches of water. I used to jump on a native's back and be carried over, but Lewanika invariably sat down, removed his shoes, pulled on a pair of gum boots, and solemnly waded through. I asked him why he did not do as I did or take a machila, and received the answer that none of the royal family could be carried in any way. I found this interesting as I knew that Balovale and Lunda chiefs were frequently carried in machilasand other chiefs on the shoulders of a retainer.
The Resident Magistrate, as the Provincial Commissioner was then called, was greatly annoyed by the slaughter and refined to grant any ammunition permits for twelve months. I suggested respectfully that unless the huge herds were periodically thinned out, there was considerable danger of some virulent disease breaking out. This
actually occurred in the form of anthrax and large numbers died. I was interested to learn from the Chief Veterinary Officer that the Felidae and Canidae as well as vultures were immune from this disease as I had previously asked the natives if they had found lions or vultures dead after feeding on the carcasses of the wildebeeste and was somewhat puzzled to hear that they had seen none, although some natives had certainly died.
At this time I was engaged in endeavouring to persuade the wild people along the Portuguese border to accept work in Southern Rhodesia and had not met with much success. I had told Lewanika this and he had said he would speak to the people. On the day I returned to my camp, Lewanika addressed the entire gathering in my presence, saying " This is Makwengula, my friend. He wishes to help you to find work and money. What he says, I say ; his words are my words." This, of course, pleased me greatly and resulted in my obtaining a fair number of recruits later on.
Lewanika had an old-fashioned shay drawn by two mules in which he was accustomed to go to the Mission Church at Lialui on Sundays. Although he never became a Christian and had many wives, he approved of the missionaries' activities and was accustomed to consult them in political matters. When proceeding to Livingstone to meet various Administrators or Governors, he was usually accompanied by the Senior member of the Paris Mission.
I was privileged in knowing Lewanika very well. At one time I was engaged by him to excavate a canal at Sioma with the idea of connecting the upper and lower rivers and thereby obviating the laborious traction of boats across some three miles of country. Lewanika had been advised that locks could be utilised quite cheaply. I advised him that such structures would entail a very large expenditure and suggested another and cheaper method. This unfortunately did not appeal to the Chief and he obtained the services of another European who erected two enormous lock gates on the veld, filled in my canal with the rocks I had laboriously blasted out and disappeared
Lewanika had a number of outstanding characteristics :
(1) He appreciated Europeans and enjoyed talking with them and entertaining them.
(2)He was an acute and wise man.
(3)He had a remarkable sense of humour.
(4)He had a sense of gratitude.
(5)He looked a chief, and whether clothed in a scuba (kilt) or lounge suit, or in his very striking and handsome uniform (for State occasions), his dignity and carriage impressed the observer.
When he died, I felt I had lost a friend, one whom I respected and admired.
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