The Key West Citizen Newspaper, May 1, 1947, Page 10

e® we i* + 1 big Way TNE Ma teeth » e ee te | Pitgeyp er ecba gene eG ae Be aa >. : ity Pat eee rec Ocha dete te theta te tern nd a 1 ybeth Hay FE a ee PPS bee Be . . egtelts tate chats fart -. ey ULA Twain's Contistticut Yankee in -facts than is the royal party: visitor. to this ‘strange, ‘demain where time creeps and only the zip of the a neighbor. — a tand of superstitions that = not be scotched, of astonist- of marriage; to. the groom it as- intemporary ' viously thankfal for tendcious | polygamous practices, varyiig among the tribes, to which indééd fascinating she lends her own good offices by white man’s husband to eligible young women. hymning the good qualities of héer Marriage Counsel sures his right to fatherhood; to} Husbands, it is related by au- the girl’s parents it is a fine em- thorities, spend much time in the _ a few, but it is no more dreadful tige, for a family is nothing at all | Soothsayers, who give solemn ad- if it does not own cattle, whether | Vice on how to be happily mated they be lean or. fat, cheap or} and proffer such reputed physic dear. ae cal stimulants as fat of crocodile, Before. these ‘negotiations ‘are hippopotamus and lion, completed and the two| settle} The Zulus are esteemed an es- Noel down in a krdal, however, along ; sentially moral and truthful, race, , courtship takes place, lasting not| which explains why divorce is other such urban refinements, but | infrequently four. or. five years|not easy amohg them, adultety they delight. in their folksongs | and starting when the girl is 15 or being the sole ground for dissolu- and boast a lively mother wit. | 16. And it is the girl who makes! tion of marriage. White educators ep sions of the atomic bornb a a the overtures. with long ‘experience arnong the « The Zulus know nothing ‘about ‘ have spread extremely vaguely to! as. the greater humber cannot | ZUlus explained, however, that read ;or, write, the messages are | @dultery is by no means generally | transmitted by means of different | looked upon as an unforgiveable colored ‘heads, each string repre- j sin, and that the woman, though senting standard sentiments. | ale may have been the inciter, is | “The bead language is authentic almost always considered the in- enough basically, but is often em- 7 broidered for.— and by — thei cuckold revenged himself upon to thémn than an alarm clock, an eutboard: motor or a bulldozer. ‘They have no more idea of an air | raid siren than Hannibal had of ; radar, ho clearer notion of a ‘city stréet-car than Marco. Polo: could | ' family something valuable in re- have had of the Chicago subway: | u.3.... ithe defiler of his h rad of Chi : | “glamorizers.” ‘tthe defiler of his home by spear- = Colorful Dress Fades ao ai SE i him. Softer influences, ‘hav + The colorful native adornments : Bead Language oe sobre “i & skins, loincloths, blankets, beads and headdresses — have largely given way to a patchwork of Eulropean covering. This often makes the Zulu a little absurd and futile, like a character drift- g in and out of a Somerset laugham short story, or a figure Gilbert: and Sullivan might have _ Created. ’ fhe fancy dress is brought out efit riage- custom of ‘“Jobola,” which has been descritied as dowery in reverse. Like ‘the Bontus and most of the other tribes’ of ‘the subcontirient, the Zulu follow the practice of paying a brite-price, for their. wives. Pioneer, mission- ayies, sought to wipe out the cus- tem—along with so many others that' were considered heathenish —but with: little success... De- scribed by them and by others as a sordid and shocking marketing of women like livestock, “lobola” ig championed even by Zulu re- Ngious leaders because, in , the words of one black-skinned min- iater;-“‘it gives stability to family life which would be ‘lacking if betrethals were more irresponsi- Je.and casual.” © * =: Women Do Work <TSaditionally the women do most: of the hard work: in the tieff§ and in the kraals and it ‘is reasoned that when a woman of: e of the patriarchially organ- ed. groups is desired in. mar- wage, the man naturally should prepared to turn over to her turn. As tribal communities set greatest store by cattle—which b not sold in the ordinary ways husbandry nor slaughtered ex- cépt for great feasts—women are “Jebola’a” for from five to fifteen head, thé average being ten, and installment payments permitted. some tribes. To the bride “lobola” is proof w mainly, for ithportant tribal, If a string“of beads is predomi- nantly. white, visitors are told, the message. means: “My-heart is white and I‘am true to you.” Light green: signifies: “I will re- main true.even to the depths of the sea;”’ Vivid green expresses the candor of innocence: “I am getting thin with longing for you and.my heart is sore.” Blue con- veys: “The dove isa lucky bird, for it.can s@e you every day.” Should. anything go amiss the girl puts .b¢ads of all colors on the « striig, “thus: letting it be known:-‘f -am disappointed. Come ‘and. explain.” A serious estrange- ment’ calls: for: a flash of yellow beads: “Break off engagement.” But a message in pink means that a long and successful court- ship is virtually at an end: “If you have the necessary cattle to pay my father I am now grown up and ready tocome to you.” And, finally, in black: “I have now pre- pared my sidwaba (black wed- ding skirt fashioned from hides) and am ready to come to you.” Once: married, the Zulu girl pitches into hard labor and is ob- Modern machinery and ' efficient methods enable us to offer you superior printing service at fair prices. Consider us when you place your next print- OPSO SOS OOO CSS OOS OSKOOSOTHOHHOO Phone 51 and Our Representative Will Call ~The Artman Press” THE CITIZEN BUILDING ~~ SCANPHOOUANAAEAAAHAAUOUGAAOCTOOAYOOOUNNEOOOCOOLSOOUOOOOOEOOUAGLOQOOGONOUOOGEDEONOGAsdnoONOOEOUiEnOOOUvOCNOOOUE reduced the number of retribu- tive homicides in favor of the more practical and profitable set- tlement. More than a few : ag- grieved husbands have been moi- lified by payment of sufficiént head: of ‘cattle. The Zulus are friendly, humor- | Jured person. In earlier times a 4 ous,‘ proud and stout-hearted: The + males—inheritors of battle tradi- tions—are imposing figures in their karosses. and bearing ex- hide shields, as the British réyal wearing: their haif,stiffey a round cone, about a foot The children, the younger -onés naked, seem unduly grave as they squat by the kraals or wander in the mealie or kaffir corn fields. chewing the native sugar cane.. - Much of the Zulu life and tem- perament is expressed in the tri- bal arts, especially wood-carving, which may lack a sense of per- spective but not of proportion, and is. reminiscent of Egyptian craftsmanship. Here there is a tendency, due to contact with the white man’s schools, to fall un- der the spell of formal European techniques, but most of the in- structors try to discourage influ- ences which would produce only another hybrid art. eee _ ~— - JOB PRINTING ; Sn