The King's Assegai: A Matabili Story

“‘Ha! Since when has Untúswa, the umfane been made an induna?’ they jeered. ‘Of a truth he believes himself a bigger man than the King.’

(Umfane: “boy,” i.e., technically, one who has not attained to the distinction of the head-ring.)

“And others, drawn by the tumult, had come to join the first, and now the air rang with roars and shouts of derision. But above them all the old man’s marvellously prophetic words still echoed in my ears. At all risks I was determined to save him.

“‘Who is the most about the King, O pack of fools?’ I cried. ‘Yourselves or I? Know, then, that the Elephant, whose tread shaketh the world, has heard much of these Basutu izanusi, who learn their magic in dark caves of the mountains – has often wished to converse with them and test their skill. Here is one of them at last, and go to the King he shall. I would not give much for the life of the man who slays him.’

“Standing over the old witch-doctor with my assegai in my hand confronting that riotous, roaring crowd, flushed with victory and bloodshed, I know not how things might have gone even then. But at that moment the induna Gungana, attracted by the tumult, himself drew near, and that in time to catch my last words.

“‘Give way!’ he said, striding through the group – ‘give way! What is this? An isanusi, and alive? By the head-ring of the Great Great One from whose rule we have gone out, but he must have brought himself to life again, for assuredly all were slain but a moment before. Ha! that is well. Now shall the King have his oft-expressed wish. He shall behold this Mosutu rain-maker, and test his magic. What – is that you, Untúswa?’

“Now, it happened that Umzilikazi had expressed no such wish. In my despair of finding a plea, I had invented this as a reason for sparing the old magician. I could see now that Gungana’s design was to supplant me in this, even as he had done in my plan for overmastering the Basutu kraal. If sparing the life of the old witch-doctor proved acceptable to the King, he, Gungana, would get the credit for it; if not – then I laughed to myself, for in that case he would have fallen into his own trap. And if anything should go wrong with the King hereafter, who but Gungana was it who had brought this foreign wizard into our camp? But before I could answer a shout went up from the warriors standing in the background, and all heads were turned accordingly.

“‘The King! The King is coming!’ And the words were taken up by all there present, and, with the phrases of bonga flowing thick and fast from our lips, all eyes were turned upon a cloud of dust on the horizon – distant, but drawing nearer and nearer.

“‘Go now, Untúswa, who art the chief runner. Go now, and meet the Great Great One with word of our victory,’ commanded Gungana.”

Chapter Four.

The Tyay’igama Dance

“Hardly had the word left Gungana’s lips than I was up and away. No thought of the witch-doctor was in my mind as I sped over the ground in that long, even trot which I could keep up for days, and eventually overtake a horse which had started at the same time. Of cuts and stabs many were upon me, and I was red and hideous with blood, flowing or dried. But this mattered less than nothing, and I laughed loud and joyously as I coursed along to be the first to bear to the King the news he most loved to hear. Of a truth, the old isanusi I had saved from death – if, indeed, I had saved him from death – had gone clean out of my mind. Yet, if I had but known it, that day was to my life what the bent rods are to the roof of a hut.

“Soon I found myself in the midst of the great dust-cloud we had seen, and behind it came herds of cattle spreading over the plain, tended by women and boys of all ages. These were the herds which we had brought out from Zululand, increased by those we had taken from the tribes on our way, and which we were carrying with us to the land where we should be commanded to settle.

“‘Make way!’ I shouted. ‘Make way for the “ears of the King”!’

“Then the women shrieked with excitement, and the boys, rushing in among the cattle with shrill whoops, scattered them out of my way; for the path of the King’s messenger must be straight, and woe to whosoever shall obstruct it. The bellowing and trampling of the cattle mingled with the shouts and cries as I dashed straight on. Then I heard a voice say: —

“‘Yau! It is Untúswa! Is he not a man? Is he not a warrior indeed, covered with blood and wounds, and carrying the King’s “word”? Look at him, Sitele!’

“I knew the voice, still I could not refrain from turning my head ever so slightly as I ran. Close to my path I beheld Nangeza, looking so tall and fine and straight, standing there with her little sister. Whau, Nkose! I would have gone against those Basutu kraals again single-handed to have been allowed to tunga with her for a wife.

“Then came another cloud of dust, and the steady tramp of marching feet, and the hum of deep-toned voices; then a wavy shimmer of spear-points, like the sunshine on the blue sea. Spread out over the plain in four dense black columns the regiments marched, and as I, looking neither to the right nor to the left, sped between these, the confused wonder which had greeted my first appearance was succeeded by a dead expectant silence.

“Umzilikazi was riding on horseback near the rear of the army, surrounded by a group of indunas, among whom was my father. A circle of izanusi, clad in cow-tails and entrails and all the hideous paraphernalia of their order, preceded the King, dancing and waving green boughs as they chanted his praises, and the swift and sudden destruction which even then was falling upon his enemies. As I drew near the doctors scattered out of my path like a lot of frightened jackals, for even they must give way before him who bears the King’s message. Casting my shield and assegais to the ground where their circle had been – for no man may approach armed to have speech with the King – I advanced ten paces nearer, and, halting, raised my right hand and shouted a sonorous Bayéte! Then I prostrated myself to the earth.

“‘Rise, son of Ntelani,’ said the King, as soon as the thunder of the salute royal, which had been immediately caught up and re-echoed by the whole army, had ceased. ‘Rise, and speak thy word.’

“‘Those against whom we went forth are removed from the path of the King!’ I cried out in a loud voice. ‘The smoke of their dwellings is rising to the heavens yonder. The path of the King is straight!’

“An immense chorus of bonga went up from the army when I had spoken. All were eager to arrive at the scene of the victory. Then the King bade me withdraw, which I was not sorry to do, for I was tired and fasting.

“You may have observed, Nkose, that my news was of victory alone; that no questions were asked as to our losses, who had been killed or who had not. It is not the custom of us Zulus, on these occasions, to mix up good and ill news. It was sufficient that the King’s enemies were stamped out. The relatives of the slain could hold ceremonies of mourning afterwards if they wished, but that was a private undertaking. Wherefore I only announced to the ears of the nation at large that we were victorious.

“And then, as we drew near to the scene of our fierce and bloody conflict, what remained of the impi which had gone out against the Basutu kraals drew near to hail the King. It had gone out a full regiment – as we were in those days about fifteen hundred men – but little more than half were left alive; for, as I have said, the Basutu were numerous, and had fought bravely. Still, as our warriors advanced in a column with waving plumes, and beating time with shield and assegai to the thunder of a mighty war-song, and the marks of the recent battle upon them, my heart swelled within me as I thought that I had borne a man’s part that day with these.

“‘Go forward, Untúswa,’ said the King, who had caught sight of me in the ranks. ‘Go forward and join the fighters, you who have fought so well this day. Your place is among them.’

“I thundered out the royal praises, and darted forth to meet those who were approaching; and falling into my place, we advanced, singing:

“‘Hail, King, Father of a new nation!
We, thy children, have smoothed a way before thee.
Thine enemies – where are they?
Their dwellings – where are they?
As the smoke which climbeth to heaven
their might is broken and shattered.
Might? Ha! ha! No might had these;
like blades of the grass when trampled,
Down went their bravest before the might of the Elephant,
Beneath the foot of the Elephant, whose tread shaketh the world.
Hail, King! Father! the chief and the maker of nations!’

“Thus sang the warriors, their voices roaring like the thunder of the heavens. Then, having prostrated ourselves, we rose, and wheeling up we fell into rank before the whole army escorting the King, and the march was continued until we were some distance beyond the smoking ruins of the Basutu kraals, for we might not halt upon the site of the battle, lest those who had borne no part in shedding it might be denied by the blood that had flowed. Here our vast camp was pitched, and by the light of hundreds of fires we who had fought, having gone through the ceremony of purification at the hands of the izanusi, were paraded before the King in full war array, and such of us as could establish a claim were allowed to perform the Tyay’igama, or the ‘calling by name,’ dance.

“This custom, you must know, Nkose, is one which consists of warriors who have performed deeds of distinction during the recent battle being pointed at by their commanders and called forward out of the ranks to dance before the King, while narrating their claims to notice for especial valour – who they have killed and how it has been done. They dance and leap with a quickness and to a height that would astonish you white people, springing from the earth more than their own height in the air, clashing their shields with both feet while leaping, and so on – the while telling of their deeds. It is arranged with the indunas in command as to who shall be allowed so to claim notice, and Gungana had readily accorded me a first place.

“Ha! that night! It was a sight to live in a man’s memory. By the red light of a thousand huge fires there was assembled the whole might of a nation, of a new nation, of a nation of warriors. The King sat in the midst of his indunas, an open space before him. On either side stretched a monster crescent of armed men, the glint of their spears, the sheen of their great hide shields, flickering in the wavy glow. Up the middle of this space our impi advanced, singing a battle-song, even the war-song of Umzilikazi:

“‘Yaingahlabi leyo’nkunzi!