Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 20, 1909.djvu/51

Rh family, and on the other hand they fight to mutilate the enemy's body so that his family may be done to death by the spirit owning the mutilated body. On returning victorious from a fight there is much dancing and firing of guns.

Sometimes two towns fighting will exhaust their stock of powder before either side has gained any advantage over the other. A truce will then be called for two or three or more months while they lay in another stock of powder, and then on an appointed day they will start firing again at each other.

If two towns, A and B, are fighting, and B, because it is the smaller of the two, is losing, neighbouring friendly chiefs will advise the chief of B to sue for peace with a white goat ("Nkombo a maboko"). If he agrees to this, a white goat is bought and one of the chiefs carries it on his shoulders and goes to the scene of the fighting, the chief of B leading the way by walking immediately in front of the one carrying the goat. On drawing near to the fighting they call out loudly, "Luve! Luve! Luve!" (Peace! Peace! Peace!). The fight must then stop at once. The chief of B takes the goat and kneels before the chief of A, saying, "I do not want to fight." The chief of A must accept the goat, and there is no more fighting until the case has been properly arbitrated upon.

If it is an unconditional peace, not to be followed by a law-suit, or arbitration, a nganga is sent for, who brings with him some "ns-angalavwa" (cane-like plant), and some "lemba-lemba" leaves, and some palm wine. He presses the juice out of the " nsangalavwa" into the palm wine and mixes them. He then takes the leaves and dips them in the mixture, and touches the two chiefs, and sprinkles the rest among the fighters and the people. So peace is established.

The making of blood-brotherhood after a bad quarrel or after a fight between towns is done as follows:—