Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 20, 1909.djvu/58

44 house or turn back from the road. The fowl having been eaten, a shell was brought containing very small pieces of everything that was in the "mpungu" bundle, and this shell was put in the road over which the men had to travel. Everyone must step over the shell, and if anyone touched it with his foot he must not proceed, or he would die on the journey. Having passed over the shell the trader must not look back, or he would destroy his luck. Some sacrificed a goat every month to the "sole," whether they went on a journey or not. The blood was poured over the "sole," and the flesh eaten by the native traders.

Members of a caravan when passing through a town must not allow their sticks to touch the ground, or they will be guilty of destroying the luck of the town, and to do that means a heavy fine. While in the open country or bush they hitch up their cloths (exposing their thighs) to give greater freedom to the legs, but on passing through a town they must drop their cloths out of respect to the town and for the sake of decency, or otherwise they are taken to the chiefs house and thrashed. Carriers passing through a town must not carry their loads on their heads, as that would be an exhibition of their pride, and would incur the anger of the townpeople, and a fight and heavy fine would be the result.

While en route to the trading factory, the above customs had to be carefully observed, and in addition payments were made for the use of bridges and canoes. When passing through the principal towns of the districts, or the towns belonging to the over-chiefs, a tax had to be paid to ensure protection. On payment of the tax the chiefs receiving it were responsible for the safety of the tax-payers. The tax was fixed according to the number of carriers in a caravan, and the value of goods they carried; rubber and ivory would pay a heavier tax than peanuts and palm kernels. The tax had to be reasonable, as