REAL AFRICA.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 November 1924, Page 4

REAL AFRICA.

A GLIMPSE OF ALL SORTS. (By Annie J. Duncan in Sydney “ Herald.”) LORENZO MARQUES, Aug 5. “ Mozambique, Portuguese territory,” sounds romantic and exciting, and here I am in the middle ot it, .sitting on a seat in the Square with the handstand opposite, and refreshment kiosks at each corner where people arc being served by African waiters, or alternately by Malibmmedan waiters in a red fez. Not that the wearing oi. fez necessarily means the Moslem; on the contrary, in good houses it i.s the hall-mark of the superior servant, who may he anything hut a follower of the prophet. There is quite a choice ol faiths tor the native, Roman Catholic, Church of England, Wesleyan, Swiss -Mission Maliommedanism and the heathen spirits—mostly malevolent, lie is quite well catered for and probably the sophisticated native in towns such as this adopts the one that appears to he most profitable at. the moment. There is not much in the way ol antiquity about Lorenzo Marques; it was only in 189.3 that the natives gave up murdering the Europeans at their leisure, and only then because their power was at last broken. But since the 10th Century Vasco do Gama and other Portuguese and British mariners have been dropping into the hay for fresh water and other adventures. Whatever old forts and buildings were once here have long been demolished to make room for stucco laced buildings, the oldest of them having roiind-areli-od windows. Outside the middle of the town there are. scores of shabby little galvanised iron cottages coloured red. and what the heat ol them mu si he when the Ihermometer stands at 112 degrees Fahrenheit can lie imagined though I am told they cool down rapidly at night. At the present moment the weather is ideal, sharp nights and mornings and brilliant hot sunshine all day, hut during the summer hot dry winds prevail, which are eviilentlv very trying. Belagoa Bay is a very favourite health resort lor the people of Johannesburg, and all through the three winter months motor ears are constantly passing through Mbabane, Bremersdorp, and Stegi. the three principal places in Swaziland. The through journey can lie done bv spending three nights en route, hut (lie railway journey direct from Johannesburg takes only one night, which is a short journey as distuncos go in South Allien.

A RED SANDHILL. I.oreiy'.o Marques started life Us n red sandhill, and except in the business streets the lootnaths are still unmade. 'The roads, however, are wide and excellent, and rather than toil through sand we all walk in the road, and keep out of the way of tram cars and motor cars. There is nothing much else to consider; in the town there are a few ox-waggons or carts drawn by mules, and a lew rickshaws run around with luggage, Indians and an occasional Portuguese. A picturesque figure has just passed me—a native with a red fez and black tassel, a blue sailor jumper and white shorts, with the initials of his ship’s company on his hack. The Mahonnm dan waiter wears a long thin white up-and-down garment over his shirt and trousers, and the fez, red, white or figured. The native nurse follows her mistress wealing a bright coloured dress and head-handkerchief and carrying a nice little English child who lovingly pats the kind black face. The Square is paved willi black and white stones in a definite pattern, and everywhere there are shady —more or less shady—umbrella-shaped trees with enormous pmls a loot long and an inch or more wide; what a pity it is the oil-season lor this is the gorgeous (lainbnvaiit which makes such a show ah mi November along the coast. Scores ol Jarkarsmla also, willi a lower glowing t roe which hears a yellow (low er. Rut these are not for the winter visitor. Rio roconnut palms rear their high heads and characteristic lealage on high, and a tree ol a good height is now coming into (lower with an orange* tulip-like Mower in hunches. The Public Gardens arc a least of colour, and very well kepi. There* are various ponds and water-courses, and stone-pergolas covered with some* masses of bougainvillea, rose-colour, reel, terracotta, or tlie* real-purple that wo know best. Poiiisctlia auel trees whose autumn foliage i.s scarlet and gold ine-e-t the i-ye- at eve-ry turn. Tlie-re are a few eageel animals whose* lot always stirs my pity, anel there are some- excellent te-unis courts in constant eeso for teellrname-nts. The most striking point about Lemrenzn Marques is the fhivemr of cosmopedilnnism which pervades the- place. The British colony is essentially British, with its tennis anel football, its afternoon-teas anel its " bioscope,” its porielge, hae-on, anel marmalade breakfast, its lunch ill 1 o'clock, anel its C'eeiisul taking his dogs out lor a.

ALL THE NATIVE RACES. The Portuguese tongue is heard on all sides and all notices in public- places are in Portuguese. The newspaper, which appears, three times a week - , is [Minted in both languages, so also arc notices of football matches and similar (-vents, which are posted in tramears. Tram conductors, and a few post-ollice offi(-inls sneak a little English, and girls who serve in shops. Printed notices in Portuguese are not at all didieult to make out hut the spoken language is, as usual, another story altogether. Then there are till the native races—the Pongans, the Sliangnans, the Swahilis, the Zanzibaris, those who proudly call themselves “.English natives,” and those who are under Portuguese domination. Next we see Indians of all kinds—

" British Indians,” Portuguese Indians and Chinese. The Indians are traders, money-changers, coolies, and children’s nurses, hut any native boy or girl is employed as a nurse a.s well as the Indians.

All shops and offices open at 8.39 a.m., and close from 11 till 1, while people go off to lunch and have their siesta. At this time of the year—midwinter—the need for it is not very- apparent, but doubtless in the heat of the summer it is a very good arrangement. Consequent upon this scheme of hours, hotel meals begin at 7.J0 and at 11.30, and run on to suit English, people till 9 and 2 o’colek. The menus are written in Portuguese on one side

of the card and in English on the other. The variety of nationaity produces picturesque variety of costume. The native girls wear brilliantly, coloured cloths, and carry burdens of all sorts on their heads. The Indian women -strike the eye in their bright coloured thin muslin draperies and head veils, armlets, and ear and nose rings and ornaments. Somebody who looks like a Balm wears a tight-fitting light coat and trousers and a fez, and civilised natives wear light or khaki suits, hats, and boots, though passing 1 him in the street is the man from out- 1 side the city, with his bare head, do- i coratcd with little white feathers or other little conceits. The Indian 1 snake-charmer wanders round in the 1 squares or beach or hotel precincts, t with Tiis native attendant carving bas- i kets and bags containing the tools of his trade, and waits to perform till be 1 can get a sufficient number of people a

round him te> make it worth lii.s while to carry out his performance. SHOPPING.' Shopping in Laurenzo -Marques i.s an adventure. There are several very good shops, Portuguese and Indian, which make quite ail nttactive show. But the fun begins when you want c-htingc. Before starting voti have either gone te> a money-changer or to a hank and changed your English or South African bank note into piles of Portuguese notes, escudos and centavos; the centavo notes are small, ragged, and dirty, and you don’t know where to stow them, so enormously do they pile up, and so small is their value. Furthermore, they are not spoken of a.s “centavos.” hut as “rels” which are reckoned in thousands. You ask for a newspaper, and are told it costs 1-300 rels; you cudgel your brains, and, if the newsboy is particularly bright lie may show you that it i.s marked 1 es, .30 cent., and a light begins to dawn upon you.

VALUES. And what is the value of Cl British f Well, when I came here three weeks ago it was 100 escudos, one day I got 15.3 escudos, and it is rising every day. The country is crippled with debt, and the value of the escudo is tailing rapidly; "it will he like the Gentian mark soon, lady,” said the money-changer. This country being heavily in debt to Britain, and quite unable to pay her debts, is in a parlous condition, and terribly afraid that the Union of South Africa will want to take over the territory, in default of payment. By it former Convention, now expired, it was agreed that if Portugal carried their railway line to the border of Swaziland, at Goha. the Union would construct a line to link it up with the Transvaal system, and though the Portuguese have carried out their part (,f tin- bargain, Swaziland is still without its railway and Goha is a deadend.

The Union Government have tried

persuade the* Portuguese to hand over the management ot the railway lines and the port to them, and though such an arrangement would probably he ol mutual advantage, national pride prevents the Portuguese from agreeing to it. So although our relations with our “ ancient ally ” are cordial enough on the surface, we are not any more la-loved here than in any oilier Continental country.