Real Zulu Doctors.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 2 October 1914, Page 8

Real Zulu Doctors.

The very old doctors, who have great knowledge of herbs, are nearly invariably wrinkled on the face to an extraordinary degree. Men who know the Zulu and his ways will tell you this is due to a lifelong effort of memory. Certainly I hey have a memory far excelling '.liat of the white man. If a sheep were lost, and one of those old doctors had examined it casually a couple of months before, he would be able to pick the missing animal out from a flock of two or three hundred with absolute certainty. I'le can neither read nor write, and 'il his learning; is stored up in his •lif.-mory from the moment when, as ;i boy of twelve or thirteen, he ■ii. arts out on his travels as assist- .:.! to some other doctor. The ■ air of them go off on a long tour sometimes lasting six months, and the way, the boy carries his master's smoking horn, mats, blankets, wooden pillow, bags and medievne, the lot often weighing fifty pounds. He studies his master's methods, and picks up his learning in this way alone. The fee of a first-class native doctor who actually can cure his patients, is one beast per. patient, and they acquire considerable wealth in this way. Instead of driving the beast along with them they leave it at the kraal, where it remains until it is claimed. If a doctor even had naif a hundred beasts scattered all over the country he could describe l';o colours of each animal audits ■ ■eculiarities with unerring exactness. Although the witch-doctors as a rule have absolute faith in their own magic, there are a few charlatans amongst them, as in any other business. When Sir Godfrey Langdon was Native Commissioner of Basutoland he took a great interest in his poultry. So did the local Basutos, with the result that his birds diminished in numbers rapidly. They were clever thieves, and could rarely be caught in the act. One day the Commissioner mentioned his trouble to a chief, who said... he would send a witchdoctor—the cleverest man ia the land, who made a large income at his work—to put a spell on the i chickens, thus rendering them safe from intruders. Sir • Godfrey laughed, but the witch, doctor arrived shortly afterwards, clad in a wonderful costume, - comprising all the paraphernalia of his kind. He was wrapped round and about with snake skins, and mysterious articles were suspended from his clothing. Bowing and scraping, he begged in the native tongue to be allowed—in consideration of an adequate fee—to work his spell. More out of curiosity than anything else, the Commissioner told the man to get on with his performance, and he watched the proceeding intently. Gathering together innumerable small white stones, the native put these all round the chicken-run very slowly and with much solemn pantomime, the while chanting an incantation. Sir Godfrey followed him and strained his ears to catch the weird words which were to ensure him keeping his precious chickens. When the ceremony was concluded the witch-doctor, looking round to see that they were alone, said in perfect English, without even a trace of the Cape-educated black's accent ; "Of course. Sir Godfrey, you and 1 know this is all damned rot, but it will keep the niggers away." Afterwards Sir Godfrey could not c\oii get a native to go near enough to the chickens to feed thrm. —"The ."WounUv.l Police of Xat.nl," by H. r. Holt (.John Murray).