A night in a native hut [short story]

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Part of The Young Citizen: The Magazine for Young People

Title: A night in a native hut [short story]
Language: English
Year: 1941
Subject: Short stories, Philippine (English); Philippine fiction (English)
Rights
Abstract: [A story of two young travelers who stayed with the East African natives and had the opportunity to see their home life and enjoy their hospitality.]
Fulltext: APRIL, 1941 THE YOUNG CITIZEN 135 AMONG THE WILD ANIMALS OF EAST· AFRICA True Exfltriences Related by a Young Tr(l'Ueler IV. A NIGHT IN A NATIVE HUT MY FRIEND and I had been on a visit to a . neighbor's farm near Kitale, Kenya Colony, East Africa. We were on ,the way back t.o our own farm in the foothills of Mount Elgon. (See the map on page 136.) The afternoon had been rainy, and therefore the road was not very .good. Our motorcycle slid in the red soil of the road from one side to another and I had a hard tim~ to keep myself steady on the back seat.· Near Entebass my friend, who was steering, hit a rock with the front wheel of the motorcycle, and turned . long _ _ poles into· the ground for about a foot, while five feet of the pole remains above the gro11nd. These poles arc set up in a circle _ and thin branches are woven in between them until it becomes a round wall of branches. A thick clay mixed with cattle manure is then plastered on this woven wall. This plastering starts from the bottom and goes slowly upward around the wall. After the first layer is dry, fresh plaster is put on. This continues until the wall is five feet high arid six jnchcs thick.' This work takes about two days, during which the riatives laugh an.d joke all the time. They like to b'uild rtew houses. There are some tribes in East Africa who build new houses every two months. completely over. Wt.en we got up, our clothing was daubed with the red mud. We tried to start our motorcycle, but the red clay clung to the tires. We found it impossible to continue on our way, because the wheels Native Huts of East Africa After the walls of our _motorcycle would turn no more, and it was then too late to clean the mud off. . The country around us was filled with lions, elephants, and leopards. We decided, therefore, to . try to · find night quarters in one of the nearby native huts. There were a few natives who knew us arid they were happy to take us into one of their huts over night. This was a great honor for them, as it is very seldom that a foreigner goes into a native hut to sleep. · It was interesting to see how these native huts arc built. The natives drive are completed and nearly dry, a roof is placed on top. Long poles are bound together at an angle of ninety degrees. Thifi is necessary; otherwise the rain would run into the house. The roofing is ordin'ary grass which is five to eight feet 'long. The " fioor -0f the hut is the soil on which the hut has been built. It_ is always very dirty. There is a fireplace on one side, usually in a hole in the ground. The natives are very careful to see that the roof over their heads does not catch fire. My friend and I were in such a clayplastercd hut as this. We sat with the · 136 THE YOUNG CITIZEN Map Sliowing a Part of East Africa natives before their fireplace. The heavy smoke from the wood fire made our eyes water. I took out of my pocket a little flute which I had with me, and played a few of our songs for these East Afr ic.an · natives. They seemed to enjoy my music, although I am only fJ. very ordinary performer on the instrument. . After I had finished, one of the natives took a string instrument from his bed and played on it. It was only a poor substitute for a guitar, but the natives seemed to like it. He played a few tunes and then the other natives started to sing. Their songs were long and very monotonous. My friend and I could not understand a word of what they were singing. Over the fire they were cooking some corn meal, or posho as they called it. The posho meal was ready when they finished their long ·song. They took it off the fire and started to eat with iheir fin. gers. They ate noisily, and smacked their thick lips together, showing their evident pleasure in the meal. My friend and I did not say anything while they were eating-they were so ·noisy we could not have been heard. An ·old man, who s.eemed . to be the father of the whole family, was dressed ·in a cow-hide, which was bound together over his right shoulder. The hide was just as it had come from the cow. It had been dries! in the sun before it was llSed for a garment, and it still had the odor of the animal. We started a conversation after they had finished their meal. ·The young men told us that the old man was .very rich, .. as he owned a herd of about sixteen. caitle. And he had three wives; the first one had been paid for by his father; he bought the other two himself, and paid six cows for each one. This is the customary way of getting a wife among those natives. A man who has enough cattle· to pay for them has seve.ral wives; this is a sign of wealth, dignity, and power. We talked about witch doctors; that was· the most interesting subject we could choose. It was astonishing to see how ·much those natives b.elieve in the pow.er of a witch doctor. When they are sick, they would rather go to a witch doctor than to the government doctor at .a hospital. They consult a witch doctor for ·all sorts. of things. If it does not rain just right, or if their cattle become thin, they consult a witch doctor. · · Witch doctors also act as judges for the natives. The 11atives very often have quarrels. Sometimes such a quarrel~a feud-goes on for years. For · example,. a man may have bought ·himself a wile· for six cows. It might happen that in a few days after the wedding one of these cows would die. This would s~rely start a quarrel or feud, and the whole family would be busy talking about it. Every-· body would believe that' this cow had been sick when it was given as payment for the wife, or had been· bewitched. Sometimes these quarrels are brought before the court of an old tribesman, .but APRIL, 1941 THE YOUNG CITIZEN 137 they are usually settled with the help of a witch doctor. It depends upon the witch doctor whether the quarrel is settled peacefully or not. The natives in our hut told us how the old man had lost his eldest son through a witch doctor. A feud had gone on for a .long time between the ·two families. Th.e other family had finally consulted a witch doctor. He had advised his clients to tell the old man to pa y th em three young healthy cows. This was the common way of settling a feud. The old man had found a dead hen hanging at the door of his hut every morning for a long period. A dead heri meant evil wishes from somebody. Shortly after this two of the old man's cows had been bitten by snakes and one had died. He now believed in the After four weeks the son became sick; the old man was very frightened and called the witch doctor. Nobody knows what the witch doctor did, but the son died. The old man then paid the three cows to settle the feud. This is a typical case, and shows how strong the power of a witch doctor can be. The British law in Africa forbids the consultation of witch doctors, ·but ___ 9 their power is still great and the natives believe in them more than in anything else. j We listened to this inter.esting story, although it took us a long time to understand the natives. While telling it, they had become v er y excited, and their language was not easy to understand:· It had now . become very late, and as my friend and I were both tired, "{e went to our hut with power of the witch EAsT AFRICAN CHIEFS a native to show us doctor ~nd wanted to 01u of these chiefs has a tuft of wool on the way. He carried pay the three COWS. tlu end of his spear; that means that all thret a burning . t Or ch: However the son of of tlum and their people are at peace. There were· many the oid man did not want to let his father leopards around, but they do not attack pay. He wanted to marry soon, and the three cows were to be the payment for a native girl from another family. A small bag made of cow hide and containing five feathers was found at his door each morning. The · five feathers meant the old man had to pay the three cows within five weeks; otherwise, something very terrible would happen. when they see a burning light moving. There were a few boards in the hut, and we. placed them before the entrance. It has sometimes happened that leopards hav_e gone into the huts and have carried goats, dogs, and even children away with them. .They have also killed natives, but have disappeared before the other .natives ' .(Please turn to page 147.) APRIL, 1941 THE YOUNQ CITIZEN 147 MISER'S GOLD NIGHT IN A HUT During the night a leop( Continued from page 13]) (Continued from page 137) ard had sneaked through golden yellow flower. Soon were able to kill them. the fence to get one of the all the meadows in ·all the We were tired and soon goats. He had killed two land were filled ~ith beau- we went to sleep, although of th~m and had begun ~o tiful golden flowers, the our beds were not very eat his prey. The cattle m good fairy's golden yellow comfortable. I do not know t~e corral h~d be~ome. exflowers which everyone how.long I.had been asleep, cited. . This n01~e h~d could enjoy. And they have when I was sudden 1 y aw~kened the natives m bloomed there ever since. awakened by a loud scream- their huts, and they knew Thus. the good fairy ing and yelling. outside. at. once that there was a changed the miser's ~old We got up at once. We wild beast around. Two ~f into something beautiful could clearly hear the ex- the men ha~ taken their which everybody would . d . f . d spears and shields and gone eni'oy. cite yo1ces o men outs1 e. outside quietly. We did not know what had k · h d I k . 1 It was dar ou.ts1de, but appene . too a p1sto h . d QUESTIONS . h d d f . d t ese natives are accustome m my an an my nen · · h d k I. What is. a legend? t k f th boa d to seemg m t e ar ness. 00 some 0 e r s The two men quick! y found (See the dictionary.) down.. We c?uld not see the leopard. The animal 2. What is a . miser? anythmg outside and the then tried to get out of the (Again see the dictionary.) noise ha~ stopped. We corral. He leaped at the 3. How did the miser in cal~ed twice and one ?f th~ two men, and they killed this story secure his "gold natives answered: Tu 1 h. . . Pl .eces? b . h P b ,, 1m with their long spears. m a1a sana a a, wana. A d · · d I d 4. Where did he hide (I h v kill d a leo ard.) me rnm size eopar th ? · a. e .. e P lay before us. The claws em . . . This k1l.lmg of a leopard of the beast were long and 5. What ey1l ~erson went did not interest us- very sharp, and looked' very to the old m1~er shut? much, we .were so accus- strong. I raised his lips and 6. What did the robber tomed to 1t at our farm. saw his great fangs which do?. Therefore we went to bed were about three inches 7. What happened to the ~gain and slept until morn- long: kettle of gold? mg. The leopard still had the 8. What did the fairy The naiives were talking spear in his side. Several see? noisily when we came out wounds showed us that both 9. What did the fairy of our hut the next morn- spearsmen had fought him. decide to do? ing. There was a corral The natives do not like too 10. Tell the rest of the near the huts where the cat- many holes in the skin of a story. tie and the goats .were kept leopard. They sell the 11. ·What do you think of at ·night. The fence of this yellow and brown spotted hoarding money and not corral was about nine feet skin, and they will get more using it? high and was built from money for it when there are 12. Do you know any branches of .red thorn trees. not many h-;,les in it. They fairy stories? Could you It was effective for keeping usually dry the skin in the tell one?· the wild animals out. (Please, turn to page 149.) APRIL, 1941 NIGHT IN A HUT (Continued from page 147) THE YOUNG CITIZEN A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING (Continued from page I 38) GOUNOD {Continued from page 141) 149 sun, and then sell it to one So he added a little petition dramas, Wagner. (See THE of the farmer's wives. of his own to his prayer. YOUNG CITIZEN for NovThey offered us the skin, "Help me, God, to do some- ember, 1940.) but we thanked them and thing worth while, so I At seventy-five, crippled declined. We could not won't be a good-for-noth- and blinded by .a paralytic take the skin with us be- ing." stroke, Gounod composed cause we had no means of Just as he finished his a Requiem. He heard it· carrying it on our motor- prayer, he happened to played, and when it was cycle. notice the back cover of a finished, he fell over unWe cleaned the mud recent magazine for young conscious and died. This from our motorcycle, ·and people. "C.an you write a was in 1893. At the funeral waited until the hot sun had good story? Win a prize!" service hosts of his admirdried the road. Then we the advertisement read. He ers were present. said goodbye and climbed scanned the announcement Gounod's great operas onto our motorcycle which through. "I wonder. if I Faust, Rom(o and Juliette, took us to our farm in a could," he said, half aloud. and many of his sacred comshort time. He thought for a few mo- positions will always be We were glad that we ments. "Well;. I'll try." . heard and loved whenever had stayed with the natives He seated himself ~t his there is music. during the night, as th.is had study t~ble.. As he did so, given us the opportunity h~ agam said the words of REVIEW . of seeing their home life his prayer utter,~d a few I. What is Gounod d . . h . h . 1 moments before. Help me, ~n en1oymg t CI~ OS~lta - God, to do.something worth called? I!y.. But one night m a while, so I wonlt be a good- 2. What is his nationalnattv~ hut was enough, for-nothing." ity? especially when we had a Inspiration and strength 3. What are the dates of visit fro!TI an East African come to the boy. Soon he his life? . , leopard. was working away on a 4. What is Gounods short story to be sent in an- most famous opera? swer to the advertisement h.5. Tell of the success of t 1s opera. I. What can you tell he had read. Never before 6. What is an opera? about a leopard? (See the ha~ he had such an ea?er 7. Name some selections encyclopedia.) desire t~ do somethmg from Faust. · 2. Describe the skin of worth while. He wrot.e and 8. Name some other wrote. It was a simple compositions by Gounod. . story, and the plot unfolded 9. Tell of the disposition 3. Why do the natives naturally and easily. of Gounod not wish to make holes in "I think this is a pretty 11. Nam~ one contemQUESTIONS the leopard. the leopard's hide? good story," Pedro thought I porary. . 4. Find Kenya Colony when it was almost finished. 12. What was Gounod's on the map. Mount Elgon. (Please turn to page 151.) last composition?
pages: 135-137,147, 149