File:A voice from the Congo - comprising stories, anecdotes, and descriptive notes (1910) (14760666366).jpg

Identifier: voicefromcongoco00ward (find matches)
Title: A voice from the Congo : comprising stories, anecdotes, and descriptive notes
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Ward, Herbert, 1863-1919
Subjects: Ward, Herbert, 1863-1919 Africa, Central -- Description and travel Africa, Central -- Social life and customs
Publisher: New York : Charles Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: University of Connecticut Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Connecticut Libraries

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
s, and mixing the powder with thewhite ashes of a hard-wood fire. Snuff is generallyapplied to the nostrils upon the blade of a knife.At Lukolela both men and women and even childrenare inveterate smokers. A very long-stemmed metalpipe is frequently used, the stem sometimes beingeight or nine feet long. The obtaining of fire by rubbing sticks togetheris an obviously difficult process, and consequently,when a party of natives travel on a journey one ofthem is always delegated to carry a fire-brand. Thisis carefully nursed, and held with the smoulderingend towards the body. Songs * The natives of the Congo region, in common withthe negro race, possess a natural sense of melody.They frequently indulge in chants, the nature ofwhich is suggestive of very primitive origin. In allcases, these chants are monotonous in tone andwithout great variety. A man will sing a solo, 1 My thanks are due to my friend Mr. Raymond Woog for transposingthe two African canoe songs which appear on pp. 300, 301.
Text Appearing After Image:
Mbichi Musical Instrument, Lower CongoIn the collection of the Author IN GENERAL 299 and the strain will be taken up by the women.It is not improbable that the native canoe-songs, andeven funeral dirges, take their origin from a speeiesof bird, the male of which performs a solo, therefrain being echoed by the female. Drums areusually the only musical accompaniment. Thesubject-matter of the native songs is generally of animpromptu character, and tends to ridicule the foi-bles and peculiarities of the kinsfolk of the singers.The voices of the men are melodious and musical;the female voices on the contrary are generally shrilland harsh. Musical Instruments Considering the love of musical sound, which is adistinct characteristic of the African natives, thelimited variety of their musical instruments isremarkable. Drums are composed of goat skin stretched acrossthe ends of a hollowed section of a soft wood tree;and also of sections of hard wood trees, hollowedthrough a narrow longitudinal

Note About Images