ABSTRACT
A visitor's impressions of the manners and interests of the people—a glimpse of a village and its huts, of the preparation of food and etiquette in eating, and of the decorum of drinking beer—the evening scene, with its hearth fires, riddles, and stories—the seasonal calendar of activities. Before beginning to eat, the youngest of the visitors claps his hands saying, 'Ndau.' The rest reply, 'Mor?na,' and the meal is begun. There is no communal meal and no proper mealtime. A fair crowd has gathered in the courtyard of the woman who is holding the lejema and a typical beer-drinking scene meets the eye. The centre of the picture is a large pot of beer placed in a rounded depression made for it in the courtyard. The beer-pot is almost empty and people are merely sitting talking when the host calls Raselaka and his European guest aside into his reception hut, together with a few other intimates.
