PLATE XXIII
1. Majaje, a famous chieftainess and rain-maker in the mountains of North Transvaal. She was believed to be immortal and is said to have suggested to Rider Haggard the idea of his romance She. The truth seems to be that there was a succession of “Majajes,” and the death of each one, when it occurred, was kept secret by her councillors.
2. The “New Yam” ceremony in the Calabar country; chiefs pressing forward to partake of the offerings. Analogous “feasts of first-fruits” are found, probably all over Bantu and Negro Africa—e.g. the ukutshwama of the Zulus. The idea seems to be that it is not safe to make use of the new crops till the chief has “taken off the tabu” by tasting them.
