CONGO MAGIC

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 98, 23 October 1934, Page 5

CONGO MAGIC

BUENING OF THE FOWLS

WHITE MAN'S TESTIMONY

Indian magic, such as the "Bope Trick," "The Growing Mango Tree," and others, has been explained in detail, but I have not yet read how the African works his. Tho reason, 1 suppose, is that ho is so seldom seen in action, says a writer in "Tho Times." Once when hunting on tho Upper Congo 1 eamo upon some native women making a clearing in tho bush. Immediately it flashed across my mind that "Ju ju," or somo other devilish rites were to bo observed, so 1 asked the women what was toward. "We aro preparing tho arena for Maluka, tho great magician, who is to give an exhibition of his powers tomorrow," was the reply. 1 asked whether a white man would be permitted to see the performances. The women replied that if 1 asked Noguru, tho petty chief, they thought there would not be any difficulty. Next morning 1 presented myself at the chief's villago ane asked to see Noguru. I was ushered to the largest hut, where, seated in front of the doorway, was a pleasant-looking, well-built native about forty. After making him a generous gift of calico 1 broached the subject of my visit, and asked him if I might be allowed to see the show. "Certainly," he replied, "it is public and open to anybody." He then asked if I had a strong stomach, as, he said, if I was at all squeamish, what I should see would turn me up. 1 said I would risk that. "All right, then. Come along as soon as it begins to get cook" THE CRATE. Four o'clock that afternoon saw me at the clearing. Half an hour later two very powerful savages entered, each carrying a little girl of about nine years old on the palm of his right hand. The children looked dazed, as ii they had been drugged. The two child-carriers now faced each other, about five yards apart, and began tossing the children to each other, the little girls landing in a sitting position on the palms of the throwers' hands, which were used as platforms. The more the audience applauded this game of battledore with human shuttlecocks the faster was it played, until at last the thrown children passed each other in midair with, the swiftness of volleyed tennis balls. Next, at a signal from Noguru, Maluka strode into the clearing. He wore a grass mask and his body was striped with whitewash, which gave him a zebra-like appearance. He was followed by two boys, one bearing a crate containing half a dozen live fowls, the other a large bundle of dry bamboos, the most inflammable material in that part of the country. Maluka nodded to the fuel-carrier, who immediately made a bonfire, upon which—when it was in full blast—he placed tha cratefuJ of fowls. It may have been my fancy or hallucination, but 1 could have sworn I smelled tho pungent aroma of burning feathers. I was about to rush in to rescue the chickens, when Noguru stayed my hand. "The chickens will not come to any harm," he said quickly. Within a few minutes the crate wai reduced to ashes. "Now go and examine the crate," said Noguru. I did so, and found it intact with the fowls inside, very much alive. Thero were no traces whatsoever of a fire. THE EXECUTION. The fowl-burners then made way for the piece de resistance. . A tall native, with his hands manacled and with a rope, fastened by a slip-knot, around his neck, was dragged into the centre of the arena. Noguru then told the assembly that the man who had been marched in was under sentence of death, and was about to be executed by Maluka. Not only would he be killed, but after being dead long enough to see tho error of his ways, he would be brought to life again by the agency of Maluka. This awe-inspiring speech made a. profound impression. In deathly silence, Maluka, still masked and whitewashed, walked into the circle bearing a 4ft sword, whose edge he tested with the. thumb of his disengaged hand, at the same time uttering a gibberish that none could understand. Then he went up to within a few feet of the condemned man, and proved his distance as a cavalryman would, with the sword. He then brought the weapon well over his left shoulder, after the manner of a golfer terminating his stroke, and, with a mighty back-hand stroke to the right, severed the head from the body as easily as if it had been stuck on with puttyl The head immediately fell to the ground and rolled away a few feet. The trunk remained upright for some seconds, and then slumped to the ground, blood spurting from the neck like a fountain. I was horrified and tongue-tied. I wanted to protest aloud at a coldblooded murder, for there, not twenty yards away, lay the head, and, a few feet from it, the decapitated body. While I was staring fascinated or mesmerised, the whole scene changed. Maluka vanished. So did the head and the body. 1 pressed my hands over my eyes to assure myself-that I was not dreaming. No, it was real enough for when I looked again there was the same crowd, including Noguru. But Maluka and his victim had dissolved into "thin air. Suddenly a deep-throated murmur went round, and, at the same time, Maluka—minus his mask and paint— walked into the arena, leading by the hand the man he had beheaded—the latter grinning all over his face as if he had much enjoyed the performance.