IVORY TRADING

Evening Star, Issue 19276, 15 June 1926, Page 5

IVORY TRADING

IN THE BELGIAN CONGO The lure of ivory has since ages past attracted many hunters and adi enturers, some for the sport dt the hunting. and others the desire for good ivory and its value in £ s. d. (writes K. If. Macdougal, in the Johannesburg ‘ Sunday Times ’). There are the seasoned hunters who have spent the greater portion of their lives iu the field and hunted tile nig bull elephant in his forest haunts, then the occasional hunter who, it he has the menus, can experience the tluiiU and delights of tins great sport. Then the native hunter with hia primitive weapons, who traps, spears, shoots, and by other means kills the big pachyderm for t fie wealth that he carries in ins gleaming ivory-. Finally, there is the Arab trader, far in search tor ivory- has wandered far afield from his native land. 1 do not propose to write about the hunters of elephants, but since the native ivory getter has always played a prominent part in the ivory trade, X will mention nim again in tuis article. Perhaps the man who has been longest associated with this trade is the Arab; certainly in the Belgian Congo he appears to have the monopoly _of ivory dealing with the exception of a few scattered European traders. The Arab seems to have an inherent instinct to “ smell out ” tusks, a discerning eye iu selecting and wauling ivory, and once he has located tusks he will find some means of trading for and ultimately- acquiring them. Most probably the secret of the Arab’s success is his loudness and aptitude for barter, the only method of dealing which appeals to, the average African native. Ho is always friendly to the latter, and the present ol “ backsheesh ” and a musket now and again to a native chief ensures good feeling and stimulates trade.

During my travels in the Congo A have encountered many small “ dulilt as ” (shops) run by Arab merchants, and in most of these I have found stores of ivory. On occasions I have' noticed a decidedly depleted stock of trade goods, and from observation .1 subsequently noticed that this lack of merchandise in most cases denoted that the ivory store was well filled and new supplies of "oods expected. In other words, “sold out.”

In his transactions with the native hunters the Arab requires a certain amount of tact and patience, and, if need be, he must settle disputes between part-owners of tusks brought in for sale.

As is often the case, a tusk will ba owned in shares by four or five natives, and each claimant has a fairly good idea of what ho is entitled to, and tea Arab has to satisfy the crowd. Here, again, our trader is in a class of his own, for the white men who can satisfactorily settle_ with a number of native owners of a single article are few and far between, but the Arab lias the flair to make a successful business deal to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. The profits of this trade are generous, and, moreover, they are twofold—the Arali buys ivory on which he makes a direct profit, on the goods that ho gives in barter ho also reaps his share of gain; and since he seldom increase* his price with the rise < in market values, his purchase is a sound investment with large returns. In the Congo it is apparently tla» policy to allow natives to hunt elephants indiscriminately from th* point of view of ancient rights, consequently ivory is plentiful, trade is brisk, and the destruction of elephants, excessive in comparison with other tonritories. The native hunters in that territory hunt their elephants in bands of twenty to thirty spearmen. The weapons used are heavy throwing spears weighted at the butts, and they are assisted by dogs of a nondescript breed; the latter arc useful to distract the attention of an elephant while the spears are thrown. In spite of their crude weapons, they are successful in killing, and since ivory is primarily the object they cannot bo said to be wanting in keenness. The requirements of the native ara simple, and the Arab traders cater principally for him. Wives are, of course, a first consideration, and they must bo bought. To obtain’ a wife a native must pay a dowry to the father, varying in value among the different tribes. The means of purchase are by the trading of goods and live stock, and these are provided by the Arab trader. Let ns look through a typical Arab “ dukka.” As I enter I am greeted with a courteous “Salaam! Karibu ” (enter), and pro(lcred a seat; later a cap of sticky sweet black coffee is forthcoming. I. glance over his shelves and view his stock-in-trade, which consists of American cotton cloth, heads, iron, and brass wire, salt, etc., and a jumble of gaily-colored garments _ called “ khangas,” worn by most native women in these pans. Still ho does not appear to cany much value in merchandise, ami I ask him how trade is, to which ho replies: “Only a little.” After a short conversation, I express a desire to see Ins ivory. “ Certainly 1 Enter.” to his store. Hero, laid along in rows, am all sizes and shapes of ivory; my eye is a U raided by a single magnificent specimen, which I estimate to weigh Mb. On inquiry I am told that it is forty-five kilos weight (WHi). This tusk is worth probably over FlftiJ. I wonder exactly how much it cosh my bearded friend. “Why is there only one tusk?” _ Ha replies that he iiurchased the single tusk on his last trading trip into the mountains, and that ho knows where the other one is, mailing the pair, winch" will he brought down for sale later. Meanwhile his shop is almost empty, and jie awaits the lake steamer that will bring him fresh supplies of goods and lake away his present consignment of ivory. He chafes inwardly at the delay that means lost trade and gain to the opposite store. Large quantifies of ivory are obtained by these merchants and practically every .Arab store buys ivory; profits arc excessive, hut thonative W) satisfied, and the Arab carries on 'H Ids unpretentious “dukka” while the demand for ivory increases. The yearly turnover ol one of these small .simps is considerable, and while the demand lor ivory exists and supplies of tusks are adequate the trade will llourish. • . Ivory is subject to disease jnst 88 human tcelh are liahlo_ to decay, and an expert knowledge is required to classify different qualities.

Frequently tusks which appear to be sound reveal on closer inspection of the hollows a spotted appearancein other cases the tips are decayed. This naturally reduces* the value of the

ivory. Cow Ivory, being the softest and the finest grain, is valued at a high figure per !h, and u is used for special purposes. It is scarcer, since cow elephants are not often the tusks rarelv exceed 201 b to 251 b each. Most of tlm traded ivory is shipped through Tanganyika territory to Zanzibar, where it obtains a good market anti is graded. Tusks are cut up and manufactured into beautifully-carved ornaments and curios; a good proportion of the cut pieces, tips, and hollows is exported to the East—China and Japan—where wonderfully artistic carving is turned out, and by the time it reaches Tho collector he has to pay a fancy price.