www.success-and-culture.net The purpose of this site is to try and get the world to start dealing with the interaction between culture and success in a mature and intelligent manner. Poll: Do you believe culture influences success? Yes 69.01% No 19.5% Uncertain 11.4% - Newest Articles - Per Capita Income Around the World Per capita income figures for the countries and regions of the world. Hind Swaraj, by M.K. Gandhi While rarely read this is Gandhi's most important written work. Civilization and Success The traditional explanation for the noticeable differences in income across cultures was to say that they differed in their level of civilization. - Categories - Civilization and Success Culture is to the group what personality is to the individual. Civilization is to the group what enlightenment is to the individual. By the Numbers A careful examination of the numbers is necessary to understand the relationship between success and culture. Third World and the Underclass The Third World is where the relationship between success and culture is revealed in the most brutal manner. Politics and Success The central political issue of our time is whether or not culture influences success. - All Articles - Per Capita Income Around the World Per capita income figures for the countries and regions of the world. Hind Swaraj, by M.K. Gandhi While rarely read this is Gandhi's most important written work. Civilization and Success The traditional explanation for the noticeable differences in income across cultures was to say that they differed in their level of civilization. Fundamentals of Prosperity This 1920 work by Roger Babson is a classic with in its genre. It promotes the traditional, pre-1960s explanation for the connection between success and culture. Zimbabwe: the World's Largest Test Tube Current events in Zimbabwe are giving us an unprecedented opportunity to measure and judge the effect of white settlement and colonization in Africa. US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion Average US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion. Are Calvinists Predestined to Succeed? Max Weber's claim that Protestantism is more conducive to success than Catholicism and that Calvinism is in particular more successful is widely repeated and rarely examined. Wealth and the Recogniton of Culture We need to recognize that culture is the personality of a group or race and we must see culture and having seen it, make it a work of art. The Recipient Class The moral justification for welfare is supposed to be that we are temporarily helping out our fellow man through a rough stretch of road or helping the disabled permanently. If it is to become a system for continually transferring wealth from one group to another the people behind this change owe us an explanation. Culturalism The great taboo of our age is not speaking about race, but speaking about culture. Bourgeois Bourgeoisie is more than just a term of abuse used by the Left, it refers to a real people who led real lives. Selections from the Federal Outlook Selections from a 1960's Rhodesian newspaper. How Africa Underdeveloped Africa Africa is the poorest place in the world. Why? Will Famine Come to Zimbabwe? The end of commercial farming in Zimbabwe could plunge the country into famine. The Tragedy of the Zimbabwe Commons Communally owned property always has and always will suffer from the 'tragedy of the commons' problem. Band Aid Africa recieves $15 billion a year in aid. Is it helping?

The Two Valleys

by A. J. Kirkland

"Do you think the world is round? Well, many people say so but here in the valley we know differently; it is because the world is flat that the sun rises in the east, follows the Zambezi river until it sinks in the west at its source and having burnt itself out is borne down the river by the current during the night to rise again in the east in the morning, day after day and night after night". This forms one of the basic beliefs of an isolated community until recently unaffected or uninterested in western thinking. A community ruled by spirits, the Mondhoros, whose wishes are interpreted by their mediums on earth, the Tswikiros; a community kept in the past since the orders come from the ancestors or predecessors whose stories and desires have not changed over the years. The people? The maKorekore and the maChikunda living between the Zambezi and the Mvuradona Mountains in the Kanyemba area. But living in a world ruled by the spirits of the deceased does not imply a primaeval existence for memory and legends only seem to go back for perhaps one hundred or so years. Unaffected by outside influences? The Portuguese have certainly affected the maChikunda who are very much a mixture of Portuguese blood and ideas and the maKorekore whose spirits we shall visit, since these spirits date largely from territorial disputes between the Portuguese and Rhodesian Administrations; perhaps "memory" is the operative word, the present spirits and their disputes dating from within living recall; possibly before this there were other spirits and other disputes now forgotten by a people with no written records.

The maKorekore are vague as to their origins but stories of migrations and language affiliations would indicate that they once lived where Tanzania is today. Some claim that their ancestors caused the Zambezi waters to part to allow them to cross to the south but it is more likely that they crossed in years of great drought. The maChikunda are a mixture of these original inhabitants and the Arab slavers and Portuguese traders who followed. Although regarded as primitive it can be seen that these people have probably been affected by European and Arab influences for a longer period than any other section of the African inhabitants of Rhodesia. The Arab influence is very clear in the faces of many of the lighter complexioned maChikunda and the Portuguese influence in the number of Portuguese words used in this part of the Valley, also the spirits and their backgrounds.

Few Rhodesian whites have influenced this way of life; in fact few have passed this way; a mere handful comprising a few Government officials and an occasional recluse, living out his life in this remote area. Such people of course came from the "Other Valley", the second and identical valley to the south of the Mvuradona where the white people live in their own world; some leave their valley for a number of years to work in this "other valley" and return with stories which certainly rival those of the spirits.

Discounting stories of Biblical "parting of the waters" the area has little known or recorded history before the final quarter of the last century; the people, the spirits, the disputes and the arrival of the Rhodesian administration all seem to date from this time. Certainly, the Portuguese had been around this area for a long but largely undocumented time; the empire of Monamatapa must have encompassed the area and at one stage the Portuguese claimed to own or administer all the area east of Gwelo. The story as it affects us begins at the time of the demarcation of the MozambiqueRhodesia border in 19067, having been conceived around 1840 with the birth of Chief Kanyemba. This border was finally agreed upon after some years of wrangling between the British and Portuguese Governments and only after arbitration. Both parties having agreed to this (the present) border it was decided to survey it and mark it with beacons and with this event the story begins. But there is no need to believe me; let the spirits tell it themselves, it was their life, they lived it and are living it still:

"Chief Kanyemba lived and ruled in these parts, he was recognised by the Portuguese authorities and in fact was a "Sergeant" with a private army armed by the Portuguese Government as a reward for his loyalty during a rebellion in the 1870's; he ruled an area on either side of the present border and spent his later years at a number of villages along the Zambezi riverbank, the main one being in the vicinity of the kraal of Chief Chapoto, near Kanyemba itself. At the time of the demarcation the Chief must have been around 70 years of age and was at a residence on the by now Portuguese side of the border when Rhodesian Administration officials came to visit him; a son was sent to tell the Chief of the visit and the desire of the Rhodesian officials to interview him and ascertain his boundaries and power; Kanyemba was told however, possibly by this son or possibly by the Portuguese, that if he went to live in Rhodesia he would have to pay tax and that the rifle the Portuguese had given to him would be taken away. Although given an ultimatum the Chief refused to leave Portuguese East Africa and as a result the son, a presumed grandfather of today's Chief Chapoto, was appointed Chief of the area. The spirits who normally made such decisions did not approve of this action and neither did the Chief who had three or possibly four other sons, each of whom was more favoured; the names of three have been passed on as Nyahumbe, Nyahondo and Kasuru. As the old Chief and each of these sons died they became Mondhoros and chose Tswikiros on earth through whom they spoke, made their wishes known and carried on what was by now a dynastic feud involving all in this section of the "Valley". Having made the decisin, and the border, the officials returned to "their valley", leaving only the pyramidical beacons marking the border; this event can be pinned down as all the beacons are inscribed either 1906 or 1907.

The affair just described was consolidated by the next intruders from the "Other Valley", policemen, who arrived shortly afterwards and organised the building of a police station by Portuguese masons then working at Vila do Zumo. It was so well built in fact that it resembled a blockhouse, offices and quarters all in one block on a raised platform, a verandah on all sides held up by giant stonebuilt pillars, their large size due to the shortage of beams or girders in such a remote place. This Kanyemba Police Station was beautifully situated on a kopje overlooking the bend in the Zambezi just before its confluence with the Luangwa at Vila do Zumbo; what an idyllic existence these early visitors had in such a place is the thought of today's visitor to this spot and so it was if we read a description written by a former resident policeman, "From the verandah I could look out over the vividly blue river, roughly 800 metres wide I should say, to Northern Rhodesia. Almost opposite the Luangwa flowed in, and to its east was Portuguese East Africa. The beauty of the country and the tropical growth in these parts round the rivers, peopled by generous and unspoiled tribesmen, was right out of this world".

This police post only remained occupied until the outbreak of the First World War when the personnel were withdrawn, and it was closed completely in 1917; thereafter it was only used in the dry seasons as a patrol base when it was occupied by a trooper from Sipolilo. A similar system must have been run by the then Native Department, one of whose servants, known there as "Murefu" the "tall one", leaving as his mark the hill a few kilometres upstream from the police post on which he built a camp of well constructed huts with a beautiful view, which is still known as "Gomo ra Murefu" being at the top of quite a climb. Since the people on the riverbank live in mosquitoridden misery at night it was presumably to avoid this that these early intruders from the "Other Valley" chose these sites (or sights). This "Murefu" must have spent long years at his camp, the foundations of which are still visible, as he is still spoken of as the man who had the boundless energy to climb his kopje several times per day, so very different to the lethargic way of life of the permanent residents. "Murefu" was apparently a Mr. Bowker, the equivalent of the District Officer of today. What a wonderful existence when we compare it with the troubled conditions under which the Government staff of today operate in this and adjacent areas.

Towards the end of this period a third white resident crossed from the "Other Valley"; he was to stay there until death it is believed, but although not a civil servant was a more permanent resident. This was Mr. Fraser, who was apparently the wellknown Rhodesian character of those days, a "remittance man". From all accounts he was the son of an aristocrat in Scotland who was paid to stay away and since he did not need to work his "remittance" must have been considerable to allow him to live in such a way for most of his adult life until the late 1950's; his name is as well known as those of the farmers in the Sipolilo and Raffingora areas, that "Other Valley", for whom some of the valley residents have worked in the years that they have left their own valley. We may I think use Mr. Fraser's name, as the crossing of the Hunyani on the old track to Kanyemba near to which he had his house is still known as "Fraser's Crossing".

As can be imagined these few intruders could hardly have affected the inhabitants and even today's visitor can notice a slightly unworldly atmosphere there; grown adults at villages walking naked, aged crones smoking cigarettes through their noses and many hoarding outdated banknotes. The maChikunda, with their light coloured and obviously Arab influenced features, the high cheekbones and the triple scars on the cheeks, many having names of Portuguese origin, CanhembaKanyemba, Arlzhboa da Lisbon, VinyuVinho, AdimasauAdeu masao, and there are a number of Portuguese words in the local dialect as well, the main being CashasoKachasu, the local spirit distilled from the berries of the Masao tree, a giant variety of a Ziziphus subspecies. Perhaps the tree is a large variety, perhaps it simply grows larger as does nearly everything in this valley; in early summer the cathedral Mopanes, larger than those seen normally, turn whole sections of the area into a veritable jungle, their pale green early foliage having an almost painted appearance; game haunts the clearings in this Mopane forest, buck almost as graceful and pastel coloured as the leaves of the trees. Soon, with the rains, the grass is two metres high, no domestic stock to eat it here due to the Tsetse fly carrying the deadly Trypanosomiasis; at some villages human sufferers from this disease can be seen, almost lifeless, propped up against tree trunks; there is no point in the Africans here having their usual prejudice against trees for there are no great kraal or village clearings; these small scattered villages are cut out of the forest since they have to be sited near the larger rivers and when abandoned, the luxuriant growth soon covers everything. If it cannot move it grows and if it moves it bites; giant insects crawl and fly everywhere in vivid colours, only the birds are missing to complete this exotic scene; these great Mopane areas being seemingly devoid of birdlife save hornbills. Decay; Fraser's house now no more than a pile of rubbish near the old road; Murefu's camp now no more than foundation ridges; the old Kanyemba Police Station to which columns of porters trudged in years past now just a ruin, walls collapsing, pillars broken and large trees growing inside the former rooms. Were these trees cut down during construction and since regrown or have they seeded themselves since the abandonment of the building? An indication of the fantastic growth rate in the area is a young baobab in the yard of the former Police Station with the date "1941" cut into the bark which is now over three metres up the trunk and well out of reach. Little has changed and nothing lasts, nothing manmade that is; the hundreds of kilometres of cutlines across the floor of the valley marking out ricegrowing areas envisaged by the Federal Government are little more than faint tracks used by the Tsetse Control vehicles; the great Zambezi flows on, unaware of the political changes that have recently affected the area.

The spirits have not changed either and the Mondhoros of Kanyemba and his three sons are still airing their views on that long ago Commission and the resulting succession problem. This was further complicated during the 1930's (it is thought), when a second Commission visited the area to delineate Chiefs' boundaries; they found Kanyemba's successor dying (Chapoto I I ?), and when they suggested, as they were to in other parts of Mashonaland, that the amaNdebele custom of succession by the eldest son be followed, the Chief quickly agreed and made his eldest son chief; this perhaps bears out the opinion of the spirits who felt that the whole succession affair was the fault of Kanyemba's son and that he had advised the Chief not to return to Rhodesia and also raised the taxation fear in order to become Chief himself. Although the adapted system of succession was quite alien to the area and the spirits (who had their own system of choice as will be seen), it has been taken up; the second Chief Chapoto handing over to his eldest son (the present 1970's) and this Chief intending to do the same.

It can thus be seen how a little local cunning, outside influence and former administrative misunderstanding have combined to cause the present succession dispute and spiritual rift amongst the people, but how would the spirits have handled things especially the choosing of a successor to a Chief or the Tswikiro who acts for his departed spirit? Regarding spirits one continually hears vague stories from Africans about voices from trees and lionfaced Mondhoropossessed men encountered on lonely paths and one hears of mediums going into trances to speak to such Mondhoros but what actually happens? Given the inherent belief in spirits by the Africans and their fear of the unknown and apparent ability to be intimidated a certain amount will never be understood by those who dwell in the "Other Valley". The current spirits, as that is what they can be called if, as seems to be the case, they are periodically replaced by new ones resulting from some new cataclysmic event, are therefore the three elder sons of Chief Kanyemba and the Chief himself, plus others associated with that time at the turn of the century; it is, of course, just within living memory.

The Chief himself died in Mozambique and the sons in Rhodesia; of the sons two were "laid to rest" near Kanyemba itself and the third in the area between the Hunyani and Dande rivers; the euphemism "laid to rest" must be used as it can be seen that they were not actually interred. In the area where sons I and II died the bodies were kept on platforms approximately two metres from the ground and constructed in thick bush of a special type; such platforms can still be seen and often carry a skeleton indicating that the remains are left there for some time, and not as the local people will tell the casual questioner, merely at the burial service. At certain times in the evening and occasionally at night designated persons would walk alone through the bush and pass such a bier, eventually and possibly as much as a year later, one of these people would see a figure moving near the trees supporting the platform; this person would then realise that he had been chosen as the Tswikiro or medium and he would report this fact to the Tswikoro's "Committee" who had originally instructed the "candidates"; it does of course seem likely that the Mondhoros or their Tswikiros had already decided and included the new Tswikiro amongst the others selected.

The third son was "buried" but not deep in the ground, his body being laid in a grave with a depth of only a few centimetres, it then being covered with large rocks and boulders. Again, certain, and generally elderly men were selected and at certain times in the late evening walked past or near this grave; finally one of these people would see a lion (in the case of the Chief's son) or in some more recent deaths a hyaena has alternated, pawing at the rocks; again, this man would then know that he had been chosen by the Mondhoros and would report the fact to the Tswikiros. These people obviously had great local knowledge enabling them to know of facts and events that would not be expected of them (as with the spokesman for the Mlimo in the Matopos); they therefore sometimes chose a hyaena instead of a lion knowing from their own sources that few lion were then in the area. They also presumably arranged for the "right" person to pass the grave at the appointed time, well knowing the result. No two persons could ever reach a grave at the same time as in such a small and tightly knit community people who went walking in dangerous country at the dangerous time of sundown would be known and would in any case not be doing so out of choice. Occasionally, the person desired as a Tswikiro would not be available having gone to work in the "Other Valley". This "chosen one" would still receive his "message" and such was the case of the farm labourer at Darwendale, who, whilst on the farm was possessed by the spirit of a former personage from the DandeHunyani confluence. In such a case the Mondhoro spirits often allow the "charade" to continue for months or, in the case of the deceased Chief Chitsungo, for years, until the successor or Tswikiro has arrived. Possibly it is often difficult to locate the person desired as a Tswikiro when he has left to work in the "Other Valley" and so things must continue until his arrival; possibly some delays are simply due to the elders and "regular" Tswikiros being unable to reach a consensus. All this discussion, planning and decision takes place at the residence of one of the Tswikiros to which the elder village members and anyone of importance has been invited. What goes on at such a session and how doe it happen.

It is approximately one hour before first light and the small village in the Mwanzamtanda valley is completely still; all the residents are in the ten to fifteen huts which comprise the settlement and from which the inhabitants of such spiritruled country would not venture during darkness. The village yesterday evening had presented a pleasant spectacle, the men returned from what little agriculture is practised hereabouts, the women going about their tasks and preparing food and the elders all gathered under a large Masao tree from which even then fruit was falling; fruit which will be made into (the distillate) Kachasu. These fruits can be chewed and it is customary to do so whilst talking, they leave the taste of a sundried plum in the mouth which is mildly thirst quenching. The sun is setting behind the nearby hills in a blue haze, the air is warm and still and filled with the scents given off by the surrounding trees; fowls are placed in coops; the women disappear and the elders talk; all look old, it is a harsh existence, but one is older than most; he looks about 90, thin, bent and wizened and he wears spectacles in wire frames the lenses of which have become so scratched as to be completely opaque, almost white, resembling the base of a milkbottle. His sight is poor and a young girl assists him from place to place; he looks frail, too frail to have survived so long in the Valley but he is obviously a respected person and is treated in the best manner possible by all present. He is not the kraalhead, the questioner is told, he sits nearby, but this is Adimasau, the Tswikiro of the Mondhoro of Chief Kanyemba and it is a great privilege to have him residing here. Where does he live? Over there, that large hut surrounded by a woven reed wall which encloses a vegetable garden full of sweet potatoes. How does the old man cultivate? He does not, the community maintains his garden as an indication of how they value his presence. Would he leave? Oh yes, for years he wandered the floor of the Valley and might do so again. The visitors sit and talk, the Tswikiro absentmindedly chewing a Masao berry.

Even now the small talk is mainly of things and people past but this Is concluded as the sun sets and the visitors are shown to an empty hut after which all retire.

Nobody will move tonight; bad spirits abound and besides, even now elephant can be heard trumpeting and screaming as they break down trees on their way to dig water in the riverbeds. A member of the party mentions that the Tswikiro was expected to be possessed by the spirit within the next day, a fact which explained the talk of things past that evening; such an event happens about once a month, they say.

Soon the village sleeps and only the animals move in the Valley; the animals, and possibly the Mondhoros for at the time the story begins the peace is rent by a series of cries, howls and gasps; all awake and the elders move in the direction of the medium's hut for they know that he has been possessed.

Having entered they cease talking and only one voice can be heard, a monotone, rising and falling and eventually becoming quiet. Five minutes have passed when the kraalhead greets the by now wideawake visitors. The spirit is present and all must attend; the visitors protest; they are outsiders, both working for the Government and one a European; no, both must come; it will cause offence to refuse and besides, the spirit is well aware of the visitors and wishes them to be present. The chance of a lifetime? Indeed it was; the visitors enter the hut and join the others seated against the wall in a semicircle around the spirit medium; the Tswikiro himself is at the back of the hut furthest from the door; he reclines in the manner of an African woman with both knees bent and together, weight resting on his left thigh and he leans against an old section of tree trunk, resembling the driftwood shapes in some lounges. He is wrapped in a bolt of black cloth worn toga style with beads, whilst on his head he wears a hat of halftwisted porcupine quills, all lying together looking like feathers on an Edwardian lady's hat and giving the medium the appearance of wearing a ghostly white halo.

The Tswikiro was recognisable but gone was the benign, frail person of the previous evening; spectacles removed, face ashen but animated, eyes clouded and unseeing, Adimasau was rocking gently backwards and forwards and speaking loudly but not to any particular person, his voice and accent changing continually as if imitating a conversation between several people. This, a linguist states, is in fact the case; the spirit of Chief Kanyemba is reliving a discussion with others on the fate of his sons. The villagers know this story, they have heard it many times before both as a discussion in the village and as a diatribe by the medium; partisan, they support one of the sons of the former Chief; they nod or occasionally express agreement or encouragement. This informative conversation continues for over half an hour until the medium, with some headshaking and quillrattling indicates that all present should take part. It is evidently a form of question time and the elders begin to ask questions, at first touching on the previous conversation, then about succession and old disputes and finally request opinions on presentday conduct and problems.

After nearly an hour has passed the medium begins to tire visibly, he bus and speaks slowly and more clearly. The visitors are asked to put questions; it would be rude not to do so and realizing the trend of the conversation they ask about Chief Kanyemba's life in Portuguese East Africa; the Tswikiro replies and when quoting the Chief speaks in Portuguese (he has of course spent his whole life in the border area). Further questions on tribal origins elicit stories of migration and rivers and how Chief Kanyemba had been loyal to the Portuguese and been given land and a firearm in return; he speaks of fleeing from the "Mziti". The Chief also dwells on the succession problem; even the spirits it seemed, still failed to agree on who should have succeeded Chief Kanyemba and all present put up arguments for one or other of his longdead sons; there seemed little chance of settling today's problems when those of 1906 were still unresolved.

This, clearly, was not the time to ask for opinions on terrorism or other subjects of the 1970's. At the time of the visit the Americans had just landed on the moon and the visitors had heard this at a small store with a radio, for these people were not worried by the problems of today, an instance of this being that early terrorists were reported by the local inhabitants as Zambians when they attempted to cash Rhodesian tendollar notes at one of the few stores; the Valley residents had never seen a tendollar note before and presumed it to be Zambian. They also preferred to deal in Federation banknotes, hoarding large numbers of these for better days. The Tswikiro was by now exhausted and merely reclined against his log and ceased to speak. A bowl was passed around into which people placed coins and with the medium apparently asleep or unconscious, all left the gathering and walked into the daylight outside. One spirit had spoken, the most important of them, and yet nothing was decided and the pattern of indecision continued.

In the case of the Chief Chitsungo the spirits were undecided, or seemed to be. The former Chief having died the D.C. Sipolilo appointed an acting Chief and the spirits were silent on this; what they would have done in the days before Administration is not known. After a year had passed still no decision had been made and all concerned seemed quite contented with this situation except the D.C. Sipolilo, who after a year and a half appointed a Chief himself, one who was known to be under consideration by the spirits but unconnected with the former Chief or the acting Chief. The spirits expressed their dissatisfaction with this and eventually, after two years had elapsed, the Tswikiros indicated that the spirits favoured the acting Chief; a genuine case of indecision on their part it would seem.

Not all the spirits are those of departed persons of importance and Chiefs, however. Others take the form of bringers of good fortune such as the spirit that dwelt in a baobab tree near the kraal of Chief Chapoto. A Mondhoro was known to dwell in this tree and on certain evenings the Tswikiro and certain elders would gather around the tree and a trance state would result. After this, pots of food were left at the base and the following day children would be induced to play near this tree and those who found such food and ate it were considered to be possessed by this good spirit. These children would take the pots back to their parents who would know what had happened and who then took the pots to the base of the tree and broke them there; the ground around the foot of this tree was covered with broken pieces.

Yet another spirit was the Baboon spirit, a fairly common type of spirit all over the Valley. Why baboons should have such significance is not certain since they destroy what few crops are grown there and when killed they are eaten, unlike the practice in other areas. This spirit's choice consisted of a festival of drinking and dancing, one of which took place near Gonono and lasted for three days. On the third day of the drinking, dancing and monotonous drumming the candidates for the Tswikiro of the Baboon spirit dressed in baboon skins with tails and drank themselves into a stupor; after a number had gone into a trance at some stage a space was cleared and these "candidates", usually numbering about ten, congregated and began alternate shuffling and whirling until, whilst shuffling after a trance induced by the whirling, one would bark like a baboon and the spirit would have made its choice. The whole proceedings took place in almost complete darkness with only small cooking fires permitted on the periphery; a carnival atmosphere prevailed and the "baboons" circulated amongst the crowd, imitating the characteristics of the animal.

A further variation was the rain spirit, Maisheni, rather along the lines of the Rain Queens in South Africa, although lack of rain is rarely a problem in the Valley.

This account cannot be concluded without a reference to the now much publicised Wadoma, a minor tribe near the Zambezi some of whose members displayed the twotoed condition which has caught the imagination of so many. This group of people numbered around fifty in Rhodesia although there were reputedly many more in Portuguese East Africa, mixed with the muSena people. Few displayed the twotoed peculiarity, approximately one male in each family; contrary to the articles about them they could not run fast or climb trees with amazing agility, in fact they could not walk with ease and were almost unable to stand still which they only did with a swaying motion, the two toes present not being the first and second but rather the large and small toes only, with a "V" shaped gap in between, making the foot resemble a claw; small wonder that they had difficulty in balancing; climbing trees would have been out of the question. The Wadoma had once been a separate tribe but linguistically have become completely absorbed by the maChikunda.

A glimpse into another world? Real enough to the residents and the civil servants who were posted there; a world now shattered by the advent of the Terrorist war. What do the spirits think of the new situation? Some, in the Mount Darwin area, were used to further subversion but as can be seen a society so occupied with the disputes of 75 years earlier is not likely to show much interest in the present and least of all in the future. Most of the people mentioned are now living in Protected Villages in the Sipolilo area in the "Other Valley" from which they were once so remote; outsideinspired subversion having ended their way of life and forced them up on to the Mvuradona, only able to look down onto the great valley watching

the cloud shadows moving over their former homes. But, who can say, possibly even in a Protected Village the dispute continues and the Spirits argue over the rightful successor to Chief Kanyembe.