Marriage is
looked upon as primarily a civil contract, and, subject to certain
conditions and to a proper provision for children, is dissoluble
at the will of both contracting parties, the divorce, or 'unloosing',
being formally and ceremoniously accomplished by going through
certain portions of the marriage ceremony backwards.
The Zu-Vendi are on the whole a very kindly, pleasant, and light-hearted
people. They are not great traders and care little about money,
only working to earn enough to support themselves in that class
of life in which they were born. They are exceedingly conservative,
and look with disfavour upon changes. Their legal tender is
silver, cut into little squares of different weights; gold is
the baser coin, and is about of the same value as our silver.
It is, however, much prized for its beauty, and largely used
for ornaments and decorative purposes. Most of the trade, however,
is carried on by means of sale and barter, payment being made
in kind. Agriculture is the great business of the country, and
is really well understood and carried out, most of the available
acreage being under cultivation. Great attention is also given
to the breeding of cattle and horses, the latter being unsurpassed
by any I have ever seen either in Europe or Africa.
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