Their tradition was that they came from the south and
were of the same stock as the Zulus, of whom they had heard vaguely.
Indeed, many of their customs, to say nothing of their language,
resembled those of that country. Their military organisation, however,
was not so thorough, and in other ways they struck me as a lower race.
In one particular, it is true, that of their houses, they were more
advanced, for these, as we saw in the many kraals that we passed, were
better built, with doorways through which one could walk upright,
instead of the Kaffir bee-holes.
We slept in one of these houses on our march, and should have found it
very comfortable had it not been for the innumerable fleas which at
length drove us out into the courtyard. For the rest, these Mazitu
much resembled the Zulus. They had kraals and were breeders of cattle;
they were ruled by headmen under the command of a supreme chief or
king; they believed in witchcraft and offered sacrifice to the spirits
of their ancestors, also in some kind of a vague and mighty god who
dominated the affairs of the world and declared his will through the
doctors.
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