THE USE OF TOBACCO
AND SNUFF BY SOUTHERN
AFRICAN BLACKS
S. D. Bishop
Tobacco w a s probably intro du ce d in to so u th e rn A fric a by tra de rs on the east and w e st coasts and it had spread to the so u th before the Europeans settled at the Cape. It w as, and in some places s till is, g ro w n in sm a ll gardens next to the hom estead. The c u ltiv a tio n o f tobacco w a s the w o rk of the men and som etim es old w o m e n, but never young w o m e n, p robably because o f beliefs a b o u t ritu a l im p u rity , connected w ith c h ild bearing, w h ic h m ig h t have an adverse e ffe ct on the tobacco crop.
In the past tobacco w a s an im p o rta n t trade item . A m o n g the Transvaal S otho and the Venda it w a s shaped in to blocks and b alls to use as item s of exchange. In the so uth and east, s tan d ard q u a n titie s fo r exchange w ere made up in to ro lls w rapped in m a ttin g . In O w am bo, tobacco w a s the m ain m edium of trade and w a s so p recious th a t o n ly the rich could a ffo rd e n o u gh o f it to smoke, w h ile o rd in a ry people o n ly had e n o u g h to sn u ff. The San (B ushm en) and Khoi (H o tte n to ts) ra re ly c u ltiva te d th e ir o w n tobacco, b u t o btained /t by tra d e fr o m t h e ir B a n tu - s p e a k in g neighbours.
T ra d itio n a lly tobacco plays an im p o rta n t p art in the lives of the B a n tu -spe a kin g peoples. It is not o n ly smoked, b u t is g ro u n d and m ixed w ith some type o f ch arcoa l, such as b u rn t p ric k ly pear leaves, to make sn u ff. In some areas it is s till used m a in ly as s n u ff ra th e r th a n fo r sm o kin g. M ost a d u lt m ales sm oke a n d /o r use s n u ff, e ith e r sn u ffe d up the nose or placed under the lip. In some g ro up s the men are m ore in clin e d to sm oke w h ile the w o m e n are m ore in clin e d to take s n u ff. A m o n g the Pedi, tobacco is taboo to a w o m a n u n til she is past c h ild -b e a rin g age, b u t she m ay take sn u ff, w h ic h is considered to be a re m e d y fo r headache, to o th a ch e and nosebleed.
D ecorated d o th sm o kin g 'pouch'.
Tobacco, e spe cia lly in the fo rm of s n u ff, is of special im p o rta nce in dea lin g s w ith the a ncestral s p irits w h o tra d itio n a lly are responsible fo r the w e ll-b e in g , or m is fo rtu n e , o f th e ir liv in g kin. The ancestors are g en e ra lly appealed to or appeased at ritu a l feasts, and ideally tobacco is a pre re qu isite of such a feast. The a ncestors dem and meat, s o rg h u m beer and tobacco to keep them w e ll-d isp o se d to w a rd s the living . S n u ff
(a) sim ple bone pipe (b) pipes carved fro m stone (c) o ld -fa sh io n e d stone b o w l pipe
m ay be left in a special place in the back of the h u t fo r the ancestors to use its essence. It is later used by the living kin w h o say th a t the ancestors have left it fo r them after taking w h a t they need. A n y s n u ff s p ilt is not picked up, but is left as an o ffe rin g to the ancestors, as it is believed to have s p ilt because the a ncestors w a n te d it. S n u ff is also used to aid c o m m u n ic a tio n w ith the ancestors. D ivine rs especially use it to c le a rth e ir heads in order to a llo w the ancestral s p irits to e nter and guide them in th e ir d iv in in g .
A m o ng some gro up s there is a special e tiqu e tte involved in g ivin g and receiving sn u ff. There are special fo rm u la s fo r asking fo r s'nuff and polite w a ys of receiving it, as w e ll as rules deciding w h o may give or receive it. No m an m ay ask a n o th e r m a n ’s w ife fo r s n u ff in case it c o n ta in s m agical ch a rm s th a t m ay harm him . For the same reason it is considered d a n g e ro u s to accept s n u ff fro m a stranger.
(d) wooden pipe in la id w ith m e ta l (e) carved wooden pipes
ff) w ood a n d m e ta l pipe
Item s o f trade: a m o u ld e d block o f tobacco, a b a ll o f tobacco, a n d a ro ll o f tobabco w rapped in m atting.
A m o ng the S ou th S oth o tobacco, like s o rg h u m beer and meat, is s y m b o lic a lly connected w ith the life-stages of the in d iv id u a l. The m a tu rin g of tobacco is view ed in term s of fe rm e n ta tio n , g ro w th and change, as is the p ro cre a tio n of life in th e sexual act and the fo rm a l developm ent of the in d iv id u t;1
through
rites of passage. F orexam ple, in itia tio n is aim ed at m a kin g a boy 'g ro w f^ r c e ', ju s t as tobacco 'g ro w s fie rc e ' as it m atures. K w a t is the w o rd used fo r tobacco and the kw a e sheep is a sheep th a t is sla u gh tered in the ritu a l to accept a new bride in to her h u s b a n d 's hom e, ch a n g in g her in to a d a u g h te r-in -la w b elonging to her h u s b a n d 's people. Tobacco and sm o kin g also ca rry a sexual s ym b o lism a m ong the S o u th S otho and te rm s used fo r tobacco and s m o kin g are used id io m a tic a lly and e u p h e m is tic a lly in sexual m atters.The im p o rta nce of tobacco and s n u ff resulted in an a rra y of s m o kin g and s n u ffin g e q u ip m e n t:
The sim p le s t pipe w a s a s h o rt piece of decorated bone. Pipes, b e a u tifu lly carved fro m stone w ere used by the Khoi. San, T sw ana and Herero. A type of pipe m odelled on the o ld -fa s h io n e d European pipe had a ro ugh stone or clay b o w l In Lesotho m ealie cobs w ere h o llo w e d o u t to make pipe b o w ls Pipes are also carved fro m w ood, often decorated o r shaped in h u m a n or a n im a l fo rm s, and som etim es in la id w ith m etal or bone M e tal pipe b o w ls are also found. Today the w ooden E uropean pipe often replaces the m ore elaborate tra d itio n a l pipes. A m o n g the Cape N guni, e.g. the X hosa, M p o nd o , etc., w o m e n smoke lo n g-ste m m e d pipes, ofte n decorated w ith beadw ork. The h igher a w o m a n 's statu s, the longer the stem o f her pipe. M en s pipes have sh orte r stem s. S m o kin g is u s u a lly a c o m m u n a l a ctivity. A pipe m ay be passed a ro u n d and it is a m a tte r o f good m a n ne rs to share the little tobacco one m ay have. There
is
^ h o no e m b a rra s s m e n t involved in a skin g fo; ccoS n u ffsp o o n s
fro m som eone w h o has it. A fea tu re o f m a n y pipes is the detachable m outhpiece w h ic h the o w n e r does n o t p art w ith , even if he sends his pipe round. T his is not so m uch fo r hygienic reasons, but because a m outhpiece com es in to such in tim a te co n ta ct w ith a person th a t evil in flu en ce s could be tra n s m itte d th ro u g h it a ccordin g to the p rin c ip le s of s ym p a th e tic m agic. Cape N guni men and w o m e n c a rry elaborate 'p o uch e s' to c o n ta in th e ir sm o kin g e q u ip m e nt. The m ost a ttra c tiv e type is made fro m the skin of a sm a ll a n im a l rem oved w h o le fro m the a n im a l and often decorated w ith beads. O thers are made fro m w h ite clo th decorated w ith black s titc h in g or h ea vily beaded. These 'p o uch e s' are p a rt of the tra d itio n a l dress of the Cape N guni.
S nuffboxes are n um e ro u s and varied, m a d e fro m a v a rie ty o f m a teria l such as horn, w ood, cocoons, sm a ll gourds, sm a ll to rto ise sh ells and, in recent tim es, tin s and glass bottles. They are often decorated w ith ca rv in g s o r b u rn t e tc h in g s
(a) wooden pipe decorated w ith brass w ire a n d tin s trip s - tongs are fo r p ic k in g up a live coal to lig h t
the pipe.
(b) pipes decorated w ith beadwork - note the
detachable mouthpieces.
S n u ffsp o o n s, made of ivory, bone, horn or m etal, are used by the N guni and S ou th S o th o to convey s n u ff to the nose, w h ile o ther gro up s s im p ly shake s n u ff in to the hand. S n u ffs p o o n s are u su a lly pointed at one end and carried stu ck in to the h a ir or headdress, serving a secondary
purpose as headscratchers. ^
BIBLIO G RAPHY
BOSKO. D 1 981 W hy Basotho W ear Blankets. A fric a n S tu d v s 40: 23-32.
MURRAY. C. 1975. Sex, Sm oking and the Shades A Sotho Sym bolic Idiom. In: W hisson, M.G. and West, M. (Eds). Religion a nd S o cia l Change in S outhern A frica . Cape Town: David Philip.
SHAW, M . 1938. Native Pipes and Sm oking in South A frica A nn. S. Afr. Mus. 2 4 : 24: 2 77 -3 02 .
SHAW. M . M a terial Culture. In: Hammond-Tooke. W D. {Ed.). The B an tu S peaking
Peoples o f S outhern A frica. London:. Routledge and Kegan Paul.
TYRRELL, B & JURGENS, P. 1983. A fric a n Heritage Johannesburg: M a cm illan
* B SSSSSS>SSSSSBSS S S S S S S SSSSSB SSSS SSSS SSSS S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S :
SOMMER NET SWAELTJIES?
R .A . Earle
Een s w a e ltjie m aak m iskien nie 'n som er nie, m aar dan is 'n s w a e ltjie ook m os nie so m m e r net 'n s w a e ltjie nie. In S u id e r-A frik a , die gebied suid van die K unene- en Z am b esirivie r, kom 2 0 sw aelsoorte voor. V an hierdie 2 0 spesies broei slegs tw ee nie in S u id e r-A frik a nie.
A lh o e w e l die m eerderheid van die sw aelspesies slegs in die som er in die V ry s ta a t gesien kan w o rd , is die A frik a a n s e O ew ersw ael volop regdeur die ja a r en kan die K ra nssw ae l o o k in d ie w in te r in die V ry s ta a t gesien w o rd . S w a e ltjie s kan dus 'n w in te r ook m aak!
Die Europese sw ael, die H u issw a e l en die Europese O ew ersw ael is die e nigste sw a e ls w a t "o o rs e e " gaan deur na E uro p a e n A s ie te m igreer
in die w in te r. A l die ander spesies m igreer, of glad nie, 6f h u lle is in tra -A frik a -m ig ra n te . Twee van die mees algem ene sw a e ls in die V rystaa t, die G root S treepsw ael en die F am iliesw ael, m igreer tydens die w in te r na se ntra a l A frik a en te ru g v in d in g s van beringde F a m iliesw ae ls het getoon dat die spesie in 'n baie klein gebied in die laer lope van die K o n g o rivie r in Zaire h ulle w in te r d e u rb rin g . Die algem ene o p va ttin g dat "... w a n n e e r die sw a e ls eers terug is, is die som er hier ..." is n a tu u rlik ook ver van die w a a rh e id af. Die eerste F a m iliesw ae ls van die "s o m e r" kom selde later as die eerste paar dae van A u g u s tu s elke ja a r in die V ry s ta a t aan en h ulle kan die som er lank uitre k to t diep in A p ril vo orda t h ulle w eer h ulle vertrek neem.
