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The Natural Speaker 9th Edition
The Natural Speaker 9th Edition
The Natural Speaker is a friendly step-by-step guide to public speaking that explores the
fundamental skills necessary to present a natural and rewarding speech to any audience.
By providing an overview of speech construction, practice, and delivery, this book is
designed to enhance and improve upon students' natural strengths. Featuring a warm
and humorous writing style, The Natural Speaker illustrates the concepts and skills
required for enjoyable public speaking, and Randy Fujishin invites readers to view
speaking as a lifelong journey. This ninth edition has been updated throughout to reflect
the integration of online media in public speaking today- with sections on digital visual
aids, digital note taking, and speaking on YouTube- and now features guidance on
speaking to multicultural audiences.
Natural Bridges
Gifts.fromtheHeart, 3rd
CreatingCommunication, 2nd
RANDY FUJISHIN
I~ ~~o~:~~n~~~up
NEW YORK AND LONDON
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
The right of Randy Fujishin to be ident ified as author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reprnduced or utilised in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any informat ion storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writ ing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be t rademarks or registered t rademarks, and
are used only for ident ification and explanat ion vvithout intent to infringe.
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Preface
Index
The most important skill you will ever develop in this life is. your ability to connect deeply
with another human being. A hundred years from now, it won't matter what level of
education you achieved, the kind of car you drove, or the amount of money you earned.
What will matter is that you connected with the hearts of others, that you welcomed
others, that you served others, that you encouraged others, that you loved others.
Without this ability to connect with other human beings, your life will be unhappy and
empty. From the moment you are born, you are driven by an undeniable urge, a need to
connect with others deeply and meaningfully.
One of the most powerful ways to connect with others is through speech. Your ability
to effectively and passionately address a group of people not only enhances your
educational, professional, and personal lives, it can also enlarge, empower, and help those
who listen to you. Public speaking, the training you might be dreading most, could
surprisingly become a communication skill that you will really appreciate, use, and enjoy
in the years to come.
This book is offered so you can give a speech that will be a benefit and an
encouragement to others. It's a simple guide to improving and enhancing the natural
speaking strengths you already possess while providing a basic understanding of speech
research, organization, and delivery. In the process of learning and developing these
skills, you will be inviting the natural speaker within you to develop in ways that will
benefit others and yourself.
Chapters 1 and z explore the nature and principles of communication, your
communication attitude, and six interpersonal communication skills that are vital to
effective communication in your everyday life. You will also be encouraged to give
yourself permission to grow in all these areas. Chapter 3 will introduce you to the basic
components of speech organization.
Chapters 4 and 2 explain topic selection and speech content materials. In these
chapters, you receive a practical guide to constructing a speech from start to finish in an
effective and comprehensive way.
In Chapter 6, the role of listening in public speaking is presented. The topics of the
listening process, barriers to listening, bridges to listening, and benefits of listening will
be explored. Throughout this chapter, you will see that the effort you expend to improve
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your listening skills for public speaking will also bring abou t immediate improvement in
yo ur interpersonal and relational listening.
Chapter 7 highlights the physical components of speech delivery and practical methods
for delivery improvement. The emphasis of this chapter is on develo ping those speaking
strengths you already possess and adding new skills that will enhance your natural style.
Chapter 8 covers the principles of sharing information with your audience. Also
presented are simple suggestions for effective informativ.e speaking, language use, and
dealing with audience questions. Chapter 9 examines the fundamentals of persuasive
speaking. Aristotle's three persuasive appeals- ethos, logos, and pathos- are discussed,
and ways to incorporate each appeal into your speech are explained.
And Chapter 10 invites you to become a speaker for your lifetime. Impromptu speaking,
special occasion speaking, develo ping the heart of a speaker, and balancing technology
and communication are explained in a simple and encouraging way.
The purpose of this book is to give you the basic skills to present a speech that is
effective, natural, and beneficial for you and the audience. Your decision to develop your
natural speaking abilities is one that will reward you, both professionally and personally,
for the rest of your life.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you shouldbe able to do the following:
Never before had Paul sat for so long in total silence with another human being. Paul, a
young psychologist, was in a therapy session with his client, a middle-aged woman with
lifeless eyes, arms that hung limply at her sides, and a posture that displayed the shame
and anger that often accompany victims of physical ab use.
It was during Paul's first year of clinical training as a marriage, family, and child
therapist that he had worked with her. The woman came to therapy with a long history of
depression and withdrawal. As a novice therapist, Paul encouraged her to open up and
share her feelings. But during the first two sessions, all the woman did was sit in silence.
He asked the usual questions therapists are trained to ask, and she responded only with
silence. She simply stared out the window at the peaceful mountains in the distance as the
two of them sat in the small, cramped office.
During the course of therapy, she did make some pro,gress. After two months, she
responded in short se ntences to some of Paul's questions. She even smiled a time or two.
Yet, within four months, she quit coming to her sessions. Paul left messages on her
answering machine, inviting her back to therapy, but she did not respond. Paul never saw
the woman again.
To this day, Paul is haunted by something she said at the end of one of her final sessions.
No longer could you talk with friends over coffee or laug·h with your fam ily at a picnic.
No longer could you whisper sweet nothi ngs to your spouse or discuss the latest movie
with a neighbor. No longer could you debate an issue at a business meeting or negotiate
the price of a used car. No longer could you apologize for a wrong or ask for forgiveness
from a wounded friend. In short, no longer would you be fully h uman. We need
communication as a bridge to others in this life.
Hell was once described not as a burning pit of endless agony, but as a cold, lonely,
isolated place where each person was sentenced to spend eternity alone on an island- no
bridges between the islands, no way to span the gulf between people, forever alone. A life
without communication would be hell.
~h~!-~~~-'!?..'!!'_e_r_~q!_~?..i:t:~_l_l_~~~~-tj?._1:1_~~-~~l-~?..i::.1~l_l-~~~~~i_C!~!!1:~!_i_~!'.<:'!_~p_C!~-~i:-<:>E~!-i!!.!:1:1~
Sender
The sender is the originator of the message. In other models of communication, the
sender can also be called the source of the message. The process of communication begins
at this point with a speaker who wishes to communicate an idea or feeli ng. It's impor tant
to note that the sender doesn't simply send a message. She must first decide what she
wants to communicate and then encode the message. Encoding is the process of
converting the message into lang uage and terms that will be understood by the receiver.
Once the message is encoded, it is sent to the receiver.
Nachricht
The idea or feeling the sender wants to communicate is called the message. The message
can be any idea, thought, emotion, or feeling the sender wishes to communicate.
Wh ether it's a flirtatious wink across a crowded room or a college commencement
address, the message is still the thought or feeling the sender wants to communicate.
Environment
The environment includes the time, place, and occasion of the communication event. The
time at which communication occurs can influence the communication between people.
Talking to someone early in the morning or late at night can affect how we interact. The
physical surroundings also play an important role. Is the communication event inside or
outside? How does the lighting, temperature, arrangement of the furniture or chairs, size
of the room, and a host of other physical variables influence the manner in which we
communicate with others? The specific occasion for the event also determines to a large
extent how we communicate. What is the purpose of the occasion? Is the occasion formal
or informal ? How many people are involved? These environmental variables need to be
considered when we communicate.
Channel
The channelis the means by which a message is transmitted. Messages can be transmitted
Receiver
The destination of the message is called the receiver. Without the receiver,
communication does not occur. In public speaking, the receiver of the message is the
audience. In the communication model, the receiver receives the message and then must
decode it. Decodingi.s the process of translating the message so that it has meaning for the
receiver. A wink of the eye from the sender can be decoded or interpreted in many ways.
It can be a nonverbal sign of flirting, a sign that there's dust in the eye, or even the first
symptom of an epileptic seizure. The decoding process is vital in communication.
Speech is civilization itsetf.
- THOMAS MAN!>f
Feed/Jack
The response of the receiver to the sender is called.fe edback. Although feedback is really a
message from the receiver to the sender, the term helps us. see the circular movement of
this communication model. It should be stressed that the receiver can send the return
message through all the same channel options as the sender when she encodes and sends
the response.
Noise
Noise is any disturbance or interference in the communication process. External noise is
any physical interference that diminishes or reduces the meaning of the message.
Examples of external noise include background talking, a jackhammer banging outside
the building, or even a distracting mannerism of the speaker. All of these and more can
interfere with the communication process. Psychological or semantic interference is
called internal noise. Internal noise can cause us to misinterpret or decode the message in
Even when you don't think you're communicating, y our nonverbal behavior is
constantly giving off important messages. Yo ur posture, your eye contact or lack of it,
and the manner in which yo u walk or even sleep send messages loaded with meaning to
the outside observer. Freud wisely observed, "He who has eyes to see and ears to hear may
convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his 1£ps are silent, he chatters with
his fingertips and betrayal oozes out of him at every pore." Yo ur body, your movements,
your use of time, the distance you stand from others, and even your clothes broadcast
constant and powerful messages to observers. You are always communicating.
Communication Is Irreversi/J/e
Many times we wish we could retract a critical word or erase an angry response that we
have made. Unfortunately, this is not possible. An apology for harsh words can be
sincerely accepted, but the memory of the event can live on for the remainder of a
person's life. Human memory is a funny thing. The leas.t of gestures, the smallest of
words can haunt us long after the event. It might be wise for us to remember the
recommendation "One seldom regrets unspoken words."
Communication Is a Process
Many years ago, Heraclitus observed, "You never step into the same river twice." The river
Communication Is Learned
There are some nonverbal communication behaviors that seem to be universal, such as
smiling and crying. But the majority of verbal and nonverbal communication is learned.
The specific language that a child grows up with is learned early in childhood, as are the
nonverbal communication behaviors that are appropriate for a specific culture. For
instance, in US culture, we value and encourage direct eye contact, especially in the
public speaking arena. Yet a native of the Japanese culture would interpret the same
direct eye contact as a sign of rudeness and lack of respect, especially when the speaker is
addressing an individual of higher status.
Just as a fish is unaware of the water surrounding it, an individual might not be aware
that communication is learned because he too is surrounded by the language and culture
of his society. However, when a person learns a new language, visits a foreign country, or
acquaints himself with a person from a different culture, he begins to realize that his way
of talking and perceiving the world is but one of many. There are many realities out there,
and perhaps one important indicator of maturity is the realization that "our way" isn't
necessarily the only or best way.
"Well," you sigh, "I just won't ever give a speech to a group of Japanese businesspeople
in Tokyo!" Maybe not, but the United States is a country that is home to hundreds of
different cultures. That's the beauty of our nation! If yo u really analyzed any audience in
America, you'd be surprised at the heterogeneous mix of the cultures and ethnic
Most of us listen to what others say in terms of how it affects us personally. We ask
questions such as the following: ls that right or wrong (from my point of view)? How does
that affect me? What does the speaker think or feel about me? How do /feel about what
was shared? How do I respond? With all of these questions, did you notice where the focus
of attention was? It was on our response, our evaluation, our point of view- in short, we
take center stage; everything revolves around us. We take it all so personally.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. We need to evaluate the merits of a sales
presentation, we need to form an opinion of our new manager, and we need to check our
emotional response in a conflict situation. But to overemphasize a self-centered approach
to all communication is not healthy. We need to develop the ability to suspend judgment
when listening to another person. We need to develop the art of psychological and
emotional disengagement- to take our ego out of gear once in a while. When we always
take what is said personally, we get hooked into many unnecessary arguments, conflicts,
An effective technique that can help you to disengage your ego, and not take
everything that is said so personally, is to ask these questions when you're listening to
someone else:
What is this person's point of view>
What does this say about this person?
How is this person feeling>
Where is this person coming from>
How does this person see the situation>
Who is this person>
Did you notice the different focus of attention? No longer do we take center stage. The
speaker is the focus of attention- her point of view, her feelings, her frame of reference,
her character and personality. We're not taking in all that is said in terms of how it affects
us. We are broadening our perspective to include the one who is talking. We have
concentrated on the speaker, and, conseq uently, we have also distanced ourselves from
her. We are not taking her communication so personally.
The ability not to take communication personally is the first step in effective
communication- to be able to hear what the other person is saying without a screen of
self-centered questions filtering and clouding what is being said. Without this ability,
communication with others will be superficial and often defensive. Without this ability,
we will be hearing only the echoes of our own mind, instead of the thoughts and feelings
of the other person .
Now that we can accept what is being said from an other-centered point of view, we can
begin to listen without verbal interruption- the ability to be silent for a period of time
when someone else is speaking.
Did yo u know that when we are talking with another person, we verbally interrupt the
other person every 12 seconds? Every 12 seconds! "That's wonderful!" "That's terrible!"
"I'm sure!" "I'm all.. ." "That reminds me of a time when I..." "If I were you, I would ..."
"No, that's not true, because..." "Well, it was even worse for me, because L. ." And the
interruptions go on and on. Every 12 seconds. Back and forth. On and on we interrupt.
ListeningReflectively
In addition to not taking communication too personally and listening without verbal
interruption, another enlarging communication behavior is to listen reflectively. To
listen reflectively means to mirror back to the speaker what he is saying.
ft is better to ask some oftile questions than to know all tile answers.
- JAMES THURBER
When you are listening to someone, think in terms of "What is this person trying to
communicate to me?" "What is this person saying?" "What is this person feeling?" As you
begin to get a sense of exactly what this person is attempting to communicate to you,
check it out- reflect or mirror back to the speaker. The simplest way to accomplish this is
to begin your questions with one of the following:
"Are you saying..."
"l hear you saying..."
"You think..."
These are simple beginnings to your questions, but they will change the entire focus of
your communication. Once again, where is the attention directed? You? Or the other
person? Right, the other person!
There may be a change in the relationship with this person if yo u use reflective
listening with any frequency. With practice, this reflective way oflistening will begin to
feel natural, and you will notice that your communication patterns shift from a self-
centered posture to a more other-centered focus.
There are numerous advantages of this reflective listening technique. First, it shifts the
focus from you to the speaker, and it encourages you to not take communication too
personally. Ideally, it will also force yo u to listen withou t verbal judgment. Second,
reflective listening will prove to the speaker that you care about what he is saying. This,
in and of itself, is enlarging. Third, it improves the acc uracy of communication. If yo ur
reflected statement is inaccurate, the speaker can clarify, explain, or ill ustrate in detail.
Fourth, this type of listening takes the burden off yo u. No longer do you have to judge,
give advice, or solve problems. You are simply acting as a mirror, reflecting the other
person's image back to him. Fifth, you provide the speaker with a safe harbor where he
can talk and be heard. It beats paying $100 to $150 an hour just to be heard accurately. In
Chapter 7, we will examine specific ways you can listen to a speaker more effectively.
Complimenting Others
Mark Twain once admitted, "! can live two months on one compliment." A sincere
compliment not only feels good, but it also can give new life to the person receiving it. We
all know the feeling of satisfaction, joy, and even inspiration when a sincere compliment
comes our way. We love to receive them, yet we are usually guilty of not giving them as
often as we could.
The fourth communication skill for your life is that of compli menting others- sharing
sincere praise. The first step in developing this skill is to decide to be a source of
compliments. Begin to look for the best in others. Sure, all individuals have their
weaknesses, faults, and areas for improvement. But shift your focus of attention and
instead see their strengths of character, achievement, and effort.
Compliment Effort. You can compliment a person on her effort to achieve some task or
goal, even if the person was unsuccessful in attaining it. In US culture, we tend to
compliment only the winners- those people who finish first and win the trophies. But
you can compliment people for the effort they invest in a task or project. What's
important is that they tried. It's not the destination but the journey that matters. Here are
some examples of complimenting effort:
'Tm really impressed with the effort you put into this project."
"!love your determination!"
"You ran a clean and honest race during this election."
Compliment tile Invisible. The final form of complimenting is a bit unusual. It involves
complimenting people on the things they don't do- complimenting the invisible. There
are countless things people don't do that are worthy of appreciation, yet we rarely think
about those things. Maybe the person doesn't swear, chain-smoke, or interrupt
constantly, so tell him that you appreciate it.
Once you begin to compliment the invisible, it can be fun and even entertaining. Here
are some examples of complimenting the invisible:
'1 appreciate the fact that you don't swear."
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.