Chapter 952 Eye-opening (2/2)

”An evil feudal dynasty,” Big Ivan and Lu Guan cursed together.

Polygamy had been common among the Zulu people and in a large part of Africa in

general, with men in their 40s and 50s being especially keen to marry. To them, wives

were not instruments of pleasure, but sources of cheap labor and children.

Now the situation was better. A long time ago, property, such as houses, was worthless,

there were no banks to keep money in, and an African tribesman's only real wealth was

his wives.

The helicopter took off, landed twice, and made its final landing on dry grassland.

In winter, the African savannas would dry up, and the shrubs and trees would languish.

There was, however, plenty of livestock here. When the helicopter landed, there was a

herd of cows and sheep grazing nearby. The whirling of the propeller clearly scared

them, and they started making alarmed noises.

Farther away, there was a cluster of bungalows akin to a town, where they could see

cars driving around from their position in the air.

”Have we reached your tribe yet?” asked Li Du.

The lion hunter shook his head and said, ”We Zulus believe that everything in the world

happens through the transmission of our ancestors' spirits. Therefore, the land where

our ancestors had lived is sacred and one is not allowed to enter it without permission,

certainly not by helicopter.”

Li Du understood and asked, ”How far are we from your tribe now? It's a little far, isn't

it?”

The lion hunter pointed ahead and said, ”Another hundred meters, and you'll see our

tribe.”

Li Du said, ”Okay!”

It was a nice sideline shot. He did not know if those were just his feelings, but he felt

that the lion hunter probably didn't have much affection for the tribe either.

A Zulu man's wealth was not measured by how many houses or cars, or how much land

he had, but by the size of his family and the numbers of his livestock.

As they entered the tribal area, a black woman in a yellow blouse and blue skirt waved

at them with a sheep whip and spoke quickly and enthusiastically.

The lion hunter replied with a broad smile and waved as one of the bodyguards handed

a gift box to the black woman.

Seeing the gift, the black woman spoke more warmly, but Li Du could understand

nothing of the Zulu language.

The lion hunters said goodbye to the black woman, and the group moved on. The town

was the place where the tribe had settled down for now. They did not move their homes

like they used to, and remained in one place.

Zulu people living in rural areas were mainly farmers and herders. They loved keeping

livestock and grew corn as their main food.

Among the livestock raised, the most precious one was the cow, which they used not

only for meat but also to plow the land. Cows were commonly given as a betrothal

present.

Since ancient times, when a Zulu man asked for a woman's hand, the betrothal gift for

the bride was 11 cows. This custom has lasted for several centuries and remained

unchanged until modern times. One could say that there were no changes in the system

of betrothal gifts.

As they got nearer to the town, the number of pedestrians increased. Li Du looked down

at his feet and followed the lion hunter.

Eliciting Sophie's contempt, Big Ivan and Lu Guan kept staring at the Zulu girls.

Zulu people were portrayed as an ”agricultural tribe with weird customs” in popular

media. One of the customs was that Zulu girls walked around topless and bare-chested.

Only married women covered their torso.