At-Sea Feb 18th

Some additional photos from the Zulu cultural heritage village. First, the tour guide and "warrior" who greeted us at the entrance:

 The  man below is portraying the village expert in healing and spiritual beliefs. In front of him are various herbs found in the roots, stems, bark and leaves of local flora used to treat different sicknesses and injuries. Modern science has shown that the great majority were in fact efficacious.

The tour guide is exhibiting a Zulu war shield, much larger than the ones used for stick fighting practice. The pole provided stiffness along the length and the point was stuck into the ground as an anchor point against a strong blow. The primary weapon was a steel-tipped war spear. The cowhide shield was not only thick enough to stop a well thrown or thrusted spear, but the many small embedded horizontal strips of leather were designed to trap and catch the enemy’s spear tip.

 Here is a warrior ready to go on the march. In his left hand he holds the long stick from his war shield, which is now rolled up and carried on the back of his stick; in his right hand he holds his fighting spear. A band of such Zulu warriors could move very quickly on foot for great distances with such light fighting gear. Joani says the shin guards are better than the ones she had her first year of women’s ice hockey at Cornell.

This man is depicting a Zulu spear point sharpener. He uses the cylindrical whetstones found at his feet. The Zulu knew how to forge and harden steel, using a cowhide bellows to make hot fires and hardening the blades through hammering and quenching. The war spear was a formidable weapon.

You may recognize the spear sharpener as the man who also portrayed the ceremonial leader in the Zulu wedding video.

Yesterday we received our mandatory what-to-do-if pirates-attack training. We are nearing the part of the Indian Ocean where this may occur. Basically, passengers move into interior passageways and sit on the floor, staying away from an exposed deck or window, and being braced for high speed and tight zig-zag turns. This training is mandatory ever since the time a pirate speedboat approached a cruise ship and the idiot passengers ignored the captain's instructions and ran out onto the exposed deck to take pictures.

Tomorrow: Madagascar, snorkeling and seeing black lemurs.