Mode of Salutation, illustration from 'Great African Travellers, from Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley',...

This illustration shows an instance in the travels of explorer Dr David Livingstone (1813-1873); Travelling through what is now northern Zimbabwe, Livingstone is said to have encountered a remarkable local custom; 'The natives of this region have a curious way of saluting a stranger, Instead of bowing they throw themselves on their backs on the ground, rolling from side to side and slapping the outsides of their thighs, while they utter the words "_Kina bomba! kina bomba_!" In vain the doctor implored them to stop, They, imagining him pleased, only tumbled about more fiercely and slapped their thighs with greater vehemence'; William H.G. Kingston (1814-1880) was an English adventuer writer;