Provisions for Travelers

● Throughout Zaïre, as in other countries of Africa, walking was formerly the primary means of travel. Having to walk long distances required that one travel light, carrying the bare necessities​—water, a mat to sleep on and perhaps something with which to cover oneself. But what about food and lodging? Travelers had no cause for worry, because they knew that once they arrived at a village, the village chief would provide food as well as shelter. It was the custom.

However, if there was no village nearby and the traveler grew hungry, provisions might still be available. How so? Well, in certain regions of the country it was the custom that the row of food cultivated beside the road or path was primarily for travelers. They were welcome to eat as much as they desired, but, if they filled a receptacle to carry food away, then they were stealing and the owner could press charges against them. Such a provision is not unlike that found in the Mosaic law, as, for example, at Deuteronomy 23:24: “In case you go into the vineyard of your fellowman, you must eat only enough grapes for you to satisfy your soul, but you must not put any into a receptacle of yours.”