A ROYAL FEAST.—ON THE BANKS OF THE OVENGA.—PREPARATIONS.—THE BILL OF
FARE.—A TASTE OF ELEPHANT AND A MOUTHFUL OF MONKEY.
A royal feast is to be given to me: a real feast, where the King is
going to show me what are the splendors of his kitchen department. That
feast is to take place in the equatorial regions of Western Africa, on
the banks of the Ovenga River.
King Obindji is to give the repast. My friend King Quengueza and myself
will be the guests at the feast, and it promises to be a great affair.
For some time past hunters have gone into the forest to kill and trap
game, fishermen have been catching fish, and the women have been
watching their plantain-trees and their cassada plantations, while the
boys have been scouring the forest to look after wild fruits.
A good deal of pottery has been manufactured, so that they may have
plenty of cooking-pots. Earthen jars have also been made in great
numbers, so that vessels for palm wine may be abundant. The women have
also worked steadily in making mats, so that many might be spread on the
ground. Several boloko have been made. What a strange kind of arm-chair
those bolokos are! King Obindji delights to rest upon one. A large shade
has been built, so that Quengueza and myself will have plenty of room.
Oralas are abundant, and meat has been smoked in abundance during these
last few days.
[Sidenote: _PREPARATIONS._]
At last the day of the feast has come. There is a great stir in the
village. The hunters have all returned, the men have also come back from
their fishing excursion, and for the last few days a great quantity of
palm wine has been collected. Bakalai chiefs have come from all the
surrounding country, with a great number of their wives and of their
people; they are all scattered about over the little olakas round the
village. After the feast a grand palaver is to come off, and the affairs
of the country will be discussed. Friend Quengueza seems to be the King
of the Kings, for they all show him great marks of respect.
Toward noon the tables are set. Do not think for a moment that I mean
real tables; I mean the mats are laid on the ground. Under our shade
several mats are put, and many are scattered under the trees round.
Quengueza and I are to eat under the shade, the other chiefs under the
trees.
The drums begin to beat, wild songs are sung, and there is a great stir.
The wives of the King have all turned cooks, and are all busy; the
village seems to be in a blaze of smoke, for every thing is cooking, and
soon the repast is to be ready.
All sorts of pleasant odors are coming out of these pots: what curious
dishes some of them will be!
The drums are beating furiously again and again. Twenty of the King’s
wives have come out, each bringing a dish with her, which they deposit
on the mats.
Then Obindji came to Quengueza and to me, and bade us come and sit
before what was presented to us, and tasted of every dish to show us
that no food was poisoned, for such is the custom of the country.
What a curious bill of fare! I must give it to you, and I will try to
remember it all.
First, there was a huge pot containing an enormous piece of an elephant,
which had been boiling since the day before, so that the meat might be
tender. Another dish was the boiled smoked foot of an elephant, which
had been specially cooked for me, this being considered by many the best
piece.
Then came a large piece of boiled crocodile, the broth of which was
recommended to us, lemon juice and Cayenne pepper having been
bountifully mixed with it to give it a flavor. Then came a charming
monkey, which had been roasted entire on a blazing fire of charcoal. The
little fellow seemed to be nothing but a ball of fat, and looked
wonderfully like a roasted baby. It was cooked to perfection, and really
had a fine flavor.
Then a huge leg of a wild boar made its appearance, the flavor of which
was very high, and it must have been killed days before; but these
people like their game high; in fact, it is often decomposed when eaten.
Then came the boiled tongue of the _Bos brachicheros_, the wild buffalo.
Another dish was boiled buffalo ribs. This latter had been cooked with
the ndika, a kind of paste made from the seed of the wild mango fruit;
this was put close to me, Quengueza never touching the buffalo meat,
some of his ancestors having long ago given birth to a buffalo (at least
so he said), and his clan, the Abouya, never taste buffalo.
[Sidenote: _QUENGUEZA AS A GOURMAND._]
Then came a dish of smoked mongon (otter); another of antelope, called
kambi, and a beautiful little gazelle, called ncheri. These meats had
all been smoked a long time. In the centre there were two huge baskets
of plantains, which were to be used as bread.
Do not think this is the end of the bill of fare. The fishes are still
to come, as well as other African dainties.
An enormous dish of manatee was next brought in, which was immediately
followed by another dish of boiled mullet. Then came some land and water
turtles. I wondered why a boiled snake had not made its appearance, and
also some roast gorilla and chimpanzee, these to be surrounded by a few
mice and rats. But these are entirely Bakalai dishes, no Commi eating
those animals.
It was a sumptuous feast. Obindji was in his glory, and the drummers
sang, “Who can give such a feast to the Ntangani except Obindji? Obindji
has a fetich”—they continued singing—“that makes the wild beasts come to
him, the fish come to him, the white man come to him!”
Quengueza was seated on one side and I on the other, and round us stood
the twenty wives and Obindji’s slaves, to wait upon us. Quengueza, who
is a great gourmand, took a glance at every dish before him and
concluded that he would go into the manatee first, then he would follow
up with some fish, and then would pitch into the fat monkey, finishing
up with antelope; and he said to me, in his bland and kind manner, that
if there was room left he would eat some ncheri (gazelle), but he
intended specially to go into the wild boar and the manatee to his
heart’s content. “Then,” said he, close to my ear, “you will give me a
little glass of brandy.”
I thought I would taste a little of every thing, and bring my stomach to
its utmost capacity. Though it was against etiquette, for Obindji could
not eat with Quengueza, I told him we had better invite friend Obindji.
We called the good fellow, and made him sit with us amid the abundant
cheer round us, for all were as merry as they could be.
His Bakalai Majesty was quite proud to eat with a fork which I presented
him.
Since Obindji was to eat with us, an addition to the bill of fare—a dish
of boiled gorilla—came for his especial benefit; also a dish made of
part of a large snake cooked in leaves, the smell of which made
Obindji’s mouth water.
The people all round us were eating. The first mouthful I put into my
mouth caused cheer after cheer to go up. “The ntanga is eating! The
ntanga is eating of the elephant!” For I thought I would begin with King
Elephant.
It was a pretty tough piece of meat, I assure you; the grain was very
coarse, and the meat was somewhat tasteless and rather dry. The boiled
elephant’s foot was better, and I rather liked it. The elephant meat I
did not like; it was really too tough.
Obindji recommended to me a bit of crocodile, and the wife who had
cooked it said she had been very careful that there was plenty of
Cayenne pepper and of lemon juice, and she was sure the broth was
excellent. I must say I did not like the idea of eating of the
crocodile, but I wanted to know how it tasted. The flesh was very
white—somewhat fishy, I thought—and the grain of the meat coarse. I did
not like either the broth or meat. The former was so terribly hot with
Cayenne pepper that it tasted of nothing else. I was glad to get through
with the crocodile.
[Sidenote: _MONKEY, BOAR, AND BUFFALO MEAT._]
The monkey was perfectly delicious; I had not enjoyed any thing so much
for a long time, despite his looking so much like a roasted baby. I am
sure no venison at home could have tasted better.
The wild boar was so terribly high that I backed out, but friend
Quengueza thought it was exquisite; and when he had finished eating it,
he told Obindji’s head-wife to keep what was left for him, as he
intended to eat the whole of it. At the same time he got up as if he
wanted to stiffen himself for more food, and then sat down, saying that
he was ready to go on again.
Just for fun I offered to friend Quengueza a piece of the tongue of the
buffalo and part of his boiled rib. The old chief recoiled, for none of
his clan (the Abouya), as I have said, can eat of this meat, for they
have a legend that once one of their clan gave birth to such an animal;
and if they were to eat of it disease would creep upon them, they would
die, and their women would give birth again to such a monster. Quengueza
told Obindji that the vessels that cooked the buffalo must be broken,
for fear that his wives might cook his food in them.
Every clan has some kind of animal they do not eat. Quengueza assured me
that when a boy he saw a woman who had given birth to a crocodile. I
scarcely touched the buffalo meat; the otter I did not like. When I came
to the antelope my appetite had gone, to my great sorrow, for I am very
fond of this dish. I finished up my dinner with a slice of pine-apple. I
doubt very much if a more curious dinner could be given anywhere.
[Illustration: [Fleuron]]