* * * * *
Religion — Laws — Government — Amusements, &c. of the Natives from
Badagry to Soccatoo — Slavery in the interior countries — Timidity of
the people — State of the arts amongst them — Dry and wet seasons.
The religion of the natives from Badagry to Soccatoo is either
Mohammedism or Paganism; or, as it frequently appeared to us, a mixture
of both, so nicely blended, as to make it impossible to ascertain with
accuracy which belief had the ascendancy. Idols, or figures of birds,
beasts, and reptiles, are worshipped in Badagry, Jannah, and Yaribas
exclusively, while in the kingdoms of Borghoo, Nyffé, and Houssa,
Islamism prevails in a greater or less degree.
The professors of the former faith have a vague and indistinct notion of
one great Being reigning above the skies, who is infinitely superior to
every other in the nature of his attributes, and the extent of his power
and influence. To this unknown God they pay divine adoration, through
the medium of insignificant and inanimate objects, by the offering up of
sacrifices to the latter, under the belief that the Great Spirit exists
at so immeasurable a distance from them, and his time is so much
employed in other and more important matters, that he cannot listen to
the prayers of every individual. In consequence of this he appoints
innumerable subordinate agents and machines, who aid and assist him, and
minister to the affairs of mankind. They believe also in the existence
of a powerful malevolent Spirit, who endeavours to counteract the good
deeds of the Most High by every means, and is the author of all the
mischief that annoys them. The people stand in the greatest dread of the
power and machinations of this terrible demon, and strive to avert his
wrath, and conciliate his favour, by oblations of dogs, sheep, and, in
many cases, of human beings. Fetish-huts are the temples of their
worship, which are regarded with superstitious awe by rich and poor; and
are each furnished with one or more priests, who alone are acquainted
with the mysteries of their religion. Some of the people are very
sincere in their devotional exercises, which are energetic and simple;
whilst many pay little respect to the exterior forms of worship, openly
ridiculing those who profess a greater share of sanctity than
themselves; and, whenever they are unsuccessful in their pursuits and
enterprizes, even belabour their household gods without mercy. They
entertain also an idea that the soul hovers round the scenes it had
known in the body, for an indefinite length of time; but that it is
ultimately conducted to a place of happiness or misery; a kind of heaven
for the peaceable, and hell for the turbulent, according to the deeds it
has suggested in this life, and there to remain everlastingly. Both
Mohammedan and Pagan attach miraculous qualities to fetishes or charms,
which to them are an effectual panoply against every danger; sometimes a
chief or great man is actually covered with them from head to foot, and
in this state considers himself as secure as Achilles in his armour. I
have often been urged to discharge a pistol, loaded with ball, at the
breast of an individual thus supernaturally defended, but it is
unnecessary to say that I never risked the men’s lives at the expence of
their ignorance and credulity, having endeavoured in every instance,
although unsuccessfully, to persuade them out of their superstitious
prejudices by less dangerous experiments. The natives appear to have no
gloomy foreboding as the hour of death approaches; nor do they, as I had
often been given to understand, anticipate dissolution with any symptoms
of fear or alarm.
Those who profess the Mohammedan religion amongst the negroes are as
ignorant and superstitious as their idolatrous brethren; nor does it
appear that their having adopted a new creed has either improved their
manners, or bettered their state and condition in life. On the contrary,
I have generally found the followers of the Prophet to be less
hospitable to strangers, less kind to each other, and infinitely more
mischievous and wicked than the heathen portions of the community, whom
they, whimsically enough, affect to despise as rude barbarians, although
_their_ claims to superior intelligence are grounded simply on the oral
communications of the principles of the Koran, received from time to
time from the wandering Moors and Arabs; or from traditionary legends of
their country. The artful Arabian, however, withholds from them a full
half of the little he himself may be acquainted with, taking care to
teach them no more than is absolutely necessary to promote his own
views, and enlarge his own interests. The Mohammedan negroes go through
their ablutions regularly, and when water is not to be obtained, make
use of sand, as the Koran enjoins. The Tuaricks, or “Bereberes,”
(Children of the Desert,) adopt the latter method on all occasions, the
trouble of applying water, even when they have abundance within their
reach, being too irksome and unpleasant for them.
The Falatahs, who profess Islamism, understand and make use of a few
Arabic prayers, but the negro that can utter so long a sentence as: “_La
illah el Allah rasoul allahi!_” (There is but one God, and Mohammed is
his prophet,) is styled _mallam_, or learned, and is regarded with looks
of respect and reverence by his less intelligent countrymen. These
mallams are scattered in great numbers over the country, and procure an
easy and respectable subsistence by making fetishes, or writing charms
on bits of wood, which are washed off carefully into a bason, and drunk
with avidity by the credulous multitude, who consider the dirty water
used in the operation as a panacea for every disease and affliction. As
the office of mallam, which answers to that of priest in Catholic
countries, is one of great sanctity as well as considerable emolument,
every one burns with impatience to get initiated into its sacred
mysteries, and enjoy a like comfortable and indolent life as the mallams
themselves; for a learned man never toils or spins, but is bountifully
fed, and pampered in luxury by his lay countrymen. Every caravan is
furnished with one or more of these corpulent drones, who loll at their
ease, while their employers are at the same time, perhaps, actually
killing themselves with over-exertion.
Few of the negroes can articulate in Arabic more than the word “Allah,”
or “Bismillah,” believing that the frequent repetition of the former of
these expressions can absolve them from all sin, without any further
demonstration of their zeal and sincerity. Even after the committal of a
capital offence, should the criminal be almost immediately executed, and
“Allah!” is heard to tremble on his closing lips, the multitude firmly
believe that his soul will inevitably be conveyed to the third Heaven,
and be happy for evermore.
Swarms of sheriffs, or emirs, the real or fictitious descendants of
Mohammed and Ali, have crossed the desert, and practice their
disgraceful impositions to so great an extent, that the eyes of the
natives are partially opened to their chicanery, and they are often
regarded as characters with whom it would be dangerous to meddle.
The belief in the “Evil Eye,” is equally common with Mohammedan as
Pagan, and this superstition, borrowed from the Moors, has lost none of
its fearful interest by being transplanted to a foreign soil. If
sickness of any kind visits a child before it has attained the age of
three or four years, then say the people the “Evil Eye, is fixed upon
it,” and the relatives of the afflicted infant endeavour to avert the
wasting glance of the malevolent and unseen spirit by sacrifices of
birds, and various other means.
Mallams from Houssa reside in almost every town of consequence through
which we passed on our journey into the interior,—propagating their
religion, and teaching the inhabitants to read and write as much as they
themselves know. The Mohammedan faith is spreading daily and rapidly by
this means, particularly in Nyffé, hundreds of the natives of that
kingdom having lost sight of their ancient prejudices, and the religion
of their forefathers, and embraced the more congenial tenets of
Islamism. In some cities or towns, however, these mallams have been very
roughly handled by the people, and many of them have lost their lives in
disseminating, with too great eagerness, their opinions amongst the
worshippers of idols. As an instance of this, five holy men, two or
three of whom were Arab emirs, visited Katunga, the capital of Yariba, a
few years since, and immediately began to spread the dogmas of their
faith amongst the inhabitants, publicly teaching their children to read
the Koran, &c. The priests of the fetish, who, in regard to their
religious observances, surprizingly resemble the Druids of England
before the Conquest, became sensibly alarmed at the rapid progress of
another and strange belief, so inimical to their best interests, and
tending to the injury, if not the complete overthrow, of the power and
influence which they themselves and their ancestors had exercised for a
series of ages over the minds and actions of the votaries of Paganism.
They went in a body to their monarch, the present king, threatening him
with the loss of his empire, if he persisted in tolerating the religious
principles broached by the mallams. This denunciation so intimidated the
superstitious prince, that he was frightened into a compliance with
their wishes of appointing a day, or rather night, for the assassination
of the unsuspecting Mussulmans, which was accordingly carried into
execution, and Ben Gumso, my old friend in Soccatoo, was the only one
amongst the number who escaped with life. This learned Arab was indebted
to one of the wives of his Yaribean majesty, for his flight and
preservation. Having overheard part of the conversation between her
royal consort and the fetish-priests, and entertaining some share of
veneration for the expounders of a doctrine she secretly approved of, as
well as feeling compassion for them, in consequence of their
premeditated massacre, the queen embraced the earliest opportunity of
apprizing Ben Gumso of the danger that threatened his companions and
himself; but this being done only a few seconds before the execution of
the sentence, the Arab was obliged to elope in a state of nudity from
his house, without having leisure to bestow a single thought on his ill-
fated associates.
From that period a mallam has never ventured to enter the gates of
Katunga, and the Mohammedan religion was soon forgotten by the people.
They have, however, penetrated beyond the empire of Yariba, two Houssa
holy men, having found their way to Jannah, the town in which Dr.
Morrison, it is said, died and was buried, and three others to Badagry;
but more of these individuals are allowed openly to profess their
religion, or teach the children of the inhabitants to read, on pain of
death; and, they are, moreover, looked upon with the greatest suspicion.
The mallams, in the latter city, were not permitted to make themselves
known to us on our journey into the interior, nor to me on my return,
till after I had swallowed the fetish-water, when they visited me with
presents of fowls, ducks, and rice, and testified the sincerest pleasure
on my answering their earnest interrogations respecting their native
country.
Nevertheless, in the course of a generation or two, I have no doubt, in
spite of every obstacle, that the religion of Mohammed, in its exterior
forms and ceremonies at least, will be universally adopted in Western
and Central Africa, to the complete discomforture of the fetish-priests
and their proselytes; and unless some unforseen convulsion arrest the
hasty and gigantic strides Islamism is making towards that consummation,
and divert the minds of the people to other objects, the period does not
seem to be very remote when Paganism will be unknown in the land.
LAWS.
In a rude state of society nothing can be more simple than the laws and
punishments of the people. In several of the Pagan countries of the
interior of Africa, having no written code, the natives appoint elders
to administer justice, at the head of whom the King, or chief, generally
presides. In petty cases, such as trifling assaults and other
misdemeanors, the parties concerned compromise the matter without
referring it to the general assembly. In Badagry the fetish-priests are
the sole judges of the people, and the statutes of their country, like
those of the Druids, are recorded in their own breasts only,
consequently they are mostly swayed in their decisions by interest, or
influenced by prejudice and passion; but in no instance are they
murmured against by either plaintiff or defendant.
Murder, adultery, and theft, are the most general crimes, and in many
African countries are punishable with death, banishment, or perpetual
imprisonment. In Yariba and Nyffé, the relatives of a murdered man may,
and often do, accept of a sum of money, named by them, from the
criminal, which is considered equivalent to corporal punishment. In
Badagry, Borghoo, and Houssa, however, an individual guilty of slaying a
free man, if apprehended, instantly loses his life, and his body is left
to be devoured by vultures.
In cases of adultery, the injured husband is at liberty to do what he
pleases with his unfaithful partner, even to the taking away her life;
and if her seducer has not money enough at his disposal to satisfy the
former for the loss of his honor, the same punishment may be inflicted
upon him also. The extreme rigor of the laws on this head occasions
instances of adultery to be exceedingly rare in every other country but
Borghoo, where the punishment attending it being infinitely less rigidly
exacted, the offence is more generally prevalent.
Theft, in Nyffé, is punished by imprisonment of the party or parties;
and in all aggravated cases the criminal is confined in irons, in a
large gloomy dungeon, for a given number of years, where he is compelled
to labour in various avocations till the expiration of the term
expressed in his sentence. In Yariba the crime of stealing, owing to the
dreadful severity of punishment that awaits delinquents, is by no means
common among the people. Free men, found guilty of larceny, are operated
upon, and retained by the king or his chiefs as guardians for their
numerous wives. In this state they are equal in value to five prime
slaves; and it makes no difference if the thief be the father of a large
family, or the husband of many females, and respectable as to wealth and
connections,—the sentence is on all occasions rigorously enforced. Those
who effect robberies of greater magnitude, or burglaries (if free men),
are chastised in the same singular manner, after which the tattoo mark
of their country is cancelled (consisting simply of having the face cut
and gashed in a thousand places), that of another nation substituted,
and when partially recovered from the effects of the wounds, the
miserable wretches are driven, like beasts, to the sea-coast, and sold
into perpetual slavery. _Slaves_ guilty of theft, or indeed of almost
any other crime, are uniformly decapitated in Yariba, without the
benefit of trial; whereas all free men are judged impartially by the
elders of the people in the hearing of the king, in the palaver-house,
or hall of council.
Yarro, ruler of Khiama, a province of Borghoo, encourages theft, by
appropriating part of the stolen property to his own use, which is
generally presented to him by the robber in person; but if an
individual, after being successful in a depredation, forgets or refuses
to tender the accustomed portion of the spoil to his sovereign, he is
immediately beheaded, and the whole of his property falls to the king.
On my return to that country I was informed by several of the natives,
that as soon as their prince heard of our approaching his territories
from Yariba, he caused a proclamation to be issued in every town through
which we were expected to pass, prohibiting the inhabitants from
stealing even a needle from the white men, and threatening with death
every one that infringed this law. To this wholesome and timely
declaration of Yarro I attribute the great respect in which our persons
were held by the multitude, and the reverence with which they regarded
our property and effects.
In Yariba and Borghoo, as well as in several other countries, when women
find themselves _enceintes_, they must immediately inform their husbands
of the circumstance; or in attempt at concealment, are publicly flogged.
The same punishment is also inflicted on females who are known to
associate with the other sex before the expiration of three years after
the birth of an infant, that being the period mothers are obliged to
suckle their offspring.
GOVERNMENT.
The government of Badagry, Yariba, Nyffé, and Houssa, is a perfect and
unlimited despotism, the sovereigns of those countries exercising
absolute power over the lives and property of their subjects, as well as
the privilege of enacting the most arbitrary laws, and other acts
peculiar to the kingly office. The government of Borghoo, however,
partakes more of the nature of a limited monarchy than of real
despotism, the people sharing, in some degree, in the management of the
state, through the representation of the chiefs or elders of towns, who,
like the feudal barons of England in the reign of John, have
considerable influence with their sovereign, and are consulted in all
affairs of consequence. These chiefs, themselves, are oftentimes
factious and turbulent, fomenting innumerable broils and wranglings
amongst the people in their respective jurisdictions, to gratify with a
better grace their own private feelings of resentment, and to disturb
the public peace by arbitrary and unlawful proceedings. The people of
Boussa, the principal state in Borghoo, together with those of its
sister provinces of Youri, Wow Wow, and Khiama, are indebted to the
Bornouese for their origin; or at least the traditions of the natives
intimate that Borghoo was colonized from Bornou at a remote era, in
which opinion all classes implicitly believe; and, like the
Carthaginians of old, the people of the former kingdom are not forgetful
of their derivation, but send annually a number of presents by way of
acknowledgment to their ancient country; although of late years, owing
to the disturbances of the Falatahs, the accustomed presents have not
been received in Bornou with the same punctuality as formerly.
AMUSEMENTS.
The recreations of the Africans are few and simple. At Wow Wow horse-
racing takes place every Friday, (the Mohammedan Sabbath,) immediately
after the compliments of the day are over. The course, which is a mile
in length, is kept clean and free from grass, &c. by persons appointed
for that purpose by the king; and the race is extremely well contested,
exciting amongst the people generally as lively an interest as the same
sport does in the minds of my own countrymen. The competitors are
oftentimes twelve or fourteen in number, and the rider of the swiftest
horse obtains no other reward than the honor of the deed itself, and the
privilege of _dancing_, at the conclusion of the game, with the king,
queens, and princesses of Wow Wow! The inhabitants, on these occasions,
attire themselves in their gayest apparel, and, in the evening,
assembling in groups in different parts of the town, pass many an hour
in singing, dancing, and carousing, till, towards morning, they go tipsy
to bed. Horse-racing is, I believe, peculiar to Wow Wow; for in no other
African country that I have heard of (except perhaps Khiama), or that
came within the reach of my own observation, is a similar amusement
preserved. The people of Borghoo divert themselves by playing at a kind
of chequers, and throwing cowries from a certain distance into a hole
previously dug in the earth; the latter amusement is somewhat similar to
our “pitch and toss,” and is cultivated by all ranks and both sexes with
uncommon ardour. In addition to these pastimes, the higher orders spend
whole days in hunting and fishing.
SONGS, MUSIC, &c.
If the character of a nation may be judged of by its Songs, the Africans
undoubtedly would be pronounced as the boldest and most martial, as well
as the most amorous people, on the face of the globe. Their strains
breathe nothing but love and war, and contempt of death; but their
conduct, instead of corresponding with such lofty ideas, is the most
pusillanimous imaginable, scarcely one amongst them ever evincing a
solitary trait of true courage or resolution. Of all figures of speech,
they most delight in the use of the “apostrophe;” and it is not
uncommon, even but a single day after a defeat, to hear them calling
aloud on the names of their absent adversaries, and bestowing upon them
all manner of cowardly and reproachful epithets.
“Our enemies tremble and are dismayed when they hear of our approach,”
sing the people of Yariba; “and at sight of our arrows they die with
fear! See them fleeing like the doe from our fighting men! Behold them
falling down and kissing the dust from the feet of our warriors! Haste,
haste, Yaribeans! pursue and overtake your enemies; slay them without
mercy; stop their voices, that they sing no more at eventide by the
light of the moon; they are swift of foot, but they shall not escape
you; they are already weary; their journey of life is almost at an end;
they have fallen to the earth, and will dance no more. Weep, ye widows
of Houssa, and let the lamentations of your children be heard in the
land, for they are fatherless, and your husbands have been pierced by
the lance of Yariba! They are clothed in darkness, as the noon in a
storm. Who can tell whither their spirits are wandering? Weep, ye widows
of Houssa; but your tears flow in vain; your husbands will return no
more!”
This is the nature of the strains sung by the females of Katunga,
(principally the king’s wives,) at the celebration of their solemn
feasts and festivals: the Houssans (or rather the Falatahs of that
country) being their most inveterate enemies, are on all occasions the
subject of their poetry, and are made to flee from the Yaribeans in
imagination, whilst in reality they are worsted in every engagement.
Their social and domestic songs, however, are delivered in recitative,
(as are likewise those of the people of Borghoo,) and are the reverse of
their public and national ones. The young females in both kingdoms that
may happen to have strong clear voices, are generally selected as wives,
or rather concubines, for the ruling monarchs. Their office is
principally to attend on the king’s person, and sing and fan him to
sleep, and the ladies consume great part of the day in these avocations;
to vary which they sometimes play music and whistle for a long time
together. These ladies also dally with their sovereign, by flinging
their arms round his neck, arranging his sable locks with their fingers,
playing the fool with his face, and a thousand other fantastic
inventions to amuse him, such as the sex know so well how to avail
themselves of all over the world. It is the custom in Europe for
gentlemen to flatter the graces of the fair sex, whereas in Africa the
practice is completely reversed; for the most extravagant encomiums are
lavished on the beauty and blandishments of mankind by the gentler part
of the creation.
The following imperfect translation of a song, recited by his young
wives, to the sovereign of Khiama, may serve as a specimen of the whole
of their amatory poetry:—
“Yarrow is fair among men: he shines like a star of the night; who so
beautiful as Yarrow? His eyes have greater lustre than the
antelope’s—more ardour than a young lion’s, when he captures his prey.
His form is elegant as the palm-tree; he is gentle as a kid when she
follows her dam. But Yarrow is brave in fight; his enemies tremble at
the sound of his name, as a leaf shaken by the wind; they fall to the
earth beneath the power of his arm, for he is a mountain of strength.
The turtle dove is not so affectionate as our king; doth he not cherish
his wives and concubines? Who so lovely as Yarrow? When he is pleased,
the moon is not so mild as the light of his countenance; but when he
frowns, who shall withstand his wrath? His face lowers like the clouds
of heaven in a tempest; O, he is terrible in battle! Awake and be glad,
ye daughters of Khiama; sing, ye sons, to the praise of our lord, for he
is fair as the morning, and his countenance is like the sun in his
strength. He is fair among men; who so beautiful as Yarrow?”
It would be as difficult to detach singing and dancing from the
character of an African, as to change the colour of his skin. I do not
think he would live a single week in his own country without
participating in these his favourite amusements; to deprive him of which
would be indeed worse than death. In every _grade_ of society, from the
monarch to the meanest slave, he is also fond of instrumental music,
even to a passion, and a European fiddler (provided he be not blind,)
with no very extraordinary pretensions to excellence in his profession,
might travel with ease and comfort, even if he were destitute of a
single cowry, from Badagry to Bornou. He would be received every where
with open arms, lodged in palaces, and sumptuously fed; although he
might, perhaps, feel some trifling inconvenience from excess of
kindness, and compulsory detention for a day or two in the principal
cities. But, notwithstanding their strong partiality for this kind of
music, the instruments of the Africans are of the rudest description. A
large drum, made from the trunk of a tree, and covered with sheep-skin;
a long brass trumpet, from Barbary; the Arab fiddle, and a kind of
dulcimer, formed of bamboo, and played upon with two little sticks, are
great favorites in all the interior countries. The people have also
guitars, bag-pipes, and tubes of iron, which answer the purpose of tin
plates, the sound produced being very similar to the noise of those
instruments; but a little flute, like a child’s penny whistle in
England, is most admired by the Africans; and of all their music this is
certainly the most harmonious. Yet even on these instruments they
perform most vilely, and produce a horribly discordant noise, which may,
perhaps, be delightful to their own ears; but to strangers, if they have
the misfortune to be too near the performers, no sounds can be more
harsh and disagreeable than such a concert.
Of all the amusements of the Africans, none can equal their song and
dance in the still, clear hours of night, when the moon, walking in
beauty in the heavens, awakens all the milder affections of their
nature, and invites them to gladness and mirth. As soon as this splendid
luminary appears above the horizon, every individual, both slave and
free, is on the alert,—some to fetch wood from a neighbouring forest,
and others to procure provisions in the village; and forming themselves
in a circle, generally round a venerable tree, they prepare large fires,
in order to frighten away any wild beasts that may be prowling near the
spot, and begin their country dance, which does not differ from one
extremity of the continent to the other. I have often been a party to
these innocent entertainments, which are frequently kept up with
inconceivable spirit and agility, till the approach of morning; and as
often been delighted with the perfect harmony and kindly feeling that
prevailed amongst the dancers. It produces a pleasing and romantic
effect, to observe the silvery light of the moon, blending with the
radiance of the flames, and thrown upon the sable countenances of the
happy group,—as well as the lengthened reflection of the majestic tree
cast along the ground, and the moving figures, gliding like shadows
across it.
On these occasions all care is completely laid aside, and every one
delivers himself up to the dissipation of the moment, without a thought
of the morrow, his heart having no _vacuum_ for melancholy
anticipations. During the intervals of the dance and song, the party
either eat and drink, or re-kindle the fires, after which they begin
again with renewed ardour. Their songs are composed extempore by one of
the party, who recites to his or her companions, and they all join in
the strain. They do not contain many poetical beauties, but allude
generally to the dancers themselves, to the dread of wild beasts, or
commands or entreaties for a particular person to fetch wood. The
following, sung in my presence, may serve as a translated specimen of
all of them:—
Come, let us join the dance and song,
The moon is bright in heaven;
No anxious cares to us belong,
To cloud this lovely even.
The white man midst our festive glee—
Forgets his father-land;
And the group laughs around our tree
By gentle zephyrs fann’d.
Haste, Nalla,[7] to yon forest shade,
And feed the flickering flame;
How swiftly flies the panting maid
To earn a deathless name![8]
The panther’s yell—the lion’s roar—
Resound from wood to wood;
How gladly would they spill our gore!
How gladly lap our blood!
But we are safe—they dare not come
To mar our evening sport;
Scared by the fire, or sounding drum,
They other pleasures court.
Then join the merry dance and song;
The moon is high in heaven;
No anxious cares to us belong,
To cloud this lovely even.
When heard at a distance, in the midst of solitary woods, the vocal
music of the natives has a pleasing plaintive effect, equalling in
softness any I have heard in more civilized countries; and Captain
Clapperton and myself used to remain awake in our tent for hours
together, listening to its melancholy strains.
It is not to be expected that after these midnight revelries the people
are in a condition to rise at a very early hour; indeed the generality
of Africans are constitutionally inclined to indolence, a disease which
the relaxing nature of their climate by no means tends to lessen; and
when not _obliged_ to labour, they feel no desire to over-exert
themselves, or to shake off their drowsiness, except from a call of
necessity. Their soil, in fact, in most parts is so surprisingly rich
and productive, as to supersede the necessity of that laborious manual
exertion which the cultivation of it requires in many other regions; and
in the absence of all intellectual amusements, they dole away the sultry
hours of noon in sleeping, lounging about from place to place,
gossiping, smoking, or drinking.
SLAVERY.
Slavery, from time immemorial, has flourished in every nation and
amongst every people in the interior countries, and seems to be
implanted so deeply in the soil, that the slightest hope cannot be
entertained of its being speedily outrooted. The slave, however, in most
interior districts, is treated with infinitely greater lenity and
kindness than among the less civilized natives of the sea coast; and the
condition of the slaves of European planters is not to be compared with
his, for happiness and comfort. If his character be good, and his
honesty unquestioned, the slave of the African is admitted into the
house of his master, placed on an equality with himself and male
children, thrusts his hand into the same bowl of tuah as they, shares
their confidence, and participates in all their pleasures and
amusements. An instance is never known of a dependant, having an
unblemished character, and active industrious habits, being sent to the
coast, to be sold; in fact, every one considers this to be the greatest
punishment that can be inflicted upon him,—the idea of the whites eating
their countrymen, and dyeing their clothes red with their blood, being
as general and as deeply-rooted as in the nations through which Mr. Park
travelled twenty or thirty years ago. Those sent to the sea-side from
the interior are invariably the scum and refuse of the
country,—freebooters, lawless refractory fellows, adulterers, and even
murderers. Upon the whole, I should consider the situation of the
domestic slave of Africa (their relative feelings compared), to be more
enviable than that of the household servant of Europe, inasmuch as a
feeling of dependence never enters the mind of the former, and, as it
has already been observed, he is placed in almost every respect on an
equality with his master.
Nature has wisely endowed the African with a buoyant, cheerful, happy
temper; so that no calamity, however great,—no grief, however
poignant,—is capable of making a deep or lasting impression on his mind.
He does indeed display a lively natural feeling when his infant children
are snatched forcibly from his embraces, or he himself torn from his
home, and kindred, and village-tree, to gaze upon strange faces, and
wander amongst foreign scenes; but this emotion is as evanescent as a
flash of lightning; he knows no fixed lasting sorrow; past misfortunes
are quickly swallowed up in present enjoyment, while anticipations of
the future have no power to harass and perplex him, because it is
painful for him to think at all, and he does _not_ think. I have often
seen disobedient slaves, and slaves offered for sale, singing in chains
and dancing in fetters, suffering at the same time under a loathsome
disease, and an accumulation of misery, the very _thoughts_ of which
would melt, even to tears, a sympathizing English philanthropist! For
their parts, they hardly know what a bitter moment is, and enjoy
themselves, although under such apparently overwhelming circumstances,
with as keen a zest as if they had been surrounded by their friends and
companions, and dancing by the light of the moon, underneath the
branches of their favourite tree. In their toilsome journeyings from one
part of the country to another, it must be admitted that the _captured_
slaves undergo incredible hardships; yet when even they arrive at the
end of their march, all their woes are buried for ever in a calabash of
_pitto_ or _otée_, and they are as merry and thoughtless a day or two
afterwards as they ever were.
On the coast, however, things wear a different and far less agreeable
aspect; the slaves there are mostly captured from the neighbouring
states, and, suddenly losing their darling amusements, become melancholy
and pensive on shipboard. The confined, impure air of the vessel
augments their sufferings; and when, after landing on an unknown, and to
them an unlovely soil, they writhe in agony under the excoriating lash
of the unfeeling planter, because they _cannot_ work, is it to be
marvelled at that, driven to almost desperation, they become morose,
unsociable, and headstrong? I have often been a reluctant witness to
such disgraceful spectacles, and wondered it was in the power of a human
creature to undergo so rigorous a punishment without a murmur.
TIMIDITY OF THE NATIVES.
A vein of _true_ courage does not exist, I really believe, in any
individual of the nations we visited. In most savage and half-civilized
countries, such as the Tonga Islands, and the rarely frequented
districts of North America, for instance, sparks of noble resolution and
greatness of soul are oftentimes observable in the natives: but the
timidity of the African character is every where apparent. The eyes of
the Gooberites, as well as those of the people of Borghoo, not
unfrequently flash with a wild expression of ferocity, and their actions
sometimes correspond with this indication of a barbarous nature, but it
is not _courage_, and gradually fades at the approach of real danger.
The people rarely make an attack on each other, or on a common enemy,
excepting when they have a decided superiority of numbers, or are placed
under circumstances peculiarly favourable to their operations; and even
when this is the case, they are more mindful of individual safety than
the general welfare, trusting rather to their heels than their arms to
make good their retreat, if the least danger threatens them. They have
no tradition of a chief amongst them that possessed, when living, a
calm, unshrinking, persevering spirit; their greatest leaders now (as in
former years) being all of one stamp, revengeful and passionate in war,
and if not successful on the first onset, like the lion, making rarely a
second spring. The Falatahs, who claim all the bravery to themselves,
are to a man dastardly poltroons, and have met with their astonishing
good fortune,—not by open, manly courage, but by treachery, deceit, and
cunning—by imposing on the superstitious fears of the simple aborigines,
and by artfully insinuating themselves into the good opinion of the very
people it was their secret intention to enslave, and, like the adder in
the fable, watching the opportunity to bite the hand that nourished
them. It would not be well to say that they have greater positive
courage than the negro, but they have less pusillanimity and more
shrewdness than he. Not all the glowing pleasures after death, which the
religion of the Falatah teaches him to expect—not the unshaken belief in
predestination that prompts the gloomy and enthusiastic Turk to rush
headlong upon his fate—not the promised enjoyment for ever of the
seventy-two lovely _houris_ awarded to those that fall in the cause of
Mohammed—not even the fearful and tremendous war-cry of his countrymen,
“Allah Ackbar!” (God is victorious!) has the power of arousing the
energies of the Falatah, or inspiring him with ardour and impetuosity in
the fight. Securely shielded, as he fancies himself to be, from the
effects of the arrows and spears of his adversary, by wearing thickly-
quilted armour, and fortifying himself with Arab charms, the Falatah may
indeed exhibit an air of defiance for a time; but if any thing occurs to
stagger his faith in the virtue of his ægis, off he scampers, without
considering the example he sets his companions, and does not stop till
he is far beyond the reach of even imaginary danger!
THE ARTS, &c.
Of the imitative arts, painting and sculpture, the Falatah understands
absolutely nothing; indeed, the former art is almost entirely unknown in
the interior, whilst the latter, however, is practised amongst the
natives of Jannah, Yariba, and Borghoo, who have a natural fondness for
it, and produce various specimens that evince considerable skill in the
artist. Figures of men, as well as those of snakes, crocodiles, &c. are
carved in bas-relief by them; and, contrasting the rudeness of the
instruments used, with the fineness and delicacy of some of the
indentions, it excites one’s admiration for their persevering industry
and ingenious labours. The people are acquainted with many of the useful
arts, such as working in iron, tanning, dyeing, &c. The smiths are
surprisingly skilful in their profession, and fuse and fashion iron into
all manner of forms with extraordinary ease and dispatch. Hundreds of
these useful artizans are scattered over the country, and Nyffé in
particular swarms with them; they are universally respected, and treated
with the utmost deference by every rank.
The variety of the dyes of the Africans has been often remarked, and the
richness and beauty which they maintain, notwithstanding constant
exposure to the elements, elicit the admiration of even Europeans. The
exquisite colour of native cottons, in particular, is unrivalled; and
the art of dyeing is carried to as great a height of perfection in many
countries in the interior as in the more enlightened portions of the
world. The art of tanning is also carried on with equal spirit and
success; and the leather dressed by the natives is equal, if not
superior, to that manufactured in England. Saddlers, shoemakers, and
tailors, are to be met with in most nations in Africa, and for ingenuity
in their respective trades, yield to few.
A smithy in Nyffé, &c. is very similar to that which has been described
in the celebrated narrative of Mr. Park’s first journey into the
interior of Africa. The process of the fusion and fashioning of iron is
exceedingly simple; and notwithstanding the very few tools that are used
by working smiths, their quickness and ingenuity cannot be excelled,
even by a European professing the same trade, and who has the advantages
afforded by an acquaintance with all the rules of art.
DRY AND WET SEASONS, &c.
The air, especially in the dry season, is oppressively hot; and if a
mist or haze that sometimes hangs between the earth and sky, did not
intercept the sun’s rays, it would be wholly insupportable. The African
sky seldom displays the clear, rich ether, or the beautiful and
evanescent touches of the Italian; but if the appearance of the heavens
be less lovely to the sight in the former country, by the existence of
vapoury clouds in the air, the heat is rendered infinitely more
tolerable by the same cause. Towards the latter part of the dry season,
and all nature seems parched while withering (except on the margins of
rivers), the earth is literally baked as hard as flint, while the birds
and beasts, fluttering and panting in the shades, by their cries and
moans seem to bewail the absence of rain. But no sooner does the wet
season set in, than vegetation suddenly springing up, bursts into being;
a fresh and redundant luxuriance of life breathes and floats around; the
hills and dales are covered with a delightful verdure; the earth, the
air, the sky, seem smiling in joy, and refreshed into gladness and
beauty. Every thing looks cheerful and attractive: the horned cattle
gambol on the plains, and the sheep and goats frisk on the slopes of
mountains and hills; man himself appears animated with a new existence;
pleasure swells in his veins, and dances on his countenance, and he
enters cordially into the enjoyment which every province of nature
invites him to partake in common with itself. This is generally during
the intervals of the showers; it rather _floods_ than _rains_ in Africa,
and continues without intermission for the space of twelve hours, when
it suddenly stops, and a cessation of rain for twenty-four hours not
unfrequently takes place.
The sun setting in Africa is a grand and magnificent object; he then
appears shorn of his beams, and may be gazed at by the naked eye for any
length of time, without our experiencing a single painful sensation in
that delicate organ. When he sinks below the horizon, he looks like a
huge sphere of burning gold, and the hills (if any) towards the west
seem as if on fire by the vivid reflection of his rays. Twilight is of
short duration, and if the moon does not shine, darkness soon covers the
earth like a veil. In no other country have I seen such cloudless,
lovely nights, or so mildly beautiful a moon. I do not wonder that the
natives sometimes adore her; she possesses a soothing, softening
influence, of which they themselves are susceptible; and there is
certainly something more captivating in the delightful appearance of so
resplendent an orb, sailing gracefully through the purple vault of
heaven, than in the figures of disgusting reptiles and monsters which
the natives so often worship.
END OF VOL. I.
* * * * *
J. B. NICHOLS AND SON,
25, Parliament Street.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Mr. James was attacked with dysentery on his journey to
Abomey, but lived to return to Whydah, where he died. It was said that
he was assassinated by M. de Souza, but this report was not
authenticated.]
[Footnote 2: George Dawson, an English seaman, was engaged at Badagry,
as servant to Dr. Morrison, and accompanied that gentleman as far as
Enguâ, where he died.]
[Footnote 3: A ceremony very similar to that which was formerly in use
among the Jews, as may be seen by perusing the third verse of the 31st
Psalm:—“Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on
our solemn feast-day.”]
[Footnote 4: Captain Clapperton and myself procured, whilst in the
interior, two large pillows, covered with leather, and stuffed full of
hair, which we found extremely serviceable to us, in consequence of the
grateful coolness thus imparted during the warm nights of the dry
season. Instead of laying our heads on the pillow, we used to clasp it
in our arms, and, when saturated with perspiration, it was thrown aside,
till becoming dry it was again embraced.]
[Footnote 5: In some counties in England called “ague-cake,” and
supposed to arise from the effects of intermittent fevers.]
[Footnote 6: A kind of pudding made of flour, butter, and eggs.]
[Footnote 7: A female’s slave.]
[Footnote 8: The act of fetching wood in the night season, by reason of
the existence of wild beasts in the woods, is considered an enterprize
of danger; and those who accept the proposal are greatly eulogised, and
held up as examples for others to copy.]
Transcriber's note:
The changes in the ERRATA have been made.
pg 10 Changed: "of the myterious Niger" to: "mysterious"
pg 31 Changed: "slavery in in a remote region" to: "slavery in a"
pg 32 Changed: "brigantine haing been sent" to: "having"
pg 67 Changed: "were subequently conducted" to: "subsequently"
pg 127 Changed: "any of the incoveniences we had" to:
"inconveniences"
pg 146 Changed: "their strange-looking anoe" to: "canoe"
pg 150-151 Changed: "her excescessive plumpness" to: "excessive"
pg 186 Changed: "the place, amogsnt all classes" to: "amongst"
pg 199 Changed: "to migitate their sufferings" to: "mitigate"
pg 212 Changed: "head much about religous matters" to: "religious"
pg 213 Changed: "this information was comunicated" to:
"communicated"
pg 224 Changed: "The ollowing is a copy of it" to: "following"
pg 243 Changed: "infested the neigbourhood" to: "neighbourhood"
pg 300 Changed: "a bouyant, cheerful, happy temper" to: "buoyant"