[Illustration: KING MUNZA IN FULL DRESS.]
THE
HEART OF AFRICA.
THREE YEARS’ TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES
IN THE UNEXPLORED REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA.
FROM 1868 TO 1871.
BY
DR. GEORG SCHWEINFURTH.
TRANSLATED BY ELLEN E. FREWER.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY WINWOOD READE.
_IN TWO VOLUMES._
VOL. II.
WITH MAPS AND WOODCUT ILLUSTRATIONS.
LONDON:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, LOW, AND SEARLE.
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1873.
_All rights reserved._
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
CONTENTS.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XIII.
The NIAM-NIAM—Signification of the name—General characteristics—
Distinct nationality—Complexion and tattooing—Time spent on
hair-dressing—_Frisure à la gloire_—Favourite adornments—
Weapons—Soldierly bearing—A nation of hunters—Women
agriculturists—The best beer in Africa—Cultivated plants—
Domestic animals—Dogs—Preparation of maize—Cannibalism—
Analogy with the Fans of the West Coast—Architecture—Power of
the princes—Their households—Events during war—Immunity of the
white man—Wanton destruction of elephants—Bait for wild-fowl—
Arts and manufactures—Forms of greeting—Position of the women—
An African pastime—Musical taste—Professional jesters and
minstrels—Praying-machine—Auguries—Mourning for the dead—
Disposal of the dead—Genealogical table of Niam-niam
princes Page 1
CHAPTER XIV.
Mohammed’s friendship for Munza—Invitation to an audience—Solemn
escort to the royal halls—Waiting for the king—Architecture
of the halls—Grand display of ornamental weapons—Fantastic
attire of the sovereign—Features and expression—Stolid
composure—Offering gifts—_Toilette_ of Munza’s wives—The
king’s mode of smoking—Use of the cola-nut—Musical performances—
Court fool—Court eunuch—Munza’s oration—Monbuttoo hymn—
Munza’s gratitude—A present of a house—Curiosity of natives—
Skull-market—Niam-niam envoys—Fair complexion of natives—Visit
from Munza’s wives—Triumphal procession—A bath under
_surveillance_—Discovery of the sword-bean—Munza’s castle
and private apartments—Reserve on geographical subjects—
Non-existence of Piaggia’s lake—My dog exchanged for a pygmy—
Goats of the Momvoo—Extract of meat—Khartoomers’ stations
in Monbuttoo country—Mohammed’s plan for proceeding southwards—
Temptation to penetrate farther towards interior—Money and good
fortune—Great festival—Cæsar dances—Munza’s visits—The
Guinea-hog—My washing-tub 37
CHAPTER XV.
The MONBUTTOO—Previous accounts of the Monbuttoo—Population—
Surrounding nations—Neglect of agriculture—Products of the
soil—Produce of the chase—Forms of greeting—Preparation of
food—Universal cannibalism—National pride and warlike spirit—
Power of the sovereign—His habits—The royal household—Advanced
culture of the Monbuttoo—Peculiarities of race—Fair hair and
complexion—Analogy to the Fulbe—Preparation of bark—Nudity of
the women—Painting of the body—_Coiffure_ of men and women—
Mutilation not practised—Equipment of warriors—Manipulation of
iron—Early knowledge of copper—Probable knowledge of platinum—
Tools—Wood-carving—Stools and benches—Symmetry of water-
bottles—Large halls—Love of ornamental trees—Conception of
Supreme Being 80
CHAPTER XVI.
The PYGMIES—Nubian stories—Ancient classical allusions—Homer,
Herodotus, Aristotle—My introduction to Pygmies—Adimokoo
the Akka—Close questioning—War-dance—Visits from many Akka—
Mummery’s Pygmy corps—My adopted Pygmy—Nsewue’s life and death—
Dwarf races of Africa—Accounts of previous authors: Battel,
Dapper, Kölle—Analogy of Akka with Bushmen—Height and
complexion—Hair and beards—Shape of the body—Awkward gait—
Graceful hands—Form of skull—Size of eyes and ears—Lips—
Gesticulations—Dialect inarticulate—Dexterity and cunning—
Munza’s protection of the race 122
CHAPTER XVII.
Return to the North—Tikkitikki’s reluctance to start—Passage of
the Gadda—Sounding the Keebaly—The river Kahpily—Cataracts
of the Keebaly—Kubby’s refusal of boats—Our impatience—Crowds
of hippopotamuses—Possibility of fording the river—Origin and
connection of the Keebaly—Division of highland and lowland—
Geographical expressions of Arabs and Nubians—Mohammedan
perversions—Return to Nembey—Bivouac in the border-wilderness—
Eating wax—The Niam-niam declare war—Parley with the enemy—My
mistrust of the guides—Treacherous attack on Mohammed—Mohammed’s
dangerous wound—Open war—Detruncated heads—Effect of arrows—
Mohammed’s defiance—Attack on the abattis—Pursuit of the enemy—
Inexplicable appearance of 10,000 men—Waudo’s unpropitious omen—
My Niam-niam and their oracle—Mohammed’s speedy cure—Solar
phenomenon—Dogs barbarously speared—Women captured—Niam-niam
affection for their wives—Calamus—Upper course of the Mbrwole—
Fresh captive—Her composure—Alteration in scenery—Arrival at
the Nabambisso 147
CHAPTER XVIII.
Solitary days and short provisions—Productive ant-hill—Ideal
plenty and actual necessity—Attempt at epicurism—Expedition
to the east—Papyrus swamp—Disgusting food of the Niam-niam—
Merdyan’s Seriba—Hyæna as beast of prey—Losing the way—
Reception in Tuhamy’s Seriba—Scenery of Mondoo—Gyabir’s
marriage—Discovery of the source of the Dyoor—Mount Baginze—
Vegetation of mountain—Cyanite gneiss—Mohammed’s campaign
against Mbeeoh—Three Bongo missing—Skulls Nos. 36, 37, and 38—
Indifference of Nubians to cannibalism—Horrible scene—Change
in mode of living—Invasion of ants—Peculiar method of crossing
the Sway—Bad tidings—Successful chase—Extract of meat—Return
of long absent friends—Adventures of Mohammed’s detachment—Route
from Rikkete to Kanna—Disappointment with Niam-niam dog—Limited
authority of Nganye—Suspension-bridge over the Tondy 194
CHAPTER XIX.
Division of the caravan—Trip to the east—African elk—Bamboo-
forests—Seriba Mbomo on the Lehssy—Abundance of corn—Route
between Kuddoo and Mbomo—Maize-culture—Harness-bushbock—
Leopard carried in triumph—Leopards and panthers—The Babuckur—
Lips of the Babuckur women—Surprised by buffaloes—Accident in
crossing the Lehssy—Tracts of wilderness—Buffaloes in the
bush—The Mashirr hills—Tamarinds again—Wild dates—Tikkitikki
and the cows—The Viceroy’s scheme—Hunger on the march—Passage
of the Tondy—Suggestion for a ferry—Prosperity of Ghattas’s
establishments—Arrival of expected stores—A dream realised—
Trip to Kurkur—Hyæna dogs—Dislike of the Nubians to pure water—
Two soldiers killed by Dinka—Attempt to rear an elephant—My
menagerie—Accident from an arrow—Cattle plagues—Meteorology—
Trip to the Dyoor—Gyabir’s delusion—Bad news of Mohammed—
Preparations for a second Niam-niam journey 246
CHAPTER XX.
A disastrous day—Failure to rescue my effects—Burnt Seriba by
night—Comfortless bed—A wintry aspect—Rebuilding the Seriba—
Cause of the fire—Idrees’s apathy—An exceptionally wet day—
Bad news of Niam-niam expedition—Measuring distance by
footsteps—Start to the Dyoor—Khalil’s kind reception—A
restricted wardrobe—Temperature at its minimum—Corn requisitions
of Egyptian troops—Slave trade carried on by soldiers—
Suggestions for improved transport—Chinese hand-barrows—Defeat
of Khartoomers by Ndoruma—Nubians’ fear of bullets—A lion shot—
Nocturnal disturbance—Measurements of the river Dyoor—
Hippopotamus hunt—Habits of hippopotamus—Hippopotamus fat—Nile
whips—Recovery of a manuscript—Character of the Nubians—Nubian
superstitions—Strife in the Egyptian camp 289
CHAPTER XXI.
Fresh wanderings—Dyoor remedy for wounds—Crocodiles in the
Ghetty—Former residence of Miss Tinné—Dirt and disorder—The
Baggara-Rizegat—An enraged fanatic—The Pongo—Frontiers of
the Bongo and Golo—A buffalo-calf shot—Idrees Wod Defter’s
Seriba—Golo dialect—Corn magazines of the Golo—The
Kooroo—The goats’ brook—Increasing level of land—Seebehr’s
Seriba Dehm Nduggoo—Discontent of the Turks—Visit to an
invalid—Ibrahim Effendi—Establishment of the Dehms—Nubians
rivals to the slave-dealers—Population of Dar Ferteet—The
Kredy—Overland route to Kordofan—Shekka—Copper mines of
Darfoor—Raw copper 332
CHAPTER XXII.
Underwood of Cycadeæ—Peculiar mills of the Kredy—Wanderings in
the wilderness—Crossing the Beery—Inhospitable reception at
Mangoor—Numerous brooks—Huge emporium of slave-trade—Highest
point of my travels—Western limit—Gallery-woods near Dehm
Gudyoo—Scorbutic attack—Dreams and their fulfilment—Courtesy
of Yumma—Remnants of ancient mountain ridges—Upper course
of the Pongo—Information about the far west—Great river of
Dar Aboo Dinga—Barth’s investigations—Primogeniture of the
Bahr-el-Arab—First giving of the weather—Elephant-hunters from
Darfoor—The Sehre—Wild game around Dehm Adlan—Cultivated
plants of the Sehre—Magic tuber—Deficiency of water—A night
without a roof—Irrepressible good spirits of the Sehre—Lower
level of the land—A miniature mountain-range—Norway rats—
Gigantic fig-tree in Moody—The “evil eye”—Little steppe-
burning—Return to Khalil’s quarters 373
CHAPTER XXIII.
Katherine II.’s villages—Goods bartered by slave-traders—Agents
of slave-traders—Baseness of Fakis—Horrible scene—Enthusiasm
of slave-dealers—Hospitality shown to slave-dealers—Three
classes of Gellahbas—Intercourse with Mofio—Price of slaves—
Relative value of races—Private slaves of the Nubians—
Voluntary slaves—Slave-women—The murhaga—Agricultural slave-
labour—Population of the district—Five sources of the slave-
trade—Repressive measures of the Government—Slave-raids of
Mehemet Ali—Slow progress of humanity—Accomplishment of half
the work—Egypt’s mission—No co-operation from Islamism—
Regeneration of the East—Depopulation of Africa—Indignation
of the traveller—Means for suppressing the slave-trade—
Commissioners of slaves—Chinese immigration—Foundation and
protection of great States 410
CHAPTER XXIV.
Tidings of war—Two months’ hunting—Yolo antelopes—Reed-rats—
Habits of the Aulacodus—River-oysters—Soliman’s arrival—
Advancing season—Execution of a rebel—Return to Ghattas’s
Seriba—Disgusting population—Allagabo—Alarm of fire—Strange
evolutions of hartebeests—Nubian cattle-raids—Traitors among
the natives—Remains of Shol’s huts—Lepers and slaves—Ambiguous
slave-trading—Down the Gazelle—The Balæniceps again—Dying
hippopotamus—Invocation of saints—Disturbance at night—False
alarm—Taken in tow—The Mudir’s camp—Crowded boats—Confiscation
of slaves—Surprise in Fashoda—Slave-caravans on the bank—
Arrival in Khartoom—Telegram to Berlin—Seizure of my servants—
Remonstrance with the Pasha—Mortality in the fever season—
Tikkitikki’s death—Θάλαττα. θάλαττα. 443
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
(ENGRAVED BY J. D. COOPER.)
[Illustration]
PAGE
King Munza in full dress _Frontispiece_
Remarkable head-dress of the Niam-niam 7
Knives, scimitars, trumbashes, and shield of the Niam-niam 10
Niam-niam warrior 11
Niam-niam warriors _to face_ 12
Clay pipes of the Niam-niam 14
Niam-niam dog 15
Niam-niam granary 20
Bamogee: or hut for the boys 21
Niam-niam handicraft 26
Munza’s residence _to face_ 63
Breed of cattle from the Maoggoo country 64
Goat of the Momvoo 69
King Munza dancing before his wives _to face_ 74
King Munza’s dish 79
Monbuttoo warriors 103
Monbuttoo woman 105
Weapons of the Monbuttoo 107
Spear-heads 111
Hatchet, spade, and adze, of the Monbuttoo 112
Wooden kettle-drum 113
Single seat used by the women 114
Seat-rest 115
Water-bottles 116
Bomby the Akka 130
Nsewue the Akka 134
Dinka pipe 146
View on the Keebaly, near Kubby _to face_ 158
A gallery-forest _to face_ 166
Mohammed defies his enemies _to face_ 177
Our daily life in camp _to face_ 194
Suspension-bridge over the Tondy _to face_ 244
Horns of Central African Eland 249
Golo woman 350
Corn-magazine of the Golo 352
Kredy hut 375
Interior of Kredy hut 376
“Karra,” the magic tuber 399
A Bongo concert 404
Slave-traders from Kordofan _to face_ 410
Babuckur slave 420
Slave at work 424
Hunting reed-rats 447
Far-el-boos. (_Aulacodus Swinderianus_) 449
Bongo village, near Geer _to face_ 461
[Illustration:
SKETCH MAP
of
Dᴿ SCHWEINFURTH’S
ROUTES
1868-1871.
London. Sampson Low & Cᵒ. Lith. v. C. Korbgeweit, Berlin.
]
THE HEART OF AFRICA.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE NIAM-NIAM. Signification of the name. General characteristics.
Distinct nationality. Complexion and tattooing. Time spent on
hair-dressing. _Frisure à la gloire._ Favourite adornments.
Weapons. Soldierly bearing. A nation of hunters. Women
agriculturists. The best beer in Africa. Cultivated plants.
Domestic animals. Dogs. Preparation of maize. Cannibalism.
Analogy with the Fans of the West Coast. Architecture. Power
of the princes. Their households. Events during war. Immunity
of the white man. Wanton destruction of elephants. Bait for
wild-fowl. Arts and manufactures. Forms of greeting. Position
of the women. An African pastime. Musical taste. Professional
jesters and minstrels. Praying machine. Auguries. Mourning for
the dead. Disposal of the dead. Genealogical table of Niam-niam
princes.
Long before Mehemet Ali, by despatching his expeditions up the White
Nile, had made any important advance into the interior of the unknown
continent—before even a single sailing vessel had ever penetrated
the grass-barriers of the Gazelle—at a time when European travellers
had never ventured to pass the frontiers of that portion of Central
Africa which is subject to Islamism—whilst the heathen negro countries
of the Soudan were only beginning to dawn like remote nebulæ on the
undefined horizon of our geographical knowledge—tradition had already
been circulated about the existence of a people with whose name the
Mohammedans of the Soudan were accustomed to associate all the savagery
which could be conjured up by a fertile imagination. The comparison
might be suggested that just as at the present day, in civilised
Europe, questions concerning the descent of men from apes form a
subject of ordinary conversation, so at that time in the Soudan did
the Niam-niam (under the supposition that they were graced with tails)
serve as common ground for all ideas that pertained to the origin of
man. This people, whose existence was evoked from the mysterious hordes
of witches and goblins, might have vanished amidst the dim obscurity of
the primeval forests if it had not been that Alexandre Dumas, in his
tale of ‘l’Homme à Queue,’ so rich in its charming simplicity, had,
exactly at the right moment, raised a small memorial which contributed
to its preservation.
To lift in a measure the veil which had enveloped the Niam-niam with
this legendary and magic mystery fell to the lot of my predecessor
Piaggia, that straightforward and intrepid Italian who, animated by the
desire of opening up some reliable insight into their real habits, had
resided alone for a whole year amongst them.[1]
I reckon it my own good fortune that I was so soon to follow him into
the very midst of this cannibal population. It was indeed a period of
transition from the age of tradition to that of positive knowledge,
but I have no hesitation in asserting that these Niam-niam, apart from
some specialities which will always appertain to the human race so long
as it hangs unconsciously upon the breast of its great mother Nature,
are men of like passions with ourselves, equally subject to the same
sentiments of grief and joy. I have interchanged with them many a jest,
and I have participated in their child-like sports, enlivened by the
animating beating of their war-drums or by the simple strains of their
mandolins.
[Sidenote: APPELLATIONS OF THE NIAM-NIAM.]
The name Niam-niam[2] is borrowed from the dialect of the Dinka, and
means “eaters,” or rather “great eaters,” manifestly betokening a
reference to the cannibal propensities of the people. This designation
has been so universally incorporated into the Arabic of the Soudan,
that it seems unadvisable to substitute for it the word “Zandey,” the
name by which the people are known amongst themselves. Since among
the Mohammedans of the Soudan the term Niam-niam (plur. Niamah-niam)
is principally associated with the idea of cannibalism, the same
designation is sometimes applied by them to other nations who have
nothing in common with the true Niam-niam, or “Zandey,” except the
one characteristic of a predilection for eating human flesh. The
neighbouring nations have a variety of appellations to denote them. The
Bongo on the north sometimes call them Mundo, and sometimes Manyanya;
in the country behind these are the Dyoor, who uniformly speak of
them as the O-Madyaka; the tribe of the Mittoo on the east give them
the name of the Makkarakka, or Kakkarakka; the Golo style them Kunda;
whilst among the Monbuttoo they are known as Babungera.
The greater part of the Niam-niam country lies between the fourth and
sixth parallels of north latitude, and a line drawn across the centre
from east to west would correspond with the watershed between the
basins of the Nile and Tsad. My own travels were confined exclusively
to the eastern portion of the country, which, as far as I could
understand, is bounded in that direction by the upper course of the
Tondy; but in that district alone I became acquainted with as many
as thirty-five independent chieftains who rule over the portion of
Niam-niam territory that is traversed by the trading companies from
Khartoom.
Of the extent of the country towards the west I was unable to gain any
definite information; but as far as the land is known to the Nubians
it would appear to cover between five and six degrees of longitude,
and must embrace an area of about 48,000 square miles. The population
of the known regions is at least two millions, an estimate based upon
the number of armed men at the disposal of the chieftains through
whose territory I travelled, and upon the corresponding reports of the
fighting force in the western districts.
No traveller could possibly find himself for the first time surrounded
by a group of true Niam-niam without being almost forced to confess
that all he had hitherto witnessed amongst the various races of
Africa was comparatively tame and uninteresting, so remarkable is the
aspect of this savage people. No one, after observing the promiscuous
intermingling of races which (in singular contrast to the uniformity of
the soil) prevails throughout the entire district of the Gazelle, could
fail to be struck by the pronounced characteristics of the Niam-niam,
which make them capable of being identified at the first glance amidst
the whole series of African races. As a proof of this, I may introduce
a case in point. I was engaged one day in taking the measurements of a
troop of Bongo bearers, when at once I detected that the leader of the
band had all the characteristics of the Niam-niam type. I asked him how
it happened that he was a “nyare,” _i.e._, a local overseer, among the
Bongo, when the mere shape of his head declared him, beyond a doubt,
to be a Niam-niam. To the amazement of all who were present he replied
that he was born of Niam-niam parents, but that it had been his fate
when a child to be conveyed into the country of the Bongo. This is an
example which serves to demonstrate how striking are the distinctions
which enable an observer to carry out the diagnosis of a negro with
such certainty, and to arrive at conclusions which ordinarily could
only be conjectured by noticing his apparel or some external and
accidental adornments.
[Sidenote: APPEARANCE OF THE NIAM-NIAM.]
I propose in the present chapter to give a brief summary of the
characteristics of this Niam-niam people, and shall hope so to explain
the general features of their physiological and osteological aspect,
and so to describe the details of their costume and ornaments, that I
may not fail in my desire to convey a tolerably correct impression of
this most striking race.
The round broad heads of the Niam-niam, of which the proportions may
be ranked among the lowest rank of brachycephaly, are covered with
the thick frizzly hair of what are termed the true negroes; this is
of an extraordinary length, and arranged in long plaits and tufts
flowing over the shoulders and sometimes falling as low as the waist.
The eyes, almond-shaped and somewhat sloping, are shaded with thick,
sharply-defined brows, and are of remarkable size and fulness; the
wide space between them testifies to the unusual width of the skull,
and contributes a mingled expression of animal ferocity, warlike
resolution, and ingenuous candour. A flat square nose, a mouth of about
the same width as the nose, with very thick lips, a round chin, and
full plump cheeks, complete the countenance, which may be described as
circular in its general contour.
The body of the Niam-niam is ordinarily inclined to be fat, but it does
not commonly exhibit much muscular strength. The average height does
not exceed that of Europeans, a stature of 5 feet 10½ inches being
the tallest that I measured. The upper part of the figure is long in
proportion to the legs, and this peculiarity gives a strange character
to their movements, although it does not impede their agility in their
war dances.
The skin in colour is in no way remarkable. Like that of the Bongo,
it may be compared to the dull hue of a cake of chocolate. Among
the women, detached instances may be found of various shades of a
copper-coloured complexion, but the ground-tint is always the same—an
earthy red, in contrast to the bronze tint of the true Ethiopian
(Kushitic) races of Nubia. As marks of nationality, all the “Zandey”
score themselves with three or four tattooed squares filled up with
dots; they place these indiscriminately upon the forehead, the temples,
or the cheeks. They have, moreover, a figure like the letter X under
the breasts; and in some exceptional cases they tattoo the bosom and
upper parts of the arm with a variety of patterns, either stripes, or
dotted lines, or zigzags. No mutilation of the body is practised by
either sex, but this remark must be subject to the one exception that
they fall in with the custom, common to the whole of Central Africa,
of filing the incisor teeth to a point, for the purpose of effectually
griping the arm of an adversary either in wrestling or in single combat.
On rare occasions, a piece of material made from the bark of the
Urostigma is worn as clothing; but, as a general rule, the entire
costume is composed of skins, which are fastened to a girdle and form
a picturesque drapery about the loins. The finest and most variegated
skins are chosen for this purpose, those of the genet and colobus being
held in the highest estimation; the long black tail of the quereza
monkey (_Colobus_) is also fastened to the dress. Only chieftains
and members of royal blood have the privilege of covering the head
with a skin, that of the serval being most generally designated for
this honour. In crossing the dewy steppes in the early morning during
the rainy season, the men are accustomed to wear a large antelope
hide, which is fastened round the neck, and, falling to the knees,
effectually protects the body from the cold moisture of the long grass.
A covering, which always struck me as very graceful, was formed from
the skin of the harness bush-bock (_A. scripta_), of which the dazzling
white stripes on a yellowish ground never fail to be very effective.
The sons of chieftains wear their dress looped up on one side, so that
one leg is left entirely bare.
[Illustration: Remarkable head-dress of the Niam-niam.]
[Sidenote: HEAD-DRESS OF THE NIAM-NIAM.]
The men take an amount of trouble in arranging their hair which
is almost incredible, whilst nothing could be more simple and
unpretending than the ordinary head-gear of the women. It would,
indeed, be a matter of some difficulty to discover any kind of plaits,
tufts, or top-knots which has not already been tried by the Niam-niam
men. The hair is usually parted right down the middle; towards the
forehead it branches off, so as to leave a kind of triangle; from
the fork which is thus formed a tuft is raised, and carried back to
be fastened behind; on either side of this tuft the hair is arranged
in rolls, like the ridges and crevices of a melon. Over the temples
separate rolls are gathered up into knots, from which hang more tufts,
twisted like cord, that fall in bunches all round the neck, three or
four of the longest tresses being allowed to go free over the breast
and shoulders. The women dress their hair in a simpler but somewhat
similar manner, omitting the long plaits and tufts. The most peculiar
head-gear that I saw was upon some men who came from the territory
of Keefa, and of this a representation is given in the accompanying
portrait. These people reminded me very much of the description given
by Livingstone of the Balonda, that people of Londa, on the Zambesi,
which he came across during his first journey. The head is encircled by
a series of rays like the glory which adorns the likeness of a saint.
This circle is composed entirely of the man’s own hair, single tresses
being taken from all parts of the head and stretched tightly over a
hoop, which is ornamented with cowries. The hoop is fastened to the
lower rim of a straw hat by means of four wires, which are drawn out
before the men lie down to sleep, when the whole arrangement admits of
being folded back. This elaborate coiffure demands great attention, and
much time must be devoted to it every day. It is only the men who wear
any covering at all upon their head: they use a cylindrical hat without
any brim, square at the top and always ornamented with a waving plume
of feathers; the hat is fastened on by large hair-pins, made either of
iron, copper, or ivory, and tipped with crescents, tridents, knobs, and
various other devices.
A very favourite decoration is formed out of the incisor teeth of a
dog strung together under the hair, and hanging along the forehead
like a fringe. The teeth of different rodentia likewise are arranged
as ornaments that resemble strings of coral. Another ornament, far
from uncommon, is cut out of ivory in imitation of lions’ teeth, and
arranged in a radial fashion all over the breast, the effect of the
white substance in contrast with the dark skin being very striking.
Altogether the decoration may be considered as imposing as the pointed
collar of the days of chivalry, and is quite in character with the
warlike nation who find their pastime in hunting. Glass beads are held
in far less estimation by the Niam-niam than by the neighbouring races;
and only that lazuli blue sort which I have mentioned as known in
the Khartoom market by the name of “mandyoor” finds any favour at all
amongst them. Cowries are often used to trim the girdles as well as the
head-gear.
[Sidenote: TRUMBASHES.]
The principal weapons of the Niam-niam are their lances and their
trumbashes. The word “trumbash,” which has been incorporated into
the Arabic of the Soudan, is the term employed in Sennaar to denote
generally all the varieties of missiles that are used by the negro
races; it should, however, properly be applied solely to that sharp
flat projectile of wood, a kind of boomerang, which is used for killing
birds or hares, or any small game: when the weapon is made of iron,
it is called “kulbeda.” The trumbash of the Niam-niam[3] consists
ordinarily of several limbs of iron, with pointed prongs and sharp
edges. Iron missiles very similar in their shape are found among
the tribes of the Tsad basin; and a weapon constructed on the same
principle, the “changer manger,” is in use among the Marghy and the
Musgoo.
The trumbashes are always attached to the inside of the shields, which
are woven from the Spanish reed, and are of a long oval form, covering
two-thirds of the body; they are ornamented with black and white
crosses or other devices, and are so light that they do not in the
least impede the combatants in their wild leaps. An expert Niam-niam,
by jumping up for a moment, can protect his feet from the flying
missiles of his adversary. Bows and arrows, which, as handled by the
Bongo, give them a certain advantage, are not in common use among the
Niam-niam, who possess a peculiar weapon of attack in their singular
knives, that have blades like sickles. The Monbuttoo, who are far more
skilful smiths than the Niam-niam, supply them with most of these
weapons, receiving in return a heavy kind of lance, that is adapted
for the elephant and buffalo chase.
[Illustration:
Knives, scimitars, trumbashes, and shield of the Niam-niam.
(The shield is represented in three different positions.)]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM WARRIOR.]
Such are the details with which I present the reader with my portrait
of the Niam-niam in his full accoutrement of war. With his lance in one
hand, his woven shield and trumbash in the other—with his scimitar in
his girdle, and his loins encircled by a skin, to which are attached
the tails of several animals—adorned on his breast and on his forehead
by strings of teeth, the trophies of war or of the chase—his long
hair floating freely over his neck and shoulders—his large keen eyes
gleaming from beneath his heavy brow—his white and pointed teeth
shining from between his parted lips—he advances with a firm and
defiant bearing, so that the stranger as he gazes upon him may well
behold, in this true son of the African wilderness, every attribute of
the wildest savagery that may be conjured up by the boldest flight of
fancy. It is therefore by no means difficult to account for the deep
impression made by the Niam-niam on the fantastic imagination of the
Soudan Arabs. I have seen the wild Bishareen and other Bedouins of the
Nubian deserts; I have gazed with admiration upon the stately war-dress
of the Abyssinians; I have been riveted with surprise at the supple
forms of the mounted Baggara: but nowhere, in any part of Africa, have
I ever come across a people that in every attitude and every motion
exhibited so thorough a mastery over all the circumstances of war or of
the chase as these Niam-niam. Other nations in comparison seemed to me
to fall short in the perfect ease—I might almost say, in the dramatic
grace—that characterised their every movement.
[Illustration: NIAM-NIAM WARRIORS.]
In describing this people, it is hard to determine how far they ought
to be designated as a nation of hunters, or one of agriculturists, the
two occupations apparently being equally distributed between the two
sexes. The men most studiously devote themselves to their hunting,
and leave the culture of the soil to be carried on exclusively by the
women. Occasionally, indeed, the men may bring home a supply of fruits,
tubers and funguses from their excursions through the forests, but
practically they do nothing for the support of their families beyond
providing them with game. The agriculture of the Niam-niam, in contrast
with that of the Bongo, involves but a small outlay of labour. The more
limited area of the arable land, the larger number of inhabitants that
are settled on every square mile, the greater productiveness of the
soil, of which in some districts the exuberance is unsurpassed—all
combine to make the cultivation of the country supremely easy. The
entire land is pre-eminently rich in many spontaneous products, animal
and vegetable alike, that conduce to the direct maintenance of human
life.
The _Eleusine coracana_ (the “raggi” of the East Indies), a cereal
which I had found only scantily propagated among the people that I have
hitherto described, is here the staple of cultivation; sorghum in most
districts is quite unknown, and maize is only grown in inconsiderable
quantities.
[Sidenote: ELEUSINE BEER.]
Here, as in Abyssinia (where its product is called tocusso), eleusine
affords a material for a very palatable beer.[4] In the Mohammedan
Soudan the inhabitants, from cold fermented sorghum-dough, extract the
well-known merissa; and by first warming the dough, and exercising
more care and patience in the process, is made the bilbil of the
Takareer; neither of these beverages, however, to our palate would
be much superior to sour pap: even the booza of Egypt, made though
it is from wheat, is hardly in any respect superior in quality. But
the drink which by the Niam-niam is prepared from their eleusine
is really capable, from the skill with which it is manipulated, of
laying a fair claim to be known as _beer_. It is quite bright; it is
of a reddish-pale brown colour, and it is regularly brewed from the
malted grain, without the addition of any extraneous ingredient; it
has a pleasant, bitter flavour, derived from the dark husks, which,
if they were mixed in their natural condition with the dough, would
impart a twang that would be exceedingly unpalatable. How large is the
proportion of beer consumed by the Niam-niam may be estimated by simply
observing the ordinary way in which they store their corn. As a regular
rule, there are three granaries allotted to each dwelling, of which two
are made to suffice for the supply which is to contribute the meal
necessary for the household; the other is entirely devoted to the grain
that has been malted.
Manioc, sweet potatoes, yams, and colocasiæ are cultivated with little
trouble, and rarely fail to yield excellent crops. Plantains are
only occasionally seen in the east, and from the districts in which
I travelled, I should judge that they are not a main support of life
at any latitude higher than 4° N. Sugar-canes and oil-palms entirely
failed in this part of the land, but I was informed that they were as
plentiful in Keefa’s territory as they are among the Monbuttoo.
[Illustration: Clay pipes of the Niam-niam.]
All the Niam-niam are tobacco-smokers. Their name for the
_Nicotiana tabacum_ is “gundey,” and they are the only people of
the Bahr-el-Ghazal district that have a special designation for the
plant. The other sort, _N. rustica_, which, on the contrary, has a
local appellation in nearly every dialect of the neighbouring nations
(apparently denoting that the plant is indigenous to Central Africa)
is utterly unknown throughout the country. The people smoke from clay
pipes of peculiar form, consisting of elongated bowls without stems.
Like other negro races that remain untainted by Islamism, they abstain
from ever chewing the tobacco.
[Illustration: Niam-niam Dog.]
[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM DOGS.]
In broad terms, it may be stated that no cattle at all exists in the
land; the only domestic animals are poultry and dogs. The dogs belong
to a small breed resembling the wolfdog, but with short sleek hair;
they have ears that are large and always erect, and a short curly
tail like that of a young pig. They are usually of a bright yellowish
tan colour, and very often have a white stripe upon the neck; their
lanky muzzle projects somewhat abruptly from an arched forehead;
their legs are short and straight, thus demonstrating that the animals
have nothing in common with the terrier breed depicted upon the walls
of Egyptian temples, and of which the African origin has never been
proved. Like dogs generally in the Nile district, they are deficient
in the dewclaws of the hind-feet. They are made to wear little wooden
bells round their necks, so that they should not be lost in the long
steppe grass. After the pattern of their masters, they are inclined to
be corpulent, and this propensity is encouraged as much as possible,
dogs’ flesh being esteemed one of the choicest delicacies of the
Niam-niam.
Cows and goats are familiar only by report, although it may happen
occasionally that some are brought in as the result of raids that have
been perpetrated upon the adjacent territories of the Babuckur and
the Mittoo. There would hardly seem to be any specific words in the
language to denote either sheep, donkeys, horses, or camels, which,
according to common conception, would all come very much under the
category of fabulous animals.
Although the Niam-niam have a few carefully-prepared dishes of which
they partake, in a general way they exhibit as little nicety or choice
in their diet as is shown by all the tribes (with the remarkable
exception of the Dinka) of the Bahr-el-Ghazal district. The most
palatable mess that I found amongst them was composed of the pulp of
fresh maize, ground while the grain is still soft and milky, cleansed
from the bran, and prepared carefully so that it was not burnt to the
bottom of the pot. The mode of preparation is rather ingenious. A
little water having been put over the fire till it is just beginning to
boil, the raw meal, which has previously been rolled into small lumps,
is very gently shaken in, and, having been allowed to simmer for a
time, the whole is finally stirred up together.
The acme, however, of all earthly enjoyments would seem to be _meat_.
“Meat! meat!” is the watchword that resounds in all their campaigns. In
certain places and at particular seasons the abundance of game is very
large, and it might readily be imagined that the one prevailing and
permanent idea of this people would be how to chase and secure their
booty; but, as I have remarked before, there is no greater evidence of
the real difference between the disposition of nations than that which
is afforded by their general expression for food. As, for example, the
Bongo verb “to eat” is “mony,” which is their ordinary designation
of sorghum, their _corn_; so the Niam-niam word is identical with
“pushyoh,” which is their common name for _meat_.
Just as in his investigation of the animal and vegetable kingdoms the
naturalist is attracted to the very lowest organizations because they
contain the germs of the higher and more complicated, in the same
degree does the interest of the traveller centre upon the simplest
development of culture, because he knows that it is the embryo of the
most advanced civilization.
[Sidenote: REPUTED CANNIBALISM.]
The accuracy of the report of the cannibalism which has uniformly
been attributed to the Niam-niam by every nation which has had any
knowledge at all of their existence, would be questioned by no one who
had a fair opportunity of investigating the origin of my collection
of skulls. To a general rule, of course, there may be exceptions here
as elsewhere; and I own that I have heard of other travellers to the
Niam-niam lands who have visited the territories of Tombo and Bazimbey,
lying to the west of my route, and who have returned without having
witnessed any proof of the practice. Piaggia, moreover, resided for
a considerable time in those very districts, and yet was only once a
witness of anything of the kind; and that, as he records, was upon the
occasion of a campaign, when a slaughtered foe was devoured from actual
bloodthirstiness and hatred. From my own knowledge, too, I can mention
chiefs, like Wando, who vehemently repudiated the idea of eating
human flesh, although their constant engagement in war furnished them
with ample opportunity for gratifying their taste if they desired. But
still, taking all things into account, as well what I heard as what
I saw, I can have no hesitation in asserting that the Niam-niam are
anthropophagi; that they make no secret of their savage craving, but
ostentatiously string the teeth of their victims around their necks,
adorning the stakes erected beside their dwellings for the exhibition
of their trophies with the skulls of the men whom they have devoured.
Human fat is universally sold. When eaten in considerable quantity,
this fat is presumed to have an intoxicating effect; but although I
heard this stated as a fact by a number of the people, I never could
discover the foundation upon which they based this strange belief.
In times of war, people of all ages, it is reported, are eaten up,
more especially the aged, as forming by their helplessness an easier
prey to the rapacity of a conqueror; or at any time should any lone
and solitary individual die, uncared for and unheeded by relatives, he
would be sure to be devoured in the very district in which he lived. In
short, all who with ourselves would be consigned to the knife of the
anatomist would here be disposed of by this melancholy destiny.
I have already had occasion to mention how the Nubians asserted that
they knew cases in which Bongo bearers who had died from fatigue had
been dug out from the graves in which they had been buried, and,
according to the statements of Niam-niam themselves—who did not disown
their cannibalism—there were no bodies rejected as unfit for food
except those which had died from some loathsome cutaneous disease. In
opposition to all this, I feel bound to record that there are some
Niam-niam who turn with such aversion from any consumption of human
flesh that they would peremptorily refuse to eat out of the same
dish with any one who was a cannibal. The Niam-niam may be said to be
generally particular at their meals, and when several are drinking
together they may each be observed to wipe the rim of the drinking
vessel before passing it on.
[Sidenote: ANALOGY WITH THE FAN.]
Of late years our knowledge of Central Africa has been in many ways
enlarged, and various well-authenticated reports of the cannibalism of
some of its inhabitants have been circulated; but no explanation which
can be offered for this unsolved problem of psychology (whether it be
considered as a vestige of heathen worship, or whether it be regarded
as a resource for supplying a deficiency of animal food) can mitigate
the horror that thrills through us at every repetition of the account
of the hideous and revolting custom. Among all the nations of Africa
upon whom the imputation of this odious custom notoriously rests,
the Fan, who dwell upon the equatorial coasts of the west, have the
repute of being the greatest rivals of the Niam-niam. Eye-witnesses
agree in affirming that the Fan barter their dead among themselves,
and that cases have been known where corpses already buried have been
disinterred in order that they might be devoured. According to their
own accounts, the Fan migrated from the north-east to the western
coast. In various particulars they evidently have a strong affinity
with the Niam-niam. Both nations have many points of resemblance in
dress and customs: alike they file their teeth to sharp points; they
dress themselves in a material made from bark, and stain their bodies
with red wood; the chiefs wear leopard skins as an emblem of their
rank; and all the people lavish the same elaborate care upon the
arrangement of their tresses. The complexion of the Fan is of the same
copper-brown as that of the Niam-niam, and they indulge in similar
orgies and wild dances at the period of every full moon; they moreover
pursue the same restless hunter life. They would appear to be the same
of whom the old Portuguese writers have spoken under the name of
“Yagas,” and who are said, at the beginning of the seventeenth century,
to have laid waste the kingdom of Loango.
No regular towns or villages exist throughout the Niam-niam country.
The huts, grouped into little hamlets, are scattered about the
cultivated districts, which are separated from one another by large
tracts of wilderness many miles in extent. The residence of a prince
differs in no respect from that of ordinary subjects, except in the
larger number of huts provided for himself and his wives. The hareem
collectively is called a “bodimoh.”[5]
[Illustration: Niam-niam Granary.]
The architecture of the eastern Niam-niam corresponds very nearly with
what may be seen in many other parts of Central Africa. The conical
roofs are higher and more pointed than those of the Bongo and Dinka,
having a projection beyond the clay walls of the hut, which affords
a good shelter from the rain. This projection is supported by posts,
which give the whole building the semblance of being surrounded by a
verandah. The huts that are used for cooking have roofs still more
pointed than those which serve for sleeping. Other little huts, with
bell-shaped roofs, erected in a goblet-shape upon a substructure
of clay, and furnished with only one small aperture, are called
“bamogee,” and are set apart, as being secure from the attacks of wild
beasts, for sleeping-places of the boys, as soon as they are of an age
to be separated from the adults.
[Sidenote: REVENUE OF THE CHIEFTAINS.]
Every sovereign prince bears the title of “Bya,” which is pronounced
very much like the French word _bien_. His power is limited to the
calling together of the men who are capable of bearing arms, to the
execution in person of those condemned to death, and to determining
whether there shall be peace or war. Except the ivory and the moiety
of elephant’s flesh, he enjoys no other revenue; for his means of
subsistence he depends upon his farms, which are worked either by his
slaves or more generally by his numerous wives. Towards the west,
where a flourishing slave-trade is driven to the cost of the oppressed
inhabitants who are not true Zandey, a portion of the tribute is raised
by a conscription of young girls and boys, a part of the purchase-money
paid by the Darfoor traders to the chief being handed over to the
parents who are thus robbed of their children.
[Illustration: Bamogee: or hut for the boys.]
Although a Niam-niam chieftain disdains external pomp and repudiates
any ostentatious display, his authority in one respect is quite
supreme. Without his orders no one would for a moment entertain
a thought either of opening war or concluding peace. The defiant
imperious bearing of the chiefs alone constitutes their outward
dignity, and there are some who in majestic deportment and gesture
might vie with any potentate of the earth. The dread with which they
inspire their subjects is incredible: it is said that for the purpose
of exhibiting their power over life and death they will occasionally
feign fits of passion, and that, singling out a victim from the crowd,
they will throw a rope about his neck, and with their own hands cut
his throat with one stroke of their jagged scimitar. This species of
African “Cæsarism” vividly recalls the last days of Theodore, King of
Abyssinia.
The eldest son of a chief is considered to be the heir to his title and
dignity, all the other sons being entrusted with the command of the
fighting forces in separate districts, and generally being assigned a
certain share of the hunting booty. At the death of a chief, however,
the firstborn is frequently not acknowledged by all his brothers;
some of them perchance will support him, whilst others will insist
upon their right to become independent rulers in the districts where
they have been acting as “behnky.” Contentions of this character are
continually giving rise to every kind of aggression and repeated deeds
of violence.[6]
Notwithstanding the general warlike spirit displayed by the Niam-niam,
it is a very singular fact that the chieftains very rarely lead their
own people into actual engagement, but are accustomed, in anxious
suspense, to linger about the environs of the “mbanga,” ready, in the
event of tidings of defeat, to decamp with their wives and treasures
into the most inaccessible swamps, or to betake themselves for
concealment to the long grass of the steppes. In the heat of combat
each discharge of lances is accompanied by the loudest and wildest of
battle-cries, every man as he hurls his weapon shouting aloud the
name of his chief. In the intervals between successive attacks the
combatants retire to a safe distance, and mounting any eminence that
may present itself, or climbing to the summit of the hills of the
white ants, which sometimes rise to a height of 12 or 15 feet, they
proceed to assail their adversaries, for the hour together, in the most
ludicrous manner, with every invective and every epithet of contempt
and defiance they can command. During the few days that we were obliged
to defend ourselves by an abattis against the attacks of the natives in
Wando’s southern territory, we had ample opportunity of hearing these
accumulated opprobriums. We could hear them vow that the “Turks” should
perish, and declare that not one of them should quit the country alive;
and then we recognised the repeated shout, “To the caldron with the
Turks!” rising to the eager climax, “Meat! meat!” It was emphatically
announced that there was no intention to do any injury to the white
man, because he was a stranger and a new-comer to the land; but I need
hardly say that, under the circumstances, I felt little inclination to
throw myself upon their mercy.
[Sidenote: EMBLEMS OF WAR.]
It is in a measure anticipating the order of events, but I may here
allude to the remarkable symbolism by which war was declared against
us on the frontiers of Wando’s territory when we were upon our return
journey. Close on the path, and in full view of every passenger, three
objects were suspended from the branch of a tree, viz. an ear of
maize, the feather of a fowl, and an arrow. The sight seemed to recall
the defiant message sent to the great King of Persia, when he would
penetrate to the heart of Scythia. Our guides readily comprehended, and
as readily explained, the meaning of the emblems, which were designed
to signify that whoever touched an ear of maize or laid his grasp upon
a single fowl would assuredly be the victim of the arrow. Without
waiting, however, for any depredations on our part, the Niam-niam,
with the basest treachery, attacked us on the following day.
In hunting, the Niam-niam employ very much the same contrivances of
traps, pits, and snares as the Bongo; but their _battues_ for securing
the larger animals are conducted both more systematically and on a more
extensive scale.
In close proximity to each separate group of hamlets, and more
frequently than not at the threshold of the abodes of the local
chieftains known as the “borrumbanga,” or “chief court,” there is
always a huge wooden kettledrum, made of a hollow stem mounted upon
four feet. The sides of this are of unequal thickness, so that when the
drum is struck it is capable of giving two perfectly distinct sounds.
According to the mode or time in which these sounds are rendered,
_three_ different signals are denoted, the first being the signal for
war, another that for hunting, and the third a summons to a festival.
Sounded originally in the mbanga of the chief, these signals are in a
few minutes repeated on the kettledrums of the “borrumbangas” of the
district, and in an incredibly short space of time some thousands of
men, armed if need be, are gathered together.
Perhaps the most frequent occasions on which these assemblages are made
arise from some elephants having been seen in the adjacent country. As
soon as the force is collected, the elephants are driven towards some
tracts of dense grass that have been purposely spared from the steppe
burning. Provided with firebrands, the crowd surrounds the spot; the
conflagration soon extends on all sides, until the poor brutes, choked
and scorched, fall a helpless prey to their destroyers, who despatch
them with their lances. Since not only the males, with their large and
valuable tusks, but the females also with the young, are included in
this wholesale and indiscriminate slaughter, it may easily be imagined
how year by year the noble animal is fast being exterminated. The
avarice of the chiefs, ever desirous of copper, and the greediness
of the people, ever anxious for flesh, make them all alike eager for
the chase. I constantly saw the natives returning to their huts with
a large bundle of what at first I imagined was firewood, but which in
reality was their share of elephant-meat, which after being cut into
strips and dried over a fire had all the appearance of a log of wood.
The thickets along the river-banks abound in many kinds of wild
fowl, which the natives catch by means of snares. The most common
are guinea-fowl and francolins, which are caught by a bait that is
rather unusual in other places. Instead of scattering common corn
in the neighbourhood of the traps, the people make use of fragments
of a fleshy Stapelia. This little succulent grows on the dry parts
of the steppe, and is frequently found about the white anthills; it
is likewise naturalised in Arabia and Nubia, and in a raw condition
is sometimes eaten as human food. Birds are very fond of it, and so
approved is it as a bait that I not unfrequently found it growing
beside the huts, where it was planted for this particular purpose.
[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM HANDICRAFT.]
The handicraft of the Niam-niam exhibits itself chiefly in ironwork,
pottery, wood carving, domestic architecture, and basket-work; of
leather-dressing they know no more than others in this part of Central
Africa. Their earthenware vessels may be described as of blameless
symmetry. They make water-flasks of an enormous size, and manufacture
pretty little drinking-cups. They lavish extraordinary care on the
embellishment of their tobacco-pipes, but they have no idea of the
method of giving their clay a proper consistency by washing out the
particles of mica and by adding a small quantity of sand. From the
soft wood of several of the Rubiaceæ they carve stools and benches,
and produce great dishes and bowls, of which the stems and pedestals
are very diversified in pattern. I saw specimens of these which were
admirable works of art, and the designs of which were so complicated
that they must have cost the inventor considerable thought.
[Illustration: Niam-niam handicraft.
1. Wooden signal drum.
2 and 3. Mandolins.
4. Bedstead.
5. Iron bell.
6. Carved head for the neck of a mandolin.
7. Carved signal-pipe.
8. Wooden dog-bell.
9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Wooden dishes.
14. Mungala-board.
15. Wooden stool.
]
As every Niam-niam soldier carries a lance, trumbash, and dagger, the
manufacture of these weapons necessarily employs a large number of
smiths, who vie with each other in producing the greatest variety of
form. The dagger is worn in a sheath of skin attached to the girdle.
The lance-tips differ from those of the Bongo in having a _hastate_
shape, to use once more the botanical term which distinguishes
the _folia hastata_ from the _folia lanceolata_. Every weapon
bears so decidedly the stamp of its nationality that its origin is
discoverable at a glance. All the lances, knives, and dagger-blades are
distinguished by blood-grooves, which are not to be observed upon the
corresponding weapons of either the Bongo or Dyoor.
[Sidenote: GREETINGS.]
Mutual greetings among the Niam-niam may be said to be almost
stereotyped in phrase. Any one meeting another on the way would be
sure to say “muiyette;” but if they were indoors, they would salute
each other by saying “mookenote” or “mookenow.” Their expression
for farewell is “minahpatiroh;” and when, under any suspicious
circumstances, they wish to give assurance of a friendly intention,
they make use of the expression “badya, badya, muie” (friend, good
friend, come hither). They always extend their right hands on meeting,
and join them in such a way that the two middle fingers crack again;
and while they are shaking hands they nod at each other with a strange
movement, which to our Western ideas looks like a gesture of repulse.
The women, ever retiring in their habits, are not accustomed to be
greeted on the road by any with whom they are not previously intimate.
No wooing in this country is dependent, as elsewhere in Africa, upon a
payment exacted from the suitor by the father of the intended bride.
When a man resolves upon matrimony, the ordinary rule would be for him
to apply to the reigning prince, or to the sub-chieftain, who would at
once endeavour to procure him such a wife as might appear suitable. In
spite of the prosaic and matter-of-fact proceeding, and notwithstanding
the unlimited polygamy which prevails throughout the land, the
marriage-bond loses nothing of the sacredness of its liabilities, and
unfaithfulness is generally punished with immediate death. A family
of children is reckoned as the best evidence and seal of conjugal
affection, and to be the mother of many children is always recognised
as a claim to distinction and honour. It is one of the fine traits of
this people that they exhibit a deep and consistent affection for their
wives, and I shall have occasion in a future chapter to refer to some
touching instances of this feature in their character.
The festivities that are observed on the occasion of a marriage are
on a very limited scale. There is a simple procession of the bride,
who is conducted to the home of her future lord by the chieftain,
accompanied by musicians, minstrels, and jesters.[7] A feast ensues,
at which all partake in common, although, as a general rule, the women
are accustomed to eat alone in their own huts. The domestic duties of
a housewife consist mainly in cultivating the homestead, preparing
the daily meals, painting her husband’s body, and dressing his hair.
In this genial climate children require comparatively little care or
attention, infants being carried about everywhere in a kind of band or
scarf.
The Niam-niam have one recreation which is common to nearly the whole
of Africa. A game, known by the Nubians as “mungala,” is constantly
played by all the people of the entire Gazelle districts, and although
perhaps it is not known by the Monbuttoo, it is quite naturalised
among all the negroes as far as the West Coast. It is singular that
this pastime should be so familiar to the Mohammedan Nubians, who
only within the last twenty years have had any intercourse at all with
the negroes of the south; but in all likelihood they received it in
the same way as the guitar,[8] as a legacy from their original home
in Central Africa. The Peulhs devote many successive hours to the
amusement, which requires a considerable facility in ready reckoning;
they call it “wuri.” The game is played likewise by the Foolahs, the
Yolofs, and the Mandingo, on the Senegal. It is found again among the
Kadje, between the Tsad and the Benwe. The recurrence of an object even
trivial as this is an evidence, in its degree, indirect and collateral,
of the essential unity that underlies all African nations.
[Sidenote: GAME OF MUNGALA.]
The “mungala” itself[9] is a long piece of wood, in which two parallel
rows of holes are scooped out. Nubian boards have sixteen holes, the
Niam-niam have eighteen. Each player has about two dozen stones, and
the skill of the game consists in adroitly transferring the stones
from one hole to another. In default of a board the game is frequently
played upon the bare ground, in which little cavities are made for the
purpose.
Having thus detailed their warlike demeanour, their domestic industry,
and their common pastime, I would not omit to mention that the
Niam-niam are no strangers to enjoyments of a more refined and ideal
character than battles and elephant-hunts. They have an instinctive
love of art. Music rejoices their very soul. The harmonies they elicit
from their favourite instrument, the mandolin, seem almost to thrill
through the chords of their inmost nature. The prolonged duration of
some of their musical productions is very surprising. Piaggia, before
me, has remarked that he believed a Niam-niam would go on playing all
day and all night, without thinking to leave off either to eat or to
drink; and although I am quite aware of the voracious propensities of
the people, I am half-inclined to believe that Piaggia was right.
One favourite instrument there is, which is something between a harp
and a mandolin. It resembles the former in the vertical arrangement
of its strings, whilst in common with the mandolin it has a
sounding-board, a neck, and screws for tightening the strings. The
sounding-board is constructed on strict acoustic principles. It has two
apertures; it is carved out of wood, and on the upper side is covered
by a piece of skin; the strings are tightly stretched by means of pegs,
and are sometimes made of fine threads of bast, and sometimes of the
wiry hairs from the tail of the giraffe. The music is very monotonous,
and it is very difficult to distinguish any actual melody in it. It
invariably is an accompaniment to a moaning kind of recitative, which
is rendered with a decided nasal intonation. I have not unfrequently
seen friends marching about arm-in-arm, wrapt in the mutual enjoyment
of their performance, and beating time to every note by nodding their
heads.
There is a singular class of professional musicians, who make their
appearance decked out in the most fantastic way with feathers, and
covered with a promiscuous array of bits of wood and roots and all the
pretentious emblems of magical art, the feet of earth-pigs, the shells
of tortoises, the beaks of eagles, the claws of birds, and teeth in
every variety. Whenever one of this fraternity presents himself, he at
once begins to recite all the details of his travels and experiences in
an emphatic recitative, and never forgets to conclude by an appeal to
the liberality of his audience, and to remind them that he looks for a
reward either of rings of copper or of beads. Under minor differences
of aspect, these men may be found nearly everywhere in Africa. Baker
and some other travellers have dignified them with the romantic name of
“minne-singers,” but the designation of “hashash” (buffoons) bestowed
upon them by the Arabs of the Soudan would more fairly describe their
true character. The Niam-niam themselves exhibit the despicable light
in which they regard them by calling them “nzangah,”[10] which is the
same term as that by which they designate those abandoned women who
pollute Africa no less than every civilized country.
[Sidenote: ZANDEY DIALECT.]
The language of the Niam-niam (or, to speak more properly, the Zandey
dialect), as entirely as any of the dialects which prevail throughout
the Babr-el-Ghazal district, is an upshoot from the great root which
is the original of every tongue in Africa north of the equator, and is
especially allied to the Nubio-Lybian group. Although the pronunciation
is upon the whole marked and distinct, there are still certain sounds
which are subject to a considerable modification, even when uttered
by the same individual. The nasal tone which is given to the open
sounds of _a_ and _e_ as they rise from the throat fix a character
upon the articulation that is quite distinct from that of the Bongo,
and altogether the dialect is poorer in etymological construction,
being deficient in any separate tenses for the verbs; it is, moreover,
far less vocalised, and has a cumbrousness which arises from the
preponderance of its consonants.
The language is undoubtedly very wanting in expressions for abstract
ideas. For the Divinity I found that many interpreters would employ the
word “gumbah,” which signifies “lightning,” whilst, in contrast with
this, other interpreters would make use of the term “bongbottumu;” but
I imagine that this latter expression is only a kind of a periphrasis
of the Mohammedan “rasool” (a prophet, or messenger of God), because
“mbottumu” is their ordinary term by which they would designate any
common messenger or envoy.
Although none of the natives of the Gazelle district may be credited
with the faintest conception of true religion, the Niam-niam have an
expression of their own for “prayer” as an act of worship, such as
they see it practised by the Mohammedans. This word is “borru.” When,
however, the expression is examined, it is found really to relate to
the augury which it is the habit of the people to consult before they
enter upon any important undertaking.
The augury to which I have thus been led to refer is consulted in the
following way. From the wood of the _Sarcocephalus Russegeri_, which
they call “damma,” a little four-legged stool is made, like the benches
used by the women. The upper surface of this is rendered perfectly
smooth. A block of wood of the same kind is then cut, of which one end
is also made quite smooth. After having wetted the top of the stool
with a drop or two of water, they grasp the block and rub its smooth
part backwards and forwards over the level surface with the same motion
as if they were using a plane. If the wood should glide easily along,
the conclusion is drawn that the undertaking in question will assuredly
prosper; but if, on the other hand, the motion is obstructed and the
surfaces adhere together—if, according to the Niam-niam expression, a
score of men could not give free movement to the block—the warning is
unmistakable that the adventure will prove a failure.
Now, since they also use this term “borru” to describe the prayers of
the Mohammedans, there seems some reasonable evidence for supposing
that they actually regard this rubbing as akin to a form of worship. As
often as I asked any of the Niam-niam what they called prayers, they
invariably replied by referring to this practice and by making the
gesture which I compare to working with a plane. This praying-machine
is concealed as carefully as may be from the eyes of the Mohammedans.
It was, however, frequently resorted to during the subsequent brief
period of warfare, when my own Niam-niam attendants diligently
consulted the oracle, and, as the result was uniformly satisfactory, it
contributed not a little to confirm their confidence in my reputation
for good luck.
There are other ordeals common to the Niam-niam with various negro
nations, and which are considered as of equal or still greater
importance. An oily fluid, concocted from a red wood called “bengye,”
is administered to a hen. If the bird dies, there will be misfortune
in war; if the bird survives, there will be victory. Another mode of
trying their fortune consists in seizing a cock, and ducking its head
repeatedly under water until the creature is stiff and senseless. They
then leave it to itself. If it should rally, they draw an omen that is
favourable to their design; whilst if it should succumb, they look for
an adverse issue.
[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM AUGURIES.]
A Niam-niam could hardly be induced to go to war without first
consulting the auguries, and his reliance upon their revelations is
very complete. For instance, Wando, our inveterate antagonist, although
he had succeeded in rousing two districts to open enmity against us,
yet personally abstained from attacking our caravan, and that for no
other reason than that his fowl had died after swallowing the “bengye”
that had been administered. We awaited his threatened attack, and were
full of surprise that he did not appear. Shortly afterwards, we were
informed that he had withdrawn in fear and trembling to an inaccessible
retreat in the wilderness. Our relief was considerable. It might have
fared very badly with us, as all our magazines were established on his
route; but, happily, he had gone, and the Niam-niam with whom we were
brought in contact stoutly maintained that it was the death of his fowl
alone which had deterred him from an assault and had rescued us from
entire destruction.
These auguries are consulted likewise in order to ascertain the guilt
or innocence of any that are accused, and suspected witches are tried
by the same ordeal.
The same belief in evil spirits and goblins which prevails among the
Bongo and other people of Central Africa is found here. The forest is
uniformly supposed to be the abode of the hostile agencies, and the
rustling of the foliage is imagined to be their mysterious dialogue.
Superstition, like natural religion, is a child of the soil, and
germinating like the flowers of the field it unfolds its inmost
secrets. Beneath the dull leaden skies of the distant North there are
believed to be structures haunted by ghosts and spectres. Here the
forest, with its tenantry of owls and bats, is held to be the abode of
malignant spirits; whilst betwixt both are the Oriental nations, who,
without forests, and exposed to the full strength of a blazing sun,
fear nothing so much as “the evil eye.” Truly it may be averred that
the development of superstition is dependent upon geographical position.
In thus recapitulating the general characteristics of the Niam-niam,
this chapter necessarily has exhibited some measure of repetition. I
will proceed to conclude it, in the same manner as the record of the
Bongo, by a few remarks upon the customs of this people with regard to
their dead.
Whenever a Niam-niam has lost any very near relative the first token
of his bereavement is shown by his shaving his head. His elaborate
coiffure—that which had been his pride and his delight, the labour of
devoted conjugal hands—is all ruthlessly destroyed, the tufts, the
braids, the tresses being scattered far and wide about the roads in the
recesses of the wilderness.
A corpse is ordinarily adorned, as if for a festival, with skins and
feathers. It is usually dyed with red wood. Men of rank, after being
attired with their common aprons, are interred either sitting on their
benches, or are enclosed in a kind of coffin, which is made from a
hollow tree.
According to the prescriptions of the law of Islam, the earth is not
thrown upon the corpse, which is placed in a cavity that has been
partitioned off at the side of the grave. This is a practice mentioned
before, and which is followed in many heathen parts of Africa.
[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM GRAVES.]
Like the Bongo, the Niam-niam bury their dead with a scrupulous regard
to the points of the compass; but it is remarkable that they reverse
the rule, the men in their sepulture being deposited with their faces
towards the east, the women towards the west.
A grave is covered in with clay, which is thoroughly stamped down. Over
the spot a hut is erected, in no respect differing externally from the
huts of the living, and being equally perishable in its construction,
it very soon either rots away through neglect or is destroyed in the
annual conflagration of the steppe-burning.
[Illustration: Genealogical Table]
GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE REIGNING NIAM-NIAM PRINCES IN 1870.
MABENGEH.*
_Endeneh_
Yapaty*
Renjy
Batyah
Bendo
_Neende_
_Indimma_
_Ondugba_
_Balia_
_Bagirsa_
Ringhio
Balia
Perkye
Tombo*
_Nunga_
_Samuel_
Bazimbey*
_Ingerria_
_Wando_
_Mbeeoh_
_Malingde_
_Ingimma_
_Garia_
Mofio
Bazeeah
Nduppo*
Rikkete
Munuba*
_Nganye_
Imbolutidoo
Matindoo
Bendo
Mbehly
Gumba
Imma
Mango
Nyongalia
Mbagahly
(surnamed Surroor)
Ndeynh*
Keefa* (surnamed Ntikkima)
_Kanna_ surnamed Bendy
Limba
Bakingeh
Mbittima
Ghendwa
_Ngurra_
_Mangeh_
_Indimma_
Ezo*—Of doubtful relationship with the line of Mabengeh
_Ngettoh_
_Nderuma_
_Ngettue_
_Note._—The names of reigning princes are printed in italics. The
names of deceased princes are marked thus *.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In the ‘Bolletino della Soc. Geogr. Italiana,’ 1868,
pp. 91-168, the Marquis O. Antinori has, from the
verbal communications of the traveller himself, most
conscientiously collected Piaggia’s experiences and
observations in the country of the Niam-niam during
his residence.
[2] It should again be mentioned that the word Niam-niam
is a dissyllable, and has the Italian pronunciation of
Gnam-gnam.
[3] The accompanying illustration (page 10) gives examples
of five different forms of trumbash.
[4] The brewing of beer from malted eleusine is practised
in many of the heathen negro countries; and in South
Africa the Makalaka, a branch of the great Bantoo
race, are said to devote a considerable attention to
it.
[5] “Bodimoh,” in the Zandey dialect, has also the meaning
of “papyrus.”
[6] Of the thirty-five chieftains who rule over these
48,000 square miles of territory, comparatively few
in any way merit the designation of king. The most
powerful are Kanna and Mofio, whose dominions are in
extent equal to about a dozen of the others.
[7] Among the Kaffirs the ceremony of conducting a bride
to her new home is observed with much formality.
[8] _Vide_ vol. i. chap. ix.
[9] A mungala board is represented in Fig. 14 of the plate
illustrating Niam-niam handicraft.
[10] In Loango all exorcists and conjurors are called
“ganga,” an appellation which would appear to have the
same derivation as this Zandey word “nzangah.” The
“Griots” in Senegambia are held in the same contempt
as the Niam-niam minstrels.