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.
Munza was impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Khartoomers. His
storehouses were piled to the full with ivory, the hunting booty of
an entire year, which he was eager to exchange for the produce of the
north or to see replaced by new supplies of the red ringing metal which
should flow into his treasury.
This was Mohammed’s third visit to the country, and not only interested
motives prompted the king to receive him warmly, but real attachment;
for the two had mutually pledged their friendship in their blood,
and called each other by the name of brother. During his absence in
Khartoom, Mohammed had entrusted the command of the expedition of the
previous year to his brother Abd-el-fetah, a Mussulman of the purest
water and a hypocritical fanatic, who had greatly offended the king by
his arrogance and unsympathetic reserve. He considered himself defiled
by contact with a “Kaffir,” and would not allow a nigger to approach
within ten steps of his person; he refused to acknowledge either
African king or prince, and always designated the ladies of the court
as slaves. But Mohammed was entirely different. By all the natives
he was known by his unassuming title of “Mbahly,” _i.e._, the little
one, and in all his dealings with them he was urbanity itself. He won
every heart by adopting the national costume, and attired in his native
rokko-coat and scarlet plume, he would sit for hours together over the
brimming beer-flasks by the side of his royal _confrère_, recounting
to him all the wonders of the world and twitting him with his cannibal
propensities. No wonder then that Munza’s daily question to Mohammed’s
people had been: “When will Mbahly come?” and no wonder that, as we
were preparing to cross the great river, his envoys had met us with a
cordial greeting for his friend. Nor was the attachment all on Munza’s
side. Immediately on our arrival, Mohammed, leaving the organization
of our encampment entirely to the discretion of his lieutenants, had
gathered up his store of presents, and hastened to convey them to the
king. The greater part of these offerings consisted of huge copper
dishes, not destined, however, in this remote corner of the globe to be
relegated to the kitchen, but to be employed for the far more dignified
office of furnishing music for the royal halls. The interview was long,
and our large encampment was complete and night was rapidly approaching
before Mohammed returned to his quarters. He came accompanied by the
triumphal strain of horns and kettle-drums, and attended by thousands
of natives bearing the ample store of provisions which, at the king’s
commands, had been instantly forthcoming. He announced that I was
invited to an audience of the king on the following morning, and that
a state reception was to be prepared in honour of my visit. It need
hardly be said that it was with feelings of wonder and curiosity that I
lay down that night to rest.
[Sidenote: SUMMONS TO THE KING.]
The 22nd of March, 1870, was the memorable date on which my
introduction to the king occurred. Long before I was stirring, Mohammed
had once more betaken himself to the royal quarters. On leaving my
tent, my attention was immediately attracted to the opposite slopes,
and a glance at the wide space between the king’s palace and the houses
of his retinue was sufficient to assure me that unusual animation
prevailed. Crowds of swarthy negroes were surging to and fro; others
were hurrying along in groups, and ever and anon the wild tones of
the kettle-drum could be heard even where I was standing. Munza was
assembling his courtiers and inspecting his elephant-hunters, whilst
from far and near streamed in the heads of households to open the
ivory-mart with Mohammed, and to negotiate with him for the supply of
his provisions.
Somewhat impatiently I stood awaiting my summons to the king, but
it was already noon before I was informed that all arrangements
were complete, and that I was at liberty to start. Mohammed’s black
body-guard was sent to escort me, and his trumpeters had orders to
usher me into the royal presence with a flourish of the Turkish
_reveille_. For the occasion I had donned a solemn suit of black. I
wore my unfamiliar cloth-coat, and laced up the heavy Alpine boots,
that should give importance to the movements of my light figure; watch
and chain were left behind, that no metal ornament might be worn about
my person. With all the solemnity I could I marched along; three black
squires bore my rifles and revolver, followed by a fourth with my
inevitable cane-chair. Next in order, and in awestruck silence, came my
Nubian servants, clad in festive garments of unspotted whiteness, and
bearing in their hand the offerings that had been so long and carefully
reserved for his Monbuttoo majesty.
It took us half an hour to reach the royal residence. The path
descended in a gentle slope to the wooded depression of the brook, then
twisted itself for a time amid the thickets of the valley, and finally
once more ascended, through extensive plantain-groves, to the open
court that was bounded by a wide semicircle of motley dwellings. On
arrival at the low parts of the valley we found the swampy jungle-path
bestrewn with the stems of fresh-hewn trees and a bridge of the same
thrown across the water itself. The king could hardly have been
expected to suggest such peculiar attention of his own accord, but
this provisionary arrangement for keeping my feet dry was made in
compliance with a kindly hint from Mohammed, who, knowing the nature
of my boots, and the time expended in taking them off and on, had
thus thoughtfully insured my ease and comfort; moreover, these boots
were unique in the African world, and must be preserved from mud and
moisture. Unfortunately all these arrangements tended to confirm the
Monbuttoo in one or other of their infatuated convictions, either that
my feet were like goats’ hoofs, or, according to another version, that
the firm leather covering was itself an integral part of my body. The
idea of goats’ feet had probably arisen from the comparison of my hair
and that of a goat; and doubtless the stubbornness with which I always
refused to uncover my feet for their inspection strengthened them in
their suspicion.
[Sidenote: WAITING FOR THE KING.]
As we approached the huts, the drums and trumpets were sounded to
their fullest powers, and the crowds of people pressing forward on
either hand left but a narrow passage for our procession. We bent our
steps to one of the largest huts, which formed a kind of palatial hall
open like a shed at both ends. Waiting my arrival here was one of the
officers of state, who, I presume, was the master of the ceremonies,
as I afterwards observed him presiding over the general festivities.
This official took me by the right hand, and without a word conducted
me to the interior of the hall. Here, like the audience at a concert,
were arranged according to their rank hundreds of nobles and courtiers,
each occupying his own ornamental bench and decked out with all his
war equipments. At the other end of the building a space was left for
the royal throne, which differed in no respect from the other benches,
except that it stood upon an outspread mat; behind this bench was
placed a large support of singular construction, resting as it seemed
upon three legs, and furnished with projections that served as props
for the back and arms of the sitter: this support was thickly studded
with copper rings and nails. I requested that my own chair might be
placed at a few paces from the royal bench, and there I took up my
position with my people standing or squatting behind me, and the Nubian
soldiers forming a guard around. The greater number of the soldiers had
their guns, but my black squires, who had never before been brought
face to face with so mighty a potentate, subsequently confessed to me
that their hearts beat fast, and that they could not help trembling to
think how a sign from Munza could have brought all our limbs to the
spit.
For a considerable time I had to sit waiting in expectation before
the empty throne. My servants informed me that Munza had attended the
market in his ordinary costume, but that he had been seen to hasten
home to his private apartments, where he was now undergoing a process
of anointing, frizzling, and bedizening at the hands of his wives, in
order that he should appear before me in the imposing splendour of his
state attire. I had thus no other alternative than patiently to abide
my time; for what could be more flattering to a foreign guest than for
a king to receive him in his costliest toilet?
In the interval of waiting there seemed a continuous uproar. The fitful
beating of kettle-drums and the perpetual braying of horns resounded
through the airy building until it shook again, and mingling with
the boisterous strains rose the voices of the assembled courtiers as
they whiled away the time in loud and eager conversation. There was
no doubt that I was myself the main cause of their excitement; for
although I sat with my back to the majority, I could not be otherwise
than quite aware that all eyes were intently fixed upon me. All,
however, kept their seats at a respectful distance, so that I could
calmly look about me and note down my observations of what I saw.
The hall itself was the chief object that attracted my attention. It
was at least a hundred feet in length, forty feet high, and fifty
broad. It had been quite recently completed, and the fresh bright look
of the materials gave it an enlivening aspect, the natural brown polish
of the wood-work looking as though it were gleaming with the lustre of
new varnish. Close by was a second and more spacious hall, which in
height was only surpassed by the loftiest of the surrounding oil-palms;
but this, although it had only been erected five years previously,
had already begun to show symptoms of decay, and being enclosed on
all sides was dark, and therefore less adapted for the gathering at a
public spectacle. Considering the part of Africa in which these halls
were found, one might truly be justified in calling them wonders of the
world; I hardly know with all our building resources what material we
could have employed, except it were whalebone, of sufficient lightness
and durability to erect structures like these royal halls of Munza,
capable of withstanding the tropical storms and hurricanes. The bold
arch of the vaulted roof was supported on three long rows of pillars
formed from perfectly straight tree-stems; the countless spars and
rafters as well as the other parts of the building being composed
entirely of the leaf-stalks of the wine-palm (_Raphia vinifera_).[11]
The floor was covered with a dark red clay plaster, as firm and smooth
as asphalt. The sides were enclosed by a low breastwork, and the space
between this and the arching roof, which at the sides sloped nearly to
the ground, allowed light and air to pass into the building. Outside
against the breastwork stood crowds of natives, probably the “great
unwashed” of the Monbuttoo, who were unable to obtain places within,
and contented themselves with eagerly gazing through this opening at
the proceedings. Officials with long sticks went their rounds and
kept order among the mob, making free use of their sticks whenever it
was necessary; all boys who ventured uninvited into the hall being
vigorously beaten back as trespassers.
[Sidenote: THE ROYAL APPROACH.]
I had probably been left for an hour, and was getting lost in the
contemplation of all the wonders, when a louder sound of voices and an
increasing clang of horns and kettledrums led me to suppose that there
was an announcement of the approach of the king; but, no, this was only
a prelude. The sovereign was still being painted and beautified by the
hands of his fair ones. There was, however, a fresh and increasing
commotion near the entrance of the hall, where a number of ornamental
weapons was being arranged. Posts were driven into the ground, and
long poles were fastened horizontally across them; then against this
extemporized scaffolding were laid, or supported crosswise, hundreds of
ornamental lances and spears, all of pure copper, and of every variety
of form and shape. The gleam of the red metal caught the rays of the
tropical noontide sun, and in the symmetry of their arrangement the
rows of dazzling lance-heads shone with the glow of flaming torches,
making a background to the royal throne that was really magnificent.
The display of wealth, which according to Central African tradition was
incalculable, was truly regal, and surpassed anything of the kind that
I had conceived possible.
A little longer and the weapons are all arranged. The expected king has
left his home. There is a running to and fro of heralds, marshals, and
police. The thronging masses flock towards the entrance, and silence
is proclaimed. The king is close at hand. Then come the trumpeters
flourishing away on their huge ivory horns; then the ringers swinging
their cumbrous iron bells; and now, with a long firm stride, looking
neither to the right nor to the left, wild, romantic; picturesque alike
in mien and in attire, comes the tawny Cæsar himself! He was followed
by a number of his favoured wives. Without vouchsafing me a glance, he
flung himself upon his unpretending chair of state, and sat with his
eyes fixed upon his feet. Mohammed had joined the retinue of his royal
friend, and took up his position opposite me on the other side of the
king on a stool that was brought for his accommodation. He also had
arrayed himself in a suitable dress in honour of the occasion, and now
sat in the imposing uniform of a commander of Arnauts.
I could now feast my eyes upon the fantastic figure of the ruler. I was
intensely interested in gazing at the strange weird-looking sovereign,
of whom it was commonly reported that his daily food was human flesh.
With arms and legs, neck and breast, all bedizened with copper rings,
chains, and other strange devices, and with a great copper crescent
at the top of his head, the potentate gleamed with a shimmer that was
to our ideas unworthy of royalty, but savoured far too much of the
magazines of civic opulence, reminding one almost unavoidably of a
well-kept kitchen! His appearance, however, was decidedly marked with
his nationality, for every adornment that he had about him belonged
exclusively to Central Africa, as none but the fabrications of his
native land are deemed worthy of adorning the person of a king of the
Monbuttoo.
[Sidenote: THE ROYAL COSTUME.]
Agreeably to the national fashion a plumed hat rested on the top of
his chignon, and soared a foot and a half above his head; this hat was
a narrow cylinder of closely-plaited reeds; it was ornamented with
three layers of red parrots’ feathers, and crowned with a plume of
the same; there was no brim, but the copper crescent projected from
the front like the vizor of a Norman helmet. The muscles of Munza’s
ears were pierced, and copper bars as thick as the finger inserted in
the cavities. The entire body was smeared with the native unguent of
powdered cam-wood, which converted the original bright brown tint of
his skin into the colour that is so conspicuous in ancient Pompeian
halls. With the exception of being of an unusually fine texture, his
single garment differed in no respect from what was worn throughout the
country; it consisted of a large piece of fig bark impregnated with the
same dye that served as his cosmetic, and this, falling in graceful
folds about his body, formed breeches and waistcoat all in one. Round
thongs of buffalo-hide, with heavy copper balls attached to the ends,
were fastened round the waist in a huge knot, and like a girdle held
the coat, which was neatly-hemmed. The material of the coat was so
carefully manipulated that it had quite the appearance of a rich _moiré
antique_. Around the king’s neck hung a copper ornament made in little
points which radiated like beams all over his chest; on his bare arms
were strange-looking pendants which in shape could only be compared to
drumsticks with rings at the end. Halfway up the lower part of the arms
and just below the knee were three bright, horny-looking circlets cut
out of hippopotamus-hide, likewise tipped with copper. As a symbol of
his dignity Munza wielded in his right hand the sickle-shaped Monbuttoo
scimitar, in this case only an ornamental weapon, and made of pure
copper.
As soon as the king had taken his seat, two little tables, beautifully
carved, were placed on either side of his throne, and on these stood
the dainties of which he continually partook, but which were carefully
concealed by napkins of fig-bark; in addition to these tables, some
really artistic flasks of porous clay were brought in, full of drinking
water.
Such was Munza, the autocrat of the Monbuttoo, with whom I was now
brought face to face. He appeared as the type of those half-mythical
potentates, a species of Mwata Yanvo or Great Makoko, whose names
alone have penetrated to Europe, a truly savage monarch, without a
trace of anything European or Oriental in his attire, and with nothing
fictitious or borrowed to be attributed to him.
He was a man of about forty years of age, of a fair height, of a slim
but powerful build, and, like the rest of his countrymen, stiff and
erect in figure. Although belonging to a type by no means uncomely,
his features were far from prepossessing, but had a Nero-like
expression that told of _ennui_ and satiety. He had small whiskers and
a tolerably thick beard; his profile was almost orthognatic, but the
perfectly Caucasian nose offered a remarkable contrast to the thick and
protruding negro lips. In his eyes gleamed the wild light of animal
sensuality, and around his mouth lurked an expression that I never saw
in any other Monbuttoo, a combination of avarice, violence, and love of
cruelty that could with the extremest difficulty relax into a smile. No
spark of love or affection could beam forth from such features as his.
A considerable time elapsed before the king looked directly at the
pale-faced man with the long hair and the tight black clothes who now
for the first time appeared before him. I held my hat in my hand, but
no greeting had as yet taken place, for, observing that everyone kept
his seat when the king entered the hall, I had done the same, and now
waited for him to address me. The wild uproar of the cannibals still
continued, and Munza, sitting in a careless attitude, only raised his
eyes now and then from their fixed stare upon the ground as though to
scan the whole assemblage, but in reality to take stray glances at my
person, and in this way, little by little, he satisfied his curiosity.
I could not help marvelling at the composure of this wild African,
and wondering where in the world he could have learnt his dignity and
self-possession.
[Sidenote: THE ROYAL RECEPTION.]
At length the monarch began to ask me some questions. They were
fluently translated into the Zandey dialect by the chief interpreter,
who always played a principal part in our intercourse with the natives.
The Niam-niam in their turn rendered the sense to me in Arabic. The
conversation, however, was of the most commonplace character, and
referred neither to the purpose of my coming nor to the country from
which I came. Munza’s interrogations brought to my mind the rough
reception afforded to Reinhold Forster, the companion of the renowned
Captain Cook, by Frederick the Great, who bluntly asked him if he had
ever seen a king? “Yes, your Majesty,” was the answer, “several; two
tame and three savage.” Munza appeared extremely anxious to keep up
to an Oriental measure the principle of _nil admirari_; nothing could
disturb his composure, and even at my subsequent visits, where there
was no state ceremonial, he maintained a taciturnity nearly as resolute.
My servants now brought forth the presents I had brought and spread
them at the king’s feet. These consisted, in the first place, of a
piece of black cloth, a telescope, a silver platter, and a porcelain
vase; the silver was taken for white iron, and the porcelain for carved
ivory. The next gift was a real piece of carved ivory, brought as a
specimen to show the way in which the material is employed; there was a
book with gilt edges, a gift which could not fail to recall to my mind
the scene in which Speke describes Kamrasi’s first lesson in the Bible;
then came a double mirror, that both magnified and reduced what it
reflected; and last, though by no means least, was a large assortment
of beads of Venetian glass, including thirty necklaces, composed of
thirty distinct pieces, so that Munza was in possession of more than
a thousand separate beads.[12] The universal principle followed by
the Nubians forbade that any presents of firearms should be made to
native rulers. Munza regarded all these offerings with great attention,
but without committing himself to any audible expression of approval.
Not so his fifty wives, who were seated on stools arranged behind his
throne; they gave frequent half-suppressed utterances of surprise,
and the double mirror was passed admiringly from hand to hand, its
contortions eliciting shouts of delight.
There were fifty of these ladies present: they were only the most
intimate, or wives of the first rank, the entire number of court ladies
being far larger. Except in the greater elegance of their attire, they
departed in no way from the fashion of the country, the description of
which must be deferred for the present.
After a time Munza turned his attention to his refreshments. As far as
I could distinguish them, they consisted of lumps of plantain-meal and
tapioca piled on leaves, of dried plantains, and of a fruit which to
my surprise I immediately recognised as the cola-nut of the west. From
this rosy-shelled kernel the king cut a few slices, and chewed them
in the intervals of smoking his tobacco. His pipe, in the shape of an
iron stem six feet long, was handed to him by a chibbukchak, who was in
attendance for that purpose. Very remarkable was the way in which Munza
smoked. To bring himself into the correct position he threw himself far
back in his seat, supported his right elbow on the arm-rest, put one
leg across the other, and with his left hand received the pipe-stem. In
this attitude he gravely took one long inhalation, then, with a haughty
gesture, resigned his pipe to the hands of his attendant and allowed
the smoke slowly to reissue from his mouth. It is a habit among Turks
of rank to smoke thus by taking only two or three inhalations from a
pipe handed to them by their servants; but where, again, may I ask,
could this cannibal prince have learnt such a custom?
To my request for a cola-nut the king responded by graciously passing
me a specimen with his own hand. Turning to Mohammed, I expressed my
surprise at beholding this fruit of the far west amongst the Monbuttoo;
I told him of its high value[13] as a spice in Bornoo, where it is
worth its weight in silver, and I went on to say that it confirmed my
impression that the Welle was identical with the river of Baghirmy,
called the Shary, and that this nut accordingly came to me like a
key to a problem that I was seeking to solve. Then again addressing
Munza, I made him understand that I knew the fruit, and pointing in
the direction of Lake Tsad, I told him that there it was eaten by the
great people of the country. I hoped in this way to induce him to give
me some information on the subject; but he had made up his mind to be
astonished at nothing, nor could I ever even on future occasions draw
him into a geographical discussion. All that I could learn was that the
cola-nut grew wild in the country, and that it was called “nangweh” by
the natives, who were accustomed to chew it in the intervals of their
smoking.
[Sidenote: THE ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT.]
The performances that had been prepared for our entertainment now
commenced. First of all a couple of horn-blowers stepped forward,
and proceeded to execute solos upon their instruments. These men
were advanced proficients in their art, and brought forth sounds of
such power, compass, and flexibility that they could be modulated
from sounds like the roar of a hungry lion, or the trumpeting of an
infuriated elephant, down to tones which might be compared to the
sighing of the breeze or to a lover’s whisper. One of them, whose
ivory horn was so huge that he could scarcely hold it in a horizontal
position, executed rapid passages and shakes with as much neatness and
decision as though he were performing on a flute.
Next appeared a number of professional singers and jesters, and amongst
them a little plump fellow, who acted the part of a pantomime clown,
and jumped about and turned somersaults till his limbs looked like
the arms of a windmill; he was covered from head to foot with bushy
tufts and pigtails, and altogether his appearance was so excessively
ludicrous that, to the inward delight of the king, I burst into a
hearty fit of laughter. I called him a court fool, and in many respects
be fully deserved the title. I hardly know why the Nubians should have
drawn my attention, as though to something quite new, to the wooden
Monbuttoo scimitar that he wore in his girdle. His jokes and pranks
seemed never-ending, and he was permitted to take liberties with every
one, not excepting even Munza himself; and amongst other tricks he
would approach the king with his right hand extended, and just as Munza
had got hold of it, would start backwards and make off with a bound.
A short time before he appeared, some freshly baked ears of maize,
the first of the season, had been laid before me; of this delicacy
the fool, with the most comical gestures, made me comprehend that he
wished to partake; I therefore took up some detached grains, and threw
them, one by one, into his open mouth; he caught them with a snap, and
devoured them with such comical grimaces, that the performance called
forth a roar of applause from the whole assembly.
The next episode consisted of the performances of a eunuch, who
formed a butt for the wit of the spectators. How Munza had come into
possession of this creature, no one seemed to know, and I could only
learn that he was employed in the inner parts of the palace. He was
a fat grotesque-looking figure, and when he sang looked exactly like
a grunting baboon; to add to the oddity of his appearance, Munza, as
though in mockery of his Nubian guests, had had him arrayed in a red
fez, and thus he was the only one in all the immense concourse of
natives who had anything foreign in his attire.
[Sidenote: THE ROYAL ORATI0N.]
But the most important part of the programme was reserved for the end:
Munza was to make an oration. Whilst all the audience remained quietly
seated on their stools and benches, up jumped the king, loosened his
coat, cleared his throat, and commenced his harangue. Of course I
could not understand a single word, and a double interpretation would
have been worse than useless: but, from what I could see and hear,
it was evident that Munza endeavoured to be choice and emphatic in
his language, as not only did he often correct himself, but he made
pauses after the sentences that he intended to be impressive, to
allow for the applause of his auditors. Then the shout of “Ee, ee,
tchupy, tchupy, ee, Munza, ee,” resounded from every throat, and the
musical instruments caught up the strain, until the uproar was truly
demoniacal. Several times after this chorus, and as if to stimulate
the tumult, Munza uttered a stentorian “brrr—”[14] with a voice so
sonorous that the very roof vibrated, and the swallows fled in terror
from their nests in the eaves.
The kettle-drums and horns now struck up a livelier and more rhythmical
strain, and Munza assumed a new character and proceeded to beat time
with all the solemnity of a conductor. His _bâton_ was something like a
baby’s rattle, and consisted of a hollow sphere of basket-work filled
with pebbles and shells, and attached to a stick.[15]
The discourse lasted full half an hour, during which time I took the
portrait of the king that forms the frontispiece to this book. Hunger
at length compelled me to take my leave of the sovereign and retrace my
steps to the camp. At parting Munza said to me, “I do not know what to
give you in return for all your presents; I am sorry I am so poor and
have nothing to offer you.” Fascinated by his modesty and indulging the
idea that it was only a preface to a munificent gift worthy of royalty,
I replied, “Don’t mention that: I did not come for what I could get; we
buy ivory from the Turks, and pay them with yellow lead and white iron,
and we make white stuffs and powder and guns for ourselves. I only ask
for two things: a pig (_Potamochœrus_) and a chimpanzee.”
“You shall certainly have them,” said Munza; but I was thoroughly
deceived, and, in spite of my repeated reminders, neither pig nor
chimpanzee ever appeared.
As I left the hall the king commenced a new oration. As for myself, I
was so thoroughly fatigued with the noise and tumult, that I was glad
to spend the remainder of this memorable day quietly in my tent.
Early on the following morning I was aroused by my people, who begged
me to come out and see what the king was sending me. Looking down the
road I perceived a group of Monbuttoo, who with a good deal of shouting
were lugging up the hill something that I could not make out. Mohammed
presently hurried up with the surprising announcement that he had made
Munza comprehend that my valuables were all lying out in the open air
and exposed to the rain, and that the king was now sending me a house
as his first present. I thought at first that he was jesting, but a few
minutes sufficed to convince me of the truth of his statement. I then
became aware that about twenty natives were carrying on their shoulders
the substructure of a small quadrilateral house, while others were
following with the roof. A very short time elapsed before they had
mounted the hill and placed the erection in close juxtaposition to my
tent. The light structure, woven together with the Spanish reed, looked
exactly like a huge hamper, with the roof for a lid. It was about
twenty feet long, and sufficiently commodious to contain all my goods,
and was especially useful for protecting my paper packets.
[Sidenote: MONBUTTOO VISITORS.]
I was thus elevated to the rank and enjoyed the rights of a householder
among the Monbuttoo, and my intercourse with the natives became
more intimate every day. My tent was continually besieged by a host
of curious spectators, of whom the more well-to-do brought their
benches, and, ranged in rows before the opening, watched in silent
eagerness my every movement. Their chiefest interest seemed absorbed in
contemplating my person, although many of the utensils and implements
that surrounded me must have been quite as strange and incomprehensible
to them. These frequent visitors at first afforded me great amusement,
and I received them with friendly gestures, and combed my hair and
shaved _in conspectu omnium_. Nor was the wonder all on their side;
every moment revealed some novelty to myself, and I found full
employment in sketching and taking notes. The great difficulty to our
intercourse was in not understanding one another’s language. Now and
then, however, I managed to get hold of some people who could speak the
Zandey dialect; and then, with the help of my Niam-niam interpreters,
I could ask them questions and get my wishes conveyed to the general
multitude.
“Bring your weapons,” I would say; “bring your weapons, and the produce
of your handicraft, your ornaments and tools, and I will give you
beautiful things in return; bring the fruits of your forests, and the
leaves of the trees on which they grow: bring the skins and skulls of
animals; but above all bring the human skulls that remain over from
your meals: they are of no use to you—bring them, and I will give you
copper in exchange.”
I had rarely occasion to repeat my request, but almost before my wish
was uttered there was opened a regular curiosity mart; goods were
bartered, and a flourishing trade was done.
The stock of bones that was thus brought to me in one day was quite
astonishing, and could not do otherwise than remove any lingering
hesitation I might have in believing the cannibal propensities of
the people. There were piles of every kind—fragments of skulls, and
lower jaw-bones from which the teeth had been extracted to serve as
ornaments for the neck. The belief seemed to be that I had no intention
of dealing otherwise than wholesale. Proofs enough were before me;
sufficient, I should suppose, to silence even the most stubborn
scepticism. It cost me some trouble to convince the people that my
requirements only extended to such skulls as were perfectly uninjured,
and that for such only could I be content to pay. For a perfect skull
I promised an armlet of copper, but I found that nearly all that
were brought to me had been smashed for the purpose of extracting
the brains. Out of the two hundred skulls that were produced, I was
able to select no more than forty, each of which I carefully labelled
for consignment to Europe. The people who brought them professed to
give full particulars about them, as to where they had come from, and
whether they were male or female—details which of course enhanced the
value of the collection. The want of these particulars detracts very
much from the worth of many collections of skulls, for, as regards
the purposes of comparative ethnology, not much information is to be
derived from a skull of which the only explanation is that it came
from Brazil or East Africa. The great majority of those which the
Monbuttoo brought me had been procured from the people who inhabited
the districts south of their own land, and were the result of the
raids that had been made upon them; hardly any were the skulls of the
Monbuttoo themselves. The condition in which I received many of the
fragments afforded indubitable proof that they had been boiled in water
and scraped with knives; and some, I suspect, came straight from the
platters of the natives, inasmuch as they were still moist, and had the
odour of being only just cooked. A good many had all the appearance of
being raked out of old dust-heaps, whilst some few had been found in
the streams, and had manifestly been laved by the water.
[Sidenote: CONTRIBUTION OF SKULLS.]
To those who brought the skulls, I thought it expedient to explain that
we wanted them, so that in our far-off country we could learn all about
the people who dwelt here, and that we were able, from the mere shape
of the head, to tell all about people’s tempers and dispositions, their
good qualities and their bad; and that for this purpose we gathered
skulls together from every quarter of the globe. When the Khartoomers
saw that the collection was now going on for a second year, they were
only the more confirmed in their belief that I submitted them to a
certain process by which I obtained a subtle poison. From the more
dense and stupid natives, the idea could not be eradicated that I
wanted all the bones for my food. To save the honour of Europe, and in
love for the science of which I was the representative, I lavished on
these errors an incense unbefitting the doctrine of Gall’s phrenology.
Among those who day after day entered the camp to pay me a visit,
were several who had come from a great distance, and amongst them
the ambassadors of the neighbouring Niam-niam king, Kanna, whose
territories lie to the west and north-west of the Monbuttoo. The
district had been part of the kingdom of Keefa, a powerful prince,
whose enormous stores of ivory had ever constituted a great attraction
for the expeditions of the Khartoomers, though they seldom travelled
as far as his dominions. Keefa, whose surname was Ntikkima, about two
years before our arrival, had lost his life in a campaign against the
Mabode, a black negro people to the south-west of the Monbuttoo. His
four eldest sons had partitioned his extensive power between them,
and the largest share of land had fallen to the lot of Kanna, who now
sent the deputation to invite Mohammed to visit his country. Mohammed,
meanwhile, had already determined that the land of Kanna should be the
limit of the southward march of a corps that he detached; but time
would not permit us ourselves to make so wide a _détour_. It would
occupy the space of several months.
From these Niam-niam envoys I derived several scraps of information
about the western regions, which threw some light upon the lower course
of the Welle, and of that other stream to the north of it, which,
from the union of several streams that rise in the district of Wando,
appears very soon to become a large and copious river. Between these
two rivers (the Welle and the so-called Bahr-el-Wando, which joins it
in Kanna’s district) was situated the residence of the deceased Keefa,
which, owing to its position, was described in the Arabic way as being
on an island. It was represented as being to the N.N.W. of Munza’s
residence, from which, according to their accounts, it was distant some
forty miles.
I made inquiries amongst them about the white man Piaggia, whom the
Nubians had brought into the country, and who was affirmed to have
visited Keefa’s residence; but my respondent replied that, though
they had heard of him by report, he had never been into the country;
and this corresponded exactly with what had been told me by Ghattas’s
company that had brought Piaggia as far as Tombo.
All that Piaggia communicated about the Niam-niam was very interesting,
and remains uncontested; but he lies open to the reproof of making
fictitious routes. It is evident, moreover, that he arranges the
Niam-niam princes in a false order; for example, he makes Keefa follow
immediately after Malingde or Malindo; and he only assigns a period of
two days for a journey which Antinori, the editor of his reports, has
simply stated to be sixty-five miles. I should congratulate a company
that could get a party of refractory bearers to accomplish more than
a dozen leagues a day, where they would have to cross a dozen brooks
and marshes, many of them taking half an hour to accomplish. Not a
word, moreover, does he utter about the strange people who reside
to the south of the Niam-niam. At Indimma, the population is a very
intermingled race, the Niam-niam scarcely making up one-half, and in
Keefa’s region scarcely making up a minority. Elsewhere Piaggia’s
observations seemed acute enough, but here he has nothing to remark.
[Sidenote: THE KING’S SON.]
Many as were the visitors that I received at my tent, none
awakened greater interest than one of the sons of Munza. The name
of this distinguished personage was Bunza, and he was about the
lightest-skinned individual that I had here beheld. His complexion
could not have been fairer if he had been a denizen of Central Egypt.
His hair was equally pale and grizzly; his tall chignon being not
unlike a bundle of hemp, and standing in marked contrast to the black
tresses which were stretched across the brow. As the hair about
the temples does not grow sufficiently long for this purpose, the
Monbuttoo are accustomed to use false hair; and as fair heads of hair
are somewhat uncommon, false hair to match the original is difficult
to purchase. This young man, of whom I was successful in taking a
deliberate sketch, exhibited all the characteristics of pronounced
albinism, and in truth to a degree which can be often seen in a fair
individual of the true Semitic stock, either Jew or Arabian. The eyes
seemed painfully affected by light, and had a constant objectless
leer; the head, supported on a shrivelled neck, kept nodding with an
involuntary movement, and whenever it rested it was sure to be in some
extraordinary position. Bunza reminded me very vividly of some white
twins that I once saw on the Red Sea: they were fishermen of Djidda,
and looked as like each other as eggs from one nest. I do not know that
I am warranted in drawing any definite inferences from my observation;
but I cannot suppress the remark, that to my mind the Monbuttoo have
the tokens of a Semitic origin most thoroughly impressed upon their
countenance, to which in particular the nose (which does not at all
approach to the common negro outline) very much contributes. Bunza’s
nose was a regular hawk’s-bill.
Of the other members of the royal family, several of Munza’s wives
and his eldest sister came to inspect our camp. This latter woman was
repulsive-looking enough, and did not appear to possess any of the
warlike virtues attributed to one of her sisters named Nalengbe, who
is since dead, but who had once arrayed herself in a man’s dress, and
entered into personal conflict with the Nubians. This weak woman’s
vanity made her the laughing-stock of strangers and acquaintances
alike; she perambulated the camp, displaying the grossest familiarity
with the soldiers. She begged me to make her a present of some lead,
which the Nubians from motives of policy had withheld. Lead was still
in this region as much of a rarity as though it was just discovered,
and produced among them for the first time. Munza’s sister used to
hammer bright ear-rings out of whatever musket-balls she could procure.
One morning about thirty of the royal ladies came, all together, into
the camp to receive the presents which Mohammed had provided for them.
They all had comely, youthful, well-knit figures, and were for the
most part tall, but much cannot be said in favour of their expression.
They emulated each other in the extent of their head-gear and in the
profusion with which they adorned the body. Two of them submitted to
have their portraits taken; the whole party sat in a circle, taking up
their position during the time that I was sketching the likenesses on
the little single-stemmed stools which they had brought with them; when
they took their seats they threw their bands across their laps. Some
of the group stood out in marked contrast to the rest by their light
complexion and fair hair, whilst others approximated very nearly to the
colour of _café-au-lait_. When I had finished my drawing, I was anxious
to show my appreciation of the ladies’ patience, and accordingly
offered to present them with some beads, but they at once begged to
refuse the proffered necklace, explaining that they were not at liberty
to accept presents from any one but “Mbahly” (Aboo Sammat). These they
had come to fetch, but they had had no orders to receive anything from
“Mbarik-pah;” it might arouse suspicion, and suspicion with Munza, the
interpreters insisted, was tantamount to death.
[Sidenote: INTRUDERS.]
However interested I might be, just at first, in the vivacious
movements of the people as they thronged around me, it did not take
long to make me feel that they were a weariness and a nuisance. On the
very next day after our arrival I was obliged to encircle my tent with
a thorn-hedge to keep off the press of the inquisitive crowds; full
many, however, there were who would not be deterred by any obstacle of
this kind; regardless of the obstruction, they penetrated right into
my presence. I was interrupted at every moment by these intrusions. My
next resource was to have a lot of water dashed over the encroaching
rabble, and finding that fail, I fired some trains of gunpowder, and,
in the hopes of alarming the natives, I proceeded to set light to a
few shells; but even the explosions of these did not take much effect.
It seemed as if nothing could keep the curious crowds at a distance,
and, at my wits’ end what to do, I applied to Mohammed for assistance.
He assigned me a guard of men; but even this scheme only partially
succeeded; it answered very well as long as I kept within the bounds
of my asylum, but I had only to venture beyond, and I found my retinue
as large as ever. The majority of those who harassed me in this way
were women, who, by keeping up with me step by step, thoroughly baffled
me in all my attempts to botanize; and if perchance I managed to get
away into the wood, they would find me out, and trample down the rare
flowers I had laboriously collected, till I was almost driven to
despair. When thus escorted by about a hundred women I was marching
down to the streams in the depth of the valleys, I might indulge the
fancy that I was at the head of a triumphal procession, and as often
as our path led us through villages and farms the numbers in the train
were swollen prodigiously.
Sometimes I was in a better mood, and indulged in a little joke. I had
picked up some of their words, and when I shouted one of these out loud
it was taken up merrily by the whole party, and passed on from mouth
to mouth. Their word “hosanna,” for instance, means “it is not,” and
on one occasion having happened to shout out this, I proceeded for
a quarter of an hour while the women around me paused not a moment
in making the air resound with the cry “Hosanna.” Not unfrequently
I would try them with some hard crack-jaw German word, in order to
enjoy their conscientious endeavours to reproduce it; but perhaps best
of all for producing a characteristic scene was the choice of one of
their imitative names of animals, where the appellation is derived from
the sounds uttered by the creatures themselves. A goat is in this way
called “memmeh.” I once seated myself in the centre of a concourse of
women, and drew a picture of a couple of goats, and the keynote being
given, every time a fresh woman came up she found herself greeted with
the universal bleating cry of “Memmeh, memmeh—eh?” “What’s the row?
What’s up?” would be her question. “Memmeh, memmeh” (a goat, a goat),
would be all the answer.
[Sidenote: INQUISITIVENESS.]
These Monbuttoo women, who were so intolerably obtrusive whilst I was
amongst other folks, were reserved enough about themselves; however
much I might be anxious to investigate their domestic habits, I had
but to present myself at the entrances of their huts, and off they
were in an instant to the interior, and their doors barred against all
intrusion.
There were delicious places where, encircled by the luxuriance of a
tropical vegetation, the clear and sparkling pools invited me to the
enjoyment of a safe and refreshing bath, an irresistible attraction
after the numberless mud baths of the Niam-niam country. Everything
seemed to conspire to render the scenery perfect in its bewitching
grace; each winding of the brook would be overarched by a magnificent
canopy of gorgeous foliage; the waving pendants of the blooming shrubs
would shadow the secluded stream; a fantastic wreath of elegant
ferns growing up amongst the goodly leaves of the aroideæ and the
ginger-plants would adorn the banks; gigantic stems, clothed with
accumulated moss, would rise upwards in majestic height and reach
down like steps in romantic beauty to the bathing-place. But, alas!
even this nook, where the delights of paradise seem almost to be
perpetuated, may not be secure from the torment of humanity. It happens
here according to the teaching of the poet, that—
“every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile.”
Nature is only free and perfect where man comes not with his disturbing
foot. In my romantic bathing, this disturbance, ever and again, would
come in the shape of some hideous and inquisitive Monbuttoo woman, who
had posted herself on the overlooking heights, either to enjoy the
picturesque contrast of light and shade, or to gratify her curiosity by
getting a peep at my figure through the openings of the foliage as I
emerged from the dim obscurity of the wood.
A day seldom passed without my making some addition to my botanical
store. Beside a pathway in the wood I chanced to come upon the great
seeds of a legumen which hitherto was quite unknown to me; the natives,
when I showed them to them, told me that the name of the plant which
bore them was the “morokoh;” after a while I succeeded in getting an
entire pod, and recognised it as the produce of the _Entada scandens_,
known in the West Indies as the sword-bean. These seed-vessels attain
a length of five feet, and are about as wide as anyone could span, the
seeds themselves being flat, and having their corners rounded off,
and (with the exception of the produce of some palms) are the largest
that are known, their flattened sides not unfrequently measuring three
square inches. Their size gives them a great capability for resisting
the influence of the sea, and they retain their germinating power for
many months, so that, carried over by the ocean-currents, they are
borne to every quarter of the globe. They have been observed in the
arctic regions and on the northern shores of Nova Zembla, and within
the tropics they have found their way to both the Indies and to many
islands of the Pacific. These enormous beans bear signal witness to
the course of the Gulf Stream. Their proper home would seem to be the
tropical regions of Africa, as their occurrence in the Monbuttoo lands,
equally distant from either ocean, manifestly witnesses. Anxious to
investigate where the “morokoh” could really be found, I devoted a
special excursion to the search, and went out for a couple of leagues
or more in a south-westerly direction from the camp. Crossing several
brooks and passing through many a grove of oil-palms, we reached some
farmsteads that were erected in a welcome shade. All along our steps
we were followed by a group of people who continually fell out and
squabbled with the Bongo and other natives belonging to our caravan,
but who towards myself personally were as courteous and amiable as
could be wished. It might be expected that my bean-pods, five feet
long, would be found upon some enormous trees of corresponding
growth, but in truth the _Entada scandens_ is a weak deciduous creeper,
which climbs along the underwood that abounds in the depressions of the
brooks.
[Illustration: MUNZA’S RESIDENCE.]
[Sidenote: THE ROYAL CASTLE.]
The twenty days of our residence in this interesting spot slipped away
only too quickly. There was, however, a series of fresh surprises
awaiting me. How I made acquaintance with the Pygmies is a tale that
must be told in a later chapter. High festivities in the court of the
king—the general summons of the population to take their share in the
hunt as often as either buffaloes or elephants came within sight—the
arrival of vassals conveying their tribute and making a solemn entrance
with their attendant warriors—all these events succeeded each
other in rapid order, and gave me ample opportunity of studying the
peculiarities of the people from many a different point of view.
I paid repeated visits to the king, sometimes finding him in his
granaries engaged in distributing provisions to his officers, and
sometimes in the inner apartments of his own special residence. One
afternoon I received permission, in company with Mohammed, to inspect
all the apartments of the royal castle. The master of the ceremonies
and the head-cook escorted us round. Mohammed was already familiar with
all the arrangements, and was consequently able to call my attention
to anything worthy of particular notice. What I call “the castle”
is a separate group of huts, halls, and sheds, which are enclosed
by a palisade, and which may be entered only by the king and by the
officers and servants of the royal household. All official business
is transacted in the outer courts. Trees were planted regularly all
round the enclosure, and contributed to give a comfortable and homelike
aspect to the whole. Not only did the oil-palms abound, but other
serviceable trees were planted round the open space, and declared
the permanency of the royal residence, in contradistinction to the
fluctuating and unsettled dwelling-places of the Niam-niam chieftains.
I was next brought to a circular building with an imposing conical
roof, which was appropriated as the arsenal, and was full of weapons
of every variety. Sword-blades and lances were especially numerous,
and I was at liberty to make my selection out of them, as the king had
chosen in this way to make his return for the presents he had received
from me. The superintendents and keepers of the armoury did all in
their power to interfere with the freedom of my choice, and as often
as I showed my fancy for any piece that was particularly rare, they
hesitated before surrendering it, and made a condition that the express
consent of the king must be secured before a specimen so _recherché_
could be given up. As the result of this exchange of presents, I found
my tent loaded with an immense assortment of knives, scimitars, lances,
spears, bows, and arrows. At the subsequent conflagration all the
wooden portions of these were destroyed, but the metal work was safely
remitted to Europe as a proof of the artistic taste and industry of the
people.
[Illustration: Breed of cattle from the Maoggoo country.]
The same day I had the opportunity of seeing the splendid oxen which
Munza had received from the friendly king in the south-east, and to
which I have already had occasion to refer.[16] A representation of one
of these animals is now introduced, showing the great fat hump, which
is larger than any that I had hitherto seen.
All attempts to elicit any information about the country to the south
of their own were quite unavailing; the people were silent as the
tomb. Nor did I succeed much better when I came to inquire of King
Munza himself. Every inquiry on my part was baffled by the resolute
secrecy of African state policy, and the difficulties of the duplicate
interpretation gave Munza just the pretext he wanted for circumlocution
and evasive replies.
[Sidenote: PIAGGIA’S LAKE.]
I was most anxious to obtain correct information as to whether the
great inland lake to which Piaggia had referred had any real existence
in the district or not, and I satisfied myself by positive testimony
that the natives had no actual knowledge about it. But it was really
very difficult to convey to them any notion whatever of what was
intended; there was an utter absence of any simile by which the idea of
a lake, a great inland expanse of fresh water, could be illustrated,
and the languages of the interpreters (Arabic and Zandey), however
copious they might be, were yet inadequate in this particular matter.
Neither in Egypt nor in the Egyptian Soudan is there a proper term for
a lake. There are indeed the terms “birket,” “foola,” and “tirra,” but
these only signify respectively a pond, a rainpool, and a marsh; and
Piaggia, who, as I have pointed out, did not actually reach Keefa,
spoke only from hearsay, either from the reports of the Nubians,
to whom probably some vague information of Baker’s discoveries had
reached, or by an erroneous conception of the explanation of the
natives when they described the “great water,” which in reality was
the river flowing past Keefa’s residence. Monbuttoo and Niamniam
alike are entirely incapable of comprehending what is meant by an
ocean. Anything contrary to this statement which may have been spread
abroad by Khartoom adventurers[17] I do not think I need hesitate to
describe as sheer nonsense or as idle fancy. The tales of steamers and
of ships with crews of white men, which are said to have been described
by the natives as having come along their rivers, and the stories
that pictures of these ships have been found in their dwellings, are
doubtless circulated amongst travellers to the Niam-niam lands, but
without any assignable grounds.
After much demurring and waiving the question, the king’s interpreter
did affirm that he knew of such standing water in the country: be
pointed towards the direction of the W.S.W., and said its name was
“Madimmo,” and that it was Munza’s own birthplace. The place was called
“Ghilly” by the Niam-niam; but when I inquired more accurately, and
began to investigate its extent, I received an answer which set my mind
entirely at rest that it was as large as Munza’s palace!
I nurtured the silent hope that by mentioning certain names that
perchance might be known to the Monbuttoo, I should succeed in breaking
down their reserve. I asked the king if he knew anything of the land of
Ulegga and of its king Kadjoro, or whether he knew King Kamrasi, whose
dominions were beyond the “great water,” and behind the mountains of
the Malegga; and I pointed at the same time towards the S.E. Then I
mentioned Kamrahs, repeating the word and saying “Kamrahs, Kamrahs,”
in the way that the Nubians are accustomed to do, but both Munza and
his interpreter were silent, or proceeded to speak of other matters.
But while this conversation was going on, a significant look that Munza
gave his interpreter did not escape my notice, and very much confirmed
my suspicion that he was not altogether unacquainted with Kamrasi.
[Sidenote: AN EXCHANGE.]
Some time afterwards Munza, in the most off-hand way, complained that
I had not given him enough copper. Knowing the general expectations
of an African king, I was only surprised that he had not urged his
demand before. He reminded me of the quantity of copper that Mohammed
had given him: “Mohammed,” he said, “is a great sultan; but you are
also a great sultan.” When I reminded him that I did not take any of
his ivory, he seemed to acquiesce in my excuse; but he very shortly
afterwards sent me some messengers to request that I would make him
a present of the two dogs which I had brought with me. They were two
common Bongo curs of very small growth, but by contrast with the mean
breed of the Monbuttoo and the Niam-niam they were attractive enough to
excite the avidity of Munza. He had never seen dogs of such a size, and
did not want them as dainty morsels for his table, but really wished to
have them to keep. However, he had long to beg in vain; I assured him
that the creatures had grown up with me till I was truly fond of them;
they were, as I told him, my children; I was not disposed to part with
them at any price, and might as well be asked to give the hair off my
head. But my representations had no effect upon Munza; he had made up
his mind to have the dogs, and did not pass a day without repeating
his request, and enforcing it by sending fresh relays of presents to
my tent. Nothing, however, moved me. At last some slaves, both male
and female were sent, and the sight of these suggested a new idea. I
resolved to give way, and to exchange one of my dogs for a specimen of
the little Akka people. Munza acceded at once, and sent me two of them.
He could not suppress his little joke. “You told me,” said he, “not
long since, that the dogs were your children; what will you say if I
call these my children?”
I accepted the smallest of the Akka, a youth who might be about
fifteen years of age, hoping to be able to take him to Europe as a
living evidence o£ a truth that lay under the myth of some thousand
years. I shall give a fuller account of this little specimen of
humanity in the chapter that will be devoted to the subject of the
Pygmies.
It had, moreover, become high time for me to give way, and not to put
the cannibal ruler’s patience to too severe a test. The exchange which
had been effected restored me to the royal favour, and a prohibition
which had been issued to the natives, warning them not to have any
transactions with me by selling me produce or curiosities, was
withdrawn. I received now such quantities of ripe plantains that I was
able to procure an abundance of plantain-wine, an extremely palatable
and wholesome drink, which is obtained after being allowed to ferment
for twenty-four hours.
During this time Mohammed had began to find that the supply of
provisions was growing inadequate, and that he would find some
difficulty in meeting the necessities of his numerous bearers and of
his heterogeneous caravan. He accordingly resolved to make a division
of the entire company, and to send a detachment back to Izingerria
beyond the Welle, where they might get corn and other supplies. In my
own case, I was obliged to do without proper bread; no eleusine was
to be had, and I was reduced to a flat tough cake made of manioc and
plantain-meal.
[Illustration: Goat of the Momvoo.]
[Sidenote: GOATS OF THE MOMVOO.]
As no cattle-breeding is practised among the Monbuttoo, I should
have been fastened down to a uniform diet of vegetables if I had not
happened to be aware that in the last raid against the Momvoo a very
considerable number of goats had been driven into the country. I
induced the king to become my agent for getting me some of them, and
sent him three large copper bracelets, weighing about a pound, for
every goat that he would let me have. In this way I gradually obtained
about a dozen fat goats, and more beautiful creatures of the I kind
had never seen since I had left Khartoom. They were of two different
breeds: one of them was singularly like the Bongo race, which has been
before described, and which are remarkable for the long hair that
hangs from their neck and shoulders; the other differed from any type
that I had previously seen in having an equally-distributed drooping
fleece, which serves as a covering for its short-haired extremities,
and in its nose being very considerably arched. The ordinary colour
of these graceful animals is a uniform glossy black. They are fed
almost exclusively upon plantain leaves, a food which makes them thrive
admirably. When I had got half-a-dozen of them together I had them all
killed at once. I had the flesh all taken off the bones, the sinews
carefully removed, and then made my bearers, who had no other work to
do, mince it up very fine upon some boards. The entire mass was next
thrown into great vessels and boiled; it was afterwards strained, and
when it had got cold it was freed from all fat and finally steamed
until it was a thick jelly. The extract of meat obtained in this way
had to serve throughout our return journey, and in the sequel proved
a very remunerative product. It was not liable to decomposition, and
its keeping so well made it an excellent resource in time of want and
postponed the evil day of our actual suffering from hunger.
Besides the company of Mohammed Aboo Sammat, there were two other
companies that for some years had been accustomed to carry their
expeditions into the Monbuttoo country, namely, Agahd’s and that of
the Poncets, which was afterwards transferred to Ghattas. It was a
matter of arrangement that these should confine their operations to the
eastern districts, where Degberra was king. At their departure they
always left a small detachment in charge to look after their business
interests and to prevent any competition. Agahd’s and Poncet’s soldiers
had been left in the garrisons in the districts that were under the
control of Degberra’s generals, Kubby and Benda, and they were only too
glad to embrace the present chance (as we were only distant a two days’
journey) of coming to see their friends and acquaintance from Khartoom
and to hear the news.
[Sidenote: AFRICAN CAUTION.]
To all appearance the Monbuttoo air agreed excellently with them
all, which is more than can be said of those who reside in some of
the northern Seribas. They had wives and families in the country,
and made no other complaint than that their life was somewhat lonely
and monotonous and their food so different to what they had been
accustomed to; but what the fanatical Mohammedans had most readily to
avow was that they really held the natives in admiration and respect,
notwithstanding their intense detestation of the cannibalism which
was attributed to them. Mohammed also left some of his people in the
neighbourhood of Munza; and these strangers had permission to erect
Seribas and to plant their environs with sweet-potatoes, manioc, and
plantains. Their prerogative extended no further than this, and they
had no authority at all over the natives; however small might be
their number in any place (sometimes not a score of men altogether)
they were sure to be sufficient to restrain the inhabitants from any
attempt at surprise. The African savages are not like the American
Indiana, who are always prepared to see a few of their party killed at
the outset, provided that they can only make sure of ultimate success
and can get their plunder at last; not that the Africans underrate the
advantage they possess in the superiority of their numbers, nor that
they entertain too high an estimate of the bravery of the Nubians, but
they are conscious that no attack could be ventured without one or two
of them having to pay the penalty of their lives. No one is ready for
his own part to run the risk of his own being the life that must be
sacrificed; and thus it happens that the prospect of a few deaths is
sufficient to deter them, though they might be reckoned by thousands,
from making that outbreak which their numerical strength might
guarantee would be finally successful.
As soon as Mohammed became aware that he had got to the end of the
king’s store of ivory he began to think of his ways and means, and
contemplated pushing on farther to the south and opening a new market
for himself. With the greatest enthusiasm I entered into his design,
and taking up his cry, “To the world’s end!” I added, “Now’s the time,
and onward let us go!” But, unfortunately, there were insuperable
obstacles in the way. In the first place, there was the decided
opposition of the king, who entertained the very natural belief that
the farther progress of the Khartoomers to the south would interfere
with his monopoly of the copper trade; and in the next place there was
the impossibility of Mohammed being able, without Munza’s co-operation,
to procure sufficient provisions for so arduous an undertaking. To
put the former difficulty to the test, Mohammed despatched his nephew
with the conduct of an expedition just sufficiently large to venture
the attempt. For three days this expedition pressed on, until upon the
River Nomayo, an affluent of the Welle, they reached the residence of
one of Munza’s sub-chieftains, whose name was Mummery. Halfway upon
their route they had rested at the dwelling-place of another chieftain,
named Nooma. Both Mummery and Nooma, it should be said, were Munza’s
own brothers; but neither of them would venture to open commercial
transactions of any kind without the express orders of the king, and
consequently the expedition had to return at once and leave its object
unaccomplished.
The disappointment was very keen: it was a bitter grief to see one’s
most cherished projects melt thus thoroughly away. Nor was it a much
smaller matter of regret that Mohammed felt himself obliged to curtail
even our few weeks’ residence with Munza; he might propose, indeed, to
advance to the south from the eastern portion of the Monbuttoo country,
but that was a project that was little likely to be accomplished.
For a long period I held fast to my intention of remaining behind alone
in Munza’s country with the soldiers who would be left in charge of
the Seriba; and I indulged the fascinating hope that I should find
an opportunity of penetrating into that farther south which I longed
so earnestly to investigate; but my protector would not acquiesce in
this for a moment, nor did any of my own people show an inclination to
support my wishes. It was very doubtful if we could be relieved during
the next year, or the year after, if at all; my resources even now
were hardly enough to take me home again; the wherewithal for further
enterprise was altogether wanting; if I should entrust my collection,
which I had so laboriously gathered, to the care of others, there was
every risk of its becoming wet and even spoiled; the prospect, too,
of penetrating into the interior under the escort of the Monbuttoo
themselves was not altogether inviting: I should only have accompanied
their plundering raids, where I should have been compelled to be a
daily witness of their cruelties and cannibalism; thus upon serious
deliberation I was driven to the conviction that my scheme was not
feasible.
[Sidenote: WANT OF A GOLDEN KEY.]
No doubt a very different vista would have opened itself before me
into the untraversed interior of the continent if I had chanced to be
one of those favoured travellers who have unlimited command of gold.
But fortune and money appear, with regard to African travel, to stand
very much in the same relation to one another as force and time in
physics; what you gain in one, you lose in the other. The fortunate and
healthy travellers, like Karl Mauch and Gerhard Rohlfs, have generally
been very limited in their means; whilst rich travellers, such as the
Baron von der Decken and Miss Tinné, have succumbed to difficulties,
sickened, or died. Any expedition that was fitted out with a liberality
proportioned to that of Speke’s would have been capable of advancing
from Munza’s to the south, defiant of opposition; enough copper would
have neutralised the resistance of the king; if force could be opposed
by force, and threats could be met by threats, the native princes would
all declare themselves to be friends, and, like Mtesa and Kamrasi,
would meet them with open arms. But, as I say, the resources must
be adequate. With two hundred soldiers from Khartoom, not liable to
fever, and capable of existing upon food of any sort, and who were up
to all the dodges and chicaneries of the African chieftains, any one
could penetrate as far as he chose. If I had possessed 10,000 dollars
in my purse, or had them invested properly in Khartoom, I would have
guaranteed to bring my leader on to Bornoo. The sum would have sufficed
to keep his soldiers up to their duty; and under those circumstances I
should have been master of the situation, and Mohammed would have had
means to get as much ivory as he could desire.
These intimations may suffice to show that, in my opinion, with the aid
of the Khartoom merchant companies, access could be had to the remotest
parts of the continent without any exorbitant outlay of money; but
conditions so favourable for prosecuting the work as those which then
fell to my lot, I fear may be long before they occur again.
Munza’s visits made a diversion in our camp life. The finest
entertainment, however, which chanced to occur was the celebration of
the victory which Mummery had obtained over the Momvoo. As the produce
of his successful raid, Mummery brought the due contributions of ivory,
slaves, and goats, to lay before the feet of the king, and the occasion
was taken to institute a festival on the grandest scale. In consequence
of Munza’s establishment being already taxed with the entertainment of
so many strangers, Mummery only stayed for a single night. The morning
after his arrival was appointed for the feast.
[Illustration: KING MUNZA DANCING BEFORE HIS WIVES.]
The early part of the day was cold and rainy; but quite betimes,
the shouts and cheers that rang around the camp told us that the
rejoicing already had begun. Towards midday the news was brought that
the excitement was reaching its climax, and that the king himself
was dancing in the presence of his numerous wives and courtiers. The
weather was still chill and drizzly; but, putting on a long black
frock-coat as being the most appropriate costume for the occasion,
I bent my steps to the noble saloon, which resounded again with the
ringing echoes of uproarious cheers and clanging music. The scene that
awaited me was unique. Within the hall there was a spacious square left
free, around which the eighty royal wives were seated in a single row
upon their little stools, having painted themselves in honour of the
occasion with the most elaborate care; they were applauding most
vigorously, clapping their hands with all their might. Behind the women
stood an array of warriors in full accoutrement, and their lines of
lances were a frontier of defence. Every musical accompaniment to which
the resources of the court could reach had all been summoned, and there
was a _mêlée_ of gongs and kettle-drums, timbrels and trumpets, horns
and bells. Dancing there in the midst of all, a wondrous sight, was the
king himself.
[Sidenote: MUNZA’S DANCE.]
Munza was as conspicuous in his vesture as he was astounding in his
movements. It is ever the delight of African potentates on occasions
of unusual pomp to present themselves to their subjects in some new
aspect. Munza’s opportunities in this way were almost unlimited, as he
had a house full of skins and feathers of every variety: he had now
attired his head in the skin of a great black baboon, giving him the
appearance of wearing a grenadier’s bearskin; the peak of this was
dressed up with a plume of waving feathers. Hanging from his arms were
the tails of genets, and his wrists were encircled by great bundles
of tails of the guinea-hog. A thick apron, composed of the tails of a
variety of animals was fastened round his loins, and a number of rings
rattled upon his naked legs. But the wonder of the king’s dress was
as nothing compared to his action. His dancing was furious. His arms
dashed themselves furiously in every direction, though always marking
the time of the music; whilst his legs exhibited all the contortions
of an acrobat’s, being at one moment stretched out horizontally to the
ground, and at the next pointed upwards and elevated in the air. The
music ran on in a wild and monotonous strain, and the women raised
their hands and clapped together their open palms to mark the time.
For what length of time this dance had been going on I did not quite
understand; I only know that I found Munza raving in the hall with all
the mad excitement which would have been worthy of the most infatuated
dervish that had ever been seen in Cairo. Moment after moment it looked
as if the enthusiast must stagger, and, foaming at the mouth, fall
down in a fit of epilepsy; but nervous energy seems greater in Central
Africa than among the “hashishit” of the north: a slight pause at the
end of half an hour, and all the strength revived; once again would
commence the dance, and continue unslackened and unwearied.
[Illustration: Music]
So thoroughly were the multitude engrossed with the spectacle that
hardly any attention at all was given to my arrival, and a few who
noticed it did not permit themselves to be diverted from the enjoyment
of their pleasure. I had an opportunity, therefore, of transferring the
scene to paper, and of finishing a sketch which embraces its prominent
features.
But above the tumult of men was heard the tumult of the elements. A
hurricane arose, with all the alarming violence of tropical intensity.
For a little while the assembly was unmoved and disposed to take no
notice of the storm; but soon the wind and pelting rain found their
way into the openings of the hall; the music ceased, the rolling drum
yielding to the thunder; the audience in commotion rose, and sought
retreat; and in another instant the spectacle was over; the dancing
king was gone.
The floods of rain compelled me to remain upon the spot, and I took
advantage of the opportunity to make an undisturbed inspection of the
other and larger hall, which was situated just opposite to the one in
which I was. A low doorway led into the edifice, which was 150 feet
long and not less than fifty feet high; it was lighted only by narrow
apertures, and the roof was supported on five rows of columns. On one
side of it was a wooden partition which divided off from the spacious
edifice a small apartment, where the king was accustomed, according
to the imperial wont of altering the sleeping-place, occasionally to
pass the night. An enormous erection, ponderous enough to support an
elephant, served as a bedstead; on each side of this were several posts
each encircled by forged iron rings that could not weigh less than half
a hundredweight. In this royal bedchamber I noticed a large number
of barbarous decorations, and I observed that the pillars and the
timberwork were rudely painted with numerous geometrical designs, but
that the artists seem to have had only three colours at their command;
blood-red, yellow-ochre, and the white from dogs’ dung (_album græcum_).
[Sidenote: A VISIT FROM THE KING.]
Munza twice honoured our camp with a visit. His majesty’s approach
was announced long beforehand by the outcries of the teeming people
that thronged along his way. On entering the encampment he found the
German flag waving from a tall flagstaff that I had erected in the
immediate proximity of my tent; he was curious to know what it meant,
and had to be initiated into the object of a national symbol, and to
be informed of the tragical experiences of King Theodore in Abyssinia.
It was a great relief to me that he did not require to enter either
into my tent or into a large grass-shed which had been recently erected
for me. Altogether the monarch displayed much less covetousness than
I had reason to expect. Recognising this moderation on his part, I
endeavoured to entertain him by showing him my collection of pictures,
and amongst others I submitted to him the one of himself in the copper
habiliments which he had worn on the day of our first audience. They
were the only portraits he had ever seen, and his astonishment was very
great; the play of the muscles of his face displayed the interest he
took, and, according to the custom of the land, he opened his mouth
quite wide, and covered it with his open hand, betraying thereby
his surprise and admiration. I had afterwards to open my bosom for
his inspection, and when I turned up my shirt-sleeves, he could not
suppress a cry of amazement. The interview ended, as such visits
generally did, by his expressing a wish, with which I had not the least
intention to comply, that I would take off my boots.
The date of our departure was now drawing near, and yet neither
my promised chimpanzee nor guinea-hog[18] had appeared. About the
chimpanzee the truth was that not one could be found in the district,
which was far too densely populated, and where the woods upon the
river-banks were very light and traversed by frequent pathways; but
with regard to the guinea-hog it was quite different; they were to be
found in the nearest environs of the royal residence, and, if only
Munza had been inclined, he could have redeemed his promise and secured
me a specimen without difficulty. He left me, consequently, to get one,
if I could, for myself; but this, to a novice in the chase, was more
easily said than done, and I had to ramble in the thickets, rifle in
hand, under the vain hope that I might secure a specimen.
Only once, and that was just when evening was coming on to close a
cloudy day, and a drizzling mist was giving obscurity to the woods, I
caught sight of one of these animals. Its red bristly head and long
pointed ears peered out from behind the prostrate stem of a great tree,
and I was just concluding that it was within gunshot, when at the
very instant two of my native attendants were seen beside it rolling
on the ground and bleeding at the nose. My people were not remarkable
for pluck, and nothing would induce them to a second venture with the
beast. Thus I was compelled to renounce my hope of getting a guinea-hog.
[Sidenote: WASHING DAY.]
During the earlier hours of the morning and the later hours of the
afternoon, I spent the time, day after day, in continual excursions,
which enabled me to add to the novelties of my collection. The middle
of the day I devoted to the necessary supervision of my household.
The periodic washing day had come, and I was at a loss to find a
washing-tub that could contain the accumulated linen. Mohammed’s
ingenuity came once more to my aid. He borrowed King Munza’s largest
meat-dish for my use. A lordly dish it was; more like a truck than an
article for the table. It was five feet long, and hewn from a single
block.
[Illustration: King Munza’s dish.]
FOOTNOTES:
[11] This palm is found in every bank-forest in the
Monbuttoo country, and its leaves vary from 25 to 35
feet in length: the midrib of the leaf (rhachis) is of
a bright brown colour, and furnishes the most popular
building material throughout Central Africa.
[12] I had obtained these little works of art from my
Venetian friend Miani, to whom they had been presented
some years previously by his fellow-citizens, when
he was preparing to undertake a new expedition. The
enterprise had failed from no other cause than from
the jealousy shown by the Egyptian Government.
[13] According to Liebig the cola-nut contains more
coffeine than the most potent coffee berries.
[14] It may interest the reader to learn that in the
Shamane prayers “brrr——” is synonymous with “hail,”
and I have little doubt that it here meant some sort
of applause, as it was always the signal for the
repetition of the hymn in celebration of the glories
of Munza.
[15] A similar contrivance is used on the river Gabon on
the West Coast.
[16] _Vide_ vol. i. chap. xiii.
[17] Compare Dr. Ori’s letter to the Marquis Antinori in
the ‘Bolletino della Soc. Geogr. Ital.,’ i. p. 184.
[18] The Guinea-hog (_Potamochœrus penicillatus_) is called
“Napezzo,” or “fat,” by the Monbuttoo, and its flesh
is considered very choice. These animals, which are
not nearly so wild as the wart-hogs (the blabark of
the South African Boërs), and are indeed capable
of being partially tamed, are found throughout the
tropical regions of Africa, from the west coast to
Zanzibar. Burton met with them in Ugogo. In early
times they were already introduced into Brazil.