in 1604. Then came the Capuchins, for the most part Italians and
Castilians, in 1651; and lastly barefooted Carmelites (Religiozos de S.
Thereza). Of all these friars the Italian Capuchins alone appear to have
done good work; and to members of their Order, and especially to
Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi, of Montecuccoli, Antonio Laudati, of Gaeta,
and Antonio Zucchelli, of Gradisco, we are indebted for much useful
information regarding the people among whom they laboured. Many of the
other friars seem to have been men whom their superiors in Europe were
glad to part with; and the same may be said with reference to the
secular clergy.
A report of the ecclesiastical affairs of Angola and Kongo, drawn up in
1694 by Gonçalo de Alcaçova Carneiro Carvalho da Costa de Menezes, by
order of the Governor, presents us with a deplorable picture of the
state of affairs in that year. Throughout the country there were only
thirty-six friars[506] and twenty-nine secular clergy; and of these as
many as twenty-nine had taken up their quarters in the capital. Of fifty
churches and chapels, many were without priests, and had fallen into
ruins. The village missions (missões das Sanzalas) had long been given
up, and many baptised negroes had returned to the ancient superstitions.
The author proposes the institution of a court of clerics, in order that
all lapses of this kind might be punished in accordance with the “sacred
canons.” A board of missions (Junta das missões), which had been created
in 1693, and richly endowed,[507] allowed things to drift. Lopes de
Lima[508] ascribes the failure of the Christian missions, first, to the
small number of missionaries and priests; secondly, to the corruption of
the clergy; and thirdly, to the slave-trade.
MEASURES OF ADMINISTRATION.
João Fernandez Vieira must be credited with the first serious attempt to
organise the military forces of the country (1660), by raising a
regiment, or _terço_, of infantry, for Luandu, and a company for each
presidio. These “regulars” were to be supported by the _guerra preta_,
or _empacaceiros_. A company of cavalry was added to the regular troops
in 1672; and the exemption from every kind of military service conferred
upon the inhabitants of Luandu since 1660 was partly abolished in 1695,
and orders given for the organisation of a _terço_ of _ordenanças_
(militia) for Luandu, and of seventeen companies for the districts and
presidios. The fortifications of Luandu had been much improved since the
expulsion of the Dutch. The fort of S. Miguel, at Luandu, which was
begun in 1638, had been completed by D. João de Lencastre in 1689; and
at the close of the century there existed forts, sufficiently strong to
resist native attack, at Muchima, Masanganu, Kambambe, Pungu a ndonga,
Mbaka, S. Filippe de Benguella, and Kakonda.
The only measure bearing upon the civil administration of the country
seems to have been the publication of a _Regimento_ for the guidance of
officers of revenue and of justice, in 1675. At the same time, an extra
export-duty of ten testões[509] was ordered to be paid on every slave,
the proceeds to go towards the dowry of Queen Catherine, the consort of
Charles II of England.
The introduction of copper coins (_makutas_) into Luandu, in 1624,
caused much dissatisfaction, and actually led to a mutiny of the troops,
who not unnaturally felt agrieved at being expected to accept 200 reis
in copper as an equivalent of a native cloth, up to that time valued at
700 reis.[510] The mutiny was suppressed, and the five ringleaders were
executed. In the interior of the country, the ancient currency remained
in force, larger amounts being paid in merchandise (_fazenda de lei_),
whilst smaller sums were paid in _zimbos_ (njimbu) or cowries,
_libongos_ (mbongo, plural jimbongo), or square pieces of native cloth,
or blocks of rock-salt.
The only attempt at geographical exploration was that of José de Roza,
who left Masanganu in 1678, for the lower Zambezi, but turned back after
only a few days’ journey, owing to the hostility of the natives.
At the end of the seventeenth century, Portugal held sway over a
territory of over fifty thousand square miles; she maintained fortified
posts far inland; her traders had penetrated as far as the upper Kwanza;
and on the coast she held the prosperous cities of S. Paulo de Luandu
and S. Filippe de Benguella. But this prosperity depended almost
exclusively upon the slave trade. Scarcely any attempt had been made to
develop the great natural resources of the country, and even the food of
the inhabitants was still largely supplied by the Brazils. The colonists
introduced included too large a criminal element; the Government
officials were more intent upon realising large fortunes[511] than
permanently benefiting the country they had been sent to rule; and even
among the preachers of the gospel were men quite unfit to hold the
office which they filled. And this deplorable state of affairs continued
long beyond the period with which we have dealt. Lopes de Lima[512]
calls D. Francisco Innocencio de Sousa Coutinho, who was appointed in
1764, the “first Governor who undertook to civilise this semi-barbarous
colony; and who during his rule of eight years and a-half, did more in
that sense than all his predecessors had ever thought of.” Up to his
time, “Governors, captains, magistrates, men of the church and the
cloister” were only intent upon dividing the spoils of office, and acted
in the most scandalous manner.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
APPENDIX V.
A LIST OF THE GOVERNORS OF ANGOLA, 1575-1702.
_The date of arrival and departure are given, unless stated otherwise._
1. Paulo Dias de Novaes, February, 1575; October,
1589.
2.[513] Luiz Serrão, captain-major, 1589-91.
3.[513] André Ferreira Pereira, 1591, to June, 1592.
4. D. Francisco d’Almeida, June 24th, 1592, to April 8th,
1593.
5.[513] D. Jeronymo d’Almeida, 1593-4.
6. João Furtado de Mendonça, August 1st, 1594, to 1602.
7. João Rodrigues Coutinho, appointed January 23rd,
1601; arrived in 1602.
8[513]. Manuel Cerveira Pereira, 1603-7.
9. D. Manuel Pereira Forjaz, end of 1607; died April
11th, 1611.
10.[513] Bento Banha Cardoso, captain-major, elected April
15th, 1611 to 1615.
11. Manuel Cerveira Pereira, second term of office,
1615 to 1617.
12. Luiz Mendes de Vasconcellos, November, 1617, to
1621.
13. João Corrêa de Souza, September, 1621; departed
1623.
14[[513]. Pedro de Souza Coelho, captain-major, during five
months, 1623.
15.[513] D. Simão de Mascarenhas, Bishop of Kongo and
Angola, 1623 to 1624.
16. Fernão de Souza, appointed October 21st, 1623;
in possession February, 1624, to 1630.
17. D. Manuel Pereira Coutinho, 1630 to 1634.
18. Francisco de Vasconcellos da Cunha, 1634 to 1639.
19. Pedro Cezar de Menezes, 1639 to 1645.
20. Francisco de Sotto-maior, September, 1645, to May,
1646.
21[513]. Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos da Cunha, Antonio
Texeira de Mendonça, and João Juzarte de Andrada, the
captains-major, 1646 to 1648.
22. Salvador Corrêa de Sá Benevides, August, 1648 to
1651.
23. Rodrigo de Miranda Henriques, October, 1651;
died 1653.
24.[513] Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos da Cunha, captain-major,
1653 to 1655.
25. Luiz Martins de Souza Chichorro, October, 1655 to
1658.
He was killed in an engagement with a Dutch corsair, on
the voyage to Brazil.
26. João Fernandez Vieira, 1658 to 1661.
27. André Vidal de Negreiros, May 10th 1661, to
August, 1666.
28. Tristão da Cunha, August, 1666, to January, 1667;
when the people compelled him to depart in the vessel in
which he had come.
29.[513] Antonio de Araujo e Azevedo, president of the
Camara of Luandu, 1667 to 1669.
30. Francisco de Tavora, August 26th, 1669, to 1676.
31. Ayres de Saldanha de Menezes e Souza, August
25th, 1676, to 1680.
32. João da Silva e Souza, September 11th, 1680, to 1684.
33. Luiz Lobo da Silva, September 12th, 1684, to 1688.
34. D. João de Lencastre, September 8th, 1688, to 1691.
35. Gonçalo da Costa de Alcaçova Carneiro de Menezes,
November 1st, 1691, to 1694.
36. Henrique Jaques de Magalhães, November 3rd,
1694, to 1697.
37. Luiz Cezar de Menezes, November 9th, 1697, to 1700.
38. Bernardo de Tavora Souza Tavares, September 5th,
1700, to 1702.
[Illustration: MAP OF KONGO & ANGOLA
illustrating their HISTORY TO THE CLOSE OF THE 17^{TH} CENTURY]
[Illustration: MAP OF NDONGO (ANGOLA)]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Battell tells us (p. 7) that he and Thomas Turner were transported
to Angola in the same vessel (1590). Purchas conferred with Turner after
he had returned to England, and obtained from him an account of his
travels, he having “lived the best part of two years in Brazil” (_lib._
vi, c. 8). Elsewhere we learn that he “had also been in Angola” (see p.
71).
This apparently straightforward information is quite irreconcilable with
what we are told by Knivet; for Knivet says he met Turner at Pernambuco
(about 1598); that he advised him to go to Angola; that Turner acted on
this advice, and “made great profit of his merchandise, for which he
thanked me when we met in England.” Concerning Knivet, see _post_, p.
89.
[2] This description does not, of course, apply to his “Voyage to the
East Indies,” but it does to his “Description of the whole Coast of
Guinea, Manicongo, Angola, etc.”
[3] His _Schifffarten_ was first published at Basel in 1624. On this
traveller, see an _Abhandlung_ by D. G. Henning (Basel, 1900), who
rather absurdly calls him the “first German scientific traveller in
Africa.”
[4] _Vijf verscheyde Journalen ... Amsterdam [1620]._
[5] Subsequent editions appeared in 1614, 1617, and 1626.
[6] Battell’s narrative was reprinted in Astley’s _New General
Collection of Voyages_, vol. iii (1746), and Pinkerton’s _Collection_,
vol. xvi (1813). Translations or abstracts were published in the
_Collections_ of Pieter van der Aa (Leiden, 1706-07); of Gottfried
(Leiden, 1706-26); of Prévôt (Paris, 1726-74); in the _Allgemeine
Historie der Reisen_ (Leipzig, 1747-77), in the _Historische
Beschrijving der Reisen_ (The Hague, 1747-67), and by Walckenaer (Paris,
1826-31).
[7] See “The Lake Region of Central Africa: a Contribution to the
History of African Cartography,” by E. G. Ravenstein (_Scottish Geogr.
Mag._, 1891).
[8] Among documents, the publication of which seems desirable are Don G.
Abreu de Brito’s _Summario e Descripção do Reino de Angola_, 1592; and
Cadornega’s _Historia_ (at least, in abstract).
[9] Abraham Cocke had been in the Brazils before this voyage, for
we learn from Purchas (bk. vi, Pt. IV, London, 1625, p. 1141) that
George, Earl of Cumberland, who had left Gravesend on June 26, 1586,
with three ships and a pinnace, fell in, on January 10, 1587, with a
Portuguese vessel, a little short of the River Plate, and in her found
“Abraham Cock, of Leigh, near London,” whom he brought home with him.
[10] Pinnace: formerly applied to any small vessel, usually
schooner-rigged; at present limited to a large rowing-boat carried by
great ships.
[11] Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands.
[12] Light-horseman: a pinnace, a rowing-boat.
[13] Vessels bound for Brazil usually cross the Equator about long. 22°
W. If Captain Cock really intended to go direct to Brazil, he had no
business at Cabo das Palmas. Can his voyage to S. Thomé really have
been, as he says, an involuntary deviation from his direct course?
[14] The island of S. Thomé was discovered by the Portuguese about 1472,
and received its first settlers in 1486. In the course of the sixteenth
century it suffered much from the depredations of French, English, and
Dutch pirates, as also (1574) from a revolt headed by the Angolares:
that is, the descendants of Angolan slaves who had swum ashore when the
vessel which carried them was wrecked, in 1544, on the Sette Pedras, and
had fled to the woods near. The Fortaleza de S. Sebastião was intended
to defend the capital against piratical attacks. It was completed in
1575; but the Dutch, under Admiral Van der Dam, nevertheless sacked the
city in 1600. Only four years before the author’s arrival, in 1485, the
city had been destroyed by fire.
[15] The Ilhéo das Rôlas (Turtle-dove Island) lies about a mile off the
southern extremity of S. Thomé. It is of volcanic origin, rises to a
considerable height, and is densely wooded. The inhabitants (about 100)
are dependent upon the rain for their drinking water, for there are no
springs. The chief articles of export are cacao and coffee.
[16] That is, the Povoação of early days, on the Bahia de Anna de
Chaves, incorporated in 1535 as the Cidade de S. Thomé.
[17] Cabo de Lopo Gonçalves, thus named after its discoverer, Cape Lopez
of our charts, in lat 0° 36´ S.
[18] The “dolphin” of British sailors is the _doirada_, or gilthead, of
the Portuguese (_Coryphaena hippurus_), and delights to swim in the
shadow of the vessel.
[19] The Ilha Grande lies in lat. 23° 10´ S., sixty miles to the west of
Rio de Janeiro. It is about seventeen miles in length, lofty, and
shelters a safe bay, surrounded with magnificent scenery.
[20] S. Salvador, on the Bahia de todos os Santos, lat. 13° S.
[21] That is, one of the “degradados” or convicts, whom it is even now
customary to banish to the Colonies.
[22] The Isla de Lobos Marinos (Seal Island) lies off Maldonado Point,
and forms a conspicuous landmark for vessels approaching the Rio de la
Plata.
[23] The Seal (_phoca vitulina_, Linn.) and Otary (_Otaria jubata_,
Desm.) have become very rare. The morse or walrus is found only in the
Northern hemisphere.
[24] These south-westerly winds are known as _Pamperos_. They are more
frequent in winter. In summer they blow with greater force, but
generally cease sooner.
[25] Isla Verde can be no other than Flores, a small island further west
than the Isla de Lobos.
[26] The Ilha de São Sebastião, in lat. 23° 50´ S.
[27] Espirito Santo, a town on the coast of Brazil, in lat. 20° 20´ S.
[28] This capture must have happened at the end of 1589, or, at latest,
early in 1590, yet Thomas Knivet, who only left England with Cavendish
in August 1591, gives an account of the capture of five Englishmen
(Purchas iv, 1625, p. 1220) which at the first glance seems to be a
different version of this very incident. Knivet professes to have been
at Rio de Janeiro at the time, two months after his return from Angola
in 1598. He says: “There came a small man-of-war to Great Island [Ilha
Grande, 70 miles west of Rio]; the captain’s name was _Abram Cocke_; he
lay in wait for the ships on the River of Plate, and had taken them if
it had not been for five of his men that ran away with his boat that
discovered his being there; for within a sevennight after he was gone
three caravels came within the same road where he was. These five men
were taken by a Friar who came from S. Vincent, and were brought to the
river of Janeiro. I being at this time in some account with the Governor
favoured them as well as I could.” In the further course of his
narrative Knivet names two of these five men, namely, _Richard Heixt_
and _Thomas Cooper_. _Thomas Turner_ is referred to elsewhere, but not
under circumstances which would lead one to assume that he was one of
the five. Battell is not mentioned at all.
Are we to suppose, then, that Captain Cocke _was_ heard of once more,
and that in 1599 he lost five men on the Ilha Grande, just as nine years
before he had lost five on the island of San Sebastian? Such a
coincidence is possible, but most improbable.
[29] This Thomas Turner, or Torner, subsequently returned to England,
and Purchas had speech with him.
[30] São Paulo de Loanda, the capital of Angola, 8° 48´ S.
[31] The Kwanza, the most important river of Angola, navigable from the
sea as far as the rapids of Cambambe. The “town of garrison” was
Masanganu, founded in 1582.
[32] João Furtado de Mendonça only arrived at Loanda on August 1, 1594.
He remained Governor until early in 1602, when he was succeeded by João
Rodriguez Coutinho.
[33] That is, the two incisors of the upper jaw, commonly known as
“tusks.”
[34] Battell’s “wheat” is _masa-mamputo_, or zea mayz. Elsewhere he
speaks of “Guinea wheat,” and this might be sorghum or millet; but as he
says that the natives call the grain “mas impoto,” there can be no doubt
about its identity with _masa-mamputo_, the grão de Portugal, or maize,
which, according to Ficalho, was imported from America.
[35] The River of Congo is known to the natives as “Nzadi,” or “Nzari,”
which merely signifies “great river “(Bentley’s _Dictionary of the Congo
Language_). For Isle de Calabes we ought perhaps to read Ilha das
Calabaças (Calabash Island). The position of this island I am unable to
determine. Perhaps it is the same as an Ilheo dos Cavallos Marinhos
(Hippopotamus Island), described by Pimentel as lying within the Cabo do
Padrão, Congo mouth. Duarte Lopez (_A Report of the Kingdom of Congo,
drawn out of the Writings of Duarte Lopez_, by F. Pigafetta, 1591.
Translated by Margareta Hutchinson. London, 1881) says it was the first
island met with on entering the Zaire, and that, although small, the
Portuguese had a town upon it.
[36] Palm cloth is made from the fronds of the _ntera_, or fan palm
(_Hyphæne Guineensis_).
[37] Dapper (_Africa_, Amsterdam, 1670, p. 520) tells us that the hairs
from an elephant’s tail were highly valued by the natives, who wove them
into necklaces and girdles; fifty of these hairs or bristles were worth
1000 reis! Duarte Lopez (_Kingdom of Congo_, London, 1881, p. 46) says
that one such tail was equal in value to two or three slaves, and that
native hunters followed the elephants up narrow and steep defiles, and
there cut off the desired spoils. Battell himself (see p. 58) bought
20,000 (hairs) which he sold to the Portugals for thirty slaves.
[38] The Egyptians were, of course, Ciganos, or gypsies. They appeared
in Portugal in the beginning of the sixteenth century. A Royal order of
1526 ordered them to leave the kingdom, but appears to have had no more
effect than a law of 1538, which, on account of the thefts of which they
were accused, and their sorceries, threatened them with a flogging and
the confiscation of their goods, if caught within the kingdom. This law
was re-enacted in 1557, when the galleys were substituted for a
flogging; and in 1592 a still more severe law was enacted, which
threatened with death all those who should not quit the kingdom within
four months. Battel’s associates were, no doubt, gipsies who had been
sent as convicts to Angola (see F. A. Coelho, _Os Ciganos de Portugal_,
Lisbon, 1892).
The Moriscoes are the Moors of Morocco. Early Portuguese writers refer
to the men who had fought in Africa (Morocco) as Africanos, and
Battell’s Moriscoes were in all probability Moorish prisoners of war, or
Moors expelled from Portugal.
[39] Mani or Muene, lord and even king, as Muene Putu, King of Portugal,
but also applied to a mere village chief. The _Cabech_ of Battell must
have resided somewhere about Muchima, but on the right bank of the
Coanza.
[40] Battell’s Guinea wheat is _masa-mamputo_, or _grão de Portugal_,
the zea mayz of botanists, which, according to Candolle and Ficalho, was
introduced from America.
[41] Kasanza’s lake can confidently be identified with the Lalama Lake
of modern maps, south of the Rio Bengo, thirty-six miles due east of S.
Paulo de Loanda. _Ka_ is a diminitive; _nsanza_ means village.
[42] The river of Bengo or Nzenza, which enters the sea ten miles
north-east of Loanda.
[43] Mani Bangono’s district is not mentioned elsewhere. It cannot have
been far from the sea.
[44] Mushi or Mwishikongo, a Congo-man: plural, Eshi-Kongo.
[45] Bamba, or rather Mbamba, the south-west province of Congo,
extending to the lower Coanza.
[46] Lamba, or Hamba, is bounded by the Bengo in the north, and by the
Coanza and its tributary the Lucalla on the south. The “Governor” here
referred to is João Furtado de Mendonça. Battell seems to have been
among the reinforcements despatched after the disastrous campaign in the
spring of 1596. The “General” of Battell was João de Velloria, a
Spaniard, who was Capitâo mór do Campo.
[47] The route followed by Battell is approximately indicated upon the
map. Sowonso may be the same as Dapper’s Chonso or Douville’s Quionso,
beyond Icolo. As to the other places along the route, I can suggest no
identifications. Namba Calamba certainly has nothing to do with the
Portuguese Fort Calumbu on the Coanza, built in 1571.
[48] Kumba ria Kaiangu?
[49] _Outeiro_ (Portuguese), a hill.
[50] Battell’s Ingasia is undoubtedly the Angazi or Engase of Duarte
Lopez, a Bunda district subject to Bamba, which in Pigafetta’s map lies
to the south of the river Bengo. Mendez de Castellobranco, p. 11,
mentions Engombe (Ngombe). The name survives perhaps in the Ndembu
Ngombe a Muquiama on the northern bank of the Bengo, who, according to
J. V. Carneiro (_An. do conselho ultramar._, vol. ii, pp. 172 to 179,
1861), was in olden times dependent upon Congo. The name Ngombe (“ox”)
is, however, a very common one.
[51] The Pete, more correctly called _Puita_, or _Kipuita_, is a musical
instrument described by Monteiro (_Angola_, vol. ii, p. 140), and in
Cordeiro da Matta’s _Diccionario_, p. 29. It consists of a hollow wooden
cylinder, one end of which is covered with sheepskin. A wooden stick is
passed through the centre of this sheepskin, and a most hideous noise is
produced by moving this stick to and fro.
[52] The Pongo (_mpunga_) is an ivory trumpet.
[53] Engeriay seems to be a misprint, perhaps for the _Ogheghe_ of
Duarte Lopez, which Ficalho identifies with Mung’eng’e (_Spondias
lutea_) of Angola, called _Gego_ by Lopez de Lima (_Ensaios_, vol. iii,
p. 15). Dr. Welwitsch found the tree growing wild in the mountains of
Benguella, whence it was transplanted to Loanda. It is valued for its
wood, the shade it affords, and its fruit, which resembles a yellow
plum, is of delicious flavour and esteemed as a remedy against bile
(Ficalho, _Plantas uteis_, p. 126; Monteiro, _Angola_, vol. ii, p. 298).
Purchas, in a marginal note, Bk. VII, c. 4, says that the _Ogheghe_
“bears a fruit which is like a yellow plumme and is very good to eat,
and hath a very sweet smell withall.” This information was given by
Battell.
[54] Pome-water, a kind of apple, called _malus carbonaria_ by Coles
(Nares’s _Glossary_).
[55] _Margarita_ is the Portuguese (and Latin) for pearl. Purchas may
have suggested the word, whilst Battell simply referred to the _cowrie_
currency of the country, or to a more valuable shell such as Cavazzi (p.
12) says was found near Cambambe, a collar of which had the value of a
slave; or to a crystal found in Shela, and called “thunder-stone” by
the natives. Mr. R. C. Phillips writes: “I have found that some kind of
stone used to pass as money in the old slave times, say in 1850 or 1860,
but I never saw one. These stones were of great value, and I have a
vague idea they were called ‘agang.’”
[56] The author’s “wheat” is maize (see p. 7).
[57] This is undoubtedly the bay upon which Manuel Cerveira Pereira, in
1617, founded the city of S. Filippe de Benguella. The bay at that time
was known as Bahia da Torre, or de S. Antonio. By its discoverers it
seems to have been named Golfo de S. Maria. The “torre” is, of course,
the Ponta do Sombreiro or S. Philip’s bonnet. Pimentel (_Arte de
Navegar_, 1762, p. 276) locates a Bahia da Torre fifty miles to the
south of Benguella Bay, which therefore corresponds to the Elephant Bay
of modern maps, with its “mesa,” or table-mountain rising to a height of
a thousand feet.
[58] Cacongo (_recte_ Kikongo), according to Welwitsch, is the wood of
_Tarchonanthes camphoratus_. It is hard, of a greyish olive colour, and
has the perfume of camphor. Its powder is esteemed as a tonic (Ficalho,
_Plantas uteis_, p. 206).
[59] Carraca, a vessel, generally of considerable burthen, and such as
could be profitably employed in the Brazilian and Indian trade.
[60] Ndalabondo seems to be the name of a person. The people in the
interior of Benguella are known as Bi’nbundo.
[61] Neither Mr. Dennett nor Mr. Phillips knows a bead of that name.
_Mpinda_ (plur. _Zimpinda_) means ground nut.
[62] For an account of Dombe, which lies to the south of St. Filip de
Benguella, see Capello and Ivens, _From Benguella to the Territory of
Yacca_, London, 1882, vol. i, p. 308; and Serpa Pinto, _How I Crossed
Africa_, London, 1881, vol. i, p. 46. Copper ore abounds in the
district, and a mine, four miles inland, was recently worked by the
Portuguese (Monteiro, _Angola_, London, 1875, vol. ii, p. 198).
[63] That is, bark-cloth made of the inner bark of the _nsanda_, Banyan
or wild fig-tree, or _Ficus Lutata_ (see Pechuel Loesche, _Loango
Exped._, vol. iii, p. 172).
[64] Purchas spells indifferently Gaga, Iagge, Giagas, etc. The correct
spelling is Jaga or Jaka. For a sketch of the history of these military
leaders, see Appendix.
[65] The Morro, or bluff, of Old Benguella, in lat. 10° 48´ S., is a
conspicuous headland, presenting a perpendicular cliff towards the sea,
its summit being covered with cactus trees. Here Antonio Lopez Peixoto,
a nephew of Paulo Dias, in 1587, had built a presidio, which was soon
afterwards abandoned.
[66] The river Cuvo (Kuvu) enters the sea in 10° 52´ S.
[67] In a note to Bk. VII, c. iv, § 8 (Hartwell’s translation of
Pigafetta), Battell is made to say that “the Iagges came from Sierre
Liona. But they dispersed themselves as a general pestilence and common
scourge through most parts of Ethiopia.” But see p. 83, where Battell
denies the statements made by Lopez.
Walkenaer (_Histoire des Voyages_, vol. xiii), says that Dapper’s Sierra
Leone cannot be the place usually known by that name. The only locality
in that part of Africa named in honour of a lion, as far as I know, are
the Pedras de Encoge, or more correctly _del nkoshi_ (which means Lion).
[68] Ndongo is the name of the kingdom of Ngola (Angola). Its old
capital was at Pungu-a-Ndongo, a remarkable group of rocks, popularly
known as Pedras Negras.
[69] Ngongo (plural Jingongo), in Kimbundu, means twin, and hence
_Ngong’e_, a double bell, such as is described by Monteiro (_Angola_,
vol. i, p. 203); in Lunda it is called _rubembe_ (Carvalho, _Exp.
Port._, _Ethnographia_, p. 369). See also note, p. 80.
[70] “Gingado,” elsewhere spelt “Iergado,” is evidently a misprint for
_Jangada_, a Portuguese word meaning “raft.” Such a raft is called
_Mbimba_, and is made of the wood of the _bimba_ (_Herminiera
Elaphroxylon_, Guill. et. Perr.), which is identical with the _Ambaj_ of
the Nile, and grows abundantly on the swampy banks of the rivers.
Battell himself, at a critical point of his career, built himself such a
_jangada_ (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis da Africa_, 1884, p. 33).
[71] _Tavale._ Mr. Dennet suggests that _tavale_ corresponds to the
_libala_ of Loango, a word derived from the Portuguese _taboa_ (table),
for the instrument of this name consists of a board supported by two
sticks of wood, and kept in its place by wooden pegs driven into the
ground. The player beats this board with his two index fingers. A. R.
Neves, _Mem. da Epedição a Cassange_, p. 110, calls _tabalha_ a drum,
which is beaten to make known the death of a Jaga Cassange.
[72] Mbala or Embala merely means town or village. Lad. Magyar (_Reisen
in Süd-Afrika_, p. 383) has a district Kibala, abounding in iron, the
chief town of which is Kambuita on the river Longa. Walckenaer’s
suggestion (_Histoire des Voyages_, vol. xiii, p. 30) that Bambala and
Bembe are identical is quite unacceptable.
[73] The baobab is indifferently called by Battell _alicunde_,
_licondo_, _elicondi_, _olicandi_, or _alicunde_, all of which are
corruptions of _nkondo_, by which name the tree is known in Congo. The
Portuguese know this characteristic tree of the coast-land and the
interior as _imbondeiro_ (from _mbondo_ in Kimbundu). Its inner bark
yields a fibre known as _licomte_, is made into coarse cloth, and is
also exported to Europe to be converted into paper. The wood is very
light. The pulp of the fruit is refreshing, and was formerly esteemed as
a remedy against fever and dysentery. The seeds are eaten. The shell
(_macua_) is used to hold water (hence the popular name of Calabash
tree). Ficalho distinguishes three species, viz., _Adansonia digitata_,
Linn., the fruit of which is longish; _A. subglobosa_, bearing a
bell-shaped fruit; _A. lageniformis_, yielding a fruit shaped like a
cucumber (see Monteiro, _Angola_, vol. i, p. 78; Ficalho, _Plantas
uteis_, p. 100).
[74] The cedar of the Portuguese is _Tamarix articulata_, Vahl., and
resembles a cypress (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis da Africa_, 1884, p. 94).
[75] Kizangu, in Kimbundu, means fetish. Burton (_Two Trips to Gorilla
Land_, vol. ii, p. 120), saw a like image, also called Quesango, in a
village above Boma.
[76] The so-called fetishes (from _feitiço_, a Portuguese word meaning
sorcery) are not idols, but charms and amulets, generally known as
_nkissi_, _nkishi_, or _mukishi_. There are _nkissi_ peculiar to a
district, village, or family; charms and amulets to shield the wearer or
possessor against all the evils flesh is heir to, and others enabling
the priest or _nganga_ to discover crime or the cause of disease. The
idea underlying the belief in the efficacy of these charms was very
prevalent among our own ancestors, and the images, rosaries, crosses,
relics, and other articles introduced by the Roman missionaries are
looked upon by the natives as equivalent to their own _nkissi_. Even at
the present day, images of S. Francis and of other saints may be seen in
the collection of Royal Fetishes at S. Salvador, and a cross called
_santu_ (Santa Cruz) “is the common fetish which confers skill in
hunting” (Bentley, _Pioneering on the Congo_, vol. i, pp. 35, 36, 39).
The images, according to Bentley, seen among the natives are not idols
but receptacles of “charms” or medicine. As to a belief in witchcraft
(_ndoki_, witch; _Kindoki_, witchcraft), it is not even now quite
extinct among Christian people, boasting of their civilisation, for a
reputed wizard was drowned at Hedingham in Essex in 1863, and a witch
burnt in Mexico as recently as 1873. Matthew Hopkins, the famous
witch-finder, cannot claim a higher rank than an African _nganga_,
although his procedure was not quite the same. Nor can I see any
difference between a fetish and the miraculous “bambino” manufactured in
the sixteenth century, and kept in the church of S. Maria Aracœli,
which a priest takes to the bedside of sick or dying persons, who are
asked to kiss it to be cured, and whose guardians are at all times ready
to receive the offerings of the faithful (see Dickens, _Pictures from
Italy_).
[77] Marginal note by Purchas:—“Of these Giagas read also Pigafetta’s
_Book of Congo_, translated into English by M. Hartwell, and my
_Pilgrimage_, l. 7. But none could so well know them as this author, who
lived so long with them.”
[78] The river Longa [Lungu] enters the sea in lat. 10° 20´ S.
[79] A soba Calungo is shown on the most recent maps as residing north
of the river Longa.
[80] Perhaps we ought to read _Tunda_, the bush, the East. Lad. Magyar
(_Reisen_, p. 378) has a chief Tunda in the country of the Sellas, and
Falkenstein (_Loango Expedition_, p. 73) heard of a district Tunda,
inland from Novo Redondo.
[81] The Gonsa or Gunza (Ngunza) of Battell is undoubtedly the Coanza. A
river Ngunza enters the sea at Novo Redondo.
[82] _Shila_, nasty; _mbanza_, towns.
[83] According to Duarte Lopez (_Pigafetta_, p. 55), the feathers of
peacocks and of ostriches are used as a standard in battle. Hence,
peacocks are reared within a fence and reserved for the king.
[84] _Njilo_ (in Kimbundu), bird; _mukishi_, a charm.
[85] See note, p. 51.
[86] Cambambe (_Ka_, diminutive; _mbambi_, gazelle), a village on the
north bank of the Coanza, below the falls formed by the river in forcing
its way through the Serra de Prata. Silver, however, has never been
found there (at least not in appreciable quantities), nor anywhere else
in Angola or Congo. Still we are told (Paiva Manso, p. 50) that the King
of Congo, in 1530, sent the wife of King Manuel two silver bracelets
which he had received from one of his chiefs in Matamba, and that among
the presents forwarded by Ngola Nbande, the King of Ndongo, to Paulo
Dias in 1576, there were several silver bracelets, which the Regent of
Portugal, Cardinal Henrique, had converted into a chalice, which he
presented to the church at Belem (_Catalogo dos Governadores de
Angola_). According to Capello and Ivens (_Benguella_, vol. ii, pp. 58,
233), silver ore is plentiful in Matamba, although they never saw any
_in loco_.
[87] Battell’s Casama is the wide province of Kisama (Quiçama), to the
south of the Coanza.
[88] This Casoch (a misprint for Cafoch) is the Cafuxe (Cafuche) of the
Portuguese, who defeated Balthasar de Almeida on April 22, 1594. On
August 10, 1603, the Portuguese, led by Manuel Cerveira Pereira,
retrieved this disaster.
[89] The name Calandola is by no means rare. A Calandula Muanji resided
in 1884, eight miles to the north-east of Malanje (Carvalho, _Viagens_,
vol. i, p. 443); another resided, formerly, near Ambaca (_ib._, p. 230);
and a third on the Lucala, south of Duque de Bragança, was visited by
Capello and Ivens (_Benguella_, vol. ii, p. 45). A Jaga Calandula
accompanied João Soares de Almeida on his disastrous expedition to Sonyo
(_Cat. dos Gov._, p. 390). Either of these may have been a descendant of
Battell’s Calandula.
[90] Human victims are still sacrificed by the diviner when consulting
departed spirits (see A. R. Neves, _Memoria_, p. 119).
[91] Cavazzi (_Historica Descrizione de tre Regni Congo, etc._, Bologna,
1687, p. 207) gives a plan of a Jaga camp, or Kilombo. It is formed of a
square stockade, having in its centre the quarters of the
Commander-in-chief, within a triple hedge of thorns. Between the
stockade, which has only a single gate, and the inner enclosure are the
quarters of the six principal officers, including the Golambolo
(_ngolo_, strength, _mbula_, a blow), or Lieutenant-General, the
Tendala, or Commander of the Rear-guard, and the Mani Lumbo (_lumbu_, a
stockade), or Engineer-in-chief.
[92] _Tavales_ (see note, p. 21).
[93] Bahia das Vaccas, old name for Benguella Bay. There seems to be no
native name for gold; yet Dr. Francisco José Maria de Lacerda, when with
the abortive expedition of 1797, which was charged with the exploration
of the Kunene, met a negress whose head-dress was composed of golden
laminæ, said to have been washed in that river (Burton, _Lacerda’s
Journey to Cazembe_, London, 1873, p. 23). Ladislaus Magyar (_Reisen_,
p. 176), says that about 1833 a Brazilian miner washed gold in the
mountains of Hambo. Quite recently, in 1900, the Mossamedes Company
granted a lease of the Kasinga goldfields to an English company.
[94] The Imbondos are clearly the Nbundu of Angola, who draw the palm
wine from the top, whilst the Jagas cut down the tree.
[95] Purchas adds, in a marginal note: “Fruges consumere nati.”
[96] “Flesh” in the sense of encourage.
[97] Calando should be Calandola (see note on p. 28).
[98] Mbamba, a whelk or trumpet-shell (Cordeiro da Matta, _Dicc.
Kimbundu_).
[99] Mr. Dennet suggests _msose_, a turritella, popularly known as
screw-shell.
[100] No ostriches are met with in Angola, and as to beads made of
ostrich eggs, I can give no explanation.
[101] Monteiro was told that the Sobas and their wives among the Musele
only use human fat to anoint their bodies (vol. ii, p. 157).
[102] The practice of wearing such nose ornaments exists to the present
day in Lunda, among the Bangala and other tribes (Capello and Ivens,
_Benguela_, vol. i, p. 265; Carvalho, _Expedição Portugueza ao
Muatianvua_, Lingua de Lunda, p. 367; _Ethnographia_, p. 349).
[103] Marginal note by Purchas: “They use this ceremony in Florida.”
[104] Civet-cats are numerous in this part of Africa.
[105] I am inclined to believe, from what we learn from Cavazzi and
other missionaries, that only those children were killed which were born
within the _Kilombo_. On the other hand, at the Court of the ferocious
queen Jinga, we are told by Captain Füller, a Dutchman, that, on two
days in 1648, 113 new-born infants born _outside_ the camp were killed
(Dapper, _Africa_, p. 545).
[106] _Ngunza_, according to Cordeira da Matta, means all-powerful;
according to Bentley a herald, who speaks on behalf of a chief.
[107] See note, p. 19.
[108] Human sacrifices among the Jaga are even now of frequent
occurrence. They are made at the installation of a Jaga, one year after
his election (when the sacrifice and its accompanying banquet are
intended to conciliate the spirit of Kinguri, the founder of the
Dynasty), at his death, on the outbreak of war, etc. The ceremony
witnessed by Battell was an act of divination. The soothsayer summons
the spirit of Kinguri, who is supposed to foretell the results of any
enterprise about to be undertaken. In 1567, the Jaga Ngonga Kahanga, of
Shela, having been advised by his soothsayers that he would suffer
defeat in a war he was about to enter upon against the Portuguese,
declined the arbitration of the sword, and submitted voluntarily. The
body of the victim is cooked with the flesh of a cow, a goat, a yellow
dog, a cock and a pigeon, and this mess is devoured (ceremoniously) by
the Jaga and his _makotas_ (councillors).
[109] The handle of this switch contains a potent medicine, which
protects the owner against death.
[110] Casengula, called Kissengula, p. 86, was perhaps a trombash, for
_sangula_ means to kill at a long range (Bentley).
[111] The Jagas are still buried sitting, and wives are sacrificed
(Capello and Ivens, _From Benguella to the Territory of the Iacca_, vol.
i, p. 330). In Ngois, likewise, the dead are occasionally buried in a
sitting posture (Bastian, vol. i, p. 82). For a full account of a
funeral, see Dennett’s _Folklore_, p. 11.
[112] These feasts are intended to secure the goodwill of the deceased,
so that he may not injure the living. Human beings are occasionally
sacrificed, in addition to goats and fowls.
[113] João Rodrigues Coutinho received his appointment as Governor at
Madrid, on January 30, 1601 (see Appendix).
[114] Ndemba, in Quissama, a territory famous for its salt mines, the
chief of which was the Caculo Caquimone Casonga (Cadornega, 1702). In
1783, when P. M. Pinheiro de Lacerda invaded Quissama, a Caculo
Caquimone still held the mines of Ndemba. _Kakulu_, the elder of twins,
a title.
[115] Outaba seems to be a misprint for _libata_ (village). Tombo is on
the north bank of the Coanza, almost due south of Loanda.
[116] Songa, on the Coanza, below Muchima, a village in the territory of
the Caculo Caquimone Casonga.
[117] Machimba I believe to be Muchima or Muxima, whilst (according to
Cadornega) a chief Cavao occupied a district above Lake Quizua and below
Massangano.
[118] According to the _Catalogo dos Governadores_, p. 356, the Governor
died in Quissama. He was succeeded by his captain-major, Manuel Cerveira
Pereira, and it was he who, on August 10, 1603, defeated Cafuxe, in the
bloody battle to which reference is made in the text. Battell’s
Angoykayongo is undoubtedly identical with the _Agoacaiongo_ of an
anonymous account of the _Establimentos e Resgates Portuguezes_ (1607),
published by L. Cordeira. He was a Christian chief; and a captain-major,
with a detachment of cavalry, was stationed at his village to keep
Quissama in order.
[119] See note, p. 27.
[120] Queen Elizabeth died April 3, 1603; but peace with Spain was only
concluded on August 19, 1604.
[121] João de Araujo e Azevedo was the officer left in command at
Cambambe.
[122] That is S. Salvador.
[123] Ngongo, according to Cavazzi (p. 521), is a place on the road from
Sundi to Batta, where Girolamo da Montesarchio destroyed the heathen
images. This place possibly corresponds to the modern Gongo, a station
on the Stanley Pool Railway. Cadornega has a Gongo de Bata, which
figures on Dapper’s map as Congo de Bata, and lies to the west of the
Mbanza of Bata. It is impossible to tell which of these places was
visited by Battell; possibly he passed through both.
[124] The Mbanza or chief town of Mbata, or Batta, still exists in 8°
S., long. 15° E. Bentley (_Pioneering_, vol. ii, p. 404) passed through
it, and discovered a huge wooden cross, a relic of the ancient
missionaries.
[125] D. Manuel Cerveira Pereira had assumed government at the beginning
of 1603, and three years would conveniently carry us to 1606. The “new”
Governor, D. Manuel Pereira Forjaz, was, however, only nominated on
August 2, 1607.
[126] See note, p. 11.
[127] Nkoko, a large grey antelope.
[128] Impalanca, _Palanga_, or _Mpalanga_, an antelope (_Hippotragus
equinus_).
[129] This is an electric silurus called _nsõmbo_, plur. _sinsombo_, by
the natives. Fishermen dread its electrical discharges, but value its
flesh (Pechuel-Loesche, _Die Loango Expedition_, vol. iii, p. 282). This
fish, Mr. Dennett tells me, is the “xina” (taboo) of women, generally
speaking, which may account for the word becoming a generic name for
fish, as in Unyamwezi, Ugogo, and other countries, if vocabularies can
be trusted.
[130] See note, p. 21.
[131] This is Red Point, or Ponta Vermelha, where there is a grove of
palms.
[132] Kabinda, 5° 31´ S., on a fine bay.
[133] The river Kakongo, or Chiloango, enters the sea in lat. 5° 9´ S.
to the north of Landana. It is a very considerable river, and its waters
discolour the sea for seven miles.
[134] Mbale, according to Bentley, is the coast region between the Congo
and Ambrisette; but on Pigafetta’s map (1591) a town, Monbales, is shown
to the south-east of the chief place of Sonho (Sonyo).
[135] Pinda, or Mpinda, in Sonyo, is below the Mbanza of Sonyo, which on
modern maps figures as St. Antonio.
[136] The Luiza Loango, or Massábi, river enters the sea in lat. 5° 1´
S. Its depth across the bar is only 2 ft., but once within, it presents
a fair waterway for over a hundred miles. Kaia is about ten miles up it.
[137] The Golfo das Almadias, or Canoe Bay, as described by Battell,
corresponds to Black Point Bay, 4° 48´ S., the inner bay of which, less
than half a mile across, had become all but silted up by 1884.
[138] No logwood is found in Loango, and Purchas points out in a note
(_post_, p. 82), that Battell’s dyewood must be Red Sanders
(_Pterocarpus tinctorius_), the _tacula_ of Angola, and identical with
the _tavila_ of D. Lopez (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis_, p. 207).
Pechuel-Loesche (_Loango Exp._, vol. iii, p. 190), on the other hand,
states that the dye known as _tacula_ is camwood (_Baphia nitida,
Afz._), and Bentley (_Dict. of the Kongo Language_), who calls the dye
_nkula_, is of the same opinion. Another red dye is obtained from the
_Njilla sonde_ (_Pterocarpus erinaceus, Poir._).
[139] _Nlunga_ (Bentley) or _malungu_ (Cordeira da Matta) is the native
word for bracelet.
[140] The Maloango (_ma_, a contraction of _mani_ or _mwanu_, son;
_mfumu_, chief) or king is selected by the Mamboma (see p. 59) and the
princes, and must be a nephew (sister’s son) of his predecessor. On his
election he takes the title of _Nganga nvumbu_ (_Nganga_, priest;
_nvumbu_, benevolent spirit, breath), but only proceeds to that of
Maloango when rich enough to summon the whole country to a great feast,
when declaration is made for the first time officially of the death of
the former Maloango, and he is buried. As these festivities are very
expensive, they are often deferred for years, and many a _Nganga nvumbu_
has died without even troubling about the higher title. The successors
of the Maloango Njimbi of Loango, of Battell’s time, according to Mr.
Dennett, have been: 1. Maloango Tati of Kondi; 2. Mani Puati of
Chibanga; 3. Mani Yambi; 4. Man’anombo; 5. Mani Makosso Matukila of
Kondi; 6. Mani Makosso Manombo; 7. Mani Makosso Masonga; 8. Mani Puati.
Nos. 3 to 8 never assumed the title of Maloango. Mani Puati very much
disgusted the people with his cruelty (he had killed his own daughter
because she refused to cohabit with him); and when the French, in 1898,
called upon the Mamboma and the princes to produce a Maloango, they
ignored the existence of Puati, and elected his nephew, Mani Luemba.
This list, however, is evidently imperfect.
[141] Mr. Dennett, whose long residence at Loango and thorough knowledge
of the languages entitle him to speak with authority, finds this passage
unintelligible, but ventures to suggest the following:—
_Baliani_ (my companion) _ampembe_ (white) _mpolo_ (face), _muenyeye_
(Boio, the underground _nkishni_), _ke zinga_ (not live
long)!
Freely translated, it would mean “My companion, the white face, has
risen from underground, and will not live long.” This is a curious
greeting, but it fairly represents native ideas: for the white man, as
long as he keeps to his ship (supposed to rise from the bottom of the
ocean), is believed to live long; whilst, once he comes to stay ashore,
he is condemned to an early death.
[142] In a marginal note, Purchas says that the King’s wives are called
_Macomes_. Such a title is known neither to Mr. Dennett nor to Mr.
Phillips. Macome is probably a misprint for Maconda, the title borne,
according to Dapper, p. 522, by the king’s “mother.” _Nkondi_, according
to Bentley, is a title of nobility.
[143] Mr. Dennett informs me that, still at the present day, when the
King (Maloango) or rather _Nganga nvumbu_, drinks in state, he covers
his head with a cloth, so that the public may not see him drink. On
ordinary occasions, however, this custom is no longer observed.
[144] The heads of all families eat alone; that is, they eat first, and
their wives and children afterwards. Maloango still observes the same
custom, with his _ma sa vi_, or house-steward, as the sole attendant
(Dennett).
[145] Bensa may be a corruption of the Portuguese _banca_, a table. Mr.
Dennett does not know the word.
[146] Not Sambe and Pongo, but Nzambi-ampungu! _Nzambi_ is the name by
which God is known; _Nzambi-ampungu_ means the Most High (Supreme) God
(Bentley, _Life on the Congo_, 1887, p. 62).
[147] The rains begin in October and last till April, being heaviest
from November to March. They are very irregular. Thus, in February 1874,
2.2 ins. fell at Chinchosho; in the same month, 1875,12.0 ins.; but in
1876 only 0.2 ins.
[148] _Ensaka_, according to D. Lopez (Pigafetta), a stuff resembling
velvet.
[149] The _Ndamba_ is no drum, as understood by Purchas, but a musical
instrument made out of a piece of palm stem, about 4 or 5 ft. long. This
is split down one side, the soft centre is then scooped out, and the
edges of the split cut into notches. By rubbing these notches
energetically with a stick, a loud rasping noise is produced (Monteiro,
_Angola_, vol. ii, p. 139: Cordeiro da Matta, _Diccionario_, p. 118).
[150] An ivory trumpet (see note, p. 15).
[151] Battell seems to be mistaken. Mr. Dennett informs me that Maloango
as _Ngangu nvumbu_ (see note 44) collects the offerings of his people,
and sends them with a petition for rain to the great rain-doctor,
_Nganga m Bunzi_, in Ngoyo. He has never heard that Maloango had usurped
the functions of the great rain-doctor by shooting an arrow to the sky.
Abbé Proyart (_Hist. de Loango_, c. 13), says that the Maloango being
desirous of not committing himself, orders one of his ministers to make
rain.
[152] Mr. Dennett tells me that _Ndundu_ when born are thrown into the
bush. During his long residence in Africa he has only seen one, and that
was at Kinsembo, eighteen years ago. Proyart (_Histoire de Loango_,
Paris, 1819, p. 150) says that these albinos are held higher than the
Gangas, are looked upon almost as “divine,” and that their hair is
valued as giving protection against accidents. See also p. 81.
[153] _Mukishi à Loango_, the fetish or “charm” of Loango. _Checocke_ is
identical with Dapper’s _Kikoko_ (_Africa_, Amsterdam, 1671, p. 535).
Dapper’s account is not derived from Battell.
[154] According to Mr. Bentley, hysteria is very common in this country.
For the account of the ravings of a witch-doctor, see _Pioneering_, vol.
i, p. 271.
[155] Mr. Dennett informs me that the underground speaking fetish in
Loango is at the present time called _Boio_, and is found at Chilunga.
He suggests that _Ngumbiri_ may be a river spirit, or _Nkishi_ from the
country north of Mayumba. Dr. Bastian paid a visit to the holy place of
the underground oracle of _Ngoio_ near Moanda, known as _Mbunzi_, which
only speaks on the accession of a king, whom he instructs as to his
royal duties (_Die Deutsche Expedition_, vol. i, p. 85, 223).
[156] The mami (_mwana_, or princes) mentioned by Battell are those of
Chibanga, Selanganga (of the family of the Petra Praia of Kenga), Mbuku,
and Kaya, in Chikamba. (R. E. Dennett, on the law of succession, see
note on p. 44.)
[157] Mani Lombe is a man’s name: at least, at the present time, and is
never given to a woman. It means “One who is peaceful and quiet.” No
special name or title is borne by the mother of the successors of
Maloango (R. E. Dennett); but as Lumbu means stockade, palace, or chiefs
house, Battell may have mistaken a word applied to this woman’s
residence for that of her title. Lombo means a person supposed to be an
incarnation of a shimbi, or water-fairy.
[158] Palm-cloth (see note, p. 9).
[159] Dr. Bastian visited the Royal graves at Loangiri, or Loangele, and
found each grave marked by a tusk. The visitors pulled out grass around
the tomb and poured libations of rum upon the bare ground (_Die Deutsche
Expedition an der Loango-Küste_, Berlin, 1874, vol. i, p. 69).
[160] This may be quite true of earlier times, when Europeans were
looked upon as great wizards, who rose out of the sea and were returned
to that element when they died. At present, however, a burial-place is
set apart for them, and is looked after by the Petra Praia (Salanganga),
an office created since the arrival of the Portuguese for the purpose of
looking after the affairs of the white men (R. E. Dennett).
[161] There is some confusion here. Angeca is evidently the Anziki or
Anzique of D. Lopez and others, now represented by the Banteke, on
Stanley Pool. The word may be derived from _anseke_, far or distant. The
proper name of the tribe is Atio (A. Sims, _Kiteke Vocabulary_, 1886).
_Mococke_ (_Makoko_) is a title. Bongo is evidently the country of the
Obongo of Du Chaillu, the Babongo of Lenz, Bastian, and Falkenstein: a
race of dwarfs between the coast and the Banteke, varying in stature
between 51 and 56 ins. Compare note, p. 59.
[162] Identical with Chinkanga, on the river Juma, where the French have
a post, Wemba.
[163] The river Kuilu, 4° 28´ S.
[164] _As duas moutas_ (the two corpses) of Juan de la Cosa’s map
(1500), near the mouth of the Kuilu.
[165] Fifteen miles carry us to the Longebonda of the Admiralty Chart,
4° 20´ S.. which has very little water in it at the most favourable time
of the year (_Africa Pilot_, vol. ii, 1893, p. 136), but the river meant
is evidently the Numbi, which enters Chilunga (Kilonga) Bay in 4° 13´
S., a mere stream (_Deutsche Loango Expedition_).
[166] Yumba is the name of the country. _Mayumba_ (_Mani Yumba_) means
chief of Yumba. The Bay of Mayumba, 3° 19´ S., lies about 10 miles to
the south of Cape Mayumba, which is undoubtedly the Cabo Negro of
Battell.
[167] Dyewoods are still an article of export, but not logwood (see
note, p. 43.)
[168] The Banya, a lagoon extending to the south-east, parallel with the
coast.
[169] The _Mpungu_ is the gorilla. For _Engeco_ (printed _Encego_ in the
earlier editions) we ought to read _Nsiku_, the native name for the
chimpanzi, a larger variety of which is known as _Chimpenso_
(Pechuel-Loesche, _Loango Expedition_, vol. iii, p. 248). P. Du Chaillu,
the first European to kill a gorilla in his native haunts (_Adventures
in Equatorial Africa_), declares Battell’s stories to be mere
traveller’s tales, “untrue of any of the great apes of Africa.” Sir R.
F. Burton (_Two Trips to Gorilla Land_, vol. i, p. 240) suggests that as
Battell had not seen a gorilla, he may have confounded gorillas with
bushmen.
[170] Misprint for Mayumbas?
[171] Dr. Pechuel-Loesche (_D. Loango Exp._, vol. iii, p. 302) says that
native dogs do _not_ bark, but that they often acquire the habit when
living among European dogs. Most of them are mongrels, but there are
some superior breeds trained for hunting. These dogs carry a wooden bell
(_ndibu_) round the neck, the clatter of which scares the game. When the
scent grows warm, the dogs begin to whine, and when the game is in sight
they give tongue. After each beat the dogs sit down apart from the
hunters, raise their heads, and howl for several minutes. Mr. Dennett,
in a letter to me, confirms the barking (_kukula_, to bark) of the
native dogs.
[172] See p. 82 for further information on this fetish.
[173] Neither Mr. Dennett, nor one of the officials in the French
Colonial Office, thoroughly acquainted with the language, has been able
to make sense out of this sentence. The latter suggests _Ku Kwiza bukie
lika_, “I come for the truth!” For another version of this appeal, see
p. 83. The sentence is evidently very corrupt.
[174] Circumcision is common in some districts, but no magical or mystic
influence is ascribed to it (Bentley).
[175] For an account of the initiation into the guild called _Ndembo_,
see Bentley’s _Dictionary_, p. 506.
[176] The custom of prohibiting certain food to be eaten, etc., is very
common. _Mpangu_ is the name for this taboo in the case of new-born
infants; _Konko_, a taboo imposed in connection with an illness. The
thing tabooed is called _nlongo_ (Bentley).
[177] This refers no doubt to Sette, the river of which enters the sea
in 2° 23´ S. The capital of the same name being fifty miles up it.
Barwood is still exported, but no logwood.
[178] His modern representative seems to be the Mani Kasoche on the
Upper Ngonga, who was visited by Güssfeldt.
[179] Not to be taken literally, for Cão certainly touched at this bay.
[180] The usual designation for “Dwarf” is _mbaka_ or _kimbakabaka_ (the
diminutive of _mbaka_), but _Batumba_ (with which Battell’s _matimba_
seems to be identical) is likewise applied to a dwarf person or thing
(Bentley). In Angola, _Matumbu_ means a far-off, unknown country
(Cordeiro da Matta). Compare note, p. 52.
[181] “Marombos” seems to be a misprint for Mayumbas (see note, p. 55).
[182] The Mamboma is a sort of home secretary. He buries the Maloango,
and summons the princes for the election of a successor. _Mboma_ is the
black python; _boma_ means fear. Hence the title has been translated
“Lord of Terror.”
[183] _Mbundu_, the powdered root of a species of strychnos, is
administered to confessed witches accused of having caused the death of
a person. If the accused be guilty, this poison causes him to lose all
control over the _sphincter urethræ_; he discharges red urine profusely,
runs a few paces, falls down and dies. An innocent person only
discharges a few drops on a banana leaf (Pechuel-Loesche, _Loango Exp._,
vol. iii, p. 188). _Nkasa_, prepared from the bark of _Erythrophlaeum
guineense_, paralyses the action of the heart, but if thrown up at once,
it will not kill (Dr. M. Boehr, _Correspon. der Deutschen Afrik. Ges._,
vol. i, p. 332). It is administered to persons who deny being witches.
(For a full account of such a trial, see Dennett, _Seven Years Among the
Fjort_, p. 165.) In the case of minor offences, the ordeal of the hot
matchet—_bikalo_, _bisengo_, or _bau_—is resorted to. The knife is
passed thrice over the skin of the leg, and if it burns the accused is
declared guilty (see also Dennett, _Notes on the Folk-Lore of the
Fjort_, p. 162). The Nganga is, of course, open to a bribe, and in the
case of a chief the poison may be administered to a substitute—a dog or
a slave—and the penalty commuted to a fine. See also Bentley’s
_Pioneering on the Congo_, London, 1900.
[184] The poison administered in this case was _nkasa_, and not _mbundu_
(see p. 80).
[185] _Ndoki_, a witch; _undoki_, that which pertains to witchcraft
(Bentley).
[186] That is, _Purchas his Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World_, bk.
vii, ch. 10, dealing with Loango.
[187] Worthy Purchas grows quite incoherent in his indignation, but the
reader will nevertheless be able to gather his meaning, and will
appreciate his distinction between a Jewish priest and a heathen
_Nganga_, both administering the same rite. He thus shares the opinion
of the Roman Catholic missionaries who recognised the efficacy of native
charms, but ascribed it to the Devil, whilst claiming greater potency
for their crosses, relics, etc., deriving their potency from Heaven.
[188] The poison ordeal, which required a woman suspected of infidelity
to her husband to drink “bitter water” administered by the Jewish
priest, is here referred to. This ordinance, of course, was not
applicable in case of a similar offence charged against a husband
(Numbers v, 12-31).
[189] Valdez (_Six Years in Angola_, vol. ii, p. 130) calls this ordeal
_quirigué tubia_ (_Kiriké tubia_), and says that the hot hatchet may be
applied to any part of the person. The meaning of _kiri_ is truth; of
_tubia_, fire. Purchas is evidently mistaken when he calls this
procedure _Motamba_, for _tambi_ or _mutambi_ is a kind of funeral feast
or wake. The body having been buried, and potsherds, pipes, and other
articles placed on the grave, the mourners devour a roast pig, the skull
of which is afterwards thrown into a neighbouring river.
[190] Illness and death are frequently ascribed to witchcraft. If a
disease does not yield to medical treatment by a _Nganga a moko_, the
_nganga a ngombo_, or witch-doctor, is called in with his fetish. He may
ascribe the death to natural causes, or to a charm worked by a person
recently deceased and beyond his reach; or he may denounce one or more
persons as witches. The persons thus denounced are compelled to submit
to the poison ordeal (see, among others, Dennett’s _Seven Years among
the Fjort_, and his _Folk-Lore_).
[191] Garcia Mendes de Castellobranco, p. 33, says, in 1621, that hens
abounded and also goats and sheep, but that cows were rare.
[192] Zebras are still found in Benguella, but not any longer in Angola
or Congo. Duarte Lopez, p. 49, speaks of a “pet zebra” (in Bamba?) which
was killed by a “tiger.” Further on he says that zebras were common, but
had not been broken in for riding. M. Garcia Mendez likewise mentions
the “zebra.” The native name is _ngolo_ (Kangolo). “Zebra” is a
corruption of its Abyssinian appellation.
[193] Tandale, in Kimbundu, means councillor or minister of a _soba_ or
kinglet; _tumba’ndala_ was an old title of the Kings of Angola, and may
be translated Emperor (Cordeiro da Matta, _Diccionario_).
[194] All this is borne out by Portuguese documents. From the very
beginning, Dias de Novaes handed over the Sovas to the mercy of his
fellow-adventurers and the Jesuits. The system was still in force in
1620 when Garcia Mendez de Castellobranco proposed to King Philip a
“regimen de aforamento” of the native chiefs, which would have yielded a
revenue of fifteen million Reis, and would, at the same time, afforded
some slight protection to the natives. Those who would have profited
most largely by these “reforms” would have been the Jesuits.
[195] According to Dr. Pechuel-Loesche (_Die Loango Expedition_, vol.
iii, p. 279), this seems to be the cowfish of the whalers, or _Tursions
gillii_, Dale. The natives call it _ngulu-mputu_ (_ngulu_,
hog-fish;-_mputu_, Portugal). He says that the natives will not suffer
this fish to be injured, as it drives other fish ashore and into their
nets; and that if one of these fish were to be wounded or killed they
would stop away for ever so long. The Rev. W. M. Holman Bentley, in his
_Dictionary of the Kongo Language_, says that the _ngola_ of the natives
is a bagre, or catfish. A gigantic bagre, 8 ft. in length, is found in
the Upper Coanza (Monteiro, _Angola_, vol. ii, p. 134). Mr. Dennett
suggests the _Chialambu_, a kind of bream, which is said to chase other
fish; _Mboa_, _Mbwa_, or _Imboa_ certainly means dog, and is not the
name of a fish.
[196] _Massa-ngo_, the _Penisetum typhoideum_, introduced from abroad.
It is the _milho_, or millet, of the Portuguese (see Capello and Ivens,
_Benguella_, vol. i, p. 103; vol. ii, p. 257).
[197] _Massa-mballa_ is _sorghum_ (Ficalho). A white variety is known as
_Congo-mazzo_.
[198] This is _luku_, or _Eleusine coracana_, introduced from Asia. It
is extensively grown in Abyssinia and among the Niamniam (Schweinfurth,
_The Heart of Africa_, vol. i, p. 248; Ficalho, _Plantas uteis_, p. 41).
[199] _Massa-mamputo_, or Grão de Portugal, is _Zea mayz_, introduced
from America (Ficalho). See note, p. 7.
[200] This is the ground-nut (_Arachis hypogaea_), or underground kidney
bean. Its native name is _nguba_ or _mpinda_. According to Ficalho, p.
142, it was introduced from America, while _Voandzeia subterranea_,
called _vielo_ in Angola, is certainly indigenous. The seeds of the
latter are smaller and less oleaginous than those of _Arachis_, and
hence its commercial value is less.
[201] _Wandu_ (of Congo) is the _mbarazi_ of the Swahili, the _Cajanus
indicus_ of botanists. It is grown all over Africa, and Welwitsch
considers it indigenous. In Angola a variety is known as _nsonje_
(Ficalho, p. 143; Burton, _Two Trips to Gorilla Island_, vol. ii, p.
119).
[202] In a marginal note to his reprint of Pigafetta’s book (p. 1005),
Purchas quotes Battell as confirming Lopez when he states, with regard
to the _Cola_ (_c. acuminata, R. Br._), that “the liver of a hen, or of
any other like bird, which putrified and stinketh, being sprinkled over
with the juice of this fruit (the _Cola_), returneth into its former
estate, and becometh fresh and sound again.”
[203] See note, p. 24. Monteiro (vol. ii, 165) confirms that hives are
securely placed in the branches of a tree, the _Baobab_ being chosen in
preference.
[204] A misprint from _Inganda_, i.e., _Nsanda_, banyan.
[205] The three kinds of palm are, the wine-palm (_Raphia_); the
oil-palm (_Elaeis_); and the date-palm (_Phœnix_).
[206] _Lubámbu_ (in Kimbundu); _luvambu_ (in Congoese) means a chain.
Dr. Lacerda says that a _Libambo_ was made of sufficient length to hold
twelve slaves (_The Lands of Cazembe_, ed. by Burton, London; 1873, p.
18).
[207] For his _Relations_, see Purchas, lib. VI. ch. viii.
[208] Domingos d’Abreu de Brito, in a memoir addressed in 1592 to King
Philip, states that 52,000 slaves were exported from Angola to Brazil
and the Spanish Indies between 1575 and 1591, and 20,131 during the last
four years of this period (Paiva Manso, _Hist. do Congo_, p. 140).
Cadornega, quoted by the same author, estimates the number of slaves
annually exported between 1580 and 1680 at eight or ten thousand (_ib._,
p. 287).
[209] _Recte_, _Engenho_, a mill, and in Brazil more especially a sugar
mill.
[210] Turner says, in his _Relations_, p. 1243, that John de Paiis
(_sic_) owned ten thousand slaves and eighteen sugar mills.
[211] Manuel Cerveira Pereira was Governor 1603-7 (see p. 37).
[212] Carvalho (_Ethnographia_, pp. 248, 258) describes trophies of
these as also trophies of war, built up of the skulls of enemies killed
in battle. Bastian (_Loango Expedition_, vol. i, p. 54) saw a fossil
tusk, which was looked upon as a fetish, around which were piled up the
horns of oxen, and the teeth and skulls of hippopotami.
[213] Libations are a common practice. Dr. Bastian (_Loango Expedition_,
vol. i. p. 70) observed libations of rum being poured on the royal
graves at Loangiri; Capello and Ivens (_Benguella_, vol. i, p. 26) say
that the Bandombe, before they drink spirits, pour a portion on the
ground, as a libation to _Nzambi_; whilst in Congo (according to
Bentley), the blood of a beast killed in the chase is poured on the
grave of a good hunter, to ensure success in the future. Instances of
this practice could easily be multiplied. Compare note, p. 51.
[214] _Wá_, an interjection, O! _Kizangu_ is a fetish image (see note,
p. 24). _Kuleketa_, to prove, to try (Cordeiro da Matta’s
_Diccionario_).
[215] On this ordeal, as practised in Angola, see note, p. 61.
[216] _Nganga a mukishi._
[217] See note, p. 34.
[218] See note, p. 55.
[219] Battell is named in the margin as authority for this paragraph,
but it is not likely that he would have mentioned a lake Aquelunda,
which we now know does not exist. It rather seems that Purchas got this
bit of information out of Pigafetta. The Quizama here referred must not
be confounded with the country of the same name, to the south of the
Coanza. It was the district of the Quiluangi quia Sama (or quia Samba,
according to Lopez de Lima, p. 60), the ancestor of a chief of the same
name now living near the Portuguese fort of Duque de Bragança. The
“commonwealth” is an evident reference to the country of the Dembos
(_ndembu_, plural _jindembu_, ruler, chief), who recognise no superior
chief or king.
[220] It need scarcely be stated that the horse was first introduced
into Angola by the Portuguese. The tails seen by the early Portuguese,
and sometimes described as horse-tails, were in truth the tails of the
Zebra.
[221] See another version of the same story, p. 69.
[222] The _nsanda_ is the banyan, or wild fig-tree (_ficus umbelata_,
Vahl).
[223] Battell has been misunderstood by Purchas, for the _manga_ tree is
the Mangrove (_Rhyzophora mangle_) called _Mangue_ in Kimbundu, which
rejoices in adventitious roots, as also does the _nsanda_.
[224] See p. 24, for note on the _Nkondo_ or _Baobab_.
[225] For an account of this mode of climbing a tree, see
Pechuel-Lösche, _Loango Expedition_, vol. iii, p. 179.
[226] On honey, see note, p. 68.
[227] _Nsanda_, the banyan-tree.
[228] Schuit, a boat, in Dutch.
[229] This sentence is introduced on the authority of Duarte Lopez
(Pigafetta, p. 22). The other tree referred to by Battell is the
_mfuma_, or cotton-tree (see Tuckey, _Narrative_, p. 225). Dr.
Falkenstein, however, affirms that the soft wood of the _baobab_ is that
usually employed for making canoes (“dug-outs”).
[230] Battell, I have no doubt, never employed the word “Bramas”
(Bramanes in Portuguese, Brahmans). D. Lopez (Pigafetta) must be held
responsible for the statement that the inhabitants of Loango were
originally known as Bramas. Surely this cannot be (as supposed by
Degrandpré) because of the red and yellow stripes with which the women
in Loango paint their foreheads in honour of a certain fetish, and the
similarity of these with the marks of the votaries of Siva in India.
[231] Dr. Bastian (_Loango Expedition_, vol. i, pp. 158, 202, 232)
mentions offerings of this kind. Thus the skull of an animal killed in
the chase is placed before the fetish.
[232] _Mbongo_, cloth (Bentley’s _Dictionary_).
[233] See note, p. 35.
[234] Restrictions upon the use of certain articles of food are imposed
by the doctor (_nganga_), even before the child is born (_mpangu_), and
upon the sick (_konko_). The things forbidden to be eaten are called
_nlongo_, and it is believed that a disregard of this taboo entails most
disastrous consequences (Bentley, _Dictionary_, pp. 353, 389). In Loango
things forbidden are called _Shin_, or _thina_ (Dennett, _Folk-Lore_, p.
138).
[235] Any place guarded by a “charm,” such as a shell, a bit of cloth,
or the like, is respected by the natives as being protected by the
_nkishi_ (Dennett, _Folk-Lore_, pp. 6, 18).
[236] See note, p. 48.
[237] This bell is called _Shi-Ngongo_, and the Maloango alone is
allowed to order it to be struck. Thus, when a messenger is sent round
the town, striking this _Shi-Ngongo_, the people know that it is the
voice of Maloango which speaketh. It is thus quite likely that a thief,
under these circumstances, should be frightened into restoring stolen
property. (From a letter by Mr. Dennett.) See also note, p. 20.
[238] See p. 59.
[239] _Ndoke_, or _ndoki_, witchcraft, sorcerer.
[240] A misprint for _Libata_, village.
[241] See p. 48.
[242] _Munsa_, should be _inzo_ or _nzo_, a house (see also note, p.
49).
[243] _Nkishi ngolo_, a strong _nkishi_.
[244] Marginal note by Purchas: “This seemeth to be Red Sanders. A.
Battell saith it is logwood.” Purchas is right! _Tacula_ is Red Sanders
(_Pterocarpus tinctorius_).
[245] _Nkwa_, the possessor of a thing or quality; _akwa_, possessed of.
[246] Compare p. 56, where we are told that a fetish called _Maramba_
(_Morumba_), stood in the town of the Mani Yumba.
[247] Evidently a misprint for Mayumba.
[248] Another version of this address will be found on p. 56.
[249] Marginal note with reference to the existence of amazons
(Pigafetta, p. 124): “Andr. Battell, which travelled near to these parts
[where Amazons are supposed to exist] denieth this report of Lopez as
untrue.” The Amazons of Lopez lived in Monomotapa, on the Zambezi.
[250] We may presume that Purchas told his friend what was reported by
Lopez (Pigafetta, vol. ii, chs. 5, 9) and others about the origin of the
Jagas. Battell, upon this, not only rejects the conjecture of Lopez, but
also disclaims having any knowledge of their origin himself. Elsewhere,
however, Purchas makes his author responsible for the assertion that
they came from Sierra Leone (see note, p. 19).
[251] The Bangála (_akibangála_, in Kimbundu _Jimbangála_, sing.
_kibangála_) are the people of the Jaga of Kasanj. The term merely means
“people,” and they have absolutely nothing to do with the Bangala on the
middle Kongo, still less with the Galla (see Carvalho, _Exp. Port. do
Muatianvua, Ethnographia_, p. 85).
[252] The words within asterisks are obviously a parenthesis of worthy
Purchas. He speaks (p. 854) of the Gallæ [our Galla] as a “nationless
nation,” either the same as or like in condition to the Giacchi or
Iaggés [Jaga], and (p. 857) of the Imbij as “a barbarous nation” near
Mombaza. There exists not the slightest justification for identifying
the Jagas of Angola with the Sumbas of Sierra Leone, the Mazimbas of the
Zambezi, or the Galla. The whole of this question is dealt with in the
Appendix.
[253] On infanticide, see note, p. 32.
[254] In a marginal note Purchas adds: “_Azimogli_ are the children of
Christians taken from the parents by the Turke, the spawne of their
_Ianizaries_”. It should be _Ajem oglan_ (“inexperienced boys”), the
children of Christians who were handed over to Turks to be brought up as
Moslims, and trained as recruits for the _Yanizaries_ (_Yeni-cheri_, new
troops) organised by Sultan Urkhan in 1328. This unruly force ceased to
exist in 1826.
[255] _Elembe_ means pelican.
[256] See notes, pp. 19, 28.
[257] See note, p. 26.
[258] _Njilo mukisho_, see p. 27.
[259] _Mpungi_, an ivory trumpet.
[260] See note, p. 34.
[261] See note, p. 33.
[262] _Kuzambula_, a soothsayer, diviner. Neves, p. 19, mentions a
_Mocoa-co-Zambulla_ as officiating among the Jagas of Cassanje.
[263] See pp. 1 and 6.
[264] Masanganu is the famous fort on the Kwanza built by Paulo Dias de
Novaes in 1583. Anyeca, elsewhere called Ancica, Angica, Angila and
Anguca, is clearly meant for Anzica, that is the country of the Nteke
above Stanley Pool.
[265] That is, St. Paul de Loanda, the chief town of Angola.
[266] João Furtado de Mendonça was Governor of Angola (not Kongo),
1594-1601.
[267] I know of no town (or even church) in the whole of Angola
dedicated to St. Francis.
[268] There is no such city in Angola. It seems to me that Knivet found
the name in Linschoten, a translation of whose work appeared in 1698.
Linschoten says here of the island of Luandu, which lies in front of the
Portuguese town of S. Paul de Loanda, that “there were seven or eight
villages upon it, at one of which called ‘Holy Ghost’, resides the
Governor of Kongo, who takes care of the right of fishing up shells.”
This “Governor” was an officer of the King of Kongo. The island, with
its valuable cowrie fishery, was ceded to Portugal in 1649.
[269] _Ngulu_, a hog.
[270] _Sanji_, a hen.
[271] _I’mboa_, or _mbwa_, dog.
[272] Earlier in his narrative he mentions having seen, at the Straits
of Magellan, “a kind of beast bigger than horses; they have great eyes
about a span long, and their tails are like the tail of a cow; these are
very good: the Indians of Brazil call them _tapetywason_: of these
beasts I saw in Ethiopia, in the Kingdom of Manicongo. The Portugals
call them _gombe_” (marginal note by Purchas). The gombe (_ngombe_) of
the Portugals is undoubtedly a cow, whilst the _tapetywason_, called
“taparussu” in a _Noticia de Brazil_ of 1589, and _tapyra_, in the
language of the Tupi Indians, is applied to any large beast, and even to
the oxen imported by the Portuguese, which they call _tapyra sobay go
ara_, that is, “foreign beasts,” to distinguish them from their own
_tapyra caapora_ or “forest beast.”
[273] This account of a “trial by battle” does much credit to the
author’s ingenuity. No such custom is referred to by any other visitor
to the Kongo. The meaning of “Mahobeque” we cannot discover, but
_mbenge-mbenge_ means “principally.”
[274] _Nkadi_, one who is, and _mpungu_, the highest. The usual word to
express the idea of God is _nzambi_, or _nzambi ampungu_, God the most
high! _Nkadi ampemba_, according to Bentley, means Satan. The word used
in Angola is, _Karia-pemba_.
[275] _Ri-konjo_, banana.
[276] _Mutombo_ is the flour from which cassava-bread is made.
[277] The name for bread, both in Kimbundu and Kishikongo, is _mbolo_
(derived from the Portuguese word for cake or _bolo_). _Anou_ or _auen_
may stand for _mwan_, a cassava-pudding; _tala_ means look! _kuna_,
here! The Rev. Thomas Lewis would say, in the Kongo language of
Salvador: _Umpana mbolo tambula nzimbu_; literally, “Give me bread, take
or receive money.”
[278] The cowrie-shells fished up at Luanda Island (the old “treasury”
of the Kings of Kongo) are called _njimbu_ in Angola, but _nsungu_ in
Kongo. _Njimbu_ in Kongo means beads, or money generally, and hence the
author’s “gullgimbo” evidently stands for _ngulu anjimbu_, red beads.
[279] _Npuku_, a field mouse.
[280] Crimbo (_kirimbo_) seems to be a corruption of the Portuguese
_carimbo_, a stamp.
[281] The Rev. Thomas Lewis suggests: _Mundele ke sumbanga ko, kadi wan
bele-bele_; that is, “The white men do not buy, but they have gone away
in a hurry.”
[282] _Nlele_, the general name for European cloth. They do make cloth
from the inner bark of the banyan tree (see p. 18, _note_).
[283] _Mukaji_; wife, woman, concubine.
[284] The “fishes” are no doubt molluscs.
[285] The King at the time of Knivet’s alleged visit was Alvaro II.
[286] The Vangala, spelt Bengala lower down, seems to represent the
Imbangolas of Battell, more generally known as Jagas (see p. 84, _note_)
[287] D. Alvaro sent several embassies to Europe, but never a brother of
his. The most famous of these ambassadors was Duarte Lopez, who was at
Rome in 1590.
[288] This certainly seems to be a misprint for Angola, for a party of
Portuguese going to Masanganu would never stray so far north as Anzica.
On the other hand, if Knivet was really on his way from the capital of
Congo to Prester John’s country, that is, Abyssinia, he must have gone
in the direction of Anzica.
[289] Masanganu actually stands at the confluence of the Rivers Kwanza
and Lukala!
[290] That is, they suffered from elephantiasis.
[291] Gold is often referred to in ancient documents, but its actual
discovery (so far in unremunerative quantities) is quite a recent
affair. Silver was supposed to exist in the hills of Kambambe above
Masanganu, but has not as yet been actually found.
[292] These Angicas are certainly identical with the Anziques or
Anzicanas of Duarte Lopez, according to whom they eat human flesh and
circumcise. The Angolans have at no time been charged with cannibalism.
[293] Cavazzi, p. 262, calls Corimba a province of the kingdom of Coango
(not Loango, as in Labat’s version) on the Zaire. Cadornega (quoted by
Paiva Manso, p. 285) tells us that our river Kwangu (Coango) is called
after a lordship of that name, and was known to the people as the
“great” Zaire (_nzari anene_). On the other hand, D. Pedro Affonso II,
in a letter of 1624, speaks of Bangu, which had recently been raided by
the Jaga, aided by the King of Loango (_sic_), as the “trunk and origin
of Congo” (Paiva Manso, p. 177). But then this Pedro Affonso was not of
the original dynasty of Nimi a Lukeni.
[294] Collectively known as Ambundu, a term applied in Angola to black
men generally, but in Kongo restricted to slaves, _i.e._, the conquered.
Bunda, in Kongo, has the meaning of “combine;” in Lunkumbi (Nogueira,
_Bol._ 1885, p. 246) it means “family.” Cannecatim, in the introduction
to his Grammar, says that Kimbundu originated in Kasanj, and that the
meaning of Abundo or Bundo is “conqueror.” According to Carvalho (_Exp.
Port. ao Muatianvua, Ethnographia_, p. 123) Kimbundu should be
translated “invaders.” The derivations of the word Kongo are quite as
fanciful. Bentley seems to favour _nkongo_, a “hunter.” Cordeiro da
Matta translates Kongo by “tribute;” whilst Nogueira says that Kongo
(_pl._ Makongo) denotes a “prisoner of war.”
[295] “Palaver place” or “court,” corrupted by European travellers into
“Ambasse.” Subsequently this town became known as S. Salvador.
[296] Both the Rev. W. H. Bentley and the Rev. Tho. Lewis believe Sonyo
to be a corruption, at the mouths of natives, of San Antonio. This is
quite possible, for when the old chief was baptised, in 1491, he
received the name of Manuel (after the King), whilst his son was
thenceforth known as Don Antonio. Images of Sa. Manuela and S. Antonio
are still in existence, and are venerated by the natives as powerful
fetishes (Bastian, _Loangoküste_, vol. i, p. 286). Soyo, according to
the same author, is the name of a district near the Cabo do Padrão. Yet
Garcia de Resende and Ruy de Pina, in their Chronicles of King João II,
only know a Mani Sonho, whom João de Barros calls Mani Sono. No hint of
the suggested corruption is given by any author.
[297] On these northern kingdoms, whose connexion with Kongo proper
seems never to have been very close, see Proyart, _Histoire de Loango,
Cacongo, et autres royaumes d’Afrique_, Paris, 1776; Degrandpré, _Voyage
à la côte occidentale d’Afrique_, 1786-7, Paris, 1801; and of recent
books, R. D. Dennett, _Seven Years among the Fjort_, London, 1887,
Güssfeldt, Falkenstein, and Pechuel-Loesche, _Die Loango Expedition_,
Berlin, 1879-83; and that treasury of ill-digested information, Bastian,
_Die Deutsche Expedition an der Loangoküste_, Jena, 1874-5.
[298] On the voyages of Cão and Dias, see my paper in the _Geographical
Journal_, 1900, pp. 625-655.
[299] Now Cape St. Mary, 13° 28´ S.
[300] The “Cabo do Padrão” of early maps.
[301] A legend on the chart of Henricus Martellus Germanus (1489), and
the “Parecer” of the Spanish pilots of 1525, are our only authorities on
this fact. Cão is not again mentioned in Portuguese documents (see my
Essay, _Geographical Journal_, p. 637).
[302] Nsaku was henceforth known as Don João da Silva. See Ruy de Pina,
p. 149; Garcia de Resende, c. 69; and De Barros, _Asia_, t. I, Pt. 1,
pp. 177, 224.
[303] On this embassy, see De Barros, _Asia, Dec. I_, Liv. 3; Ruy de
Pina’s _Chronica_, pp. 174-179; Garcia de Resende’s _Chronice_, cc.
155-61; D. Lopez, Bk. II, c. 2; Fr. Luis de Sousa, _Historia de S.
Domingos_, Parte II, Livro vi, c. 8; and Parte IV, Livro iv, c. 16.
[304] Not Dominicans, as is usually stated. Garcia de Resende says
Franciscans; and P. Fernando da Soledade, _Historia Serafica_, has
proved the documents published by Paiva Manso in favour of the Dominican
claim to be forgeries. Compare Eucher, _Le Congo_, Huy, 1894, p. 64.
[305] Mbaji a ekongo, the palaver-place of Kongo. See Index sub _San
Salvador_.
[306] The insignia of royalty of the Kings of Kongo are the chair, a
bâton, a bow and arrow, and the cap.
[307] De Barros calls them Mundequetes, but D. Lopez says they should be
called Anziquetes. They are the Anzicanas of later writers, about whose
identity with the Bateke there can be no doubt. Their king bore the
title of Makoko (Nkaka).
[308] Hence this, the oldest church of S. Salvador, became known as
_Egreja da Vera Cruz_. In it the Christian kings of Kongo were formerly
buried; but when the Devil took up its roof and carried the body of the
unbelieving D. Francisco to hell, their coffins were removed to other
churches (see post, p. 121). Other churches, subsequently built, are S.
Salvador, N. S. do Socorro, S. Jago, S. Miguel, dos Santos, de
Misericordia, S. Sebastian.
[309] Frei João had died soon after reaching the capital.
[310] Paiva Manso, pp. 2-4.
[311] Paiva Manso, pp. 6-76, publishes quite a series of letters and
documents bearing upon the reign of Affonso, and dated between 1512, and
December 15th, 1540. Cavazzi makes him die in 1525, but in letters
written between February 15th, 1539, and December 4th, 1540, the King
refers to D. Manuel, who was about to go to Rome, as his “brother.” If
the letters had been written by his successor Don Pedro II Affonso, Don
Manuel would have been an uncle, and not a brother.
[312] Cavazzi calls him Mpanzu a kitima; D. Lopez invariably _Mpangu_.
[313] King Affonso, whose account of this battle may be read in Paiva
Manso, p. 8, does not mention the flaming swords, but there can be no
doubt that they were seen, for they were introduced in the coat-of-arms
subsequently granted to the King. D. Lopez (p. 82) substitutes the
Virgin for the white cross seen during the battle. Cavazzi (p. 273), and
others, down to Father Eucher (_Le Congo_, Huy, 1894, p. 36),
unhesitatingly accept this miracle. The Rev. W. H. Bentley most
irreverently suggests a solar halo; but such a phenomenon might account
for flaming swords, but not for the Virgin and St. James.
[314] On this embassy, see the documents printed by Paiva Manso, and
also Damian de Goes, _Chron. do Rei D. Emanuel_, vol. iii, c. 37.
[315] _Alguns Documentos_, p. 419.
[316] On this mission, see _Alguns documentos_, pp. 277-289, for the
instructions given to Simão da Silva; Paiva Manso, pp. 5-12, or King
Manuel’s letter, and D. Affonso’s manifesto; and also Damian de Goes,
_Chronica_, vol. iii, cc. 38-39.
[317] This coat-of-arms is fully described by King Affonso himself
(Paiva Manso, p. 11), as follows:—The field _gules_, and the chief of
the coat _azure_, quartered by a cross-fleury _argent_. Each quarter of
the chief charged with two shells, _or_, on a foot _argent_, bearing a
shield _azure_, charged with the five plates of Portugal. The field
_gules_ is charged with five arms holding swords, _or_. An open helmet,
_or_, with a royal crown surmounts the coat. Crest: the five swords.
Supporters: two idols, decapitated, with their heads at their feet. The
coats figured on Pigafetta’s map and by Cavazzi, p. 274, are much less
elaborate, but are both charged with five swords. The arrow in the
latter is one of the royal insignia.
[318] In the formal documents addressed to his “brother” of Portugal, he
claims to be “By the Grace of God, King of Kongo, Ibumgu, Kakongo, Ngoyo
this side and beyond Zari, lord of the Ambundus, of Ngola, Aquisyma
(Ptolemy’s Agisymba) Muswalu, Matamba, Muyilu and Musuku, and of the
Anzicas (Bateke), and the Conquest of Mpanzu-alumbu,” &c.
[319] D. de Goes, _Chronica_, vol. iv, c. 3.
[320] Paiva Manso, pp. 15, 17.
[321] Paiva Manso, p. 71. Concerning Mpanzu-alumbu, see below.
[322] On this mission, see Paiva Manso, pp. 69-74.
[323] On the bishops of Kongo, see _Add. MS. 15183_ (British Museum),
and R. J. da Costa Mattos, _Corographia Historica das Ilhas S. Thomé,
etc._ Oporto, 1842.
[324] Paiva Manso, p. 31.
[325] For King Affonso’s account of this event, as also for an account
of a second conspiracy, apparently planned by Fernão Rodrigues Bulhão,
see Paiva Manso, pp. 76-80.
[326] For Mpangu-lungu, see Index and Glossary.
[327] The minutes of this inquiry are printed by Paiva Manso, p. 84.
[328] D. de Goes, _Chron. de Rei D. Em._, iv, c. 54.
[329] See Index, _sub_ Mpanzu-alumbu _and_ Mpangu-lungu.
[330] See Paiva Manso, pp. 60, 69. Later sovereigns claimed also to be
kings of the Matumbulas, _i.e._, the spirits of their dead ancestors
buried at S. Salvador, whom they pretended to be able to consult, and
who were dreaded as fetishes.
[331] According to a Jesuit canon, who wrote in 1624 (Paiva Manso, p.
174), these daughters were: (1) Nzinga a mbembe, the mother of D. Diego,
Affonso II, and Bernardo; (2) D. Isabel Lukeni lua mbemba, the mother of
Alvaro I, Alvaro II, Alvaro III, and Bernardo II; (3) D. Anna Tumba a
mbemba, the mother of D. Affonso Mbikia ntumba, Duke of Nsundi, whose
son was Pedro II. This genealogy does not seem to be quite trustworthy.
[332] Several authors say that he came to the throne in 1525 or 1532,
but the letters written by D. Affonso, and published by Paiva Manso,
conclusively show that this is impossible (see _supra_).
[333] His native name proves him to have been a _son_ of D. Francisco.
He is, however, generally described as a cousin or grandson of D. Pedro.
[334] The earliest published letter of D. Diogo is dated April 25th,
1547. His death is mentioned in a letter dated November 4th, 1561 (Paiva
Manso, pp. 81, 113). He may, however, have died a considerable time
before that date. Lopez de Lima (_An. Mar._ 1845, p. 101) makes him die
in 1552, after a reign of nine years.
[335] This bishop was a Dominican. He entered upon his charge in 1549.
The four Jesuits going in his company were Christovão Ribeira, Jacome
Dias, Jorge Vaz, and Diogo de Soveral.
[336] See letters in Paiva Manso, pp. 91-93.
[337] He was appointed bishop in 1554, and died at S. Thomé in 1574.
[338] For the minutes of an inquiry into a conspiracy planned by one D.
Pedro ka nguanu of Mbemba, in 1550, see Paiva Manso, pp. 101, 110.
[339] Compare D. Lopez, p. 93; Cavazzi, p. 276; a list of kings given by
the Duke of Mbamba to the bishop D. Manuel Baptista in 1617 (Paiva
Manso, p. 166), the statement of a Jesuit canon of S. Salvador made in
1624 (_ibid._, p. 174), and Christovão Dorte de Sousa’s letter to Queen
Catherine of Portugal, dated (Luandu) November 4th, 1561 (_ibid._, p.
113); also a letter by P. Rodrigues de Pias, 1565 (Eucher, _Le Congo_,
p. 70).
[340] Printed by Paiva Manso, p. 114.
[341] His letter is printed by Paiva Manso, p. 116. It was during the
reign of this king, in 1563, that a “missionary” is stated to have
crossed Africa (Garcia d’Orta, _Coloquios dos simples e drogos_. Goa,
1567).
[342] Lopez de Lima, _An. Mar._, 1845, p. 101.
[343] Duarte Lopez, p. 93.
[344] Alvaro, according to Cavazzi, came to the throne in 1542 and died
in 1587, whilst Lopez de Lima, quite arbitrarily, puts off his accession
to 1552. These figures are absolutely incorrect, as may be seen from the
date of the letter of Queen Catherine to D. Bernardo. D. Alvaro cannot
possibly have ascended the throne anterior to 1568.
[345] The Ayaka still inhabit a large stretch of country along the
Kwangu, and are generally considered to be identical with the Jagas
(Cavazzi speaks of them as Jaga, or Aiaka), an opinion which I do not
share. See _post_, p. 149.
[346] I imagine the account given by Duarte Lopez, p. 96, is much
exaggerated.
[347] Garcia Mendes, p. 9.
[348] As a proof of vassalage we may mention that the King was denied
the title of _Alteza_ (Highness), which would have implied sovereign
rights, and was only allowed that of _Senhoria_ (lordship).
[349] Duarte Lopez, p. 9. Originally, the Christian kings of Kongo were
buried in this church, but upon this desecration their bodies were
removed to other churches.
[350] Our information concerning the reign of this king is exceedingly
scanty. We think we have shown satisfactorily that he cannot have
reigned from 1542 to 1587, but are unable to vouch either, for the date
of the invasion of his country by the Ayaka, or for that of his death.
[351] In a letter of September 15th, 1617 (Paiva Manso, p. 166).
[352] Samuel Braun, who visited the Kongo in 1612, says that the fort
built near the Padrão, and another on an uninhabited island, had been
razed.
[353] Sebastian da Costa had been sent to Kongo to announce the
accession of Philip I, in 1580. He was given a letter by D. Alvaro, but
died on the voyage, and Duarte Lopez, upon whose writings and discourses
Pigafetta based his work on the Kongo (see p. 19), was appointed in his
stead. For an account of this embassy, see Duarte Lopez, pp. 101-108.
[354] Printed by Paiva Manso, p. 158.
[355] This order was, as a matter of course, issued at the instance of
the Council of Regency at Lisbon.
[356] Paiva Manso, pp. 174-177.
[357] We confess that this is unintelligible to us. Perhaps
we ought to read Coango (Kwangu), instead of Loango. There is, of
course, the “kingdom” of Kwangu beyond the Kwangu river, within which
lies the district of Kurimba, the birthplace of the first King of Kongo
(see p. 102). Bangu is evidently the district on the river Mbengu. It
may have been the home of the King’s ancestors; and the Kwangu here
referred to may be a neighbouring district of that name (see Index).
[358] It was during the reign of this King that five Portuguese
merchants crossed the Kwangu and fell into the hands of the Makoko, who
made slaves of them. But upon this, his kingdom was visited by plague
and famine, and his armies were beaten; and these “miracles” only ceased
when, acting on the advice of his diviners, he had sent back his
prisoners to S. Salvador, richly compensated for their sufferings
(Cavazzi, p. 281).
[359] For documents referring to the reign of this king, see Paiva
Manso, pp. 187-237.
[360] Whether the Dutch ambassadors prostrated themselves when presented
to the king, as shown on one of Dapper’s plates, may be doubted.
[361] The auxiliary force of thirty Dutchmen was commanded by Captain
Tihman (Dapper, p. 541).
[362] They sent, indeed, a vessel to remonstrate, but the Duke defied
them to land, and they retired humbly.
[363] Dapper, p. 572. Perhaps the itinerary on one of Dapper’s maps from
Mpinda, by way of Mbamba, S. Salvador, Mbata and Nsundi, is supplied by
Herder. The names _conso_, _canda_, _quing_ and _ensor_ of the map are
corruptions of the names of the four week-days (_konso_, _nkanda_,
_nkenga_ and _nsona_), and designate places where markets are held on
those days.
[364] He died at S. Salvador in 1651, when about to start for Abyssinia,
and was succeded by P. Giovanni Francisco of Valenza, as Prefect. For a
full account of the missions of 1645 and 1648, see Pellicer de Tovar,
_Mission Evangelica al Reyno de Congo_, Madrid, 1649; and P. Francisco
Fragio, _Breve Relazione_, Rome, 1648.
[365] Giovanni Antonio de Cavazzi, of Montecuccolo, was a member of this
mission.
[366] This district was invaded by Queen Nzinga, in 1649, and the
missionaries, P. Bonaventura of Correglia, and P. Francesco of Veas,
retired.
[367] See Cavazzi, pp. 512-15.
[368] Those of our readers who have no time or inclination to wade
through the bulky tomes of Cavazzi and other missionaries of those days,
may be recommended to read an excellent summary by the Franciscan Friar
Eucher (_Le Congo, Essai sur l’Histoire Religieuse de ce Pays_, Huy,
1860).
[369] Paiva Manso, pp. 200-229.
[370] Fr. Bonaventura had left Luandu in December, 1649; in June, 1650,
he was in Rome; in July, 1651, at Lisbon. He then returned to Kongo in
the company of P. Giacinto Brusciotto of Vetralla (1652), but ultimately
joined the mission in Georgia. To Brusciotto we are indebted for a
grammar and vocabulary of the Sonyo dialect, published at Rome in 1659.
[371] Paiva Manso, p. 244.
[372] I have no doubt that these “Pedras” are identical with the “Pedras
de Nkoshi,” or “lion rocks,” now occupied by the Presidio of Encoge.
[373] Cavazzi, p. 287.
[374] Published by Paiva Manso, pp. 350-355.
[375] Pedro Mendes, however, only gives the names of ten Kings. If we
add to these Alvaro VII, D. Rafael, and Alvaro IX, mentioned by others,
we make up the number to thirteen. See Appendix III for a list and
classification of these Kings.
[376] Cadornega says Affonso III.
[377] He had some correspondence with the Pope in 1673 and 1677.
[378] Paiva Manso, p. 254.
[379] See Eucher, _Le Congo_, p. 176. Subsequently the Capuchins
returned to Sonyo (Merollo in 1683, Zucchelli in 1703).
[380] Dionigi Carli paid a visit to these: see his _Viaggio_, Reggio,
1672.
[381] See Merolla’s _Relatione del Regno di Congo_, Naples, 1692; and
Zucchelli’s _Viaggi_, Venice, 1712.
[382] His captain-general, D. Pedro Constantino, managed to get himself
elected king, but was taken prisoner and beheaded at S. Salvador in
1709.
[383] It was not unusual to make a charge for the administration of the
sacraments. In 1653, the parochial priests complained that the Capuchin
friars administered the sacraments without claiming an “acknowledgment;”
and the authorities at Rome (1653) prohibited their doing so within five
leagues of the capital (Paiva Manso, p. 233). At Mbamba, the priest had
a regular scale of prices. A baptism cost 7,000 cowries, for a marriage
a slave was expected, and so forth; and thus, adds the Bishop of Angola
(1722): “little children go to limbo, and grown-up people to hell!”
[384] _Western Africa_, London, 1856, p. 329.
[385] _Boletim_, Lisbon Geogr. Society, March 1889.
[386] In 1709, the Holy Office declared the slave-trade in Africa
illicit. Only those persons were to be looked upon as slaves who were
born such; who had been captured in a just war; who had sold themselves
for money (a usual practice in Africa); or who had been adjudged slaves
by a just sentence.
[387] _Alguns Documentos_, p. 107.
[388] For the instructions given to Pacheco, see _Alguns Documentos_, p.
436.
[389] Paiva Manso, p. 55.
[390] Kiluanji, nzundu, and ndambi, which are given as names of kings,
are in reality only titles assumed by them.—Capello and Ivens,
_Benguella to the Iacca_, vol. ii, p. 53. Tumba-ndala (according to Héli
Chatelain) was another of these ancient royal titles.
[391] Capello and Ivens, _ib._, vol. ii, p. 59. His proper name is
Kalunga (_i.e._, Excellency) ndombo akambo.
[392] _Kabâsa_, according to Cordeiro da Matta’s _Diccionario_, simply
means “capital;” but J. V. Carneiro (_An. do cons. ultram._, vol. ii, p.
172, 1861) would have us distinguish between a Mbanza ia Kabasa and a
Mbanza ia Kakulu; the former meaning “second,” the latter “first,”
capital. This “first” or original capital of the kings of Ndongo was
undoubtedly in the locality of Queen Nzinga’s kabasa; the second capital
was at Pungu a ndongo.
[393] Cavazzi, pp. 9, 621. The Queen was branded as a slave (a practice
learnt from the Portuguese; see Marcador in the Index), and died of
grief; but her daughter was received into favour, and was baptized in
1667.
[394] Lopes de Lima (_Ensaio_, vol. iii, _parte segundo_), is very
severe upon Cavazzi, whom he charges with having “falsified” history,
but does nothing himself to throw light upon the vexed question of the
names of the kings of Matamba and Ndongo. The following is a summary of
Cavazzi’s very copious information (where Antonio of Gaeta gives
different names, these are added within brackets). _Ngola_, the smith,
or _musuri_ (_Ngola Bumbumbula_), was the founder of the kingdom of
Ndongo. Having no sons, he was succeeded by his daughter, _Nzunda ria
ngola_, and then by another daughter, _Tumba ria ngola_, who married a
_Ngola kiluanji kia Samba_, a great warrior. Their son, _Ngola
kiluanji_, was succeeded by _Ndambi ngola_. Then followed _Ngola
kiluanji kia ndambi_, another great warrior, who advanced to within ten
leagues of the sea, and planted a _nzanda_ tree (_Insandeira_), on the
northern bank of the Kwanza, a short distance above Tombo, to mark the
furthest point reached by his conquering hosts. _Nzinga ngola kilombo
kia kasende_ (_Ngola kiluanji_) followed next; then came _Mbandi ngola
kiluanji_, the father, and _Ngola mbandi_, the brother, of the famous
Queen _Nzinga (Jinga) mbandi ngola_ (born 1582, acceded 1627, died
1663), since whose day the upper part of Ndongo, including Matamba; has
been known as Nzinga or Ginga. The great queen was succeeded by her
sister, _D. Barbara da Silva_, who married _D. Antonio Carrasco nzinga a
mina_ (she died 1666). Then followed in succession _D. João Guterres
Ngola kanini_, _D. Francisco Guterres Ngola kanini_ (1680-81), and _D.
Victoria_, whom Cadornega calls _Veronica_.
According to Lopez de Lima, it was a Jaga of Matamba, _Ngola a nzinga_,
who conquered Ndongo, and gave it as an appanage to his son, _Ngola
mbandi_. It was this _Ngola mbandi_ who invited the Portuguese in 1556,
and a son of his, bearing the same name or title, who received Dias in
1560.
Cadornega (Paiva Manso, p. 281) gives the following names as the “Kings
of Angola” since the arrival of the Portuguese: Ngola a kiluanji, Ngola
mbandi, Ngola a kiluanji II, Queen Nzinga D. Anna de Sousa, D. Antonio
Carrasco Nzinga a mina, D. Barbara da Silva, his wife; D. João Guterres
Ngola kanini, D. Luis, D. Francisco Guterres Ngola kanini, D. Veronica,
the wife of D. Francisco.
[395] Called Ngola mbandi by Lopes de Lima.
[396] Paiva Manso, p. 112.
[397] The Jesuit fathers (Francisco de Gouvea and Garcia Simões) date
their letters from _Angoleme_, and call the King’s capital Glo-amba
Coamba, evidently a misprint. Sixty leagues would carry us far beyond
the later capital, Pungu a ndongo, perhaps as far as the Anguolome
aquitambo (Ngwalema a kitambu) of Garcia Mendes, in the district known
as Ari. Another Angolome (Ngolome) lived less than twenty leagues from
the coast, on the northern side of the Kwanza, and near him a soba,
Ngola ngoleme a kundu. Neves (_Exped. de Cassange_) says the old name of
Pungu a ndongo is Gongo a mboa. For the Jesuit letters of that time, see
(_Boletim_, 1883, pp. 300-344).
[398] He is referred to as Ngola Mbandi or Ngola ndambi.
[399] Lopes de Lima, _Ensaios_, p. ix, calls him Kiluanji kia samba, an
ancestor of the chief residing near the presidio of Duque de Bragança.
V. J. Duarte (_Annaes do cons. ultramar._, vol. ii, p. 123), the
commandant of that presidio in 1847, confirms that it occupies the site
of a former chief of that name, who was, however, quite an insignificant
personage.
[400] Domingos d’Abreu de Brito, in a MS. of 1592, quoted by Lima,
_Ensaios_, p. x. Garcia Mendes mentions seven hundred men, but these
probably included the crews of the vessels.
[401] F. Garcia Simões, S.J., informs us that a few days before the
arrival of Dias four men had been killed at a village only six leagues
from Luandu, and eaten.—_Boletim_, 1883.
[402] Domingos d’Abreu de Brito, quoted by Paiva Manso, p. 139, informs
us that in 1592 it was governed by a Muene Mpofo, M. Luandu and M.
Mbumbi.
[403] The King, after his defeat, is stated to have ordered the Makotas
who had given him this evil counsel to be killed (Lopes de Lima, p.
xiii).
[404] Lima, _Ensaios_, vol. xi, suggests that this S. Cruz became
subsequently known as Kalumbu, and that its church was dedicated to S.
José. To me it seems more likely that it occupied the site of Tombo, and
was subsequently abandoned.
[405] This “Penedo” seems subsequently to have been named after Antonio
Bruto, a captain-major.
[406] Garcia Mendes, p. 19, describes Kanzele as lying half-way between
the rivers Kwanza and Mbengu.
[407] According to Antonio of Gaeta two leagues below Masanganu. Garcia
Mendes calls this place Makumbe.
[408] See his account of this battle in _Boletim_, 1883, p. 378. The
story in the _Catalogo_, that Dias sent loads of cut-off noses to S.
Paulo, is hardly credible.
[409] So says Garcia Mendes, p. 25; whilst Duarte Lopez, p. 34, says
they were sent, but being defeated on the river Mbengu, retired again to
the north.
[410] Diogo Rodrigues dos Colos brought three hundred men in 1584;
Jacome da Cunha, nine hundred in 1586. Two hundred Flemings, who arrived
in 1587, nearly all died soon after they had been landed.
[411] Garcia Mendes, p. 24.
[412] In 1809 his remains were transferred to the Jesuit Church at
Luandu.
[413] This place is said to be eighty leagues from Masanganu, a gross
exaggeration. Vicente José, who was the commander of Duque de Bragança
in 1848, mentions a Ngolema Aquitamboa among the chiefs of Haire da cima
(_An. do Conselho ultram._, vol. ii, p. 123).
[414] Garcia Mendes mentions the Kindas as if they were a tribe. To me
they seem to be the people of the Jaga Kinda (Chinda of the Italian
Capuchins), one of the chiefs killed by the famous Queen Nzinga. See
Cavazzi, p. 636, and Antonio de Gaeta’s narrative in _La maravigliosa
conversione delle Regina Singa escritta dal. P. F. Francesco Maria Gioia
da Napoli_. Naples, 1669, p. 233. Emilio, a son of Count Laudati, was
born in 1615; he lived a few years as a knight of Malta, and then
entered a monastery of Capuchins, assuming the name of Antonio of Gaeta.
He landed at Luandu in November, 1650, and died there, after an active
life as a missionary, in July, 1662.
[415] Called Kakalele in the _Catalogo_.
[416] Douville, _Voyage au Congo_, Paris, 1832, vol. ii, p. 375;
Bowdich, _On the Bunda Language_, p. 138, note 2.
[417] See note, p. 84.
[418] _Breve Relação da embaixada_, etc., Lisbon, 1565. Reprint of 1875,
p. 98.
[419] It will be remembered that Battell, p. 25, writes Gaga as an
alternative form for Jaga. May Agau stand for Agaga, the Jagas
collectively?
[420] _Relacão anuel_, 1602-3. Lisbon, 1605.
[421] Ginde (pronounced Jinde) may be derived from _njinda_, the meaning
of which is fury, hostility.
[422] See p. 83.
[423] _Expedição Portuguesa: Ethnographia_, p. 56.
[424] _Expedição a Cassange_, Lisbon, 1854.
[425] Perhaps Manuel Cerveira Pereira, who founded the Presidio of
Kambambe in 1604. The first DON Manuel, however, is D. Manuel Pereira
Forjaz (1607-11). But as the Jaga offered to fight Queen Nzinga, who
only acceded in 1627, this Don Manuel may have been D. Manuel Pereira
Coutinho (1630-34).
[426] A “feira” was established at Lukamba, near Mbaka, in 1623. The
Kamueji is perhaps the Fumeji of Capello and Ivens.
[427] The list of Neves, p. 108, begins with Kinguri kia bangala, who
was succeeded by Kasanje kaimba, Kasanje kakulachinga, Kakilombo,
Ngonga-nbande, etc.
[428] Capello and Ivens, _Benguella to Iacca_, vol. i, p. 239, include
Mahungo and Kambolo among the family of Ngongo, and Mbumba among that of
Kulachinga.
[429] _Reisen in Süd-Afrika_, Pest, 1869, p. 264.
[430] From _Mpakasa_, a buffalo, and the meaning of the word is
therefore originally “buffalo-hunter,” but it was subsequently applied
to natives employed by government, as soldiers, etc. Capello and Ivens,
_From Benguella to the Yacca_, vol. ii, p. 215, deny that they ever
formed a secret society for the suppression of cannibalism.
[431] _Kichile_, transgression.
[432] See Cavazzi, pp. 182-205.
[433] It is to him we owe several memoirs, referred to p. xviii. He did
excellent service; but whilst João Velloria and others were made Knights
of the Order of Christ, and received other more substantial rewards, his
merits seem not to have been recognised.
[434] This important MS., dated 1592, still awaits publication.
[435] Lopes de Lima, _Ensaios_, p. 147.
[436] However, there are two sides to this dispute, and it may well be
doubted whether the natives would not have been better off under a
Jesuit theocracy than they were under an utterly corrupt body of civil
officials. See P. Guerreiro, _Relação anual de_ 1605, p. 625, and Lopes
de Lima, p. xviii.
[437] Erroneously called Adenda by most authors. Battell is the first to
give the correct name.
[438] Garcia Mendes, p. 24.
[439] They were “converts” from the Casa Pia founded by D. Maria, the
queen of D. Manuel—not reformed criminals, but converted Jewesses.
[440] Battell gives some account of this campaign. See also Garcia
Mendes, p. 11. Ngombe a Mukiama, one of the Ndembu to the north of the
Mbengu, may be a descendant of this Ngombe (see Luis Simplico Fonseca’s
account of “Dembos” in _An. do conselho ultram._, ii, p. 86).
[441] Upon this Spaniard was conferred the habit of the Order of Christ,
he was granted a pension of 20,000 reis, and appointed “marcador dos
esclavos,” an office supposed to yield I,000 cruzados a year (Rebello de
Aragão, p. 23).
[442] Luciano Cordeiro (_Terras e Minas_, p. 7), says that, according to
local tradition, the first presidio of that name was at Kasenga, a
village which we are unable to discover on any map.
[443] See Battell’s account of this campaign, p. 37.
[444] See note, p. 37.
[445] See Glossary, _Museke_.
[446] Others call him Paio d’Araujo.
[447] Estabelecimentos, 1607.
[448] A. Beserra Fajardo, in _Producçoes commercio e governo do Congo e
de Angola_, 1629, one of the documents published by Luciano Cordeiro in
1881.
[449] Near where the railway now crosses that river.
[450] Rebello de Aragão, p. 15.
[451] It seems that the explorer considers Kambambe to lie eighty
leagues inland (P. Guerreiro—_Rel. an._, 1515, f. 126—estimated the
distance from S. Paulo to Kafuchi’s at sixty leagues). Accepting this
gross over-estimate in calculating his further progress, and assuming
him to have gone to the south-east, which was not only the shortest
route to Chikovo and Mwanamtapa, but also avoided the country of the
hostile Ngola, he cannot even have got as far as Bié. As to a “big
lake,” he heard no more than other travellers have heard since, only to
be disappointed. The natives certainly never told him that one of the
rivers flowing out of that lake was the Nile. This bit of information he
got out of a map. His expedition _may_ have taken place in 1607—he
himself gives no date. Perhaps Forjaz had given the instructions, which
were only carried out in 1612, when Kambambe was in reality threatened
by the natives.
[452] Rebello de Aragão, p. 14, calls him Manuel da Silveira.
[453] A Kakulu Kabasa still lives to the north-east of Masanganu, in 9°
4´ S., 14° 9´ E.
[454] The territory of a chief of that name is on the upper Mbengu, to
the north of Mbaka. The _Catalogo_ calls him Kakulu Kahango.
[455] See _Benguella e seu sertão_, 1617-22, by an anonymous writer,
published by Luciano Cordeiro in 1881.
[456] This bay is known by many aliases, such as S. Maria, S. Antonio,
do Sombreiro, and da Torre.
[457] The anonymous MS. already cited by us is, however, silent on this
subject.
[458] Antonio Diniz, who wrote in 1622 (_Producções do Congo e de
Angola_, Lisbon, 1881, p. 14), charges Pereira with having sent, without
the King’s knowledge, three shiploads of salt to Luandu, which he
exchanged for “Farinha de guerra” (Commissariat flour), with which to
feed his men.
[459] That is a _district_ called Kakonda, for the old fort of that name
(Caconda velha), sixty miles from the coast, was only built in 1682.
Letters from Pereira, dated September 9th, 1620, and January 23rd, 1621,
in _Egerton MS. 1133_ (British Museum), ff. 357-361.
[460] I do not know whether oxen were employed as beasts of burthen
(_bois cavallos_) in these early days.
[461] Reckoning the cruzado at 2_s._ 8_d._
[462] Published by Luciano Cordeiro.
[463] Dapper, p. 592, regrets that these exactions ceased on the
occupation of the country by the Dutch (not from love of the native, we
may be sure), and that, as a consequence, his countrymen were little
respected.
[464] Antonio Diniz, _Producçoes, commercio e governo do Congo e de
Angola_, 1516-19, published by Luciano Cordeiro in 1881.
[465] Luiz de Figuerido Falcão, _Livro em que se contem toda a Fazenda_,
etc. Lisbon, 1855, p. 26. I reckon 400 reis to a cruzado worth 2_s._
8_d._
[466] The Capitão-mor do Campo, who was the chief officer next to the
Governor, was paid £67; the ouvidor (or judge), £34; the sergeant-major,
£34; the principal financial officer (provedor da Fazenda), £27: a
captain of infantry, £40; a private, £18. There was a “marcador dos
esclavos,” who branded the slaves. He received no pay but levied fees
which brought him in £140 a year (see _Estabelecimentos_, p. 21).
In 1721 the Governor’s salary was raised to 15,000 cruzados (£2,000),
but he was forbidden to engage any longer in trade.
[467] Called Nzinga mbandi ngola, or Mbandi Ngola kiluanji, by Cavazzi,
pp. 28, 601; Ngola akiluanji by Cadornega; and Nzinga mbandi, King of
Ndongo and Matamba, in the _Catalogo_.
[468] Called Ngola mbandi by Cavazzi, Cadornega, and in the _Catalogo_;
Ngola-nzinga mbandi by Lopes de Lima, _Ensaios_, p. 95.
[469] This removal seems to have taken place immediately after the
Governor’s arrival. The site chosen was that of the Praça velha of
modern maps, to the south of the present Ambaca.
[470] D. João de Souza Ngola ari was the first King of Angola (Ndongo)
recognised by the Portuguese. He only survived a few days, and was
succeeded by D. Felippe de Souza, who died in 1660; and by D. João II,
the last of the line, who was executed as a traitor in 1671.
[471] Livingstone, _Missionary Travels_, 1857, p. 371, calls this a law
dictated by motives of humanity.
[472] He was appointed April 7th, 1621, took possession in September
1621, and left in 1623 (see _Add. MS._ 15, 183, I. 5).
[473] Literally “mother priest.” It is thus the natives of Angola call
the Roman Catholic priests, because of their long habits, to distinguish
them from their own _Nganga_.
[474] Ndangi (Dangi), with the royal sepultures (_Mbila_), was two
leagues from Pungu a ndongo (according to Cavazzi, p. 20).
[475] Bento de Benha Cardozo was originally given the command, but died
before operations were begun.
[476] The Queen was in the habit of consulting the spirits of the Jagas
Kasa, Kasanji, Kinda, Kalandu and Ngola mbandi, each of whose _Mbila_
(pl. _Jimbila_), or sepulture, was in charge of a soothsayer or
_Shingiri_ (Cavazzi, p. 656).
[477] The _Catalogo_ is provokingly obscure with respect to the pursuit
of the Queen. Malemba (Lemba) is known to be above Hako, to the west of
the Kwanza, whilst Ngangela (Ganguella) is a nickname applied by the
Binbundo to the tribes to the east of them. “Little Ngangela,” according
to Cavazzi, is identical with the country of the Bangala, or Kasanji, of
modern maps. Kina (quina) simply means “sepulture” or “cavern,” and A.
R. Neves (p. 103) tells us that Kasanji, on first arriving in the
country where subsequently he settled permanently, took up his quarters
at Kina kia kilamba (“Sepulture of the exorcist”). The mountain
mentioned by Cavazzi (p. 770), as abounding in caverns full of the
skulls of Kasanji’s victims, may be identical with this Kina.
[478] Cavazzi, pp. 9, 622. In one place he calls her the dowager-queen,
in the other the daughter of Matamba Kalombo, the last King of Matamba.
J. V. Carneiro (_An. do cons. ultram._ 1861), asserts that Matamba was
the honorary title of the great huntsman of Ngola.
[479] D. Simão de Mascarenhas had been appointed bishop of Kongo on
November 15th, 1621, and provisionally assumed the office of Governor at
the urgent request of the captain-major Pedro de Souza Coelho. He was a
native of Lisbon and a Franciscan. On the arrival of his successor,
Fernão de Souza, in 1624, he proceeded to his See at S. Salvador, and
died there in the following year under mysterious circumstances. Under
his successor, D. Francisco Soveral (1628, d. 1642) the See was
transferred to S. Paulo de Luandu. (_Add. MS._ 15,183). The dates given
by Lopes de Lima (_Ensaio_, iii, p. 166a) are evidently corrupt.
[480] This Kafuche appears to have been a descendant of the warlike soba
of that name. Another Kafuche, likewise in Kisama, asked to be baptised
in 1694 (see Paiva Manso, p. 332).
[481] Dapper, p. 579. This first attempt to cultivate the soil was
undertaken very reluctantly, but the profits derived therefrom soon
converted both banks of the Mbengu into flourishing gardens.
[482] The _Catalogo_, p. 366, calls him Alvares, but Paiva Manso, p.
182, Gaspar Gonçalves (see also Eucher, p. 83).
[483] This seminary was never founded, notwithstanding repeated Royal
reminders of 1684, 1686, 1688, and 1691 (Lopez de Lima, _Ensaio_, iii,
p. 149).
[484] S. Braun, _Schifffarten_, Basel, 1624; and P. van der Broeck,
_Journalen_, Amst., 1624.
[485] Jacome Ferreira, in command of these patrol ships, was killed in
action in 1639, when the command devolved upon Bartholomeu de
Vasconcellos.
[486] N. G. van Kampen, _Geschiedenes der Nederlanders buiten Europa_,
Haarlem, 1831, vol. i, p. 436, asks his readers to decide upon the
morality of this proceeding, when negotiations were actually in
progress, and in the case of Portugal, which had only recently thrown
off the yoke of Spain, the common enemy.
[487] _Catalogo_, p. 375.
[488] _Cavazzi_, p. 626.
[489] He was a son of the valiant Martim de Sá, the Governor of Rio de
Janeiro. Previously to sailing up to Luandu, he erected a factory on
Kikombo Bay.
[490] This envoy likewise visited the Jagas Kasanji, Kalungu and Kalumbu
for the purpose of persuading them to abolish infanticide; and they
promised to shut an eye if the old practice was not followed.
[491] In 1652 two years’ grace for the payment of all debts incurred
anterior to the invasion of the Dutch was granted to all inhabitants of
Angola.
[492] Cavazzi vouches for this (p. 637).
[493] She was conducted back by José Carrasco.
[494] This may have been Kasanji ka kinjuri, born in 1608, and baptised
by Antonio of Serraveza in 1655, and named D. Pasquale (Cavazzi, p.
784).
[495] Lopes de Lima, _Ensaio_, iii, p. xxxii, says he was assassinated
by a Portuguese soldier.
[496] All the successors of the famous Queen, as also her people and
country, are called Nzinga (Ginga) by Portuguese authors.
[497] Lopes de Lima, _Ensaio_, iii, p. 117, and parte segunda, p. 18,
calls them Quinalonga, and there can be no doubt of their identity with
the Quihindonga (Kindonga) islands of Cavazzi. The _Catalogo_ does not
mention this cession.
[498] He had arrived on August 26th, 1669, and spite of his prudence
must be held responsible for this disastrous Sonyo campaign.
[499] See Paivo Manso, p. 255, who quotes an anonymous _Relação_,
published at Lisbon in 1671; also Cadornega.
[500] Cavazzi, who accompanied this expedition as chaplain, gives a full
account of it, without naming the Portuguese commander. His geographical
data, as usual, are exceedingly vague: a circumstance all the more to be
regretted, as even now we know very little about this part of Angola.
[501] This soba had been baptised. In 1684, a brother of his expelled
him, but he was reinstated by João de Figueireda e Souza.
[502] From a letter published by Paiva Manso (p. 316), we learn that
Mbuilu had begged the King of Kongo to receive him as a vassal.
[503] For King Pedro’s letter of thanks for this victory, see
_Catalogo_, p. 401. In 1693, massacres of prisoners were strictly
prohibited.
[504] He died in prison at Luandu.
[505] The author of a Report referred to below admits that they had many
detractors who were envious of their success.
[506] Seventeen Capuchins, eight Jesuits, seven Franciscans, and four
Carmelites.
[507] In 1709 there were seven million reis in its treasury.
[508] _Ensaio_, iii, p. 149.
[509] The testoon was a coin of 100 reis, worth about 8_d._
[510] The assumed value of the _makuta_ was 50 reis; its actual value,
in silver, only 30 reis. There were pieces of half _makutas_ and of
quarter _makutas_, popularly called _paka_.
[511] Zucchelli (p. xvii, § 11), tells us that when Luiz Cerar de
Menezes returned to Rio, in 1701, he carried away with him 1,500,000
crusados (£200,000), realised in the slave trade.
[512] _Ensaio_, iii, p. xxxiv.
[513] Provincial Governors not appointed by the King, but elected by the
local authorities or the troops.
INDEX AND GLOSSARY.
For information additional to that given in the body of this volume,
consult Bramas, Margarita, Ostrich Eggs.
Included in this Index are all the geographical names mentioned by
Duarte Lopes (Pigafetta’s _Report of the Kingdom of Congo_), as also
many names referred to by Cavazzi, Paiva Manso, and others.
The approximate geographical position is given in degrees and tenths of
degrees.
For names beginning with _C_, _Ch_, or _Qu_, see also _K_.
+Abundu+, pl. of _mbundu_, a slave. In Angola the natives generally
are called _Ambundu_.
+Aca mochana.+ _See_ Aki musanu.
+Acca+, a corruption of _Aki_, followers.
+Achelunda.+ _See_ Aquilunda.
+Adenda.+ _See_ Ndemba.
+Administration+ of natives, 161
+Affonso VI+, King of Portugal, 183
+Affonso I+, King of Kongo, 110, 136
+Affonso II+, King of Kongo, 119, 136
+Affonso III+, King of Kongo, 131, 137
+Agag+, are not Jaga, 150
+Aghirimba,+ according to D. Lopez, the ancient name for _Mbata_,
but called _Agisymba_ on his map, and evidently Ptolemy’s region
of that name, 112
+Agoa Kaiongo+ (Augoy cayango), 9.8 S., 14.2 E., 37;
battle of 1603, 156
+Agoa rozada+, King of Kongo (Pedro IV), 133, 137
+Aguiar+, Alvaro, 175
+Aguiar+, Francisco de, 175
+Aguiar+, Ruy d’, 113
+Aiacca+, _See_ Ayaka.
+Aki+, followers.
+Akimbolo+ (Aquibolo), about 9.3 S., 14.9 E., 149
+Aki musanu+ (Acamochana), a soba, 8.9 S., 13.8 E., 172
+Albinos+, 48, 81
+Alemquer+, Pero d’, pilot, 108
+Alguns documentos+, quoted, 112, 139, 140
+Almadias+, Golfo das, undoubtedly Kabinda Bay (5.5 S.), but Battel’s
_B. da Almadias_, 43, is identical with Black Point Bay, 4.8 S., 43
+Almeida+, D. Francisco, 153, 188
+Almeida+, D. Jeronymo, 153, 154, 188
+Almeida+, João Soares de, 132
+Alvares+, Gaspar (or Gonçales), 169
+Alvaro I+, King of Kongo, 119, 136
+Alvaro II+, King of Kongo, 121, 136
+Alvaro III+, King of Kongo, 122,137
+Alvaro IV+, King of Kongo, 124, 137
+Alvaro V+, King of Kongo, 124, 137
+Alvaro VI+, King of Kongo, 125, 137
+Alvaro VII+, King of Kongo, 130, 137
+Alvaro VIII+, King of Kongo, 131, 137
+Alvaro IX+, King of Kongo, 130, 133, 137
+Alvaro+, Frei, the assassin, 115
+Alvaro Gonçales Bay+, called _Alvaro Martins’ Bay_ on map (D. Lopez);
identical with Yumba Bay, 3.3 S., 10.5 E.
+Ambaca.+ _See_ Mbaka.
+Ambasse+, or Ambresa, a corruption of _mbazi_ or _mbaji_.
_See_ S. Salvador.
+Ambriz+ (Mbidiji or Mbiriji) river, 7.3 S., 12.9 E., 131, 132
+Amboella.+ _See_ Mbwela.
+Ambrosio I+, King of Kongo, 124, 137
+Ambuilla.+ _See_ Mbuila.
+Ambuila dua.+ _See_ Mbuila anduwa.
+Ambandu+, _i.e._, negroes (in Kongo abundu = slaves), 103, 112
+Ambus+ (D. Lopez), tribe between coast and Anzica; perhaps the
_Balumbu_. Mbu = ocean.
+Ampango.+ _See_ Mpangu.
+Amulaza+, Congo de, 6.0 S., 16.3 E.
+Andala mbandos+ (Ndala mbandu), or Endalla nbondos, 17
+Andrada+, João-Juzarte, 174, 189
+André mulaza+, King of Kongo, 132, 137
+Angazi+, or Engazi (D. Lopez), Ingasia (Battell). _See_ Ngazi.