RECEPTION OF ENVOYS FROM KING LÀKONO. — DESCRIPTION OF THEM. —
RELIGION OF THE BARIS: THEIR ARMS AND ORNAMENTS. — PANIC CREATED
AMONG THE NATIVES AT THE EXPLOSION OF CANNON. — LIVELY SCENE ON
SHORE. — COLOURED WOMEN. — ARRIVAL OF KING LÀKONO AND SUITE. —
HIS INTERVIEW WITH THE COMMANDERS: HIS DRESS. — THE NATIONAL MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS OF BARI. — PRESENTS TO KING LÀKONO AND HIS DEPARTURE.
24th January.—I repaired to Selim Capitan, to be present at the
reception of the Sultan Làkono. He had sent two other envoys to
announce to us that he would come, and we were to wait a little. One
of these ambassadors was likewise a younger brother of the king’s,
a real giant both in height and breadth, and coloured red from head
to foot; there was not even a single hair on the whole body of this
Hercules that was not red. His name is Dogalè. Nikelò, already
known to us, returned also, but entirely in his natural state,
not having even one of the strings of beads presented to him round
his neck. The other envoy, a relation of the king’s, is called
Betjà. Dogalè lolls very comfortably on the carpet extended before
the cabin, supporting his long ribs on the little stool placed under
him. Favoured by nature in every respect, he has regular features,
and a good-tempered though not intelligent countenance. All the
questions asked of these high and mighty lords were answered with
the greatest readiness. Sultan, or king, is called in their language
Matta, which means generally a lord, but there is no other _lord_
besides him. There is no one in these countries equal to their Matta
in power and strength. The word Làkono was also pronounced Làgono,
for they frequently change _k_ for _g_, as well as _p_ for _b_, _vice
versâ_, and they vary the fall of the accent, for example, Belènja
and Pelenjà. Làkono has forty wives and several children, amongst
them many grown-up sons. They shew us the number, not by stretching
out the fingers of both hands, but by holding their clenched fist
towards the questioners, in order to express by that means the number
five or ten. Each of the brothers of the king had six wives, and this
appears to be their usual appanage; for the women are purchased, and
they are probably allowed a certain number of wives, according to
their station. A private man, such as the sheikhs or chiefs of the
community, has only three; the others have only one or two wives,
exclusive of the slaves taken in war or purchased, like the male
ones, for iron weapons. The latter, I learned on my return to the
country of the Bokos, down to which place Làkono has navigated,
for the purpose of purchasing slaves, as they told us there.
We order the drum to be beat and the men to pipe; it was with
difficulty then that they could keep their seats. They do not
display any troublesome prying spirit, or impertinent curiosity;
but they see _too much_ at once, the impression assails them too
powerfully on all sides. I gaze on these people,—they are men like
ourselves, but they are more bashful than we,—not, however, by
any means approaching that timidity and helplessness which we have
perceived, for example, among the Keks. They eat dates, almonds,
and raisins, but do not snatch them hastily or greedily. They take
the tinned-copper can (Brik) filled with water from the wash-hand
basin (Tisht), and drink directly from the curved spout, after having
lifted up the cover and ascertained the contents; yet they have never
seen such fruits and such a water-vessel. I observe them in their
mutual confidential conversation, perhaps referring to us,—what
do they think of us? They are not astonished at the white faces;
perhaps they take them to be coloured, like their own bodies, for
our crew display all possible tints of flesh.
I am led to this latter supposition from a couple of women having
previously tried the skin on my face with their wet fingers, to
see if it were painted. The features and form of the head are quite
regular among these gigantic people, and are a striking contrast to
those of our black soldiers, with their more negro-like physiognomy,
although _they_ are not, on the whole, ugly. I compare the true
Caucasian races, who are present, with these men, and find that the
latter have a broader forehead. The inhabitants of the kingdom of
Bari might be designated a protoplasma of the black race; for not
only do they shoot up to a height of from six and a half to seven
Parisian feet,[1] which we have seen also in the other nations,
but their gigantic mass of limbs are in the noblest proportions. The
form of the face is oval, the forehead arched, the nose straight, or
curved, with rather wide nostrils,—the alæ, however, not projecting
disagreeably; the mouth full, like that of the ancient Egyptians; the
orifice of the ears large, and the temples a little depressed. The
last we do not find in the Baràbras, and the races akin to them in
Abyssinia. The men of Bari have, besides, well-proportioned legs,
and muscular arms. It is a pity that they also extract the four lower
incisors, for not only is the face disfigured by this custom when they
are laughing, but their pronunciation also becomes indistinct. They
differ, moreover, from the nations hitherto seen by having no holes
in their ears for ornaments; and they do _not tattoo_ themselves. Yet
I remarked some who had incisions, as imaginary ornaments, on their
shoulders: such exceptions may originate from the mothers being
of another race. I have even seen in the land of Sudàn instances
of a twofold genealogical table in the countenance, because the
father and mother were of different nations. There appears to be
no national custom with respect to wearing the hair long or short;
but generally the hair is short, and not more woolly than that of
the Baràbras and Arabs. On some there was none to be seen, and it
appears either to be removed by a knife or a cauterising process,
such as the women in the harìm use for other parts. Some wear
their hair like a cock’s comb from the forehead down to the nape
of the neck; others have scarcely the crown of the head covered:
the most, however, wear tolerably long hair, in the natural manner,
which gives a significant look to many faces. Their good-natured
countenances correspond also to their jokes among themselves, which
are, perhaps, occasionally directed against us. I have never been
able to discover in the whole journey their reverence for our race
and the god-like descent, much as this was asserted by Thibaut,
who was with the first expedition.
It does not appear,—at least, we could not make out from
them,—that they recognise one God as the essence of all that is
good and beautiful, who punishes and rewards; but neither do they
worship idols, for that, I believe, I have fully ascertained. They
treat one another with frank brotherly love, stand embracing each
other, divide the fruits given to them, assist in embarking and
disembarking from the vessels to the shore; and all this in an
affectionate manner. But yet they must have their peculiar ideas of
friends and enemies, of injuries and revenge, and be drawn to commit
acts, which we can scarcely imagine, when we see such an apparently
harmless people of nature.
Skill in arms, which is generally not to be despised, is an
accomplishment most desirable of all to a man living in a state
of nature. The first things he seeks are weapons against the wild
beasts; the fist, therefore, which Nature has given for seizing and
striking, is used for this purpose. The first weapon is the club:
even the poorest person here carries this instrument of defence. Then
man learns to know the different arms of animals,—the eye, tooth,
and the horn; therefore, we see here some of the clubs pointed at one
end, in order to cut into the enemy’s ribs in case of necessity,
directly the blow from it is parried by the shield or casque. The
stone, used by monkeys, and especially by the large cynocephali,
for defence, as I was convinced, perforce, in the country of the
Troglodytes, among the rocks of Kàffela el Lus, and which the modern
Greeks are especially expert in throwing, does not appear to be used
here as an instrument of warfare. _Iron_ spears and darts did not
come till later, although they may have had them long previously of
wood, such as we see even now. The most useful working implements,
the knife, hatchet, &c., are next introduced; and from these also
other weapons originate; the spear, not being fixed firmly on the
shaft, became used as a two-edged knife, and the battle-axe might
have followed the hatchet.
To speak of religious principles among these people would be out
of place. Family love, the mutual living together, and the same
customs and habits may form the basis of their moral principles,
and be the _first_ axiom of _mutual forbearance_. The first external
sight which might produce, if not astonishment, at least a feeling
of attachment and love, even to veneration, must be what makes
a deep impression on the soul: for example, the sun and moon; or
what gives sustenance, as the corn, for instance; or protection and
comfort, as the shady tree, &c. The moon is, probably, in higher
esteem here than the burning sun, although the latter was certainly
very agreeable to the natives when they collected themselves before
daybreak on the shore, and stood each by his little fire, kindled
on account of the cold, and fed by the reed-stalks growing between
their extended legs. I could not ascertain that there was such a
veneration for these two heavenly bodies, nevertheless I believe
as much from their expressions and narrations. Although these were
only repeated to us in a fragmentary manner, and their explanation
assisted by gestures, yet they shew that valour, like the _virtus_
of the Romans, is the essence of all virtues, to which all others,
springing from their pure uncorrupted nature, are subordinate.
The man wears the skin of the wild beasts he has slain, not as a
covering, but as an ornament and triumphant spoil. If it were not
so hot here, he would, like the ancient Germans, wear their scalp
on his head as a war-cap. He carries the daring weapon of the wild
boar killed by him—the tusk—upon a bracelet or frontlet. I saw
also some wearing on the arm, as an ornament, an imitation of a
boar’s tusk, made of ivory; and, as already mentioned, they have
iron bulls’ horns on their bracelets. As the heads of these two
animals so often appear as emblems in German escutcheons, so here
also they are less considered as the memorials of dangers overcome
than as signs of reverence or esteem of this _valiant_ beast. If the
rings with horns were more general, I should believe that, as the men
on the White Stream display an uncommon love and affection for their
cattle, they carried these horns, like the ancients did the phallus,
as the attribute of fertility, unless the custom here had not the
narrower signification of an Ethiopian Apis, or Father of Cattle.
In the meanwhile about fifteen hundred negroes may have been collected
on the shore, not including those scattered on every side. They are
armed without exception, and indeed with all their weapons,—a sight
sending a thrill of horror through the veins of the Frenchmen and
Turks, which is shewn plainly enough in various ways. They have only
the consolation, and this ought to have prevented them before from
feeling any fear at a danger not really existing—that we have, in
truth, the grandees of the kingdom on board our vessels, and that they
continue to be in the best humour, and certainly have no evil design,
for Nature’s stamp imprinted on the human countenance cannot be
deceptive here. Even Suliman Kashef has become quiet, and is perhaps
turning over in his mind how he shall act in case of a sudden attack.
All the natives have set up their “hui ih!” several times, and at
every time we stretch out our necks towards the neighbouring shore to
see what is going on. This “hui ih” always resounds _à tempo_,
as if at word of command; there must be therefore an analogous signal,
though our ears cannot distinguish it over the water. It is a cry of
joy intended for their Matta. We are still waiting for him, but in
vain; and in the meantime we din the ears of our guests with drumming
and fifing. They are also plied continually with sweets. Again and
again they enjoy them, and do not prefer the sugar to the fruit, but
eat slowly one after the other, as if they had been accustomed to them
from youth upwards, and laugh and jest with us. We hear from them that
the kingdom of Bari extends for four days’ journey down the river;
that the latter is called, in their language, Tubirih, and has its
origin at a long distance off, but they know not whether from the
mountains or the valley. There are said to be several other nations
on its shores,—a sign, perhaps, of the considerable distance of its
sources. These tribes have also a different language, but _there is
no matta so powerful as Làkono_; which saying, since we have been
in the kingdom of Bari, they are never tired of repeating. The red
Goliath lolls and stretches himself in the most comfortable manner,
and the others also change their position from time to time, and do
not remain, like pagodas or the Egyptian statues of kings, in the
lazy repose called by the Turks _kew_. Dogalè is pleased at being
measured; he is six feet six inches, Parisian measure, in height,
with an unusual development in breadth, powerful shoulders, and a
chest that might be used as an anvil. The two others, however, are
not so large, although far overtopping us. The large brass bells,
brought by us as presents for the cattle, pleased them very much,
and they give us plainly to understand that they can hear the sound
of such a bell at a distance.
We tell them that we want wood for our vessels; they shout to the
people, but the latter appear to pay very little attention, or do not
like to go away from our vessels, keeping a sharp look out on them,
either from the interest of novelty, or in case of any future danger
to their men; and perhaps, in this respect, they are not armed in
vain. When our guests were repeatedly requested to procure wood,
they tell us to fire among the people, even if we should kill a
couple of men. They laugh whilst saying this, and it really appears
that they do not believe in the possibility of shooting a man dead,
and only wish to frighten their people by the report. They would
have us, however, fire; and Selim Capitan therefore ordered his long
gun to be handed him, and fired in the air close to them; they were
dreadfully startled by the report, but immediately afterwards laughed,
and wanted us to repeat it. This was done. I should have liked to
have made a rough sketch of the group, but I was far too unwell,
and very thankful even that I was able to sit, and write down on the
spot what I heard and saw. A fine field was open here for a painter
or sculptor; these colossal well-proportioned figures—no fat,
all muscle—so that it was delightful to look at them, with the
exception of the calves of their legs, which were formed like lumps
of flesh. No beard is developed either in young or old, and yet it
does not appear that they use a cosmetic to extirpate it. If Selim
Capitan pleased them better with his smooth shaven chin, than the
long-bearded Suliman Kashef, yet they exhibited a kind of horror when
he shewed them his hairy breast, which perhaps appeared to them more
fit for a beast than a man.
Therefore the supposition that they extract the four lower incisors
not to be similar to beasts, has at least some apparent foundation,
although the under jaw does not project, and, consequently, the
lips are not made smaller by this extraction. Man here is always
indeed elevated far above the beast, and needs, therefore, no such
mutilation of the teeth. Our Dinkas, who themselves want the four
lower incisors, have no other reason to allege for it, than that
they do it to avoid the similarity to a beast, especially to the ass
(Homàr), as is the general answer in Sennaar, to questions on this
subject. The Turks take it for a kind of circumcision, just as we
might suppose it meant a baptismal rite, being the sign of an act
of incorporation by that means in a vast Ethiopian nation, divided
now into several tribes. As this extraction of the teeth first takes
place in boyhood, it might be considered to denote the commencement
of manhood, and capability of bearing arms; but I have never heard
of the ceremonies which would necessarily, if that were the fact,
take place on the occasion. There is also another objection to this
supposition, viz.,—that a similar operation is performed on the
girls. With respect to the eyes, they are full and well formed,
like those of all the negroes of the White River, but with a dirty
yellow white, which, in the inhabitants of the marshes, is generally
suffused with blood in a shocking manner.
At last then it was determined to fire off a cannon, to see what
impression this thunder would make upon them. They sat upright upon
their stools—off went the gun, and the princes nearly kissed
the planks on the opposite side, as if they had been felled by a
blow. They sat up, however, immediately again, laughing loudly all
the time, and wanted us to fire again: their request was complied
with, but they crouched down low again to the side, were uncommonly
pleased, and requested one more repetition of this report. Not a
negro, however, was to be seen on all the shore; and it was feared,
with justice, that the Sultan, who could not be far off, might be
struck by a panic and return: the firing was therefore discontinued.
Intelligence arrives that King Làkono will be with us about three
o’clock in the afternoon; whereupon the blacks, being suitably
clothed by us, and hung round with strings of beads, took their
leave with the red Dogalè, all except Lombè, who is one of the
king’s subjects, and a sheikh in a neighbouring district down
the river. The latter is a very sensible, quiet man, with a more
intellectual physiognomy than the others; the Turks give themselves
all possible trouble to obtain information from him about the
gold. He says that Mount Pelenja itself does not contain copper;
that Làkono, however, has a good deal of copper in his house,
brought from other mountains at a distance; that Làkono’s dress
also came from this country, which is called Berri. Moreover, he
took the gold bar shewn to him for a different species of copper;
and, as he does not know how to distinguish gold, the latter may be
found blended with copper in the royal treasury, and the mountains
of Berri may be auriferous. The population is clearly very large,
but he could not give us the number. He named several districts,
part of which bore the names of the neighbouring mountains; and it
almost seems to me as if there had been earlier independent tribes,
who were first subdued by the great Làkono. He does not appear either
to be a good royalist, and was evidently glad when the king’s
sons had withdrawn; he then put on a familiar look, which their
presence had hindered him from doing previously. There seems to be
no doubt that this country is a central point of negro cultivation,
although Berri and other succeeding countries, may be superior to
the kingdom of Bari. I am curious about the Sultan’s dress. As
Berri is said to lie to the east, perhaps it was not made there,
but has come, by means of barter, from India. Lombè also went away
richly decorated (for the Turks cannot contain themselves now at the
idea of gold El Dahab), in order, probably, to meet the Sultan, or,
perhaps, to get out of his sight with the treasures he had acquired.
I returned to my house, or rather my ship, to take my usual nap
at noon; but the right shore being close at hand, separated only
from our island by a narrow canal, obliges me almost immediately
to rise again. The multifarious and manifold adorned and unadorned
people afford a pleasing sight as I look at them from my windows. I
view, as if from a box at the opera, the stage of black life on the
whole length of the shore. Two women appear among the others; their
_anteriora_ and _posteriora_ covered with two semicircular leathern
aprons, tanned red, according to the usual custom here. One is
coloured red from head to foot; the other has only her still youthful
firm breasts and her head of that hue. She looks, therefore, as if
she wore a black narrow jacket under the breasts, and breeches of the
same colour under the red apron. She may have been surprised in her
toilette by the news of our arrival, and have run off to the shore
just as she was; the whole lower part of the body from the breasts
downwards was tattooed in the manner customary on the White River.
Buying and bartering are going on; cheating and robbing—the
latter, however, only on our side. My servants are on the shore,
and making gestures and signs with their fingers, to know what they
shall purchase for me of the national wares. I do not bargain in
person, for I am afraid of the sun. The people, in spite of their
good humour, are, as I have convinced myself here, surprisingly
mistrustful. Goods and the price of their purchase, are exchanging
hands simultaneously. As the people transact but little business among
themselves, it is very natural and right that they should exercise
precaution in their transactions with a foreign people like ourselves;
and it is certain that we have given the first cause for suspicion.
As I said before, the hair is generally kept short; they decorate it,
for want of something better, with a cock’s or guinea-fowl’s
feather. A more elaborate coiffure is of black ostrich-feathers,
placed together in a globular form, and the lower ends plaited, in a
little basket, the thickness of a fist. This tress-work, holding the
feathers, stands on the centre of the head, fastened by two strings
round the neck, and appears pretty generally worn. Prince Dogalè
also wore one, but of somewhat larger size. Some have their hair,
which is tolerably long, smeared so thick with ochre, that merely
little tufts are to be seen hanging about. Moreover, leather caps,
fitting exactly to the skull, were worn with long or short tassels,
hardly to be distinguished from the coloured hair. This antique kind
of covering for the head, from which the Greeks and Romans formed
their helmets, is similar, as regards form, to the modern fesi or
tarbush and takië (the cotton under-cap worn under the Turkish
knitting-worsted cap). They appear here to serve principally as
a protection against the sun. It was only with difficulty that I
could procure two different specimens, and the sellers pointed quite
dolefully to the hot sun, when they bared their shaven heads.
Leathern strings, as also strings consisting of aglets, strung in a
row, not made, as I thought at first, of conchylia, but of the shells
of ostrich-eggs, were slung round their hips. Several of the latter
strings, which are also much in request with the women in Belled
Sudàn, and require laborious work, were purchased by the crew,
and I got, also, specimens, but they were all, with one exception,
immediately purloined. To my great astonishment, I saw subsequently in
the Imperial Cabinet of Arts at Berlin, with which my Ethnographical
collection is incorporated, a string exactly similar, which Mr. Von
Olfers had brought from the Brazils. These strings wander, therefore,
from the north of Africa to the west coast of that part of the
globe, and from thence with the slaves to America, in the same way
as they come from the other side to Sennaar by means of the slaves;
or it may be, that they are made of the same size by the American
savages. If the former be the case, this single fact would shew that
there is a connection between the country of Bari and the Atlantic
Ocean. I was told that the blacks break in pieces the ostrich-eggs,
grind the fragments on a stone to a circular form of about two lines
in diameter, and then string one lamina after another on a thread,
to the length of several ells—a work which requires great patience.
Sometimes from mere stupid wantonness, shots were fired in the air
from the vessels, and the natives disappeared from the shore for
a short time, but returned directly that the report of the shots
died away. Several women now approached, part of them decked with
the before-named leathern apron, and part with a rahàt girded round
their hips, as in the land of Sudàn. The threads hanging down from
the girdle are not narrow slips of leather, such as those in Sennaar,
but twisted cotton, and only the length of a finger. These scarcely
form in front a light thread apron of a span in breadth, and leave
the hips free, on which laces with tassels and small iron chains
hang down, and a tuft falls down over the os sacrum, moving to and
fro when they walk like an animal’s tail.
Now I see that the women _wish_ to paint themselves, as I saw them
before. There are two who have coloured their nipples and navels
to the size of a dollar. The breasts are more rounded, and have not
that horizontal conical form found in the black slaves of the land
of Sudàn. I have already previously remarked that the women on the
White Stream possess modesty in the concrete sense of the word; and
though part of them are young and beautiful, but not tall, compared
with the men, yet they regard these naked and magnificent manly forms
without any immodest look; so, likewise, the men, kings of the world,
gaze tranquilly upon the women. I am fully persuaded that, where
woman bears in her mind the principle of the most necessary covering,
naked truth is exactly the thing to keep up constantly a chaste as
well as a decent relation between the sexes. Only give these women
the deceits of the dress of European ladies, and clothe the men,
and we shall see what will become of the _blameless Ethiopians!_
I am the more desirous to see continual repetitions of the sights
peculiar to the land of Bari, because, by the festive occasion of the
royal visit, these are multiplied in every form, and therefore I am
still acquiring much knowledge. The square shields, about three feet
long and two feet broad, with scallopped edges projecting into four
sharp points, appear to be little used. They are of neat’s hide,
and have a stick badly fixed in the centre to hold them by, the edge
of which is not even turned to give a firmer hold. They have blue and
red stripes crossed, each of a hand’s breadth, as their external
decoration, and these are coloured with earth, so that they are easily
obliterated. The Frenchmen made white stripes with chalk between
these colours, and thus was the tricolour found in the middle of
Africa. Whether the blue and red streaks serve as signs to distinguish
one party from the other in warfare, I know not. _Generally_ the
men here carried round, high-arched hand-shields, a foot in length,
made of very solid thick leather. These hand-shields appear now,
and perhaps exclusively, adapted for warding off a blow with the
clubs, for they would probably be of little avail as a protection
against arrows and spears to such colossal bodies, in spite of all
the dexterity of these men. Yet they gave me to understand previously,
that they warded off hostile spears by means of these shields.
The boar’s tusks on the bracelets were mostly imitations of ivory,
and therefore like the small iron bull’s horns, are perhaps symbols
of valour and the power of nature. They had, besides, all kinds of
knick-knackeries on the arm and neck, such as little tortoise-shells,
dogs’ or monkeys’ teeth, entire strings of which even they wear,
pieces of bones, &c. It struck me that little bones of this kind
are either remembrances or amulets, from the circumstance of their
always wishing to retain them when we had already purchased the
articles to which they were fastened. The iron necklaces were of
very different kinds: close to them were iron ornaments arranged
in a row, in the form of a narrow leaf, or in small open spindles,
from which little red fruits projected. I observed here also, the
wide iron rings for the neck, of the thickness of a finger, which
reach over the head, and down to the middle of the breast, and are
not only worn in Khartùm, but also in Egypt, by the daughters of the
Fellàhs. We here find an old fellow who will not sell his spear,
the shaft of which is roughly wrought from iron, and who laughs at
the sug-sug offered to him as idle toys.
I must break off for the moment from this subject, for a fresh
clamour resounds, and the cry of “Hui, ih;” therefore away I
go to Selim Capitan. We do not sit long with anxious curiosity,
and look at the vacant carpet on which the great Matta was to
recline, under the shade of the ship’s tent (Denda, perhaps
derived from the Italian _tenda_, for a war-tent is called Gemma,
and a shepherd’s-tent of straw-mats Birsh), for the sandal which had
fetched the supreme chief from the right shore, arrives. The Melek or
Sultan, as the Turks and Arabs call him, on account of his vast power,
steps on our vessel, with a retinue of followers, part of whom we
knew. The dress and coiffure distinguish his tall figure from all the
others. Notwithstanding every one removed on one side, and we form a
divàn upon cushions and chests around the carpet before the cabin,
yet he treads upon the vessel with an insecure step, for he has his
eyes directed towards us, and stumbles against the projecting foot of
the gun-carriage. He carried his throne himself,—the little wooden
stool, which we should call a foot-stool, and of which all make use;
but he bore also an awful sceptre, consisting of a club: its thick
knob was studded with large iron nails, to inspire greater respect.
At the Arabic invitation, “fadl ochaut,” accompanied by a
motion of the hand, he took his seat on the oval and somewhat
hollowed-out stool, of about one foot long, and three quarters of a
foot broad. There is something naturally dignified in his countenance
and bearing, without any assumption; he looks at the semicircle
surrounding him, so that he may not do anything derogatory to his
position as Sultan, seeking probably him who is pointed out as
the matta, or whom he takes to be our matta. He then slides along
to Selim Capitan, who might appear to him to be of that rank from
his corpulence, takes his right hand, and _sucks_ his finger-ends,
which appears to me a humiliation. The large-bearded Suliman Kashef,
vain and proud like all Circassians, wanted to have the same honour
paid to him, and held out his fist with its powerful broad knuckles;
but King Làkono was autocrat enough to conclude, from the principle
of his sovereignty, that two mattas or monarchs could not be or exist
by the side of one another. Selim Capitan, therefore, was to him the
only real and supreme head of the foreigners, and he refused this
homage in a very contemptuous manner to Suliman Kashef, who, contrary
to his usual custom, was not arrayed in all his bravery to-day. In
order not to make himself ridiculous, the latter suppressed the word
“Kiàffar,” or “Abd,” which I saw was already trembling on
his lips.
Làkono’s brother, and a couple of his suite, as also the Crown
Prince Tshobè, whom we had not seen before, clearly endeavoured,
without however throwing one glance of disapprobation at the
old man, to repair this misunderstanding, occasioned by their
peculiar etiquette, by paying all of us great lords the honour of
finger-sucking. One thing was that the fingers could not be bitten
off in this operation, owing to their lower teeth being wanting. As
a testimony of welcoming and friendship, they stroked also our
arms. They had not done this previously, perhaps because the king
had not yet assured us of his favour.
That deliberations took place among the household of the king about
the possible aim of our journey, may be presumed; both because
the Sultan not only kept away for a long time, notwithstanding his
residence was only three hours distant, but also from other indistinct
intimations, and from the very intelligible previous warning, that
we were to remain on the right shore, at the original landing-place,
because the Matta would not allow us to move any _further_. Of course
we did not take any notice of this warning, and would not understand
it. Perhaps the white faces of another world, our vessels larger than
their palaces, in which we go up the river without oars, when the wind
is favourable, and especially the thunder and explosion of our cannons
and guns, might have been the principal motive that induced the wise
council to come to the reasonable opinion that it would be a ticklish
affair to spit us like bats, or to kill us like dogs with clubs.
When we little expected it, the Sultan raised his voice, without
commanding _silentium_ beforehand with his sceptre, and sang—his
eyes directed firmly and shining on us—a song of welcome, with a
strong, clear voice. This was soon ended, and the song had brightened
him up surprisingly, for he looked quite merrily around, as far
as his eyes, which were apparently effected by a cataract, would
allow him. This misfortune might be the cause also why he walked,
as if in a mist, with an insecure step on the vessel. According to
the translation passed by two interpreters from one to the other
into Arabic, he chanted us as being bulls, lions, and defenders of
the Penates (Tiràn, Sing Tor, Assad and Aguàn el bennàt).
He is of an imposing figure, with a regular countenance, marked
features, and has somewhat of a Roman nose. We noticed on all the
bare parts of his body remains of ochre, apparently not agreeing
very well with the skin, for here and there on the hands it was
cracked. He was the first man whom we had hitherto found clothed.
His temples are slightly depressed; on his head he wore a high bonnet,
in the form of a bear-skin cap, covered over and over with black
ostrich-feathers, which were fixed inside by an oval net-work. His
feather-tiara was fastened under his chin by two straps; two other
stiff red straps, with small leather tufts, projected like horns
over both temples; these horns denote here, perhaps, the royal
dignity, like the caps of horns (Takië betal Gorn) of the Moluks,
in Belled-Sudàn, and may be an imitation of Ammon, or of Moyses. He
shook his cap very often in real pleasure. A long and wide blue cotton
shirt, with long open sleeves, lined inside with white cotton, reached
down to the feet from the throat, where it was hollowed out round,
and had a red border. A large blue and white chequered cotton band,
bound round the hips, held this dress together. He wore round the
neck strings of blue glass paste, and rings of thin twisted iron
wire. The feet were covered with well-worked red sandals, of thick
leather. Bright polished iron rings, the thickness of the little
finger, reached from the ankles to the calf, exactly fitting to the
flesh, and increasing in size as they went up the leg. Above these
he wore another serrated ring, and a thin chain. The knuckles of
the right hand were surrounded with an iron and a red copper ring,
of twisted work. On the left hand he had a prettily decorated yellow
copper ring, with a dozen narrow iron rings, likewise fitted exactly
to the arm. As we subsequently saw, the upper part of both arms was
surrounded with two heavy ivory rings, of a hand’s breadth. Contrary
to the usual custom, he had also the _four lower incisors_; we could
not ascertain the cause of this distinction, and at our question on
the subject, he only answered with a cunning laugh. I soon remarked,
moreover, that he wanted the upper teeth; yet he may have lost them
from old age, for want of teeth is common even among these people,
and he might have numbered some sixty years.
This want of sound teeth—as negroes are always distinguished for
good teeth, and the marshy soil has entirely ceased in the country
of Bari—may perhaps only arise from eating some fruit unknown to
us, such as the cassavas in Guiana, which have the same effect; or
the reason for it may be sought in their pulling them out directly
they pain them, with their iron instruments, always at hand. The
constant smoking of their very strong tobacco, with the absence of
cleanliness, which, however, is not the case with our Nuba negroes,
may contribute to this imperfection. At first he smoked the cigar
given him, and then the Turkish pipe, with the air of an old smoker;
for smoking is a general custom among the nations on the White
Nile. Dates were set before him, and the others picked him out the
best, and breaking them in two, laid the stones in a heap, and gave
him the fruit in his hand, partaking of them with him.
The music which had accompanied him to the shore, and embarked on
board the vessel, consisted of a drum, made out of the trunk of
a tree, and beaten with sticks, a kind of clarionet, and a fife,
different only from the small ones worn by all the natives round
their necks by being three or four times larger. King Làkono’s
dress and copper rings came from the country of Berri; this was a
confirmation of what we had already heard. He had never seen horses,
asses, or camels, and it seemed as if there were no words in his
language to denote them; nor did he know of an unicorn, and did not
understand our explanation of these animals. If the Arabs in the land
of Sudàn do not deny the existence of the unicorn in the interior
of Africa, and even assert that there are some, if the subject be
followed up further, this arises from politeness, in order that they
may correspond with our desire to prove the real existence of such
an animal and is not what they know to be truth.
Làkono made himself comfortable afterwards, and sat down upon
the carpet, moving his little stool under his shoulders. A red
upper garment was fetched, and the Turks made him comprehend that
he must stand up to have it put on. They bound a white shawl round
his ribs, and another was twisted round his head, as a turban, after
they had clapped on him a tarbusch. On this, one of the two slaves
who accompanied him placed on his own head the royal feather-cap,
and laughed behind his master’s back. This only lasted, however, a
minute, though the others took no offence at it. The dress altogether,
was found to be too short and scanty for such limbs. Several strings
of beads were hung round Làkono’s neck, and several more piled up
before him, to take to his wives; hereupon he could rest no longer,
and went off, followed by all the others.
He was taken back by the sandal to the right shore, where his people
shouted to him a “hui ih!” and afforded him an assisting hand
when disembarking from the vessel, as well as on the shore itself,
according to the usual practice among themselves. We fired off cannons
in honour to him, as soon as he set foot on land. Fear thrilled
through them all, and even the Sultan set off running for a moment,
till he was disabused of his panic, probably by his brothers.