M. Périères relates, in his journal, that the caravan had scarcely
set foot on the territory of the Niam-Niam than it was surrounded by
an inquisitive crowd, which increased every moment. It was a question
of who should be the first to see the white man, and, above all, the
white woman, the Sultana, at the sight of whom there were universal
cries of admiration. The news of the arrival of the _cortége_ spread
from hamlet to hamlet, and there was a regular human hedge along the
road. The Europeans were not, however, the objects of any hostile
demonstration. Some of the chiefs, it is true, demanded a tribute,
but as soon as they had received it, they fraternized with the
escort, offered their services as guides to the next district, and
were often of great use. M. Périères took advantage of this
curiosity, which brought him in close contact with the natives, to
trace their portraits in a few lines, whilst M. de Morin, on
horseback, made a sketch here and there of a picturesque costume, or
an original type of countenance.
The portrait of the Zandeys, or Niam-Niam, taken from pen and pencil,
and, more important still, after nature, is briefly this—average
height, that of Europeans, upper part of the body long, legs short, a
disposition towards fat; colour of the skin earthy red, hair thick
and frizzy, but of extraordinary length and falling down the back in
plaits and tufts, head round and broad. The almond-shaped eyes have
clearly defined eyebrows; the lips are not deformed by any so-called
ornaments, and the Zandeys, who take very good care not to imitate
the Dinkas, do not deprive themselves of any teeth, but they file
their incisors to a point, after the fashion of their brother
cannibals and their western relatives, the Pahaouins.
Their costume is composed of skins, fastened round the waist and
reaching to the knees, or in some cases of a girdle of hippopotamus
hide, to which hangs a small gourd filled with the fat used to anoint
the body. On their shoulders they also carry a sort of pouch filled
with provisions, for, acting up to his reputation as a large eater,
the Niam-Niam never stirs away from his home without a stock of
eatables. That portion of the body which is uncovered is ornamented
by a variety of tattooed patterns, and sometimes, in addition, by
necklets of wood or iron, or formed from the teeth of animals. The
head is bare, except in the case of the chiefs, who, in spite of the
heat, wear a species of fur hood.
As for the dress of the women, M. Périères describes that in four
words—they have not any. The Zandey females, adds the historian of
the expedition, would show far better taste if they did dress
themselves a little more, for, with the exception of a few of the
young ones, who are tolerably well-made and good looking, none of the
women are attractive, although they are never deformed, nor have they
any of the repulsive characteristics common to their Bongo
neighbours. Their ugliness does not, however, prevent their being
loved, since in no other part of Africa can such good husbands be
found as the Niam-Niam, who, notwithstanding that polygamy is in
vogue amongst them, as amongst all the contiguous tribes, have a real
affection for their wives. It must also be recorded that the women
are remarkable for their modesty, and on this point we may be allowed
to call Schweinfurth to witness. "The social position of the Niam-Niam
women," says the German traveller, "differs materially from what
is found amongst other heathen negroes in Africa. The Bongo and
Mittoo women are on the same familiar terms with the foreigner as the
men, and the Monbuttoo ladies are as forward, inquisitive, and prying
as can be imagined; but the women of the Niam-Niam treat every
stranger with great reserve. Whenever I met any women coming along a
narrow pathway in the woods or on the steppes, I noticed that they
always made a wide circuit to avoid me, and returned into the path
farther on; and many a time I saw them waiting at a distance, with
averted faces, until I had passed by. This reserve may have
originated from one of two opposite reasons. It may, on the one hand,
have sprung from the more servile position of the Niam-Niam women
themselves; or, on the other, it may have been necessitated by the
jealous temperament of their husbands. It is one of the fine traits
in the Niam-Niam that they display an affection for their wives which
is unparalleled among natives of so low a grade, and of whom it might
be expected that they would have been brutalised by their hunting and
warlike pursuits. A husband will spare no sacrifice to redeem an
imprisoned wife, and the Nubians, being acquainted with this, turn it
to profitable account in the ivory trade. They are quite aware that
whoever possesses a female hostage can obtain almost any compensation
from a Niam-Niam."
The Niam-Niam are governed by chiefs, whose power is absolute. They
dispose of the lives of their subjects, inflict corporal punishments,
such as the loss of fingers or ears, and decide upon peace or war.
Nevertheless, they are careful not to attack a neighbouring power
without first consulting their auguries. They take an oily fluid,
extracted from a red wood, and administer it to a hen; if the bird
dies, the enterprise is doubtful; if it, on the contrary, survives,
victory is assured and they take the field. In this latter case the
men arm themselves with lances, arrows, shields, and trumbashes,
sharp, pointed iron weapons, shaped something like a sickle. Their
combats are furious, and they are rather addicted to eating their
enemies after having killed them.
The journal of the expedition, however, states that the caravan made
its way through the Niam-Niam country without having any of its
members eaten, and without even receiving any proposition to that
effect. "Joseph, from his corpulence and habitually flabby
appearance," says M. Périères, "might well have made a few mouths
water. Indeed, I occasionally saw a native cast a longing glance at
him, but Joseph at once took refuge very close to us, and the poor
Niam-Niam, disappointed of a delicacy, was compelled to fall back
upon such ordinary dishes as dogs, monkeys, or reptiles, with manioc
flour and sugar-cane juice 'to follow' in the shape of dessert."
In a word, the caravan did not encounter any serious danger, thanks,
perhaps, to the number of rifles in its possession. At first, the
Zandeys mistook these guns for lances, calling them iron sticks, and
laughing at them. But M. de Morin, as much to exercise his men as to
make a display of his force, organized a course of target practice.
The Niam-Niam were frightened to begin with, and then astonished;
from that moment they looked upon the Europeans as superior beings,
against whom it was useless to contend.
Miss Beatrice Poles was now, amongst these people, raised to the
dignity of a demi-goddess. A box of lucifer matches did this for her.
The natives, accustomed to produce fire only after great exertion, by
rubbing one stick against another, were overwhelmed with amazement
when they saw Miss Poles take a box from her pocket, produce a small
match and light it at once. "She can make fire as she pleases," was
the general exclamation, and they opened their eyes and mouths to
such an extent as to make Joseph shiver in his shoes, for,
notwithstanding the impunity which he enjoyed, and the delicacy
displayed by the Niam-Niam towards him, he did not like to see their
pointed teeth.
We have now given, to a certain extent, a _resumé_ of the journal of
the expedition in all that concerns the leading characteristics of
the Niam-Niam.
Towards the middle of May, the caravan reached the river which
separates the Zandey territory from that of the Monbuttoos, where the
serious business of the expedition was to commence, for at last they
found themselves in the country where the guide, Nassar, alleged that
he had met M. de Guéran eighteen months previously.