Part 12
The character of the Blacks is nearly the same every where: they are indolent, except when animated by the desire of vengeance; implacable, perfidious, and dissimulating when they have received an injury, in order that they may find an opportunity of avenging it with impunity: on the other hand, they are gentle and hospitable to every one, but inclined to larceny, and remarkable for an extreme inconstancy of taste and conduct. The women behave with great propriety, and fulfil all domestic duties with the utmost attention. They never wean their children till they are capable of walking, and can bring to their mother a calabash filled with water: they lose no time in teaching them to go alone; for during the whole period of their suckling, the husbands scrupulously respect the laws of chastity to their utmost extent, and would regard an infraction of them as a crime the more serious, as it would be hurtful to the nurse and the health of the child. Barrenness is the greatest ignominy a woman can suffer, Nature has not excluded them from the pains of child-birth, but they support them with much courage, and without making any complaints. A short time after, they return to their ordinary occupations.
Their domestic amusements are every where alike, and are similar to those of our country people. In the evening the principal wife, surrounded by the other women of her husband, and the servants of the house, employs herself in spinning or carding cotton; while one of the company amuses the rest by reciting pleasant stories. The old ones tell of witches and ghosts, the young ones of their amours. There are likewise games of chance, at which the men and women play separately; but both sexes like dancing in preference to every thing, and to this exercise they devote themselves every moon-light evening, from an hour after sun-set till midnight. Besides these evenings, the birth of a child, or the visit of a friend, likewise supplies them with frequent opportunities for enjoying _Cullumgées_, by which name they distinguish their meetings for singing and dancing. When they give a cullumgée in honour of any event, the dancers appear dressed in a grotesque manner. They wear a high cap of rushes, surrounded by feathers, have the eyes, mouth, and nose painted white, and wear round their waists a small petticoat of rushes, which they display in every possible shape. On beginning to dance they take in their hands small pieces of wood, which they strike together, and by which they mark time, as do the Spaniards with the castanets.
The death of one of the family, or of a relation or friend, is a new opportunity for a dance. They celebrate the _Wha_, or mourning; and the ceremony of lamentation is of such a nature, that a stranger would suppose them to be making festivities.
On the evening of an appointed day, the relations, friends, and acquaintances of the deceased assemble before his house, where they sing in his praise, and dance to the sound of a drum: they incessantly vary the figures of their dance; sometimes they form a large circle round the music, and clap their hands on each stanza of the song; at others a single person dances in the midst of the rest, who alternately sit down and stand up; or three or four only are in action at once, and continue to move about till they are fatigued, when they are replaced by others. The company all the while sing and clap their hands. This ceremony and discharges of musquetry continue without interruption from morning to evening for three successive nights. On these occasions neither tobacco nor brandy is spared.
When the person deceased is a man of importance, and his parents or friends are rich, this mourning ceremony is repeated two or three times a year for several years together. On the death of a member of a poor family, his relatives are a long time before they can procure a sufficient quantity of brandy and tobacco for the solemnity; but, whatever difficulties they may experience in amassing it, the ceremony takes place sooner or later.
This assembly, in which both sexes join, may be called a public mourning; but there is another of a domestic kind, practised principally by the women, and which is peculiar to the Bulams and the Tommanies. The performers on this occasion wear a linen or white cotton cap, which comes down as low as their eyes, so that they can see nothing but the ground. They have several rows of the grain of the country round their neck and waist. If they be married women, they wear no other clothes than the simple tuntungée. They are not permitted to eat or drink with other persons, nor even prepare their own food; but at the time of the repast, a drum is beaten, and dancing takes place before the door of the house in which the mourning is celebrated. None, except the guests, must use the vessels which are employed at this repast.
The duration of such a mourning is not fixed, but is regulated by the will or caprice of those who make it; and the chief person is generally the mother, aunt, or some other aged relative. They generally cause it to be celebrated by young girls who are of a marriageable age, as a means of securing their virtue: for while it lasts, if any connection be discovered between the two sexes, the woman would be dishonoured, and the man punished.
A woman, if she conceive herself neglected by her husband, may put the house of the latter into mourning; but, after she has made use of this privilege for a short time, the husband pacifies her by a present: it consists of a goat, some poultry, tobacco, and a bottle of brandy, towards her expences. The woman then becomes tractable, and the people reconcile her with her husband. This custom is very judicious on the part of the women, who like to avenge themselves and shew their authority: for while the mourning lasts, the husband cannot enjoy the society of his mistress.
The drum is their principal instrument of music; they have three sorts of it, which differ in size according to the purposes for which they are used. One kind is made of hard wood, hollowed within: the two ends are stopped up, and a longitudinal hole is cut in the side. They strike it with two sticks, and the strong and acute sound which it sends forth, is heard in calm weather at a great distance, and is considered as the signal of alarm. Another kind is made of light wood, hollowed like the former, but the ends of which are covered with goat or sheep-skins, dried and lightly stretched by cords. Some of these drums are six or eight feet high, by two or three in diameter; and they occasionally have at their ends rows of sharks’ teeth or pieces of copper, which produce a tolerably loud tinkling.
These people have likewise two kinds of stringed instruments, one of which is a sort of guitar, and the other resembles in shape a Welsh harp, but is only two feet high. The strings are made of the fibres of a plant combined with the hair of elephants’ tails. The women and children in their amusements produce a sound from gourds, in which they inclose some dry seeds. At Sherbro the natives reckon amongst their musical instruments a reed pipe pierced with four holes, and a trumpet made of an elephant’s tooth.
The chief food of the people is rice, which they boil after it is dried, and season it with palm-oil, or with a strong sauce made from fish or meat, or from poultry or vegetables simmered together, and to which they add spices, pepper, and palm-oil. They eat very little meat, but what they do consume, they prefer smoked or boiled: they are, however, good cooks, and prepare their aliments in a very delicate manner. The men and women do not eat together, and they drink only water; they make but two meals a day, one at ten in the morning, and the other at sunset. The men, however, who are in easy circumstances, generally add another meal very early in the morning, which has been prepared over night by their favourite woman.
There are no other professions known amongst them than those of carpenters, smiths, and makers of musical instruments. They are very active and clever in their labour, particularly so considering the imperfection of their tools. In each family they spin and weave their linen, and make their own clothes; the women spin and card the cotton, and the men weave and sew.
Their dress is both simple and convenient: the boys and girls wear nothing but the _tuntungée_, which is a thin band of linen passed between the thighs. The females are distinguished by the manner in which they wear it, as they have a cord round their waist, in which they tuck the tuntungée, and leave the ends hanging down before and behind; they likewise carry round the loins a belt composed of several rows of seeds. The boys bring one of the ends of the tuntungée in front; they twist the rest round them, and let the other end hang down behind. The women quit this dress on their marriage, and then appear in a piece of cotton cloth, which hangs below the calf of the leg.
The women are passionately fond of ornaments; they wear ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, finger-rings, chains, strings of coral, &c., and paint their faces with different colours. In short, an African lady, on coming from her toilet, is an object well worth observance. Over the ordinary dress, which is nothing but the small and short petticoat, they put another of red taffety; a silk handkerchief thrown loosely round their neck, falls down them like a child’s bib: another of the same colour is put over the head; and the ears, neck, &c. are loaded with the ornaments already mentioned. They dress their hair in curious folds, so as to form crescents or circles, paint the forehead white, and generally have five or six silver rings on each finger. A lady of this description on going out has her servants walking behind her; they are generally girls from ten to fifteen years of age, who are the handsomest that can be found, and who ornament themselves with coral and seeds; they wear a piece of taffety or fine India stuff thrown over the left shoulder.
The men’s dress is a large shirt without either collar or waist-band, but with wide sleeves, trowsers, which reach below the calf of the leg; and a hat or small cap, which sits tight on the head, and is made of the linen of the country. In other respects they generally go with the head and feet bare, the chiefs excepted, who always endeavour to imitate the Whites. The Mandingos, however, are distinguishable from the rest by always wearing red sandals and bonnets, and ornamenting their shirts and trowsers with embroidery, at which they are very clever.
The men never walk without their _belmos_, which is a large and straight knife hung in a belt at the right thigh; they in fact carry two instruments, one to eat with, and the other to defend themselves.
The Negroes build their villages generally on the banks of a river or creek, that they may follow fishing; and such a place may always be recognised by the pullams with which it is surrounded: these are large trees, whose presence always announces an uncultivated country: for the natives never give themselves the trouble to clear more soil than they want to build on; they are not even aware, that the felling of the trees that surround them, would render their dwellings more wholesome. Their streets are never built in a straight line, because each person chuses the spot which he likes best; he then builds as many little houses as he has women or people to accommodate, and the whole of these huts describe a circle, which is surrounded by stakes, as has already been mentioned; while such is the activity of vegetation, that these stakes in a few months become a complete hedge. The junction of several of these habitations forms a town, which often covers a quantity of ground, and is generally inclosed with a mud-wall. When the people are at war, they have several barriers, which they close always at sunset, and never open them on any occasion whatever till morning: they are guarded all the night by vigilant sentinels. The shape of their huts has already been described. I have only to add, that their doors are not like ours, except amongst those who pique themselves on imitating the Whites: the others consist of a mat fixed to the roof; and when this mat is let down, no one must be so indifferent as to enter without giving notice, though this precaution is unnecessary when the mat is raised. The edges of the roof project seven or eight feet over the wall, and rest upon poles: this shed is thus converted into a sort of portico, which secures the wall from rain, and, with certain additions, serves as a place for their stores.
In the more distant parts of the country, the natives build large houses of bricks baked in the sun, and these houses may last many years if care be taken to secure them from the injuries of the weather. No chimnies are constructed in their habitations, though they make a fire in them every evening to drive away the musquitos, and prepare their food.
The common people, slaves, and children sleep on mats or dried skins, spread upon the ground; but the free Negroes, and those in easy circumstances, have a kind of alcove formed of four stakes driven into the earth, on which they hang mats in the manner of curtains. In the men’s apartments is a box to contain their clothes and treasure, which is covered with a mat or a skin, whereon they place their weapons. The women’s chamber contains the domestic utensils, mats, stools, and always a looking-glass.
In the Mandingo countries there is a mosque in every town, from the steeple of which the people are called to prayers, the same as in Turkey.
Polygamy in these regions is practised in its utmost latitude. The women are frequently hostages for alliance and peace; and the chiefs of two tribes who have been at war, cement their treaties by an exchange of their daughters: private individuals do the same; and this circumstance may be the reason why the chiefs in particular have such a great number of women.
A girl is frequently betrothed to a man as soon as she is born. Among the Suzees the child remains with the mother till a proper age; which, however, is determined more by the progress of nature than by the revolution of a certain time: they are then definitively delivered over to the husband. On the day agreed on for the marriage, the bridegroom places on the road which the bride has to pass, several of his people at different distances, with brandy and other refreshments; for if these articles be not furnished in abundance, the conductors of the bride will not advance a step farther, though they may have got three parts of the way on their journey. On approaching the town, they stop, and are joined by the friends of the bridegroom, who testify their joy by shouting, drinking, and letting off their pieces.
At this period an old woman takes the girl on her shoulders, and the attendants cover her with a fine veil: for from that moment till the consummation of the marriage, no man must see her face. Mats are now spread before the old woman, who must not on any account touch the ground with her feet. In this manner the bride is conveyed to the house of her husband, followed by the friends of both families, singing, dancing, and firing off their muskets. Towards evening the husband comes into the apartment of his young wife. If he have reason to suspect that some mortal has been more happy than he is likely to be, he leaves her immediately; and this circumstance is no sooner known amongst the friends who have conducted her to him, than they all hasten from the sight of the observers, crying and howling with shame and confusion. If, on the other hand, things are found as they ought to be, he remains with her the whole night: the friends then rejoice, and next day carry in procession the proofs of her virginity, according to the laws of Moses. In both cases, however, the husband may keep the young girl; but if he should send her back, he is obliged to give up all that she has brought him.
The Bulams, the Bagos, and the Tommanies receive into their houses their betrothed brides during their infancy, and make the relations of the child a present proportionate to their means. If afterwards the girl should not be well treated, the parents have a right to take her back on giving up the present; while, on the other hand, the husband always has the privilege of sending her home, without re-demanding any thing.
From these details it will be seen, that chastity is a virtue highly esteemed amongst the Africans, at least till marriage; but from that moment it is a trait of unpoliteness and want of education in the woman to resist the solicitations of a lover: she would indeed be punished, if discovered, but her reputation would remain unsullied. In the black savages of Africa we find the customs which are prevalent in Italy and Spain: for each Negro lady has a cicisbeo or cortéjo, whom she makes choice of and takes with her on all occasions. The husband is obliged to tolerate this intercourse in silence: nevertheless, the laws are not wanting in severity towards the adulterer; but they are of little effect, unless the complainant is a man of great power; and even then he dares not make a stir in the business, on account of the ridicule which would afterwards attend him. It is particularly amongst the great men who keep a number of women, that the above-mentioned practice is most in vogue. The rest of the people are contented with one or two women, and by this means they are less exposed.
A remarkable and truly extraordinary circumstance is, that the women never abuse their husbands by introducing into their families illegitimate children: for before their _accouchement_ they always name the father. If, however, the husband should wish to have a child of his own by a woman he loves, he obliges her to swear that she will remain continent for a certain time: she takes the oath, and generally keeps it; but if, in the interval, either by violence or the persuasion of her lover, she yields to his wishes, and thus breaks her promise, she confesses her fault immediately to her husband; and this avowal is the more striking, because the criminal pair do not on that account suffer a less shameful punishment: they are ever afterwards devoted to contempt and infamy.
These people have the greatest veneration for the dead; and they pay them the last duties with profound and melancholy respect. As in Europe, they bury them either in the morning or evening, as suits their convenience. The place of interment is sacred, and is always a wood beyond the town. One of their dogmas is, that none die without having a presentiment of their end, unless they be victims of magic or poison; or when the charms of an enemy have been more powerful than the talismans which they carry about them.
The body that is to be interred is wrapped in a piece of white linen, and placed on a bier, which is carried on the heads of six boys or six girls, according to the sex of the deceased: the corpse is preceded by a friend, who holds a green bough in his hand, and asks the body several questions as to the cause of its death. His principal interrogatories are, “Did you foresee it? is it natural? is it in consequence of poison or magic?” The bearers interpret the answers of the deceased according to the movements of the body, which they pretend to feel. A simple rotation indicates that the death was natural, in which case the body is asked, what could induce it to die and leave its friends? whether it was from chagrin at not being able to procure such good clothes, or such a fine musket as a certain person? or whether it was through despair at not having taken vengeance upon any one who had offended it? But whatever may be the answer to these last questions, the friends must not injure those of whom the dead body is said to complain.
A movement forwards is a proof of poison or magic, and then they attempt to discover the guilty individual. They mention to the deceased the names of several persons, not even excepting those of his own family. If the body be silent, it is supposed to be irritated at the suspicion against its relatives, and they beg it to tell them who is the guilty person. To ascertain this fact, they invite it to turn the bier towards the person who carries the branch. If the body should then push the bier forwards, and strike the bough with it, the guilty person is thus named, and the spectators are convinced. Three motions forwards indicate magic, and two poison. The criminal is then suddenly seized; and if the accusation be for magic, he is sold without formality. It often happens, when the deceased is a person of distinction, and the one whom he accuses is poor, they sell his whole family with him; but if he be accused of poisoning, they reserve him for a subsequent trial, from which, however, he rarely escapes.
After depositing the dead man in his grave, in which, according to their custom, they throw his best clothes, and whatever else they conceive he may want, they return to the accused who is confined, but in such a manner that he might escape if he please; and he is informed, that the laws which he has transgressed, require the privation of his liberty. As soon as night approaches, the criminal makes his escape to the nearest town, where he invokes the protection of the chief, who is supposed to be impartial. He protests his innocence of the crime, and demands the ordeal of red water. This request is generally complied with, and the friends of the deceased are invited to assist at the ceremony.
On the appointed day they place the criminal on a high seat, strip off all his clothes, and leave him nothing but an apron of plantain leaves round his waist. He then, in presence of the whole town, who assemble on these occasions, eats rue or cola, and drinks poisoned water. If he die, which almost always happens, he is declared guilty; but if he should live twenty-four hours after the ceremony, he is adjudged innocent. During this time he dares not relieve nature by any secretions; and if he have not strength to retain them, his impotence is considered as strong a proof of his crime, as if he had fallen dead on first taking the fatal drink. Nay, in order to prevent all surprise, they force him to join in the songs and dances, with which during the night they celebrate his innocence.
A person once acquitted by this judgment of God acquires a general confidence, and has a right to bring an action against the parents and friends of the deceased for defamation and false poisoning. The latter in such cases are always condemned, and pay a fine equal to the injury.
When the accusation of magic falls on a person whom they cannot sell, either on account of his age, or the rank of his family, he is conducted to a field out of the town, where he is obliged to dig his own grave; while the people, who surround and guard him, load him with insults, and say as a common phrase, “You kill others, and do not wish that death should strike you in return.” During these injuries he continues his doleful work with an apparent insensibility, and merely answers, “It is true that I have killed such a one, and many others; and if I were to live I should kill many more.” From time to time he takes measure of the grave with his own body; and when he thinks it deep enough, they place him at one end with his face towards it: in this position one of the assistants gives him a violent blow on the nape of the neck, which causes him to fall into the grave on his face; they then cover him with mould, and finish him by running him through with a sharp pike, which they strike several times into his body. The grave is then filled up, and the name of the criminal is condemned to oblivion.