PART VII.

SAVAGE KINGS AND COURTS.

CHAP. XVII.--The savage considered as a child of nature--what he lives for--kings by birth--a king to be wished dead--Commander Forbes’ introduction to the King of Dahomey--formalities to be observed on approaching Dahoman royalty--the palace hedged in with human skulls--a saltatory welcome--Gezo king of kings--his majesty “stands a drain”--grand display of rum and gunpowder--the ceremony of Eh-bah-tong-ah-bah, or exhibition of the king’s wealth--the red pool at the threshold--Dahoman “half-heads”--King Gezo the “leopard” and the “hawk”--items of his majesty’s wealth--“One washing pan, seven pans of skulls, and a grandmother”--an umbrella ornamented with eighty jaw bones--the probable value of the whole lot--great cry and little wool--the ceremony of Ek-que-noo-ah-toh-meh or the throwing of presents--the king’s platform and the hungry mob below--how his majesty was dressed--rum and tobacco and cowries showered to the people--kings and ambassadors joining in the scramble--the human sacrifices and the expectant savages--feed us! “we are hungry”--the victims launched into the pit--a recent grand custom--“Little Popo, August 6th, 1862”--glad to see a Dutchman--the Dutchman’s reception by the king--exhibition of a crucified missionary--an earthquake in the midst of a “custom”--twenty-four live men thrown to the hungry ones--sixteen women, four horses, and one alligator sacrificed--Bullfinch Lamb--his evidence as to what Dahomey of old was like--£10,000 demanded by the king as Bullfinch’s ransom--he writes home describing his misery--he shows himself a fox rather than a Lamb--Bullfinch wins the king’s heart by making him a kite--the kingdom of Abó and its ruler--Mr. Baikie’s approach to the royal residence--a palace of mud and thatch--King Ishúkuma--royal robes--the king’s sister acts as “crier” to the “court”--King Ajé--his shoeless feet and his red nightcap--Ajé gives Mr. Baikie his “dash”--Baikie’s visit to the terrible Neam Nam--some of his followers flee at the mere sight of the town--the ogres surround the adventurers--prospects of a jolly feast--prospects blighted--a friend in need--“Look at the things they hold in their hands; touch them not”--wonderful effects of a gun shot--a ticklish moment--the good will of the cannibals secured--the Fernandian town of Issapoo and Browowdi the king--Mr. Hutchinson’s description of the Browowdi palace--the king’s rig: “a filthy old stool for a throne, an old bamboo-leaf hat for a crown”--a coronation at Issapo--what his newly-made majesty may eat, and what he must leave alone--royalty in Old Kalabar--King Eyamba--the State carriage _alias_ “the white man’s cowhouse”--comical use of a carriage--the Egbo drum--Aqua-el-dere or chop-day at Duketown--a royal feast--ju-ju wood and palaver sauce--interesting mode of feeding at the royal table--“King Eyo Honesty”--how he keeps the Sabbath--his band--the order of Egbo--how it is constituted--its similitude to free-masonry--Idem and his terrible cow-hide whip--his outrageous privileges--Egbo bells--Brass Egbo day--Egbo trials and criminals--the “Bloodmen” of Duketown--the Mambo of Lunda--his magnificent attire and how he held court--his Muata Cazembe or prime minister--the Muata’s seven umbrellas--the Mambo’s wives--the election of a Jaga--singular ceremony attending it--how the Jaga selects a site for a palace--the novel rite of Sambamento--the unfortunate Nicango--his fate. Pages 1–137.

CHAP. XVIII.--Royalty in Southern Africa--Doctor Livingstone and Shinte--King of Makololo--the king’s crown of beads and goose feathers--the doctor’s reception--his majesty’s hundred wives and his wife in chief--the royal piano and the four pianists--the doctor and his followers fall into the hands of Manembo, a South African chieftess--she gives her guests a bit of her mind--her advice to Dr. Livingstone--“now, my little man, do as the rest have done”--from South Africa to Abyssinia--Mr. Stern among the Falashas--he commits a grave breach of court etiquette--an Abyssinian cure for melancholy--Mr. Bruce’s experience of the cure--Bruce’s introduction to the Lady of Sittina--her splendid attire--Bruce’s gallantry by no means surprises the lady--he volunteers a piece of wholesome advice as a physician--a delicate conversation--the King of Seenaar--how he was greased--a cure for red hair--the throne in Madagascar--Madame Ida Pfieffer’s introduction to the queen--paying your “footing”--her majesty neither cordial nor over polite--a Malagasey palace--its chief pillar--five thousand labourers to bring it home--death of fifteen thousand builders--the silver palace--ceremony observed on the death of a Malagasey king--the feast of the queen’s bath--great rejoicing on the occasion--the Malagasey army and the military band--wretched condition of the soldiery--a handful of rice food for a day--a Malagasey court ball--ball dresses--the “Segu” dance--niggardly behaviour of her majesty. Pages 38–53.

CHAP. XIX.--Borneo and the Borneans--installation of a Dayak-rajah--_Hot_ council and _Cold_ council--ceremony of election as described by Baiah Brooke--“may the government be cold”--a visit to the chief of the Grungs--capture by the old women--revolting customs--a Dayak dance--more physicking--Corea and the Great Loo Choo Islands--the chief of Corea--his visit to the British ship “Lyra”--dignified behaviour of the chief--his uproarious attendants--he orders an arrest--a cheap entertainment--punishment of the arrested one--the chief loses his temper and makes free use of his rod of office--the court of king Finow--marriage of his eldest daughter to the great chief Tooitonga--the bride’s anointing and her bridal robes of superfine mats--the bridesmaids--the marriage feast--twenty baked hogs--the music and dancing--King John of Adelaide, Australia--his death and trussing and roasting--horrible ceremony--The roast king’s dutiful _lubras_--a mummy “up a gum tree”--King John the thickest headed king ever known--his skull to prove it--dying fate of the common Bushman--enticing away the “spirit that kills”--the Bushman’s grave--Bushman mourning customs. Pages 54–66.