Part 13
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.
[Illustration: _Black Marriage at Goree._]
[Illustration: _The Cullemgee of the Negroes._]
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.
These ceremonies, in which slight differences prevail amongst the various tribes, are so absurd, and their injustice is so palpable, that it is astonishing that the people have not abolished so barbarous a custom, notwithstanding its antiquity.
All savage or ignorant nations have believed in spells and magic; but nothing can equal the furious people of whom I am speaking. If a crocodile devour a man, a leopard destroy a sheep, a person fall ill, or die suddenly; or if any reverses be experienced, it is always through the sorcerer; and when he is discovered, he never escapes the cruel punishment which the law pronounces against him.
They place implicit faith in the efficacy of a talisman, which they call _gris-gris_: they wear it round their neck, at their waist, and on their legs and arms. Each has its particular virtue: one preserves them from bullets; another from poison; and when a man has been killed, burnt, or drowned, they say, that his gris-gris was not so efficacious as that of his enemy. They are, however, persuaded that the gris-gris can do nothing against cannon.
These talismans are made of goat skins, with the hair on, or of morocco leather; and they are of different sizes, from one to three inches; they are filled with a kind of powder, and with scraps of certain sentences of the alkoran in the Arabic. The priests, or marabous, have the exclusive privilege of preparing and selling them. These people all follow the trade of divines or augurs: their testimony is, in the eyes of the people, evidence itself; they pry into futurity, discover thieves and adulterers, perform miracles; in short, all the actions of the credulous people are submitted to their influence.
Amongst savage nations the practice of physic is generally added to that of divination or sorcery. In these countries, however, it is otherwise; for the old women here cure diseases, and fulfil their task with great zeal and astonishing success, particularly in cases of wounds: they employ simple herbs, which abound in the fields and woods.
The most common diseases are hydrocele and intermittent fevers: the latter they infallibly cure by simple remedies; the former is supposed to arise from the excessive use of palm wine amongst the natives, whose constitution is particularly voluptuous. Venereal diseases are also very common; but they are never attended with those dreadful symptoms which appear in Europe. The natives will not believe that they can acquire this disease by a connection with an unclean individual: it is easily cured by simples and sudorifics. The small-pox is endemic, but is more rare on the coasts than in the country.
Foreigners who come here are subject to other diseases, the most fatal of which is dysentery. They have remedies for these attacks; but the method of preventing them is, to preserve a medium between excess and privation.
I shall terminate this chapter with a reflection which I conceive important. The French government has admitted the necessity of protecting the commerce of the western coast of Africa, of forming new establishments on points most favourable for trade, and of sending expeditions to procure accurate information. These measures are the more necessary, as the slave-trade has been renewed on our part. The decree which suppressed it, and which precipitately gave liberty to all our Negro slaves, was made in the delirium of tumultuous passions, and has caused the greatest misfortunes, which time and wisdom alone can repair. I shall repeat here, what I have already said relative to the philanthropic principles of the English company;—that its success must depend upon the concurrence of all nations, and on a perfect understanding amongst them for the abolition of the trade. But if they flatter themselves with such an union, it is a question whether they will ever obtain it. It is at least doubtful, whether any government would authorise a convention which would proclaim at once the ruin and entire loss of the American colonies. I declare it with pain, that if the company above-mentioned do not give another direction to its views, it will have indulged in a fine dream, and expended enormous sums to no purpose.
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CHAP. XII.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE BAR OF THE SENEGAL, AND OF THE BANKS OF THAT RIVER, AS FAR AS ISLE ST. LOUIS. — PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN FOR PASSING THE BAR. — REMARKS ON THE CANOES OF THE NEGROES. — DESCRIPTION OF ISLE ST. LOUIS, ITS ADMINISTRATION AND INHABITANTS.
AFTER the rapid sketch which I have given of our establishments from Cape Blanco to the river of Sierra Leone, it is necessary to return to the bar of the Senegal, and say something of the passage of that river, as far as Isle St. Louis, which deserves a particular description.
The bar of the Senegal is situated in about 15° 53′ lat. and 18° 51′ 30″ lon.: it is a bank of moving sand, formed at the mouth of the river by the mud and sand which it conveys in its course to the sea, and which the latter repels incessantly towards the coast. The river, in consequence of its mass of water, and the violence of its current, has made two outlets here, which are called the passes of the bar, and are distinguished by the appellation of Great and Small. To enter them is very difficult, and even dangerous.
The great pass is generally about a hundred fathoms wide, and eight or nine feet deep; and at all times the only ships which can pass it, are those that draw seven or eight feet of water. The waves are so short and strong, that they break with a terrible violence; and this passage often proves an end to the most favourable navigation. The small pass is so narrow and shallow, that none but canoes or small boats can get through it.
The large opening cannot be passed without an expert pilot, who is in the habit of visiting it every day, to know exactly its state and depth; both of which are uncertain, as they vary according to circumstances. All, therefore, that is known, is the extent and rapidity of the floods; but the sudden variations in question must doubtless be attributed to the double action of the river and the sea.
The pilot who is engaged to conduct ships over the bar, has a large boat with a deck, and a crew of Negroes, who have no cloathing but a band of linen about six inches broad, which passes between their thighs: they are all strongly-made people, and excellent swimmers. But notwithstanding their knowledge and activity, the boat and its crew often perish: they, however, more frequently escape the destruction which threatens them, and often exert themselves for the safety of strangers. But woe be to the rash seamen who might dare to attempt without their assistance the passage of the bar, as they would infallibly perish. Fortunately this passage does not last longer than a quarter of an hour; but it inspires so much dread, that the length of time seems insupportable. The first persons who passed this bar must have been intrepid sailors.
When this passage is effected, its horrors are succeeded by a calm, as the course of the river then becomes as smooth and gentle as its entrance was shocking and difficult.
It is from twenty to twenty-five feet deep, and of a considerable width. The exhausted rowers then take breath, drink brandy, and dance and rejoice at their success: they of course always receive a recompence. When I entered, I gave them a louis d’or, with which they were so highly satisfied that they were a long time singing my generosity, and afterwards did me great honour in the colony.
The Negroes go through the little passage with much adroitness, in the canoes which they use either for fishing or to go on board the vessels that arrive. These canoes are sometimes made of nothing but the trunk of a tree hollowed out; but more frequently the bottom is of a single piece, while the sides are fastened together by small cords made of the bark of a tree, caulked with beaten straw and clay; those of the Senegal in general are caulked in the French manner. The crew of these little narrow canoes, which are seldom more than twelve feet long, is generally composed of five men. One of them sits at the poop, and steers with one hand, while with the other he bales out the water that has leaked into the canoe. The other four Negroes, keep erect with their faces towards the prow. They use paddles, which they plunge quickly into the water, and strike behind them; the paddles are in the shape of a baker’s peel, and they cause the boat to move and veer with quickness. These canoes have no seats, and are liable to overturn; but at this the crew are little concerned; they fix to the bottom or sides such articles as they intend to convey to the ships, and when they reach them, they upset the canoe, which remains so till they return; when one of them gets in, and bales out the water, while the rest swim alongside, and keep the canoe from sinking, till it is ready for them to enter, and continue their voyage. When at sea, these boats seem as if they would be lost every instant, as the least wave seems to raise them to the clouds; while on descending with it, they disappear, as if they were ingulphed by that which follows.