Was true, as he had been very filthy
before my arrival; but Umbogo was persuaded that the difference between
white and black people was caused by the fact of our ancestors having
always used soap, while the blacks used only plain water. This
ethnological fact having been established, I gave him a small piece, to
his great delight, as he expressed his intention to become a white man.
I was always chatting with Umbogo and the various chiefs, especially
with my favourite, Kittakara, who was Kabba Rega's most confidential
counsellor. They gave me a graphic account of the royal funeral that had
taken place a few months ago, when Kamrasi has interred.
When a king of Unyoro dies, the body is exposed upon a framework of
green wood, like a gigantic gridiron, over a slow fire. It is thus
gradually dried, until it resembles an over-roasted hare.
Thus mummified, it is wrapped in new bark-cloths, and lies in state
within a large house built specially for its reception.
The sons fight for the throne. The civil war may last for years, but
during this period of anarchy, the late king's body lies still unburied.
At length, when victory has decided in favour of one of his sons, the
conqueror visits the hut in which his father's body lies in state. He
approaches the corpse, and standing by its side, he sticks the butt-end
of his spear in the ground, and leaves it thus fixed near the right hand
of the dead king. This is symbolical of victory.
The son now ascends the throne, and the funeral of his father must be
his first duty.
An immense pit or trench is dug, capable of containing several hundred
people.
This pit is neatly lined with new bark-cloths.
Several wives of the late king are seated together at the bottom, to
bear upon their knees the body of their departed lord.
The night previous to the funeral, the king's own regiment or body-guard
surround many dwellings and villages, and seize the people
indiscriminately as they issue from their doors in the early morning.
These captives are brought to the pit's mouth.
Their legs and arms are now broken with clubs, and they are pushed into
the pit on the top of the king's body and his wives.
An immense din of drums, horns, flageolets, whistles, mingled with the
yells of a frantic crowd, drown the shrieks of the sufferers, upon whom
the earth is shovelled and stamped down by thousands of cruel fanatics,
who dance and jump upon the loose mould so as to form it into a compact
mass; through which the victims of this horrid sacrifice cannot grope
their way, the precaution having been taken to break the bones of their
arms and legs. At length the mangled mass is buried and trodden down
beneath a tumulus of earth, and all is still. The funeral is over.
Upon my return to Egypt I was one day relating this barbarous custom to
a friend, when Mr. Kay, of Alexandria, reminded me of the curious
coincidence in the description of the travels of Ibn Batuta, written
A.D. 1346.
I am indebted to Mr. Kay for the following extract from the work of Ibn
Batuta, which will go far to prove the extreme conservatism of Africans
in all that regards their rites and customs.
On his arrival at Khan Balik (Pekin), Ibn Batuta found that the khan, or
emperor, was absent. His cousin had risen against him, and had been
joined by most of the ameers, who accused the khan of having broken the
laws of the Yassak, and had called upon him to abdicate.
The emperor marched against the rebels at the head of an army (which,
Ibn Batuta says, consisted of a million cavalry and half a million
infantry). A battle was fought, in which the khan was defeated and
killed.
"This news reached the capital a few days after our arrival. The city
was decorated, drums and trumpets were sounded, and games and rejoicings
instituted, which continued for the space of a month.
"The dead body of the khan was then brought, together with the bodies of
about a hundred men, his relations and followers.
"A large vault was constructed underground. It was spread with
magnificent carpets, and the body of the khan was laid in it, along with
his weapons and with the gold and silver vessels that were used in his
household.
"Four female slaves and six memluks were led into the vault, each
provided with a drinking vessel filled with liquid.
"The entrance of the vault was walled up, and earth was heaped on the
top until it resembled a large hillock.
"Four horses were then brought and made to gallop in the neighbourhood
of the tomb until they stood still with fatigue. A large beam of wood
was erected over the tomb, and to this the horses were attached, being
impaled with wooden pales, passed longitudinally through their bodies
and projecting through their mouths.
"The bodies of the khan's relatives, whom I have previously mentioned,
were likewise deposited in vaults, each with his weapons and with the
vessels used in his house.
"Those of highest rank were ten in number. Over each of their tombs
three horses were impaled, and one horse over each of the others.
"The day was one of public solemnity, and no one abstained from its
observance, neither man nor woman, Moslem nor infidel. All arrayed
themselves in funeral garments - the infidels wearing white tailasans,
and the Moslem white gowns.
"The empresses, wives of the khan, and his chief followers remained in
the neighbourhood of the tomb for forty days, living in tents.
