The Fire, They Say, Is Their Only Clothing By Night,
And The Little Ones Derive Heat By Sticking Closely To
Their parents.
Instead of a skin or cloth to carry their babies in, the women plait a belt
about four
Inches broad, of the inner bark of a tree, and this,
hung from the one shoulder to the opposite side, like a soldier's belt,
enables them to support the child by placing it on their side
in a sitting position. Their land is very fertile, and they can raise
ground-nuts and manioc in abundance. Here I observed no cotton,
nor any domestic animals except fowls and little dogs. The chief possessed
a few goats, and I never could get any satisfactory reason
why the people also did not rear them.
On the evening of the 2d of June we reached the village of Kawawa,
rather an important personage in these parts. This village
consists of forty or fifty huts, and is surrounded by forest.
Drums were beating over the body of a man who had died the preceding day,
and some women were making a clamorous wail at the door of his hut,
and addressing the deceased as if alive. The drums continued beating
the whole night, with as much regularity as a steam-engine thumps
on board ship. We observed that a person dressed fantastically
with a great number of feathers left the people at the dance and wailing,
and went away into the deep forest in the morning, to return again
to the obsequies in the evening; he is intended to represent
one of the Barimo.
In the morning we had agreeable intercourse with Kawawa; he visited us,
and we sat and talked nearly the whole day with him and his people.
When we visited him in return, we found him in his large court-house,
which, though of a beehive shape, was remarkably well built.
As I had shown him a number of curiosities, he now produced a jug,
of English ware, shaped like an old man holding a can of beer in his hand,
as the greatest curiosity he had to exhibit.
We had now an opportunity of hearing a case brought before him for judgment.
A poor man and his wife were accused of having bewitched the man
whose wake was now held in the village. Before Kawawa even heard the defense,
he said, "You have killed one of my children; bring all yours before me,
that I may choose which of them shall be mine instead."
The wife eloquently defended herself, but this availed little,
for these accusations are the means resorted to by some chiefs
to secure subjects for the slave-market. He probably thought
that I had come to purchase slaves, though I had already given
a pretty full explanation of my pursuits both to himself and his people.
We exhibited the pictures of the magic lantern in the evening,
and all were delighted except Kawawa himself. He showed symptoms of dread,
and several times started up as if to run away, but was prevented
by the crowd behind.
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