He Had All The Appearance Of A True Negro,
But Commanded The Respect Of The People; And Colonel P.,
Who Had Known Him For Thirty Years, Pronounced Him To Be A Good Man.
There Are Only Three Or Four Priests In Loanda, All Men Of Color,
But Educated For The Office.
About the time of my journey in Angola,
an offer was made to any young men of ability who
Might wish
to devote themselves to the service of the Church, to afford them
the requisite education at the University of Coimbra in Portugal.
I was informed, on what seemed good authority, that the Prince of Congo
is professedly a Christian, and that there are no fewer than twelve churches
in that kingdom, the fruits of the mission established in former times
at San Salvador, the capital. These churches are kept in partial repair
by the people, who also keep up the ceremonies of the Church,
pronouncing some gibberish over the dead, in imitation of the Latin prayers
which they had formerly heard. Many of them can read and write.
When a King of Congo dies, the body is wrapped up in a great many
folds of cloth until a priest can come from Loanda to consecrate
his successor. The King of Congo still retains the title of Lord of Angola,
which he had when the Jinga, the original possessors of the soil,
owed him allegiance; and, when he writes to the Governor of Angola,
he places his own name first, as if addressing his vassal.
The Jinga paid him tribute annually in cowries, which were found on the island
that shelters Loanda harbor, and, on refusing to continue payment,
the King of Congo gave over the island to the Portuguese,
and thus their dominion commenced in this quarter.
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