Monina Had A Great Number Of Young Men About Him
From Twelve To Fifteen Years Of Age.
These were all sons of free men,
and bands of young men like them in the different districts
leave their parents about the age of puberty, and live with such men as Monina
for the sake of instruction.
When I asked the nature of the instruction,
I was told "Bonyai", which I suppose may be understood
as indicating manhood, for it sounds as if we should say,
"to teach an American Americanism," or "an Englishman to be English."
While here they are kept in subjection to rather stringent regulations.
They must salute carefully by clapping their hands on approaching a superior,
and when any cooked food is brought, the young men may not approach the dish,
but an elder divides a portion to each. They remain unmarried
until a fresh set of youths is ready to occupy their place
under the same instruction. The parents send servants with their sons
to cultivate gardens to supply them with food, and also tusks to Monina
to purchase clothing for them. When the lads return to the village
of their parents, a case is submitted to them for adjudication,
and if they speak well on the point, the parents are highly gratified.
When we told Monina that we had nothing to present but some hoes,
he replied that he was not in need of those articles,
and that he had absolute power over the country in front,
and if he prevented us from proceeding, no one would say any thing to him.
His little boy Boromo having come to the encampment to look at us,
I gave him a knife, and he went off and brought a pint of honey for me.
The father came soon afterward, and I offered him a shirt.
He remarked to his councilors, "It is evident that this man has nothing,
for, if he had, his people would be buying provisions, but we don't see them
going about for that purpose." His council did not agree in this.
They evidently believed that we had goods, but kept them hid,
and we felt it rather hard to be suspected of falsehood.
It was probably at their suggestion that in the evening
a wardance was got up about a hundred yards from our encampment,
as if to put us in fear and force us to bring forth presents.
Some of Monina's young men had guns, but most were armed
with large bows, arrows, and spears.
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