Bondou Is Bounded On The East By Bambouk, On The South-East And
South By Tenda And The Simbani Wilderness, On The South-West By
Woolli, On The West By Foota Torra, And On The North By Kajaaga.
The country, like that of Woolli, is very generally covered with
woods, but the land is more elevated, and, towards the Faleme river,
rises into considerable hills.
In native fertility the soil is not
surpassed, I believe, by any part of Africa.
From the central situation of Bondou, between the Gambia and Senegal
rivers, it is become a place of great resort, both for the slatees,
who generally pass through it on going from the coast to the
interior countries, and for occasional traders, who frequently come
hither from the inland countries to purchase salt.
These different branches of commerce are conducted principally by
Mandingoes and Serawoollies, who have settled in the country. These
merchants likewise carry on a considerable trade with Gedumah and
other Moorish countries, bartering corn and blue cotton cloths for
salt, which they again barter in Dentila and other districts for
iron, shea-butter, and small quantities of gold-dust. They likewise
sell a variety of sweet-smelling gums, packed up in small bags,
containing each about a pound. These gums, being thrown on hot
embers, produce a very pleasant odour, and are used by the
Mandingoes for perfuming their huts and clothes.
The customs, or duties on travellers, are very heavy; in almost
every town an ass-load pays a bar of European merchandise, and at
Fatteconda, the residence of the king, one Indian baft, or a musket,
and six bottles of gunpowder, are exacted as the common tribute. By
means of these duties, the king of Bondou is well supplied with arms
and ammunition - a circumstance which makes him formidable to the
neighbouring states.
The inhabitants differ in their complexions and national manners
from the Mandingoes and Serawoollies, with whom they are frequently
at war. Some years ago the king of Bondou crossed the Faleme river
with a numerous army; and, after a short and bloody campaign,
totally defeated the forces of Samboo, king of Bambouk, who was
obliged to sue for peace, and surrender to him all the towns along
the eastern bank of the Faleme.
The Foulahs in general (as has been observed in a former chapter)
are of a tawny complexion, with small features and soft silky hair;
next to the Mandingoes, they are undoubtedly the most considerable
of all the nations in this part of Africa. Their original country
is said to be Fooladoo (which signifies the country of the Foulahs);
but they possess at present many other kingdoms at a great distance
from each other; their complexion, however, is not exactly the same
in the different districts; in Bondou, and the other kingdoms which
are situated in the vicinity of the Moorish territories, they are of
a more yellow complexion than in the southern states.
The Foulahs of Bondou are naturally of a mild and gentle
disposition, but the uncharitable maxims of the Koran have made them
less hospitable to strangers, and more reserved in their behaviour,
than the Mandingoes. They evidently consider all the negro natives
as their inferiors; and, when talking of different nations, always
rank themselves among the white people.
Their government differs from that of the Mandingoes chiefly in
this, that they are more immediately under the influence of
Mohammedan laws; for all the chief men, the king excepted, and a
large majority of the inhabitants of Bondou, are Mussulmans, and the
authority and laws of the Prophet are everywhere looked upon as
sacred and decisive. In the exercise of their faith, however, they
are not very intolerant towards such of their countrymen as still
retain their ancient superstitions. Religious persecution is not
known among them, nor is it necessary; for the system of Mohammed is
made to extend itself by means abundantly more efficacious. By
establishing small schools in the different towns, where many of the
pagan as well as Mohammedan children are taught to read the Koran,
and instructed in the tenets of the Prophet, the Mohammedan priests
fix a bias on the minds, and form the character, of their young
disciples, which no accidents of life can ever afterwards remove or
alter. Many of these little schools I visited in my progress
through the country, and I observed with pleasure the great docility
and submissive deportment of the children, and heartily wished they
had had better instructors and a purer religion.
With the Mohammedan faith is also introduced the Arabic language,
with which most of the Foulahs have a slight acquaintance. Their
native tongue abounds very much in liquids, but there is something
unpleasant in the manner of pronouncing it. A stranger, on hearing
the common conversation of two Foulahs, would imagine that they were
scolding each other. Their numerals are these:-
The industry of the Foulahs, in the occupations of pasturage and
agriculture, is everywhere remarkable. Even on the banks of the
Gambia, the greater part of the corn is raised by them, and their
herds and flocks are more numerous and in better condition than
those of the Mandingoes; but in Bondou they are opulent in a high
degree, and enjoy all the necessaries of life in the greatest
profusion. They display great skill in the management of their
cattle, making them extremely gentle by kindness and familiarity.
On the approach of the night, they are collected from the woods and
secured in folds called korrees, which are constructed in the
neighbourhood of the different villages. In the middle of each
korree is erected a small hut, wherein one or two of the herdsmen
keep watch during the night, to prevent the cattle from being
stolen, and to keep up the fires which are kindled round the korree
to frighten away the wild beasts.
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