He Received Me With A Benevolent Countenance,
And Tenderly Entreated Me To Desist From My Purpose Of Travelling
Into The Interior, Telling Me That Major Houghton Had Been Killed In
His Route, And That If I Followed His Footsteps I Should Probably
Meet With His Fate.
He said that I must not judge of the people of
the eastern country by those of Woolli:
That the latter were
acquainted with white men, and respected them, whereas the people of
the east had never seen a white man, and would certainly destroy me.
I thanked the king for his affectionate solicitude, but told him
that I had considered the matter, and was determined,
notwithstanding all dangers, to proceed. The king shook his head,
but desisted from further persuasion, and told me the guide should
be ready in the afternoon.
About two o'clock, the guide appearing, I went and took my last
farewell of the good old king, and in three hours reached Konjour, a
small village, where we determined to rest for the night. Here I
purchased a fine sheep for some beads, and my Serawoolli attendants
killed it with all the ceremonies prescribed by their religion.
Part of it was dressed for supper, after which a dispute arose
between one of the Serawoolli negroes, and Johnson, my interpreter,
about the sheep's horns. The former claimed the horns as his
perquisite, for having acted the part of our butcher, and Johnson
contested the claim. I settled the matter by giving a horn to each
of them. This trifling incident is mentioned as introductory to
what follows, for it appeared on inquiry that these horns were
highly valued, as being easily convertible into portable sheaths, or
cases, for containing and keeping secure certain charms or amulets
called saphies, which the negroes constantly wear about them. These
saphies are prayers, or rather sentences, from the Koran, which the
Mohammedan priests write on scraps of paper, and sell to the simple
natives, who consider them to possess very extraordinary virtues.
Some of the negroes wear them to guard themselves against the bite
of snakes or alligators; and on this occasion the saphie is commonly
enclosed in a snake's or alligator's skin, and tied round the ankle.
Others have recourse to them in time of war, to protect their
persons against hostile weapons; but the common use to which these
amulets are applied is to prevent or cure bodily diseases - to
preserve from hunger and thirst - and generally to conciliate the
favour of superior powers, under all the circumstances and
occurrences of life. {1}
In this case it is impossible not to admire the wonderful contagion
of superstition, for, notwithstanding that the majority of the
negroes are pagans, and absolutely reject the doctrines of Mohammed,
I did not meet with a man, whether a bushreen or kafir, who was not
fully persuaded of the powerful efficacy of these amulets. The
truth is, that all the natives of this part of Africa consider the
art of writing as bordering on magic; and it is not in the doctrines
of the prophet, but in the arts of the magician, that their
confidence is placed. It will hereafter be seen that I was myself
lucky enough, in circumstances of distress, to turn the popular
credulity in this respect to good account.
On the 7th I departed from Konjour, and slept at a village called
Malla (or Mallaing), and on the 8th about noon I arrived at Kolor, a
considerable town, near the entrance into which I observed, hanging
upon a tree, a sort of masquerade habit, made of the bark of trees,
which I was told, on inquiry, belonged to Mumbo Jumbo. This is a
strange bugbear, common to all the Mandingo towns, and much employed
by the pagan natives in keeping their women in subjection; for as
the kafirs are not restricted in the number of their wives, every
one marries as many as he can conveniently maintain - and as it
frequently happens that the ladies disagree among themselves, family
quarrels sometimes rise to such a height, that the authority of the
husband can no longer preserve peace in his household. In such
cases, the interposition of Mumbo Jumbo is called in, and is always
decisive.
This strange minister of justice (who is supposed to be either the
husband himself, or some person instructed by him), disguised in the
dress that has been mentioned, and armed with the rod of public
authority, announces his coming (whenever his services are required)
by loud and dismal screams in the woods near the town. He begins
the pantomime at the approach of night; and as soon as it is dark he
enters the town, and proceeds to the bentang, at which all the
inhabitants immediately assemble.
December 9. - As there was no water to be procured on the road, we
travelled with great expedition until we reached Tambacunda; and
departing from thence early the next morning, the 10th, we reached
in the evening Kooniakary, a town of nearly the same magnitude as
Kolor. About noon on the 11th we arrived at Koojar, the frontier
town of Woolli, towards Bondou, from which it is separated by an
intervening wilderness of two days' journey.
The guide appointed by the king of Woolli being now to return, I
presented him with some amber for his trouble; and having been
informed that it was not possible at all times to procure water in
the wilderness, I made inquiry for men who would serve both as
guides and water-bearers during my journey across it. Three
negroes, elephant-hunters, offered their services for these
purposes, which I accepted, and paid them three bars each in
advance; and the day being far spent, I determined to pass the night
in my present quarters.
The inhabitants of Koojar, though not wholly unaccustomed to the
sight of Europeans (most of them having occasionally visited the
countries on the Gambia), beheld me with a mixture of curiosity and
reverence, and in the evening invited me to see a neobering, or
wrestling-match, at the bentang.
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