Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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The Words
Were Hardly Out Of Their Mouths, Before The Two Mussulmans Publicly
Went Through Their Ablutions In Front Of The House, Where, Turning
Their Faces To The East, They Seemed To Pray Very Devoutly To The
Founder Of Their Faith.
When this was concluded, they sang an Arabic
hymn with great solemnity, and the whole had a wonderful and
Immediate effect on the feelings of many of their followers in the
yard, who, mistaking loudness of voice for fervour, and hypocritical
seriousness for piety, made the two worshippers a present of money.
The Fellatas are generally supposed to be spies from Soccatoo, but
although this is a very prevalent opinion, no measures whatever have
yet been taken either to watch their motions, or question them as to
their intentions.
The women of Jenna employ themselves generally either in spinning
cotton, or preparing Indian corn for food. Much of the former
material grows in the vicinity of the town, but the cultivation of
the plant is not carried on with that spirit which it deserves. Silk,
which is brought over land from Tripoli, the inhabitants sometimes
interweave in their cotton garments, but such being very expensive,
are only worn by the higher class of people. They have abundance of
sheep, bullocks, pigs, goats, and poultry, but they prefer vegetable
food to animal; their diet, indeed, is what we should term poor and
watery, consisting chiefly of preparations of the yam and Indian
corn, notwithstanding which a stronger or more athletic race of
people is nowhere to be met with. Burdens with them, as with the
natives of many parts of the continent, are invariably carried on the
head, which, it is more than likely, occasions that dignified
uprightness of form, and stateliness of walk, so often spoken of by
those acquainted with the pleasing peculiarities, of the African
female. The weight of a feather is borne on the head in preference to
its being carried in the hand; and it not infrequently requires the
united strength of three men to lift a calabash of goods from the
ground to the shoulder of one, and then, and not till then, does the
amazing strength of the African appear. The greater part of the
inhabitants of Jenna have the hair of their head and their eyebrows
shaven. But the governor's ministers and servants wear their hair in
the shape of a horse shoe as a mark of distinction. It is confined to
the crown of the head by large daubs of indigo, and none of the
people presuming to imitate it, it answers the purpose of a livery.
The early part of the morning of April 10th, was obscured by a mist
or haze, which was as thick, and at least as unwholesome, as a London
fog in November, but between nine and ten o'clock it dispersed; and
the sun shone out with uncommon lustre. The hut which they occupied
was in a large square yard, and was the property of the late
governor's wife, whose story is rather romantic.
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