This
Kingdom Is Not Hereditary; But For The Most Part, Three Or Four Of The
Principal Lords, Of Whom There
Are many in the country, choose a king, in
the event of a vacancy, but always fix their choice on
A person of noble
lineage, who reigns only as long as he gives satisfaction to these great
lords. They often dethrone their kings by force; who, on the other hand,
often render; themselves so powerful as to stand on their defence. This
renders the government unsettled, and is productive of civil wars;
similar to Egypt, where the Soldan of Cairo is always in fear of being
killed or banished.
The people are savages, and extremely poor, having no walled towns, and
their villages are entirely composed of thatched cottages. They use
neither lime nor stone in building, not knowing how to make the one, or
to form the other. The kingdom of the Jalofs is small, and, as I was
informed, extends only 300 miles along the coast, and about the same
distance inland. The king has no settled revenue; but the lords of the
country court his favour, by making him yearly presents of horses, which
being scarce, are in high estimation, together with horse furniture, cows,
and goats, pulse, millet, and other things. He likewise increases his
wealth by means of robbery, and by reducing his own subjects, and those
of neighbouring provinces to slavery, employing a part of these slaves to
cultivate the lands which are assigned to him, and selling the rest to
the Arabs and Azanhaji traders, who bring horses and other things for
sale; as likewise to the Christians, since they have established a trade
in these parts.
Every man may keep as many wives as he pleases. The king has always
upwards of thirty, and distinguishes them according to their descent, and
the rank of the lords whose daughters they are. He keeps them in certain
villages of his own, eight or ten in one place, each having a separate
house to dwell in, with a certain number of young women to attend her,
and slaves to cultivate the land which is assigned for her maintenance,
which they sow and reap, and to tend her cows and goats. When the king
comes to any of these villages, he brings no provisions along with him,
as his women are obliged to support him and his retinue whenever he
visits them. Every, morning at sunrise, each of his wives in the village
where he happens to reside, prepares three or four dishes of various
viands, such as flesh, fish, or other dainties, cooked in their fashion;
which are carried by the slaves to the kings pantry; so that in less than
an hour, thirty or forty dishes are provided, and when the king has a
mind to eat, he finds every thing ready at his command. When he has eaten
of such things as he likes best, the remainder is given to his retinue;
but as this, diet is never very plentiful, they are but poorly fed. He
travels about in this manner, from place to place, visiting his several
wives, by which means he has a very numerous issue and whenever one of
his wives happens to fall with child, he visits her no more. The lords or
chiefs of the country live in a similar manner.
These negroes profess me Mahometan religion, but are not even so well
instructed in it as the tawny Moors, more especially the common people.
The lords have always about them some Arabs or Azanhaji for this purpose,
who inculcate on their minds that it would be disgraceful for men of
their quality to live in ignorance of the laws of God, like the common
people who have no religion. They have become Mahometans merely by means
of their intercourse with the Azanhaji and Arabs; for since they became
acquainted with the Christians, they are by no means so fond of the
Mahometan faith. The generality of the negroes go quite naked, except a
piece of goat skin before; but the lords who are able to procure such,
wear cotton shirts, which are spun and manufactured by their women. Their
webs are only a span in width, as they have not sufficient art to
construct and use wider looms; so that they are obliged to sew five, six,
or more of these webs together, when it is required to make any large
piece of work. The shirts reach half way down the thighs, and have wide
sleeves which; cover only half of their arms. They wear also cotton
drawers, reaching to the small of their legs; and these drawers are made
preposterously wide, being often thirty-five or forty palms in
circumference; so that, when tied on, they are full of plaits, and though
like A sack before the hinder part trails on the ground like the train of
a large petticoat. Thus, though making a most ridiculous appearance, they
think nothing comes up to their dress for elegance, and they often ask
the Europeans if they ever saw a finer dress. Their women, both married
and unmarried, go naked from the waist upwards, and wear a piece of
cotton which covers them from the waist to the middle of the legs. Both
sexes go barefooted, and have no coverings to their heads; and weave and
tie their hair, though short, into neat tresses. The men often employ
themselves in womens work, such as spinning, washing clothes, and such
like employments.
This country is extremely hot, the month of January being not so cold as
it is with us in Italy in the month of April; and the farther we went to
the south, the weather became so much the hotter. Both men and women wash
themselves four or five times a-day, and are very cleanly in their
persons; but are by no means so in regard of eating, in which they
observe no rule. Although very ignorant, and extremely awkward in any
thing, to which they have not been accustomed, they are as expert as any
European can be in their own business, and in all things with which they
are acquainted.
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