CHAPTER XIII.
Description of Timé and its environs. — Character, manners, and customs of the inhabitants. — Period of circumcision for males, and excision for females. — Manufactures, trade, and agriculture. — Indigenous plants. — Diseases.
The village of Timé is situated at the distance of two days’ journey to the south of Sambatikila, fifteen to the north of Teuté and Cani, and ten to the north of Tangrera. The number of inhabitants is about five or six hundred, consisting partly of Mandingoes, and partly of Bambaras. A wall separates the two nations, but they live together on a friendly footing, notwithstanding the difference of religion; for the Mandingoes are Mahometans, and the Bambaras pagans. Such, however, as are the offspring of a Mandingo mother consider themselves superior to the unmixed Bambaras; they nevertheless, remain idolaters.
There is a chain of mountains to the east of the village. During the rainy season, the clouds collect in such masses around the summits of these mountains, that for five months and a half it rains almost without intermission. I did not experience any extraordinary heat during the rainy season. The air is always cool and damp, which renders it very unhealthy. In the months of December and January, a variable, but northerly, wind prevails, which still farther cools the atmosphere. The soil consists of good black mould and sand. In some parts it is irrigated by a number of small rivulets, the overflowing of which, fertilizes the land. The birds of the Senegal also inhabit the well-wooded banks of these streams. Green parrots are common, but I saw no paroquets.
The Mandingoes, who are naturally indolent, make their slaves work hard.[56] Those who have no slaves, are obliged to cultivate their own fields, but in that case they labour so inefficiently, that their harvest does not maintain them during the whole year. They, therefore, purchase from the Bambara negroes, who sell their surplus grain to procure salt.
The slaves, being regarded by the Mandingoes as their principal wealth, are not ill-treated; their food is the same as that of their masters, though sometimes it is not quite so abundant; they are dressed in a coarse pagne, which they wear to the last rag: they go naked until they are eighteen, or sometimes older. When they are not looked after, their natural indolence causes them to neglect their work: but towards that fault their masters are rather indulgent. They never punish them severely, except for theft or desertion. When it is suspected that a slave intends to run away, irons are put on his legs.
The Mandingoes measure time by years, months, weeks, and days, and I observed that they never miscalculated. They reckon the month by lunar revolutions, and twelve months make one year, which is called sang; their weeks consist of seven days. The market is held in the village once every week. They do not measure the day by hours, but divide it into four parts; the forenoon, until eleven o’clock, is called soyoman; from that hour to four o’clock, télé;[57] from four to seven o’clock, oula; and the night is called soudo.
The Mandingoes of this part of Africa are all traders; they travel much, even in the rainy season, but, being obliged to carry their merchandise on their heads, they take little with them, and journey at a slow pace. Their trade of course is not lucrative. They never travel without having about their garments abundance of amulets, or grigris, covered with scarlet. The inhabitants of this part of Soudan are not hospitable. The merchants are, therefore, obliged to purchase their provisions, and to pay for their lodgings, besides discharging the transit-duty, levied in each village. A considerable part of their profit is consequently expended in each journey. They carry bows and arrows, for fire-arms are not common in that country. They never travel without a small pot of vegetable butter, which they carry at their girdle, and every evening, after washing with warm water, they grease the head, face, and part of the body. They are so accustomed to anointing themselves in this manner, that the journey would be quite uncomfortable if they omitted to use the grease-pot. When they return from their journeys, they indulge in idleness and gormandizing, leaving agricultural labour to their slaves. They often go to the ourondé, where the slaves reside, to see if every thing be in good order, and to encourage them to work. They sometimes send them a good supper of foigné, which they make their wives prepare.
The Mandingoes have usually two meals a-day; they breakfast at eleven o’clock, take supper at seven in the evening; in the morning they sometimes eat a little rice porridge, which they call baya. The poor have but one repast a-day, but the greater part of them visit their neighbours to partake of their meals.
The negroes are extremely fond of social meetings. In the fine season, after evening prayer, they assemble with the whole neighbourhood, to take supper together. Each wife brings her husband’s supper on her head. Some have tau, others yams and rice; the sauce is usually separate, in a little plate called birit. These parties are always very merry. These worthy Musulmans vituperate those whom they call infidels, laugh heartily, and amuse themselves at the expense of absent friends. The women are not admitted to these meetings; they eat in their huts with their children, but never with their husbands. At the age of ten the male children take their meals with the father. When the repast is finished, the women come and collect their household utensils.
A custom which I observed to prevail generally among the negroes appeared to me very singular. At the end of every meal they thank each other reciprocally, and afterwards run through the village, repeating their thanks to every one they meet, which is equivalent to saying that they have dined or supped. It is easy to judge of the quality of the repast of which they have partaken, according to the expression of greater or less satisfaction with which the word signifying thanks is pronounced. Some of them came to the door of my hut also to ejaculate their thanks.
The Bambaras, who are all pagans, marry as many wives as they are able to maintain; but the Mandingoes have never more than four: they do not, however, marry them all at once, but at different periods, sometimes after intervals of three or four years. Every new wife occasions a considerable expense, which they cannot defray, unless success in trade has enabled them to accumulate some profits. They must purchase slaves to present to the parents of their mistress; for otherwise no wife is to be had. This kind of dowry varies in amount, according to circumstances. If the female be of a good family, if she be handsome, or if her possession of superior qualities be generally acknowledged, the parents require three or four slaves, or the value of that number in merchandise. These unfortunate beings become henceforth the property of the mother. When the girl to be married is neither of a distinguished family nor handsome, then only two slaves are given. Throughout the whole of this country I met with no instance of a young woman living in a state of celibacy; pretty, or plain, they all get married. These wives are, however, only so many servants, whom the men secure to themselves, and of whose running away they have no reason to be afraid. The bridegroom must deliver his slaves before he obtains possession of his bride, to whom he also makes some little presents, besides sending her every day large calabashes full of rice. The two months prior to the nuptials form a holiday time for the bride, and the mother invites the neighbours to take part in the merrimaking. These customs undergo some modification in each country: at Cambaya, for example, if the bridegroom gives three slaves, two are for the mother-in-law, and the third follows the bride to the house of her husband. At Timé, and at Sambatikila, the relations of the bride receive every thing. When the bridegroom has gone through every formality, and made all the requisite presents, if the betrothed, or any of her relations, should after all refuse to conclude the marriage, they are obliged to indemnify him for all the expenses he has incurred; on the contrary, if the objection be made by the man, whether from jealousy or any other cause, he loses all he has given. When, however, a discussion arises between the bridegroom and the family of the bride, and the match is in consequence broken off, every thing that the relations have received must be returned. Among a selfish and avaricious people, it is a necessary effect of these rigid regulations, that the first engagements are seldom dissolved. In the result the women are always the victims; for the men, looking upon the other sex as an inferior order of beings, are always absolute masters in the domestic circle. Quarrels are, however, frequent, for the husbands are extremely rigorous, and the wives are not very tractable. These unfortunate women may indeed be considered on a level with the slaves as to the severe labours imposed upon them. They go to distant places for wood and water; their husbands make them sow, weed the cultivated fields, and gather in the harvest. When they travel with a caravan, they carry burthens on their heads, while the husbands proceed at their ease on horseback. The poor women are often severely reproved for the slightest mistake they commit; they then cry, storm, and run about the village, complaining loudly of the injustice of their husbands; little attention is however paid to them, for the husbands, in their own opinion, are never in the wrong, and the dispute ends by the wife receiving a sound drubbing; she then weeps and screams, until the elders of the village come to her relief and restore peace for a time to the hut. I observed, that after a beating they become very gentle. It is certain that they are not vindictive; and indeed they would gain nothing by being so. On the third or fourth day after the quarrel they are as cheerful as ever. The wife dare not lift a hand against her husband, even in her own defence; and she never ventures to indulge in the least joke upon him. The husband always speaks in the tone of a master: in fact, his wives are merely servants.
I asked Baba why he did not sometimes make merry with his wives: he replied, that if he did he should not be able to manage them, for they would laugh at him when he ordered them to do any thing. Their marriages are celebrated by feasting and dancing, all the population of the village participating in the rejoicings; the consumption of eatables is great, and the husband pays all the expense: those who cannot attend have their suppers sent to them in calabashes; others who are absent have their share kept for them till they return home.
When the young bride repairs to her husband’s village, a fresh entertainment is prepared for her reception. Gaiety always prevails on these occasions. No religious ceremony unites the husband and wife; nevertheless, the link by which they are bound cannot be broken; for the dowry which the husband has given is a solemn act, which cannot be undone. The wife is not the less unfortunate: let her husband beat her as much as he pleases, she cannot obtain a separation, except by restitution; but that is with her impossible, since she possesses nothing, and her parents, if they should be able, would not restore what they have received.
With respect to physical suffering the fortitude displayed by the women is remarkable. While pregnant they continue to perform the severest labours until the very last moment of their time. They give birth to children without uttering a complaint, and one would almost believe that they are delivered without pain, for on the following day they resume their usual occupations. I observed that the child is born white, with only a shade of yellow, and that it grows gradually darker until the tenth day, when it is quite black. The new-born infant is bathed in a calabash of tepid water, and not in the river as several travellers have asserted. Adults seldom bathe in cold water; still less do children. The mothers watch over their infants with great tenderness, seldom trusting them to the care of others. They always suckle them themselves, and they carry them every where on their backs, fastened up in their pagne, as is the custom in almost all the negro countries. In all the parts of Africa which I have visited, boys and girls go about naked until the age of puberty.
The male Mandingoes are circumcised between the age of fifteen and twenty. The excision which females should undergo when they are marriageable is often delayed until they are promised in marriage. I even saw a married woman, who, after having a child, submitted to this operation. It is always performed by women, and on several patients at once, who are thereby rendered for some time unable to work. In this state they are taken care of by their mothers, who bathe the wound several times a day with an indigenous caustic, with the use of which they are acquainted. Their female neighbours go in quest of the wood and water of which they stand in need.
The day of circumcision is always a rejoicing day. On the following day, the girls who have undergone the operation promenade the village accompanied by an old woman. They stop at every door to solicit donations, the old women speaking for them. The young women never go out without a reed which they carry in the left hand. They also wear on this occasion a man’s cap of a large size, the front of which is supported by a piece of flexible wood put inside to make it stand up. With this head-dress these girls look like giantesses. Instead of a reed, I have seen some of them carrying an iron arrow, as an emblem of the circumcision. The persons whose hospitality is appealed to on the part of the newly circumcised, hasten to prepare, each in his turn, victuals sufficient for a great dinner or supper, into which they put salt, and which is distributed among the patients. All their friends and neighbours follow this example if they please; but those who are betrothed must not fail, and they continue to send dinners to the circumcised until their recovery, which in general is not completed until six weeks after the operation. Their fathers, who never live in the same hut, also send them more provisions than usual. Large platefuls of rice or tau are distributed by the mothers among the neighbours and relations. On these occasions I was never forgotten. The good negress, my landlady, always took care that I should have my share.
The fathers and mothers are extremely fond of their children, and they, in their turn, have a great veneration for their parents. Indeed, respect and obedience to the old is a rule rigorously observed. In all these countries I never saw a mendicant. The aged who are unable to support themselves are always maintained and treated with respect by their children. In this part of the interior I saw a blind man, but he did not beg, as is the custom for such persons in other negro countries. Many travellers have asserted that the children retain a stronger attachment to their mother than to their father; but for my part, though I had an opportunity of studying their character for some time, I cannot say that I observed this difference in their affection. When they have any business to transact they follow in preference the advice of their father, and they would feel extreme reluctance to disobey him; for the father is always the supreme head of the family. I shall cite, by way of example, Arafan-Abdalahi, a Mandingo of Kankan, a man of forty or forty-five, who relinquished the pleasure, and even the religious duty, of performing a pilgrimage to Mecca, that he might not displease his aged father whose consent he could not obtain. I did not observe that the Mandingoes quarrel often. It is dangerous to insult them and still more to offend their parents. They are however vindictive, inquisitive, envious, liars, importunate, selfish, avaricious, ignorant and superstitious. They are not strictly speaking thieves since they do not steal from each other; but their probity with respect to others is very equivocal and in particular towards strangers, who would be very imprudent to shew them any thing that might tempt their cupidity, such as scissors, knives, glass trinkets, gun-powder, paper, &c. articles which are exceedingly rare and valuable in those countries. The Mandingoes do not trust any thing, even in the hands of their relations, without first counting or measuring it several times. In general they are distrustful and far from scrupulous about the means of obtaining what pleases them. During my stay at Timé, I heard that a Bambara belonging to a distant village had killed one of his comrades, which occasioned much consternation in the neighbourhood, but I was never able to learn whether the murderer suffered any punishment for the offence. I can, however, affirm that such crimes are rare among the Bambaras, and never committed by the Mandingoes. These latter despise the poor Bambaras, whom they look upon as infidels, but I had good reason to think that they are themselves avaricious and inhospitable, and I firmly believe, that I should have perished during my illness, if I had not possessed wherewithal to pay for my food; and for my personal security I was indebted to my disguise. They all manifested the most decided aversion to the name of christian; for they entertain the very worst idea of us. However, they are not altogether devoid of sensibility: they pay much attention to their countrymen in sickness, and even to those of their own religion. It must be remembered that I was to them an indifferent being, and yet, some of them evinced sincere compassion for me. I however, experienced more hospitality and less annoyance among the Foulahs than from the Mandingoes.
When a negro enters the house of a chief or a man of quality, he leaves his sandals at the door, and announces himself, by repeating three times Salam alékoum. This formality is not observed towards their equals until after the door is closed.
Earthen pots are not manufactured at Timé, but are procured from the Bambaras, who barter them for salt and colat-nuts: all these pots are of an oval shape, and I have seen some of them from eighteen to twenty inches deep: they are of a grey colour and not so well made as in the Kankan and the Wassoulo. The women employ their leisure moments in spinning cotton, from which is manufactured a kind of coloured cloth; this cloth is exchanged on the road to Jenné for cowries, the money with which they purchase salt. The Mandingoes of Timé do not live as well as those of Kankan and the Fouta. Like the Bambaras they eat all kinds of quadrupeds, except cats and dogs. My host Baba had three slaves, only one of whom, was able to work. The other two, and especially a little boy, were treated with harshness, because they were unable to make themselves useful. He was therefore obliged to employ day-labourers. The people of Timé are not so neat in their dress as the inhabitants of the Fouta and the Kankan, but they are better clothed than the Bambaras. Two days after the birth of a child, the event is celebrated by dancing and feasting.
They are accustomed, summer and winter, to bathe in warm water, every evening on returning from the fields where they work; the women take care to have the water ready. They have fires every night in their huts, for they are naturally chilly.
I have seen among the Mandingoes at Timé large nets made of cotton and the bark of trees twisted together; with these nets they go out to hunt the gazelle and wild-boar. Having discovered the traces of the animals in the woods, they spread their nets, and scour the surrounding country in order to drive the game into them. As soon as the animal is caught it is killed with the poniard. They generally assemble in great numbers for these hunting expeditions, which however, often prove unsuccessful. When they kill an animal they always turn its head to the east. The women never kill poultry; that business is always performed by the men. The inhabitants of Timé do not however kill much poultry, though they breed a great deal; they prefer selling it to travellers; they keep some goats and sheep, but neither oxen nor cows, although the soil produces excellent pasturage. There are some cows in the neighbouring villages but they are never milked.
Caravans of saracolets often pass through Timé on their way to the south to purchase slaves. The saracolets are not a nation but, as I have before mentioned, a class of merchants, who travel in every part of Africa. There are saracolets in all the negro countries, Mandingoes and Bambaras, Fouta-Dialonkés, in Kayaya, Bondou, &c. They are all Mahometans, and use in conversation among themselves a particular dialect, which the other negroes, even those of their own nation, do not understand. They scarcely ever remain in their native country, and have every where the reputation of being rich and very much inclined to theft.
When a stranger arrives at Timé, who happens to find any relations or friends there, if he does not immediately go to them, as soon as they hear of his arrival they prepare a great dinner for him. This repast, of which a fowl seasoned with salt forms part, they send by their wives to the new comer. They do not touch it themselves, but prepare a dinner for themselves as usual. Soon afterwards they call on their friend and receive his thanks; and, should they even find him at his meal, they would not partake of any portion of it. After his repast the stranger goes to pay his visit, which he would not have done, if the fowl had not been sent to him. This custom is very general throughout the country.
The huts of Timé are neither so large nor so neat as those of the Fouta and Kankan, though they are built in the same form, and surrounded by a similar wall of earth, six feet high and five inches thick; it is the women’s business to cover this wall with cow-dung, which is purchased at the market for a few colats. The huts are roofed with straw, and contain no furniture except some mats spread upon the ground, which serve for seats in the day-time and beds at night, a few earthen pots for culinary purposes, wooden plates, calabashes, spatules for stirring the tau, and an earthen jar to hold water. The women keep their wood in a corner of their huts, lest their indolent neighbours might make free with it to save the trouble of procuring some for themselves. When they collect their wood, they make little presents of portions of it to the aged women in their vicinity. The inhabitants of this village do not use large earthen jars for holding grain, like the people of Fouta and Kankan, which shows that they neither grow so much, nor are so rich as the latter. Half a mile from the village there is a beautiful clear spring, where the inhabitants fetch water for their consumption. This spring is shaded by large trees, the name of which I do not know, but which would I believe, be very fit for building. The few productions of the soil cultivated by the people of Timé are left in the fields, with small pieces of written paper affixed to them, to keep off thieves; and no one ever touches them. During my stay at Timé, I only saw one man whose yams had been stolen out of the ground; but, said the negroes, they were not protected by grigris.
The butter-tree, or cé, is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Timé. It grows spontaneously, and in height and appearance resembles the pear-tree. The leaves grow in tufts, supported by a very short foot-stalk. They are round at top, and when the tree is young, they are six inches long. When the tree grows old the leaves become smaller, and resemble those of the Saint-Jean pear-tree. It blossoms at the extremity of its branches, and the flowers, which are small, grow in clusters, and are supported by a very strong pedicle. The petals are white, and the stamina are numerous and scarcely perceptible to the naked eye. The fruit, when mature, is as large as a Guinea-hen’s egg, of oval shape, and equal at both ends. It is covered with a pale-green pellicle, beneath which is a green farinaceous pulp, three lines thick, of an extremely agreeable flavour. The negroes are very fond of it, and I liked it myself. Under this pulp there is a second pellicle, very thin, and resembling the white skin which lines the inside of an egg-shell. This covers the kernel, which is of a pale coffee colour. The fruit being disengaged from the two pellicles and the pulp, is enclosed in a shell as thin as that of an egg, and the kernel is of the size of a pigeon’s egg. The fruit is exposed several days to the sun, in order to dry it, then pounded in a mortar, and reduced to flour which is of the colour of wheat bran. After being pounded, it is placed in a large calabash; luke-warm water is thrown over it, and it is kneaded with the hands until it attains the consistence of dough. To ascertain whether it is sufficiently manipulated, warm water is thrown over it, and if greasy particles are detached from the dough and float, the warm water is repeated several times, until the butter is completely separated, and rises to the surface. The butter is collected with a wooden spoon, and placed in a calabash. It is then boiled on a strong fire, being well skimmed to remove any pulp that might remain with it. When sufficiently boiled, it is poured into a calabash with a little water at the bottom to make it turn out easily. Thus prepared it is wrapped in the leaves of the tree, and will keep two years without spoiling. The butter is of an ash-grey colour and as hard as tallow. It is an article of trade with the negroes, who use it both for food and for anointing their bodies. They also employ it to burn for light; and they told me that it was an excellent ointment for pains and sores. The fruit of the cé is much larger in Baléya and Amana than in Timé. The seed of this tree, which is so valuable to the people of these countries, could not be transported to Europe for sowing, unless packed in small earthen vessels, otherwise it loses its germinative power, which does not last long. I have already mentioned that there is at Timé a fruit called taman, which also produces an unctuous substance very good for eating and more firm than the cé. It might be advantageously employed in Europe for burning. The grease or fat, called by the natives taman-toulou, is extracted by the same process as that employed with the cé. The tree, which produces the taman grows on the banks of rivulets, and is very common in the south. These two trees are so abundant at Cani and Teuté, that the inhabitants of those places, I was told, though possessing plenty of cows, never eat any butter except that produced by the trees. Palm-oil is also met with here, though not in great quantity. The kernel of the taman is of the size of a horse-chesnut, somewhat elongated, of a beautiful pink colour, deepening a little towards the outside. It is exceedingly hard; and the women, after setting it on the fire in earthen pots, crush it between two flints, previously to pounding it in the mortar. The butter of the taman is of a light yellow colour. It is firmer than that of the cé, and has no smell. I preferred this to the other.
Indigo grows spontaneously in the environs of Timé. The women use it for dyeing their cotton thread; which the men weave into cloths. The process employed to extract the dye is very simple. They do not take the trouble to cut the plant, but gather the leaves, which they bruise; and then making them up into small cakes they lay them in the sun to dry.
This process has been followed for a very long period. When the dye is wanted, the cakes are bruised, and put into a large earthen pot, made for this purpose; cold water is then poured over them and time is allowed for the leaves to soak. After leaving them twenty hours to ferment, ley is made with the ashes of the straw of foigné, and cold water is added. This has the effect of dissolving the indigo. The dye being thus prepared, the articles to be dyed are put into the pot. Cotton requires to be thus soaked for a whole night, or even longer; and when taken out, I have seen it of a beautiful blue colour. In proportion as the water diminishes, more is added, and the same leaves serve to dye for a whole week; but the first tint is always the finest.
I saw, in this country a climbing plant, with a very broad leaf, and containing a large quantity of blue dye. It is very common at Sierra-Leone. The young women do not dye the cotton thread; that task is always consigned to the old women, who also cultivate little gardens round their huts, where they raise various kinds of herbs which they use for making their sauces, &c. In these gardens they also grow tobacco, which is sown in September and transplanted in October. Very little attention however is bestowed on its cultivation. That which I saw at Timé and in its neighbourhood is of a small species, and it is not gathered until it runs to seed. The leaves, after being dried in the sun, are reduced to powder. This is the only way in which the inhabitants use tobacco. I never saw any prepared in the European manner at Timé.
They have small hard beans of a grey colour which they boil. The giraumon also grows here. It is cooked with pistachio-nuts and pimento. This last plant, so common in hot countries, does not thrive well here; the inhabitants therefore purchase it in their journeys to the south, where they also procure a long kind of pepper which they are very fond of. They call it cani, the name of the place whence it is brought, and merchants carry this pepper to Jenné to exchange it for salt.
The most common distempers at Timé are ophthalmia, eruptive sores, swellings of the neck and throat, fevers and leprosy. Scurvy also makes its appearance sometimes. I never saw any deformed person in these parts. Colds are very common.
CHAPTER XIV.
Departure from Timé, January 9th, 1829. — The name of Kong, applied by Mungo Park to a chain of mountains, is a generic term. — Use of bells in caravans. — Loubakho. — Cacoron. — Dancing and music of the Bambaras. — Sananso. — Dhio. — The oil palm-tree. — Talé. — Customs of the inhabitants. — Borandou. — Grotesque mask. — Tangrera.
On the 9th of January, after a slight repast of yams, which the old negress prepared for us, we got ready to leave Timé. I made my hostess a handsome present, which she received with pleasure, and I also gave Baba some merchandise, which I had promised him, as a compensation for the time I had stayed with him.
About nine o’clock in the morning we left the village, after taking leave of the good old chief, who wished us a prosperous journey.
My guide brought his wife to carry my baggage, which had now become very light, and his brother Baba was to accompany us a short distance on the road. We directed our course to the S.S.E. and gained the foot of the chain of mountains, which is composed of masses of granite. In crossing this chain, I observed several trees growing among the rocks, principally the cé. Numerous springs rise in the mountains and fertilize the country, the soil of which, composed of black mould mixed with grey sand, is exceedingly fertile. The country was stripped of all its charms: the grass was burned up, the trees had lost half their foliage, and the birds had flown from the woods to the margins of the streams. All was sad and desolate, and the dreary appearance of the hills of granite augmented the sombre effect of the scene. We entered a Bambara village named Dsagoé, where I saw several fine plantations of tobacco, of which the inhabitants consume a great quantity. We rested for a moment under the shade of a bombax, and refreshed ourselves with a calabashful of water, given to us by the inhabitants, who pressed eagerly round me, and kept their eyes fixed upon me. The morning’s journey had fatigued me, for I was still weak, and could scarcely walk; which sufficiently proved that, if I had followed my inclination to set off sooner, I should not have been able to accomplish the journey. We took our leave of these inquisitive people, and proceeded towards the S.E. over a country covered with large rocks of quartz. We saw some Bambaras preparing the ground for the purpose of planting yams.
After proceeding about ten miles, we arrived about two o’clock in the afternoon at Kimba, a small village where the caravan bound to Jenné was waiting. At the distance of about two miles from this village there is a chain of mountains extending from N.E. to S.W. and as high as those we crossed in the morning. I at first imagined that these might be the Kong mountains, mentioned by Mungo Park, though it is impossible to suppose that he saw them, as they are low, and at a considerable distance from Ségo. I may also observe that Kong is not the name, which the natives give to these mountains, for among the Mandingoes, Kong or Kongké signifies mountain. Park, no doubt, confounded the general with the particular name. The country is entirely covered with hills. In the village I saw some tobacco growing. As my breakfast had been but slight, I went up to a Bambara, whom I saw sitting in his hut with a calabash of yams, and asked him to sell me a few of them for some glass trinkets which I shewed him. The good negro immediately took out a handful of yams, which he put into a calabash with some sauce, and gave it to me. I presented him with some glass beads in payment, which he was at first reluctant to accept, but I forced him to take them as a present for his wife. At night-fall he paid me a visit at my hut, and made me a present of a very large yam.
With the exception of the good old chief at Timé, who was, indeed, of the Bambara nation, no inhabitants of that village ever paid me so much civility, during the time I stayed there.
In the village of Kimba I saw several men, assembled under a tree, playing at various games, which I had seen played by the negroes of the Senegal. Small holes made in the sand served for a chess-board, and bits of wood, five inches long, for the men. In this village I saw, for the first time since I left Fouta-Dhialon, the women sitting with the men, and mixing in their conversation, while employed in spinning cotton. The Mandingo women do not enjoy this privilege. Baba’s brother prepared us an excellent supper of rice, and sauce made of pistachio-nuts, with some salt to render it more palatable.
On the 10th of January, about nine in the morning, the caravan prepared to depart. The women, with heavy loads of colats on their heads, took the lead, followed by the men, similarly laden. They all had a bell hung at their breasts; some had as many as a dozen attached to different parts of their dress. These appendages produce a deafening jingle, which highly pleases the negroes. They were all armed with bows and arrows, and marched in a file like a procession. The chiefs and the proprietors of merchandise leading the asses, closed the rear.
On leaving the village, Baba quitted us: he did not appear much affected at our separation; however, he recommended me to his brother, to whom I promised to make a handsome present on arriving at Jenné, and I placed my baggage on his ass. The negroes give several names to this city: they call it Dhienné, and often Dhiendé.
We advanced to the S.E., crossing several large rivulets, which delayed us some time, for the asses threw their loads off their backs, and the negroes were obliged to push them forward to make them advance. At length we entered the village of Zangouiriré, which contains from three to four hundred inhabitants, of the Bambara race, the only people met with on this road as far as Jenné. We continued our journey over a level country: the soil was fertile, and composed of grey sand, mixed with black earth. We had a chain of low hills both to the right and left of our road. Every minute the asses were throwing off their loads, which caused great trouble and delay. Among the female slaves who accompanied our caravan, I observed with pain, girls of twelve or fifteen years old carrying heavy loads of colats on their heads. The poor creatures were unable to endure the fatigue, and sometimes let their burthens fall. The heat was excessive, and an easterly wind annoyed us extremely; we had, however, the comfort every now and then of getting some water to quench our thirst. In about an hour and a half, we arrived at Dioumiégué, having travelled nine miles. The women belonging to the caravan had gone a little in advance, and prepared dinner for the men, who had no sooner come up, than they fell to eating, and then they lay down to rest themselves. The people came in crowds to look at me. They appeared very gentle and refrained from importuning me. Some of them made my guide presents of yams, which we ate for supper; others gave him colat-nuts. In the village I observed many small herds of oxen and cows. The latter are not milked.
We quitted Dioumiégué on the 11th of January, at six o’clock in the morning, after paying our passage-money to the chief. We kept to the east along a very fertile plain, where I perceived some husbandmen planting yams. Leaving the plain, we crossed a chain of hills, composed of large blocks of granite, intermixed with white quartz, veined with bright rose-colour. We crossed many small rivulets, which made a thousand windings in the passes of the mountains. We travelled two miles to the east, along very difficult roads, and then descended into a plain well cropped with yams, and thronged with people engaged in agricultural labour. After proceeding about ten miles in the same direction, we arrived about noon at Sinisso, where we halted. This village is surrounded by a wall, and contains about a hundred huts. My umbrella, which my guide displayed to the notice of the inhabitants, greatly excited their curiosity. The hut where we lodged was full of visiters the whole evening: for those who had obtained a sight of the wonder eagerly told their companions, who came running in their turn to behold it. They could not understand how the machine could be made to open and shut at pleasure. They called it a libri, a word in their language, signifying a hat; but notwithstanding their curiosity, they were far from being so troublesome as the Mandingoes.
At this season of the year, the women cook in the open air. For this purpose they kindle fires in their yards, round which the men sit and take their meals. They all invited me to partake of their supper of boiled yams.
On the 12th of January, at five in the morning, after paying for our lodging, we left this village, and directed our course to the N.E., over a soil consisting of a mixture of earth and gravel, but which is, nevertheless, very fertile. Having proceeded about four miles, we arrived at Salasso, through which we passed without stopping. Again continuing our course for four miles, we arrived about the middle of the day at Loubakho, where we halted. Loubakho is a large walled village, containing from six to seven hundred inhabitants. It is situated in a beautiful plain of very rich grey sand. About six or seven miles N.E. of the village, there is a high pointed mountain, which extends N.W. and E.S.E. The inhabitants of Loubakho keep some horned cattle, and they brought us milk, which we purchased with glass beads. In the afternoon I received a visit from a saracolet, who had come from Sambatikila and was proceeding to Jenné. As it is the custom in this country to make some presents to visiters, I directed my guide to give him in my name some colat-nuts, for which he overwhelmed him with acknowledgments. I also gave my guide a bit of coloured stuff to make him a cap. In the evening I purchased a large fowl for our supper. My guide gave it to his woman to cook; and after boiling it, she made a very good sauce of the liquor with pistachios, and a little salt for seasoning. I expressed a wish that we should partake of the fowl together. The Mandingoes, however, out of respect declined taking any. This was an instance of self-denial, which I was far from expecting. In the evening it lightened in the west. The day had been extremely hot, but during the night I could bear my woollen wrapper.
On the 13th, at four in the morning, we prepared to depart; but, before I proceed farther, I will endeavour to give a description of the whole economy of our caravan. It was composed of from forty to fifty Mandingoes, and thirty-five women, all carrying loads on their heads. There were eight chiefs leading their asses, about fifteen in number. With these chiefs were their slaves and women, whose business it was to carry the baggage and cook at every halt for the whole caravan. The women always proceeded first, and the men in the rear. The ringing of their bells gave notice of their approach. The Mandingoes are very fond of bells, the jingling of which diverts them on their journey. They make these bells themselves of iron and copper, which they purchase at Jenné, and in other markets on the banks of the Dhioliba, where they likewise procure bells ready made. On arriving at a village, the women of the caravan fetch water and bruise the millet for dinner. This meal being over, they prepare warm water for the men’s baths: the water is heated in large vessels, which they borrow from the people of the village where they stop. This task being ended, they again set about bruising millet for supper. It is the business of the slaves to procure fire-wood for cooking. The free negroes are exempted from all this trouble; they lie down and rest themselves until their meals are ready: they then go through the village with their calabashes, containing colats, which they exchange with the inhabitants for cowries. With these they purchase grain for the supply of the caravan. The women employ their leisure moments in spinning cotton, which they purchase with the colats given to them by their husbands. I have seen them spin by the light of a lamp fed with vegetable butter; the produce of this labour is their own little perquisite. On their arrival at Jenné, they sell their spun cotton for cowries, with which they buy salt and glass trinkets. The women likewise wash the men’s clothes. The men, as soon as they have rested themselves, inspect the loads of colats, especially those which during the journey have fallen from the asses’ backs. They cover the fruit with fresh leaves, in order to keep it cool; they then go into the village to dispose of their cloth; they also settle the payment of the passage money; for all foreign merchants, however numerous they may be, are obliged in every place they halt to pay for the whole of the company, a small tax, the amount of which sometimes varies, but is generally about twenty colats for each load: these twenty colats are worth two hundred cowries, (about twenty sous, French money). When the caravan is numerous, which often happens, for it gains accessions on the road, some person who has but a small load goes forward, and arrives first in the village to procure lodgings for his companions; he then deposits his load and returns to meet his friends, whom he directs to their respective destinations. Those who do not adopt this prudent precaution have the trouble of seeking through the village for a place to put up at, and are often obliged to proceed farther. It is customary for the parties who first reach the village to return and help the others with their burdens, especially when the journey has been long.
On the 13th of January, we set out at four o’clock in the morning, in order to take advantage of the cool air. We proceeded to the N.E. for the distance of four miles, over a soil composed of very hard grey sand. The country was pretty flat, with the exception of some granite blocks, rising six or seven feet above the ground. The cé was very abundant, but the nédé much less common than in the parts through which we had previously journeyed. We passed near Couraniso, and then the road became rather stony. We went on for five miles more without seeing the least trace of cultivation, and at ten o’clock in the morning arrived at Cacoron, where we halted. This village contains from five to six hundred inhabitants, to whom I was an object of great curiosity. As I had not yet breakfasted, I went to a Bambara woman, who was pounding boiled yams; I bought some of her for a few glass beads, and she gave me separately, in a small pot, some gombo sauce. On dipping my yams into this sauce, I discovered, to my great mortification, some little paws, and immediately ascertained that the sauce was made of mice; however, I was hungry, and I continued my meal, though, I must confess, not without some feelings of disgust. The negroes, when they take their yams without sauce, never mash them: those which I bought from the negress were ready prepared. In the evening I saw many women chopping mice to make sauce for their suppers. I observed that they gut the animals, and, without taking the trouble of skinning them, merely draw them across the fire to singe off the hair: thus prepared, they lay them in a corner of the hut, and it is not unusual to keep them there for seven or eight days before they are cooked. The mice, which make their way into the jars of millet, are caught by the women and children without the aid of traps.
Though there is abundance of poultry at Cacoron, yet the negroes eat it only on holidays. I wanted to buy some, but could find nobody inclined to sell any. An old Bambara made me a present of some pistachios and a yam. I found the people here more hospitable than they had been represented to me. I am convinced that a European, travelling in a plain, unostentatious style, would experience no annoyance, that is, if he were not imprudent enough to display any valuable goods; in this case, he would run the risk of being robbed: but I am far from believing that these kind-hearted and simple people would be guilty of any cruelty towards a traveller.
The neighbourhood of Cacoron is covered with cés and nédés. The inhabitants make a great quantity of butter, which they sell to strangers. I scarcely ever saw so gay a people as the Bambaras. At sunset they assemble under the great bombaces, at the entrance of the village, and dance all night to music which is not unpleasant. Attracted by this music, I stopped to observe their gambols, and was highly entertained. I was with a young Mandingo belonging to our caravan, who was particularly attentive to me. Men and women mingled together formed a large circle round a fire, jumping and keeping time to a band of music, consisting of three great drums and several hautboys. The musicians were dressed like those of Timé, having white cotton mantles, and ostrich-feathers on their heads. The dancers kept time with the music by a careless kind of motion of their arms and heads. The women had pieces of cotton cloth, which they held at both ends and waved in the air. The only figure of the dance consisted in going round the fire. The musicians kept themselves a little aloof, while the dancers, following each other in a file, went round the fire, leaping and shaking their legs about. I was much amused with this dance, in which there was nothing indecent, but I could not stay to look at it as long as I could have wished, for the capering of two or three hundred negroes raised an insufferable dust.
Throughout the whole of Bambara, and, according to the account of some negroes, even to a considerable distance south of Cacoron, the same music prevails. It is certainly one of the best and most agreeable I heard during my travels among the negroes. These people spend the greater part of the night in dancing; their dispositions are gentle and humane, and they are content with the present, without troubling themselves about the future. They have scarcely any clothing, generally wearing a sort of girdle, ornamented with cowries, which, after going round the waist and between the legs, is brought up in front to tie. To these girdles are attached fringes of cotton, which descend to the knee. The old men wear the usual pagne, and generally in the most filthy state. The women likewise wear pagnes, which are tied round their loins, and descend to their knees; they plat their hair in tresses, and rub their bodies all over with butter. The men shave their heads, like the Mahometans; but some tufts of hair are left, varying in size, according to the fancy of the wearer. Their skin is of the same colour as that of the Foulahs of the Wassoulo, and like them they have aquiline noses, thin lips, woolly hair, and sharp-pointed teeth; they make incisions on their faces and bodies.
In this country they make a sort of beer, or hydromel, of fermented millet and honey. They are very fond of this liquor which they drink till they intoxicate themselves.
On the 14th January, at five in the morning, we left the cheerful inhabitants of Cacaron, and proceeded three miles to the east over a level country, the soil of which was composed of very hard grey sand. We came to a mountain of black granite entirely barren. It extends north and south, and is about two hundred and fifty paces high. We advanced five miles further in the same direction. On the way we passed some large blocks of black granite.
About nine in the morning we halted at Tisso-Soman, a pretty village, lying between two small hills of very pale granite. In the centre of this village I saw a number of wells seven or eight feet in depth. The ground in which they are dug consists of sand mixed with coarse grey gravel, and at the bottom of the wells is some grey clayey earth, with pieces of rock, the nature of which I was unable to determine. The clay is of a whitish grey, and very slippery. I was unable to judge of its quantity by what was thrown up and left round the edge of the wells. The water was very good; but rather white in colour.
The women of the caravan seated themselves round these wells to wash their millet.
After a light breakfast, consisting of tau and a bad sauce made of herbs, we left the village. About two o’clock we took an easterly direction, and proceeded about six miles, over a soil similar to that which I last described. Our progress was somewhat impeded by large blocks of granite, which we encountered at every step, and on either side of us were small hills of the same material. At sunset we halted at Sananso, a large walled village, containing seven or eight hundred inhabitants. I seated myself near a hut, to rest after my fatigue; but the chief of the village invited me to sit by him, on some large clumps of wood, raised a little above the ground and placed near the door of his hut. Above these seats there was a sort of canopy, made of branches of trees. The chief had a little fire beside his seat, and the smoke was so disagreeable that I could not stay longer than a few minutes. He asked me some questions concerning the whites and their mode of living, and seemed satisfied with my answers.
The village is situated in a large, well cultivated, and fertile plain. At a little distance from it there is a mountain of granite entirely barren. In this village we met a caravan of Mandingoes, some of whom were going to Jenné and others to Sansanding. Some were laden with cloth, and some with colat-nuts. The chief of the village assigned to me a hut built of earth, the only one in the place, the others being all of straw. He had a fire kindled, and requested me to go in and lie down: but, on entering, I was nearly suffocated. The hut had a flat roof covered with earth, and the smoke, being unable to obtain a vent above, had no outlet but the door. Straw huts are not subject to this inconvenience. I speedily retired from this oven in which I could not breathe, and prepared to pass the night in the open air; but my guide, being informed of the reason which prevented me from remaining in the hut, explained the circumstance to the chief, who immediately selected another lodging for me, where I passed the night with a Mandingo belonging to our caravan. Some strangers sent us a little supper very well cooked.
On the 15th of January, at six in the morning, we proceeded northward about seven miles, among rocks of granite on a fertile soil composed of sand. I observed the cé and the nédé in great abundance and the land well cultivated. About eleven o’clock we arrived at Dhio, a large walled village, containing about eight or nine hundred inhabitants. On entering the place, I observed a number of women assembled in a spot which seemed to be set aside for their recreation. Some were nursing their children who were quite naked, and others were asleep. The old men have also a place where they assemble to smoke their pipes, and where they spend a great part of the day. It is called the banancoro, as among the Mandingoes. I also saw some tobacco plantations in the little gardens adjoining the huts. The village is disgustingly dirty.
At six in the morning of the 16th, we prepared to depart. On going out I saw some palm-trees of the species which produces oil. They are not by far so thriving here as on the coast. We proceeded E.N.E. over a very fertile soil, consisting of grey sand mixed with fine gravel. The country was woody; I observed some tamarind-trees and many cés. About nine in the morning, after travelling six miles and a half, we reached Niourot, a little village, where we could purchase nothing but with cowries, which are the current money among all the inhabitants of upper Bambara. They receive them from the European merchants who trade on the western coasts, and from the Moors on the shores of the Mediterranean. The cowries are just beginning to be current in this part of the country. The price of a fowl is eighty cowries. In the language of the country kémé signifies eighty, and to express a hundred the people say eighty and twenty, or kémé nimouya[58].
We were lodged in a very large hut where I saw, not without astonishment, two seats resembling sofas, each made out of the trunk of a tree. I regarded them as curiosities among a people who have no carpenter’s tools. The legs, the arms, and the back, were all made out of one piece of wood, which was of a red colour and very hard. These sofas were really executed with some taste; they must have been a work of considerable time, but in those countries time is not so valuable as with us. The people have no other tools than small hatchets and poniards.
I observed that our host kept about a dozen little dogs, which, when sufficiently fattened, were destined for food. He had also a number of chickens; he fed them with termites, which his children brought from the fields. In general I did not see in this part of the country those great hills of the white ant (termites) which are found on the shores of the Senegal, where they are sometimes eight or nine feet high; those which I saw here are not more than eighteen inches or two feet high. In this village all the heads of families have huts or cabins built of earth, like that which the chief of Sananso allotted to me. The women’s huts are of straw. We procured a little millet for our supper, for which we paid in colat-nuts. The wells are at a little distance from the village, and, if I may judge from the rope used for drawing up the water, they are not above twelve, or fifteen feet deep.
At half past six, on the morning of the 17th of January, we took leave of our host, whom we had taken care to pay on the preceding evening.
On leaving the village we met several Bambaras, who had about twenty dogs tied to a single cord; these animals were, I was informed, going to be fattened. As soon as they saw us they saluted us with such a loud barking that we could not hear ourselves speak. Our road lay to the N.N.E. and we passed a large village, the name of which I could not learn. We continued to travel over a soil composed of grey sand; the vegetation was the same as it had been for several preceding days. After travelling about eleven miles, we halted about eleven o’clock in the morning at Talé, a village containing three or four hundred inhabitants. They gave us several huts to lodge in. The huts in this village are not so large as in those which we had previously passed through; but they are of the same form. I walked through the streets, which are narrow and dirty. My appearance excited the curiosity of the Bambaras, but they did not annoy me. The women, who were exceedingly dirty, have all a bit of calabash, or a thin slip of wood, stuck into the under lip. I could scarcely persuade myself that this was a mere matter of taste, and questioned my guide upon the subject: he assured me that it was the fashion of the country. I was equally at a loss to conceive how this bit of wood, which was merely stuck through the lip, could keep its place. The women allowed me to see that this curious ornament was brought through to the inner part of the lip, and they laughed heartily at my astonishment. I asked one of them to remove the piece of wood from her lip; but she told me that if she did so the saliva would run through the hole. In short, I was quite amazed that coquetry could induce them to disfigure themselves in this manner; yet it is the general custom of this country. I saw young girls eight or ten years of age, who had in their lower lip little pieces of wood of the circumference of a pen, pointed at one end and stuck into the flesh. They renew it frequently, and every time use a larger bit of wood, which gradually widens the hole, until it becomes large enough to admit a piece of wood of the size of a half-crown piece. I observed that this singular and inconvenient ornament contributed to their uncleanliness.
The old men are provided with a bull’s tail for the purpose of driving away the flies, which are very numerous and troublesome in this country. I did not see in this part of Africa any of those musquitoes which are so tormenting to travellers in the neighbourhood of the Senegal.
The inhabitants of this village are kind, affable, and hospitable: they invited me to partake of their little suppers of yams and mouse sauce.
Their huts are small and dirty. They cultivate rice and yams; their crops usually remain in the fields all the dry season, and when the rains commence they remove them to little straw store-houses, which are erected in the middle of the court-yards. The people are poor; they possess but few slaves, and scanty herds and flocks; but their soil, being fertile and well cultivated, yields them more than they want. I saw but few horses, and these were miserable-looking animals. I did not observe that the inhabitants of this village worship a deity. Like the people of Wassoulo, they have no religion; but they entertain a high respect for the disciples of Mahomet and the Koran, which they regard as a sort of magic. They always wear saphies,[59] suspended from their necks and different parts of their bodies. They hang them up at the entrance of their huts, as a protection against fire, thieves, and other accidents.
Throughout all this part of the country there are Mandingo villages, the inhabitants of which are Mahometans. They are independent of the Bambaras, as at Timé, Sambatikila, Tangrera, and other villages further southward. The Bambaras call them Diaulas or Jaulas, and though they might, owing to their superiority of numbers, molest them if they chose, yet they refrain from doing so, and go to their villages to sell them the superfluous produce of their harvest. The Bambaras, in general, speak the Mandingo language; but they have a particular dialect, which, owing to the rapidity with which I travelled among them, I had no opportunity of learning. This country is at the distance of a month’s journey from Ségo; but it is independent of the latter. It is governed by a number of petty chiefs, who receive provisions by way of tribute; but they are moderate in their exactions, as they know the poverty of their subjects. The Mandingoes look upon the Bambaras as great thieves; yet the little store-houses which stand defenceless in their yards are always respected. But the Bambaras, like their accusers, whenever they see glass trinkets, scissors, knives, or locks and keys, things which to them are as valuable as gold, cannot resist the desire of possessing them; and, being too poor to buy, they endeavour to obtain what they want, not by force but by cunning. Throughout all the country I did not see a woman with ear-rings or a gold necklace. All their ornaments consist of the glass trinkets, which they procure from the merchants who come from Jenné. My guide, Karamo-osila, advised me not to shew them the contents of my bag; but I had no need of this advice. I should have taken good care not to open it in their presence, for, notwithstanding my good opinion of the people of these parts, I had no inclination to put their honesty to the test.
On the 18th of January, at six in the morning, we again set out, and travelled nine miles and a half northward. The soil still continued gravelly and the vegetation unvaried. About ten o’clock we arrived at Borandou, a village containing four or five hundred inhabitants. The huts are chiefly built of earth and have terraced roofs, which render them very inconvenient, because the smoke has no outlet but the door. The streets are dirty, narrow and crooked. There is a market twice a week for the strangers who happen to be in the neighbourhood, and whenever caravans pass another market is opened for the sale of provisions. I exchanged a few glass beads for some cowries, with which I purchased a little milk. This refreshed me, for it was long since I had tasted any. I saw some women in the streets carrying things to sell, which they cried, as in our European towns. I also observed that the Bambaras hang on the outside of their huts the heads of all the animals they eat; this is looked upon as a mark of grandeur. Every morning when they go to the fields they carry fire with them for roasting yams. They drink river water, and when they think they cannot obtain it, they bring water from the wells in calabashes. In the evening I was looking attentively at an old woman who had a piece of calabash in her lip, and I again reflected on the singularity of the custom; she and her companions laughed at my astonishment, and when I rose to go away she beckoned me to stop for a moment, and fetched me a yam of which she made me a present.
The inhabitants of this village make earthen pots. Their wells are ten or twelve feet deep, and the ground in which they are dug is gravelly. They contain good water, of a whitish colour.
At three o’clock in the afternoon we left the village of Borandou. We proceeded northward, to the distance of six miles, over a beautiful open country. In a plain at some distance from the village I saw many large ronniers, or rondiers. The cé was also very abundant. About sun-set we arrived at Syenso a large village, surrounded by walls, and containing a population of about six or seven hundred. On entering it I saw under a large baobab a man singularly dressed. The whole of his body was covered except his hands and feet. His dress was entirely black, and his trowsers, his waistcoat, and the cap, which covered his face as well as his head, appeared to be all in one piece. The cap, which was of a square shape, was adorned with beautiful white ostrich-feathers and on the part which came over his face, like a mask, the eyes, nose and mouth were marked with scarlet. I was informed that this man was a sort of revenue officer and magistrate, and that he was the collector of the passage duties. He was armed with a whip and the inhabitants give him the name of Naferi. All the strangers of the neighbourhood, as well as the caravans which come to the village, pay the passage duties in cowries. The men and women stopped as they passed him, and if any refused to pay the required contribution he had recourse to his whip. Under a tree at a little distance from him I observed a great heap of cowries, which were guarded by a man not masked; they were, I suppose, the day’s receipts. The tax is levied according to the quantity of merchandise, and varies from five to a hundred or two hundred cowries. As the market of Syenso is always well supplied, the duties paid by the traders render the chief of the village very rich.
These custom-house officers are also entrusted with the police of the village. They run, cracking their whips, after the children who make a noise in the streets; but they do not exercise their authority unless when they wear their uniforms. Our caravan was not stopped at the place where the passage money is usually received; but when we arrived, the officers came round to collect the duties. The masked officer looked at me with astonishment, and pointing at me with his finger, asked the other travellers, who the white man was. He continued pointing at me until I was at a considerable distance from him, as if he could not recover from his surprise.
About six o’clock on the morning of the 19th of January, we set off, taking a north-easterly direction. We travelled about seven miles over a soil composed of a mixture of sand and gravel; but very fertile. I remarked several fields which had been recently sown. The country is very open. On the road we found at least three hundred persons going to the market of Tangrera, where we arrived about nine in the morning. At at little distance from the village I saw a man dressed precisely like the officer of customs, whom I had seen the day before at Syenso. He pointed at me with his finger and seemed as much astonished as the other had been. The negroes threw cowries to him, which he counted very carefully, and when the payments were incorrect he seemed very much disposed to use his whip. Tangrera is resorted to by numbers of strangers and is a place of active trade, so that the duties levied by the chief on merchandise produce a considerable revenue. Every day a vast concourse of people repair to the market, which is also visited by caravans from the south, as well as from Ségo, Yamina, and Kayaye. They bring salt, which they exchange for colat-nuts and the cloth of the country.
Tangrera is a sort of entrepôt for these goods. The traders who come directly from the south, and do not wish to go as far as the banks of the Dhioliba, transact business in this town.
At Tangrera an unforseen disappointment occurred to me. My guide, on his arrival, took care to ascertain the value of merchandise. He learned that at Jenné colat-nuts were of very little value, and he consequently determined to proceed by way of Sansanding. I was much vexed when he informed me of this resolution, for I was very reluctant to venture either into that town or Ségo, in both which places I thought I was likely to meet with some unpleasant adventure. I knew that several Europeans had travelled in those parts, and, therefore, there was reason to fear that the inhabitants had become somewhat suspicious. Besides, that direction did not correspond with my plans, on account of the war between Jenné and Ségo, which intercepted all communication between the two countries.
I accordingly resolved to remain at Tangrera, until I should find an opportunity of going to Jenné. My guide accompanied me to the chief, to whom the old chief of Timé had recommended me. I was also accompanied by a saracolet of the country, who had travelled long among the Moors. He spoke the Moorish language very well, and he told me that he had been at El-Arawan, which they call Arawani.
Before I visited the chief, who is of the Bambara sect, I had had a conversation with the saracolet. He advised me to say that I was poor, and the lightness of my baggage, which was carried by my guide, sufficiently proved the truth of the assertion. By way of precaution, I took off my girdle, which contained some pieces of money, for I was afraid that the chief would examine my property. The chief was a venerable-looking old man. We found him lying upon a bullock’s hide, which was spread upon the ground, beneath a large bombax. He was superintending some labourers, who were employed in building huts. One of his brothers, a Mandingo converted to Mahometanism, accompanied us. My guide presented me to the chief, observing that the chief of Timé had requested him to receive me kindly. He then briefly related my adventures, the way in which I had been captured and brought up by the christians, and finally my abode of five months with his brother Baba at Timé. He described in feeling terms the illness and suffering I had undergone. The chief was so old that he could not speak to me; but he manifested his friendly feeling towards me by signs. When I was taking my leave of him he promised to forward me on the first opportunity. I was quartered with a saracolet, whom I supposed to be a Musulman. He had been so formerly, but since his return from his travels he had been in the habit of drinking the beer of the country. He lodged me in a neat little hut, and ordered one of his wives to prepare for me a dinner of rice, with pistachio sauce, and I gave the cook a little salt to season it. My host took me out to shew me the village; he conducted me to some Mahometan Mandingoes, whom I found assembled in large earth-built houses, which served as places of rendezvous for the men, and schools for the Musulman children. There are several of these places in the village. When I entered some were employed in making pagnes, and others in reading the Koran. They immediately laid aside their occupations, and I became the subject of conversation. They made me seat myself beside them on a bullock’s hide, and they sent for a Moor who had come from Sansanding with a caravan of salt, which he wished to exchange for colats.
This Moor was of a very dark complexion. He said that he was a native of Waleth. He asked me many questions about my country and my parents. He inquired their names, which I immediately invented. I told him that my father was named Mohammed-Abdoulkerim, and my mother Mariam, and that my father was a merchant at Alexandria. He asked me whether they were still living. This question was most absurd, as I had just told him that I had left my country in my earliest childhood. I repeated this statement, and he replied—“Since you do not know whether your parents are living, why are you going back to your country? You might as well profess your religion in any other.” I replied that I hoped to find a brother who would, doubtless, make over to me part of the property left by my parents. I added that the delay which I had experienced in prosecuting my journey was a great disappointment to me, and that I wished to avoid travelling during the ensuing rains. He asked me why I did not go to Sansanding. I observed that that would take me considerably out of my road, and might prevent me from reaching Jenné, whither I wished to go. He confirmed the report I had heard of the war between Ségo and Jenné; “but,” added he, “you might by the road I have mentioned proceed to El-Arawan and thence to Mecca.” He likewise told me that all the caravans destined for Jenné had set out, and that I was likely to remain at Tangrera a considerable time before I might find a favourable opportunity to depart. He then left me, and in a few moments returned, bringing a large piece of salt and eighty cowries, which he begged me to accept, observing that I should find salt very dear on the road. The Mandingoes, by signs, expressed their approbation of this generous conduct. This little present was very agreeable to me, for it served to assure me that, even if my resources were exhausted, I should find charitable persons inclined to assist me. My host took me to the market, where I saw a great concourse of people. The market was well supplied with all the necessaries of life, such as rice, yams, foigné, butter, animal and vegetable, salt, snuff, cloths, colats, dried fish, calabashes, butcher’s meat, poultry, and also bullocks and sheep. I observed too, some European articles, glass-beads, gunpowder, flints, &c. I saw many women in the market, with flat earthen plates, in which they sold cakes fried in vegetable butter. These cakes are called maumies. They are sold for cowries, the only current money of the country. Cowry is called kaulo in the language of the natives. I observed in the neighbourhood of the market-place several poor creatures, sitting at the corners of streets, asking charity. I had not seen such a thing as a regular beggar since my departure from the coast. We sat down for a few moments in the shop of a tobacco-dealer, where a great number of people were assembled. He had beside him a heap of cowries, amounting, perhaps, to thirty thousand. These were his day’s receipts. He offered me a little snuff; I thanked him, but observed, that I did not take it. This seemed to astonish him, for the practice of snuff-taking is universal in the village. Throughout almost all Africa, the Mandingoes are the only people who do not smoke. I never saw a woman use a pipe. The snuff which I saw in the tobacconist’s shop smelt very well, and, unlike the usual snuff of the country, it was of a light chesnut colour; that which I saw in the other villages was green, and had but a faint smell.
Both the men and women who were at the market seemed better dressed and cleaner than those I had seen on the road from Timé. Very few of the women had their lips pierced.
On returning to my hut, I saw three men masked, like those I have already described. They were running after the children, who were endeavouring to escape from them.
In the evening, I went to see Karamo-osila, and asked him to pay me for the gunpowder which I had sold at Timé, for the celebration of the dégué-sousou. It was he who had undertaken to pay me. He informed me that he could not pay me in cowries, as had been agreed, because the colats did not sell very well; but that he would give me merchandise for the value. After a moment’s reflection, he added, that I had sold my powder too dear, and that I ought to be satisfied with eighty colat-nuts, which were at that time equivalent to half a gourde. This did not astonish me, for it was what I expected. The Mandingoes are invariably dishonest in their dealings with strangers, especially when they know that they are not running any risk by so doing. I complained not of this injustice: I knew that my complaints would be useless. He directed his slaves to select eighty small colats, and he gave them to me in exchange for my powder, which might fairly have been estimated at double that value. He assured me, that he was sorry to leave me at Tangrera, where I knew nobody, and that he should feel pleasure in conducting me to Sansanding, if I would go with him. He said he no longer regarded me as a stranger, since I had lived five months with his brother, who had recommended me to him.