[278] The cowrie-shells fished up at Luanda Island (the old “treasury” of the Kings of Kongo) are called njimbu in Angola, but nsungu in Kongo. Njimbu in Kongo means beads, or money generally, and hence the author’s “gullgimbo” evidently stands for ngulu anjimbu, red beads.
[279] Npuku, a field mouse.
[280] Crimbo (kirimbo) seems to be a corruption of the Portuguese carimbo, a stamp.
[281] The Rev. Thomas Lewis suggests: Mundele ke sumbanga ko, kadi wan bele-bele; that is, “The white men do not buy, but they have gone away in a hurry.”
[282] Nlele, the general name for European cloth. They do make cloth from the inner bark of the banyan tree (see p. 18, note).
[283] Mukaji; wife, woman, concubine.
[284] The “fishes” are no doubt molluscs.
[285] The King at the time of Knivet’s alleged visit was Alvaro II.
[286] The Vangala, spelt Bengala lower down, seems to represent the Imbangolas of Battell, more generally known as Jagas (see p. 84, note)
[287] D. Alvaro sent several embassies to Europe, but never a brother of his. The most famous of these ambassadors was Duarte Lopez, who was at Rome in 1590.