It does not appear,—at least, we could not make out from them,—that they recognise one God as the essence of all that is good and beautiful, who punishes and rewards; but neither do they worship idols, for that, I believe, I have fully ascertained. They treat one another with frank brotherly love, stand embracing each other, divide the fruits given to them, assist in embarking and disembarking from the vessels to the shore; and all this in an affectionate manner. But yet they must have their peculiar ideas of friends and enemies, of injuries and revenge, and be drawn to commit acts, which we can scarcely imagine, when we see such an apparently harmless people of nature.
Skill in arms, which is generally not to be despised, is an accomplishment most desirable of all to a man living in a state of nature. The first things he seeks are weapons against the wild beasts; the fist, therefore, which Nature has given for seizing and striking, is used for this purpose. The first weapon is the club: even the poorest person here carries this instrument of defence. Then man learns to know the different arms of animals,—the eye, tooth, and the horn; therefore, we see here some of the clubs pointed at one end, in order to cut into the enemy’s ribs in case of necessity, directly the blow from it is parried by the shield or casque. The stone, used by monkeys, and especially by the large cynocephali, for defence, as I was convinced, perforce, in the country of the Troglodytes, among the rocks of Kàffela el Lus, and which the modern Greeks are especially expert in throwing, does not appear to be used here as an instrument of warfare. Iron spears and darts did not come till later, although they may have had them long previously of wood, such as we see even now. The most useful working implements, the knife, hatchet, &c., are next introduced; and from these also other weapons originate; the spear, not being fixed firmly on the shaft, became used as a two-edged knife, and the battle-axe might have followed the hatchet.
To speak of religious principles among these people would be out of place. Family love, the mutual living together, and the same customs and habits may form the basis of their moral principles, and be the first axiom of mutual forbearance. The first external sight which might produce, if not astonishment, at least a feeling of attachment and love, even to veneration, must be what makes a deep impression on the soul: for example, the sun and moon; or what gives sustenance, as the corn, for instance; or protection and comfort, as the shady tree, &c. The moon is, probably, in higher esteem here than the burning sun, although the latter was certainly very agreeable to the natives when they collected themselves before daybreak on the shore, and stood each by his little fire, kindled on account of the cold, and fed by the reed-stalks growing between their extended legs. I could not ascertain that there was such a veneration for these two heavenly bodies, nevertheless I believe as much from their expressions and narrations. Although these were only repeated to us in a fragmentary manner, and their explanation assisted by gestures, yet they shew that valour, like the virtus of the Romans, is the essence of all virtues, to which all others, springing from their pure uncorrupted nature, are subordinate.
The man wears the skin of the wild beasts he has slain, not as a covering, but as an ornament and triumphant spoil. If it were not so hot here, he would, like the ancient Germans, wear their scalp on his head as a war-cap. He carries the daring weapon of the wild boar killed by him—the tusk—upon a bracelet or frontlet. I saw also some wearing on the arm, as an ornament, an imitation of a boar’s tusk, made of ivory; and, as already mentioned, they have iron bulls’ horns on their bracelets. As the heads of these two animals so often appear as emblems in German escutcheons, so here also they are less considered as the memorials of dangers overcome than as signs of reverence or esteem of this valiant beast. If the rings with horns were more general, I should believe that, as the men on the White Stream display an uncommon love and affection for their cattle, they carried these horns, like the ancients did the phallus, as the attribute of fertility, unless the custom here had not the narrower signification of an Ethiopian Apis, or Father of Cattle.
In the meanwhile about fifteen hundred negroes may have been collected on the shore, not including those scattered on every side. They are armed without exception, and indeed with all their weapons,—a sight sending a thrill of horror through the veins of the Frenchmen and Turks, which is shewn plainly enough in various ways. They have only the consolation, and this ought to have prevented them before from feeling any fear at a danger not really existing—that we have, in truth, the grandees of the kingdom on board our vessels, and that they continue to be in the best humour, and certainly have no evil design, for Nature’s stamp imprinted on the human countenance cannot be deceptive here. Even Suliman Kashef has become quiet, and is perhaps turning over in his mind how he shall act in case of a sudden attack.
All the natives have set up their “hui ih!” several times, and at every time we stretch out our necks towards the neighbouring shore to see what is going on. This “hui ih” always resounds à tempo, as if at word of command; there must be therefore an analogous signal, though our ears cannot distinguish it over the water. It is a cry of joy intended for their Matta. We are still waiting for him, but in vain; and in the meantime we din the ears of our guests with drumming and fifing. They are also plied continually with sweets. Again and again they enjoy them, and do not prefer the sugar to the fruit, but eat slowly one after the other, as if they had been accustomed to them from youth upwards, and laugh and jest with us. We hear from them that the kingdom of Bari extends for four days’ journey down the river; that the latter is called, in their language, Tubirih, and has its origin at a long distance off, but they know not whether from the mountains or the valley. There are said to be several other nations on its shores,—a sign, perhaps, of the considerable distance of its sources. These tribes have also a different language, but there is no matta so powerful as Làkono; which saying, since we have been in the kingdom of Bari, they are never tired of repeating. The red Goliath lolls and stretches himself in the most comfortable manner, and the others also change their position from time to time, and do not remain, like pagodas or the Egyptian statues of kings, in the lazy repose called by the Turks kew. Dogalè is pleased at being measured; he is six feet six inches, Parisian measure, in height, with an unusual development in breadth, powerful shoulders, and a chest that might be used as an anvil. The two others, however, are not so large, although far overtopping us. The large brass bells, brought by us as presents for the cattle, pleased them very much, and they give us plainly to understand that they can hear the sound of such a bell at a distance.
We tell them that we want wood for our vessels; they shout to the people, but the latter appear to pay very little attention, or do not like to go away from our vessels, keeping a sharp look out on them, either from the interest of novelty, or in case of any future danger to their men; and perhaps, in this respect, they are not armed in vain. When our guests were repeatedly requested to procure wood, they tell us to fire among the people, even if we should kill a couple of men. They laugh whilst saying this, and it really appears that they do not believe in the possibility of shooting a man dead, and only wish to frighten their people by the report. They would have us, however, fire; and Selim Capitan therefore ordered his long gun to be handed him, and fired in the air close to them; they were dreadfully startled by the report, but immediately afterwards laughed, and wanted us to repeat it. This was done. I should have liked to have made a rough sketch of the group, but I was far too unwell, and very thankful even that I was able to sit, and write down on the spot what I heard and saw. A fine field was open here for a painter or sculptor; these colossal well-proportioned figures—no fat, all muscle—so that it was delightful to look at them, with the exception of the calves of their legs, which were formed like lumps of flesh. No beard is developed either in young or old, and yet it does not appear that they use a cosmetic to extirpate it. If Selim Capitan pleased them better with his smooth shaven chin, than the long-bearded Suliman Kashef, yet they exhibited a kind of horror when he shewed them his hairy breast, which perhaps appeared to them more fit for a beast than a man.
Therefore the supposition that they extract the four lower incisors not to be similar to beasts, has at least some apparent foundation, although the under jaw does not project, and, consequently, the lips are not made smaller by this extraction. Man here is always indeed elevated far above the beast, and needs, therefore, no such mutilation of the teeth. Our Dinkas, who themselves want the four lower incisors, have no other reason to allege for it, than that they do it to avoid the similarity to a beast, especially to the ass (Homàr), as is the general answer in Sennaar, to questions on this subject. The Turks take it for a kind of circumcision, just as we might suppose it meant a baptismal rite, being the sign of an act of incorporation by that means in a vast Ethiopian nation, divided now into several tribes. As this extraction of the teeth first takes place in boyhood, it might be considered to denote the commencement of manhood, and capability of bearing arms; but I have never heard of the ceremonies which would necessarily, if that were the fact, take place on the occasion. There is also another objection to this supposition, viz.,—that a similar operation is performed on the girls. With respect to the eyes, they are full and well formed, like those of all the negroes of the White River, but with a dirty yellow white, which, in the inhabitants of the marshes, is generally suffused with blood in a shocking manner.
At last then it was determined to fire off a cannon, to see what impression this thunder would make upon them. They sat upright upon their stools—off went the gun, and the princes nearly kissed the planks on the opposite side, as if they had been felled by a blow. They sat up, however, immediately again, laughing loudly all the time, and wanted us to fire again: their request was complied with, but they crouched down low again to the side, were uncommonly pleased, and requested one more repetition of this report. Not a negro, however, was to be seen on all the shore; and it was feared, with justice, that the Sultan, who could not be far off, might be struck by a panic and return: the firing was therefore discontinued.
Intelligence arrives that King Làkono will be with us about three o’clock in the afternoon; whereupon the blacks, being suitably clothed by us, and hung round with strings of beads, took their leave with the red Dogalè, all except Lombè, who is one of the king’s subjects, and a sheikh in a neighbouring district down the river. The latter is a very sensible, quiet man, with a more intellectual physiognomy than the others; the Turks give themselves all possible trouble to obtain information from him about the gold. He says that Mount Pelenja itself does not contain copper; that Làkono, however, has a good deal of copper in his house, brought from other mountains at a distance; that Làkono’s dress also came from this country, which is called Berri. Moreover, he took the gold bar shewn to him for a different species of copper; and, as he does not know how to distinguish gold, the latter may be found blended with copper in the royal treasury, and the mountains of Berri may be auriferous. The population is clearly very large, but he could not give us the number. He named several districts, part of which bore the names of the neighbouring mountains; and it almost seems to me as if there had been earlier independent tribes, who were first subdued by the great Làkono. He does not appear either to be a good royalist, and was evidently glad when the king’s sons had withdrawn; he then put on a familiar look, which their presence had hindered him from doing previously. There seems to be no doubt that this country is a central point of negro cultivation, although Berri and other succeeding countries, may be superior to the kingdom of Bari. I am curious about the Sultan’s dress. As Berri is said to lie to the east, perhaps it was not made there, but has come, by means of barter, from India. Lombè also went away richly decorated (for the Turks cannot contain themselves now at the idea of gold El Dahab), in order, probably, to meet the Sultan, or, perhaps, to get out of his sight with the treasures he had acquired.