Saturday, 11th.—More caboceers arrive to-day, attended by their wild-looking followers, armed with swords, bows, and arrows; they also, covered with dust and sweat, went through their prostrations before the fat eunuch; the attendants dancing in a circle, while occasionally one came out, and danced a movement in the minuet style; in doing which, he would frequently throw a somerset equally as expert as old Grimaldi himself in his best times. I sat for an hour and a half, during all which time the prostrations were continued without intermission, accompanied with the dancing and tumbling, without regard to the intense heat of the sun. I concluded that they were practising before the eunuch, in order to be perfect when they appeared before the king. They were dressed in leopard skin robes, hung round with tassels and chains. At last the prostrations were completed, and the eunuch sent for several jars of palm wine. The caboceers were admitted to drink theirs in the eunuch’s house, but the attendants drank their share under a tree. In the afternoon, the king sent for us to see him, but I was too unwell to go, and desired Mr. Houtson and Richard to attend him.
Monday, 13th.—This morning, our friend and guardian, the fat eunuch, was drunk; when in that state, he begs every thing he sees. He got Mr. Houtson and myself into his house to see him dance; but independent of his want of steadiness, he was the most clumsy and unwieldy performer I ever saw. He begged we would also dine with him, but I complained of illness, and Houtson ran off. He followed and made Mr. Houtson hand out the flask, which, without waiting for a glass, he put to his mouth, and drank upwards of a pint of raw rum, without drawing his breath. He said, he had drank two quarts to-day already, and given away a small cask: that rum was good, and made him fat.
The people of Katunga are fond of ornamenting their doors, and the posts which support their verandahs, with carvings; and they have also statues or figures of men and women, standing in their court yards. The figures carved on their posts and doors are various; but principally of the boa snake, with a hog or antelope in his mouth; frequently men taking slaves, and sometimes a man on horseback leading slaves.
Their manner of burying the dead is to dig a deep narrow hole, into which the corpse is put in a sitting posture, the elbows between the two knees: a poor person is buried without any ceremony; a rich man has guns fired, and rum drank over his grave, and in his house by his friends and retainers. When a king of Yourriba dies, the caboceer of Jannah, three other head caboceers, four women, and a great many favourite slaves and others, are obliged to swallow poison, given by fetishmen, in a parrot’s egg: should this not take effect, the person is provided with a rope to hang himself in his own house. No public sacrifices are used, at least no human sacrifices, and no one was allowed to die at the death of the last king, as he did not die a natural death; having been murdered by one of his own sons: not the present king. Wives are bought; and according to the circumstances of the bridegroom, so is the price. Three days after the bargain, he and his friends go and bring the wife to his own house, when the pitto, or country beer, is sent about freely amongst the guests.
In the afternoon we waited on the king. There is a pleasant walk through a large enclosed park at the foot of the hills, between the house of the king and that of his wives, enclosed by a clay wall. Some parts of the park are planted with corn, yams, &c. and others studded with beautiful shady trees. The king was sitting under the shade of one of the trees. I observed to him that I had been here twenty-four days, and was anxious to go on my journey, as the rains were about to set in. He asked if all the white men were going. I said “Only myself and my servants.” As I knew him to be skilful in evasive answers, and always to have one ready at hand, I said “Fix a day.” His reply was, “Every one would say, the white man came to see the king of Yourriba, and brought him large presents, and requested him to give them a good passage to where they wanted to go; he gave them a bad path; they were robbed and killed: all people would say that the king of Yourriba did not do good to white man.” He had been busy these last four days with his people, but he had sent a messenger to get a good path. I asked him positively to fix a day, as I could not put off any longer. After consulting with his people, he said, “Nine days.” I said, “Well—I shall remain nine days:” without saying one word that I had every thing ready to go.
Foo-foo, the common food of the rich and poor, is of two kinds—white and black: the white is merely boiled yams beaten into a paste with water, and sold in balls of about a pound weight each. The black is made as follows:—The yam is first parboiled, then cut into small pieces and exposed to the rays of the sun till quite dry; in this state it is pounded in a large wooden mortar into a flour, and sifted again and again until it is as fine as possible. The flour will keep in this way about six months. When wanted for use, boiling water is poured over it, and stirred round until completely mixed and of a proper thickness; and when so done it is, like the other, made into balls of about a pound weight each. The natives eat it with soup, gravy, or palm oil; or without any other thing.
Wednesday, 15th.—At 3 P.M. we had a messenger from Jannah, who brought letters; one from Captain Clavering of the Redwing, with half a dozen bottles of porter and half a dozen of wine; the other two half dozens having either been broken or drunk on the road. The supply was as welcome as unexpected, and proved to us how very little trouble and expense were required to keep up the communication. By the letters of Captain Clavering, it appears that the trunks of the late Captain Pearce and Dr. Morrison had arrived safe.
Thursday, 16th.—Morning cool and cloudy. We had an early visit from the king, who was anxious to have a bottle of our porter, which I could not well refuse. He also begged my looking glass, and one of the tin boxes. In my turn I told him, that since we had finished our bullock that he gave us, we had nothing to eat. He replied, we must go to the caboceers. I told him I would do no such thing; that we did not come here to beg. He said I was mistaken; it was not begging; they were all his slaves, and what they possessed belonged to him. I requested, however, that he should send orders to them direct from himself. After a little time he left us: but the eunuch remained; and showing symptoms of sauciness I turned him out of the house.
Friday, 17th.—Morning clear and cool, with fresh harmattan breezes. A great number of people arrived to-day from different parts of the country to pay their annual custom and visit to the king.
Saturday, 18th.—Morning clear and cold; a strong harmattan still blowing. The religion of the people of Yourriba, as far as I could comprehend it, consists in the worship of one God, to whom they offer sacrifices of horses, cows, sheep, goats, and fowls. At the yearly feast all these animals are sacrificed at the fetish house, in which a little of the blood is spilt on the ground. The whole of them are then cooked; and the king and all the people, men and women, attending, partake of the meat, which they are said to eat in a state of nakedness, and in company, drinking at the same time copiously of country ale, or pitto; but it is also said, that the least attempt at indecency would be punished with death.