Prince Rakoto had conceived such an affection for Mr. Lambert upon their first becoming acquainted, that he wished to give him a striking proof of his respect and friendship, and thus offered him his best treasure—his only child. Mr. Lambert adopted the infant, but did not avail himself of all the rights his position gave him; the child received his name, but was left in the care of its own father.
This child is not by birth a prince, his mother being a slave. Her name is Mary; but she is not, as her name would imply, a Christian. I am told she is very intelligent and good-natured, but, nevertheless, of a firm character. The prince loves her exceedingly, and, in order to have her continually about his person, he has nominally married her to one of his faithful followers.
Till late at night, a good deal of jollity was kept up in our camp. A great feast was prepared, of which we partook in native fashion, seated on the ground; on the other hand, toasts were drunk in true European fashion, and the healths of all imaginable people proposed. Merry music and loud shouts of rejoicing accompanied every fresh toast.
The choir of female singers sent by Prince Rakoto to do honor to our arrival consisted of twenty girls, who crouched down in a corner of the room, and tortured our ears with their harsh, grating voices. They screamed and howled just like the women and girls in the village where we celebrated the feast of the queen’s bath. They had a man with them, as a leader or teacher, but he wore a woman’s garb, and that of a European too; as the features of the two races vary very little, their beauty or ugliness being much the same, I should not have suspected this comical figure to be a man if the fact had not been mentioned by Mr. Lambert.
May 30th. This morning a deputation of villagers came to invite Mr. Lambert to a bull-fight which they proposed to give in his honor. After getting through the important business of breakfast, we proceeded to the scene of action, but found the preparations for the promised spectacle in a very backward state. It was evident that some time would be required for their completion. We thanked the people for their offer, but thought it best to take the will for the deed. We particularly wished to get to the capital, still a good half-day’s journey distant, as quickly as possible—the more so, as the Sikidy, or oracle, had designated the present day as a fortunate one for our entry into Tananariva, and the queen wished that Mr. Lambert should not let the auspicious moment go by.
Throughout Madagascar, but particularly at court, it is customary to consult the Sikidy oracle on every occasion, great and small. It is done in the following manner: A certain number of beans and small stones are mixed together, and from the figures they form, the people learned in the art of divination predict the favorable or unfavorable result of an undertaking. Of such oracle-interpreters or augurs there are more than twelve appointed at court, and in the most trifling matter the queen is accustomed to consult them. So devoted a believer in the Sikidy is she, that she in many things entirely sacrifices her own will, and is thus the greatest slave in the country she governs so despotically. If, for instance, she wishes to make an excursion any where, the oracle must decide on what day and at what hour this can be done. She will put on no garment and partake of no dish till the Sikidy has spoken, and the oracle must even decide from what spring the water she drinks is to be taken.
A few years ago a universal custom prevailed of asking the Sikidy, when a child was born, if the hour of its birth was fortunate. If an answer in the negative was returned, the poor baby was laid in the middle of one of the roads along which the great herds of oxen were driven. If the animals passed carefully by the child without injuring it, the bad magic influence of the oracle was considered to be broken, and the child was carried back in triumph to its father’s house. Few were, however, fortunate enough to go through this dangerous ordeal unscathed; the majority of the infants were killed. The parents who were unwilling to submit their children to such a test turned them adrift, especially if they were girls, and took no more trouble about them. The queen has forbidden both the ordeal and the exposure; and this is, perhaps, the only humane law she has passed during her whole life.
All travelers who wish to come to the capital must apply to the queen for permission, and halt at least a day’s journey from the city to receive the verdict of the Sikidy, which determines on what day and at what hour they may make their entry. Day and hour must be kept with the greatest strictness; and if the traveler should fall ill in the interim, and find it impossible to present himself at the gates of the city at the appointed time, he must send a new embassy to the queen, and await a second decision of the Sikidy, whereby he loses some days, and may be detained for weeks.
In this respect we were very fortunate. The Sikidy was obliging enough not to keep us waiting a single day, and designated that day as a fortunate one on which, according to the arrangements already made for our journey, we could reach the capital.
I vehemently suspect that the curiosity of the queen had some influence on the speech of the oracle. The good lady was naturally impatient to be put in possession of all the treasures which she knew Mr. Lambert had brought for her.