The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2 / Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics

by J. G. Wood

“Nothing could be more charming than that last day’s march, which brought us to the limit of our wanderings. The twelve miles which led to Munza’s palace were miles enriched by such beauty as might be worthy of Paradise. The plantain groves harmonized so perfectly with the clustering oil-palms that nothing could surpass the perfection of the scene; whilst the ferns that adorned the countless stems in the background of the landscape enhanced the charms of the tropical groves. A clear and invigorating atmosphere contributed to the enjoyment of it all, refreshing water and grateful shade being never far away. In front of the native dwellings towered the splendid fig-trees of which the spreading coronets defied the passage of the sun. The crowds of bearers made their camp around the stem of a colossal Cordia Abyssinica, which stood upon the open space in front of the abode of the local chief and reminded me of the Abyssinian villages, where this tree is cultivated.... These trees with their goodly coronets of spreading foliage are the survivors from generations that are gone, and form a comely ornament in well-nigh all the villages of the Monbuttoo.

“And then, finally, conspicuous amidst the massy depths of green was descried the palace of the king. Halting on the hither side of a stream at a place clear of trees they fixed their camp. In front was visible a sloping area covered with a multitude of huts, some in a conical shape and others like sheds. Surmounting all with ample courts, broad and imposing, unlike anything we had seen since we left the edifices of Cairo, upreared itself the spacious pile of King Munza’s dwelling.”

The king is invested with large prerogatives, and always appears in great state, accompanied with a numerous body of courtiers. Whenever he leaves his residence he is attended by hundreds of his retinue, besides his special body-guard, and a large number of trumpeters, drummers, and subordinates with great iron bells lead the procession. Munza had three viceroys in the persons of his brothers, and next to them were the sub-chiefs who were governors of the provinces, and generally selected from the numerous members of the blood royal.

The subordinate chiefs, to whom are assigned separate and well-defined portions of the Monbuttoo territory, are accustomed to surround themselves with the tokens of authority and state, little inferior to those of their respective kings.

Next to them in rank are the chief officers of state, five in number. “These are the keeper of the weapons, the master of the ceremonies, the superintendent of the commissariat stores, the master of the household to the royal ladies, and the interpreter for intercourse with strangers and foreign rulers.” Besides, there is a vast number of civil officers and overseers in various districts of the land to guard the interests and maintain the prerogatives and dignity of the sovereign. In addition to the courtiers there are numerous officials assigned to special duties, such as private musicians, trumpeters and buglers, eunuchs and jesters, ballad singers and dancers, who are retained to give splendor to the court and furnish amusement on public and festal occasions. There are also stewards whose duty is to maintain order at the feasts, and they are authorized to inflict bodily chastisement if any be guilty of disturbance and indecorum.

The arrows of the Monbuttoo differ from those of other tribes except the A-Banga, by being furnished at the extremity of the shaft with two wings. These are made either of pieces of plantain leaves or of hairs of the tail of the genet. The points, when not of iron, are made of a kind of wood that is almost as hard as iron. The shaft consists of the firm, reedy steppe-grass, and is about the size of a common lead-pencil. Schweinfurth says, “by a cruel refinement of skill, which might almost be styled diabolical, they contrive to place one of the joints of the reed just below the barbs, with the design that the arrow should break off short as soon as it has inflicted the wound, making it a very difficult matter to extract the barbs from the flesh. The usual method of extracting a lance head is to take a knife and make a sufficiently large incision in the wounded muscle for the barb to be withdrawn, but, in fact, the result generally is that very jagged and troublesome wounds are inflicted.”

The Monbuttoo resemble the A-Banga in their dress and martial equipments. They have the custom of piercing the ears of both sexes so that quite a large stick can be run through the opening. In order to effect this the concave portion of the ear is cut out. This tribe, as well as the A-Banga, have by this peculiarity received the name from the Nubians of Gurrugurroo (derived from the word gurgur, which means “bored,”) to distinguish them from Niam-niam. Both the first-mentioned tribes practise circumcision, while the latter allow no mutilation of the human body.

This people, living in so remote and secluded a region, and having no intercourse with Mohammedan or Christian nations, have never learned the art of weaving. Accordingly their clothing is made of the bast from the bark of the fig-trees, which are so much prized that they may be seen contiguous to almost every hut. The custom of wearing skins, which obtains among the Niam-niam, does not exist among this tribe save when a fancy dress is needed for dancers. There is a singular absence of domestic animals among the Monbuttoo, with the exception of the little dogs known as the “nessey,” and their poultry. They do not engage in cattle-breeding, and have only one specimen of the swine family, the potamochoerus, which they keep in a half-tame state.

Their supply of meat for food is obtained in their hunting expeditions, their taste giving preference to the flesh of elephants, buffaloes, wild boars, and antelopes. As they understand the art of preserving meat they are not under the necessity of keeping cattle or resorting constantly to the field to supply their ever-recurring wants.

There is very little that can be called agriculture among them, the soil producing very abundantly and without the need of much care or cultivation. Besides, it is somewhat remarkable that what is the common feed of the tribes in the interior of Africa, viz. sorghum and pencillaria, are entirely disregarded by this people. They are too idle to devote any time to the raising of cereals. The cultivation of plantain, which is common, requires very little attention; all that is requisite is to let the old plants die down where they are and simply stick the young shoots in the ground after it has been softened by rain. The Monbuttoo exhibit a remarkable discrimination in the selection of plants, being able to tell whether a shoot will bear fruit or not, and thus avoid those not worth the trouble of planting,—a faculty that would be of great service to gardeners everywhere. There are only a few plants that they cultivate at all, and these are such as require but the least possible exertion. The sesame, earthnuts, sugar-canes, and tobacco constitute the bulk of their products from the soil.