Besides the King of Dahomey, there are many other monarchs big and little in this quarter of Africa; but though they be ten times more savage—if to be savage is to be remote from civilization and its influences—we find not one as treacherous and thirsty for blood. In the course of his explorations in Western Africa, Mr. Bakie had the honour to meet several kings, among others the monarchs of Abó and Igbo. Let us approach the former royal presence.
“We promised to come on shore the next morning and pay our respects. I accordingly made an early start, and accompanied by Mr. May, Mr. Crowther, and Dr. Hutchinson, proceeded in the gig and pinnace, the crews of which were dressed in flaming red caps and shirts. Abó is situated nearly a mile up a creek, the mouth of which is almost invisible from even a very short distance. On entering it we found it at first so extremely narrow that we had to lay in our oars and use paddles, but, after a time, it opened into a wide expanse, the surface of which was covered with canoes of various sizes. Numbers of inhabitants were to be seen gazing at us, and altogether there was more bustle and activity, and more signs of a trading people than anything we had previously witnessed. Having reached the landing-place, we marched in a kind of procession, headed by a Krú-man carrying the English ensign, and accompanied by a royal messenger bearing a gaudy flag. We had some little difficulty in keeping good order through the narrow lanes, densely crowded as they were by the populace; as natives, both men and women, were constantly coming towards us, and insisting on shaking hands with us, which ceremony is here performed by the two parties taking loose hold of the fingers of each other’s right hands, and then slipping them, making at the some instant a snapping noise with the aid of the thumb. We were not sorry to reach Ishúkuma’s palace, a low dwelling of mud and thatch, with a small court some twenty feet square in the centre. This was surrounded by a kind of verandah, in which we were placed, a chair being brought for me, and mats for the remainder of the company. Near us was a fetish, composed of some old bones and a few trinkets, and close to this, under a canopy of white calico, was a huge mat for his royal highness. Presently he entered, accompanied by several of his wives, and other female relatives, who all sat on his left. He seemed a little oldish-looking man, of easy disposition, and not much intellect. He was attired in a woollen nightcap, a white shirt, and in home-built pantaloons of native cloth, shaped after an extreme Dutch design. The court was by this time completely filled with crowds of natives, whose incessant noise and chattering prevented us from commencing, and at last I had to request him to enforce silence. This he attempted to do, in vain, until at last, assisted by the more energetic of his spouses, and in particular by a strong-minded sister, whose shrill tones, heard high above the din, finally beat down all opposition, and produced a temporary calm. I seized the moment, and, by our interpreter, told Ishúkuma, that we had come to make his acquaintance and his friendship, and to ascertain if the people were willing to trade with us. I expressed our sorrow at hearing of the death of Obi, who had been the white man’s friend; also our regret at the absence of his brother. I said that we were desirous of fulfilling the promise made by the officers in the former expeditions, and that we should try to do good to his country. He replied by declaring his satisfaction at seeing white men here once more, thanking us for our compliments, and offering, if we could wait a few days, to send a special canoe for his brother. I told him that we had a long distance to go, and that we must proceed while there was plenty of water in the river, but that on our return we should again call.”
Impressive, however, as must have been an interview with such awful majesty, Mr. Bakie managed to survive it; indeed, so accustomed was he to the company of kings as to make nothing of meeting two, and even three, within a week. A day or so after his visit to the court of the King of Abó, he brought his ships to anchor off the dominions of King Ajé, and the result of a message to that august person was that he would visit our traveller aboard.
“Presently Ajé was seen to approach in a large canoe, with seventeen paddles of a side, and accompanied by several of his wives and some of his brothers and their wives. Another salute was fired, after which we received our visitors on board, and with some difficulty got them all seated on the poop. Ajé is a tall, rather stout, young-looking man, very superior in appearance to his brother, and is said in manner and countenance greatly to resemble his father. He appeared dressed in home-made scarlet cloth trousers, a scarlet uniform coat, a pink beaver hat, under which, apparently to make it fit, was a red worsted nightcap; no shoes, beads round his neck, and in his hand a Niger-expedition-sword. After talking of general matters, I spoke of his father, of Captain Trotter (a former explorer), of trade, and of our wishes and intentions; on which he replied that he considered that whatever his father wished or promised was binding on him, adding, however, that we seemed very long in carrying out our part of the agreement. I gave him a double-barrelled gun, a large sabre, a scarlet robe, some cloth and beads, and some scissors, mirrors, and needles for his wives, and also three krus (27,000) of cowries. This last, he said, must be shared by his brother, on which I offered Tishukuma an equal amount and gave him also other presents. With all Ajé seemed dissatisfied, and asked why we did not give as much as Captain Trotter did, on which I mentioned our long voyage, the many presents we had given away, and our stock being exhausted. Still he asked for things I had not, until I was obliged to speak more plainly, telling him how unreasonable his behaviour was, and how unlike what I expected in a son of Obi. He then laughed, showing that he was merely trying to get as much as he could, a daily Abó practice. Ajé next asked for the traders, who were sent for, and showed them a quantity of firewood, yams, palm-oil, and a bullock he had for sale. He proved a very keen hand, and only parted with his articles at a high price; he looked to everything himself, saw things handed on board, and the cowries counted. He gave me his dash, a bullock, and two hundred yams, which latter were here, though very good, very small and rounded. I took him round the ship, fired a swivel off before him, and showed him the engine. I explained to him that as our provisions were nearly expended, I could offer him but little, on which he said he would merely ask for some biscuit, which I gave him. He was much amused with the shower-bath, which he called all his wives to look at, and was much pleased with a German accordion which I gave him.”
Mr. Bakie’s greatest adventure, however, was with the formidable King or Chief of Neam Nam, whose subjects were regarded by surrounding tribes as monsters of the blackest dye, and the chief himself as the Fe-fo-fum of ogres. The natives begged him not to think of visiting this nest of scorpions where he and his party would undoubtedly be slain and eaten, and have to think themselves highly fortunate if they escaped the most cruel tortures into the bargain. Bakie wanted guides, but it was only on the most unheard-of terms that he was able to procure them, as well as porters to carry presents wherewith to propitiate the terrible Neam Nam. At last, however, these difficulties were overcome, and the adventurers, after a considerable march, came in sight of Mundo, a Neam Nam village. “I could not, however, induce them to enter it, and, throwing off their loads, they decamped, leaving only the interpreter in the firm grip of two of my followers. Nothing daunted, my men took up the rejected loads and we proceeded towards the village. On nearing it, the sound of several tom-toms and the shrill whistle of their calls plainly indicated that the Neam Nam were on the alert. A large party bearing their arms and shields issued forth to meet us, and, drawing up in line across our path, seemed determined to impede our progress. Heedless of the impediment, we proceeded on our way, and my khartoumers, in the best spirits, joined lustily in a song. The sight of the savages before us was imposing, each man guarded the greater part of his body with a large shield, holding a lance vertically in his right hand. The party were evidently surprised at the confidence and unoffending manner of our approach, and evinced a greater disposition to run away than to attack. On we went joyfully, and when within two yards of them, their ranks opened, allowing us a passage through them, of which as a matter of course we availed ourselves, and entered the village (apparently deserted by women and children), with the Neam Nam following in the rear, and passing through a street of huts rather distantly situated from one another, we reached a slight eminence commanding a fine view of a highly fertile country. During our march the tom-toms continued their noise, but, regardless of consequences, we took up our position under the shade of a magnificent sycamore tree in the vicinity of a couple of huts; and, disembarrassing ourselves of our baggage, we quietly seated ourselves in a circle round it, exposing our fronts to the natives, who in great numbers soon surrounded us, apparently astonished at the coolness we displayed; they gradually closed, and, the front rank seating themselves, their proximity became disagreeable, as they hemmed us in so closely that several of them actually seated themselves upon our feet, indulging at the same time in laughter and loud conversation which we could not understand. Enjoining patience on my men, and convinced that, in case of necessity, the harmless discharge of a gun or two would scatter our visitors, I learnt with some difficulty, through the medium of the Baer and Dor interpreters, that these savages looked upon us in the light of bullocks fit for slaughter, and that they contemplated feasting upon us; but they disputed the propriety of slaying us until the arrival of their chief, who I learnt was not in the village. With this knowledge, a hearty laugh and many jokes as to their condition were indulged in by my brave companions, who, confident in their own arms, behaved admirably. The excessive joy of our would-be butchers ceased at the appearance of an aged grey-headed man, who, after a short intercourse with the Baer interpreter, in a loud voice addressed the mob in words to the following effect: ‘Neam Nam, do not insult these strange men; do you know whence they come?’ ‘No, but we will feast on them,’ was the rejoinder. Then the grey-headed old man, holding up his spear and commanding silence, proceeded thus: ‘Do you know of any tribe that would dare approach our village in so small a number as these men have done?’ ‘No,’ was again vociferated. ‘Very well, you know not whence they came, neither do I who am greatly your senior, and whose voice you ought to respect. Their country must indeed be distant, and to traverse the many tribes between their country and ours ought to be a proof to you of their valour. Look at the things they hold in their hands; they are neither spears, clubs, nor bows and arrows, but inexplicable bits of iron mounted on wood. Neither have they shields to defend their bodies from our weapons; therefore, to have travelled thus far, depend upon it their means of resistance must be so puzzling to us, and far superior to any arms that any tribe—ay, even our own—can oppose to them: therefore, Neam Nam, I, who have led you to many a fight, and whose counsels you have often followed, say, shed not your blood in vain, nor bring disgrace upon your fathers, who never have been vanquished. Touch them not, but prove yourselves worthy the friendship of such a handful of brave men, and do yourselves honour by entertaining them, rather than degrade yourselves by the continuance of your insults.’
“This address seemed to have a beneficial effect with the majority. The old man motioning two or three of them out of the way, seated himself near me and endeavoured to converse with me, but failing, he called the interpreter. His first wish was to examine my rifle: removing the cap, I handed it to him. Long and silent was his examination, the most inexplicable part seeming the muzzle, which, instead of being pointed, had a hole in it. Placing his finger therein, he looked at me with the greatest astonishment, and to give him a practical explanation, I seized a fowlingpiece from the hands of my favourite hunter, and pointing to a vulture hovering over us, I fired: and before it touched the ground, the crowd were prostrate and grovelling in the dust, as if every man of them had been shot. The old man’s head, with his hands on his ears, was at my feet; and when I raised him his appearance was ghastly and his eyes were fixed on me with a meaningless expression. I thought he had lost his senses. After shaking him several times I at length succeeded in attracting his attention to the fallen bird quivering in its last agonies between two of his men. The first signs of returning animation he gave was, putting his hand to his head, and examining himself as if in search of a wound. He gradually recovered; and as soon as he could regain his voice, called to the crowd, who one after the other first raised their heads, and then again dropped them, at the sight of their apparently lifeless comrades. After the repeated call of the old man, they ventured to rise, and a general inspection of imaginary wounds commenced. I attempted to carry on a conversation with the old man, whose name was Murmangae, and learnt that the chief’s name was Dimoo, and that he had but lately succeeded his deceased father in the chieftainship. Gaining confidence, he again reverted to our arms, which, however, he expressed a fear of touching, and requested to know how the noise was produced; and whilst I was endeavouring to explain the gun to him, the chief, accompanied by numerous followers, arrived. To my disappointment, however, he treated us with great mistrust, and drawing up his men seemed inclined to attack us, on which a lengthened conversation between the old man and himself took place. At this stage of the proceedings, a single elephant was seen approaching the village. The chief, who had been standing, advanced towards me, and, pointing to the elephant, abruptly asked if our thunder could kill that. On my replying in the affirmative, ‘Do it,’ he said, ‘and I will respect you.’ The aspect of affairs had now assumed anything but a peaceful appearance; but relying upon my own resources and diplomacy, I resolved on gaining the good will of the chief, and despatched one half of my best shots to endeavour to bring down the elephant, whilst with the other half, in case of emergency, I knew I could defend our property. The brave fellows confidently sallied forth, although a few of them only possessed rifles, much too light for the work expected of them, whilst others had only double-barrelled fowling pieces loaded with ball. They were followed by the whole of the savages to within about three hundred yards of the elephant, when the hunters dispersed, and simultaneously fired at the elephant, within a range of twenty yards, from various directions. On the first discharge, the Neam Nam and their chief exhibited every sign of fear, some by falling on the ground, and others by taking to their heels. The elephant, a young male with tusks about a foot long, received shot after shot in quick succession. He merely elevated his trunk and ears, and moved round as if on a pivot, until about two rounds had been discharged at his head and shoulders with double charges of powder; he fell, and our prestige was established. The chief and his followers recovering themselves, approached more in the guise of petitioners than aggressors, and stated that if we would only withhold our thunder, they would be our best friends. Presents of beads to Dimoo and our old friend closed the compact; and on being informed that similar valuables would be given away for provisions, the chief proclaimed aloud the fact to the bystanders, who declared they would furnish us with anything the village contained.”
Still lingering in Western Africa we arrive at the Fernandian town of Issapoo, whose king is named Browowdi. Mr. Hutchinson introduces us to his majesty as well as to his palace.
The monarchy here, as in all Fernandian towns, is hereditary, not from father to son, but from uncle to nephew. His palace was certainly a most extraordinary place for human residence. Yet, on my getting inside, his first exhibition to me was, as the interpreter explained it, his throne and crown, the former consisting of a filthy stool, that looked old enough and dirty enough to have been handed down in his family for several scores of generations; and the latter, an equally filthy old hat of bamboo leaf, with a monkey’s tail pendent from it. Inside the house, the light came in through dozens of crevices in the walls as well as the roof. The wall consists only of boards placed side by side, reaching from the ground to the roof, all of which are moveable, so that the inmate has only to shift one or two at any side, and he lets himself in or out as he pleases. Across the house inside are placed a number of poles, on which are suspended hats, skins, rusty guns, cloth, and calabashes; but no windows, stools, beds, or tables, save the old throne, and a tax-gatherer would find a great scarcity of available chattels in the place. The coronation of a king is a ceremonial that I have not yet had the pleasure of witnessing, but it has been reported to me as one possessing interesting features. It is so bound up with their notions of a spirit or devil, that I deem it necessary to explain the peculiarity of their belief on this latter point. Maaon is the title given to the devil, and the botakimaaon (his high priest) is supposed to have influence with him through communication with the cobracapella, the koukarouko. Their faith in God, to whom the name of “Rupe” is given, is a loftier aspiration than that of the devil, but they believe that the Deity’s favour can be only obtained by intercession through the koukaroukos at the bottom, the candidate for regal honours standing alongside, and all his subjects in futuro being about. This conference is, I believe, carried on by means of ventriloquism, a faculty with which many of the Fernandians are reported to be endowed. The botakimaaon then delivers to the king the message from the koukarouko for his guidance in his high station, shakes over him a quantity of yellow powder, entitled “isheobo,” which is obtained by collecting a creamy coat that is found on the water at the mouths of some small rivers, evaporating the water, and forming a chalky mass of the residue. From the lightness as well as friability of this article, I believe it to be of a vegetable nature. He has then placed upon his head the hat worn by his uncle, and the crowning is accomplished. After becoming a king, his majesty is forbidden to eat cocoa, deer, or porcupine, which are the ordinary condiments of the people; and the ceremonial is concluded by the latter having some of the yellow powder rubbed over their foreheads by the botakimaaon, with instructions to use the same material in like manner every morning for seven days.
From Issapoo we accompany Mr. Hutchinson to Duketown, and on the road that gentleman tells us of the iron palace that was sent out some years since from Liverpool for the late king Eyamba; and which, though now utterly ruined, may be recollected in its prime, as well as King Eyamba, in the same enviable condition, and still another king, one Archibong, though whether Archibong was Eyamba’s successor, or vice versâ, is not quite clear. However, the reader may judge for himself.
“No man was more impressed with an idea of the dignity attachable to the trappings of royalty than Eyamba, and so he must have a carriage. But the horses soon died, after dragging out life for some time. The skeletons of two only were visible about Duketown, perfect anatomies vivantes, at the time of my first visit there. Horses not being native to this part of the country, it puzzled the lexicographers very much to find a name for them in their Etick tongue, the language spoken at Old Kalabar. At length they hit upon the term Euang makara, which signifies “white man’s cow;” and to carry the absurdity further, entitled Eyamba’s carriage Efot euang makara, which literally means “white man’s cowhouse.” When I beheld the nature of the streets and roads in and around the town, it was a marvel to me how Eyamba could find a place broad or level enough for four wheels to roll upon. But he did make out a few yards meet for that purpose; and there it was his custom to have the carriage drawn before him by a number of slaves, whilst he walked after it, with his shining brass crown upon his head, and an immense party-coloured parasol held aloft by a strong-armed man. The Irishman who got into a sedan chair, and, finding the bottom out of it, said he might as well be walking, were it not for the grandeur of the thing, had a nearer semblance to state than this gander-brained monarch, who often used to boast of his desire to see Wellington and Napoleon, that he might shew his pre-eminence over them; and who was accustomed to sign all his letters and documents as Eyamba V., king of all black men. Everything in this once magnificent house was, on my visit to it, in a state of perfect ruin and decay, for his majesty died a few years after it had been constructed. This condition of affairs may be explained by the fact that there exists among the people of Old Kalabar, as amongst the majority of the heathen nations in western Africa, a silly superstition, that when a man dies he requires the spirit of all that belonged to him in this world, his wives, slaves, cloths, chattels, and furniture, for use in the unknown world to which he has gone. In proportion to what his competency was, and to the means of his friends to make a corresponding sacrifice for him, so is his anticipated comfort in the next state to be measured. I have been since informed that in a few hours after its fall there was not a single piece of its structure to be found on the site of its former location; for the inhabitants all acted as so many human turkey-buzzards; and the earliest bird of course picked up his choice of the best worms. Coming out of the palace, and not fifty yards from it, although I had a hill to go down, a rut to scramble through, and an eminence to ascend, I find myself in front of the Duketown palaver-house, a species of senatorial forum, where all the legislative matters of the country, the municipal affairs of the town, palavers on matters public or private, are discussed and settled by the king and the Egbos. The palaver-house consists of two walls running parallel for about forty yards, terminated by a transverse wall, about as many feet in length, and thatched with a stout bamboo roof. The end by which it is entered is opened from side to side; a space of nearly eighteen inches intervene between the tops of the walls running lengthways and the roof; and there is an ascent from the road by half-a-dozen steps to the floor, which is hard and smooth. In the centre of the entrance is a huge hollow brass pillar reaching up to the roof, further in are two more of equally imposing diameter, whilst between them are a large bell and a piece of wood; the latter is drum-like in shape, with a slit longitudinally in it, and fixed to the pillar. This is the Egbo drum, which is beaten to alarm the inhabitants in case of fire, to give notice of the attack of an enemy, or to signify the fact of a leopard having been captured, each occurrence being indicated by a peculiarity of beating the drum, which is known as soon as the sound is heard. In the farthest corner of the house is a private sanctuary, into which none but the privileged are admitted on occasions of Egbo meetings, and outside the front are two flourishing ju-ju trees, with five pillars of stone before them, said to be solidified basaltic lava, brought from Prince’s Island, and erected there to the memory of five sovereigns of Old Kalabar. Not far from this palaver-house was the residence of the late king, Archibong I. There was nothing noticeable in it beyond that of any other gentleman trader’s abode; but the king was one of the most extraordinary specimens of sable humanity I ever met. He could neither read nor write the English language, but spoke it in a very imperfect gabble, and go to his house whenever you would, he was nearly always in the condition in which he might be expected to agree with the sentiment of Sancho Panza: blessings on the man who first invented sleep. On the first day of the week, which consists of eight days, he was accustomed to entertain all the supercargoes and surgeons in the river at dinner, and this was called Chop-day. Duketown Chop-day is entitled Aqua-el-dere, and is equivalent to our Sunday, but it is only as a day of rest—drinking rum and palm wine being their chief devotions. They wash their court-yards with cow-dung and water on that morning, and the largest market in the week is held on Aqua-el-dere. Eyamba, when king, adopted it as his chop-day because it was the most honoured in the week, and he wished to be considered the most consequential man in the country. King Archibong followed in his footsteps with reference to the same practice. A similar custom is adopted on the second day of the week, called Aqua-ibibio. The dishes served up at King Archibong’s were very creditable to his culinary establishment. They consisted of various kinds of soup, containing goat’s flesh, fish, pork, cocoa leaf and root, plantains, bananas, with a variety of other dishes, such as Apicius, Meg Dod, or Alexis Soyer never smiled upon, and which are said to have contained “pepper enough in them to have scalded a silver spoon.” These were followed by roast maize, ground-nuts, and shrimps as a dessert. Mimbo or Mim-efick, the native name for palm wine, was the beverage at these dinners. It is a milky fluid, having sometimes an acid and sometimes a saccharine taste, and is procured from a particular species of the palm tree, by tapping it at the top and allowing the juice to exude into calabashes placed there to receive it. One dish relished very much by the king was a plate of pounded yam, made into the putty-like consistence of ju-ju wood, with a soup entitled palaver sauce. The mode of eating it was by grasping a lump from the dish, rolling it on the palm of the hand into the shape of a racket ball, putting the index finger into the centre, dipping it into the soup, and bolting it. The table was always neatly laid out with silver service, and the viands were brought up in large calabashes; covered with white cloths, on the head of a number of female slaves.