On our arrival at the Bentang or assembly-tree, near which is situate the mosque, by far the most respectable edifice I have seen in the interior, we were presented with mats, on which we took our seats among a large crowd of spectators and chiefs, who were, like ourselves, all seated.
W. Gray del.
MOSQUE & PLACE OF ASSEMBLY,
at Dramanet Galam.
Published Feb. 1825. by John Murray, London.
The Tonca, whose arrival all appeared anxiously awaiting, soon approached the place, preceded by a number of drums and singers, making a horrible noise. His majesty was on horseback, dressed in yellow, with a large gold ring in each ear, and followed by about one hundred men armed with muskets. When he dismounted a mat was spread for his accommodation near the trunk of the tree, and the place sprinkled with water from an earthern jar by an old woman; this was intended to sanctify (or in other words to drive away any evil spirits from) the place. This ceremony, which was performed with much apparent awe and profound silence, being finished, and the Tonca being seated, the proceedings commenced by a griot or bard proclaiming in a loud voice the object of their meeting, and desiring that all those who had any thing to say on the subject, should do so. Each chief then paid his respects to the Tonca, by calling aloud his surname (Batchirie) and wishing him a long and prosperous reign. The chief of Dramanet, who is a priest and styled Almamy, spoke much. He said that, during the late wars with Bondoo, many of the chiefs present had either abandoned their towns to the enemy and taken refuge in those on the west side of the Faleme, there remaining inactive spectators of their country’s fall, or openly assisted in its destruction, which their base conduct had so nearly completed that it became absolutely necessary they should adopt some decisive measure for its defence. He called on them to take example by the hitherto unsubdued resistance made by Samba Congole and the chiefs of Maghana and Magha-doo-goo, who preferred risking their own lives and the liberty of their families to a galling and disgraceful subjection to their enemies: that the time was now arrived when an understanding must be established between them; and he advised them strongly to return to their duty, rebuild their towns, and support with him and his colleagues a war which threatened their very existence. Tonca and Samba spoke in their turn to nearly the same purpose. The end of each sentence spoken by the former was followed by two or three strokes on a drum, and every word the latter said was received with applause. All was carried on in a manner that would not reflect disgrace on the most enlightened senate. One person only presumed to speak at a time, and that in a low voice, and the person speaking never received any interruption before he announced his having finished, which, as well as all that each had said, was repeated in a loud and distinct voice by the respective bards, or griots of the chiefs.
I witnessed a similar assembly at Bondoo, but it was by no means conducted with similar regularity, or respect to good order. The assembly sat three hours, and was dismissed by the Tonca informing the chiefs that having heard all that was advanced on either side, it remained for those to whom the proposal of acting in unison with the others for their country’s good was made, to decide whether they would do so or abide the consequences, which he hinted might not be very pleasant, as the king of Kaarta had made known his determination, “God willing”, to visit their country in the course of that year.
I was much astonished at the shrewd remarks, specious motives, and expressive language used by some of the chiefs present. Almaney Dramanêt, a man advanced in years, possessing considerable influence in the country, and, as he said, “only answerable to God and his country for his actions”, used every argument, and brought forward every instance of the noble conduct of their ancestors, to induce such as had deserted the cause, to re-embrace it with hand and heart. He expatiated at much length on the disgrace in the eyes of the world, and the sin in the eyes of God, upon the line of conduct they had adopted towards their country and their relatives would inevitably draw down on them; and as an excitement to a return to their duty, he painted in very pleasing colours, the happy and respectable state of that country whose chiefs and inhabitants, having successfully used their joint endeavours to defend it from the encroachments of an inveterate enemy, enjoyed the fruits of their labours, with the satisfaction of a good conscience, and the comforts of a social and quiet life.
I could quote numerous other similar arguments made use of by many of them, but as I suppose the object that I had in view in doing so at all is gained by what I have just stated, I shall not weary my reader with unnecessary matter, and shall therefore merely say that these people are far from being that savage unsophisticated race of mortals, which they are by many supposed to be; and, in my humble opinion, want but long and uninterrupted intercourse with enlightened nations, and the introduction of the Christian religion, to place them on a level with their more wealthy northern fellow-creatures.