It is not lawful either to quarrel or fight near the places which are inhabited by the mystical magistrate. When war is to be carried on in the neighbourhood, notice is given to the Simo and his retinue to retire. If two adversaries were to fight while he was near, they would be forced immediately to take him a present as a reparation for having disturbed him; if they were to omit this, they would fancy that some great calamity was continually impending over them.
When they carry their gift to the Simo, they are obliged to turn their backs to him, and put their hands over their eyes; he receives the offering, pronounces a long prayer, and picks up a little earth, which he throws at them in token of absolution. After this ridiculous ceremony, the disturbers of the Simo’s peace returned perfectly satisfied. During the few days that I was at Kakondy, I heard the Simo and his attendants howling horribly while dancing.
Polygamy is practised amongst the Landamas and Nalous, who may be said to inhabit the same country; the husbands have not only many lawful wives, but as many concubines as they can afford to keep. I have been told that the rich have sometimes so many as two hundred which I should think is a great exaggeration. This custom among these idolatrous nations proceeds no doubt from this, that the mothers do not suffer their husbands to approach them till their children are able to walk. It is very remarkable, that good order and perfect harmony prevail among all these women who are called to share the same conjugal couch.
They are not all faithful to their husbands; but when a man suspects that one of his wives is false he compels her by the fear of the Simo to confess who has been the partner of her guilt. The woman seldom holds out long against his questions and threats; the fear of being subjected to the ordeal of the magistrate of the woods forces her to confess her fault and to discover her paramour. From that moment the latter becomes the slave of the husband, who sells him without pity to the negro merchants, or to any other negroes of the country.
A young man has no need of the consent of the female whom he loves to obtain her hand; he takes care to gain over to his interest an old woman and an old man, whom he employs to convey a present to the parents of the girl, in order to incline them to give a favorable reception to his proposals. Should this offer be accepted, he continues to pay his court to the relations of his intended by these means, until, having obtained their consent, he sends a final present of rum, tobacco, stuffs, and colat-nuts,[42] which are very common on the banks of the Rio Nuñez, and which must always be of different colours. The father of the girl takes two of the colat-nuts, one white, the other red; he cuts them in two and throws the half of each into the air, to draw thence a favourable omen. After having examined the manner in which they have fallen, and being satisfied upon this point, he calls his daughter, who is not yet informed of the steps, taken to obtain her, and indeed very often does not know the lover who has applied for her. He makes her eat a little of each of the colat-nuts from which the omen has been drawn, and informs her, before the persons present, that she is to become the wife of him who has sent the presents; and the same day, without consulting her inclination the unfortunate creature is led to the home of a husband whom she will, perhaps, never love.
She is conducted thither by the old people who were charged with the preliminary negociations, and followed by a crowd of her young friends, who rejoice and sing her praises. The old woman is appointed to prepare the hut in which the new-married couple are to dwell. After taking away every thing belonging to the master of the cabin, she puts upon the bed a pair of very white pagnes to receive the happy pair the first night of their marriage; next day these pagnes are presented to the bridal party, who pass them from hand to hand, singing and dancing in honour of the chastity of the young bride. This ceremony always takes place to the sound of rustic music and lively songs which render the spectacle more animated. These festivities generally last two or three days. The parents of the new couple never attend them; they do not visit their children till a week after the marriage.
On the seventh day after the birth of a child there are great rejoicings; it is not till then that the mother begins to go out of the house. During this interval she remains shut up to bestow all her attentions on the new-born babe. That period being elapsed, the parents sacrifice an ox, and both night and day are passed in dancing.
Amongst the Landamas and Nalous, death also claims its sacrifices. On the day of interment, the relations kill a sheep and sprinkle the grave with its blood. This ceremony is proceeded by several discharges of musquetry at the grave; the sheep is afterwards divided amongst the neighbours. A month after the decease a second funeral ceremony is celebrated; such of the relations as are rich in herds kill several oxen, and all the inhabitants of the village are admitted to the feast, which often lasts several days.
These festivals are enlivened alternately by the wild music and the simple dances of the natives, and also by the fumes of palm-wine. The Landamas and Nalous take great pleasure in these amusements, and they will even deprive themselves of the necessaries of life to support the expense of their sacrifices.
The food of these uncivilized tribes consists chiefly of rice boiled in water, to which they sometimes add the fruit of the palm-tree, from which they are too idle to express the oil. They seldom eat fish, for they have not skill to catch it; but they rear poultry, sheep, and goats. They have few cattle, and still fewer horses; I saw only a single ass whilst I was at Kakondy.