A true & exact history of the island of Barbados

by Richard Ligon

This point of Philosophy was a little too hard for him, and so he stood in a strange muse; which to put him out of, I bad him reach his ax, and put it neer to the Compasse, and remove it about; and as he did so, the Needle turned with it, which put him in the greatest admiration that ever I saw a man, and so quite gave over his questions, and desired me, that he might be made a Christian; for, he thought to be a Christian, was to be endued with all those knowledges he wanted.

I promised to do my best endeavour; and when I came home, spoke to the Master of the Plantation, and told him, that poor Sambo desired much to be a Christian. But his answer was, That the people of that Iland were governed by the Lawes of England, and by those Lawes, we could not make a Christian a Slave. I told him, my request was far different from that, for I desired him to make a Slave a Christian. His answer was, That it was true, there was a great difference in that: But, being once a Christian, he could no more account him a Slave, and so lose the hold they had of them as Slaves, by making them Christians; and by that means should open such a gap, as all the Planters in the Iland would curse him. So I was struck mute, and poor Sambo kept out of the Church; as ingenious, as honest, and as good a natur’d poor soul, as ever wore black, or eat green.

On Sundaies in the afternoon, their Musick plaies, and to dancing they go, the men by themselves, and the women by themselves, no mixt dancing. Their motions are rather what they aim at, than what they do; and by that means, transgresse the lesse upon the Sunday; their hands having more of motion than their feet, & their heads more than their hands. They may dance a whole day, and neer heat themselves; yet, now and then, one of the activest amongst them will leap bolt upright, and fall in his place again, but without cutting a capre. When they have danc’d an houre or two, the men fall to wrastle, (the Musick playing all the while) and their manner of wrastling is, to stand like two Cocks, with heads as low as their hipps; and thrusting their heads one against another, hoping to catch one another by the leg, which sometimes they do: But if both parties be wary, and that they cannot get that advantage, then they raise their heads, by pressing hard one against another, and so having nothing to take hold of but their bare flesh, they close, and grasp one another about the middle, and have one another in the hug, and then a fair fall is given on the back. And thus two or three couples of them are engaged at once, for an houre together, the women looking on: for when the men begin to wrastle, the women leave of their dancing, and come to be spectatours of the sport.

When any of them die, they dig a grave, and at evening they bury him, clapping and wringing their hands, and making a dolefull sound with their voyces. They are a people of a timerous and fearfull disposition, and consequently bloody, when they finde advantages. If any of them commit a fault, give him present punishment, but do not threaten him; for if you do, it is an even lay, he will go and hang himselfe, to avoid the punishment.

What their other opinions are in matter of Religion, I know not; but certainly, they are not altogether of the sect of the Sadduces: For, they believe a Resurrection, and that they shall go into their own Country again, and have their youth renewed. And lodging this opinion in their hearts, they make it an ordinary practice, upon any great fright, or threatning of their Masters, to hang themselves.

But Collonell Walrond having lost three or foure of his best Negres this way, and in a very little time, caused one of their heads to be cut off, and set upon a pole a dozen foot high; and having done that, caused all his Negres to come forth, and march round about this head, and bid them look on it, whether this were not the head of such an one that hang’d himselfe. Which they acknowledging, he then told them, That they were in a main errour, in thinking they went into their own Countries, after they were dead; for, this mans head was here, as they all were witnesses of; and how was it possible, the body could go without a head. Being convinc’d by this sad, yet lively spectacle, they changed their opinions; and after that, no more hanged themselves.

When they are sick, there are two remedies that cure them; the one, an outward, the other, an inward medicine. The outward medicine is a thing they call Negre-oyle, and ’tis made in Barbary, yellow it is as Bees wax, but soft as butter. When they feel themselves ill, they call for some of that, and annoint their bodies, as their breasts, bellies, and sides, and in two daies they are perfectly well. But this does the greatest cures upon such, as have bruises or strains in their bodies. The inward medicine is taken, when they find any weakness or decay in their spirits and stomacks, and then a dram or two of kill-devill revives and comforts them much.

I have been very strict, in observing the shapes of these people; and for the men, they are very well timber’d, that is, broad between the shoulders, full breasted, well filleted, and clean leg’d, and may hold good with Albert Durers rules, who allowes twice the length of the head, to the breadth of the shoulders; and twice the length of the face, to the breadth of the hipps, and according to this rule these men are shap’d. But the women not; for the same great Master of Proportions, allowes to each woman, twice the length of the face to the breadth of the shoulders, and twice the length of her own head to the breadth of the hipps. And in that, these women are faulty; for I have seen very few of them, whose hipps have been broader then their shoulders, unlesse they have been very fat. The young Maides have ordinarily very large breasts, which stand strutting out so hard and firm, as no leaping, jumping, or stirring, will cause them to shake any more, then the brawnes of their armes. But when they come to be old, and have had five or six Children, their breasts hang down below their navells, so that when they stoop at their common work of weeding, they hang almost down to the ground, that at a distance, you would think they had six legs: And the reason of this is, they tie the cloaths about their Children’s backs, which comes upon their breasts, which by pressing very hard, causes them to hang down to that length. Their Children, when they are first born, have the palmes of their hands and the soles of their feet, of a whitish colour, and the sight of their eyes of a blewish colour, not unlike the eyes of a young Kitling; but, as they grow older, they become black.

Their way of reckoning their ages, or any other notable accident they would remember, is by the Moon; and so accounting from the time of their Childrens births, the time they were brought out of their own Country, or the time of their being taken Prisoners, by some Prince or Potentate of their own Country, or any other notorious accidents, that they are resolved to remember, they account by the Moon; as, so many Moons since one of these, and so many Moons since another; and this account they keep as long as they can: But if any of them live long, their Arithmetick failes them, and then they are at a dead fault, and so give over the chase, wanting the skill to hunt counter. For what can poor people do, that are without Letters and Numbers, which is the soul of all businesse that is acted by Mortalls, upon the Globe of this World.