They received visits almost every hour of the day from a number of mahommedan mallams residing at Kiama, as well as from those merchants, who formed part of the fatakie that accompanied them through the forest from Keeshee. The former sent two boys to pray for them, in the expectation, it was supposed, of obtaining something more substantial than thanks, for the good that might result to them from their charitable remembrance of the frailty of their nature. The boys dropped on their knees, and recited the lesson that they had been taught, without committing a single blunder. A few needles were, however, the only recompense it was thought proper to make them, so that it was not likely their masters would desire any more prayers to be offered up at the shrine of their prophet, for Christians so illiberal and irreligious. Of all the vices of which these mahommedan priests were guilty, and by all accounts they were not a few, slander and defamation appeared to be by far the most general. Never did they hear a mallam speak of his neighbours in terms of common respect. According to his account they were all the vilest creatures under the sun, not one escaping the lash of his censure. "Avoid that man," said a complaisant and comfortable looking old Mahommedan, pointing to one of his companions, as he quitted the hut, after having just blessed him in the name of Allah, "for believe me, he will take every opportunity of deceiving you, and if you go so far as to trust him with any of your property, he will cheat you of every kowrie."
The venerable speaker had a number of gilt buttons, nearly new, in his possession, which they had given him to sell, for they were frequently obliged to make such shifts for a meal, and when his invective was finished, he arose to take his leave, but the self-righteous priest had neglected, in the hurry of discourse, to secure a few buttons which he had purloined, for as he stood up they dropped from the folds of his garment on the floor. The man's confusion was immediately apparent, but they did not wish to punish him further by increasing his shame, and they suffered him to go about his business, in the belief that the circumstance had wholly escaped their observation. Gilt buttons fetch a high price at Kiama, from two to three hundred kowries each, and as they had a great number of them, it was likely that from henceforth they would be of infinite service to them. Women use buttons to ornament their fingers, necks, and wrists, and they imagine that the brightest of them are made of gold.
A messenger arrived this day at the king's house with the information, that Doncasson, the ex-king of Houssa, had recently taken no less than twelve towns in that empire from the Fellatas, in which he had been greatly assisted by the sheik of Bornou. The Fellatas have a tradition, that when Danfodio, Bello's father, and the first king of Soccatoo, was a simple shepherd, he made a vow to the great author of evil, that if he would assist him in the subjugating the kingdom of Houssa, he would be his slave for ever after. The request of Danfodio, it is reported, was complied with on his own conditions, but for no longer than thirty years, after which the aborigines of the country were to regain their liberty, and re-establish their ancient laws and institutions. The term was now nearly expired, and the Fellatas began already, said the Houssa men, to tremble with apprehensions at the prospect of this tradition being realized.
June 1st, was the eve of the Bebun Sàlah, or great prayer day, and which is generally employed by the Mussulmans in Kiama, in making preparations for a festival which was to commence on the following day, and to be continued till the evening of the ensuing day. Every one in the town, who is in possession of the means, is obliged to slaughter either a bullock or a sheep on the anniversary of this day, and those who are not in possession of money sufficient to procure a whole bullock or sheep, are compelled to purchase a portion of the latter, at least, for the purpose of showing respect and reverence for the "Bebun Sàlah." The Mahommedans make a practice on this occasion of slaughtering the sheep, which may have been their companion in their peregrinations during the past year, and as soon as the holidays are over, they procure another to supply its place, and at the return of the festival, to undergo a similar fate. The company of one of these animals is preferred by the natives to that of a dog.
On the following morning a company of eight or ten drummers awoke them by the dismal noise of their drums, and by the exclamation of "turawa au, azhie," signifying, "white men, we wish you fortune," which was repeated in a high shrill tone every minute.
During the night, Kiama was visited by a thunder storm, which continued with dreadful violence for many hours, and the torrents of rain which fell, threatened to overwhelm them in their huts. Before they were aware of it, the water had rushed in at the door, and had completely soaked their mats and bedclothes, setting every light article in the room afloat. After much trouble they succeeded in draining it off, and prevented its further ingress, when they lit a large fire in the centre of the hut, and laid themselves down by the side of it to sleep. Towards morning it also rained heavily again, and to all appearances the wet season had at length fairly set in. Under those circumstances, it would be found almost next to impossible to travel much further, and if they were fortunate to reach Yaoorie, they would be obliged to remain there some time, till the roads should have become sufficiently hard and dry for their future progress. Their chief hope was, that the rains might not be so incessant at their commencement, so as to render the path to Yaoorie impassable.
On Wednesday June 2nd, the threatening appearance of the weather prevented the Mahommedans from repairing to the spot, which they had selected for the purposes of devotion, so early in the morning as they, could have wished, but the clouds having dispersed, they had all assembled there between the hours of nine and ten.
The worshippers arranged themselves in six lines or rows, the women forming the last, and sat down on as many ridges of earth, which had apparently been thrown up for the purpose. The chief mallam no sooner began a prayer, than the talking and noise of the multitude ceased, and the deepest attention seemed to be paid by every one, though the substance of what he said could only be guessed at, because it was in Arabic, which none of them understood a word of. The ceremony much resembled that which was performed at Badagry; and the forms, which are generally practised, it is supposed, on all public religious meetings in mahommedan countries, such as ablution, prostration, &c., were observed on this occasion. The king, however, did not rise, as he should have done, when the worshippers stood up, but satisfied himself with uttering the name of Allah, and by simple prostration only. When the usual form of prayer had been gone through, the chief mallam placed himself on a hillock, and for about five minutes read to the people a few loose pages of the Koran, which he held in his hand. While thus engaged, two priests of inferior order knelt beside him to hold the hem of his tobe, and a third, in the same position, held the skirts from behind. After he had finished reading, the priest descended from the hillock, and with the help of his assistants, slaughtered a sheep which had been bound and brought to him for sacrifice. The blood of the animal was caught in a calabash, and the king and the more devoted of his subjects washed their hands in it, and sprinkled some of it on the ground. The conclusion of the ceremony was announced by the discharge of a few old muskets, and with drums beating and fifes playing, the people returned to their respective homes. The majority of them were smartly dressed in all the finery they could procure. About a hundred of the men rode on horseback, with lances and other weapons in their hands, which, with the gay trappings of the horses, gave them a respectable appearance.
In the afternoon, all the inhabitants of the town, and many from the little villages in the neighbourhood, assembled to witness the horse racing, which always takes place on the anniversary of the Belun Sàlah, and to which every one had been looking forward with the greatest impatience. Previously to its commencement, the king with his principal attendants rode slowly on round the town, more for the purpose of receiving the admiration and plaudits of his people, than to observe where distress more particularly prevailed, which was his avowed intention. In this respect we do not see that the African kings are a jot worse than the Europeans; it is true, indeed, that the African monarch has in some measure the advantage over the European, for we have never heard that any European king, particularly an English one, ever even conceived the idea of parading the town in which he might reside, for the purpose of finding and relieving the distressed, but when he does condescend to show himself amongst the people, to whom he is indebted for the victuals which he eats, it is for the purpose of attending some state mummery, or seeing a number of human beings standing in a row, with the weapons of murder in their hands, but which, when called into action to gratify the senseless ambition of the said king, is called privileged homicide. An inspection of these human machines is called a review; were some kings to institute a review of their own actions, it would be better for themselves, and better for the people, to whom a blind and stupid fortune has given him as their log.
The kings of Africa, like other kings, attach a great importance to a great noise, called a salute, and, therefore, a hint was given to the Landers to bring their pistols with them to the race course, that they might salute the king as he rode by them; a salute is the same thing, whether it be from a pop-gun or a two and thirty pounder, for all salutes generally end in smoke, which shows their folly and insignificance. The Landers felt a strong inclination to witness the amusements of the day, and they arrived at the course rather sooner than was necessary, which, however, afforded them a fairer opportunity of observing the various groups of people, which were flocking to the scene of amusement.