Discoursing afterwards with some of the principal People of Ardra and Whidaw, who had escaped the Conqueror’s Sword, and telling them, what a Reproach and Disgrace it was to the latter Nation to quit their Country to the Dahomes in so cowardly a manner as they had done; they answered, It was not possible to resist such Cannibals, the very Report of which had extremely intimidated their whole Nation. Whereupon I observed to them, It was all one to a dead Carcase, whether it was eaten by their own kind, or by the Vultures, (of which there are great numbers in the Country) on which they shrugged up their Shoulders, saying, “The thoughts of being eaten by their own Species, were far more terrible to them, than the Apprehensions of being killed.”
Human Sacrifices.
But to return again to the Duke, I endeavoured to allay his Fears, by representing to him, we had the King’s Promise for our Safety; and that sacrificing their Enemies being the usual custom of the Country on any Conquest, he ought not to be so much surprized at it. But he replied, As to his own Safety he was very doubtful of it, the King not having yet admitted him to an Audience; so he requested he might remain in our Tent, as thinking himself safer with us, and accordingly we granted his request. Then sending for our Linguist, we desired to know, Whether the Dutch Captain and my self might be admitted to see the manner of the Sacrifices: (As for the Dutch Writer, he chose to remain in the Tent with the Duke). The Interpreter answered, He would go to the chief Feticheer, or Priest, and know, whether he would be pleased to give us leave. Soon after he returned, and informed us, Leave was granted: So we went with him, about a quarter of a mile from the Camp. There we found great numbers of People gathered together; and our Guard made way for us through the Croud, till we came near four small Stages, which were erected about five foot from the ground. We stood close to them, and observed the Ceremony, which was performed in the following manner.
The first Victim we saw, was brought to the side of the Stage. It was a comely old Man, between fifty and sixty Years of Age. His hands were tied behind him; and in his behaviour, he showed a brave and undaunted Mind, nothing like Fear appearing in him. As he stood upright by the Stage, a Feticheer, or Priest, laid his Hand on his Head, saying some words of Consecration, which lasted about two Minutes. Then he gave the sign of Execution, to a Man that stood behind the Victim with a broad Sword, who immediately struck him on the nape of the Neck, with such force, that the Head was severed at one Blow, from the Body; whereupon the Rabble gave a great Shout. The Head was cast on the Stage, and the Body, after having lain a little while on the Ground, that the Blood might drain from it, was carried away by Slaves, and thrown in a place adjoining to the Camp. The Linguist told us, the Head of the Victim was for the King; the Blood for the Fetiche, or God; and the Body for the common People. We saw many other Persons sacrificed in this lamentable manner, and observed, That the Men went to the side of the Stages, bold and unconcerned; but the Cries of the poor Women and Children were very moving, and much affected the Dutch Captain and My self, tho’ in a different manner: For he expressed his Fears to me, That the Priests might take it into their Heads, to serve us in the same manner, if they should fancy white People would be more acceptable to their God, than persons of their own colour. This notion raised some fear in me, but recollecting my self, I told him, “As the King was so greatly reverenced and feared, I was in good hopes nothing would be attempted on us; and that we ought to put a good face on the matter, and withdraw from so terrible a Sight, the first opportunity.” Soon after, a principal Man of the Court came and stood by us, and bid the Interpreter ask us, “How we liked the Sight?” To which we replied, “Not at all: For our God had expressly forbid us using Mankind in so cruel a manner: That our Curiosity had drawn us to come and see it; which if we had not done, we could never have believed it.” Then I asked the Linguist, Whether this Gentleman was accounted a generous good humoured Man? To which the Linguist replying in the affirmative, I ventured to put this Question to him, “That if his Fate had brought him into the same Misfortune, as these poor Captives were now in, how he should like it? He readily answered, Not at all. On this I observed to him, that the grand Law both of Whites and Blacks, with all their Fellow Creatures was: To do to others no otherwise, than as they desired to be done unto: And that our God had enjoined this to us on pain of very severe Punishments.” To which he answered, This was the Custom of his Country; and so he left us.
Presently after this Gentleman’s departure, there came to us a Colonel of the Army, whom we had seen at Jaqueen, the day before we set out on our Journey. This person seemed very friendly and glad to see us, and ready to resolve any Questions we put to him. Amongst the rest, I told him, “That I wondered they should sacrifice so many People, of whom they might otherwise make good advantage, by selling them.” He replied, “It had ever been the Custom of their Nation, after any Conquest, to offer to their God a certain number of Captives, which were always chose out from among the Prisoners, by the King himself: For they firmly believed, should this be omitted, no more Success would attend them. And he argued for the Necessity and Usefulness of their doing it, from the large Conquests they had made within a few Years, without any Defeat.” Then I asked him, “Why so many old Men were sacrificed in particular? He answered, It was best to put them to death; for being grown wise by their Age and long Experience, if they were preserved, they would be ever plotting against their Masters, and so disturb the Country; for they never would be easy under Slavery, having been the chief Men in their own Land. Moreover, if they should be spared, no European would buy them, on account of their Age.” I then observed to him, That I had seen several and some young People sacrificed, whom was sure the Europeans would gladly have bought. He replied, “They were designed to attend in the other World the King’s Wives, whom the Tuffoes their Countrymen had slain.” By which Answer I found they have a Notion of a future State, tho’ a very rude one. And this put me upon asking him, What Opinions they held concerning their God? To which he gave a very confused and imperfect Answer; so that all I could gather from his Discourse was, That they esteemed him as an invisible Guardian Angel, subordinate to another God; adding, “Perhaps that God might be ours, who had communicated so many extraordinary Things to white Men; as he had been informed by Mr. Lambe: But as that God had not been pleased to make himself known to them, they must be satisfied with this they worshipped.”
By this time the Mob being grown thin, on the side where we stood, I told the Linguist, we would return to our Tent; and I invited the Colonel to go along with us, which he readily promised. Accordingly our Guard having made way for us, we left this horrible Place and Sight, not having received the least Affront, tho’ we were near two Hours by the Stages.
At our return we understood, the King had sent the Duke word, he should have an Audience that Evening; whereupon I endeavoured to cheer him up by telling him, “That we had been civilly used at the Sacrifices, and that nothing could more conduce to his Reputation, than his appearing before the King, in his usual sprightly Carriage and Behaviour,” which was indeed natural to him. On this he went from us to the Great Captain’s Tent, in order to prepare himself to go to the Audience. But the Colonel remained with us, drinking merrily of European Liquors, and in the Evening he asked us, “Whether we would take a walk, and see that Quarter of the Camp where his Tent stood?” This we readily agreed to, and in our way past by the place where the sacrificed Bodies were thrown. There were two great heaps of them, consisting, as they said, of four hundred Persons, and who had been chose out by the King that very Morning.
After we had been at the Colonel’s Tent, where we were treated with Palm Wine, we returned to our own, being accompanied by him, and we desired him to stay to Supper. While we were eating, several Servants came with Dishes of Flesh and Fish, dress’d after the Country manner, and the Interpreter told us, they were sent by a Mulatto Portuguese Gentleman, who had been taken in the Ardra War. The King had ever since detained him Prisoner, allowing him a handsome Maintenance, and had given him a Wife much whiter than himself, who was born in the inland Country. Soon after the Victuals were brought, the Gentleman came himself, with his Wife, to see us; and after passing a handsome Compliment, they sat down to Supper with us. We were very glad of this new Acquaintance, the Dutch Writer speaking good Portuguese, and my self understanding a little; so that now we judged, we should not be obliged to trust intirely to our Linguist, this Person talking the Language of the Country fluently. I was much surprized to see his Wife so white, equal to our English Women, only of not so lively a Colour. She had woolly Hair, like the blackest of the Natives, with the same Features. Her Husband told us, she was born in a far inland Country, of black Parents, who had never seen a white Man, nor she before Mr. Lambe; whom he enquired affectionately after, saying, “That when he returned, according to his Promise to the King, his Majesty had promised to grant him his Liberty.” Then, on his Importunity, we promised him a Visit at his House; and soon after, he and his Wife, with the Colonel, took their leaves, wishing us a good Night.
Cannibals.