LITMIR.BIZ

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the visit of Cada Mosto.--Clark.

      [2] The northern mouth of the Senegal is in lat. 16° 40'. The southern in 15° 45', both N. so that the distance between them, or the length of the island mentioned in the text, is about sixty-two miles.--E.

      [3] This fancy of all the great rivers in Africa being branches from one principal stream, is now known to be entirely erroneous.--Astl.

      The first kingdom of the Negroes is on the banks of the Senegal, and its inhabitants are called Gilofi or Jalofs. All the country is low, not only from the north to that river, but also beyond it, as far south as Cape Verd, which is the highest land on all this coast, and is 400 miles from Cape Branco. This kingdom of the Jalofs, on the Senegal, is bounded on the east by the country called Tukhusor ; on the south by the kingdom of Gambra or Gambia; on the west by the Atlantic Ocean; and on the north by the river Senegal and the Azanhaji[4]. The king who reigned in Senegal in my time was named Zukholin, and was twenty-two years old. This kingdom is not hereditary; but for the most part, three or four of the principal lords, of whom there are many in the country, choose a king, in the event of a vacancy, but always fix their choice on a person of noble lineage, who reigns only as long as he gives satisfaction to these great lords. They often dethrone their kings by force; who, on the other hand, often render; themselves so powerful as to stand on their defence. This renders the government unsettled, and is productive of civil wars; similar to Egypt, where the Soldan of Cairo is always in fear of being killed or banished.

      [4] Although the first kingdom, or kingdoms of the Negroes lies on the Senegal, Senega, or Sanaghas, and others along the Gambia, yet there were not properly any kingdoms of these names. On the north, indeed, of the Sanagha, lay the country of the Sanhaga, Azanaghi, or Azanhaji, from whence the river seems to have taken its name; but was divided among various tribes of people, and not under any one sovereign. Geographers, however, have since continued to propagate this first error.--Astl.

       The Jalofs and Foulahs inhabit the country between the Senegal and Gambia, on which latter river the Feloops reside. What is meant by Tukhusor in the text does not appear, unless it may obscurely indicate Karta.--E.

      The people are savages, and extremely poor, having no walled towns, and their villages are entirely composed of thatched cottages. They use neither lime nor stone in building, not knowing how to make the one, or to form the other. The kingdom of the Jalofs is small, and, as I was informed, extends only 300 miles along the coast, and about the same distance inland. The king has no settled revenue; but the lords of the country court his favour, by making him yearly presents of horses, which being scarce, are in high estimation, together with horse furniture, cows, and goats, pulse, millet, and other things. He likewise increases his wealth by means of robbery, and by reducing his own subjects, and those of neighbouring provinces to slavery, employing a part of these slaves to cultivate the lands which are assigned to him, and selling the rest to the Arabs and Azanhaji traders, who bring horses and other things for sale; as likewise to the Christians, since they have established a trade in these parts.

      Every man may keep as many wives as he pleases. The king has always upwards of thirty, and distinguishes them according to their descent, and the rank of the lords whose daughters they are. He keeps them in certain villages of his own, eight or ten in one place, each having a separate house to dwell in, with a certain number of young women to attend her, and slaves to cultivate the land which is assigned for her maintenance, which they sow and reap, and to tend her cows and goats. When the king comes to any of these villages, he brings no provisions along with him, as his women are obliged to support him and his retinue whenever he visits them. Every, morning at sunrise, each of his wives in the village where he happens to reside, prepares three or four dishes of various viands, such as flesh, fish, or other dainties, cooked in their fashion; which are carried by the slaves to the kings pantry; so that in less than an hour, thirty or forty dishes are provided, and when the king has a mind to eat, he finds every thing ready at his command. When he has eaten of such things as he likes best, the remainder is given to his retinue; but as this, diet is never very plentiful, they are but poorly fed. He travels about in this manner, from place to place, visiting his several wives, by which means he has a very numerous issue and whenever one of his wives happens to fall with child, he visits her no more. The lords or chiefs of the country live in a similar manner.

      These negroes profess me Mahometan religion, but are not even so well instructed in it as the tawny Moors, more especially the common people. The lords have always about them some Arabs or Azanhaji for this purpose, who inculcate on their minds that it would be disgraceful for men of their quality to live in ignorance of the laws of God, like the common people who have no religion. They have become Mahometans merely by means of their intercourse with the Azanhaji and Arabs; for since they became acquainted with the Christians, they are by no means so fond of the Mahometan faith. The generality of the negroes go quite naked, except a piece of goat skin before; but the lords who are able to procure such, wear cotton shirts, which are spun and manufactured by their women. Their webs are only a span in width, as they have not sufficient art to construct and use wider looms; so that they are obliged to sew five, six, or more of these webs together, when it is required to make any large piece of work. The shirts reach half way down the thighs, and have wide sleeves which; cover only half of their arms. They wear also cotton drawers, reaching to the small of their legs; and these drawers are made preposterously wide, being often thirty-five or forty palms in circumference; so that, when tied on, they are full of plaits, and though like A sack before the hinder part trails on the ground like the train of a large petticoat. Thus, though making a most ridiculous appearance, they think nothing comes up to their dress for elegance, and they often ask the Europeans if they ever saw a finer dress. Their women, both married and unmarried, go naked from the waist upwards, and wear a piece of cotton which covers them from the waist to the middle of the legs. Both sexes go barefooted, and have no coverings to their heads; and weave and tie their hair, though short, into neat tresses. The men often employ themselves in womens work, such as spinning, washing clothes, and such like employments.

      This country is extremely hot, the month of January being not so cold as it is with us in Italy in the month of April; and the farther we went to the south, the weather became so much the hotter. Both men and women wash themselves four or five times a-day, and are very cleanly in their persons; but are by no means so in regard of eating, in which they observe no rule. Although very ignorant, and extremely awkward in any thing, to which they have not been accustomed, they are as expert as any European can be in their own business, and in all things with which they are acquainted. They are full of words, and extremely talkative, and are for the most part liars and cheats. Yet they are exceedingly hospitable, and charitably disposed, as they will most readily give a dinner, or a supper, or a nights lodging, to any stranger who comes to their houses, without expecting any remuneration or reward. The chiefs of these negroes are often at war against each other, or against the neighbouring tribes or nations; but they have no cavalry, for want of horses. In war, their only defensive armour is a large target, made of the skin of an animal called Danta , which is very difficultly pierced; and their principal weapons are azagays or light darts, which they throw with great dexterity. These darts are pointed with iron, the length of a span, and barbed in different directions, so that they make dangerous wounds, and tear the flesh extremely when pulled out. They have also a Moorish weapon, much-bent like a Turkish sword or cimeter, and made of iron, without any steel, which they procure from the negroes on the river Gambia, as they either have no iron in their own country, or want knowledge or industry in working it. Having but few weapons, or rather no missiles, their wars are very bloody, as they soon come to close quarters, and their strokes seldom fall in vain; and, being extremely fierce and courageous, they will rather allow themselves to be slain as save themselves by flight; neither are they disheartened by seeing their companions slain. They have no ships, nor had they ever seen any before the Portuguese came upon their coast; but those who dwell upon the river Senegal, and some who are settled on the sea coast, have zoppolies or canoes, called almadias by the Portuguese, which are hollowed out of a single piece of wood, the largest of which will carry three or four men. They use these almadias for catching fish, and for transporting themselves up or down the river. The negroes of this country are the most expert swimmers in the world, as I can vouch from frequent experience of their dexterity.

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