Life and Travels of Mungo Park in Central Africa by Mungo Park

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The Mandingoes, and, I believe, the Negroes in general, have no
artificial method of dividing time. They calculate the years by the
number of _rainy seasons_. They portion the year into _moons_, and reckon
the days by so many _suns_. The day they divide into morning, mid-day,
and evening; and further subdivide it, when necessary, by pointing to the
sun's place in the Heavens. I frequently inquired of some of them what
became of the sun during the night, and whether we should see the same
sun, or a different one, in the morning? but I found that they considered
the question as very childish. The subject appeared to them as placed
beyond the reach of human investigation. They had never indulged a
conjecture, nor formed any hypothesis about the matter. The moon, by
varying her form, has more attracted their attention. On the first
appearance of the new moon, which they look upon to be newly created, the
Pagan natives, as well as Mahomedans, say a short prayer; and this seems
to be the only visible adoration which the Kafirs offer up to the Supreme
Being. This prayer is pronounced in a whisper, the party holding up his
hands before his face. Its purport (as I have been assured by many
different people) is to return thanks to God for his kindness through the
existence of the past moon, and to solicit a continuation of his favour
during that of the new one. At the conclusion, they spit, upon their
hands, and rub them over their faces. This seems to be nearly the same
ceremony which prevailed among the Heathens in the days of Job.[17]

[17] Chap. xxxi. ver. 26, 27, 28.

Great attention, however, is paid to the changes of this luminary in its
monthly course; and it is thought very unlucky to begin a journey, or any
other work of consequence, in the last quarter. An eclipse, whether of
the sun or moon, is supposed to be effected by witchcraft. The stars are
very little regarded; and the whole study of astronomy appears to them as
a useless pursuit, and attended to by such persons only as deal in magic.

Their notions of geography are equally puerile. They imagine that the
world is an extended plain, the termination of which no eye has
discovered; it being, they say, overhung with clouds and darkness. They
describe the sea as a large river of salt water, on the farther shore of
which is situated a country called _Tobaubo doo_; "the land of the white
people." At a distance from Tobaubo doo, they describe another country,
which they allege is inhabited by cannibals of gigantic size, called
_Koomi_. This country they call _Jong sang doo_, "the land where the
slaves are sold." But of all countries in the world their own appears to
them as the best, and their own people as the happiest; and they pity the
fate of other nations, who have been placed by Providence in less fertile
and less fortunate districts.

Some of the religious opinions of the Negroes, though blended with the
weakest credulity and superstition, are not unworthy of attention. I have
conversed with all ranks and conditions, upon the subject of their faith,
and can pronounce, without the smallest shadow of doubt, that the belief
of one God, and of a future state of reward and punishment, is entire and
universal among them. It is remarkable, however, that, except on the
appearance of a new moon, as before related, the Pagan natives do not
think it necessary to offer up prayers and supplications to the Almighty.
They represent the Deity, indeed, as the Creator and Preserver of all
things; but in general they consider him as a Being so remote, and of so
exalted a nature, that it is idle to imagine the feeble supplications of
wretched mortals can reverse the decrees, and change the purposes of
unerring Wisdom. If they are asked, for what reason then do they offer up
a prayer on the appearance of the new moon? the answer is, that custom
has made it necessary; they do it, because their fathers did it before
them. Such is the blindness of unassisted nature! The concerns of this
world, they believe, are committed by the Almighty to the superintendence
and direction of subordinate spirits, over whom they suppose that certain
magical ceremonies have great influence. A white fowl suspended to the
branch of a particular tree, a snake's head, or a few handfuls of fruit,
are offerings which ignorance and superstition frequently present, to
deprecate the wrath, or to conciliate the favour of these tutelary
agents. But it is not often that the Negroes make their religious
opinions the subject of conversation. When interrogated, in particular,
concerning their ideas of a future state, they express themselves with
great reverence, but endeavour to shorten the discussion by
observing--_mo o mo inta allo_, "no man knows any thing about it." They
are content, they say, to follow the precepts and examples of their
forefathers, through the various vicissitudes of life; and when this
world presents no objects of enjoyment or comfort, they seem to look with
anxiety towards another, which they believe will be better suited to
their natures; but concerning which they are far from indulging vain and
delusive conjectures.

The Mandingoes seldom attain extreme old age. At forty, most of them
become gray haired, and covered with wrinkles; and but few of them
survive the age of fifty-five or sixty. They calculate the years of their
lives, as I have already observed, by the number of rainy seasons, (there
being but one such in the year,) and distinguish each year by a
particular name, founded on some remarkable occurrence which happened in
that year. Thus they say the year of the _Farbanna war_; the year of the
_Kaarta war_; the year on which _Gadou was plundered_, &c. &c.; and I
have no doubt that the year 1796 will in many places be distinguished by
the name of _Tobaubo tambi sang_, "the year the white man passed;" as
such an occurrence would naturally form an epoch in their traditional
history.

But notwithstanding that longevity is uncommon among them, it appeared to
me, that their diseases are but few in number. Their simple diet, and
active way of life, preserve them from many of those disorders which
embitter the days of luxury and idleness. Fevers and fluxes are the most
common, and the most fatal. For these, they generally apply saphies to
different parts of the body, and perform a great many other superstitious
ceremonies; some of which are, indeed, well calculated to inspire the
patient with the hope of recovery, and divert his mind from brooding over
his own danger. But I have sometimes observed among them a more
systematic mode of treatment. On the first attack of a fever, when the
patient complains of cold, he is frequently placed in a sort of vapour.
This is done by spreading branches of the _nauclea orientalis_ upon hot
wood embers, and laying the patient upon them, wrapped up in a large
cotton cloth. Water is then sprinkled upon the branches, which descending
to the hot embers, soon covers the patient with a cloud of vapour, in
which he is allowed to remain until the embers are almost extinguished.
This practice commonly produces a profuse perspiration, and wonderfully
relieves the sufferer.

For the dysentery, they use the bark of different trees reduced to
powder; and mixed with the patient's food; but this practice is in
general very unsuccessful.

The other diseases which prevail among the Negroes are the _yaws_, the
_elephantiasis_, and a _leprosy_ of the very worst kind. This last
mentioned complaint appears, at the beginning, in scurfy spots upon
different parts of the body, which finally settle upon the hands or feet,
where the skin becomes withered, and cracks in many places. At length,
the ends of the fingers swell and ulcerate, the discharge is acrid and
foetid; the nails drop off, and the bones of the fingers become carious,
and separate at the joints. In this manner the disease continues to
spread, frequently until the patient loses all his fingers and toes. Even
the hands and feet are sometimes destroyed by this inveterate malady, to
which the Negroes give the name of _balla jou_, "incurable."

The _Guinea worm_ is likewise very common in certain places, especially
at the commencement of the rainy season. The Negroes attribute this
disease, which has been described by many writers, to bad water, and
allege that the people who drink from wells are more subject to it than
those who drink from streams. To the same cause they attribute the
swelling of the glands of the neck, (goitres,) which are very common in
some parts of Bambarra. I observed also, in the interior countries, a few
instances of simple gonorrhoea; but never the confirmed lues. On the
whole, it appeared to me that the Negroes are better surgeons than
physicians. I found them very successful in their management of fractures
and dislocations, and their splints and bandages are simple, and easily
removed. The patient is laid upon a soft mat, and the fractured limb is
frequently bathed with cold water. All abscesses they open with the
actual cautery; and the dressings are composed of either soft leaves,
shea-butter, or cows' dung, as the case seems, in their judgment, to
require. Towards the Coast, where a supply of European lancets can be
procured, they sometimes perform phlebotomy; and in cases of local
inflammation, a curious sort of cupping is practised. This operation is
performed by making incisions in the part, and applying to it a bullock's
horn, with a small hole in the end. The operator then takes a piece of
bees-wax in his mouth, and putting his lips to the hole, extracts the air
from the horn; and by a dexterous use of his tongue, stops up the hole
with the wax. This method is found to answer the purpose, and in general
produces a plentiful discharge.

When a person of consequence dies, the relations and neighbours meet
together, and manifest their sorrow by loud and dismal howlings. A
bullock or goat is killed for such persons as come to assist at the
funeral, which generally takes place in the evening of the same day on
which the party died. The Negroes have no appropriate burial places, and
frequently dig the grave in the floor of the deceased's hut, or in the
shade of a favourite tree. The body is dressed in white cotton, and
wrapped up in a mat. It is carried to the grave in the dusk of the
evening by the relations. If the grave is without the walls of the town,
a number of prickly bushes are laid upon it, to prevent the wolves from
digging up the body; but I never observed that any stone was placed over
the grave, as a monument or memorial.

Hitherto I have considered the Negroes chiefly in a moral light, and
confined myself to the most prominent features in their mental character,
their domestic amusements, occupations, and diet. Their arts and
manufactures, with some other subordinate objects, are now to be noticed.

Of their music and dances, some account has incidentally been given in
different parts of my Journal. On the first of these heads, I have now to
add a list of their musical instruments, the principal of which are--the
_koonting_, a sort of guitar with three strings;--the _korro_, a large
harp, with eighteen strings;--the _simbing_, a small harp with seven
strings;--the _balafou_, an instrument composed of twenty pieces of hard
wood of different lengths, with the shells of gourds hung underneath, to
increase the sound;--the _tangtang_, a drum, open at the lower end; and,
lastly, the _tabala_, a large drum, commonly used to spread an alarm
through the country. Besides these, they make use of small flutes,
bowstrings, elephants' teeth, and bells; and at all their dances and
concerts, _clapping of hands_ appears to constitute a necessary part of
the chorus.

With the love of music is naturally connected a taste for poetry; and,
fortunately for the poets of Africa, they are in a great measure exempted
from that neglect and indigence, which, in more polished countries,
commonly attend the votaries of the Muses. They consist of two classes;
the most numerous are the _singing men_, called _Jilli kea_, mentioned in
a former part of my narrative. One or more of these may be found in every
town. They sing extempore songs, in honour of their chief men, or any
other persons who are willing to give "solid pudding for empty praise."
But a nobler part of their office is to recite the historical events of
their country; hence, in war they accompany the soldiers to the field, in
order, by reciting the great actions of their ancestors, to awaken in
them a spirit of glorious emulation. The other class are devotees of the
Mahomedan faith, who travel about the country, singing devout hymns, and
performing religious ceremonies, to conciliate the favour of the
Almighty; either in averting calamity, or insuring success to any
enterprise. Both descriptions of these itinerant bards are much employed
and respected by the people, and very liberal contributions are made for
them.

The usual diet of the Negroes is somewhat different in different
districts. In general, the people of free condition breakfast about
daybreak, upon gruel made of meal and water, with a little of the fruit
of the tamarind, to give it an acid taste. About two o'clock in the
afternoon, a sort of hasty pudding, with a little shea-butter, is the
common meal; but the supper constitutes the principal repast, and is
seldom ready before midnight. This consists almost universally of
kouskous, with a small portion of animal food, or shea-butter, mixed with
it. In eating, the Kafirs as well as Mahomedans use the right hand only.

The beverage of the Pagan Negroes is beer and mead; of each of which they
frequently drink to excess. The Mahomedan converts drink nothing but
water. The natives of all descriptions take snuff, and smoke tobacco;
their pipes are made of wood, with an earthen bowl of curious
workmanship. But in the interior countries, the greatest of all luxuries
is salt. It would appear strange to an European, to see a child suck a
piece of rock-salt as if it were sugar. This, however, I have frequently
seen; although, in the inland parts, the poorer class of inhabitants are
so very rarely indulged with this precious article, that to say _a man
eats salt with his victuals_, is the same as saying _he is a rich man_. I
have myself suffered great inconvenience from the scarcity of this
article. The long use of vegetable food creates so painful a longing for
salt, that no words can sufficiently describe it.

The Negroes in general, and the Mandingoes in particular, are considered
by the whites on the Coast as an indolent and inactive people; I think
without reason. The nature of the climate is, indeed, unfavourable to
great exertion; but surely a people cannot justly be denominated
habitually indolent, whose wants are supplied, not by the spontaneous
productions of nature, but by their own exertions. Few people work
harder, when occasion requires, than the Mandingoes; but not having many
opportunities of turning to advantage the superfluous produce of their
labour, they are content with cultivating as much ground only as is
necessary for their own support. The labours of the field give them
pretty full employment during the rains; and in the dry season, the
people who live in the vicinity of large rivers employ themselves chiefly
in fishing. The fish are taken in wicker baskets, or with small cotton
nets; and are preserved by being first dried in the sun, and afterwards
rubbed with shea butter, to prevent them from contracting fresh moisture.
Others of the natives employ themselves in hunting. Their weapons are
bows and arrows; but the arrows in common use are not poisoned.[18] They
are very dexterous marksmen, and will hit a lizard on a tree, or any
other small object, at an amazing distance. They likewise kill
Guinea-fowls, partridges, and pigeons, but never on the wing. While the
men are occupied in these pursuits, the women are very diligent in
manufacturing cotton cloth. They prepare the cotton for spinning, by
laying it in small quantities at a time, upon a smooth stone, or piece of
wood, and rolling the seeds out with a thick iron spindle; and they spin
it with the distaff. The thread is not fine, but well twisted, and makes
a very durable cloth. A woman, with common diligence, will spin from six
to nine garments of this cloth in one year; which, according to its
fineness, will sell for a minkalli and a half, or two minkallies
each.[19] The weaving is performed by the men. The loom is made exactly
upon the same principle as that of Europe; but so small and narrow, that
the web is seldom more than four inches broad. The shuttle is of the
common construction; but as the thread is coarse, the chamber is somewhat
larger than the European.

[18] Poisoned arrows are used chiefly in war. The poison, which is
said to be very deadly, is prepared from a shrub called _koona_ (a
species of _echites_,) which is very common in the woods. The leaves
of this shrub, when boiled with a small quantity of water, yield a
thick black juice, into which the Negroes dip a cotton thread; this
thread they fasten round the iron of the arrow, in such a manner that
it is almost impossible to extract the arrow, when it has sunk beyond
the barbs, without leaving the iron point, and the poisoned thread,
in the wound.

[19] A minkalli is a quantity of gold, nearly equal in value to ten
shillings sterling.

The women dye this cloth of a rich and lasting blue colour, by the
following simple process: The leaves of the indigo when fresh gathered
are pounded in a wooden mortar, and mixed in a large earthen jar, with a
strong ley of wood ashes; chamber-ley is sometimes added. The cloth is
steeped in this mixture, and allowed to remain until it has acquired the
proper shade. In Kaarta and Ludamar, where the indigo is not plentiful,
they collect the leaves, and dry them in the sun; and when they wish to
use them, they reduce a sufficient quantity to powder, and mix it with
the ley as before mentioned. Either way, the colour is very beautiful,
with a fine purple gloss, and equal, in my opinion, to the best Indian or
European blue. This cloth is cut into various pieces, and sewed into
garments, with needles of the natives' own making.

As the arts of weaving, dyeing, sewing, &c. may easily be acquired, those
who exercise them are not considered in Africa as following any
particular profession; for almost every slave can weave, and every boy
can sew. The only artists which are distinctly acknowledged as such by
the Negroes, and who value themselves on exercising appropriate and
peculiar trades, are the manufacturers of _leather_ and of _iron_. The
first of these are called _Karrankea_, (or, as the word is sometimes
pronounced, _Gaungay_.) They are to be found in almost every town, and
they frequently travel through the country in the exercise of their
calling. They tan and dress leather with very great expedition, by
steeping the hide first in a mixture of wood-ashes and water, until it
parts with the hair; and afterwards by using the pounded leaves of a tree
called _goo_, as an astringent. They are at great pains to render the
hide as soft and pliant as possible, by rubbing it frequently between
their hands, and beating it upon a stone. The hides of bullocks are
converted chiefly into sandals, and therefore require less care in
dressing than the skins of sheep and goats, which are used for covering
quivers and saphies, and in making sheaths for swords and knives, belts,
pockets, and a variety of ornaments. These skins are commonly dyed of a
red or yellow colour; the red, by means of millet stalks reduced to
powder; and the yellow, by the root of a plant, the name of which I have
forgotten.

The manufacturers in iron are not so numerous as the _Karrankeas_; but
they appear to have studied their business with equal diligence. The
Negroes on the Coast being cheaply supplied with iron from the European
traders, never attempt the manufacturing of this article themselves; but
in the inland parts, the natives smelt this useful metal in such
quantities, as not only to supply themselves from it with all necessary
weapons and instruments, but even to make it an article of commerce with
some of the neighbouring states. During my stay at Kamalia, there was a
smelting furnace at a short distance from the hut where I lodged, and the
owner and his workmen made no secret about the manner of conducting the
operation; and readily allowed me to examine the furnace, and assist them
in breaking the ironstone. The furnace was a circular tower of clay,
about ten feet high, and three in diameter; surrounded in two places with
withes, to prevent the clay from cracking and falling to pieces by the
violence of the heat. Round the lower part, on a level with the
ground,(but not so low as the bottom of the furnace, which was somewhat
concave,) were made seven openings, into every one of which were placed
three tubes of clay, and the openings again plastered up in such a manner
that no air could enter the furnace but through the tubes; by the opening
and shutting of which they regulated the fire. These tubes were formed by
plastering a mixture of clay and grass round a smooth roller of wood,
which as soon as the clay began to harden was withdrawn, and the tube
left to dry in the sun. The ironstone which I saw was very heavy, and of
a dull red colour, with greyish specks; it was broken into pieces about
the size of a hen's egg. A bundle of dry wood was first put into the
furnace, and covered with a considerable quantity of charcoal, which was
brought ready burnt from the woods. Over this was laid a stratum of
ironstone, and then another of charcoal, and so on until the furnace was
quite full. The fire was applied through one of the tubes, and blown for
some time with bellows made of goats'-skins. The operation went on very
slowly at first, and it was some hours before the flame appeared above
the furnace; but after this, it burnt with great violence all the first
night, and the people who attended put in at times more charcoal. On the
day following the fire was not so fierce, and on the second night some of
the tubes were withdrawn, and the air allowed to have freer access to the
furnace; but the heat was still very great, and a bluish flame rose some
feet above the top of the furnace. On the third day from the commencement
of the operation, all the tubes were taken out, the ends of many of them
being vitrified with the heat; but the metal was not removed until some
days afterwards, when the whole was perfectly cool. Part of the furnace
was then taken down, and the iron appeared in the form of a large
irregular mass, with pieces of charcoal adhering to it. It was sonorous;
and when any portion was broken off, the fracture exhibited a granulated
appearance, like broken steel. The owner informed me that many parts of
this cake were useless, but still there was good iron enough to repay him
for his trouble. This iron, or rather steel, is formed into various
instruments, by being repeatedly heated in a forge, the heat of which is
urged by a pair of double bellows of a very simple construction, being
made of two goats' skins; the tubes from which unite, before they enter
the forge, and supply a constant and very regular blast. The hammer,
forceps, and anvil, are all very simple, and the workmanship
(particularly in the formation of knives and spears) is not destitute of
merit. The iron, indeed, is hard and brittle, and requires much labour
before it can be made to answer the purpose.

Most of the African blacksmiths are acquainted also with the method of
smelting gold, in which process they use an alkaline salt, obtained from
a ley of burnt corn-stalks evaporated to dryness. They likewise draw the
gold into wire, and form it into a variety of ornaments, some of which
are executed with a great deal of taste and ingenuity.

Such is the chief information I obtained concerning the present state of
arts and manufactures in those regions of Africa which I explored in my
journey. I might add, though it is scarce worthy observation, that in
Bambarra and Kaarta, the natives make very beautiful baskets, hats, and
other articles, both for use and ornament, from rushes, which they stain
of different colours; and they contrive also to cover their calabashes
with interwoven cane, dyed in the same manner.

In all the laborious occupations above described, the master and his
slaves work together, without any distinction of superiority. Hired
servants, by which I mean persons of free condition, voluntarily working
for pay, are unknown in Africa; and this observation naturally leads me
to consider the condition of the slaves, and the various means by which
they are reduced to so miserable a state of servitude. This unfortunate
class are found, I believe, in all parts of this extensive country, and
constitute a considerable branch of commerce with the states on the
Mediterranean, as well as with the nations of Europe.

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