Albert, Lake (Congo and Uganda); Nile River; Sudan -- Description and travel
Polygamy is, of course, the general custom, the number of a man's wives
depending entirely upon his wealth, precisely as would the number of his
horses in England. There is no such thing as LOVE in these countries;
the feeling is not understood, nor does it exist in the shape in
which we understand it. Everything is practical, without a particle of
romance. Women are so far appreciated as they are valuable animals. They
grind the corn, fetch the water, gather firewood, cement the floors,
cook the food, and propagate the race; but they are mere servants, and
as such are valuable. The price of a good-looking, strong young wife,
who could carry a heavy jar of water, would be ten cows; thus a man
rich in cattle would be rich in domestic bliss, as he could command a
multiplicity of wives. However delightful may be a family of daughters
in England, they nevertheless are costly treasures; but in Latooka and
throughout savage lands they are exceedingly profitable. The simple rule
of proportion will suggest that if one daughter is worth ten cows, ten
daughters must be worth a hundred; therefore a large family is a source
of wealth: the girls bring the cows, and the boys milk them. All being
perfectly naked (I mean the girls and the boys), there is no expense,
and the children act as herdsmen to the flocks as in the patriarchal
times. A multiplicity of wives thus increases wealth by the increase
of family. I am afraid this practical state of affairs will be a strong
barrier to missionary enterprise.
A savage holds to his cows and his women, but especially to his COWS. In
a razzia fight he will seldom stand for the sake of his wives, but when
he does fight it is to save his cattle.
One day, soon after Bokke's visit, I heard that there had been some
disaster, and that the whole of Mahommed Her's party had been massacred.
On the following morning I sent ten of my men with a party of Ibrahim's
to Latome to make inquiries. They returned on the following afternoon,
bringing with them two wounded men. It appeared the Mahommed Her had
ordered his party of 110 armed men, in addition to 300 natives, to
make a razzia upon a certain village among the mountains for slaves and
cattle. They had succeeded in burning a village and in capturing a great
number of slaves. Having descended the pass, a native gave them the
route that would lead to the capture of a large herd of cattle that
they had not yet discovered. They once more ascended the mountain by a
different path, and arriving at the kraal they commenced driving off the
vast herd of cattle. The Latookas, who had not fought while their
wives and children were being carried into slavery, now fronted bravely
against the muskets to defend their herds, and charging the Turks they
drove them down the pass.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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