Travels of Richard and John Lander into the interior of Africa, for the discovery of the course and termination of the Niger: From unpublished documents in the possession of the late Capt. John William Barber Fullerton ... with a prefatory analysis of the previous travels of Park, Denham, Clapperton, Adams, Lyon, Ritchie, &c. into the hitherto unexplored countries of AfricaHuish, Robert
History
Travels of Richard and John Lander into the interior of Africa, for the discovery of the course and termination of the Niger: From unpublished documents in the possession of the late Capt. John William Barber Fullerton ... with a prefatory analysis of the previous travels of Park, Denham, Clapperton, Adams, Lyon, Ritchie, &c. into the hitherto unexplored countries of Africa
Huish, Robert
Africa, West -- Discovery and exploration; Lander, John, 1807-1839; Lander, Richard, 1804-1834; Niger River
store of provisions.
December the 6th, early in the morning, on visiting Jatta, he found
his majesty sitting upon a bullock's hide, warming himself before a
large fire, for the Africans frequently feel cold when a European is
oppressed with heat. Jatta received his visitant very kindly, and
earnestly entreated him to advance no farther into the interior,
telling him that Major Houghton had been killed in his route. He said
that travellers must not judge of the people of the eastern country
by those of Woolli. The latter were acquainted with white men, and
respected them; whereas, in the east, the people had never seen one,
and would certainly destroy the first they beheld. Park, thanking the
king for his affectionate concern, told him he was determined,
notwithstanding all danger, to proceed. The king shook his head, but
desisted from further persuasion, and ordered the guide to hold
himself in readiness.
On the guide making his appearance, Park took his last farewell of
the good old king, and in three hours reached Konjour, a small
village, where he and his party rested for the night. Here he bought
a fine sheep for some beads, and his attendants killed it, with all
the ceremonies prescribed by their religion. Part of it was dressed
for supper, after which a dispute arose between one of the negroes
and Johnson, the interpreter, about the sheep's horns. The former
claimed the horns as his perquisite, as he had performed the office
of butcher, and Johnson disputed the claim. To settle the matter, Mr.
Park gave a horn to each of the litigants.
Leaving Konjour, and sleeping at a village called Malla, on the 8th
he arrived at Kolor, a considerable town, near the entrance into
which he saw hanging upon a tree, a sort of masquerade habit, made of
the bark of trees, which he was told belonged to Mumbo Jumbo. The
account of this personage is thus narrated by Mr. Park: "This is a
strange bugbear, common to all the Mandingo towns, and much employed
by the pagan natives in keeping their women in subjection, for as the
kafirs are not restricted in the number of their wives, every one
marries as many as he can maintain, and, as it frequently happens,
that the ladies disagree among themselves, family quarrels rise
sometimes to such a height, that the husband can no longer preserve
peace in his household. In such cases, the interposition of Mumbo
Jumbo is called in, and is always decisive."
This strange minister of justice, who is supposed to be either the
husband himself, or some person instructed by him, disguised in the
dress before mentioned, and armed with his rod of public authority,
announces his coming by loud and continual screams in the woods near
the town. He begins the pantomime at the approach of night, and, as
soon as it is dark, enters the town, and proceeds to the bentang, at
which all the inhabitants immediately assemble.
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