In the course of the day I had many visiters, and received a present of a fowl, together with some rice and milk, which we had for supper. The Mandingoes of Cambaya, to whom I had given medicine and advice, were not by any means so grateful as the Dhialonkés of Bagaraya. These good people told me they were highly gratified in having among them a sherif on his way to Mecca, which place they call _Maka_. I gave the chief a little cream of tartar, for Lamfia informed him that I had some very good medicines. He sent us a supper, consisting of foigné boiled without being bruised, and a little milk. In the afternoon I observed that two sheep had been killed. I was astonished at this preparation for feasting, and asked the cause of it. I was told that it was to celebrate the marriage of the chief, which was to take place that evening. The chief was a man about fifty or fifty-five years of age, and this was his fourth wife. Several women of the neighbourhood kindled a large fire, for which the friends of the chief sent their slaves to collect wood. On this fire were placed two enormous earthen pots, eighteen or twenty inches in height, and twelve or fourteen in diameter; in the one was boiled rice, and in the other a sheep. Several other women of the village, who came to assist their companions, kindled other fires for cooking a distinct supper for the female friends of the bride. The cooking was performed in the open air; and the cooks were each provided with a large spatula with which they stirred the rice and meat, performing that office by turns. When the rice was sufficiently boiled, it was placed in calabashes of such enormous size, that there were at least a dozen women to each. They arranged the rice in the form of sugar-loaves, smoothing it with their hands, and slightly sprinkling it with cold water. There were provisions enough for at least two hundred negroes, for almost all the inhabitants of the place were to attend the feast, which was to commence at night. The calabashes of rice were removed to a hut belonging to the chief. Among the Mandingoes, marriages are contracted without much ceremony. When a man sees a woman whom he wishes to marry, he gains the good graces of her parents by sending presents to them as well as to the daughter. The price which the bridegroom is to pay for the bride is agreed upon: it consists of one, two, or three slaves, according to the beauty and other recommendations of the bride. These slaves are given to the mother, who, if satisfied with the price, consents to her daughter’s marriage. The husband defrays all the expence of the nuptial feast, which usually takes place at night, and when it is over, the marriage is consummated, without the observance of any religious ceremony.