III.] THE AFRICAN NEGRO : I. SUDANESE. 59 



and it may here be mentioned that armour has long been and is still 

 worn by the cavalry, and even their horses, in the Muhammadan 

 states of Central Sudan. " The chiefs (Kashelldwd) who serve as 

 officers under the Sultan [of Bornu] and act as his bodyguard 

 wear jackets of chain armour and cuirasses of coats of mail 1 ." It 

 is clear that metal casting in a large way has long been practised 

 by the semi-civilised peoples of Sudan. 



Within the great bend of the Niger the veil, first slightly raised 

 by Earth in the middle of the nineteenth century, 



/". -n- /^ The Mossi. 



has now been drawn aside by Capt. Binger, Capt. 

 Lugard and later explorers. Here the Mossi, Borgn and others 

 have hitherto more or less successfully resisted the Moslem 

 advance, and are consequently for the most part little removed 

 from the savage state. Even the " Faithful " wear the cloak of 

 Islam somewhat loosely, and the level of their culture may be 

 judged from the case of the Imam of Diulasu, who pestered Capt. 

 Binger for nostrums and charms against ailments, war, and mis- 

 fortunes. What he wanted chiefly to know was the names of 

 Abraham's two wives. " Tell me these," he would say, " and my 

 fortune is made, for I dreamt it the other night; you must tell me; 

 I really must have those names or I'm lost 2 ." 



In some districts the ethnical confusion is considerable, and 

 when Binger arrived at the Court of the Mossi King, Baikary, he 

 was addressed successively in Mossi, Hausa, Sonrhay, and Fulah, 

 until at last it was discovered that Mandingan was the only native 

 language he understood. Waghadugu, capital of the chief Mossi 

 state, comprises several distinct quarters occupied respectively by 

 Mandingans, Marengas (Sonrhays), Zang-wer'os (Hausas), Chil- 

 migos (Fulahs), Mussulman and heathen Mossis, the whole popu- 

 lation scarcely exceeding 5000. However, perfect harmony pre- 

 vails, the Mossi themselves being extremely tolerant despite the 



1 A. Featherman, Social History of Mankind, The Nigritians, p. -281. See 

 also Reclus, French ed., Vol. xn. p. 718: " Les cavaliers portent encore la 



cuirasse comme au moyen age Les chevaux sont reconverts de la tneme 



maniere." In the mythical traditions of Buganda also there is reference to the 

 fierce Wakedi warriors clad in "iron armour" (ch. IV.). 



2 Du Niger an Golfe de Guinee, I. p. 377. 



