822 W. F. Daniell, Esq., on the Natives of Old Callebar. 



cealed, so as, it is stated, to prevent an enemy from obtain- 

 ing their skulls as trophies, which is not the case with those 

 of the common people. 



The houses in Old Callebar, belonging to the middle and 

 upper classes, are inferior in every point of view to those of 

 any other nation in this part of Africa, not only in the firm 

 and compact arrangement of the building materials, but in 

 that appropriate style of architecture, which conjoins 

 strength and solidity with neatness in execution. The pe- 

 culiar novelty of these tenements, is the different courtyards 

 or open compartments, in which all are, more or less, sub- 

 divided, the whole of which, if thrown open, w^ould occupy 

 no small space of ground. Evidence of laborious and not 

 unskilful attempts to bestow an air of comfort are percepti- 

 ble on all sides, and more than ordinary attention appears 

 to have been paid to their constant purification and cleanli- 

 ness. These courts are usually of a quadrangular form, the 

 first or external one having a small doorway or porch, for 

 the purpose of ingress or egress. Some are fitted up with a 

 series of petty chambers close to the walls, in which the in- 

 ferior household slaves live, and others have a matted roof 

 projecting a few feet from the wall surrounding the area, 

 which forms, if I may use the expression, a kind of sheltered 

 corridor. In the centre of these courts, the ground is exca- 

 vated to about a foot in depth, corresponding to the eaves of 

 the roof; the remaining space being elevated in the same pro- 

 portion, by a hardened composition of sand and clay, much 

 employed by most of the natives of Western Africa. Ad- 

 joining these clayey partitions, and almost encompassing the 

 square, the cement-work is further elevated to the height of 

 two feet, and dyed on the top a deep jet black. On important 

 occasions, it is covered with mats and grass cloths. The inner 

 surface of the walls is adorned with curious and elaborate 

 arabesque designs, in which red, yellow, black, and white 

 pigments are blended, with all the artistic skill of native 

 professors. In the middle portion of the excavated area of 

 the inner squares, there is frequently planted a small tree, 

 which bears a beautiful purple campanulate flower. At its 

 root is always embedded a skull, near which are small bowls 



