CURIOUS FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 837 



funerals and " customs " of Tepi-Land, on the West Coast of Africa. 

 According to him, when the king becomes dangerously ill, he is placed 

 under the close care of a circle of chosen attendants. The fact of his 

 illness must not be mentioned directly, but may, when that is neces- 

 sary, be alluded to in some roundabout phrase, or as if it were the 

 speaker himself that were sick. At the same, time the affairs of the 

 court go on in their usual course, one of the chiefs representing the 

 king and offering to the people, when inquired of, some plausible ex- 

 cuse for his majesty's absence. When death takes place, all who are 

 cognizant of the event, if they have not succeeded in running away, 

 are put under guard, and the secret is kept as long as possible. Gen- 

 erally, however, some manage to escape, and they will give the news 

 to their friends in obscure hints, saying, perhaps, " Things are becom- 

 ing dangerous," " The great tree has fallen," " Look out for the earth- 

 quake," but never plainly that the king is dead. Loud mourning is 

 prohibited at this stage of the proceedings. The victims to be offered 

 up are secured, and one is sacrificed, to lie at the feet of the corpse while 

 it is prepared for burial. The body having been dressed and the head 

 and breast sprinkled with gold-dust, if it can be afforded, his majesty's 

 death is announced to the chiefs, still in some obscure phrase ; as, 

 " The king is unwell, and desires to see you," " The king has gone to 

 bed and can not get up," " The only free is asleep "; and the chiefs, but 

 no common man, under penalty of death, are admitted to view the 

 body in private. The corpse is carried at crowing of the cock to the 

 royal burial-place, where sheep are slain, and the favorite dishes of his 

 majesty, of which no one is allowed to eat but the designated chief 

 victims, are set before him. The chief victims have been selected be- 

 forehand, and are distinguished during life by a peculiar badge. They 

 are sacrificed by breaking their necks, while the heads of the other 

 victims are cut off by a band of executioners composed of relatives of 

 his late majesty. The victims are usually persons who have commit- 

 ted some misdeed or have incurred the dislike of their fellow-slaves, 

 and with them are offered up persons who have been sentenced to 

 punishment and kept in reserve for the occasion. After these cere- 

 monies are over, the wives of the king that have not been dispatched 

 after him assemble around a ceremonial coffin and set up the stated 

 mourning. The wives are expected to observe the conventionalities 

 of mourning till they are given to the new king to be his wives, and 

 this can not happen till after the celebration of the " customs," which 

 is frequently delayed for a long time on account of the expense. The 

 successor to the throne is chosen after consultation between the chiefs 

 and the women of the royal family, in secret. Having been publicly 

 proclaimed, the new king is instructed as to his own rights and duties 

 and those of the tribe, is sworn to observe all that is prescribed, and 

 then receives the homage of the chiefs, after which the royal feast is 

 given and the royal gifts are bestowed. The enthronement takes place 



