GUINEA. 
tence duly pronounced. They havea share inall fines Guinea, 
and forfeitures, and ponstally’ receive a present of rum “—"y™" 
: and in others, as in Acra, itis a mixture of aristocracy 
“ and democracy. In this last mentioned country, the 
of ts of different mags arbi oe o unite occa- 
sionally for safety e absolute command 
\ iduals, as in a dictatorship ; and, when the dan- 
ger is past, to revert to their accustomed forms of go- 
vernment. The laws consequently differ considerably 
in the form of administration, according to the nature 
of the government ; but, during the continuance of the 
slave trade, the most trifling offence was every where 
examined with the utmost strictness, and almost every 
ishment was commuted into slavery. The prevail- 
ing penalties are fines, or servitude, which are almost 
the same punishment, as every convict, if unable to pay 
his fine, es a slave. Even murder, though by 
law generally punishable with death, may be ee 
cher payment of seven slaves, or their value; 
but if the person murdered should haver been of any 
consequence or authority, the law of retaliation is,en- 
forced, and much bloodshed ensues. In the Fantee 
country the laws are more rigorous than in any other 
part of the coast. If any person be detected in the act 
of ame the most trifling theft, he forfeits his 
freedom ; and if the article stolen should be valuable, 
his family becomes involved in his fate. If any one, 
either by accident or design, should kill a hog, a goat, 
even a hen, or any other animal which is the property 
of another, he loses his li , unless he can soften the 
injured party by presents. The law against witchcraft 
is peculiarly severe, and extends to all under the same 
roof with the offender, as they are supposed to possess 
some portion of the evil influence; but, since the abo- 
lition of the slave traffic, few convictions of this kind 
have taken place, and the rigour of the laws respecting 
trifling offences has begun to relax. Another oppres- 
sive law, iar to the Fantee country, deserves to be 
noticed, chiefly as demonstrating the baneful effects of 
the same odious trade in human beings. If a person 
become involved in debt, and was either unable or un- 
willing to pay, the creditor was at liberty to “ panyar,” 
that is, to seize and confine any person or persons be- 
so gp harp A or the town, or eyen the country 
of 3 and these captives, if opportunity offer- 
ed, were sold as slaves without any say or ceremony. 
During the time of the slave trade, this custom was 
often practised under false pretexts of debts or offences, 
and many innocent s forcibly seized, and in- 
stantly sold by private individuals, without any possi- 
bility of redress. 
In the monarchical state of Apollonia, the right of 
succession devolves on the son of the king’s sister. The 
reigning sovereign is the sole administrator of justice ; 
ind passes sentence without the advice of any of his 
subjects; but, if the accused be a person of rank, he 
generally receives a m requiring him to prove his 
innocence by the ordeal. ‘This consists in swallowing 
a portion of a certain bark, accounted poisonous, which, 
if rejected from the stomach, is a token of innocence, 
but if retained, (in which case it commonly proves fa- 
tal,) it is an evidence of guilt. In the more mixed 
governments, as in the Fantee country, the administra- 
‘tion of justice and: of public affairs resides principally in 
‘the pynins or elders, who are elected by the public voice, 
and sometimes succeed by hereditary right. They are 
the oracles of the laws, which they commit to memory 
-withextraordinary correctness; and, in the trial of causes, 
act at once as judges and jurors. They assemble 
eir courts in the market-place, where both parties are 
“attentively heard, witnesses regularly examined, and sen- 
551 
when any cause of importance is brought before them. 
If the condemned party think himself aggrieved, he 
bo g appeal to the elders of another town or district, 
and sometimes to the governor of the neighbouri 
European fort. The natives are-said to plead their 
causes with much ability, and to accompany their 
words with suitable and magi gesture. In con 
sequence of the strictness of the laws, crimes are ex- 
tremely rare ; but, during the prevalence of the slave 
trade, when false accusations and false witnesses abounds 
ed, condemnations occurred every day. But, though 
the natives rarely commit thefts against the property 
of their countrymen, every thing belonging to a white 
man is considered as a fair object of plunder. In cases 
of slander or evil speaking, a peculiar trial, called 
“ brandeeing,” is instituted between the parties. The 
injured person repairs to the market-place with a por« 
tion of spirits, and invites his accuser to make pine ye 
assertions, who is obliged to produce an equal quantity 
of liquor before he can obtain a hearing. The person 
found guilty is required to make a pecuniary compen- 
sation to the other; and the spirits, which in the case 
of wealthy individuals sometimes exceed a hundred 
gallons, go to the elders, and the friends of the person 
who is acquitted. 
The religion of the natives of Guinea is not easily Religion, 
described. They have some notion of a Supreme Be- 
ing; but their worship consists in a mass of strange 
and unmeaning superstitions, of which they do not at- 
tempt to give any account. They do not generally en- 
e in any external worship; and though, on certain 
ays, they abstain from their ordinary employments, 
they have no reason to assign, except that it has been 
the custom. In some places there is an annual sacri« 
fice of a deer to the divinity. They seem to hold the 
moon in greater veneration than the sun, and welcome 
her appearance with great rejoicings. Their system of 
belief, however, is little else than a constant fear of some 
malignant influence, and a superstitious confidence in 
certain charms to avert the dreaded evil. Their object 
of worship, whatever it be, bears the undefinable name 
of Fetish, a word which some suppose to be derived 
from the Portuguese felischo, witchcraft ; but which is 
applied with great latitude to any thing sacred, prohi- 
bited, unlucky, or unaccountable, and is considered as 
equivalent to the “ Obi’ of the West Indies, perhaps 
also to the “ taboo” of the South Sea pus may” n Acra, 
the principal image, or deity, is a large mass of so« 
lid gold Pte form of a human head. ¥* the Fantee 
capital, Abrah, their chief object of adoration, is deno- 
minated, Woorah, woorah ! Agah, nannah! that is, 
Master, master ! Father of all! ut every town or vil- 
lage has its own favourite idol, and even in every house 
is some object emblematic of a divinity. The Fetish- 
men or women, who are considered as alone possessed 
of any knowledge, are not only the priests, but also the 
lawyers and physicians of the country. They are sup- 
sed to have communications with the demon or Fe« 
tish, and to be able to instruct their votaries in every 
case of actual or apprehended evil. Their good offices 
must be procured by presents, which are atten of con- 
siderable value, and are ap’ riated to their own use. 
They are usually connected with persons in power, and 
are frequently useful in enforcing the authority of the 
laws. Where there is no monarch, and the government 
is lodged in the community, these persons assume great 
consequence, and render it hazardous for any one te 
