JOHANNA. 



197 



i :u.-. i JOH A N V A , one of the Comoro islands, ly in*g in the 

 - ' northern part ot' tlie Mozambique Channel, which se- 

 para- <scar truiii the coast of Africa. Its pro- 



per name is i iinzuan, which is said to have been pro- 

 gressively corrupted into Anzuan, Anjuan, Juanny, 

 and Johanna. This island is of a triangular figure, each 



extending, as we conceive, about eighteen miles in 



ih ; and its superficial area is computed at 162 miles. 



- i* a bay with gotd anchorage on the north, 

 though current* run with considerable force ; and hither 

 European vessels repair for the purpose of obtaining 

 provisions and water. The island is mountainous, ha- 

 ving in general a bold shore, and is visible from a great 

 A lofty peak rises amidst hills, which are 

 clothed with wood and beautiful verdure. Numerous 



.*, each watered by a stream, are interspersed 

 among them, and their margins covered with groves 

 of cocoa trees, mangoes, orange?, and citrons. Nothing 

 can be more picturesque than the island of Johanna 

 from every point of view. A volcano seems to have 

 beta anciently in activity here. Volcanic productions 

 are universally disseminated : ferruginous particle* are 

 found in several places : flints are common on the 

 shore, some parU of which al><> consist of a sandy 

 beach. 



This island abounds in great variety of the finest 

 and most useful ve^ .-table*. Every gorge among the 

 mountain', at a short distance from the tea, is compa- 

 red to a well watered garden. In to the fruits 

 ..inu-il, many other* of t'n- tropical climate 

 grow in profusion. Hoots are pU- ugar cane 

 and wild indigo is copiously 



diffused. The henna, with the juice of which the na- 

 tive* stain their skin, is shrub reaching the height of 

 shx or eight feet, though perhaps not indigenous to the 



:d. 



venomous creature* are found heir ; but musqui- 

 toes arc extremely troublesome. Fish are not particu- 

 larly abundant, at least at certain season*, which has 

 been sKribed to the presence of (harks. When they 

 do appear, they are caught with line*, or speared \> ry 

 dexterously on rising to the surface. Turtle doves (one 

 species of which is of a beautiful grey, shaded with 

 green, blue, and white,) and quail* are numerous : the 

 ca fowl is less so, but it said to be remarkably tame ; 

 and their are multitude* of a kind of hawk which sub- 

 sist* on fuh. A *P*cte* of brown monkey i* the chief 

 wild animal inhabiting the wood* ; swarms of mice 

 infert the field*, and are *uppoed to be detrimental to 

 the crop*. The only domesticated quadruped* are 

 goatt arid the Indian cow, which find excellent pasture 



l ie Tallin. 



The inhabitants of thU island are of two different 

 kintl, African* and Asiatics, distingui-hed by promi- 

 nent features. The former are the same as those dwell, 

 ing on the neighbouring coasts j the latter have sprung 

 from a colony of Arabians, by whom the island wi 

 oonqnered, and who still hold it in subjection. These 

 itutc the higher ranks, and the other* tlie lower. 

 But from the intermixture that unavoidably take* place 

 among mankind in the course of succe- .tionv 



the original character of each is much obliterated among 

 many of the natives, unless in the farm .iltsn, 



whet ! preserved pure. The Arabic lai 



i,'rnerl <pokrn ; and, from the fr 

 t>esn rettels, loth English and Frrm-h are tolera- 

 *cll understood, and even employed in conversa- 

 tion bj the native*. The men in genera) testify mm h 

 food sense and acuteneas j many embellish their dis- 



course with poetical phrases ; and great politeness is 

 practised in their address. They are of a courteous 

 and affable disposition, extremely hospitable to stran- 

 i;rr>. whom they receive with extraordinary demon- 

 strations of friendship ; nor are these external only, for 

 numerous examples might be given of their affording 

 succour to shipwrecked mariners, when they could en- 

 tertain no expectation of an}' return. Their honesty 

 is remarkable, and those who have provided supplies 

 to European vessels, are anxious for certificates of their 

 conduct. These people are nevertheless indolent, ex- 

 cessively jealous of their women, and far from being 

 endowed with much personal courage. Perhaps tin- 

 last ensues from their constant exposure to the attacks 

 of a ferocious enemy of superior force, which cannot 

 but damp the spirit of resistance. Women of the lower 

 ranks withdraw from the gaze of the men, and those 

 of the higher are seldom or never seen by strangers. 

 But those Knglish ladies whose curiosity has gamed 

 them access to the harem, report that they are hand- 

 some, richly attired, and display a profusion of orna- 

 ments. 



Marriages are celebrated with music and dancing, 

 the former produced by the Mozambique violin, drum - 

 and shells. Sometimes there is singing by male voices, 

 when the burden of the song is repeated by the whole 

 company present. Sir William Jones was assured, that 

 songs were composed in the island. The dances rc- 

 *emble those of Madagascar, sometimes exhibiting intri- 

 cate movements, but in general distinguished by contor- 

 tions accompanied by grimaces, more than by graceful 

 At the close of every dance, a few pieces of 

 v are thrown at the feet of the musicians. Mean- 

 time the new married female fends presents of flowers 

 to strangers from the place of concealment, where sire 

 and In behold what passe*. On the celebra- 



tion of a marriage, the husband invites all his friends 

 and relation* to feast and dance during eight successive 

 days, beginning at four in the afternoon, and continu- 

 ing until morning. The guests, however, according 

 to their ability, contribute toward* defraying the ex- 

 pence*. 



The inhabitant* occupy themselves in agriculture, 

 ome holding considerable estates in the interior. Se- 

 veral practise the mechanical arts, though, from the 

 rudeness of their tools, the workmanship is coarse ; and 

 shop* of goldsmiths, weavers, and the like, are to be 

 seen. The unsettled state of the country, however, is 

 very prejudicial to agricultural pursuits. Probably they 

 construct their own vessels, which consist of small ca- 

 noes hollowed from the trunk of a tree, and war boats 

 capable of cam-ing 200 men. In their large bark* 

 they undertake long voyages, sailing as far as Bombay 

 <rr to the Isle of France ; but they seem to 

 have little productive trade ; for notwithstanding the 

 Uauty and fertility of their island, it seems to have few 

 commodities which are desired by other nations. Arms 

 and ammunition, knives, cloth, and cotton, are purcha- 

 sed at Bombay ; ivory is obtained from Mozambique ; 

 rice, a kind of bread-trait, and cattle, from the rest of the 

 Comoro islands. Some of the chief men make expedi- 

 tions to the African coast for the purchase of slaves ; 

 the humanity of which traffic they defend on the same 

 principle as other dealers, namely, that the object* of 

 it would otherwise suffer death : and others are purfey- 

 ors to the European vessels that anchor on the coast. 



Almost all the natives of Johanna profess the Maho- 

 medan religion ; but it is asserted, that _/;///, that is, 

 animals or inanimate bodies, are venerated by tlie lower 



