546 



DAHO M Y. 



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ill, 



l) hiir.y. pence, is employed in cultivating the ground, and in 

 s — ~y-~— - fabricating every thing he needs. Every one pays 

 taxes, cither in hind, or by composition. There are 

 very heavy duties on every article of commerce, which 

 are collected with great strictness by commissaries or 

 oilicers stationed in every quarter of the country. 

 Barbarous The moment the king expires, a horrid scene com- 

 i ei 4- it,. nuts mences in the palace. The wives of the deceased be- 

 gin with breaking and destroying the furniture, and 

 every thing of value that belonged either to themselves 

 or to the late king. This destruction continues till the 

 tamegau and mahou have announced the successor to 

 the crown, and he has taken possession of the palace, 

 which he does with all expedition, and that instant the 

 desolation ceases. This barbarous custom may have 

 originated in a laudable desire, either to accelerate the 

 choice of a successor, in order to prevent a civil war, 

 or to confirm the attachment of the people to a mo- 

 narchical form of government, by disgusting them with 

 the turbulence and licentiousness incident to demo- 

 cracy ; or it may be no more than would happen in 

 any country, where slaves are for a time released from 

 the awe of a despotic power. 



As soon as the decease of the king is made public, 

 eight men dig a ditch, about 12 feet deep, and 7 long; 

 then they erect a kind of couch, adorned with every 

 thing that the deceased reckoned most valuable, which 

 they place upon a stage enveloped with all kinds of 

 cloths. Upon that stage- ^they cause the eight men 

 who have dug the grave to ascend, when their heads 

 are instantly struck off, and their bodies thrown into 

 the fields for food to the wolves and the birds of prey. 

 Then appear a crowd of the king's women contending 

 for the honour of being shut up in the tomb, to serve 

 their late sovereign ; 24 of these are selected, to the 

 great grief and lamentation of the rest. To confirm 

 these unhappy victims in their error, care is taken to 

 put into the grave or tomb of the deceased king, a 

 great variety of articles of food; and they are strictly 

 charged to take great care of him, to sprinkle him 

 "with perfumes, to cover him with aromatic herbs, to 

 give him drink and materials for smoking, and to burn 

 incense every day about the body. They then con- 

 tend for the honour of descending first into the tomb, 

 which is afterwards shut, and covered with earth; and 

 for five days guns are fired. After a certain time, they 

 celebrate the great ceremony of the funeral, to which 

 all the chiefs of the European factories, of the tribu- 

 tary princes, and of the governors of provinces, must re- 

 pair, carrying with them a variety of presents. The 

 whole concludes with the sacrifices of particular beasts, 

 and birds, and human beings, to the manes of the de- 

 ceased king ; and then carcases are thrown into the 

 fields, as food to the wild beasts. 



A grand festival, which continues some weeks, is 

 vailed the annual customs, at which the viceroy of Why- 

 dab, the governors of the forts, towns, and provinces, 

 the Black merchants and traders, must attend with 

 their presents, which consist of pieces of Indian da- 

 mask, or other valuable silks ; and, indeed, every head 

 family must attend for a few days, and bring a 



of 



quantity of cowries (the current money of the coun- 

 try), or some other present, proportioned to his cir- 

 cumstances. A particular account of this festival would 

 not afford much amusement to our readers. It conti- 

 nues about a month, during which there is some pub- 

 lic exhibition every fourth or market-day ; the inter- 

 mediate days being employed in preparations. One 

 •lay is set apart for singing and dancing ; and the per- 

 formers are rewarded according to their merit. An- 



other is allotted for feasting in the market-place, where Cihomy. 

 tents are pitched for the king and his attendants, for ■>••— y— * ' 

 the White visitors, and ambassadors from foreign states. 

 The bards rehearse the whole history of their country, 

 which continues for several days. The young men, 

 prostrating themselves in the dust, beg to be favoured 

 with wives. The females are handed out of the pa- 

 lace, and distributed among the petitioners ; each must 

 take the one assigned to him, and the cowries are re- 

 ceived in return. The king informs himself particu- 

 larly of the behaviour of his slaves ; and, upon this 

 occasion, the meanest have access to him, and have an 

 opportunity of applying personally for redress. Va- 

 rious scenes are exhibited during this festival, which 

 concludes with the erection of a large stage near the. 

 palace, on which are piled heaps of silesias. checks, ca- 

 licoes, cotton cloths, a variety of other European and 

 Indian goods, and a prodigious quantity of cowries. 

 When all is ready, the king ascends the stage with his 

 officers, and other persons of rank ; and the whole of 

 the goods are then thrown over the stage, among the 

 surrounding multitude, for which a violent scramble 

 ensues, to the great entertainment of all present. The 

 whole festival itself would afford an amusing spectacle, 

 were it not for the human sacrifices with which it is: 

 accompanied, for the purpose of wittering, according to 

 the country expression, the graves of the deceased 

 royal family. 



This country is frequently visited by the Harmallan The Un- 

 wind, which indeed extends along this part of the ma,tan » 

 coast of Africa, from Cape Verd at least as far south as 

 Cape Lopez. It prevails in the months of December, 

 January, and February, blowing from the north east ; 

 and continues one or two, sometimes five or six days 

 at a time : it has even been known to last a whole fort- 

 night, and there are generally three or four returns of 

 it every season. It is always accompanied with an un- 

 usual gloominess and haziness of the atmosphere : the 

 sun can be seen only for a few hours at noon, and as- 

 sumes a red colour, which excites no painful sensation 

 in the eye. In proportion to the distance from the 

 sea-coast, the fog decreases ; and, at four or five leagues 

 from it, is scarcely discernible, but the wind is felt ten 

 or twelve leagues inland. It blows with a moderate 

 force ; and, during its continuance, not the least ap- 

 pearance of moisture in the atmosphere is ever per- 

 ceived. Salt of tartar dissolved in water, and exposed 

 to the Harmattan, even in the night, becomes perfect- 

 ly dry in a few hours. Vegetables of every kind suf- 

 fer from it. The grass withers, and dries like hay ; 

 all tender plants are killed by it ; the most flourishing 

 evergreens feel its baneful influence ; the branches of 

 the trees droop, and the leaves become flaccid ; and 

 the fruits, robbed of then usual nourishment, are cramp- 

 ed in their growth, and become perfectly dry before 

 they have arrived at half then - usual size. In short, 

 when it continues for some days, vegetation is com- 

 pletely checked, and every production of nature fades 

 and withers. Nay, such is its penetrating quality, and 

 so extremely dry is the atmosphere during its continu- 

 ance, that the covers of books, shut up closely in a 

 trunk, and protected by lying among clothes, have 

 been found bent back, as if they had been exposed to 

 a fire ; the pannels of doors and window-shutters split ; 

 the sides and decks of ships become quite open and 

 leaky ; and casks containing liquor, if not frequently 

 wetted all over, generally lose their contents. Nor are 

 its effects on the human body less severe. The eyes, 

 nostrils, lips, and palate, become dry and uneasy ; and 

 the mouth requires to be frequently moistened ; the 



