408 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap« LXVI. 
This character of the author would alone be suffi- 
cient to guarantee the trustworthiness of his history, 
as far as he was able to go back into the past with any 
degree of accuracy, from the oral traditions of the 
people, or from written documents of an older period: 
for that the beginning of his annals, like that of every 
other nation, should be enveloped in a certain degree 
of mystery and uncertainty is very natural, and our 
author himself is prudent enough to pass over the 
earlier part in the most rapid and cursory manner, 
only mentioning the mere name of each king, except 
that he states the prominent facts with regard to the 
founder of each dynasty. Nay, even what he says of 
the founder of the dynasty of the Za, allowance being 
made for the absurd interpretation of names, which is 
usual with Arabs and Orientals in general, and also 
the particulars which he gives with regard to Kilun, 
or Kilnu, founder of the dynasty of the Sonni*, is 
very characteristic, and certainly true in the main. 
For there is no doubt that the founder of the first 
dynasty immigrated from a foreign country, — a cir- 
cumstance which is confirmed by other accounts,- — 
and nothing is more probable than that he abolished 
the most striking features of pagan superstition, 
namely, the worship of a peculiar kind of fish, which 
was probably the famous ayii, or Manatus, of which 
I have spoken on a former occasion f, and of whose 
* According to Leo, this dynasty emigrated from Lybia. 
| Vol. II. p. 507. 
