INTERIOR OF AFRICA. 271 
CHAPTER XXI. 
The Account of the Mandingoes continued. — Their Notions in 
respect of the Planetary Bodies, and the Figure of the Earth. 
— Their religious Opinions, and Belief in a Future State. — 
Their Diseases and Methods of Treatment. — Their Funeral 
Ceremonies, Amuseme?its, Occupations, Diet, Arts, Manufac- 
tures, &c. 
The Mandingoes, and I believe the Negroes in general, have 
no artificial method of dividing time. They calculate the 
years by the number of rainy seasons. They portion the year 
into moons, and reckon the days by so many suns. The day 
they divide into morning, mid-day, and evening ; and further 
subdivide it, when necessary, by pointing to the sun's place in 
the Heavens. I frequently inquired of some of them, what be- 
came of the sun during the night, and whether we should see 
the same sun, or a different one, in the morning : but I found 
that they considered the question as very childish. The sub- 
ject appeared to them, as placed beyond the reach of human 
investigation ; they had never indulged a conjecture, nor formed 
any hypothesis about the matter. The moon, by varying her 
form, has more attracted their attention. On the first appear- 
ance of the new moon, which they look upon to be newly 
