392 
D E B E N A. 
These people are always gay; and their cheerfulness 
forms a striking contrast with the dull, gloomy look of 
the fanatic Musulman. 
The women of this place wear on their lower lip a 
piece of pewter fastened internally by a plate of the same 
metal; one end pointed, about two inches long and as thick as 
a quill projecting on the outside of the lip. This curious or- 
nament is a little varied according to the fancy of the wearers. 
The custom of piercing the lip is general among the female 
sex in this part of the country. It is an indispensable orna- 
ment to beauty, in the lips of these African coquettes and 
their admirers. I could not help laughing when I thought 
of the singular effect such an ornament would produce on 
the red and white lips of my own fair countrywomen. 
On the 22nd January, at six o'clock in the morning, we 
bade adieu to the merry inhabitants of Bangoro. Our course 
lay to the N. W. We travelled five miles over a sandy soil 
covered with stones, and crossed two small dried up marshes. 
My guide told me that, when he last passed this place, he 
had experienced much difficulty, the country being at the 
time inundated, and that, if I had travelled with him in the 
preceding August, I should probably have been left on the 
road. The country is in general very naked. About nine 
o'clock we halted at Debena, a town containing four or five 
thousand Bambara inhabitants. The place is surrounded by 
a wall and a market is held in it. In this market the people 
of the caravan went to display their salt and colats, which 
they exchanged with the Bambaras, who, for the value of 
ten cowries, can purchase seasoning for a whole family's 
dinner. However, they seldom indulge in this luxury, 
and when they buy salt, they reserve it for festivities and 
rejoicings. The town of Debena is composed of several 
small hamlets, very near each other, and the market was held 
under a large bombax. 
In all the inhabited places, situated on our route, we 
