54 
A FUNERAL CEREMONY. 
required the greatest dexterity to prevent it from 
bending, which would have inevitably caused it to fall. 
He was surrounded by a circle of old women, selected, 
one would imagine, for their extreme ugliness, with 
long cloths over their heads, fastened under the chin, 
and hanging down their backs. Over these they wore 
large wreaths of green leaves, and they waved branches 
in their hands as they shuffled about, to the sound of 
drums and their own discordant voices. Nevertheless, 
they looked very picturesque, and if it had not been 
for the cross, — which was apparently the object of their 
adoration, — the ceremony might have been taken for 
the remains of some Pagan rites established by Hanno 
the Carthaginian, if he ever touched here, whereof his 
Periplus leaves no record : it bore, however, evident 
marks of being a mixture of Fctichism with Christi- 
anity. When the singers had come to the end of their 
dismal strophes the cross-bearer let fall the symbol of 
our faith into the hands of several men standing ready 
to receive it. The wreaths and garlands were all col- 
lected, and deposited in the church. The drummers, 
five in number, then led the procession to the defunct’s 
house, which every person made it a duty to visit. 
We complied with the custom by accompanying the 
Governor, Tom Joe. The house was in very neat 
order, but not much lumbered with furniture, either 
useful or useless. A woman stood inside to receive 
the visitors. This was the only religious ceremony vm 
witnessed, though it could be seen from the vessel that 
