DAHOMANS. 
187 
uttering the most humiliating exj)ressioas. Being desired to advance, 
he receives the king’s commands, or communicates any particular 
business, still continuing in a recumbent posture, for no person is 
permitted to sit, even on the floor, in the royal presence, except the 
women ; and even they must kiss the earth when they receive or 
deliver the king’s message. — The king of Dahoray maintains a con- 
siderable standing army, commanded by an agaow, or general, with 
several other subordinate military officers, who must hold themselves 
in readiness to take the field upon all occasions, at the command 
of the sovereign. The payment of this troop chiefly depends on the 
success of the expeditions in which they are engaged. On extraor- 
dinary occasions, all the males able to bear arms are obliged to 
repair to the general’s standard, every caboceer marching at the 
head of his own people. Sometimes the king takes the field at the 
head of his troops, and, on very great emergencies, at the head of 
his women. 
Within the walls of the different royal palaces in Dahomy are 
immured not less than three thousand women ; several hundreds of 
these are trained to arras under a female general, and subordinate 
officers appointed by the king, in the same manner as those under 
the agaow. These Amazons are regularly exercised, and go through 
their evolutions with as much expertness as the male soldiers. They 
have their large umbrellas, their flags, their drums, trumpets, flutes, 
and other musical instruments. In short, the singularity of this 
institution never fails to attract the particular attention of Europeans, 
when, among other uncommon exhibitions, they are presented with 
the curious spectacle of a review of female troops. 
The dress of the men in Dahomy consists of a pair of striped or 
white cotton drawers, of the manufacture of the country; over which 
they wear a large square cloth of the same, or of European manu- 
facture. This cloth is about the size of a common counterpane for 
the middling class, but much larger for the grandees. It is wrapped 
about the loins, and tied on the left side by two of the corners, the 
others hanging down, and sometimes trailing on the ground. A 
piece of silk or velvet, of sixteen or eighteen yards, makes a cloth 
for a grandee. The head is easily covered with a beaver or felt hat, 
according to the quality of the wearer. The king, as well as some 
of his ministers, often wears a gold or silver laced hat and feather. 
The arms and the upper part of the body remain naked, unless when 
the party travels, or performs certain pieces of work, when the large 
cloth is laid aside, and the body is covered w ith a sort of frock or 
tunic without sleeves. The feet are always bare, none but the sove- 
reign having a right to wear sandals. 
The dress of the women, though simple, consists of a greater 
number of articles than that of the men. They use several cloths or 
handkerchiefs, some to wrap round their loins, and others to cover 
occasionally the breasts and upper part of the body. The neck, 
arms, and ankles, are adorned with beads and cowries ; and rings 
of silver, or baser metal, encircle the fingers. The ears are so 
pierced as to admit the little finger, and a coral bead of that size 
stuck in each, if the party be able to afford it ; otherwise a portion 
