The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battell Part 6

[_Yumbe._][166]

The province of Mayombe is all woods and groves, so overgrown that a man may travel twenty days in the shadow, without any sun or heat. Here is no kind of corn nor grain, so that the people liveth only upon plantains and roots of sundry other sorts, very good, and nuts; nor any kind of tame cattle, nor hens. But they have great store of elephants' flesh, which they greatly esteem, and many kinds of wild beasts; and great store of fish. Here is a great sandy bay, two leagues to the southward of Cape Negro, which is the port of Mayombe. Sometimes the Portugals take logwood[167] in this bay. Here is a great river called Banna.[168]

In the winter it hath no bar, because the general winds cause a great sea; but when the sun hath his south declination, then a boat may go in, for then it is smooth because of the rain. This river is very great, and hath many islands, and people dwelling in them. The woods are covered with baboons, monkeys, apes and parrots, that it will fear any man to travel in them alone. Here also are two kinds of monsters, which are common in these woods, and very dangerous.

[_Gorillas and Chimpanzis._][169]

The greatest of these two monsters is called _Pongo_ [_Mpungu_] in their language, and the lesser is called _Engeco_. This _Pongo_ is in all proportions like a man, but that he is more like a giant in stature than a man; for he is very tall, and hath a man's face, hollow-eyed, with long hair upon his brows. His face and ears are without hair, and his hands also. His body is full of hair, but not very thick, and it is of a dunnish colour. He differeth not from a man but in his legs, for they have no calf. He goeth always upon his legs, and carryeth his hands clasped upon the nape of his neck when he goeth upon the ground. They sleep in the trees, and build shelters from the rain. They feed upon fruit they find in the woods and upon nuts, for they eat no kind of flesh. They cannot speak, and have no more understanding than a beast.

The people of the country, when they travel in the woods, make fires when they sleep in the night. And in the morning, when they are gone, the _Pongoes_ will come and sit about the fire till it goeth out, for they have no understanding to lay the wood together. They go many together, and kill many negroes that travel in the woods. Many times they fall upon the elephants, which come to feed where they be, and so beat them with their clubbed fists and pieces of wood that they will run roaring away from them.

Those _Pongoes_ are never taken alive, because they are so strong that ten men cannot hold one of them, but yet they take many of their young ones with poisoned arrows. The young Pongo hangeth on his mother's belly, with his hands clasped fast about her, so that when the country people kill any of the females, they take the young one which hangeth fast upon his mother. When they die among themselves, they cover the dead with great heaps of boughs and wood, which is commonly found in the forests.

[Purchas adds in a marginal note:

"He told me in a conference with him that one of these Pongos took a negro boy of his, which lived a month with them, for they hurt not those which they surprise at unawares, except they look on them, which he [the boy] avoided. He said, their height was like a man's, but their bigness twice as great. I saw the negro boy.

"What the other monster [the Engeco] should be he hath forgotten to relate, and these papers came to my hand since his death, which otherwise, in my often conferences, I might have learned. Perhaps he meaneth the Pigmy Pongo-killers mentioned."]

[_Hunting Dogs._]

The Morombes[170] use to hunt with their country-dogs, and kill many kinds of little beasts, and great store of pheasants. But their dogs be dumb, and cannot bark at all.[171] They hang wooden clappers about their necks, and follow them by rattling of the clappers. The huntsmen have _Petes_ [whistles], which they whistle their dogs withall. These dogs, in all this country, are very little, with p.r.i.c.kt ears, and are for the most part red and dun. The Portugal mastiff dog, or any other great dog, are greatly esteemed because they do bark. I have seen a dog sold up in the country for thirty pounds.

[_The Maramba Fetish._][172]

In the town of Mani Mayombe is a fetish called Maramba, and it standeth in a high basket made like a hive, and over it a great house. This is their house of religion, for they believe only in him, and keep his laws, and carry his reliques always with them. They are for the most part witches, and use their witchcraft for hunting and killing of elephants and fis.h.i.+ng, and helping of sick and lame men, and to forecast journeys, whether they shall speed well or evil. By this Maramba are all thefts and murders tried, for in this country they use sometimes to bewitch one another to death. And when any dieth, their neighbours are brought before the Maramba; and if it be a great man that dieth, the whole town cometh to swear. The order is, when they come before Maramba, to kneel and clasp Maramba in their arms, and to say: _Emeno, eyge bembet Maramba_, that is, "I come to be tried, O Maramba."[173] And if any of them be guilty, they fall down stark dead for ever. And if any of them that swear hath killed any man or child before, although it may be twenty years past, he presently dieth. And so it is for any other matter.

From this place, as far as it is to Cape de Lopo Gonsalves, they are all of this superst.i.tion. I was twelve months in this place, and saw many die after this sort.

These people be circ.u.mcised,[174] as they are through all Angola, except the kingdom of Congo, for they be Christians. And those that will be sworn to Maramba[175] come to the chief Gangas, which are their priests or men-witches, as boys of twelve years of age, and men and women. Then the Gangas put them into a dark house, and there they remain certain days with very hard diet. After this they are let abroad, and commanded not to speak for certain days, what injury soever they be offered, so that they suffer great penury before they be sworn. Lastly, they are brought before Maramba, and have two marks cut upon their shoulders before, like a half moon, and are sworn by the blood that falleth from them, that they shall be true to him. They are forbidden some one kind of flesh and some one kind of fish, with many other toys [trifles]. And if they eat any of this forbidden meat they presently sicken, and never prosper.[176] They all carry a relique of Maramba in a little box, and hang it about their necks, under their left arms.

The Lord of this province of Mayombe hath the ensign or shape of Maramba carried before him, and whithersoever he goeth; and when he sitteth down it is set before him; and when he drinketh his palm-wine the first cup is poured at the foot of the _Mokiso_ or idol, and when he eateth anything, the first piece he throweth towards his left hand, with enchanting words.

[_Sette._]

From Cape Negro northward is a great Lord called Mani Seat,[177] which has the greatest store of elephants' teeth of any Lord in the kingdom of Longo, for his people practice nothing else but to kill elephants. And two of these negroes will easily kill an elephant with their darts. And here is great store of logwood.

[_Mani Kesock._][178]

There is another Lord, to the eastward, which is called Mani Kesock, and he is eight days' journey from Mayombe. Here I was with my two negro boys to buy elephants' hairs and tails. And in a month I bought twenty thousand, which I sold to the Portugals for thirty slaves, and all my charges borne.

From this place I sent one of my negro boys to Mani Seat with a looking-gla.s.s. He did esteem it much, and sent me four elephants' teeth (very great) by his own men, and desired me to cause the Portugals, or any other s.h.i.+p, to come to the northward of the Cape Negro, and he would make fires where his landing place is, for there was never yet any Portugal or other stranger in that place.[179]

[_Pygmy Elephant-Hunters._]

To the north-east of Mani Kesock are a kind of little people called Matimbas,[180] which are no bigger than boys of twelve years old, but are very thick, and live only upon flesh, which they kill in the woods with their bows and darts. They pay tribute to Mani Kesock, and bring all their elephants' teeth and tails to him. They will not enter into any of the Marombos[181] houses, nor will suffer any to come where they dwell; and if by chance any Maramba, or people of Longo [Loango], pa.s.s where they dwell, they will forsake that place and go to another.

The women carry bow and arrows, as well as the men, and one of these will walk in the woods alone, and kill the _Pongos_ [gorillas] with their poisoned arrows. I have asked the Marombos whether the elephant sheddeth his teeth or no, and they say no! But sometimes they find their teeth in the woods, but they find their bones also.

[_Poison Ordeals._]

When any man is suspected of any offence he is carried before the king, or before Mani Bomma [Mamboma],[182] which is, as it were, a judge under the king. And if it be upon matter that he denieth, and cannot be proved but by their oath, then the suspected person is thus sworn: they have a kind of root which they call _Imbondo_ [_mbundu_].[183]

This root is very strong, and is sc.r.a.ped into water. The virtue of this root is, that if they put too much of it into water, the person that drinketh it cannot void urine, and so it striketh up into the brain, as though he were drunk, and he falleth down, as though he were dead. And those that fall are counted as guilty, and are punished.[184]

[Purchas adds, in a marginal note:-

"He told me that this root makes the water as bitter as gall (he tasted it), and one root will serve to try one hundred.

They which have drunk and made water are cleared, before which, if dizziness take them, they cry: _Undoke_, _Undoke_,[185] and presently execute them. See my _Relations_, b. 7 c. 10, which I writ from his mouth.[186] Neither may this be ascribed to the virtue of the herb, but to the vice of the Devil, a murderer and his instrument, the _Ganga_ or priest.[187] And therefore that conjecture seems unprobable.

For how could an ordinary trial of life where are so many so perilous; and therefore curious (more than) spectators, nor perceive this in so long and frequent experience, which costs so many their dearest friends their dearest life? I think rather that this was the transcriber's conjecture. I remember no such scruple in his narrations to me. Who knows not the Devil's ambition of Deity, and cruel misanthropy or man-hating? This is his apish imitation of Divinity, and those rites prescribed for trial in the case of jealousy, Numbers, v.[188] In Guinea like trial is made by salt, and also by the _Fetisseroes_ pot. In _Benomotapa_ by water also; in the _Maramba_ trial before [mentioned (see p. 56)], and _Motamba_ trial by hot iron in Angola;[189] the ploughshares in olden times with us; and the trial of witches in the East parts by water, etc., were not unlike in deceivable superst.i.tion."]

[_Death and Witchcraft._][190]

In this country none of any account dieth but they kill another for him, for they believe they die not of their own natural death, but that some other hath bewitched them to death. And all those are brought in by the friends of the dead which they suspect, so that many times there come five hundred men and women to take the drink made of the foresaid root _Imbonda_ [_mbundu_]. They are brought all to the high street or market-place, and there the master of the _Imbonda_ sitteth with his water, and giveth everyone a cop of water by one measure; and they are commanded to walk in a certain place till they make water, and then they be free. But he that cannot urine presently falleth down dead, and all the people, great and small, fall upon him with their knives and beat and cut him into pieces. But I think the witch that giveth the water is partial, and giveth to him whom he will have to die, the strongest water, but no man can perceive it that standeth by. And this is done at the town of Longo almost every week in the year.

-- VII.

_Of the Zebra and Hippopotamus; The Portugal Wars in those parts; the Fis.h.i.+ng, Grain, and other things remarkable._

[_Domestic Animals._]

In this kingdom there is no kind of tame cattle but goats, for none other cattle will live here. Oxen and kine have been brought hither, but they presently die. The hens in this place do so abound that a man may buy thirty for the worth of sixpence in beads.[191]

[_Wild Birds._]

Here is store of pheasants, and great plenty of partridges and wild fowl. Here is a kind of fowl that lives in the land bigger than a swan, and they are like a heron, with long legs and long necks, and it is white or black, and hath in her breast a bare place without feathers, where she striketh with her beak. This is the right Pelican, and not those sea-birds which the Portugals call pelicans, which are white and as big as geese, and these abound in this country also.

[_The Zebra._]

Here is also the _zevera_ or zebra, which is like a horse, but that his mane, his tail, his strakes and divers colours down his sides and legs do make a difference. These _zeveras_ are all wild and live in great herds, and will suffer a man to come within shot of them, and let them shoot three or four times at them before they will run away.[192]

[_The Hippopotamus._]

Moreover, there are great store of sea or river horses, which feed always on the land, and live only by gra.s.s, and they be very dangerous in the water. They are the biggest creature in this country, except the elephant. They have great virtue in the claws of their left forefoot, and have four claws on every foot, like the claws of an ox. The Portugals make rings of them, and they are a present remedy for the flux.