Travels in the Interior of Africa, vol 1 | Page 7

palaver was, I
suppose, thought necessary.
The Mandingoes, generally speaking, are of a mild, sociable, and
obliging disposition. The men are commonly above the middle size,
well-shaped, strong, and capable of enduring great labour. The women
are good-natured, sprightly, and agreeable. The dress of both sexes is
composed of cotton cloth of their own manufacture: that of the men is a
loose frock, not unlike a surplice, with drawers which reach half-way
down the leg; and they wear sandals on their feet, and white cotton caps
on their heads. The women's dress consists of two pieces of cloth, each
of which is about six feet long and three broad. One of these they wrap
round their waist, which, hanging down to the ankles, answers the
purpose of a petticoat; the other is thrown negligently over the bosom
and shoulders.
This account of their clothing is indeed nearly applicable to the natives

of all the different countries in this part of Africa; a peculiar national
mode is observable only in the head-dresses of the women.
Thus, in the countries of the Gambia, the females wear a sort of
bandage, which they call jalla. It is a narrow strip of cotton cloth
wrapped many times round, immediately over the forehead. In Bondou,
the head is encircled with strings of white beads, and a small plate of
gold is worn in the middle of the forehead. In Kasson the ladies
decorate their heads in a very tasteful and elegant manner with white
seashells. In Kaarta and Ludamar, the women raise their hair to a great
height by the addition of a pad (as the ladies did formerly in Great
Britain), which they decorate with a species of coral brought from the
Red Sea by pilgrims returning from Mecca, and sold at a great price.
In the construction of their dwelling-houses the Mandingoes also
conform to the general practice of the African nations in this part of the
continent, contenting themselves with small and incommodious hovels.
A circular mud wall, about four feet high, upon which is placed a
conical roof, composed of the bamboo cane, and thatched with grass,
forms alike the palace of the king and the hovel of the slave. Their
household furniture is equally simple. A hurdle of canes placed upon
upright sticks, about two feet from the ground, upon which is spread a
mat or bullock's hide, answers the purpose of a bed; a water jar, some
earthen pots for dressing their food; a few wooden bowls and
calabashes, and one or two low stools, compose the rest.
As every man of free condition has a plurality of wives, it is found
necessary (to prevent, I suppose, matrimonial disputes) that each of the
ladies should be accommodated with a hut to herself; and all the huts
belonging to the same family are surrounded by a fence constructed of
bamboo canes, split and formed into a sort of wicker- work. The whole
enclosure is called a sirk, or surk. A number of these enclosures, with
narrow passages between them, form what is called a town; but the huts
are generally placed without any regularity, according to the caprice of
the owner. The only rule that seems to be attended to is placing the
door towards the south- west, in order to admit the sea-breeze.
In each town is a large stage called the bentang, which answers the
purpose of a public hall or town house. It is composed of interwoven
canes, and is generally sheltered from the sun by being erected in the
shade of some large tree. It is here that all public affairs are transacted

and trials conducted; and here the lazy and indolent meet to smoke their
pipes, and hear the news of the day. In most of the towns the
Mohammedans have also a missura, or mosque, in which they assemble
and offer up their daily prayers, according to the rules of the Koran.
In the account which I have thus given of the natives, the reader must
bear in mind that my observations apply chiefly to persons of FREE
CONDITION, who constitute, I suppose, not more than one-fourth part
of the inhabitants at large. The other three-fourths are in a state of
hopeless and hereditary slavery, and are employed in cultivating the
land, in the care of cattle, and in servile offices of all kinds, much in the
same manner as the slaves in the West Indies. I was told, however, that
the Mandingo master can neither deprive his slave of life, nor sell him
to a stranger, without first calling a palaver on his conduct, or in other
words, bringing him to a public trial. But this degree of protection is
extended only to the native or domestic slave. Captives taken in war,
and those unfortunate