DT 
 14 
 
 er32 
 
AFEICAN 
 
 BIBLE PICTUEES; 
 
 Stricture Bam m\1i Cwstoms in ^tm. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. M. OFEICER, 
 
 MISSIONARY TO WESTERN AFRICA. 
 
 J 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 
 LUTHERAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 
 
 No. 42 North Ninth Street. 
 1859. 
 
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 
 
 THE LUTHERAN BOAllD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for tlio 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Not a few of the scenes and occurrences witnessed 
 by the traveller in Western Africa, remind him of 
 some portion of Scripture, or some incident therein 
 recorded. This is doubtless partly owing to the fact 
 that the climate and productions of that country are 
 much the same as those of the Eastern lands, to which 
 the descriptive and historic portions of Scripture 
 mostly relate — partly to the fact that heathen people 
 in all countries and of all races are, in their social 
 condition, much alike; and therefore the modern 
 heathen of Africa would necessarily institute usages 
 similar to those of the ancient heathen mentioned in 
 the Bible — but mostly owing, perhaps, to the fact 
 that the negroes are descendants of the ancient Cush- 
 ites or Ethiopians that once dwelt in the countries 
 of the East, where most of the scenes of the Scrip- 
 tures are laid, and therefore would naturally retain 
 
 1* (V) 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 among them some at least of the same usages that 
 were prevalent in the East many centuries ago. 
 
 But however this may be, it is certain that during 
 the time which I spent in that country, I was often 
 forcibly reminded of many Scripture scenes and 
 usages, by what I saw in African life around me; 
 and as some incidents there witnessed seemed to 
 throw light on certain portions of Scripture, I then 
 first thought of preparing this little volume, which I 
 hope may afford youthful readers some information 
 about Africa, and also serve to increase their interest 
 in the study of the Bible. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Eetiring at Noon Page 9 
 
 Dwelling in Walled Towns 12 
 
 Transacting Business in the Gates 17 
 
 Petty Kings and Kingdoms 21 
 
 Presenting Rings as Signals of Authority 25 
 
 Denying Burial to Enemies 27 
 
 Pronouncing Curses or Imprecations 30 
 
 Making Lamentation for the Dead 34 
 
 Giving the Cup of Consolation 37 
 
 Casting Bread upon the Waters 41 
 
 Defending Towns with Walls of Fire 45 
 
 Washing Hands in Innocency 48 
 
 Use of Talismans or Charms 62 
 
 Observing Signs — Practising Divination 57 
 
 Mingling True and False Religions...* 63 
 
 Handing down Traditions 66 
 
 (vii) 
 
AFRICAN BIBLE PICTURES; 
 
 OB, 
 
 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 
 
 RETIRING AT NOON. 
 
 The country of Western Africa is the same 
 as was formerly known by the name of Gui- 
 nea. The northern part of it was called Upper 
 Guinea, and the southern part Lower Guinea. 
 Diiferent portions of it w^ere also named after 
 the things chiefly produced in them, and ex- 
 ported to other lands — as the Grain Coast, 
 the Gold Coast, the Slave Coast, and the Ivory 
 Coast. But all these districts are embraced 
 in what is now known as Western Africa. 
 
 This country lies on the opposite side of 
 the Atlantic Ocean from South America ; and 
 being thus far south, the climate is warm at 
 all seasons, and during portions of the year 
 it is oppressively hot. Although the morn- 
 
 (9) 
 
10 SCRIPTUKE SCENES AND 
 
 ings and evenings are comfortably cool, yet, 
 in the middle of the day, when the sun pours 
 his burning rays perpendicularly on the earth, 
 the heat becomes almost intolerable to those 
 who have been accustomed to cooler climates. 
 Even the natives complain much of the mid- 
 day heat, and generally cease from labor for 
 two or three hours, and retire to their houses, 
 or to the cool shade of some favorite grove. 
 In these agreeable retreats they often have 
 hammocks, or hanging-beds, suspended be- 
 tween two trees, and on these, or on couches 
 of some other kind, they recline to take their 
 accustomed rest, or ''nap at noon." 
 
 Some portions of the land of Palestine, 
 where most of the events recorded in the 
 Bible took place, are also very warm during 
 part of the year; and in consequence of this, 
 the same custom of resting at noon seems to 
 have prevailed among the former inhabitants 
 of that noted land. In 1 Sam. ii. 11, we read 
 that Saul and his army " slew the Ammon- 
 ites until the heat of the day :" but it seems 
 that they then desisted, although thej^ were 
 accustomed to follow up their defeated and 
 scattered enemies. They no doubt therefore 
 ceased because of the great heat that came 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 11 
 
 on at the hour of noon. We learn also from 
 2 Sam. iv. 5, that when '' the sons of Rimmon 
 came about the heat of the day to the house 
 of Ish-bosheth," for the purpose of taking his 
 life, they found him lying ''on a bed at- 
 noon'* — that is, taking his usual mid-day rest. 
 They no doubt expected that he would be 
 thus retired, and perhaps asleep, at that hour, 
 and therefore went then, that they might 
 more easily succeed in their wicked designs. 
 IIow often in various parts of Western 
 Africa, on seeing the people repose at noon, 
 under a cluster of magnificent palm-trees, or 
 the fruitful orange, or the broad-leafed and 
 beautiful plantain, have I thought of the de- 
 scription which is given of the blessedness 
 of Christ's reign, in the fourth chapter and 
 fourth verse of Micah, where the prophet says 
 " they shall set every man under his vine and 
 under his fig-tree, and none shall make them 
 afraid." Or when seeing the people, almost 
 overcome with the excessive heat of the noon- 
 day sun, eagerly seek the cool and pleasant 
 shade, how forcibly have I been reminded of 
 the declaration of Isaiah, that, in Christ's 
 reign, a man shall be to his fellow "as the 
 shadow of a great rock in a weary land " is 
 to the fainting traveller. 
 
12 SCEIPTUKE SCENES AND 
 
 DWELLING IN WALLED TOWNS. 
 
 (See Frontispiece.) 
 
 Vast portions of Western Africa lie in an 
 uncultivated state, and are not occupied by 
 any settled inhabitants. Some of these re- 
 gions are rugged hills and mountains, covered 
 with massive rocks — some are marshy dis- 
 tricts, overgrown with swamp timber and 
 water-grass, and some again are wide plains 
 and valleys of fertile land, but covered so 
 densely with trees and shrubbery as to be 
 almost impenetrable to the traveller. 
 
 In these great waste places, multitudes of 
 ferocious animals lurk during the day-time; 
 and going forth at night, prowl about the 
 country in search of prey, thus making the 
 night a time of danger to domestic animals 
 and to men. But in addition to these destruc- 
 tive beasts, there are frequent gangs of rob- 
 bers, who roam over the country by night for 
 purposes of pillage and murder. Nor are 
 these all. The settled tribes often fall upon 
 each other in times of scarcity, and under the 
 dark cover of the night, destroy each other's 
 homes and property and life. 
 
 Because of these manifold dangers, the 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 13 
 
 people do not dwell in separate families 
 throughout the country, as a large portion of 
 the inhabitants of most other lands do, but 
 they live together in towns and villages, for 
 mutual aid and protection. Even those em- 
 ployed in tilling the soil, do not reside upon 
 their farms, but only go out to them each 
 morning, to engage in the labors of the day, 
 and in the evening return to lodge in their 
 village homes. 
 
 When the people of a town become able 
 to perform the labor, they generally enclose 
 it with some kind of wall or barricade, to 
 render themselves more secure from the dan- 
 gers just mentioned. Some of these fortifi- 
 cations are stockades or picket-fences, made 
 by planting sticks of timber on end in the 
 ground, and so close together, that neither 
 man nor any dangerous animal can pass 
 through. 
 
 The town of Bama, near Mendi Mission, 
 had, when I was there, three of these stock- 
 ades about ten feet apart, running parallel 
 entirely round the town. The outer fence 
 was made just so close as not to admit a man 
 through the openings between the logs, and 
 w^as more than twenty feet high. The se- 
 cond one was much more compact, but not 
 2 
 
14 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 SO high, and being composed of a kind of 
 tree whose trunk and branches continue to 
 grow when cut into pieces and planted up- 
 right in the ground, it was a live fence, be- 
 coming more close and firm every year, and 
 affording an ornament as well as a protection 
 to the town. The third, or innermost fence, 
 was made of split logs or slabs planted against 
 each other two plies thick, so as to cover all 
 the openings, and render it proof against 
 bullets. 
 
 Other towns, however, are surrounded with 
 walls made of mud or clay. These walls are 
 constructed by putting on one layer at a time 
 of soft cleij balls, which readily yield to the 
 shape of the harder layer beneath them, and 
 adhering firmly to it, soon become sufiiciently 
 hard by drying to support another tier placed 
 in like manner upon them. Thus layer after 
 layer, as each one becomes partially dry, the 
 wall is built up to the height of ten or fifteen 
 feet. 
 
 This sort of wall I saw at the town of La- 
 vanna, on the Big Boom River. The wall 
 at the base was very thick, but was gradually 
 drawn in or narrowed as it rose, till at the 
 top it was only the thickness of a single boul- 
 der. The sideSj however, were too nearly 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 15 
 
 perpendicular, and too smooth to be scaled 
 without the aid of a ladder. A few feet from 
 this wall, on the inside, there was a picket- 
 fence, running parallel w^ith it round the 
 town, and the space between was driven full 
 of small sticks of hard wood, which, being 
 made sharp at the top, prevented an enemy 
 from passing down the inside of the mud- 
 w^all, if he should in any way reach its summit. 
 In towns with these kinds of defence, the 
 Africans are completely protected against fe- 
 rocious animals, and are also tolerably safe 
 from bands of plunderers and the rabbles of 
 war-men, neither of which often carry with 
 them cannon or other engines of w^arby which 
 such structures could be readily demolished. 
 
 From the frequent mention of towns and 
 villages in various parts of the Bible, it seems 
 that from a very early period the inhabitants 
 of the East drew together into communities 
 of this kind ; and it most likely originated in 
 the dangers to which the people were exposed 
 from the prevalence of w^ild beasts, and the 
 uncivilized state of society in those ancient 
 times. 
 
 It appears, too, that the eastern people w^ere 
 early accustomed to enclose their tow^ns w^ith 
 
16 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 walls. The towns of the Canaanites were 
 thus fortified when the Israelites went up 
 from Egypt to take possession of that pro- 
 mised land. For in the Book of Numbers 
 xiii. 28, we learn that when the spies who 
 had been sent to examine the land, returned 
 to the wilderness of Paran, where the Israel- 
 ites were encamped, they said ''the people 
 be strong that dwell in the land, and the 
 cities are walled and very great." In Deut. 
 iii. 5, Moses, speaking of the "three score" 
 or sixty cities that the children of Israel had 
 conquered on the east side of the river Jordan, 
 says, ''All these cities were fenced with high 
 walls, gates and bars." Now these cities 
 could not have been great compared with such 
 places as Jerusalem afterwards became, nor 
 compared with such cities as New York or 
 London ; for the country in which they were 
 situated was too small to sustain so many as 
 sixty populous cities. They were perhaps 
 more like the present walled towns of Western 
 Africa, although their walls may have been 
 built in a somewhat different way. 
 
 The great difference between the constant 
 dangers and alarms amidst which the inhabi- 
 tants of heathen countries live, and the peace 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 17 
 
 and safety which we enjoy in this Christian 
 land, clearly shows the great power and good- 
 ness of the Gospel, and it may encourage us 
 to hope that the time foretold by the Prophets 
 may yet come, when " the earth shall be filled 
 with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord" 
 — when ''nation shall not lift up a sword 
 against nation, neither shall they learn war 
 anymore" — when ''the meek shall inherit 
 the earth, and shall delight themselves in the 
 abundance of peace." And although there 
 is no real safety in walled towns or in cities 
 built and fortified by men, yet there is a city 
 whose inhabitants are entirely secure. It is 
 the "City of God" — the New Jerusalem — 
 the home of the righteous, where those enter 
 whose names are written in the Lamb's Book 
 of Life, " where thieves do not break through 
 nor steal, and where there is neither pain nor 
 sorrow. There the wicked cease from troubling 
 and the weary are at rest.'' 
 
 TRANSACTINa BUSINESS IN THE GATES. 
 
 In the walls which surround the African 
 towns, there are always several gateways 
 through which the inhabitants pass in and 
 
 9* TJ 
 
18 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 out. During the day these passages are gene- 
 rally kept open, but at night they are closed 
 with large wooden doors turning on rude 
 hinges at the sides, or else with several logs 
 of timber suspended from the top of the gate- 
 way in such a manner as to be easily let down 
 over the passage. 
 
 As the people all lodge in the town at 
 night, and go forth during the day to their 
 labors in the surrounding country, there is a 
 great concourse at the gates during certain 
 hours of the day. Early in the morning nu- 
 merous companies of workmen are passing 
 out to their fields and other places of employ- 
 ment ; and in the evening, about sunset, re- 
 turning from various parts of the country, 
 they again throng the gates as they pass 
 through to their homes. 
 
 Because of these frequent and regular 
 gatherings of people at the gates, they become 
 places of relating and hearing news — of dis- 
 cussing matters of public interest — of settling 
 disputes and misunderstandings, and of at- 
 tending to business in general. The gates 
 therefore become places of general resort, not 
 only for the idle and dissolute, but also for 
 the orderly and industrious. K a man desires 
 to speak to a certain individual, he has only 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 19 
 
 to go to the gate in due season, and wait 
 till he comes along. Or if a number of per- 
 sons desire to attend to any business together, 
 the gate will be the most convenient place 
 of meeting. And since this is the case, there 
 are generally sheds or open houses erected 
 near the entrances, for public use. In these 
 the head men or principal men of the town 
 are almost constantly occupied in attesting 
 contracts and settling disputes, and trying 
 cases of litigation. 
 
 Often, while witnessing these busy scenes 
 at the gateways of African towns, have I 
 thought of similar transactions recorded in 
 the Bible. Thus in Gen. xxxiv. 20 and 21, 
 we learn that when Hamor the Hivite and 
 his son Schechem were anxious to have Jacob 
 and his family settle in their country, and 
 dwell with them, but desired first to consult 
 the people of their own town about making 
 that kind of proposal to Jacob, they " came 
 unto the gate of their city, and communed 
 with the men, saying, these men are peaceable 
 with us, therefore let them dwell in the land 
 and trade therein." Here the gate seems to 
 have been a place of discussing and deciding 
 a question of public interest. It is also seen 
 
20 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 in the 23d chapter of Genesis, that when 
 Sarah, the wife of Abraham, died at Hebron, 
 and he wished to purchase a burying-place 
 from Ephron, who lived with the children of 
 rieth, the contract was made: ''In the au- 
 dience of the children of Heth, even of all 
 that went in at the gates of his city." And 
 again, the whole transaction was confirmed, 
 " In the presence of the children of Heth, 
 before all that went in at the gates of his 
 city." In the Book of Ruth iv. 1 and 2, it is 
 said that Boaz, desiring to secure from the 
 near kinsman of Ruth the le2:al rirfit to 
 marry her, " went up to the gate and sat him 
 down there : and behold, the kinsman of 
 whom Boaz spake came by : unto whom he 
 said. Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down 
 here. And he turned aside and sat down. 
 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, 
 and he said. Sit ye down here. And they 
 sat down." Before these men thus called to- 
 gether Boaz laid his request ; and in the 11th 
 verse it is said that when the agreement was 
 made, " all the people that were in the gate, 
 and the elders, said. We are witnesses." Thus 
 it appears that the whole transaction took 
 place at the gate, and that the matter was first 
 arranged before the town officers, and after- 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 21 
 
 wards ratified by them and all the assem- 
 blage of people. Perhaps there was at the 
 gate some kind of court-room or public place, 
 in which contracts were legally confirmed and 
 claims to property adjusted, much the same 
 as those seen in the towns of Western Africa 
 at the present day. 
 
 PETTY KINGS AND KINaDOMS. 
 
 In most parts of Western Africa the tra- 
 veller meets with numerous chiefs or rulers, 
 who claim the title of king, and who are 
 generally honored with that distinction by 
 the people of the country. Though mostly 
 poor, and clothed with but limited authority, 
 they make great efibrts to display their roy- 
 alty, always having about them an array of 
 servants, and, when travelling through the 
 country, employing an armed force as a sort 
 of body-guard. When in the presence of their 
 own people at home, they usually hold in their 
 hand a whip, a staff*, an elephant's tail, or 
 something of the kind, as an emblem of 
 authority. 
 
 In the southern part of Western Africa, 
 each of these native kings rules over a terri- 
 
22 SCKIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 tory of considerable extent ; but those living 
 in the vicinity of Liberia and Sierra Leone, 
 have for the most part but limited dominions, 
 often not larger, each, than a single county 
 in the State of Ohio or Pennsylvania. And 
 even over this small district the king exer- 
 cises but a partial control ; for the chiefs and 
 head men of the several towns within his 
 domain have also more or less to say in the 
 afiairs of state. No alliances can be formed 
 with other tribes — no war declared — no 
 treaty entered into — no land disposed of — 
 nor any new^ law enacted, without their con- 
 sent. Still the kings are recognized as the 
 chief rulers, and have in some particulars 
 considerable power. 
 
 These petty kingdoms or tribes, being so 
 numerous, and situated along the same rivers, 
 are almost continually at variance, and often 
 at war. It frequently happens also, that 
 when two tribes engage in war, others near 
 them are involved in the contest, and join in 
 the work of murder and destruction, till the 
 whole country becomes a scene of confusion 
 and alarm, if not of ruin and desoki^tion. 
 
 I became acquainted with a number of 
 these so-called kings in the Sherbro, Mendi, 
 and Timany countries, and was compelled to 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 23 
 
 learn something of their warfare. At one 
 time, during my abode among them, those 
 living on the north side of the river Boom, 
 joined together against those on the south 
 side, and for many weeks the Mission, which- 
 was not far from the river, was kept in con- 
 stant alarm. War parties were continually 
 scouring the country, blowing war-horns, 
 firing guns, and shouting to each other in 
 triumph or distress. When a battle was 
 fought during the night, the whole of the fol- 
 lowing day was occupied in pursuing the 
 vanquished party, either to capture them as 
 slaves, or to subject them to death by cruel 
 torture. 
 
 The political conditions of that unhappy 
 country under the rule of these petty kings 
 is doubtless very much like that of Canaan 
 at the time when the people of Israel entered 
 it under the command of Joshua. There 
 were then in Canaan a large number of tribes, 
 each headed by a ruler called a king; for in 
 the twelfth chapter of Joshua there are given 
 the names of thirty-one kings and their cities 
 that the children of Israel conquered on the 
 west side of the river Jordan, These king- 
 doms could not have been large, since the 
 
24 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 whole country which embraced them all is 
 not more than half as large as the State of 
 Ohio. Perhaps they were equally as small 
 as the present negro kingdoms of Western 
 Africa. 
 
 The kings of Canaan also joined together 
 in war against other allied kings just as the 
 various African tribes are now accustomed 
 to do. In the fifth verse of the tenth chapter 
 of Joshua, it is said that ''the five kings of 
 the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem (then a 
 heathen town), the king of Hebron, the king 
 of Jarmouth, the king of Lachish, the king 
 of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and 
 went up, they and their hosts, and encamped 
 before Gibeon, and made war against it." 
 These five kings were then too strong for the 
 Gibeonites, and therefore they were in great 
 trouble and distress at the prospect of falling 
 into the hands of their savage enemies, by 
 whom they would be tortured to death ; and 
 having before formed a league of friendship 
 with Israel, they sent men to Joshua, saying, 
 '' Slack not thy hand from thy servants : come 
 up to us quickly, and save us and help us." 
 
 I never realized the horrors of the scenes 
 described in the Book of Joshua till thrown 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 25 
 
 among the heathen of Africa, and compelled 
 to witness the degradation and cruelty of 
 these pagan tribes, and the awful woes and 
 miseries attending their incessant wars. Nor 
 did I ever before set a proper estimate on the, 
 blessings of peace and safety which I had 
 always enjoyed in our own civilized land. 
 
 PRESENTING RINGS AS SIGNALS 
 OF AUTHORITY. 
 
 Kixa Ibeboo once sent a young man to 
 the Mission to prevent his warriors, who were 
 then in the adjoining countr}", from molest- 
 ing us, or carrying away the Mission pro- 
 perty. AVhen he arrived at the place, he told 
 us that he had come in the king's name, and 
 with authority to act in the king's stead ; and 
 then putting forth his right hand, he exhi- 
 bited on his finger a silver ring, saying that 
 it was the king's ring, and that all the war- 
 men of their party were obliged to obey his 
 orders while wearing that ring. This we 
 found to be the case, for whenever any dis- 
 orderly person was shown the ring, he at once 
 yielded to the directions of the ofiicial who 
 wore it. 
 3 
 
26 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 It is a common custom among the African 
 kings, when appointing any one to transact 
 business in their stead, or to act as their min- 
 ister, to give him some article that they have 
 worn on their own persons, or have borne 
 about the country with them, as a sign of his 
 appointment, and the ring is perhaps more 
 generally used for this purpose than anything 
 else. 
 
 This practice appears to have existed 
 among the kings of ancient times ; for in the 
 Book of Esther iii. 10 and 11, it is said that 
 king Ahasuerus, on authorizing Haman to 
 destroy all the Jews in his dominion, '' took 
 his ring from his hand and gave it unto Ha- 
 man." Letters were then written to every 
 province throughout the kingdom, command- 
 ing the governors to put to death all the Jews 
 on a certain day, and the letters were " sealed 
 with the king's ring." This impression of 
 the ring upon the letters was the seal of their 
 authority. 
 
 In like manner it is stated in Gen. xli. 42, 
 that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, having ap- 
 pointed Joseph to rule over his house and 
 over all the land of Egypt, " took off his ring 
 from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 27 
 
 hand/' This was the signal of his high au- 
 thority, and accordingly the people obeyed 
 him with promptness all over the land. 
 
 DENYING BURIAL TO ENEMIES. 
 
 During one of the African wars, an armed 
 force of about four hundred men came over 
 from the Lower Boom country, and made an 
 attack on the town of Bama, near Kaw Mendi. 
 The besiegers were defeated with consider- 
 able loss, and being scattered in the surround- 
 ing fields and woods, the inhabitants of the 
 town rushed forth to hunt them down, and 
 capture or destroy them. The whole of the 
 next day was spent in this dreadful work, and 
 many slain men lay on all sides of the town, 
 and some on the Mission grounds, where 
 they had been overtaken and smitten down. 
 
 From regard both to decency and health, 
 we were desirous to have these dead bodies 
 buried in the earth. But knowing the feel- 
 ings of the natives in regard to the burial of 
 enemies, we went first to the chief of the 
 town, to secure his sanction to their inter- 
 ment, presenting the plea that the decay of 
 so many dead bodies in the open air might 
 
28 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 create disease. The chief readily admitted 
 this fact, and even acknowledged that on this 
 account what we requested was very reason- 
 able, but said that lie could not for any reason 
 w^hatever grant us permission to bury the 
 slain enemies of his people, as it was contrary 
 to the well established and invariable custom 
 of the country. We urged the necessity and 
 propriety of changing the custom, as it was 
 manifestly a bad one. But all was in vain — 
 the usage was fixed, and must be observed ; 
 and besides, his people could not allow their 
 enemies to be honored w^ith burial ; and if 
 we should inter the bodies of those slain on 
 our ground, it would be understood as an act 
 of hostility to him and his people. The hag- 
 gard forms therefore continued to lie upon 
 the surface of the earth till devoured by wild 
 animals, and fowls and insects, of which there 
 are vast numbers in the country. 
 
 From certain passages of Scripture it ap- 
 pears that the ancient heathen sometimes 
 denied burial to enemies and criminals, but 
 the Jews granted them interment. In the 
 account of the punishment inflicted on Pha- 
 raoh's chief taker, given in the fortieth chap- 
 ter of Genesis, it is stated that after having 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 29 
 
 been put to death by hanging upon a tree, 
 his body was exposed, till the flesh of it was 
 eaten by the birds of the air. In Jer. xxxvi. 
 30, the prophet, when speaking of the sore 
 calamities that the heathen king of Babylon- 
 would bring upon Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 
 says : " His dead body shall be cast out in 
 the day to the heat, and in the night to the 
 frost." In the first part of the seventy-ninth 
 Psalm, where there is a sorrowful description 
 of the miseries which the heathen had in- 
 flicted on Jerusalem, the writer says : " The 
 dead bodies of thy servants have they given 
 to be meat unto the fowls of heaven, the flesh 
 of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth." 
 
 I shall never forget the oppressive sadness 
 which I felt during the period already men- 
 tioned, when the ghastly forms of men lay 
 uncovered upon the surface of the earth 
 around me, and were torn asunder and de- 
 voured by prowling beasts of the forest, and 
 shrieking birds of prey. How awful indeed 
 must have been those similar but more dread- 
 ful scenes which have several times taken 
 place at the great city of Jerusalem, when God, 
 m punishment for its wickedness, gave it up 
 to the ravages and cruelties of heathen nations. 
 3* 
 
30 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 PKONOUNCING CUESES OR IMPRE- 
 CATIONS. 
 
 AMONa the Africans, almost everything 
 that is said by way of reproach or censure is 
 called cursing ; and the natives generally be- 
 come either greatly alarmed or offended if 
 one of their own number, and more particu- 
 larly if a stranger, calls them by disgraceful 
 epithets, or scolds at their conduct. But be- 
 sides all this, there are in use among them 
 various set forms of cursing or pronouncing 
 imprecations, which are thought to be an un- 
 failing means of inflicting injuries upon those 
 against whom they are employed. Some of 
 these forms are thought to be more powerful 
 than others ; but if any one of them is rightly 
 used, it is believed that sooner or later the 
 evil invoked will surely come. 
 
 The pagan priests, who are commonly re- 
 garded as most skilful in this mysterious and 
 terrible art, are greatly feared by the common 
 people. And in like manner a missionary is 
 often regarded with great dread, until well 
 enough known to inspire the people with 
 confidence in his friendship. The prayers 
 of missionaries are especially alarming to 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 31 
 
 those who think themselves alluded to in 
 these addresses to God. 
 
 A missionary with whom I was associated 
 frequently visited a town on the Little Boom 
 river for the purpose of holding religious . 
 meetings with the inhabitants of the place. 
 He was at first well received by both the 
 chief and his subjects ; but in one of his dis- 
 courses, having spoken against some of their 
 heathen practices, he greatly offended the 
 chief, who, on his return next time, threat- 
 ened to drive him from the town, and also 
 made some effort to prevent the people from 
 attending preaching. The missionary, how- 
 ever, preached again, and in the closing ex- 
 ercises prayed that the chief might be con- 
 verted to Christianity, and that God would 
 remove all obstacles to the progress of true 
 religion in the town and country. This was 
 some way understood as an imprecation upon 
 the chief, and caused great displeasure and 
 alarm among his friends, while the chief 
 himself was almost terror-stricken. The 
 preacher was nevertheless pemiitted to re- 
 turn home unmolested ; but in a day or two 
 afterwards the chief was taken sick, and the 
 head-men of the town, as well as himself, at 
 once concluded that the illness was caused 
 
32 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 by the supposed imprecation. They there- 
 fore sent a messenger to the mission, stating 
 that the curse had taken effect, and that if 
 tlie chief died, all the inhabitants of the town 
 were determined to avenge the injury, and 
 that nothing would appease them but the life 
 of the offender. They also proposed that if 
 the preacher would revoke the curse, so that 
 the health of the chief would be restored, 
 they would overlook all that had been done, 
 and would be as friendly as before. For a few 
 days there was much feeling manifested by 
 the sick chief's people ; but as he soon reco- 
 vered, they became reconciled, thinking that 
 the imprecation had been recalled, and that 
 their threats had so intimidated the mission- 
 ary as to prevent him from attempting again 
 to injure themselves or their ruler; and they 
 no doubt think so to this day. 
 
 There are instances recorded in the Bible 
 where good men, in former times, declared 
 or foretold that certain calamities would be- 
 fall particular cities and individuals ; as when 
 the ancient prophets foretold the downfall of 
 Nineveh, and Babylon, and Jerusalem ; and 
 also when Noah made known to Ham that 
 the descendants of his son Canaan would be 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 33 
 
 enslaved by the descendants of Sliem and 
 Japhetli. In these cases, however, the evils 
 named were not invoked by the prophets; 
 they were simply announced or foretold as 
 punishments that would be sent upon those 
 cities and families for their great wickedness. 
 
 But in the twenty-second chapter of the 
 book of Numbers, w^e learn that the ancient 
 Moabites entertained the same notions in re- 
 gard to imprecations as the African heathen 
 do now. For it is there related that when 
 Balak, king of the Moabites, became greatly 
 alarmed at the victorious march of the Israel- 
 ites, on their way to Canaan, he sent messen- 
 gers to a noted enchanter by the name of 
 Balaam, and requested him to come and 
 "curse Israel," and thereby enable him to 
 overcome them. He also declared to Balaam 
 that he knew that whoever was cursed by 
 him w^as cursed indeed ; and he promised to 
 promote the enchanter to great honor, and to 
 reward him bountifully, if only he would 
 come and curse these people. 
 
 Balaam at last went to Balak ; but, what- 
 ever may have been his powers of magic, he 
 was not able by that means to inflict any in- 
 jury on Israel ; for we are told in the twenty- 
 third and twenty -fourth chapters, that al- 
 
 c 
 
34 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 though Balak continued his entreaties and 
 his offers of reward, yet Balaam was unable 
 to accomplish w^hat he desired. The Israelites 
 conquered their enemies, and pursued their 
 journey to the land of promise. The curses 
 of the wicked, like their prayers, are in- 
 effectual. 
 
 MAKING LAMENTATION FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 When we were descending the Big Boom 
 river, a young man who had fallen from the 
 top of a palm-tree, in which he had been 
 gathering palm-nuts, was taken up dead, and 
 carried to a small town on the bank of the 
 river. We landed at the same place, and, 
 after ascending the steep bank on which the 
 town w^as built, we w^alked through the thick 
 cluster of palm, plantain, and banana trees, 
 whose long pendant leaves and branches 
 drooped mournfully over our heads. The 
 path leading to the village w^as narrow and 
 winding, and before making the last turn 
 which brought us to the entrance, we heard 
 the sound of many voices mingling in dole- 
 ful cries and lamentation. As we passed on, 
 we soon saw the corpse of the youth, neatly 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 35 
 
 enfolded in a new clean mat, and placed in 
 a sort of court, ready to be conveyed to the 
 lonely grave. 
 
 The mourning women, the sound of whose 
 wailing had reached us in the grove, were- 
 standing, kneeling, and sitting around the 
 dead body. Their hair was unbraided, and 
 large blisters, caused by chafing the skin with 
 coarse cloths, together with wounds made by 
 other means, covered great portions of their 
 breasts and arms, and were rendered more 
 painful by the application of ashes and other 
 burning substances. The cries of these wo- 
 men were so truly plaintive, and their appear- 
 ance so melancholy and affecting, that we 
 were almost moved to weep in sympathy. 
 Some of the mourners were doubtless rela- 
 tives of the unfortunate youth, but most of 
 them were professional ''mourning women" 
 who were accustomed to attend on funeral 
 occasions, and make lamentation for the 
 dead. 
 
 The custom of thus employing mourners 
 at funerals prevails among all the tribes of 
 Western Africa. The lamentation is con- 
 tinued incessantly from the time at which 
 the death occurs till the next morning after 
 the corpse is deposited in the tomb ; and then 
 
36 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 it is often renewed each night for a week or 
 more, and at stated periods afterwards for 
 many months. The mourning is usually ac- 
 companied with other loud noises, such as 
 beating drums, clapping hands, and firing 
 guns. 
 
 If some of the relatives of the deceased 
 are too far distant to attend the funeral, they 
 sometimes ''keep the cry," as it is called, in 
 the place where thej^ are when the intelligence 
 of their loss reaches them. On these occasions 
 only a few intimate friends are invited to join 
 in the demonstrations of sorrow ; but still the 
 lamentation is not neaiected. 
 
 "&" 
 
 We learn from Lev. xix. 28, that God com- 
 manded the Jews " not to make any cuttings 
 in their flesh for the dead, nor print any marks 
 upon their bodies,'' as the heathen nations 
 around them then did, and as the African 
 heathen now do ; but they were accustomed 
 to employ mourners at the funerals of their 
 friends. In Jer. ix. 17 and 18, the prophet, 
 when describing the destruction which God 
 would bring upon the Jews for their disobe- 
 dience, says, " Call for the mouring women, 
 that they may come; and send for cunning 
 women (skilled in mourning or making dole- 
 
 i 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 37 
 
 fal noises) that they may come ; and let them 
 make haste, and take up a wailing for us, 
 that our eyes may run down with tears." 
 
 In ancient times, too, mourners were ac- 
 customed to make use of some kind of mu- 
 sical instruments in connection with their 
 wailings ; for it is stated in Matt. ix. 23, that 
 when the Saviour went to the house of a cer- 
 tain ruler, whose daughter had died, ''He saw 
 the minstrels and people making a noise." 
 
 Death is always a solemn and awful event, 
 and in all countries there are bitter sighs and 
 tears when a beloved friend is called away, 
 and the lifeless form is laid in the dark and 
 silent grave. But the practice of inviting 
 persons to make mournful noises, like many 
 of the extravagant displays at funerals in our 
 own country at the present time, seems to be 
 entirely unsuitable to the solemnity of such 
 occasions. In the sorrows and griefs of the 
 present life, let us rather look forward to the 
 future state of incessant joy, when there shall 
 be no more death, neither sorrow, nor cry- 
 ing — when ''God shall wipe away all tears 
 from our eyes" — and when "mourning shall 
 flee away." 
 4 
 
38 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 GIVING THE CUP OF CONSOLATION. 
 
 I ONCE attended an African funeral on 
 Sherbro Island. It was a mournful scene. 
 The deceased, a little boy about ten years 
 old, lay in a small house, made of mud and 
 sticks, and thatched with leaves of the bam- 
 boo tree. Near the corpse sat the mother in 
 the dust of the earthen floor, tearing her hair 
 with her hands, and uttering the most piteous 
 cries. The accustomed mourners were there, 
 and their w^ailings could be heard in the vil- 
 lages around. The father sat in silence in a 
 small apartment near the main entrance to 
 the open court, where the people were begin- 
 ning to assemble. 
 
 I noticed that each one of the neighbors 
 and acquaintances of the famih' brought a 
 present of some sort, and after the usual sa- 
 lutations were over, passed it into the hand 
 of the afflicted father, who handed it to an 
 attending servant, to be laid aside for the 
 funeral feast. The presents were either some 
 articles of food or drink, or else something 
 that could be exchanged for the native palm- 
 Y/ine of the country, or for rum and other 
 liquors sold by European traders on other 
 parts of the island ; and they were brought. 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 39 
 
 as I learned from one of the natives, "to 
 comfort the hearts of the father and mother, 
 and to make supper for the company," — that 
 is, to provide a feast to be held that night, 
 when sympathizing friends would invite the 
 bereft family to partake of food to strengthen 
 them, and of drink to revive their drooping 
 spirits, and drive away their sorrows. 
 
 Accordingly, when the corpse had been 
 deposited in the earth, a large company of 
 friends and acquaintances returned to the 
 house to attend the usual feast. Although 
 the mourners remained, and continued their 
 lamentations, yet the feast went on, attended 
 wnth noise and revelry. All this was done 
 professedly to console the sorrowing relatives 
 of the deceased, and to enable them to bear 
 their afflictions. 
 
 An allusion to a custom like this is found 
 in Jer. xvi. 7 and 8, where the prophet, de- 
 scribing the manner in which funeral rites 
 would be neglected in the dreadful ruin that 
 was to overtake the Jewish nation, says, 
 '' Neither shall men give them the cup of 
 consolation, to drink for their father or for 
 their mother. Thou shalt not also go unto 
 the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat 
 
40 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 and to drink." The meaning seems to be, 
 that in these sore calamities, the usual fune- 
 ral observances would be forgotten — that 
 death would become so common, and distress 
 would fall so heavily upon all, that none 
 would attempt to aiford comfort to others, by 
 presenting the accustomed refreshments, and 
 holding the funeral feast. 
 
 This may have been a heathen practice, 
 but it was, perhaps, somewhat prevalent 
 among the degenerate Jews of that period ; 
 for they were much inclined to adopt pagan 
 usages, although they were so strictly for- 
 bidden to follow the ways of the Gentiles, 
 Jeremiah simply alludes to it here as a well 
 known practice, without saying anything 
 about its fitness or unfitness for such occa- 
 sions. But he assures them that the time 
 will come when this, as well as other formali- 
 ties, however firmly adhered to then, will be 
 laid aside and forgotten in the terrible cala- 
 mities which their sins were bringing upon 
 them. 
 
 A 
 
CUSTOMS IX AFRICA. 41 
 
 CASTINa BREAD UPON THE WATERS. 
 
 The negroes of Africa are extremely fond 
 of rice as an article of food. It is eaten by- 
 all classes of people, and in large quantities. 
 The king and the slave — strong men and 
 feeble women — the old and the young, 
 all desire it as their daily food. The rice- 
 harvest is the most joj'Ous season of the year ; 
 and the failure of this favorite crop is cause 
 for great alarm and sorrow in every village. 
 Rice is conspicuous in the daily market — it is 
 the subject of conversation among epicures, 
 and is often extolled in songs and ballads 
 throughout the land. It is the black man's 
 " bread,'' 
 
 Not long after my arrival on the coast, I 
 employed a day-laborer whom I agreed to 
 "furnish with bread/' or to board, while em- 
 ployed at the work. On his arrival the first 
 morning, I gave him what I considered a 
 substantial breakfast of the same provisions 
 of which I myself partook ; but I was obliged 
 afterwards to add the regular quantity of rice, 
 as he insisted that he could not be boarded 
 according to contract without rice, which was 
 his ''bread." 
 
 This grain is grown in Africa, both on the 
 4* 
 
42 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 rolling lands of the hill country, and on the 
 low jQat regions along the creeks and rivers. 
 That which is produced on the upland is sown 
 at the beginning of the rainy season, and is 
 nourished by the continuous rains; but that 
 which is grown on the lowlands is sown at 
 the close of the wet season, when the waters 
 that have spread over the country from the 
 overflowing of the streams, have not entirely 
 receded to the channels, but still form a shal- 
 low covering on the surface of the ground. 
 On these water-covered fields, the sower goes 
 forth scattering upon the surface of the water, 
 the rice-grains, which, having settled into the 
 mud beneath, quickly send forth their thrifty 
 shoots. The water remaining for some time, 
 causes sufficient moisture for the growth of 
 the stalk, and by the time it has attained its 
 height, the water disappears, and the return- 
 ing dryness and heat of the earth soon cause 
 the grain to ripen. 
 
 Now, since the Africans regard rice as their 
 bread, and since they sow it on the water- 
 covered fields, their rice sowing may be called 
 " Casting bread upon the waters;" and it is 
 to this custom, no doubt, that Solomon alludes 
 in Ecclesiastes xi. 1, where he says, " Cast thy 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 43 
 
 bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it 
 after many days." In Egypt (a part of Africa) 
 and perhaps in some other countries which 
 were known to the Jews in Solomon's time, 
 rice was much used as an article of food or 
 ''bread," and was commonly sown in the 
 manner just described ; and therefore the Jews 
 w^ould readily understand the figure which is 
 here employed. 
 
 Anj^ one unacquainted with the business 
 of growing rice, on seeing the sower cast 
 the precious seed into the muddy vrater, 
 might suppose that it was all lost; but if, 
 after some months, he were to look again, 
 and see the ripe stalks which have sprung 
 from the buried seed, stand laden with fifty 
 times as many grains as were sown, he would 
 conclude that the bread that had been cast 
 upon the water w^as seen again after many 
 days. 
 
 But Solomon uses this figure to show the 
 benefit of benevolent acts or deeds of charity ; 
 — to show that what men do for charitable 
 objects is not done in vain, although they 
 may not be able immediately to see the re- 
 sults. It is like the seed-rice cast into the 
 watery ground ; for a while, indeed, it is out 
 of sight, but in due time it will yield a large 
 
44 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 return. Solomon would there say that money 
 given to sustain missions, and to educate or- 
 phans, and to feed the poor, is not thrown 
 away, as some seem to think, but that it will 
 at some future time bring its reward. Either 
 at some later period in this life the giver will 
 see and perhaps enjoy the good that he has 
 done, or if not, he will be abundantly re- 
 warded in Heaven for all the favor which he 
 has shown to the needy and ignorant in this 
 world. 
 
 Many years ago a little pagan boy was 
 taken out of a slave-ship at the colony of 
 Sierra Leone, in Western Africa, and placed 
 in a mission-school at that town. After spend- 
 ing some years in this school, he was sent to 
 England, and w^as thoroughly educated and 
 prepared to preach the Gospel. All this cost 
 the missionary society considerable money 
 and labor ; but it was like casting bread upon 
 the waters, for he afterwards returned to 
 Africa as a missionary, and is now laboring 
 w^ith much success among the people of his 
 own tribe in the city of Abbeokuta, where 
 he has established schools and a Christian 
 church. Thus are the missionary society and 
 its friends finding their bread again after 
 many days. But, in a future day, much 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 45 
 
 greater results will be seen, when hundreds 
 of these once heathen people, cleansed from 
 their corruption, shall enter into the paradise 
 above. 
 
 DEFENDING TOWNS WITH WALLS OF 
 FIRE. 
 
 In most parts of the west coast of Africa, 
 there are immense numbers of little black 
 ants, not more than one-fourth of an inch 
 long, and shaped much like the common 
 black ant of our own country. Thej^ travel 
 from place to place in close columns, gener- 
 ally not more than an inch wide, but often a 
 quarter of a mile in length. One of these 
 columns or lines of march, when seen at a 
 little distance, extending across a beaten path 
 or road, resembles a black leathern line or 
 rein, such as is used on coach-horses. 
 
 Although so diminutive, these ants evince 
 great spirit and determination. "When on 
 their march they can hardly be turned out of 
 their course ; and if disturbed, they make a 
 united and furious attack upon any intruder, 
 frorh the insignificant wood-mouse to the 
 ponderous elephant, and none can withstand 
 them. They crawl into the mouths and eyes 
 
46 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 of the larger animals, as well as all over their 
 bodies, and piercing the surface with their 
 little nipper-shaped jaws, produce a burning 
 sensation not unlike that caused by the sting 
 of a bee. So great are their numbers, and 
 so vindictive are their assaults, that both men 
 and animals are compelled to yield the ground 
 and allow them to pass on, which they are 
 certain to do without much delay, unless they 
 find some carcass to devour. In their march 
 they drive wild beasts from their lairs in the 
 thick jungle, and also people from their OAvn 
 houses in populous towns ; and it is perhaps 
 owing to this fact of their driving everything 
 before them that they are called ''Drivers;'' 
 for they are known by that name throughout 
 the country. 
 
 The only means by which I have known 
 the natives of the country to bring these de- 
 termined little creatures to a halt, or to turn 
 them out of their line of march when ap- 
 proaching a town, is to kindle a long train 
 of fire in advance of them. K this fiery wall 
 is extended along the side of the town at 
 which they approach, and if it is kept up for 
 a time, the ''drivers'' are compelled to turn 
 back or change their route. 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 47 
 
 This practice may illustrate the force of the 
 figure which God employs to express his pro- 
 tection of Jerusalem. In Zech. ii. 5, He says, 
 "I will be unto her a wall of tire round 
 about." This promise was made on the con- 
 dition that the inhabitants of that great city 
 would remain faithful to the true God ; and 
 it declares that so long as they would thus 
 continue, he would place around them the 
 most complete protection — protection like a 
 wall of fire, through w^hich no enemy could 
 pass. 
 
 It is not likely that the figure in the text 
 just quoted has any allusion to the particular 
 custom of making fires to ward off such in- 
 sects as the Drivers of Africa ; but it certainly 
 does allude to the practice common in many 
 countries, and among various nations, both 
 ancient and modern, of keeping up fires dur- 
 ing the night to prevent ferocious animals 
 from attacking persons who may be lodging 
 out of doors. Such wild beasts are known to 
 dread a blazing fire, and will not approach 
 very near it to injure even a solitary w^ood- 
 man. A circular line of fires, therefore, kept 
 up about an encampment during the night, 
 is a most complete security against danger- 
 ous animals ; and as in former times many 
 
48 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 such animals dwelt in the forests and rocky 
 hills of Canaan, the Jews were familiar with 
 their nature and habits, and could well com- 
 prehend the meaning and force of the pro- 
 mise that God would be to them " a wall of 
 fire." 
 
 How safe at all times are they who confi.- 
 dently trust in God, and earnestly strive to 
 obey him — who put their trust in the Al- 
 mighty. Though dangers may surround them 
 like howling beasts of prey gather about the 
 belated traveller, yet he will encircle them 
 with the arm of his providence, and his un- 
 seen presence, like a fiery wall, will turn back 
 or consume every approaching ill. "The 
 Lord shall preserve thee from all evil ; he . 
 shall preserve thy souk" "There shall no 
 evil befall thee." 
 
 WASHING HANDS IN INNOCENCY. 
 
 Hostilities had existed between a number 
 of Sherbro and Mendi chiefs for many months 
 — numerous towns had been destroyed — hun- 
 dreds of people had been slain in battle, or 
 otherwise put to death — and hundreds more 
 had been carried away by their captors and 
 sold into slavery. The agricultural and ma- 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 49 
 
 nufacturing pursuits common in the country 
 were all neglected ; and the people who sur- 
 vived were driven into the walled towns, 
 where multitudes were on the point of pe- 
 rishing for ;want of food. 
 
 Under these extreme sufferings the people 
 on both sides earnestly desired an end of the 
 war; and finally a meeting was called, to 
 which all the kings and chiefs involved in the 
 strife were invited, to form a treaty of peace. 
 A place called Yawney on Sherbro Island, 
 the burying ground of the kings of Sherbro 
 for generations past, was the point selected 
 for this assemblage. 
 
 There were present to take part in the pro- 
 ceedings, eight or ten kings and chiefs from 
 various parts of the country, and also a num- 
 ber of persons who appeared as representa- 
 tives of those kings, who were unable to be 
 present themselves. Besides these, a large 
 collection of inferior chiefs, headmen and 
 common people • attended as spectators and 
 witnesses of the proceedings. The spot on 
 which they were assembled was a sort of sa- 
 cred campus, immediately surrounded by the 
 graves of their departed fathers, and over- 
 shadowed by the wide-spreading branches of 
 magnificent trees. An air of solemnity per- 
 5 D 
 
50 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 vaded the assemblage, and ran througli all 
 the doings of the day. 
 
 After much deliberation and discussion, 
 the terms of the treat}^ were settled, and hav- 
 ing renounced all hostility to each other, and 
 having promised to adhere to the agreement 
 just formed, the parties proceeded formally 
 to confirm the whole according to the custom 
 of the country. This was done in the follow- 
 ing manner. The kings, chiefs, and repre- 
 sentatives, all stood in a circle in the midst 
 of the consecrated ground ; a vessel filled with 
 clean water was placed in the centre, and 
 each one after dipping his hand in the water, 
 to signify his cleansing himself from all past 
 enmity, extended it to those of the opposite 
 party in renewed friendship. At the conclu- 
 sion of this significant ceremonj^, it was an- 
 nounced that the peace treaty was ratified, 
 and that all again were friends. I noticed 
 that some of the chiefs who cheerfully gave 
 their consent to the terms of the treaty hesi- 
 tated much, and even trembled as they parti- 
 cipated in this impressive formula : thereby 
 showing that they regarded it as more sacred 
 and binding than their own solemn declara- 
 tions and promises. 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 51 
 
 This ceremony bears some resemblance to 
 that which Jehovah established among the 
 Jews, and which is described in the twenty- 
 first chapter of Deuteronomy. We there learn 
 that if a slain or murdered man was found in 
 the field, and the authorities could not disco- 
 ver who slew him, the elders of the town 
 nearest the place were to take a heifer to an 
 uncultivated valley, and having beheaded 
 her, to '^ wash their hands over the heifer," 
 and to say, " Our hands have not shed this 
 blood (the blood of the slain man,) neither 
 have our eyes seen it." This washing of 
 hands appears therefore to have been designed 
 as a formal declaration that the people of the 
 town were not guilty of the murder. 
 
 To this usage, most likely, David alludes, 
 when he says, Ps. xxvi. 6, ''I will wash my 
 hands in innocency." And to the same 
 striking ceremony Pilate resorted to signify 
 that he would have no part in the condemna- 
 tion of the Saviour. For after he had, in 
 words, again and again testified to the inno- 
 cence of Christ, and had refused to pronounce 
 a formal sentence against him, we are told 
 (Matt, xxvii. 24) that ''He took water and 
 washed his hands before the multitude, say- 
 ing, I am innocent of the blood of this just 
 
62 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 person." He no doubt designed by thus 
 washing his hands to disavow in the most 
 positive manner all participation in that aw- 
 ful transaction. 
 
 It would have been well for Pilate if he 
 had been as free from guilt in this matter as 
 this part of his conduct, in itself, indicated. 
 But, as a ruler, he should not only have re- 
 fused to condemn this "just person," but 
 should also have protected him from his per- 
 secutors. This Pilate did not do, and he was 
 therefore guilty. 
 
 USE OF TALISMANS OR CHAEMS. 
 
 One of the most prominent features in the 
 heathenism of Africa is the use of charms, 
 generally called " Greegrees" or "Fetiches." 
 The tribes on the West Coast universally in- 
 dulge in this species of superstition, although 
 some of them may practice it less extensively, 
 and adhere to it with less tenacity than do 
 others. 
 
 The " Greegrees" are mostly invented by 
 the native priests. They are composed of va- 
 rious materials, put up in different forms, and 
 used for numerous purposes. Some are images 
 made of wood, clay, or stone, and set up at 
 
 i 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 53 
 
 the entrances of towns and private dwellings 
 to secure the safety of the inhabitants ; others 
 are small amulets composed of sand or clay 
 of a certain kind, leaves of a particular tree, 
 scraps of paper containing a few marks or 
 characters, and incased in leather or cloth, so 
 as to be worn on some part of the body. 
 
 Although the Africans do not often worship 
 their Greegrees, or regard them as gods in- 
 vested with creative power, yet they hold 
 them very sacred, and believe them to be a 
 reliable means by which innumerable benefits 
 are secured, and many evils daily avoided. 
 The African sometimes whispers or mumbles 
 to the Greegree his wants, and also thanks 
 it when he has escaped any threatened cala- 
 mity ; but on being asked how a thing that 
 has neither intelligence nor life can deliver 
 people from danger, he generally replies that 
 it cannot do so itself, but that in some way 
 through it the benefit is obtained. 
 
 At several places in the Mindi country I 
 saw earthen pots filled with bones, and horns, 
 and herbs, and numerous other things, and 
 placed at the entrances of gardens, and near 
 fruit trees, to prevent the approach of thieves. 
 A head-man of a village on Sherbro Island 
 kept, on a covered platform at the side of his 
 
64 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 house, two large sea-shells to promote the 
 health and growth of his twin children. A 
 heathen priest near the mission, fastened a 
 mat to the ground near a large ant-hill, in 
 order to effect the decline and death of his 
 enemy simultaneously with the destruction 
 of the mat by the voracious insects. A na- 
 tive chief on Sherbro Island kept a stone 
 image at the side of his door to secure the 
 general prosperity of his household. When 
 I asked him who made the image, he replied 
 that he supposed God made it, or if he did 
 not, he could tell nothing about its origin, as 
 I ' he had never heard of its being made by any 
 
 ' one. It was perhaps many generations old. 
 
 At the Gambia river, I saw a native from the 
 interior part of the country, on whose person 
 I could count as many as thirty Greegrees, 
 each of which was designed to ward off" some 
 particular evil, or secure some special good ; 
 and yet with all these supposed means of 
 safety, he w^ould not so much as allow me to 
 put my linger on any part of his body ; but 
 fled whenever I approached to examine his 
 rare collection of amulets. 
 
 It is thus seen, that although the Africans 
 have very few idols, and very seldom engage 
 in idol worship, still they superstitiously rely 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 55 
 
 on an endless variety of talismans or charms, 
 for the common advantages and comforts of 
 life. And this use of Greegrees is certainly 
 so.mewhat like the use of the Seraphim or 
 talismans among the ancient heathen nations, 
 so often mentioned in the Bible. 
 
 In Gen. xxxi. 19, we read that Eachel, who 
 was the daughter of Laban, '' stole the images 
 that were her father's,'' and carried them 
 away with her when she left her father's 
 house to accompany her husband Jacob to 
 the Land of Canaan. In the thirtieth verse 
 of the same chapter, Laban calls these images 
 his '-gods;" and from the thirty-third verse 
 it is evident that he valued them very highly, 
 and was exceedingly anxious to regain them. 
 It is clear enough that Laban, who at best 
 seems to have been an unfair man, and much 
 addicted to low cunning, was in the habit of 
 using these images for superstitious purposes. 
 And by long indulgence in this practice he 
 had doubtless become very superstitious, and 
 was therefore greatly alarmed at the loss of 
 his supposed means of safety and prosperity. 
 I have often observed that scarcely any thing 
 will cause the African heathen so much un- 
 easiness as the loss of their Greegrees. 
 
56 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 Rachel, however, kept these gods, and La- 
 bau was obliged to return home without them. 
 This was all well enough if she did it to show 
 her father the folly of trusting in idols. But 
 as she had been under her father's training 
 during her whole childhood and youth, it is 
 more likely that she had imbibed his pagan 
 notions, and still retaining some degree of 
 confidence in the power of his gods, she car- 
 ried them with her, either to prevent her 
 father from employing them against her and 
 her family, or else to use them for her own 
 protection in the strange land to which she 
 was going. At the same time, it appears that 
 she was ashamed to let Jacob know that she 
 entertained such feelings, and that she had 
 the images in her possession ; for it is stated 
 (Gen. xxxi. 32,) that " Jacob knew not that 
 Rachel had stolen them." I have known 
 some African converts to Christianity to act 
 just in the same manner — that is, secretly to 
 adhere to some of their superstitious opinions 
 for a long time, although they were carefully 
 instructed in the truths of the Bible. Sinful 
 habits and opinions that are formed in youth 
 are hard to correct in after-life. 
 
 But whether Rachel retained these images 
 for superstitious purposes or not, w^e learn 
 
CUSTOMS IN APRICA. 57 
 
 from the thirty-fifth chapter of Genesis that 
 Jacob, some years afterwards, found false 
 gods of some kind in his family ; for, in the 
 second verse of that chapter, it is stated, that. 
 ''Jacob said unto his household, and to all 
 that were with him, put away the strange 
 gods that are among you ;" and accordingly, 
 in the fourth verse, it is added, that " They 
 gave unto Jacob all the strange gods that 
 were in their hands, and all their ear-rings 
 which were in their ears ; and Jacob hid them 
 under the oak which was by Shechem/' 
 Perhaps Laban's gods were among these, and 
 perhaps Eachel's having them had encouraged 
 other members of the family to procure some 
 of the talismans or charms (such as the ear- 
 rings mentioned) from the heathen people 
 around them. It is not safe to indulge even 
 a little in a known sinful practice, for it is 
 very likely to lead to gross and ruinous trans- 
 gression. 
 
 OBSERVING SIGNS — PRACTISING DIVI- 
 NATION. 
 
 The heathen negroes almost universally 
 believe in the revelation of future events by 
 certain appearances and occurrences, with 
 
68 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 which the events can have no possible con- 
 nection. All classes of people, therefore, pro- 
 fess to know many signs of things yet future, 
 and much time is spent in their observance 
 and interpretation. The departure of a flock 
 of "rice-birds" from their accustomed home 
 in the top of a cotton-wood tree, near a town, 
 is regarded as a sign that the place will soon 
 be destroyed by some wanton plunderers, or 
 some vindictive enemy. But the settlement 
 of a troop of these little songsters is equally 
 as certain a token of the town's safety, al- 
 though the country may be invaded by hos- 
 tile troops. Real and imagined appearances 
 in the sky are thought to foreshadow some 
 dreadful calamity, or some remarkable feli- 
 city. The dreams of the night portend the 
 good or bad fortune of the comiug day. 
 
 But, in addition to all this attention to the 
 precursors of coming events, the Africans 
 sometimes seek oracular instructions in deter- 
 mining matters of great importance, such as 
 undertaking a campaign against an enemy. 
 The most prominent, perhaps, of these augu- 
 ries is that of consulting what, on the Boom 
 river, is called the " Tassaw,'' This is a sort 
 of oracle kept by a secret association called 
 the Purrah^ the members of which are accus- 
 
 k 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 59 
 
 tomed to hold meetings in dense jungles set 
 apart for that purpose, and there to engage 
 in singing and dancing, to invoke the spirit 
 that is supposed to speak through the Tassaw, 
 to the officials of the order. After these exer- 
 cises, which none but the members are allowed 
 to witness, the whole societj- comes forth and 
 holds a public meeting in the " barre," or 
 town-hall, where questions of public interest 
 are sometimes discussed, and decisions an- 
 nounced. But the decisions are more generally 
 given during night meetings held in the deep 
 jungles, and are announced in a loud and 
 hollow voice, so as to terrify the people who 
 are listening without. These utterances are 
 said to proceed directly from the Tassaw, or 
 else are the precise interpretations of what it 
 has in some other manner revealed. 
 
 At the town of Kissahull, I once saw the 
 Purrah assembled in the "5arr^," with the 
 Tassaw in their midst, deliberating upon some 
 measures to promote the peace of the coun- 
 try. The Tassaw was a large bowl-shaped 
 vessel, decorated with feathers of large birds, 
 and supported by eight human thigh-bones. 
 The bones were not placed perpendicularly 
 under the vessel, but were so inclined that 
 every pair crossed, taking the form of the 
 
60 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 letter X; and at two of the points of intersec- 
 tion, human skulls were made fast, facing 
 outward, and having pieces of mica inserted 
 in the eye-sockets, in imitation of eyes. The 
 whole structure was painted in a variety of 
 colors, and in a most fantastic manner. We 
 were told that the bones and skulls were 
 taken from persons slain for the purpose, and 
 that those of an individual who had died an 
 ordinary death, or had been slain in battle, 
 could not be used in constructing the Tassaw. 
 
 These oracles, however, are made in a great 
 variety of forms, some of them not at all like 
 the one just described; and many of them are 
 not exposed to the view of the people at any 
 time, being carefully concealed in the ''Pur- 
 rah Bush." 
 
 No doubt some of the leaders in this order 
 know that the oracle itself can give no deci- 
 sions or responses of any kind, and are in- 
 duced to carry on the deception by the advan- 
 tages which in various ways it aflfords them. 
 But perhaps the majority of even the leading 
 Purrah men are so blinded by superstition, 
 that thej^ resort to these auguries with since- 
 rity and confidence. They have no well-de- 
 fined theories in regard to the matter, but in 
 the absence of better teachings they blindly 
 
 r 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 61 
 
 and vaguely rely on their Tassaw for direction 
 in matters of perplexity and doubt. 
 
 By the same blind feeling, perhaps, the an- 
 cient Canaanites were led to practice the su- 
 perstitious rites for which they were so noted 
 in their day. At least they observed signs 
 and consulted auguries of some kind ; for 
 Moses, speaking to the Israelites in regard to 
 them, saj^s (Deut. xviii. 14,) " These nations 
 which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto ob- 
 servers of times, and unto diviners.'' And it 
 appears that they were accustomed to assem- 
 ble in groves, as the Africans do now; for 
 Moses, in giving instruction to his people in 
 regard to breaking up these superstitious 
 practices, says (Ex. xxxiv. 13,) "Ye shall de- 
 stroy their altars, break their images, and cut 
 down their groves." 
 
 The ancient Babylonians also practiced 
 arts of divination, as will appear from the 
 representation that Ezekiel gives of their 
 king having resorted to such means to deter- 
 mine which of the two cities, Jerusalem or 
 Eabbath, he should first besiege when he had 
 invaded the Holy Land, and had advanced 
 to a place where the road parted — one branch 
 leading to Jerusalem, and the other to Eab- 
 6 
 
62 SCRIP TUEE SCENES AND 
 
 bath. This description is given in Ezek. xxi. 
 2I5 and reads thus: '' The king of Babylon 
 stood at the parting of the way, at the head 
 of two ways, to use divination : he made his 
 arrows bright, he consulted with images, he 
 looked in the liver/' Here are mentioned 
 three methods of augury — first, to draw from 
 the quiver two arrows, as lots, with the names 
 of the two cities on them, under the idea that 
 the first name drawn is the city first to be 
 besieged — second, to seek some kind of re- 
 sponse from images — and third, to examine 
 the livers of a recently slaughtered animal, 
 to learn from their soundness or decay, their 
 color or position, the prospects of the expe- 
 dition against each city. 
 
 The Babylonians were, in their day, a great 
 people ; and the fact that their rulers and 
 commanders would allow themselves to be 
 directed in their most important undertakings 
 by such uncertain and absurd counsels as 
 these, shows how liable men are to fall into 
 error when not instructed in the doctrines of 
 the Bible. 
 
I 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 63 
 
 MINGLING TRUE AND FALSE RELIGIONS. 
 
 There was a chief in the Sherbro, who had, 
 in part at least, adopted the Mahometan reli- 
 gion, and carefull}^ practiced many of its 
 rites, along with numerous pagan forms and 
 observances. In accordance with Mahome- 
 tanism he had ''five wives and no more" — 
 abstained entirely from the use of spirituous 
 liquors — ate no flesh of swine — refused to 
 partake of the meat of any animal or fowl 
 that had not been slain by a priest, and 
 statedly attended to the specified prayers. 
 But at tJie same time he adhered to many 
 pagan notions and pagan usages. 
 
 In a conversation which I had with this 
 man, I found him entirel}^ Avilling to add yet 
 to the medley of religious creeds and forms, 
 which he had already adopted, at least a few 
 items of the Christian faith and practice. 
 He remarked that he then had some of his 
 children at the Mission School, and had se- 
 veral times heard preaching at his own town ; 
 and that havino* observed nothinof wrono: in 
 our religion, and believing it to have some 
 virtues, he was in favor of having it intro- 
 duced among his people, along with what 
 they already had, so that they might enjoy 
 
64 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 the aggregate good- of all. I attempted to 
 show him the completeness and superiority 
 of the Christian religion, and therefore the 
 propriety of receiving it entire, and to the 
 exclusion of the others ; but he argued that 
 such a course would be manifestly unwise, 
 since by receiving only the one, he would be 
 confined to the excellencies of one, while by 
 accepting them all, he would secure their 
 combined virtues. The fact that these dif- 
 ferent systems embraced things incompatible 
 with each other, presented to his mind no 
 difficulty whatever, and therefore he was 
 ready to adopt, in some vague manner, cer- 
 tain parts of the Gospel, or perhaps the whole 
 of it, in connection with the Pagan and Ma- 
 hometan tenets which he already professed. 
 
 This attempt to blend opposite religious 
 systems reminds one of a similar instance de- 
 scribed in the seventeenth chapter of Judges. 
 It is there related that a man named Micah, 
 of Mount Ephraim, had a sort of family cha- 
 pel, which, as it seems, was designed for the 
 worship of the true God, but into which 
 Micah had introduced some of both Jewish 
 and Pagan rites and ordinances. In the fifth 
 verse of the chapter, we read that ''Micah 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 65 
 
 had a house of gods, and made an ephod, 
 and a teraphim, and consecrated one of his 
 sons, who became his priest." The ephod 
 was part of a Jewish priest's dress, and this 
 one was probably made similar to those nsed 
 in the tabernacle ; but the teraphim were no 
 doubt the two silver images mentioned in 
 the fourth verse of the same chapter, and 
 were such as were used by the heathen gen- 
 erally at that time. The first priest, Micah's 
 son, was most likely as ignorant and as des- 
 titute of piety as himself, and the one after- 
 wards procured was a low-minded Levite, 
 who Avas wandering about the country, and 
 was willing to engage in acts of idolatry for 
 the small sum of money which Micah paid 
 him. 
 
 It seems strange that Micah, who belonged 
 to one of the tribes of Israel, would engage 
 in this senseless and idolatrous scheme; but 
 this instance shows how easilj^ men are led 
 astray in matters of religion. Micah perhaps 
 thought that the ample provisions which he 
 had here made would secure him the highest 
 favors ; and in the thirteenth verse he ex- 
 presses this confidence in these words : "Now 
 know I that the Lord will do me o-ood, seeino; 
 I have a Levite to my priest." How many, 
 6* E 
 
66 SCRIPTUKE SCENES AND 
 
 like Micah, substitute something of their own 
 for what God has commanded, and then in- 
 dulge a vain confidence in their religious 
 performances ! 
 
 HANDING DOWN TKADITIONS. 
 
 The pagans of Africa do not understand 
 the art of writing, and therefore have no writ- 
 ten laws, or histories, or records of anj'kind. 
 But they have handed down by tradition a 
 vast amount of historic information and other 
 useful instruction, in the forms of anecdotes, 
 fables, and proverbs. These are often re- 
 peated by the older people to the children 
 and youth, who take great delight in hearing 
 them, and carefully treasure them up in their 
 own minds for future use. 
 
 Not only are the traditions of the past thus 
 handed down to the rising race, but also the 
 remarkable events of their own times, after 
 having been investigated hy the principal 
 men of the town, and put into proper form, 
 are communicated to the people, and repeated 
 at their gatherings, till fully impressed upon 
 the public mind. Some persons who have 
 more retentive memories than is common, 
 and take particular pleasure in these recitals, 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 67 
 
 become noted for their stores of knowledge; 
 and these, as well as the old men generally, 
 are often seen surrounded by eager groups 
 of listeners, to whom they are narrating the 
 things which they have in like manner learned 
 from others. 
 
 Such discourses are frequently delivered 
 about the gates of the village — in the public 
 barre — and in the pleasant shade of the 
 orange and plantain trees that so commonly 
 ornament the towns; but they are more 
 generally recited in the open court belonging 
 to many of the African houses. Many, par- 
 ticularly of the chiefs and head men, construct 
 their dwellings in such away as to inclose an 
 uncovered square in the centre. This square 
 has an inner entrance from all the apartments 
 of the house ; but the entrance from without 
 is through the front building, so that the 
 court is a place of seclusion and safety. 
 
 In this inclosed space, retired from the 
 tumult of the town, the family, made up of 
 several wives and their children, together 
 with other friends and acquaintances, fre- 
 quently sit till a late hour during the moon- 
 light nights, and eagerly listen to the numer- 
 ous recitals of the older members of the 
 company. At the conclusion of a story or a 
 
68 SCRIPTURE SCENES AND 
 
 fable, the gratified listeners often return 
 thanks to the speaker, and sometimes the 
 exercises are varied b}" the singing of a short 
 song or ballad. 
 
 How frequently, while witnessing these in- 
 teresting scenes, have I thought of such Scrip- 
 ture passages as that of Joel i. 3 : — ^'Tell ye 
 your children of it, and let joxir children tell 
 their children, and their children another 
 generation." The admonition here given is 
 that the father should make known from ge- 
 neration to generation, God's terrible threat- 
 enings against sin, and thereby deter them 
 from it, and thus save the nation from ruin. 
 
 In these ancient times, the art of printing 
 was unknown, and there were but few ivritten 
 books ; and many of the people could not 
 have read, if books had been given them. 
 The manuscript copies of the Scriptures were 
 mostly in the hands of the priests and the 
 scribes, and therefore, like the natives of 
 Africa at the present time, the people had to 
 depend chiefl}^ on oral traditions. It was 
 partly on this account, perhaps, that Moses, 
 after having given the Law of God to the 
 Israelites, so earnestly exhorted them to re- 
 peat it often to their children. He says (Deut. 
 
CUSTOMS IN AFRICA. 69 
 
 vi. 6 and 7,) " And all these words which I 
 command thee this day shall be in thy heart ; 
 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto 
 thy children, and shalt talk of them when 
 thou sittest in thine house, and when thou 
 walkest by the way, and when thou liest 
 down, and when thou risest up/' 
 
 We now enjoy great advantages in having 
 printed copies of the Bible and other good 
 books furnished so plentifully, and at so little 
 cost ; but still it is very necessary that chil- 
 dren receive much verbal instruction from 
 their parents, and from other pious persons 
 of age and experience. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 
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