The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, Samuel White Baker [inspirational novels .TXT] 📗

affords good circumstantial evidence that the

Akkara tribe of the Chol are true Gallas, and that the Latookas may be

derived from a similar origin by settlements after conquest.

 

The great chief of the Latookas, “Moy,” assured me that his people could

not withstand the cavalry of the Akkara, although they were superior to

all other tribes on foot.

 

I have heard the traders of Khartoum pretend that they can distinguish

the tribes of the White Nile by their individual type. I must confess my

inability on this point. In vain I have attempted to trace an actual

difference. To me the only distinguishing mark between the tribes

bordering the White River is a peculiarity in either dressing the hair,

or in ornament. The difference of general appearance caused by a variety

of hairdressing is most perplexing, and is apt to mislead a traveller

who is only a superficial observer; but from the commencement of the

negro tribes in N. lat. 12 degrees to Ellyria in lat. 4 degrees 30

minutes I have found no specific difference in the people. The actual

change takes place suddenly on arrival in Latooka, and this is accounted

for by an admixture with the Gallas.

 

The Latookas are a fine, frank, and warlike race. Far from being the

morose set of savages that I had hitherto seen, they were excessively

merry, and always ready for either a laugh or a fight. The town of

Tarrangolle contained about three thousand houses, and was not only

surrounded by ironwood palisades, but every house was individually

fortified by a little stockaded courtyard. The cattle were kept in large

kraals in various parts of the town, and were most carefully attended

to, fires being lit every night to protect them from flies; and high

platforms, in three tiers, were erected in many places, upon which

sentinels watched both day and night to give the alarm in case of

danger. The cattle are the wealth of the country, and so rich are the

Latookas in oxen, that ten or twelve thousand head are housed in every

large town; thus the natives are ever on the watch, fearing the attacks

of the adjacent tribes.

 

The houses of the Latookas are generally bell-shaped, while others are

precisely like huge candle-extinguishers, about twenty-five feet high.

The roofs are neatly thatched, at an angle of about 75 degrees, resting

upon a circular wall about four feet high; thus the roof forms a cap

descending to within two feet and a half of the ground. The doorway is

only two feet and two inches high, thus an entrance must be effected

upon all-fours. The interior is remarkably clean, but dark, as the

architects have no idea of windows. It is a curious fact that the

circular form of but is the only style of architecture adopted among all

the tribes of Central Africa, and also among the Arabs of Upper Egypt;

and that, although these differ more or less in the form of the roof, no

tribe has ever yet sufficiently advanced to construct a window. The town

of Tarrangolle is arranged with several entrances, in the shape of low

archways through the palisades; these are closed at night by large

branches of the hooked thorn of the kittur bush (a species of mimosa).

The main street is broad, but all others are studiously arranged to

admit of only one cow, in single file, between high stockades; thus, in

the event of an attack, these narrow passages could be easily defended,

and it would be impossible to drive off their vast herds of cattle

unless by the main street. The large cattle kraals are accordingly

arranged in various quarters in connexion with the great road, and the

entrance of each kraal is a small archway in the strong ironwood fence

sufficiently wide to admit one ox at a time.

 

Suspended from the arch is a bell, formed of the shell of the Dolape

palm-nut, against which every animal must strike either its horns or

back, on entrance.

 

Every tinkle of the bell announces the passage of an ox into the kraal,

and they are thus counted every evening when brought home from pasture.

I had noticed, during the march from Latome, that the vicinity of every

town was announced by heaps of human remains. Bones and skulls formed a

Golgotha within a quarter of a mile of every village. Some of these were

in earthenware pots, generally broken; others lay strewn here and there;

while a heap in the centre showed that some form had originally been

observed in their disposition. This was explained by an extraordinary

custom most rigidly observed by the Latookas. Should a man be killed in

battle the body is allowed to remain where it fell, and is devoured by

the vultures and hyenas; but should he die a natural death, he or she is

buried in a shallow grave within a few feet of his own door, in the

little courtyard that surrounds each dwelling. Funeral dances are then

kept up in memory of the dead for several weeks; at the expiration of

which time, the body being sufficiently decomposed, is exhumed. The

bones are cleaned, and are deposited in an earthenware jar, and carried

to a spot near the town which is regarded as the cemetery. I observed

that they were not particular in regarding the spot as sacred, as signs

of nuisances were present even upon the bones, that in civilized

countries would have been regarded as an insult.

 

There is little difficulty in describing the toilette of the native—

that of the men being simplified by the sole covering of the head, the

body being entirely nude. It is curious to observe among these wild

savages the consummate vanity displayed in their headdresses. Every

tribe has a distinct and unchanging fashion for dressing the hair; and

so elaborate is the coiffure that hairdressing is reduced to a science.

European ladies would be startled at the fact, that to perfect the

coiffure of a man requires a period of from eight to ten years! However

tedious the operation, the result is extraordinary. The Latookas wear

most exquisite helmets, all of which are formed of their own hair; and

are, of course, fixtures. At first sight it appears incredible, but a

minute examination shows the wonderful perseverance of years in

producing what must be highly inconvenient. The thick, crisp wool is

woven with fine twine, formed from the bark of a tree, until it presents

a thick network of felt. As the hair grows through this matted substance

it is subjected to the same process, until, in the course of years, a

compact substance is formed like a strong felt, about an inch and a half

thick, that has been trained into the shape of a helmet. A strong rim,

of about two inches deep, is formed by sewing it together with thread;

and the front part of the helmet is protected by a piece of polished

copper; while a piece of the same metal, shaped like the half of a

bishop’s mitre and about a foot in length, forms the crest. The

framework of the helmet being at length completed, it must be perfected

by an arrangement of beads, should the owner of the head be sufficiently

rich to indulge in the coveted distinction. The beads most in fashion

are the red and the blue porcelain, about the size of small peas. These

are sewn on the surface of the felt, and so beautifully arranged in

sections of blue and red that the entire helmet appears to be formed of

beads; and the handsome crest of polished copper, surmounted by

ostrich-plumes, gives a most dignified and martial appearance to this

elaborate headdress. No helmet is supposed to be complete without a row

of cowrie-shells stitched around the rim so as to form a solid edge.

 

The Latookas have neither bows nor arrows, their weapons consisting of

the lance, a powerful iron-headed mace, a long-bladed knife or sword,

and an ugly iron bracelet, armed with knife-blades about four inches

long by half an inch broad: the latter is used to strike with if

disarmed, and to tear with when wrestling with an enemy. Their shields

are either of buffaloes’ hide or of giraffes’, the latter being highly

prized as excessively tough although light, and thus combining the two

requisite qualities of a good shield; they are usually about four feet

six inches long by two feet wide, and are the largest I have seen.

Altogether, everything in Latooka looks like fighting. Although the men

devote so much attention to their headdress, the women are extremely

simple. It is a curious fact, that while the men are remarkably

handsome, the women are exceedingly plain;—they are immense creatures,

few being under five feet seven in height, with prodigious limbs. Their

superior strength to that of other tribes may be seen in the size of

their water jars, which are nearly double as large as any I have seen

elsewhere, containing about ten gallons; in these they fetch water from

the stream about a mile distant from the town. They wear exceedingly

long tails, precisely like those of horses, but made of fine twine and

rubbed with red ochre and grease. They are very convenient when they

creep into their huts on bands and knees. In addition to the tails, they

wear a large flap of tanned leather in front. Should I ever visit that

country again, I should take a great number of “Freemasons’” aprons for

the women; these would be highly prized, and would create a perfect

FUROR. The only really pretty women that I saw in Latooka were Bokke,

the wife of the chief, and her daughter; they were fac-similes of each

other, the latter having the advantage of being the second edition. Both

women and men were extremely eager for beads of all kinds, the most

valuable being the red and blue porcelain for helmets, and the large

opalescent bead, the size of a child’s marble.

 

The day after my arrival in Latooka I was accommodated by the chief with

a hut in a neat courtyard, beautifully clean and cemented with clay,

ashes, and cowdung. Not patronising the architectural advantages of a

doorway of two feet high, I pitched my large tent in the yard and stowed

all my baggage in the hut. All being arranged, I had a large Persian

carpet spread upon the ground, and received the chief of Latooka in

state. He was introduced by Ibrahim, and I had the advantage of his

interpreter.

 

I commenced the conversation by ordering a present to be laid on the

carpet of several necklaces of valuable beads, copper bars, and coloured

cotton handkerchief. It was most amusing to witness his delight at a

string of fifty little “berrets” (opal beads the size of marbles) which

I had brought into the country for the first time, and were accordingly

extremely valuable. No sooner had he surveyed them with undisguised

delight than he requested me to give him another string of opals for his

wife, or she would be in a bad humour;—accordingly a present for the

lady was added to the already large pile of beads that lay heaped upon

the carpet before him. After surveying his treasures with pride, he

heaved a deep sigh, and turning to the interpreter he said, “What a row

there will be in the family when my other wives see Bokke (his head

wife) dressed up with this finery. Tell the `Mattat’ that unless he

gives necklaces for each of my other wives, they will fight!”

Accordingly I asked him the number of ladies that made him anxious. He

deliberately began to count upon his fingers, and having exhausted the

digits of one hand, I compromised immediately, begging him not to go

through the whole of his establishment, and presented him with