Chapter XIII: Bakula accompanies an Embassy

A title reverts to Satu--He sends Old Plaited-Beard to the King with a
present--The embassy arrives at the King’s town--Has an audience in
the King’s house--King promises to send a deputy to install
Satu--King dines with the white man and sees a magic lantern--Bakula
and the white man renew their acquaintance--He sleeps on the mission
station and hears all about the King’s household.

Just as Satu’s visit to Tonzeka was drawing to a close, his departure was hastened by the death of a chief who had bought a life interest in a title that belonged to Satu’s family.

It was the custom for a wealthy person to buy of the King the title, we will say, of Tulante, for one slave and five thousand strings of blue pipe beads. If, on his death, his heir is not rich enough to support the title, or for some reason does not want it, he can, with the consent of the King, sell it to another chief for that chief’s lifetime. When this second buyer dies his heir cannot take the title unless he has the permission of the family originally holding it, and for that permission he must pay, and the King cannot confer it without the consent of the said family. In fact, the title reverts to the family that _first bought it of the King_, and the head of that family can resume it, or pass it on as a life title to any other family. Whenever the title is conferred either on the proper heir to it or on the life buyer of it, the King always receives a large present from the recipient. It is one of the sources of his income. This custom apparently applies only to certain titles of which there can only be one holder at any given time.

The title that belonged to Satu’s family was Katendi,[40] and as Satu’s brother was too poor to take the title when it fell to him, he had sold a life interest in it to a more wealthy neighbouring chief.

Footnote 40:

_Katendi Katendwa nzala o makanda mamene_, i. e. Katendi’s
finger-nails must not be cut, or his clan will die out: in other
words, he must fight to the last, and not submit to humiliations.

Satu was now ambitious to resume the title, so he sent an embassy to request the King to confer the title on him, and to commission the proper court officer to act as his delegate. Satu sent as a present to the King twenty pieces of very good cloth containing twelve yards each, three goats, one large pig, and four barrels of gunpowder.[41] Old Plaited-Beard, who was a man of importance in our town, was deputed to give the various articles to his majesty, and ten men and lads accompanied him to carry and guard the goods.

Footnote 41:

The whole present was worth about £10 at that time.

After a few days’ journey we arrived at Congo dia Ngunga, which is situated on a broad plateau some 450 feet above the surrounding country. Along one side of the hill winds the Mposo river, on two other sides the hill falls abruptly to wide valleys, and the fourth side undulates gradually down to the town, where we spent our last night on the road and where we “dressed” for our entry into the King’s town.

We arrived about the middle of the morning, and Old Plaited-Beard sent at once to beg for an audience with the King. He replied that we might come in the afternoon, for he undoubtedly heard from the messenger what a fine present we were bringing him.

While we were waiting for the call to the King’s house, the elders of our party rested in a hut belonging to one of the King’s head men, and exchanged the gossip of the country with him; but Bakula paid a visit to his friend the white man, who had a station there, and was very cordially welcomed by him.

Bakula was shown over the house, the school, the medicine-store and other places, and made to feel perfectly at home. He visited the boys’ house, and quickly struck up an acquaintance with two or three lads. He asked them innumerable questions, pried into every possible nook and corner, and finally concluded that Tonzeka was right and Old Plaited-Beard wrong. Before hurrying back to his party he bade good-bye to the white man, and was asked to come and spend a day or two with him when his business with the King was completed. This he readily promised to do.

About the middle of the afternoon a messenger called us to the King. Bakula at once picked up the twenty pieces of cloth, which were wrapped in a blanket, and followed Old Plaited-Beard, who strutted grandly in front filled with an enormous sense of his own importance. The others came on behind, and the goats and the pig brought up the rear.

We made our way towards the middle of the town, where the King’s _lumbu_, or enclosure, was situated. We passed between fences to the “judging place,” or _mbaji a Kongo_, in the centre of the town, where a huge, wide-spreading tree stood, beneath the shadows of which all important palavers were held. Crossing this “town square,” we came to the first entrance of the King’s _lumbu_, which was a miniature maze, as we had to negotiate four fences before arriving at the central space where the King’s house stood.

On entering the first opening, we turned to the left, then right, then right again, and found another opening in the fence; then by turning again to the right we worked our way back to a position near the first opening, where we found the third opening in the third fence, then turning to the left and again to the right, there was the opening leading into the courtyard immediately in front of the King’s house. There we waited and sent the messenger to tell the King we had reached the last entrance.

After standing there a short time we received permission to advance, and found ourselves in an open space about fifteen by twenty yards in extent, with the front door of the “palace” before us. Old Plaited-Beard and those who were unencumbered with the presents fell upon their knees, stretched their bodies forward in a profound bow, put their palms together, rubbed their little fingers in the dust, which they smeared on their foreheads and temples, and then clapped their hands three times--not by hitting the palms together, but by arching their hands.

After this obeisance they arose to their feet and walked to the front of the house, where they fell again on their knees and repeated the former ceremony of homage. Again rising they entered the house, and advancing to within two or three yards of the King they fell on their knees and performed the third and last act of their homage.

The King showed his acceptance of the homage by putting the palms of his hands across each other in such a way that the fingers of the right hand were placed well above the thumb and index finger of the left, and he waved the extended fingers up and down. If the King had not received our homage thus, but had thrust out his foot and wriggled his toes, the sooner we had retreated from his presence and returned to our town the better it would have been for us. It would have been a sign that the King was angry with us, wished to insult us, and was meditating mischief.

As native houses go the King’s “palace” was large, being about eighteen feet wide by twenty-five feet long. The walls were of planks, and the roof of grass. Along one wall was a high, wide shelf covered with ewers, basins, decanters, china images of dogs, men, and women gaudily coloured, jugs, plates, and common vases--the profits of trading and presents from chiefs and others. Beneath the shelf were various trunks, undoubtedly full of trade cloth and other treasures.

I afterwards heard that the King’s bedroom was next to the one we were in, and beyond that the houses for his twenty-five wives.

We found the King sitting on a low seat covered with blankets, rugs and pillows. His full title was Dom Pedro V, Ntotela, Ntinu a Kongo, _i. e._ Dom Pedro V, Emperor, King of Congo. His personal name was Elelo, and I afterwards learned that his sobriquet was: Weni w’ezulu, or, The Great One of Heaven.

The King received us very graciously and inquired about Satu and the town, about trade and the number of people. Old Plaited-Beard answered cautiously, for it was not wise to give too much information to his majesty. He then told the King that Satu wished to have conferred on him his family title of Katendi, which his uncle had bought some years previously of his majesty. Then without waiting for an answer, our leader beckoned Bakula to come forward with the present. With considerable nervousness my owner stepped into the space before the King, fell on his knees and paid homage as he had seen the others do, and, removing the covering, he presented, on his knees, the cloth piece by piece to the august personage, who counted the pieces, felt the texture and commented with satisfaction on the weight and quality of each piece.

The powder, pig and goats were next presented, and he was asked with proper expressions of humility to accept the “poor gift.” This he deigned to do, and promised that on a certain day he would send his Kapitau to install Satu officially in his title of Katendi.

We then retired backward out of the house, kneeling and paying homage at the right places, and at last found ourselves winding through the maze of fences into the town, well pleased with our reception and impressed with the greatness and dignity of the King.

Soon after our return to our quarters we received a present of some food from the King, and heard that one head man had been instructed to look after our welfare during the visit.

Just before sunset there was a great stir in the town, and Bakula, running in the direction of the noise, was in time to see the King leave his _lumbu_. He was about six feet four inches in height, very stout, being sixty-eight inches[42] round the waist, his face badly pitted with the small-pox, and he was ungainly and awkward in his movements by reason of his obesity. He was dressed in a loin-cloth of many yards of purple velvet, a scarlet waistcoat with bright buttons adorned his capacious stomach, and a general’s coat covered his back. On his head was a cockade, and from a belt hung a large and heavy sword, which he removed and handed to one of his men to carry.

Footnote 42:

See note 32, p. 351.

In the square before his _lumbu_ were six of his head men, with a hammock gay with bright-coloured cloths. It was rarely now that the King left his _lumbu_, hence there was a large crowd to witness the unusual sight. It was with difficulty that he mounted his hammock, and it needed the combined strength of the six _doms_, or head men, to support him in it.

Fortunately they had not far to carry him--about 150 yards, and they landed him safely but perspiring at the door of the mission-house, to which Bakula and the crowd followed him.

The white man, who had invited the King to dine with him that evening, received his majesty at the door, and after shaking hands with him and inquiring after his health, led him to a substantial sofa that stood in the corner of the central room.

The crowd stood around the door, for the head men allowed only a few in attendance on the King to enter. To my owner’s eyes it was a large dining-room, and from the door one commanded a view of the whole of it.

There in the centre stood a large table with a white cloth spread over it. On each side a place was laid with knives and forks for one person. From the roof a lamp was suspended that threw a light over the whole room and revealed the various things on the table, such as some bread, biscuits, jugs of water, and a bottle of lime-juice.

The table being already laid, the boys quickly brought from the kitchen some soup, sweet potatoes, native greens, a tin of fish, one boiled fowl, a piece of boiled pork, a sucking pig roasted whole, a rice pudding and some stewed native fruit. A native likes to know what he is expected to eat, and the King could not have read a menu if there had been one. A smile of complacent anticipation covered the King’s broad face as his eyes and nose were greeted by the appearance of the roasted sucking pig.

All being ready, the white man invited the King to take his seat at the table. The old man waddled over to the chair, and when he had seated himself, his five favourite wives took up a position on the ground round the back of his chair, while the head men arranged themselves along the wall. The white man took his seat opposite the King, and having said Grace, helped his majesty to soup.

The old man took a few spoonfuls and handed the rest down to his wives, who, with suppressed giggling, finished it. Fish followed, and what the King did not eat he passed on to his wives.

The white man said: “In England when boys and girls are going to a feast they eat very little during the day, so as to do full justice to the feast provided for them.”

“Is that so?” replied the King. “I did not know that was your custom, for,” he laughingly continued, “I have eaten nothing all day in order to have plenty of room for your dinner.” And the old man chuckled because he was ’cuter than the white boys, for he had eaten _nothing_.

A plate piled with boiled pork, fowl and vegetables was next handed to the visitor. He worked his way through about half of it, and passed down the remainder to his waiting wives, who finished it with gusto.

Then came that roasted sucking pig. Generous slices of it were laid on a plate--no, he did not want vegetables. The meat soon disappeared, and there was nothing but a bone or two this time to hand down to the women.

The white man, sympathizing with their disappointment, asked the King to have some more. Another large portion was placed upon his plate--yes, he would have some vegetables this time. The meat vanished again--it was quite true, the King had eaten nothing surely for a Congo week. The plate was loaded a third time with the tasty pork, and the King was at last beaten, for with a sigh he handed more than half a plateful down to his expectant wives, among whom it was quickly shared and eaten.

“Would the King have some rice pudding and stewed guavas?” was the next question. A look of reproach passed across his majesty’s face, as much as to say: “Why do you have such common things on such an important occasion?” But he was too courteous to give expression to his thoughts, and asked for “a little, very little.”

One of the wives, however, lifted her head and formed her mouth into the word “Plenty,” and plenty it was that found its way to the King’s plate. He toyed with it a few moments, and his wives cleared the remainder.

The feast was over. The white man told his boys to share the remnants with the head men and the King’s wives, “for it is not every day that the King dines with us,” and to clear the table as quickly as possible.

While the boys were busy clearing away in a double sense, the King informed his host of the prowess of his early years, when he was lithe and active, and was feared throughout all the district for his fighting qualities. It was then that he won the nickname of Weni w’ezulu, _i. e_. the Great One of Heaven.

No sooner were the remains of the feast removed than the white man put a black thing on the table and lit it. It was a magic lantern. A white sheet was lowered from the roof, and the light from the lantern turned upon it, while the lamp that illuminated the room was put out.

This caused the King to express some nervous fears, but a few quiet words from the white man pacified him. It appeared that the white man had often given lantern exhibitions in the open air, because there was no building large enough to contain the crowds that came to see the wonderful pictures; and as the sheet was put for convenience of erection over the front of one of the houses, and the breezes caused the sheet to gently move, the natives said: “The spirits came out of the house and moved about on the sheet.”

The King had heard of these suspicious rumours, and as he could not mingle with the crowds, he had asked the white man for a show all to himself. Hence the invitation to dinner and the magic lantern display.

Before exhibiting the pictures the white man referred to this silly talk, and excused it because the people did not know any better. He raised the sheet and showed the King the solid stone wall, explained the working of the lantern, gave the King one of the slides, and told him how the picture was thrown by the strong light on to the sheet.

After much persuasion the King put his fingers in front of the lens and saw them magnified on the sheet. He snapped his fingers and saw the movements imitated and enlarged, and at last was quite sure there was no wickedness or witchcraft about the whole affair.

The white man now threw some pictures of London on the sheet and explained them, and they needed a lot of explanation. The tall houses--room above room; the Queen’s palace and her soldiers; the big houses where the judges sat day after day--“It must be a wicked country where so many judges have to hear cases every day”; the horses and vehicles, and the people--“The people! Why, they are as numerous in your roads as driver-ants!”[43]

Footnote 43:

See note 33, p. 351.

The white man then showed a few pictures of the life of Christ, and with a few words of prayer brought the visit to a close.

The King, somewhat solemnized by what he had last seen and heard, thanked the white man for the dinner and the pictures, and, getting into his hammock, was carried by his six stalwart head men back to his house.

Bakula, my owner, had received, by permission of the white man, an invitation from one of the elder school lads to sleep in the mission dormitory. Consequently, after the King’s departure, he made his way to the boys’ house and was vociferously greeted by his new friends, some of whom were with the white man when he was driven from Satu’s town. The house he entered was about twenty feet long by fifteen feet wide. It possessed several luxuries, such as a door and windows that moved on hinges, an oil lantern hanging from the roof, and beds raised about two feet above the ground.

Bakula had been greatly impressed by his visit to the King, of whom he had heard much, but had never seen until that day. After the first greetings were over he began to ply his new friends with many questions about the King, and as a son and a nephew of the King were among the school-lads, he had his curiosity more than satisfied by what he was able to learn from them. He was told that many chiefs sent their sons to be brought up at the court of the King, and thus they were able to learn the ceremonies of the court etiquette in receiving visitors, and how to settle palavers. These lads waited on the King, were his errand boys on small occasions, and finished the food he left after they had served him at table.

Attached to the King’s court were several functionaries, as follows: _Kapitau_ was a noble whose function it was to confer titles on others as the representative of the King, who, being too old and obese to travel with comfort the long, hilly roads, sent this officer in his stead, as the chiefs could only be ennobled in their own towns.

_Nelumbu_ was the title of another court officer, who was supposed never to leave the King’s _lumbu_, or enclosure. He was a kind of master of ceremonies, or a chamberlain, and instructed the ignorant how to approach the King. After him came _Nempangu_, who carried the staff of the King (from _mpangu_, staff). This officer went on embassies for his master to chiefs and towns, taking the King’s staff with him as a token of his authority, and a proof that he had come from the King. Then there was _Nembila_ (from _mbila_, summons, call), who was the King’s messenger, and was sent to summon chiefs and others to the King’s presence and to inform the people of his majesty’s wishes and commands. _Nejinguzioka_ (or “one who walks about”) was an officer who always stayed by the King, to wait on him and carry out those important orders that could not be entrusted to the lads or pages who served the King. _Neloto_ (from _loto_, spoon) was lowest in rank about the court, and was simply the spoon-bearer--probably a taster of the food before it was given to his master.

Attached to the court, but outside of it, was a head man, whose special duty it was to assess the tax on all trading caravans travelling through the town or passing through the near district. He was also to some extent responsible for the safe-conduct of caravans through that part of the country of which the King was overlord. Of course the larger portion of the amounts in kind received found their way to the King, otherwise his life would have been of little worth. And, lastly, there was _Nemfilantu_ (from _fila ntu_, to place the head), the noble best liked by the King, the most trusted of his councillors, the one in whose “lap he could rest his head.”

During his stay in the King’s town Bakula had all these high personages shown to him. It was necessary to have them pointed out, as on ordinary occasions they were dressed worse[44] than slaves and dependants, so as to avoid arousing envy, jealousy, and accusations of witchcraft.

Footnote 44:

See note 34, p. 352.