Chapter XI: Appendix: V (1)

A LIST OF THE GOVERNORS OF ANGOLA, 1575-1702.

_The date of arrival and departure are given, unless stated otherwise._

1. Paulo Dias de Novaes, February, 1575; October,
1589.

2.[513] Luiz Serrão, captain-major, 1589-91.

3.[513] André Ferreira Pereira, 1591, to June, 1592.

4. D. Francisco d’Almeida, June 24th, 1592, to April 8th,
1593.

5.[513] D. Jeronymo d’Almeida, 1593-4.

6. João Furtado de Mendonça, August 1st, 1594, to 1602.

7. João Rodrigues Coutinho, appointed January 23rd,
1601; arrived in 1602.

8[513]. Manuel Cerveira Pereira, 1603-7.

9. D. Manuel Pereira Forjaz, end of 1607; died April
11th, 1611.

10.[513] Bento Banha Cardoso, captain-major, elected April
15th, 1611 to 1615.

11. Manuel Cerveira Pereira, second term of office,
1615 to 1617.

12. Luiz Mendes de Vasconcellos, November, 1617, to
1621.

13. João Corrêa de Souza, September, 1621; departed
1623.

14[[513]. Pedro de Souza Coelho, captain-major, during five
months, 1623.

15.[513] D. Simão de Mascarenhas, Bishop of Kongo and
Angola, 1623 to 1624.

16. Fernão de Souza, appointed October 21st, 1623;
in possession February, 1624, to 1630.

17. D. Manuel Pereira Coutinho, 1630 to 1634.

18. Francisco de Vasconcellos da Cunha, 1634 to 1639.

19. Pedro Cezar de Menezes, 1639 to 1645.

20. Francisco de Sotto-maior, September, 1645, to May,
1646.

21[513]. Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos da Cunha, Antonio
Texeira de Mendonça, and João Juzarte de Andrada, the
captains-major, 1646 to 1648.

22. Salvador Corrêa de Sá Benevides, August, 1648 to
1651.

23. Rodrigo de Miranda Henriques, October, 1651;
died 1653.

24.[513] Bartholomeu de Vasconcellos da Cunha, captain-major,
1653 to 1655.

25. Luiz Martins de Souza Chichorro, October, 1655 to
1658.

He was killed in an engagement with a Dutch corsair, on
the voyage to Brazil.

26. João Fernandez Vieira, 1658 to 1661.

27. André Vidal de Negreiros, May 10th 1661, to
August, 1666.

28. Tristão da Cunha, August, 1666, to January, 1667;
when the people compelled him to depart in the vessel in
which he had come.

29.[513] Antonio de Araujo e Azevedo, president of the
Camara of Luandu, 1667 to 1669.

30. Francisco de Tavora, August 26th, 1669, to 1676.

31. Ayres de Saldanha de Menezes e Souza, August
25th, 1676, to 1680.

32. João da Silva e Souza, September 11th, 1680, to 1684.

33. Luiz Lobo da Silva, September 12th, 1684, to 1688.

34. D. João de Lencastre, September 8th, 1688, to 1691.

35. Gonçalo da Costa de Alcaçova Carneiro de Menezes,
November 1st, 1691, to 1694.

36. Henrique Jaques de Magalhães, November 3rd,
1694, to 1697.

37. Luiz Cezar de Menezes, November 9th, 1697, to 1700.

38. Bernardo de Tavora Souza Tavares, September 5th,
1700, to 1702.

illustrating their HISTORY TO THE CLOSE OF THE 17^{TH} CENTURY]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Battell tells us (p. 7) that he and Thomas Turner were transported to Angola in the same vessel (1590). Purchas conferred with Turner after he had returned to England, and obtained from him an account of his travels, he having “lived the best part of two years in Brazil” (_lib._ vi, c. 8). Elsewhere we learn that he “had also been in Angola” (see p. 71).

This apparently straightforward information is quite irreconcilable with what we are told by Knivet; for Knivet says he met Turner at Pernambuco (about 1598); that he advised him to go to Angola; that Turner acted on this advice, and “made great profit of his merchandise, for which he thanked me when we met in England.” Concerning Knivet, see _post_, p. 89.

[2] This description does not, of course, apply to his “Voyage to the East Indies,” but it does to his “Description of the whole Coast of Guinea, Manicongo, Angola, etc.”

[3] His _Schifffarten_ was first published at Basel in 1624. On this traveller, see an _Abhandlung_ by D. G. Henning (Basel, 1900), who rather absurdly calls him the “first German scientific traveller in Africa.”

[4] _Vijf verscheyde Journalen ... Amsterdam [1620]._

[5] Subsequent editions appeared in 1614, 1617, and 1626.

[6] Battell’s narrative was reprinted in Astley’s _New General Collection of Voyages_, vol. iii (1746), and Pinkerton’s _Collection_, vol. xvi (1813). Translations or abstracts were published in the _Collections_ of Pieter van der Aa (Leiden, 1706-07); of Gottfried (Leiden, 1706-26); of Prévôt (Paris, 1726-74); in the _Allgemeine Historie der Reisen_ (Leipzig, 1747-77), in the _Historische Beschrijving der Reisen_ (The Hague, 1747-67), and by Walckenaer (Paris, 1826-31).

[7] See “The Lake Region of Central Africa: a Contribution to the History of African Cartography,” by E. G. Ravenstein (_Scottish Geogr. Mag._, 1891).

[8] Among documents, the publication of which seems desirable are Don G. Abreu de Brito’s _Summario e Descripção do Reino de Angola_, 1592; and Cadornega’s _Historia_ (at least, in abstract).

[9] Abraham Cocke had been in the Brazils before this voyage, for we learn from Purchas (bk. vi, Pt. IV, London, 1625, p. 1141) that George, Earl of Cumberland, who had left Gravesend on June 26, 1586, with three ships and a pinnace, fell in, on January 10, 1587, with a Portuguese vessel, a little short of the River Plate, and in her found “Abraham Cock, of Leigh, near London,” whom he brought home with him.

[10] Pinnace: formerly applied to any small vessel, usually schooner-rigged; at present limited to a large rowing-boat carried by great ships.

[11] Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands.

[12] Light-horseman: a pinnace, a rowing-boat.

[13] Vessels bound for Brazil usually cross the Equator about long. 22° W. If Captain Cock really intended to go direct to Brazil, he had no business at Cabo das Palmas. Can his voyage to S. Thomé really have been, as he says, an involuntary deviation from his direct course?

[14] The island of S. Thomé was discovered by the Portuguese about 1472, and received its first settlers in 1486. In the course of the sixteenth century it suffered much from the depredations of French, English, and Dutch pirates, as also (1574) from a revolt headed by the Angolares: that is, the descendants of Angolan slaves who had swum ashore when the vessel which carried them was wrecked, in 1544, on the Sette Pedras, and had fled to the woods near. The Fortaleza de S. Sebastião was intended to defend the capital against piratical attacks. It was completed in 1575; but the Dutch, under Admiral Van der Dam, nevertheless sacked the city in 1600. Only four years before the author’s arrival, in 1485, the city had been destroyed by fire.

[15] The Ilhéo das Rôlas (Turtle-dove Island) lies about a mile off the southern extremity of S. Thomé. It is of volcanic origin, rises to a considerable height, and is densely wooded. The inhabitants (about 100) are dependent upon the rain for their drinking water, for there are no springs. The chief articles of export are cacao and coffee.

[16] That is, the Povoação of early days, on the Bahia de Anna de Chaves, incorporated in 1535 as the Cidade de S. Thomé.

[17] Cabo de Lopo Gonçalves, thus named after its discoverer, Cape Lopez of our charts, in lat 0° 36´ S.

[18] The “dolphin” of British sailors is the _doirada_, or gilthead, of the Portuguese (_Coryphaena hippurus_), and delights to swim in the shadow of the vessel.

[19] The Ilha Grande lies in lat. 23° 10´ S., sixty miles to the west of Rio de Janeiro. It is about seventeen miles in length, lofty, and shelters a safe bay, surrounded with magnificent scenery.

[20] S. Salvador, on the Bahia de todos os Santos, lat. 13° S.

[21] That is, one of the “degradados” or convicts, whom it is even now customary to banish to the Colonies.

[22] The Isla de Lobos Marinos (Seal Island) lies off Maldonado Point, and forms a conspicuous landmark for vessels approaching the Rio de la Plata.

[23] The Seal (_phoca vitulina_, Linn.) and Otary (_Otaria jubata_, Desm.) have become very rare. The morse or walrus is found only in the Northern hemisphere.

[24] These south-westerly winds are known as _Pamperos_. They are more frequent in winter. In summer they blow with greater force, but generally cease sooner.

[25] Isla Verde can be no other than Flores, a small island further west than the Isla de Lobos.

[26] The Ilha de São Sebastião, in lat. 23° 50´ S.

[27] Espirito Santo, a town on the coast of Brazil, in lat. 20° 20´ S.

[28] This capture must have happened at the end of 1589, or, at latest, early in 1590, yet Thomas Knivet, who only left England with Cavendish in August 1591, gives an account of the capture of five Englishmen (Purchas iv, 1625, p. 1220) which at the first glance seems to be a different version of this very incident. Knivet professes to have been at Rio de Janeiro at the time, two months after his return from Angola in 1598. He says: “There came a small man-of-war to Great Island [Ilha Grande, 70 miles west of Rio]; the captain’s name was _Abram Cocke_; he lay in wait for the ships on the River of Plate, and had taken them if it had not been for five of his men that ran away with his boat that discovered his being there; for within a sevennight after he was gone three caravels came within the same road where he was. These five men were taken by a Friar who came from S. Vincent, and were brought to the river of Janeiro. I being at this time in some account with the Governor favoured them as well as I could.” In the further course of his narrative Knivet names two of these five men, namely, _Richard Heixt_ and _Thomas Cooper_. _Thomas Turner_ is referred to elsewhere, but not under circumstances which would lead one to assume that he was one of the five. Battell is not mentioned at all.

Are we to suppose, then, that Captain Cocke _was_ heard of once more, and that in 1599 he lost five men on the Ilha Grande, just as nine years before he had lost five on the island of San Sebastian? Such a coincidence is possible, but most improbable.

[29] This Thomas Turner, or Torner, subsequently returned to England, and Purchas had speech with him.

[30] São Paulo de Loanda, the capital of Angola, 8° 48´ S.

[31] The Kwanza, the most important river of Angola, navigable from the sea as far as the rapids of Cambambe. The “town of garrison” was Masanganu, founded in 1582.

[32] João Furtado de Mendonça only arrived at Loanda on August 1, 1594. He remained Governor until early in 1602, when he was succeeded by João Rodriguez Coutinho.

[33] That is, the two incisors of the upper jaw, commonly known as “tusks.”

[34] Battell’s “wheat” is _masa-mamputo_, or zea mayz. Elsewhere he speaks of “Guinea wheat,” and this might be sorghum or millet; but as he says that the natives call the grain “mas impoto,” there can be no doubt about its identity with _masa-mamputo_, the grão de Portugal, or maize, which, according to Ficalho, was imported from America.

[35] The River of Congo is known to the natives as “Nzadi,” or “Nzari,” which merely signifies “great river “(Bentley’s _Dictionary of the Congo Language_). For Isle de Calabes we ought perhaps to read Ilha das Calabaças (Calabash Island). The position of this island I am unable to determine. Perhaps it is the same as an Ilheo dos Cavallos Marinhos (Hippopotamus Island), described by Pimentel as lying within the Cabo do Padrão, Congo mouth. Duarte Lopez (_A Report of the Kingdom of Congo, drawn out of the Writings of Duarte Lopez_, by F. Pigafetta, 1591. Translated by Margareta Hutchinson. London, 1881) says it was the first island met with on entering the Zaire, and that, although small, the Portuguese had a town upon it.

[36] Palm cloth is made from the fronds of the _ntera_, or fan palm (_Hyphæne Guineensis_).

[37] Dapper (_Africa_, Amsterdam, 1670, p. 520) tells us that the hairs from an elephant’s tail were highly valued by the natives, who wove them into necklaces and girdles; fifty of these hairs or bristles were worth 1000 reis! Duarte Lopez (_Kingdom of Congo_, London, 1881, p. 46) says that one such tail was equal in value to two or three slaves, and that native hunters followed the elephants up narrow and steep defiles, and there cut off the desired spoils. Battell himself (see p. 58) bought 20,000 (hairs) which he sold to the Portugals for thirty slaves.

[38] The Egyptians were, of course, Ciganos, or gypsies. They appeared in Portugal in the beginning of the sixteenth century. A Royal order of 1526 ordered them to leave the kingdom, but appears to have had no more effect than a law of 1538, which, on account of the thefts of which they were accused, and their sorceries, threatened them with a flogging and the confiscation of their goods, if caught within the kingdom. This law was re-enacted in 1557, when the galleys were substituted for a flogging; and in 1592 a still more severe law was enacted, which threatened with death all those who should not quit the kingdom within four months. Battel’s associates were, no doubt, gipsies who had been sent as convicts to Angola (see F. A. Coelho, _Os Ciganos de Portugal_, Lisbon, 1892).

The Moriscoes are the Moors of Morocco. Early Portuguese writers refer to the men who had fought in Africa (Morocco) as Africanos, and Battell’s Moriscoes were in all probability Moorish prisoners of war, or Moors expelled from Portugal.

[39] Mani or Muene, lord and even king, as Muene Putu, King of Portugal, but also applied to a mere village chief. The _Cabech_ of Battell must have resided somewhere about Muchima, but on the right bank of the Coanza.

[40] Battell’s Guinea wheat is _masa-mamputo_, or _grão de Portugal_, the zea mayz of botanists, which, according to Candolle and Ficalho, was introduced from America.

[41] Kasanza’s lake can confidently be identified with the Lalama Lake of modern maps, south of the Rio Bengo, thirty-six miles due east of S. Paulo de Loanda. _Ka_ is a diminitive; _nsanza_ means village.

[42] The river of Bengo or Nzenza, which enters the sea ten miles north-east of Loanda.

[43] Mani Bangono’s district is not mentioned elsewhere. It cannot have been far from the sea.

[44] Mushi or Mwishikongo, a Congo-man: plural, Eshi-Kongo.

[45] Bamba, or rather Mbamba, the south-west province of Congo, extending to the lower Coanza.

[46] Lamba, or Hamba, is bounded by the Bengo in the north, and by the Coanza and its tributary the Lucalla on the south. The “Governor” here referred to is João Furtado de Mendonça. Battell seems to have been among the reinforcements despatched after the disastrous campaign in the spring of 1596. The “General” of Battell was João de Velloria, a Spaniard, who was Capitâo mór do Campo.

[47] The route followed by Battell is approximately indicated upon the map. Sowonso may be the same as Dapper’s Chonso or Douville’s Quionso, beyond Icolo. As to the other places along the route, I can suggest no identifications. Namba Calamba certainly has nothing to do with the Portuguese Fort Calumbu on the Coanza, built in 1571.

[48] Kumba ria Kaiangu?

[49] _Outeiro_ (Portuguese), a hill.

[50] Battell’s Ingasia is undoubtedly the Angazi or Engase of Duarte Lopez, a Bunda district subject to Bamba, which in Pigafetta’s map lies to the south of the river Bengo. Mendez de Castellobranco, p. 11, mentions Engombe (Ngombe). The name survives perhaps in the Ndembu Ngombe a Muquiama on the northern bank of the Bengo, who, according to J. V. Carneiro (_An. do conselho ultramar._, vol. ii, pp. 172 to 179, 1861), was in olden times dependent upon Congo. The name Ngombe (“ox”) is, however, a very common one.

[51] The Pete, more correctly called _Puita_, or _Kipuita_, is a musical instrument described by Monteiro (_Angola_, vol. ii, p. 140), and in Cordeiro da Matta’s _Diccionario_, p. 29. It consists of a hollow wooden cylinder, one end of which is covered with sheepskin. A wooden stick is passed through the centre of this sheepskin, and a most hideous noise is produced by moving this stick to and fro.

[52] The Pongo (_mpunga_) is an ivory trumpet.

[53] Engeriay seems to be a misprint, perhaps for the _Ogheghe_ of Duarte Lopez, which Ficalho identifies with Mung’eng’e (_Spondias lutea_) of Angola, called _Gego_ by Lopez de Lima (_Ensaios_, vol. iii, p. 15). Dr. Welwitsch found the tree growing wild in the mountains of Benguella, whence it was transplanted to Loanda. It is valued for its wood, the shade it affords, and its fruit, which resembles a yellow plum, is of delicious flavour and esteemed as a remedy against bile (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis_, p. 126; Monteiro, _Angola_, vol. ii, p. 298). Purchas, in a marginal note, Bk. VII, c. 4, says that the _Ogheghe_ “bears a fruit which is like a yellow plumme and is very good to eat, and hath a very sweet smell withall.” This information was given by Battell.

[54] Pome-water, a kind of apple, called _malus carbonaria_ by Coles (Nares’s _Glossary_).

[55] _Margarita_ is the Portuguese (and Latin) for pearl. Purchas may have suggested the word, whilst Battell simply referred to the _cowrie_ currency of the country, or to a more valuable shell such as Cavazzi (p. 12) says was found near Cambambe, a collar of which had the value of a slave; or to a crystal found in Shela, and called “thunder-stone” by the natives. Mr. R. C. Phillips writes: “I have found that some kind of stone used to pass as money in the old slave times, say in 1850 or 1860, but I never saw one. These stones were of great value, and I have a vague idea they were called ‘agang.’”

[56] The author’s “wheat” is maize (see p. 7).

[57] This is undoubtedly the bay upon which Manuel Cerveira Pereira, in 1617, founded the city of S. Filippe de Benguella. The bay at that time was known as Bahia da Torre, or de S. Antonio. By its discoverers it seems to have been named Golfo de S. Maria. The “torre” is, of course, the Ponta do Sombreiro or S. Philip’s bonnet. Pimentel (_Arte de Navegar_, 1762, p. 276) locates a Bahia da Torre fifty miles to the south of Benguella Bay, which therefore corresponds to the Elephant Bay of modern maps, with its “mesa,” or table-mountain rising to a height of a thousand feet.

[58] Cacongo (_recte_ Kikongo), according to Welwitsch, is the wood of _Tarchonanthes camphoratus_. It is hard, of a greyish olive colour, and has the perfume of camphor. Its powder is esteemed as a tonic (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis_, p. 206).

[59] Carraca, a vessel, generally of considerable burthen, and such as could be profitably employed in the Brazilian and Indian trade.

[60] Ndalabondo seems to be the name of a person. The people in the interior of Benguella are known as Bi’nbundo.

[61] Neither Mr. Dennett nor Mr. Phillips knows a bead of that name. _Mpinda_ (plur. _Zimpinda_) means ground nut.

[62] For an account of Dombe, which lies to the south of St. Filip de Benguella, see Capello and Ivens, _From Benguella to the Territory of Yacca_, London, 1882, vol. i, p. 308; and Serpa Pinto, _How I Crossed Africa_, London, 1881, vol. i, p. 46. Copper ore abounds in the district, and a mine, four miles inland, was recently worked by the Portuguese (Monteiro, _Angola_, London, 1875, vol. ii, p. 198).

[63] That is, bark-cloth made of the inner bark of the _nsanda_, Banyan or wild fig-tree, or _Ficus Lutata_ (see Pechuel Loesche, _Loango Exped._, vol. iii, p. 172).

[64] Purchas spells indifferently Gaga, Iagge, Giagas, etc. The correct spelling is Jaga or Jaka. For a sketch of the history of these military leaders, see Appendix.

[65] The Morro, or bluff, of Old Benguella, in lat. 10° 48´ S., is a conspicuous headland, presenting a perpendicular cliff towards the sea, its summit being covered with cactus trees. Here Antonio Lopez Peixoto, a nephew of Paulo Dias, in 1587, had built a presidio, which was soon afterwards abandoned.

[66] The river Cuvo (Kuvu) enters the sea in 10° 52´ S.

[67] In a note to Bk. VII, c. iv, § 8 (Hartwell’s translation of Pigafetta), Battell is made to say that “the Iagges came from Sierre Liona. But they dispersed themselves as a general pestilence and common scourge through most parts of Ethiopia.” But see p. 83, where Battell denies the statements made by Lopez.

Walkenaer (_Histoire des Voyages_, vol. xiii), says that Dapper’s Sierra Leone cannot be the place usually known by that name. The only locality in that part of Africa named in honour of a lion, as far as I know, are the Pedras de Encoge, or more correctly _del nkoshi_ (which means Lion).

[68] Ndongo is the name of the kingdom of Ngola (Angola). Its old capital was at Pungu-a-Ndongo, a remarkable group of rocks, popularly known as Pedras Negras.

[69] Ngongo (plural Jingongo), in Kimbundu, means twin, and hence _Ngong’e_, a double bell, such as is described by Monteiro (_Angola_, vol. i, p. 203); in Lunda it is called _rubembe_ (Carvalho, _Exp. Port._, _Ethnographia_, p. 369). See also note, p. 80.

[70] “Gingado,” elsewhere spelt “Iergado,” is evidently a misprint for _Jangada_, a Portuguese word meaning “raft.” Such a raft is called _Mbimba_, and is made of the wood of the _bimba_ (_Herminiera Elaphroxylon_, Guill. et. Perr.), which is identical with the _Ambaj_ of the Nile, and grows abundantly on the swampy banks of the rivers. Battell himself, at a critical point of his career, built himself such a _jangada_ (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis da Africa_, 1884, p. 33).

[71] _Tavale._ Mr. Dennet suggests that _tavale_ corresponds to the _libala_ of Loango, a word derived from the Portuguese _taboa_ (table), for the instrument of this name consists of a board supported by two sticks of wood, and kept in its place by wooden pegs driven into the ground. The player beats this board with his two index fingers. A. R. Neves, _Mem. da Epedição a Cassange_, p. 110, calls _tabalha_ a drum, which is beaten to make known the death of a Jaga Cassange.

[72] Mbala or Embala merely means town or village. Lad. Magyar (_Reisen in Süd-Afrika_, p. 383) has a district Kibala, abounding in iron, the chief town of which is Kambuita on the river Longa. Walckenaer’s suggestion (_Histoire des Voyages_, vol. xiii, p. 30) that Bambala and Bembe are identical is quite unacceptable.

[73] The baobab is indifferently called by Battell _alicunde_, _licondo_, _elicondi_, _olicandi_, or _alicunde_, all of which are corruptions of _nkondo_, by which name the tree is known in Congo. The Portuguese know this characteristic tree of the coast-land and the interior as _imbondeiro_ (from _mbondo_ in Kimbundu). Its inner bark yields a fibre known as _licomte_, is made into coarse cloth, and is also exported to Europe to be converted into paper. The wood is very light. The pulp of the fruit is refreshing, and was formerly esteemed as a remedy against fever and dysentery. The seeds are eaten. The shell (_macua_) is used to hold water (hence the popular name of Calabash tree). Ficalho distinguishes three species, viz., _Adansonia digitata_, Linn., the fruit of which is longish; _A. subglobosa_, bearing a bell-shaped fruit; _A. lageniformis_, yielding a fruit shaped like a cucumber (see Monteiro, _Angola_, vol. i, p. 78; Ficalho, _Plantas uteis_, p. 100).

[74] The cedar of the Portuguese is _Tamarix articulata_, Vahl., and resembles a cypress (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis da Africa_, 1884, p. 94).

[75] Kizangu, in Kimbundu, means fetish. Burton (_Two Trips to Gorilla Land_, vol. ii, p. 120), saw a like image, also called Quesango, in a village above Boma.

[76] The so-called fetishes (from _feitiço_, a Portuguese word meaning sorcery) are not idols, but charms and amulets, generally known as _nkissi_, _nkishi_, or _mukishi_. There are _nkissi_ peculiar to a district, village, or family; charms and amulets to shield the wearer or possessor against all the evils flesh is heir to, and others enabling the priest or _nganga_ to discover crime or the cause of disease. The idea underlying the belief in the efficacy of these charms was very prevalent among our own ancestors, and the images, rosaries, crosses, relics, and other articles introduced by the Roman missionaries are looked upon by the natives as equivalent to their own _nkissi_. Even at the present day, images of S. Francis and of other saints may be seen in the collection of Royal Fetishes at S. Salvador, and a cross called _santu_ (Santa Cruz) “is the common fetish which confers skill in hunting” (Bentley, _Pioneering on the Congo_, vol. i, pp. 35, 36, 39). The images, according to Bentley, seen among the natives are not idols but receptacles of “charms” or medicine. As to a belief in witchcraft (_ndoki_, witch; _Kindoki_, witchcraft), it is not even now quite extinct among Christian people, boasting of their civilisation, for a reputed wizard was drowned at Hedingham in Essex in 1863, and a witch burnt in Mexico as recently as 1873. Matthew Hopkins, the famous witch-finder, cannot claim a higher rank than an African _nganga_, although his procedure was not quite the same. Nor can I see any difference between a fetish and the miraculous “bambino” manufactured in the sixteenth century, and kept in the church of S. Maria Aracœli, which a priest takes to the bedside of sick or dying persons, who are asked to kiss it to be cured, and whose guardians are at all times ready to receive the offerings of the faithful (see Dickens, _Pictures from Italy_).

[77] Marginal note by Purchas:—“Of these Giagas read also Pigafetta’s _Book of Congo_, translated into English by M. Hartwell, and my _Pilgrimage_, l. 7. But none could so well know them as this author, who lived so long with them.”

[78] The river Longa [Lungu] enters the sea in lat. 10° 20´ S.

[79] A soba Calungo is shown on the most recent maps as residing north of the river Longa.

[80] Perhaps we ought to read _Tunda_, the bush, the East. Lad. Magyar (_Reisen_, p. 378) has a chief Tunda in the country of the Sellas, and Falkenstein (_Loango Expedition_, p. 73) heard of a district Tunda, inland from Novo Redondo.

[81] The Gonsa or Gunza (Ngunza) of Battell is undoubtedly the Coanza. A river Ngunza enters the sea at Novo Redondo.

[82] _Shila_, nasty; _mbanza_, towns.

[83] According to Duarte Lopez (_Pigafetta_, p. 55), the feathers of peacocks and of ostriches are used as a standard in battle. Hence, peacocks are reared within a fence and reserved for the king.

[84] _Njilo_ (in Kimbundu), bird; _mukishi_, a charm.

[85] See note, p. 51.

[86] Cambambe (_Ka_, diminutive; _mbambi_, gazelle), a village on the north bank of the Coanza, below the falls formed by the river in forcing its way through the Serra de Prata. Silver, however, has never been found there (at least not in appreciable quantities), nor anywhere else in Angola or Congo. Still we are told (Paiva Manso, p. 50) that the King of Congo, in 1530, sent the wife of King Manuel two silver bracelets which he had received from one of his chiefs in Matamba, and that among the presents forwarded by Ngola Nbande, the King of Ndongo, to Paulo Dias in 1576, there were several silver bracelets, which the Regent of Portugal, Cardinal Henrique, had converted into a chalice, which he presented to the church at Belem (_Catalogo dos Governadores de Angola_). According to Capello and Ivens (_Benguella_, vol. ii, pp. 58, 233), silver ore is plentiful in Matamba, although they never saw any _in loco_.

[87] Battell’s Casama is the wide province of Kisama (Quiçama), to the south of the Coanza.

[88] This Casoch (a misprint for Cafoch) is the Cafuxe (Cafuche) of the Portuguese, who defeated Balthasar de Almeida on April 22, 1594. On August 10, 1603, the Portuguese, led by Manuel Cerveira Pereira, retrieved this disaster.

[89] The name Calandola is by no means rare. A Calandula Muanji resided in 1884, eight miles to the north-east of Malanje (Carvalho, _Viagens_, vol. i, p. 443); another resided, formerly, near Ambaca (_ib._, p. 230); and a third on the Lucala, south of Duque de Bragança, was visited by Capello and Ivens (_Benguella_, vol. ii, p. 45). A Jaga Calandula accompanied João Soares de Almeida on his disastrous expedition to Sonyo (_Cat. dos Gov._, p. 390). Either of these may have been a descendant of Battell’s Calandula.

[90] Human victims are still sacrificed by the diviner when consulting departed spirits (see A. R. Neves, _Memoria_, p. 119).

[91] Cavazzi (_Historica Descrizione de tre Regni Congo, etc._, Bologna, 1687, p. 207) gives a plan of a Jaga camp, or Kilombo. It is formed of a square stockade, having in its centre the quarters of the Commander-in-chief, within a triple hedge of thorns. Between the stockade, which has only a single gate, and the inner enclosure are the quarters of the six principal officers, including the Golambolo (_ngolo_, strength, _mbula_, a blow), or Lieutenant-General, the Tendala, or Commander of the Rear-guard, and the Mani Lumbo (_lumbu_, a stockade), or Engineer-in-chief.

[92] _Tavales_ (see note, p. 21).

[93] Bahia das Vaccas, old name for Benguella Bay. There seems to be no native name for gold; yet Dr. Francisco José Maria de Lacerda, when with the abortive expedition of 1797, which was charged with the exploration of the Kunene, met a negress whose head-dress was composed of golden laminæ, said to have been washed in that river (Burton, _Lacerda’s Journey to Cazembe_, London, 1873, p. 23). Ladislaus Magyar (_Reisen_, p. 176), says that about 1833 a Brazilian miner washed gold in the mountains of Hambo. Quite recently, in 1900, the Mossamedes Company granted a lease of the Kasinga goldfields to an English company.

[94] The Imbondos are clearly the Nbundu of Angola, who draw the palm wine from the top, whilst the Jagas cut down the tree.

[95] Purchas adds, in a marginal note: “Fruges consumere nati.”

[96] “Flesh” in the sense of encourage.

[97] Calando should be Calandola (see note on p. 28).

[98] Mbamba, a whelk or trumpet-shell (Cordeiro da Matta, _Dicc. Kimbundu_).

[99] Mr. Dennet suggests _msose_, a turritella, popularly known as screw-shell.

[100] No ostriches are met with in Angola, and as to beads made of ostrich eggs, I can give no explanation.

[101] Monteiro was told that the Sobas and their wives among the Musele only use human fat to anoint their bodies (vol. ii, p. 157).

[102] The practice of wearing such nose ornaments exists to the present day in Lunda, among the Bangala and other tribes (Capello and Ivens, _Benguela_, vol. i, p. 265; Carvalho, _Expedição Portugueza ao Muatianvua_, Lingua de Lunda, p. 367; _Ethnographia_, p. 349).

[103] Marginal note by Purchas: “They use this ceremony in Florida.”

[104] Civet-cats are numerous in this part of Africa.

[105] I am inclined to believe, from what we learn from Cavazzi and other missionaries, that only those children were killed which were born within the _Kilombo_. On the other hand, at the Court of the ferocious queen Jinga, we are told by Captain Füller, a Dutchman, that, on two days in 1648, 113 new-born infants born _outside_ the camp were killed (Dapper, _Africa_, p. 545).

[106] _Ngunza_, according to Cordeira da Matta, means all-powerful; according to Bentley a herald, who speaks on behalf of a chief.

[107] See note, p. 19.

[108] Human sacrifices among the Jaga are even now of frequent occurrence. They are made at the installation of a Jaga, one year after his election (when the sacrifice and its accompanying banquet are intended to conciliate the spirit of Kinguri, the founder of the Dynasty), at his death, on the outbreak of war, etc. The ceremony witnessed by Battell was an act of divination. The soothsayer summons the spirit of Kinguri, who is supposed to foretell the results of any enterprise about to be undertaken. In 1567, the Jaga Ngonga Kahanga, of Shela, having been advised by his soothsayers that he would suffer defeat in a war he was about to enter upon against the Portuguese, declined the arbitration of the sword, and submitted voluntarily. The body of the victim is cooked with the flesh of a cow, a goat, a yellow dog, a cock and a pigeon, and this mess is devoured (ceremoniously) by the Jaga and his _makotas_ (councillors).

[109] The handle of this switch contains a potent medicine, which protects the owner against death.

[110] Casengula, called Kissengula, p. 86, was perhaps a trombash, for _sangula_ means to kill at a long range (Bentley).

[111] The Jagas are still buried sitting, and wives are sacrificed (Capello and Ivens, _From Benguella to the Territory of the Iacca_, vol. i, p. 330). In Ngois, likewise, the dead are occasionally buried in a sitting posture (Bastian, vol. i, p. 82). For a full account of a funeral, see Dennett’s _Folklore_, p. 11.

[112] These feasts are intended to secure the goodwill of the deceased, so that he may not injure the living. Human beings are occasionally sacrificed, in addition to goats and fowls.

[113] João Rodrigues Coutinho received his appointment as Governor at Madrid, on January 30, 1601 (see Appendix).

[114] Ndemba, in Quissama, a territory famous for its salt mines, the chief of which was the Caculo Caquimone Casonga (Cadornega, 1702). In 1783, when P. M. Pinheiro de Lacerda invaded Quissama, a Caculo Caquimone still held the mines of Ndemba. _Kakulu_, the elder of twins, a title.

[115] Outaba seems to be a misprint for _libata_ (village). Tombo is on the north bank of the Coanza, almost due south of Loanda.

[116] Songa, on the Coanza, below Muchima, a village in the territory of the Caculo Caquimone Casonga.

[117] Machimba I believe to be Muchima or Muxima, whilst (according to Cadornega) a chief Cavao occupied a district above Lake Quizua and below Massangano.

[118] According to the _Catalogo dos Governadores_, p. 356, the Governor died in Quissama. He was succeeded by his captain-major, Manuel Cerveira Pereira, and it was he who, on August 10, 1603, defeated Cafuxe, in the bloody battle to which reference is made in the text. Battell’s Angoykayongo is undoubtedly identical with the _Agoacaiongo_ of an anonymous account of the _Establimentos e Resgates Portuguezes_ (1607), published by L. Cordeira. He was a Christian chief; and a captain-major, with a detachment of cavalry, was stationed at his village to keep Quissama in order.

[119] See note, p. 27.

[120] Queen Elizabeth died April 3, 1603; but peace with Spain was only concluded on August 19, 1604.

[121] João de Araujo e Azevedo was the officer left in command at Cambambe.

[122] That is S. Salvador.

[123] Ngongo, according to Cavazzi (p. 521), is a place on the road from Sundi to Batta, where Girolamo da Montesarchio destroyed the heathen images. This place possibly corresponds to the modern Gongo, a station on the Stanley Pool Railway. Cadornega has a Gongo de Bata, which figures on Dapper’s map as Congo de Bata, and lies to the west of the Mbanza of Bata. It is impossible to tell which of these places was visited by Battell; possibly he passed through both.

[124] The Mbanza or chief town of Mbata, or Batta, still exists in 8° S., long. 15° E. Bentley (_Pioneering_, vol. ii, p. 404) passed through it, and discovered a huge wooden cross, a relic of the ancient missionaries.

[125] D. Manuel Cerveira Pereira had assumed government at the beginning of 1603, and three years would conveniently carry us to 1606. The “new” Governor, D. Manuel Pereira Forjaz, was, however, only nominated on August 2, 1607.

[126] See note, p. 11.

[127] Nkoko, a large grey antelope.

[128] Impalanca, _Palanga_, or _Mpalanga_, an antelope (_Hippotragus equinus_).

[129] This is an electric silurus called _nsõmbo_, plur. _sinsombo_, by the natives. Fishermen dread its electrical discharges, but value its flesh (Pechuel-Loesche, _Die Loango Expedition_, vol. iii, p. 282). This fish, Mr. Dennett tells me, is the “xina” (taboo) of women, generally speaking, which may account for the word becoming a generic name for fish, as in Unyamwezi, Ugogo, and other countries, if vocabularies can be trusted.

[130] See note, p. 21.

[131] This is Red Point, or Ponta Vermelha, where there is a grove of palms.

[132] Kabinda, 5° 31´ S., on a fine bay.

[133] The river Kakongo, or Chiloango, enters the sea in lat. 5° 9´ S. to the north of Landana. It is a very considerable river, and its waters discolour the sea for seven miles.

[134] Mbale, according to Bentley, is the coast region between the Congo and Ambrisette; but on Pigafetta’s map (1591) a town, Monbales, is shown to the south-east of the chief place of Sonho (Sonyo).

[135] Pinda, or Mpinda, in Sonyo, is below the Mbanza of Sonyo, which on modern maps figures as St. Antonio.

[136] The Luiza Loango, or Massábi, river enters the sea in lat. 5° 1´ S. Its depth across the bar is only 2 ft., but once within, it presents a fair waterway for over a hundred miles. Kaia is about ten miles up it.

[137] The Golfo das Almadias, or Canoe Bay, as described by Battell, corresponds to Black Point Bay, 4° 48´ S., the inner bay of which, less than half a mile across, had become all but silted up by 1884.

[138] No logwood is found in Loango, and Purchas points out in a note (_post_, p. 82), that Battell’s dyewood must be Red Sanders (_Pterocarpus tinctorius_), the _tacula_ of Angola, and identical with the _tavila_ of D. Lopez (Ficalho, _Plantas uteis_, p. 207). Pechuel-Loesche (_Loango Exp._, vol. iii, p. 190), on the other hand, states that the dye known as _tacula_ is camwood (_Baphia nitida, Afz._), and Bentley (_Dict. of the Kongo Language_), who calls the dye _nkula_, is of the same opinion. Another red dye is obtained from the _Njilla sonde_ (_Pterocarpus erinaceus, Poir._).

[139] _Nlunga_ (Bentley) or _malungu_ (Cordeira da Matta) is the native word for bracelet.

[140] The Maloango (_ma_, a contraction of _mani_ or _mwanu_, son; _mfumu_, chief) or king is selected by the Mamboma (see p. 59) and the princes, and must be a nephew (sister’s son) of his predecessor. On his election he takes the title of _Nganga nvumbu_ (_Nganga_, priest; _nvumbu_, benevolent spirit, breath), but only proceeds to that of Maloango when rich enough to summon the whole country to a great feast, when declaration is made for the first time officially of the death of the former Maloango, and he is buried. As these festivities are very expensive, they are often deferred for years, and many a _Nganga nvumbu_ has died without even troubling about the higher title. The successors of the Maloango Njimbi of Loango, of Battell’s time, according to Mr. Dennett, have been: 1. Maloango Tati of Kondi; 2. Mani Puati of Chibanga; 3. Mani Yambi; 4. Man’anombo; 5. Mani Makosso Matukila of Kondi; 6. Mani Makosso Manombo; 7. Mani Makosso Masonga; 8. Mani Puati. Nos. 3 to 8 never assumed the title of Maloango. Mani Puati very much disgusted the people with his cruelty (he had killed his own daughter because she refused to cohabit with him); and when the French, in 1898, called upon the Mamboma and the princes to produce a Maloango, they ignored the existence of Puati, and elected his nephew, Mani Luemba. This list, however, is evidently imperfect.

[141] Mr. Dennett, whose long residence at Loango and thorough knowledge of the languages entitle him to speak with authority, finds this passage unintelligible, but ventures to suggest the following:—

_Baliani_ (my companion) _ampembe_ (white) _mpolo_ (face), _muenyeye_ (Boio, the underground _nkishni_), _ke zinga_ (not live long)!

Freely translated, it would mean “My companion, the white face, has risen from underground, and will not live long.” This is a curious greeting, but it fairly represents native ideas: for the white man, as long as he keeps to his ship (supposed to rise from the bottom of the ocean), is believed to live long; whilst, once he comes to stay ashore, he is condemned to an early death.

[142] In a marginal note, Purchas says that the King’s wives are called _Macomes_. Such a title is known neither to Mr. Dennett nor to Mr. Phillips. Macome is probably a misprint for Maconda, the title borne, according to Dapper, p. 522, by the king’s “mother.” _Nkondi_, according to Bentley, is a title of nobility.

[143] Mr. Dennett informs me that, still at the present day, when the King (Maloango) or rather _Nganga nvumbu_, drinks in state, he covers his head with a cloth, so that the public may not see him drink. On ordinary occasions, however, this custom is no longer observed.

[144] The heads of all families eat alone; that is, they eat first, and their wives and children afterwards. Maloango still observes the same custom, with his _ma sa vi_, or house-steward, as the sole attendant (Dennett).

[145] Bensa may be a corruption of the Portuguese _banca_, a table. Mr. Dennett does not know the word.

[146] Not Sambe and Pongo, but Nzambi-ampungu! _Nzambi_ is the name by which God is known; _Nzambi-ampungu_ means the Most High (Supreme) God (Bentley, _Life on the Congo_, 1887, p. 62).

[147] The rains begin in October and last till April, being heaviest from November to March. They are very irregular. Thus, in February 1874, 2.2 ins. fell at Chinchosho; in the same month, 1875,12.0 ins.; but in 1876 only 0.2 ins.

[148] _Ensaka_, according to D. Lopez (Pigafetta), a stuff resembling velvet.

[149] The _Ndamba_ is no drum, as understood by Purchas, but a musical instrument made out of a piece of palm stem, about 4 or 5 ft. long. This is split down one side, the soft centre is then scooped out, and the edges of the split cut into notches. By rubbing these notches energetically with a stick, a loud rasping noise is produced (Monteiro, _Angola_, vol. ii, p. 139: Cordeiro da Matta, _Diccionario_, p. 118).

[150] An ivory trumpet (see note, p. 15).

[151] Battell seems to be mistaken. Mr. Dennett informs me that Maloango as _Ngangu nvumbu_ (see note 44) collects the offerings of his people, and sends them with a petition for rain to the great rain-doctor, _Nganga m Bunzi_, in Ngoyo. He has never heard that Maloango had usurped the functions of the great rain-doctor by shooting an arrow to the sky. Abbé Proyart (_Hist. de Loango_, c. 13), says that the Maloango being desirous of not committing himself, orders one of his ministers to make rain.

[152] Mr. Dennett tells me that _Ndundu_ when born are thrown into the bush. During his long residence in Africa he has only seen one, and that was at Kinsembo, eighteen years ago. Proyart (_Histoire de Loango_, Paris, 1819, p. 150) says that these albinos are held higher than the Gangas, are looked upon almost as “divine,” and that their hair is valued as giving protection against accidents. See also p. 81.

[153] _Mukishi à Loango_, the fetish or “charm” of Loango. _Checocke_ is identical with Dapper’s _Kikoko_ (_Africa_, Amsterdam, 1671, p. 535). Dapper’s account is not derived from Battell.

[154] According to Mr. Bentley, hysteria is very common in this country. For the account of the ravings of a witch-doctor, see _Pioneering_, vol. i, p. 271.

[155] Mr. Dennett informs me that the underground speaking fetish in Loango is at the present time called _Boio_, and is found at Chilunga. He suggests that _Ngumbiri_ may be a river spirit, or _Nkishi_ from the country north of Mayumba. Dr. Bastian paid a visit to the holy place of the underground oracle of _Ngoio_ near Moanda, known as _Mbunzi_, which only speaks on the accession of a king, whom he instructs as to his royal duties (_Die Deutsche Expedition_, vol. i, p. 85, 223).

[156] The mami (_mwana_, or princes) mentioned by Battell are those of Chibanga, Selanganga (of the family of the Petra Praia of Kenga), Mbuku, and Kaya, in Chikamba. (R. E. Dennett, on the law of succession, see note on p. 44.)

[157] Mani Lombe is a man’s name: at least, at the present time, and is never given to a woman. It means “One who is peaceful and quiet.” No special name or title is borne by the mother of the successors of Maloango (R. E. Dennett); but as Lumbu means stockade, palace, or chiefs house, Battell may have mistaken a word applied to this woman’s residence for that of her title. Lombo means a person supposed to be an incarnation of a shimbi, or water-fairy.

[158] Palm-cloth (see note, p. 9).

[159] Dr. Bastian visited the Royal graves at Loangiri, or Loangele, and found each grave marked by a tusk. The visitors pulled out grass around the tomb and poured libations of rum upon the bare ground (_Die Deutsche Expedition an der Loango-Küste_, Berlin, 1874, vol. i, p. 69).

[160] This may be quite true of earlier times, when Europeans were looked upon as great wizards, who rose out of the sea and were returned to that element when they died. At present, however, a burial-place is set apart for them, and is looked after by the Petra Praia (Salanganga), an office created since the arrival of the Portuguese for the purpose of looking after the affairs of the white men (R. E. Dennett).

[161] There is some confusion here. Angeca is evidently the Anziki or Anzique of D. Lopez and others, now represented by the Banteke, on Stanley Pool. The word may be derived from _anseke_, far or distant. The proper name of the tribe is Atio (A. Sims, _Kiteke Vocabulary_, 1886). _Mococke_ (_Makoko_) is a title. Bongo is evidently the country of the Obongo of Du Chaillu, the Babongo of Lenz, Bastian, and Falkenstein: a race of dwarfs between the coast and the Banteke, varying in stature between 51 and 56 ins. Compare note, p. 59.

[162] Identical with Chinkanga, on the river Juma, where the French have a post, Wemba.

[163] The river Kuilu, 4° 28´ S.

[164] _As duas moutas_ (the two corpses) of Juan de la Cosa’s map (1500), near the mouth of the Kuilu.

[165] Fifteen miles carry us to the Longebonda of the Admiralty Chart, 4° 20´ S.. which has very little water in it at the most favourable time of the year (_Africa Pilot_, vol. ii, 1893, p. 136), but the river meant is evidently the Numbi, which enters Chilunga (Kilonga) Bay in 4° 13´ S., a mere stream (_Deutsche Loango Expedition_).

[166] Yumba is the name of the country. _Mayumba_ (_Mani Yumba_) means chief of Yumba. The Bay of Mayumba, 3° 19´ S., lies about 10 miles to the south of Cape Mayumba, which is undoubtedly the Cabo Negro of Battell.

[167] Dyewoods are still an article of export, but not logwood (see note, p. 43.)

[168] The Banya, a lagoon extending to the south-east, parallel with the coast.

[169] The _Mpungu_ is the gorilla. For _Engeco_ (printed _Encego_ in the earlier editions) we ought to read _Nsiku_, the native name for the chimpanzi, a larger variety of which is known as _Chimpenso_ (Pechuel-Loesche, _Loango Expedition_, vol. iii, p. 248). P. Du Chaillu, the first European to kill a gorilla in his native haunts (_Adventures in Equatorial Africa_), declares Battell’s stories to be mere traveller’s tales, “untrue of any of the great apes of Africa.” Sir R. F. Burton (_Two Trips to Gorilla Land_, vol. i, p. 240) suggests that as Battell had not seen a gorilla, he may have confounded gorillas with bushmen.

[170] Misprint for Mayumbas?

[171] Dr. Pechuel-Loesche (_D. Loango Exp._, vol. iii, p. 302) says that native dogs do _not_ bark, but that they often acquire the habit when living among European dogs. Most of them are mongrels, but there are some superior breeds trained for hunting. These dogs carry a wooden bell (_ndibu_) round the neck, the clatter of which scares the game. When the scent grows warm, the dogs begin to whine, and when the game is in sight they give tongue. After each beat the dogs sit down apart from the hunters, raise their heads, and howl for several minutes. Mr. Dennett, in a letter to me, confirms the barking (_kukula_, to bark) of the native dogs.

[172] See p. 82 for further information on this fetish.

[173] Neither Mr. Dennett, nor one of the officials in the French Colonial Office, thoroughly acquainted with the language, has been able to make sense out of this sentence. The latter suggests _Ku Kwiza bukie lika_, “I come for the truth!” For another version of this appeal, see p. 83. The sentence is evidently very corrupt.

[174] Circumcision is common in some districts, but no magical or mystic influence is ascribed to it (Bentley).

[175] For an account of the initiation into the guild called _Ndembo_, see Bentley’s _Dictionary_, p. 506.

[176] The custom of prohibiting certain food to be eaten, etc., is very common. _Mpangu_ is the name for this taboo in the case of new-born infants; _Konko_, a taboo imposed in connection with an illness. The thing tabooed is called _nlongo_ (Bentley).

[177] This refers no doubt to Sette, the river of which enters the sea in 2° 23´ S. The capital of the same name being fifty miles up it. Barwood is still exported, but no logwood.

[178] His modern representative seems to be the Mani Kasoche on the Upper Ngonga, who was visited by Güssfeldt.

[179] Not to be taken literally, for Cão certainly touched at this bay.

[180] The usual designation for “Dwarf” is _mbaka_ or _kimbakabaka_ (the diminutive of _mbaka_), but _Batumba_ (with which Battell’s _matimba_ seems to be identical) is likewise applied to a dwarf person or thing (Bentley). In Angola, _Matumbu_ means a far-off, unknown country (Cordeiro da Matta). Compare note, p. 52.

[181] “Marombos” seems to be a misprint for Mayumbas (see note, p. 55).

[182] The Mamboma is a sort of home secretary. He buries the Maloango, and summons the princes for the election of a successor. _Mboma_ is the black python; _boma_ means fear. Hence the title has been translated “Lord of Terror.”

[183] _Mbundu_, the powdered root of a species of strychnos, is administered to confessed witches accused of having caused the death of a person. If the accused be guilty, this poison causes him to lose all control over the _sphincter urethræ_; he discharges red urine profusely, runs a few paces, falls down and dies. An innocent person only discharges a few drops on a banana leaf (Pechuel-Loesche, _Loango Exp._, vol. iii, p. 188). _Nkasa_, prepared from the bark of _Erythrophlaeum guineense_, paralyses the action of the heart, but if thrown up at once, it will not kill (Dr. M. Boehr, _Correspon. der Deutschen Afrik. Ges._, vol. i, p. 332). It is administered to persons who deny being witches. (For a full account of such a trial, see Dennett, _Seven Years Among the Fjort_, p. 165.) In the case of minor offences, the ordeal of the hot matchet—_bikalo_, _bisengo_, or _bau_—is resorted to. The knife is passed thrice over the skin of the leg, and if it burns the accused is declared guilty (see also Dennett, _Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Fjort_, p. 162). The Nganga is, of course, open to a bribe, and in the case of a chief the poison may be administered to a substitute—a dog or a slave—and the penalty commuted to a fine. See also Bentley’s _Pioneering on the Congo_, London, 1900.

[184] The poison administered in this case was _nkasa_, and not _mbundu_ (see p. 80).

[185] _Ndoki_, a witch; _undoki_, that which pertains to witchcraft (Bentley).

[186] That is, _Purchas his Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World_, bk. vii, ch. 10, dealing with Loango.

[187] Worthy Purchas grows quite incoherent in his indignation, but the reader will nevertheless be able to gather his meaning, and will appreciate his distinction between a Jewish priest and a heathen _Nganga_, both administering the same rite. He thus shares the opinion of the Roman Catholic missionaries who recognised the efficacy of native charms, but ascribed it to the Devil, whilst claiming greater potency for their crosses, relics, etc., deriving their potency from Heaven.

[188] The poison ordeal, which required a woman suspected of infidelity to her husband to drink “bitter water” administered by the Jewish priest, is here referred to. This ordinance, of course, was not applicable in case of a similar offence charged against a husband (Numbers v, 12-31).

[189] Valdez (_Six Years in Angola_, vol. ii, p. 130) calls this ordeal _quirigué tubia_ (_Kiriké tubia_), and says that the hot hatchet may be applied to any part of the person. The meaning of _kiri_ is truth; of _tubia_, fire. Purchas is evidently mistaken when he calls this procedure _Motamba_, for _tambi_ or _mutambi_ is a kind of funeral feast or wake. The body having been buried, and potsherds, pipes, and other articles placed on the grave, the mourners devour a roast pig, the skull of which is afterwards thrown into a neighbouring river.

[190] Illness and death are frequently ascribed to witchcraft. If a disease does not yield to medical treatment by a _Nganga a moko_, the _nganga a ngombo_, or witch-doctor, is called in with his fetish. He may ascribe the death to natural causes, or to a charm worked by a person recently deceased and beyond his reach; or he may denounce one or more persons as witches. The persons thus denounced are compelled to submit to the poison ordeal (see, among others, Dennett’s _Seven Years among the Fjort_, and his _Folk-Lore_).

[191] Garcia Mendes de Castellobranco, p. 33, says, in 1621, that hens abounded and also goats and sheep, but that cows were rare.