African Origins of West Indian Slaves
is aware of these and allows them to proceed, not putting an end to them
until it appears to him that they have gone too far. Their weapons include
rifles, sabres, spears, and arrows that they tip with poison. They sell their
prisoners of war, who are then passed from one owner to another in sucha
way that one of them might have half ahundred masters before being sold
to the Europeans on the coast.
The Ibo, friends of the Karabafi, possess a vast land which lies in the
interior of Africa, as I was told by one Negro ofthis nation, with whom I
had spoken in Pennsylvania.!3 He told me that the Bibi constitute a state
within the territory of the Ibo and that they live about five hundred English
miles from the place where he came from. Egypt, which he called Alo, was
not too far from his homeland. They engage in trade with that country and
obtain rifles, sabres, powder, lead, linen, and the like from there. The four
Ibo Negroes with whom I have spoken in the West Indies affirmed what I
said before, namely that they border on the land of the Karabari. They
wage almost continual war against the Igan and the Evo. According to
their testimony, the latter are cannibals. The permanent name of the chief
of the Ibos is Oba. The Mokko also share a border with the Karabari,
whose neighbors are the Bebumde.
A Loango Negro said that the name of the supreme ruler of his nation
was Areffan Congo. Two kings, Maluango and Macongo, are his vassals.
A war broke out between the two when the latter refused to continue giving
a maiden as yearly tribute to the former. Their weapons consist of firearms,
bows, and arrows. The land of the Loango is rich in gold. The king’s throne
is made of this valuable metal, and the womenfolk wear rings of gold
around their arms and legs. From the inner bark or fiber of a certain tree,
they produce a white material with which they clothe themselves. It is
durable and can withstand washing. The English, Dutch, and French are
known to take many slaves from this coast. The Negro told me that during
his time it happened that an English captain, who already had a cargo of
Negroes, took a few more by force. Upon learning of this act of violence, a
great many Blacks encircled the English ship with their canoes, cut the
anchor line, climbed on board the ship, freed the slaves, and punished the
Whites decisively. The adverse consequences which the captain’s actions
might have had for the English nation were averted by assurances given to
the Blacks that the captain had acted against the order of his king. Accord-
ing to the same Negro, there are black Jews in Loango, who observe the
sabbath so strictly that they do not utter one word on that day. They live
dispersed about and engage in trade. Even though they are completely
similar to the other Negroes in their outward appearance, they are so
despised by them that they will not eat with them. They have their own
burial ground, which is located far from the dwellings of the Negroes.
Their graves are of masonry, and figures of snakes, lizards, and the like are
painted on them by those who bury the body. This appears ridiculous to
the Negroes. Since such paintings are so dissimilar to Jewish practices, the
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PART 1 BOOK III SECTION FOUR
assumption is perhaps not improbable that the writing, or letters, on the
Jewish graves appeared to the Negroes to be pictures of snakes, lizards,
and so forth.
The nation of the Camba dwells in the vicinity of the Loango, not far
from Sundi, as I was told by a Negro woman of that nation.
The Mandongo are a widely dispersed people, which, according to the
statements of four Negroes of that nation, consists of three tribes, namely
the Colambo, Cando, and Bongolo, which are bound to one another by a
common language. Each has its own prince, but all of them recognize the
overlordship of an even more powerful ruler. His authority is so great that
his command brings an immediate halt to any of those wars which his
vassals sometimes wage among themselves. Following the death of such a
prince, his sons battle among themselves over the succession until the
matter is resolved in a final victory. These wars are very bloody and often
last several years. Some of the already-mentioned Mandongo Negroes
indicated that it took anentire year for the journey from their fatherland to
the land of the Loango, and from the Loango it took one month to reach
the sea.
The Negroes from the Congo nation who came to the West Indies as
slaves usually have for the most part some knowledge of the true God and
of Jesus Christ, and they are more intelligent and better mannered than
other Blacks. For this they have to thank the Portuguese who, since their
settlement along this coast, have made a great effort to enlighten and
improve these ignorant people with Christian teachings. In this endeavor,
they have been partially successful with those who dwell nearby. However,
those who live further inland and are far removed from the Portuguese
have a religion that combines heathen superstition and Christian ritual. In
the West Indies, | have spoken to one from each of these groups. The one
who lived far from the Portuguese called his king Dunnukabam, who was
said to have had a reddish color like a white person (Dunnu means “white
one”). This ruler had been taught to read by the Portuguese and thereby
enjoyed an advantage over most other black African despots. He was a
friend of the English and had supplied one of their ships, in which he had
an interest, with slaves. He allowed his son to travel to the English islands
in the West Indies on this same ship, in order to go on from there to
England. This ship, however, had the ill-fortune to be captured by the
French. The latter brought the vessel to St. Thomas, where one of our
missionaries had a conversation with this Congolese prince in the English
language, which he knew. He was treated according to his station in life
and sent to Copenhagen in order that he might be sent back to his father-
land from there. The other Congo Negro, who lived near the Portuguese
and knew well the city of Loanda,!4 was the subject of another king and, in
fact, a member of his family.
I had no opportunity to speak either to a Solungo or Angola Negro.
Therefore, | have nothing to say about these two nations.
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