The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-04-16 00:00:00

AMONG CLNNIBIe-LEL

Mr. Charles Livinptone, Her Majecitje cronsul in the
Bight of Biafra. senile to NM Foreign-ae the follow-
ing narrative of his interview with the Kin of Okrika
country in July with a view to terminate war bayou
that country and New Calabar; the Omani was
sooompenied by three chiefs of Bonny :—"Op Okras..
, the thief town, is built on • dry ridge, part of which is
I adorned with magnifloent tree*. A stockade,
, which peep some gnu, defends the water frontterrt
town, which seemed longer than Grand Bonny. Donee
a 5.... of people crowded the beach at the public land.
hag place. The Bonny •hiefe, Prince George, Banigo,
ised Oelenduel, landed, but we remained in the boat'
until they had men the King. In 15 minutes they
returned and beckoned us to land. The stench WSJ
terrible; all the stinks at the entrance of .11th. African
villages I ever entered, though mixed and shaken
together, wood he weak compared to this. After
pegging through the erowd, we met some fellows who
tried to stop u. 'lt was contrary to joja for white
useo to enter the town.' The Bonny chiefs scolded,
and we pushed on, but soon met amob of hundreds,
and farther progress was impossible. In vein did
Banigo and Calendusi scold and push and even knock
mime down ; the others pressed closer together, shout-
ing, barking, and gesticulating frantically. After look
lag at the performance until we got tired of it, we
returned to the boats. A canoe came off with two
gemeangere from the King inviting us to some ashore.
Our& armed with long stake stood at the corners
elf the streets, and the town was quiet. We were
conducted to the King's audience chamber, obi& bed
no light escept what come in by the door. Chairs were
btought, and the chiefs and other* erowded in. k
beating drums announced that the King had gone to
the jn u-boase to consult the "pinta before proceeding
to business. In half an hour King Tibia appeared, a
strongly-built man of 45, with • round, good-natured
looking 'see. Be shook hands and eat down on aloe
stool in tbe corner. Apologising for the rode noeption
, hie people bad chola um, he silted us to remain till the
following day, as some of the chiefs bad not yet arrived
from their villages. A table of native manufacture
waa brought In. the Queen spread • tablecloth over it,
and ' tornbo'(unintoxicatieg palm wine) was promoted.
, Penniman to gee the town was given, and we paid •
I visit to the juje-house ; a noisy crowd attempted to
rush in after us, bet • vigorous application of the in
shake of the guards drove them back. Mamas of
human skulls hang from the wane, and numerous rows
at skulls covered the roof of • sort of after. In front of
the altar ma • juju man, having a footstool of human
skulls. The Okrika had eaten the victims whom skulls
decorate the juju-house. An old man who accompanied
us spoke with 'widest gusto of the different cannibal
feasts he had partaken of, and mentioned the parts of
the human body which he considered the sweetest. It
Is the first time I have seen cannibal* in Africa. We
cowmen at work tarring rope* ; others retailed gin in
the streets by the wine-gloss. We bad a glimpse of the
Okrika funeral ceremony, Three young men, fairing the
game way, bad the corpse of a boy done op in matting
es their shoulders. They twisted and tagged, and
appeared as if struggling with unseen spirits who wished
iodise the body to a shallow open grave by the side of
• house. At timea the young men had the adeentap,
and brought the body back from the grave ; then the
spirits prevailed, and dragged them forward. A man
kept beating • drum. The Okrike are well elothed,
most of the sloth being made of the palm-leaf. They
are acquainted with several dye.; two—a yellow and •
blee—cire used to paint their peruse We slept in
Ogobom6, a large village which has an oil market, and
about two mike from the capital. A good dinner was
provided, and we were offered the {hone of sleep ng
apartments, dose Inner rooms or the open verandah ;
my companions preferred the latest.. I was conducted
to • neighbouring house, and found the people very
kind. My bed, small boles, of unequal height,
unluckily, was in the beet room, in which I found •
pod are, 30 kegs of powder, sod • considerable quantity
of cloth and gin. I managed to sleep tol stably well,
, bet my companions were badly bitten by the sand-flea
IA King's messenger fame for us at sunrise, and shortly
after seven we were seated with the king and his chiefe
King Pilo remarked that in Bonny the Ding and chiefs
weld settle public slain, but in Okrika the people
always wanted lobe present. He thought it would
be better to have the interview in a public plaice, no
that his people could hear all that was and not
have to pester him with quietus after we were gone.
We secordingly adjourned to the tenet. There was
, some disturbance at first, but nothing like that of an
ft:cited political gathering in • civilised country. King
!Ibis requested them to be silent, and Utica to what
was said. His Prime Minister sad orator, having beton
him specimens of two kinds of dried fish, a Lb trap, sad •
piece of net commenced by remarking that they were glad
to see me. They did net ar.dentand the customs of whit
men; no white man bad ever been in their town Mora
and they hoped I would arenas them if they proeseded
is their own way. He then picked up the dead fish,
the trap and net, and landed them to me, saying,
'Bonny and Calabar have ships to trade with, but
Okrika hes nothing but Ash. It is on fish we live, it ie
with liah we buy the oil we hays to sell, and this bra
been so ever since Okrika beam* a country.' It was
In the creeks I raw in coming that they ought their
lish, and Calabar men came into those creeks and stole
their fish out of the nen, and also robbed their anon."
Mr. Livingstone dismissed with them terms of poems
and it was Cully anaemia that Tibia should send down
two of his chiefs to meet the shale of Bonny lied
Calabar and motile the differences. The Consul adds,
"The session lasted four hours and a half. Never
before in Africa have I seen such powerful-looking men
as the Okras. I could not but admire their physical
strength. As they sat before me chewing bits of chop-
stick to clean their teeth and pain, earnestly at me,
the thought oconionelly fleshed across my mind, 'Are
these cannibals wondering how • piece of rout Consul
wou'd taste, and which would be most savoury, cold
Consul or hot? On parting, Tibia med.) me a recent
of about • certified of gigantic yams, two pate, sod •
fowl."