The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-17 00:00:00

The King of Dahomey.

Yesterday, at the meeting of the British Association,
Captain R. H. BURTON read a paper ,on " The Ethnology
of Dahomey," of which the following is a pretty full re-

port :

" In the year 1863 and 1864 I twice visited Dahomey,
a country the savage and somewhat peculiar customs
of which have made for is a name in Europe. My first
fly:ng trip lasted one month—from May 18 to June 17. It
extended only to Kane, a ruined town where the King
Villagiatura was in country quarters. The second visit was
prolonged to nearly three months, between Dec. 8, 1863,
and Febr um y 26, 1864, end its length enabled me to learn a
modicum of the Ffon, or nations! language. I am induced
to offer the following remarks in the belief that my experi-
ence will rectify many popular fancies. Few places in
Africa have been more cep:ously written of thin Dahomey,

and yet so well informed a journal as the Saturday Re.
view (July 4, 1863) gravely tells its readers that " the King
of Dabcmey has lctely been indulging in a sacrifice of 2,000
Lumen beings, simply in deference to a national prejudice,
and to keep up the goer old customs of the country."
will presently arpear how the reviewer misunderstood the
matter, And first of the word Dahomey—not Dabo'me.
The existence of this otce great military empire was first
made know a to Europe by a letter dated Abouey, Nov, 27,
1724, addressed by Mr. B. Lamb or Lambe, agent for the
English African Company, to Mr Tucker, the Commandant
of the English Fort \Vhydah. In it he describes, as an eye-
witness, the dread;ul slaughter of the people cf Allada, an
island and independent city, by the conquering King Aga-
gia Dosu of .Dahomey, "when there was no stirring for
bodies without heads. end had it rained blood it could not
have been thicker on the ground," Yet the Kings of the
rival settlements were Scotch cousins after the following
fashion; "About 1620, an old and wealthy chef of Ailed&
Proper, died, and left his dominions to his three sons. These
agreed that the eldest should reign in his father's stead,
which he did in peace and prosperity, under the name of
Alluda Khosa, or King of A'lada. De' the youngest
or some say, the second, invaded the upper waters of
our charts, end founded Hwebona,' which we have since
known as Little Ardrah, or Porto Nuvo. Benno the Daho-
mien King still calls him of Hwebona brother, although
now under French protection. . . The little pro vinc3 of
Ukwaur belonged to a chief named Aursee, who allowed the
ambitious stranger to settle there, Delta, by degrees be-
coming power:al, encroached upon a neighbouring king-
dom, Dauh, meaning the shade in the raiabow. As his
followers greatly increased, and he was even seeking more
ground from Dauh, the latter excla'med in truth, ' Son,
thou wilt build upon my stomach.' Dauh bided his time,
slew the king, and erected upon his corpse the old palace
of Dahorr, meaning the Dauh's stomach. Hereupon the
Ffons changed their name to Dahomens, and thud, about
1625, arose the once great military empire familiar to the
ears of Europe. The extent and population of Dahomey has
been grossly exaggerated. Its superficies cannot be more
then 4,000 square miles. Commissioner Forbes put its po-
pulation down at 200,000 ; M. 'Walloon, 900,000 ; Commo-
dore Wilmot, 180,000. I would reduce it to 150,000, of
whom perhaps four-Etths ere women end children. The
populat ion is not a third cf what the country could support.
The ernual withdrawal of both sexes from indust. y to slave
hunting and the customs of the capital, the lack of repro-
duction in Amazons, and the losses by disease, have made
the country in parts a desert. So contemptible is the Afri-
can Power which is perhaps the best known throughout
Europe. Capt. W. S, Cumming is the first Englishman
that visited a D2noman monarch. Since his day (1726) the
custom has been regu'rrly kept up. . . The grand cus-
toms take placeonly after the death of a king. They cele-
brate the annual rites in splendour and in bloodshed. Tra-
vellers give terrible accounts of the slaughter which accom-
panies the cites. Delzell (1791) said they lasted three
months, and were marked almost every day with human
blood. Capt. Taylor and Mr Hogg, Governor et Appalonia,
were present, and both affirm that not less than 500 men,
women, and children, were sacrificed. The last grand cus-
toms were performed in November, 1850, by the present so-
vereign, in honour of the manes of his father. The horrors
of the rite were exaggerated with ridiculous adjuncts: It
was reported that the King floated a canoe and paddled

himself in a tank full of human blood. The report arose
from the custom cf collecting the gore of the victims in pits
about 2ft deep and 4ft diameter, The reports of Wesleyan
missionaties show that very little change has trken place in
regard to the number of victims. The yearly customs form
continuations of the grand custom, and periodically supply
a departed monarch with fresh attendants in a shadowy-
world, The Dahomi-ns declare that this world is man's
plantation, end the next is his home. They of course own
nc suture state of rewards end punishments. The number
of victims has been greatly swollen by report. Mr James
at the beginning of the present century tetrad the maximum
of three several years to be 65. Corrmiesioner Forbes owns
that in the later years of the Ring's reign, not more than

36 heads fell. Dosing try second visit 40 men were put to
death. I presume that r i equal number of women were
sent to the next world, but if so the executions took place
within the place. The men were all ciim'aal and war cap-
tives. No innocent Dahomian is ever Filed on these occa-
sions, end the King imprieors those accused of capital
offences. lie is so particular about the lives of his subjects
that throughout the empire coroner's inquests must follow
every death, and certify that it has not been violent. The
time of execution is the hour of darkness. The public
stays within doors under pain of death. The King per-
sonally superintends the executions. Some are clubbed and
others aro beheaded by the Mingham, or Premier. The
second Minister also takes his part in the trag:ly. After
death the bodies are exposed in the market place for a few
days, after which they are thrown into the city ditch. It
is not, however, at the customs that the great loss of life
takes place. At in the city of Great Benin and at
Thomasi, the capital of Ashanti, almost every day wit-
nesses some deed of blood. Whatever action, however
trivial, is performed by the King, it must be reported to
his sire. A victim, almost always a war captive, is
chosen, the message is delivered to him, an intoxicating
draught of rum follows it, and he is despatched in the best
of humours. 1 heard of only ono case where the victim ob-
jected to lose his life; but those who were prepared for the
customs which I witnessed sat look;ng at the various cere-
monies beating time to the music, and eyeing all my move-
ments. At my request the King pardoned about half of
them, but no man thanked me. There are two ethnological
particulars in Dahomey which require notice—the corpo-
real duality of the King and the precedence of women over
men. The monarch is double, two kings in one. The King
gav two courts, masculine rad feminine, and the high offi
cars of both courts correspond in name and dignity. .
Of she Am,;..zons about two-thirds are said to be maidens—
a apeculiarrried.
TheboY fi g::113t 1.2 Africa—the remaining third having been
m
are not de facto married to the Bing,
but it may take place a 1 his discretion. The Amazons affect
d .g
male attire, especially wheo in uniform. There is nothing
savage or terrible in their appearance. When young they
are compelled to dance, to take violent exer_ise, which ren-
ders them somewhat lean. As they advance in years they
grow in weight, and many of them are subjects for the
treatment of Mr Banting. The soldiers are not divided into
regiments. There are, however, three distinct bodies. The
King generally pays distinguished strangers the compli-
ment of placing them in command. I had this honour, but
was not entitled even to inspect my corps. In 1863 I saw
all their women troops marching on service out of Kann,
and a careful computation gave a grand total of 2,038 ; but
of these one-third or one-half were unarmed or half armed.
On Tuesday, March 15, 1864, the present King carried cut
his favourite project—en attack upon Abeponta, where his
father had left name end fame. The attempt was contemp-
tible in the extreme, and resulted in a loss of 1,000 killed
and about 2,000 captured. Thus Dahomey yearly loses
prestige.

JOHN FROST, THE CHARTIST.—Mr John Frost
be well known Chartist leader of Monmouthshire

has lately reappeared in public, Since his return to this
country through the Queen's clemency he has lived in re-
tirement at Stapleton, near Bristol. In his 84th year, as he
tells us, a halo and hearty man, ho is now engaged in writ-
ing a series of letters to a Newport contemporary, the Star
of Gw:iit ; and it is eurit:us to see how the opinions of this
once formidable leader of the mob have been toned down by
time and circumstances. Adver.fity has, no doubt, done
much, and it is not presuming to bei::"ve that the gradual,
safe, and satisfactory progress of our peitical system has
not left oven for Chartism, at least in its forneLlable guise,
a leg to stand upon. In one of his letters Fres!, gives
interesting details of his life after he was convided.
On his way to Van Diemen's Land in the Mandarin convict
ship, he was asked to join a mutiny. " When we were
within a few days' sail of the Cape of Good Hope a prisoner
brought me a letter. The writer was a prisoner, a smart
little man. He had been a mate of a ship, and was pretty
well educated. It was handed to me with great caution,
as if it contained something to be known to me only. I read
it, In this letter I was informed that it was the determina-
tion of the far greater part of the prisoners to take possession
of the ship ; that, having great confidence in me, they begged
mo to join in the plan; and the writer assured me that my
orders should be obeyed: This letter put me into an awkward
position. To conceal it from the superintendent, should the
fact come to his knowledge, would have been deemed a crime,
and of the weret sort. On tho other hand, I di•l not like
to betray the writer. I showed the letter to Mr Williams.
He seemed to favour the experiment. Let us look at the
matter carefully,' said I. Suppose this should be a true.
We have made ono mistake ; do not lot us make another.
Suppose we should attempt and be killed, it would not be
a very honourable death I Suppose we should succeed, do
you think that we should exereiee authority over the pri-
soners P I will have nothing to do with it. I destroyed
the letter." On arriving at their destination the superin-
tendent intercedes with the Governor, but without success.
" When the superintendent returned on board he repeated
to us the conversation which hee had had with the
Governor, and he assured us—and I believe sincerely—that
he was sorry he had not succeeded. Free t,' said he,
we are about to part in all probability fur ever. lam
happy to tell you that since you have been under my com-
mand you have acted the part of a gentleman ; and mark,'
said he, looking at me very significantly, nothieg that you
said, nothing that. you did, was unknown to riv, ; and with
this knowledge I again repeat that you have acted the part.
of a gentleman. 1 address the same language to you, Wil-
liams.' .11is language set me thinking, and it confirmed
suspicions which I had previously formed. Nothing that
you said, nothing that you did, was unknown tome. Then
he must have been acquainted will the affair of the letter.
No doubt of it.l