Smyrna times., 1857-08-19
Female Supremacy in Cent? al kfric 1.

During DIR Livingstone's descent alone tb,
river Zambese he came chiefly in contact Will
the Bolanda negroes. On gaining more in
Innate acquaintance with their social state
our traveller was especially struck with ON,
prevailing pecularty-the position, and even
power OF the woman. AS a rule 1t has brrt
found that heathenlSm deprives woman o
her rIghttul status IN society, and dooms hen
TO drudgery and degradation. He was not pre-
pared, therefore, TO lind amongst this heatheru
ana very supcrstItl"us people, the relative po-
sltlon OF man and woman reversed That Tic
woman should sit in the councils of rhc nation
That young man on entering the matrmuniaI
state should be compelled to remove from his
own village TO that of his wife; aud in f,rmipD
THIS relation he should bind himself to provId,
her mother with freWood as lone as The nId
! lady lived; that the wife alone could divorce
| The husband, and that, in the event Of their
| separation, the children become the pInpcriy
| ut their mother; and that the lord of crraI,on
should be unable TO enter into the most ordl-
nary cOntruct, or to perform the simplest 5 rvlcr
ior another without the sanction of {" The
lady SUPERIOR were certainly Indications oi
female supremacy, which it was passlnn sirannr
to find amongst the dcnlzcns of Central Africa
But yet il must be allowed that 'trrciprocity"
the husbands deicrcncc, his wives are cXpcc.
ted to provide him with food. Thus, possibly.
may account for the fact winch our friend states.
that the ladies never lack husband, AID tlat
an old maid is not to be found from the Cape 10
the Equator.
Occasionally, however, there will come n
hitch in their domestic arrangements; and
Whlle our traveller supplies 10 instance of re-
bellIon ON the part Of the husbands he shoue
that conspiracy was not unusual amnug wives
II at any time the former is so unfortunate as
TO ollehd the ladies', they resolve to wound him
IN the most tender part-the stomach Re.
turning home, the usual hour, he calls upon his
first wife and asks for dinner; but she sends
him to Il second, whom he loves better" and
she again to a third, until he has run the gaunt
let through them all, with the same result
Having nothing left but TO aVenpe himself Of |
the wrong, faint and hungry, he climbs a tree
IN some populous part Of his village, and pro-
claims aloud, with pteous lntonatlons, i" Listen, |
. listen; | thought had married women, but |
they are only witches! am "a bachelor! |
nave not single wife! Is that right for
gentleman like me !" But the ladies, not al
ways satisfied with showing their dlspl,aslire
IN the negative form, will sometimes even dare
to enforce their authority over Their husbands
WI" Nul' anu UloWs' lhls, however, Is car
ryng matters little too far, and the public
sentiment being against such conduct, the poor
sufferer gets more substantial revcnge for the
authorities of the village then interfere, and
his tyrannical wife is sentenced for the assault
to carry him upon her back from the Gotta, (am
enclosed court of the chiefs promiacs,) to his
own house, tauntcd as she goes along with the
sneers and glbcs OF men on the one hand bat,
alas on the other, chcCred by the sympathy
and by such eXhOrlations as serves him right
give 1t to him" from members of her own
gentle scx.-BritiSh Banner.