The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-09-04

TIE AsHASTEE AT HoME.-Mr. w nWoou
Reade In his second letter to the fda-Aa"
Gazette has the following, 600 ,o-
The King is allowed to have $3.50 wives,
but not TO exceed that number. Some OF
these ladies are merely slaves, who work III
the royal plantations and furnish the court
with cassada and plantains; others reslde IN
rooms luxuriously furnished, guarded by
eunuchs, enjoying the delights OF TOBACCO
and palm wine in true Oriental style. IN
friere with royal wife is punished oy
death. The eyecutioners torture the onender
from sunrise to sunset, leading MIN ABOUT
the town, and performing fantaslas upon MS u,
body with knives before the houses OF all
noted chieftains or strangers OF dlstlncllon:
Finally, they led him to the presence OF
the king, and literally cut him 10 pieces
before the throne. This horrible method Oh
execution is only employed for the ABOVE
mentioned offence, and for the crlmeoi muir
der. It is curious custom IN Ashantee
that if the condemned man cries OUT a cer
tain word or phrase he cannot DE Killed II
gives him the right OF sanctuary; the eSecu-
| TONERS, therefore, steal upon tnelr Vlctlnls
| from behind, and begin proceedings Dy pass
| ing dagger through both cheeks, WHEREBY
| the man is effectually gagged:
awaiting kill themselves to serve as his
escort to the Shadow Land. These persons
are called okras. or "soulS," and wear pc
culiar gold badge, which indicates their Of
fee. At that time, also, a saturnalla OF blood
| is celebrated; hundreds of victims are sacrl-
feed and the young men Of the royal house
rim about the town shooting whom they
| please-eyen the highest personages OF the
land. Thus the death of the King is ma
tional misfortune, and that, perhaps, gives
the clue to the origin Of these extraordinary
customs.
The Ashantees believe in life after death,
| as we believe in the existence OF lands be-
| vond the sea. Their Hades or ShGl IS stu
ated underground. There this life is con-
| tinued, and becomes eternal. The King re-
sumes his ROYALTY, and the slave remains
| slave. Death, therefore, for them is only a
| migration, and they depart from life with
| coIauimity. 4 woman slave, who was one
| of those condemned to die, was stripped ac-
cording TO custom, and knocked on the head.
| Being only stunned by the blow, she re-
! covered her senses, and saw herself sur
rounded bv dead bodies. She ran into the
town. found the mobiles sitting in council,
| told them she had been to the land OF the
dead. and that she had been sent back be-
| cause she had no clothes. They must dress
her finely and kill her over again; which &C.
cordnoly was done. This happened in a
small kingdom adjoining Ashantee, the laws
and customs of which are the same.
| One noble who had committed some crime
offered a large ransom for his life, and finally
his weight in gold. But the King cut on
his head, and also took possession OF his
| gold, which just amounted in weight to that
| of the corpse. l have myself seen Il coast
native of no great importance with thou
sand pounds worth Of gold upon him; and
most of that gold came from the mines OF
| Ashantee.
Finally, as to war. The Ashantee army
is the nation. When the order for the march
is given all abIe.bodied men Join their re-
spectiye companies and leave the town, car:
rying with them kind of meal rs food.
The women then parade the streets, and II
they detect man skulking behind, beat him
| numerically. lin battle the generals occupy
the rear and cut down all those who retreat.
| II the battle is lost they kill themselves.
One suicide of this kind l witnessed on the
Volta. 4 battle took place between our al
| lies and some allies Of the Ashantees. The
latter were defeated, and the Ashantee chief,
who was present, threw the insignia OF his
rank into the river, and then, sitting on a
powdcr-barrel blew himself into the air.