The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-10-10
Ashantee-Land. A

Its Wealth, Customs ann Religion"
The following leading article from the
London Dairy Telegraph embodies some
interesting information relative to the
Ashantees, their manners and customs
The Ashantee nation is a great Afri-
can power. It numbers about 3, ,OOO, 600
souls, of whom some 100000 are war
riors, we'll made, muscular, war-loving
barbarians, their chief and upper classes
distinguish by cleanliness, handsome
attire, AID something like civilization,
except in regard to their worse than
Dahomeyan cruelties. Every twenty
one days they hold an GdGi, or "blood
custom, . at which rum and palm wine
having been drank like water, skulls
are carried in procession to the sound OF
drums made with human skin, and most
horrible massacres and debaucherles go
forward At the annual "Yam-festi-
val" Just now coming on, they celebrate
a still bloodier carnival of death, and
whenever q caboceer or freeman dies,
slaves are killed to ''wet his grave"
They eat the heart and drink the blood
of a conquered enemy, and wear the
teeth and fngerbones as ornaments.
When the king dies, thousands of
wretched slaves and attendants are
slaughtered over his tomb in word,
it is a land of murder. 1t was meant
by nature to be land of peace and
plenty, for beyond the thick forests
which lie along the coasts stretches
fertile and healthy country OF rich
black soil, growing two or three crops
yearly. and full of vegetable wonders
and glories as yet unnamed. The fruits
and flowers of Ashaptee-land are said to
be perfectly marvellous; it boasts an
entirely new citron and a tall tree bear
ing magnificent goblet-shaped blossoms,
while the sugar-cane grows Wild. Gu
rious animals, such as the bird called
"pookoe," and the huge corpse eating
" arompo" rat, are found in the woods
and clearings. Reptiles are horribly
plentifuk including enormous boas ;
peculiar puff-adder, whose bite IS GER
tain death scorpions as big as cray
fish, and toads SO large that Bosnian
took the first he saw for land tortoise.
The possible productions of such re-
gion are vast and various; but its fer
tility is drowned in bloodshed, and
gold is the chief article exported. In
| that metal Ashantee-land must be tabu-
lousIv rich the chiefs wear golden
breast-plates and golden or gilded war
caps. The carbooceers go about with
Jumps of virgin gold hung upon their
! necks and wrists, some Weighing. 1t is
| said. four pounds and more and Bow
! ditch has described golden window
| frames in the kings palace at Coon
! assie, as we'll as an almost universal use
of cloths embroidered with gold thread,
and adorned with thin plates of the
precious metal. After the battle OF
| Accra. in 1926, the Ashantee king sent
in as "peace money" 5000 ounces ot
dust and nuggets and the swords
muskets. and elephant-tail fans are de
scribed as being profusely enriched witt
goldsmith's work. The people are
| however, very cunning at debasing the
inpots, so much so as to equal European
chemistry in this respect. The govern
ment is despotic monarchy; the rell
gion Fetishism, modified by African
fsiamism, the effect of Mahometal
neighborhood on the north. They be
Teye in a great spirit, who, they say
created six white and six black people
and gave the latter the first choice be
tween a calabash and a sealed paper
The blacks took the calabash, whicl
contained gold, iron, maize and ell tn
wealth of nature and the whites go
the scroll, which contained instruction
in the right use of all these products
Thus the whites are for ever superior
as the Ashantees have found out in man
a sharp trial, and latterly at Elmina
AS for Coomassie, the capital, account
differ one statement making it out
poor, strs sgling place of mean huts
and anc :, really fine and imposin
city, fG Africa. Bowditch, who weI
there in 1917, paints it as remarkabl
place. He speaks of population
200, 600 souls.