The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1873-09-20
Our @lio.
The Ashantsss.


Winwood Reade writes to the Pail Mall
Gazette as follows .--'In former letter |
sketched the origin and progress Of our
palayer with the Ashantees--a dull topic,
excused, | hope, by its Importance; and !
shall now give some account Of the Asian
tees themselves. They belong to the same
family of tribes as our allies, the Fantees,
and their respective dialects differ only in
a slight degree. The genius of two or
three mobiles created the Ashantee nation,
founded its capital, Coomassie, developed
the gold mines of the country, and finally
spread its empire 10 the seacoast on the
west and on the east to Buntookoo, a semi
Moslem city, which has never yet been
reached by any European. The King of
Ashantee is constitutional monarch, but
with much absolute power. On his acces-
sion he is warned by his principal mobiles
that If he does not adhere to certain funda-
mental laws, he will be dethroned; but, on
the other hand, he can tyrannize ever in
dividual persons. He and his people are
Pagan, through there is Moslem quarter
in the capital, the Mohammedaus being
traders from the countries watered by the
Niger. The King is allowed to have
1888 wives, but not to exceed that num-
Der. Some of these ladies are merely
slaves, who work in the royal plantations
and furnish the Court with cassada and
plantains others reside in rooms luxuri-
ously furnished, guarded by eunuchs, en-
joying the delights of tobacco and palm
wine in true Oriental style.
Intrigue with royal wife is punished
by death the executioners torture the
offender from sunrise to sunset, leading
him about the town and performing fan
tasias upon his body with knives before
houses of.all noted chieftains or strangers
Of distinction. Finally, they lead him to
the presence of the king, and literally cut
him to pieces before the throne. This
horrible method of execution is only em-
ployed for the above mentioned offense and
for the crime Of murder. 1t is curious
custom in Ashantee that if the condemned
man cries out certain word or phrase he
cannot be killed, it gives him the right of
sanctury; the executioners, therefore, steal
upon their victim from behind, and com
mence proceedings by passing dagger
through both cheeks, whereby the man is
effectively gagged. When the king dies,
anumber of lords-in-waiting kill themselves
to serve as his escort to the Shadow Land.
These persons are called okras, or "souls, +"
and wear peculiar gold badge which indi-
Gates their Office. At that time also a
saturnalia Of blood is scelebrated; hundreds
of victims are sacrificed, and the young
men Of the royal house run about the town
shooting whom they please-even the
highest personages of the land. Thus the
death Of the king is a national 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 beyond the sea. Their Hades or
Scheol is situated underground; there this
life is continued, and becomes eternal.
The King resumes his royalty, and the
slave remains a slave. Death, therefore,
for them is only a migration, and they
depart from life with equanimity. 4
woman slave, who was one of those con-
demned to die, was stripped according to
custom, and knocked on the head Being
only stunned by the blow, she recovered
her senses, and saw herself surrounded by
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 because
she had no clothes They must dress her
finely andkillher over again, which accord
ingly was done. This happened in
small kingdom adjoining Ashantee, the
laws and customs Of which are the same.
The coast people have proverb, "In
the Ashantee soup there is too much salt, /"
in allusion to the cruelties practiced by
that people. | am inclined to believe
from the accounts given by the old voya-
gers that the coast tribes were originally
quite as barbarous, but that their manners
have been improved by contact with Eu-
ropeans, who are never slow to express
their contempt for witch-burnings, the
torture of prisoners, and the like. But, as
matters stand, the Ashantees Justify the
proverb, and certainly surpass not only the
Fantees, but also the Dahomeans in Coo
massie. On gala days, the chiefs appear
in the market place, their arms so heavily
loaded with nuggets that they are forced
20 rest them on the necks Of slaves. One
noble, who had committed some crime,
offered large ransom for his life, aud e.
nally his weight in gold. But the king
cut of his head and also took possession
of his gold, which just amounted in weight
to that of the corpse. l have myself seen
coast native of no great importance with
Fl 900 worth of gold upon him and most
Of that gold came from the mines of
Ashantee.
Finally, as to war. The Ashantee ar
my is the nation. When the order for
the march is given all able-bodied men
join their respective companies, and leave
the town, carrying with them kind of
meal as food. The women then parade
the streets, and il they detect man skulk-
ing behind, beat him numerically. In
battle the generals occupy the rear, and
cut down all those who retreat. If the
battle is lost, they kill themselves. One
suicide Of this kind | witnessed on the
Volta. A battle took place between our
allies and some allies of the Ashantees.
The latter were defeated, and the Asian.
tee chiaf who raa ,rasant thrav, al. 4;