The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-05-29
THE NIAM-NIAMS.
Customs of n Singular Tribe of NegrOC
i'm Central Africa.

Customs of a singular Tribe of Negroes
| i'm Central Africa.
DR.. Schweinfurth lived among these
Niam-niams long enough to make a very
thorough study of their character. Ht
possesses such large insight that ever
here among cannibals we find hin
searching out the good and the human
in these creatures, who seem but little
above the beasts, and declaring them tC
be men of like passions with ourselves,
equally subject to the same sentiments
of grief and JOY, and even with keen
appreciation of humor, With the ex-
ception of their appetite for human
flesh, their customs are substantially
! the same as those of other wild African
| tribes. They wear very little clothing,
and spend all their energy on their
| head-dresses. A remarkable but COM
mon head-dress amoHg these curious
savages is made by hoop, which is
| fastened to the lower rim of a straw hat
Single tresses of hair are then taken
from all parts of the head and stretched
tightly over the hoop, producing an
effect like the rays of glory which adorn
the pictures of saint. This elaborate
coiffure demands great attention, and
much labor must be spent upon it every
day.
Whenever a Nam -niam has lost any
very near relative, the first token of his
bereavement is shown by his shaving
his head. His elaborate coiffure-that
which had been his pride and his de-
light, the labor of devoted copiugal
hands-is all ruthlessly destroyed, the
tufts, the braids, the tresses, being scat
tered far and wide about the roads in
the recesses of the wilderness.
The time of these people, when they
are not at war with surrounding tribes,
is divided between hunting and tilling
the soil. Sweet potatoes and yams are
easily cultivated and, the tobacco crop
is large ard of excellent quality. All
the Mann MANS are great lovers of to-
bacco. They never chew, but smoke
the fragrant weed from neat little clay
pipes. OF all the plants which are cul-
tivated by the natives of Central Africa,
none excites a feeling of greater inter
est than tobacco, suggesting, as it does,
a curious conformity of habit among
peoples far remote. Although the wan
derer in the wilderness may not eat the
food of his African entertainer, nor
drink his curious decOction of various
herbs, he still can sit down and smoke
with him, enjoying feeling of brother
hood in that particular at least. 1t is a
sure indication cf the foreign origin of
this plant that there is not tribe from
the Niger to the Nile which has a native
word of its own to denote it.
The Nam MANS show much skill and
artistic taste in moulding clay and in
wood carving. They manufacture all
kinds of dishes and bowls, and water
TASKS of divers patterns, some being
really beautiful in design. They nP |
pear 10 have an instructive love of art, and |
musicians rejoices their very soul. The |
little mandolin, which they carve from |
wood, is the most perfect musical in |
strument found among the wild Afri- |
cans. 1t has five or six strings, arranged |
on strict acoustic principles, with screws |
for Tightening and tuning them. The |
music of these little instruments is |
wild, melancholy, and monotonous, but |
it thrills the inmost nature of the ma
tive. There is a singular class of pro-
fessional music among the Niam-niams
which seem to be a grotesque echo of
the wandering troubadors of olden time.
These musicians present a remarkable
appearance. They are always decked
out in the most fantastic way with feath-
ers, and covered with promiscuous ar
,ay of bits of wood and roots, and all
,he pretentious emblems of magical art,
he feet of earth-pigs, the shells of tor
discs, the beaks of eagles, the claws of
birds, and teeth in every variety. They
wander about from village to village,
Getting tales of ancient heroes as well
Is their own adventures, never forget
ing to conclude by an appeal to the
iberality of the audience, reminding
hem that reward either of copper
ings or beds would be thankfully re-
eived. H0rper'S Magazine.