The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-11-21
THE CONGO COUNTRY.
Customs, Habits, Language and PECULIAR
ties of the Natives.

east and west coasts OF Africa, but most
of that period on the east coast, in con-
versation the other day. gave some.
points in regard to the Congo country
| (where he spent some three years, and
about which public curiosity has lately
aroused which are not covered in Mr..
Stanley's latest book, and may there
fore be interesting.
The language of the natives of the.
| Congo country is called Fayott, and is
SO very difficult to acquire that he
knows of only one European who had
mastered it sufficiently to understand
it, though he can speak but very little
OF it. 1t appears to be composed of
short words which, in the rapid manner
of speaking, seem to be run together,
and each sentence to consist of a longer
or shorter compound word. 1t is capa-
bic Of strong emphasis, and is quite ex-
prcssve, but the natives are not given
to gesticulation even when talking
eXcitedly, excepting always the feticharO.
or fetch man when dealing out damna-
ton to tranSgressOrs. The trouble in
acquiring the language appears to be
the general unwillingness of the
natives to teach it to white men. 1t is
said however, that some of the Portu-
guese who are born and raised there
have acquired the language, and speak
it as HueuGy as natives. In their inter-
course, the blacks are generally polite
toward one another, and have great
respect for old age. This is as true of
the people of the East as Of those of the
West Coast of Africa. But the coast
people of the Congo are neither indus
trous nor sober When the Portuguese
first established trading stations on the
Congo, they taught the people to drink
rum. and this is now a universal habit
among them. In their native villages
and settlements the men will not work
in cultivating the soil, but spend the
time in hunting, war and such amuse-
meuts as their country affords Oppor-
tunjtes for pursuing and drinking rum
or ON, when they can get it.
When they hire out to the European
traders, the natives are good workers,
but certain proportion of their
monthly pay is stipulated to be rum or
gin. They hire out, agreeing to stay
wear, at the end of which time they re-
turn to their tribe. where they have a
grand jambOree. They bring home the
liquor by the cask, two or three men of
the same village frequently combining
together in the ownership, and when
they arrive it is the signal for all their
relatives to receive them with 10y and
gladness. When the liquor is landed
the King or chief is first served with his
share or tax Of it. Then a certain
amount is sold to procure meat and rice,
or perhaps more frequently these arti-
Giles are purchased with other COM
modites brought from the factories,
and the feast begins. When the re-
turned men and their friends drink and
gorge, gorge and drink, until their en-
tire store of earnings is exhausted the
orgies lasting longer or shorter, accord
ing to the amount brought home and
the number of helpers that aid in con-
suming it-then they return once
more to the mOnotony of hard work
at the factories. The men of two
tribes-the Cavindas and the KrobCys
are principally employed by the
Dutch, English and Portuguese factors.
They are physically a strong and hardy
race of men, and make splendid sailors,
and barring some drawbacks, good
servants.
Like all aboriginal people the Congo
blacks are very supersttious, but TO
what extent they believe in q future
state can only be cOniectured. They
believe in the existence of good and bad
spirits, which they believe are all the
time lowering around, and when one of
them dies they believe that his spirit or
soul is seized by either the good or the
bad spirits and carried away to become
one of them Hence, when native is
diving, his friends come around. fire Oft
guns and make horrible noises for the
purpose Of frightening of the evil
spirits. What elect this may have on
the good spirits is not stated
Their religious ceremonies are not of
q very high order being mostly of a
propitiatory nature, or for the purpose of
warding off danger disease, etc, and
here the fetch plays an Important part.
They do not make human sacrifices like
the Ashantes, but when they want any
favorS from the inyisibles they bring a
goat or n chicken to the fetch man to
be sacrificed. and are given in return
an amulet or charm, or fetch. as they
call it, The fetch is the terrible, the
unknown power, at once the prosecutor
or the avcnger, according as its power
is invoked or rejected. This the present
informant illustrated by an anecdote.
The Dutch have Il factory at Banana
point, which is approached by two
roads, one on each shore side of the
narrow peninsula. On the boundary line
= OF their property, on each road, a
watch-house was established, to regu-
late admittance from the outside.
But the laborers, servants and
sailors from outside came in
in such numbers, and gave so
much trouble by getting drunk and
creating disturbances that the agents
finally thought it best to make fetch, as
it is termed, on the boundary line. They
employed a fetch man to make fetch.
This consisted first in bringing his fetch
or idol on to the line, making figures in
= the sand around it, and lourishes or
signs around and above il with his
hands and arms, and then taking a.
chicken, cutting its head off and sprink-.
ling the blood around. This ceremony
was Dprrormpd on plch road In about