Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1885-01-28
BURYING A CANNIBAL KING.


gold coast, tells the reporter of the New
York World some woeful stories of the cru
elites OF the human sacrifice practiced by
the fetish priests. The disposition of these
people is SO mild it is mystery how they
can indulge in the practice of such cruel
ties such as human sacrifices, for which they
have become famous. The missionaries be-
leve that but for the fetish priests who are
exceedingly shrewd and who have u strong
interest in pcrpetuating these bloody sacri-
fees. as their power is based on them, The
country could be easily civilized. Under
the reign of Gnezo, the late king Of Da be
mey. human sacrifices have become COM
paratively rare but his successor, Grery, Il
slave to the fetish priests, has revived them
and now they are nractlced with greater
cruelty than ever. The number Of slaves
who annually perish in this way is estimated
at several hundreds The king of Daho-
mey is, as is known, the most ferocious and
powerful ruler in the whole region. Dur
ing ten months Of the year he makes incur
sions into the neighboring territories, cap.
turing large numbers Of slaves. In this
work he is chiefly assisted by his two
celebrated regiments Of Amazons. The
prisoners taken during these expedi-
Iious are divided into three classes.
One class is sold to the slave merchants of
the interior; another, chiefly women, is
fattened and sold to butchers, who, revolt
ing as the fact may be, even to relate, open
lv sell human flesh in their shops. The
third class is reserved for the religious sacri
fees.
At the season Of the "grand customs" vic
tins are sacrificed in the fetish forests. On
the ninth day after the installmenL off new
king, he and his suite preceded by his fe-
tish priests moved in procession 10 the sac.
red wood where the grave Of the late king
hai been dug. The sacrifice began. Seven
slaves were killed, and their blood sniNed
with earth TO form u kiuG Of plaster with
which the grave was lined. The heads of
the seven victims, with food Of all kinds,
were deposited at the bottom. The body
of the king was next lowered into the grave
Then we're seen approaching nine Of his wo-
men, draped in their brightest colored gar
ments, and purposely intoxicated with
"tafin" or rum. Believing themselves to be
offsets of an ovation they cast smiles on
every side as they passed through the throng.
On reaching the edge Of the open grave they
were made to kneel, aud, before they haG
any suspicion, were stunned by a blow on
the head, and flung, still alive, upon the
body Of their royal spouse. Earth was
then thrown in to cover the living and
dead. The sacrifices to the gods are
marked by greater refnements of cruelty.
The shrines resemble dog g-houses-appro-
pirate dwellings for their idols, which are
misunderstanding monsters. These ceremo
nies begin with dance. In front of the
shrine circle is formed by the leaders of
the people sitting down, while the rude
multitude remain standing Holding tuft
of human hair in his hand, priest dances
in the centre, the circle utteripg savage
cries, clapping their hands or playing wild
instruments resembling bells, tamborines
and cymbals. During the night the fetish
priests provide the god with one or more
victims. The most common form of sacri.
fee to Ogun, the god of war, is to behead
the human offering and nail the body up
sdo down to tree, the head placed above
the feet.
At other times young tree is stripped
of its branches, bent down by means of a
rope, and so held by kind of trigger.
With the exception of the head the victim
is enclosed in wick work globe and sus-
pended head downward, or his head is en-
cased in the stumps of the leaves which
form the crown of the palm tree. The
priest loosens the rope, the tree springs
back and the victim is left swinging in the
air. Birds of prey soon dispose of the body.