The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1888-04-21
ASHANTEE HUMAN SACRIFICES.
Savage Customs Still in Vogue in West
Africa.

1t is in West Africa that the personal
'icustoms" still survive in all their
horror, says writer in All the Year
Round. Again and again an English
| trader or traveller has had to look on at
these s'cus,oms ;" but the horrors were
never fully described till 1878, when
the German missionaries, Bounat,
kuehne and Ramseyer, were prison.
ers in Coomassie at the time of the
native crown princes death. As soon
as he was seen to be dying the execu-
tioners began to scour the streets for
victims.
When they caught any one, two Of
them would come behind and each
thrust q knife through the cheek, the
blades passing over the tongue, and q
handle sticking out on each side. This
is to prevent the poor creature from
"swearing on the life of the ktng"-i.
e., swearing that if he dies the king
| must die, too-in which case, instead
of being killed, he would not only be
spared, but ranked among the "okra"
| OF the king, and who-killed when he
dies-hold till his death places of trust
and honor.
bCSluSS NuOSo NuuS CUUkuNS SNoTy
great chief had to offer victim but
the number was chiefly made up OF
slaves and prisoners Of war. The
wives-painted white, and covered
with gold ornaments-sat around the
coffin, Tapping Off the flies. They
were strangled at the funeral. So
were six pages, who, similarly painted
and adorned, sat by the dead man.
They had known their fate some days
before, but none ran away, save three
wives of low birth, whose place was at
once supplied by other girls. For nine
days the slaughter went on, the people
fasting With shaven heads and bodies |
painted red, but drinking all the more.
And this death wave was to be repsat-
ed forty days after.
When king dies tba victims are |
slain at the rate Of 200 week for |
three months. But there have been |
s'greater customs' than these. A |
kings mother died in 1916; her son
slaughtered 5000 people, 1000 being
prisoners just captured from the Fantis. |
TO make up the tale, every big Ashan-
tee town had to give 100, every small
Ter town ten victims.
A royal burial is on this wise At
the bottom OF a huge grave are laid the
heads Of the slain on them the coffin
rests. Then just before the earth is
thrown in, one of the bystanders-a
freeman, if Of some rank SO much the
better-is suddenly dubbed, cash
made in the back of his neck aud he is
rolled in upon the coffin. The idea is
to send along with the crowd of slaves
and prisoners some ono who shall look
after them as a ghostly "major dOmo."
For king there remains yet auoth-
er "custom." At the end OF thirty !
moons the grave is opened, the royal
bones fastened together with gold wire |
and the skeleton placed in long |
building divided into cells, the door
ways to which are hung with silk cur
tainS,
Then on his birthday the King Of
Ashantee goes early to the house of the
from its richly ornamented coffin,
things that had been most pleasing to
it in life, and is placed on chair to
welcome the visitor. AS the king en-
ters each cell with meat and drink
Offering to the departed, the band
plays the favorits melodies of that par
ticular king, and upawares the royal
visitor signs TO the executioners who
have followed him, and an attendant
is pierced through the cheeks and kill
ed, the king washing the skeleton in
the warm blood.
The same work goes on at the next
cell, and so on, the fearful work going
on far in the night. The band plays a
signal as each victim i5 slaus htered.
Two blasts on the horn mean sdeath,
death )" three drum taps, "cut it of :"
one beat from big drum, 'the head
has fallen" The signal is taken up by
other bands, and all through the city
orn-blowing and drum beating goes
on INCREASINGLY. Tie Ashantees al
ways say of a drum, cit speaks" and
every traveller admits that they man
age to elicit from that unmanageable
instrument a most varied range of
sound. The sounds form words, the
whole rhythm a sentence, readily un-
derstood by native listeners. Each
chief has his own "calI," just as each |
highland clan had its own battle tune. |
or course this constant killing makes |
the people callous to suffering aud
brutal to their prisoners.
Their feeling in regard to death il |
not courage, but apathy. The specta-
tors are as delighted at these revolving
"custOns" as the Roman popuface was
at the gladiators' show. Now and then
victim is tortured. The missionaries
watched one who, besides the knives
through his cheeks, had couple of
forks thrust into his back He WAS