The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-10-15
THE AMAzoNs OF DAHoMeY
Female Soldiers Who Are More sayae.
and Dangerous Than Men.

Female Soldiers Who Are More Savage
and Dangerous Than Men.
In 1853 Sir Richard Burton, then Cap
tain Burton, WAS sent by Lord Russell on
mission to Dahomey with presents from
the queen. On his return he told his wife
that lie had seen enough dreadful sighi,.
to turn his brain. At that time there
were no Europeans at nahomey, and the
snvageIy Of the king and his people amply
accounted for the fact. Burton's story
~ the mission is full Of curious things.
and his widow has done well TO repuIllsh
the work which would otherwise he diff
cult Of access. Perhaps the most interest
ing part of it Is that which relates to the
30 called amazons-" women crueler and
| iercer than men"
Burton explains their origin ms troops
by saying that the state of Dahomey in-
cluded many more women than men, and
that military duties were therefore not un.
suited to the superfluous ladies' He adds.
"At the Dahomeyan court, curious to say,
in Africa women take precedence Of men.
yet, with truly Hamnitic contradictions.
ness the warehouses; say, we are no longer
females, but malesH and u soldier disgrac-
ing himself Is called, in insult, woman.
1t is clear, therefore, that they owe their
dignity TO the fiction Of being royal wives.
Wherever a she soldlery IL, celibacy must
be one of its rules"
Burton's account Of these ladies IL very
graphic. He says: 81 saw all these women
troops marching on service out of Kama
The officers, distinguished by their white
head cloths and by an esquiress ut arms,
generally n small slave girl, carrying tho
musket, led their commands. | expected
to rec Penthesileas, Thalestrises, Dianas--
lovely nanesl / saw old, ugly, square
built frows, trudging 'grumpily' along,
with the face OF cook after being much
'nagged' by the 'missus' The privates
carried packs on cradles like those Of the
male soldiery, containing their bed mats,
clothes and food for week or Il fortnight,
mostly toasted grains and bean cake, hot
with peppers.
Cartridge pouches Of two different
shapes were grit round their, waists, and
slung to their sides were water gourds,
fetch sacks, bullet wallets, powder Gala.
bashes, fans (sic), little cutlasses, wooden
pipe cases enyeloped in leather tobacco
bags, flint, steel and finder aud lilliputinn
stools, with three or four legs, cut out Of
! single blocks. Their weapons were slung,
and behind their backs danRled their
hats, scarecrow felts, extinguishers Of
VhiNc totboh fl'b ut nun, UNI
brellas of plated palm leaf and low
crowned, broad brimmed homemade straw
hats
Compared with this force In "heavy
marching order" we will give Burtons
account OF another detachment In "review
order" ut was now the amazons' turn
to advance, and they came up in better
style as regards marching and firing than
their brother soldiers. They passed us
with feu d'enfer, and when the dust
was not flying the smoke hung like II pail
upon the ground. These soldiery wore
TUNES Of gray baft, stained brown with
blood and barks, covering the bosom and
extending TO the knees like men, short
drawers and white sashes hanging to the
right"
The same amazon warriors at the an
nual games, or "king's customs" which
include great slaughter Of criminals and
prisoners, are thus described: Fourteen
Of the tallest and most staggering, not
including Il small girl, formed line, and
two mistresser of the ceremonies, armed
with horse tail chauris chanted and some
times pranced to give time in rear. The
toilet was the pink Of prupriety--a vest,
payne. shorter undergrad and Fiou
chokotO, or 'pantalettes,' longer than the
male article and extending to the knees"
st. James Gazette.