Page 28

27f 60

tribute to the sovereign of the country for the lands which they hold. Not having many opportunities however, during my re* sidence at Pisania, of improving my acquaintance with these people, I defer entering at large into their character, until a fitter occasion dceUrs, which will present itself when I come to Bondou. The Mandingoes, of whom it remains to speak, constitute in truth-, the bulk of the inhabitants ill all those districts of Africa Which I Visited ; and their language, with a few exceptions, is universally understood, and very generally spoken, in that part of the continent. Their numerals are these :* One — ^ Killin. Two -— — Foola. Three Sabba. Four • ■-» Nani. Five Taolo. Six f— ¡a- Woro. Seven • • «•« .Oronglo. Eight ‘—«*- Sic. Nine Conunta. Ten . *-■. '-*■ Tang. Eleven ■j— i-*- Tan ning killin, &c. They are called Mandingoes, I conceive, as having originally fhigrated from the interior state o f Handing, t if ‘Which some account will hereafter be given ; hut, Contrary to the present * In the T ravels o f Francis Moore the reader, w ill find a pretty copious vocabulary of'the Mandingo language, which in general is correct. constitution of their parent country, which is republican, it appeared to me that the government in all the Mandingo states, near the Gambia, is monarchical. The power of the sovereign is, however, by no means unlimited. In all affairs of importance, the king calls-an assembly of the principal men, pr elders, by whose councils he is directed, and without whose advice he can neither declare war, nor conclude peace. In every considerable town there is a chief magistrate, called the Alkaid, whose office is hereditary, and whose business it is to preserve order, to levy duties on travellers, and to preside at all conferences in the exercise of local jurisdiction and the administration of justice. These courts are composed of the elders of thp town (of free condition), and are .termed palavers; and their proceedings are conducted in the open air with sufficient solemnity. Both sides of a- question;are freely canvassed, witnesses are publicly examined, and the decisions which follow generally meet with the approbation of the surrounding audience, ’ As the Negroes have no written language of their own, the general rule of decision is an appeal to ancient custom -, but since the system of Mahomet has made so great progress among them, the converts to that faith have gradually introduced, with the religious tenets, many of the civil institutions of the Prophet ; and where the Koran is not found sufficiently explicit, recourse is had to a commentary called Al Sharra, containing, as I was told, a complete exposition or digest of the Mahoraer dan laws, both civij and criminal, properly arranged and illusr trated. D a


27f 60
To see the actual publication please follow the link above