the.ƒ dlah^gë.ttled"in a paît ©1 Jallonkadou, which they
termed Fouta-ja|Jp.v.
The general characters of the Sulimas are.ably described by
Major Laing. Their physical structure fits them for enduring
the. hardships of war, . and to support fatigue and privation.
They are short and muscular in .stature; in. average height
from five feetsix to five feet eight-inches.. They hâve been a
warlike, people from the earjfest period-of their traditionary
history, and preserve the memory of their exploits in martial
soug^y. They trade with the Sangaras on the one side, and
the Mandingos on the other.,. The Mandingos bring cloth,
powder, and beads from the water-side, and the Sangaras.
slaves from the interior.
In domestic occupations, the men and women, appear to
have changed sexes ; the cares of husbandry; except sowing
and reaping, are left entirely to the females j, fth'e men »look
after the dairy and milk the cows, while the women build
houses and plaster walls ; the women act-as barbers,and surgeons,
while the men sew and wash clothes: Both .sexêsJ
dress like the Mandingos. When young, the . womeniare,
often exeeedingly beautiful ; but hard labour after marriage
soon renders them otherwise. Like other Africans,- they«;are
passionately fond of music and dancing. - They follow their
dead to the grave, and commit them to^the ground in perfect
silence.
4. Sangara.
The Sangaras are separated from the Sulimas by the'highei’
course of the Niger, supposed here to flow from south to
north. They resemble the Sulimas. in many respects, and
are, perhaps, a tribe of the same race. Like them, they: are
a bold and active race of mountaineers, and display that
superiority which the inhabitants of high countries in Africa
generally exhibit in comparison with dwellers in low valleys
pr plains. Their country is extensive, and rich in pastures
and corn and rice-fields. They are divided into petty tribes.
They are taller and better-looking men than the Sulimas,
whom they resemble in costume; are famous for the manufacture
of cloth, which is exchanged near Sego for gold.
They are armed with bows and spears.
I r i o w " . hâtions'of the loriér countries, beginning
from the^b^Edbferà''' t'op the ^SenègUl^aïid proceeding
Coutilwardsf.“* '
Paragraph B.—Ofthe Nations inhabitiri^tBé Low Countries
' b èt wdgpl Wei1* Behegtab and tfr^Gambia.
JC^he natrish1 tribe^‘ wlïöv inhabit the low countries in till.:
neighbourh oo‘d$of the* Senegal,- differ mucfeboth in physical"
and mdral characteristic«' from the'Mountain ‘ràcfeâi whose
history has already dime’ ' uhddf^our view. The lifóïhsbeOÉ^
siderable of’’these nations of thte low^countries1 are the felw,
lalof^dr Whalof. been >welj known as the ihbsfc
northerly of all the Negroî'-dations, sinceribe eraVofr the first
^ e p v e r ie ^ f the Portu^jbso^dh the wést boast of Africa."
1. iThe lolofs. ^
The ItftSfe, \yhen they’first becanie> known to the; Porttf»
^gusse^voyagefe; occupied the- cèuntry ' wh'ére-ttheÿ aie; now
founds and were its principal inhabitants. Prince Ælenry of
BbMU^f/f^hrly in’ the fifteenth’century, is: said1 to havJlob^
tained from travellers some information respecting dhe Assan-
hagi# of ihe kingdóM^bf Iolof, on, the bordfefkJof Guinea ;
and Denis Fernandez, about-1446, previously to his discovery
n f Cape,'Yerdj passed thè^tcountrÿ of the Iolofs,- who were
separated from the Assanhagi by the Senegali'fkdThe Assan-
hagi are, doubtless, the Sanhagii of Leo Africanus, mentioned
by ;that traveller as one of the five divisions of the gpêâtt
Berber nation. These peóple were, therefore, the Tuaryk of
the northern hank of the Senegal, whiÉfe\i®'Still occupied, by
tribes of that nation interspersed among,: or intermixed with
Arabs. In the reign of King John, an Iolof prince,- Benioi,'
arrived at Lisbon in great state, where he was'received magnificently,
was baptized, and didi horhagé to the Portuguese
monarch.;. The province;«of Iolof was, at that time, said
to comprehend the country between the Senegal, or rather
the Bio Grande, and the Gambia.
The maritime district of the Iolof region is thé country of
Portuguese Voyages to the East Indies, Astle’s Collection, vol. i. p. 11,
t Ibid, p. 13. v $ Ibid, p. 19.