THE AMAZONS OF DAHOMEY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2032, 3 July 1885, Page 2

THE AMAZONS OF DAHOMEY.

DrZollner, a German special dent, has just re-discovered the JHBfl of Dahomey. Sonza, chief of \VsjjHJ rejoices in thepossessionof afully-eqjHH battalion of women who fight, jsM however, for our preconceived hotwnfl the Amazons of Sonza have more reseih-1 blanceto a corps de ballet than to a corps d'artnee, and the deepest impression whjfch th«y left on the minds of ,their visitors was that they would make the fortune-of any enterprising impresario who woijild introduce them to European audiences. DrZollner thus describes one of their dances"Shortly before their dance commenced, the 'Ohacha distributed German beer and Bahia ruin among the audience, which consisted of some 500 spectators, many of whom were accompanied by their tanje sheep, which follow their masters like dogs. 1 Rum is the ordinary beverage offered to visitors in Dahomey. The Amazons of of whom there are at the most 60, are nominally the wives of the King, and ■■ as such form a bodyguard which is said to-be superior to the male soldiers in courage, discipline, and loyalty. But, although the Amazons accompany the King in kll his wars, I think they are more for ~sli6\r than for service, Among all the savage, and semi-savage tribes, singing ane dancing are considered as essential as drilling and drumming among ourselves. The Amazons, all of whom have served in the army of Abome, are women ranging between the ages of 18 and 25, and as the 'Ohacha' does not go ,to war, they are naturally only kept- for show, They have ' no separate barracks, but live, like the male soldiers, in different quarters of the town, whence they are . called together whenever they are wanted.' At their first entrance, when, marching up in a, long procession, they saluted their lord ana

master, I was astonished at the military exactitude of the movements. Imagine GO young women, strong and slender, who, without losing anything of their womanliness, present a decidedly warlike appearance. Aniono Europeans the combination of the woman and the warrior could not be imagined; here it is explained by the peculiar formation of the

negro skeleton. The skeletons of negro women (in striking contrast to that of tl.ie> mulatoes) are strikingly like the skeletons, of male negroes. The assertion is untrue: that the female warriors of Dahomey hav& their breasts cut off, like the mythological Amazons of the ! ancient Greeks, ' Their picturesque uniforms might furnish our masters of the ballet with frijsk ideas. The fresh young faces look roguishly from under the white, brimless, /- yokey cap, ornamented with black pictures of animals,, such as lizards, birds, and . others, The, feet are hire; short knickerbockers of green, red, or yellow material come down nearly to the knees, and a . bright colored tunic of striped silk,or velvet, whioh leaves only the neck and arms free, covers the upper part of the body, which is supported by corsets of native manufacture. A broad belt of many colors heightens the slim appearance of the female warrior. At the left Bide of the belt a'short sword is fastened, 'and a small cartridge pocket in front. A scarf of white or light green silk is worn like a Scotch plaid. The armament consists of swords, battleaxes, and guns', which latter are put aside during the dance ; Quito apart from the effect,ol combined singing and dating, fch.e. pk-' 'formance, which for severalhoure, uninterruptedly before our eyes, l wore, quite in style of o.ur corps rfc hoikt,,' wijth the. onjy diSerepce th?t perhaps no other coqpit ballet would dance with equal exa'sit\idA First came a tall and soijiewlvrt elderly woman. She was the captain, and as she entered, the son of the 'Chaclia,' whispered to me, 'Just look how well my mother dances. 1 Then followed, with battle-axes uplifted, tlw younger officers, and in their rear the still younger troops, now dashing towards usintheirshamfight, now wheelinground, dispersing,' and again uniting, And all this with rhythmical movements, half warlike, half coquettish, but nover clumsy, the elegant play of the bare round arms recalling to the mind the'limbs of ancient classical statues. . All dances which I have seen performed among savage and demi-savago peoples, hftyo! been grotesque, and to a certain torea voluptuous. Here for the fet time ' performance was given which, \votfJd; Wg, held its own before \ spripuji ' andajsthcto." ' • ' • . :