Traveller. Burying a Cannibal King.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2021, 20 June 1885, Page 6 (Supplement)

Traveller. Burying a Cannibal King.

The Brutal Human Sacrifices or tiir Fetish PaiEfeTa or tub Gold Coast.

A returned missionary from the African gold coast, tolls a reporter of the New York World some woeful atorics of the cruelties of human sacrifices practised by tho fetish priests. The disposition of these people ifl so mild it is a mystery how they can indulge in tho practice of such cruelties, such as human sacrifices, for which thoy havo become famous. The missionaries believe that but for the fetish priests, who are exceedingly shrewd, and who have a strong interest in perpetuating theno bloody sacrifices, as their pow^r is based on them, the country could bo easily civilned. Under tho reign of Gnezo, the lato King of Dahomey, human sacrifices had becomo com paratively rare ; but his pncccHsor, Grory, a •lave to the fetish priesta, hr.i revived t)i«m, and now they ate practi'&d with greater oruelty than ever. The number of ulavtq who annually perish in thin way is estimated at several hundreds. Thp King of Dahomey i*:, as is known, tbe most ferocious and powerful ruler in the wholo region. During ten months of the year he makes incuraions into the neighboring territories, capturing a large number of slaves. In this work ho ih chiefly assisted by his two cp'cbraterl regiments of Amazons. The prisoners token during thef>o expeditions are divided into thrc.3 clnyses. One class is sold to tho blavo morchr.nts of the interior ; another, ohielly women, are fattened and sold to butobera, who, revolting as the fact may be, even to relate, openly sell human flesh in their shops. The third class is roBervcd for tbo religious sacrifice At the season of the " grand cu3toin " victims arc sacrificed in tbe fetish forest. On the ninth day after tho instalment of a new king, he and his suite proceeded by his fetish priests, moved in procession to the sacred wood where the grave of the lato king had been dug. The sacrifice began. Seven Blaves were killed and their blood mixed with earth to form v. kind of plaster with which tho gravo was lined. Tbo heads of the seven viotimo, with food of all kinds, were deposited at the bottom. The body of the king was next lowered into the grave. Then were scan approaching nine of his woman, draped in their brightest colored garments and purposely intoxicated with " tafin," or rum. Believing themselves to be the objects of an ovation they cast smiles on every Bide B9 thoy passed through the throng. On reaching the edge of tho open grave they were made to kneel, and before they bad any suspicion were stunned by a blow on the head I and flung, still alive, upon tho body of their royal spouse. Earth was then thrown in to cover the living and dead. The sacrifices to tho gods are marked by greater and more varied refinements of oruelty. The shrines resemble dog-houses— appropriate dwellings for their idols, whioh are hideous-looking monsters. These ceremonies begin with a dance. In front of the shrine a oirole is formed by the leaders of the people sitting down, while the rude multitude remain standing. Holding a tuft of human hair in bis band, a priest dances in the centre, the oirole uttering savage ories, clapping their hands or playing wild instruments resembling bella, tambourines and cymbals. During the night the fetish priests provide the god with one or more viotims. The moat common form of sacrifices to Ogun, the god of War, is to behead the human offering and nail tho body upside down to a tree, the head placed above tho feet. At other times a young tree is stripped of its branchee, bent down by means of a rope, and so held by a kind of trigger. With tbe exception of the head the viotim is inclosed in a wicker-work globe and suspended, head downwards, or his head is incased in the j stumps of the leaves which form tho crown of the palm tree. The priest loosens the rope, the tree springs back and tbe viotim is left swinging in the air. Birds of prey soon dispose of the body.