Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa

D >> David Livingstone >> Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa


A party of native miners and smiths is still kept in the employment of
the government, who, working the rich black magnetic iron ore, produce
for the government from 480 to 500 bars of good malleable iron every
month. They are supported by the appropriation of a few thousands of
a small fresh-water fish, called "Cacusu", a portion of the tax levied
upon the fishermen of the Coanza. This fish is so much relished in the
country that those who do not wish to eat them can easily convert them
into money. The commandant of the district of Massangano, for instance,
has a right to a dish of three hundred every morning, as part of his
salary. Shell-fish are also found in the Coanza, and the "Peixemulher",
or woman-fish of the Portuguese, which is probably a Manatee.

The banks of the Lucalla are very pretty, well planted with
orange-trees, bananas, and the palm ('Elaeis Guineensis') which yields
the oil of commerce. Large plantations of maize, manioc, and tobacco are
seen along both banks, which are enlivened by the frequent appearance
of native houses imbosomed in dense shady groves, with little boys and
girls playing about them. The banks are steep, the water having cut out
its bed in dark red alluvial soil. Before every cottage a small stage
is erected, to which the inhabitants may descend to draw water without
danger from the alligators. Some have a little palisade made in the
water for safety from these reptiles, and others use the shell of the
fruit of the baobab-tree attached to a pole about ten feet long, with
which, while standing on the high bank, they may draw water without fear
of accident.

Many climbing plants run up the lofty silk, cotton, and baobab trees,
and hang their beautiful flowers in gay festoons on the branches. As we
approach Massangano, the land on both banks of the Lucalla becomes very
level, and large portions are left marshy after the annual floods; but
all is very fertile. As an illustration of the strength of the soil,
I may state that we saw tobacco-plants in gardens near the confluence
eight feet high, and each plant had thirty-six leaves, which were
eighteen inches long by six or eight inches broad. But it is not
a pastoral district. In our descent we observed the tsetse, and
consequently the people had no domestic animals save goats.

We found the town of Massangano on a tongue of rather high land, formed
by the left bank of the Lucalla and right bank of the Coanza, and
received true Portuguese hospitality from Senhor Lubata. The town has
more than a thousand inhabitants; the district has 28,063, with only
315 slaves. It stands on a mound of calcareous tufa, containing great
numbers of fossil shells, the most recent of which resemble those found
in the marly tufa close to the coast. The fort stands on the south side
of the town, on a high perpendicular bank overhanging the Coanza. This
river is here a noble stream, about a hundred and fifty yards wide,
admitting navigation in large canoes from the bar at its mouth to
Cambambe, some thirty miles above this town. There, a fine waterfall
hinders farther ascent. Ten or twelve large canoes laden with country
produce pass Massangano every day. Four galleons were constructed here
as long ago as 1650, which must have been of good size, for they crossed
the ocean to Rio Janeiro.

Massangano district is well adapted for sugar and rice, while Cambambe
is a very superior field for cotton; but the bar at the mouth of the
Coanza would prevent the approach of a steamer into this desirable
region, though a small one could ply on it with ease when once in. It
is probable that the objects of those who attempted to make a canal from
Calumbo to Loanda were not merely to supply that city with fresh water,
but to afford facilities for transportation. The remains of the canal
show it to have been made on a scale suited for the Coanza canoes. The
Portuguese began another on a smaller scale in 1811, and, after three
years' labor, had finished only 6000 yards. Nothing great or useful will
ever be effected here so long as men come merely to get rich, and then
return to Portugal.

The latitude of the town and fort of Massangano is 9d 37' 46" S., being
nearly the same as that of Cassange. The country between Loanda and this
point being comparatively flat, a railroad might be constructed at small
expense. The level country is prolonged along the north bank of the
Coanza to the edge of the Cassange basin, and a railway carried thither
would be convenient for the transport of the products of the rich
districts of Cassange, Pungo Andongo, Ambaca, Cambambe, Golungo Alto,
Cazengo, Muchima, and Calumbo; in a word, the whole of Angola and
independent tribes adjacent to this kingdom.

The Portuguese merchants generally look to foreign enterprise and to
their own government for the means by which this amelioration might
be effected; but, as I always stated to them when conversing on the
subject, foreign capitalists would never run the risk, unless they saw
the Angolese doing something for themselves, and the laws so altered
that the subjects of other nations should enjoy the same privileges in
the country with themselves. The government of Portugal has indeed shown
a wise and liberal policy by its permission for the alienation of the
crown lands in Angola; but the law giving it effect is so fenced round
with limitations, and so deluged with verbiage, that to plain people it
seems any thing but a straightforward license to foreigners to become
'bona fide' landholders and cultivators of the soil. At present the
tolls paid on the different lines of roads for ferries and bridges are
equal to the interest of large sums of money, though but a small amount
has been expended in making available roads.

There are two churches and a hospital in ruins at Massangano; and the
remains of two convents are pointed out, one of which is said to have
been an establishment of black Benedictines, which, if successful,
considering the materials the brethren had to work on, must have been a
laborious undertaking. There is neither priest nor schoolmaster in the
town, but I was pleased to observe a number of children taught by one of
the inhabitants. The cultivated lands attached to all these conventual
establishments in Angola are now rented by the government of Loanda,
and thither the bishop lately removed all the gold and silver vessels
belonging to them.

The fort of Massangano is small, but in good repair; it contains some
very ancient guns, which were loaded from the breech, and must have been
formidable weapons in their time. The natives of this country entertain
a remarkable dread of great guns, and this tends much to the permanence
of the Portuguese authority. They dread a cannon greatly, though the
carriage be so rotten that it would fall to pieces at the first shot;
the fort of Pungo Andongo is kept securely by cannon perched on cross
sticks alone!

Massangano was a very important town at the time the Dutch held forcible
possession of Loanda and part of Angola; but when, in the year 1648,
the Dutch were expelled from this country by a small body of Portuguese,
under the Governor Salvador Correa de Sa Benevides, Massangano was left
to sink into its present decay. Since it was partially abandoned by the
Portuguese, several baobab-trees have sprung up and attained a diameter
of eighteen or twenty inches, and are about twenty feet high. No certain
conclusion can be drawn from these instances, as it is not known at what
time after 1648 they began to grow; but their present size shows that
their growth is not unusually slow.

Several fires occurred during our stay, by the thatch having, through
long exposure to a torrid sun, become like tinder. The roofs became
ignited without any visible cause except the intense solar rays, and
excited terror in the minds of the inhabitants, as the slightest spark
carried by the wind would have set the whole town in a blaze. There is
not a single inscription on stone visible in Massangano. If destroyed
to-morrow, no one could tell where it and most Portuguese interior
villages stood, any more than we can do those of the Balonda.

During the occupation of this town the Coanza was used for the purpose
of navigation, but their vessels were so frequently plundered by their
Dutch neighbors that, when they regained the good port of Loanda, they
no longer made use of the river. We remained here four days, in hopes
of obtaining an observation for the longitude, but at this season of the
year the sky is almost constantly overcast by a thick canopy of clouds
of a milk-and-water hue; this continues until the rainy season (which
was now close at hand) commences.

The lands on the north side of the Coanza belong to the Quisamas
(Kisamas), an independent tribe, which the Portuguese have not been able
to subdue. The few who came under my observation possessed much of the
Bushman or Hottentot feature, and were dressed in strips of soft bark
hanging from the waist to the knee. They deal largely in salt, which
their country produces in great abundance. It is brought in crystals of
about 12 inches long and 1-1/2 in diameter. This is hawked about every
where in Angola, and, next to calico, is the most common medium of
barter. The Kisama are brave; and when the Portuguese army followed them
into their forests, they reduced the invaders to extremity by tapping
all the reservoirs of water, which were no other than the enormous
baobabs of the country hollowed into cisterns. As the Kisama country is
ill supplied with water otherwise, the Portuguese were soon obliged to
retreat. Their country, lying near to Massangano, is low and marshy,
but becomes more elevated in the distance, and beyond them lie the lofty
dark mountain ranges of the Libollo, another powerful and independent
people. Near Massangano I observed what seemed to be an effort of nature
to furnish a variety of domestic fowls, more capable than the common
kind of bearing the heat of the sun. This was a hen and chickens with
all their feathers curled upward, thus giving shade to the body
without increasing the heat. They are here named "Kisafu" by the native
population, who pay a high price for them when they wish to offer them
as a sacrifice, and by the Portuguese they are termed "Arripiada", or
shivering. There seems to be a tendency in nature to afford varieties
adapted to the convenience of man. A kind of very short-legged fowl
among the Boers was obtained, in consequence of observing that such
were more easily caught for transportation in their frequent removals
in search of pasture. A similar instance of securing a variety occurred
with the short-limbed sheep in America.

Returning by ascending the Lucalla into Cazengo, we had an opportunity
of visiting several flourishing coffee plantations, and observed that
several men, who had begun with no capital but honest industry, had, in
the course of a few years, acquired a comfortable subsistence. One of
these, Mr. Pinto, generously furnished me with a good supply of his
excellent coffee, and my men with a breed of rabbits to carry to their
own country. Their lands, granted by government, yielded, without much
labor, coffee sufficient for all the necessaries of life.

The fact of other avenues of wealth opening up so readily seems like a
providential invitation to forsake the slave-trade and engage in lawful
commerce. We saw the female population occupied, as usual, in the
spinning of cotton and cultivation of their lands. Their only instrument
for culture is a double-handled hoe, which is worked with a sort of
dragging motion. Many of the men were employed in weaving. The latter
appear to be less industrious than the former, for they require a
month to finish a single web. There is, however, not much inducement
to industry, for, notwithstanding the time consumed in its manufacture,
each web is sold for only two shillings.

On returning to Golungo Alto I found several of my men laid up with
fever. One of the reasons for my leaving them there was that they might
recover from the fatigue of the journey from Loanda, which had much more
effect upon their feet than hundreds of miles had on our way westward.
They had always been accustomed to moisture in their own well-watered
land, and we certainly had a superabundance of that in Loanda. The
roads, however, from Loanda to Golungo Alto were both hard and dry, and
they suffered severely in consequence; yet they were composing songs to
be sung when they should reach home. The Argonauts were nothing to them;
and they remarked very impressively to me, "It was well you came with
Makololo, for no tribe could have done what we have accomplished in
coming to the white man's country: we are the true ancients, who can
tell wonderful things." Two of them now had fever in the continued form,
and became jaundiced, the whites or conjunctival membrane of their eyes
becoming as yellow as saffron; and a third suffered from an attack of
mania. He came to his companions one day, and said, "Remain well. I am
called away by the gods!" and set off at the top of his speed. The
young men caught him before he had gone a mile, and bound him. By gentle
treatment and watching for a few days he recovered. I have observed
several instances of this kind in the country, but very few cases of
idiocy, and I believe that continued insanity is rare.




Chapter 21.

Visit a deserted Convent--Favorable Report of Jesuits and their Teaching
--Gradations of native Society--Punishment of Thieves--Palm-toddy; its
baneful Effects--Freemasons--Marriages and Funerals--Litigation--Mr.
Canto's Illness--Bad Behavior of his Slaves--An Entertainment--Ideas
on Free Labor--Loss of American Cotton-seed--Abundance of Cotton in
the country--Sickness of Sekeletu's Horse--Eclipse of the Sun--Insects
which distill Water--Experiments with them--Proceed to Ambaca--Sickly
Season--Office of Commandant--Punishment of official Delinquents--
Present from Mr. Schut of Loanda--Visit Pungo Andongo--Its good
Pasturage, Grain, Fruit, etc.--The Fort and columnar Rocks--The
Queen of Jinga--Salubrity of Pungo Andongo--Price of a Slave--A
Merchant-prince--His Hospitality--Hear of the Loss of my Papers
in "Forerunner"--Narrow Escape from an Alligator--Ancient
Burial-places--Neglect of Agriculture in Angola--Manioc the staple
Product--Its Cheapness--Sickness--Friendly Visit from a colored
Priest--The Prince of Congo--No Priests in the Interior of Angola.



While waiting for the recovery of my men, I visited, in company with my
friend Mr. Canto, the deserted convent of St. Hilarion, at Bango, a few
miles northwest of Golungo Alto. It is situated in a magnificent valley,
containing a population numbering 4000 hearths. This is the abode of
the Sova, or Chief Bango, who still holds a place of authority under the
Portuguese. The garden of the convent, the church, and dormitories of
the brethren are still kept in a good state of repair. I looked at the
furniture, couches, and large chests for holding the provisions of the
brotherhood with interest, and would fain have learned something of the
former occupants; but all the books and sacred vessels had lately been
removed to Loanda, and even the graves of the good men stand without any
record: their resting-places are, however, carefully tended. All speak
well of the Jesuits and other missionaries, as the Capuchins, etc., for
having attended diligently to the instruction of the children. They were
supposed to have a tendency to take the part of the people against the
government, and were supplanted by priests, concerning whom no regret
is expressed that they were allowed to die out. In viewing the present
fruits of former missions, it is impossible not to feel assured that,
if the Jesuit teaching has been so permanent, that of Protestants,
who leave the Bible in the hands of their converts, will not be less
abiding. The chief Bango has built a large two-story house close by the
convent, but superstitious fears prevent him from sleeping in it.
The Portuguese take advantage of all the gradations into which native
society has divided itself. This man, for instance, is still a sova
or chief, has his councilors, and maintains the same state as when the
country was independent. When any of his people are guilty of theft, he
pays down the amount of goods stolen at once, and reimburses himself out
of the property of the thief so effectually as to be benefited by the
transaction. The people under him are divided into a number of classes.
There are his councilors, as the highest, who are generally head men of
several villages, and the carriers, the lowest free men. One class above
the last obtains the privilege of wearing shoes from the chief by paying
for it; another, the soldiers or militia, pay for the privilege of
serving, the advantage being that they are not afterward liable to
be made carriers. They are also divided into gentlemen and little
gentlemen, and, though quite black, speak of themselves as white men,
and of the others, who may not wear shoes, as "blacks". The men of all
these classes trust to their wives for food, and spend most of their
time in drinking the palm-toddy. This toddy is the juice of the
palm-oil-tree ('Elaeis Guineensis'), which, when tapped, yields a sweet,
clear liquid, not at all intoxicating while fresh, but, when allowed
to stand till the afternoon, causes inebriation and many crimes.
This toddy, called malova, is the bane of the country. Culprits are
continually brought before the commandants for assaults committed
through its influence. Men come up with deep gashes on their heads; and
one, who had burned his father's house, I saw making a profound bow to
Mr. Canto, and volunteering to explain why he did the deed.

There is also a sort of fraternity of freemasons, named Empacasseiros,
into which no one is admitted unless he is an expert hunter, and can
shoot well with the gun. They are distinguished by a fillet of buffalo
hide around their heads, and are employed as messengers in all cases
requiring express. They are very trustworthy, and, when on active
service, form the best native troops the Portuguese possess. The
militia are of no value as soldiers, but cost the country nothing,
being supported by their wives. Their duties are chiefly to guard the
residences of commandants, and to act as police.

The chief recreations of the natives of Angola are marriages and
funerals. When a young woman is about to be married, she is placed in a
hut alone and anointed with various unguents, and many incantations
are employed in order to secure good fortune and fruitfulness. Here, as
almost every where in the south, the height of good fortune is to bear
sons. They often leave a husband altogether if they have daughters
only. In their dances, when any one may wish to deride another, in the
accompanying song a line is introduced, "So and so has no children,
and never will get any." She feels the insult so keenly that it is not
uncommon for her to rush away and commit suicide. After some days the
bride elect is taken to another hut, and adorned with all the richest
clothing and ornaments that the relatives can either lend or borrow. She
is then placed in a public situation, saluted as a lady, and presents
made by all her acquaintances are placed around her. After this she is
taken to the residence of her husband, where she has a hut for herself,
and becomes one of several wives, for polygamy is general. Dancing,
feasting, and drinking on such occasions are prolonged for several days.
In case of separation, the woman returns to her father's family, and the
husband receives back what he gave for her. In nearly all cases a man
gives a price for the wife, and in cases of mulattoes, as much as 60
Pounds is often given to the parents of the bride. This is one of the
evils the bishop was trying to remedy.

In cases of death the body is kept several days, and there is a grand
concourse of both sexes, with beating of drums, dances, and debauchery,
kept up with feasting, etc., according to the means of the relatives.
The great ambition of many of the blacks of Angola is to give their
friends an expensive funeral. Often, when one is asked to sell a pig, he
replies, "I am keeping it in case of the death of any of my friends." A
pig is usually slaughtered and eaten on the last day of the ceremonies,
and its head thrown into the nearest stream or river. A native will
sometimes appear intoxicated on these occasions, and, if blamed for his
intemperance, will reply, "Why! my mother is dead!" as if he thought it
a sufficient justification. The expenses of funerals are so heavy that
often years elapse before they can defray them.

These people are said to be very litigious and obstinate: constant
disputes are taking place respecting their lands. A case came before the
weekly court of the commandant involving property in a palm-tree worth
twopence. The judge advised the pursuer to withdraw the case, as the
mere expenses of entering it would be much more than the cost of the
tree. "Oh no," said he; "I have a piece of calico with me for the clerk,
and money for yourself. It's my right; I will not forego it." The calico
itself cost three or four shillings. They rejoice if they can say of an
enemy, "I took him before the court."

My friend Mr. Canto, the commandant, being seized with fever in a severe
form, it afforded me much pleasure to attend HIM in his sickness, who
had been so kind to ME in mine. He was for some time in a state of
insensibility, and I, having the charge of his establishment, had thus
an opportunity of observing the workings of slavery. When a master is
ill, the slaves run riot among the eatables. I did not know this until I
observed that every time the sugar-basin came to the table it was
empty. On visiting my patient by night, I passed along a corridor, and
unexpectedly came upon the washerwoman eating pine-apples and sugar. All
the sweetmeats were devoured, and it was difficult for me to get even
bread and butter until I took the precaution of locking the pantry door.
Probably the slaves thought that, as both they and the luxuries were
the master's property, there was no good reason why they should be kept
apart.

Debarred by my precaution from these sources of enjoyment, they took to
killing the fowls and goats, and, when the animal was dead, brought it
to me, saying, "We found this thing lying out there." They then enjoyed
a feast of flesh. A feeling of insecurity prevails throughout this
country. It is quite common to furnish visitors with the keys of their
rooms. When called on to come to breakfast or dinner, each locks his
door and puts the key in his pocket. At Kolobeng we never locked our
doors by night or by day for months together; but there slavery is
unknown. The Portuguese do not seem at all bigoted in their attachment
to slavery, nor yet in their prejudices against color. Mr. Canto gave an
entertainment in order to draw all classes together and promote general
good-will. Two sovas or native chiefs were present, and took their
places without the least appearance of embarrassment. The Sova of
Kilombo appeared in the dress of a general, and the Sova of Bango was
gayly attired in a red coat, profusely ornamented with tinsel. The
latter had a band of musicians with him consisting of six trumpeters and
four drummers, who performed very well. These men are fond of titles,
and the Portuguese government humors them by conferring honorary
captaincies, etc.: the Sova of Bango was at present anxious to obtain
the title of "Major of all the Sovas". At the tables of other gentlemen
I observed the same thing constantly occurring. At this meeting Mr.
Canto communicated some ideas which I had written out on the dignity
of labor, and the superiority of free over slave labor. The Portuguese
gentlemen present were anxiously expecting an arrival of American
cotton-seed from Mr. Gabriel. They are now in the transition state from
unlawful to lawful trade, and turn eagerly to cotton, coffee, and sugar
as new sources of wealth. Mr. Canto had been commissioned by them to
purchase three sugar-mills. Our cruisers have been the principal agents
in compelling them to abandon the slave-trade; and our government,
in furnishing them with a supply of cotton-seed, showed a generous
intention to aid them in commencing a more honorable course. It can
scarcely be believed, however, that after Lord Clarendon had been at
the trouble of procuring fresh cotton-seed through our minister at
Washington, and had sent it out to the care of H. M. Commissioner at
Loanda, probably from having fallen into the hands of a few incorrigible
slave-traders, it never reached its destination. It was most likely cast
into the sea of Ambriz, and my friends at Golungo Alto were left without
the means of commencing a new enterprise.

Mr. Canto mentioned that there is now much more cotton in the country
than can be consumed; and if he had possession of a few hundred pounds,
he would buy up all the oil and cotton at a fair price, and thereby
bring about a revolution in the agriculture of the country. These
commodities are not produced in greater quantity, because the people
have no market for those which now spring up almost spontaneously around
them. The above was put down in my journal when I had no idea that
enlarged supplies of cotton from new sources were so much needed at
home.