Bambara people

“ Others tried to persuade the Chief, but, influenced by Nhlonhlo, Bambata remarked: "I won't go. Some of you want me to be killed by myself. When they kill me, it will not be until some of you have been laid out." References to the action of the British Government in regard to Cetshwayo and Langalibalele were unavailing, for Bambata replied: "When each of these was captured, it was not until after some of their people had been killed, therefore I too mean to resist." "If you are tired of him" (i.e. Bambata) , said Nhlonhlo to the peace-makers, "give him over to us." ”

“ Like the Wassulus, they are gentle, hospitable, and generous, harbouring no malice and easily given to laughter, exceeding all other natives in boisterous merriment. But although renowned for their valour, and as implacable in war as they are mild in peace, the Bambaras have everywhere been subdued by other nations, in the Upper Joliba valleys by the Fulahs and Mandingans, in French Sudan by a handful of whites, on the opposite side of the Niger and in Kaarta by the Toucouleurs. A few small tribes between Kaarta and Bele-dugu can alone be regarded as completely independent. ”

“ I informed my host of my resolution, telling him that I would make him a present of a beautiful piece of coloured cloth and a pair of scissors, with which he appeared very well pleased. I was informed that there was a market once a week in the village, where I might purchase any provisions I wanted; The Bambaras of this part of Africa, which must be traversed in proceeding to Jenné, are poor and wretched. They do not trade beyond their own country. Not having joined the standard of the Prophet, they cannot travel but at the risk of being captured and made slaves. They are in general indolent. ”

“ I said, as Babemba appeared at the head of a number of soldiers, crying out:
“The slave-dealing Arabs are here, lord Macumazana. They have crept on us through the mist. A herald of theirs has come to the north gate demanding that we should give up you white people and your servants, and with you a hundred young men and a hundred young women to be sold as slaves. If we do not do this they say that they will kill all of us save the unmarried boys and girls, and that you white people they will take and put to death by burning, keeping only the two women alive. One Hassan sends this message.” ”

“ The westing we were making brought us among people who are frequently visited by the Mambari as slave-dealers. This trade causes bloodshed; for when a poor family is selected as the victims, it is necessary to get rid of the older members of it, because they are supposed to be able to give annoyance to the chief afterward by means of enchantments. The belief in the power of charms for good or evil produces not only honesty, but a great amount of gentle dealing. ”

“ Here Bambata had several interviews with Dinuzulu and his indunas, Mankulumana and Mgwaqo. He was treated with every consideration. Suitable accommodation and food were found for him, his wife and children. Bambata informed his wife that, at the interviews he had had with Mankulumana and others, he had been reproved for showing cowardice on the occasion of the Police entering his ward to arrest him. It was considered he should have shown fight. Bambata queried how it was possible for him to go to war [Pg 434] with Europeans. "Have you no people?" ”

“ The Bambaras are also an industrial people, skilful blacksmiths, manufacturers of gunpowder, ropes, and cordage, builders of boats, bridges, and well-constructed wooden houses, usually of rectangular shape, with gutters for carrying off the rain-water, and apertures to let the smoke escape. ”

“ A passenger told us that three white men had just arrived in vessels at Gondokoro; and the Bari people, hearing of our advance, instead of trying to kill us with spears, had determined to poison all the water in their country. Mahamed now disposed of half of his herd of cows, giving them to the chiefs of the villages in return for porters. These, he said, were all that belonged to the government; for the half of all captures of cows, as well as all slaves, all goats, and sheep, were allowed to the men as part of their pay. ”

“ The girl belonged to the Bomvu tribe, that is, to a tribe living next to Bambata's, whose services to the Government, by invading and spoiling Bambata's ward along with the troops, besides other acts of conspicuous loyalty during the Rebellion, have become widely known.
Bambata was naturally impulsive, determined and daring, with an experience of fighting, if only faction fighting. A man of that kind, already inclined to intemperance, with all his substance wasted, and ruin, in the shape of loss of chieftainship, staring him in the face, would not require urging to take up arms. ”

“ He made no objection to my taking his photograph, but it unfortunately turned out a failure.
It is curious to find the Baganda (i.e., people of Uganda) highly civilised—the majority are Christians—surrounded as they are on all sides by nations of practically naked savages; and it is a very interesting, sight to watch them in the "bazaar" at Kampala, clad in long flowing cotton garments, and busily engaged in bartering the products of the country under the shade of tattered umbrellas. ”

“ Imbozwi, the head of the witch-finders here, whose hair you burnt off by your evil magic, says that it would be better to kill you at once as your hearts are bad and you are planning mischief against my people. So I think also. But Babemba my General, with whom I am angry because he did not obey my orders and put you to death on the borders of my country when he met you there with your caravan of slaves, thinks otherwise. ”

“ Nearly all the Bambaras, at least of Kaarta, call themselves Mohammedans, but are so little zealous that their Toucouleur masters look upon them as no better than Kafirs. Many of their tribes, after recovering their political independence, have even abandoned the rites of Islam, resuming the pagan ceremonies and profane amusements of their ancestors. At their feasts they get drunk on dolo and eat the flesh of dogs or jackals to show their hatred of the oppressor's religion. ”

“ Gidi Mavunga, like most of the elders, was perfectly acquainted with the routes to Nsundi, S. Salvador, and other frontier places, where the bush people brought down their criminals and captives for barter. Beyond those points his information was all from hearsay.
Besides the large stores in their "small countries," the middle- men have a multitude of retainers, who may at any moment be converted into capital. Yet "slave" is a term hardly applicable to such "chattels," who, as a rule, are free as their lords. They hold at their disposal all that the master possesses, except his wives ”

“ I asked the slave trader where he had found the skeleton," went on the savant, "and he told me he had come across it at the foot of a giant silk cotton tree in the Bambara country."
The boys exchanged glances. It was to the Bambara country—the country of the legendary Flying Men—that they were bound.
"Is any more known of this tribe?" inquired Frank.
"Very little except what you can pick up from the natives, which is little enough," replied Professor Wiseman, "they seem to have a dislike to speaking of the Flying Men—to whites at any rate. ”

“ There were three small cones, called Mbara, close to us west by north; but besides these, to the northward, there was nothing save an uninterrupted plain of the densest jungle leading up to the Makumbara mountains, about ten miles distant. The village itself was enshrouded in a dense thicket, which was entered by the narrowest of passages, cut through branches for security's sake, and was further protected by piles and stakes against the attacks of enemies. Everybody here feels an insecurity to life and property, which makes people wonder how they ever can be happy. ”

“ To one side of an open space in the centre of the town stand the old barracks, in which the West India troops were formerly quartered, and this, with Government House, which though small is perhaps the most comfortable in West Africa, are the only two buildings in Bathurst worth a second glance.
The natives of the country north of the Gambia are Jolloffs, an entirely distinct race of negroes, and, as far as my experience goes, the only really black people to be found in West Africa. The colour of the ordinary negro is a deep brown, but the skin of the Jolloffs is of a dead dull black. ”

“ Bambata, as many Natives believe, in spite of every proof to the contrary, is still living. For them his spirit, i.e. dissatisfaction with European rule, or, to put the same thing positively, a desire to control their own affairs, not on European lines, but on those sanctioned by the collective wisdom of their own race, is certainly alive, though he may be dead. It [Pg 537] lives, not in Natal alone, but throughout South Africa, and is fostered by the various Ethiopian or Separatist churches. ”

“ Park now proceeded towards Sego, the capital of Bambarra, which consists of four distinct towns; two on the northern bank of the Niger, called Sego Korro and Sego Koo, and two on the southern bank, called Sego Soo Korro and Sego See Korro. The king of Bambarra always resides at the latter place. He employs a great many slaves to convey people over the river, and the fare paid by each individual, ten kowrie shells, furnishes a considerable revenue. ”

“ An unsuccessful attempt to convert the Bambara was made by a marabout, named ʻUmaru Kaba, early in the twentieth century. This man had founded a new religious confraternity, connected with the Qādiriyyah, and having failed to attract his co-religionists to it, he turned his attention to the pagan Bambara, and endeavoured to convert them to Islam and enrol them in his order. ”

“ French West African troops, as they have a great reputation for pluck and endurance. The same tribe furnishes the best river boatmen, and Bambaras are found plying such varied trades as the shoemaker’s and the blacksmith’s. They are scattered in more or less big groups all along the Niger from Bamako to Mopti, and large numbers inhabit the countries about Nioro and Sokolo on the left bank of the river, stretching towards the desert. The men and women have fine physique, they are usually tall and thick-set, but rather clumsy in build. ”

“ Colonel Gallieni sent for him to be a kind of chief interpreter, and he held that position until, the Toucouleurs having been driven from [68] Sego and Nioro, the country just conquered by the French was properly organized.
A small kingdom, with Sansanding as capital, was placed under Mademba; he had in his service a certain number of sofas, or captive Amadu warriors, who had surrendered to the French and to the natives. Our postmaster-general soon became the Fama Mademba, the word fama signifying a chief or king among the natives of Bambara. ”

“ The Baganda are a very warlike people, who have constantly increased their territory at the expense of neighbours, with whom they have at all times been ready to quarrel. At times the king would lead his army in person, or again the task might be given to generals, who were always elaborately dressed in skins of animals. ”

“ The latter denied having started or authorized the Rebellion, emphasizing he had merely said to Bambata: "If you people want to fight, why do you not all unite and fight the whites?" He said, again, to Mangati: "If you people desire to fight, go and [Pg 314] do so, it is not my doing. Go and join Mehlokazulu. I hear he also has joined the rebels. After joining him, go and join Sigananda, and, if necessary, go on fighting till you get to Natal.... Sigananda's messengers are here now to report that the white people have burnt my father's grave and are unearthing my father's bones. ”

“ Saunders prohibiting entry of Sigananda's ward until Mansel had arrived to take charge of the operations, lost many members of his tribe by their becoming rebels, primarily, it would seem, to ensure their stock from being looted by Bambata. Bambata and his allies were, at the time, held in check by nothing whatsoever. They were able to raid and range about over wide expanses of country occupied by people as loyal as could be expected. These raids had already taken place in Ndube's ward, followed by others in those of Makubalo and Mfungelwa. ”

“ The Bantu tribes were healthy and vigorous, but they were rarely at peace.
The three classes of people who occupied South Africa before its settlement by the white man "enjoyed the lives they were leading quite as much as Europeans enjoy their lives, though their pleasures were of a lower kind. Given freedom from disease and a slain antelope, and there could be no merrier creature than a Bushman. He was absolutely devoid of harassing cares.
"A Hottentot kraal, in the clear moonlight of Africa, with men, women, and children dancing to the music of reeds, was a scene of the highest hilarity. ”

“ With the depopulation of the country, too, the well-worn, beaten tracks, the shady groves of banana trees, the broad fields of waving grain would disappear, and only devastation and ruin remain, as distressing pictures in this now fertile section.
The white man saw only too plainly that the slave trade did not affect the negro alone, but that it affected the loss or the profit of the whole civilized world. What availed it that the riches of Central Africa were apparently inexhaustible, if the native tribes were not left to help gather them? ”