Ten years in Equatoria; . rritory, he extended his kingdom by conqueringhis brother Nganduas dominions. The population consists chiefly of Sandeh, but there are alsomany Abarambo and Abisanga. The country is rich in iron ore,ivory, rubber, palm oil, and resinous woods. Among the agricul-tural products are tdabun^ maize, sesame, ground nuts, honey, &c. The king has a vast residence, and possesses more than 500women. He keeps them with him for not more than two years, 136 TEN YEARS IN EQUATORIA. and afterwards weds them to his favourites. Little girls followthe fate of their mothers, whilst the
Ten years in Equatoria; . rritory, he extended his kingdom by conqueringhis brother Nganduas dominions. The population consists chiefly of Sandeh, but there are alsomany Abarambo and Abisanga. The country is rich in iron ore,ivory, rubber, palm oil, and resinous woods. Among the agricul-tural products are tdabun^ maize, sesame, ground nuts, honey, &c. The king has a vast residence, and possesses more than 500women. He keeps them with him for not more than two years, 136 TEN YEARS IN EQUATORIA. and afterwards weds them to his favourites. Little girls followthe fate of their mothers, whilst the male children remain with theirfather. His favourite wives are not married to others. The daughters,when grown up, are offered in marriage to his own brothers, andother relatives. Bakangoi almost always wore cloth dresses, bought of the mer-chants. He had an Arab bed, with rich coverj, elegant pillows,lamps, and all sorts of vessels and beads. One day he proudly showed me the present of beads receivedfrom jDOor EXECUTION BY STKANGULATION. It is the general opinion among potentates of his rank that thegreater number a king kills the stronger and more powerful he is;also that fear, not love, makes subjects obedient and faithful. In accordance with these ideas, he was severe and even cruel,and death was the punishment he inflicted for the least and theft were punished by strangulation; commutationof the sentence was only granted in exceptional cases, and to personsof the upper classes; never to the people. A woman belonging to his son Akangoi fled with her lover to thecountries of the chief Bangue, who killed the man, and, accordingto custom, had the right hand cut off the body and sent to Bakangoi,interceding for grace and pardon for the woman. I AM DETAINED B V BAKANGOI. 137 • If I do not have this woman killed, my son will become aservant/ he answered, and had her strangled at once. A boy who was accused of having stolen a little copper washanged, and t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondonfwarneandco
