A Geographical Description of All the Countries in the Known World, Part 1 · Subpart 93 – Subpart 97
The Africans at the Cape of Good Hope Described.
At the Cape of Good Hope: the Africans are ugly black, strong-limmed, desperate, crafty, and injurious. Their heads are long, their hair woolly, and crispt; of which some shave one side, leaving the other long, and curled: Another shaves all, saving a little tuft on the top: Another (thinking his invention better) shaves here, and there, the bald skull appearing in many places: other some shave away all save a lock before. Such as have tufts of hair, hang in them brasse buttons, spur rowels, peeces of Pewter, &c. Their ears are long, and made longer by heavy bables they hang in them, as links of brass, or Iron, chains, glass-beads, blew-stones, bullets, or Oister-shels: and such as cannot reach to such Jewels, have singles of Dear, beaks of birds, Dogs or Cat stones, &c. Their Noses are flat, crusht so in their infancy, their Lips great: quick, crafty eyes: and about their necks they have guts, or raw puddings, serving both for good and Ornament: The better sort instead of them get hoops of Iron, chains of brasse, or greazy thongs of stinking Leather: Their arms are loaden with voluntary shackles of Iron, Ivory, rusty brass, or musty Copper: the rest of their bodies are naked, saving that they are girded with a thong of raw Leather, to which is fastened, a square peece like the back of a Glove to cover their privities: but the women, when they receive any thing, return their gratitude by taking up that slap, and discovering their shame: But their great ones have better cloathing: A nasty untanned hide of a Lyon, Leopard, Calf, Baboon, or Sheep (the hair inward) which they put upon their shoulders, reaching to their wasts: for their thighs and legs are never covered: To their feet is fastened a broad peece of Leather, tyed by a little strap, which for the most part they hold in their hands, that their feet may have liberty to steal, which with their toes, they can do most cunningly, all the while looking you in the face, as if they meant no harm. Most of the men are semi-Eunuches, one stone being exsected in their infancy by their nurses. Both sexes hideously cut, gash, and pink their brows, nose, cheeks, arms, breast, back, belly, thighs, and legs in sundry works, and Figures. They have no houses, they delight most in Caves, Holes, or Lyons dens, unfurnished; a whole Tribe commonly keeping together, coupling without distinction, the name of wife, or brother, being unknown amongst these incestuous persons.
They feed, sleep, and speak altogether without order, or Law: In the night they sleep round a fire, a Centinel watching the Lyons, their adversaries: Vivitur ex rapto: the one eating the other, the Lyon tearing some of them, and they other times training him over covered pits, which catches him: and so they slay, and eat him to day, who perhaps was a Sepulcher to their friends, or parents the day before. They dawb, and rub their skins with grease, and coals, indenting, and drying them in the Sun whereby they become Monsters to all civil eyes. They eat men alive, or dead, which when they fail of, dead Whales, Seals, Pengwins, grease, or raw puddings are their diet: and when the frost of old age benums their limbs, whereby they are unapt to provide their own food, they either eat them, or expose them upon the Mountains, either to bee killed by famine, or devoured by Lyons.
With these no violent death, nor stroying rage
Of Lust, is half so dreadful as old age.
They have no spark of devotion, no knowledge of God, heaven, hell, or immortality; no place of worship, no day of rest, no order in nature, no shame, no truth, no ceremony in births, or burials, meer brutishnesse, and stupidity over shadowing them. The women carry their children on their backs, and give suck with their long dugs stretched over their shoulders. Anno Christi. 1600. Sir James Lancaster had amongst them a thousand sheep, and fifty Oxen for trifles. They train their Cattle to such obedience, as with a whistle, great Heards will follow them like Dogs, and being sold, with a like call will runne away after them, to the buyers costly mirth and admiration: to prevent which, the Marriners upon the delivery of each beast; either kill it quickly, or fasten their horns with cords to stakes placed there on purpose.
The Kingdome of Sofala Described.
Sofala is situate on the cost of Eastern Ethiopia, neer the Sea: here the Portugals traffick to Manica, a Land of much Gold, within land above threescore Leagues; the women perform the offices of Tillage, and Husbandry: In it are many sorts of fruit, as Pomgranats which bear all the year, some green, some ripe, and some in flowers: Fig-trees which yeild black Figs all the year about: Oranges, Limes, Vines, which bear twice a year, in January, and July; Ananas, Sugar canes, Palm-trees which yeild infinite Cocoes, and Wine; Guiny Wheat, and Rice; There are abundance of Hens, Goats, Kine, Wild beasts, and wild Swine. In Manica grow little trees on Rocks; which are dry most part of the year, but if you cut off a bough and put it into water, in the space of ten hours it springs, and flourisheth with green leaves: In some parts they have store of Orenges and Lemons. The King of this Country is called the Quitive, they are Gentiles; Hee hath above one hundred women whereof one or two are his Queens: and many of them are his Aunts, Cosins, Sisters, and Daughters, all whom hee useth promiscuously; when hee dies his Queens must dye with him, to do him service in the other world.
The Kingdome of Monomopata Described.
Monomopata is above two hundred Leagues long: On the North-West lies the Kingdome of Abutua, where is much fine Gold, yet their greatest riches they count their Cattle: On the East it hath the River Zambeze: On the South-West it extends to the Ocean, and Southward its bounded with the River Inhanabane: The King hath many women, whereof one is principal: None may speak with him, except hee bring a present; The King and his Subjects wear a white Perewinkle in their foreheads for a jewell, fastened in their hair, and the King hath another great one on his breast. None of them cut the hair of their heads or beards, yet they grow not long: they live commonly to ninety, or one hundred years: when the King dyes, his Queen must drink poyson to serve him in another World. It abounds so with Elephants, that about five thousand are yearly killed for their teeth-sake: There are said to bee three thousand Mines of Gold.
The Kingdome of Congo, or Manicongo Described.
The Kingdome of Congo hath on the West the Ocean: On the South the Caphars and Mountains of the Moon: On the East those Hills from which the Rivers issue, and run into the Fountains of Nilus: and on the North the Kingdome of Benin: The most Southerly part is called Quimbibe: a great and mighty Kingdome, extending from Bravagal to Bagamidri; the air is wholesome, the earth outoutwardly furnished with store of fruits, inwardly with Mines of Christal, and other mettals. Angola is another Province of Congo, a great Kingdome, and very populous. Cabazza is the Royal City, one hundred and fifty miles from the Ocean: from this Country the Portugals use to carry above twenty thousand slaves yearly into Brasile. They are Heathens, have their Idols of wood in the midst of their Towns, in fashion like a Negro, which they call Mokisso's: they take as many wives as they please, there are Mines of Silver, and excellent Copper: they have many Kine, but love Dogs-flesh better, which they feed for the Shambles; their houses are fashioned like Bee-hives: Horse-tails are great Jewels amongst them, for one of which they will give two slaves.
Congo properly so called, extendeth Westward three hundred seventy five miles; Northward five hundred and forty; Southward six hundred, crossing over the Mountains of the Sun, and the Mountain of Christal: Its divided into six Provinces, Bamba, Songo, Sundi, Pango, Batti, and Pemba. Bamba is the greatest, and richest; there are Mines of silver, and on the Sea-shore, shells which they use in stead of mony: Amongst them there are some very strong men, who will cleave a slave in the middle, or cut off a Bulls head at one blow: There are certain creatures as big as Rams, having wings like Dragons, long tails, and chaps with diverse rows of teeth; they live upon raw flesh; their colour is blew, and green, and they have but two feet; the Pagan Negroes worship them for Gods. The Rivers of Congo are many, the greatest whereof is Zatre: In all of them are River-horses, and Crocodiles, and they overflow as doth Nilus. There are whole Mountains of Porphiry, Jasper, white Marble, and other Marbles; and one, that yeelds fair Jacinthes, straked with natural veins. When any of the Inhabitants dye, they have no power to bequeath their goods to their kindred, but the King is heire general to all men.
The Kingdome of Loango described.
Loango is the No…therly neighbour of Congo, right under the Line: the Country stretcheth two hundred miles within Land: the people are called Bramanes, and the King Mani Loango: they are circumcised after the manner of the Jews, as all the rest of the Nations in those Countries use to bee: they have abundance of Elephants, and wear cloaths of Palm: they are Heathens, and use many superstitions; they have their Mokisso's, or Images, to which they offer several things.
Beyond the Country of Loango are the Anzigues, the cruellest Cannibals that are under the Sun: for in other places they eat their enemies, or their dead, but here they eat their Country-men, and kins-folk, and keep shambles of mans flesh, as with us of Beef, or Mutton. They have many Mines of Copper, and great quantity of Sanders, both red, and gray. They are excellent Archers; they are circumcised, and worship the Sun for their greatest God, and the Moon next.