DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49270#0060
38
J. Roscoe
still he proceeds to observe the rules of mourning and to exhibit every mark of sorrow for
the loss of the late king.
After the newly elected king has inspected the body of his predecessor and covered
it with a bark cloth, it is taken by a number of men, chosen from the guard of the late
king, to the place appointed for the first part of the preparation for burial. It is disem-
boweled, sponged with plantain wine, and all the juices are squeezed out into sponges of
plantain fiber and bark cloth until the body is dry and hard. The men who carry out this
work, together with a few widows selected from the harem, drink all the juices expressed
from the body, mixing them with plantain wine. The task of mummifying and preparing
the body for interment requires six months, the body being moved from place to place as
each stage is ended until it is pronounced to be ready for its final resting place. The
new king is informed when each stage of the preparation is complete and gives his sanction
for the removal of the body to the next place. When the ceremonies are completed he
sends his representatives Kago and Sebaganzi, the latter being a brother of the king’s
mother. These chiefs take a bark cloth made for the purpose and well-smeared with butter,
and perform the part of the king in taking leave of the dead by covering the face and body
with the bark cloth they have brought. A number of widows who have held special office
about the late king, together with a corresponding number of chiefs, are sent to the place
where the leave-taking of the dead is performed, and form an important part of the funeral
procession. These women are the chambermaid, cupbearer, cook, milkmaid, and the
woman who has charge of the royal robes; the men are the chief cook, water-bearer, brewer,
and herdsman. The guardian of the fire has already been strangled at the gate of the royal
entrance. A man bearing a branch of a tree known as “the tree of the dead” marches in
front of the procession and is called “ the eyes of the dead ”. Following him comes a man
bearing a hoe and a fowl, then the widows and chiefs, followed by a guard of honor with
the body, which is carried feet first, and lastly the crowds of people carrying offerings for
the grave.
The burial place of kings is always in the country known as “the Grave County”.
It is in this district that the royal house of mourning is built in which the new king resides
until the funeral has taken place and he is purified from mourning. Each king has his
grave on a hill top, where a large hut is built and is surrounded by a high fence with an
outer fence a few yards lower down the hill. Between the fences there is a space of some
twenty yards. The hut which forms the mausoleum is built of perishable materials,
wooden pillars supporting a basketwork frame of reeds which is thatched with grass.
The doorway is only four feet high and three feet wide, and has a hood over it forming a
porch supported by two wooden pillars. Inside this hut the earthen floor is smoothed
level and slightly beaten, and a frame like a bedstead is made for the body to rest upon,
J. Roscoe
still he proceeds to observe the rules of mourning and to exhibit every mark of sorrow for
the loss of the late king.
After the newly elected king has inspected the body of his predecessor and covered
it with a bark cloth, it is taken by a number of men, chosen from the guard of the late
king, to the place appointed for the first part of the preparation for burial. It is disem-
boweled, sponged with plantain wine, and all the juices are squeezed out into sponges of
plantain fiber and bark cloth until the body is dry and hard. The men who carry out this
work, together with a few widows selected from the harem, drink all the juices expressed
from the body, mixing them with plantain wine. The task of mummifying and preparing
the body for interment requires six months, the body being moved from place to place as
each stage is ended until it is pronounced to be ready for its final resting place. The
new king is informed when each stage of the preparation is complete and gives his sanction
for the removal of the body to the next place. When the ceremonies are completed he
sends his representatives Kago and Sebaganzi, the latter being a brother of the king’s
mother. These chiefs take a bark cloth made for the purpose and well-smeared with butter,
and perform the part of the king in taking leave of the dead by covering the face and body
with the bark cloth they have brought. A number of widows who have held special office
about the late king, together with a corresponding number of chiefs, are sent to the place
where the leave-taking of the dead is performed, and form an important part of the funeral
procession. These women are the chambermaid, cupbearer, cook, milkmaid, and the
woman who has charge of the royal robes; the men are the chief cook, water-bearer, brewer,
and herdsman. The guardian of the fire has already been strangled at the gate of the royal
entrance. A man bearing a branch of a tree known as “the tree of the dead” marches in
front of the procession and is called “ the eyes of the dead ”. Following him comes a man
bearing a hoe and a fowl, then the widows and chiefs, followed by a guard of honor with
the body, which is carried feet first, and lastly the crowds of people carrying offerings for
the grave.
The burial place of kings is always in the country known as “the Grave County”.
It is in this district that the royal house of mourning is built in which the new king resides
until the funeral has taken place and he is purified from mourning. Each king has his
grave on a hill top, where a large hut is built and is surrounded by a high fence with an
outer fence a few yards lower down the hill. Between the fences there is a space of some
twenty yards. The hut which forms the mausoleum is built of perishable materials,
wooden pillars supporting a basketwork frame of reeds which is thatched with grass.
The doorway is only four feet high and three feet wide, and has a hood over it forming a
porch supported by two wooden pillars. Inside this hut the earthen floor is smoothed
level and slightly beaten, and a frame like a bedstead is made for the body to rest upon,