FETICHISM IN
WEST AFRICA
Fetich Magician.
(With horns, wooden mask, spear, and sword;
dress of leaves of palm and plantain.)
FETICHISM
IN WEST AFRICA
Forty Years’ Observation of Native Customs
and Superstitions
BY THE
REV. ROBERT HAMILL NASSAU, M.D., S.T.D.
FOR FORTY YEARS A MISSIONARY IN THE GABUN DISTRICT
OF KONGO-FRANÇAISE
AUTHOR OF “CROWNED IN PALM LAND,” “MAWEDO”
WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS
YOUNG PEOPLE’S
MISSIONARY MOVEMENT
156 Fifth Avenue
New York
Copyright, 1904
By Charles Scribner’s Sons
Published October, 1904
PREFACE
On the 2d of July, 1861, I sailed from New York City on a little brig, the“Ocean Eagle,” with destination to the island of Corisco, near theequator, on the West Coast of Africa. My first introduction to the nativesof Africa was a month later, when the vessel stopped at Monrovia, thecapital of the Liberian Republic, to land a portion of its trade goods,and at other ports of Liberia, Sinoe, and Cape Palmas; thence to Coriscoon September 12.
Corisco is a microcosm, only five miles long by three miles wide; itssurface diversified with every variety of landscape, proportioned to itssize, of hill, prairie, stream, and lake. It is located in the eye of theelephant-head shaped Bay of Corisco, and from twelve to twenty milesdistant from the mainland. Into the bay flow two large rivers,—the Muni(the Rio D’Angra of commerce) and the Munda (this latter representing theelephant’s proboscis).
The island, with adjacent mainland, was inhabited by the Benga tribe. Itwas the headquarters of the American Presbyterian Mission. On the voyage Ihad studied the Benga dialect with my fellow-passenger, the senior memberof the Mission, Rev. James L. Mackey; and was able, on my landing, toconverse so well with the natives that they at once enthusiasticallyaccepted me as an interested friend. This has ever since been my statusamong all other tribes.
I lived four years on the island, as preacher, teacher, and itinerant tothe adjacent mainland, south to the Gabun River and its Mpongwe tribe,east up the Muni and Munda rivers, and north to the Benito River.
[Pg vi]In my study of the natives’ language my attention was drawn closely totheir customs; and in my inquiry into their religion I at once saw how itwas bound up in these customs. I met with other white men—traders,government officials, and even some missionaries—whose interest inAfrica, however deep, was circumscribed by their special work for,respectively, wealth, power, and Gospel proclamation. They could see inthose customs only “folly,” and in the religion only “superstition.”
I read many books on other parts of Africa, in which the same customs andreligion prevailed. I did not think it reasonable to dismiss curtly asabsurd the cherished sent