Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890)

Details
Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890)

Mapanya Village, 21st December 1861

inscribed and dated 'Mapanya Village/21st Dec.', further inscribed 'Platform for calabashes' and 'Fetish stone', pencil
2¾ x 4¼in. (7 x 10.7cm.)

Lot Essay

'The clearing lies W.N.W. of Victoria, and N.N.W. of Bosumbo. It is distant from the sea about 7½ miles, and the altitude was laid down at 2650 feet...The settlement consists of two parallel lines of huts, four on one side facing three on the other...forming the nucleus of a single street, which runs into a steep grass-lined by-path, leading up the mountain...The only objects of remark are a few large grindstones, the dwarf trellises for gourds growing at the entrance, and in the centre, propped by other stones, a small basaltic block, hollowed out like a shallow mortar. Before our arrival M. Mann had seen the principal men busy in 'making fetish' to ward off bad luck and to keep the peace...'(Abeokuta, II, pp. 98-9)

More from Topographical Pictures

View All
View All