THE APPEARANCE OF THE PEOPLE

Of the physical characters of the people the old chronicles naturally tell us very little. Dapper says, '' The men are finer in stature than the women." On the road to Benin, Fawckner writes, "I was at once struck with the person of the chief; his stature, mien and deportment at once bespoke him to be a ruler and governor. He was about five feet nine inches high, his limbs well formed, and of beautiful proportions. He was surrounded by many of his people, who were all like himself, well made, robust, and of the most exquisite symmetry, differing only from him in complexion, theirs being of the blackest jet and glossy as ebony, whilst his was a paler and more subdued satin, approaching to that of an American Indian; which contrasted with his pearly teeth, well formed mouth, and over-arching brow, beneath which his small dark eye darted forth an eagle glance of scrutiny, forming a countenance well calculated to inspire a beholder with profound dread, it ever he had previously heard of the character of the man." (pp. 55-56). And later he says of the people '' they are as black as jet, but the boldest and finest race of people we saw in the country.

Few are less in stature than five feet nine inches ; their carriage is erect and graceful in the extreme, and we never once saw a deformed person among them ; on the contrary we noticed several pre-eminently remarkable for their symmetry. One in particular, whom, by way of distinction, we used to call ' the handsome man,' was fully entitled to that appellation. He was about twenty-two years of age. His features seemed cast more in the European mould, being interesting and well proportioned ; his teeth were regular and of pearly whiteness ; small feet and knees, and a well-formed leg ; when walking he used his sword as a stick, and with his gun resting on his right shoulder, he presented an unusually graceful appearance, and would have been an excellent model for the pencil of the artist, or chisel of the sculptor. This character applies only to the men ; the women fall infinitely below them in respect of personal beauty and proportion their bodies are, moreover, tatooed with various grotesque figures, and distinguishing marks, which combine to render them very inferior to their lords in graceful comeliness." (pp. 64-65).

Crow, at Bonny, saw two Bini men, said to be relations of King Pepple at Bonny, who had come as ambassadors from Benin. He describes them as " two remarkably fine looking men of from thirty to forty years of age, well-formed and about six feet high. Their looks and manner were of a superior order, and they walked in majestic style ... I never met with any black princes so sensible and well informed as these men, who had so noble and commanding an appearance."

According to Burton, " The wives and daughters of freemen had olive-coloured skins, tolerably regular features, with splendid eyes, and in some cases tall graceful figures and drooping shoulders, a formation never seen amongst the Guinea or GuUah nigger." (p. 410). Mr. Cyril Punch tells me that "in spite of the disgusting atrocities of the place, of the poverty and general decadence of Benin, I must say the Benin type of features was distinctly more refined than any other negroes in West Africa.
They were lighter in colour, and the features were much cleaner cut. The Ojomo [a very high official] for instance, had refined, almost intellectual features, and most dignified well-bred manners." At Gwato Burton found *' the men are rather a fine race, tall and muscular ; many are very powerful." (p. 280).^

Of the Warri people Dapper writes : " The men are beautifully built, and so are the women, who are rather pretty according to the ideas of beauty prevalent in this country." The first recorder, D. R., tells us "they cut their hair in many and various ways, almost every individual having something special," and he supports his statement by profiles showing a variety of methods of head dressing, which are reproduced. Some of the head dressing is that followed by the Sobos at the present day.
Dapper describes the hair dressing of the women only ; he says they " make up their hair in an elegant fashion and plait it in the shape of a wreath on the top of their heads ; dying one half black, and the other half red."^.

Nyendael says " The men don't curl or adorn their hair, but content themselves with letting it grow in its natural way, except plaiting it in two or three places, inorder to hang a large piece of coral on to it ; but the women's hair is very artificially turned up into large and small plaits, and divided on the crown of the head, like an inverted cock's comb, by which means the small plaits are evenly arranged. Some divide their hair into twenty plaits and curls, according as it happens to be either thick or thin. Some oil it with the oil which they roast out of the kernels of oil-nuts, by which means it loses its black colour, and in process of time turns to a sort of green or yellow, that they are very fond of; notwithstanding which, in my opinion, it looks hideous;" thus somewhat endorsing D. R's illustrations. The courtier who interviewed Fawckner had his head shaved all over, with the exception of a circular spot on the crown from which a small tuft was still permitted to grow." (p. 82).
Landolphe found " the women are all very coquettish ; they take six months to do their hair, and the coiffure lasts three years. The number of beads and corals woven into their hair is infinite." (II., p. 52).

According to Nyendael, " The dress of the negroes here is neat, ornamental and much more magnificent than that of the negroes of the Gold Coast. The rich amongst them wear, first, a white calico, or cotton cloth, about one yard long, and half as broad, which serves them as drawers ; over that, they wear a finer white cotton dress, that is commonly about sixteen or twenty yards long, which they wind very neatly round the middle, casting over it a scarf of about a yard long, and two spans broad, the end of which is adorned with fringe or lace, which is somewhat like that of the female negroes on the Gold Coast. The wives of the great lords wear calico paans woven in this country, which are very fine, and very beautifully checked with various colours. These paans or cloths are not very long, and are tucked in at the side like those which are worn at Fida [Wydah] but with this difference, that while the Fidase [Wydah] paan is open in front, this, on the contrary, is open behind, or on one side, and closed in front. The upper part of their body is covered with a beautiful cloth, about a yard long, instead of a veil, like that which the women wear on the Gold Coast. The poorer women and men differ in dress from the rich only in the quality of their garments.

According to Dapper, at Warri the native's dress is like that of Benin, " but they also wear some fine cotton or silk clothes (which those of Benin are not allowed to do) as large as small sheets, fastening them above the navel, with a cunning knot under the arms."

All dz Italian olosho kids always trying hard to look important

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All dz Italian olosho kids always trying hard to look important