Depiction of a ceremony featuring King Gezu's ambassadors ("Ah-Haussoo-Noh-Beh"), which Forbes witnessed during his travels in the Kingdom of Dahomey, now part of southern Benin. In Part II, "Abomey, its Court and its People," Forbes recalled seeing "a vast assembly of cabooceers and soldiers, with umbrellas of state, flat-topped, and ornamented like those of the Chinese, and banners of every hue and most varied devices. Besides the Dahoman standards, each of which was ornamented by a human skull, floated the national flags of France, England, Portugal, and Brazil, whilst evey cabooceer had his own particular pennon." (p. 73) "The square of the palace," Forbes continued, "was filled with armed people, seated on their hams, the polished barrels of their Danish muskets standing up like a forest. Under a thatched gateway [right] was the king, surrounded by his immediate wives; while on each side sat the amazons, all in uniform, armed, and accoutred; and in the centre of the square squatted the males. Hundreds of banners and umbrella enlivened the scene, and a constant firing from great guns and small arms increased the excitement." (p. 75), Plate in Frederick E. Forbes's Dahomey and the Dahomans: Being the Journey of Two Missions to the King of Dahomey, and his Residence at the Capital, in the Years 1849 and 1850 (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851), vol. 1, p. 74., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
Creator
M.&N. Hanhart Chromo Lith, lithographers
Date
1851
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Forbes 9727.D v 1 p 74, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2906