Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/300

246 WEST AFEICA. all the bottles and jars of whiskey that he could afford in support of his case, sentence being given in favour of whoever made the greatest show. The insolvent debtor is held in dishonour, and at his death cast on the highway without funeral rites. The Fanti is distinguished from the neighbouring peoples by incisions on the cheek-bones and nape. The Akims, also on the south-east frontier of the Ashan- tis, are said to be easily recognised by remarkable prominences on the cheek-bones, forming, as it were, two rudimentary horns on either side of the nose. Till recently every Fanti was a soldier bound to follow his hrqffo, or " leader," to death. At the time of the first migrations towards the coast, the warriors are said to have declared that they would choose as their supreme chief whatever nobleman Fig. 107. — Inhabitants of the G-old Coast and Sueroundixo Districts. Scale 1 : 4 500,000. Denkera 0° West of Greenwich Depths. to 660 Feet. 660 Feet and upwards. 60 Miles. was willing to sacrifice his right hand for his country. Thereupon a chief eagerly tendered his arm, which, being severed at a blow, he was proclaimed braffo by acclamation. In this family, which was nearly exterminated by the Ashantis, the order of succession is always from the uncle to the sister's son, as amongst so many other African peoples. Every town, every village and family has its fetish, besides which there is a " master of masters, father of all," who by many tribes is confounded with the firmament. All natural objects are supposed to act for good or for evil on the destiny of each individual, and these influences have to be solicited or conjured by magic ceremonies. When a whale is stranded great evils are threatened, because the marine mammals are an ancient race swallowed uj) b}^ the waves, but