The Mandingoes, Generally Speaking, Are Of A Mild, Sociable, And Obliging
Disposition.
The men are commonly above the middle size, well shaped,
strong, and capable of enduring great labour; the women are good-natured,
sprightly, and agreeable.
The dress of both sexes is composed of cotton
cloth, of their own manufacture; that of the men is a loose frock, not
unlike a surplice, with drawers which reach half way down the leg; and
they wear sandals on their feet, and white cotton caps on their heads.
The women's dress consists of two pieces of cloth, each of which they
wrap round the waist, which, hanging down to the ancles, answers the
purpose of a petticoat: the other is thrown negligently over the bosom
and shoulders.
This account of their clothing is indeed nearly applicable to the natives
of all the different countries in this part of Africa; a peculiar
national mode is observable only in the head dresses of the women.
Thus, in the countries of the Gambia, the females wear a sort of bandage,
which they call _Jalla_. It is a narrow stripe of cotton cloth, wrapped
many times round, immediately over the forehead. In Bondou the head is
encircled with strings of white beads, and a small plate of gold is worn
in the middle of the forehead. In Kasson, the ladies decorate their
heads, in a very tasteful and elegant manner, with white sea-shells. In
Kaarta and Ludamar, the women raise their hair to a great height by the
addition of a pad, (as the ladies did formerly in Great Britain,) which
they decorate with a species of coral, brought from the Red Sea by
pilgrims returning from Mecca, and sold at a great price.
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