A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome Vol. 2

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. Sir Richard Burton's account plunges into the pageantry and severity of the Dahoman royal court, where military display, ritual, and violence are inseparable. At the Komasi Gate and in the palace grounds, fetish women, slaves, female warriors, drummers, dancers, captains, and umbrella-bearers move in tightly ordered processions before the king, while cowries are flung into the crowd and captives are judged in the victim shed. Burton's scenes of the new year and the "loosing horses" rite show synchronized Amazon dances, formal presentations, and vows to destroy Abeokuta, revealing a court driven by loyalty, propaganda, and war fever. The book also dwells on the annual customs and human sacrifice, presenting the "Evil Nights" as a grim but structured expression of religion, ancestral duty, and royal power. Bodies, severed heads, and secret killings underscore the kingdom's "wealth" in human life, even as Burton compares Dahomey's practices to other societies and turns to a broader, deeply racist colonial argument for forced labor, paternalism, and civilizing control.