3-053-766 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Logunkayau-Wa, or Tail Dancers of Dahomey, 1873. The king of Dahomey '...is attended entirely by women, having a well-armed guard of female soldiers...Our correspondent, Mr. J. A. Skertchly...furnishes a sketch of the performance of the Logunkayau-wa, which he saw during the Grand Custom, a yearly festival at Abomey...[which] took place at the palace of Ghegbeh...[The dancers were] dressed in a kind of waistcoat of striped cotton cloth... Their arms and ankles are encircled with numerous brass and silver bracelets...A belt of goatskin passes round the waist, at the back of which is a short stick, and at the end of this a long tail is suspended, composed of alternate bands of black and white horsehair...by the undulating movement of their bodies their tails are swung round behind them...during the whole continuance of the dance they sing the praises of the King...When his Majesty is tired of their performance, which sometimes lasts for three or four hours, he dismisses them with a present of rum and cowries...The band is seen on the left...Behind the drum are the 'gong-gong' players...Outside these another portion of the band is placed, whose instruments are simply gourds...In these a number of small stones are placed, which they rattle'. From "Illustrated London News", 1873.