A mission to Gelele, King of Dahome, Vol. 2 (of 2)

The listener is drawn into a vivid portrait of Dahomey’s royal court, where a single afternoon unfurls into a dazzling pageant of ritual, music, and fierce competition. Burton’s eye‑witness account details the king’s “so‑sin” custom, a ceremony that blends solemn procession, colorful umbrellas, and a frenzied scramble for tossed cowries—tiny shells that become coveted treasure in a chaotic, yet honor‑bound, melee. The narrative captures the striking contrast between the graceful, heavily adorned “Amazons” and the raw, animal‑like ferocity of the fighters, offering a sensory whirlwind of drums, brass pans, and the scent of incense.

Beyond the spectacle, the recording delves into the social fabric of the kingdom: the roles of fetish women, the eerie presence of ancestral skulls, and the stark reality of a society where combat for the monarch’s favor is both rite and battlefield. Listeners gain a rare glimpse into a world where ceremony and survival intersect, all conveyed through Burton’s meticulous, yet evocative, observation of a day that teeters between celebration and savage contest.