URL

The new website with Cavazzi's text is located at:

http://www.bu.edu/afam/faculty/john-thornton/john-thorntons-african-texts/

This can also be located easily by simply typing John Thornton's African Texts into Google.

New Website

Dear Friends of Central African History.

I have decided to create a new blog to house the Cavazzi translation on Boston University's server. I am not closing this blog down, however, because some readers have cited it in published work, and in the interest of not creating an orphan citation, I will keep the text here as well. However, any revisions I might make on the stable text at Boston University will be recorded only there.

Meanwhile, the BU site has some other texts that might interest you. I have posted my translation of Antonio Franco's Synopsis Annalium, an important text on the Jesuits in early seventeenth century Kongo, published in 1725 but based on an unknown or lost text from the seventeenth century.

I have also posted my translation from Kikongo of the sermon found in the back of Joris van Gheel's Kikongo dictionary of 1648 along with an analytical forward and my transcription of the original text.

Note to Readers

In the archive section on the right is the complete English translation of Cavazzi's Missione Evangelica, vol. A. It has been posted in files, one per chapter. Cavazzi did not number his chapters consecutively, for reasons that I am not yet able to discover. However, pay attention to the pagination, given in square brackets, of the original manuscript if citing this text. In making citation, please note this edition and translation. I hope to post digital versions of my original typewritten transcript from the manuscript as soon as I have those available.

Book III Chapter 4

Having received the letters I left Cassange for the mission of Queen of Queen Ginga. Carmelite Fathers go to assist in the quilombo of Giaga Cassange and it is shown that forces not human but divine are those that convert people to our Holy Faith; and what happened. Chapter IV
I left Cassange, dear reader, with only my breviary, leaving what I had taken to the mission to their barbarous discretion, and when the secretary saw my determination since to go alone without provisions was very hard and difficult, he wished although he was a septuagenarian to accompany me for the space of five days which was a great toil to both of us, and finally with the soles of my feat swollen and weary with walking I reached the Lunino river where I found Father Benedetto who was a great comfort to me, and the secretary returned to the quilombo, and when the Giaga saw I had left behind everything I had taken he sent everything after me, and also flour to eat, these things arrived by there was no talk of eating them because it had already been divided between them. Finally I reached Embaqua whence the Father took the road to Massangano and I that of Matamba, Court of Queen Ginga, who having news of my going sent ten slaves to meet me and on arriving at Court I was received with great joy and celebration by the Queen, and by my Superior. The barbarous Cassange was much consoled by my departure [27] but the rewarder of good and punisher of evil did not wait long before making himself known as supreme Lord and showing them how in his hand remain the Crowns and whips which he extends to everyone as he deserves, and he extended to the inhuman Cassange the punishment of pestilence, and took the life of many without a remedy being found, and the living were continually made mouthpieces of the dead, their weeping and sobbing was heard in every corner and path for the death of their dear ones, friends and spouses, and the fury of the pestilence reached such a point and its dreadful symptoms struck people down so much that the barbarian felt angry and troubled, and ordered that not only those victims must not be touched, but that nobody must dare to mourn the dead; now I say, dear reader, speaking to our loving Lord: "Lord of my soul, why not castigate the barbarous Cassange, and pardon so many innocents who are dying without being guilty of anything?" Our loving God may answer that the barbarian does not deserve to be cured with quick and brief medicine, but his true punishment is reserved for him in the next life. Seeing the fury of the plague grow worse he gathered his Priests and Witch-doctors together so that they might with their art extinguish the cause of all these deaths, O mad barbarian; the ignorant ministers uttered their lies, and concluded that the cause was the curse laid on them by the Capuchin Priest, and as a remedy it was necessary to order under severe penalties that all kitchens and places where fires were lit and food usually prepared were to be broken up, the garbage taken out of the quilombo, and the ashes taken to the square in baskets, and after the Priests and people had taken them out in procession, and the banned things had been thrown away and the garbage taken out of the quilombo, they removed the ashes from the quilombo, as I have said, in procession, then returned with great joy and celebration and ordered new fires to be lit and cooking done according to their custom, and this ignorance seemed to me similar to that great madness of some pagans, who walk about the surroundings of their cities bearing arms, and say they are frightening away illness, and that it will flee them, what could be greater madness?
Cassange was deceived and the plague did not cease until it pleased the divine Mercy to see whether they were repenting of the sins they had committed, but seeing them obstinate God sent the second punishment which their natural bent towards evil had warranted and this was a great famine; to keep one of their quixille the barbarian [28] had decided to wage war, and commanded under rigorous penalties that nobody must dare to sow any kind of food crop which could sustain people's life, until victory was gained, without thinking that the prosperity of adversity of events depended on this divine gift, the war was delayed, the time of sowing passed, and after its expiry three thousand soldiers returned; the only remedy remaining for people's help was sowing maize, but the ground was too dry, and so the barbarian was punished, and there followed a great famine, nor was he brought to repentance by this, and even the obstinate man's punishment persevered because he waged war in the Songo Province and lost more that four thousand soldiers, and this was in the year 1661. In this year he also sent out another army, and returned to sending one, and God once more afflicted the army with plague, and many people died, but he did not change his life owing to these adverse events but became more obstinate yet in showing his natural bent towards evil, because he wished to maintain and observe their diabolical ceremonies in all their rigour; a child had been taken in the army before he had teeth as their barbarous custom demanded, and as the delinquent could not be put to death as he was a slave of the Portuguese, he was ordered to be soundly beaten, and this was punctiliously executed. It was necessary afterwards to purify the polluted quilombo, and to this end he in person with his chief wife, the greatest people in his army, and their Priests poorly dressed and very sad because of the violation of their law, went to the border of the quilombo where the Witch-doctor Priest killed a Congolese for the Congo, that is to say a bearded man and a eunuch conducted the ceremonies of blessing, sprinkling the blood and eating the flesh, and gaily and festively they returned to the quilombo having purified it of the sin committed there.
So while events were adverse to that barbarian it appeared to some that the mechanical arts were like the art of saving souls and they did not greatly esteem the skill of the Capuchins in executing them; and it was not enough for them to hold this opinion privately [29] but they also wanted to spread it abroad, and make it understood that only they could convert souls to God. But I say that man is nothing but a mere instrument and trumpet which does not sound without the strength of the trumpeter's breath; the missionary is simply an instrument and human strength does not convert souls, but our loving God sets out to love them, because by loving him we love our neighbour, and desire the good of his soul and body, and procure it for him with love, charity, patience and humility, as if it were only human strength the hundreds of thousands of people who have been baptised by Capuchin missionaries would not have been baptised.
The Sacred Religion of our Lady the Virgin of the Canticle decided to send two Priests to Cassange, and for this enterprise the Reverend Father Luis di S. Antonio and Father Thomaso de Jesu, Barefoot Carmelites, were elected to help with the barbarian and to see him return to the straight way from which he was going far astray, and we could say he was voluntarily lost. The Priests left Loanda where they were staying, and went to where the barbarian lived in the Province of Gangella, where they arrived after a month's journey and were courteously received by the barbarian, but with feigned sentiments for such are hypocrites, and it was not long before they discovered that under his sheep's clothing was hidden a furious wolf. The Priests began to exercise their office and apostolic ministry with great zeal for the salvation of souls, and the barbarian appeared with his false appearance to welcome their zeal, and gave the Priests so many favours that they believed the sentiments he showed to be true and wrote full of spiritual joy not only to Loanda, but also to Portugal giving notification of the good beginning which gave promise of something better to follow, and an ending which was better still, but as they did not test whether his spirit belonged to God or to Satan as the Apostle teaches they were deceived as a result, because however much eagerness the barbarians showed for their spiritual health their deeds showed the opposite, because they gave no satisfaction except in words, it was all tomorrow, tomorrow, it was all promises, without any result being seen, something which is not new but old among evil and perverted Christians, but [30] ordinarily there is no lack of due punishment corresponding to the sins they have committed nor was it lacking for this barbarian as you shall see from the following story.
In the same year MDCLXI towards the end of October while the Priests were attending to their office, the barbarian determined to wage war on Queen Ginga, and his determination was at once put into practice without the priests being able to prevent him; first they carried out their usual preliminary practices with devilish sacrifices and other diabolical ceremonies during which a Witch-doctor priest arose, and said that if they waged war against the Queen he would be destroyed, and the barbarian smiled at this prophecy and said "When war starts you shall go and see whether you have guessed right or not". He sent about two thousand soldiers under the command of his sergeant general, to prey on some Vassals of the Queen a day's journey from the Court, and so as not to give any indication of their intentions they also did some harm to some Vassals of Cassange himself, from whom they brought back more wounds than money, and finally they came to the Sovi of Queen Caole, and Dalangue, gave the assault at the rising of Phoebus, captured many people and killed all the little children and all the soldiers, and only preserved the lives of the women and children who could walk, and turned round to attack another Vassal on their retreat, but there happened to them what usually happens to him who wants everything and comprehends nothing, because while they were assuring themselves of a place where they thought they could fill their sacks with plunder, many of them were captured and killed, and the others took flight and they returned to the Court from the war on the ninth day of November, a day after the departure of the enemy. It was midday, and this retreat was signalled with triple firing of guns; the Queen was asleep and was suddenly awaked by her Courtiers and came to me in the Church, and kneeling before the holy Cross exposed her needs to the author of life, and how she was constrained to defend herself. And when this was over she went out into the square, left her throne surrounded by her ladies carrying bows and arrows, and a great number of soldiers. Soldiers came from all sides, and meanwhile cataracts poured from Heaven, and sent continuous rain with thunder and lightning in such abundance that it lasted for three days and nights in succession without ever ceasing, something I have not seen in twelve years [31] of living in this interior of Ethiopia. He sent his soldiers to follow the enemy who would not follow them; they reached the river Cambo which was not very wide, but deep and precipitous, and they were able to cross it, but being confident that the furious current would be lower in the morning they stayed facing the river that night, but it did not diminish but rose much higher. The Witch-doctor, advised by his master Satan, confirmed what he had said before leaving Cassange, and repeating to his people that they would shortly be destroyed he applied himself to saving his own person, and that of his disciple, and without sheltering from the rain or the darkness of the night he crossed the river and returned to Cassange. In the morning, when Phoebus appeared, he described the war to the Queen with such spirit and force that they sent news to Coltello about the war with Cassange, and 150 people they had captured alive with 16 flags, and some who tried to cross the river and were drowned; there were ten Captains, and four higher officers like Colonels in Europe, each of whom sheds blood when he pleases, and without his judicial powers depending on Cassange; they also captured a fair number of weapons and many military musical instruments, of which he ordered nails to be made for the service of the Church, and the Witch-doctor's prophecy was verified.
After that slaughter they formed a mound of the heads of the dead officers, and ate part of their bodies, and took part into their homes, as such a barbarous custom cannot be prevented especially in a time of war, for such is the hate that one man bears another; nor was anything left except the stripped bones, and then they gave their funeral to those heads, and said to them various wicked psalms and lessons, and showed them scorn and derision in various ways, and used flour, tavulla leaves and dust and incense, and various beverages according to their barbarous custom as holy water; when the funeral was over, they returned victorious to their Court, and on the day of the Presentation of our Lady the Virgin I offered the flags to the same Blessed Virgin Saint Mary [32] with great joy and celebration for the victory obtained, and giving many thanks to blessed God; this was no slight punishment to the barbarian, but he did not mend his ways for this, indeed when he had the bad news he wanted to rise in person, but was dissuaded by the Fathers, and exhorted to change his life, but all was in vain because he grew angrier than a harpy, fiercer than a lion, crueller than a tiger, but until now he had not been able to vindicate himself, but rather grows worse and worse with continual losses without ever catching up or amending himself, which was a great affliction to the Priests, who saw themselves deceived, and as they were bound by what they had written to Loanda and Portugal, at that time I received a letter from the sacristan of the said Reverend Fathers, Paullo Cariglio, who had fulfilled the same office for Father Antonio da Serrauezza and this follows, translated into our Italian idiom from the Portuguese so that from it may be seen Cassange's natural bent towards evil.
Copy of the letter
Reverend Father Brother Giovanni Antonio da Montecuculo Capuchin apostolic missionary of the Italian nation.
I arrived in this quilombo of the Giaga Cassange with the Reverend Fathers Ludovico da Santo Antonio, Father Thomaso di Giesu, barefoot Carmelites, to see if he wished to abandon the inhuman life of a Giaga, and be converted in his heart to God and our Holy Faith, and condescend to the Articles which Father Antonio da Serrauezza made when he was present there in this quilombo, or those which you, Reverend Father, brought on the orders of the Reverend Father Antonio Romano, Superior of the Mission. Father Ludovico, as the Superior, dealt with Cassange to ask him if he would concede the above Articles and their execution which would be done little by little, at first he said yes with his mouth but not with his heart, and did not wait long before showing it because he did not want to observe any of them and until now we Reverend Fathers have been unable to do anything in the service of blessed god and the salvation of souls, and when Father Ludovico saw it was all wasted labour we went to the Court of Cassange, and the Father said to him that he took no account of what had been preached to him until now about their salvation and he was deceiving them as he had the Capuchins, making conditions that they would let the Witch-doctors go and would cease to eat human [33] flesh, and would not sack and loot, and it was all a deceit; he made some articles to Father Ludovico and promised to observe them, but kept their Idols, and so that we should see openly that they were deceiving us they killed two people that same day, and removed a quarter of their bodies in front of me, and Father Thomaso, and white Portuguese, and on the following day he killed people and threw their internal organs across the place where we had to pass, such were the barbarities that Cassange is accustomed to, which cause us great annoyance, scandal and disturbance; when his secretary saw how little shame he had he went to Cassange to warn him of what he was doing, but he presently rose up with this diabolical answer: "just as Christians esteem their law, so I esteem mine, and that of my ancestors." The Secretary answered him that he should let the Fathers go, and he answered that he kept them for reasons of state and convenience; finally they decided to leave and I caused the barbarian to gather his officers together with them, and they said they did not need to abandon their Idols, and the Father asked him why he had been baptised if he did not want to keep God's law, and he answered that he had been baptised to please the Father and the Ambassador, and that he was not baptised, and did not want to keep any law except that of a Giaga. It is enough for you, Reverend Fathers, to know what they did to the Reverend Father when he made them the spiritual discourse on that day of the glorious Assumption of the Virgin our Lady; they rose against the Reverend Fathers with arms, and also spoke against the Most Holy Virgin; but O unfortunate ones who have still to pay for everything! Cassange is so tied to the devil that it would be a great mercy of blessed God if he would leave his Idolatry, there is nothing he does not adore, no barbarity he does not commit, and as a final sign of his ill-will he ordered a black man to be cut in pieces while still alive in front of the Church while the Father was saying mass, and they ate him within sight of us. Such are the deeds of this renegade that it would need much paper and time to write them, and these are the reasons why we shall leave this quilombo so as not to waste any more time to no purpose because God will not fail to pay us for our goodwill, and give these unfortunates the punishment they deserve. I end here. Cassange, 12 June 1663
Paullo Cariglio d'Huellara
[34] Having received this letter I wrote to Father Ludovico, and had the answer enclosed here which I have translated from Portuguese into our Italian idiom as a further authentication of the barbarities of Cassange, and his lack of stability in the things of our Holy Faith, and it is as follows word for word.
Most reverend and loving Father in Christ Father Brother Giovanni Antonio da Montecuccolo Apostolic missionary.
I received the letter from you, Reverend Father, and was greatly cheered, and with regard to what you, Reverend Father, ask me about the Christianity of Cassange, and you will rejoice greatly in the Lord that he is making great progress. I confess to you, Reverend Father, that I find myself embarrassed by not knowing how to answer and only say that I would have great pleasure and incomparable joy if I saw the Catholic faith increasing and the Christian religion flourishing in this quilombo, because if it were so I should be blessed and praised, and my labour of service would have been fruitful and well employed, but you, Reverend Father, will be sorry. I have great sorrow in my heart in this respect, and more than I can say in words, but to obey you, Reverend Father, in what you ask me I must say something not of progress being made in Christianity because it is not being made but indeed the rebellion and hardness of heart of those unfortunate people; Cassange has a harder heart than Pharaoh in the things of our Holy Faith, the words of God have no effect on him, I have been in this quilombo for two years, and until the present have baptised no adults, nor are they so disposed that either I or my companion could in all conscience baptise them. Can there be greater sorrow? I feel so much for those poor souls that I cannot mention it without tears. May it please the divine Clemency to use his infinite pity and mercy on these rebels, and touch them with his grace, that they may open their eyes and ears to God's words; it cannot be believed or said how tightly closed they keep them, which is another thing which afflicts me extremely because the Apostle says faith enters through the ears but if these unfortunates will not give ear to doctrine, or obey the Gospel, what fruit can be expected from this tree? I call God to witness of this truth. Lord, who believest what we heard, did Cassange perchance believe even occasionally what I preached to him so many times? Was there one man in his quilombo who gave [35] any credit to the truth of the Gospel which I have taught so many times, was there not one, I say this to you Reverend Father with great sorrow in my heart, then were you about to say so? It was never through not applying myself that I might have abandoned undertaking the work of teaching and persuading them of the truth with all possible diligence; they never said they did not want to hear the truth, and thus deceived me for a long time, but when I found it was all a waste of time, unprofitable, to try to constrain them, as they had been baptised by my predecessor in the mission Father Antonio da Serrauezza, to keep the promises they had made and to which they had committed themselves on baptism, which I cited in order to say that they should keep them, and I have the powers which the said Father gave to me; Cassange seeing himself under constraint, without knowing how to answer, said: "all these things are true". I put this at the end of this letter so that you, Reverend Father, may see that he had said, promised and agreed them with the said Father, while his intention and that of his people was merely to see the Father leaving his quilombo because he did not wish to be baptised, nor to put into practice what they had often promised, and following this be obliged to return with people promising to be baptised, and do what had been commanded them; and Cassange would at once be baptised and married, and some of his principal subjects would do the same and others would follow his example, but they said and did this because they knew that they could not in any other or better way oblige him to return to the quilombo because they wanted to hold counsel with him as they saw that while he was with them they were sure of war with the whites, and this was the only reason for their pretenses, and they did not want to abandon the practices of their ancestors with which they were born and grew up, and that they had always observed and kept, and with which they had won so many victories in war, and they never intended to abandon these things, and if they made promises to the Father it was to keep him happy and force him to return to the quilombo, and not to keep the promises which were contrary to the laws of their ancestors, who were Giaghi, and they wanted to keep them, observe them, live and die in them, and only did a few things which were not contrary to them such as being baptised, married, going to Church [36] and they also promised to observe them because it did not matter at all to them, cost them anything or give them any trouble, because they said the salt of the Father who baptises is ours and can do no harm, and they were washed and went to Church because it cost them nothing. But as for the rest I did not try to meddle as it was a waste of effort, as they had no intention of abandoning their Witch-doctors who are their teachers and instruct them, their Priests who conduct their sacrifices and other ceremonies, and they said many other things which would take a long time to relate; but if I had to describe in detail what I have undergone with that renegade apostate of the faith, I should need not paper, but a book, and so as not to overrun the paper it will be enough for this brief notification to satisfy what you, Reverend Father, ask of me, and I only add that I envy the good which is being enjoyed in the Christian community of Matamba where you are working, may God be praised and glorified, who wishes to pay you, Reverend Father, not only with the eternal reward of everlasting glory, but also in this life with the glory of bringing fruit from souls, and being an instrument of the glorification of God, whom I ask that he should advance Christianity and grant to you, Reverend Father, health and long life in his holy service.
Dated Cassange 13 August 1663
Fr. Ludovico da S. Antonio, Barefoot Carmelite
Articles of the above-named Father for good Christianity
1 I insist that they should come to Church on the feastdays 2. 4. 6. and on Sundays, by command.
2 That they should throw out and expel the Witch-doctors because they cannot be taught by them, who are ministers of the devil, who teach lies, but by the Priests of God who teach the truth.
3 That they must make no sacrifices to the devil either in public or in private or secretly so that he may grant them good success in war, but only address prayers to God.
4 That nobody kill Conghi (who are bearded people) or anyone else on the occasion of funerals, or quiluija, and the burial of their dead, or sacrifice for the souls of the dead because such sacrifices are diabolical, and Christians cannot make them.
(Picture of priest speaking to a lion)
[37]
5 That they must not eat human flesh.
6 That all women must give birth in the quilombo as they do in the quilombo of Queen Ginga, and that nobody may kill the babies who are born.
7 That all people are obliged to inform the missionary Father when people are about to die whether they are adults or children, and this on pain of being sold.
8 That no Witch-doctor must remain in the quilombo, nor go in public, nor be allowed to appear in the seat either of Cassange or any subject, nor raise a sun-shade, on pain of the same punishment.
The answer they gave
They promised to observe these articles, but then betrayed their obligation because they not only did not keep them but openly declared that they did not wish to keep them, nor to observe the law of God as they had promised, but wished to live and die as their ancestors had done.
Articles of Father Antonio da Serrauezza, apostolic Capuchin missionary.
If Cassange Caquingurij Captain General of this quilombo in the Province of Gangella wishes to receive Holy Baptism, and become a Christian, he must believe in one true God confessing the ministry of the Most Holy Trinity, and the Incarnation of the son of God born of the Virgin Mary and the mystery of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with the other mysteries, and the twelve articles which are contained in the creed, professing entire faith as the Holy Mother Roman Church teaches, believes and professes, and render obedience to the Supreme Pontiff Vicar of Christ and successor of St Peter.
2 He must renege all the idols and devils enemies of God, and prohibit all sorts of Witch-doctors, nor permit any Witch-doctor to appear in the seat of Cassange, or any of his subjects, or any other dignitary residing in this quilombo, nor let the Witch-doctor be borne in a net with a sunshade, but must be totally expelled in refutation of his lies.
3 If Cassange or any other person wishes to be baptised, if he is not willing to remain continent, and maintain a celibate life, he must marry one woman only who may be his chief wife, or any other he chooses, on condition that she becomes [38] a Christian.
4 Cassange and all others who are baptised must frequent the Church on Sunday, and by commandment be present at mass, and other spiritual functions according to the custom of Holy Mother Church, and the dead must be buried there, or in the cemetery outside the Church.
5 No Christian may eat human flesh as it is an abominable cruelty, but any Christian may eat the flesh of whatever animal, fruit etc. he chooses with the necessary exception of the days of Lent.
6 That neither Cassange nor any of his subjects may kill Conghi, nor allow men or women to be killed by Witch-doctors, nor let their blood be taken, nor let them be eaten, to hold funerals and sacrifices for any dead person as these sacrifices are diabolical and offend God, but it will be permitted to kill in justice enemies in wartime and thieves and murderers convicted by witnesses and confessing out of their own mouths.
7 That in whatever place Cassange situates his quilombo it will be possible to build a Church in which to celebrate Holy Mass and baptisms and in which divine parochial offices may be exercised by any priest legitimately sent by his Superiors and when this Priest comes he may claim gifts, tithes and payments according to the custom of the Holy Church.
8 That by public proclamation licence should be conceded as Queen Ginga has done, that all women may legitimately give birth inside the quilombo, and in any place where they may find themselves at the time of birth, prohibiting any woman to kill her child on pain of being publicly whipped with the sum of 39 or 40 lashes, and the same to those who tear their children to pieces, or throw them in rivers or to the dogs, and the same should apply to adulterers or those who give orders not to let children into the quilombo to be baptised until they have teeth, because nobody must die without Holy Baptism not only for its usefulness, but because of its good example to the world.
9 Finally that public swearing must be abolished, and its Priest condemned to [39] slavery if he is not willing to abandon this abuse, and become a Christian, and all the baptised people are obliged to keep and observe the ten commandments of the law of God and the five of Holy Mother Church. If Cassange and all his officers will promise to keep and observe the above Articles or at least consent to this pact with the greater number of his subjects of good will, I should baptise Cassange, and whatever pagan wishes to be baptised on these conditions.
Dated this quilombo of Cassange 9 July 1657
I wrote to Brother Antonio da Serrauezza apostolic missionary and signed with my own hand, and I had understood Cassange had heard the above Articles explained to him in his own language by his Secretary and with his subjects have his consent and promised to observe and keep them all, and when he had conformed I baptised him with the name of D. Pasqual and his Tandala with the name of D. Giovanni, there was great joy and celebration and the Ambassador, Captain Antonio Rois Maccado was Godfather.
Dear reader, you have heard the Articles of both of them, and observed the promises and their execution, now you must know to make the facts clearer that when the Reverend Father Prior of the Carmelites was informed of what was happening in Cassange and of the hardness of those barbarians, and their obstination, and what the religious had to endure in that quilombo, he ordered that they should leave there according to the Gospel and when they had the orders of their Superior they determined not to leave jointly in order to see whether the fear of their departure would bear any fruit, and first in anticipation they wrote me the following letter to give further proof of the obstinacy of Cassange.
Reverend and most Beloved Father Giovanni Antonio Jesu, and Maria Josefo.
Let there remain in your soul, Reverend Father, and let Heaven award you many blessings with the life and health which we wish for you, I and my companion Father Tomaso de Jiesu and with that we give thanks to God. We bear you, Reverend Father, holy envy for what we hear of the fruit which God by means of yourself, Reverend Father, causes to be borne in the quilombo of the above Queen Ginga, so you, Reverend Father, will feel great compassion for what you will hear, for [40] working so much to bring forth any fruit we do so little in this quilombo of Cassange, we are already exhausted by working with these barbarous people, although we do not despair of their salvation and remedy, because it lies only in the amendment of their life and the salvation of the souls of those who are eternally condemned already, and S. Augustine gave no grounds for despair. We are already tired of working with them, and are determined to give you news, having already told everything to our Prelate.
We are determined to spend the day in this quilombo, so as to receive your blessing, Reverend Father, and to thank the Queen for all her help as Christianity is increasing in her quilombo, and because the way is more comfortable and convenient for many reasons, so you Reverend Father can tell the Lady Queen, whom we hope in God to see. We expect at present to give you this news, Reverend Father, owing to the necessity in which we find ourselves to deserve your great charity, and notify you that we lack hosts, which makes it impossible to say mass except on feast days, let blessed God be praised and glorified, who wished to deprive us of even our only consolation of celebrating every day, and I shall be forever obliged to you for your charity, and end this letter in this quilombo of Cassange 15 January 1663, your servant, Reverend Father.
Brother Ludovico da S. Antonio, Barefoot Carmelite
Superior
So Father Thomaso left and Father Ludovico stayed for six months without being able to see in Cassange or any of his people any sign of piety in their souls, but only barbarous obstinacy and perversity, and if before they were stones they became diamonds, marble, jasper, and so persevered until the end, unless God in his mercy softens their hearts, and removes them from the blindness in which they live; and the above Father seeing that it was all wasted labour, he too carried out the order of his Prelate, making the journey to this Court of Queen Ginga in which he arrived on the 21st day of October 1663 and after a few days' rest left for Loanda.
It is enough to make one weep tears of blood to hear the story of the barbarities and [41] cruelties and obstinacy of Cassange and his Vassals, and the hardness of their hearts; but what punishment will come to them? what misfortunes hand over them? We can guess form what you have heard in previous Chapters, and to end this treatise I add that in the year 1661 while Cassange was talking with the lord Governor's Ambassador he was given notice that the relations of one of his concubines who was present had run away, and at the same time a blood brother of hers came past, the barbarian ordered him to be stabbed and having committed this barbarous ordered that his concubine should eat his raw flesh, and when she refused to, he had her beaten, and made her eat her own brother's flesh.

Book III Chapter 3

Having been informed of the barbarities of Cassange, the Superior sends Brother Junipero da San Severino with instructions to remove Father Antonio da Serravezza Chapter III
Having been informed of the barbarous practices of Cassange, and his obstinacy and incredulity towards our Holy Faith, and his constancy and firmness in the laws, rites, customs and ceremonies of the Giaghi, the Superior sent Brother Guinipero da San Severino of the Province of Naples with instructions and order to assure himself of the truth, and if he found the information true should come with the said Father to the Court of Queen Ginga; the Priest went to pay his respect to the Holy Office and reached Cassange, diligently acquired information from white Portuguese and others who lived there, and found that it was all true, and then presented to Cassange [14] a letter from his Superior in which he wrote that he would send him another monk if he promised to stop leading that diabolical life. So the two Priests set out for Queen Ginga's Court taking the road to Embaca where they found the Superior with whom they came to that Court taking advantage of the opportunity because of the wars which were being fought in that Kingdom of Matamba. The Superior having left the Court went to the City of Loanda to deal with some things necessary for the mission with the Governor, and the Superior drew up some Articles which are recorded on the next page, and consigned them to the Governor to send to Cassange; the Governor sent these Articles, and awaited an answer for eight months, after which Cassange asked the Governor for a Priest who was a native of Angola, without answering either him or the Superior on the subject of the Articles. When the Governor had seen the Giaga's request he hurried to gratify it, but did not find anyone who wished to go and finally wrote a letter to the Superior to ask him to send a Priest to Cassange, although it was more necessary for the Provinces of the Libolo. The Father who was seriously ill because of what endured in those Provinces wished to put off that evil day as you will hear elsewhere, by sending someone to Cassange, and carrying out this function fell to me. The Superior gave me a letter for Cassange, and the above-mentioned Articles, which he was to keep, and in order that the reader may not censure this action of yielding to half-pagans, not to say complete infidels, the reason was that they had promised Father Antonio da Serrauezza to observe some articles he had made for the benefit of their souls, but afterwards they betray the obligation because they were lavish in promising and niggardly in carrying out their promises, and ordinary occurrence in the Ethiopic nation.
Articles of Father Antonio Romano Prefect of the Mission to be presented to the Giaga Cassange, and his officers, translated from the Portuguese language into our Italian idiom
I brother Antonio Romano Vice Prefect of this mission of the Kingdom of Dongo make the following Articles to propose them to D. Pasqual Cassange, and to the officers of his army to keep them inviolably for the good foundation of Christianity which had already been begun and for that let blessed God be praised and served as the obligation of every faithful Christian demands. [15]
1 That no man or woman on pain of death should even if pagan offer a Sacrifice to Idols, and invoke the devil by killing men, women, or animals to this effect.
2 Those mothers who kill their sons after giving birth to them and having them baptised will undergo the same punishment, and so will Fathers if they are guilty of the crime.
3 That all women should give birth inside the quilombo, and at once bring their children to the Church to be baptised, and whoever goes outside the quilombo to give birth shall be publicly whipped and subject other punishments subject to the arbitration of the Father assistant missionary.
4 That nobody shall eat human flesh even in war under pain of beating and other punishments subject to the arbitration of the missionary Father.
5 That public swearing which they use shall be totally abandoned as being a diabolical thing against the law of blessed God.
6 That they should not lift Scili on them nor keep them in or outside their Houses.
7 That those who live with their wives and have been baptised should live as Holy Mother Church commands in legitimate matrimony, and not live in concubinage.
8 That they should throw the Witch-doctors from the quilombo, and not make use of them.
When these orders and articles reached the Missionary Father he presented them to Cassange and his officers, who swore to keep them inviolably, with a public act, and signed the paper promising to live a Christian way and I protested that if they broke their promise and failed to observe it I should remove the Priest from them.
Having these orders I left with the same Superior who was going back to the Court of Queen Ginga from Massangano and we went together as far as Embaca, where he took the road for Matamba, and I that of Cassange, but not without some warning of what was going to happen, because when I was thanks to our loving God in very good health and physical disposition, on the night before my departure he gave me a great fever. Spurning this in the morning I celebrated holy mass for the third day of Pentecost, and then set out on the way to Cassange, but did not go far before a new fever arrived and lasted until the fifth day in the afternoon, and on the following day I set out [16] towards Cassange, a journey of 18 or 20 day, mostly through woods and uninhabited places, I went well for six days thanks to the Creator, but on the seventh the fever returned, and lasted until I arrived where the Giaga lived, and some days it came twice, with great chills and paroxysms; I suffered great torment on this journey, and having reached the Lunino river without having eaten from the night before to nightfall on that day, burning with fever, dying of thirst, I found myself without water to quench it, because the river was salt, and the sun already hidden from us, and to this was added the roaring of lions and other wild animals, which made me doubly watchful, and shortly before they had eaten the slave of a white Portuguese who had brought him in the quilombo of the Giaga. Finally daylight came and I pursued my journey towards Gangella where I arrived in five days' time. That man came from his Court to receive me on the request of some Portuguese who were there for trade, and I made an oration before a Cross erected in the square where Father Antonio da Serravezza had previously lived. Then I retired to the house of one of the white men who was charitable enough to take me in, as that barbarian had not assigned me a house to sleep in, and did not wait long before showing me his ill-will and natural bent towards evil, and making plain in secret of his heart; when all the officers of his army were gathered together at my request I was accompanied by white Portuguese in his Court, and by his secretary. I presented the letter from the Superior and the articles addressed to him, made a speech as the time and occasion required, pertaining to the salvation of souls, but he refused and rebelled against the divine law and its observance with a manifest declaration that he did not wish to assent to keeping them, but to live according to the ancient law of his ancestors, and follow its traces, and at the end of the speech he spewed out that he had never wanted or asked for a Capuchin Priest as he knew well that we were a disinterested people, and received nothing temporal, and for this reason did not adhere to his law and ceremonies, or permit him his Priests and sacrifices and seers but he had asked for a Priest native to Angola who being an interested party would have permitted him everything. I tried to enlighten him saying that everything done was for the benefit of their souls, because although he had had some good examples in this respect he would not admit that they did or could do so, but the barbarian [17] stopped up his ears, and said I could return to my Superior with those articles which were contrary to those of the Giaghi that they observed and kept, and with this evil lack of respect I returned home with little satisfaction, and also with daily fever, but did not fail to say Holy Mass, and make him a spiritual oration for their salvation undeceiving them from their false law, rites and ceremonies which they observed contrary to out Holy Faith promised in the Holy baptismal washing, and seeing that exhortations profited them nothing I gave all the information to the Superior as he had ordered me to, and wrote him the following letter of which you shall know the answer.
Very Reverend Father
I revere with this letter Your Reverence whom I advise that in execution of the office imposed on me to come to this army of the Giaga Cassange, I reached it on the fifth of last month and was received with ill will as the Giaga himself plainly showed, but I concealed this and did not lose heart, requested an audience with the intervention of the principal officers of the army who congregated on the ninth of the month in his Banza where I went accompanied by the secretary of the Embassy of the Lord Governor and by the white people who are present here, we reached his presence where he was surrounded by his principal Chilambi, to whom I made a speech as the importance of the subject demanded, exhorting all to our Holy Faith, and not to fall back after setting out on the Christian way as they wickedly did in the Giaga life, which was a provocation to God who would punish them severely in this life, and with Hell in the next. After having said this, and other exhortations which God inspired me to, I presented the letter addressed to him by Their Reverences, and the Articles to observe and keep which you gave me, and when they had been read and proclaimed by the secretary in their own language in the presence of all Cassange answered that they did not want any precepts to keep nor observe, then the Captain of Chilambi spoke, and said that they did not want to receive in any way, nor subject themselves to such Articles as they were Giaghi and had lived as such until now, and wished to do the same in future [18] following the laws, rites, customs and ceremonies of their ancestors, and they had not asked for a Capuchin Priest because they already knew it was contrary to their religion, but that they had asked for a Priest who was a son of their land and petitioned Portuguese merchants who were trading there to have their children baptised when it appeared to conform to their custom, because they also knew that it would not be contrary to their ceremonies, and would not disturb them in their Giaga life, its rites and sacrifices in which they had been brought up from childhood, and so they wished to persevere until death, last tribute of the traveller. This was the answer he gave me in this audience with very indecent words which the interpreter did not wish to relate so as not to give additional pain to the invalid, but afterwards he reported all to me when I was recovering from my illness, and these to contaminate the ears of hearers, and not to be censured for irrational animals from the woods and forests of for some infernal fury rising form the tartarean habitations.
Many days after this speech the above-mentioned Captain of Chilambi, named Cuncha, came to visit me and spoke in this way: "Father, I have come to visit you, so that we may mitigate the rigour of the Articles proposed, if you have the heart to stay with us", and hearing this that he said I asked him what they thought. This is what he answered, attentive reader.
1 "As to the first, Father, we answer that we can in no way renounce the public sacrifices of killing people according to our custom because if we did not do it we would not be Lords and would not have an army, but we will not kill in front of Your Reverences but outside.
Second, we will contrive not to kill so many children as before, though it will be difficult as we are accustomed to killing them.
Third, we answer that we cannot permit a woman to give birth inside the quilombo because if one were to do so it would lead to our destruction, and Cassange would die immediately, and we should too, but we can permit children to come into the Church to be baptised as soon as they cut their teeth, because it is a precept with us that no boy could enter the army before he has teeth."
The answer to the forth made me laugh. "Father," he said, "we shall not eat human flesh except [19] in time of war", which I answered that they would not eat it when they had it, and he shamelessly answered that that was true, he knew well that I was aware of their barbarous and cruel deeds.
To the fifth: "Father, we cannot renounce public swearing for any order because with it we keep ourselves Giaghi, and without it we cannot keep ourselves.
As to not leaving or taking Scilli this does not admit of an answer because those are our remedies for illness, see whether we are willing to renounce them and whether you would be willing to renounce your remedies and medicine which give you bodily health"
He gave a good answer to the seventh but to what purpose? that is to set up houses with only one woman, if afterwards they could divorce at pleasure, or change her for another, and lend her like any animal.
At the eighth, "I say, Father, that our Witch-doctors are our Priests, as you others are those of the white nation, through them our ancestors speak, and advise us as to what we have to do for our good and use, through their means we keep ourselves, and without them we cannot go on." Those, dear reader, were the answers and mitigation of the rigour of the proposed Articles, given by the above-named principal officer of Cassange, head of all the other officers.
The lumbo, senior Counsellor of Cassange, has told me several times: "Father, we shall esteem it highly if you stay in our Army for our security from the white people's war, but as to observing the precepts you teach we cannot do it, nor can we renounce the Giaga laws, rites, customs and ceremonies that our ancestors have observed. I say this to you, Father, so that you may know our will and need to see no other sign except that of the Giaghi.
The Colambolo, second person in the war, said to me, regarding teaching doctrine to the children, that it could not be done, because they had to live in their domains, not in the army, and that they too, being their sons, had to observe the laws they observed, and there was no lack of teachers to teach them, and Priests experienced in their laws, rites and ceremonies.
The Chilamba Pando whose name was Bartolomeo, when exhorted to baptise his children, made me the following answer in the presence of four white people: "Father, our women when they are pregnant [20] eat victuals with salt, and similarly the child they hold in their womb receives his part so that it is not necessary for you, Father, to baptise them", and do not be amazed, reader, at this speech because they commonly call baptism eating salt, and if anyone were to administer it without salt, it would be a great error because they would think they had not been baptised; I took this pagan answer not as a sign of amendment, but of their bent towards evil, and he gave another worse answer which does not deserve to be related; Your Reverence can see what good heads such limbs must have.
Cassange said to me about his witch-doctors: "Father, this law of God you teach does not preserve one from death, because I see priests and monks dying, nor do the dead speak in you as they do in our Witch-doctors, nor do you do the other things they do, so why follow and observe your law?" I tried to show the barbarous unbeliever the force of our Holy Faith, and convince him with effective reasons, and show him that the faith of their Witch-doctors was all a deception and lie to draw money from their purses, and good from their treasure-chests, but O wretched bird born in an evil valley, this man of ill-will gave the following answer, blinded by his master the devil:
"Father, we have conquered these Gangello Provinces and others without this Zambi of yours called God, and without him we shall do the same in future as we have in the past," and as he exaggerated this with the words not of a Christian but of a renegade, all his officers applauded in the black people's fashion as if he had spoken nobly and his mouth were that of truth, but I did not fail in my obligation, although it was a vain labour, and also, Your Reverence, when I reached this quilombo it was already the third day that their Priests were making sachello, and calling on the soul of the late Giaga Pando to the house of his heir surnamed Pando, and the same night of our arrival he appeared in the Witch-doctor, and asked for two people and green millet, and at once he was given what he asked for; one of the two men was a slave of Queen Ginga captured in war, the other was his own slave, and both had their heads cut off from their shoulders, and the flesh was cooked with the millet and when cooked was distributed by the Witch-doctor like a thing sacred to those present, [21] among whom was a Christian Ethiopian, who refused to eat it; they made it pass from his throat to his stomach by force, and the man surnamed Cuncha Head of the Chilambi confirmed this to me, and also affirmed the Cassange ate it daily and his children affirmed the same, and now he is ill his doctor has forbidden him to eat it until he is cured. Now, Father, I am capable of believing what I did not wish to believe last year when finding myself in Embaca Captain Lorenzo d'Aragone, a Christian black man, told me that finding himself there when Cassange was baptised, he went to visit him next day, and found him eating a human hand, and on being rebuked answered that he had been baptised to please the Ambassador and the Father, but as to their laws, rites, customs and ceremonies they were not to be renounced but kept and observed. And his eating human flesh is confirmed by the black people's heads which are found with their flesh already cut off and whitened, throughout the country round, and around the walls of his harem. A few days ago Giaga Cassange made Sachello at Caimbe because he had to go to war, and having nobody to kill for his ancestor sacrificed two cows, keeping back people until he returned from the war, to give thanks according to the order of the Witch-doctor accompanied by a thousand of their lies in order to seduce those ignorant people, and draw the money out of their purses. When I had audience the Witch-doctors were the first to appear, I was told by white people that in the sacrifice they made the year before they had killed 184 people. I have baptised some children of Pomberi, of Portuguese, and also some small children of various Giaghi according to the promises made to me to send them to Church to the Christian doctrine, or I should have gone to their libate to teach them, and there were lavish promises, but few results, because they betrayed their obligation and denied both; seeing myself deceived in such matters of zeal, I no longer wished to baptise, and from what I have written Your Reverence can conjecture how much spiritual good can be hoped for, and what success such children will have; to me it is a vain labour, and nothing will be done except baptising some children when they already have their teeth, [22] according to the barbarous Giaga custom, and it will not be certain unless in their opinion baptism of children is a necessary permission, that is when they have teeth. Your Reverence will do as you think best, for I as I have said will be ready for your commands and what you order and arrange and will expect an answer. Dated in this quilombo of the Giaga Cassange 25th August in the year MDCLX.
I sent this letter to my superior according to the order he had given me, and while awaiting an answer I did not fail to inform myself of the various things they were doing and observing; firstly I found our how Cassange was observing the laws, rites, customs and ceremonies of the Giaghi, and as to the first law I found he was admitting some small children to baptism, but not before they had teeth according to their barbarous custom, and if they cut their top teeth before their bottom ones he ordered them to be killed.
He observed the second law faithfully because he did not allow any woman to give birth inside the quilombo, and when one was found to have given birth the evil-doer responsible was sentenced to be cruelly beaten and thrown out of the army, and at the time when Father Antonio da Serravezza was living in the quilombo it happened that he brought from the enclosed a girl to be baptised, and she was the daughter of a concubine of Cassange himself, and there was such an uprising of the people because of the breaking of their quixilla, that they were very much distressed and the officers of the army represented the case to Cassange who showed himself so zealous in the observance of their laws that although she was his daughter he ordered her to be beaten in a mortar, but as they were about to go to a new place she was condemned to death, especially as the death of his predecessor occurred at the same time, and so they did what I have described above.
He was always punctilious in the observance of the third law, in making sacrifices before and after war, and took the mortar and oil of his instructor when he went to war.
He was very observant indeed of the fourth and still is, causing the servants of those who die to be killed even when their masters do not want is, as he did in the year 1659 to one of his officers who had asked that no-one should be killed at his death because he was a Christian, [23] but owing to zeal for their law four people and several cows were killed.
he had always observed the branding of his people and prisoners of war not only with the cruel imprint of iron, but also with the old mark traditional to the Giaghi of knocking out two top and two bottom teeth.
He punctiliously observes the seventh law and everything it contains although it is diabolical, for he is Satanic.
The eighth had his observance as I have discussed in the chapter on the quixille of the Giaghi and when he was making a feast for his daughter he collected an offering of over 600 Italian ducats.
The ninth also has the observance of this barbarian.
To observe the tenth he keeps his Treasure-chest or Missette, and some relics of his ancestors, and is zealous in keeping and revering them according to their ancient custom without discarding anything of their law.
At the new moon he observes all the practices of the exhibition of the chest, and the ceremonies practised by the Giaghi.
He honours and reveres the Witch-doctors as his priests and never transgresses their orders however hard or difficult.
He does not observe the thirteenth law.
He punctiliously observes the fourteenth law of the Sambare without fear of God or shame before the world, but O wretch, what punishment is prepared for him?
He has always observed that law of Pharaoh which permitted the Egyptians to steal because he is always stealing with his army which entirely composed of thieves and wicked people, and he is the chief of them all, having no regard for that law of Numa Pompilius which conceded the right to take and possess what one could conquer, because stealing is not necessary to take land, but only goods, and these people need goods and human beings to satisfy their barbarous wishes; the law given by Lycurgus to the Spartans pleases and gratifies them greatly [24] because it permits homicide, and it is enough to know that they kill a person more readily than an animal, and one daily sees examples among these barbarous people, and if it stupefies one to hear this told, what will the sight of it do? He takes pleasure and comfort in all this for the satisfaction of his own stomach, and I have several times observed the ceremony of going to take the children who had already cut their teeth. I also observed the Witch-doctor rising at the new moon, representing the late Giaga Cassange Calunga, and others representing other people, and there was no day on which some infernal novelty was not seen; one day I sent an Ethiopian of Portuguese descent into the Court of Cassange, and he found they had cut off the heads of two people, and seeking to find the reason found that it was to enable Cassange to wash in the blood, and use their flesh as a remedy to strengthen his stomach; the missionary could not, dear reader, blind himself to the sight of such open crimes and had perforce to show what was good and evil for the good of his conscience, and for this reason he made me a thousand protestations and threats, that I should have no designs on changing their laws, rites, customs and ceremonies, nor oppose their quixille, nor yet remove their relics from their Priests, but only baptise, but I said, baptise them for what purpose, if they then remain in the power of a barbarous and pagan Father and Mother who are to teach them their diabolical laws, rites and customs? Seeing finally that it was all a vain labour I asked Cassange to gather together all the officers of his army for the day dedicated to the glory of the Assumption of our Lady the Virgin to Heavenly Glory, I caused the place where I was to celebrate that most solemn feast to be ornamented, and hung over the altar a beautiful Image of our Lady the Virgin Mary. So arrived that happiest of days dedicated to the glory of our great Queen and protectress, and Cassange came with all the officers of his army, not as if coming to hear mass, but armed, as if for pillage, and not before taking their usual antidote, so that their stomachs were full; and with head bowed I conducted the holy Sacrifice of the mass, and having finished this made them a short speech on the great mercy of [25] God and his Most Holy Mother, but the savage host of Satan made me so many heretical answers and proposals that seeing their obstinate and stony hearts I was forced to turn to the Mother of mercies, and implore her on behalf of those wretches to forgive their crimes, and use her usual pity and mercy with those lost souls, but they, blind and deaf to this, were not moved to prayer or cries of sorrow at the sins they had committed, but, O barbarians, they turned not against the Creature but the Creator and his Most Holy Mother, and spewed out the poison from their hearts contemptuously calling her muhaijtu va mundele, white man's woman, and loosened their tongues in a thousand sacrilegious words, and boasting that their powers did not depend on her, and also mocking at her son, they uttered a thousand indecent words accompanied by various grimaces more proper to Satan's companions than to human fellow-travellers, and their horrible actions were as knives piercing my heart and that of the surrounding Christians, and turning to the child Jesus I was unable to help crying our, and saying: "O my good Jesus do you not hear the mockery and scorn they make of you, and of your Most Holy Mother?" The perverted Cassange advanced further, dear reader, and with his people affirmed that the law of the son does not save one from death, without thinking of the death of the body and of the immortal soul, he grew angry with me and waved his weapons as if he wished to fight against Heaven or even kill, and the Creature raised his voice and said, "I have conquered these and other Provinces without this God, and I shall do without him in future too." O barbarous and cruel man, what are you doing and saying? I threatened him with the punishment of that God he despised, but those haughty and boastful men asked me whether he had power to cut an orange-tree to the ground, and I answered them that he was powerful in one respect and in the other, and at these words there was such an uprising among the people that everyone, weapons in hand, showed that the human individual wished to arise, and each of us thought we should have to pay death the tribute of every traveller that day, and they went furiously off to their homes, and I remained greatly distressed to see our common enemy had power over their souls, but the reason is hidden from us. A few days later, after one of their Witch-doctors had risen up, and sold [26] his lies, I went to visit the Giaga, but he did not wish to hear about Christianity. Finally, after two months, there came an answer to the letter written to the superior who called me to the Court of Queen Ginga, and to show abundant courtesy and zeal to the Giaga, sent in my place Father Benedetto da Lusignana, one of our Priests; but when Cassange knew of his coming he said "The one who is here is a Capuchin and the one who is coming is a Capuchin, what one teaches so will the other, I do not want to keep or observe their law, but I want a Priest who is a son of our land." Will you say, reader, that the Capuchins must be bad? You have heard what happened, you will observe the future too, and then judge at your leisure, for I, and others of my Religion, and particularly our Colleagues, submit ourselves to the censure of whoever wishes, after hearing of the past and observed the future.

Book III Chapter 2

How Giaga Cassange was baptised with the name of Don Pasquale, and of a Sacrifice which he made after being baptised Chapter II

In the year of grace MDCLV after our arrival at the City of Angola i. Loanda in the Kingdom of Dongho, the Lord Governor Don Ludovico di Suosa sent a Captain with the title ambassador to the Province of Gangella in this Kingdom of Matamba where lived the Giaga Cassange with his army consisting of atrocious people, who stole for their living, for such are all the armies which call themselves Giaghi, because it was not only a question of the ransom of slaves who had fled from the Portuguese, but also see if they could remove that barbarian from that diabolical life he was leading with his followers, and for the first and second purpose they sent a Captain, a son of the soil, experienced in the knowledge of the language and to execute the second purpose asked Father Serafino da Cortona, Prefect of the mission to the Kingdom of Dongo and Matambe, for a monk of his order, and for this enterprise was destined Father Antonio da Serrauezza of the Province of Tuscany, a monk of particular talents, and a theologian; when they had both had the necessary dispatches they left Massangano for Embaca, a journey of eight days, where they arrived in good health. Embaca is a fortress on the frontier of the Kingdom of Matamba and the above-named Provinces. They were courteously received by its Captain, and in short sent on their journey with the necessary provision of victuals and an escort of people as they had to walk for eighteen days, mostly through deserted regions. They therefore left Embaca, and after the above-mentioned time came in sight of the Giaga's army, and [8] assuming that he would not wish the Father to enter his army because of the unaccustomed sight of his habit [added: and because of knowing that he had ... contrary to their laws, rites and ...] and for having asked for a Priest who was a son and native of the land from some Portuguese merchants who ordinarily trade with his army; he complied with everything, and received them courteously and assigned adequate lodgings for all: [marginal: as soon as he had taken possession of the lodgings the Father went out and explored the region, in front of the army with a chain round his neck flagellating himself with it in order to lead the people to change their lives for the better, but they laughed at this sacred action of the Father and considered him to be unwell, also because he was so poor and did not keep even one slave in his service, and with this he returned to his new house learning to look after himself, because Evangelical ministry in pagan hands does not last, and not does reputation, especially in the beginning, starting with that which claims to end so that respect in progress for Christianity should not be lost etc] After resting from the journey and its trials which were not few, the Giaga sent a petition to the Ambassador for all the officers of the army to gather together. When they had done so the Ambassador explained his embassy from his Governor and General and having done so in terms of worldly interest, he also dealt with what applies to the soul explaining how the Capuchin Priest was there for that purpose, then the Father explained not the embassy of the earthly Governor but of the one from Heaven, who died on the Cross to redeem our souls, and withdraw them from slavery to Satan, and the barbarian listened attentively to the Father's words, and even supposing that he was very far from changing for the better and from a new law, he answered courteously that even though he did not wish to become a Christian, nor to embrace the Catholic faith, he was willing for newborn children to be baptised if they had teeth, according to their barbarous custom as you will have noticed in the Chapter [blank] in the first book where this subject is dealt with, and this was not a little favour but a great one, even though there were few to open the way to the Christian faith.
The Father began to exercise his good office, [added: he built a Church ...] and as a watchful Pastor he baptised the little children and exhorted the adults, and Cassange their head, to leave that inhuman life with its rites, laws, customs and diabolical ceremonies, and convert themselves to our Holy Catholic faith; but however many public and private exhortations he made, he could never soften the hard heart of the Giaga. The Father felt great pain seeing the obstinacy of this barbarian, and his perseverance in their diabolical low, and did not fail to send humble prayers to divine Mercy for the conversion of this barbarian accompanying his prayers with the mortifications of fasting and discipline; but all his labour was in vain [9] because he always showed hardness and obstinacy; finally seeing himself continually pursued with exhortations not only from the priest but from the Ambassador too he determined to gratify them both by becoming a Christian; the joy of the Father and Ambassador cannot be believed, for they believed his resolution to be a certainty, not regarding that Apostolic saying which exhorts us to believe all spirits, but to test whether they are from God or from the devil before believing them; it was not long before he showed the truth of that saying of Seneca that false things cannot last long, without returning to what they were at first, and the wolf can wear sheep's clothing but not go on doing so because they are not his own clothes, he is forced to put them down and take up his true wolf's nature again. The Father proposed the following Articles to Cassange. [marg. they are noted in Chapter 3.]
The Father began to catechise the neophyte in the things pertaining to our Holy Catholic faith, he appeared to gratify him in everything and to believe what the Father taught him, finally after having spent many days in this exercise and holding his conversion to be genuine, and when he had confessed his belief in what our Holy Mother Church teaches, he baptised him in the year MDCLVII on the ninth day of July with the name of D. Pasquale and the Father was very joyous at this good success because he had gained this soul for God, and taken it from the power of the devil. [marg. crossed out: he has the Articles noted at the end.] After baptising Cassange with the Ambassador and General as witnesses, the Father gave notice of this conversion to the above-named Governor who ... noted the following letter. The new Christian made great promises, but without putting them into practice, because it was a wolf's conversion, false and not true, as you shall hear, and the first evidence of this truth was that Captain Lorenzo d'Aragone, a relation of the new Christian on the female side presented himself, and was present at the promise, and visited him the day after he was baptised, and found him at table eating a human hand, and seeing how he was already betraying his obligations rebuked him for the sin he had committed, and he boldly answered that he had only been baptised to please the Father and the Ambassador, and that he was not going to abandon the ancient custom of his ancestors, and he has confirmed the same several times in the presence of many people, including priests. The Father remained to work uselessly with Cassange until the year 1658 for the salvation of souls [10] but with little fruit because of their hardness and obstinacy; so while he was labouring like a good workman in the Lord's vineyard he was called by his Superior who lived in Massangano where after many days he arrived, not without having undergone many trials on the journey most of which was through woods and deserts. Before leaving the army, the Giaga had to change his situation because of the death of his Father and Lord and before leaving he obtained his blessing. The Father was comforted thinking this was all a spiritual matter and left. The Giaga was happier because of the departure of the Father, than because of the benediction for his intention, for this new Christian and true Giaga had to observe two precepts, obey two laws or obligations as we should say, and both ordered him, before changing his situation and making a new house, to make a sacrifice, these two obligations were united and he had to satisfy both according to the Giaga fashion; but not according to the Christian law which he had taken on but rejected and returned to his former observances, and to fulfil these he prepared 184 men and women to offer not to blessed God in some pious work like a Christian, but like a rebel to give their souls to the devil, and their bodies to his Father and Lord Calunga Cassange; the barbarian gave orders that the place of sacrifice should be prepared according to their custom, and to show the zeal he felt in the observance of the diabolical laws, he ordered instant diligence. The minister delegated to perform the sacrifice fulfilled his office with all the necessary preparations and precautions, as you have heard in the treatise on the General Sacrifice that is to say that circle of posts, flags, and in a hollow in the middle, the seat of the Lord. They led the Ambassador there with the victims who were to be killed in the sacrifice; the posts were all adorned with various pieces of silk, weapons, vases full of various liquors from Ethiopia and Europe. The day destined to this horrendous spectacle arrived, and the assigned victims were given a great deal to eat and drink, and curiously dressed so that they should go satiated and comforted to the feast. The signal was given, military music was played not sadly and sorrowfully but with joy and jubilation as if they were going to a carnival and everyone was making merry; among the victims who were to serve in this Sacrifice was a Lord, a prisoner of war, with his two small children, who was to lead them, and he was gorgeously dressed as so were his sons, and they were accompanied by various military musical instruments, and went to the destined place and as comforters the cruel ministers showed them the cutting swords, knives and daggers, think what comfort that was to the poor wretches, and on arrival at the place of Sacrifice Cassange the evil Christian entered the circle, and signed to that Lord to enter the seat which was to be the last resting-place of his mortal life, and to the two children to place themselves in front of their Father; to those innocent little lambs was hidden what to their Father was manifest, they thought all was joy and feasting; kneeling before that Lord Cassange offered up those victims for his Father and Lord praying him to accept them although they were few in number, but many in his wishes, and that he would consider him a true observer of their laws, and imitator of their example, promising he would sacrifice all the live men he would take in future wars. Then he turned to speak to the Lord who had ascended saying that he wished to lead those victims to his predecessor, and at this tragic news the Father to turned to his two children saying "O unfortunate ones, O unfortunate children who today must finish your lives with me your Father", and at these loving words those two little doves began to weep together with floods of tears, but the barbarous Cassange raising his arm holding a cutting sword cut his head from his shoulders, so that in an instant he lost body and soul, then one of the children was killed by a blow from one of the ministers, and when the other saw his Father and brother dead he threw himself on their dead bodies, on to the trunk from which [12] they cut the head off, and at once they began killing the victims who were outside the posts, and those inhuman ministers were so hot with human blood and desirous of shedding it that they hardly noticed the prepared victims and would have killed many who were not destined to die of they had not saved themselves by flight; such was the grim tragedy turned into a Giaga Ethiopic comedy.
Among the victims there was a woman with a small child asleep at her breast and the minister came to her, and with a savage blow cut her head in half; suddenly a torrent of blood came out and falling on the sleeping child awakened him, and while he fixed his loving eyes on his mother's face he was killed by a savage blow, and both fell to the ground; let everyone marvel at the case, examine the causes, and give sentence at leisure. They killed victims to the number of 184 but did not exhaust the great desire they felt to shed human blood and if possible extinguish human propagation, and finally they joined these dead bodies together and made a pile of them placing on top that of the Lord and in his body they planted the flag as Captain of everyone, and feeling happy and joyful returned to their quilombo as if they had committed a heroic action, nor did the savage and cruel deeds of this barbarian stop there, because every day he invented new savageries.
This barbarian has as well as his legitimate wife over 200 concubines, and members of his Court and some white practitioners have assured me that he lives in concubinage with five sisters without scruple or blushing, and on being rebuked answered that it was not prohibited under their laws. It is commonly said, and confirmed by his own sons, that he eats human flesh, and in the year 1660 he was forbidden by his doctor to eat it because of the indispositions he suffered; he keeps people to be fattened for his table, keeps officials who kill them, and women who cook human flesh, and walking through his army one can confirm the truth of this fact without witness because one can see their heads grown white from the fire which is a spectacle to see, a horror to hear, a torture to think of that in the world [13] there should be such people, which is a wonder, yet this interior Ethiopia is full of them.
Now we return to that Father I mentioned who having arrived in Massangano wrote to the Father how he had reached that place, and the Governor answered him with the following letter. He spoke to his Superior who after a few days sent him back to Cassange, the said Father hurried back because of his zeal to save those souls. [added: as the Governor demonstrated that he was to return to the place] Therefore the Father turned round and went back along that difficult road, reached the new place, and where he thought he would find Seraphim found devils in human shape; firstly he found how they had made the sacrifice I have described, and other diabolical ceremonies and he also found many people greatly differing and changed from what they were outwardly, and Cassange advanced so much that he made his hidden savageries and crimes public, to such an extent that their reputation even reached the Portuguese in their Cities and Seats of Government; it came to the notice of Father Antonio Romano who had remained Superior of the mission after the departure of the Prefect Father Serafino da Cortona, and he determined to take the said Father and send him to the Court of Queen Ginga where Christianity was making progress and to this end sent Brother Giunipero da Sam Severino to Cassange.

Book III Chapter 1

[1] Book iii Chapter i
Brief Summary of the birth, life and customs of the inhuman Giaga Cassange Caquigurij, called Don Pasquale Lord of the Province of Gangella of this Kingdom of Mataba

Chapter 1

The common proverb which runs (dear reader) on everybody's lips is that such as the Father is so must the son be, you have already heard the origin and beginnings of the Giaga people and the barbarous and inhuman rites, laws and customs they follow, and how their daughter Queen Ginga kept and observed them faithfully in imitation of their reformer Tembo Andumba, now stay to hear about their son called Cassange Caquigurrij. I will tell of his birth, life and customs.
Cassange Caquigurrij was born in about the year of grace MDCVIII in the Kingdom of Dongo, or that called Angola, among a pure population called Dambi aquitulla, he was the son of a father who begat him in a pagan marriage, he was called Gongo at birth, with the adjective of quitulla, a place-name, meaning Gongo quitulla; this word Gonga has various meanings among these Ethiopians, because written Gonga it means dish, ladle, fruit bowl, gourd and written Gunga it means bell, and written Gonghe it means a military musical instrument used among the black people of this western Ethiopia. Our Cassange was called by the first of these, his Father performed rural duties, and he was destined to look after unclean animals, which function he fulfilled as his tender years permitted, and ate sea-onions, a food common to them, and thus learned to imitate their savage actions, which are not difficult to learn for these black people who in childish years do not cover themselves with anything except the skin of a goat or sheep before and one behind, hardly covering their pudenda, and some wear leaves and others are content with only the covering provided by mother nature, and go thus through light as well as darkness, without shame or blush, drawing glory from dirt and filth; [2] he was captured in war by Giaga Cassange Calunga Caquigurij with the flocks he looked after, and the Giaga led him to his quilombo condemning him to death, which according to their barbarous custom had to be executed, and confirmed him in his work of herding not only the unclean animals, but also additional sheep and goats, and saw that the condemned individual feared to lose them; so young Gonga procured his safety in exchange for diligently fulfilling his office and so as not to be punished, and from fear, he made sure that his Lord and master was satisfied with his work and to serve him better spent the time when he was not herding the flocks in going where he knew people were being killed, and human beings sacrificed, to help skin, quarter and dispatch them, and wanted to try to eat them even when uncooked. With increasing years he did not fail to increase in evil, and show it, and was taken from the care of the flocks and enrolled among the Giaga soldiers; it is not possible to describe the barbarous and inhuman acts this new soldier is said to have committed, it is enough to know that they were so many and of such a kind that he distinguished himself, and for them was not only made head of a troupe of assassins and thieves, but given the dignity and office of a Colambolo, meaning Sergeant General, an office which among the Giaga people is only given to belligerent, inhuman and cruel soldiers who always go in the vanguard and are the first to treat enemies barbarously. He exercised this office to the great applause of the whole army. This official has the power of sanction before his Lord even if he is the King, and ordinarily it is his responsibility to pass sentence and define the reason, and our Gonga achieved this without having studied law or knowing anything of Bartolo etc. And his sentences were punctually and quickly executed and I could say much about them, but content myself with citing three from which the reader can guess what this master of barbarity and cruelty was like. For the first example, I present you Cassange sitting in the public square in his tribunal as sentencing judge, and five people were presented to him, whose trial consisted of stroking their persons a great deal, and [3] because they were very fat they were deemed worthy to die; the iniquitous judge looked at them with threatening eyes, and to satisfy his appetite and desire to feed off their flesh, whose effects he wished to observe, he sentenced them to death without trial and the sentence was executed at once with such speed that their heads were cut off, and having seen the execution of the sentence awarded by the ruling official, he rose from his tribunal, and like a famished wolf shouldered one of these dead persons saying that by rights he should be allotted the fattest, and so went back to the kitchen helped by his pages and recommended that he should be prepared at once for the table, and before he was even cooked, ordered the table to be made ready, and with that savagery satisfied his barbarous wish: do you admire, dear reader, this judge's sentence, and this legal procedure? The second case was no less barbarous than the first. When Cain wished to kill his brother Abel, the holy scripture says that he invited him to go with him to a field and by hiding the deed he managed to avoid being seen by human beings, but could not avoid the divine eye which sees ass and examines hearts; he carried out his evil intention and dyed his hands with his brother's blood; our Gonga did no less, and showed himself even more barbarous and cruel, because he avoided neither human nor divine eyes, and did in open country but without shame or fear in the public square attempted fratricidal homicide, without considering the innumerable multitude of people who were watching. A blood brother of his appeared as a prisoner of war, and on seeing him he was inflamed with anger and hatred and with one blow took his life, imitating Cain. When Cain was asked where his brother was he answered that he did not know, and was not his keeper: "Num custos fratris mei sum ego?" but hearing from the lips of truth that his blood was rising from the earth to Heaven, and that God had been the spectator of everything, he repented of the error he had committed, confessed it, but was damned, because it was affirmed to be greater than the mercy of blessed God; now let us ask our Gonga about his brother? He will not answer that he does not know but without shame or fear will show the interrogator with his hand, O how cruel and inhuman, and is he not his brother and of the same kind, and how could you become his murderer? [4] He did not regard this as an evil deed, but gloried in it as a heroic action because such are the viscera of the barbarous and cruel Ginga people; but he did not stop at this one act, but approached the transgression of the law of nature, humanity and God; for there is a custom which has passed into law among the Giaga that those whom they take prisoner in war they adopt as sons, and they are treated as such by the man and the woman, or principal Concubine called among the Giaga Tembanzo meaning Lady of the house, and as such our Gonga was loved by Calunga Cassange Caquinjurij, and his wife loved him like a mother and Prona, and as he thirsted like a hart for human blood, honour, command and being Lord, he saw his white-haired Father weighed down by infirmities and the weight of years and approaching the end common to every traveller, and on the other hand saw his wife still young in years and of good parentage, and in a position to impede and disturb his plans to reign, and thought of freeing himself from her and ensuring his future rule. Among these black people, however great they are, it is a great ignominy and opprobrium to be a magician, and they are convinced magicians are condemned to the flames, because they hold that nobody can die except from witchcraft. I say that what a good inquisition there would be the rigour of the law did not make exception for anyone, and perhaps a general judgement would be necessary, beginning with the Lords who govern, because usually nobody is called to an office or to public appointment unless he is experienced in several arts and especially those of witchcraft, but of these people nobody speaks, and the rigour of the law is only executed against some poor unfortunate, as happened to this woman who was accused by her son Gonga of being a witch, and was condemned by him as judge to be burned alive without appeal, nor anyone to plead her cause, and she was led to the appointed place and thrown in the fire in which she ended her life, in what way everyone can imagine, and the barbarian remained comforted and happy, and to hide the act and the cruelty he had committed as much as possible he ordered secrecy to be kept. He at once had a house built for his old Father, and when it was finished brought him there to live in sign of love and filial duty, he being then weighed down not only with old age, mother of all indispositions, but also by an illness called [5] Bunbi which means a fleshy or watery hernia bigger than one's head, whose weight makes it impossible to walk, and oppressed by this and other indispositions he asked his son Gonga to let him see his dear wife, which married people ordinarily wish to do before dying especially those who live in married love although they are often prevented by their spiritual Father so that there should be no hindrance to the salvation of the soul, but as her life had already been taken she could not be seen, the father repeated his request, and being refused a second time, his love for his wife grew furious and he rose to his feet to go in search of her, and Gonga hurried to his father with signs of pretend compassion to keep him in bed, but lying on top of him twisted his neck, and as his life did not end with this he repeated the action pressing down on him with his knees at the top of the stomach with such force that he parted his body from his soul, which was taken by devils to Hell where it will suffer eternally for as long as God is God. At once the false Gonga began to fill the air with cries, pretending to be inconsolable at the death of his loving Father. He ran now in one direction and now in another, the officers of the army ran up to elect a successor according to their custom, before proclaiming the death of their Lord, and all turned their eyes to Gonga, but he fled them, swore and swore again that he did not want the burden of government, but they were false words because an hour seemed to him a thousand years; then he surrendered, accepted the charge of General, and changed his name to that of Cassange Caquigurrij name of his predecessor and Father, it is no wonder that to rule and govern he killed his Father and Mother, as Athaliah for the same purpose killed as many as there were of Royal blood, and the inhuman Queen Ginga faithfully followed that example. Absalom wished to kill his Father. The Prince son of King Angolari wished also to kill his Father with poison and the Son of the King of Congo did the same, first in the year 1636 and then in 1661. But this in effect killed her. The King of Congo to assure himself in [6] the Government caused a blood brother and an uncle of his to be killed in the year 1662. In short the beasts of the woods know and revere their parents and have mercy and compassion on them, but the ambitious man does not forgive his Father, Mother and relations any more than he does strangers, O wretched people of this black interior Ethiopia as lacking in understanding as they are savage in their actions. They say that the ambition has two colours, one of feigned virtue pretending to be far from honours, offices and dignities, the other is an ardent and insatiable desire with which it aspired to them: this was exactly how this barbarous and inhuman person was, he showed himself far from wanting the burden of being General, but it was all a pretence because he had an insatiable thirst for it as his behaviour showed.
They write that ivy is a low and vile plant, and with all that wishes to rise and tower above the other plants as if it were their Sovereign. Such is the ambitious man who wants to be placed before all others and to dominate them. S. Bernard says that ambition is the mother of hypocrisy which wants to remain hidden; the ambitious man is cruel and without pity because to fulfil his designs he takes no thought of evil however great, and such was this barbarous and inhuman man who in order to rule and command took no notice of love for his brother, Father or Mother, in accordance with the inhuman Giaga laws.
A philosopher said that some men are worthy of vituperation, some worthy of hate, and some were wretches, and he affirmed those worthy of vituperation were those worthy of hate those who attain them with known ambition, and the wretches were those who go about deceived and swollen with vail worldly hopes, but I add, dear reader, that the fourth class who I say are worthy of vituperation, hate and abhorrence and wretches are those who die of thirst beside the water, freeze with cold near the fire, those who leave the right path and follow the wrong one, and being able to go towards the true light, leave it to go towards the dark as this new General Cassange did, who accepted the charge and had his Father and Lady buried with a sacrifice of 300 people to serve them in the next life according to the barbarous custom of the pagans, and having been baptised celebrated [7] the anniversary with 184 people (as you will hear in the proper place). The new General therefore began to govern and to show himself zealous in the observance of the Giaga laws, rites, customs and ceremonies, and to show by example what he asserted in words he wished first gratify his predecessor with a sacrifice of many people as you will hear in the next Chapter.