Note 240 — Chapter IX
Reading edition
The King’s name in Dahome must be pronounced with bated breath. For in Dahome the King in his own person absorbs the undivided respect of the people. In England we adhere to the princely name, e.g.,
Nana Sahib rest unsung,
Let none speak of Badahung,
which is as correctly applied to Gelele as would be “Duke of Clarence” to William IV. after coronation. To utter it in his presence would, in the case of a subject, be death: once crowned, the King must forget his antecedents as an Adeling, and this is the common practice of African monarchs, even to the petty chiefs of the Congo. Many child princes, sons of the actual dynast, have been to my quarters, and have held out the hand for bread: and such a small boy the present ruler once was. Dr. M‘Leod, however, errs in stating that the royal relatives, such as half-brothers and sisters, are slaves. The word Badahung, or Badahong (which M. Wallon writes Budahou, and others Badahou and Badou), is properly Ba (bamboo), do (pushes or poles), hun (the cause): it is, therefore, not very dignified.