Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 3.djvu/404

 and has also the advantage of water communication with some very populous districts on both slopes of the river. The local "king" is now obliged to remain permanently within the precincts of his palace, because custom requires a human victim every time he goes abroad. Once a year only, that is, during the yam feast, he is allowed out to take part in the public rejoicings. In the midst of the unexplored forests stretching eastward lies Aro, the mysterious "city of sins," where are made great sacrifices of animals, and perhaps of men, for the cleansing

of the people. A pilgrimage to this place, "where dwells the Creator," is held to be a meritorious act even by the Mussulmans themselves. Along both banks follow several other towns and markets, such as Osomari and Ndoni on the left, Ebo and Wari on the right side, the latter capital of the kingdom of like name, and in an island near the bar the village of Akassa, which has become a chief centre of the commercial operations of the Royal African Company.

East of the Nun, the estuaries of the delta and of Old Calabar have received the name of Oil-rivers in a pre-eminent sense. Here the staple of the export trade