I’ve
mentioned previously that the Congo is ripe for Mythos storytelling with a
solid presence in the canon material. Quite apart from the story “Arthur
Jermyn”, there are Congolese references in “Herbert West: Re-animator” and of
course the excellent “The Picture in the House”. Add to this David Drake’s
chilling “Than Curse the Darkness” (1980) and the Congo starts to look like
Mythos-central. And that’s before we investigate the cryptozoological weirdness
that’s been happening there since the 18th Century. Or the black
magic.
(Of
course the sheer cruelty and depravity that takes place in the Congo on a daily
basis is fairly disheartening and can mitigate strongly against using the
locale as a playground: sometimes the Real World can be just too depressing...)
The
following are books and other published works which may be of interest to an
adventuring party:
Relazione
del Primo Viaggio Intorno Al Mondo (“Report on the First Voyage Around the
World”)
“When I
opened it to the title page my wonder grew even greater, for it proved to be
nothing less rare than Pigafetta’s account of the Congo region, written from
the notes of the sailor Lopex and printed at Frankfurt in 1598...”
HPL, “The
Picture in the House”
Antonio
Pigafetta’s work relating to his voyage of discovery with Magellan has been
monstrously handled throughout its history. Not published in its entirety
before or after the author’s death, it has been reproduced piecemeal – severely
edited in any form – until the Nineteenth Century, whereupon the original was
destroyed after being finally published in toto. Even then it is to be
suspected that the entire work was not reproduced, but rather edited to the
satisfaction of the publishers at that time, its more fantastic elements being
consigned to the flames. Before this, excerpts of the work were published by
many groups in the years since its composition, with emphases upon particular
elements of the narrative: this thinking led to the infamous Regnum Congo for
example, with its disturbing illustrations by the Brothers de Bry, printed in
Latin in Frankfurt, 1598. Another such printing in Paris in 1784 was
interrupted by Papal authority and the entire staff of the publishing house
handed over to the Inquisition.
In and of
itself, the work is secure in its claim as one of the first narratives of the
opening up of the Pacific region and of the circumnavigation of the globe; the
issues begin when Pigafetta starts to borrow heavily from his relationship with
the sailor ‘Lopex’, of whom little is known but of whom much is suspected.
Pigafetta claimed to have filled in the blanks of his knowledge about various
locations from notes and oral information provided him by this infamous
seafarer; if this is the case, then Lopex was privy to an excessive quantity of
worldwide blasphemies, including cannibalism, demon-worship and infanticide. It
is noteworthy that this individual is not included in the list of the survivors
of Magellan’s voyage.
Ignoring
the more historically (and socially) acceptable copies of the Relazione
published since 1874, there are several versions of this work of interest to
the student of hard metaphysics. Many of these versions have been augmented by
sick minds that sought to embellish their perversities and subsequently diluted
their potency; of the remainder, the following are of interest:
(Source:
H. P. Lovecraft, "The Picture in the House")
Italian:
Relazione del Primo Viaggio Intorno Al Mondo; Antonio Pigafetta; Venice, 1524
(published 1874); Sanity loss: 0/0; +0 percentiles to Cthulhu Mythos; average 2
weeks to study and comprehend
Spells:
None
Latin:
Regnum Congo; Abridged from A. Pigafetta, woodcut illustrations by the Brothers
de Bry; Frankfurt, 1598; Sanity loss: 1d4/1d8; +5 percentiles to Cthulhu
Mythos; average 8 weeks to study and comprehend
Spells:
“A Means of Extending Life” (Food of Life); “To Punish An Enemy” (Cause
Disease); “To Entrap the Spirit” (Bind Soul); “Awakening The Flesh” (Compel
Flesh); “Another Punishment” (Wither Limb)
French:
Abominations Africaines; Translation by Giuseppe Balsamo, Count Cagliostro;
Manuscript only, 1782, only two copies known to have been made; Sanity loss:
1d3/1d6; +5 percentiles to Cthulhu Mythos; average 4 weeks to study and
comprehend
Spells:
“Moyens de prolonger la vie” (Food of Life); “Ratatinez-vous le membre” (Wither
Limb)
English:
Some Queer Accountes of Explorations to Strange Laundes; Translation by John
Wilmot, Lord Rochester; London, 1676; Sanity loss: 1d2/1d4; +3 percentiles to
Cthulhu Mythos; average 3 weeks to study and comprehend
Spells:
“Of the Culinary Artes of Savages” (Food of Life)
*****
Since the
1700s interest has centred upon strange, unidentified creatures inhabiting the
jungles of the Congo region. Cryptozoologists have theorised that relict
dinosaurs, survivors from eons passed, inhabit the forests and have gained
supernatural reputations amongst the indigenous populations, specifically the
Pygmy tribespeople. The most famous of the “Big Seven” monsters of the Congo
basin is the Mokèlé-mbèmbé, and adventurers have been in search of it, or
evidence of its existence, since 1776 when reference to it was first made in
the following text:
Histoire
de Loango, Kakongo et autres royaumes d’Afrique
“It must
be monstrous, the prints of its claws are seen upon the earth, and formed an
impression on it of about three feet in circumference. In observing the posture
and disposition of the footprints, they concluded that it did not run this part
of the way, and that it carried its claws at a distance of seven or eight feet
one from the other.”
Proyart
was an eager historian and wrote many books, especially the biographies of
former French Kings. His "History of Loango, Kakongo and other African Kingdoms"
is based on his firsthand experiences, working as a missionary in those parts.
The
translated excerpt printed above is considered the first printed statement
concerning the existence of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé, although the name is not
specifically used. Captain Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz, sent by the German
government to perform a survey of Cameroon in 1913, had the Proyart excerpt
firmly in mind when he began looking for evidence of the creature there. He
later wrote in his report that the beast was
"...very
much feared by the Negroes of certain parts of the territory of the Congo, the
lower Ubangi, the Sangha, and the Ikelemba rivers."
He was
the first to use the term Mokèlé-mbèmbé in print and described the monster as
brownish-grey in colour, about the size of an elephant and with a long flexible
neck.
While
many might argue from Proyart’s description that the tracks he describes are
possibly those of an elephant, any reader making a Biology, Animal Husbandry,
Zoology or similar Roll, will know that elephants do not possess claws, and yet
the description mentions these with some specificity.
French;
Abbé Lievain Bonaventure Proyart; 1776; 0/1 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0
percentiles; 1 week to study and comprehend
Spells:
None
In 1914,
John Pinkerton published an omnibus of what he considered to be the best excerpts
from various accounts of the explorers of Africa. It contains that section of
Proyart’s work recounting the discovery of the strange tracks.
English;
John Pinkerton: A General Collection of the Best & Most Interesting Voyages
and Travels in All Parts of the World (17 vols.); 1914; 0/0 Sanity loss;
Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; 3 weeks to study and comprehend; someone looking
only at the Proyart entries would take only 3 days
Spells:
None
*****
Of course
monsters aren’t the only thing found in the Congo; rubber, ivory and huge
mineral wealth are available too. The Belgian occupation of the region was
notable for the ruthless cruelty with which it treated its indentured work
force, and soon the outrage felt by the rest of the world was being announced
in journals and other organs across the planet. The following two are perhaps
the most famous:
The Crime
of the Congo
By the
early years of the Twentieth Century, international attention was being brought
to bear on the state of play in the Congo. Missionary reports, travellers’
narratives and government leaks from Belgian sources were slowly revealing the
horrors that the native populations of the region had come to know as part of
their daily lives. Public outcry soon followed and several works were published
to spread the word even further: Conan-Doyle’s work is perhaps not so well
known as Mark Twain’s (see below) but it carries the weight of more textual
research and listed sources. Keepers may decide to apply the parenthetical SAN
roll listed below for reading the atrocities in this and Twain’s work if they
so choose; otherwise there is no penalty for reading this book.
English;
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; 1909; 0/0 (0/1) Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0
percentiles; 1 week to study and comprehend
Spells:
None
King
Leopold’s Soliloquy
"This
work of 'civilization' is an enormous and continual butchery ... All the facts
we brought forward in this chamber were denied at first most energetically; but
later, little by little, they were proved by documents and by official texts
... The practice of cutting off hands is said to be contrary to instructions;
but you are content to say that indulgence must be shown and that this bad
habit must be corrected 'little by little' and you plead, moreover, that only the
hands of fallen enemies are cut off, and that if the hands are cut off
'enemies' not quite dead, and who, after recovery, have had the bad taste to
come to the missionaries and show them their stumps, it was due to an original
mistake in thinking that they were dead."
From
Debate in Belgian Parliament, July, 1903.
Applying
his usual razor-sharp wit to the emerging scandal of Belgian rule in Africa,
Twain came up with this zippy pamphlet designed to harpoon King Leopold II as
much as it informed the ignorant public of the state of affairs in the Congo.
Filled with (at the time) graphic images of the treatment of natives, along
with photographic material of handless Congolese workers, Twain’s harpoon was
pointed and barbed.
Told as a
complaining tirade against international nosey-parkers, ‘King Leopold’ whinges
and whines his way through a self-serving justification of his actions in the
African heartland, claiming his rule as religiously-motivated and civilising,
backed to the hilt by a God who surely wouldn’t have let him get this far if He
didn’t approve.
The book
reveals how taxes levied under Leopold’s rule caused widespread starvation and
the eradication of whole communities; it also quotes information published by
an American missionary, William Henry Shephard, concerning an 1899 massacre of
over eighty Congolese men, women and children by mercenary natives – the
cannibal ‘Zappo Zaps’ - paid for by the Belgian Government.
English;
Mark Twain; 1905; 0/0 (0/1) Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; 1 day
to study and comprehend
Spells:
None
*****
Today,
the Congo is a war-torn region, emerging from decades of oppression, both
political and ideological, and trying to find its feet in the Twenty-first
Century. The stain of superstition and racial division – not only between
blacks and whites, but also centuries-older bigotry based along tribal lines – are
being thrashed out in violent and repressive confrontations, while the immense
wealth of the nation is rapidly being amassed by the privileged few. With all
this in the background, the search for the Mokèlé-mbèmbé continues.
“One of
the most exciting things about Africa is that, at least since the end of the
Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago, the Congo basin has not undergone
further climatic and geophysical changes ... Animals evolve and survive because
they adapt to changing environments. Conversely, when conditions remain stable
for extended periods, some well-adapted species continue to survive and even
flourish with very little physical and behavioral alteration. And that is what
we find in the Central West African jungle-swamps where, for example,
crocodiles have persisted unchanged over the past 65 million years. What other
ancient creatures might still lurk in this vast expanse of seemingly changeless,
ageless, largely unexplored primeval forest?”
Roy
Mackal comes across rather like Richard Attenborough’s character in “Jurassic
Park” – idealistic, slightly cracked and not securely connected with reality.
His desire for there to be a dinosaur living in the jungles of the Congo far
outweighs his ability to carefully measure the facts at hand. The results of
his searching for the Mokèlé-mbèmbé boil down to some unusual ripples on a lake
surface and the earnest assurances of Pygmy witnesses that they saw a Diplodocus
in the water, just like the one in the book Mackal showed them. (And no
realisation, or acknowledgement, from Mackal that possibly they chose the
biggest animal pictured hoping that it would equal a greater reward.)
Still,
Mackal got a book and television program out of his wanderings, along with
publications in (semi-) respectable journals. His enthusiasm has also fired the
imaginations of others including a Japanese film crew that thundered off in his
wake to catch the beast on film – to no effect. It’s a miracle that he survived
his wanderings, although he did quite a bit of damage to scientific
credibility.
A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokèlé-mbèmbé
English;
Dr. Roy P. Mackal; 1987; 0/0 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; 1 week
to study and comprehend
Spells:
None
“The Search for Evidence of Mokèlé-mbèmbé
in the People’s Republic of the Congo”, article in Cryptozoology magazine,
number 1: pp.62-72
English;
Dr. Roy P. Mackal, J. Richard Greenwell and M. Justin Wilkinson; 1982; 0/0
Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; 1 day to study and comprehend
Spells:
None
*****
Congo
Journey
“Dokou,
suddenly alert, looked straight at me. ‘Samalé [the forest demon] has three
claws,’ he said, breathing hard, his voice harsh and cracked. ‘On each hand,’
he shouted, ‘Samalé has three claws! Long and curved, strong as steel, sharp as
hooks!’ He stood up and leaned across the desk, his pupils dilated, his lips
retracted, his irregular yellow teeth exposed. ‘But he only cuts with two!’ He
raised his right fist as if to strike me, crooked out two bent fingers, and
slashed the air in front of my face.”
Redmond
O’Hanlon
British
naturalist Redmond O’Hanlon, took an interest in the efforts of Roy Mackal and
decided to investigate if there was any truth in the rumours of a large
dinosaur dwelling in the Congo near Lake Télé. Taking an unsuspecting American
friend with him and forming a party from some of Mackal’s team of guides and
advisors, he went upriver into a dangerous and unpredictable world, where the
presence, or not, of a forest-dwelling monster soon became the least of his
concerns.
This is a
grimly humorous travel account, one where you have to laugh otherwise you’d
blow your brains out. O’Hanlon’s naturalist observations rapidly become
secondary to the hair-raising escapades that he and his friend Lary wander
blithely into. This is white-knuckle stuff: you have to keep reading just to
see if they make it out alive, and the relief when it’s over is palpable. After
it’s finished all you can do is shake your head in despair for the condition of
the human race.
English;
Redmond O’Hanlon; 1996; 0/1 Sanity loss; Cthulhu Mythos +0 percentiles; Occult
+10%; 2 weeks to study and comprehend
Spells:
None
*****
Of
course, it goes without saying that Keepers looking to set their adventures
here should read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (or watch “Apocalyse Now”,
perhaps, if your story is set in the modern era). I don’t think I need to go
over that text as it is so well-known, other than to say it should be the first
port-of-call for Congo gamers. If possible, try to get an edition that includes
Conrad’s “Congo Diary” as it is a good source for discovering how to get to the
Congo and then proceed upriver.
Listen
out for the drums!
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment